Compilation Of Unseen Scenes - Private RP

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

"Trent!" Erin chided, laughing off his comments. "Stop it! Don't you want to just try it? Come on, please?"

"Whatever," Trent said with a shrug. "It's fine with me." Erin was too happy with his agreement to notice that he didn't really think it was fine. His fingers pressed hard into the strings of his guitar.

"Okay!" she chirped, then looked again at Yukito, about to burst from excitement. "What do you think, Yukito? And I'm sorry, Jeremy, you can totally start us off this time... " She giggled. Jeremy just shrugged again, and played out a rhythm. It died down again, though, to a bored beat as he realized Yukito was not ready.

"We could try it, I guess," Yukito said, sounding half-bored and surprising Erin a little. Did she do something wrong? Already? "I'll need to check with you on which ones you keep and which ones I would take. So we're trading lyrics as well as pushing the key change back to right after the bridge, or what?"

"Key change right after the bridge, alternate every two phrases just for that one stanza, then I could pick up again; just 'cause it would focus the dynamics right on that one part, where there's a shift in the lyrics' sound, too, so I think it'd work really well!" Erin rattled it off quickly, gesturing with one hand as if she saw the music in front of her. She almost advised them singing the final line together, in harmony, but that might be pushing it for the very first practice they had together.... "That cool?" Without much more wait, Erin turned her attention back to the keyboard and heard Jeremy's cue. "Coming in at the bridge..."

Erin followed his direction, adding her vocals where they belonged with their adjustments, and dropping out easily for Yukito's voice to lift. She was savoring the moment, feeling whole and transcendent with the swarm of harmony about her, the connecting power that could not exist but for music pulsing in the air, in her ears, and in her blood. It was perfect this way, it was what the song had needed to make it as whole as she felt, Erin was sure. And as the last strands of notes faded on the air, she stayed in her moment as long as possible, the feeling that the air still hung heavy with the melody lingering in each breath. She only fully came out of it with the approval in Jeremy's muted voice: "Sounds like it could work well that way... How does it feel to you, Yukito?"

"The way it was before was fine, too," Trent put in casually. "But it's whatever you want, right?"

"I like it this way!" Erin chirped, expression gleaming from the remnants of the song. "This way is perfect!" You're perfect.


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Trent Fisher

"So you went out and found this place on your own, then? You're not the owner's brother's girlfriend's nephew's neighbor or something." Trent made it a statement, and not a question, because even though he felt like making a lame joke, he wasn't trying to get on friendly terms with him, and so his humor was dry. Trent would be cordial, for Erin and for the band, but more than that he would not be caving soon.

He'd been told he held grudges like a girl. Trent never argued against that.

"No," Yukito said, as if it was a real question. "Is he yours?" Trent just gave him a look, bored already with Yukito's attempt at wit (what did Erin see in him, anyway? Girls made no sense...). "It seemed like a place I would go to if I was looking for something fresh to listen to. So I poked around a little."

All right, he'd cave a little. But because it was for the band. He wanted to play just as much as any of them. Maybe more. The idea of a solid gig with a stoked audience ignited his curiosity past the grudge. "So what did you get from your 'guy' here?"

"It's a decent-sized venue, has a good reputation for Indie or outcoming bands and such, but I don't know how big Veritas has played or how much you want to talk price-wise."

Trent shrugged. "About venues... Nothing to write home about yet..." He glanced around again, then added, half to himself, "This could be a good leg up, though. And price..." He shrugged again, always leery of talking prices. "Honestly, the most important thing is the audience... We haven't done any high-paying gigs, really, and that's fine as long as there's new people to hear it, you know?"

Yukito just nodded, and Trent kept on, clearly more talkative of the two anyway. Whatever, man... "You're more than welcome to try to get more if you want," he added, first speaking of the price, then letting another dry comment tumble out, "I'm sure you have practice doing that, too." He didn't feel anything bad about making another one of his comments, and he was sure Yukito caught the double meaning. He was determined to get Yukito to realize why he shouldn't toy with Erin again. Trent held grudges-- especially when it came to people close to him. And he had sen how Yukito had screwed with her heart, how she'd crumbled into herself and sunk away from everything because he'd hurt her. Did this guy realize how much of herself Erin had invested in him? And not only had he taken advantage of an opportunity to come in and make himself out to be a distorted version of a knight in shining armor to her, he'd pulled her into living with him. She was completely reliant on him, connected to him, invested her entire self into him. The idea of them... what would happen to Erin when he left her again? When he decided he'd gotten what he wanted from her and was done? She'd be nothing...

And Yukito didn't seem fazed. Or he was too full of himself to notice. Probably both.


"One more thing," Yukito started, shifting the weight on his feet. "Our guy here says we've gotta shy away from the covers. He usually goes for a more Indie sound, and doesn't want to hear a bunch of oldies regurgitated." Trent smirked, thinking of how Yukito was talking as if he was a mobster or was dealing with the mafia or something. Maybe that's how you roll back East...

"The more time to show our own style, the better," Trent replied easily. "We only have so many minutes in front of these guys paying to see us, so what's the point in playing others' stuff anyway?" Trent shrugged, his hands in his pockets, and sent a sideways look to Yukito. "You're gonna have to persuade your girlfriend about that, though. She's attached to covers almost as much as she's attached to you."

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki - Band

"We could try it, I guess," Yukito said, always a stickler in as many situations as he could manage. Subconsciously, of course. "I'll need to check with you on which ones you keep and which ones I would take. So we're trading lyrics as well as pushing the key change back to right after the bridge, or what?"

"Key change right after the bridge, alternate every two phrases just for that one stanza, then I could pick up again; just 'cause it would focus the dynamics right on that one part, where there's a shift in the lyrics' sound, too, so I think it'd work really well!" Erin rattled it off quickly while he checked the settings on a secondary microphone they would have had one of the others use as backup vocals. At her explanation, he nodded, surprised that she was so quick to ramble off orders. He probably shouldn't have been - that was how Erin did things. He just wasn't used to it in music. "That cool?"

"Yeah," he gave another nod, taking position as Jeremy started in on the correct rhythm. Already, he could feel the others pulling the air inward again, more prepared this time for their cues. "Coming in at the bridge..."

Through another run, he could already tell they had it more together this time. But he waited with a strangely conflicted sensation in his chest as the bridge came all too soon. What was it he was afraid of? He could pick up the every two phrases bit, and he already knew the song - as soon as Erin seriously started talking to other members about him joining he'd made sure to overstock on the background knowledge and learned all the songs - and he knew he liked the way they sounded together. And he'd missed singing. He missed playing. So what was the problem?

The way he felt. It felt wrong, to be stepping in and immediately taking over the vocals. If he knew anything about Erin, she would want to hand him more vocal parts, as many as she could weasel out of the guys. It didn't feel right to have a democratic band, instead of a near-monarchy. A whole different dynamic ruled here, and he felt like he was drowning in it.

He'd never been a very good swimmer, anyway. And he'd spent most of his life on a freaking island.

The bridge ended, and Yukito lifted his face to the microphone, taking a silent breath before releasing the first two lines, Erin easily slipping in with confidence. He could feel her try to overlap him, to let the now rougher part of the song be smoothed over by the two contrasting voices combining. Sensing that, he came in a little earlier for his next line, twisting around her melody with his and adding a little more lustre to his sustained notes as he waited for her to sing back to him. He couldn't fake that - it did sound better that way. For a few seconds, he pretended he didn't feel the others listening quite as hard. If he could have imagined all the kinks had been scrubbed out and worked through, and that he knew where he needed to be, this could all be easier. But he didn't have that. Just a nagging uncertainty, that kept making him hesitate to put everything he had into this. Luckily, the song could use a little more desperation in sound. He could add a little bit to that. At least this time. Yukito stepped back from the microphone to let Erin take back over the final stanzas, lowering his head to watch his hands pin down the strings and fly back up, then back down, falling into the end. The last strains held onto the air, and for a brief moment he wished he could vanish like that, softly and leaving him with a little chill every time.

For a moment, no on said anything. Then Jeremy commented, "Sounds like it could work well that way... How does it feel to you, Yukito?"

Hard to say. Personally, I would have made half the bridge in screams, then did how I mentioned before and turned the stanza after the bridge in just keyboards, then flown back in with the final clash in the remaining choruses. He looked up at Jeremy and nodded, "Sounds good to me. Your beat's pretty solid, too. I think it fits." He skimmed over the 'feel' part of the situation. Thinking was more rational, and better suited to new situations, right?

"The way it was before was fine, too," Trent put in casually. "But it's whatever you want, right?"

"I like it this way!" Erin chirped, careless to Trent's gloomy statements. "This way is perfect!"

Instead of responding, Yukito tapped out a little riff on his bass, going faster and faster, then more slowly as he spoke. "We should try out more of the slower songs, too. I haven't worked with those as much." The little riff morphed into one of their other songs, with more than just the somewhat bland bass line from before. "That one needs your keyboard lead, Erin. And I think Trent could try out a little longer of a solo before it returns to you again. It seems like he doesn't get much chance to solo, and I think the song needs a bigger instrumental break between your lyrics on that one. Like..." He lifted one shoulder, singing the end of the last chorus before it's bridge. "...Until the end...Until the end..." Then he played the single-note solo on a much lower note on his bass, drawing it out and letting what had previously been whole notes stretch into multiple measures, gaining him more time to trill back to the previous melody. "Or something. You can probably figure out something better suited to you, or whatever. But I'd like to try it." And there's no way I can sing this song, Erin. Please. Let me be the boring bassist for a little while. Let someone else make the decision because I'm not ready yet.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yukito Maki

"One more thing," Yukito started, shifting the weight on his feet. "Our guy here says we've gotta shy away from the covers. He usually goes for a more Indie sound, and doesn't want to hear a bunch of oldies regurgitated." Trent smirked, obviously amused by something Yukito had done. Fine, if you want to step in and take charge, go right ahead. I'm getting irritated by this switching-game we keep playing.

"The more time to show our own style, the better,"[ Trent replied easily. "We only have so many minutes in front of these guys paying to see us, so what's the point in playing others' stuff anyway?" Trent shrugged, his hands in his pockets, and sent a sideways look to Yukito. "You're gonna have to persuade your girlfriend about that, though. She's attached to covers almost as much as she's attached to you."

Yukito's frown deepened at Trent's continual comments. To put it simply, he didn't trust Trent because of comments like that. It was hard to put a motive on it that didn't involve remembering the way he'd looked at Erin at that party, realizing she was totally inebriated and out of it. Erin kept saying how it was all cool and Trent was just like that. But being a more cynical type - as lame as he continued to prove himself - Trent 'just being like that' didn't fit in with all the snide things he flippantly said to Yukito, just daring him to react to it.

"I'll talk to her about it. We've got logic on our side, if we tell her we can't do the show with covers." He took a step inside, "Let's just go, alright? And get this over with." He already knew who would be doing the talking - Trent hadn't passed the test, really. He'd just gone with 'whatever'. And Yukito didn't believe that would fly with the whole 'make it big' scheme. Maybe Trent didn't have much to lose here, but Erin and Yukito needed this. Perhaps moreso Erin, but still... The band was a big part of her, and she was putting a little too much into it emotionally to let it just flop dead in the water.

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

For a moment, no on said anything. Then Jeremy broke the silence. "Sounds like it could work well that way... How does it feel to you, Yukito?"

Erin was only grinning proudly, elatedly, still on a high from the music. Yukito just answered calmly, collectively, like his usual way. She would never understand how he managed that, not when she felt so... thrilled. "Sounds good to me. Your beat's pretty solid, too. I think it fits."

"The way it was before was fine, too," Trent put in casually. "But it's whatever you want, right?"

"I like it this way!" Erin chirped, careless to Trent's gloomy statements. "This way is perfect!"

Yukito's response was to play on his bass a bit, finally answering, "We should try out more of the slower songs, too. I haven't worked with those as much." Erin immediately noticed the bass line he'd started to play, somewhat surprised at his initiative, but pleasantly. "Oh! Okay!" she chirruped, slipping easily into the next song, tapping to the rhythm already.

"That one needs your keyboard lead, Erin." She nodded curtly, knowing this already, and unable to stop smiling at him being there. "And I think Trent could try out a little longer of a solo before it returns to you again. It seems like he doesn't get much chance to solo, and I think the song needs a bigger instrumental break between your lyrics on that one. Like..." He lifted one shoulder, singing the end of the last chorus before it's bridge. "...Until the end...Until the end..." Then Yukito demonstrated his idea of the instrumental solo. Erin listened jealously, wanting to watch his every note, and happy that she wasn't going to have to be the one to remember that all. Of course, the idea of a solo, time for him to show he was much more than capable-- he wanted to show he was great, too. The bass faded out, and Yukito tacked on almost bored-sounding, "Or something. You can probably figure out something better suited to you, or whatever. But I'd like to try it."

"Fine by me, let's do it," Trent voiced without objection or snide comment, and Erin continued to beam at Yukito, wanting to rush over and kiss him, but he had told her to wait. And they were trying to practice. So she did her best to turn her attention to the music, to play her part. She listened for her cue, keyboard preceding the sound of her voice. She sang, she played, but Erin's mind was still lingering on the previous song. How much she wanted to sing with him more! To hear him more. He made it all so much more beautiful. Did he have any idea?

Erin didn't even notice Trent gratefully taking advantage of the solo, that his addition lengthened and flourished the song. The band noticed she didn't notice, though. Her mind wasn't in the song.

"Hello?" Trent snapped his fingers in her direction. "Hey, where were you, Erin?"

A guilty look passed over her face-- she knew exactly what he meant. She hadn't sounded bad, but she sounded missing. And that was probably worse. Detachment. "I... " she shrugged, glancing away. "I spaced, okay? Whatever, move on...." Suddenly Erin felt embarrassed... how could she have let herself detach like that? And with Yukito there... (because of Yukito there....)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trent Fisher

"The more time to show our own style, the better," Trent replied easily in reply to Yukito's note about the cover deal. He'd never understood Erin's attachment to covers anyway. "We only have so many minutes in front of these guys paying to see us, so what's the point in playing others' stuff anyway?" He shrugged, his hands in his pockets, and sent a sideways look to Yukito, wanting to get the guy to actually speak. To say something worth anything. "You're gonna have to persuade your girlfriend about that, though. She's attached to covers almost as much as she's attached to you." He didn't look away from Yukito, letting the smug expression remain. He wanted Yukito to get it, to realize who Erin was and how her emotions were so wrapped into him. He had to see it before he hurt her again. Because maybe next time there won't be a crowd --and Erin herself-- as witnesses.

He didn't miss the look on Yukito's face. That's right. You get it. Now do something about it.

But instead, Yukito only stayed focused on the conversation at hand. Annoying trait, actually. "I'll talk to her about it. We've got logic on our side, if we tell her we can't do the show with covers."

Trent said nothing, just gave him a look that read his thoughts: Right. Whatever.

Yukito took a step inside. Oh, am I making you feel uncomfortable? Well, then, welcome to the club. Sorry, we're out of club jackets, but I'm sure we can put one on backorder for you.... "Let's just go, alright? And get this over with."

An eyebrow rose on Trent's face. "Yes sir, Captain Bipolar," he muttered, walking briskly enough to pass him up just a little. After a few more paces he slowed, not looking back as he asked, "So who's your guy here? You did think to tell him we were coming now, right? An appointment or something?"

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki - Band

The demonstrative method seemed to be working, with Yukito showing Trent directly an example of what he could do with extra time. He could tell Trent was actually paying attention, which was good. And he felt Erin's eyes, and had seen her smile not faltering since they'd started this. That wasn't so good. "Or something. You can probably figure out something better suited to you, or whatever. But I'd like to try it."

"Fine by me, let's do it," Trent voiced without objection or snide comment, which was a pleasant surprise. Yukito figured an appeal to a side of Trent where actually playing his musical role in the band would make it easier to get used to the two of them being in the same room. Yukito's eyes flickered over to Erin, who was sending him a happy beam. He sent a smaller version of his usual smile to her and they went into the song. Yukito was glad the bass line wasn't so dull in this one, and he started adding in extras here and there. Nothing too radical, nothing to throw anyone off, and barely noticeable, really.

What was noticeable was Erin's lack of presence. Yukito glanced over at her a few times, unsure of what was going on. Erin was good at keeping up a stage presence and being aware during a song. But her voice and her expression were all distant, almost glassy. She was in auto-mode. Trent flowed into a solo, adding his own flourish to it in a way that Yukito definitely felt a liking to. Even if he could barely stand Trent himself.

The song ended, and Trent turned to Erin, snapping his fingers as if to wake her up. "Hello? Hey, where were you, Erin?"

"I... " she shrugged, glancing away. "I spaced, okay? Whatever, move on...."

"Do you need a minute or two?" Yukito asked automatically, arching an eyebrow at her. "You brought yourself plenty of water, right?" With a cynical, searching stare he watched her face, then frowned. "Erin, I need to talk to you for a minute," he gestured over to a random door, finding what looked like an adults' Sunday school room inside. There were folded chairs and powerpoint all set up, looking a little eerie to him with the way the room was so empty.

He turned to Erin, his face set and his voice low, almost reprimanding, "Is this gonna be a problem, Erin? Me being here? Because it sure feels like I'm pulling you away from this. And I won't be the reason for another band breakup."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

OOC: Duuude I have no idea what to do here. Can we skip the actual meeting-portion? Have them go into a room and come out with a conclusion? LOL I'll let Trent say what happened first, and he can make the turnout however he wants! XD BIC:

Yukito Maki

Yukito took a step inside. "Let's just go, alright? And get this over with."

An eyebrow rose on Trent's face. [b"Yes sir, Captain Bipolar,"[/b] he muttered, walking briskly enough to pass him up just a little. After a few more paces he slowed, not looking back as he asked, "So who's your guy here? You did think to tell him we were coming now, right? An appointment or something?"

"Denny Hecker. And yeah, he knows we're coming. I mentioned appointments and stuff, saying I needed to check with you guys first. But he said just to drop by sometime, he'd be in the office."

Denny Hecker was a large, burly man with no hair on his head and a decent amount on his face, a roundish growth of reddish-brown hair. His eyes were bright and slightly amused when he saw the two of them. "So.. you guys sound pretty good. You still seriously interested in playing here?"

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

"Hello?" Trent prodded her, pointing out her crucial flaw. The one she was painfully aware of herself. "Hey, where were you, Erin?"

"I... " she shrugged, glancing away. I would really like it if you didn't point that out, 'kay, thanks. "I spaced, okay? Whatever, move on...."

"Do you need a minute or two?" Yukito asked, and suddenly Erin felt even more flustered, shifting away from the keyboard and playing absently with her jewelry. "No, no, I can--"

"You brought yourself plenty of water, right?"

Erin rolled her eyes, a little offended by the idea that she didn't have water. "Chyeah..."

He was giving her a look. He wasn't as happy with her as she had been with him... "Erin, I need to talk to you for a minute."

Now her face fell, feeling the familiar feeling of being reprimanded. Slowly, grudgingly, Erin followed him into the side room. Silently. Inside, her eyes shifted from Yukito as she cast a defiant glare at the floor.

"Is this gonna be a problem, Erin? Me being here? Because it sure feels like I'm pulling you away from this. And I won't be the reason for another band breakup."

She chewed the inside of her cheek, thinking just how she should respond. Her weight shifted on her feet as Erin fingered the sleeve of her shirt. "No," she muttered. Did he know just how childish he was making her feel now? After a moment, Erin added quietly, "I was just really happy you were here..." She shrugged. "I thought you would be happy, too..."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trent Fisher

It was a pretty long discussion, at least in Trent's eyes, maybe thirty or forty minutes. The dude-- Danny, that was right... Denny?-- he gave them a little spiel of what kind of audience they'd have, the kinds of people they would be playing for, when the show would be, when they were expected to arrive.... Trent tried to remember it all-- he hadn't thought of bringing paper or anything to write it down.

And then there was the price. It was always so awkward to negotiate price. He was just happy that it was a paid gig, to be honest. That alone was a big step up. Granted, it didn't sound like they'd make much of a profit, if any, what with producing merch, recordings, paying for equipment and upgrades and transportation... Prices added up. But at least now it wasn't entirely out of pocket.

He did hope Yukito was better at this haggling thing than he was, though.

At the end of it all, they walked out of the small office successful, mostly, performance scheduled and deal set. And somehow, even though it was Yukito that had done most of the work, Trent still carried a sense of pride in the occurrence of snagging such a good opportunity. A smile crept onto his face upon leaving. "That went well," he judged simply.

[GGJ5]

Returning to School...


Yukito Maki


He unlocked the door more quietly than usual. There was no way of knowing if Erin had managed to fall asleep in the couple of hours he'd been gone, but he'd found it wasn't good taking a chance. She had a hard enough time staying in bed all the time, but stealing a ton of naps throughout the day was probably going to kill her. If the boredom didn't first. She had been practically glued to her laptop lately. He was started to feel her clingyness, so being forgotten for a little while as she ravaged the internet of the most random and useless things was actually time for him to breathe a little.


As soon as he shut the door behind him with a slight sound, he knew it wasn't worth the effort. Music poured from the bedroom, where he peered in to see Erin sitting up, but at least in bed. With the laptop in front of her, looking worn out, despite being in bed nearly constantly. Yukito only pushed his head in, giving her a little wave. "Heey... Tadaima." Sending her a little smile, he gestured to his hands, where he held some groceries he'd picked up for dinner. And another 'cook book for dummies' as he called it, from the library. "I'm just going to put these in the kitchen. I'll be right back."


He dropped the bags on the counter and pulled out a couple of condiments Erin had asked him to bring home. Upon opening the fridge however, he did a double take, then whirled toward the sink in search of forgotten dishes. Yeah, she'd been up cooking.


"Erin!" he whined loudly enough for her to hear, "You're not supposed to be up and around, much less cooking a... well, whatever it is." He tossed the ketchup in the fridge and pushed the door shut, deciding to take the book with him back to the bedroom and flopping down on the bed next to her, his now bare feet dangling off behind him. He laid down on his stomach with the cook book in front of him, but he looked up at her, frowning. "I know I suck at the whole house-tending area, but I am trying." His bottom lip protruded as he turned back to the book he'd picked up. It had big letters on it and everything, calling it the ' "I Don't Know How To Cook" Book- 300 Recipes You Can't Mess Up'. It seemed to fit his needs alright, even if the title was cheesy. He flipped through it with a sullen look. "I just want you to get better, you know? It's not going to be much longer now..."


Erin Spenser


Erin thought for sure she would go crazy if she was alone much longer. Being so limited, half-asleep most of the time, stuck in "recovery mode" where she could do half of what she wanted, and with no one to talk to while Yukito was away and everyone was in school-- it was really going to make her crack, she thought. And she was so tired of being tired! So Erin had been trying everything to stay up, in spite of how tired her body was. It was either be tired, or be in pain, and she couldn't do anything in pain... so she'd fight through the sleepiness and medicine-head. She'd attempted to play music for a while, just practicing, but that didn't last long. And she found herself nodding off at flash games, so she tried busying herself in the kitchen, only to cut her finger with a knife instead of cutting the onion, a finger which was now covered clumsily with a bandage. And dinner was hiding in the fridge, away from her sight. It didn't look bad until she'd already finished it. And seeing the disaster just made her feel worse, and more frustrated with her current situation. After that, she'd surrendered to sleep for a while.


Now she'd been up for a few minutes at least, immediately putting on loud music and turned to browse the Web. She'd redecorated her myspace and the band's myspace probably five times each in the last couple of days, what with how bored she was. She had redone several of the pictures saved on the computer, trying to entertain herself with various filters. Now Erin was clicking all the links for parts of a movie on YouTube, making the computer lag horribly as she wanted them all to load together.


She didn't even notice Yukito had come in until he was just in the room, and her eyes looked up to see him, a smile on her face showing she was glad he was finally home again. He waved, and she waved back. "Heey... Tadaima." He carried a little load with him, and then Erin remembered it had been his job to try for meals and such, at least right now while she was still making... weird things. "Oh..." she started, but let it trail off as Yukito told her, "I'm just going to put these in the kitchen. I'll be right back."


Erin pouted a little, sighing melodramatically as he disappeared again. He'd just gotten home! No fair.... come back, I want my hug and my pillow. Disgruntled, Erin went back to poking on the keyboard, scrolling down past the blog on a band's site to see the pictures from their latest show. She clicked on the thumbnails, busying herself with that until she heard Yukito call her name from the other side of the apartment. "Wha-at?" she called back, making a face he couldn't see.


"You're not supposed to be up and around, much less cooking a... well, whatever it is."


"It was gonna be jambalaya," she said back to him, her voice raised enough to carry as she turned down her music some. "Until I realized I put ramen in it instead of rice..."


Not a moment later Yukito came back in the room, but she didn't smile much, frustrated over her stupid cooking disaster. And that Yukito had seen it. "I tried..." she muttered. Already Erin had gotten into the habit of feeling responsible, and enjoying that responsibility, of commanding the kitchen the way she wanted. Yukito lay next to her, a book in front of him. She looked at it, then back at him, and guessed blandly, "Cook book?"


"I know I suck at the whole house-tending area, but I am trying."


"I know it," Erin protested, shifting to lay down next to him. She still didn't want to lay on her side, yet, so her head was turned to look at him as he turned the pages. "I just get so bored and I want to do something and I miss doing the things I like." Her tone was whiny, and grumpy, and she knew it, but how could she not be, even a little? She was tired, and sore, and lonely, and bored, and restricted, and...


"I just want you to get better, you know? It's not going to be much longer now..."


"It already feels like forever, Yukito," she complained, frowning at the ceiling. "I'm so bored already, and no one is here, and I don't have anyone to talk to, and there's hardly anything I can do, and I'm so tired of being tired already!" She tugged covers over herself, so they bunched under her chin, pouting. "I miss doing stuff and being with everyone."


Yukito Maki


"You're not supposed to be up and around, much less cooking a... well, whatever it is." He protested across the house to her.


"It was gonna be jambalaya," she said back to him, her voice raised enough to carry as she turned down her music some. "Until I realized I put ramen in it instead of rice..."


Yukito let out a sigh, wandering back into the bedroom. Erin didn't look happy, and truthfully, he was finding it hard to feel chipper or helpful in lifting spirits at any time, much less now.


"I tried..." she muttered.


"I know," he told her, flopping down on the bed with his book, opening it up methodically.


"Cook book?" she inquired. He sent her a nod before holding it up so she could see it.


"I know I suck at the whole house-tending area, but I am trying."


"I know it," Erin echoed, shifting to lay down next to him. She watched him as he flipped through the pages. "I just get so bored and I want to do something and I miss doing the things I like."


"And I want you to be able to do things you like." he argued back, "I just want you to get better, you know? It's not going to be much longer now..."


"It already feels like forever, Yukito," she complained, frowning at the ceiling. "I'm so bored already, and no one is here, and I don't have anyone to talk to, and there's hardly anything I can do, and I'm so tired of being tired already!" Instead of answering, he just continued flipping through the cook book, his face deep in thought. She tugged covers over herself, so they bunched under her chin, pouting. "I miss doing stuff and being with everyone."


"Erin...." he started slowly, "I've been thinking lately..." His eyes abandoned the meatloaf recipe in favor of her face. "None of those things are gonna be fixed by you being on your feet again. I mean, sure, you could come to work with me for awhile or wander around town, but... it's not going to keep you busy when I'm working and all the people you know are busy doing other things..." Both hands splayed out across his book, pinning the pages down as he mentally contemplated his next words, "All those 'everyone's you're talking about are in school right now, Erin. And you've said yourself that at least in school you were doing something all the time. Even if it was boring or hard or something." He let out a sigh, laying his head down on his book and looking over at her. "What I'm asking is, have you thought about going back to school at all? I mean, we could do it. It's different now, and we can do it together or work on it or something. And I really think it's a big deal... to you, and your parents, that you finish highschool. And you're going to really want that later, I think."


Erin Spenser


"It already feels like forever, Yukito," Erin complained to the ceiling. "I'm so bored already, and no one is here, and I don't have anyone to talk to, and there's hardly anything I can do, and I'm so tired of being tired already!" Yukito didn't answer as Erin tugged the covers over herself and pouted. "I miss doing stuff and being with everyone."


"Erin...." Yukito started, and she turned to look at him. "I've been thinking lately..." Now he looked up to meet her. "None of those things are gonna be fixed by you being on your feet again. I mean, sure, you could come to work with me for awhile or wander around town, but... it's not going to keep you busy when I'm working and all the people you know are busy doing other things... All those 'everyone's you're talking about are in school right now, Erin. And you've said yourself that at least in school you were doing something all the time. Even if it was boring or hard or something." Had she said that to him? She didn't remember at the moment, or he just knew her freakishly well. Maybe he could read her thoughts better than either of them knew, because even today Erin had complained to herself that at least she was around all her friends at school. Erin hated feeling so distant from them. But she couldn't just go back... she couldn't. He knew that.




Yukito let out a sigh, laying his head down on his book and looking over at her. "What I'm asking is, have you thought about going back to school at all? I mean, we could do it. It's different now, and we can do it together or work on it or something. And I really think it's a big deal... to you, and your parents, that you finish highschool. And you're going to really want that later, I think."


"We?" Erin repeated airily, as if she hadn't heard right. "You're already done, though... how would that be 'we'?" Her brows knit as she thought on what Yukito had said. "I can't go back, even if I wanted to, which I do, 'cause there are people and I miss people so much, Yukito, I really, really, do, and if I quit, then what kind of a person would that make me, besides a quitter? Like, what if we have kids, and they wanna quit 'cause they see I did, and I never, ever want that, but I can't go back there now, Yukito!" she complained in a rush of words, taking his hand in hers. "I already missed way too much, and if I go back, I'll have to repeat the entire year, 'cause I failed, and I can't fail, Yukito, I can't repeat, I can't!" She couldn't imagine facing the other students, her friends, her not-so-much-friends having failed and repeating. "I just can't... and my dad's there, and he'd never say it, but it'd be a total 'I told you so' moment every time, and I wanted to do this right, I fought so hard to do what I wanted, and going back would defeat all of that, and I just don't know what to do!" She gave a strong and exasperated sigh, tugging hard on the pillow until it was free and she could hide her face under it. Not a moment later she popped her face back out enough to say, "And you haven't even hugged me since you came back home, and look, I cut my finger," Erin finished, somewhat distractedly, holding out her hand for him to see.


Yukito Maki


He saw the look on her face, and knew it wasn't hopeful or quite in agreeance with him. With a sigh he dropped his head down to his book, his face turned towards her, watching her lips in that little tug downward at the edges that characterized her face when he spoke seriously to her like this. "What I'm asking is, have you thought about going back to school at all? I mean, we could do it. It's different now, and we can do it together or work on it or something. And I really think it's a big deal... to you, and your parents, that you finish highschool. And you're going to really want that later, I think."


"We?" Erin repeated airily, as if she hadn't heard right. "You're already done, though... how would that be 'we'?"


"Well..." he spoke with slow, unsure pauses. The constant idea of him hurting her with a simple suggestion refused to go away. The whole conversation was likely to make her clam up on him, and he knew it. "I can't actually go back to school, but I could help you with it at home, and we could find someway to help you. There's got to be some way for you to understand it, they're just not teaching it at schools."




"I can't go back, even if I wanted to, which I do, 'cause there are people and I miss people so much, Yukito, I really, really, do, and if I quit, then what kind of a person would that make me, besides a quitter? Like, what if we have kids, and they wanna quit 'cause they see I did, and I never, ever want that, but I can't go back there now, Yukito!"His eyes widened at her mention of kids and her hypothetical effect on them, but he was only given a moment to linger on that idea before she grasped his hand and rushed onward, "I already missed way too much, and if I go back, I'll have to repeat the entire year, 'cause I failed, and I can't fail, Yukito, Ican'trepeat, I can't!"




"But Erin..." he moved closer to her, pleading, wanting to understand and help her understand. "You have quit. And that doesn't make you any less of a person, but you did it. And if you want, you can go back and try again." he paused, then added, "You would want me to."




"I just can't... and my dad's there, and he'd never say it, but it'd be a total 'I told you so' moment every time, and I wanted to do this right, I fought so hard to do what I wanted, and going back would defeat all of that, and I just don't know what to do!" Erin let out a sigh, moving to bury her face under her pillow dramatically. Yukito slowly lifted himself off the book to sit on the end of the bed and wait for her. He didn't wait long. A second after burying herself she popped her face back out enough to say, "And you haven't even hugged me since you came back home, and look, I cut my finger," Erin finished, somewhat distractedly, holding out her hand for him to see. He moved forward on the bed and took her hand in his, eyes locked on her bandaged finger.




"What did you do?" he frowned, trying to keep the rise of panic from his voice, "Is it bad? You cleaned it really well, right?" Yukito paused, then he looked back up at her face. He relinquished a steadying breath, and tried a little smile. "Sorry... I'm just a worry-type." Still holding her hand in his, protectively, he moved forward to lean against her on the bed, meeting her lips to his tenderly. "I'm sorry, I'll try to make up for my stupidity by giving you an extra hug and kiss." He did so, his fingers hesitant to leave her injured hand but once removed, left without regret, reaching to either side of her and pulling her gently towards him. He moved more cautiously these days around her, always too aware of her abdomen with the scars trying to heal and the dizziness she tried to pretend didn't exist and the little aches and pains she complained of so carelessly. His face close to hers, he whispered, "You said you wanted to go back, Erin. You're going crazy here, all by yourself all day. What if you had something to do, and something to be proud of? You want to be with everyone again, you said that, just now." He touched his nose to hers, in that little gesture that meant something he couldn't put into words. "That means we can do it. You can do it. Because you want to. So what else is there to know? Just details. And I'm pretty good with details."


Erin Spenser


"You're already done, though... how would that be 'we'?" Erin asked.


"Well..." Yukito started slowly, working her patience or lack thereof. She frowned as she waited. "I can't actually go back to school, but I could help you with it at home, and we could find someway to help you. There's got to be some way for you to understand it, they're just not teaching it at schools."


Erin pouted. He wasn't getting her dilemma here, was he? She tried to explain. "I can't go back, even if I wanted to, which I do, 'cause there are people and I miss people so much, Yukito, I really, really, do, and if I quit, then what kind of a person would that make me, besides a quitter? Like, what if we have kids, and they wanna quit 'cause they see I did, and I never, ever want that, but I can't go back there now, Yukito! I already missed way too much, and if I go back, I'll have to repeat the entire year, 'cause I failed, and I can't fail, Yukito, I can'trepeat, I can't!"


"But Erin..." Yukito moved closer to her as he spoke. "You have quit. And that doesn't make you any less of a person, but you did it. And if you want, you can go back and try again." Maybe he was trying to soften the sting in his words, but it wasn't working. Erin hated to think she'd really made herself into nothing but a quitter by doing what she wanted to do... what she wanted most at the time. "You would want me to," he added after a beat. She really hated how right he was being right now.


"I just can't..." Erin protested, unable to fathom facing all those same people she'd grown up with, and admitting by her presence to every single one that she'd been wrong about leaving. After fighting so much for it, she'd been wrong... "And my dad's there, and he'd never say it, but it'd be a total 'I told you so' moment every time, and I wanted to do this right, I fought so hard to do what I wanted, and going back would defeat all of that, and I just don't know what to do!" Erin let out a sigh, moving to bury her face under her pillow dramatically, then emerged to declare more of her complaints. "And you haven't even hugged me since you came back home, and look, I cut my finger." She held up her hand to him, and he took it quickly in both of his. Thank you for paying attention to me.


"What did you do?"


"I--"


"Is it bad? You cleaned it really well, right?"


"Yukito!" Erin whined, pulling her hand a little even though he still held it. "I cut it cutting a stupid pepper or whatever for that stupid attempt at food..."


"Sorry... I'm just a worry-type." Erin just frowned at that comment. "I'm sorry, I'll try to make up for my stupidity by giving you an extra hug and kiss." He followed through with his promise, Erin wrapping her arms around him and letting him pull her to him. "I missed you so much today..." she muttered quietly, resting against him.


His face close to hers, Yukito whispered, "You said you wanted to go back, Erin. You're going crazy here, all by yourself all day. What if you had something to do, and something to be proud of? You want to be with everyone again, you said that, just now." He touched his nose to hers, Erin holding tight to him with both her arms around him. He was being way too good at this. She could hate him if she didn't love him so much. "That means we can do it. You can do it. Because you want to. So what else is there to know? Just details. And I'm pretty good with details."


"Yukito..." She said his name with a half-laugh and half-cry. "I want to go back, I do... I want to be around people again, I miss it so, so much... but I can't go back to there, not to our school. I couldn't do it there..." Did he get that? Did he understand that she just couldn't stand it at her school anymore? Not if she had to repeat, especially. "I dunno what I'd do... I can't even think straight right now, much less figure... figure all this stuff out right now... 'Cause I don't wanna go back there even though I wanna go back..." She dropped her chin to rest on his shoulder and sighed. "I love you..."


Yukito Maki


Erin let out a sigh, losing stamina in her tirade of reasons not to go before raising her head from its hiding place behind her pillow. "And you haven't even hugged me since you came back home, and look, I cut my finger." She held up her hand to him, and he took it quickly in both of his, the same sort of fear rising in him as it had with that silly little papercut she'd shown him, and with every little cut or bruise Erin received from her escapades.


"What did you do?" he demanded, not meaning it to sound as icy as it came out.

"I--"


"Is it bad? You cleaned it really well, right?"


"Yukito!" Erin whined, pulling her hand a little even though he still kept a firm hold on it. "I cut it cutting a stupid pepper or whatever for that stupid attempt at food..."He looked up at her, his face releasing that tensity as he saw the look on her face and knew he'd taken it too seriously again. Paranoid Yukito, with all his messed up quirks...


"Sorry... I'm just a worry-type." he apologized, but Erin's lips just curved more acutely at his words. He moved in to lean against her, careful not to put his weight on her or twist her hand, too aware of her little injuries and unable to release a caution around them. She might as well have been glass to him now. Yukito pressed his lips to hers in sweet apology. "I'm sorry, I'll try to make up for my stupidity by giving you an extra hug and kiss." He did as he promised, and she seemed to forgive him, because she wrapped her arms against him andlaxed in his arms.


"I missed you so much today..." she muttered quietly, resting against him.

"I missed you, too." His face still close to hers, he whispered, "You said you wanted to go back, Erin. You're going crazy here, all by yourself all day. What if you had something to do, and something to be proud of? You want to be with everyone again, you said that, just now." He touched his nose to hers, still being careful with her, and with his words. "That means we can do it. You can do it. Because you want to. So what else is there to know? Just details. And I'm pretty good with details."


"Yukito..." She said his name with a half-laugh and half-cry that left him wondering what it meant. "I want to go back, I do... I want to be around people again, I miss it so, so much... but I can't go back tothere, not to our school. I couldn't do it there..."


"Then don't," he said flippantly, raising one shoulder, "There are other schools you can go to, I'll bet. Maybe some that aren't so..." He didn't know what word to use in describing it. "You know...upper class, I guess? And maybe it'll be easier knowing your dad doesn't work there..." He wasn't sure if that had actually bothered her or not, or whether it was just him that it was awkward for.


"I dunno what I'd do... I can't even think straight right now, much less figure... figure all this stuff out right now... 'Cause I don't wanna go back there even though I wanna go back..." She dropped her chin to rest on his shoulder and sighed. "I love you..."


"I love you, too. And you don't have to figure it out right now," he murmured, "Just... keep it in your thoughts or something, okay?" His lips curved up in a small, crooked smirk, his tone teasing, "You know, in your clear moments.. when you aren't asking me if we can get married." He chuckled, then took her uninjured hand in his, moving it to press it against his abdomen to test himself, as he had been trying to make a habit now. Yukito's eyes softened as he smiled down at her. Marriage. It hadn't been a serious discussion or anything yet, but he knew it was in her thoughts, and maybe her dreams.. He wanted to be ready for it when she was. And part of that was getting over the touching thing. He didn't want the things his father had done to him continue getting between them. Yukito leaned forward and kissed the top of her head, feeling somehow closer to her now than he could ever remember being. "Yo...so I want to try my hand at meatloaf tonight." He made a mocking expression of fear and torment. "Hope you stocked up on junk food today or something.. Well, maybe your jambalaya will be filling... rice or no."


Erin Spenser


"I want to go back, I do... I want to be around people again, I miss it so, so much... but I can't go back to there, not to our school. I couldn't do it there..." Erin explained, unable to keep the anxious tone out of her voice. Yukito was right, he was always right about stuff like this, and she knew it, but nothing was going to keep her from the uncomfortable anxiety of going back.


"Then don't," Yukito said, not hesitating a moment. He made it sound so easy, and maybe it was, but she didn't know... "There are other schools you can go to, I'll bet. Maybe some that aren't so... You know...upper class, I guess?" The uncertainty in his voice made Eringive a short laugh-- it was true. "And maybe it'll be easier knowing your dad doesn't work there..."


"Maybe," Erin mused, still feeling too unsure and too foggy to feel at ease in the conversation. "I dunno what I'd do... I can't even think straight right now, much less figure... figure all this stuff out right now... 'Cause I don't wanna go back there even though I wanna go back..." She dropped her chin to rest on his shoulder and sighed. "I love you..."


"I love you, too. And you don't have to figure it out right now," he murmured. Good, Erin thought. Because my thoughts aren't cooperating with me right now. "Just... keep it in your thoughts or something, okay?" Erin lifted her head up to give him a nod, to show she was still listening, and found Yukito giving her an impish look. "You know, in your clear moments.. when you aren't asking me if we can get married." He was chuckling as Erin's eyes widened and she objected with her own laughs, "What are you talking about? I didn't say that! Stop teasing me!" She shoved his shoulder but it wasn't even enough to make him move. Although she had the look of one caught in a silly lie, because she had thought about the 'what if' of marriage, so much. Did he ever think of Erin taking his name the way she did? Probably not. Guys didn't care for the wedding itself as much as the life after marriage, right? Or that's what she'd been told. But she couldn't help but think about it, especially being around him so much now, in their own home together, sharing so much...


Once again, as several times before in the recent days, Yukito had taken her hand and rested it against him. She looked up to see his face; they were smiling at each other. An outsider would probably label their relationship a very strange one indeed. Erin couldn't care less. It was wonderful, and she loved it that way.


Yukito leaned forward and kissed the top of her head as she moved her hands to rest on his arms. "Yo...so I want to try my hand at meatloaf tonight." Yukito made a face at his own statement, and Erin's eyes widened in pleasant surprise. "Oh, yeah? Can I help you?" she asked with a little giggle. She loved his efforts, and he wouldn't be nearly so nervous about it anyway if he gave himself a little credit and tried. So far he was trying, now just to build up credit. "Hope you stocked up on junk food today or something.. Well, maybe your jambalaya will be filling... rice or no."

"No," Erin protested immediately with a shake of her head. "That was a disaster and I was sooo upset when I realized what I did, Yukito, and I'm so hungry; I forgot about lunch completely. I feel like I'm starving," she complained falling back to lay down on the bed, her hands on her stomach. The incision they'd made in her had started healing fast, so it was only really sore on the inside now. Erin lifted her shirt enough to expose her stomach, now curious to see the scar. "D'ya think it'll stay?" she asked absently, forgetting her question quickly and dropping her head back into the pillow, dizzy again. "I'm hungry... Hey. I do wanna go back... I dunno how, though.. or where.. or how you do any of that... it's kinda... overwhelming... you know?"



Yuktio Maki


"Just... keep it in your thoughts or something, okay?" He smirked down at her, his expression impish. Erin lifted her head up to give him a nod, and halted at the look. "You know, in your clear moments.. when you aren't asking me if we can get married." He chuckled as Erin's eyes widened and she laughed.


"What are you talking about? I didn't say that! Stop teasing me!" She shoved at his shoulder weakly, and he laughed harder, until it was a full-fledged sound.


“You totally did. Your mom and dad were sitting right there and you said, 'I'm tired. Let's get married'. ” He shook his head, still chuckling as he laid her hand across his abdomen to feel the weight there. In his mind he pretended that the lack of air to his lungs wasn't because of some paranoid aftermath from his childhood, but just because he'd been laughing a little too hard. She looked up at him curiously and he smiled down at her, leaning to kiss the top of her head. After a moment, she moved her hands away, as if to say something he wasn't quite sure had words to be described.


"Yo...so I want to try my hand at meatloaf tonight." Yukito made a face at his own statement, and Erin's eyes widened in pleasant surprise.


"Oh, yeah? Can I help you?" she asked with a little giggle.


“I dunno...” he murmured thoughtfully, rolling over on his stomach beside her, one hand playing with the ends of her long hair, twirling it between his fingers.“Depends on how much you've been up and around today. I'm thinking by the look of the kitchen that it's quite a bit, in which case Chef Yukito is on his own... Hope you stocked up on junk food today or something.. Well, maybe your jambalaya will be filling... rice or no."


"No," Erin protested immediately with a shake of her head. "That was a disaster and I was sooo upset when I realized what I did, Yukito, and I'm so hungry; I forgot about lunch completely. I feel like I'm starving," she complained falling back to lay down on the bed, her hands on her stomach. After a moment, she lifted up her shirt to expose her stomach, peering down at the strange, wide scar the surgery had left. "D'ya think it'll stay?" she asked absently before flopping back onto the bed, tired with trying to see her stomach properly. Yukito scooted down on the bed until his head was near her abdomen, as he studied the deep red-brown mark with all the intent of an awed child. "I'm hungry... Hey. I do wanna go back... I dunno how, though.. or where.. or how you do any of that... it's kinda... overwhelming... you know?" Slowly, he lifted his hand to trailed a finger along the roundish mark on her skin.


“Yeah,” he murmured absently in answer to her question. It wasn't even a question, really. “You're still beautiful, even without an appendix,” he said, rather randomly. Then, acting on impulse alone, he moved forward to press his lips to the surgery-trace lightly. The stitches still felt rough, warm and unkind against his skin, but he traced a path along the three-inches where someone had cut her open while he had waited in the hospital, praying for her to wake up and be alright. “I wish you could kiss all my scars away,” he said quietly, almost mournfully.




Erin Spenser


"Just... keep it in your thoughts or something, okay? You know, in your clear moments.. when you aren't asking me if we can get married." Erin started laughing in objection.


"What are you talking about? I didn't say that! Stop teasing me!" She shoved at his shoulder weakly, and he laughed harder, until it was a full-fledged sound.


“You totally did," Yukito objected, advancing the redness in Erin's cheeks. "Your mom and dad were sitting right there and you said, 'I'm tired. Let's get married'. ” He shook his head even as Erin continued her squealed objections of "I did not!" He was still laughing at her as he placed Erin's hand on him. After a moment, he gave her a kiss and announced, "Yo...so I want to try my hand at meatloaf tonight." Yukito made a face at his own statement, and Erin's eyes widened in pleasant surprise.


"Oh, yeah? Can I help you?" she asked with a little giggle.


“I dunno...” he murmured thoughtfully, rolling over on his stomach beside her and playing with the fringes of her hair. She couldn't stop grinning. “Depends on how much you've been up and around today. I'm thinking by the look of the kitchen that it's quite a bit, in which case Chef Yukito is on his own... Hope you stocked up on junk food today or something.. Well, maybe your jambalaya will be filling... rice or no."


"No," Erin protested immediately with a shake of her head. "That was a disaster and I was sooo upset when I realized what I did, Yukito, and I'm so hungry; I forgot about lunch completely. I feel like I'm starving," she complained. Dramatically, Erin reverted to laying down, her hands on her stomach. After a moment, she lifted up her shirt to expose her stomach, peering down at the strange, wide scar the surgery had left. "D'ya think it'll stay?" she asked absently before letting her head fall to the pillow again. Meanwhile, Yukito scooted down on the bed until his head was near her scar , examining it. Her eyes drifted back up to the ceiling as she continued to spill her thoughts. "I'm hungry... Hey. I do wanna go back... I dunno how, though.. or where.. or how you do any of that... it's kinda... overwhelming... you know?" She felt Yukito's finger brush against her scarred skin, and it made her giggle despite her attempt to suppress her ticklishness.


“Yeah,” Yukito muttered. If Erin had to guess, he sounded bored with her. Erin's brow furrowed at the thought. “You're still beautiful, even without an appendix,” he mused aloud. Erin's smile returned. She was about to voice, "I would hope so!" but was silenced with Yukito's moves. Her head rose to confirm what she thought: and sure enough, it was his lips brushing against her. Her heartlept into her throat. Was he trying to melt her into a huge puddle, or what? Either way, it was succeeding very, very well. She felt giddy, and doubted it was all the medicine.


“I wish you could kiss all my scars away,” Yukito nearly whispered, somewhat dampening Erin's mood. Because she wished she could do that too. Deliberately, Erin raised herself onto her forearms and looked at him deeply, lovingly. Wishing she had the words he wanted to hear. The kiss to cure all he wished she could. Even though Erin could never imagine who he would be without his "scars"... would she even recognize him? Would he still be her Yukito? She ran her hair down through his hair and then to rest on his back. "I want to kiss you now," she said softly. "To be with you, scars or no scars... But I love how you are now... I love you more than anyone," she finished in a whisper, leaning as far forward to him as she could until the soreness reminded her of its presence, and she winced and had to sit back again. A small smile pulled at her lips. "I loved your kisses.... You can do that more if you want..." Erin closed her eyes and giggled. "I don't mind at all."


Yukito Maki


"I'm hungry... Hey. I do wanna go back... I dunno how, though.. or where.. or how you do any of that... it's kinda... overwhelming... you know?" As he halfway listened to her, he trailed a featherlight finger across her scarred skin. Instantly she giggled, and a smile flickered across his lips, though his eyes never left her mark.


“Yeah,” Yukito muttered absently in respond to her almost-question. Yeah, it would be overwhelming. But he wasn't really concerned by that. Not at all. More drawn to the quiet subject of her surgery, and all the memories it now entailed, he remarked, “You're still beautiful, even without an appendix." Yukito moved down to press his lips to her scarred skin, retreating and returning to trace a path along the cut, the only sounds their breathing and the quiet noises of his lips against her skin. He wished she hadn't had to have surgery. He wished he hadn't freaked out on her like he had, and that he'd kept a level head, or prepared better for it. He wished she hadn't been in pain at all. As beautiful as the reminder on her now appeared to him, he couldn't help wishing she could have stayed as flawless as she had been. He wished he could have been flawless for her. But this was reality, and here they held scars. Both on the skin and beneath it. She'd seen so many of his flaws, and she still lay there, smiling up at him, trusting in him, and wanting to stay because she liked it.


“I wish you could kiss all my scars away,” he whispered breathlessly, his hand seeking hers until he found it. He could feel her touch in his hair, then his back, like a soothing caress for a pet.


"I want to kiss you now," she said softly, her eyes sparkling with warmth. "To be with you, scars or no scars... But I love how you are now... I love you more than anyone," she finished in a whisper, leaning toward him. He met her quickly, almost feverishly, catching her lips before she had to pull back and away from him. A small smile pulled at her lips. "I loved your kisses.... You can do that more if you want..." Erin closed her eyes and giggled, not seeing the hopeful and melancholic smile he sent her way. "I don't mind at all."


Slowly, he laid his head on her hip, his cheek inches from the scarline, still staring at it, transfixed. "Yeah, but I kind of do. I mean, being me, it's like I have a dark spot... but you don't have any spots. No marks. Just this one..." His hand came down tenderly to encompass it, feeling her warmth. "It's like you've taken up the same mark I have, only it's different. They had to get inside you, and take a part of you away that you didn't even think about before. Now a part of you is missing but a whole new part is growing." His hand covered the skin protectively, "It's a mark kind of like mine..." He tilted his head so he could kiss it again. "So I guess it's okay for me to touch there, then. This part of you knows what it's like. I can't mess it up." He smiled up at her. "I love you more than anyone, Erin. There's no one who comes anywhere close. You're all I've got..." For a moment, he lingered there, his head resting comfortably and near her, for once not worried or afraid or angry. He felt remorse and sad, but that was part of accepting what they'd been through. A shiver ran down his spine when he laid this close to her, and moments like these made his breath catch. That was the important part.


He closed his eyes, let out a sigh, and started to move upward and off the bed, "I should go start on dinner. You already said you were hungry several times and it sounds like meatloaf takes awhile. Let's hope it's still edible by the time it gets to you." Yukito smirked, leaned down, and kissed her lips this time, lingering in the depth and memory of it. "We could do that a little more when dinner is over and I wouldn't object at all." He watched her brown eyes for a moment, staring into them thoughtfully, then smiled and kissed her forehead. "How'd I get so lucky as to get you, hm?"



Erin Spenser


"I want to kiss you now," Erin said softly. It wasn't coming out right, but she pushed on. "To be with you, scars or no scars... But I love how you are now... I love you more than anyone," she finished in a whisper, pushing it to lean as far forward as she could. Yukito took the moment to steal a kiss from her before she had to fall backward again. What she said had definitely not come out right. She hadn't answered his statement at all. She had wanted to tell him how she loved him, as he was, scars and all, and he wouldn't be her Yukito any other way... but no matter how she tried to piece the words together, they'd come out in the half-fogged way and there it was. But still... the memory of his kisses made Erin smile again. "I loved your kisses.... You can do that more if you want..." Erin closed her eyes and giggled, adding, "I don't mind at all."


She felt his head lay on her, and it was easy to keep smiling. It faded some at his words, though, that she didn't quite understand. "Yeah, but I kind of do. I mean, being me, it's like I have a dark spot... but you don't have any spots. No marks. Just this one..." She felt his hand covering that part of her side as he kept on. "It's like you've taken up the same mark I have, only it's different. They had to get inside you, and take a part of you away that you didn't even think about before. Now a part of you is missing but a whole new part is growing."


"I don't feel like anything's missing..." she muttered absently.


"It's a mark kind of like mine..." Yukito continued, and she felt his lips against her again. "So I guess it's okay for me to touch there, then. This part of you knows what it's like. I can't mess it up." He smiled up at her, and she had to smile back. He could just stay there, all afternoon or night or whatever it was... "I love you more than anyone, Erin. There's no one who comes anywhere close. You're all I've got..."


Yukito sighed, and Erin looked over at him as she felt him move. "Aww..."


"I should go start on dinner. You already said you were hungry several times and it sounds like meatloaf takes awhile. Let's hope it's still edible by the time it gets to you." She giggled. "It'll be fine," she insisted quietly, letting the words trail as his lips met hers. He let the kiss linger, making her very reluctant to let him go. "We could do that a little more when dinner is over and I wouldn't object at all." Erin didn't answer, just smiled at him, smitten and laughing silently. I think I'm sleepy again... she thought as Yukito leaned down and kissed her forehead. "How'd I get so lucky as to get you, hm?"


She kept smiling at him, and decided she would try one more time. "Don't go..." After a pause, Erin opened her eyes-- she hadn't realized she had closed them. "I'm really going back, aren't I..." Erin shifted to herunwounded side, forgetting about a blanket or that her shirt was still bunched improperly. "Wake me if you need me, okay?" she muttered quietly.


Yukito Maki


"It's like you've taken up the same mark I have, only it's different. They had to get inside you, and take a part of you away that you didn't even think about before. Now a part of you is missing but a whole new part is growing."


"I don't feel like anything's missing..." she muttered absently. He lifted the corners of his lips, but it wasn't in a real smile. More like a gesture, a half-grimace. He was afraid she would start to feel a part of her missing.


"It's a mark kind of like mine..." Yukito continued, kissing her again, "So I guess it's okay for me to touch there, then. This part of you knows what it's like. I can't mess it up." He smiled up at her, and she smiled back. "I love you more than anyone, Erin. There's no one who comes anywhere close. You're all I've got..."


Yukito sighed, and Erin looked up as he moved to go."Aww..."she complained, making him smile again. It was a good feeling, hearing a little sound that said she would miss him. Even if they couldn't go far in the tiny apartment.


"I should go start on dinner. You already said you were hungry several times and it sounds like meatloaf takes awhile. Let's hope it's still edible by the time it gets to you." She giggled, probably remembering his last attempts at cooking. There had been several very, very rotten tries, and several times when they'd had to order out. He had almost given up on it, thinking it was more a waste than anything, but she still put up with it. And she usually ate it. Unless he'd done something really stupid.


"It'll be fine,"she insisted quietly, letting the words trail as his lips met hers. He let the kiss linger, informing her that, "We could do that a little more when dinner is over and I wouldn't object at all." Erin didn't answer, just smiled at him, looking amused. He looked into her beaming face, and kissed her forehead again reverently. "How'd I get so lucky as to get you, hm?"


She kept smiling at him, but never really answered that question. It was probably because she didn't know, either. He'd made a lot of mistakes so far, and he would have been an idiot to think he wouldn't make more. Yukito offered another flashed smile, then rose to leave, taking his cook book with him. He hadn't gotten far when her voice called out again, "Don't go..."He halted in the doorway, turning to look at her in question. Her eyes were closed, as if she thought he had already left or something. He wondered if she was actually half-asleep already, and talking while out again. Then, her eyes opened and caught sight of him. "I'm really going back, aren't I..."


Yukito leaned his head against the doorjamb, watching her as she shifted over on the bed, taking advantage of the additional space without him there. “If you want to, Erin, we'll do it. Really. I seriously think you should.”


"Wake me if you need me, okay?" she muttered quietly. Yukito smirked.


“I don't think I'll need to wake you,” he joked, “You'll probably smell the charred substance before I have a chance to.” He chuckled, “Try to get some sleep, Sunshine.” Then he left, a black fur-ball racing in front of him into the kitchen. He sent Chica an amused look, and set the book up on the counter so he could see it.


“I guess it's just you and me now, Chica,” he muttered out loud, pulling the ground beef out of the fridge. She just meowed in response, brushing up against his leg. He ignored the gesture as he followed the instructions to the letter, taking more time than necessary with re-reading it. But he was pretty sure he'd done it right. Putting it in the oven, he stared at his meat-covered hands and frowned. Chica looked up at him from her spot on the counter and meowed again. He arched an eyebrow at her. “What?”


Chica just stared at him, her tail swishing back and forth. With a shrug, he held out his hand and let her nibble off his fingertips. “You know what? You cats are kind of sick. Raw meat... seriously...” Chica, of course, didn't response, so he looked toward the oven at the strange-looking creation in there. “Though, I guess we're kind of weird, too. So I can't really blame you.” He jumped as Chica scratched randomly at his paw, his eyes flashing to her stoic face. “Ouch! D**** it, Chica! Why can't you just stoplicking me? You don't have to scratch me to let me know you're done!” He spent a great deal of time washing the nasty raw meat feeling off his fingers, likely using a lot more soap than was necessary, and Chica looked at him with disdain as he washed the meat down the drain. He had a one-sided argument with her that was flippant and more to fill the silence and for the sake of boredom than anything else. The timer on the meatloaf was almost depressing. He wanted it to be done so much faster, because he knew Erin was hungry. By the time she woke up, she was likely to be ravenous. Ravenous Erin was not usually the same as giddy, happy Erin. So he decided to wait in the kitchen until the first available time for it to be done so he could check it, turning the oven up a couple of notches just to be sure. Then, he snuck into the room and grabbed his guitar, sitting down on the floor and strumming through a few scales while he waited. After a few minutes, Chica joined him, curling up next him, just out of his reach. He hummed along, the familiar lyrics coming to him as he started to sing them low and gentle. The time went a little too slowly, and he'd done a lot more songs in that hour until the meatloaf was done than he had done at any other time consecutively. When the timer went off, he jumped in surprise, and the sleeping Chica dashed from the kitchen into the bedroom. Yukito stood up to check the meatloaf, his guitar slid over to rest against his back as he frowned at the inside of the meatloaf. It didn't look pink. Much. But it was hard to tell. He pulled it out, set it on the counter while he made two plates, bringing forks and the ketchup bottle with him to the bedroom.


"Hey, Sunshine..." he called out quietly, balancing the stuff precariously in his arms. "Wake up and eat something. It looks edible, for once..."


Erin Spenser


"Don't go..." Erin tried, half-wanting him to come back so she could sleep next to him, and half-wanting him to go so there would be something for supper later. He didn't answer her, or come back, so she opened her eyes to find him still away, at the doorway. "I'm really going back, aren't I...." She didn't wait for his response before she turned over on the bed, avoiding laying on the scarred side by habit. She didn't think of covering up. Half of her didn't want to go to sleep again, but she was so tired suddenly.


“If you want to, Erin, we'll do it. Really. I seriously think you should.”


He wanted her to. She'd have to wake up early, and sit in the same place for an hour at a time, and everything else she hated to do that came with school... but he wanted her to. How could she say no? She didn't want to stay here so bored all the time either, a quitter, among other things..."Mm-hmm... Wake me if you need me, okay?" she muttered quietly, letting her eyelids fall again.


“I don't think I'll need to wake you,” Yukito joked. “You'll probably smell the charred substance before I have a chance to.” She heard him laugh a little and gave a little sleepy one of her own, cracking one eye to look at him. "Shut up, goof... You're not allowed to burn down our home, anyway... it's in the rulebook." Sometime during her short speech her eyes closed again.


“Try to get some sleep, Sunshine,” she heard Yukito tell her as she crunched the pillow under her head and in her arms, holding it tightly against her. "Mm..." she acknowledged, more than halfway asleep now she was sure. Erin didn't move from that position, curled up and uncovered but for her feet, shirt still messed up from her brief examination of her stomach. She easily fell into sleep, despite the impulse to keep herself awake and make her body stop being so tired. Sometime during her sleep a scent entered her dreams, reminding her of how she'd gone to sleep hungry. Erin felt herself start waking up, the other needs of her body besides sleep kicking in at the reminder of the forgotten lunch and the measly appetite of the last few days. And being cold and uncovered. And because there was someone talking to her.


Of course, it was Yukito-- she realized after a second of half-dream state. Who else would it be? She peaked through slits of her eyes, then blinked. "....Up and eat something. It looks edible, for once..."


Erin smiled at his description, simultaneously feeling the cold hit her more awake form. Immediately she sat back up, fixing her shirt and stretching her arms out above her head before covering herself up to the shoulders in the blanket. "Gah.... I'm freezing! I smelt that in my sleep, you know." She looked up at him with a smile, noticing now his balancing act, and her face brightened. "You made it!" she exclaimed, both referring to his creating in the kitchen and to his making it here balanced like that. Erin covered her mouth for the final, brief yawn then gestured for him to come sit next to her. "It smells good!" she told him sincerely, resting her hands in her blanketed lap. "I feel like I'm starving," she repeated, tacking on, "I think I could hear my stomach growling in my sleep..." She gave a little pout before breaking into giggles again. "I want to try it!" Erin held out her hands to receive the plate, then took it. She wasn't going to bother with ketchup right off the bat, even though she saw it wasn't quite as done as she would have made it. Erin took a bite of the darker portion and immediately a smile came on her face. He'd remembered salt. Enough for her to taste it more than she needed to. it was a pretty endearing mistake, though not a disasterous one, and Erin giggled a little once she could. "Too much salt," she explained lightly, still giggling a little and leaning over to nudge him with her shoulder. "But not that much!" She laughed, leaned over to give his cheek a kiss, and reached for the ketchup. Once it was garnished with the condiment, Erin happily ate around the spot she knew was more pink than she preferred, content with the extra sodium now.


Yukito Maki


She was slow to wake, shifting on the bed with her abdomen still half-exposed.Her half-opened lids peered up at him apprehensively, and it made him grin down at her. She sat up and tugged on the shirt, not noticing Yukito smirking at her impishly. It was tempting not to make her lift it back up again. Instead of hearing his thoughts, she pulled thecomforters over herself up to her shoulders. He tried to hide the disappointment. "Gah.... I'm freezing! I smelt that in my sleep, you know." She looked up at him with a smile, then exclaimed, "You made it!"


He shrugged. Very carefully, then set the plates down between them as he eased onto the bed, trying not to upset the dish. "Course not. What you smelled in your sleep was my shampoo, which happens to smell like baked meat and crackers."


"It smells good! I feel like I'm starving. I think I could hear my stomach growling in my sleep..." She gave a little pout before breaking into giggles again. "I want to try it!"


"Sorry it took so long," he mumbled,prodding at it while waiting for her to try it. "I'm kind of glad you're desperate enough these days to try it." He made an amused face at her, rolling his eyes. While she went for her first bite, he avoided her gaze, staring intently at his plate as if the ketchup splattering across the brown, greasy substance was that enthralling. He was really just waiting -maybe even dreading a little - her reaction. And it was somehow too difficult to look her in the face while he waited for her to say something about it.


She giggled a little, and he found himself glancing up to see her smile. "Too much salt," she explained lightly, still giggling a little and leaning over to nudge him with her shoulder. He managed to frown before she could quickly amend, "But not that much!" She laughed, leaned over to give his cheek a kiss, and reached for the ketchup. Yukito tentatively took a bite, arching an eyebrow at the taste. It was definitely better-tasting when it was drowned in ketchup. But it was a lot better than that God-awful spaghetti the first day she'd been back.


"There's no lettuce in it, though, I promise," he tried to cover up the disappointment with a smile.

Erin Spenser

"Gah...." Erin groaned, sitting up and pulling herself into the blankets. "I'm freezing! I smelt that in my sleep, you know." She looked up at him with a smile, then exclaimed, "You made it!"

He shrugged awkwardly, still balancing everything in his arms. Slowly Yukito eased down to sit next to her, careful not to spill his try at dinner. "'Course not," he said, and a still-waking Erin looked at him with a curious smile. "What you smelled in your sleep was my shampoo, which happens to smell like baked meat and crackers."

The dorky comment allowed the wave of giggles to bubble out easily. "No fair," she protested playfully. "I'm not awake enough to think of a good comment back at you... It smells good! I feel like I'm starving. I think I could hear my stomach growling in my sleep..." She gave a little pout before breaking into giggles again. "I want to try it!"

"Sorry it took so long," Yukito mumbled. "It's fine, I'm just glad it's done now," she rattled off quickly, breezily.

"I'm kind of glad you're desperate enough these days to try it." Yukito rolled his eyes, making a face at her, and she laughed. "Shut up!" She took a fork and tried a bite, soon giggling again. "Too much salt," she explained lightly, nudging him with her shoulder. "But not that much!" She laughed, leaned over to give his cheek a kiss, and reached for the ketchup. Now, finally, Yukito tried his own creation, and Erin busied herself with her own portion. True, she was already thinking of all the different things he could have done to make it better. But she hadn't been eating very much until recently since her surgery, and her own food wasn't coming along so well right now either, so even though the thoughts were in her head she'd probably do something stupid like mix up sugar and salt. At least, with how she felt right now. So really, Erin was perfectly happy with what he'd made, and thankful that he'd put forth the effort. She knew how unfamiliar he felt in the kitchen.

"There's no lettuce in it, though, I promise," Yukito said, smiling. Erin laughed a little, lips tightly closed, mouth full. After a minute, she was able to tell him, "But that was so priceless!" A couple more giggles. "And this is so much better than that, too..." A few bites later, Erin piped up again, "So... about school... where do you think I should go? Or.. whatever..." Erin kept her eyes on her food as she moved her fork around, thinking. "I could get a GED, I guess... but I kinda want a real graduation, too.... I dunno... would you mind being my alarm clock, too? Even if it's early?" Now she glanced over to see his face. When she was going to school regularly, three different alarms still wouldn't wake her up-- or if they did, she fell right back to sleep, and she'd gotten spoiled to one of her parents making her get up. Erin doubted she would be much better about it now.

--Con't--

[GGJ5]

Yukito Maki


"Too much salt," she explained lightly, nudging him with her shoulder. "But not that much!"


"There's no lettuce in it, though, I promise," Yukito said, smiling. As expected, she let out a little giggle, subdued by her mouthful. Mouthfuls were a good sign, he supposed. A better sign than the easily-neglected spaghetti he couldn't help but mention. He had the nagging feeling that meal would haunt them for awhile.


"But that was so priceless!" A couple more giggles once she finished her bite. "And this is so much better than that, too..."


He smiled into his meatloaf, prodding at it a little absentmindedly, " 'Priceless'? I suppose that's your nice way of saying I couldn't pawn it off on someone if I paid them." He tilted his head her way, looking more amused than pained by the earlier criticism by this point. "But I'm glad you like it," he leaned over to kiss her cheek, a small gesture he couldn't help but get addicted to.


A few bites later, Erin piped up again, "So... about school... where do you think I should go? Or.. whatever..." Erin kept her eyes on her food as she moved her fork around, thinking. "I could get a GED, I guess... but I kinda want a real graduation, too.... I dunno... would you mind being my alarm clock, too? Even if it's early?"


After a thoughtful bite, Yukito said, "I think you should get enrolled in a 'real highschool'. A GED would probably be easier overall, since we do online stuff right from the apartment and follow your own pace, but it doesn't really fit you." He lifted one shoulder, "And yeah, then we could have a 'real graduation'." He looked up to see her searching his face, and repeated the shrugging gesture. "I don't think I'd mind being your alarm clock. You should know I'm weird in the mornings, though. So far you've been lucky to sleep through that challenging period." He made a slight face as though horrified by his own image and character in the morning hours before he'd gotten some caffeine in his system and at least half an hour of glaring blankly at a wall. As he went for another bite, Chica meowed and leapt up onto the edge of the bed, flicking her tail back and forth as she watched them expectantly. Yukito pulled off a tiny morsel of the pinker meat and dropped it in front of her, pulling his hand back before she dove to inspect it.


Erin Spenser


"But that was so priceless!" Erin giggled out, remembering the ridiculous pasta-like myriad of flavors that should never belong in the same meal. "And this is so much better than that, too..."


" 'Priceless'?" Yukito echoed, as if the idea was totally foreign. "I suppose that's your nice way of saying I couldn't pawn it off on someone if I paid them." He glanced over to her, and though that wasn't what she had meant at all, Erin couldn't help but laugh at the prospect, and took another mouthful of Yukito's meatloaf-- the part she remembered through the ketchup was actually cooked well-- to stop the laughter. "But I'm glad you like it," he added, kissing her cheek. "And I'm glad you made it!" she chirruped.


A few bites later, Erin piped up again, "So... about school... where do you think I should go? Or.. whatever..." Erin kept her eyes on her food as she moved her fork around, thinking. "I could get a GED, I guess... but I kinda want a real graduation, too.... I dunno... would you mind being my alarm clock, too? Even if it's early?"


Yukito paused a moment before answering. A sign he was giving serious thought, weighing his words. That it might even be more important to him than it was to her. Yeah, that was probably true. "I think you should get enrolled in a 'real highschool'. A GED would probably be easier overall, since we do online stuff right from the apartment and follow your own pace, but it doesn't really fit you." He gave a half-shrug as Erin nodded a little. He was probably right about that, too... and weren't most of those people, like, old people are something?


"And yeah, then we could have a 'real graduation'." Erin smiled. "Yeah... I'd just die if I never got to wear a poofy robe and square hat..." she giggled, but in all honesty, the stupid little walk for a piece of paper with her name on it did mean something to her... now that so many of her friends were talking about senior rings and prom and pictures and all that kind of stuff, and Yukito being a graduate, too... She wanted that.


Yukito shrugged. "I don't think I'd mind being your alarm clock. You should know I'm weird in the mornings, though. So far you've been lucky to sleep through that challenging period." Erin giggled at the thought. "Oh, really? You were fine Christmas morning...." she reminded him, nudging him gently with her shoulder. Yukito went for another bite as Chica meowed and leapt up onto the edge of the bed, flicking her tail back and forth as she watched them expectantly. Yukito pulled off a tiny morsel of the pinker meat and dropped it in front of her, quickly, making Erin giggle again. She was so glad there was another life in the house beside just themselves, even though she was a moody and jumpy little thing. "Your cat's such a spazz..." Erin muttered happily, taking her last bite and crossing the fork over the plate.


"Yukito... if I start school again at just, like, a regular school or whatever... won't I be pretty behind? I wanna catch up and graduate... as soon as I can, too, and being this far behind or whatever... I dunno, I just wanna finish soon and graduate and be with you..." Gently, Erin dropped her head onto his shoulder. "More tests... and sitting in a desk for an hour at a time... waking up freakishly early.... being told what to do all the time, and reminded whenever I screw up.... fighting through all that school crap again," she listed quietly, thinking of all the reasons she'd hated spending time in school. "I wish I could skip all of that part and just finish...." A thought occurred to Erin, and she sat up to look at him. "Do you ever wanna go back? Like, to college? You used to want to, didn't you? If I go, do you think you will, too?"


Yukito Maki


Yukito shrugged. "I don't think I'd mind being your alarm clock. You should know I'm weird in the mornings, though. So far you've been lucky to sleep through that challenging period."


Erin giggled at the thought. "Oh, really? You were fine Christmas morning...."


She nudged him gently in the shoulder, and he just shrugged. "Special occasion. And if you recall, we got a little emotional. My fault, yet again." He turned to see Chica leap up onto the bed nearby, sending Yukito a simple look before he offered a bit of the raw bits of his meal.


"Your cat's such a spazz..." Erin muttered happily, taking her last bite and crossing the fork over the plate. Yukito smiled a little, looking over at her.


"You think so? She used to be kinda mean..." Chica mewed, demanding more attention than the snack, and Yukito ran his hand across her back. "I think we got used to each other because we were so lonely in the house ourselves. But she still likes to act like my mother. Bossing me around and hissing at me when I've got it wrong." He smirked.


"Yukito... if I start school again at just, like, a regular school or whatever... won't I be pretty behind? I wanna catch up and graduate... as soon as I can, too, and being this far behind or whatever... I dunno, I just wanna finish soon and graduate and be with you..." Gently, Erin dropped her head onto his shoulder. "More tests... and sitting in a desk for an hour at a time... waking up freakishly early.... being told what to do all the time, and reminded whenever I screw up.... fighting through all that school crap again," Her voice had gone quiet, and Yukito leaned his cheek against the top of her head.


"You can catch up. There are ways. It'd probably be easier at a more lax school, anyways."


"I wish I could skip all of that part and just finish...." He kissed her head. He could hear the notes of dread coming into her voice, trying to face the reality of it while knowing it was going to have its good and bad points.


"You will finish. And it'll be different this time," he promised.


Then she lifted herself up and sent him a searching look, "Do you ever wanna go back? Like, to college? You used to want to, didn't you? If I go, do you think you will, too?"


His eyes flickered away from her, falling onto Chica where she had wandered off to dig herself into a curl around some of Yukito's discarded jeans. She didn't lay down until she had thoroughly scratched around the worn material, and now she looked comfortable. Somehow. "Yeah, I was thinking I would. But priorities change, and all." He lifted one shoulder dismissively, "Mostly it was for mom's sake. She didn't want me to end up a washed-up rock-star with illegitimate children all over the globe." He let out a sigh, a little disappointed at his inability to keep the slight bitterness from creeping in to his tone. "I was thinking about doing some basic online courses or whatever, just on the side because I'm not sure we can afford full-time tuition." He shifted his legs until they were spread out in front of him, and slowly he leaned back against her until he could lay his head on her lap. "Tell me something," he began slowly, "What do you want to be? I mean, what do you want to do with your life, if you can't do music?"


Erin Spenser


"I don't think I'd mind being your alarm clock," Yukito said with a shrug. "You should know I'm weird in the mornings, though. So far you've been lucky to sleep through that challenging period."


Erin giggled at the thought. "Oh, really? You were fine Christmas morning...." She nudged him a little, but Yukito just shrugged.


"Special occasion. And if you recall, we got a little emotional. My fault, yet again."


"Not exactly..." Erin muttered in reply, shifting her eyes away as she sent him another nudge. True enough they recovered from it and all, but she still felt a little sad when she thought about her own part in the rough start to their first holiday together. "You still don't mind, though, right?" she asked, going back to the old topic of alarms.


Yukito was giving some of his plate to Chica, and Erin took the diversion happily. "Your cat's such a spazz..." She moved the plate aside, now finished, and Yukito sent her a smile.


"You think so? She used to be kinda mean..." Chica mewed for more attention, and Yukito gave her a pet. "Nah, she looks more spoiled than mean...." Erin said with a little laugh. "I think we got used to each other because we were so lonely in the house ourselves. But she still likes to act like my mother. Bossing me around and hissing at me when I've got it wrong." He smirked, and Erin rolled her eyes. "So many women in your life..." Another little nudge against him, and another little giggle. Then her tone became more somber, thinking on their conversation from earlier. The one that wouldn't leave her alone.


"Yukito... if I start school again at just, like, a regular school or whatever... won't I be pretty behind? I wanna catch up and graduate... as soon as I can, too, and being this far behind or whatever... I dunno, I just wanna finish soon and graduate and be with you..." Gently, Erin dropped her head onto his shoulder. "More tests... and sitting in a desk for an hour at a time... waking up freakishly early.... being told what to do all the time, and reminded whenever I screw up.... fighting through all that school crap again." She could have gone on listing the things she dreaded, but instead, her words trailed off. Yukito leaned his cheek against the top of her head.


"You can catch up. There are ways. It'd probably be easier at a more lax school, anyways."


Erin frowned. "I wish I could skip all of that part and just finish...." Yukito responded with a kiss on her head, and she sighed. She still wondered if he got how much she hated it. How angry and stupid it could all make her feel sometimes.


"You will finish. And it'll be different this time," Yukito promised.


Erin sighed, the uncertainty creeping in stronger. What if she didn't? What if he was wrong? Mulling on the thoughts seemed to make it worse in her head, so she shifted it away from her, looking up to find his face. "Do you ever wanna go back? Like, to college? You used to want to, didn't you? If I go, do you think you will, too?"


"Yeah, I was thinking I would. But priorities change, and all." He lifted a shoulder into a half-shrug. "Mostly it was for mom's sake. She didn't want me to end up a washed-up rock-star with illegitimate children all over the globe." Erin's face fell as he sighed, and she wished so much that he didn't have any of those aches in his heart. "She should know that would never happen," Erin commented honestly.


"I was thinking about doing some basic online courses or whatever, just on the side because I'm not sure we can afford full-time tuition," Yukito said, steering the conversation now. Erin was fine with that, too. But what he said was true... they probably couldn't afford that. He couldn't-- Erin didn't do anything. She was the mooching sponge of a girlfriend. Another reason to go back to school, I guess... "But you will go back, right? Sometime? Even if it's just online or whatever for now? You'd be really good at it... You don't think you'd like it? Learning and all that?"


Yukito shifted, surprising Erin by laying his head in her lap. She smiled down at him, playing with the fringes of his hair again. "Tell me something," Yukito began slowly, "What do you want to be? I mean, what do you want to do with your life, if you can't do music?"


A feeling of deflation came over her for a moment at the prospect of his words. She hated that kind of "what if". Because she had no real answer for it. Erin rested her hand gently along the side of his face and sighed. "I dunno... I can't think of myself doing anything without music... We have to make it... It's all I want to do.... I dunno, Yukito, I just can't think of what else I could even do.... I'm..." I'm no good at anything else. Not anything you can make money at, anyway.


Yukito Maki


Erin frowned. "I wish I could skip all of that part and just finish...."Yukito responded with a kiss on her head, and she sighed. There was a lot in that sigh, a lot of heartache. He could still see her frustration and hurt when she'd stormed off on her parents. As much as he loved that fact that they were living together, it had felt horrible to watch her have to push herself away from them. To see the pain written on all their faces. In a way, seeing their stable setup splinter away in one math tutoring session gone wrong, it felt like he'd lost something, too. Perhaps he'd put too much belief and hope in their relationship, child and parents. Perhaps he'd started to think that at least Erin could go through it without a bunch of issues. Given, hers were a lot different. And she still had positive contact with them, even if they weren't sure what to do with her. Who didknow what to do with Erin, anyways?


He kissed her head again. "You will finish. And it'll be different this time," Yukito promised.


Erin sighed, then looked up into his face in question. "Do you ever wanna go back? Like, to college? You used to want to, didn't you? If I go, do you think you will, too?"


"Yeah, I was thinking I would. But priorities change, and all." He lifted a shoulder into a half-shrug. "Mostly it was for mom's sake. She didn't want me to end up a washed-up rock-star with illegitimate children all over the globe."


"She should know that would never happen,"Erin commented. At first, he didn't respond. For a moment, he had fallen into his head again. Maybe his mother didn't know. Maybe that was the whole point. He'd spent a lot of years seeing her as the 'good guy', and not seeing her as weak as she really was. There were so many excuses, reasons and rationality. It had taken a lot longer for her to fall off her pedestal than it had taken his father, but she had fallen, nonetheless. Now she was seen only as she was... human. A weak-willed, needy human who was too quick to forgive an unforgivable.


Mentally shaking himself, he answered Erin's previous questions with less emotion than before. "I was thinking about doing some basic online courses or whatever, just on the side because I'm not sure we can afford full-time tuition.”


"But you will go back, right? Sometime? Even if it's just online or whatever for now? You'd be really good at it... You don't think you'd like it? Learning and all that?"He looked down at her as if in slight surprise. The honest answer was he didn't really care. A logical part of him said it would be smart, it would be a more intelligent decision to get whatever education he could handle so that he'd have a set up on the world. Another part of him wanted to know why he should even bother.


“I guess so...” he murmured, shifting to lay his head in her lap. Immediately, her hands went to his hair, and he felt the familiar goosebumps on his arms as she played with just the fringes of the black locks tinged with red and gold. The dye job he'd done was just about to fade away. Curling up closer to her for warmth, he let out a sigh. "Tell mesomething," Yukito began slowly, "What do you want to be? I mean, what do you want to do with your life, if you can't do music?"


Erin rested her hand gently along the side of his face and sighed. He suppressed a shudder from the little touch, his lips twitching at the corners toward a smile. "I dunno... I can't think of myself doing anything without music... We have to make it... It's all I want to do.... I dunno, Yukito, I just can't think of what else I could even do.... I'm..."


“Me neither...” he breathed, closing his eyes. “I feel pretty useless these days..” A sigh, then, “And you wanna hear something real pathetic?” Yukito glanced up into her face, offering a grim little smile. “I miss my mother. I mean, she's messed up and all, but it's been weird without her. If we ever moved, or if my dad ran out on us again, or if things changed, the one thing we kept was staying together. Even if I couldn't stand her. I guess that's why I always ran off when we fought. It was like jabbing back at the one thing we still had.”I still do that. I still run away. To think, to get mad, to get over it, then come back. She hated it. After a pause, looking out across the room and no longer up at her, he started uncertainly, “She's kind of mad at me right now. I said I'm never coming back, that I have a place with you. She thinks we're...together more than we are. A lot of people probably think that... Erin?” He kept his gaze on a corner of the comforter that had been left wadded up next to them, his voice sounding childlike and guilty. “Would we be? If I wasn't like this? Do you ever think we would be?”


Erin Spenser


"But you will go back, right?" Erin asked, sounding more pleading than she really wanted to. "Sometime? Even if it's just online or whatever for now? You'd be really good at it... You don't think you'd like it? Learning and all that?" In the back of her mind, it was something she reallyhope he'd do... it would mean more security later, if he decided he wanted to keep her and she took on his name... and really, she did think he would like it, at least the part of school that interested him.


But maybe she was wrong. Yukito didn't sound too interested. “I guess so...” Yukito shifted, turning to use Erin as a pillow for his head, and she smiled at him as her fingers curled thefringes of his hair. Maybe it was pretty weird of her, she wasn't going to ask, but she really liked the way his hair felt in her hands. It didn't seem to bother Yukito. "Tell me something," he started. "What do you want to be? I mean, what do you want to do with your life, if you can't do music?"


Erin rested her hand gently along the side of his face and sighed. Nothing. But she couldn't tell him that. He wouldn't believe her. "I dunno... I can't think of myself doing anything without music... We have to make it... It's all I want to do.... I dunno, Yukito, I just can't think of what else I could even do.... I'm..." She trailed off, recalling Yukito's telling her to quit talking about how stupid she was, even if she felt like it.


“Me neither...” he breathed, closing his eyes. Erin stared at his eyelids with a little confusion. "But you said once that you'd wanted to work with math, like engineering or something. I remember, when my family ate dinner over at your house before we dated..."


“I feel pretty useless these days..”


Despite the sinking feeling that statement gave her, Erin laughed, trying to show Yukito how ridiculous the idea was. If anyone was useless in their little world, it was her. What was she doing besides sponging off of him for bread and board? "You aren't useless, goofball... You do so much just so we can stay here, together. My days are so boring and slow without you, and then you come home, and it's all better... I need you. If you're useless, then I'm really confused..." she trailed off with a laugh.


Yukito sighed again. Did she say something wrong? Probably.... “And you wanna hear something real pathetic?” Yukito glanced up into her face, offering a grim little smile. “I miss my mother. I mean, she's messed up and all, but it's been weird without her. If we ever moved, or if my dad ran out on us again, or if things changed, the one thing we kept was staying together. Even if I couldn't stand her. I guess that's why I always ran off when we fought. It was like jabbing back at the one thing we still had."


"That's not pathetic any more than you're useless, Yukito, stop talking like that," she chided him sternly. Because if missing your mom makes you pathetic, I am pathetic, too. Once more, she picked up playing with his hair. "I know we're different, but I kinda miss my parents, too. Sometimes. I think we're supposed to, though, even if we'd waited longer. It doesn't make you pathetic."


“She's kind of mad at me right now," Yukito said, talking about his mom once more. He was staring off somewhere other thanher , and more and more a feeling that she'd said something wrong was creeping into her. "I said I'm never coming back, that I have a place with you. She thinks we're...together more than we are." Her eyes widened a little at his words, even though she knew as well as he that they were true. But hearing him say it.... "A lot of people probably think that... Erin?” She 'hmm'ed in response. “Would we be? If I wasn't like this? Do you ever think we would be?”


Once more her face registered the surprise in his words. How honest did he really want her to answer? Another strong twinge reminded her of the recent manipulation to her stomach. It wasn't bad enough to take that medicine (plus she wanted to avoid that tired, fuzzy feeling for as long as possible), but still enough that she wanted to shift, hoping to make it feel better. But Erin didn't move, not wanting Yukito to leave his spot. She liked him there. Her question echoed in her mind again. How honest did he want her to answer? Now it was Erin's turn to sigh as her fingers trailed through Yukito's hair absently as she thought. "I dunno... maybe. Maybe not, though..." His question flustered her, and she was finding it difficult to explain herself. More than once Erin thought she was a weird sample of a girl, that maybe she should have been born a boy, that maybe she was too happy to hug and hold and kiss and be close. And she'd accidentally hurt him so many times, touching him the wrong way or forgetting things he didn't like. She tried not to think of the what-ifs... what if he was different, and he didn't bring her back down when she wasn't thinking, when she wouldn't object...? "I think it's probably better this way, though... You think more than me, and I don't mind that at all." She smiled at him gently, hoping he understood. "I mean, I know people think that about us..." Her parents did, too. She knew it, with the conversations she had with them. Nothing blatant, but the implication was there, and even Erin couldn't miss it. And honestly, she never corrected her peers on the matter. Why should they care? They could think whatever they wanted. But her parents thinking that, it felt... weird. In a not-so-fantastic way. She wanted to explain it to them, to put them at ease, but there was no way she could do that... "But we're pretty weird," Erin added with a little laugh. "Most people... that's how they are. We're pretty different, so the assumption makes sense. But I don't think it's bad or anything. Like I said, I think it's probably better this way. You know, being different how we are. It'll be worth it..." she trailed off, feeling the bit of heat coming to her face. Maybe she'd answered too much.


Erin focused her attention on Yukito's other words. "And don't talk about yourself like that. 'Like this'," she quoted, giving him a serious look. "You're not diseased or disfigured." Her face softened into a smile. "I love you how you are, 'like this'. Okay? No matter how many times you think you have to remind me, I am telling you, I love you like this." She emphasized her point with a gentle touch to his nose of her index finger, making a playful face at him as if to jokingly say, "Don't challenge me!"

Yukito Maki


"I dunno... I can't think of myself doing anything without music... We have to make it... It's all I want to do.... I dunno, Yukito, I just can't think of what else I could even do.... I'm..." She trailed off, and Yukito thought he heard something that felt very familiar in her voice.


“Me neither..." he breathed, closing his eyes.


"But you said once that you'd wanted to work with math, like engineering or something. I remember, when my family ate dinner over at your house before we dated..." he heard the surprise in her voice, opening one eye toward her. A twinge of guilt hit him, sinking his stomach somewhere in the tangled covers.


"Things were very different then..and I never could imagine myself spending my life doing engineering or something. I think I would explode." The reality, the consistency of math appealed to him. But a whole life devoted to it, with no music? It made his stomach turn at the mere thought. "I was supposed to use it as a safety, and to impress people. But now I can't even consider it, as smart as it could be financially. And now.." he sighed. "I feel pretty useless these days..”


Erin laughed, "You aren't useless, goofball... You do so much just so we can stay here, together. My days are so boring and slow without you, and then you come home, and it's all better... I need you. If you're useless, then I'm really confused..." she trailed off with a laugh. The previously pit-of-your-stomach feeling of depression quickly evaporated at her words, a small smile flickering to his lips. She missed him.


Yukito sighed again. “And you wanna hear something real pathetic?” he glanced up into her face, a little grim smile on his face now. He missed people, too. So he told her, “I miss my mother. I mean, she's messed up and all, but it's been weird without her. If we ever moved, or if my dad ran out on us again, or if things changed, the one thing we kept was staying together. Even if I couldn't stand her. I guess that's why I always ran off when we fought. It was like jabbing back at the one thing we still had."


"That's not pathetic any more than you're useless, Yukito, stop talking like that," she chided him sternly. He didn't respond, but softened when he felt her hands in his hair again. Some days he was sure she could chew him out enough to make them both scream and cry, but it wouldn't mean anything as long as she kept close to him like that, her hands running through his hair. "I know we're different, but I kinda miss my parents, too. Sometimes. I think we're supposed to, though, even if we'd waited longer. It doesn't make you pathetic." Maybe not. But maybe it does. It is different. My mom would've let it keep going like it was. Worse, perhaps. I know that, so why do I miss it at all?


“She's kind of mad at me right now," Yukito said, "I said I'm never coming back, that I have a place with you. She thinks we're...together more than we are. A lot of people probably think that... Erin?” She 'hmm'ed in response, and he had to remind himself to breathe before continuing. “Would we be? If I wasn't like this? Do you ever think we would be?”


A long silence, and he turned his head to peer up at her, searching her face. Erin let out a sigh of her own, but her fingers continued their task on his hair. "I dunno... maybe. Maybe not, though... I think it's probably better this way, though... You think more than me, and I don't mind that at all." She smiled at him gently, and he tilted his head to the side a little, considering.


"I guess that makes sense..." he murmured, thinking back on all the little moments he could have let himself go too far. The times he'd had to push her away, even if it hurt... had that been goodfor them, in its own way?


"I mean, I know people think that about us... But we're pretty weird," Erin added with a little laugh. "Most people... that's how they are. We're pretty different, so the assumption makes sense. But I don't think it's bad or anything. Like I said, I think it's probably better this way. You know, being different how we are. It'll be worth it..." Again she trailed off absently. Yukito felt the awkward moment lingering, and he realized he wasn't breathing for a moment there. This is how she thinks of it. It was relieving, in a big way, though he couldn't put his finger on why. He exhaled slowly.


"And don't talk about yourself like that. 'Like this'," she quoted, giving him a serious look. "You're not diseased or disfigured." Her face softened into a smile. Yukito gave a little smile of his own, rolling his eyes. But what if I am? In my own way? "I love you how you are, 'like this'. Okay? No matter how many times you think you have to remind me, I am telling you, I love you like this." She touched his nose with her index finger with a playful expression. He paused, staring up at her, then jolting forward and kissing her emphatically.


"Me, too... just like this..." he whispered, brushing aside her hair from her face, "And I love how you don't find it that hard to love me. Some people do." He kissed her cheek, and in a whisper barely above a brief exhale added, "And I want it to be worth it, too."



Erin Spenser


"I mean,” Erin continued, trying to navigate the uncharted territory as she jumped straight into it. He hadn’t picked an easy after-dinner topic, had he? And half her mind was busy telling her to shift position, to lay down, to take medicine, something to stop the aching she felt at the site of her surgery. But she shoved it to the back burner and plunged on to more important things: “I know people think that about us... But we're pretty weird," she added with a little laugh. "Most people... that's how they are. We're pretty different, so the assumption makes sense. But I don't think it's bad or anything. Like I said, I think it's probably better this way. You know, being different how we are. It'll be worth it..."


Yukito said nothing, and Erin got a sinking feeling that she hadn’t given him the answer he wanted. She steered the conversation away from her. "And don't talk about yourself like that. 'Like this'," she quoted, giving him a serious look."You're not diseased or disfigured."Her face softened into a smile. Yukito gave a little smile of his own, rolling his eyes. Erin couldn’t tell if it was sarcastic, and he didn’t believe her, or if he was joking with her. She decided it didn’t matter. "I love you how you are, 'like this'. Okay? No matter how many times you think you have to remind me, I am telling you, I love youlike this."She touched his nose with her index finger with a playful expression. Somehow Yukito translated that to mean “I want you to randomly kiss me”, bringing a demure smile to Erin’s face. Was it weird to kiss her after this kind of conversation? Maybe, but at least they were having it. It was definitely better to talk about it than just assume or wing it and make a terrible mistake, or hold onto a terrible fear.


"Me, too... “ Yukito whispered, bringing Erin out of her sudden reverie. “Just like this..." Gently his fingers brushed hair back from her face as she smiled at him, ignoring the pangs in her to the best of her ability. "And I love how you don't find it that hard to love me. Some people do."


“Then they don’t matter,” Erin told him frankly. “They don’t know what they’re missing, not loving you…” He kissed her cheek, and in a whisper nearly inaudible added, "And I want it to be worth it, too."


“It will be,” Erin said, then caved and winced. “Okay, I’m sorry, can you move for a sec? I have to lay down or something…” Gingerly, she did so, feeling a little sad that she wasn’t feeling as well as she’d thought earlier. So far, shifting positioning wasn’t lessening the discomfort. Maybe it needed time or something… as long as she could hold off on the fuzzy medicine again. “Yuyukun… you know how… we first talked about what if we got married… you know, if we did, though, that’s all part of it… Do you…” She trailed off, glancing at him curiously, unsure of what she was even trying to ask. “What do you think—oww…” So shifting position didn’t work. Her expression pinched at the feeling and her hand covered where she knew the wound was, as if the warmth of her hand would fix it. “It’s sore still…”



Yukito Maki


"I mean, I know people think that about us... But we're pretty weird. Most people... that's how they are. We're pretty different, so the assumption makes sense. But I don't think it's bad or anything. Like I said, I think it's probably better this way. You know, being different how we are. It'll be worth it...And don't talk about yourself like that. 'Like this', you're not diseased or disfigured. I love you how you are, 'like this'. Okay? No matter how many times you think you have to remind me, I am telling you, I love youlike this." She touched his nose with her index finger with a playful expression. Yukito saw in her face something deeper than the pity he had expected when he started to let her in, when he'd started telling her about what was going on inside his head, and all the things he'd previously been so ashamed of. He saw in her face an acceptance that was beyond naivety, beyond just goodwill and hope and all those things he didn't give a passing thought for all he thought of them as shallow. It was one of those unconditionalloves. Unconditional...that's what it is. Feeling a rush as he realized he'd finally found the right word for it, seeing the expression of pure happiness on her face naturally and equally melded with the sorrow and acceptance, he leapt forward to press his lips to hers, needing the flash of nerves and the rise of his heart rate that loved to accompany any closeness with Erin to top off the moment.


"Me, too... “ Yukito whispered, “Just like this..." Gently his fingers brushed hair back from her face as she smiled at him. "And I love how you don't find it that hard to love me. Some people do." My parents. My friends. A lot of people.


“Then they don’t matter,” Erin told him frankly. “They don’t know what they’re missing, not loving you…”


"You still have me irrevocably topped," He smiled, kissed her cheek, and in a whisper nearly inaudible added, "And I want it to be worth it, too."


“It will be,” Erin said, then winced, sending his mind immediately back into 'worry-type' mode. “Okay, I’m sorry, can you move for a sec? I have to lay down or something…" He flew back from his position on the bed, lingering to hover over her, prepared,as she shifted. With a frown, he reached over to the nightstand to grab the medicine deposited there. Now she needed water.“Yuyukun… you know how… we first talked about what if we got married… you know, if we did, though, that’s all part of it… Do you…” He went to just inside the bathroom door, filling a cup with water. On his way back she added, “What do you think—oww…” Her hand lay across the wound protectively, and he sat down on the edge of the bed, setting down the cup to open her pill bottle up, double-checking the instructions in case they'd changed in the last five seconds. “It’s sore still…”


"You've eaten, so you need to take some painkillers, Erin," he held them out for her, not about to take no for an answer, "They'll probably just end up knocking you out for awhile so you can get some decent sleep. Right now you need it. Take it." He nudged her hand with the tip of the cup, then drew up his feet closer to the edge of the bed, resting his hands on his knees. "And the cynical side of me can't promise you anything like that, marriage or not." He rocked a little on the edge of the bed absently, careful not to disturb Erin's position. Yukito's face fell, and his voice grew quiet while he stared off at nothing in particular, "But I want to. I definitely want to, with you. I may be.. you know. Different. But I'm still human and all." He lifted one shoulder absently, turning slowly to offer her a small smile. "I'm crazy about you. So I want to, someday." Yukito moved over to kiss her forehead again,brushing away the hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear as he studied her face, "Let your magicpill work its magic, won't you? You need it right now."


Erin Spenser


“It’s sore still…” Erin muttered, covering the incision with one hand.


Yukito had gotten up, and Erin’s eyes darted to him as the sound of the medicine rattling in the bottle signaled his movement. “Aw, Yukitoooo…”


"You've eaten, so you need to take some painkillers, Erin," he replied frankly, as if he hadn’t even noticed her protest. Of course, he did notice, he was just doing that overly-concerned thing… He held them out for her, and Erin just rolled her eyes, dropping her head back dramatically on the pillow. “Yukito… come on… I just gone done being all medicine heady. Why are you gonna make me do that again, huh?” She was feeling particularly moody again, too.


Yukito wasn’t fazed. "They'll probably just end up knocking you out for a while so you can get some decent sleep. Right now you need it. Take it."


He nudged her hand with the tip of a cup, and once more Erin rolled her eyes, grumpily taking the cup and medicine from him. “Fine. Whatever. More laying around. More sleeping. My favorite.”


Sitting down again near her, Yukito continued their conversation. "And the cynical side of me can't promise you anything like that, marriage or not." It was too late when Erin realized the despondent expression that had crossed her face. “I know,” she said acceptingly. Even though her expression had held honesty, it didn’t mean she didn’t accept it, or him. She understood well enough to know he meant it, and to know she wasn’t going to do anything to change what he could or could not do… "But I want to,” he added, and Erin turned to look at him, hoping she didn’t look as optimistic as she felt at his words. You do? You want me? “I definitely want to, with you. I may be.. you know. Different. But I'm still human and all."


His wording made her start giggling. “Ow… I love you.” She glanced up at the ceiling, then back at him.


Yukito gave her a little smile. "I'm crazy about you. So I want to, someday."


“Awww… Really? Crazy about me?” She smiled as Yukito kissed her forehead again. He brushed away the hair that had fallen into her face, tucking it behind her ear. "Let your magic pill work its magic, won't you? You need it right now."


“Aww…” Erin pinched her face up at him, sticking her tongue out in a frown. “You suck.” A pause, then she added. “Fine, but you have to stay here with me.” She tried to make herself in the bed that she felt sick of, waiting for the soreness to completely ebb. Supposedly it took about 20 or 30 minutes for the medicine to totally kick in, but Erin was pretty sure it went faster in her for some reason. Everything seemed to work faster in her, whether she wanted it to or not. Stupid spazzy metabolism. “You know what I think is funny?” she started, glancing back up at the ceiling dizzily. “We can have an entire conversation about sex and neither of us says the word…” She smiled a little apologetically. “Sorry, I guess it’s sorta awkward, but still funny… Hmm… maybe not… Maybe I’m just being weird. I dunno… You are gonna stay, right?” she asked, turning her head to look at Yukito quizzically, the medicinal fuzz creeping into her head again.


Yukito Maki


"You've eaten, so you need to take some painkillers, Erin," he replied frankly, ignoring her complaints and groans against the medicine he held out to her.


Erin just rolled her eyes, dropping her head back dramatically on the pillow. “Yukito… come on… I just gone done being all medicine heady. Why are you gonna make me do that again, huh?”


"I'd rather you 'medicine heady' than in pain," he said simply, still holding them out to her, "They'll probably just end up knocking you out for a while so you can get some decent sleep. Right now you need it. Take it."


He nudged her hand with the tip of a cup, and once more Erin rolled her eyes, grumpily taking the cup and medicine from him. “Fine. Whatever. More laying around. More sleeping. My favorite.”


"Don't I know it," he muttered with easy sarcasm as he sat down close to her again, heading back into their previous conversation. "And the cynical side of me can't promise you anything like that, marriage or not." He glanced over just in time to see the crest-fallen look, and a frown of his own appeared.


“I know,” she said acceptingly. Yukito watched her for a moment, wondering just how honest she could become on her meds, and how long it would take for them toset in enough for her to not remember, the way she didn't remember practically proposing to him before. He smiled at the memory, a little sadly as he curled up on the edge of the bed beside her.


"But I want to,” he felt Erin's eyes at him, his own gaze dropped to the floor as he considered, then looked over to meet her eyes. “I definitely want to, with you. I may be.. you know. Different. But I'm still human and all."


She started giggling. He resisted the urge to check his phone to see how long it had taken the meds to start affecting her. “Ow… I love you.” She glanced up at the ceiling, then back at him.


"Well, sorry," he retorted with mock insult, "Your boyfriend's not a cyborg or whatever." Yukito gave her a little smile. "I'm crazy about you. So I want to, someday."


“Awww… Really? Crazy about me?” She smiled as Yukito kissed her forehead again. He brushed away the hair that had fallen into her face, tucking it behind her ear.


"Let your magic pill work its magic, won't you? You need it right now." Erin's face fell into complaint, but he knew she was gonna get over that.


“Aww…You suck.” A pause, then she added. “Fine, but you have to stay here with me.” Without a real reply, Yukito offered a shrug, moving their plates to the floor at the foot of the bed so they wouldn't knock them over. Chica gave it ascrutinious glance but deciding them too empty to bother with.


“You know what I think is funny?” she asked. Yukito gave a little questioning, "Hmmm?" as a response. “We can have an entire conversation about sex and neither of us says the word…” He didn't say anything to that, but he felt the inevitable heat rising to his cheeks,and tried a smile to hide it. With evident sarcasm he mumbled, "Thanks for the subtlety..."


Erin offered him a smile that somehow made it all perfectly fine. “Sorry, I guess it’s sorta awkward, but still funny… Hmm… maybe not… Maybe I’m just being weird. I dunno… You are gonna stay, right?” she asked, turning her head to glance over at Yukito.


Yukito tilted his head at her, a tiny smirk playing a his lips. "Did you think I was planning on anything else?" He bent over to slip their plates to the floor, crawling carefully into the bed until he was behind her, lying on his side and reaching one arm over her shoulder to take her hand in his. He wanted her to go back to school. He didn't want to have a riftgrow between them if he continued any education and went on ahead of her, leaving her behind in a way that made him feel like it was his fault, somehow. He buried his face in her hair,daring himself to close the breath of distance between his abdomen and her back, feeling the pressure against his gut but enjoying the feel of her under his arm more. Yukito silently promised to stay until she fell asleep, but found that the full feeling of the half-cooked meatloaf, the weariness from working and constantly worrying about her while he was gone and home, and the warmth of her body heat emanating off against him like a firm and constant wave, was enough of a combination to lull him into sleep, as well.


El Fin

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki - Band


"Do you need a minute or two?" Yukito asked. Within moments Erin had began a quick descend from cloud nine to a fidgety state of discomfort.

"No, no, I can--"

He started with a question more for his peace of mind than any real logical possibility. "You brought yourself plenty of water, right?"

Erin rolled her eyes, "Chyeah..."

She was being flippant about it. Yukito merely stared at her. He could see the defiance in her face, the denial there. Yeah, it was just a little thing in comparison, a little spacing during a song, but it felt like so much more. Didn't she know that all those little things added up? Little things crumble stone walls.

"Erin, I need to talk to you for a minute." He could feel the disquiet in the room as a slow tension rose. Yukito didn't meet her eyes, turning abruptly on his heel to a side room where they could talk in semi-privacy. Once inside, he did a quick assessment of the place and turned to her. Erin was glaring at the floor, looking disgusted. He didn't want to blow up on her. He could feel it threatening beneath the skin, his irritation growing at the potential war of stubbornness between them. He didn't want to argue semantics with her, or convince her that something was going on - they both knew that. What they had to deal with, directly, was why.

"Is this gonna be a problem, Erin? Me being here? Because it sure feels like I'm pulling you away from this. And I won't be the reason for another band breakup."

A long pause filled the room. The shifting from foot to foot, the tugging on her clothes, the petulance in her expression. "No," she muttered, sending in a single word a wave of guilt through all the muscles he'd held tense a moment before. Did she know how horrible he felt when she did stuff like that? Acting like he was just some reprimanding parent. That he was treating her like a child, when he wasn't. His fist clenched. He wasn't.

"Then what?" he asked, pressing his lips together tightly.

"I was just really happy you were here..." She shrugged. "I thought you would be happy, too..."

Inwardly, he tossed out a few choice curses. She was doing it again. Making him feel awful for nipping a problem in the bud. "I am happy, Erin. I want to be here." He'd missed playing. It was different now, but it was nonetheless a huge deal for him to feel the callouses beneath his fingertips being thrummed and bent against the strings again. But he wasn't going to let that want break up a need for her. "But you can't be spacing out there. They need you more than they need me. They could find a bassist anywhere in this town. But you're a big part of this, and they can't replace you. So if me being here messes that up..." he let the sentence dangle, holding up both hands in surrender.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yukito Maki

They got the gig. Yukito let out a silent sigh of relief once they were through the doors, headed out. Trent was looking a little cocky, his stride and expression changed from their usual cynical observant nature. They'd managed a better price than Yukito expected from a small, indie band for the moment looking for some real crowds. But he had hoped for a better return on Veritas, the band Erin sang in, and put her heart into. The band they put everything in to succeed. He knew a lot of bands that made it who didn't work half as hard as the lot of them, and they were playing it almost casual these days.

Dragging Yukito from his thoughts, Trent sent a smirk his direction. "That went well," he judged simply. Yukito snorted, shoving his hands into his pockets as they walked away, half-knowingly keeping a sizable distance between them as they wandered together along the sidewalk.

"'Well'? I suppose. You barely did anything." It was a sort of a joke, but it wasn't very funny, keeping Yukito's expression somber. He turned to look up at their future venue, his eyes showing his distant approval. "Yeah, we'll make it work for now. I'm hoping this can turn into a regular spot, a jumping-off point of sorts." For the hundredth time - and certainly not the last - Yukito pulled out the crinkled list of numbers from their brief meeting with Mr. Hecker. "We should start robbing Girl Scouts or something if we hope to make enough to pay for all this any time soon." He glanced over at Trent. "Maybe you could pose as a Brownie or something." You've certainly got the attitude of a little girl.

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

"Is this gonna be a problem, Erin?" Yukito asked. Erin felt herself shifting uncomfortably already. "Me being here? Because it sure feels like I'm pulling you away from this. And I won't be the reason for another band breakup."

Why did he have to talk to her like she was being some stubborn, disobedient kid? Why was he making her feel like she'd done something horribly wrong? Why didn't he get a little distracted by her sometime? "No," she muttered.

"Then what?" he asked. Erin still shifted her eyes away, down, feeling like she was under a hot light, being reprimanded.

"I was just really happy you were here..." she muttered quietly, shrugging. "I thought you would be happy, too..."

"I am happy, Erin. I want to be here."

Erin looked at him dubiously. Then how come you don't even seem to notice me, but all I can do is think of you, huh? How come you don't want to be around me in front of my friends? How come you're fussing at me for being distracted by you a little? She was aware that he was distracting her more than a little, and that it wasn't good at all. It wasn't a good practice, or good form for the band. She was a little overjoyed, she reasoned, since it was their first time playing together officially, so she'd argued that it would just pass and be gone next time. But would it? Because if it wasn't, something would have to change, as much as Erin hated to think of it that way... Can't we all just blame this on the ADD and move on?

"But you can't be spacing out there. They need you more than they need me. They could find a bassist anywhere in this town. But you're a big part of this, and they can't replace you. So if me being here messes that up..." Yukito raised his hands, holding up the blanks of his words. Erin knew what he meant. And it didn't make her feel better. She sent a scowl towards the floor for a moment, silent.

Then, still glancing away, she retorted, "Look, fine, I won't do it again. Can we just go back in there and forget it and move on?" Now she looked up at him, a little plead in her eyes now mingled with the agitation. Please, let's just forget this and play music...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trent Fisher

"That went well," Trent observed, a mixed feeling of pride and relief within him. (He wasn't going to say it, but he was grateful for Yukito doing most of the bargaining.)

Yukito remained distant, closed in himself per his usual, hands in his pockets. Isolated. How did he get stuck with someone as crazy-outgoing as Erin, anyway? It didn't make sense.... "'Well'?" Yukito echoed mockingly. "I suppose. You barely did anything."

Trent turned to look at him, cocked an eyebrow. "It was going fine. You didn't need me to do anything." So just can it and chill...

The guy looked ticked. At least, relative to the normal amount of expression he showed. "Yeah, we'll make it work for now. I'm hoping this can turn into a regular spot, a jumping-off point of sorts."

Trent nodded curtly. "Yeah... get our foot in the door, and those connections will already be there." That's how the good things started, anyway. And who knew who could be in the audience with the connections they'd really need to move up with their music?

Yukito was looking at the paper in his hand-- the one with all the important figures. "We should start robbing Girl Scouts or something if we hope to make enough to pay for all this any time soon."

Trent shrugged. In theory, if they brought in enough listeners, then it'd all work out. Yukito wasn't as faithful. Or maybe just more bitter. Or both. He shot a look at Trent and jabbed, "Maybe you could pose as a Brownie or something."

Once more Trent's eyebrow arched, then reverted. So now he wanted to be that way. All right. He shrugged. "Maybe, but don't you think the costume would fit you better, anyway?" He mimicked a thoughtful expression, "staring" at Yukito. "Erin seems to have a thing for that, anyway. The whole metro thing." It was a really low blow, bringing up that relationship-mistake of Erin's, and jabbing coldly at Yukito. But the guy was pushing him, so it was only provoked. It was only fair.

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki

"I am happy, Erin. I want to be here." Erin just looked at him in utter disbelief. "But you can't be spacing out there. They need you more than they need me. They could find a bassist anywhere in this town. But you're a big part of this, and they can't replace you. So if me being here messes that up..." He let the sentence dangle off into nothingness, and she remained looking away from him, her irritation building up so much she couldn't keep eye contact with him anymore.

"Look, fine, I won't do it again. Can we just go back in there and forget it and move on?" Now she looked up at him, a little plead in her eyes now mingled with the agitation. He had stirred this up, and it seemed impossible to just let it drop at this.

“No, Erin.” He said with his own temper rising, “No, I'm not just gonna forget it. Because it's not a one-time thing. This keeps happening. “ He stepped away from her, starting to walk back and forth on the same stretch of strange green carpet. “This isn't just about you being distracted. It's you not being yourself. You don't disagree with me. You don't tell me 'well, I think it should be this way'. I hate feeling...” he let out an exasperated sigh, his hands clenching momentarily and releasing as he realized what it was that had made him bring her in here. “I hate feeling like no matter what I suggested for the band, you'd automatically agree with me. I think that's unfair to the others, and probably a seriously bad assumption to make, and...it's just not you, Erin. You know as well as I do that music rarely talks about people being okay with whatever someone else suggests. So why don't you say you don't like it, if you don't like it? Why can't we just say what's wrong and where we can improve and what should be changed and not feel awkward and insulted?” His hands found his pockets, turning his head away from her and lowering his eyes. “It's like you're giving up the meaning of a lyric just so we rhyme. And that's not what we're here for. I don't want you to lose that. “ There was more, a lot more. Like the whole pedestal position she seemed to put him in. He'd heard Trent's voice when he mentioned how often Erin talked about him while he wasn't there. He knew she didn't – wouldn't – tell them all of Yukito's negative traits. The private things that had exploded between them. All they got was the gushy, mushy side of Erin that liked to ramble on about how special he was, and how much she cared about him, and so on. Sometimes, it felt like that was the only side to it, not just the one she could talk about. It was as if she ignored all the problems and just wanted to see the good parts of Yukito, not all of him. As if part of him was being ignored completely.
He hated that pedestal and all it stood for.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yukito Maki


"Yeah, we'll make it work for now. I'm hoping this can turn into a regular spot, a jumping-off point of sorts." Yukito commented on the building, still in numbers-mode for the band's sake. Business deals always made him pretty freaking cynical. The fact that it made the other band members of his old band giddy and act like complete idiots just so they could push Yukito into doing all the work had a profound effect on that.

Trent nodded curtly, for a moment surprising Yukito with the seriousness of the agreement. "Yeah... get our foot in the door, and those connections will already be there."

Yukito just nodded, pulling out his paper from his paper and inspecting it again. The numbers were over-estimated, by a long shot. But he knew things would come up. Big things. Things they couldn't plan for if they tried all the statistics and suggestions. “We should start robbing Girl Scouts or something if we hope to make enough to pay for all this any time soon." It was spoken with sarcasm, as he looked up at Trent and his shrug and suggested, "Maybe you could pose as a Brownie or something."

Trent sent him a look/. He hadn't expected the badly-delivered joke. With a shrug, Trent tried to send back one himself. ."Maybe, but don't you think the costume would fit you better, anyway?"

Yukito's eyes narrowed, but it was hard to keep his lips from curving upward into a smile. But then, Trent's eyes glanced over him in a way that made Yukito's warning signs start to splutter into action. "Erin seems to have a thing for that, anyway. The whole metro thing."

Yukito's mouth opened, his expression disgusted, “Oh, don't even go there. You're just jealous that I couldn't look like you do if I tried.” He was tempted to make a nasty retort about Trent's size, but figured that since Trent was bigger than he was, even if by not as much as some, it wasn't a smart idea to go poking around for sore spots. He didn't want to explain the bruise to Erin, with or without the news of an official gig. Oh yeah...I've got to let her know... He slipped his cell phone out of his pocket where it had been on silent, and found a couple of texts there already from Erin, making him smile. Yukito held up his cell phone, pointing out, “We should let the others know about the gig. You know where Jeremy is today? It might be better to just text him..”

He started browsing through the texts Erin had sent him, finding it harder to make his grins look like absent twitches at the corners of his mouth. “Besides, she likes me for my sexy voice, and you know it. Girls really dig that whole musically talented thing.”

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

"Look, fine," Erin retorted in response to his admonishment. "I won't do it again. Can we just go back in there and forget it and move on?" Now she looked up at him, half pleading to just forget her stupidity and move on. The other half of her was infuriated that he would talk to her like this.

He wouldn't let it go. She should have known. “No, Erin.” She did know. Her expression darkened. You're just doing this to get at me. Stop it.

“No," he continued to her irritation. "I'm not just gonna forget it. Because it's not a one-time thing. This keeps happening. “

"No-- it doesn't!" Erin objected. "It was one time! I'm human! Get over it!"

He moved away from her, pacing one area as he ranted at her as Erin's expression fell into a glower, arms crossed tight and foot tapping frantically. “This isn't just about you being distracted. It's you not being yourself. You don't disagree with me. You don't tell me 'well, I think it should be this way'. I hate feeling...”

"What?" she snapped, her fingers clenching into her crossed arms. It wasn't true what he said-- it wasn't. She agreed because it was good-- not because it was from him. She wasn't that weak-minded. She wasn't! How dare he even suggest so!

He let out a dramatic sigh, drawing Erin's eyes to his tense hands. “I hate feeling like no matter what I suggested for the band, you'd automatically agree with me. I think that's unfair to the others, and probably a seriously bad assumption to make, and...it's just not you, Erin. You know as well as I do that music rarely talks about people being okay with whatever someone else suggests. So why don't you say you don't like it, if you don't like it? Why can't we just say what's wrong and where we can improve and what should be changed and not feel awkward and insulted?”

"Nobody ever said it would be awkward or insulting!" she argued, hurt by his words, hands extended down by her side in exasperation. "Maybe I didn't object because I actually, genuinely agreed. There's something bad about that now?"

Yukito wasn't looking at her, his hands in his pockets. It might take her time with other people, but she knew Yukito enough to know that was not a good sign. Not now, and not at all. “It's like you're giving up the meaning of a lyric just so we rhyme. And that's not what we're here for. I don't want you to lose that."

The fact that he was accusing her of abandoning her musical principles for him... He was crazy! "I'm not doing that!" she snapped at him. "I'm not giving up anything!" She cocked her head up at him defiantly, eyes wide in her objection. "Fine," she spat, hands heavy on her hips as she leaned up as if she might kiss him, but instead it was an icy glare. "You want me to disagree with you? I'll disagree." She moved toward the door. "Anything to make you happy," Erin added bitterly, voice poignant in sarcasm.

And with that she turned and strode briskly back into the main room. It didn't take much imagination to picture the steam seething from her, and her bandmates read it immediately. Knowing the mood, neither said a word, just exchanged looks. A knowing smirk passed over Trent's face. Erin ignored them both thoroughly, returning to her spot and immediately engrossed herself in the keyboard, choosing one of their more experimental pieces-- one without words that dabbled on the fringe of metal when everyone was playing it together. For now it sounded like a brooding, angry piano. A quick and icy glance in Jeremy's direction sent the message that he needed to play his part or she'd take her frustrations out on him next. And then no more practice would be done that day. Just play, she thought in the foreground of her mind. But the back was screaming in protest. In protest against Yukito's words. He was wrong. She didn't do that. She didn't. Did she? Did she just agree because she was blinded by him? Was she really that weak-minded? Even just the thought was infuriating-- it was even worse that she hadn't even noticed.

Halfway through the piece, Erin broke off, her thoughts too busy for her to stay silent. She turned around and glared at Yukito, announcing in front of them all, "I am not that weak!"

"All right, Mr. and Mrs. Maki are having a spat," Trent noted dryly. "Maybe we should--" He was about to suggest to Jeremy that they leave them until it panned out, but Erin turned around and shouted to Trent poisonously, "Shut up! Shut up before I make you!"

Trent held up his hands defensively, about to ramble off defense for himself when Jeremy gestured for him to silence with a shake of the head. Then to Yukito, "We'll go somewhere for a while... see if she'll text one of us if you want us to come back." He took his drumsticks, and directed subtly for Trent to take the acoustic with him. At least on their jaunt away from the main room (and the spatting couple) they could still be somewhat productive.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trent Fisher

Yukito's head was still filled with he numbers. Something Trent didn't want to think about right now. “We should start robbing Girl Scouts or something if we hope to make enough to pay for all this any time soon." Trent scoffed. "Maybe you could pose as a Brownie or something."

"Maybe," Trent retorted, unfazed by the attempt of wit. "But don't you think the costume would fit you better, anyway?" Ah, there was a little bit of the irritation he'd been trying to provoke. He pressed harder. "Erin seems to have a thing for that, anyway. The whole metro thing." It was a negative mark against his friendship with Erin to talk about her that way. But if he could get just one good jab under Yukito's skin now... just one. He would make up for it to Erin later, Trent promised himself.

And Yukito's face showed the response he'd been prying for. It was worth it. “Oh, don't even go there." The way he said it only made Trent laugh. Thanks for playing into it. "You're just jealous that I couldn't look like you do if I tried.”

"Whatever you need to tell yourself to get to sleep at night."

Yukito didn't seem to want to play anymore. It was looking hopeless. He was looking stupidly at his phone, and for a moment Trent thought about commenting on what he must see on there, then stopped-- He'd already used Erin as part of an insult to him once. He couldn't do it again, even if he thought Yukito would be the end of her sanity. “We should let the others know about the gig. You know where Jeremy is today? It might be better to just text him..”

"Yeah, he's probably at school. I'll text him..." Trent muttered absently, starting a message to the bookwork of a friend. It was either school or work. Mostly.

“Besides," Yukito started again, peaking Trent's interest. "She likes me for my sexy voice, and you know it. Girls really dig that whole musically talented thing.”

"Oh, that's what it is, huh?" Trent mumbled, finishing the text and then putting his phone away. "I thought it was that you're letting her play house with you."

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki

“I hate feeling like no matter what I suggested for the band, you'd automatically agree with me. I think that's unfair to the others, and probably a seriously bad assumption to make, and...it's just not you, Erin. You know as well as I do that music rarely talks about people being okay with whatever someone else suggests. So why don't you say you don't like it, if you don't like it? Why can't we just say what's wrong and where we can improve and what should be changed and not feel awkward and insulted?”

"Nobody ever said it would be awkward or insulting!" she argued hotly, her body stiffening the way he hated when he tried to reach out to her and calm her. He wasn't attempting it now. Let her be angry. She should know that it is awkward. It's hard to just ignore it. But that's exactly what she's been doing. "Maybe I didn't object because I actually, genuinely agreed. There's something bad about that now?"

“No, it's not bad to agree with me. But you've been starry-eyed all day and you haven't dismissed anything I suggest all day, and it doesn't make any sense, and...” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “It's like you're giving up the meaning of a lyric just so we rhyme. And that's not what we're here for. I don't want you to lose that."

"I'm not doing that!" she snapped at him. "I'm not giving up anything!"

Yukito scowled, his voice rising in accusation again, “Yes. You are. You're making this entire band about you and me, and it's not. You're screwing up the song because you're too busy thinking about other things.”

She cocked her head up at him defiantly, eyes wide in her objection. "Fine," she spat, hands heavy on her hips as she leaned up toward him. He felt her breath on his face, but he saw in her eyes an ice storm of fury that wasn't going to easily subside. In the heat of the moment, he decided he didn't want it to subside. He wanted her to stay angry at him. Then, he hoped, they could at least hash out an angry song that was sung half-decent. "You want me to disagree with you? I'll disagree." She moved toward the door. "Anything to make you happy," Erin added bitterly, voice poignant in sarcasm. With a rumble of thunder, hurricane Erin exited the room. For a long moment, Yukito glared at the door darkly, his fists balled up tightly in his pockets as he clenched his jaw hard enough to make him tremble. Why did she have to be so dramatic about everything? Couldn't she just tell him one way or the other, plain and simple? He'd been spoiled to all her laughter and apologized for all the tears, but now he was struggling his hardest against her shouts and anger. It was impossible to penetrate the dozen locks she put on herself when she got angry with him, and seeing the frustration on her face only made him just as frustrated.

Letting out a curt exhale that did him no good, Yukito stepped back out into the main room, seeing Erin readying herself at her keyboard, catching Trent's spiteful smirk. With a roll of his eyes he took his bass and tried to join in, but it was obvious that Erin was only letting out her bitterness on her poor instrument, and partway through he trailed off, coming to stand in front of her holding his bass and watching her intently. It didn't take her long to get sick of it and with a clash end the song.

"I am not that weak!"

“I never said anything about weak, Erin! You did,” he shot back instantly.“The only time you say I'm wrong is when I'm tell you never say I'm wrong!” That came out as one of the most confusing sentences he'd ever spoken.

"All right, Mr. and Mrs. Maki are having a spat," Trent noted dryly. "Maybe we should--"

Yukito growled an obscenity at Trent at the same moment Erin shouted, "Shut up! Shut up before I make you!"

Trent held up his hands defensively, about to ramble off defense for himself when Jeremy gestured for him to silence with a shake of the head. Then to Yukito, "We'll go somewhere for a while... see if she'll text one of us if you want us to come back." Yukito just nodded, his eyes now locked on Erin's face.

“Erin,” he started slowly, “Just say it straight out to me - 'Yukito, I think you're wrong'. It's not that hard, you know. 'Yukito, you screwed up, try it this way'. See? Simple.” Without thinking on it, his fingers strummed across the string in an ominous chord. “I never made you think that it was all gonna be roses and gifts and junk. I know it's gonna get ugly. But the question is – do you? Look at this. We're fighting and now you can't even get your head into the game enough to get through one song.”



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Yukito Maki

Yukito was trying very hard not to play Trent's game, but it was extremely tempting, and he couldn't resist trying to defend himself. He started distracting himself with more talk about the business end of music - “We should let the others know about the gig. You know where Jeremy is today? It might be better to just text him..”

"Yeah, he's probably at school. I'll text him..." Trent muttered absently, pulling out his own phone and sounding bored.

“Besides," Yukito started again slowly, struggling not to smirk "She likes me for my sexy voice, and you know it. Girls really dig that whole musically talented thing.”

"Oh, that's what it is, huh?" Trent mumbled, finishing the text and then putting his phone away. "I thought it was that you're letting her play house with you."

“Man, you're making me feel sorry for you. Now I'm sure I hit your face too hard with my fist.” He sent Trent a short glare, “Unless you.....” he shuddered, “Nevermind. I don't want to know what games you play with your girlfriend. I want to be able to eat at some point today.” The mocking grimace was replaced with a more serious frown, “And don't make jabs at Erin and insult her intelligence like that, because I never promised her I wouldn't hit you again.”

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

“It's like you're giving up the meaning of a lyric just so we rhyme," Yukito told her, and Erin felt her jaw clench at the comparison. "And that's not what we're here for. I don't want you to lose that."

"I'm not doing that!" she snapped at him. "I'm not giving up anything!"

He had to be furious with her now. “Yes. You are. You're making this entire band about you and me, and it's not. You're screwing up the song because you're too busy thinking about other things.”

She cocked her head up at him defiantly, eyes wide in her objection. What was his problem? She was human, she got distracted, she messed up, stuff happened. Why did he have to act like she was betraying the essence of music? What did he want her to do, constantly object or something? Well, if he did, then, all right. Two could play that game. He'd see. "Fine," she spat, hands defiant on her hips as she glared up at him. "You want me to disagree with you? I'll disagree." She moved toward the door, then turned to send him one final sarcastic remark. "Anything to make you happy." And with that, she turned and stalked out the room. And all the meanwhile, Erin was screaming at him in her head. Was he crazy? How could he even accuse her of this? Imply that she wavered so much that she could forget the music? How could he blame her for being a little too happy, for being a little easily distracted, for being a normal human? How could he talk down to her as if she should know better, as if she should be immune to it, just because he happened to be? And why did he have to be like that anyway? Didn't he want to give her any attention?

Erin tried letting the music vent for her, but with Yukito still right there, knowing how infuriating he was to her at the moment, it did no good. Soon she clanged a chilly and abrupt ending and turned around to snap at Yukito, "I am not that weak!"

“I never said anything about weak, Erin! You did,” he shot back without a moment's hesitation. “The only time you say I'm wrong is when I'm tell you never say I'm wrong!”

The sudden lack of syntax made Erin halt in spite of herself, furrowing her brow in bewilderment. "What? You don't even freaking make sense! I say you're wrong when you're wrong and I know I'm right, so stuff it!"

"All right, Mr. and Mrs. Maki are having a spat," Trent noted dryly. "Maybe we should--"

Yukito growled an obscenity at Trent at the same moment Erin shouted, "Shut up! Shut up before I make you!"

Trent held up his hands defensively and seemed ready to speak in his defense when something cut him off. She was too busy glaring at Trent or Yukito to notice Jeremy's low words to him, but soon those two had slipped out. Leaving her. Abandoning her. Like she deserved his attitude or something.

Yukito was staring at her. "What?" she snapped, hopping to her feet to stand erect, turning to him coldly. What else do you have to say to me, huh? What other things am I doing that aren't good enough for you? What other ways does my happiness ruin your life?!

“Erin,” he started slowly, only making her tense up more. Why did he have to talk to her like that, like she was simple or something? Did he really not get how much she hated that?! “Just say it straight out to me - 'Yukito, I think you're wrong'. It's not that hard, you know. 'Yukito, you screwed up, try it this way'. See? Simple.”

"Maybe it's because I didn't have any reason to say that! Stop talking to me like that!" Her eyes narrowed at him, and part of her was glad Trent and Jeremy had left-- maybe they couldn't hear her yelling now. That would at least be half-good. "Fine, Yukito. I think you're wrong. You suck. Everything you do is wrong. There, is that better? Does that make you feel good? Are you just peachy now? I know I am!" Exasperated with him, Erin dropped to the nearest stool, arms tightly crossed over her, glowering.

Yukito strummed out a dark chord, only grating he more. How could he be so freaking casual about it all? “I never made you think that it was all gonna be roses and gifts and junk. I know it's gonna get ugly. But the question is – do you? Look at this. We're fighting and now you can't even get your head into the game enough to get through one song.”

"And here you are acting like it's none of your fault!" Erin retorted, pointing at him accusingly. "You're the one who made a big deal out of one mistake! God… just move on, okay? And what do you mean, do I know it's gonna get ugly? What, because I was happy means I cain't be logical or something? I'm not stupid, I know crap happens, but that doesn't mean I have to sit back and let it! You're the one who started this, not me!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trent Fisher

Yukito wouldn't play along, and it was making Trent remember more reasons why he didn't really like this guy. His determination to contradict him was getting old. Plus, he'd taken Erin. Not that Trent had been set on trying to woo her or something, but Yukito had taken her. And he wasn't forgetting that. “We should let the others know about the gig. You know where Jeremy is today?" he asked, forcing Trent to acknowledge him. "It might be better to just text him..”

Stop having a good point all the time… "Yeah, he's probably at school. I'll text him..."

“Besides," Yukito started again slowly, his tone perking Trent's attention. Finally, he'd gotten to him-- a small victory, but a victory nonetheless. "She likes me for my sexy voice, and you know it. Girls really dig that whole musically talented thing.”

He smiled into the screen of his phone. "Oh, that's what it is, huh?" he mumbled, finishing the text and then putting his phone away. "I thought it was that you're letting her play house with you." Among other things…

“Man, you're making me feel sorry for you. Now I'm sure I hit your face too hard with my fist.”Trent just cocked his eyebrow at the glare on Yukito's face. “Unless you.....” he shuddered, and Trent couldn't help but ask, "Unless I what?"

“Nevermind. I don't want to know what games you play with your girlfriend. I want to be able to eat at some point today.”

At that, Trent rolled his eyes. "Right. Because it's so different from what you do…"

Yukito's face fell, heavily somber. He was copping out. “And don't make jabs at Erin and insult her intelligence like that, because I never promised her I wouldn't hit you again.”

An empty threat. Erin would freak if she found out, Trent felt sure, and his confident stance said so. "You mean out here, where I can hit you back, and harder? And longer? And with this gig coming up? Not the swiftest up top, are you, Yuki?" He shook his head at him briefly. "And I wasn't making jabs at her intelligence. Her sanity, maybe, but not her intelligence," he tacked on with a shrug. A large part of him hoped he could irritate Yukito enough that busting his nose would be a merited move. "Call me crazy, but I just don't get it… of all people for her to lose herself to, she picks the one that treated her like absolute crap."

[The Phantom of Paris]

OOC: Juliet/Vikram fun! Finally! BIC:

"I have confidence in me" (The Nanny Arrives)

Juliet Echo Eco

The mansion was, admitably, intimidating. "What is this, the Taj Mahal?" Juliet asked herself, stopping to dip her exposed toe in the pool in the Singri's front yard. Making the way up to the front porch, she checked the paper in her hand. Wouldn't do to end up on the wrong richies porch. 'Nanny needed for four children. Must be 18, no need for experience. Must have decent singing voice,' it read, with the address trailing behind it. "I like to think I have an all right voice," she mumbled as she rapped on the door and adopted a cheery smile.

---

Vikram Singri

It had started with cupcakes.

The triplets had always had free reign over the house. It was almost an unspoken rule. Vikram and his siblings had had virtually no restrictions placed upon them for almost as long as they could remember. As long as they stayed out of trouble for the most part, they could do what they wanted, eat what they wanted, and watch whatever movies or TV shows they felt like, no matter what the rating or the age of the viewer in question. It was a system that had worked for years. So it made sense that when Latika and the boys decided they wanted cupcakes one day, they were under no supervision.

Smoke damage, a 911 call, and a new oven later, it was decided that a nanny was needed.

Vikram had protested this vehemently (particularly, his mother including him as one of the "children" in the advertisement), but it had been no use. So here he was, glumly waiting around for his mother to interview the first applicant.

He crossed his arms over his chest and looked sullenly at Latika, trying to formulate his next plan of attack. He was sure that if he presented his case well enough, his mother would reconsider. He could be very persuasive, or so he thought.

Just then, however, there was a knock at the door.

"There she is!" Mrs. Singri cried. Vikram nodded at Latika, who snapped her fingers for the two little boys. They arranged themselves as they had practiced while their mother got the door.

Almost before it was all the way open, Mrs. Singri exclaimed, "You're hired!"

---

Juliet Echo Eco

'This must be a joke,' Juliet thought, her jaw hanging open slightly (surely making her look like an idiot). "...Wha?" She finally asked the ecstatic woman who answered the door.

"You're hired!" the woman repeated, holding out her hand as an offer to shake.

Closing her mouth, Juliet considered the situation. 'This is either a test, or she's a psycho who has teenage girls come to her house then chops them up with a butcher knife.' Juliet imagined her corpse bobing up and down eerily in the reflection pool. "Um...I appreciate it very much but...shouldn't you interview me first?"

The woman, whom she assumed was Mrs. Singri, sighed and beckoned for her to come in. "Very well, meet the children." Her hand motioned towards the line of kids.

The children (although one had to be about seventeen) were lined up from tallest to shortest. Chuckling to herself, Juliet nodded her head at them. "Nice to meet you," Turning to Mrs. Singri, she asked, "Do I get a whistle, too? I hope you don't expect me to teach them musical numbers."

---

Vikram Singri

Vikram practically had to crane his neck to get a look at the girl--his mother and the still partially-closed door were blocking his view. When he did get a glimpse of her, he wasn't particularly thrilled with what he saw. Festive sundress, bright eyes, black hair pulled back into a bun with messy little tendrils of hair hanging down here and there--that was fine. No, Vikram was far more concerned with teh fact that this girl didn't look all that much older than him.

"You've got to be kidding me," he mumbled under his breath as his mother offered this girl the job on the spot. Twice.

Vikram was sure that the look that appeared on this girl's face was a mirror image of his own. Seriously, Mother?! "Um...I appreciate it very much but...shouldn't you interview me first?"

Mrs. Singri nodded, and Vikram felt his heart sink. He knew that look. He knew it well. His mother approved of her already.

"Very well, meet the children."

Vikram considered investing in a rather large neon sign that proclaimed that he was not a kid, but Nariv was already introducing himself. Then came Mohin, then Latika, the most enthusiastic of the bunch by a long shot, and then himself. "Vikram," he mumbled. "And for the record, I don't need a nanny."

"Nice to meet you," said Nanny Girl. "Do I get a whistle, too?"

Vikram managed to keep a straight face at the reference, for the most part--he glowered as his mom laughed. "Only if you want one."

"I hope you don't expect me to teach them musical numbers."

"We know some!" Latika chimed in. "Lots!"

"So, is there anything else?" Vikram's mother asked. "I don't know how these nanny interviews usually go. Do I look at your references first, or do we just jump in and discuss living arrangements?"

Vikram's head snapped up from where he'd been glaring at his shoes. "What?"

---

Juliet Echo Eco

She had to admit, the kids were charming. She shook each of their hands with enthusiasm as they introduced themselves. 'Nariv, Mohin, Latika. Nariv, Mohin, Latika,' she repeated in her head, knowing she might have trouble with names like that. Yeah, they were all pretty charming kids.

"Vikram," said the oldest, ignoring her extended hand. 'Oooh, he's a grumpy bear.' He continued as she let her hand drop to her side, "And for the record, I don't need a nanny." 'A very very grumpy bear.' But she didn't let it get her down.

"Nice to meet you. My name's Juliet," she said, facing them all, but directing the next question to Mrs. Singri. "Do I get a whistle, too?" she half-joked. The lining up thing was giving her flashbacks to The Sound of Music. "Only if you want one." Even though she was laughing, Juliet had no idea whether she was serious or not, so she just kept the joke going. "I hope you don't expect me to teach them musical numbers."

The girl, fragile thing that she was, (Latika? Yes, that was her name) spoke up, tugging on Juliet's dress. "We know some!" God, she was adorable. "Lots!"

Juliet grinned and gave the girl a thumbs up. "Makes my job that much easier!"

"So, is there anything else? I don't know how these nanny interviews usually go," Mrs. Singri admitted. "Do I look at your references first, or do we just jump in and discuss living arrangements?"

G.B. looked about as shocked as Juliet felt. "What?" they both asked, practically in unison.

"That is..." Juliet continued, not wanting to seem ungrateful, "you should probably look at my resume." She handed it to Mrs. Singri, whose eyes started picking it apart as soon as it was in her hands. "And..well, I wasn't aware that I'd be living here." Stealing a moment to look over her shoulder at the children, she noticed Latika pouting. Actually, G. B. was sort of pouting too, but Juliet had a feeling it was for a completely different reason. "I don't mind, though, I just wasn't prepared."

Mrs. Singri had already finished looking over the resume, so she handed the paper back to Juliet. "Not a problem, dear! You can always bring your things later." 'Seriously, is this a joke? Who's this trusting in New Orleans?' Still, it was a job. A good job. And her heart fluttered at the possibility that if, or when, her family moved, she could stay behind.

"Now! I'll let Vikram give you a tour as I call these references of yours." Mrs. Singri practically skipped to the kitchen, and the children automatically fell out of their line.

"Well," Juliet turned to G.B, still convinced she had bitten off more than she could chew. "Why don't we get started? From what I saw from the outside, there's a whole lot to show me."


To be continued...

[Elda Forever]

OOC: I sincerely apologize for his language, sensei. >.< I can take it out if you want. It's all in asterisks, but...y'know. Listening to other people that I see as 'like' Yukito, and all things considered, it feels like he would speak like this when he's angry... BIC:

Yukito Maki

He realized then that her defiance in practically everything was one of the things he loved and hated about her the most. If only it was so utterly infuriating for her to glare up at him, angry with him merely because he was sick of always agreeing with him. Didn't she see that she was compromising herself here? It would always start with 'just' something. It was 'just' fine until it became everything, and his face darkened to match hers, their stances defensive; her with her hands on her hips, him with his hands in his pocket, turned a little away from her as though preparing to dodge a blow.

"Fine," she spat, "You want me to disagree with you? I'll disagree." Erin moved away toward the door as he let out an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes.

“Very mature, Erin..” he growled, “Storming off when it doesn't go your way.”

She only sent him a final, jutting remark in response. "Anything to make you happy." His brow furrowed as the sound of the door slamming seemed to echo in the very hollow-feeling room. That's not what I'm saying! D***, it's the exact opposite! But he stormed after her, seeing her angry attempt at showing her determination and level-headedness by playing another number. He tried to play along, but it didn't take much time for him to realize she wouldn't get through it – she was too angry right now to play anything decently. She put too much of herself into the music, and fury was no exception here. It would always throw her off.

"I am not that weak!" She snapped at him, waiting in front of her for the first snide remark.

“I never said anything about weak, Erin! You did,” he shot back without a moment's hesitation. “The only time you say I'm wrong is when I'm tell you never say I'm wrong!”

He felt heat rise to his face immediately after speaking, knowing something was seriously screwed up in that sentence. Erin's brows furrowed in the same way Kagasan's did at a particularly confusing sentence. "What? You don't even freaking make sense! I say you're wrong when you're wrong and I know I'm right, so stuff it!"

If his argument was nonsensical, he definitely didn't understand hers. “I don't want you to--”

"All right, Mr. and Mrs. Maki are having a spat," Trent noted dryly. "Maybe we should--"

Yukito growled an obscenity at Trent at the same moment Erin shouted, "Shut up! Shut up before I make you!" It would have been comical if they weren't so dead-serious. The moment after they'd made their case with him, Trent vanished off the map, and wisely took Jeremy with him. Taking up the momentary pause with a dark glare sent towards Erin, Yukito waited again.

"What?" she snapped, hopping to her feet to stand erect, turning to him coldly.

“Erin,” he started slowly, trying to stay calm beyond the growing heat of impatient fury rising in the back of his mind, “Just say it straight out to me - 'Yukito, I think you're wrong'. It's not that hard, you know. 'Yukito, you screwed up, try it this way'. See? Simple.”

"Maybe it's because I didn't have any reason to say that! Stop talking to me like that!" Her eyes narrowed at him, still adamant.

“Talking to you like what? Like it's not all fine and okay and everything?”

"Fine, Yukito. I think you're wrong. You suck. Everything you do is wrong. There, is that better? Does that make you feel good? Are you just peachy now? I know I am!" Exasperated, Erin dropped to the nearest stool, arms tightly crossed over her, glowering. She looked like a little kid, pouting in the corner because she wasn't getting her way. Forcing his fists to unclench, he turned from her, his wandering hands finding the strings and strumming out a chord that was eerily similar to the strain that was piercing through his head and making it ache and throb. It took him a long moment before he could speak evenly to her, and it sounded strained just the same.

“I never made you think that it was all gonna be roses and gifts and junk. I know it's gonna get ugly. But the question is – do you? Look at this. We're fighting and now you can't even get your head into the game enough to get through one song.”

"And here you are acting like it's none of your fault!" Erin retorted, pointing at him accusingly. His frown deepened because he didn't have a decent comeback for that. "You're the one who made a big deal out of one mistake! God… just move on, okay? And what do you mean, do I know it's gonna get ugly? What, because I was happy means I can't be logical or something? I'm not stupid, I know crap happens, but that doesn't mean I have to sit back and let it! You're the one who started this, not me!"

“One mistake is a big deal! It was when you got called into your father's office because of one stupid essay I wrote! And it was apparently a big deal when they made us sign a stupid ****-ing paper that doesn't mean **** in the real world! It was a big deal for you when Cassie kissed me!” The bass hit the floor with a clash of sound, the strings letting out a turbulent hum as the vibrations echoed off every corner, shrinking into nothingness as he took a cold step toward her. “I don't think you know it's gonna be ugly sometimes. I don't think you know because you refuse to even just disagree with me and let it be at that. You make it a big deal when it's all or nothing. It's either go with the flow or storm off for you!” Too firmly, he took a hold of her shoulders, grasping her desperately for a moment. “You don't know me at all, then, if you don't disagree with me, Erin,” he hissed, before realizing the strength of his hands and sharply letting go as though she were on fire. He pushed himself away from her and let out a growl of frustration and swearing at the collective situation.

“You know what? Let's just forget it, then. Because that's the mature thing to do, right? To just move on as if there isn't any problem?” Like my mother always did, right? He bent to pick up his bass, tempted to just throw it against the wall again just to hear the satisfying shriek of a pained instrument. If it made his ears bleed, all the better.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yukito Maki

“Besides," Yukito started again slowly, "She likes me for my sexy voice, and you know it. Girls really dig that whole musically talented thing.”

"Oh, that's what it is, huh?" Trent mumbled, finishing the text and then putting his phone away. "I thought it was that you're letting her play house with you.”

“Man, you're making me feel sorry for you. Now I'm sure I hit your face too hard with my fist.” Trent just cocked his eyebrow at the glare on Yukito's face. “Unless you.....” he shuddered pointedly.

"Unless I what?" Trent couldn't help but ask, like a fish tantalized by bait.

“Nevermind. I don't want to know what games you play with your girlfriend. I want to be able to eat at some point today.”

At that, Trent rolled his eyes. Somehow, the disapproval irritated Yukito at a very deep point. "Right. Because it's so different from what you do…"

Yukito's face fell, heavily somber. “And don't make jabs at Erin and insult her intelligence like that, because I never promised her I wouldn't hit you again.”

”You mean out here, where I can hit you back, and harder? And longer? And with this gig coming up? Not the swiftest up top, are you, Yuki?" His head whipped up to shoot one of his darkest looks at Trent, but the boy only shook his head, not seeing him. His body tensed in a defensive stance, as though Trent had held up a visible weapon that he could taste the danger of. "And I wasn't making jabs at her intelligence. Her sanity, maybe, but not her intelligence. Call me crazy, but I just don't get it… of all people for her to lose herself to, she picks the one that treated her like absolute crap."

Yukito clenched his fists, balling them up around what was suddenly Trent's shirt beneath his fingertips. “Shut up.,” he half-hissed, half-shouted, “You don't know anything about it, for good reason. You can't even cut the crap with me for one afternoon because you're scared she might actually stick with me for good, and you'll have to give up your little side-toy.”