Log; Complete

[lady-camellia.livejournal.com]

When; After Glinda's Gala
Rating; PG
Characters; Kakyouin Tsubaki [lady_camellia] & Kurosaki Hisoka [empathed]
Summary; After Jowy helps Tsubaki realize her feelings, she walks home with Hisoka. Confessions don't always play out as smoothly as they do in the movies.
Log;

Tsubaki's feet were nearly falling off by the end of the night, but she didn't care. After her conversation with Jowy, she had truly enjoyed herself. She had shared that one dance with Cobray, and tried to keep an eye out for Hisoka and his date while spending the rest of the night with Jowy, but it was rather difficult. The place had been so crowded!

Needless to say, she was full and all partied out by the time it ended at one in the morning, and was strapping her shoes back on when she looked up to see Hisoka standing by the door. She clutched her coat closed with one hand and tentatively glanced around before looking straight at him cautiously.

"Are you...walking your date home?"

He glanced over her, noting all too quickly the ninja he'd been half keeping an eye on all night. "She has friends she wanted to talk to," he murmured looking back at her. "You look like you had fun."

Fun indeed, but Hisoka didn't say anything else. Not because he didn't want to admit he'd been keeping an eye on her the rest of the time, but mostly because he didn't want to know, simple as that.

"Oh..." Tsubaki fidgeted a bit before smiling at him and reaching out to try and take his hand.

"Walk home with me, then?"

"If you want." He let her take his hand with a small sigh, glancing away. She always forgot about that. But hopefully for her he wouldn't have to worry about it. Like he wanted to see any of that again, after all.

"Your friend chose an interesting flower."

"Hm?" She let go of his hand as they began to walk just so she could take another look down at her wrist. She believed it was an orchid... But she didn't understand why it was an interesting flower. Beautiful, though.

Guh, it was cold. She had worn the wrong shoes to be walking in the snow, but at least her coat kept the rest of her warm.

"Did he?"

"They don't last long." Oh, her feet were cold. He bit back the urge to sigh again as the trudged through the cold. "And most of the stories surrounding them are steeped in greed and lust, despite the common misperception that it's a sign of beauty and wisdom." He was going to mention it's name meant testicle in Greek, but thought better of it.

Hisoka certainly was a fountain of knowledge! It did make her have a second look at, though, with a raised eyebrow. "Really... I had no idea. And I'm sure Jowy-san didn't know that. He comes from a different world. He told me a little bit about it... Like from a storybook."

Reaching up, she tucked her short hair behind her ear and glanced down to the camellia attached to her dress. "...Besides, I don't think many people pay attention to the meaning of flowers, anymore. I know what the pink camellia means, or does that have a terrible history, too?"

"No, they're just signs of gratitude." Of course, every colour had further meanings, but it wasn't like Hisoka had spent time learning every flower and it's meaning off by heart. No matter how much he liked finding things out, he'd never go that far.

And he had chosen it mostly for her namesake. It had been one of those last minute decisions, one that damn ninja had joked about before hand. "Most people are idiots," he muttered, keeping his eyes down. There was still lots of snow about, and he couldn't help but wonder how she was even managing.

In truth, it had gotten to the point where here feet were so sore already, that the cold was almost soothing. In that painful...prickly way. Plus, she was very distracted...

How was she supposed to bring up a topic like this? Especially with someone like Hisoka. Finally, she stopped, staring down at the white snow that was freezing her feet and ankles off before crouching down and gathering a large chunk in her hands. She wasn't very experienced at making snowballs, especially since it was stinging her hands, but she did her best, then glanced up to Hisoka before flinging it right at him.

It flew right over his head and he glanced back at her, questioningly. "Don't you dare," he warned, advancing on her. It was bad enough he'd gotten into the tournament, to be caught in a one-on-one snowball fight with Tsubaki? Not about to happen. No, he'd rather make sure she didn't throw anything else.

His reaction made her grin. In some ways, Hisoka was comfortably predictable.

At his advance, she was quick to scoot back, her shoes slipping just a bit in the packed snow, but it was easier to keep her balance when she was crouched like this. Ohhh, the cold was so painful, but a snowball fight was so tempting.

Blatantly ignoring him, she packed up another snowball while looking him right in the eye, then attempted to aim a little better. Maybe she'd get his shoulder this time.

He grunted as it hit his stomach, already having had enough of the white stuff just from seeing it. "That's it, Tsubaki-hime." He closed the distance, once again finding himself effortlessly picking her up and carrying her.

...with some snow dumped on her head for good measure, of course.

The snow on her head shocked her too much for her to even think of struggling, and it certainly made her yelp. She tried to shake her head and smack it off, but it just got in her coat and made her even colder.

Shuddering, she glared at him and pushed at his chest. "Hisoka! I won't throw anymore at you, I promise. You win. But put me down!"

"Your feet will freeze," he stated, ignoring her rather feeble attempts to push him as he headed towards their building.

"I don't care! Hisoka...! I can walk! I'm not helpless!"

She really didn't want to hurt him, but she had a goal in mind right now and it had nothing to do with her being a dainty princess. So she tried to think quick, but the best she could come up with was, "Put me down RIGHT NOW or I'll bite you!"

He almost laughed. Almost. "Go ahead." The longer she argued, the less distance there was for her to walk herself. A cunning plan, to be sure, and one that was, currently, working.

He... He was just so...frustrating! She almost WANTED to bite him now, just out of spite, but that had definitely been a bluff, and he had called her on it. Her strength was also incredibly puny in comparison to hers, so she struggled for perhaps a minute longer, though it was quite a bit, before finally giving up and folding her arms across her chest while glaring ahead of her, pointedly NOT at him.

"So what if my feet will get cold? They're cold anyway! And it's by my choice! I can make my own choices, Hisoka."

"...hn." He dumped her unceremoniously to the ground at that, walking on by himself with a dismissive wave. "Fine then."

The suddenness of it almost scared her, and she thought she was going to slip and fall right on her rear. Still, she kept her balance and glared after him, then attempted to hurry after him without slipping.

"Hisoka, why don't you like me doing things on my own? Why do you get angry at me when I try to make decisions?"

"I don't get angry." He didn't want the conversation, keeping his gaze ahead and half wishing he hadn't opted out of escorting the ninja girl. "But I think it's fully within my rights to make sure you're safe," he concluded, glancing over at her with a look that indicated he was done talking about it. Hopefully, she'd pay attention to that.

Of course Tsubaki wouldn't pay attention to that. She did just the opposite, and reached out to take his sleeve. This was getting difficult, and the conversation wasn't going the way she had planned at all.

"But you seem angry. And I want to stay safe, but at the very least let me walk on my own! I don't see you carrying your girlfriend everywhere and telling her what to do." Of course, Tsubaki hadn't seen her at ALL, but that wasn't the point.

"I..." She bit her lip. "I don't like being an obligation, Hisoka, or a burden."

"She's not my girlfriend, and she's perfectly capable of taking care of herself," he spat back, freeing his arm effortlessly. "You're not an obligation or a burden, not until you start questioning why I do things."

Tsubaki flinched at that, and considered not furthering the conversation... But then she shook her head and ran around in front of him. Not his girlfriend? Tsubaki had been so sure, too...

"Then teach me how to take care of myself! I'm sure I can learn. I have forever, right? Then I can be strong, like you, Hisoka! Would you like me better, then? If I'm strong, and can fight, and protect you as well?"

"I don't need protecting." He sighed, audibly this time, but did stop and turn to face her. "If you want to get strong, that's fine. But don't do it for me, Tsubaki-hime. Do it for you."

"I WOULD be doing it for me. It isn't as if I enjoy being in danger." Both arms folded across her chest as she stared at him, shivering.

"I... I had an interesting conversation with Jowy-san, and we found out we have some things in common. And... And he made me realize something."

He shrugged off his jacket, handing it over as he watched her. "Was this before or after you kissed?"

His inquiry made her jaw drop, and Tsubaki was too stricken to even think up a reply, let alone take the offered jacket.

He had seen that?! Oh no! How was she supposed to explain that? If she said why, he might call her an idiot, or even think she was slutty, or something awful of that nature, and then he wouldn't listen to a word she had to say!

Panicking. She was panicking. "U-uh..."

"..forget it." He forced the jacket into her hands, setting off again. He didn't really care, in the end.

Getting the brush off didn't make her feel any better, but it did snap her out of her shock, and she looked down at his jacket before pulling it on and rushing after him.

"No! Hisoka. That wasn't what it looked like. He was... Jowy-san was doing me a favor. He was helping me!"

Hisoka almost paused, but continued on. "If it helped, then good for him."

Dropping down, Tsubaki bunched up the biggest snowball she could before aiming at the back of his head and flinging it with all of her might.

"IDIOT! Listen to what I have to say! He did it so that I could know for sure if my feelings for you were real, or if they were just because of what happened on the ship!"

He blinked, either from her words or the snowball to the face. Mostly likely the end result of both, however. Hisoka really didn't like where this was going, though, and he wiped the snow off, glancing off to the side. Should have gone with the ninja. "...Hn. Whatever."

She felt colder then than she ever had before. The snow was nothing. With a shudder, Tsubaki looked down at her feet and told herself that she wouldn't cry. She wasn't going to be a crybaby anymore.

So at the very least, she could try to turn her hurt into anger. "...Whatever...?"

Tsubaki wrestled off his jacket to throw it on the ground before turning around and stalking off. "You stupid jerk! I expected you to reject me... But you could have been kinder about it!"

"Win me over, Tsubaki-hime." Hisoka caught her hand before she got too far, pulling her back as he rescued the jacket, slipping it around her shoulders. "If that's what you want. But I'm not going to wait for you."

"Wait for what?!" She yanked her arm free.

"And win you over how?! What is this, a competition?! I... I like you Hisoka!" Saying it out loud startled her enough to make her voice quiet.

"Either you like me back or you don't."

"Wait for you to notice. It's not a competition, you just persist in being blind." Hisoka never was and never would be an open book when it came to emotions and although the look her gave her before continuing his walk was fairly open and obvious, he knew she probably wouldn't get it. She hadn't noticed all night, after all.

"I'm not blind! You're just difficult to read. I keep trying to learn how, but you never seem interested!" What did he mean? Notice what?

Jowy... Jowy had said something about Hisoka having a certain look in his eye. Tsubaki just hadn't let herself believe it. After all, Muraki had easily rejected her. Who was to say Hisoka wouldn't do the same? It was what she had expected, as her confidence had been more or less shattered just before her death.

Tsubaki tried to keep up with him so that she could look up at the profile of his face, trying to figure out what he might be thinking. It hit her like a brick, then, and she reached out to take his hand, lacing his fingers with hers.

She couldn't help but cry now, and she didn't care if it made her a crybaby. The hope she felt right then made her so happy, in a way she thought she could never feel again, as she sniffed and wiped at her eyes.

Hisoka sighed, letting her take his hand and dragging her along behind him. "I don't want to be read, Tsubaki-hime. I've spent my whole life doing that to other people, and I don't like it."

He handed over a handkerchief, having said all he wanted to.

She sniffed again and accepted the handkerchief to wipe at her eyes a bit before squeezing his hand. "S-sorry..."

Honestly, she couldn't understand what a gift like his might be like... He seemed to think of it as a curse. Was it really that bad? And if he had been able to tell how she felt, then why hadn't he told her plain out? Hisoka always had to do things his subtle, quiet way, and Tsubaki could tell this was only the beginning of a long road of challenges.

She just hoped she could have the chance to tackle all of them. "Um... Can you...sleep in the bed with me tonight?" She would put a mountain of pillows between them if he wanted. She didn't care. She just wanted him to stay near....and sitting around watching her sleep didn't count.

"In... the bed?" He glanced at her, somewhat shocked at the question. Putting it down to her being stupid and knowing full well that she wouldn't try anything, he sighed, nodding slowly. "If that's what you want."

She had actually been expecting him to start an argument over it, so his quick agreement made her eyes light up. Tsubaki squealed in delight and flung her arms around his middle.

"Really?! So then, I won't need to find my own place after all! We can simply share the bed! This is such a relief... I didn't actually want to move out, but there didn't seem to be any other solution."

"...oh." He thought she'd meant tonight only. But -

He didn't need her crying again. Not that he particularly liked the squealing, either. "Yeah, that's fine," he muttered, reaching to open the door to the building for her. "Now get inside before your feet go numb."

"Oh, they're already numb! Why do you think I'm suddenly leaning against you like this? Aside from you being cozy." Her smile was sheepish as she tugged him in with her.

"But there's nothing to worry about. I can't get frostbite if I am dead, correct? Or a cold, or anything like that? In a way, Hisoka, it's as if you made me invincible! But I suppose I would need more than that to be a Shinigami."

He didn't offer anything in response, hiding the frown that passed his face quickly. So that was what she'd been thinking? Hn. He followed up the stairs quietly, still keeping silent. There was no way he was going to get into a conversation about that. Not right now. Not while she understood so little still.

The stairs were a bit of a challenge, but Tsubaki managed. Hisoka's silence didn't go unnoticed, but she preferred not to antagonize him further. Tsubaki figured she might have annoyed Hisoka enough for one night.

Really, she hated annoying him at all, but it was an easy thing to do with a personality like his. Changing the subject back at the top of the stairs, she mused, "I should have said yes...when you said you would go with me. Maybe I am blind. I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter." It didn't. It was probably better that he hadn't forced the ninja to endure his company, after all. Probably better, despite the knowing look she'd given him. And Hisoka was supposed to be the empath - he really had no idea where she got half her information from. Hell, he didn't want to know, really. She could have her secrets, and Hisoka could have his. He noted Tsubaki's hesitance on the stairs, but stay quiet on that, too.

She'd just tell him she was trying to be strong or something.

She wanted to argue that it DID matter, but she resisted and instead simply sighed, staying quiet until they were finally inside the apartment. Then, she wobbled over to the couch and flopped onto it, immediately tugging off her shoes with another sigh, though this one was out of relief.

"I think I might sleep for a whole day after tonight."

He exhaled, a half sigh, half laugh sort of thing as he walked past her to the temporary safety of the bedroom. "Whatever it takes, Tsubaki-hime."

Tsubaki watched him walk down the hall, then pulled her feet up onto the couch to rub at them. Ugh, it hurt to have anything warm touch them. She hoped the dead couldn't get frostbite, anyway. She didn't want to 'live' eternity maimed, after all.

Stuffing them under one of the pillows, she laid down on her side and hugged herself, shutting her eyes. Hisoka was a boy, after all, so she knew he probably didn't need a long time to change or whatever it was he was doing.

"I thought you wanted the bed," he muttered from the doorway, spare clothing in hand and tie loosened. "Not the sofa."

Not waiting for her response he headed to the bathroom to finish getting changed.

His voice made her jump a bit, simply because of how quick he'd been. Then she looked up and peered around to see him heading into the bathroom.

Deciding that was cue enough, Tsubaki sat back up and stood, wincing each time she took a step. Once she had shut herself in the bedroom, she was eager to shed her dress and pull on a warm nightgown perfect for the winter time.

Then, she speculated about what to do next. She knew that she needed to wash her face and brush her teeth, but the bed looked so tempting...

In seconds she was already burrowed under the covers, hugging a pillow and shutting her eyes.