Side Effects (7-14-11) [Keo & Aemilio, maybe others later]

Despite of his eyes being used to the darkness already, Aemilio still waited for the figure by the mansion coming closer to make sure it was Keoki before he'd speak.
When he saw it was her he smiled and pushed himself off the tree and took a couple of steps closer to her.

"Boo," he said calmly with a soft grin. Before his eyes had time to focus he asked her: "shall I assume you look beautiful as ever and compliment your appearnce or would that make me look a too much of a suck-up?"

Keoki smiled once she was sure it was Aemilio, "Well, I did try to look nice, even if it is dark out. Though, I didn't expect you to wear something dark, I'm afraid you were a bit hard to spot," she replied before stopping a few feet away. But it was a pleasant night, not too cold, and the moon was almost full now. Though that wasn't the best sight for Keo, it did provide a good bit of light when the clouds were out of the way.

After stopping, she examined the gardens near them before glanced up at the sky for a moment before looking back and commenting, "It looks great here, doesn't it? So much clearer without all the light pollution." It was certainly easier to actually see the stars, which were usually faded out by a city's night-life. Though it actually felt a little darker without all the artificial lights.

"It really is great," Aemilio agreed, his eyes drifting towards the star-filled sky for a moment, only to return to the thing he much rather saw; "beautiful..."
He then broke of his stare and said: "I'm surprised - gladly but still, surprised - it's just the two of us." At that he looked around again, making sure no one else was there. This was a pretty big waste of time though, as he couldn't see all that far ahead in the darkness and it would be easy for someone to hide for him behind a bush or tree.

"Yeah, guess you picked a good night," Keoki replied, glad that she hadn't noticed anyone else on her way over. "Though I'm curious, why decide on midnight? Are you just a night owl?" she asked while taking a few small steps towards to garden to get a better view. She was mostly just wondering if he had some plan in mind or if night just seemed like a good time. There was no problem with coming out so late since it turned out to be a lovely night, other than some trouble seeing far away, at least.

"Well, I am a definete night person," Aemilio replied with a grinned shrug, "I can't help it, I'm just wired like a vampire. But..." he added in a more serious tone, "I do also like the peace and quiet of the night. Especially here... In big cities it sometimes seems like you're never alone... and one of my favourite things here is that you can be outside, at night... enjoying the company of a beautiful star-filled sky and an even more beautiful lady... and not be disturbed."

The way he turned his body hintingly, taking a step hinted Keoki to walk with him as he asked her: "I hope you're in for a walk? Just a small one, nothing marathon-like, don't worry."

Vampire was an interesting word to use, though mostly humorous to her with the old vampire vs werewolf rivalry stories, but she stayed quiet when he spoke a bit more seriously. "Sounds kind of romantic when you put it like that," she commented mostly on his description of it, though the last part was flattering, making her smile even if it wouldn't be noticed in the dark. When he asked about a walk, she nodded, "Of course." Keoki moved over close, but was a little unsure if she should take his hand or just keep to herself as she waited for him to lead.

Aemilio simply smiled and nodded his head in reply of Keoki's comment. When she turned to stroll with him, he did take her hand but very gently, giving her every oppertunity to pull out if she didn't like it.

"Keoki?" he started in a soft voice, glancing at her sideways with a small smile, "I know I'm not bringing up the most cheerful of topics but... you did say before... you can have a friendly relationship with someone... to act kind, warm, trusting but still keeping yourself distanced emotionally. I just want to know if you are around me?"

Keoki glanced to her hand for a second after he took it, and stepped just a bit closer, not minding at all. When he asked if she was distancing herself like she normally would, she had to admit she expected that to come up sometime. But she smiled, looking back to him to try reassuring him of what she was going to say, "I'm a little scared actually... That probably sounds bad... But, I really like spending time with you... Despite, well, going completely against my usual judgment to avoid that."

She couldn't help but laugh a little with that, looking forward again before she ended up feeling embarrassed, "But I'm enjoying it, because I care about you. More than I'm used to, I think," She hadn't said that to someone, at least not honestly, in a while... Mostly, she was worried that all of that just made her sound even weirder by being bluntly honest. She wasn't even that sure how to put it, so she just ended up looking nervous.

Aemilio smiled at her, warm and happy. "I don't think you know how happy I am to hear that," he said, "that you like me, not the being scared so much."
He slowed his pace a little, both because it would enlong the walk and because he couldn't keep his eyes off of her and didn't want to risk crashing into a tree or something. "I just like to say I'm really glad you decided to give me a chance." His smile disappeared a little, and after a hessitant silence he said: "I admit, this all scares me a little too..."

"Heh, I'm glad to hear that, too," Keoki replied, smiling back since she felt a little better. When he slowed down, she did as well, thinking for a moment after what he said about giving him a chance. She wasn't entirely sure why she'd decided to, she had no idea if that was a good choice or not.

"I guess... I'm just tired of my own habits. I want to see how this might go, with you." She felt a little shy admitting that, but when she glanced back to Aemilio, he seemed silent. When he mentioned being a bit scared too, she was rather curious, but didn't try to push it, "You don't have to answer, but, why does it scare you?"

Keoki's question was one he'd expected, naturally... No miracle there as he pretty much called it out.
"I'm... well..." Aemilio turned his gaze to the ground, "I'm scared I might hurt you. After all," he added with an apologetic grin, "I'm not always as nice as I look."

He went on a little more seriously, halting as he said it; "I know I'm not exactly promoting myself here but I have to be honest... I can be a bit of a jerk sometimes and..." the next couple of words came out with great difficulty; "well, I would hate myself if I'd hurt you."

That was something she could oddly sympathize with. Although, in her case, she could end up attacking him and sending him to a hospital, if not worse. But that was nothing she could tell him, at least not yet, when he'd just think she was insane. Keoki shifted slightly when it seemed like he was having a bit of trouble explaining. She took a step in front of him so he'd stop looking at the ground, and placed a hand on his arm to get his attention.

"How about this, then?" she started, with a soft smile, "If you promise to be careful, I promise to be understanding if anything does happen." In reality, what he'd said had scared her quite a bit, especially considering she already didn't like having to trust people. But she didn't want to give up just yet, even if she might be a little too hopeful now. She did her best to ignore those worries, keeping her eyes on him for some reaction.

Feeling his cheeks collor, Aemilio smiled bashfully at Keoki when their eyes met. "I swear I will be," he promised in a soft but determined voice. Then in a slightly uncomfertable chuckle: "I feel like an idiot for what I just said... but I hope me being honest shows you my intentions are good...?" That last sounded like a hopeful question more than a point he was making.

On the inside he was much angrier at himself than he showed - telling a girl with trust issues he was afraid of the possibility of him hurting her!? What was he thinking?! Hopefully it had the effect he was hoping for...

"O well," he went on in a confident voice, the way he smiled at Keoki not in the least revealing his interntal conflict, "talk is cheap. I'll prove to you I'm a good guy. I intended to do so anyway so..."
He looked at her, in her beautiful eyes as she stood in front of him, his expression soft and endeered, and he placed a small tender kiss on her cheek, by lack of words to describe what he felt now.

While he had worried her a bit, he seemed to mean what he said, "No, you were being honest. I'd much rather hear it from you upfront," she said, basically meaning she wouldn't have wanted to find out from someone else later. And she'd still prefer not to hear anything about this later. It was reassuring though, when he leaned in and kissed her cheek. And maybe she blushed a little too, but that disappeared as another thought came to mind.

"But, if we're being honest, there's just one more thing that's been bugging me..." Keoki started, moving her hand from his arm to the collar of his shirt with a grin, not letting him move away as she spoke up again, "The first day, you asked what I might do if you tried to kiss me. And I said I probably wouldn't stop you... but you never actually tried, not more than this at least," she said, referring to the kiss on the cheek, and playfully asked, "Is something wrong?" Things had been cute, though not exactly perfect. But for some reason she worried he might be acting too softly, maybe cautiously, just because she had her little trust problem. At the same time, she didn't want to make the first move herself.

At her question Aemilio couldn't stop himself from letting out a small laugh. "I'm sorry," he said honestly embaressed, "I suppose it's just because... well..." he sigehd and went on blunt- but still friendly; "because of what you said I've been tippy-toeing around you like crazy...!"

He shrugged as if to apologise, almost as if it was an accident. "I know it's a little silly but... I just really like you. And you've left me a little clueless on how to act. That's actually the main reason I'm scared of hurting you."

It may have seem a bit sudden, the way he went from a rather romantic state to to plain bluntness but he felt that if he didn't say it now, it might never be said.

"So..." he went on with a small grin, "forgive me for holding back a little, perhaps..."

"Well... that's a very sweet sentiment," she replied, letting go of him and taking a step back, "I was kind of figuring that. Sorry for the confusion, but, I'm not frail enough that I'm going to break over just any silly thing. And I'm trying to trust you, so, you've that going for you." There was only one person previously who she'd actually trusted, and while that didn't end too smoothly, she knew she wouldn't get anywhere by dwelling on it. Looking back to him with a warm smile, she added, "Besides, maybe I like you just as much."

Then Keoki turned around to start walking again, though at a slow pace. "It really is sweet that you're being careful, but no one waits forever," she pointed out with a light shrug, speaking a bit louder since she wasn't facing him, but then turned back to add, "Shall we continue with the walk?"

"In a second," was all Aemilio said, only after being quiet throughout all Keoki'd said. He took her hand to stop her from walking out of his reach, pulled her closer as well as walking up to her so they ended up close together, then kissed her, on the lips and possibly with tongue ((if she'd allow it)).
His one hand on her back, the other floating through her hair he was just a little too involved witht he moment right there to even ponder how stupid he was going to feel if Keoki'd pull away now.


((w00t, smooching!))

Keoki wasn't really sure what to make of his silence until he finally replied and moved closer. During the kiss, she let him lead, as long as he didn't get too ahead of himself, wrapping her arms around his neck. It had been a while since she'd gotten this close to someone, enjoying the moment. But she didn't want it to get carried away, breaking the kiss after a few more seconds.

She didn't move away other than that, though she had a light blush on her face and couldn't really think of much to say right away, glancing away for a second before she spoke up, "It's nice, having someone I feel like I can trust," and hopefully she could trust him. Leaning in, she placed a light, short kiss on his lips before adding, "Thank you for that."

Aemilio smiled happily, closing his eyes for the couple of seconds when his and Keoki's lips touched. After that he was honestly left speechless - something that usually was a rare thing to him but was starting to become a usual happening around Meinior.

And then some more things happened but you'll never know what because... I'm uninspired and this topic is now closed ^^