So... Now What?

[Guest]

Well... it had finally happened. Kaede was out of the hospital! She couldn't say that it had been a week since she last saw him considering she had visited him once every day until he was released. Mind you, she could only stay for a couple of hours before having to go back to work, but she had visited him. Though... throughout that entire time, there was one thing that they had not talked about. Them. At the moment Kasumi was striding down the street in knee-high boots that were black, rose patterned stockings extending up her legs to the short skirt that hid the fact she was wearing a garter belt. The skirt wasn't TOO short, extending to about the middle of her thighs, tan in its color. The fabric was cashmere and oh so soft against her skin. On her upper half was a long sleeved light blue sweater, the neckline hugging around her shoulders. Her cleavage was in lovely view as she strode down the street with her long hair flowing behind her. The sleeves hid about half of her hand, her fingers peeking out of the bottom in an almost adorable fashion.

She was striding with long, confident steps towards one of their favorite little cafe's to get a bite at when one was on long hours of duty. Maybe she should have gone to the hospital and walked with him to make sure he'd be fine, but he told her not to worry about it. And... well... she had had a long night before. So she was meeting him here, a rather calm expression upon her pale features despite the nerves that roiled around in her stomach. For once, she, Sasaki Kasumi, was nervous about what was about to happen because she didn't know exactly WHAT was going to happen. Hell, she hadn't even been aware of her own damn feelings until now! She knew she cared for Ran like this, but Ran was missing at the moment. She had no idea that it also expanded to Kaede until... Her lips tightened slightly as she shook her head, opening the door to the modest establishment on one of the street corners.

It was rather light in terms of customers considering what time of day it was, the time for lunch about an hour or so away. She walked up to the cashier and quietly ordered two mocha's. One had enough extra shots of expresso to make the cashier blink and look at her in disbelief, but she merely smiled to confirm thats how many it needed. As for the other, she had soy milk and a flavor shot of hazelnut. Paying for them both, it only took a few moments for them to both be ready, carrying them to one of the empty tables towards the back by a window. She placed the excessively caffeine drink across from her, sipping at her own with a small smile as if the cat had eaten the canary. Mmm.... this place was always so good! The smile began to falter, however, a finger coming up to touch her lips as she thought about things one more time. She would not make a good girlfriend, she was not good and pure, and she could not remain tied to a single person. She didn't believe in it. If she knew that he wouldn't refuse, she probably would have spoken to Ran about this but he had been MIA for so long now. It had her a bit worried.

Taking a deep breath, she exhaled slowly, her sapphire eyes drifting out the window to watch the world continue turning in its cycle. Her legs crossed as she leaned back in her chair, her hands resting on either side of the paper cup absentmindedly, the gaze in her eyes distant. It didn't really matter what happened, did it? It wasn't like they would ever stop being as close as they were, they were partners! And very little could come between blue blood. Heh... even a pair as odd as them. What with their constant jokes and banter. She could only imagine his reaction to seeing her out of uniform since those instances were so few. He certainly hadn't seen this outfit before, and she could just picture the smile he'd probably get. The thought made the corners of her lips tilt upwards ever so slightly as she sat there, staring distantly as her mind wandered.

[Kaede Soshi]

Free? FREE!!!FREEEEEEEE!!! Yes he was free after what seemed to a life time of imprisonment. True it had only been just over a week since he walked the streets and felt the wind blow through his hair, but that was a week stuck in bed and Kaede was a man of action to say the least. It had felt like he was loosing his mind, being bed ridden but finally he was up and moving(If stiffly and painfully) and he loved it. True it hadn't been hell the entire time he had been there, in fact some of it had been what one could actually call enjoyable. But those to short visit couldn't make up for the hours of loneliness and boredom he felt during the rest of his waking hours. He had expected and hoped that others would come and pay him a visit, hell he had expected Ran to show up crying like the girl that he was but even that hadn't happened. The man had been missing in action for a while now and that kinda worried Kaede, Ran was more competent then most but Kaede felt like he needed to watch over the older man. Theirs was an odd relationship, one that had been built on a lifetime of friendship and something a little more.

Still such negative thoughts couldn't stay in his mind as he walked out of the hospital doors into the bright sunlight. He stood there a wide goofy smile on his face hands on his hips and his feet planted wide as he peered out at the world he had missed. Now this drew just a little bit of attention considering he wore nothing below or above his waist other then a pair of rather tight boxer briefs. The fact that his pants(loose but not so loose jeans) where clutched tightly in his left hand never seemed to become apparent to the man, nor did he notice when he started tugging the clothing on over his boxers. In fact he didn't even break stride as he did it, years of practice had made dressing and undressing a thoughtless exercise and this wasn't the first time he had finished getting dressed out in the open, why he had never gotten a public indecency ticket the world may never know. Maybe he was just lucky. Maybe people enjoyed looking at him. Or maybe they where scared shitless by a nude or nearly nude giant.

Taking a deep breath he started down the street his wide open smile and dancing eyes greeting anyone who he happened to meet eye contact with, which wasn't as many as you might expect considering most people tended to avoid scared, shirtless men, one eyed men no matter how happy they seemed. But as always Kaede remained oblivious to how others where reacting to him, and the fact his mind was stuck on the fact that he was about to get what amounted to a coffee date with Kasumi didn't help matters all that much. Now they had done this on more then one occasion before, but this was new, this was different, this was in no way related to their work which was a slight change from what was normal for them. He laughed a little then, and his hair jingled with its usual delight and then another laugh was heard and as he glanced over at it and saw to his delight a little baby all cuddled up in its stroller hand raised and pointing at his hair. That for what ever reason made him grin from ear to ear and with deft fingers he reached up and undid one of the multitudes of bells from where they rested in his hair and bent over and handed it to the chubby bundle of joy, who promptly put it to its mouth.

With out even talking to the child's stunned mother he skipped off, and almost literal hope in his step. It was odd how good this felt, but what was odder was just how happy he felt right then, but odd or not it felt GOOD which at the end of the day was what mattered. So what if his eyes lite up when they saw the coffee shop he was meeting his friend, so what if they nearly blazed as he caught site of her through the window? With swift steps and swifter hands he opened the door, its little bell jingling even as he did and he made his shirtless way over to Kasumi and as always she looked stunning!! More then stunning in fact, she looked like a goddess given mortal form...But he would keep that to him self, her ego didn't need any feeding after all. He slid into the seat across from her, that same wide goofy grin stuck on his handsome face. "So, you come here often?" Cliche it may have been but that didn't take away from the sheer amount of joy and laughter contained in his voice.

[Guest]

She lifted the coffee to her lips a couple of times to sip at her coffee as she waited patiently for her partner, doing her best to keep her mind from drifting to places that she'd rather not go. Like... her father. What would he think of her at this moment? Of how she had broken protocol for her partner and almost lost her job? Almost brought shame to their name? What in the world would he think of Kaede, or how his daughter was now? He had accepted her through it all up to his.... absence... but even still she couldn't help but wonder. Her mother certainly didn't question how she was which probably should have made her worry, but didn't. As long as she was alotted her freedom, she was happy. A frown began to form as pain clutched at her chest, her lips tightening for a moment as she fought back the rising sensation of tears in her eyes. She missed him. Sometimes when she walked down the street, she swore she could see him moving through the crowd with his broad shoulders and dark hair. But every time she started and the man turned... It wasn't him. Just another look alike with brown eyes that were characteristic of her people. She had his eyes, a blue that startled so many people with their appearance since so few expected it.

The sound of bells barely registered as she sighed heavily and lowered her eyes to her drinks lid as she took another sip, only looking up when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Kaede plopped down with one of his big grins which only made her smile, placing the paper cup back down as she leaned forward to push his mocha towards him a bit more. "So, you come here often?" Her smile twisted into more of a smirk as she chuckled, leaning her elbows against the table as some of her hair fell in front of her shoulder, hiding some of her exposed flesh from view. "A mocha with extra extra caffeine just as someone likes it. And someone, is in a good mood." She noted as she rested her chin against her hands, the smirk now turning cutesy as she stared at her partners face. It was odd. She had heard some women say they were rather intimidated by his appearance, what with the eyepatch and scar, but how could that be? She counted herself as lucky for having such a smoking hot man as her partner, even with his lack of shirt. Either he hadn't had one, or it was now strewn someone amidst the streets of Edo lost to the wind.

"Glad to see you up and about, its about time. Walking on patrol alone hasn't been quite the same without randomly finding your clothes on bushes." She teased him with a low giggle, for it was true. As odd of a "problem" (as some would say) as he had, it was rather endearing to her. Then again, she was certainly far from the norm. But now he was here, and the nervousness flared up like a bonfire in her stomach. Oh lordy, what in the world was wrong with her?! They had had coffee before off duty and on duty like this, and it had NEVER drawn such a reaction out of her. It was almost like she had never been in a relationship before or something which was a load of crap. She certainly had! Hell, she had almost gotten in trouble for it from her parents. As for now, words were failing her so she let them fail as she stared at her partner with a twinkle in those sapphire eyes. There was no sense in trying to force it for this was something that should probably flow rather naturally. They had functioned fine so far as they were, and she certainly wasn't about to change just because they were probably going to be in a relationship now. God this was so WEIRD! She sighed lightly and reached for her purse, placing it on her lap as she opened it up to pull out a plain white button down shirt for him. "I had a feeling you might need it." She explained as she held it out to him with a cat like smile. Aye, she knew her partner so very well.

[Kaede Soshi]

Kaede had once heard that ninety percent of human communication was none verbal. That the looks, shrugs and other small actions a person made in the course of every day life spoke volumes more then the actual words we spoke. So what did that sudden smirk mean? What about the lean? The chuckle? If discerning what women meant with there words was so difficult for men, how could he be expected to understand the other ninety percent of what they did? It seemed that the men of the world where doomed to be utterly confused, and he had a feeling that the women of the world wanted it that way. "A mocha with extra extra caffeine just as someone likes it. And someone, is in a good mood." He looked down at the paper cup that had been pushed in front of him and took a deep breath, in hailing the rich, tasty aroma of an almost heart attack."Someone is in a good mood... But someone needs to be let alone for thirty seconds so he can bask in the heaven that is... This." He calmly picks up the glass and wafts the aroma towards him then slowly with eyes filled with stars he raised the cup of ambrosia to his lips and took a long, slow pull. Savoring the liquid as it passed his lips, and letting out a sigh of contentment as he finished exactly thirty seconds later.

When he looked back at the woman who had provided him with one of his many vices, KAede noted that the smirk was now what you could call... Cutesy. She then began to undress him with her eyes (Or so her intent stare seemed to say to him) and he was fine with this. The fact that he eyes didn't wonder anywhere besides his face did not dawn on the man."Glad to see you up and about, its about time. Walking on patrol alone hasn't been quite the same without randomly finding your clothes on bushes." "Lets see you walk around after being hit by car and then we can talk about it being about "time" hmmm? He laughs a little and takes another long sip."But im sure your time with out me was just unbearable! Cause we know i was the highlight of your every work day"

As she handed him a shirt he finally looked down... And a faint blush came to his cheeks. "GOD DAMN IT!" He snatched it from her and quickly put it on, his hands flying down the buttons with speed that can only come with practice."I had a feeling you might need it." He could only mumble a thank you and run his hands down his now clothed chest before turning his smile back on her. He hopped She didn't notice the flush that had come to his cheeks. ""Ya... Well anyways." He cleared his throat and took another sip of coffee to calm his nerves before going on." Anyways..." Anyways what? He honestly didn't know what to say right then. And that was a first and hopefully a last. He wasn't used to being at a loss for words, and that... that was not in any way enjoyable. "So this may come as a surprise, but i actually don't know what else to say..." He rubs the back of his head and smiles a little. "I mean we have kinda ignored the giant pink elephant in the middle of the room... But thats a mutual thing."

[Guest]

If she wasn't mistaken, Kaede was slightly off of his usual game today! Something was... troubling him. Or perhaps troubling wasn't necessarily the right word for she had a pretty decent idea of what it was that made him stare at her so intently as if he were trying to read into her soul. Not that he probably meant to, he was just trying to identify the situation like she was. After all, their job entailed reading people, and so they couldn't help but apply it to everyone. Even each other. "Someone is in a good mood... But someone needs to be let alone for thirty seconds so he can bask in the heaven that is... This." Kasumi chuckled softly at that as he smelled so deeply of his crazily caffeinated drink. So she nodded once and watched as he took a good slow sip to fully relish the deliciousness that was coffee. Yes, she knew her partner very well indeed. And it made her happy to know that. Because if she didn't know him like she did? A) There was something wrong, and B)... well... then there was this.

"Lets see you walk around after being hit by car and then we can talk about it being about "time" hmmm? She stuck her tongue out at him whilst narrowing her eyes, yet the small smile of contentment remained all throughout. "But im sure your time with out me was just unbearable! Cause we know i was the highlight of your every work day" Now it was her turn to let out a true little laugh, glancing upwards towards the ceiling in thought over his words. He certainly did make things interesting, and she hadn't realized it until this moment but... he calmed her. There was some mystical force that his very presence just cast over her that allowed her to be at peace. She wasn't thinking about her father, about Ran, about her job, about... anything. Or, no, it was more that she could think about those things except without the stress of it. Without the negative connotations that may be associated with them. So she nodded as her smile grew, he was part of the better parts of her day for sure.

But it was then he realized that he was lacking in his shirt. She had wondered how long it would take him. The answer? Mm.... about normal. "GOD DAMN IT!" Some heads turned towards their table at his shout, but she only had eyes for the blush that had risen to his cheeks. Now how often was it that he actually blushed about his accidental nudity hm? Especially considering he was covering up a beautiful body (at least to her). She certainly didn't mind or care about the scars. His mumbled thank you only made a chuckle rumble in her throat, almost in a way that one could call seductive, though that wasn't her intention at this particular moment. She was simply amused. ""Ya... Well anyways." She took a sip of her coffee as well, blinking as her eyebrows raised in anticipation of what he would say next. " Anyways..." She batted her eyelashes at him as her coffee quietly returned to the table before them, folding her hands upon the surface as Kaede clearly wasn't sure what to do. "Well isn't that rare. The cat seems to have caught your tongue." She couldn't help it, she had to tease him about it!

"So this may come as a surprise, but i actually don't know what else to say..." No, it wasn't a surprise at all. "I mean we have kinda ignored the giant pink elephant in the middle of the room... But thats a mutual thing." And that was precisely why it was not surprising at all to her. It wasn't like she was any better at this particular moment. Though she did have some thoughts. She took a deep breath before beginning, "Perhaps it was more I wasn't aware of it until it decided to reveal itself to me." For that was accurate. She knew that he meant a lot to her, being her partner and all, but she hadn't realized how deeply he had burrowed himself within her heart. "But yes, I suppose we have ignored it." Her voice was quiet as she looked down at the table for a moment, trying her best to gather her thoughts. Once she had them, she raised those sapphire eyes to him. "Kaede, no matter where we go from here, you must understand something about me." Lord... how was he going to take this? "I care about you. But... My views on relationships are a bit... unconventional. I believe in the ability to care about multiple people at once. Not like, five or something, but maybe two or so at once." Her gaze was calm and even, though her heart was pounding so hard within her chest. She was really quite concerned about how he would react to this, if he would be ok with this. He knew that she enjoyed the company of people, but then they weren't in a relationship with her either. "If we decided to say we are "dating," then I cannot promise that I will be yours and yours alone. It would be like... an open relationship." Yes, that was the term that people used nowadays.

She bit her lower lip as she resisted the urge to let her hands fidget. "If you are not comfortable with that, then I understand and we can remain as we have up till now if that is even possible. I realize many are not comfortable with such an idea. But the bottom line is...." She closed her eyes to take a deep, calming breath, begging for her heart to slow down as it wanted to race away. She almost felt rather timid. "I do care for you. So.... that is what I have to say."

[Csilla Angelis]

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