Continuing post #51

[blackshadow]

[ Continued from here. ]

[ It is. ;_; And with rabbit ears! ]

[ Nope, that's too embarrassing. ] Come on, you're not much of a cat if you don't eat fish or meow...

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[negativegate]

[Ooonly not bad~?]

[Her smile turns softer as she pauses in front of him.] I know. Me too. It's nice to just hang out.

[blackshadow]

[ She's very, very not bad.//// He wouldn't stay with anyone else! ]

Yeah, no matter what we do... [ Which makes him feel pretty sappy to admit.

And that might be why the curse decided to kick in just then (or at least chose to wait for him to finish speaking), making him lean forward and gently put a hand to her cheek- ]

[negativegate]

[Kyaaa~//// They should always stay together!]

[Rita's decided it's okay for them to be a little sappy right now...

Although it might or might not be the curse that compels her to stay still as he leans closer, and she just silently looks up at him.]

[blackshadow]

[ And so they will! Because they want to.//// ]

[ He's not shy even though she is looking at him silently, but he doesn't even know what he feels at the moment except that he's surprisingly not anxious. And more than that, he's sure feelings aren't things he should be dwelling on in any case...

The time lingering feels longer to him than it really is - to anyone that saw him, there wouldn't even be more than a moment's hesitation between when he leans in close and when he kisses her. For once, he thinks, it's actually not a rough kiss, but something more gentle. Maybe because he's tired. Definitely. ]

[negativegate]

[Yes. /// No denying what they want.]

[And Rita doesn't shy away when he kisses her--rather, she kisses him right back. She's not rough, either, but she isn't quite as gentle as he is, and she reaches up to touch his arm. There's a well of feelings in her, but...they're not really a priority.

-Until the curse's influence ends only a moment later. Without getting too caught up in it, Rita freezes now. Mostly, she's stunned, but her face flushes and she immediately tries to speak.]

W...Was that...

[blackshadow]

[ No need to be in denial about that... ]

[ If Tyr wanted to pay attention to his feelings, he'd be somewhat disappointed that it was so quick. But he isn't, and now he just wants to back away, but he knows his door is closed directly behind him. Instead, he freezes, too, even keeping his fingertips against her face stiffly.

He doesn't even have anything smart to say in response. He opens his mouth, but nothing comes. Subconsciously, he's worried what he would say if he could find the words; this doesn't need to end like last time. ]

[negativegate]

[Nope, not at all...]

[They're probably just going to stand there staring dumbly at each other for a few seconds. Rita can't really help but think of this morning, and the last time they kissed, and how judging by the look on Tyr's face, this is probably another curse. Somehow. She'd never admit that she doesn't exactly like that it must be a curse.

Her hand is still on his arm, gripping tight, and she suddenly lets go as though she just realizes it's there, and that prompts her to speak again. Or stammer out something vaguely resembling speech...]

Uh--that was...I...

D-did you...?

[blackshadow]

[ Just other stuff... ]

[ At the moment, all Tyr wants is to not hurt her, and when she was gripping his arm that tightly... He wishes he could tell her it wasn't a curse. His hand leaves her face, but he lets it rest down on her shoulder instead.

She's not even making sense when she speaks, yet he still feels like he should answer her. Even if he can't keep looking her in the eye as he does.

Somehow. Maybe even more haltingly. ]

Yeah, and... [ We should go to bed now? That feels too dismissive. But it's what they're so good at... ]

[negativegate]

[Nothing to worry about...]

[She's gradually coming back to her senses, so maybe they'll start to make a bit more sense...Of course, it had to be a curse. Knowing that, Rita decides there's no point in getting hung up over it--she did that before, and regretted the way she treated Tyr for something that wasn't his fault.

Face still red, she takes a breath and nods, glancing up at him.]

...Just a curse, right?

[blackshadow]

[ Nope nope... ]

[ He feels a bit of relief when she says that so evenly. Nodding, he responds calmly. ]

That's right... [ It always feels weird to apologise, but she deserves something. His hand tightens on her shoulder unconsciously, and he means it when he tells her- ] I'm sorry...

[negativegate]

[Nothing at all...]

[As embarrassed as she feels, she's also a bit relieved that they're not freaking out about it this time (or that she isn't freaking out...).

But she shakes her head.] For what? You haven't done anything...

[blackshadow]

[ As long as everything stays normal... ]

[ He's not about to explain that he feels like he's toyed with her emotions. Or that he doesn't mind kissing her. Instead, he just shakes his head, too. ]

You're right... I guess I'm just apologising for the curse.

[ He lets his hand slide down her arm to take her hand. ] But anyway, you were tired, right? We should go to bed.

[negativegate]

[As normal as possible...]

Yeah, but it wasn't...I... [And now she's a bit flustered again, but saying she doesn't mind being kissed doesn't seem like the best idea to her. So she just holds his hand lightly, face hot, and nods.]

Uh, yeah--we should.

[blackshadow]

[ There's nothing weird going on between them... ]

[ He doesn't want to mentally finish off her sentence, either. He gives her hand a light squeeze - it's close enough to a hug - and then releases it.

Mustering up a small smile for her- ] Good night...

[ Maybe sleeping will help them out of this awkwardness. ]

[negativegate]

[N-no, of course not...]

[She swallows, letting her hands hang at her sides after he lets go. That blush isn't leaving her face anytime soon...] Y-yeah...See you in the morning.

[And with that, she'll turn to go into the other room--though she might have some trouble sleeping well right away.]

[blackshadow]

[ That's their story and they're sticking to it... ]

[ He just nods and waits for her to get to her room before he goes to his. Everything about his movements is stiff and automatic, and when he lays down, he just stares at the door for a while before he can't stand it anymore and dozes off.

At least he feels a little better thinking things will probably be normal again in the morning. ]

[negativegate]

[And nothing will change their minds.]

[Rita lays awake for quite a while, emotions keeping her mind too active to go to sleep. Even her dreams, when she does doze on and off, are weird and erratic.

Eventually, she ends up rolling out of bed pretty early--like, the crack of dawn--and goes and sits out in the living room with a book.]

[blackshadow]

[ Most of all not curses. ]

[ Tyr is used to not sleeping well even if this time has less to do with his rune and more to do with much more normal and human feelings. At least he can say that, over the years, he's gotten good and ignoring that side of him even if it's become harder with his stay in the City.

Whether because he hears her move or his sleep was really just that restless, he pulls himself out of bed some time later. The hour doesn't bother him too much. If nothing else, he's pretty sure he'll be alone.

Or not.

Rather than say anything just yet, when he sees her, he goes over to sit beside her. ]

[negativegate]

[Never curses!]

[Maybe she's too absorbed in her book--or maybe she's just still half-asleep--but she doesn't really notice when he sits next to her and just keeps her eyes trained on the words as she turns the page. The two dolls sit on her other side undisturbed, still holding hands.]

[blackshadow]

[ Nope-! ]

[ At least the dolls are the same as when they left them. He can't believe they really left those out all night... But Riou and the others probably know all about them by now anyway.

He won't bother her, then. She can't really have just not noticed him... A few seconds pass as he waits for her to even give him a glance, but since she doesn't, he just flops back onto the couch with a sigh and rests his head back against it sleepily. ]

[negativegate]

[And when Rita came out to sit, she couldn't help giving them a glance and deciding to leave them. It was weird, but she didn't want to separate them just yet.

She really did not notice Tyr, though--until he flops back like that, and she blinks out of her stupor and abruptly turns to face him, obviously surprised.] Wha--when did you get up?

[blackshadow]

[ Tyr sort of prefers having the dolls together like that anyway... Not that he's going to say so to anyone.

If he were more awake, her surprise would be kind of funny. Since that's not the case, he just turns his head to face her - a little smile on his face anyway - and just responds honestly: ] About half an hour ago... You haven't been here all night, have you?

[negativegate]

[Nor is Rita--especially after they already each agreed to keep one.

She regards him for a second, and her surprise fades away as she shakes her head.] No--I just got up a little while ago.

[blackshadow]

[ And he doesn't plan to change his mind on that now. ]

Good... I was a little worried... [ But anyway- He looks over her shoulder. ] What are you reading?

[negativegate]

[Nope. No going back.]

Well, there's nothing to worry about. [She says it softly as she looks right at him. She doesn't want him to worry about what happened last night.

And it's a book...not about blastia! It's about plants.] Herbology.