Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was a reassuring thing to hear her say. Despite the fact he'd promised himself going into this that he was not going to let anybody wreck it, least of all his dad, there had still been nagging worries about it that were hard to quiet.

As she went on, he flushed and looked away, giving a chuff of laughter. "I'll be honest, that's the only part of it I remember writing in the end. "But I meant it like I've never meant anything before." It was also the part he'd spent an hour on trying to come up with the right way to word it, only to realize in the end that there really was only one way -to- word it.


It was also becoming apparent that a lengthy walk really didn't seem to be on either of their minds at this point with the way they seemed to be stopping every two steps.

And, really, do you want to spend the day doing what you usually do when she's NOT here? he chided himself.

"So....feel like heading back?" he offered, giving her an out in case she was feeling similarly.

To be perfectly honest, he wanted to. And whether she was doing it intentionally or not, she wasn't helping him decide otherwise at the moment. Nonetheless, he gave what sounded like a flustered-sounding chuckle as he followed after her.

"Yeah...think we are."

He supposed he still had a lot to learn about girls and how to behave around them. At least he knew enough not to listen to Kendall's advice....he was sure anybody who was not Ken would agree that it was a good place to start. Hell, given the way he was feeling at the moment, he didn't even want to THINK about what Ken would be telling him he should do.

"Any idea on what you'd want to watch later?" he asked, trying to kickstart the conversation before things grew awkwardly silent.

He thought for a moment and then shook his head. "Can't say I have." he admitted. "And can't say I've ever ordered Pay-per-view either, but it can be a night of firsts, I guess."

He looked in the direction she was, blinking at the fairies in question in surprise even as they flitted out of view, apparently not liking to be watched. Either they were far from home, or being around Nani was opening his mind to seeing what previously hadn't been there before...

He gave her hand a squeeze in response. "You think so?" he said, lowering his voice so as not to frighten them. "I mean, they kinda look like they want nothing to do with me..."

His eye fell to the offered phone and he chewed his lip thoughtfully. "You know what? Let's head back." he told her, looking over his shoulder. "I dunno why, but for some reason I just don't feel like wandering today."

"Well, he's gone for the weekend, so I guess his opinion doesn't count." he heard himself say. He knew it sounded a bit cranky, but when it came to his dad anymore he WAS cranky.

"Besides," he went on, putting a hand on her shoulder as they walked. "You've let me get away from stress two times now at your place, its about time I returned the favor at least once."

He stepped a bit closer, loosely linking his arms about her waist as they walked. "I think you've got every right to be stressed." he told her. "I mean, you've got Seiji to chase around, and now Ren too, and you're doing it mostly by yourself."

His arms tightened a bit, giving her a half-hearted hug. "You're a good mother, Nani. You deserve to relax now and then, though."

He felt himself flush, quickening his step to walk alongside her as the woods around them lessened back into the park area. "If it weren't for you, I probably would still be thinking reading poignant graffiti in abandoned houses was the high point of my life." he laughed, looking over at her as they headed in the direction of the sidewalk.

"And I'm always going to be grateful for that. I love you too, Nani." he finished, the joking edge smoothing out of his voice.