Our Last Days as Children

[Nayt]

"Oh . . ."

At some point, particularly when she saw that they were empty, Etsu should have figured it was a rhetorical question, asking if they were out. But she didn't. It was as if some part of her brain was able to justify the idea that if Eld said that no, they were not in fact out of sake, what she saw of an empty pitcher would've just been a hallucination.

Etsu took a sip of her tea, but found it had no taste left. In reality, it was that she couldn't taste it. Comparatively, though, sake now had more taste.

"Datte . . . Tsukimono-kun," she pouted as she sat her cup down.

Just then, she sounded outright affectionate. Her voice was normally an octave or two lower than the average fourteen year old girl's (albeit still decidedly feminine), but now it was a couple octaves higher, somewhere in the ranges of falsetto, and she even carried a tone of familiarity and affection . . .

[Zach Kaiser]

He knew he should say no. They'd already had a decent amount, after all. But perhaps it was the way she was being much warmer to him than she ever had, or maybe it was the way she was adding -kun to his name again, but he just couldn't bring himself to say no to her.

"I-I...oh, fine. But make this last, okay?" It was a good thing he'd been diligent about saving his spending money.

He flagged down the waiter and asked if he could get just a half-pitcher more of sake, a request that was promptly granted. He poured Etsu another glass, followed by himself, and took a bite of the ahi tuna she gave him before a large sip of sake.

"It is good though," he admitted.

[Nayt]

Etsu giggled again. "Arigatou gozai~masu, Tsukimono-kun."

There was a playfulness in the way she spoke, a slight elongation of one syllable here, an added affection to an honorific there, and an otherwise upbeat, if not only vaguely lethargic, demeanor.

With sake returned to her cup, she retrieved it and took a sip--doing as Eld said and trying to make it last. It now tasted like water, and she was perfectly okay with that. Idly, she continued to eat, though dinner was the last thing on her mind anymore. She didn't feel too hungry anymore, and she was about finished with her plate, anyways.

"Dakara, Tsukimono-kun," she began . . .

Suffice it to say, Etsu had all but stopped speaking Common. She didn't realize it, but then again, she didn't realize a lot of things right now. Like the way she set her elbow upon the table or the way she held her chin in her hand, or why she even had to do that. She especially didn't notice how much she was smiling or how good of a mood she was in.

"Is there anything you ever wanted to ask me?" she said as she stared idly into her half-full cup of sake, "Anything at all?"

[Zach Kaiser]

"Weeeeellll..." Eld paused in thought, not realizing how potentially dangerous the question could be. After all, there was some questions that shouldn't be asked, let alone answered! And right now he wasn't sure he'd be able to identify those questions.

Thankfully the first one that came to mind was quite harmless. "Have you thought about modeling before?" he asked, slipping into Cizokian reflexively because the question was asked in it. "Or was all that earlier just kind of spur of the moment?" He was curious about this; Etsu had taken charge of that situation way quicker and with more force than he'd have ever thought possible.

[Nayt]

"Mm," she nodded her head, "I have thought about it for a very long time. It is just . . . well, I do not know what my mother or father would say."

Okay, fine, maybe she had given it a little bit of thought-- er . . . a lot of thought. Etsu's mind wasn't exactly keeping up with her mouth, here.

"But a few of my friends were very into photography, and though I never bought any of it myself, I'd always look their photo books over whenever I was at their houses. The professional models were always my favorite," she said, which was definitely a lot more than she'd have ever revealed if she hadn't been drinking sake.

Speaking of, she still had half of a cup left. Etsu brought it up and sipped it until it was no more. Yes, this most certainly tasted like water. It was much, much easier to drink.

As she set the empty cup down, again by the porcelain pitcher, Etsu asked: "Do you think I would be a good model, Tsukimono-kun?"

[Zach Kaiser]

"Hai," Eld affirmed. At this point he couldn't help but be honest. He was normally fairly honest anyway, but ordinarily he might've thought to tease her a little bit.

"You handled yourself very well back there, and you are very pretty. I think you'd make a great model." He nodded, as though that made it absolute fact. It didn't occur to him that there might be such thing as being a bit too honest at the moment, considering their history.

"Is there anything you wish to ask me, then?" he asked. Well, technically she did ask him something, but he figured that one didn't count. After all, the answer had been very obvious!

[Nayt]

That was a bit surprising to hear, but it was a good surprise! A pleasant one, even! Etsu was on the precipice of giggling just thinking about it.

"Really? I like that," Etsu said, smiling brightly, "That you think I'm pretty. I'm very grateful."

If she'd been saying that in Common, it would've been a mess. The Cizokian language, on the other hand, was traditionally formal, and in Etsu's studies, she'd mostly been taught to speak a formal dialect. Unless you were utterly uneducated, you were usually taught to speak formally.

As she thought about what she could possibly ask Eld, which comprised a large number of things, really, she took to pouring a cup of sake for herself, rather than waiting on Eld to do it. She had to lean forward to do that again, though, and once more gravity took its toll on her shirt. Not that it even mattered to her anymore.

"What do you think we'd be doing right now?" she asked as she slid back down into her seat, "If we had stayed together back at the lake. What do you think we'd be like right now?"

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld squirmed a bit as Etsu leaned forward once more; she was clearly not aware of what she was doing. He knew sometimes she did things for the sake of accusing him of being hentai afterward, but now did not seem to be one of those times. It suddenly hit him that he should inform her of her mistake, but just before he could she asked him a question.

It was a question that required some thought to be sure. Unfortunately, he couldn't really come up with an answer. "Who knows?" he asked with a shrug. "We'd probably be doing just what we're doing now," he guessed sagely. "We'd just be calling it a date."

He took a moment to pour himself some more sake, as somehow his glass had gotten empty again, and took a sip before adding, "Would have made kissing for the camera easier, that's for sure."

[Nayt]

Etsu suppressed a giggle again. "You think so?"

That was kind of a happy thought. For some reason, it felt nice to imagine what'd be like if their circumstances were different, and they were dating and probably even set into the circumstances of an arranged marriage again. It wasn't like they wouldn't have honored it.

"I actually thought it was very easy to kiss you again."

Etsu paused to take a long sip of her sake--actually a bit longer than she expected, because her whole cup was gone before she knew it. She paused to look at her empty up, then shrugged her shoulders. More sake could be obtained.

"I think I got kind of lost in the middle of it," she added as an afterthought.

It should have been odd to talk about this so casually, but Etsu felt perfectly fine with it. She even felt the urge to reach out and touch Eld somehow, even if it was only his hand. And so she did; she put her right elbow upon the table, held her chin in her hand, and reached her left hand across the table, where it could find purchase in Eld's hand--hopefully. That was the goal, at least.

"You're actually a really great kisser, Tsukimono-kun," she said smilingly.

[Zach Kaiser]

"R-Really? Thanks." It was hard for him to judge for himself; after all, no matter how much experience he had, Sarah had a way of making him feel like an amateur. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing sometimes.

"I kind of got lost in it too," he admitted. "You're an easy person to kiss. Your lips are very soft." And it had been a long time since he'd gotten to kiss someone for any length; when he kissed Akizetsumei, it was usually just a quick peck.

"So, I just remembered something else I've been wanting to ask you," Eld declared, his mind having gone through several quick subject changes that would have been difficult for anyone else to follow. "Why is it you wanted to marry me? I mean, I think I'm alright, but I bet you could probably get just about any guy you wanted."

[Nayt]

Etsu wasn't able to suppress a smile. "Thank you," she said, "You're very sweet."

It was no wonder she liked him so much. That she was willing to kiss him again--and that she'd probably do it again, right here in public if necessary, if he so much as suggested it was a good idea. That was a bit of a strange thought to have, but she didn't mind too terribly right now.

Funny enough, that actually corresponded with a question of Eld's . . .

"Well . . . because of things like that," Etsu replied honestly, "You are a very kind and genuine person, Tsukimono-kun. I have met many boys in my life, but they are all very . . . insincere. They always want something physical over something emotional."

By this point, Etsu had taken Eld's hand--not that he seemed to notice. She gently rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand, feeling his flesh with what little feeling she could get from her fingers anymore.

"I know that you would want both," she said as she wrapped her fingers around his, "I would be okay with that."

[Zach Kaiser]

"O-Oh, umm, arigato," Eld stammered, a little embarrassed by such sincere flattery even while intoxicated. He suddenly noticed that Etsu had grabbed his hand at some point. Now that he noticed it, it felt kind of nice. Somehow he felt a lot warmer than when they came in.

"I've never really understood that about other guys. The only guy I've ever gotten along with who isn't family is Kyo-kun. If you can call that getting along," he added. Kyo could definitely be a little tough to deal with sometimes, but really he was just a big softie inside. If he just loosened up a bit, he'd probably have a lot more fun.

[Nayt]

Etsu realized all too late that her head was heavier than she was prepared for. With her dinner just one slice from gone, she leaned up, freed up her hand, moved her plate, took another cup of sake down, and laid her head down on the same arm she had outstretched across the table. She felt pretty comfortable there.

"That is just what boys are into," she said, the tone of her voice sounding a wee bit more lethargic. Another side effect of the numbness in her face and hands. "They like things like breasts, touching, grabbing, kissing, sex. I am not against it all, but . . ."

She took in a breath, sighed, and smiled some. She thought about Eld again, and how he might have been into all that, too, and felt relieved that it wasn't all he was after in a relationship. They'd done some things back at the lake, but he never pursued that again. He wasn't the pushy kind of guy. It was nice to know.

"You are into that. I know that. I remember how you were at the lake," she said, and judging by her tone, the thought didn't seem to bother her, "But that is not all you want; you want someone to love, too, and that is very nice to know, and that is why I think I could marry you someday."

It was then that Eld's point started to sink in--the whole mention of Toushikyo, that is. Etsu seemed to just roll her shoulders a bit.

"I think that is how Toushikyo is, too. But I am not sure. He is very quiet."

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld nodded in agreement. He was pretty sure that's what Toushikyo was like, too. Though, it was hard to say, as while he didn't chase skirts he'd never had a girlfriend, either, so he didn't know what he'd be like in a relationship! Sometimes he suspected he wasn't aloof so much as very shy when it came to girls.

"Of course guys are interested; we're supposed to be! Otherwise we wouldn't have come this far--as a race, that is. Girls are interested too. It's just, it shouldn't be all people are interested in, you know?" He spoke as though this were a kind of sage lecture he was giving.

He followed this up by finishing off his glass of sake, which had sat untouched for awhile now.

[Nayt]

"Oh, do not mistake me," Etsu said, "I think about it sometimes, too. I do not think I think about it as much as boys do, but I do sometimes think about what we did at the lake."

Which was most definitely something she'd have never admitted to Eld under any other circumstances. But really, she couldn't help it. That was essentially her only sexual experience to this day, and it was a pretty amazing one, to boot. Eld was gentle, for all intents and purposes, and not very demanding . . .

"It was very good," she added, "I think I would prefer you as my lover than anyone else. It is very awkward doing things on my own, anyway . . ."

And again, something she'd have never admitted were she not currently inebriated. Later, she might have to count herself lucky that she was unlikely to remember all this--or that Eld was unlikely to remember it, at least. Though, that'd require her to remember it all in detail, and that was kind of a logical fallacy.