SEMI-HIATUS.

･ﾟ*. UNPROMPTED ASK. — always accepting.

     OH ? Was Dusk once again troubled by a problem that required human interaction and with small children to add onto that ? The answer was yes ! Seriously, moments like these always reminded her that Dusk had lived under a rock all this time ... well, given his circumstances she supposed she couldn’t blame him entirely but jeez, he reminded him of herself when she was much younger. Though, she supposed she wasn’t as bad as him even then.

He realized, as the more into the conversation this was going pertaining to his ‘lovestricken love’ for the other woman, the more he realized that the other’s suggestion was becoming more… suggestive. Granted, Blue Bird’s head was always in the clouds. He always thought of how he envisioned him, with her- but to go as far as to become intimate in bed- the bounty hunter found himself experiencing a very warm sensation.

“I… I really do seem like i’m being too cautious, aren’t I?” It wasn’t a thought he would’ve acknowledged, since he wasn’t entirely aware of it up until this point- but it made sense. The surprise look upon the face of the mercenary held multiple forms of how dumb he felt right now.

The thought of her vanishing… a lump formed in his throat. Nervousness- but also… determination. His lips now relaxed into a now knowing smile that matched the tenderness of those grey eyes of his. 

“I see… I guess it shows how long it really has been- but you are right. I don’t want to wait forever- I do want to show her what my heart has to offer. I just…” He took a deep breath, his head turning towards Celine’s direction as he felt his heart thrum in his chest. 

“You remind me of a friend of mine- but she hasn’t been around in quite a while… I suppose that’s why I don’t have a lot of input on this kind of things, because I’ve always been by myself aside from a couple of encounters with other bounty hunters. Thank you… I don’t actually know what I could’ve really done without someone like you giving me advice. That kind of sounds a little dumb now on my part, doesn’t it?” 

Although he did appreciate her. How can this man survive in a romantic world if he just relied on his small impulsive self?

❝  what is your success rate ,  i wonder ??  is it higher than your failure ??  ❞   blunt and simple ,  and perhaps a bit rude but it was only a jest.   ❝  hmm  …  wouldn’t it better to ask for someone to taste test something ,  rather then offer food like that ??  and instead of tabasco ,  you could always add too much of an ingredient ,  to make it taste odd.  ❞   of course ,  if you are close with the taster ,  you could make them feel guilty about telling them that the ‘treat they spent so long baking’ didn’t turn out right.   ❝  a child would be gullible.  but the amount of guilt you would feel is terrible so they aren’t a good choice.  ❞   they ,  themselves had a rule they followed ;  no innocent children.  of course ,  those that caused trouble were a completely different group.

Leo still couldn’t quite grasp her fascination with him. He was hardly the most social of those that Corrin had adopted into their army. Where some reached out and sought to connect with near every soldier, Leo generally kept to himself beyond the war councils. His siblings, his retainers, of course, but he made no point to go out of his way to be social. This was a war, after all. He wasn’t here to make friends. 

That did not, however, mean that he would not show the due courtesy to those he encountered, which for the evening it would appear to be Celine. She was certainly determined to share his evening. 

“Very well.” It seemed easier to acquiesce than try to escape her. Perhaps she would discover he was hardly so interesting as she seemed to believe. 

“Perhaps, but I prefer not to spend my time in idleness. I find little repose in doing nothing.” It was worse to allow his thoughts to spin endlessly. Better to give his mind something to work on, it provided him more respite than the former. “Though I gather from what I’ve heard you’re quite skilled in that regard.” 

     AH, how splendid ! He’s finally come to accept that he couldn’t escape her at all — well not that she planned on insisting any further if he truly did loathe the idea ( at least she had something to do for the night ! ). While he seemed to consider himself as anything but intriguing, Celine knew all too knew well that types like him always had interesting stories to share and she was determined to pull at least one or two out of him. Perhaps from there ... they could potentially become friends as well ? She never was good at this whole friend-making thing but you have to start somewhere, right ( jeez, she was certainly trying new things left and right ever since she arrived here ) ? 

     ❛ Well, I suppose I understand where you’re coming from but still ... ❜ Although she couldn’t completely relate, she was fully aware that some had trouble resting easy when they knew they could be doing something productive with their time ( a prime example being prince leo ). Aside from her assigned duties, she never had much to do in the first place so of course, she was often left to laze around when she could ( with that being said, she definitely could do more to contribute ). That aside, she didn’t exactly expect that the prince would call her out on her lounging around so soon ! She immediately flinched and averted her gaze elsewhere. ❛ Urk ... oh, um .... where have you been getting that idea ? I can be quite productive when I need to be ... ❜ Darn it, did he really have to pull that card on her ?! ❛ B - besides, rest is good for the body and soul ! Fighting all these battles can be quite tiresome after all so I’m not exactly slacking off all the time ! I swear I’m pulling my weight ! ❜ Uwah, this reminded her of the times she’s gotten scolded by Frederick ... how was everyone doing now, she wondered ?

Oh- well now it’s time for him to feel slightly bashful. Ok, maybe he couldn’t see how embarrassed he really was when he heard the woman’s laughter, but the bounty hunter soon waved off the hint of flushed red with a cleared throat. 

At least she wasn’t being overbearing about it, but the man was now wondering what else she knew… and what else was overly obvious. Be still, his weak heart could not help it being known when he heard Aria’s voice when she was around. 

“I- honestly didn’t THINK I would be… At the same time, I don’t think anyone has ever observed me THAT much before?” He had a point, at least. Even with the amount of women that he would talk to, none of the other men nor the women would point out how hopelessly infatuated Blue Bird can get. 

“I…” What IS stopping him? At the count of the fact that she has somewhere she needs to be- but has refused to go in depth on where that place was. Of course… Blue Bird HAD felt that cold gut-wretching feeling of letting her go… he really didn’t want to. 

“I guess… I haven’t told her yet because I wanted to get to know her as a person first. She’s not easy to open up to anyone, and even when I first had found her… she has all reason not to trust someone like myself- but… you do have a point…” 

His tone had taken a turn. His eyes closed, a rather defeated look on his face. 

“I… I don’t think I can let her go… I think I wanted to prove to her that someone like me can give her what she needs most… which is someone who she can trust. Someone… who can show her what it’s like to feel loved.” 

     WELL, that certainly was the expression of a lovesick fool. While she never experienced it herself, she often witnessed how love made it so easy to worry about all these unnecessary details when in reality the solution was simple. It truly was amazing how love could deter one’s clear judgement and Blue Bird certainly was no exception to that. Though, she would be lying if she said that she didn’t understand where he was coming from ... he didn’t know anything about her after all.

     ❛ Oh, you’re so adorable ... ❜ She couldn’t help but remark sarcastically before she moved on to give her thoughts on his apparent dilemma. ❛ The obvious thing is to get to know her better either way but with that cowardly kind of thinking, she may never open her heart without the right push. You need to make more of an effort to be more bold because otherwise she’s just going to vanish just like that ! If you don’t want to let her go then let her know clearly that you want her by your side ! Make her understand how important she is to you ! Even if it means forcefully taking her hand if she tries to leave ... and maybe pinning her down on the bed to get her heart racing ... ❜ Oh whoops, she got a bit off-track. ❛ A - anyways, you already have an advantage and that is the fact that she trusts you more than anyone else here so you’re the only one who can do it. While I may not know her well, she does seem to be somewhat fond of you so use that to your advantage. But lucky you, huh ? You don’t have to worry about anyone snatching her away so you can take your time with her ... well, don’t take too long. ❜

you are bound.

Oh. 

Oh shit. Wait- does she KNOW-?! Did he make it so obvious-?! The bounty hunter suddenly held his breath, his posture shifting slightly as if catching onto what she was implying. In fact- no one really HAD asked him this kind of question before, aside most of the other men that would punch his shoulder and bellow out laughing. 

“Well- you see…” He really couldn’t keep it a secret, couldn’t he? Would Aria mind? His thoughts drifting to her for a moment, then clearing his voice, Blue bird had waved his hand. A cough, to cover the otherwise lingering wonder on his face. 

“You’re… very observant, aren’t you? Am I really that readable…” He should be concerned- but at the same time, he couldn’t hide it.

“She has caught my attention…  for quite some time now.”

     CELINE couldn’t help but burst out laughing at his completely bewildered reaction ( it was as if he didn’t anticipate his feelings to be so openly revealed like this — like he was a deer in headlights ! ) ❛ Are you seriously ... — pffft — that surprised by it ?! Ahahaha ! Y - you’re such an open book; you can ask anyone who knows you ! What I’m more surprised about is that she hasn’t caught on out of all people ! ❜ Ah jeez, her stomach was hurting ! 

Did he? He wasn’t even SURE how people seemed like ‘they haven’t gotten that far at all’, but he couldn’t help but let a chuckle escape from him! By all means, it did make him recall the more flirty side of him when he wasn’t an inconvenience (though he knows he can’t help it so). 

“Yes, that’s part of the reason. That, and as much as I had flirted before, I just couldn’t really go through with it. I guess being intimate with someone holds a special place for me when it comes to loving someone with all of your heart, hmm…?”

He’s thinking about it too much?? Wait- he’s as bad as Dusk?? How can that be possible?! Blue Bird arched a brow and parts his lips for a moment- but literally could not form the words as to HOW to respond to something like THIS!

Flabbergasted, that’s what he was. 

“I… I don’t know about THAT! I mean… Hm… I honestly haven’t gotten that far yet.” 

Embarrassing? Probably- but at least he was truthful.