Drawn Together [Akira Saito]

[Skell]

She had to admit, the longer he hovered there, the more she felt the need to shift in her seat. Skell was feeling a mental tug in two different directions -- well, maybe more of a bodily tug. Something mainly settling in her chest and limbs wanted her to pull him in herself and join in a hopefully inevitable kiss. But of course, something in her head told her this wasn't going to be good for her, and she should just hightail it out of there.

That chuckle sent a shock through her system, making her shake a little. His eyes really were stunning, amongst other things. Could be scary, even. But she just couldn't see him doing anything to harm her -- well, outside of horseplay, maybe.

And that was a thought. A bad one. This wasn't going to go far. She knew that. She wanted that. It was for the better of the two of them.

A nuzzle of a nose, and a pull away. A slightly disappointed sigh, soft, short, subtle, left her lips.

She swore inside at letting that breath escape her. It showed sign of weakness, of instability with where she stoof in the game. That she was fumbling, and couldn't -- for whatever reason -- muster up the attitude to be indifferent. And you know, she really couldn't be indifferent to this situation anymore. Even if it was a game, he had showed some interest in her, and that fueled her own in his. He was playful. He was charming. He was so close.

"Aww... getting cold feet now, are you?" Well, the water was beginning to level to a luke warm, still on the slightly hotter side, but she knew she wouldn't be able to stay in for much longer. So much for that bath. But if he was going to pull away now, maybe that was all he intended to do. To just ruffle up her feathers that much in setting up for a kiss that'd never happen. Surely, the kiss that'd follow wouldn't be very plain. Not with the build-up of teasing they have had.

But then he went and surprised her with one. She inhaled deeply, swiftly through her nose when it happened, a hand pushing up from the base of the tub to regain some stability before her mind lost it. It was a rough start, and embarrassingly enough maybe a bit clumsy, but she returned the kiss with a tilt of her head once she settled in.

A fervor entered it, pulling him in with the aid of her hand at his neck. It ran up his hair roughly and began to scratch around and at one of his ears, feeling unreally soft. Her other hand scratched along his jaw, in lieu of not wrapping her arm around his shoulders. The way he crouched, that wouldn't have been very comfortable for him, and most likely a bit awkward for her.

It was a good few moments being lost in the kiss, deepening it, teasing at its potential with her tongue, before something overcame her yet again. It seriously must have something to do with his animalistic features, because she'd never before even dwelled on the idea of kissing a stranger. Yet now, with a playful nip at his lower lip, she leaned forward to kiss past his lips and down a trail along his jaw. Skell eventually found his neck, and by this time she had moved them to sit up, more or less. Fingernails scratched up his side as she continued massaging his scalp with the other, her lips issuing quick kisses to his neck.

But then she pulled away, surprise crossing her face at herself. What was going on?

"Uhm..." she nervously brushed some hair behind her ear, her curls semi wet and dry depending on where you looked, "Guess I'm hungry. Hah... I'll go... set us up something to chew on... you're hungry, right?"

[Akira Saito]

IN THE END IT DOESN'T EVEN MATTER

[atrb=cellSpacing,20,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 500px; background: url(http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n607/Nekomi-hime/Backgrounds/Seamless_PLaid_0072_by_AvanteGardeArt.jpg); border: 3px dashed #000000, bTable] i know, time is a valuable thing WATCH IT FLY BY AS THE PENDULUM SWINGS, WATCH IT COUNT DOWN TO THE END it's so unreal, didn't look out below WATCH THE TIME GO RIGHT OUT THE WINDOW, TRYING TO HOLD ON BUT DIDN'T EVEN KNOW

He had to admit, the disappointed sigh may have been one reason behind him moving forward and pressing his lips to hers. And another reason may have been her comment about him getting cold feet. Cold feet? Him? Never. The thought did make him grin a little though. And that grin widened ever so slightly against her lips when her head tilted. Her hand moving to scratch at his ear again didn't really help his situation much. It just drew his mind further into the darker thoughts that had come to mind just minutes ago. The teasing certainly didn't help either. Her nipping at his lower lip brought is what brought him back from those thoughts, leaving him with a look similar to the perplexed one he had adorned when she nipped as his ear. The reason this time being that she moved her lips away from his and along his jaw. Moving into a more upright position was a little awkward for him at first. His hand was already slippery against the bottom of the tub and having that arm at an angle only made keeping himself up that much more difficult. It wouldn't be good to slip. It was a good thing his other hand was gripping the edge of the tub. He probably could have kept himself from falling even without that but it was better not to take too many chances. Especially in a situation like this. Slipping could result in someone hitting their head. Which could result in blood. Which would be very bad if the blood didn't belong to him. Even the thought wasn't very good for him. So it was probably very good that she distracted him from the distraction by pulling away from him. It looked like she was surprised at herself again too. And he couldn't help but wonder just how often she did things without realizing she was doing them. Did she do that often? Or was he just lucky enough to witness it more than once? He sat back a little more, effectively creating a fairly large gap between the two of them. And now that he was sitting rather than leaning, he brought his hand up to ruffle the hair on his head. Now that she mentioned it, he was a little hungry. Not really enough to have though much of it without prompting though. Then again, he hardly ever though about being hungry unless he was prompted. "Yeah, I guess maybe a little." Okay, so maybe he was more than just a little hungry now that he really thought about it. Still, he didn't move other than to let her get out of the tub. Not just yet at least.

i tried so hard, in spite of the WAY YOU WERE MOCKING ME, ACTING LIKE I WAS PART OF YOUR PROPERTY 460 WORDS skell TAGS ... NOTES in the end - linkin park LYRICS gia <- me CREDITS and even though i tried it all FELL APART, WHAT IT MEANT TO ME WILL EVENTUALLY BE A MEMORY

[Skell]

Skell noticed the slight confusion on his face toward everything after she broke off the kiss. Moments after now would surely be a little awkward, and she was the only one to thank for that. She really didn't know what swept over her to make her do things that'd push the kiss further from one. She never did that. Never. She was always someone to be grounded, have her head screwed on tightly. And as far as this sort of scene went, she was only ever the one to respond back with witty, flirtatious remarks. Never the one to act out like this.

Food would be good... she'd be able to talk to this guy more. Figure him out. See just what it is about him exactly that has been making her so... off. Different. Appealed her intrigue more than others, you could say.

"All right..." she gripped the edge of the tub and leaned forward to help get herself up. In doing so, she found her face just within an inch of his again, and paused there for a moment, thinking. Maybe it had something to do with his markings, that she's yet to know about. She wasn't a tattoo girl, no. So maybe that wasn't it. Maybe it was that dark hair with light eyes. Yes, that very well could be it, but she couldn't be sure. Then her eyes flickered down to his lips and saw a glimpse of his teeth.

Yup. That was why. Stupid perfectly nice, sharp teeth.

With a cute smile of satisfaction, having found a reasonable reason behind her escalated behavior, she continued pushing herself up. Her slip was drenched, and sat hiked up, clinging to her form. She wrung out the hem, just so she wasn't dripping profusely when she stepped out of the tub. It brought her slip much further up along her thigh for the moment, but she was indifferent to that right now. I mean, the literal sharing of space in a tub wasn't the least bit innocent.

As the droplets fell down, she noticed the soapy layer was nearly disintegrated, and took that as her queue to promptly leave. Stepping out, she shook her legs dry before bringing her towel to them, and continuing to wrap it around her. Yeah, she was clothed, but it was cold.

"Uhm... I may have a robe for you to wear. Got it as a gift, and had no idea why they gave me something that was three times my size. Think they were trying to tease me into inviting men over or something..." she laughed at the memory, slipping her slippers on. She quickly scuffled outside and went to the hall closet, retrieving said robe. Good thing she was a bit of a hoarder.

Returning to the bathroom, she hung the robe on a hanger nailed behind the door.

"I'll be downstairs when you're ready..." and she scuttled off, not giving him a look. Her cheeks for some reason had decided to flush furiously and she needed time to collect her thoughts about this guy. After putting a pot of hot water on the stove to bring to a boil, she found time in front of the counter that she placed pulled food from -- shrimp, spaghetti, some tomatoes... she could make a scampi.

Hope he liked scampi.

She grabbed a knife and began dicing the tomatoes.

"Can't believe... I kissed a stranger... who's naked... in my home... in my tub... Skell, what's going on with you?"

[Akira Saito]

IN THE END IT DOESN'T EVEN MATTER

[atrb=cellSpacing,20,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 500px; background: url(http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n607/Nekomi-hime/Backgrounds/Seamless_PLaid_0072_by_AvanteGardeArt.jpg); border: 3px dashed #000000, bTable] i know, time is a valuable thing WATCH IT FLY BY AS THE PENDULUM SWINGS, WATCH IT COUNT DOWN TO THE END it's so unreal, didn't look out below WATCH THE TIME GO RIGHT OUT THE WINDOW, TRYING TO HOLD ON BUT DIDN'T EVEN KNOW

Akira's perplexity vanished, replaced by a more blank sort of stair, when she moved to pull herself up and stopped for a second with he face close to his. The a satisfied sort of smile found it's way to her lips that caused him to tilt his head slightly. Had she figured something out perhaps? Or was she satisfied with the way things had ended up? His eyes followed her as she stood, water dripping back down into the tub. Speaking of tub water. It had cooled off quite a bit. And the layer of bubbles was almost gone. That could have been why she'd decided she was hungry all of a sudden. He was fine with that though, truthfully. He was kind of hungry and he had had some fun. And the fun did go far enough to satisfy him. For a while at least. He watched her wrap herself in a towel before mentioning a robe that she had that he might be able to wear. If it were really three sizes too big for her it should fit him just fine. Not that he really needed it. He could just put his own clothes on when he got out of the tub. Once the robe was hung on the door and Skell was heading off, Akira called after her with an "Okay~" And then he sank into the water until hes head went under before popping right back up. He pulled the stopper as he stood up, shaking his head a little and then wagging his tail to rid himself of all the excess water. His tail wasn't dry by any means but it wasn't dripping at least. It was a bit cool now that he was out of the lukewarm water. It didn't really bother him much though. He had dealt with far colder temperatures before. As he grabbed the robe and pulled it on, which he didn't bother to tie or anything, his pants sort of materialized on him. And then he managed to find himself a towel that he tossed over his head and rubbed around with one hand. His other hand slid against the rail as he headed downstairs. And he could smell the tomato from about halfway down the steps. And he heard mumbles that he couldn't quite identify as words because of the towel he was rubbing over his ears. He was feeling incredibly lazy and relaxed about now, considering everything that had just happened. It must have been the warmth from the bath water or maybe the smell of the bubbles. Or perhaps both even. He still felt a little playful and curious but he wanted to chill now more than he wanted to goof off or anything. It had to be the water working it's warm magic a little late. It could have also been the fact that he was feeling pretty hungry now too though. It was amazing what simply mentioning food could do to a person. Smelling it too, even though it was currently just tomatoes. He stopped in the doorway to the kitchen and leaned against the frame, a lazy grin spreading across his face, still holding the towel on his head. "What'cha makin'?" After a few silent seconds of debate he decided to add, "Need any help?" He may have felt like just tossing himself onto a sofa or something for a nap but he wasn't going to go and do something like that. If he didn't end up helping the most he would actually do was sit down in the chair closest to the counter she worked at. He did actually plan to help out in any way that he could though.

i tried so hard, in spite of the WAY YOU WERE MOCKING ME, ACTING LIKE I WAS PART OF YOUR PROPERTY 630 WORDS skell TAGS ... NOTES in the end - linkin park LYRICS gia <- me CREDITS and even though i tried it all FELL APART, WHAT IT MEANT TO ME WILL EVENTUALLY BE A MEMORY

[Skell]

The water was starting to come to a rolling boil, prompting the noodles to be added to the pot. She wasn't sure how hungry he may have been, but she had a really big appetite all of a sudden.

Man, this was a very interesting first encounter. She wondered if she'd ever even see this Aki fellow again. To have gotten into a situation as they did in the tub moments earlier, it gave off that he was maybe a bit of a player. He definitely knew he could be charming, and do well from there. But at the same time, there was a bit of a timidness to him that completely contradicted that.

Well, since they were going to get down and eat some food soon, she figured that'd be the perfect opportunity to actually do the proper introductions.

She was done chopping up a tomato, and eyed the amount that sat on the cutting board. She didn't want to overdue it with them, so it seemed like it would do. A sound at the kitchen doorway made her stop in her actions, having been completely absorbed in the focus and joy of cooking. A curious head lifted to look over her shoulder and smile at the guy in the frame.

Pants? When had he gotten those? However he did, she was thankful for it.

"Hey there..." she greeted, turning back to the counter, "Making some shrimp scampi. You do like shrimp, no?" It occurred to her that he may be one of the few who tried to stray away from consuming seafood. She hadn't met very many at all that didn't like at least shrimp. It was one of those foods that you couldn't really go wrong with.

"And uhm... hmm... you don't need to help. But if you really wanted to, you could, uhm, oh! You can get some parsley from the fridge and chop it up some. Like you're dicing it." She pointed off with the knife in the direction of the fridge, moving away to retrieve some spices for the shrimp.

"You can use the knife I used for the tomatoes. It's no problem."

As she meandered over to get a bowl to rinse the shrimp out, she figured now would be a good time to casually insert some questions about who he actually was. She had to admit, maybe having him help her out in the kitchen was a bit more awkward for her after their moment in the bathroom, but what was she to do but deal?

Maybe they'd find some commonalities and actually be pretty good friends. Maybe.

"So... Aki... tell me about yourself... you're still very much a stranger in my eyes." A soft laugh, and she hoped he wouldn't shy away from the question.

[Akira Saito]

IN THE END IT DOESN'T EVEN MATTER

[atrb=cellSpacing,20,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 500px; background: url(http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n607/Nekomi-hime/Backgrounds/Seamless_PLaid_0072_by_AvanteGardeArt.jpg); border: 3px dashed #000000, bTable] i know, time is a valuable thing WATCH IT FLY BY AS THE PENDULUM SWINGS, WATCH IT COUNT DOWN TO THE END it's so unreal, didn't look out below WATCH THE TIME GO RIGHT OUT THE WINDOW, TRYING TO HOLD ON BUT DIDN'T EVEN KNOW

He didn't eat seafood all too often, despite liking it so much. It was near the to of his list of favorites, probably because he liked fish so much. It must have been his inner canine. Or did real dog's not really like fish? "Yeah." He paused as he stepped into the room completely and then added, "I like shrimp." And then, after being given a task to do, he pulled the towel down around his neck. His hair was still pretty wet but it was only his ears that bothered him. They felt sort of strange when they were wet but he could only blame himself for that. He had dunked his head into the still slightly sudsy water. He could hear the little bubbles in his ears. Popping. Oh well though, it would dry up. Sooner or later. Hopefully sooner though. Much, much sooner. So he shrugged the feeling off and pulled open the fridge. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for despite not knowing to much about food. Sometimes it was handy to have a dog's nose. He glanced at her over his shoulder, pausing for a second before pulling out the parsley. So she wanted to know more about him. It didn't surprise him. After all, people usually learned a thing or to about one another before going and doing anything. Especially in a tub. Admittedly, he wasn't the greatest chef. He didn't cook very oven or anything like that. But chopping the herb up a little was actually pretty easy and there wasn't much to it. Deciding what to tell Skell about himself was more difficult than the chopping task he had been given. What would he say exactly? There were a lot of things she didn't know about him. All she did really know was his name. And only a small portion of it. That part didn't matter though, since he pretty much went by Aki anyway. Well, actually he went by Akira. But why bother with the '-ra' when Aki was the nickname that was most often used for him. Of course, Akira wasn't the only name he went by anymore. Hell, when he introduced himself to someone his real name wasn't even the first thing he said to the other person. And should he tell her that he was a Heartless? She had talked about heartless beings before like they interested her, so would him being a Heartless make her even more curious? He decided to stick with a more safe bit of dialog for now. "Well, you already know my name. And you already know that I'm a shifter." He paused to think over his words as he finished chopping up the parsley. The last time he had told someone his title, the red-head hadn't quite believed him. Not at first anyway. He wondered how she'd take it. "I'm also known as the Ace of Hearts." He put the knife back down on the counter and turned the face the teenager. "I'm done chopping by the way." And then, as if it were a complete afterthought of some kind, he added, "Anything specific you'd like to know?"

i tried so hard, in spite of the WAY YOU WERE MOCKING ME, ACTING LIKE I WAS PART OF YOUR PROPERTY 550 WORDS skell TAGS ... NOTES in the end - linkin park LYRICS gia <- me CREDITS and even though i tried it all FELL APART, WHAT IT MEANT TO ME WILL EVENTUALLY BE A MEMORY

[Skell]

A hum broke the silence between the two as Aki stooped down to rummage through the fridge for said parsley. A wandering eye peeked from her peripheral to look at him; how nice of him to offer to help, and then actually go forth with it. Maybe he was a nice guy after all...

But she'd hold off on any more judgments until they had actually gotten a good conversation in.

"Mhmm..." she nodded to him as she continued on with running the shrimp through the cold water. Shrimp was just about ready to hit a pan. Sidestepping over to the pot of pasta, now working up to a nice boil itself, she stirred it to assure the noodles wouldn't stick and were evenly gotten to. It wasn't till after she retrieved a pan from one of the cupboards that Aki decided to speak again.

Clack-clack-khh-clack.

"I'm also... Ace of... rts."

Standing up, she tilted a head at him, bouncing the pan in her hand. Damn timing in getting her appliance. Did he say... "Ace of Hearts?" What did that mean?

Deciding to ponder on it before she asked if she heard right, she returned her attention to the shrimp, setting the pan on the stove and flickering on the burner. It was on a low temperature, otherwise the shrimp would cook too quickly and the shrimp would taste like rubber.

Just a little bit of olive oil to grease up the pan, making sure the spices were handy, too, and the shrimp was ready to simmer. Her face brightened up at the announcement of the completion of his task.

"Oh! Great!" she gracefully directed some shrimp to fall in the pan and skipped over to the fridge to get a lemon, "If you could scrape the vegetables into the pan, that'd be great! And... I do have a few questions, I suppose. I mean... can you elaborate on the last thing you said? Ace of Hearts, yeah? Is that a work title you go under?"

She mused for a bit what sort of job would have such a name, and a laugh left her.

"You're not like an... exotic dancer, are you?"

[Akira Saito]

IN THE END IT DOESN'T EVEN MATTER

[atrb=cellSpacing,20,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 500px; background: url(http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n607/Nekomi-hime/Backgrounds/Seamless_PLaid_0072_by_AvanteGardeArt.jpg); border: 3px dashed #000000, bTable] i know, time is a valuable thing WATCH IT FLY BY AS THE PENDULUM SWINGS, WATCH IT COUNT DOWN TO THE END it's so unreal, didn't look out below WATCH THE TIME GO RIGHT OUT THE WINDOW, TRYING TO HOLD ON BUT DIDN'T EVEN KNOW

He scooped up the veggies that had been chopped up, careful not to drop any or let the juices drip. he caught a whiff of the shrimp as the tomatoes were dropped into the pan. Not a very powerful whiff though, since the parsley was still attacking his nose. The parsley sort of took away from anything else he might have been able to smell. All the other scents in the room were sort of dull. That would change once it all began to come together though. The smells would meld together until it smelled like Scampi. Whatever Scampi was supposed to smell like. He wasn't sure but he figured the shrimp would be much more noticeable once everything really started cooking. That's what usually happened. The scents would meld and blend, bringing out the better in each other. It would smell pretty good in the end. He was pretty much certain about that. "Exotic dancer?" He looked over his shoulder at Skell, raising an eyebrow. He decided against the first response that came to mind. If he went and said that it could take away from the more relaxed atmosphere that had formed. He thought it seemed relaxed at least. Much more so than the awkwardness that had existed when she'd first gotten out of the tub. Or maybe she still felt awkward and was just hiding it. Or she hadn't felt as awkward as much as he'd thought she was when she'd left the bathroom before. He wasn't sure. Either way though, the first comment that came to mind certainly wouldn't make things better, he was sure. So he decided to go with something else. "It is a work title, yes. I'm a personal guard. Uh, body guard I guess." Speaking of being a body guard, he wasn't doing a very good job right about now. Not that he was truly even needed most of the time anyway.

i tried so hard, in spite of the WAY YOU WERE MOCKING ME, ACTING LIKE I WAS PART OF YOUR PROPERTY 330 WORDS skell TAGS ... NOTES in the end - linkin park LYRICS gia <- me CREDITS and even though i tried it all FELL APART, WHAT IT MEANT TO ME WILL EVENTUALLY BE A MEMORY

[Skell]

Skell took a step back as she watched Aki scrape the vegetables off of the board and into the frying pan. A smile couldn't help but form at the sight. A man, willing to cook? Reminded her of her father... but that's because he was the responsible sort of fellow. Maybe Aki was, too.

"Yess... an exotic dancer, haha, I'm only kidding though..." the pasta was now rolling over itself, queuing her to pour the water out. She grabbed at the handles and lifted the pot off of the stove, carrying it over to the sink and draining it. She was careful as she tilted it, to not have to get a strainer to assure none of the noodles spilled. This meant that she had prolonged exposure to the steam, which sent a tingle up her spine and flushed her cheeks. It made her hum and roll her neck a little from the chill, and soon the noodles were alone in the pot. Moving it back to the stove, now turning the burner off on that spot, she leaned against the counter to face the wolfish character.

"A personal guard, huh?" she laughed, relating it to the earlier joked-about occupation. His quick clarification made her grin, holding back a giggle, "Ah... a bodyguard..." she could still make a joke about that, but she decided against it.

"What is it, your day off? Where's your master? Doesn't quite have a tight leash around you, eh?" She looked down at the towel still wrapped around her and loosened it a bit to examine the dryness of her slip. Figuring it was dry enough, she pulled the towel completely off and wrapped it around her shoulders instead to keep her warm. She got cold so easily -- it sucked being petite sometimes.

"Where you from, anyway? Beings like you don't exactly roam these parts..." she stirred the vegetables with the shrimp in the simmering pan as she waited for his response. She was genuinely curious. There was something about him that was mysteriously appealing that must have driven her to do half those things in the bathroom.

[Akira Saito]

IN THE END IT DOESN'T EVEN MATTER

[atrb=cellSpacing,20,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 500px; background: url(http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n607/Nekomi-hime/Backgrounds/Seamless_PLaid_0072_by_AvanteGardeArt.jpg); border: 3px dashed #000000, bTable] i know, time is a valuable thing WATCH IT FLY BY AS THE PENDULUM SWINGS, WATCH IT COUNT DOWN TO THE END it's so unreal, didn't look out below WATCH THE TIME GO RIGHT OUT THE WINDOW, TRYING TO HOLD ON BUT DIDN'T EVEN KNOW

Once he was done with the second task he was given he leaned against the counter a bit, watching as the dark-haired teenager poured the steaming water from the pot of noodles. Again, his initially thought response to being an exotic dancer came to mind, though he shrugged it off once again. He chuckled. "Well, I'm not an exotic dancer." It was quiet between the two as she moved to put the pot of noodles back on the stove and leaned against the counter herself. He occupied himself with picking the pan of vegetables and shrimp up from the burner just enough to swirl the contents around a little. To keep anything from sticking and whatnot. He wasn't going to try any of that stuff he had seen done before. He put the pan back down when Skell laughed and he nodded his head at her inquiry of his job, leaning against the counter again and putting on hand in the pocket of the robe he was wearing. His other hand rubbed the towel against his ear. "It's not an official day off, I simply left his side to do as I pleased for a while." Yeah, he sounded like a great watchdog, didn't he. Just leaving his 'masters' side to do as he liked. If he were an actual dog he'd have been tossed to the curb by now, he was sure of it. "It's not like he actually owns me. Though he may believe otherwise." He wasn't completely positive to be honest, though he was fairly sure the King thought he belonged to him alone. That was only partially true though. He stayed by the King's side most of the time and usually did as he was told but he didn't actually belong to anyone. "Anyway, he's not around here." And it was probably a very good thing the blonde wasn't around. It might have ended very badly if the man had been around. Especially if he had seen what happened. Yeah, that might have been terrible. It might have been the end of his Heartless days. The end of his days altogether actually. Skell might not have survived the encounter either. Even if he wasn't killed along with her, he'd probably wish that he was dead. Not only because it would have been his fault the girl was killed but because... well, because there was no telling what the King might do to him. It was a good thing that he was asked another question, one that got his mind to leave those thoughts behind. "I'm... not from around here. I'm from pretty far away, actually." Very, very far away too.

i tried so hard, in spite of the WAY YOU WERE MOCKING ME, ACTING LIKE I WAS PART OF YOUR PROPERTY 460 WORDS skell TAGS ... NOTES in the end - linkin park LYRICS gia <- me CREDITS and even though i tried it all FELL APART, WHAT IT MEANT TO ME WILL EVENTUALLY BE A MEMORY

[Skell]

My was he persistent. Yes, she gathered that he wasn't an exotic dancer the first time around. Perhaps he was slightly embarrassed of the idea, or maybe he actually was and was truly trying to deceive her.

"Can you even dance?" she raised a brow at him, reaching for a wooden spoon to stir the simmering shrimp and vegetables. The shrimp was a good shade of pink, and the tomatos and parsley were just cooked enough that they wouldn't lose their fresh taste. Turning off the stove, she lifted the pan and went ahead and dumped its contents into the pot of noodles. Proceeding to stir everything together, she leaned over the counter to grab at a bottle of olive oil against the wall and poured some liberally in the pot.

Oh. Nothing beats a good bottle of olive oil.

"Just about done... You mind if I borrow your height?" Reaching up, she opened the door to the cupboard and pointed up at the stack of bowls and plates, "Would be really awesome if you could... and I'm still listening..." She went over to the fridge and, getting on her tip toes, reached for a jar of a ground substance. She then went over again to the spice cabinet and grabbed a small shaker of some sort. She opened the jar first and, by grabbing a fistful of the brown crumbles, she sifted it into the pot. Breadcrumbs.

Putting that back, she lifted the small shaker to her nose and sighed. Mint. She sifted some of that into the pot as well before she returned that, and all the other spices she had taken out from before, to the cupboard.

So, she gathered that he was ditching work for the day. What a rebel! And what did he do on his day off? Choose to spend it goofing off with her. Why, she wasn't sure whether to seem flattered or... well, guess there really was no alternative to that. Wasn't like he just went up and left. Although, the free food could have been incentive enough for him to want to stay.

"Sounds like your master is in love with you or something... you his personal lapdog, too?" she paused, staring at the pot as she stirred, wondering what that would have meant for their little run-in in the tub. Depending on his orientation, that could have really meant nothing. Not like she took it to mean something. She was just having fun, too. Granted, she still had a hunger for a little bit more... "Guess you do seem kind of the submissive type."

Saying that helped her keep her interests down. She wasn't one for being dominant in those situations unless they kept switching off. Not wanting to prove herself wrong by going over the events in her head, she stopped and went on to his next statement.

"So then, Aki... where you from?" She brought the pot over to the small, white circular table that rested in the middle of the kitchen, placing a hot plate down on it to protect the wood beneath the paint. Now that the conversation was taking a different turn, her suspicions of there being something else about him returned to her. "Any chance of me hopping on the train to get there? I really need to get out of here..."

The last sentence was more of a mumble, really. All of it was completely true. She really wanted to get out there, to inquire in her studies. There'd be more for her to learn about heartless beings outside of Twilight Town.

But little did she know that she had a Heartless in front of her as she took her seat, forks in hand.

[Akira Saito]

IN THE END IT DOESN'T EVEN MATTER

[atrb=cellSpacing,20,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 500px; background: url(http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n607/Nekomi-hime/Backgrounds/Seamless_PLaid_0072_by_AvanteGardeArt.jpg); border: 3px dashed #000000, bTable] i know, time is a valuable thing WATCH IT FLY BY AS THE PENDULUM SWINGS, WATCH IT COUNT DOWN TO THE END it's so unreal, didn't look out below WATCH THE TIME GO RIGHT OUT THE WINDOW, TRYING TO HOLD ON BUT DIDN'T EVEN KNOW

The smells had all come together quite nicely as the ingredients simmered in the pan. He could smell each individual thing now, rather than the parsley covering the other scents. The fragrance was even more noticeable when the contents of the pan were added to the noodles in the pot. "I've never given dancing much though, honestly." The olive oil was added to the pot of what would soon be food to eat. Sometimes it was nice to be semi-tall. Like now. He wasn't his tallest in this form but he was tall enough to reach the higher shelves in typical houses and such. Using his height as directed, he got two of the plates down easily enough. He couldn't help but wonder, "Why do you keep them up so high? The plates." He watched the breadcrumbs being added to the pot, followed by some mint. He had never eaten this particular dish before so he wasn't sure what normally went in it, but it sure smelled good. He almost couldn't wait to taste it. Of course, he was more patient then that though. And it was a good thing he wasn't human because he might have dropped the plates when he turned from the table to face her. He had been just about to put plates down when something Skell said had caught his attention. Well that certainly took his off guard and he deadpanned. "Submissive... I'm no ones lapdog." Indeed he wasn't really the King's lapdog. Being called the King's 'little toy' would probably be more accurate. Sure, he did as he was told like any good dog would but that didn't make him a lapdog. Right? He wasn't nearly that dependent or clingy. As for being a 'toy' well... "Besides. How he feels is irrelevant right now anyway." Wait. Maybe he shouldn't have said that. It could have been taken in so many different ways. It was too late to take it back now though, so he'd just have to get over his little 'slip' and deal with whatever came of it. He was pretty sure he could handle pretty much anything now that something like being a submissive lapdog and come up. What could be worse than have someone call him that? And after all their fun no less. He turned back to the table and put the plates down, one in front of where Skell sat down and one on front of where he was standing. The he followed her example and took a seat. Mention of his home and a possible train ride there took him from his previous thoughts. She definitely wouldn't be able to travel to his home world by train. Even if it was still around. He didn't really have a home to mention, other than wherever the King happened to be and that didn't need to be brought up. "A train won't take you to where I'm from. The place doesn't exist anymore." He ladled some of the pasta onto each of their plates. "I just travel around now."

i tried so hard, in spite of the WAY YOU WERE MOCKING ME, ACTING LIKE I WAS PART OF YOUR PROPERTY 530 WORDS skell TAGS ... NOTES in the end - linkin park LYRICS gia <- me CREDITS and even though i tried it all FELL APART, WHAT IT MEANT TO ME WILL EVENTUALLY BE A MEMORY

[Skell]

"Is that so...?" Skell thankfully watched him, her chin resting on a palm being set upright off the table. He didn't seem the clumsy sort at all. Too many a times had she tried dancing with people, out of politeness or a force driven by a superior of some sort, and fell victim to crushed toes and scratched ankles, "We'll have to go dancing sometime, then... it'll be fun. Maybe a ball of some sort, those things pop up often enough."

And before she responded to his inquiry, her eyes went from his outstretched arm to the cabinets. It really did make little sense as to why she had them stored so high. But, then again, it wasn't quite her doing, "My father likes them that high. Or, that's where they've been all my life -- my folks have been indescribably busy with things, I never see them around anymore. Only by a stroke of luck or something I'll see them here," she wrinkled her nose. This place could get lonely every once in a while, "I've usually had to use a chair to reach up and get it, or step on to the counter to do so. And that can be fun. Gotta get exercise somehow."

She took particular notice of his reaction following the mention of submissiveness. It made her worry a little that she had offended him, and even a slight blush crossed her cheeks to show that worry. Eyes didn't meet his to avoid a possible upset look, and instead she kept her gaze at the dishes he set before them.

"I don't mean to offend... if I did... I mean, you just seemed, back up there -- " How on earth was she to phrase this? Honestly, she had no clue. In the tub, he didn't seem like a forthright guy -- but he had gone up and just posed himself nude in her tub. But he didn't seem completely submissive -- even though he frowned at her advances. Made his next comment well-received. Which is funny, because if she wasn't so searching for words to say, she may have been more taken aback. I mean -- was he gay?

"Irrelevant? Why's that? I mean, if you like the guy..." It made her frown a little, not wanting to meet his eyes a tad bit more. It wasn't as though she had expected anything from up there to flower into something deeper. She knew it was just for fun, she told herself that. But the more she talked with him, the more she discovered things that confirmed her feeling that there was just more to his story.

Bidding him a soft thank you as he served her, she set a fork gently by his plate. Her eyes flickered up to his face for a split second, and as though she were caught she flickered them back up, giving him a cute and maybe slightly forced smile before she twirled some noodles about her fork.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I'd love to hear what happened, but I'm sure you don't want to share something so dark when you're eating... but you know, you're welcome to bum around here if you need a place to stay."

She wish she could eat her words. That must have been the kind, compassionate side of her talking, and not her brain. She didn't know whether or not it'd be a good thing to have him here more often. He was nice company, but... well... a part of her wanted him to consider it. In fighting back her own thoughts, she placed the swirled noodles in her mouth and chewed. Not bad...

[OoC: ... I definitely almost replied to this in Axel's account...]

[Akira Saito]

IN THE END IT DOESN'T EVEN MATTER

[atrb=cellSpacing,20,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 500px; background: url(http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n607/Nekomi-hime/Backgrounds/Seamless_PLaid_0072_by_AvanteGardeArt.jpg); border: 3px dashed #000000, bTable] i know, time is a valuable thing WATCH IT FLY BY AS THE PENDULUM SWINGS, WATCH IT COUNT DOWN TO THE END it's so unreal, didn't look out below WATCH THE TIME GO RIGHT OUT THE WINDOW, TRYING TO HOLD ON BUT DIDN'T EVEN KNOW

Akira let his expression meld back into a small smile, interested and inquiring. "Perhaps we should." He had only been to a few formal things such as fancy balls and the like, none of which he had actually danced at. He had always stayed off by the sidelines, talking to his closest friends. The only reason he had gone at all was to keep up appearances. It had been considered rude for students not to attend the events after all. Even so, he didn't imagine dancing would be all that hard. It looked pretty easy actually. He really had no response to give after listening to speak about her family. He had never had an actually family for one. And, well, he didn't really see the point of using a chair all the time when the dishes could just be moved lower. "I see," was the only response that came to mind at all really. What else was there for him to say? He couldn't help but chuckle at the blush that creped onto her face and the way she tried to amend what she had said just moments before. Though there was really no need for her to do such a thing. It had just taken him of guard, that was all. "Oh, no offence at all. I'm sorry if I led you to believe otherwise." The inquiries themselves hadn't really bothered him in the slightest. He had no qualms about himself or anything like that, not that he tended to reveal his sexuality flat out either. Good looking guys probably assumed he was gay, since he tended to flirt whenever he was in the mood. Though some took it as him simply fooling around or goofing off. And the girls whom he took an interest in... well, he wasn't sure now. His attitude did usually depend on the girl and his mood. Many probably assumed him straight while others, apparently, weren't quite so sure. This was one such case where the girl didn't seem too sure. And her not being too sure led him to a spot where he wasn't quite sure how to answer. At least she hadn't taken his comment in the worst possible way though, as it would have been even more difficult that this. As it was, there were a few ways this could go as well. "Why? Because he isn't here. Or..." He only trailed off a few seconds before adding, "Does my liking him or not change something?" His tone was playful enough, attempts to keep the mood light despite the topic that was being spoken of. Without that playful tone his response might have been taken as him being upset. He didn't want that. He nodded at the soft words of appreciation before settling in his own chair and picking up the fork she had placed next to his plate. He thought about what, exactly, to say as he took his first bite of the scampi. It was as good as he thought it would be, if not better. He had based the way he thought it would taste based on the scent of the dish and he wasn't disappointed by the taste. Once he swallowed, he began, "It's nothing for you to worry about. The place was destroyed a while ago." It hadn't really been all too long, but to him it was long enough. Especially since he didn't really care anymore. He had stopped caring about his home world when he became a Heartless. "I actually enjoy wandering around. I find it entertaining. And I would hate to impose on you too much."

i tried so hard, in spite of the WAY YOU WERE MOCKING ME, ACTING LIKE I WAS PART OF YOUR PROPERTY 620 WORDS skell TAGS i've made similar near-mistakes before myself. NOTES in the end - linkin park LYRICS gia <- me CREDITS and even though i tried it all FELL APART, WHAT IT MEANT TO ME WILL EVENTUALLY BE A MEMORY

[Skell]

A soft and cute smile curled on her lips as she twirled her fork again about a piece of shrimp. This guy would probably look pretty damn good in a suit or tux. Not that it was hard to do so. Her fetish of those penguin suits made it hard to not look good, though she was usually really good about keeping herself at bay.

But that's what she thought before the situation happened upstairs. She may not be so masterful with this guy.

For example, his chuckle made her smile a bit more, and her cheeks to pink further. "Yeah... I wasn't sure... good you're not offended, though. Wouldn't want that..." The topic had gone past the inquiry of whether he was more submissive or not, and from his previous reaction she gathered that he probably was not. She must have caught him to be unsure before, or maybe it's because he wasn't straight that he behaved the way he did. Truly trying to solely have fun. Try something different.

But his dwelling on the subject was sure enough to drive plenty of doubt into her mind. She froze, the fork lifted to her lips with shrimp idling there on the tip, big browns blinking at him. Change something? Would it? Nah... She knew it was all for fun... couldn't change anything... Yet she found herself to grow a little nervous.

"Change anything?" she put the food hastily in her mouth to give it something to do, bringing a hand up over her lips to cover them as they worked. Not like she ate with her mouth open, no that wasn't polite. It was just an odd movement that helped her think. In all honesty, his liking his master would probably change something. She'd probably be more forthright with him in her promiscuousness (or as promiscuous as one can be with just one person) -- not huge things though. Little things, like touching his shoulder, scratching behind his ear, maybe even just playful teasing. But right now, it sounded like he was just playing with her. So she really couldn't be sure of anything.

"Hmm..." she finally said after swallowing, setting herself another forkful, "I don't understand what you mean. What is there to change?" She lied. It was just another stalling for her to wait on after her explained a little bit about his home world. She had to admit, she'd probably be a bit conflicted if Twilight Town was all of a sudden a bundle of smoke and ash: on the one hand, she'd hope to be off in another world, and that'd be awesome, but on the other hand, it was the place she knew as and called "home."

And it sounded like he quite enjoyed the freedom of not having a home. Her eyes flickered at him for a moment before she caught her gaze and rolled them back to inspect the nails of her free hand. "Well, if you ever find yourself in need of a home, or something, feel free to just hop on by. The immediate neighbors around here aren't the most welcoming -- older, and what have you." True, some were senior citizens that mainly kept to themselves. A couple actually liked Skell a bit because she took the time every once in a while to join them for a little chit chat over tea, and maybe draw them up something nice in lieu of going to the store. But there were other neighbors who Skell could care less for -- the pompous sort.

She unexpectedly but gracefully pushed herself away from the table and made her way back to the fridge, "Would you like something to drink?" She took the options out one by one: orange juice, milk, apple cider, cranberry juice. They sat on the counter as she tiptoed up to an open cupboard bearing cups. She was too lazy to pull up a chair, so balancing on one set of toes, the other leg bent up behind her as an odd thing people do when they reach, would have to do. She'd get a couple cups eventually. She nearly had one after all.