Our Last Days as Children

[Nayt]

Akizets couldn't see Eld's face, otherwise she'd have asked what he was blushing about, then maybe apologize about something or the rather. But alas . . .

"Okaaaaaay," she drew out at the thought of going to bed.

She really didn't want to go to sleep yet. It was way too early to sleep! Well . . . probably. Too early for someone like her. She always got to sleep late and woke up early. A curse, really, but no matter who you are, when you sleep six hours every night for the majority of your life, it becomes normal.

Thus, instead of deciding to just slink off onto the futon Eld set out for her, she pulled her legs up onto Eld's bed, and still hugging him, half-way laid upon her side, head still upon the side of his chest . . . and she proceeded to remain like that, saying nothing at all, but most certainly daring Eld to say or do something about it!

[Zach Kaiser]

Well, it seemed Akizetsumei relented, which was a relief...until she made it clear she wasn't going anywhere. And not letting go, either. "I-It's okay, you can take the bed if you want, I can take the futon, but...umm...you have to let me go," he said meekly.

No, it wasn't that he didn't get it, and that would probably be clear to even Akizetsumei. He very much knew she wanted to sleep in the same bed as him, and truth be told he very much wanted to as well. It was just that he was rather worried about what else might happen if they did that.

[Nayt]

Though Akizets didn't know it, Eld was actually getting the wrong idea. It wasn't that she'd thought about sleeping in the same bed with him, it was that she liked cuddling with him, they were cuddling before he said they should get to sleep, and she wasn't tired. In fact, she was still kind of a veritable ball of energy, regardless of her previously bad mood, so she had no qualms with making innocent mischief.

Nonetheless, Akizets squeezed him tighter and pulled herself closer so that she had her head against the front of his chest. She was not going to let go without a fight!

"Nooope! Not gonna," she replied pointedly.

Mischief was certainly helping cheer her out of her melancholic mood. She was feeling a tiny bit playful, and was mostly just trying to dare Eld to try to make her let go of him. Because . . . hey, they were dating, and she could be playful without reservations because of this. Well . . . sort of. There were many aspects of "being playful and mischievous" that Akizets did not subscribe to, of course, if only because her intentions were always innocent.

[Zach Kaiser]

"But...I..." In the face of such cute refusal, protests were useless. He really did want to snuggle up to Akizetsumei; he'd just have to make sure his self-control remained intact.

"Oh, fine," he grumbled halfheartedly. He'd have a little bit of revenge, though; he let himself fall backwards onto the bed, invariably taking her with him. It wasn't like it was a huge fall, but he hoped to at least surprise her a little.

[Nayt]

"Eep!" she cried meekly as Eld crashed down, bringing her with him.

She giggled, clung to him tighter, and shimmied over so she could lay her head upon Eld's chest, rest her arm across his belly, and mostly press her body up against his side. This was exceptionally comfortable. Over the course of a couple of minutes, Akizetsumei went silent again.

. . . while her face began to turn a shade of red at the realization of their current intimacy.

They were really like this, weren't they? Really this close? Really this intimate? Okay, sure, they weren't kissing or anything right now, which would've made her heart flutter a hundred times faster than it was right now, but they were certainly laying on the same bed together, holding each other, and taking in each other's warmth. This was really happening.

I . . . we're . . . we're really gonna sleep like this, aren't we?

Akizets came to the conclusion fast enough. It wasn't even a part of her thoughts before, but now she was definitely thinking about it, and no matter how red her face got or how fast her heart beat, she couldn't help but kind of look forward to that kind of prospect . . .

[Zach Kaiser]

Akizetsumei wasted no time in snuggling up even closer to him now that he was laying down, and he in turn wrapped his arms around her and held her as well. It never occurred to Eld that she might not have actually intended for them to sleep like this, but it hardly mattered--now that the idea was in her head it would've been difficult to convince her it was a bad idea even if wanted to.

And he didn't really want to. He did figure he should give a warning though. "H-Hey, just so you know, I don't have a lock on my door...so if we fall asleep like this, someone might come in and, y'know, see us." Not that they were doing anything wrong, but he had a feeling this was still more intimate than most of Akizetsumei's family would be comfortable with. And he'd probably get looks for awhile if either his parents or Etsu came in.

[Nayt]

"Wh-- wha--!" Akizets cried meekly.

And suddenly Akizetsumei was considering not sleeping like this with Eld.

"S-- seriously?" she whimpered, trying not to sound mildly frantic, "Like, umm, ummmmm, y-- you don't-- you don't think-- y-- youdon'tthinkanyonewill,doyou?"

Because seriously! She didn't want to get a horrible reputation or make people think the wrong things! They were just snuggling, that's all! But people were so totally going to think the wrong thing if they walked in. They'd walk in, find Akizets and Eld under the covers together, Akizets laying on top of Eld, both sleeping comfortably, and even though they were both so definitely going to be clothed, people would think all the wrong stuff, and label her with all kinds of horrible names that she'd heard girls her age called before.

Akizets especially didn't want Eld's parents to think she was a . . . a . . . that really bad four letter word.

[Zach Kaiser]

Well, that was quite a bit bigger of a reaction than he was expecting. It occurred to him that unlike, say, Sarah, Akizetsumei was actually rather concerned about her reputation. At least, she definitely wanted to be considered a "good girl" rather than a bad one.

The answer to her question came quicker than Eld would have liked, but if he was honest with himself (and her) then it was an easy answer. "The way people around here respect my privacy? It's probably more likely they will than won't."

Though, if it was his family that walked in she wouldn't have to worry about them saying anything. His parents wouldn't spread any rumors and Etsu didn't seem like the type to gossip. Still, someone from her family--or possibly one of his friends--could also possibly barge in. And while Gestahl of Terra was normally a polite person, he imagined he may forget his manners if he learned his daughter was sleeping in the same room as an older boy, let alone the same bed.

[Nayt]

"I . . . ." Akizets bit her lower lip.

She squeezed Eld's shirt and took in a deep breath, only to sigh and feel silly for even starting this whole thing up. Wanting to snuggle with Eld this night-- what was she even thinking? It was way too forward of her, anyways. And she probably would've just made Eld uncomfortable and put off-- it wouldn't have been all that great in the morning. It was a silly idea and she was infinitely silly to have even thought it a great plan.

So there.

"I guess we should, um, sleep, um, separate, then . . ."

Akizets slowly began to pull away from Eld. As much as she liked the feeling of him holding her close, someone could just walk in at any given minute, right? That just . . . that wouldn't have ended well at all.

[Zach Kaiser]

"W-Well...it's up to you," Eld replied. He should probably have just nodded and kept quiet, but the fact was now that she was already there with him he couldn't help but her to stay. And again, he had to voice his thoughts. "I guess since they know you're staying here, they'll probably give us some privacy, now that I think about it." Which was rather different from when Sarah used to stay over, since she as often as not snuck in without anyone noticing. The only saving grace is she often left the same way. Still...incidents had occurred.

"I guess I can't say for sure they won't, but...it would probably be okay?" He wasn't sure, as he wasn't used to his parents knowing he'd be having a girl over for the night; though admittedly there would have been more than sleeping going on with the previous girl.

[Nayt]

Akizets hadn't yet left Eld's person by the time he started trying to convince her to stay. Still with her hand upon his chest, she paused to look him in the face, searching for comfort in the truth.

"Y-- you, um," Akizets trailed off, hesitant to ask and even more hesitant to believe, "You really think so?"

Because if he was serious, and he really though they'd be okay, she'd be more than happy to go back to snuggling with Eld. And she'd probably sleep in the same bed with him and everything, because he was warm and soft and comfortable in every way, and he made her feel tons better than she did when she was out in the rain . . .

"C-- 'cause, umm," she felt kind of silly saying this, too, but . . . "I really don't want your parents to hate me. I-- I mean-- I don't want them to think I'm some kinda, ummmmm . . . ummm . . ."

Akizets averted her eyes as she thought about it. It was something she thought her family was accusing her of being months ago--and she was still pretty sure they thought she was one.

"Some kinda you-know-what . . ."

[Zach Kaiser]

This caused Eld to let out a small laugh. He couldn't help it; it wasn't Akizetsumei's fault, really, as she didn't know what went down with Sarah. Maybe he'd tell her someday...someday when it wouldn't totally blow her mind, anyway.

"Trust me, you don't have to worry about that," Eld assured her. "Even if my parents did walk in, they're pretty reasonable. They aren't going to jump to any conclusions."

And though it probably wasn't necessary, he added, "Besides, I don't think people think that about girls when it's with their boyfriends." It was only when it wasn't with a boyfriend that it created problems, he figured. (It would later occur to him that none of the girls he'd done anything with had actually been his girlfriend at the time.)

[Nayt]

Akizets frowned when Eld laughed. Did she have something on her face? Because she was totally serious! If people started getting the wrong idea and word got out or something--her life would officially be over! She'd never be able to leave the house again and she'd just have to move away, because everyone in all of Hillcrest would--

"I-- I-- um . . ." Akizets felt her cheeks begin to flush.

She was really starting to jump to conclusions there, wasn't she? Akizets smiled a little and bit her lower lip. She wanted to thank Eld for putting up with her, but that would just be weird, wouldn't it?

"Okay," she smiled fully, "Umm-- s-sorry, um, I don't mean to be such a worry wort, honest."

And so, Akizets scooted over towards Eld again, laid on her side, and rested her head against Eld's shoulder. She rested her hand upon his chest again and lifted her head enough to make eye contact with Eld. There, she smiled slightly again, shut her eyes, and sighed contently.

[Zach Kaiser]

"It's fine," Eld replied. "I worry about what people think of me, too." He definitely was more than a little worried about what people thought about him dating someone younger than him. But he couldn't see it as wrong, so he could only hope he could convince others of that if he needed to.

"B-But...you can't easily change what others think of you, you know? So...I guess I just try to act in a way that feels right to me, and hope that others don't fault me for it."

He definitely had experience with people looking down on him for one reason or another, and it taught him that if people really cared about him, they'd understand his reasons, even if they didn't agree with them all the time.

[Nayt]

Akizets listened to what Eld had to say and took it to heart the best she could. Still . . . she couldn't help but feel obligated to keep something of a decent reputation. Or at least enough that people didn't say, "oh, it's her, I know what she's been doing with her time," and thinking all the worst things about her when they did.

But then Eld said something that perked her head up. She looked at him curiously for a long time, repeating the question in her head for nearly a whole minute.

"You . . . you think . . ."

She began to ask, but bit her lip before she could say it all. She felt her cheeks flushing a bit as she thought of it again. It felt like her heart skipped a beat, like the butterflies were starting to flutter about in her stomach again.

"I feel right to you?" she asked, paused, and wet her lips.