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 Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2013 1:28 am
But who would it be? After a quick servey of the house using all of his senses, Wilhelm could see the group of four around the couch, hear the kids playing upstairs, and smell the cake in the kitchen where Kade was! Oh, where to go, where to go! The couch had the possibility of giving him 4 conversation partners! But on the other hand, the kitchen only had two, which meant he cold focus more of their attention on him! But the kids were upstairs playing video game and soccer and that was just so much fun. Urgh, decision, decision decisions! Everything just sounded so much fun! He couldn't chose. It was impossible to chose! It was so hard that he was literally shaking where he was standing! And then something marvelous happened and his body split in three by mitosis (or was it meiosis? ) and he was able to go to all three places at the same time! Oh wait no, he had only imagine that. He still had only one body, and that body had walked on its own inside the kitchen!
"HIIIIII! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" The man cheered as he hugged Kade. Or he thought he had hugged him. He wasn't in his arms anymore, so maybe he hadn't hugged him. It could be he had hugged the girl instead. Or No one. He really should learn to pay more attention to who he was hugging. It could be useful in the future....or the past. "Are you having a good day! Of course you're having a good day! Happy birthday! I brought you a gift!" He extended his arms, wanting to give the man his present, only to notice that his hands were empty. He blinked twice, trying really hard to remember what had happened to it. "I... I was pretty sure I had a gift... I think I give it to someone when I entered the house... Tough I can't remember what it looked like... or who it was...o r what the gift was either... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Hey, it was the intention that counted, right? Right.
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Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2013 2:10 am
~Upstairs, in Junior's Room~
Oh, so she could talk! Brian quickly shut his trap to listen to her talk, though it really wasn't much – which he guessed should be expected considering she was always so quiet. But, Brian had a relative that was just like that – they were in the man's room, in fact! – so he knew very well the best way to help a shy person get talking! He would just keep talking more and more until he hit the right topic with her that opened the floodgates. “Faye? I can remember that – but, wait...” He looked puzzled because, really, what at all could have been embarrassing for her? Was it the name? Or did she think talking to him at school was embarrassing? ..Did she have the hots for him all this time and was too embarrassed because she thought he would figure it out if she spoke to him?
Oh, whoa, that's cool! He didn't know he had a secret admirer, especially not a hot one! It was just as he was realizing Chun Fei's so apparent attraction for him that her leg brushed against his. He had heard about this before. Signs that a chick was into him! Physical contact – especially the ones that were brushed off as an accident – were definite signs and, with the previous knowledge in mind, he knew for a fact that this was a definite signal. He glanced over to Jian, but the boy was still staring at the screen.. Still, that wouldn't be very smart of him to start making out on the guy's sister in the same room! So, he tried for a suave-guy gimmick and lifted his brows at Chun Fei before setting his hand on her knee. He gave her his best charming grin, “Maybe we should go to a different room, babe?” God, this was going to be a great birthday!
~Downstairs, in the Kitchen~
Kade did his best not to roll his eyes at Haruka, but, it was just so hard! How could she not know how important a wedding was? Part of him had to agree with her on the whole it wouldn't change anything and they were already a happy family bit, but then a more selfish side of him burst through and whined that screw Haruka's feelings, he wanted to be a bridesmaid or help plan a wedding or do someone's hair up in a beautiful style that wasn't a Sonata! He wished she could be less self-centered and just see that! But, Kade wasn't one to say any of those horrible thoughts aloud because, in the end, Haruka was a beloved employee of his and – was that insecurity he detected? He nodded fervently, “Maybe not Europe, but he'll definitely leave. Have you ever seen an unmarried couple last forever, Haruka? Besides, haven't you wondered why Raiden doesn't want to get married? Maybe he doesn't want to give you false hope that this is a permanent thing.” His mouth was running before guilt could catch up, but it was too late – he was in too deep anyway! He may as well finish the mile! “I wouldn't be surprised if he left right after little Axel grows up.”
He punctuated with a nod, arms crossed tightly for a moment before, yeah, there was the bubbly, uncomfortable feeling of shame for trying at all to feed any insecurity a happy couple had. Even if he couldn't help being just a little jealous towards them. ..Still, that wasn't their fault! He should just tell her that he was wrong right then and oh, look. A little happy reminder of his solitude wrapping him up in a warm hug! ...Oh, how could he be bitter towards Wilhelm? The man was a complete doll and totally adorable! He shooed away those feelings and gave a peppy smile as he was released, chuckling at his.. well, whatever it was that was called! Wilhelm simply didn't have a proper word to describe him. “Oh, thank you anyway, honey! It's great of you to show up – it feels like it's been forever since we've last seen eachother. How are you? Oh, this is Haruka, by the way, we were just discussing how happy and totally committed her boyfriend is towards her because I'm sorry, honey, that was out of line of me.” Cue the waterworks as he turned to try to cling to Haruka and cry because he was a terrible person for saying anything bad about a happy couple, oh, jeez!
~Downstairs, in the living room~
The amount of time it took for Yuri to follow Junior was enough for Theresa to wrestle the remote from Jacob for no other reason than to mess with him, Jacob to go into a sulky state as he read a cleverly hidden novelette behind a sports magazine, and Junior to relax back into a new state of comfortable silence as the strangers had left the room to leave it a family-friendly environment. Theresa had just been leaning back and attempting to wrap her head around the cheesy soap opera that she had chosen to throw on for Jacob's benefit – yeah, she saw his eyes straying to the television every so often with oh so obvious intrigue. She knew he was into this garbage and it only made her worried on what the hell their parents had done to the rough n' tumble boy to make this interesting.
She had to shake her head from such terrifying thoughts, however, as something much less headache inducing had approached, “Hey, Yuri! What are you doing standing back there? You should sit down, grab a beer with us.” She scooted over so there was room on the couch as she said that, motioning towards the twelve-minus-three-pack that sat on the coffee table. Really, she just wanted someone to talk to that would actually respond. Jacob was busy being pulled from one fictional drama to the next and Junior was, well, tensing up with the newest addition to the room. She thought she saw one of the more talkative party guests chatting a fern up earlier, which she guessed was interesting? ..Yeah, no. “What? You think I don't have them all whipped by now? I'm insulted.” She chuckled as she located her drink and held it loosely in one hand, “How about you? How're things going at the antique shop?”
☼✿☐☽✌
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High-functioning Marshmallow
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Posted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 6:12 pm
Junior's room
Jian was so completely absorbed in his game, he didn't notice the two behind him at all. This was maybe a good thing for Chun Fei; she was sure that if he realized what was going on he would be angry at both of them, and she didn't want him to ruin what she was playing with. ...Still, she didn't expect her little knee touch to be so effective, and it threw her off. She froze as his hand settled on her knee -- no one had ever touched her leg before -- and made a dumb face at her. A different room? Babe? Honestly, she had just bumped his knee with hers, it wasn't like she had lifted up her skirt or anything. For a long while, she was absolutely still and silent, weighing her options. Did she give up now? Reject him and ruin any future chances of getting him to do her homework for her in the future? (Not that she would really want him to, he didn't seem that bright.) Or go along with it and put herself in a high-anxiety situation? Neither seemed particularly appealing.
~*~timeskip so she can think~*~
Eventually, she decided to play the innocent route. "'A different room'?" she repeated, feigning ignorance the best she could. "...Oh... Okay, if you'd like..." she added this in a soft voice, so Jian wouldn't hear, and she averted her eyes shyly. "We can go somewhere else." She placed her hand on top of his, mainly to move it off her knee, but he didn't need to know that.
Kitchen
Oh no. Oh Goddess. Haruka could feel herself into stress mode as Kade went on and on, and at some point she began to bite at her fingernails, which was a sign she was anxious because she wasn't the type to ruin a perfectly good manicure with her teeth. "Do you really think that?" she asked, her voice high and breathy with anxiety. "I mean, I never thought about it that way, but if you really think that's what is going on..." Oh goddess, she just wanted to call her boyfriend up on the phone and propose to him right now. That is, until someone particularly loud showed up and distracted her for a moment.
Haruka tried not to let out an audible groan as Wilhelm appeared in the kitchen -- she had slipped in here to get away from the perky, not to confine herself in a much smaller room with it! Worst yet, he was distracting Kade from elaborating on how Raiden was going to leave her any day now... That is, until her boss began to cry. "Kade, what--" she began to panic due to completely different reasons than before. "Do something," she urged Wilhelm. What to do, what to do... "Kade, Kade, calm down, it's okay, stop crying... Here, let's drink something. Wine! You, find wine," she pointed Wilhelm, unsure of why the young man would know this house better than her. But as long as alcohol was acquired, she didn't care.
~*~timeskip until they're all good and drunk or something~*~
After a couple glasses of wine and maybe a dozen cookies, Haruka had draped herself onto the kitchen counters, not really caring at all that she was getting flour on her dress. She was too busy rambling to her probably uninterested conversation partners, swirling the remaining wine in her glass before polishing it off. "...But you know, there's no WAY Raiden would ever leave me," she frowned as she tried to focus on something, anything. "You know why? Because he's old. He's in his late forties, so. old! I was still a teenager when we got together, he's not gonna be able to get another, because he's old. Like it or not, I'm the best he's gonna get.Y'know?" She went to refill her glass, but the bottle was too far away, and she gave up.
Living Room
"A beer, don't mind if I do," Yuri said cheerfully as she circled around the couch to plop down next to Tess, leaning forward to grab a beer. She almost grabbed a second, but she decided she shouldn't seem too impatient and just take it one at a time. Laughing at Tess's reply, she opened her drink and took a sip, feeling much better now that she had some alcohol in her system. "I'm okay, I guess. Antique shop's dull as ever, but at least I'm not the only one working there anymore." She resisted telling them about more personal things, like the constant hangovers and how she had almost drunkenly gone to June's house the other night but hadn't been able to find her shoes, but she was in a chipper mood, and she didn't want to bring down the party with her issues. "But I'm here, drinking with you guys, so life isn't so bad. Cheers," she added quickly, holding up her drink before raising it to her mouth.
~*~a little bit later~*~
Yuri had taken that second beer eventually, and then a third, and then she had gone to the entryway closet when she remembered she had brought wine, and she had a good fourth of that bottle. She sat on the couch, slumped against Tess, her head on the old woman's shoulder lovingly. Her head was swimming pleasantly, all those bad thoughts unable to stick and drag her down. "That reminds me, Tess," she interjected, patting the woman on the hand. "Where's that good looking husband of yours? You know, if I had a hottie for a husband, I'd never let him out of my sight. Right, Jacob?" she winked at the darkhaired man playfully. She wasn't entirely aware of what she was saying at this moment or why she was even saying it, but she felt too good to care.
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Posted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 9:58 pm
"Ka-de. Ka-de. Kaaaa-deeeee. Crying is GOOD. Good. Crying. Is goooood. You see, when you cry, all those emotions - so many emotions - ALL the emotions they just... they.. they come out, ya know. Like... the emotions are in you, in a little bottle all... bottled up... Like a pickle in a jar and your hands are wet and greasy because you're cooking and you're trying to open that jar of emotion-pickles and your hand just keep on slipping and its not working and you just sort of give up on the pickle jar, but... but its still all in there, ya know. The pickles? They're all in the jar of emotions. And you can't open it. And you dont think about it... but its frustrating. You really REALLY want the pickle, ya know. Me and you, we're the kind of men who likes our pickles.... but yeah. There's no pickles for us. We're pickle-less men... we are. " He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Collecting his thoughts... at least as much as a drunk Wilhelm could collect thoughts. " But then... A big burly man - that's crying, by the way, so like I was saying, bit burly crying man comes, and he opens the pickle jar for you, and then you drop all the pickle juice all over youself, but it's fiiiiiiiiiiiiiine, because you finally have the big burly man's pickle and you're happy. You're all wet, but you're happy. All those emotions are finally out and you will feel so goooooood. That's Catharsis, man. Aristotle was the one who talked about that, so you know, if Aristotle talked about the pickle man, it's because it's true." Ah, yes inded; Wilhelm had be a.... student of philosophy.
He then turned around in order to deal with Haru...Haru...Harukuku. Yes, that was her name... probably. "And you.... You are right. He would never get anyone better than you because he is old. And there's noooothing he can do about that. You need to remind him of that as soon as you can. Be like -HEY OLD MAN MARRY ME." He nodded twice, agreeing with himself. Which reminded him... He picked his own cell phone and texted Peter right away. "You are my big burly pickleman. Love you - Wil." There. One should always remind their friends that they are important to them. Back To Haruru. " Have you tried... surprising him? I don't know... Tell him to meet you somewhere one day and when he gets there, there's like... everyone and a priest and you're n a wedding dress and you are all like "SURPRISE!" and he has no choice but to say "yes, I do" and BAM. Husband and wife." He should start a chronic in the newspaper. Ask Wilhelm. God, he would be good at that instead of wasting his life not being popular.
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High-functioning Marshmallow
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Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2013 4:11 pm
~Upstairs, in Junior's Room~
Brian hadn't been thinking very clearly about this, to be honest – his only thoughts had been on how this was so great. Getting lucky with Chun Fei, oh, yes, and on his birthday even! That doubled the awesome, certainly! If Chun Fei had behaved as enthusiastically as he was feeling, then he probably would have already ran off with her to a different room to try to make it to second base as fast as he could before they got caught or something else interrupted them. But, Chun Fei's pause had given Brian's brain enough time to take control and point out how unpolitic this whole thing was – plus, he didn't have anything but the lame excuse of hormones to explain it away. He chewed on his lip as he watched her, feeling guiltier with every word she spoke. Jeez, she was just some sheltered shy girl and here he was trying to take advantage of the crush she had on him!
“Cool! It'll look way less suspicious if you're with me.” He pulled his hand back and lifted it to the back of his head, holding it there as he looked over to Jian, “Hey, Jian! Faye and I are going to grab some drinks – you wanna come with us or..?” He stood up as he waited for the boy to reply – he guessed the kid was going to opt to stay here, but Brian wasn't going to just ditch him without a word! Well, he wasn't now that he was choosing to, y'know, not violate Jian's twin in the next room.
~Downstairs, in the Kitchen~
Oh, wow, Kade had never noticed before just how much Wilhelm talked. It was like he was going back in time and talking to his younger, just-dropped-out-of-high-school self – except he didn't remember going on long rambles about pickles or.. Gosh, a pickle sounded so good right then. He nodded along, half listening to Wilhelm as he watched Haruka attempt to pour herself a drink. He proceeded to try to help her with pouring that drink, but the floor was so much more comfortable and he enjoyed that nice little corner where he could stuff his face full of cookies and pretend no one could see him go soooo off of his diet. They probably couldn't, actually, as they were all a wee bit drunk and thrown about the kitchen like.. a handful of discarded hyalophane chips.. “O-M-G, what even is that?” He mumbled aloud in response to his thoughts because, really, what a weird word for him to know! Some kind of rock, he guessed?
“Haruka, do you know, like, what..” And then he stopped, because Wilhelm's words had actually registered in his brain and he understood the amazingness of the other's mind – well, outside of the pickle analogies. “Nevermind, oh my god, nevermind – that is like.. like the best idea ever and.. and Haruka, you should totally go do that. Like, we can do it.. at like, my salon? O-M-G, it'll be so romantic – we'll have to, like.. like video tape it and put it on like, a website so everyone can see it and.. oh, god, we can do it as like.. an extra service at the salon?” If he wasn't so drunk, he would be throwing out numbers on how much he would price that service. Actually, if he wasn't so drunk, he probably wouldn't be even thinking about this. “Jacob's, like, the priest, so we can totally set it up – I can like.. ask Tess to ask Jacob for us?”
~Downstairs, in the living room~
Time had flew by pretty quickly after everyone started to drink together, finding it easier to finish off glass after glass once the television had shut off and everyone got to talking. Well, everyone except for Junior which may or may not be why he was the only one not apparently intoxicated. The boy sat back on his edge of the couch, somewhat enjoying that he could blend into the background again after the horrid awkwardness he had experienced earlier in the hall. Though he did miss the attention he got from his aunt as she seemed focused on more talkative people – like the one that was leaning against the woman's shoulder in a way that made Junior wonder if maybe.. No, Yuri was just drunk and affectionate, he shouldn't ever read into someone's actions while under the influence. He looked over to Jacob instead, who had discarded his reading material in favor of leaning back and watching the girls, throwing in a comment every so often while his mind seemed fixated on something else.
Jacob had snapped from his thoughts on Zell, though, as Yuri directed a comment at him, his brows raising in mild confusion because that statement was pretty.. suspicious. Was she implying..? He looked over to Tess to see if she was snickering or not, which was his normal method of seeing whether he was overreacting or not, but the woman was too caught up swirling the contents of a pastel blue mug to give him anything. He frowned a little as he looked to Yuri, deciding to go on his own admittedly sluggish senses, “Hey, I've never had a husband, so don't talk to me, alright? In fact,” He paused with a cocky grin, “I've got a.. uh.. a.. ah, Goddess..” He faltered before he got it all out, Theresa finally looking up to see she needed to ride in and save her baby brother.
She paused for a moment, though, a little curious on what the hell Jacob was trying to say because, really, the boy had clammed up so much lately and some insight on him would be helpful in cheering him up. Buuut, however intoxicated Tess was, she wasn't going to leave her brother hanging like that. So, after a few moments of watching him stumble, she decided to break in and respond to the girl leaning against her. ..Huh, when had she gotten that close? Ah, hell, like she cared at all. “Down, boy.” She said with a playful grin, snorting at the mix of relief and disapproval Jacob shot at her before she took a drink of her wine. Yeah, wine in a coffee mug. Classy.
“Out of my sight, huh?” She made a face, “Yeah, I would think that way, but 'hottie's been too busy building up a gut on my couch to go wandering.” That was the point where she probably should have stopped, changed the subject to something lighter, but this was her sixth mug of wine and she had practically finished a keg of beer if memory served right. Tess's filter was passed out in the gutter of her mind currently, which gave her the lack of control to set her cup down on the coffee table and cross her arms as she spouted out, “I shouldn't complain with untouched Junior over there, but, god, it's been a year since I've gotten a good lay. Maybe him going out to find some younger chick would teach him a few new moves in the bedroom or something.”
☼✿☐☽✌
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Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2013 12:48 am
Junior's room
Chun Fei stood up when Brian did without really thinking about it. Part of her was busy going whoa whoa whoa hold up what are you getting yourself into but the other part of her shushed those apprehensions. This kid seemed pretty dumb, and pretty tame if not a little dorky. "Okay," she nodded, looking down at her feet, her glance flickering towards her brother as he was addressed.
...but of course, Jian was in the middle of smashing in the heads of some soldiers or zombies or zombie soldiers, he couldn't tell, but it didn't matter because it was awesome. So he didn't even look up from the screen when Brian's voice threatened to ruin his concentration. "No, I don't want any," he grunted, waving a hand at the two of them before returning to his game. Chun Fei had expected this, but it was still a little annoying to hear how little he cared. "We can go without him," she murmured, maybe a little more pointedly than she had intended.
Kitchen
At some point, Wilhelm's monologue became just noise, but she was pretty sure he spent a good amount of time talking about pickles, so maybe it was better that she wasn't quite following. Were the pickles a metaphor? No... no, she didn't want to know. But then... he spoke to her! The sudden shift was startling, and it was lucky that she had emptied her glass all ready because she knocked it over as she flinched. Picking the glass up, she frowned at Wilhelm. "Surprising him? Just like... surprise?" she questioned skeptically. That was such a dumb idea. ... or was it? No, no, the more she thought of it, the more it sounded like it would work. A big argument against marriage had always been 'why make the effort'? But if the effort had already been made... "You really think that's a goo' idea?" she looked at Kade, though maybe she should haven't have been surprised. "But how would you keep, like, a whole wedding a secret? That's a lot of people, what if someone blabs?" Jacob was involved with Zelynity, right? Too close for comfort! "...but I dunno. I respect you, Kade, and... you," she waved at Wilhelm, having forgotten his name already, "You're not as dumb as you look. If you guys think it's a good idea..." Anything to keep him away from those European whores!
Living Room
Yuri had just been teasing, but Jacob's reaction was pretty satisfying. A 'goddess'? What was even that about? She laughed out loud, rather clumsily. "What does that even mean?" she snickered. Huh, Jacob was pretty entertaining, too. She took a mental note, in case Junior ever got old, though she doubted that would happen any time soon.
When Tess replied, Yuri straightened up, turning her body to face her seat-neighbor and resting her head on the back of the couch instead. "Ugh, that sucks," she sighed, nodding knowingly. Married chicks gotta stick together. ...not that she was married anymore. Time for another swig of wine. "Honestly, Tess, why do you even put up with that?" Sober, she would have realized how completely out of line she was being, but she kept on going. "You're young and hot, totally wasting your time if he doesn't see that." Why did this sound so familiar? ...Okay, so maybe she wasn't only thinking of Tess right now. "Besides... wait, I'm sorry, what," she cut herself off as something Tess finally processed in her intoxicated brain. "What did you say Junior is? Un... touched?" She sat up straight and looked at Tess hesitantly. "You don't mean, Junior's never... Junior--" Yuri's smile vanished and she practically crashed onto Theresa's lap in her haste to get over to Junior on her other side. "Junior, you've never slept with anyone before? Not even once?" Nothing else seemed to matter at the moment as she clambered over Theresa and grabbed Junior's shirt. "Oh my god, you're serious?" He was older than her by a whole season, and he had never had sex? Was that even possible? She had been sexually active since she was sixteen, and he had been... what did you even do as a virgin? Play checkers? Train cats to use human toilets? God, she couldn't even imagine it.
Aware that she was probably crushing Tess, she rolled off the couch (and its inhabitants) onto the floor. Her back bumped painfully into the coffee table but she didn't care, because her thirty-two year old best friend was a virgin. By now, she was essentially kneeling on the floor in front of Junior, hands gripping the couch cushions on either side of his legs, as she stared up at him in a mixture of disbelief and determination. "Junior, you know, I can totally help with that." It was the least she could do, as his friend!
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Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2013 2:51 pm
"Noooo, no, no, no, no, noooo.... yes! Yes yes! Nooo. Yes!" He couldn't be any clearer with his intents. "There's no need for that many people! Just the priest, and you, and Kade, and Me! No need for anyone else!" Something wasn't right there.... "And you're future husband Kaidan! Mulan.... Miriam? Are you a lesbian? You'd be a cute lesbian... hm. Yes. No need for anyone else if you don't want anyone else! It can be a secreeeeeet and privaaaaate. Or you can knock him out, kidnap him and invite the whole town." Head nod and more wine. Yep. He could see it. This was just perfect. The wine, that is. He had already forgot all about the marriage thing. Well, not really forgotten, but it wasn't the thing on his mind right now. It could come back once his glass was empty.
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Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 12:51 am
- NEW DAY - 
With a deep breath, Yuri stepped up onto the porch.
It felt like she had been waiting forever. How long ago had that night at the school been? Nearly a season, if her calculations were correct. Almost too long, at least. She should have come weeks ago, she knew that, but she found herself putting it off, finding any excuse to avoid confronting real life and being an adult about things. That night, she had said that she needed time to think, and she had thought. She could have thought forever. Now it was time to do something about it.
There had been a lot to think about. Not only did Yuri have to sit down and seriously think about how she felt, she had to play with the idea of being with Junior. Going on dates with Junior. Kissing Junior. Sleeping with Junior. Maybe doing more. Sure, she had played with the idea when she was feeling drunk and lonely, but that was different from making a commitment. She had to make a commitment. And that's what scared her. This wasn't how she was used to doing things. The way it usually worked out, she just was herself and people initiated things. She just had to give it enough time and sure enough someone would show up to sweep her off her feet and love her. Even June, in his selfish, obstinate way, had managed to do that in some respect. They offered, and it was up to her to take. If she was unsure, they insisted. Never before had she had to take a step back and assess the situation like this before. She had never had to step up on anyone's porch. To her, relationships were about seducing and being seduced. There was not usually much room for logic or thoughtfulness.
Yuri felt fifteen years old as she stood on the porch, staring at the door. The fool that she was, she had brushed out her hair and put on makeup, put on a dress. It was like she was getting ready to go on her first date, but how could she know that any of this had any meaning? She had called several times during the past season, but no mention of what had happened that night or the promises she had made came up. What if he had changed his mind? What if, while waiting for her to think, his feelings had just vanished? It did that sometimes. She had seen it happen with others, she had seen it happen with June. One day he loved her and the next... he probably couldn't get his heart to stir even if he wanted it to. Yuri would never forgive herself if she let that window close right in front of her.
Taking a deep breath, she knocked.
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High-functioning Marshmallow
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Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 2:19 am
 
It was a lot harder to maintain that hope as the days went on and no real word from Yuri had been said about the 'incident'. Junior had been good, keeping himself from saying anything – which, in truth, wasn't hard. Whenever he felt like bringing the topic up, he had felt his heart jump into his throat and begin to suffocate him before he could get anything out. Instead, he had just occasionally given Yuri some odd croaky mumbles that he still felt flustered about just thinking of, but the girl hadn't seemed to heard them or she was just too used to Junior making odd sounds as he struggled to respond to her that she didn't even mention it. In any case, the man hadn't done much outside of work, stare at the wall, and listen to Kade rattle on about.. stuff. His aunt had come by once or twice, but she was dealing with her own divorce and spent most of the time getting consoled from her brother than noting Junior's exaggerated anxiety. Brian was out attempting adulthood, his uncle was too busy stressing about his own love life, and Junior didn't really want to bother his employees about this.
So, there he was, up in his old bedroom playing some new video game he had ordered a few weeks ago. His father was downstairs doing who knows what – probably planning some friend's wedding, when there was a knock downstairs. Junior had paused the game, having been losing anyway, and automatically stood up to stand awkwardly in the hallway and stare down the stairs at the door. His father would come any second now to open it. He frowned lightly as he tugged his sweatshirt down, leaning to try to look in the direction of the kitchen and then the living room from his spot. ...Was.. his father out..? Was it up to him to..? He winced as he started slowly down the stairs, resisting the urge to just dive back into his bedroom and pretend no one was home. But the nagging thought it could be someone he knew kept him going.
He wouldn't dare to think it was her, but.. Oh, God, what if it was? He stopped halfway through the stairs as his heartbeat picked up, realizing he was dressed like he had been sitting around all day doing nothing because that was what he had been doing, but Yuri wasn't going to take that explanation. She was going to take one look and decide that she really couldn't be with someone who sat around the house in sweatpants playing video games on his time off. But what did he do? Did he go back up and change or would that make her just go straight home? What if it wasn't Yuri and he was just panicking for no reason at all? He was on the verge of calling his aunt to ask her to come and rescue him when another knight in shining armor had appeared miraculously from the living room.
In a silver dress. His knight was in a shining, silver dress and heels. Junior took a moment to process that as he watched his dad dash to the door without a stumble, walking as if he had been born in those shoes. He was suddenly grateful that he had chosen to stay upstairs as he couldn't decide how comfortable he was watching his father walk around in drag. Then the previous anxiety returned and he realized that it would probably be best to take the door after all or, at the very least, run back upstairs to hide under his bed because, wow, he wasn't ready for any of this. Even if it was just the mail lady at the door, he didn't know he could stand being in the background as his dad – wait, did his dad shave his legs?
Just as he was pondering that, Kade had opened the door with a loud, “Oh! Yuri! Welcome, honey! Why don't you come inside? I'll go get Junior – but, first, what do you think of the dress? Too flashy? I can't take the spotlight away from Haruka, but this dress was just so cute!” He watched his father open the door wider to unknowingly reveal the brunette and proceed to twirl around so this girl Junior really, really liked could watch his father parade around in a dress. He tried not to look mortified as he raised a hand to wave slowly at her, taking a step back because maybe he could sneak away before she saw him? But, wow, she looked pretty today. Maybe she was just stopping by before heading out to the bar or something and this wouldn't be 'that' conversation. So, he stayed in the middle of the stairs, one leg on the step behind him and his hands on the railing as he waited for some kind of cue.
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Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 4:23 am
In this short amount of time between the time she knocked and when the door swung open, Yuri had managed to work herself up into a small panic with all her what-ifs. What if they weren't home? What if the door opened and a girl she didn't know answered? What if when the door opened, Junior looked at her sadly and she would just know that she had lost her chance to be with someone who made her happy? What if? That's why, when the door did open, Yuri jumped and her heart soared into her throat -- but it settled back down when she realized it was Kade and not Junior standing there.
Feeling silly, she forced a smile, but it was pretty weak. In most cases, she would have been delighted to be greeted by a flamboyant gay man in a dress, but she was here for a reason and she knew that every second spent not with Junior would put her one second closer to giving up and going home where it was safe and predictable. "It's really cute, nice choice," she replied pleasantly, but just sort of going through the motions. She stepped inside the house, keeping her eyes on Kade's dress. "Though if it's you, Kade, you'll take the spotlight whether you try or not," she teased, though there was an underlying tension that made her playful compliment weak. Tucking her hair behind her ear and fingering her earrings on her ear anxiously, she glanced up towards the stairs.
Yuri liked it when Junior wore a suit to work, she said it made him look professional and fashionable and manly. Before all of this had happened, he was most attractive, to both herself and in general, which often overlapped, when he came by after work and took off his jacket when she offered to hang it up for him. But for some reason, even though he was just wearing a sweatshirt, the sight of Junior on the stairs was enough to make her heart flutter in her chest. In fact, at this moment she thought he was almost more attractive like this, casual and boyish and private. Her lips parted as she looked up at him, seeing him in a completely new light.
"Hi Junior," she greeted him gently, her voice sounding so small to her own ears that she wondered how it could ever reach him. Quickly, she turned her head towards Kade, her earrings jangling quietly. "I'm sorry, Kade, can I put this on hold? I need to talk to Junior and it's kind of urgent. When we're done, I'd love to see what shoes you picked out." Offering the older man an apologetic smile, she made her way up the stairs. It felt like each step took a lifetime, and she looked up at Junior almost shyly. Had his hair always been such a pretty color? He looked pretty skinny under that sweatshirt, too, but his hands were big. Yuri could almost cry at her own stupidity. Why had it taken so long to notice?
When she reached Junior's step, she reached out and took his sleeve, giving it a small tug. "Can we talk in your room? It'll just take a moment." Without waiting for a response, knowing she was so close to giving up with Kade down there and Junior confirming everything she had thought about, she began to walk up the stairs and pulling him by his sleeve. Her heart was pounding hard by the time they reached the top of the stairs, as she knew that she was about to do something that she had never done before: completely and honestly bare her innermost feelings.
As the door shut behind them, Yuri looked around the room as if seeing it for the first time. A game was paused on the television, and she could have laughed at how similar they were if she weren't so nervous. She thought about gesturing for him to sit on his bed, but that would make it too much like she had an audience, and so she stayed near the door, still holding onto his sleeve, the cuff pinched between her thumb and finger.
"...I have things I need to say. I've gone over them a million times in my head but I'm not sure I'll be able to say them well, so... Will you listen?" She looked up at his face to reassure herself that he was listening, and then she continued. "I said I needed to think, so I thought. I thought and I thought, because I had said that I never imagined being with you. But that was a lie. I had." She looked down at the sleeve that she was holding onto and rubbed her thumb over the rough fabric. "I thought about it when we first met. And I thought about it when we became friends. And I thought about it at my bachelorette party, when you were the only person there and you celebrated with me and listened to me talk about everything I was scared of. I thought about it when the fights got bad and you'd keep me company when I cried. I guess I've been thinking about it the whole time I've known you, and so I got good at ignoring it or shrugging it off as an impulse, and I never took it seriously. Because of June. Because I didn't want to give up that part of me."
"I think I was scared. If I gave up on June and went for you, I could lose everything. You were my closest friend, what if we broke up and I lost your friendship? Then I would have lost you and June and I don't think I could have handled that then. Well, I've lost June and I've survived, and I'm tired of being scared."
Yuri paused to swallow before going on. "I've been looking for something my whole life. I don't really know how to describe what that thing is, but I tried to find it with a lot of people when I was young. And I thought I had found it with June. But we were too ******** up to make it work, and now it's been two years since my marriage officially ended. You know how bad that was. When it ended, I tried to reset everything. Do things the way I used to do it. Searching for that thing. But I don't want to do that anymore. I don't want to get drunk every night and go looking for strangers to have sex with in the hopes that it'll make me feel better about the way my life has gone. I need to move forward, Junior, not go back. I need to be a better person, for myself, for my kids. ******** it all, Junior, I need to be more than I was."
At some point tears had begun to well up in her eyes, and Yuri moved her hands from his sleeve up to grasp the front of his sweatshirt lightly. "That's what I thought about. And at the end of it, I realized that I didn't like who I was when I was with June. I was angry, I was always focusing on my flaws, because they clashed with this image of me that he had. And the whole time, you were there, accepting me for who I am. You were holding my hand and telling me I was beautiful and loving me so unconditionally. You didn't do it explicitly, but I know that's what you were doing, in your own way. And you make me a better person, because I want to do the same for you. I want to hold you when you're sad and lonely, and tell you that you're kind and generous and so loving and considerate and strong when you can't see it for yourself, because you are, Junior. I've experienced it all firsthand."
She sniffed and resisted the urge to wipe her eyes. She felt like if she let go, she'd lose him, so she kept hold of his sweatshirt with trembling hands. "I want to try, Junior. We're so alike, but I know that we're different too. We're teetering on an edge, and if I push too hard we'll fall off and that will be it for us. As terrifying as that is, though, I want... I want to try. It's the only way I can move forward, we can move forward, if we try. I'll go as slow as you'd like, I'll do my best not to rush or push, as long as we try. It... it won't be easy, but I think if I'm with you, Junior, I can do it. God, I don't even understand why you like me at all, what good you see in me when I'm so messed up and weak, but... If you'll have me... If you haven't changed your mind... I'd like to be with you. I want to be together, just you and me." She smiled weakly and looked up, waiting for his reaction, though it frightened her so much that her whole body shook. "...That's what I had to say."
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High-functioning Marshmallow
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Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2014 1:52 pm
Maybe a small part of Junior had hoped Yuri had only come to see his father, however irrational that part was. But Junior was a professional at convincing himself of highly irrational things and, by the time Yuri had looked at him, he was already feeling a mixture of relief and disappointment that he really was at least part of the reason she had arrived at the home. He was grateful he hadn't allowed his father to trim his bangs that morning as it felt easier to look back down at the woman when he had those marring his vision and, hopefully, hiding his eyes from hers. Not that it mattered much as she didn't take long to cut short her conversation with his father and march up the stairs towards him. He couldn't say no to her, it just wasn't in him, but he still sent a small glance at the retreating back of his father in hope maybe he could come and hold his hand or something and.. and, oh, God, Junior was a grown man. He swallowed his immature dread as the door shut, sending a short look to the bed to both consider whether he should sit down and to not have to look at Yuri.
She hadn't let go, though, so he found himself remaining in place, eyes with nowhere to go but her. It wouldn't be right not to let her have his attention, even if he was pretty sure he would start crying during this conversation and he really, really didn't want her to see that. To try to curb any tears from forming before she started with what he was positive she was going to say, he set his lips into a firm line and held his breath, tensing in a way he hoped she didn't see. It also kept him quiet, but that wasn't hard to do after she spoke – and she did. A lot. He wasn't sure what to feel or what to say, so he simply stood there silently as he waited for her to get to her final answer. Then she started to cry and he felt worry bubble up, his arms lifting and his mouth opening to tell her to stop because if this was hard, if she couldn't handle it, he wasn't going to let her go through with it. He could take it back and they could pretend it didn't happen – but.
But he stopped himself. He didn't know why, but, as she gripped his sweater, he couldn't bring himself to speak up. He didn't know if it was the pushover inside him or if an uglier part of him didn't care if it hurt her so long as he finally heard her response, but he watched her cry and sniff up until he felt his heart stop because there was no way in heaven or hell that she had actually said that. 'Let's be friends' was in his mind as the best possible ending, but, it – it happened. He chose right then to release the tears that had been welling up, shaking his head as he leaned over to hold her like he should have awhile ago. But, God, he was really happy he hadn't. “You're brave, really, r-really brave, Yuri, and wrong, because..” She was shaking, he noted, and he felt like he was too, but that was okay. He squeezed her tighter to try to convey that, “..I-I'm lucky to have you a-and if you.. if you ever want to stop, we can go back, okay? Don't cry, okay?”
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Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2014 10:59 pm
She had done it. She had laid herself bare and risked rejection, and when it was all over, she felt so unbelievably spent and weak, like she could barely keep herself standing up on her own. Even though she resisted it, a small part of her brain was just waiting for him to say that he changed his mind, that the moment had passed, and that he wanted to maintain that distance that had separated them for ten years. But instead of pushing her away, he pulled her close, and the moment Yuri felt his arms around her, she began to weep. For a long moment she went slack against him, returning the embrace and drowning herself in the feel and smell of him. She had always valued his warmth, but it was even more precious to her now. He had called her brave. He was lucky and she was wrong and brave and she couldn't remember the last time she had ever been called brave. "Dummy," she sniffed as she reached a hand up to touch his wet cheek, "You're the one who's crying."
After a moment of holding each other, Yuri pulled back slightly to look up at him. She reached up and wiped the tears from his cheeks, then brushed his orange fringe out of his eyes. They were beautiful eyes, and they were all hers. "Junior, close your eyes," she murmured. Standing on her toes, she kissed his cheek lightly, pausing to let the new experience sink in for a second before kissing his other cheek. Then his nose. Finally, she placed her hands firmly on his shoulders, and tenderly pressed her lips against his. For Yuri, it was rather chaste, but she was glad for his embrace, because otherwise she was sure her legs would have given out.
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High-functioning Marshmallow
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Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 3:39 pm
This wasn't what he had thought this moment would be like – and, really, he had envisioned it several times during his more hopeful moments of the last few weeks. The room was cluttered, his clothes were wrinkled, and she looked at him red-nosed and tear-streaked. Anyone who stumbled on them would think something terrible had happened, but that didn't matter because they were alone and this had really happened and he didn't know how she could think he could close his eyes even for a moment. He looked at her reluctantly for a moment, but he eventually folded and closed his eyes.
Any irrational doubts he had for this being anything but a good move left as he felt her lips on his cheek, lasting just a second longer than fleeting before moving to his other cheek, his nose.. His lips. At that point, he opened his eyes and smiled against her – and then nothing. Because, while he wanted to ensure the contact would last longer than the others and be as memorable for her as it would be for him, he honestly didn't know what to do to make that the case. The pleasure was morphing dangerously close to anxiety when the door burst open and he pulled away from her to have his eyes blinded by a flash.
In all that had happened, he had forgotten his father was even in the home – let alone the possibility of the man eavesdropping and choosing the worst moment to take a picture for one of the hundreds of scrapbooks he keeps around. Junior made a face at the man, who was beaming down at his digital camera. “Oh, my, gosh, this is soooo cute. Awe, but, sugar lumps, your eyes are closed! Oh, well, price you pay for candid shots!” The man chortled as he looked at the two for a moment. After a beat, he cleared his throat and turned on his heel, “I'll leave you two alone! I'm going to go print this up!”
Just like that, Kade had swooped in and back out, only the click-clack of his heels down the hallway being any sign he had been there at all. Junior blinked the sunspots from his eyes as he sent an apologetic look to Yuri. Well, he guessed it was best they were interrupted before he made a complete fool of himself and ruined the moment himself. He shifted his expression to a soft smile as he cautiously took her hand - they would have time for that later now, right?
~ End Scene! ~
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