Oath *Completed*

Ruv's Smarts

"You do not use your fists to install hardwood floors in the kitchen, Ruv," Sarvente whacked the back of my head. "Are you a troglodyte? A cave dweller? We have tripods and gavels in courts for crying out loud! This isn't the time of the aborigines."

"But hey, the wooden thing's fixed against the damn floor now. I deserve some praise using only my hands than utilizing some convenient human hardware."

"That's not the point. You didn't even use nails."

She's been at me since yesterday. It might have really been the first time since I've 'decorated' a home. The only place I could think of to stay was the outdoors. I was restless, probably antithetical to human standards. I tried helping around and while Sarvente had told me more than five times she was thankful for my presence, my contributions weren't so innocuous.

I  carry most of the heavy stuff to be put in the house but Sarvente can easily lift these things. A matter of courtesy, I suppose.

I'm surprised Sarvente can be scarily patient with me on stuff like this. As some idiot once said, you don't know what you've never heard of. 

We were in one of the main rooms, the music studio being an absolute bomb. Out of all rooms in the house, this could most likely be the sanctuary I couldn't have asked for. It had a basic setup consisting of microphones, a myriad of instruments, and a MIDI keyboard. The room was a colorful array of LED and pink scattered on one half.

Sarvente must've gone all out on this part of the house because the room was divided into two colors. One being mine and the pink obviously hers. Our butts settled for the big beanbag chairs placed by the desktop. We'd sung songs for more than an hour by now. As always, our voices were in sync and completely in rhythm. 

I quite like Sarvente's soft but determined notes while I'd take charge of the intense ones. It made for good flow and conveyed a clash between thunderous and tranquility. 

"The plumber's going to come here in a few minutes and-"

I raised my left hand up in the form of a vow, "I swear to not be preternatural. I will do my best to not procrastinate and contribute whatever I can."

Sarvente smiled, covering her face with the palm of her hand. She must've been enjoying how new I was to this whole house modeling occurrence. She grabbed her phone inside her pocket, dialing in a number. The entire sequence kind of unsettled me somehow, which was surprising as I always see Sarvente using her phone during breaks. This time felt different, a good kind.

"Who are you calling?"

"Well, the rest of my fellow nuns insisted I take a short break so I'm buying us pizza in an online grocery. We could buy some for the plumber as well," she said, tying her hair up in a ponytail.

"Let's microwave the pizza first when it arrives," I said.

Sarvente widened her eyes at that. "Why do we need to do that when it's steamingly delicious by the time it comes?!"

"You never know when some bastard wants to poison you, Sarvente. We must disintegrate whatever is unholy in any food you partake by heating it up and-"

"You eat the pizza first then if you're that cautious about it," she argued.

"If it keeps you safe, then sure."

"Even if your thought process seems outrageous, thanks for the concern, Ruv."

I wasn't sure if it was because of the way she looked or how she phrased what she meant but I've been seeing Sarvente in a contrary fashion recently. Of course, she still looks the same to me. The type of person I can always count on and hang out with when I'm bored. Something's just clicking differently for me. 

My leg keeps bouncing whenever we sit near each other in public areas, I look at her more often when we're together, and everything she says out of her mouth gets me talking back with equal force. I know myself well. These things occur on a blue moon with another person. I find myself squinting my eyes whenever I get lost in these reveries. 

Am I silently panicking around her? Some stupid piece of shit on my left chest is beating left and right and I have no clue how to remedy it. I kinda want to punch the nearest wall for being so dumb.

"Hey, Sarvente."

"Hm? What's up?" she asked, leaning closer to me. Though that wasn't possible because she was sitting in another beanbag chair. She hopped and carried it simultaneously to be in close proximity. What was the word? I found it endearing, like a bunny. I almost forgot what I was about to say.

"This thing on my left chest keeps being annoying when I'm around you. It's become irksome."

"You mean your heart?" 

"Heart, huh?" 

Who am I kidding? I might be interested in Sarvente romantically and it f**king creeps me out. Stupid piece of shit on my left chest? What am I? A grade-schooler? Even animals know what a heart is! 

"Yeah, it's beating a little too fast for my liking."

This wasn't good.

"A-are you alright, Ruv? I can get you water if you want?"

"Uh. See here's the thing. Uh. How do you go about... Uh. Shit. Sarvente, you know I always have your back, right?"

Since when did I like her? Did it really occur to me just now that the only one I can tolerate in this world is the one I like genuinely?

"Same here! You can always count on me, Ruv! You should know that well by now!"

Great. "And you know I'm willing to accept whatever decision you make for yourself as an individual, right?" I said.

"I don't really get the conversation but yes, that should go for yourself too."

I've dealt with a lot worse in the past. This can't be that groundbreaking. I might as well try, I guess. This must not be normal but Sarvente knew I wasn't anything remotely close to that word. I just hope she doesn't stay away from me after this.

No matter what the answer, I'll always stay the same anyways. That's just how Ruv is.

"What would you do if I told you I like you?"