Courage [Charles]

Charles had been entrapped in the moment, sealed by the sensation of Mae's lips pressing against his. He didn't want it to stop, he wanted to disappear in the sea of yogurth that was her hair... He wanted to imprint on those lips of her's so they could stay together forever in that short moment of blyssful love... Yet, it ended way too soon as Mae pulled back. She said something to him, but he couldn't hear her. In his mind, he was still kissing her. But she looked happy, and that was all that mattered, right? Yet, as she broke his trance by kissing him on the cheek, for the first time, a doubt arose in Charles's heart. What would they do after?

He had always sought solace in Mae, worrying that he could not make her happy as an android, yet she always shot him down, saying that she didn't care. But she was wrong. The two of the being together... it wasn't right. He felt like he would be stripping Mae of her right if he were to keep loving her, and keep letting her love him. He looked at her like that, gazing at the reflection of himself in her eyes. If he wanted Mae to be happy, he would have to let her go, or, more correctly, somehow get her to let him go, as he already knew what he needed to do, but was sure she was going to keep negating it forever.

However, he couldn't tell her yet. No, right now, she needed him and, honestly, he needed her. And so, when she asked him if it was okay for her to sleep here, he nodded. "Yes. I... too want to spend some time with you right now..." ...before I end it...

He led Mae over to the bed and sat her down next to him, letting her lean on his shoulder or whatever she wanted. "We need to catch up on things, don't we?" He asked her with a smile. A smile colored purple by the tainted night sky...

Mae looked curiously at Charles for a moment. The look he gave her was... confusing her... Had something changed? Well, she'd find out soon enough. Charles wasn't one to keep shut about things for very long, and... well, he trusted her... At least, that's what she'd like to think. She wouldn't dwell on it further though. The act of genuine love they had both shared... it meant so much to her... "Promise me you won't leave me again like that... Okay?" She said eventually, looking into his eyes, as she untied the ribbon holding up her ponytail, letting her now red hair cascade down over her shoulders and her back. She still kept the pin on her though, just like she always did... It was a precious gift that Charles had given her... If only she could return the favor sometime soon, she'd gladly do that... Perhaps next valentine's day?

Mae leaned on his shoulder, smiling brightly. "Yeah. We have a lot of catching up to do... So, you wanna go first? I can go with either or..."

"M-me?" Charles pointed at himself. "A-alright, I'll go first..." It was difficult talking about all this stuff, but he forced himself for Mae. The words were hard to find and he stuttered every once in a while, but he told her everything about how he was no visiting the old man regularly and how Gao would be having her babies really soon. About how he spent his days working and how he earned quite a bit of cash now that he once again didn't have to spend it on anybody else. He told her about the ranger meeting, how Jack and everybody else announced they were going to solve this mess, and he told her about the new friend he made, the blonde haired Mr. Kurosawa, whose very apparition invoked utter respect and awe in him. As he spoke, he found himself able to find the appropriate words ever more easily. His worry was slowly dissipating as they chatted and he finally relaxed.

He ended his story with a smile. "And that's how we got to this point. Nothing much really happened... I've been avoiding people, most of the time..." He glanced over at her, leaning onto the bed. "Your turn now. Tell me, why is your hair red now? When did that happen?"

Mae listened intently on Charles story... His visits to the Manager at the Hospital... Gao was apparently having her babies really soon... Something she definetely wouldn't want to miss... He was still working too... For what reason, aside from the apartment, Mae had no idea. Perhaps it was just to keep him occupied... The Ranger Meeting Mae couldn't go to due to her trip with Rin to Alternate Standasen... This Kurosawa seemed very familiar... She had only heard about him, but if she wasn't mistaken, it was him who had previously dated Sharaku... Oh, what a small world indeed...

"My hair? Well, the Pink color wasn't exactly natural... I just bleached my red hair to get that color... I just decided to change back to my natural look..." And from there, Mae told him what had happened to her over the course of August and September... Julian's Prime Awakening, her trip to Alternate Standasen with Rin and what had happened at the Tower... About the end of the Event... The rifts closing up, and of course, Ayane's return back to Japan... She told him how much she had been thinking about him all this time... her troubled and conflicted thoughts that she used to have about their relationship after he had left her... "... And that's pretty much it..." She of course left out Sharaku in her explanation... This wasn't the time to tell him about that... If ever... That would probably stay a secret for the rest of her life... "..." She'd fall silent after that, falling down on the bed... A shy smile would make it's way on her lips eventually though, as she waited patiently for Charles to join her...

Charles was happy, being able to share his thoughts with Mae like this, even more so how she listened carefully and paid attention to everything he said. He could smile with her, cry with her, be honest with her, but no matter what, he could not be with her, after all. The tale she told him only served to further fortify his decision. As he listened to her voice, he could clearly see her, clearly picture her thoughts and feelings... But he kept on smiling regardless, nodding and poking her with an occassional question as she spoke. He could be himself with her.

"I didn't know your hair was naturally red!" He made a confused frown and smiled. "All this time I thought your yogurth pink color was the real deal! What else are you keeping from me, haha!" He giggled and laid on the bed next to her. "We've both been through a lot, haven't we?" He asked her after a moment of silence and staring at the ceiling. "But what matters is right now."

"Nothing!" Mae said with a light giggle, poking at him. "I just felt like changing back. I've had it for a long time now, and I thought it was getting a bit boring, honestly. I wanted some change." That's all there was to it really. Nothing more, nothing less. Mae couldn't stop smiling either. It was a nice change to see him this happy, giggling and everything. "Yeah, no kidding... It's been an eventful year... But I'm glad I got here. I've met so many wonderful people during my time on Azores... I will never forget this place." Sure, she had her own fair share of not-so fond memories of the islands, but the good stuff vastly outweighed the bad in the long run. "Indeed... We should focus on the present..." She said, looking up at the cieling. She would eventually move closer to Charles. "So... how was it? Your first kiss, I mean?" She asked curiously.

The two spent their time together in silence after that. If Charles listened carefully after a good 30 minutes or so, he could hear Mae's heavy breathing. She had fallen asleep right there, next to him. If he would try to leave, he'd find Mae's hand tightly grasping the sleeve of his shirt. Even in her sleep, she didn't want Charles to leave her side, if even for a short moment...

"My first kiss..?" The question startled Charles and his face contorted into an awkward frown as he turned away to his side to face away from Mae, still holding her hand, though. "I-it was n-nice... W-wait, does that mean this wasn't your first kiss as well!?"

And so the two laid there. Eventually, Mae fell asleep, but Charles stayed by her all the while to the morning.

The end.

-Charles has left the scene ~