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The flyer that detailed the loss of a minipet was still crumpled in Shine's hand by the time she found herself at Nahm's door. She wasn't sure why this was the place she had ended up after all that running, but something made this feel like this was exactly where she needed to be right now.

After clumsily folding the paper and stuffing it into her shirt, she stared at the door for a while, half expecting something to happen that would solve all of the weird things she felt in her mind and her tummy. Of course, this was not a magical problem-fixing door, so that didn't happen. She'd have to take just a little initiative if she wanted help.

She knocked once, very quietly, and after swallowing hard and mustering up a few more ounces of confidence, she knocked a little harder this time. Then, worried that he might not answer if he didn't recognize the person at the door, she leaned forward to murmur against it:

"Um...hi, it...it's Shine..."

The sight of Nahm seemed to relax Shine just slightly; she looked just a little less rigid as she began to slowly nod in response to the invitation. Anxious, she picked at the hem of her shirt, glancing sidelong down the hallway. She was probably bothering him, and she could just go back to her room for a little bit. Maybe that would help.

He did say that it was always a pleasure, though...

"I...yes, okay..." she managed, ducking into the opening he'd made for her. "I won't...I won't stay long, um, I mean...I don't want to bother you..."

"Friends," Shine repeated in barely a whisper, meeting the combination of the soothing darkness and the sentiment of the word with a small flash of a smile. The rest of his words were not as easy to swallow; they took some thinking, laced with a side of heavy burdens.

She wordlessly accepted his second invitation as she tried to work her way through a response that wouldn't sound ridiculous, delicately sitting on the couch as if she were afraid of breaking it with her comfort.

"Well." She sighed, hiding in silence a little longer. "Um...kind...kind of, yes." Her face wore a look of deep concentration as she continued. "Nahm, I...do you like...kisses?"

As Shine considered his response, she sat in careful silence again. 'A lot'. She might describe it as 'nice', but a little scary, and Nahm didn't seem to have any of that 'afraid' part factored into his feelings on kisses. There must have been a key difference, but she couldn't place it. Was it important to know their name first? Did it feel different with ghosts?

"I...I think so..." she began, fidgeting. "It um...feels nice, and...but...I was wondering..." Friends meant he cared, right? So she had nothing to worry about. She tried to tell herself as much, but it didn't make the words come any easier.

"I was wondering if...if it feels different. With um...depending on how much you like someone...maybe?" It was one of her many guesses, but he might be able to clarify if she was wrong, at least. "And...wait. Sorts of things that...feel nice like kisses?" Suspicious, she narrowed her eyes. That sounded too good to be true.

This was a lot more complicated than Shine ever bargained for. It always seemed so simple in books or conversation, but with that many things involved that could change the result at any moment...well, she wasn't very sure why everyone wasn't trying out kissing all the time. Sometimes existence was very confusing.

"So....um...liking someone, and then...more times, and...things better than kissing..." She shrunk back a bit at the poke with a look of vague concern, trying to place why he might have said such a thing. Still, his comments began to add up: friends, and cute, and liked kissing...

Sitting up straight, she tried to put on her most dutiful of appearances, chin up, gaze steady.

"Nahm, um..." Any semblance of confidence began to slowly melt from that point on, her shoulders drooping, eyes occasionally darting to the side. "I...think maybe I could...maybe say I like you, and...friends, right? And I was wondering, um...another thing. A new one. Can...I have one kiss? And then...and another? And nice things...the ones not kisses?"

She'd botched her proposal miserably, but it was out there now, and all she could do was look at him with hopeful eyes.

Though Shine's hopeful stare didn't falter, and was now probably bordering creepiness, Nahm seemed to be blinking enough for the both of them. At his inquiry, she frowned, shaking her head (and blinking again, finally).

"Practice? For...for what?" She began to look a little worried again, hoping that she wouldn't make him change his mind or feel bad or any other adverse reaction. "I...I just...I want to kiss you. Is that...not what I'm supposed to?"

Most of her inner workings might have stopped working when she died, but a very faint, very lopsided blush briefly managed to surface on her cheeks. "That...that does sound nice, I...yes. But could...maybe..." She wiggled a little closer to him. "We add a...some hugs, too?"

As his arm slipped around Shine, she finally seemed to relax, accepting the motion as something like a half-hug. Her eyes fell almost sleepily shut, and she shifted to close any remaining space between them, settling with a faint mmmm. She thought that she could stay here for a while, and that this would be a nice thing, too -- but they were having a conversation, and she'd asked for other nice things. Right. She had to stay focused.

"Hm? Oh, um...yes, only nice...nice things, no hurting...and um...I could share kisses with...with other ghouls too..." She moved just enough to be able to give him a crooked smile before speaking again. "All good...and nice."

The delirium brought by comfort broke for just a short moment as it was overcome by concern again.

"Is...is there stuff you...would usually need to do for kisses? Or can...do they just...kiss?" Her fingertip traced her lower lip as she hoped she hadn't forgotten something. The hallway kiss had not been anywhere near as planned as this one; if she'd ruined that, there was no going back...but this one could go well. This one could be a good kiss. And then another good kiss.

Leaning into Nahm's touch, Shine listened carefully, just to be sure that she wouldn't ruin anything for him. The last thing she wanted to do was lose a friend over bad kissing form.

The relief of knowing that she hadn't been doing anything wrong put her at ease again, edging her back towards the same eager excitement she'd lost somewhere along the way. She played with a bit of cloth near his hood between her fingers before answering, already nodding again before the words left her mouth.

"Yes...I, um...I want it. The...the first of kisses. Please." She tried to prevent her neediness from overtaking her patience, but the occasional squirm still made its way through. Her mind had already begun to imagine what it might be like, running wild without her, the hum of curiosity growing louder. "Please," she tacked on again, just for good measure, hoping it might truly ensure a second one.