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 Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 7:49 am
He'd done it on purpose! Akio had intended to worry her that he was proposing and the realization had her wrinkling her nose and shoving him again.
"Jerk," she grumbled, pushing him again until she could force him to scoot along the booth and was more or less on the opposite side of it instead of being right next to her. "For that scare you get to sit over there. For the rest of dinner."
She wrinkled her nose at him, going far enough to stick her tongue out at him. "Let's hope you're lucky enough that you get a chance," she teased, then more softly and certainly more fondly beneath her breath, "dummy."
Taking a moment to appreciate the jewelry her boyfriend so thoughtfully bought her, she ran her finger over the pendant before reaching to touch the shells that Bob had given her. She could wear both, she was certain.
"Now you're just sucking up but I'm still mad at you. No more kisses for you."
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 7:59 am
"Hey --- aw, c'mon baby."
The smile lingered but was less bright than it'd started as she separated the two of them, scooting far enough away that he could hardly even brush against her foot beneath the table.
Offering the best sad eyes he could muster, his head tilted and his bottom lip stuck out while his girlfriend's attention dropped down to the necklace instead of her playful boyfriend. "What's to suck up? I'm only telling the truth - besides, you still have to meet my parents too, y'know."
Drinks were brought, along with a basket of fresh bread. Dinner orders were slowly taken and soon Akio found himself grabbing a roll and nipping off the end as he watched his girlfriend be determined enough to keep herself away from him through the duration of their dinner.
"No more kisses for me - what about kisses from me? Not even a goodnight one at the end of the date?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 9:12 am
Rory was too preoccupied with fiddling with the necklace and clasping it around her neck to pay attention to her boyfriend's sad eyes and she only looked up when he mentioned his parents.
"You haven't even properly met Pops." She pointed out, complete with a sassy look. Every meeting with her father had been brief and under bad circumstances, like when she kept letting him sleep over despite her dad's wishes.
They kept meaning to have dinner so she could properly introduce them, but with Pops on overnighters it was hard.
She held up a finger and wagged it at him. "No kisses to or from you. Period." She waited until he nodded his head before taking some bread for herself and nibbling on it. Most of it went uneaten but an attempt was made.
"If you're good, maybe I'll reconsider."
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 5:53 pm
"I'll be on my best behavior, promise."
He offered the most sincere smile he could muster - after all, he was at risk of losing all of his kissing privileges for the night! - while tearing off another fragment of bread. Popping it into his mouth, eyes dropped down from her playful expression to the little kitten now dangling around her neck.
"Wonder if Bob'll appreciate it, hm? He and Reven staying out of trouble, I hope?"
Mention of Mr. Willows always did good to send a little fear shooting through the older boy. A former Marine, Akio had no doubt that the burly man could crush him under one heel if he put forward enough effort to attempt it.
"How about we have a dinner next weekend? Or week? Whenever his schedule allows for it, of course... unless you think breakfast might be a better option?"
There. Now he was trying to make efforts to meet her father. That had to count for something, right?
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 2:11 pm
"Uh-huh," she said in a tone that indicated she didn't believe him. At all.
Her boyfriend was a mischievous fellow who, much like her lovable fat orange cat, liked to see how far he could push before he was scolded and returned back to the starting line. They'd been together long enough that she knew the signs, she was on to him, surely.
"Bob will--" She stopped, nose wrinkling when she lifted her hand to touch the pendant. Her beloved cat would probably be jealous, if his mood before she left was anything to go off of. "They're good cats, Reven she..." Reven was a handful, but a cute one. "They're good."
She didn't know how to talk about them to him properly knowing that he just thought they were silly ordinary cats.
"I'll check with Pops, but we should do that." She looked troubled for a moment but once she shook her head the thoughts were gone. "Soon. It's really important to me that you and Pops, and Bob, get along. Okay?"
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2018 12:21 am
She was clever - but then again, that was just one of many reasons he'd quickly found himself falling for the sweet Aurora Willows.
It also meant, unfortunately, that she wouldn't easily fall prey to sweet words and compliments. Silver-tongued efforts were for naught...but then again, he was apt to tell her all those things and more, just because.
His head tilted, expression curious as she continued to pause and change her words when referring back to her cats. Was something the matter? Or was she simply not prepared to talk about her cats?
What cat owner wasn’t prepared to talk about their cats?
Before he could pursue more answers, the food had arrived and his focus shifted from felines to filets. Taking his knife and fork to the meal, he'd glance up once or twice in her direction until the first bite was consumed.
“As long as you're there with me, I'm sure everything will be fine. You wouldn't let anything happen to your loving boyfriend, right?”
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2018 8:32 am
Rory was grateful when the food arrived because it meant that she had an excuse to not talk for a moment.
Her own fork speared several pieces of lettuce and the veggies that littered her salad and she ate slowly, but carefully, trying not to feel the weight of Akio's gaze too much. Chewing her food thoughtfully, she waited until she had swallowed before she tried to give him an answer.
She couldn't help the way someone else invaded her thoughts, the person she'd given up because she thought it meant that it would be easier to keep him safe.
Quietly, and rather sadly she said, "Of course I wouldn't."
Keeping the people she loved safe was her priority, even if it ended up being the cost of her own happiness in one way or another. Or that the punctures in her heart never quite healed because she couldn't get over missing him.
"Can we talk about something else please?" She asked, finally looking up at her boyfriend.
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2018 9:22 am
The response he'd received was far from what he expected - there it was again, that sad little tone in her voice he'd come to recognize over the course of their dating life.
Crap. Had he messed up again without realizing it?
His brain wracked itself with thoughts as his jaw quickly chewed the bite of steak he'd been working on. She wanted a subject change - he needed to find something safe, something that wouldn't worsen her unhappy mood (as he seemed talented in drawing out of her tonight, apparently).
All at once, the figurative light bulb burned brightly overhead.
Digging into his other pocket, Akio rummaged around until his cell phone was located and tugged free from his pants. The battery was still half alive, drained in part thanks to the overuse of the GPS, but he wasn't worried.
Opening the screen, he dug through his Gallery files until he found the file he was looking for. It had taken almost all morning to complete but he'd managed - just in the nick of time.
"Some might call this an abuse of my powers..." he mused softly, offering Aurora a devilish grin, "But I felt it was for a good cause."
Sliding the phone over towards her, he reached out and hit the Play button. On the screen, a dozen or so small elementary school students were lined up in two rows, all of them clearly working to do their best to impress their teacher behind his cell phone's camera as they sung loud and clear the Happy Birthday tune, wishing "Miss Aurora" in particular, a very happy birthday.
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2018 9:59 am
When his phone was fished out, Rory set her fork down and allowed herself, and him, to scoot closer together. He seemed so eager and his enthusiasm was catching, especially since she was eager to get rid of the melancholy mood that was attempting to overtake her.
She missed Sealie, but her boyfriend was with her and he was trying to treat her to a wonderful birthday and she needed to focus on that.
"What are you--" she cut herself off, jade eyes focusing on the screen of cute children singing eagerly, and out of two and off rhythm, happy birthday to her. As Akio hoped, it'd brought a smile to her face and her closer in general.
Leaning against his shoulder she looked happier than she had all night. "It's wonderful," she paused, looking up at him fondly. "You're wonderful."
Deciding that her earlier ban was silly, she slid fingers over his shoulders and tugged him towards her. "I love you, dummy." She announced, right before she kissed him.
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2018 11:51 pm
He waited with bated breath for her reaction, Akio ever hopeful that convincing his class (with a candy bribery no less) to sing happy birthday for his girlfriend would pay off.
Ten dollars worth of leftover bags of Valentine's candy was all it took for them to straighten up, stand side by side and work on their best attempt at singing a simple song that all of them new by heart. Teaching the six year olds to say Ah-roar-ah had been the most difficult challenge of it all but after two or three rounds, they’d managed to tackle the difficult name and been rewarded with chocolates and sweets galore.
When her face lit up, he beamed in return. As she snuggled up next to him, he wrapped his arm around her and happily kissed her back - all the while being wise enough not to call her out on going back on her threat.
“I love you too, beautiful,” he murmured before pulling back and kissing her temple. “I hope it’s been a happy birthday.”
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Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2018 11:25 am
It was easy to settle against Akio, with his arm wrapped around her and lips against her temple. Her sigh was a breathy, content one as she snuggled closer, having forgotten (or choosing to forget) the offense that had her pushing him away from her earlier.
The beginning of their birthday date had been rocky, certainly, but there was no one else she'd rather spend the day with. (Well, as Rory.)
"It's perfect," she assured him, eyes closing as she relaxed against him, food easily forgotten in the wake of feeling more relaxed and comfortable with her boyfriend. "Perfect because I'm with you, handsome."
She reached for his hand, fingers lacing with his as she allowed herself to enjoy the moment as was.
"Is there anything else you had planned?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2018 6:50 pm
The world around them faded into the background, his sole focus currently on the beautiful girl curling up against his side. Even the steak was forgotten as his head tilted down to press against the top of her head, the older boy savoring the moment.
“Depending on how you felt after dinner, I figured we could go back to my place for a movie and snuggle time.”
He decided to leave out the part where he'd found an especially large stuffed orange cat and had him waiting for Aurora's arrival, nestled atop the throw blanket on his couch. One last surprise to end the evening with. If he was lucky, maybe Bob would actually take to it and not shred it?
“Took a chance, got some ice cream and stuff for sundaes, in case you wanted a sweet treat to go along with your dad’s cupcake.”
Fingers squeezed her shoulder lightly before he pulled back and gave her a parting kiss before returning his attention towards his food. “Could always take this to-go, if you wanted to finish it up over there?”
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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 8:50 am
"A movie sounds nice."
Being in a familiar and comfortable place with someone she adored sounded like the perfect way for her to end her evening. Those were the things she enjoyed more than fancy dates and extravagant things, though she thought it was sweet that Akio had tried so hard.
She was simply more comfortable with simple things, like curling up on her boyfriend's couch while they watched a movie and, well, stealing kisses during familiar parts.
Maybe she'd even sleep over...
His suggestion had her tilting her head contemplatively. "I think...we should take it to go. I'd rather be at your apartment, than here," she admitted, before quickly adding, "because then I can snuggle and kiss you more freely. It feels...weird, here."
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2018 10:50 pm
“Sorry, baby,” he offered apologetically to her weird comment although his hand was already being raised to flag one of the passing waiters. “We can fix that feeling and end the evening on a happy note, yeah?”
The waiter collected both dishes from in front of the couple, whisking them away and out of sight before either young adult could argue. They appeared minutes later, nicely packaged in probably the most fancy to-go containers that Akio had ever seen, nestled together in a paper bag emblazoned with the restaurant’s logo on it.
When he was handed the check presenter, Akio slid his card into holder before returning it to the waiter. He already knew the total would be wince-worthy to anyone unprepared for the meal cost at a high class joint, so even though he saved up for the special occasion, he… rather not look at it, not right now at least.
A few stolen kisses later and the check was signed and tipped. Sliding out from the opposite end of the half-circle booth, Akio took their meals in one hand and reached out for Aurora with the other.
“I’m ready to flee the scene if you are, beautiful.”
Nuxaz Feel free to fast forward to whatever point <3
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Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2018 8:26 am
No matter how much time had passed, every time Akio called her baby butterflies would dance in her stomach and she'd grin a little sheepishly like she was now. He called her many, lovely, beautiful names, but baby was her favorite.
Maybe it was because he didn't say it that often or maybe it was because he made her feel special when he did that. The reasoning didn't matter, Rory liked it and she knew he'd keep calling her such as long as she let him.
Taking his hand was as easy as it ever was, the teen grateful to have such a handsome, loving man at her side even if he was a dummy now and then.
Once they made it back to his apartment, Rory seemed more visibly relaxed, because this was familiar and comfortable and she, well, felt at home here in his cozy little apartment with her favorite person. She snagged the food from his hands once they were inside, setting them upon the kitchen's countertop before she was tugging him down to her for a kiss, before the door had even had a chance to shut.
"Thank you, Akio, everything has been perfect."
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