Two Years Later... [Sharaku]

Subject: Re: Two Years Later... [Sharaku] Sat Feb 20, 2016 6:00 pm

Yeah, when she thought about it, things could've been worse with those two. It took her a bit of effort to ignore the noises made by the other two in the back. Sure, it was annoying, but it wasn't unbearable... At least the two had the decency to sit in the back. Yet another good reason why she hadn't been drinking that much... Who knows what kind of stunts she would've pulled with Sharaku then...? The mere thought of what she could've done in that state sent a chill down her spine. "A little... I guess. I'll live through it though. Like you said, it could've been way worse." Mae replied with a shrug. "Hm? Sure. Those are Chewing gums...?" The woman asked curiously as she took out one of them, inspecting it curiously with a raised eyebrow before taking a bite of it. And indeed... the chewy texture of it could only belong to that of, you guessed it, a chewing gum... Strawberry flavoured, eh? Fruity flavours would always be a passing grade in her book when it came to sweets and the like, so naturally, she liked it. "Thanks. I expected you to be more of a... mint or licorice kind of guy though." She replied with a light giggle. Strawberry was certainly something she didn't expect. Then again, Sharaku was rather unpredictable to begin with, so she really should stop trying to guess his tastes. You'd think she would've stopped doing that by now... but no, old habits die hard.

Subject: Re: Two Years Later... [Sharaku] Sat Feb 20, 2016 7:00 pm

He would smile with a hint of amusement. ''Indeed. The ride won't be horribly long anyway.'' Other than that...''I'm assuming you wouldn't consider doing something like that then. No particular reason for asking this. I'm just curious. Are you against public affection like that...?'' Yeeesss, that could certainly be taken weirdly. At the very least, he was aware of that, which is why he clarified before actually putting the question out there. He could certainly be interested in very...unlikely things at times. But he did like to know what people thought, if they were willing to tell him. And well, the current situation prompted that kind of topic...

''Yes, they are...'', he would chuckle faintly. An odd choice, but so it was. Perhaps it was just him being nostalgic. And people make these anyway, so not like he was the crazy one for putting cigarette shaped gums into use in the first place. He would grab one himself as he considered her question. ''Well, mint and lemon are my favorites, but I like all fruit in general. So it's not a big deal.'' He wasn't extremely picky in the end, even though he had some of them higher on the list. He would stare at the gum stick in his mouth. ''I wonder what would happen if you tried litting these on fire..'', he would mutter, mostly to himself. Probably nothing good. Afterall, it was only the shape.

Subject: Re: Two Years Later... [Sharaku] Sat Feb 20, 2016 7:33 pm

"Eeeeh?!" Mae's eyes widened at the question that Sharaku had asked so out of the blue... She wasn't used to this... what did he want, asking something like that? "Ahm... Ehm..." She fidgeted a bit in place, still trying to get a hold of herself... she couldn't just leave him without an answer... She wasn't completely against it, no... but doing it like those two in the back... She'd rather keep it to just a single kiss or so, not a makeout session in public... She'd rather keep things like that more... private. "I-I'm not necessarily against public affection per say... but I'd rather keep things like making out... a bit more... ehm, private." She answered eventually, tempted to hiding her blushing face behind her hands at this point... but she decided against it, giving Sharaku a shy glance before looking out the window.

"Huh... People can sometimes have the silliest of ideas." She hadn't grown up with gums like this, so naturally, the concept was rather new to her. Usually, the gums she had come across as a child had been either pillow-shaped or made in small straps, about the size of a bandaid. "Lemon and mint, eh? I'm personally a fan of Peach and raspberries myself." Especially when it came to stuff like Mochi Ice Cream, and other such goodies. Peach just made for a good flavor when it came to sweets of all kinds, and raspberries had a pleasant flavor overall. "It would probably smell horribly? I know burnt candy doesn't smell paticularly nice. I bet the same goes for these." Not that she was willing to experiment much on it right now, even though she had the capacity of doing so with a snap of her fingertips. That would just be abusing the gift she had been given... besides, she didn't want anyone else to see that she was versed in the art of Pyromancy... that would probably scare people off... alot.

Subject: Re: Two Years Later... [Sharaku] Sat Feb 20, 2016 8:03 pm

Was it bad that he was amused by her reaction? He wasn't sure about that. Of course, it wasn't that he was literally enjoying seeing her in distress, but you just can't deny that seeing this is funny in its own way. And he could be amused by the strangest things at times. ''Hmm, I wonder what comes to your mind when I ask these...I'm really not trying to get at anything specific here.'', he would state, shifting in his seat to get a bit more comfortable. She reacted similarly to the children question earlier, and he was quite aware what was in her head back then. ''Although...if it bothers you too much....just say so. I can stop...'', he would look towards her. It would seem he was genuine with that one. Of course, he liked asking when something popped into his mind, but...he wouldn't really do so, were she to wish otherwise. He wouldn't want to go too far on accident. He just tended to be a bit too open-minded when it came to talking, even about subjects one would call intimate. Much more so than your average person. He could still be embarrassed when done right, of course, but he was just not as likely to see this kind of discussion as an issue for what it was. It's something people do, so why get extra fidgety about it, right? There's too much value put on these matters being a taboo to talk about sometimes. That's what he'd say, but he'd respect others' stance on it. Afterall, not even he would ask someone he is not comfortable with at all.

''Perhaps. And perhaps I am silly too, for having these. Serves as a nice reminder though...'' Not sure whether he needed one, but eh. He would have to contend himself with gum sticks anyway. This was a better habit than actually smoking in the end, wasn't it? ''Peaches and raspberries...hmm...well, they are nice.'', he would comment thoughtfully, kind of leaving it at that, unless she continued on it. What was on his mind was unclear right now. He would sigh lightly. ''I know. I'm not even sure why am I thinking about that. Must be a habit. Can't light candy though.'' Ew. Burnt gum would probably taste as bad as it would smell. So, no thanks, really.

Subject: Re: Two Years Later... [Sharaku] Sat Feb 20, 2016 8:28 pm

Mae stayed silent on his next question. Maybe it was better off that way. Not that she didn't trust the guy with it but... she lacked the courage to just go out and say it now. Besides, if he was as good at reading her as he claimed, then he probably knew why she was reacting this way to begin with. It wasn't the subject itself that was a bit touchy. It was a combination of said subject, and the person asking, if that makes any sense whatsoever. "N-No... It's quite alright. You don't get anywhere if you're not curious..." She eventually replied with a sheepish smile. She didn't mind it much, to be honest. At this point, Sharaku would have a really hard time going too far. With him... it felt like she could be a bit more open. Just that... some things would require a bit of thinking before she divulged anything too sensitive. Of course, she wouldn't divulge any secrets that others had confided her in.

"Hehe, you are a bit silly, but I find that rather cute... You don't go over-the-top silly like say Jack." Mae said with a slightly nervous chuckle. She spoke the truth there. Jack was a bit too silly for her tastes. Not to say that the guy didn't have his funny moments, but... Sharaku's silliness was of a different kind. Less over-the-top, and much more rare, and it stood out a fair bit in contrast to how he usually acted. Compare that to someone like say Jack who had two states of mind, Silly and sillier. With Sharaku, it was much more noticable, despite it being less overkill silly. The right amount for it to be adorable. "You really have the strangest thoughts sometimes." Mae said with a cheerful laugh, smiling back at him. He had changed quite a bit since they had first met... Who would've thought the man she met back then would turn out to be this... charming, cheerful, yet somewhat silly man, with tons of good insight and adivce on life...?

Subject: Re: Two Years Later... [Sharaku] Sat Feb 20, 2016 8:57 pm

O..kay. Well, the reason behind her reaction was obvious enough, yeah. He just wouldn't state it out loud to make it more embarrassing, really. He wouldn't go that far. That wouldn't be nice of him at all. ''I suppose so...I just wanted to be sure. I don't want to make you unnecessarily uncomfortable if I can avoid it..'' It wouldn't be easy though. He had a knack for going out of the way regardless, albeit it happened less when he kept the consequences in mind specifically. He didn't always want to, still. Playing around was something he tended to like doing, but he was capable of being careful, at the very least.

Ehm...? He would stare ahead for a bit. How should he take the cute comment..? Cute would probably make him think of puppies and the like as the first thing. He would purse his lips slightly. ''I don't think I could. Jack's type of sillyness is something that tends to get on my nerves most of the time. He and I are hardly alike, I guess...'' In that manner, at least. He wouldn't deny he had his moments, probably. Otherwise he wouldn't get called out on it in the first place. Most of the time, it was not even intentional though. Jack seemed to take being silly as a job almost. A rather obvious difference there. ''I'm as strange as it gets, probably.'' Was he not? In many ways. As for his thoughts...well, sometimes the connections he made were a little weird in retrospect, yes. His way of thinking was often more abstract than anything else.

Subject: Re: Two Years Later... [Sharaku] Sun Feb 21, 2016 10:45 am

"Ah, I see." Mae replied. Him being so... cautious about things was quite nice, in a way. Sure, she would've been fine with him asking her things, but knowing that at least he had some sort wish to not intrude too much was nice. "Likewise... I wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable either..." That was one thing the two definetely agreed on. "You don't have to restrain yourself too much. I can handle most things..." Sure, she looked all flustered and such, but she never really felt like he was pushing too much. At least not yet. He hadn't crossed that boundary yet, and with how this was going, perhaps he would never cross it either. At this point, Mae felt like she could trust Sharaku with almost anything... She even felt comfortable with entrusting her own life to him, should it come to that.

"Heh, I doubt anyone really could." Mae replied with a chuckle. Indeed, Jack was a one of a kind-type of silly. A kind you could only see from him, and no-one else. That's not to say he couldn't be serious. Over the course of time, Mae have had tons of serious conversations with him on varying subjects. So it wasn't like the guy was incapable of being serious every once in a while. "It's not a bad thing, by any means." Being a bit strange was never really a bad thing... unless it was really extreme to the point where you actually posed a threat to yourself and others... not that Sharaku was anywhere near that level.

The speakers crackled to life, almost causing Mae to jump in her seat. -Next Stop... San Malarus Station. Please, make sure you have all your belongings with you before you leave, and mind your step. - And indeed... shortly after, the tram came to a slow halt at San Malarus station... Her home wasn't too far away from here now. The couple in the back seemed to have stopped their makeout session as well, and they were on their way out. "Well, shall we go...? My home's not too far away from here." Mae said, standing up, and waited for Sharaku before they exited.

Subject: Re: Two Years Later... [Sharaku] Sun Feb 21, 2016 11:08 am

''Hm....shouldn't be too hard from your side...'' He didn't get uncomfortable as easy as that nowadays. It would require some good reasoning for that to happen. Sure, he may react oddly to things at times, but it was rarely due to low comfort. That was just how he was, technically speaking. ''Most things usually do not include me. But I'll take your word for it.'', he would smile thinly. There was no denying that he was probably unlike others in many things. He wasn't all that easy to handle by definition, but he'd let her make her own decision on that.

Perhaps not? Jack was his own kind. Although... ''Well, there was one person that came close, I think...'' But not anymore. And it probably wasn't the best idea to bring that up. Still, even before, he often throught of those two together when it came to goofy behavior and the like. It was hard not to. ''Who knows. It does make me stick out, though.'' That could be a bit of an issue at times. It was something he had grown used to already, however. So, it didn't matter as much. He would never be completely normal.

He would turn his head at the sudden announcement, but say nothing. Well, that's that. Time to go now. Even though he didn't feel like standing up much. Perhaps he was actually getting tired by now, seeing as he was getting too comfy on a seat like that. Ah well. ''Right. Let's go then...'' It was probably pretty late by now. Maybe he would just not sleep at all tonight. Getting to bed by the time sun is almost rising feels a little pointless. Then again, a day of being tired is no win either...

Subject: Re: Two Years Later... [Sharaku] Sun Feb 21, 2016 11:25 am

Mae grinned back, poking his cheek with her left index finger. "Heh, we'll see about that." Whether or not he was right was up in the air still... all she could really do on that front was wait and see. Perhaps he could be a bit much for her. There was honestly no way of telling at present.

Hyde... Mae sighed deeply. The loss of him... she had taken it quite hard. Perhaps not as hard as some of the others who knew him better. But she still felt this sting of guilt everytime the red-head's name was mentioned... She had barely known him... and now, he was gone. She shook her head lightly. No need to dwell on such matters now... She was supposed to be happy, not sad! "Heh, well, as long as you don't see sticking out as a problem, then why should it be?" Mae asked cheerfully.

The walk over to Mae's appartment didn't take overly long. Perhaps a couple of minutes at best, mostly spent walking in silence. When they eventually reached Mae's home, she turned around, looking at Sharaku. "Thanks for joining me..." She started... normally that's where she would've stopped too, had it not been for Sharaku looking as tired as he did. By the time he would be home, it wouldn't be long before the sun rose... "...Say Sharaku..." Mae continued, fidgeting a bit in place. How to ask this without making it seem... you know... inappropriate. "You look kind of tired... Wanna sleep over here for the night?" She would look up at him Shyly, awaiting how he would respond to her request. He had gone out of his way to get her home safely... even to such a degree that he would most likely not get any sleep himself should he go back to Penecia. Mae didn't like that at all. She'd feel guilty about having him lose an entire night's worth of sleep just because he wanted to be nice.

Subject: Re: Two Years Later... [Sharaku] Sun Feb 21, 2016 11:47 am

''Mm...?'', he would rub his cheek absentmindedly, before turning his gaze towards her. ''..see about that. Are you planning on trying something...?'', he would poke at her slightly. Well, if she wanted to see about that, there had to be something to see in the first place. Should he start preparing...?

He would say nothing. Did she figure who he had meant? It was likely enough, so he wouldn't push the subject further. It wasn't something he really wanted to talk about much either way. That wasn't his intention in the end. Leaving it at the comparison with Jack was quite enough. ''You can never know what happens. But anything can turn out to be a problem nowadays...'' He wasn't extremely bothered by it though. His tone was fairly easy-going, suggesting he was saying it only for the sake of saying something, pretty much.

Walking with her in silence, he would occupy himself with his thoughts until they reached the destination. ''You're welcome.'', he would chuckle faintly. He really didn't mind that much. Had it bothered him, he wouldn't have gone as far as walking her all the way here, would he? He would fall silent at her next words, though. Frankly, he hadn't even thought of that possibility. It's not like he aimed for that. And well, should he...? Hmm. ''I wouldn't pass out on the way back, if you're worried about that....'' Despite the fact that he was kind of tired at this point. It wasn't often that he stayed up this late. ''Do you want me to? I knew what I was getting into when I offered to walk you, so I'm just fine with having to go all the way back. I'll stay only if you're really fine with that.'' He didn't want her to be doing it just because it was the courteous thing to do, really. It's not like he was dumb and didn't know the consequences of coming here beforehand, therefore she didn't really have to. He was willing to go either way though, based on what she wanted to do.

Subject: Re: Two Years Later... [Sharaku] Sun Feb 21, 2016 12:08 pm

"Maaaybe I am~" Mae replied ambiguously, with a light smirk present on her lips. She wasn't really planning anything, but teasing around a bit couldn't hurt, right?

"I guess not... But still, it ain't a problem now, is it?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. Did he consider that a problem? Mae certainly didn't, from her point of view at least, Sharaku being a bit strange was okay in her book.

Mae smiled back towards Sharaku as he said "You're welcome". "Oh, no. I'm not worried about that. I just... don't want you to lose any sleep because of you being so kind to me.... that's all." She replied shyly. "Mhm... Please stay..." Her smile was more confident now, but still, her cheeks reddended a little bit. She turned around, and began unlocking the door, before she stepped in, gesturing Sharaku to follow her inside. Her appartment wasn't overly large, only having a small kitchen and a single other room aside from the toilet where a decently large bed was placed along the left-most wall. The Futon Ayane had slept on last time she had crashed here was still on the floor. Mae walked up to it after taking off her jacket and boots, inspecting it. "The futon looks to be a bit too small for you... Feel free to take the bed. I'll sleep in the futon." Mae said with a light smile towards Sharaku. She couldn't let him sleep in a futon that was waay too small for his size... She had no qualms with sleeping there. She had done so on multiple occasions before.

Subject: Re: Two Years Later... [Sharaku] Sun Feb 21, 2016 12:38 pm

''I ought to be careful then.'' Nah, not really. Whether she meant it or not, he would probably just flow along anyway, instead of being seriously careful about it all. There was no way to predict what could happen, so he would be walking in blind either way.

''Don't know. Not paying attention to it.'' That was actually accurate in its own way. Was it a problem right now? He wouldn't be able to properly tell. He wasn't asessing it as much as he could afterall, unless it was brought up into his face. It would be tiring to deal with it all the damn time, and be paranoid or whatever.

Indeed. Although he already lost a good deal of his sleep up until now. It was just a matter of whether he would lose even more or not at this point. ''Well, if you say so...'' There was no point in protesting against that, if she was sure about it. It was just for one night anyway. Not even a whole night, when you wanted to be exact about it. It was kind of nearing early morning already. Following behind her, he would cast a few looks around just for measure, before his gaze settled back on her as she spoke up about sleeping arrangements. At which he would frown slightly. Well, what to do about that? He was already occupying space at her place without it being planned. He shouldn't be making her give up her bed too. His height could be quite the annoyance at times, as proved right now. Too many things were just small. On the other hand, he wasn't even picky. He could handle sleeping on the floor was it something he had to do. He would huff. ''I shouldn't. You're already going out of your way to let me stay here. And it's your own bed. I can sleep anywhere when it comes down to it, really.'' And perhaps he was just a little bit stubborn too. Besides, it was going to be awkward sleep anyway. Seeing as he would have to sleep in his clothes like that. It's not like he could borrow anything from her, because nothing would legit fit. At best, he could go for sleeping shirtless, which he often did anyway, but the rest he'd have to deal with. Thankfully, he wasn't wearing uncomfortable pants and whatnot.

Subject: Re: Two Years Later... [Sharaku] Sun Feb 21, 2016 1:01 pm

"Well... I can't just let you sleep on the floor either." Mae puffed up her cheeks and crossed her arms. "That would be indecent." Gah, why did this have to be an issue now? Oh well, she had already gone through the trouble of inviting him inside... She didn't have a couch for him to sleep on either, sadly. Her appartment just wasn't large enough. Lack of space, really. And as mentioned earlier, him sleeping on the floor was out of the question. She thought for a moment for a solution to this predicament... And it didn't take her very long to see a solution... question was... would he be willing to...? Man, she really should've thought ahead before offering something like him sleeping here... The woman was just too kind for her own good at times. She looked up nervously into Sharaku's eyes... "I guess if it's out of the question for me to sleep on the futon..." Her face turned a bright red as she continued on, her voice now shaking like never before. "W-W-Would y-you like t-to...!" The girl stopped for a second, lowering the tone of her voice due to shyness moreso than anything... "S-S-Sleep with m-me then...?" After asking that, the girl hid her face behind a pillow from the very bed she had proposed they would share... if only for a couple of hours...

Subject: Re: Two Years Later... [Sharaku] Sun Feb 21, 2016 1:30 pm

''Hmm? Me and decency don't always see eye to eye anyway.'' He could really be lax on many things. As they say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Sleeping on the floor was a very small evil in his book. He has learned to not be extremely uptight on a lot of stuff, and well, this would be one of them. He would really not be bothered by the floor in the end. He would be pondering that for a short while, until she came up with her next offer. At which he would proceed to stare at her momentarily, actually rather surprised for this once. Yeah, that was always an option, but he had not thought she would even consider that, really. Not with how easily she could get flustered even by some of his questions. This was really...well, out of the blue. ''I....'' It wasn't that he was extremely embarrassed by the idea, but it was still awkward. It always would, just taking in consideration what all doing that could imply. Even more so in their position. Generally speaking, it would be awkward anyway, as long as you put two adults of a different gender in one bed, really. That's just how it is. ''Well....'' He still didn't know how to really answer her. He didn't want to seem like he was actually eager to go for it, because that would just give weird vibes. On the other hand, he didn't have a huge problem with it. In the past, he probably would have, but right now, he could deal with it. Still, he had never shared a bed with someone before. Hm.

Okay, he needed to stop thinking about it too much. That wouldn't help. ''...is that truly your final offer? I can....do that....'', he would walk over to her, tugging at the pillow she was holding. ''But you can't go dying from embarrassement on me. It probably won't work in that case. We won't get much sleep like that....'' And even he had a limit at which point he would feel uneasy over the situation, and all that.

Subject: Re: Two Years Later... [Sharaku] Sun Feb 21, 2016 2:06 pm

Well... that was certainly not the response she expected. When he walked over and tugged at the pillow she was using to cover her face, the woman lowered it, and looked back at him. "I-I'll try..." For his sake, she had to. She had already made things awkward enough... No need to make things more awkward than needed. "Ahem... I'll go change now..." Mae said slowly, before she strutted towards her wardrobe and took out a white t-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants before she headed into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Of course, she had multiple reasons for doing this. For one, sleeping in her current clothes would be uncomfortable... that and she wanted to give Sharaku some room to think about all this on his own, just like she needed a bit of time to do so.

The woman stared at her own reflection in the mirror for a good while after she had changed clothes, mentally preparing herself for this. She had never shared a bed with anyone before so... of course she was nervous. Happy, but nervous. After pepping herself up, she would leave the bathroom, with a light, nervous smile on her face. The blush was gone, but that slightly skittish demeanour of hers wouldn't vanish completely just yet. It all came down to how Sharaku decided to approach this whole situation.

» Those seven years ago [Phile]
» Two Years Ago Huh? (Rylue)
» 5 years ago [Flashback Tawpic]
» Two years...where it all began and ended.
» New years day movie [Gabe]