Log, Complete

[monsterepellant.livejournal.com]

When; November 7th, Afternoon ~backdated~
Rating; PG
Characters; Rosette bound_by_time  and Doumeki monsterepellant 
Summary; Rosette stumbles upon Doumeki's flowershop by accident, and the two end up having a little chat...
Note; Long log is long >.>;
Log;

So far, it wasn’t so bad. It was nice to have Ajisai open again—Kunogi would be proud. And besides, it was good having Watanuki there, too, if for no other reason than he could keep an eye on the other boy and make sure he stayed out of trouble. He was the sort that attracted problems to him no matter what, and the closer Doumeki was the better. The city may have been affected by another curse, and the flower shop may have tried to do some things for him, but Doumeki had only asked the shop to disable them. He preferred doing things on his own. The archer moved amongst the different flowers, a plain, white, working apron over his clothes as he watered the roses and the tulips before moving on to the sunflowers. He had a special affection for sunflowers...those, and hydrangeas.

There was a faint jangle as the door was opened, a familiar face showing up in the store. She didn’t seem to notice the person in the store, and just meandered amongst the flowers. The apartment- it was so weird to say it- that she shared with Chrno was looking plain, and needed some thing. Also, after that weird jungle curse, she had felt like she needed to add some nature to their abode. That and she was bored. And frustrated. And mostly bored.

Doumeki glanced up as the doorbell jingled, but didn’t pay it much mind, yet. Watanuki could probably get it just fine, so for now he kept watering the flowers, not really watching too much where he was going.

The girl peered around, standing on her tip toes to try and find someone who was working here, only to find no one. "Damn." She cursed a little. "Hellloooo?" She called, running her fingers across a couple large sunflowers. "Anyone home?"

The archer stiffened visibly at the very familiar voice wafting through his store, but he forced himself to relax, turning from his watering and stepping out into view, face schooled into its usual stoic expression. “Yes.”

Rosette stopped, mid pluck, her fingers wrapped about the stem of the large sunflower. "Oh." She blinked at him, and looked highly uncomfortable. "Sorry, I didnt know you worked here." She blathered, letting go of the stem.

“It’s my shop.” Doumeki stated, with a shrug, before cocking his head to the side just slightly, unable to keep from being just a teensy bit familiar with her. It was hard to remember she wasn’t the Rosette he knew... “Need help?”

"Uh. I was looking for flowers." She said lamely, placing her hands behind her back like a child who had been told not to touch anything in a store. "For the apartment." She shifted feet, glancing over at the sunflowers. "Those are my favorite..."

“What about the one next to the opera house?” The words came out before he could stop them—mentioning the sunflower that had been grown out of the present he had given her a while back.

She opened her mouth to say something, before looking frustrated. "I don’t remember, Doumeki." She replied helplessly. "I don’t even know where the opera house is." She knew there had been something between them, but she wasn’t sure how far it had been. Despite her apparent 'one night stand' with Fakir (this place was as far from the Magdelane order as possible), This guy seemed like something so much more serious. "I wish I could..." She grumbled.

“Right. Sorry.” Doumeki shook his head, mentally cursing his mouth. It had always been a little looser than normal around her for some reason. He turned away, towards the sunflowers, now. “The sunflowers are one yellow each.” Yes. Topic change would be good.

"Oh, money that’s right." She dug into her waist band, trying to find the coins she had stolen from Chrno. "So..." She stared as she dug. "Other then you...and Fakir...and Fai. Who else am I supposed to remember?" She tried to sound nonchalant about it, but she was desperately curious about it.

“There’s Autor, Kurogane-san, and Nill. And Joshua and Rosiel.” Doumeki tried to think of others...maybe—“And there’s the other people that lived at the opera house. And Aizen, but the one that’s here now is different from the one before.” he explained, still holding the watering jug in one hand.

She nodded, pulling out a couple yellows, and offered them out to him, chewing on her bottom lip. "Can we talk?" She asked quietly, "I mean if you don’t want too, fine, I'll beat it out of Chrno...."

Doumeki blinked, before taking the offered yellows, though he planned on slipping them back into her pocket later on. They were making enough money as was anyway. “...Alright.” he agreed, after a moment.

She just stood there for a few moments, shifting from foot to foot. "I suck at this." She groaned, fidgeting. "Ok, Um, is there a place we can sit down or something? I'm afraid I'll end up destroying everything in here."

And as she fidgeted, Doumeki almost felt as if he caught a glimpse of the old Rosette, and the corner of his mouth curled slightly upwards, for an instant, before his normal expression resumed. “There’s a bench outside.” he suggested.

She blinked and nodded, before pointing at him. "Don’t think I'm going to let you cheat me out of the sunflowers though." She said firmly, before hurrying out of the full shop, and flopped down on the bench, leaning back in the most unladylike fashion she could manage, legs sprawled out in all directions. She had a million questions.

Once she had gotten out of the shop, leaving him blinking in slight surprise, he allowed himself a small chuckle. The day he ever thought he could cheat her out of sunflowers would be a cold day in Hell. But nonetheless he followed her out, setting down his watering pail and hanging up his apron on the way, leaving him in jeans and a dark t-shirt. Doumeki sat down on the bench, elbows resting on his knees, and turned his head toward the blond sitting next to him. “Well?”

She peered at him and sat up a little straighter, leaning her knees herself, pursing her lips up into a thoughtful expression. "What do you know about Joshua's current situation?" She asked slowly, starting on a more pressing, but less sensitive (between them at least) topic. "Chrno told me he's dangerous, and working under this angel guy but..." She sighed a bit. "I guess you wouldnt know. I mean, GRAH."

“Chrno’s right.” Doumeki stated, lacing his own fingers together and lifting his hands, resting his chin on them. “Joshua has horns attached to his head that make him crazy. Rosiel practically controls him, and is just as dangerous, if not moreso. He will kill you if he sees you, Rosette.” At the last sentence he lifted his head, fixing his amber eyes on the girl next to him, gaze deadly serious.

"Thats what they keep saying, but..." She sighed, "Its my brother. Its hard...Its hard for me to believe that there's no good left in him. If I could just talk to him..." She leaned back again, staring up at the awning of the flower shop. "I know." She said before he could yell at her. "I wont, yet." She made a face. "How is Fai?" She asked, to change the subject.

Doumeki stiffened, eyes narrowing, as she talked about just talking to Joshua—there was no “just talking” when it came to Joshua. If he knew of her presence or where she was, he didn’t doubt that the boy would kill her, he did, however, relax a bit as she said she wouldn’t. “Rosette, Joshua almost killed Fai-san once because you came out in the open and he attacked you, and Fai distracted him so you could get away. He’s your brother, but he doesn’t remember that.” He was not ready to change the subject, yet. This was important

She blinked at that, frowning. "Killed Fai?" The man had told her that they had been 'sisters', but she hadnt expected it to go so ...deep. "Fai- Damn." She pressed her lips together. "So somehwo, I have to get him to remember...." She said almost ot herself, "It worked before..." Poor Fai, he hadnt looked hurt, but she had 'been' there for a while before she dissapeared. She'd have to thank him when she saw him next.

“He was okay for a while.” The archer admitted. “When those horns were torn off his head. But then he was killed and when he woke up, the horns were back on and he was back to how he was.” Doumeki would not lie to her. It was the truth, whether it was pleasant or not. He shook his head, once. He had been gone for that, and when he had gotten back, he had found out that Joshua had been killed and Rosette hurt, and it still stung--the fact that he had been gone when she had needed him.

Her smile dropped off her face insantly, a cold sort of feeling leaking into her chest. "....died...?" Wait, Joshua was dead? He had been... "Who....WHAT?!"

"People die and come back to life in this City a lot." Doumeki explained, gaze focused on Rosette. "It's hard to control what will happen...there are far too many people that are strong."

"Damn." She cursed, that cold feeling being slowly replaced with fury. "Who did it." She started to get to her feet. "I'll teach them to hurt my brother..."

“He’s like you, now. He left, and no longer remembers.” The archer stated. “And it’s very unlikely you could hurt him.” It was the truth. It might hurt, but it was the truth. There was not a doubt in Doumeki’s mind that Aizen could rip her to shreds.

She balled her fist and pressed her lips together tightly. "I have a gun, its taken down powerful people before." She said grittily. She didnt know who this guy was, and Chrno was always telling her to think before she acted. It was hard.

“I know.” And he did. He had seen her gun in action, and it may have just been in practice, but it looked quite powerful. “But the City is different from your world, Rosette.”

She tried to calm down, but found it near impossible. "So I'll find a different way-" This guy didnt even know it happened...or pretended to. She'd have to find out.

Fuck this. Doumeki lifted a hand, and placed it on her shoulder. “Rosette.” He was trying to get her to look at him, his expression one of determination.

She couldn’t help but look down at him, her fists shaking a she pressed her lips into a tight line. It was a weird sensation of familiarity when his hand landed on her shoulder, as if a feeling of Deja vu had hit her like a sledgehammer. She didn’t say anything, just met Doumeki's gold eyes with her own strong blue ones.

Doumeki met her eyes unflinchingly, the normal stoicness of his face gone, for now. “Joshua is important to you—he’s your brother. And you’d do anything for him. We all have people like that.” He refrained from glancing over his shoulder, back to the shop, back to Watanuki. “There are times when things happen, and we want to help those people, but we can’t do anything but sit and wait for the opportune moment.” Hydrangeas, ten hours in the rain, countless days without school to find a way to get back the eye that had been lost anyway, blood given, and then the waiting after that, so much waiting...

"You like them." She blinked suddenly, a wry smile spreading over her lips. "Aww, How sweet! Who ever she is, she's lucky." This somehow made her feel alot better, and less guilty about not remembering them, though she didn’t ignore the situation with Joshua, just kept it in the back of their conversation.

The archer had to blink, at that, before he glanced away, slightly, forcing the color off of his cheeks. Instead, he only shrugged, dropping his hand, though the humor in the situation was the irony that it wasn’t in fact a “she”, though at times that could be debated.

"Aww." She smiled a little, sitting down beside him again. "Well." She leaned back again, pretending to be nice and relaxed again. "what did happen between us Doumeki."

Doumeki huffed a bit at that, leaning back as well, laced fingers dropping into his lap. May as well be honest. “We almost dated. But by the time you disappeared, we were just friends.” That was, essentially, the short version.

"Oh." She nodded, Peering at him. "I never would have imagined- No offence, but we are pretty damn different." She grinned a bit, "You must have been drinking." She joked.

Understatement of the year. But the corner of his mouth curled slightly at the joke. “Not quite.” He turned his face out towards the center of the square. “You made me laugh.”

She grinned at him, reaching out and poking him in the cheek. "Whats the matter? Rarely smile there Rock face?"

Doumeki had lifted his hand to wave off her hand, but his brain seemed to stutter to a halt at the old nickname, a mild look of shock coming onto his face, and He stared at her a moment, amber eyes a little wider than normal.

She blinked a bit at him, eyebrows pushing together in worry, her finger dropping from his cheek. "Doumeki?"

“Ah—“ The archer shook his head, breaking eyecontact. “It’s nothing.”

"O-ok..." She frowned a bit, looking a little hurt. What did she say? "Um. Sorry I guess." She wish she remembered how they met, he was a really cool guy. "So..." She kicked her feet a little.

Oh crap. He hadn’t meant to make her feel bad. “Oi.” He nudged her with his elbow just slightly.

She blinked, peering up at him with a confused look, and then- stuck her tongue out at him.

Doumeki’s eyebrows raised in surprise, before a smirk curled the corner of his mouth, and he reached up jokingly to snatch at her tongue, slow enough for her to get away easily. It was something his grandfather had done to him when he was a child and did the same thing.

"Ack!" She squeaked, trying not to laugh as she grabbed his wrist to keep him from catching it, leaning back to stay out of reach. "So that’s why you don’t talk much, your missing a tongue huh? Everyone'd probably be a lot happier if I lost mine to you." She teased, moving his wrist and dropping it over his lap.

He couldn’t help it—the corners of his lips curled into a small smile. Rosette often had that effect on him—there was something about her that just made him more able to relax as his own hand was dropped back into his lap, and he made a non-commental “hm” in the back of his throat.

"Hm-" The girl went crosseyed and put her arms out roboticly. "Me Doumeki, Very good robot. HM."

His shoulder’s jerked, once, a puff of air escaping his lips. A laugh. One. But it was something. There was this dynamic with her that he had missed, and it almost…very nearly felt like old times again. He knew that she didn’t remember, so it wasn’t the same, and yet...

"AHA!" She pointed at him in triumph. "Got cha! Sounded more like a cat trying to hack up a hair ball, but I got it!" She exclaimed triumphantly.

At that, he raised an eyebrow, unable to keep the smirk of his face. “A cat trying to hack up hairball?” he asked. “Ouch.”

"Hey I cant help that you are out of practice when it comes to laughing." She shrugged, "I guess we all have to take baby steps. Or cat-hairball hacking steps in your case."

“Says the girl who can’t make a rootbeer float to save her life.” Doumeki drawled, the smirk widening just slightly.

"Ah-" She blinked at that, faltering a little, before returning to her upbeat tone. "Hey, Just because I can’t cook...or put two ingredients together...doesn’t mean anything." She huffed, before peering at him curiously. "I tried to make you a rootbeer float?"

“Mn. The day after the curse in the Opera House kitchens.” The archer replied, the grin softening just a touch into more of a smile.

She smiled a little, curious. "What curse?" She asked lightly, resting her elbows on her knees and her chin in her laced fingers.

“We all thought we were in high school together. You didn’t have a date to prom, and I offered.” Doumeki shrugged, slightly, the smile turning into a smirk. “Needless to say, it all went down hill from there.” He was teasing, of course.

"I stepped on you didnt I?" She almost looked horrified, now totally embarrassed. "I never went to a traditional school! That must have been horrible!"

“Only once or twice.” Doumeki confided. “You were fine once you stopped worrying about it.”

"Good. I havent danced since like...easter when I was 12." She flushed, "I'm amazed you can still walk."

“You just worry too much about stepping on toes. Once you forget that, you’re fine.” The archer stated, with a shrug. He blinked once, hesitating, before--- “Here.” He held out his hand to her. “I’ll show you.”

She looked at him as if he had just grown a second head. And that head began to spout spanish opera. and play a guitar with its teeth. "Ah." She looked at his hand, contemplating if she would make a complete fool of her self in the middle of the city, before steeling her nerves and taking his hand. "Alright..." She said slowly, standing up.

Doumeki’s hand closed around hers, the familiar feeling of her hand in his a comforting one as he drew her back a couple of steps, away from the bench. “Put your other hand on my shoulder.” he instructed, as he rested his other hand gently on her waist, ears listening to the classical music wafting out of the speakers in the café right next door.

Well, this was different, and she made a few strange faces as he placed his hand on her waist, and carefully placed her hand on his shoulder. "If people laugh at us I'll kill you." She reminded him, eyes shifting to the cafe, that was sparsly occupied, but still had people in it.

The corner of Doumeki’s mouth curled into a smirk. “I don’t doubt it.” he stated, before taking a step back, beginning to move in time with the music.

How embarrasing! How the hell did he convince her to do this in the middle of a street? Instantly she stumbled, and stepped around his feet a few times, before planting her boot right on his shoe. She winced, looking up at him as if she expected him to freak out.

It was like déjà vu all over again. “Oi, oi.” He raised an eyebrow, the corner of his lips curling, slightly. “Don’t worry about your feet. Focus on me.”

She grumbled something unintelligable under her breath, pursing her lips up before looking up at him, eyebrows furrowed as she tried to ignore the thought of painfully crushing his foot and sending him to the hospital, as the entire city watched and laughed themselves sick over it all. "Its not as easy as you make it sound." She mumbled, eyes flickering up and down from his to their feet.

“It is if you stop watching your feet all the time.” Doumeki drawled.

She mocked him silently and overdramaticly, rolling her eyes. She made a face, her competitive streak coming out, and lifted her eyes to his, sticking her chin out stubbornly. Her fingers tapped on his shoulder, trying to keep time, and let him teach her.

At that, his smirk widened. There you go. he thought, as he moved more into the dance now, leading her through the steps to the music, feet moving over the cobblestones and guiding her along with him.

This was ridiculous. She glanced over at the Cafe, trying to check if anyone was watching them. It was a little hard for her to relax, knowing that the two of them had been something, but it was starting to get easier, and she glanced back up at him. "Nice spot you got here." She said dryly, "must be good for business." She shifted her hand a little, letting her arms relax, so she wasn’t moving so robotic. <i>I Rosette. Good robot.</i>

“It’s fine.” he agreed. “That’s Fai-san and Kurogane-san’s Café next door.” He raised an eyebrow slightly, looking mildly amused. “No one’s watching, you know.”

"Oh." She blinked in surprise, but it made sence. They seemed like a little clan, Doumeki, Fai and their crew. "Yeah I know." She lied flippantly, letting her eyes rest on his chest, her steps almost instantly becoming more relaxed, ignoring her worries. "You're good at this." she mumbled.

He only shrugged, at that. “My grandfather made sure I knew how to dance.” he admitted, before he blinked. It was true, but...he hadn’t really shared that fact. But then again, this was Rosette. She always made him able to say things that he didn’t quite mean to let out.

"That must have been nice." She said with a little grin, glancing up at him. "I never met my grandparents, and my parents died when me and Joshua were really young." She made a face, "I did get really good at doing laundry at the orphanage though."

At that, Doumeki chuckled slightly, a low, brief sound in his chest, less surprised than it was before. “I can see that.” he admitted.

"Mn." She agreed, comfortably moving with him in the street, fingers still tapping to the beat. It was weird to admit that she was completely comfortable dancing with a guy that she hardly knew. Well 'hardly remembered'' but basically the same thing. She started humming with the music, closing her eyes and letting him lead her around. What a weird sight they were, a flower-boy and a nun.

And there it was again. That odd little twist in the pit of his stomach as she closed her eyes and allowed him to lead her as she hummed along with the music. He swallowed, once, before getting himself under control again, as the end of the song neared. It was—he had missed this.

She opened her eyes as the song trickled to the end, and paused for a few moments of comfortable silence, her eyes moving up to meet his, and she offered him a warm little smile.

Something inside his head short-circuited, and he couldn’t keep a quiet smile from appearing on his own face, right there in the middle of the square. He almost opened his mouth to speak, before the next song started with a loud blang from the cymbals, and he started, just slightly.

Rosette jumped too, and snorted, starting to snicker, sliding her hand off of his shoulder. "Look out there zombie boy, your brain might start functioning again." She winked at him. "I should probably get home, Mind if I grab those sun flowers?"

Doumeki took a step back, face settling back into calm passivity, though it lacked its usual stony-ness. “Okay.” He agreed, moving back towards the shop, holding the door open.

She grinned a little and stepped inside, picking out two of her favorite flowers and cradling them carefully in her arm. "Thanks Doumeki." She waved to him with a few free fingers. "See you around!" she said cheerfully, and twirled out of the shop with a little jangle of the door.

Doumeki lifted a hand in farewell, watching her go. It seemed...that he wasn’t quite as over her as he thought. Dammit all to hell. The archer shook his head, before merely turning and continuing to work.

Comments

[serika-san.livejournal.com]

Love-love-zura~~~ ♥♥♥

[loves-romance.livejournal.com]

Glad to have pleased~♥