summoners-path:

[ 大召喚士 ]

He laughed at her laugh, taking a sip of his own tea in an attempt to silence himself so she could speak. Instead, though, she looked lost in thought and he watched her, carefully, for any sign that something was wrong but found that nothing felt strange about her now. And after running her hands through her hair and taking the cup from him, her hand meetings his for a moment then, she smiled genuinely and all of the worry left him. She spoke then and he replied, setting his teacup down on the nearby table as he did so.

          “Oh…?”, he question, still not fully understanding the gravity of her words.

He did not notice her shift uncomfortably and when he turned back to her she continued. Her hesitant tone surprised him and he looked at her, head tilted in confusing, as he opened his mouth to speak. He wasn’t given the chance, however. A moment later, a flurry of words spilled out of her and, when she finally paused to breath, looking away, he was stunned.

          What is she…?

It took a moment, but the confusion slowly lifted from his expression as he realized what it was she was talking about. He’d thought she was drunk or simply being playful, caught up in the moment between a successful sale and a night on the town He’d never thought she’d even say anything about it… though he had hoped and reluctantly shoved that thought aside. But, here she was, speaking about it now.

          ‘I love you.’

As quickly as he was able, he moved himself from his seat to the couch next to her and, in one swift series of movements, he gently plucked the teacup from her hands and set it on the table before them and, placing his hands on her shoulders, he shifted her so that she faced him. Then, he hunted desperately for her eyes and, still holding onto her with a soft grip on her upper arms, he lowered his head and sighed.

          “Chuami…”, he began, for once calling her by her full name.
               “I know. But if I didn’t, do you think we’d be here now? Like this, I mean…”

He paused then, his hands gently moving across her a moment as he leaned forward once more to catch her eyes. When he did, he smiled and eyed her with a look of amusement and something else. His hands left her then and moved down to take one of her hands. He simply held it for a moment before threading his fingers through hers. Then, with a gentle pull, he grabbed for her attention once more. His voice playful, he continued.

          “You worry entirely too much, you know.”, he told her, smiling sheepishly.
               “But, I understand. And I… I’m glad you did.”

  As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she wanted to take them back. Without realizing it, she’d almost talked herself into a corner, speaking as if he already knew about (don’t say her name don’t even think it) when, in fact, he didn’t even know (she) had ever existed. Sometimes it was easy to forget that he wasn’t actually able to read her mind, however much it might feel like he could at times. Thankfully, though, he seemed not to have noticed, and she wasn’t about to bring it to his attention. She kept her mouth shut and her eyes down as he moved to her side and didn’t look up until she heard her name. 

  Like this, he said, as if there were no real way to describe it. Was there? She looked down again, but she was quietly laughing this time, cheeks slightly colouring. Dragging her eyes back up to his, she started to speak and stopped to let him go first.

  “Do I?” she grinned, “Well then, at least let me do it properly. Drunk and accidental is a bit anti climactic, don’t you think?”

  She didn’t give him chance to answer. Pulling her legs up onto the couch, she turned to face him properly and held his hands in hers, staring at them, blank-faced, as she thought. After a moment’s silence, she looked up at him through her hair and grinned.

  “I hope you’re ready for this, it’s going to be disgusting.”

  She fell silent again. Eventually, letting out a deep sigh, she raised her head and met his eyes, smiling but still skittish. 

  “… I… I don’t know why I’m so nervous, I think everyone knows it already. At least, judging by the amount of teasing I’ve had from people, I think you may be the last person to realize it. That I’m…” Sigh. “Absolutely, irrevocably, deeply, embarrassingly in love with you.”

  She blinked, as if she couldn’t quite believe she’d said it, then laughed.

  “And that… that’s the first time I’ve ever said that. Properly, you know? I don’t… throw it around. I was kind of scared. Of acknowledging it. In case something went wrong. But… seems like the house is still standing. That’s a start!”

“how often do you sin?”

Only when no one’s watching: Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Pisces
Whenever I feel like it: Aries, Taurus, Sagittarius, Capricorn
All the time. I’m sinning right now: Gemini, Scorpio, Aquarius

summoners-path replied to your post:✖ + BLANKETS (especially in excessive quantities)

“The /only/ thing?!”

“It says blankets plural, cikyn, I just assumed you were one of them.”

ehnick:

if you kiss my neck you might as well just take all my clothes off too

summoners-path:

[ 大召喚士 ]     Braska saw Chuami cross her arms as she’d replied out of the corner of his eyes and he smiled, his expression turning into a grin as he eventually turned around to face her. He almost laughed then when he caught her gaze, but instead, he turned once more to finish gathering his things.

          “Of course you don’t. Don’t worry. You had a good time, I can assure you.
               Probably too good of one. How late did you sleep in the next day? Noon?”

The question was rhetorical. By then, he had gathered his things and headed out the door. He stopped abruptly however when she had stressed that he lock the door. To humor her, he did so without complaint, taking a deep breath once he was done before the two officially set out.

He was pleasantly surprised when she latched onto him, worrying that she might run off without him if she found something more intriguing. He had initially tried to lead, but had quickly found that he was still a bit tired for such and, after a short walk, allowed himself to lean into her weight some. He half-watched the people that they passed, his attention more focused on the sun overhead. It was warm, nice. He had needed to get out. His reverie was broken, though when he’d heard her faintly whisper to herself.

          “No, but it’s alright. I understand.”, he told her, eyes still focused ahead.

He’d gotten that out in the brief moment she gave him to speak before she continued and he listened carefully. He wasn’t looking at her, but he felt her tense. What she said made sense, of course. He knew the feeling very well.

          “I know the feeling exactly.”, he said, thinking she was done. Then, I missed you.
               “I’ve… missed you, too.”

The words left him easily and the two walked on for a moment before he realized that she still seemed tense, her arm still linked with his. He slowed their pace then, leaning his head forward and down to try and meet hers. Then, with a gentle smile, his voice soft and steady, he added.

          “I really did, you know. I’ve gotten rather used to having you around.
               …I was worried you’d forgotten me until you came by this morning.”

It hit him then that she was indeed part of the reason he had felt the way he did. He would likely have stayed there until the evening had she not come home. Now that the two were out, he felt remarkably better and found that the concern he felt for her now had entirely replaced that tired feeling. Even as she spoke again, suddenly more lively, asking him where they should go, he found that his thoughts lingered on that thought. He really had been worried she’d forgotten him. But, then again, what did it matter? He wasn’t her keeper as much as he seemed to enjoy being so.

          This is Auron’s daughter.

She wasn’t, not really, and even if she was, she hadn’t known him, grown up with him. The men she called brothers and even Kai were more her family than he. Why did it matter so much to him, then? He bit his lip then forced himself to look up and meet Chuami’s eyes, realizing she had spoken. He looked startled, he knew, but he recovered well and gave a quick nod as he searched for his answer. Then, he replied, his voice half-playful, half-surprised.

          “Well, if that’s the case, then…  I suppose it has to be candy first, doesn’t it?”

He grinned at her. Then, he nodded, allowing her to lead them on, but even as her mood had rapidly improved, Braska couldn’t help but let his mind wander. And worry. He worried about her all the time. The way she’d looked down and away… he hated that. She was too pretty to look so forlorn. He wouldn’t have it.

          “I’ve missed you.”

He didn’t like when she was gone. And, after today, would she leave again? Of course she would. That’s just how she was. And he’d wait for her, making sure he had enough food for the two of them just in case she decided to stop by. But, the days would pass. How long would she be away this time? What if she didn’t come back… ?

          Well, then, give her a reason to stay.

It was a strange resolution, as if it wasn’t as revolutionary as it truly was. He’d likely already made up his mind long before the thought had realized its self. He shook his head at his own foolishness. Then, he glanced over to her. She was still happily smiling and looking ahead. He smiled a sad sort of smile and then stopped suddenly, her arm tugging at his of course. He unlinked his arm from hers and quickly moved in front of her to block her path. For a moment, his expression was serious until he leaned down to meet her eyes. He paused then, looking at her and then placed each of his hands on one of her shoulders, leaning in close to her face. A moment later, he grinned, a mischievous smile. He was planning something. That much was obvious. He wondered if she’d ever seen that look on his face before and the thought made him grin even wider. His voice was more alive than it had been all afternoon.

          “If the candy can wait, I have a better idea.”

He would take her to the top of the temple’s courtyard.

  “Ohhh…” Unable to think of a response, she waved a hand at him, laughed, and turned away so he wouldn’t see her cheeks flush, though she was probably a second too late for that. “Forgotten about you… as if.”

  She really didn’t know whether to laugh harder or hit him. Forgotten? It would be nice if she could go a day without wondering what he was doing or how he was. Sometimes she thought he knew that, though, and was just being polite by pretending she wasn’t completely transparent. He wouldn’t be the only one.

  There was a pause, a short silence after she asked where to go, just long enough for her to glance back at him and see that he looked preoccupied again. She watched him go from this to looking fine once more and wondered how often she’d missed moments like that in the past. How often had he kept up a smile until she looked away?
Hah – and how many times do I have to tell him he’s too cute for that?
  The urge to ask again hit her and she pushed it back. If he wanted to tell me, he would. We’re not doing personal questions anymore, self. 
  That didn’t mean she didn’t struggle against the idea, though. More than anything she wanted to know what was wrong and how she could fix it. It wasn’t only a wariness of over familiarity that stopped her – it was also that she just wasn’t sure it was her place to know, or even to ask.

  He answered her, happily enough, then lapsed back into silence. She pretended not to notice and carried on talking, without really saying anything, just so that when he snapped back to the present, it wouldn’t be in the middle of an awkward, protracted silence. It was alright. He might have been quiet, but he looked healthy enough now that he was outside; whatever it was, it seemed to be nothing a little sunshine couldn’t work on, if not solve.

  She was still pondering out loud about nothing when he stopped in front of her. The expression he wore cut her off mid-sentence – “ –or not!?” – and made her feel suddenly sick – oh no this is it what’s wrong what’s – but that look passed as though he were tired of keeping it up, and the smile that replaced it disarmed her. His hands went to her shoulders and she almost stepped back in surprise, would have done had his eyes not pinned her down. It was as though a light had switched on somewhere in him, or a hidden energy reserve found, that made him more vital than perhaps she’d ever seen him; and he seemed to find her startled expression amusing on top of that. She glanced around and found it astounding that no one was staring – were they not seeing him?! 

That’s it. 
That’s what?
Oh. That.
  Auron had mentioned it once before, Braska’s near-legendary impulsive streak, but she had thought it was an exaggerated memory. A lot of questions answered themselves in that moment; she’d never wonder how Auron and his summoner had managed to get into any of their scrapes again. 

A better idea? I’m not gonna argue.

  She said none of this; instead, finding it impossible not to mirror his enthusiasm, she grinned back, her hand covered his, and the only word that left her mouth was

“Okay!”

“Dear Crush…”

[presses intercom] carolyn please make a note in my diary to try extra hard to mess this hedgehog up for the rest of this week. starting now.

“Dear  [҉҉̸n̷̶̨̨͘a͠͏̕͠҉m̀͝͏̸e͡ ̴̷̢e̷͏r̵̢͢a̷̵̧ś͢e̸̶̷̵d̡̛́̕͢]̨͡͞͏,

                                 Kai says I have a lot of repressed emotions so he’s making me do this thing where I write letters to people and I say all the things I can’t bring myself to say for real. The recipient names are in order from least to most painful and every time I finish one, we do a shot (”of everything”) and burn it. It’s gonna make my company less “like having an inconvenient, whining axe wound”. We’re near the bottom of the list, so it’s probably gonna get weird.

 Let me start by saying I’m the owner of a company that has a hold on most of Spira; this week, I had a meeting where another company head had to ask my permission to trade in Luca. Just me representing Sovereign’s interests, and him with six of his people. I gave it to him, in exchange for Macalania. There’s no business in Macalania. I just did it to show off, to be honest; so he knew for sure that I didn’t need Luca’s business, to remind him who’s the boss here. Do you get what I’m saying? I’m invincible.

 I got that way after Anji died. I should tell you about her sometime. She was precious, you would have liked her, I think. When I lost her, I dealt with the grief by becoming too harsh and too cruel to entertain it. I expended a lot of effort turning myself into something… awful, actually, and what I didn’t use up in that, I poured into work. I kept up the practice of overworking myself when I’m out of sorts to this day. Sovereign does approximately 17.6% better during months where I would have otherwise been distracted by something. Business has been very good since you and I met.

 You scare me to death, do you know that? You manage to take the persona I spent years perfecting and just… rip it away, without even trying. After last time, I said I’d never get that deeply involved with someone again. Not in any melodramatic way; I just felt that, I’d had my chance and I’d managed to ruin it in the most complete and unforgivable way possible. It seems perfectly reasonable to assume that I don’t deserve to try again, so I thought fate, or whatever, would just neatly write my life around the issue, but it wasn’t that kind. Instead, it allowed you to drop in on me, and now I can’t imagine life without you.

 I’m most of a pragmatist when it comes to my own feelings. I know what my deal is, I know what you’ve done to me. But I can’t help wondering if this is fate’s idea of payback. Let her get close to this one, then take them away. To repay me for causing the death of a girl who, like you, was not meant to be touched by my destructive influence. Even if that weren’t the case, and I wasn’t in danger of losing you any second, the fact still stands that you are beyond me. I’m… nothing, really. Certainly nothing as special as you, and certainly nothing deserving of your attention, anyone would agree with that.

 I told myself there would only ever be Anji because I believed it. The closer I get to feeling for you what I felt for her, the more I wonder if it makes me a liar. I’m betraying her by even thinking like this, aren’t I? I’ll ask her. Her name is next, and last, on the list. It will probably start something like, Dear Anji, I am so sorry, Can you forgive me for this?
 For my sanity, I’d better keep my distance. I’d better stop myself from seeing you so often and then, hopefully, it will pass. Most things do. It hasn’t so far, but… it might.

 Oh, who am I kidding? We both know I can’t do that. I’ll come back like nothing happened. I might look like crap, but I’ll tell you I’m hungover and you’ll sigh and let it go. You don’t need to know I’m exhausted because I spent most of the night crying on Kai’s shoulder because vodka makes me teary and I–

 I’ll leave it there, shall I?

 See you tomorrow.

 xo Chu”

renoiisms:

“Ya can leave it t’ me t’ get into the building and department we need – so don’t worry ‘bout that. ‘nd I don’t wanna be paid, I want somethin’ in return. Ya can think of a few things, and I’ll pick one of ‘em later or so”, the Turk muttered as he waved his hand, resulting in the bartender to pour him another drink. “Unless ya have somethin’ else in mind already, yo. Jus’ lemme know whenever ya come up with anythin’. ‘nd once that’s settled, I’ll help ya get… whatever it was that ya wanted from ShinRa”

A chuckle escaped from the redhead at the other’s words. “Mhm, so muja really sounds a little – spicier. Heh, wait, are ya sayin’ I’m yer love? Cuz ya called me that”

“Oh, I haven’t decided what I want myself, yet.” Chuami replied. She thought about it, legs swinging under her seat, eyes fixed on the back wall. “Hmm… whatever. I wanna see your armoury and the science department.”

It occurred to her, fleetingly, that hanging around the research areas of a highly secretive company with one of its most trusted secret service employees might have been a questionable idea. Common sense said no, but the jet fuel said yes.

“I did say tha, didn’t I? Tell ya what. Get me in, then I’ll find you your reward, then I’ll let you know.”