Crowded [Davian_Veq and Sigr]

"There is nothing to be sorry about" Matthew just said, ambivalent. His surprised smile couldn't hide that he had liked Taylor's show of affection, something so sudden than all he could do was awkwardly tap her head. "Don't worry, we are well off and eager to pamper you a little bit" Matthew said, giving no importance to the expense. "You are our sister after all" he added, sounding like he was reminding it to himself more than saying it to Taylor.

"Aren't you adorable?" Amanda said at Matthew, seemingly amused, returning the card to him. "Although I'd blush too if such a cute girl hugged me" she shrugged. Was she flirting with Taylor or it was just a silly comment to defuse the awkward situation? "Even if you brought a big vehicle, I would worry to death if I didn't carry this myself" Amanda said, changing the topic as it was nothing. "I'll bring it to your house in my van when I close shop, late afternoon" she commented. "Did you see anything else you liked?" Amanda asked, her eyes glancing at Matt for a moment, probably a joke judging by her amused face. Matthew didn't notice, as he was looking at his phone, confirming the card payment and dealing with the bureaucracy.

"Ah, thanks." Taylor seemed to have calmed down, and at Amanda's question began to prowl through the room once more. Quickly picking out an old pair of small tables, a couple of sturdy-looking wooden chairs and a varnished set of drawers, Taylor was delighted at the shop, its contents and the entire aesthetic.

"I think there's one or two things I'd like, but they're not going to be here. I'd like it if we could stop by Ikea next, Matt." Taylor was blushing harder at Amanda's insinuations, but relieved at Matt's lack of attention to the suggestive minx's words.

As she pointed out to Amanda the bits she had chosen, Taylor whispered to her "Was Matt really looking at me like that? I mean, he's pretty hot himself, and it's kind of difficult to remember they're my siblings now.. Ah!" Taylor quickly realised what she was saying, and clammed up, eyes wide, head shaking form side to side and refusing to respond, all in embarrassment and realisation. She quickly backed away, standing slightly further from Matt as Amanda smirked back at her, a knowing look and a smug grin on her face. "Uh, thanks Amanda, but I thinkweneedtobegoingnowbye!" Pulling Matt out of the door, her blush refusing to fade.

"What's the hurr- bye Amanda!" Matthew managed to wave at the shop owner while Taylor dragged him out. He just got in the car, as Amanda would take care of carrying the chosen furniture to the house, and started to drive her to Ikea. He noticed she was blushing, a look that felt awfully cute on her and made him smile, misunderstanding the situation completely. "Amanda tried to hit on you, right?" he asked, "She's nice, but can get too touchy sometimes" he shrugged. "Last night you said that your friend Samantha was just that, but it you swing that way, you could do a lot worse than Amanda, she's nice" he nodded, quite open towards Taylor being with whoever she pleased and yet, not having the slightest clue about what really happened.

"Ikea it is then" Matthew was driving to the labyrinthine store, enjoying the day. "We can go to my studio afterwards for a tour, you can pick a tilting board and a drafting tool there if you like, I have a couple of spares" he didn't want to plan the day for Taylor, but his enthusiasm was getting the best of him, as he was having a good time with Taylor.

"Wait, no, that's not - you aren't - I just... Aargh, just never mind that, Matt. I'm... mostly straight, but no, she wasn't flirting. As - she's cute, but I wouldn't, ah, just leave it for now, okay." A flustered babble was Taylor's response, ended with folded arms and a pout in irritation, a clear denial of speaking on the subject further.

They pulled up at Ikea, and entered the winding shelves. They had to be rescued by a shop assistant, and consulted the map and compass several times. With several beanbags, an angle-poise lamp, a swivel chair and a set of shelves later, they were eventually back on their way, and few words had been spoken since. Back in the car, Taylor finally broke the slightly tense quiet she had built up.

"Look Matt, I shouldn't have been grumpy at you after Amanda's. I wasn't annoyed at you, or her for that matter, and I shouldn't have had to vent at you. So, I'm sorry. I can't promise it won't happen again, I just get worked up sometimes, but I'll try to keep it under control. Uh, thanks for understanding, Matt." A deep sigh ended the short speech as she slumped back into the passenger seat, and she was hesitant to look directly at Matt.

Matthew kept his eyes on the road as Taylor exploded in a bout of awkwardness, ended up flustered and seemingly unhappy. He wanted to tell her something, but didn't have a clue about what to say, so he opted to fall silent. It was a mystery to him what the hell had caused that, was she uncomfortable with her sexuality and feared being outed? Maybe he shouldn't have put her in that position, but had she just said mostly straight? Matthew was completely lost and misunderstanding the whole situation, thinking that some of their siblings would be better equipped to deal with that.

If Ikea served for something besides completing the shopping with mostly small things that ended up on the car trunk, was to serve as a distraction. Picking decor and furniture made the silence slightly less awkward, but it could be felt again back in the car. She finally broke up the silence with an apology that didn't serve as an explanation, so Matthew welcomed it but it didn't help him guess what the hell was going on. "It's fine, it wasn't worth apologizing for" Matthew said, and wanting to show Taylor a bit of affection, wanting her to understand he wasn't mad, he leaned towards he passenger seat, wanting to land a kiss on her cheek.

A deep flush was the only reply to the kiss, but Taylor was so embarrassed. Why would he do that? Wasn't he her brother? Taylor was stuck. He was attractive, tall, enthusiastic and knowledgeable, so it was no surprise as to why she felt the way she did, but why did he have to act and continue and intensify those feelings? At least he was kind, and understanding.

They drove quietly, Taylor smiling more happily as Matthew drove, a lighter mood than the awkwardness of earlier suffusing the vehicle. They no longer needed to speak, and were simply comfortable in the quiet. As they finally returned home, there were considerable efforts carrying all the new furniture upstairs, almost falls, but no anger or yelling resulted.

Seeing that Taylor was completely silent, Matthew didn't want to risk putting her on a mood again, not knowing what was going on with her step sister. Since things have gotten pretty weird, he took her straight home, as they could visit his studio anytime she wanted, so she could see it and take home an old tilting drawing board if she wanted to. When they arrived to the rooms floor, Alan was on his room with the door open, sitting on the ground with the legs crossed.

"Oh hi, I'm still working on one of the old rigs, but it should be ready for you later today" he said, greeting Taylor as she went by, continuing to tinker on the guts of the computer, apparently changing a fan at the moment.

"We could grab a bite before starting with the Ikea spree" Matthew commented. "Alan?" he asked, peeking in his room.

"I'm fine, been munching on some fruit bars..." Alan answered vague, seemingly not wanting to be distracted from his task with something as pedestrian as food.