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 Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 6:49 pm
For a moment she watched as the color swept across his cheeks tinting them a color that matched his uniform well. It was adorable in a way to see his eyes look anywhere but her own. A part of her wanted to bring attention to that fact but decided against tormenting him when he was clearly embarrassed.
“Alphekka Meridiana,” she replied with a bit of a lopsided smile. “It’s a bit of a mouthful to say let alone remember. I’m pretty sure nobody, not even the officers in the negaverse, realise how long it actually is. Some simply call me Meridiana or Meri.” However, civilians that she met up with for a date knew her by a different spelling as her profile was set as Mary Diana instead.
“A part of me wants to know your name, but the other is hesitant to ask.” If Zinkenite or another general found out that she was flirting with a white moon senshi and asked who he was, she would have to tell them his name; especially if it was her Sovereign. Unlike Whisler who was looking to find ways of returning to the Negaverse, if someone accused her of pursuing purification as Valeria did a few years ago, it could put him in danger. He is too kind hearted for such a place where monsters frolic and played.
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Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 6:50 pm
He had memorized her name the moment she spoke it, but he nodded as she spoke anyway. "What would you like for me to call you?" he asked, eyes back on hers. He could have called her any of those names. Alphekka Meridiana, Meridiana, Meri.
They were all beautiful.
He wanted to give her his name; he wanted her to know who he was. He didn't want to be strangers. It wasn't equal, it wasn't fair if he took her name but didn't offer his own.
...Although, he wasn't going to do anything nefarious with that information. He didn't know what the Negaverse could do with his name.
"...I would give you my name, if you asked. I would trust you with it. But if you are worried it would end badly, you could call me 'A'."
It was the only reason he could think she might be hesitant, if someone else was involved.
"...But if they really wanted to know, I'm sure they could track me by my description. I don't know who knows of me. Or if they think I'm dead. Or if they never knew I existed at all."
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Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 6:52 pm
’A’? The corrupt smiled and let out a soft laugh. I suppose that means his name is already short as is. So much so that a nickname couldn’t be made from it like hers.
“Would you call me, not by my true name, but by my full name? Meridiana, not Meri.” Nicknames were often used by friends who had known each other for a while. Even if they were at that point, her feelings for him were inexplicably different than those she felt towards Arabia or Noctua. For some reason she felt like it wouldn’t sound right coming from him.
“If you wish to tell me your name I will hold it close to my heart and guard it fiercely. But you must do so knowing that my loyalty is to my Sovereign and I won’t lie to him.” To any other than Zinkenite she would deny knowing who he was over and over, but she owed her life Zink… to Zac.
She was out here collecting information for him. Not because he asked it of her but because it was one of the few things she could do, especially now that she had the medallion to help her ease in and out of situations without being noticed. All Zink had ever asked of her was to be safe and be more aware of her surroundings.
But then she ran into Adria and now all she wanted to do was wear the necklace and pretend she wasn’t a corrupt just so he could hold her in his arms and hide her from this war they found themselves tangled up in.
“I’m not going to try to convince you to corrupt or abandon your cause. But whatever this is between us, I’m not ready for it to end yet.” Not until she could figure out exactly what this was.
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Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 6:53 pm
Adria nodded. "...Nor am I," he replied. He was in the same boat as her; he didn't know what this was, and he wasn't willing to let it slip through his fingers until he knew it was worth losing. It was hard to evaluate what he was thinking, feeling, when his heart was still pounding. He didn't think it was a spell--not one cast by her, at least. But it was unlike anything he'd ever felt, and that meant he needed to sit down and process it.
Adria was not the sort to make rash decisions; he needed to sit and ponder and stew. Contemplate, and process.
Make a decision after the facts. Maybe after talking it out with someone else. Though, he was reminded that he didn't exactly have anyone he could speak to. Maybe Lysithea, but she might just think he was crazy.
...He felt a little crazy.
He felt like telling her his name.
Logically, it was a bad idea. She had said that her loyalties were to someone else. Someone dangerous.
...Someone who wouldn't care about a bug like him. Probably.
He drew in a breath and stood up a little straighter as if it would give him more confidence.
"It's Adria," he said after a few seconds. "...My name, I mean."
...He had to tell her, after all. It might be the only thing of him she'd be able to hold close to her heart.
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Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 6:53 pm
Hearing him speak his name caused a mix of emotions to stir within her. “Adria,” she repeated. Testing the sound of his name with her own voice.
Like a butterfly’s wings, Meridiana’s heartbeat fluttered inside her chest. A genuine smile tugged the corners of her lips as she looked up at him and for a moment it felt like a single key had been slid into place. One secret among many and while the lock remained unopened it felt like this was a step in the right direction.
“I like it,” She rose up onto her toes and gave him a soft yet brief kiss on his cheek then settled herself against him with her head against his shoulder. “I think it suits you very well.”
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Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 6:54 pm
Adria had a fresh smile on his face, faint and sheepish; he could get used to her kisses.
It was a dangerous game, and one he found himself desperate to play. He needed to eat something, to take a long shower, to sleep on it. He knew it, and yet she was a sweet poison he couldn't find the power to reject.
"As does Meridiana, you. It's nice to have a name to the face."
As she rested against him, he draped his arms around her again. "...I think I like being with you. Maybe more than I should. And I don't really understand it," he confessed; he was quieter than usual, as though he felt a little guilty about it. He trusted her enough to tell her, though, instead of parting with that secret heavy on his mind.
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Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 6:55 pm
“Maybe it’s not something that’s meant to be understood. Perhaps we’re supposed to just follow our hearts instead of our minds and see where it takes us.” Both were at such odds with each other.
Feelings versus reason... Sanity versus insanity.
Where one knew that there could be terrible outcomes if they took this too far, but the other desperately wanted to believe that there could also be a happy ending. Meridiana had been playing the role of a Succubus for so long that she had at some point lost sight of who she was leaving her to wonder if she deserved his kindness or attention.
There wasn’t a name for the warmth that radiated inside her, all she knew was that being here felt right, as if this was where she was meant to be. Despite her aura wanting to push away from him her heart simply begged her to stay. Whistler had given her similar feelings but her thoughts kept coming back to Adria, and now that she had found him, the last thing Meridiana wanted to do was let him go.
But time was ever fleeting and nights were getting colder still and when the sun rose over the horizon, they could not be found here together.
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Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 6:55 pm
For a long moment, Adria considered this. There was no one around, at least so far as he could tell. He didn't think that wearing the medallion would have disrupted his ability to sense anyone else, but it was a niggling thought in the back of his head that seemed to rise to the forefront of his awareness.
"Maybe," he agreed, sighing heavily. "...Sometimes I have a hard time separating the two."
But then, sometimes neither made sense.
They had spent so much time together already, he couldn't help but worry that someone might see them. Someone might grow suspicious.
"I should give you back your necklace," he said; at least, then, no one could observe the oddity of their company given their differing energy signatures.
He should do a lot of things.
Instead, he remained holding her, thinking about them.
"...Is it strange if I say that I think saying goodbye is going to be difficult tonight?"
...What was he supposed to say, after all? ‘See you soon?’ There was no way to know who would be where, or when--and if her loyalties were to Zinkenite, it would be unwise to plan anything in advance. While he trusted her, he didn’t trust the Negaverse, or what they might do for information.
Even for someone so insignificant as him.
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Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 6:55 pm
"Lets not say goodbye then." Meridiana's hands held on to the back of his coat as she leaned her head back to look up at him. "Never goodbye. Always 'I'll see you again soon'." It would make parting a little easier knowing it would not be the last time seeing Adria.
"Whistler has taken me to his wonder once before. Perhaps, if your willing to allow me to visit, we can run away to yours for a day or two?" It would at least allow them some semblance of privacy to further explore this attraction they had without having to look over their shoulder in worry.
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Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 6:56 pm
Adria had the time for that; without a job or school to tend to, it would have been easy to escape for a day or two. He could tell his family he was staying with a friend. He could tell his friends he was staying with his family. If it ever even came up.
“I’ve never been to my world,” he confessed after a moment. “...I’ve never really had the occasion. I mean, I’ve wanted to go,” he insisted. He wanted to see it, to take pictures of it, to know if it was as beautiful as the other worlds he’d heard of. He wanted to explore it, and have an adventure. To be a part of something bigger than himself.
Only, he’d never wanted to go alone, and now that he had the energy and drive to go, he couldn’t seem to find time to line up with anyone else’s schedule.
...But he needed to make sure it was safe before he was taking guests up there. He didn’t want to teleport her into a trap.
“I’ll go soon, though. Let me go and make sure that it’s habitable.” It was the best he could do to make sure that it was safe for them up there. “...And then, if it is, I’ll take you there?”
...Maybe, by then, he’d have a better idea of what was going on inside his head, his heart, right now.
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Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 6:57 pm
"Deal," She smiled up at him with a soft expression. But hidden behind those deep blue eyes was seed of worry that she was fighting hard not to allow bloom into a flower of fear.
"You pick a day and time," The hold she had in the back if his coat loosened. "And we will make a date of it." One way or another she would be here waiting.
That was one thing she did envy about the Senshi and their knights. Unlike them she had no place of her own that was safe to take him. She could not access the Dark Kingdom without help and the creatures of the Rift wanted to devour her as much as they would want to tear him apart. Even Destiny City was no place for a young woman like her especially at night. They were at least lucky in that regard.
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Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 6:57 pm
For a moment, he just considered. There were arrangements he'd planned, or things he thought he might have planned. He was working around them, trying to imagine a calendar. "...Three weeks from now? I know it's a bit away, but it's inconspicuous."
It would give him time to prepare, to consider, to talk to people. To visit his homeworld--finally--and make sure that it was worth taking someone there. If it was a horrible place, laden with only destruction or debris or trash, he'd have to think of something else.
...But if it was beautiful...
He was hopeful, and determined--a strange combination given how nervous and antsy he also seemed to be. He looked at Meridiana. "At nine, maybe? If it's not too late? No tricks, no traps. Maybe some camping supplies, if we're going up for a night, but I'll take care of that. Will that plan work for you? --I'm flexible," he assured. "I can free something else up if you can't make that time."
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Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 7:00 pm
Meridiana nodded her head, “Three weeks from today will work. I will meet you here.” Like when she visited Whistlers wonder, she would bring enough food for them to share.
“It will be easy enough for me to ask for time off.” Her job was fairly flexible in that it wasn’t something she needed to survive. Coming from a family with old money a job was just a means to pass the time and as such she typically set her own hours.
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Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 7:01 pm
Adria seemed to be taking a moment extra to guarantee that he logged this date in his mind. He wouldn't forget, it was engraved on his heart, but it wasn't going to stop him from being extra determined not to forget it. He'd write it down when he got home, too.
Just in case.
"All right," he said, chancing a small smile.
He had to go to his homeworld. He had to stop making excuses. He had to make sure it was perfect.
He was tired of letting people down--friends, himself, strangers.
He wasn't going to let Meridiana down.
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Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 7:01 pm
“It’s a date.” She rose up on her toes and brushed her lips softly against Adria’s cheek. One memorable kiss for tonight was enough, no need for her to get greedy otherwise it would just make it harder to say goodbye.
“Although, I won’t complain if I see you before then either.” Meridiana admitted with a smile that made her eyes shine with a hopefulness that was hard to miss. They did live in Destiny City afterall, a place where anything could happen.
With great regret the corrupt withdrew from his warm embrace. “Until we meet again, please be safe.”
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