Realistic or Modern 1x1 With sleepingdaydreamer

[Ta Min]

Soon after his warm hand found its way to her cheeks she found herself subconsciously leaning into his touch, just like she often did. Or used to least. As of late, it didn't seem that way, but based on what was occurring right now, it seemed that it would change quite quickly. While he started talking about he was equally guilty as she, Mei started to open her mouth to protest but something held her back - they didn't need to get into another argument. While she was relieved he wasn't angry, she still didn't like even a part of him thinking he was guilty. However, the thoughts currently threatening to make themselves known soon disappeared as she saw his soft smile. Just to see him smiling again - and meaning it - made her heart swell with happiness.

Listening to him describe how he regretted not coming back with her made her feel for him. Both were so similar in how they handled the loss of the other. They each regretted leaving, thought of the other as simply a dream they'd eventually have to wake up from, and missed each other so much it drove them crazy. Upon the mention of her letter Mei's face became a bright scarlet, it was clear she remembered every word she wrote down and gave for him to read. Even though the letter was quite embarrassing, she didn't regret writing. She meant every single word she wrote, after all, no shame in that. Still, she basically told him flat out how she felt, but in her defense, she thought she'd never see him again. That and it being so late was what gave her the courage to write it and give to him in the first place. Without those two factors said letter might not even exist.

Most girls swooned simply by looking at Nathaniel but when he looked at you so adoringly it made a little part of you want to squeal like a school girl and do anything to be looked at by him that way again. If not, you worked hard until someone else looked at you in such a way and pulled the same emotions from you. Mei knew she was one of those girls and would do almost anything to keep him looking at her like she was precious. It was just something every girl and human yearned for, strived for. Everyone wanted someone. A laugh escaped her lips as he spoke, feeling the atmosphere around them lighten, "Yeah, that would be a good idea. We should consider it." However, when his expression sobered she made sure hers did too, but there was still left over giddiness hiding behind her eyes. Her current state didn't last long as she broke out into an even bigger smile and hugged him tighter than she already had been at his next comment. "Why of course, but be sure to expect the same for me." She said, winking. She proceeded to lean slightly away from him and remove an arm and tap him lightly on the tip of his nose. "Think you can handle that Cupcake?" She asked, using her 'manly voice' and smirking. She missed being able to talk to him so easily and was grateful she had the chance to again. This time she wasn't going to screw it up.

Mei looked down at herself and used her still free arm to poke herself in the cheek, then him "Appears that way." She said, wearing a silly grin - knowing she was being a little odd right now. But it was nothing he hasn't seen before. Still caught up in her fun and games what he said next caught her off guard. "What do you mean a 'letter like that'?" She asked, trying to sound indigent but was failing terribly and looked quite silly as a result. "At any rate, how am I supposed to now how you should get back at me? If I had a choice it would be death by ice cream." She said, keeping her tone serious even though she wanted to do nothing more than crack another smile.

Being in is arms like this, and joking around was probably one of the things she missed the most once home. Back at university Mei could often be found scrolling through her phone looking at old pictures, and nine out of ten times the pictures would be of her and this guy goofing around. One of her personal favorites being a particular picture where Nathaniel's mouth was opened ridiculously wide and a cupcake resting in his right hand getting ready to be shoved into his opened mouth. When he first saw that picture he was furious, but Mei refused to delete it and eventually the two decided upon an agreement. She could keep it as long as she didn't send it to anyone else. So far she's kept good to her word, but the picture was just too cute and funny not to share so she'd have to discuss the terms of the image of him later.

"Ah, before I forget to mention it. We should probably exchange numbers at some point (so we don't have to go on a wild goose chase in order to get in touch), and I would like to talk about the agreement we made about 'The image that shall not be named'." She said, tapping her chin as she thought of anything else she wanted to bring up but found nothing.

 

[lostwanderer]

Nathaniel lightly stroked her cheek with his thumb when she leaned into his touch, smiling warmly when he noticed that she looked like she was about to say something, probably to argue about what he said. He looked at her, his eyes waiting and challenging her to continue with what she was about to say as he pursed his lips but she seemed to have thought better and caught herself. He lightly patted her on the head, chuckling as he looked pleased that she was able to stop herself from protesting. If there was something he knows about her, it's that she could be stubborn if she really wanted to be. This was not to say that this does not ring true for him too, although he'd like to say he had a better grasp on his emotions as much as he was aware that his eyes would usually give him away, anyways.

When he saw her face lit up with a blush upon the mention of the letter, he did all that he could to not squeeze her cheeks in delight, instead covering his mouth with his hand to hide a smile and lightly shaking his head, 'Seriously, this girl would be the death of me. She's simply too cute for words and I don't think she's aware of it at all.' This was not the first time he had told himself this exact line. In fact, this was one of the reasons that actually drawn her to him in the first place. She gave off a cheerful vibe that reminded him of Cy at first, although this impression didn't last very long due to various complications which had led them to their current situation (Also thinking about it now, it felt wrong to put her on the same pedestal as his sister for a number of obvious reasons). In a country where he knew no one outside the walls of his university, she was the closest thing he could get to home. He found it easy to be with her since she exuded a warm, comfortable aura to him that makes one laugh and go along with her silliness.

Warmth spread throughout his body when she laughed. This was exactly what he meant when he said that her laughter was infectious because even without doing much, she knows how to lighten up the mood and just like that, it was like they were back to normal. Perhaps maybe even better than they ever were. He hummed in agreement, his hands dropping to sit comfortably around her waist. From the proximity they were in, he could pick out the dark flecks in her eyes, her long eyelashes, even with the slightest lighting that the countertop lamp provided. When she uttered her reply with a wide grin and a tight hug, he grinned, "I would never expect less coming from you. If anything, I'm bracing myself for what's to come out that pretty little mind of yours." He laughed, hearing the silly nickname she had given him in an equally silly voice, being that it's something he hasn't heard in a while before he settled with a lazy grin, "All that and more, princesa. Although I should say the same thing for you." He took the hand she used to poke him on the nose and gave it a squeeze, "Would you be able to handle what's coming to you?" He slightly tilted his head, a small smile on his face as he didn't give himself away... Not yet, anyways.

He chuckled when she poked herself on the cheek before poking him with a silly smile on her face. He was used to her being like this, coming from the girl who wanted to keep a photo of him chomping on a cupcake because she said, and he quotes, he looked cute in it, to which despite his annoyance, he eventually conceded so he can at least leave her some kind of remembrance. He tilted his head, lightly biting his cheek when the girl played dumb, "I believe you know what I'm talking about." He looked straight in her eyes, playfulness evident in his, his lips twisting into what appears to be an innocent smile upon dictating her own fate. He glanced up, tapping his chin in thought as though weighing out her choice, "Yeah, that would be great...if only it were your choice." He then looked back at her, "Unfortunately for you, I was just asking for your opinion. You didn't think it would really be your decision in the end, did you?" He gently ran his fingers on her ribcage before stopping, "I seemed to have remembered that a certain someone was ticklish." He put on a devilish grin. He accidentally found this out when he snuck up to surprise her once on the few times she beat him to the cafe they frequented. He could never forget the look on her face that time and felt kind of bad that he never got it on film, but nonetheless, it was imprinted in his mind so at least, there was that.

Upon the mention of exchanging numbers, he glanced at the countertop, his cellphone exactly sitting where he was earlier. "Just tell me when you're ready, my phone's just over there anyways. Seriously, how silly were we to forget to exchange contact information when we were in France? But then again... We apparently have a knack for finding one another." He put on a lopsided grin, finding it rather funny that they live in a world where everyone were just a click away... And they didn't even bother to do the most obvious one yet. His grin slightly twitched at the mention of the image but kept his cool overall, "Yes, what about that wonderful image of my finest moment?" He asked, a tinge of sarcasm evident in his voice.

 

[Ta Min]

Mei glanced at their hands before back up to his face, shooting him a toothy grin as she replied "Without a doubt little one," She answered confidently, not even a hint of uncertainty in her entire body. It may be foolish of her to put so much faith into something that she knew next to nothing about, but she believed in Nathaniel and their 'relationship'. Even if what they said 'relationship' hasn't been formally established quite yet. Nonetheless, she was sure that she could handle anything Cupcake threw at her. That is, as long as it isn't something too drastic. However, based on his smile she wasn't too sure.

Watching his mannerisms made her oh so much more fond of him. Everything he did, in her opinion at least was precious and absolutely the cutest thing in the world. Even if it embarrassed him or others though it was weird. In all honesty, there were many things she liked about Nathaniel - which is why they even became friends in the first place.

A slight pout found it's way onto her lips, even though the rest of her face remained cheerful. "If only," She said wistfully, suddenly craving ice-creme. If I remember correctly, Cy said she bought some. "I did not, " She was only half paying attention, thoughts still on ice-creme when he ran his fingers along her ribcage. Raising an eyebrow in question, she watched as his hand stopped. This confused state didn't last long, as soon as he brought up her being ticklish. Crossing her arms over her chest she pulled away. "Don't even think about it!" She exclaimed, backing away, her eyes wide. She was dreadfully ticklish and whenever tickled her face got all red, her voice hoarse, and she always ended up rolling around on the ground like a fool. "If you do, there will be serious consequences!" She said, feeling the counter behind her and picking up an overly large spoon and holding it up 'threateningly'.

"We can do it sometime tomorrow, and I have no idea." She said laughing at their mistakes, it was silly, really. Then again, in a way it sort of didn't matter, even if they exchanged numbers they would've - in all likelihood - lost touch. But, there were no worries for it now seeing that they could see each other almost whenever they wanted this entire summer. Her eyes flickered to his lips as his grin faltered at the mention of the image she almost lost her nerve but decided to push on instead. "I would like to discuss the terms of the image. I believe that it is adorable, and hilarious and should be shared with the word." She said, keeping a straight face.

 

[lostwanderer]

Nathaniel lightly flicked her forehead with his index finger, flashing her a toothy grin back, "Then that's enough for me." He snickered, "Though I believe you're supposed to be the little one between the two of us, both literally and figuratively." He pointed out with a soft smirk. Whether he liked it or not, he was well aware of their age difference, a year and ten months if he counted correctly, but he digressed since it really wasn't of much importance and something Mei was not quite aware of yet as far as he could remember. It was just a thought, is all.

Even back in France, they were quite careful about disclosing information about themselves, being almost complete strangers to one another, and he had always been the type to not say anything unless it was asked for so he couldn't exactly be sure about a lot of things. This may be the case but he had picked up on a few of her nuances which he found endearing. In the end, he felt like the things he didn't know about her mattered. Because now, he has all the chances to get to know her better over the break.

Seeing her pout, his eyes were drawn to her lips though he was quick to catch himself and kept his line of vision on her eyes. He laughed a bit, playing off his little mishap, "If you really want some ice cream right now, I think I saw a tub of cookies and cream in the freezer, which I think Cyrille bought especially for tonight. I'm sure she wouldn't mind. Better that someone eats rather than letting it just sit there in the freezer to be forgotten." He shrugged his shoulders. When she withdrew from his grasp, upon the prospect of being tickled, he laughed at her childish antics. "Oh, I was thinking of no such thing" He put on an innocent smile on his face, watching as she slowly backed away from him. "However, now that you mentioned it, it does sound tempting." At her 'threat', he raised an eyebrow, an amused grin on his face, noticing that she was about to back herself towards a corner as he slowly made his way to her, "Really? I'm curious as to what kind of consequences you have in mind." He stopped about an arm's length from her, placing his hands behind his back.

"Alright, tomorrow it is, then. I don't mind anyways." He went towards his phone, pressing the power button to check on the time before he placed it in his pocket. He noticed her eyes were on his lips when it faltered but made no move about it, instead playing it off and fixing his gaze to her. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, pressing his tongue to the inside of his cheek as he thought about what she had laid down on him, "So what reason do you possibly have to share that photo, other than it being, and I quote, cute, adorable and hilarious?" He held back the grin that was threatening to appear on his face, instead putting on a blank expression. After getting over his initial annoyance, he didn't care about it that much anymore so right now, he was just testing how much she wants to do with it.

 

[Ta Min]

Mei waved her hand dismissively at his comment about her technically being the smaller one, "Nonsense, nonsense," She said, standing on her tippy toes to make a point, but failing because she was a good amount shorter than him. "One day," She said, even though she knew she'd never be bigger than him, she was already done growing. She actually stopped at the age of fourteen and has been about 5'4 or 5'3 since, in all honesty, she didn't really keep track of things such as this, it was all so trivial.

To think about it, she stopped a lot of things at the age of fourteen, in all honesty, she was a mess before highschool. Middle school did a number on her and she fell into really bad habits. It was nothing major but she hung out with the wrong people, got in trouble, didn't get the best grades, and just kind of messed up her life between the ages of 12-14. However, once in high school she cleaned up, met Cyrille and is now going to a great university. It was a great story really, but she did do things she wasn't proud of like stealing and such, but that was behind her and she wasn't going to speak of it to a soul.

At the mention of the ice cream in the freezer she grinned, she really wanted some. However, her thoughts of the delicious sweet were cut short as he kept on talking about the prospect of tickling her, and when he asked her about the consequences her lips pressed into a firm line, seeing that she was unable to come up with anything. "Uh, well," She stammered, reaching for something that wasn't there. "Alright, you got me there aren't any consequences, but you still better not do it!" She said, her eyes wide. In all honesty, she wasn't that scared but whenever she got tickled her face got red, she started to sweat, and all in all, it wasn't a very pretty picture. Which is why she is currently in a corner, refusing to be near him.

Fixing her already smiling face into a solemn expression she spoke, "I personally believe that the world deserves to see it, I feel guilty being the only one who's laid eyes on it. And in exchange, if you happen to take or stumble upon an equally wonderful photo of myself you may do whatever you want with it. Post it on social media, send it to whomever you wish, whatever you want. No matter how stupid it may be." Unlike some, she didn't really mind bad pictures of herself, they were all over social media - people had a tendency to take pictures of her when she was half awake, dirt on her face, or just doing something stupid, she actually found it quite amusing. All you really had to do was go to Instagram and go to the many images she was tagged in.

"Deal?" She crossed her fingers behind her back, hoping he'd agree - she wasn't sure why but she really wanted to share the image. Yet she did and was determined to.

 

[lostwanderer]

Nathaniel chuckled at her measly attempt to disprove his observation but obviously to no avail. He didn't say anything and just merely glanced away from her to look at the clock on the microwave which read a quarter to eleven in the evening, the slight thought of having missed dinner peeking into his mind and being reminded of the untouched food inside, however he was anything but hungry now so he quickly shook the thought off. Instead, he sat on the countertop, similarly to how he was before she came around. It was something that he seemed to have picked up from living away from home, with nobody to tell him otherwise, so it just kind of stuck.

From where he was, he could pick out the slight silhouette of a hand, haphazardly laid over the backrest, which undoubtedly belonged to his sister. He reminded himself to bring her upstairs after they were done with whatever it was they were doing. Not that he really needs to, but Cyrille could get a wee bit grumpy and sore if she stays on the couch and quite frankly, he doesn't want to deal with that, so he figured he might as well try his luck. He was about to ask Mei about it but he caught himself. He didn't fully understand what the big deal was, however he felt like his sister was somehow a part of the reason why the girl avoided him earlier so he didn't want to broach the topic with her just yet.

He got down from the countertop and walked towards the freezer. He opened the door and took out the tub of ice cream from where it slumbered, before closing the freezer with his foot and setting it down on the table to let it thaw a little. He noticed the girl seemed deep in thought about something so he remained silent and stayed where he was. Upon hearing her speak, a lopsided smile appeared on his face, "You know, that look on your face kind of makes me want to tickle you more, but I guess I'll save that for some other time, so you can rest easy for tonight." He took out bowls and spoons, laying it down beside the dairy goodness, "For now, how 'bout that ice cream? It's not going to eat itself, after all." He pointed out, trying to draw her out of the corner, tickling her being the last thing on his mind now.

He patiently listened to her explanation, keeping his arms crossed with his gaze not leaving her form. Although he didn't see the point as to why she really had to share it in the first place, other than to entertain other people, the wager she proposed did seem fair to him (since he now had a name to go with the face so it would be a bit easier than before. Not to mention that he also has a credible source he could easily get some from, so really, this is much to his advantage) so he shrugged, "Fine. It's a deal, but if my face spreads on the inter-webs and becomes a meme... Well, let's just say, I'll find a way to return the favor so don't hold it against me, okay?" On that note, he dropped his arms and finally put on a grin on his face. He could pretty much see the determination radiating off her so he figured he might as well. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket but paid it no mind for now, mentally reminding himself to check it out later.

 

[Ta Min]

Mei's dark brown eyes followed his form as she moved to the freezer, wondering what he was doing. However, at the most, it took her ten seconds to figure out what he was up to and in no time her thoughts of being tickled were gone as she watched him take out the ice cream and set it down to thaw. Her somewhat alert body relaxed upon hearing his words, she nodded. Even though she knew that at some point during the summer he or someone else would tickle her and cause that unpleasant sensation she didn't care, now that she was currently in the clear. And who knows, when the time comes she might not care anymore.

"Ice cream sounds like a great idea," She said, leaving the safety of her corner to approach Nathaniel. She stopped once next to them, shoulders almost brushing but not quite as she peered down at the ice cream, looking with approval. "Looks like Cyrille sprung for the good stuff," The brand Cyrille chose, while deliciously creamy was also a bit overpriced. Still, Mei wasn't complaining. In her opinion ice cream was ice cream, unless it was pistachio. Pistachio ice cream, as she found it, was the worst type of anything out there.

Removing her eyes from the frozen treat she casually glanced over Nathaniel. How come I didn't recognize him when he answered the door, she thought, confused. He looked almost the same except for maybe a haircut, and the change of scenery so there wasn't really an excuse to why she had no idea who he was when he answered the door. It was silly really, she spent two weeks straight with the guy seeing him nearly, if not every day for hours on end. Nothing about it made sense in the slightest. Then again she could've just been shocked and unable to process it, but even that was a lame excuse.

"Okay," Mei said, happy to see the grin on his face and to have won. "Anyway, this question may seem out of place but how have you been since I last saw you?" She knew the question itself came out of the blue, but her mother always told her to start with something like 'how have you been' or 'what're you up to lately' when talking to someone. The first reason being out of politeness, the second being just to keep the conversation moving.

 

[lostwanderer]

Nathaniel let out a soft sigh when the girl appeared to have visibly relaxed and no longer wound up at the sight of the frozen treat. He came to a realization that the girl might not really enjoy being tickled and made a mental note of not doing it often. He vaguely remembered reading something about how the sensation of tickling possessing the same traits that induce panic, and seeing as how flustered and riled up she was at the mere prospect, it somehow made sense to him now. 'Girls and their treats. Remind me to never underestimate the power of ice cream in case of emergencies.' He noted.

He hummed in response to her statement, taking notice that she had finally moved away from the corner as he lightly dribbled his fingers by the edge of the table, "Yeah, you know how Cyrille can be when it comes to these kind of things. She said that tonight was special and therefore it calls for celebratory ice cream. Unfortunately, she got too excited and worked herself to the bone which is why she's currently swimming in dreamland now." He had a slightly fond expression on his face, "Then again, I might have spoiled her a little too much so there's that." He snickered before he opened the lid and gently peeled away the paper lining on top to let the warm air in. He then walked towards the drawer and took out the ice cream scooper, running it under hot water from the tap before making his way back to her, "Would you like to have the honor of taking first scoop?"

Earlier this morning, when she brought him along for grocery shopping to help her carry stuff, they took a good chunk of five minutes on deciding on an ice cream flavor alone. He was leaning more onto the caramel and coffee-based ones while Cyrille wanted fruit and nutty flavored ones. Eventually, they came with a compromise and went with the old yet still good cookies and cream over the chocolate chip cookie dough. After that, everything was surprisingly mostly smooth sailing from there.

He noticed that she glanced at him and slightly tilted his head with a small smile, doing the same thing to her. She hasn't changed all that much since they last saw each other, though the loss of thick sweaters, scarves and the general wintery, holiday vibe might have initially thrown him off. Their neighborhood wasn't bad or anything but having been not home for a good three years, he has yet been accustomed to the sights and sounds since there was a considerable difference to it.

He snapped out of his thoughts when she had sent a question his way. He blinked twice, trying to process it while he pushed his previous thoughts to the back of his mind. He pressed his tongue on the inside of his cheek, lightly ruffling his hair in thought, before he looked at her from under his bangs with a soft smile, "You mean, after the endless ribbing and interrogations I got from my friends about you the moment I stepped back into the apartment?" He asked, rhetorically with a short laugh. "I was free floating for the rest of the week since I found myself coming back to the places we usually hang around. School came back around the next Monday so I fell out of loop real quick. So to answer your question, I was a bit rough around the edges at first but I was doing fine, most of the time." He half-shrugged before he turned the question back to her, "What about you? How's it been since you left France?"

 

[Ta Min]

Mei glanced to where Cyrille was slumbering, just managing to see her. "Yeah, it's a shame she put in all this effort to make everything perfect only for her to fall asleep," She said, shaking her head. It was a shame really, then again if Cyrille did manage to stay awake during the movie she might've been grumpy afterward until she finally went to sleep, or very peppy. She loved Cyrille but the girl needed her sleep. "Why of course," She said smiling, taking the scooper from him. At one point in her life, she spent and an entire year working at the local ice-cream parlor every Sunday, meaning that she was very proficient in ice cream scooping. Soon enough there were four perfectly shaped scoops in the first bowl. "Want me to do yours too?" She asked, glancing over at him.

His answer somewhat caught her off guard but, then again, if he answered in any other manner she knew that she would be a little bit disappointed. "Well, my parents obviously had a few questions, most of which about who you are and whatnot but they eventually got over it. For the first few days of school, I was fine and went about as usual but at home I kind of spaced out a lot, going through old pictures and such. Then, as final exams came around I kind of forgot about most things out of school and focused on passing, which was good because I did, in fact, pass with good grades," She said, chuckling at the last part. The last few weeks of school were painful, she pulled quite a few late night study sessions, but it did get Nathaniel out of her head for a while. "Then I came home once the year finished up, and now I'm here." She said, smiling up at him.

"Oh, by the way, Cyrille and I planned on going to the pool tomorrow, if you would like to you can come with us," Mei didn't mind if Nathaniel tagged along with them and she was maybe 70% sure Cyrille wouldn't mind either, they seemed to be rather close to her. "I believe we planned on going around noon or one and leaving whenever," She said, trying to remember her and Cyrille's prior conversation. "Or we were going to carry on our tradition of going late at night to swim then, we still have yet to decide." Technically they weren't supposed to be there after nine but in honesty, no one cared if they were there or not, the neighbors knew, those who ran the pool knew, everyone did but they didn't care in the slightest.

A yawn escaped her as her body finally picked up on how late it was. "Time just seems to fly by, we should probably get Cyrille into bed and go to sleep ourselves." She said, stretching. Walking back into the living room where Cyrille currently was, she turned to ask him, "Want my help getting her up there? I'm going to crash on the couch once we move her anyway so I might as well help," When here whenever Cyrille crashed on the couch she did too, so she really didn't mind all that much.

 

[lostwanderer]

Nathaniel hummed in agreement, glancing at his younger sister from the corner of his eye who seemed to have stirred in her sleep during their conversation, if the hand resting on the backrest not being there had anything to say about it. He figured she might have rolled off the couch and onto the floor which made him exhale slightly more air through his nose at the fact that she was the least bit aware of her situation. When Mei took the scooper from him, he gave her a soft smile in return as he watched the expression on her face when she made scoops, but when he offered to do his, he waved off the offer. "Nah, it's fine, I'll do it. I appreciate the offer though." He replied, gently taking the scooper from her and placing three scoops onto his bowl before replacing the lid on the ice cream tin and putting it back where he got it. He picked out a big piece of cookie with his spoon and put it in his mouth, the taste of the roughly crushed sandwich cookie all too familiar to him.

He caught the surprise on her face with what he had previously disclosed, which made him think he might have said a bit too much, even though he roughly summarized his explanation, but then he figured that would have been enough so he stuck with it and patiently listened to hers, not making a sound to interrupt her. He understood why the people around them would be asking quite a number of questions, considering how much time they were spending together, if even a few acquaintances from school that saw them together were under the presumption that they knew each other longer than they actually did, what more her own parents, since he underwent the same experience. Overall, they had somehow similar experiences. He grinned at her when she said she came out with good grades, "Congratulations." He slightly messed her hair up with a snicker. At the mention of coming home, he smiled warmly at her, "Well, nothing beats being at home, doesn't it?" He slightly tilted his head, "Actually, Cy didn't even know I was coming home this year until I sent her a message right before I boarded the plane." He lightly chuckled.

When he heard her extend an invitation to the pool, he looked up in thought before replying, "Sure, I'll take you up on that offer but let's just wait and see what my sister has to say about it first later in the morning, since this might be just a 'you and her' kind of thing." He quoted, with a slight shrug. "Because as much as she might have missed me, I really don't want to intrude on your bonding time, is all." He pointed out, since he figured that since their first summer slumber party prematurely ended tonight, Cyrille might want to make it up to her friend tomorrow for turning in early for the night and leaving her to clean up the mess so he might as well give way to them. After all, summer was just starting so there would be plenty of time to catch up with the two of them.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the girl had yawned. Being reminded of the time, his eyes did feel like it was starting to feel dry and tired, now that he thought about it. "Yeah, I know what you mean." He murmured, finishing his bowl of ice cream before he ran water over it under the sink. "It's a bit too late now for me to deal with Little Miss Grumpy over on the couch so I'll just bring her over to her bedroom." It was now his turn to yawn, rubbing his face to cover his mouth. "I can bring her upstairs just fine but I'm going to need you to open the door to her bedroom for me, since my hands are going to be a bit occupied." He scratched the back of his neck. "Also, I think you better sleep in her bedroom too 'cause I don't think my conscience can handle you sleeping it out in the couch. She has a pull-out in there anyways if you don't want to share her bed."

 

[Ta Min]

Mei nodded "Anytime, Cyrille always gets me to scoop hers, says I have a talent." She joked, watching him place the ice cream back in the freezer before digging in. It was delicious, obviously, and it took all of her willpower to not gobble it up like an animal in front of him - ice cream was one of her many weaknesses. However, she enjoyed it more when it was in a cone than when it was in a bowl. The only explanation she had for her preference was probably the fact that some of her favorite memories were walking down to the local ice cream parlor with her parents on Friday nights and getting cookies n' cream in a cake cone. It was something she always looked forward to. Upon entering high school her ice cream tradition was soon replaced with a new one, instead of ice cream with her family, she hung out with Cyrille on Friday nights. In her mind it was a fair trade, she enjoyed both but as she grew older she eventually had to choose one over the other. Now, she looked back on those memories fondly, recalling them whenever it was convenient.

When she said 'My parents had a few questions,' she was, in a way, lying. Her parents had more than a few, they kept them all to themselves in France but once on the plane headed home, all hell broke loose. She was forced to endure hours of random questions of about this 'Nathaniel' character the entire flight back. The only good thing she got from the experience is that they haven't brought him up since. Not a single word. "Thank you very much, Nathaniel," She said proudly, she worked hard for her grades and was always pleased with herself when her work paid off. Which is why she wasn't bothered by him messing up her hair, instead, she simply smoothed it out. "Nice try, but it takes quite a bit to mess up this hair." To add to the comment she did a playful hair flip, a move she did whenever showing off her hair - joking or not. She had the type of hair that you could try to mess up but all it took was a run of the hand to fix it. This was thanks to her religiously conditioning her hair and what she referred to as her 'blessed' genes.

"True, as nice as it may be to go away for a bit it's always a bit of a relief to return home." Evey now and then Mei found herself becoming homesick while off in college, so she returned once in a while to stay the weekend and always came home for holidays. For Christmas, she actually expected to just do the usual, hot chocolate, corny Holiday movies, gift shopping with Cyrille, but instead of buying each other gifts this year they all just went to France as all of their Christmas presents. It was a decision Mei was happy her parents made, it was also a decision she wasn't aware of until showing up at home. "Wow, she must've been really surprised, and excited of course. If you don't mind me asking, why did you put off telling her until the last minute?"

"Right, right, but if she does let you tag along I think we all would have fun. Oh well, it's all up to her know," Mei chuckled, thinking about her friends sleeping form. Cyrille looked so peaceful when she slept but when she was awake she was so energetic. At times Mei found it quite amusing, as well as endearing... but mainly amusing. It only took a second for her mood to go from jovial to slight worry, once Cyrille was awake she would easily be able to sense a shift between Mei and Nathaniel and most likely have a few questions. Which meant Mei had to explain a thing or two to her friend. It wasn't anything big, but Cyrille might be a little upset that she didn't tell her earlier. A slight frown tugged at her lips but Mei was quick to catch herself and banish the thoughts from her mind and return to her prior mood. She would worry about such things later, no need to let the future ruin the present.

Having finished her ice cream a while before Nathaniel did, her bowl was already in the sink, so she leaned back onto the counter to watch him talk - her body feeling heavy. She nodded in agreement about him bringing Cyrille to her bedroom, "Yeah, I'll hold open the door, no problem, If I don't you might end up trying to do it by yourself and drop her." She was tempted to chuckle at the last part but managed not to, while it would be funny for a second, Cyrille being dropped did actually worry her. "That sounds lovely, while I do love my friend Mr. Couch over there he isn't quite as comfortable to sleep on as the bed." At this, she did chuckle, while she didn't mind crashing on the couch it wasn't exactly something she enjoyed. But sleeping in a bed, she did enjoy that quite a bit.

 

[lostwanderer]

Nathaniel scooped a bit of ice cream to his mouth when she spoke, shrugging one shoulder, "Well, it's Cy. She likes to get the most out of everything, so if she knows there's somebody else who can do a better job than her, she would most likely leave it to the professional, unless she's in the mood to try, then that, of course, is a completely different story." He murmured with a light drawl, before he poked at his ice cream a bit. It has been quite a while since he last ate ice cream, not because he doesn't like the idea of frozen milk, but with the wide variety of French pastries and sweets, he has a number of choices to satisfy his occasional sugar fix. The last time he ate one was probably during last summer when he was out at the park for Villette Sonique with his friends, if he remembered correctly. He vaguely remembered his friend was hitting on a girl, he wasn't sure what caused it in the first place but one thing's for sure, it was short-lived, ending not only with a slap but two ice cream cones dumped on Eli's blond head. One could only assume his friend came a little too strong or something. Of course, their other friends never missed the opportunity and poke fun at the poor chap for the rest of the night. Now that he thought about it, his group of friends kept him in check in their own ways.

He smiled softly at her, "No problem, you deserve it." He shrugged with one shoulder, as to say it was no big deal. He looked over from his ice cream bowl, raising a curious eyebrow at her lack of reaction from getting her hair ruffled, only to see her smooth it out in one fell swoop. He chuckled when she flipped her hair, "Aww, too bad, I was kind of hoping for a bigger reaction. You got the long end of the stick, I suppose." He ran his fingers through his own hair to keep them from falling over his eyes. He was getting near to the point that it's longer but not enough to be bothersome. He should probably do something about that soon, though right now, it's not much of a problem so he could maybe keep it for a while. On the other hand, whenever he would ruffle his sister's hair, she would pout at him and try to tame the mess of curls he had started.

At the mention of home, he just kept a lopsided smile on his face and said nothing. His eyes darkened a bit but he managed to blink it away as quick as it came. He quickly shoved his thoughts to the darkest recesses of his mind. He didn't want to think about it, not now, at least. The people around him did a good job of distracting him and not making him miss home, and he's thankful for that, but what he had learned is you can only hold onto that for so long before it blows back in your face with a greater force. 'I'll deal with it later, it's a little too late for tonight to let it brew..' He thought to himself, reeling in his thoughts and acting like he was none the wiser as he continued eating his melting ice cream.

"Hmm? That's because I wasn't really sure at first if I would be able to come home this year and I don't want to keep her hopes up that I'll be there for her nineteenth birthday." There was quite a number of things he didn't brush upon his explanation, and one of them was involving his own younger sister, who got upset at him for ignoring her calls without giving her a sound reason. With both of their hectic class schedules, they barely had the time to keep in touch aside from the usual instant messaging, unless one of them was willing to compromise sleep over it, so when winter break rolled by, she was hoping they could sit down and talk, however it seemed he was still always busy then. Normally, he would shoot her a message with the reason, but at that time, nothing came. It took him quite a while to make her talk to him, but he was glad he managed to revert their sibling relationship to how it used to be, albeit with a few minor changes. "I haven't even gotten a chance to pick up a present for her, I really should get to that soon." He added.

He hummed in agreement, not sure what else there is to say. Instead, he thought about the circumstances that could happen tomorrow. After all, the worse thing his sister could say is no and even if she did make it a thing between the two girls, he wouldn't be offended or anything, in fact he could just use the time to get her a gift for her birthday, which is coming in three days or so. But then, another thought brushed upon his mind. As far as he was aware, Cyrille doesn't know that they know each other and to be quite honest, he has no intentions of telling her anytime soon since he's worried that he might cause a rift between the two of them, especially since the raven lass in front of him was part of the reason why he didn't get to answer her calls in the first place. His blue-green eyes stirred darker once again, but he just pinched the bridge of his nose to shake off the mere thought.

He placed down his now-finished bowl in the sink. Not really in the mood to wash the dishes, he decided to just rinse out the food residue from the dishes in the sink before he turned on the dishwasher, placing them inside and pouring the right amount of soap in the container. Shortly, he closed it and let the machine do its job. After which, he turned to face her with a lazy smile, "Thanks in advance. It's not that I would really drop her but I don't want to risk it either, so there's that." He smirked a bit as he cracked his knuckles. When he heard her comment on the couch, he snickered lightly, "Mister Couch will be missed, but tonight, he sleeps alone in the warmth of summer." With that said, he tilted his head towards the living room, "Now then, shall we get to fetching the sleeping princess then getting some sleep ourselves?" He was starting to feel drowsiness seep into his bones and his bed calling out to him, as it reminded him of the time.

 

[Ta Min]

"Ah okay, that makes sense," Mei knew how excited Cyrille could get over things - big or small - so Nathaniel's actions were logical. Mind starting to drift, she was brought back by Nathaniel speaking again, "That would be a good idea, Cyrille loves birthday presents." She chuckled out loud, thinking of the humorous expression Cyrille made every time she ripped open a gift. It was priceless, really. So every year Mei made sure to get her a gift worthy of said expression, never failing once. This year she was rather confident in her choice of gift, so it would really be a shame if it turned out Cyrille didn't like it.

Her eyes flickered briefly to his face, seeing him pinch the bridge of his nose. That and the - however subtle - expression he wore was enough to tell her something was a little off and/or bothering him. A little part of her - the nosey part - wanted to say something, but she managed to reign herself in and stay quiet, pretending she didn't see anything. If the two were a little closer, she probably would've said something, asked what was bothering him, or given him a simple hug being the worrier she was. Alas, they weren't and she had to keep her - as her friend's called them - 'motherly instincts' at bay for the time being. Looking away from his face and focusing on something else in the room she absentmindedly drummed her fingers on the counter.

"We shall," Mei said, yawning before sauntering into the living room and watching Nathaniel lift up Cyrille's sleeping form. Once she was sure Nathaniel would follow, she climbed up the stairs and headed to Cyrille's bedroom. Pushing open the door, she made sure to open it wide enough so both Nathaniel and Cyrille could fit without too much trouble. Waiting for him, she let her eyes close briefly before snapping them open as to not fall asleep. The last thing Nathaniel needed was to have another hundred something pound girl to put into bed.

 

[lostwanderer]

Nathaniel smiled a bit at her chuckles, "I just might need some help looking for something for her but we'll see how it unfolds in the following days." He tilted his head to the side, as though thinking about it. His sister liked the stuff he got for her back when they still lived at the house. Quite honestly, he used to think that she was an easy person to give presents to since she appreciated a lot of things but given the times then and now, he could only assume that her tastes might have changed. 'I mean, I could always ask Cy upfront what she would like to get but that would ruin the suspense... Ah well, all else fails, I'll just wing it and call it a day.' He thought to himself, blinking it away shortly after.

With that settled, he flicked off the countertop light and followed Mei's lead. He waited his eyes to adjust to the darkness as he made his way to his younger sister, who was half dangling from the couch. He kneeled beside her sleeping figure, passing an arm around her waist and under her knees before he carefully scooped her up with a slow breath of air and gently adjusted her in his arms as he stood up. Cyrille's face slightly stirred, making him pause for a bit with a raised brow, but when she made no further action, he shrugged and slowly walked up the stairs, trying not to jostle her awake. He went straight towards her room, nodding at Mei for silent thanks as he pressed the light switch with his shoulder, illuminating the room in a dull glow. He walked to her bed and laid her down, not bothering to pull the covers over her since it was a bit warm for that as he picked up the remote and turned on the air conditioner situated on top of her door.

His blue-green eyes landed on Mei, who looked like she was about to fall asleep while standing up. He fought the urge to chuckle as he walked towards her and gave her a light poke on the cheek, "Get to bed, little missy, or else I would bring you there myself." He put on a lopsided smile, briefly patting her on top of the head when he passed her as he walked out the door, "Goodnight, Mei. See you in the morning." He closed the door behind him and walked away, stopping in front of his bedroom door. He reached out to open it and turned on the lights, yawning in the process as he plopped down on his bed and laid down on his stomach, his hands buried underneath his pillow as he turned his head to the side, finding a comfortable position when his eyes fluttered close.

 

[Ta Min]

Mei snapped to attention when her face was touched, "Yes sir!" She said, somewhat dazed from the sudden contact - saying whatever came to mind first. Looking up at him as he patted her on the head she wore the faintest of smiles. She always enjoyed it when people patted her on the head, as long as they weren't trying to insult her or do it in a demeaning manner. "Night Cupcake, see ya then." Once he was gone and the door closed, she turned off the lights. She then carefully felt her way around the room until she found Cyrille, crawling into the bed next to her. Turning onto her side, she drifted into the most peaceful sleep she's had in a while.
- - -
The morning began with the sun pushing its way through the blinds and right into her eyes. "Aghhh," She groaned softly, using her arm to cover her face - blocking the sun. After a few minutes of laying there, going back and forth to if she should try to go to sleep again or wake up and start her day she eventually decided on the latter. Slowly sitting up, she rubbed her weary eyes. As soon as she got her thoughts in order and shook away the weariness of sleep, two thoughts popped up in her head, ask Cyrille if Nathaniel can join us at the pool, and exchange numbers with Nathaniel. Deciding to put both off for later, she glanced at the still sleeping Cyrille and climbed out of bed. Being as quiet as possible, she changed out of her PJ's from the night before and put on a pair of faded black and white Nike shorts and an old Harry Potter T-Shirt she got when she was nine. At the time it was rather big and she only wore it to sleep - hence the small toothpaste stain on the collar - but now it fit like a glove and was one of her favorite things to wear. Even if it did make her look a little sloppy.

Leaving the lights off, she opened the door and closed it behind her. Making sure to stay quiet she headed down the stairs and to the kitchen. While in college she learned several things, how to do laundry, how to manage money, and most importantly, how to cook. Which is why she was currently making breakfast for everyone else one they managed to wake up. Digging through the fridge and cabinets she found enough to make omelets and some bacon. Soon enough, she was done and had three nicely sized omelets and twelve pieces of bacon. Putting everything on three different plates, she set the food on the kitchen table and started cleaning up the mess she made.

Humming a song she heard on the radio a while back, she scrubbed at the pan and other dishes she used - waiting for someone to come downstairs. Mei often found herself singing and/or humming random tunes she's heard, it could be quite annoying at times. She didn't have a bad voice or anything but it was often the same part of the same song, over and over because she didn't know anything but that one part of said song(s). So as you can imagine after maybe ten minutes or so of this, one can get a bit irritable.

 

[lostwanderer]

Cyrille tossed to her left side when her eyes flew open, the fear of falling lighting up her bones as she braced herself, only to be met with nothing. She stayed in position with a dazed expression before she blinked away the mistiness in her eyes and slowly sat up to take in her surroundings, 'Strange... I was sure I fell asleep during the movie.' She scratched the back of her head, rubbing her eye with her other hand when she realized that she didn't finish the movie yet again. Her hand slid down her face in frustration, "Oh no.. I left Mei on her own again." She groaned, murmuring to herself, "Gods, I'm such a terrible best friend." She pinched her cheek as to punish herself, swinging her legs to the side of the bed and stood up. She dragged her feet out of her room and into the shared bathroom to splash her face and brush her teeth. She then changed out of her sleep clothes into a teal shirt with a black and white cloud, reminiscent of The Fault in our Stars and dark grey shorts. She brushed off the tangles in her wavy tresses, opting with running her fingers through her hair since brushing it when she was fresh from bed almost always end up with her, yowling and hissing like a cat from getting the tangles pulled.

Once she deemed herself presentable enough, she made her way downstairs as she tied her barely shoulder length hair into a small ponytail when she picked up a delicious smell coming from the kitchen. Her face morphed into confusion, finding it rather out of ordinary since neither of them really made an effort to cook a decent breakfast because her brother wakes up early for a jog while she likes to sleep in. So that could only mean one thing. "Mei?" She called out, walking towards the kitchen as she followed the scent of food. As she grew closer, she could pick out faint singing-humming so she walked a little quicker and her eyes lit up at the sight of omelettes and bacon, "Whoa, you made this all by yourself? You really shouldn't have, you're the guest." She walked towards her friend with a slight pout, "Or at least, you could have woken me up so I could help you." She continued, shifting her weight to one foot to another as she looked down on her bare feet. Shortly after that, she looked up and gave a small smile, "Oh well, can't let your efforts go to waste. Thanks bunchies for the food, I promise I'll make it up to you soon." She hugged her friend to the side, as she took her place beside her. She took the dish towel and dried off the ones she had finished washing before putting them back where they're designated.

While she was at it and feeling up to do some chores, she decided to check the dishwasher and unloaded the now-clean dishes from last night. She then remembered what she had done and slightly deflated at the thought. She lightly nudged her friend with her shoulder, "I'm sorry, I fell asleep before all the fun again, didn't I." She refused to meet her gaze, as she focused on the rim of the glass she was drying. "What more, you probably had to sleep on the couch again after I've been put to bed." She frowned in worry for her friend, at the assumption that Mei was out sleeping in the warm, uncomfortable couch on her own while she was sleeping on her cool, soft bed.

 

[Ta Min]

Mei looked up, hearing her name being called. "Hmmm?" She said, pausing her cleaning and looking up to see who it was. Spotting Cyrille, her face broke out into a cheerful smile. "No, no, it's fine! I love cooking and you looked tired so I let you sleep. I can wake you up next time if that's what you want." She nodded as her friend kept on talking, adding one or two 'don't worry's or 'it's fine's before resuming her washing. Finishing up what she was doing, she washed off her hands getting rid of the distinct soapy dishes smell. The smell wasn't bad, but she never thought it was all that pleasant either. Seeing that she finished her job, for the time being, she leaned against the counter and watched Cyrille busy herself with unloading the dishwasher.

Mei smiled at her apologetically, "You did, but it's totally okay. Don't even worry about it." She said, trying to reassure her friend. It was quite clear Cyrille felt guilty and was upset with herself, which bothered her because Cyrille didn't do anything wrong. It wasn't like she wanted to fall asleep. "No, I slept in the bed with you. After Nathaniel carried you up to your room I just crashed with you." She shrugged, knowing she was being vague about what happened after Cyrille fell asleep but it didn't really matter. Or at least not to Cyrille. "So don't feel bad, okay? After you fell asleep, I had some ice cream, hung around for a bit, then went to bed. Pretty productive night if you ask me." She said, grinning.

"Anyway, we should probably eat that before the food gets any colder." She nodded in the direction of the food before heading over to the table where it sat. "I made your brother some too but he can get to it whenever he wakes up." She said, knowing how tired he must be.Taking a seat, she picked up a fork and knife before easily cutting into it. "Oh! I was thinking maybe sometime today we could go to the pool, either this afternoon or this night? I'm fine with any time really." She said, picking up a piece of the omelet and putting it in her mouth. "I must say, I did quite a good job." She chuckled quietly to herself before she continued eating. While the omelette wasn't hot anymore it was still nice and warm, same goes for the bacon.

 

[lostwanderer]

Cyrille hummed softly when she heard her friend assure her that there was nothing to worry, "Okay, then if you say so, but promise me you'll try to wake me up next time 'cause if I can, I would really like to help with these things. Who knows, I might pick up on a few things here and there." She giggled, glancing at Mei from the corner of her eye to see what she was doing. Seeing that she was done washing the dishes and was now washing her hands, she decided to make quick work of drying the remaining pieces and brought them to their designated places to clear out the countertop.

She looked at her, opening her mouth to retaliate but she just bit her bottom lip and remained quiet as she looked away and focused on the task at hand, feeling like a bad friend for leaving her friend on her own. She was aware that it was something beyond her control from the start but it still didn't sit well on her conscience. She was snapped out of her guilt spiral when she heard her friend say that she slept beside her, making her look at her with a doe-like expression as she slightly tilted her head, murmuring a soft 'oh' in surprise. "That makes sense, then." She looked visibly relieved upon hearing that her friend didn't sleep on the couch. She felt her worries fade, though she wasn't sure why she felt like there was something weighing on her stomach. She put on a childish grin upon the mention of the ice cream, "So ice cream kept you company through the night, then it is a very good night." She laughed, drying off the last bowl before she placed them back.

Upon the mention of food, Cyrille's stomach growled in protest, making her giggle as she nodded at the offer, washing her hands in the sink before she made her way to the table. When her friend mentioned her brother, she glanced at the clock, "Oh, he's awake but he went out for a jog around the neighborhood so he'll probably be back in a bit." She replied, shrugging and taking a seat across from Mei. She poured herself a glass of water and took a sip before she picked up her utensils, her face lighting up at the mention of the pool, "Sure, we can go to the pool, maybe after lunch so at least, there's still daylight but it's not that warm." She thought aloud with a small smile, as she sliced a bit of the bacon and the omelette, stabbing both with her fork and popping it in her mouth, her face lightening up with a light hum of delight as she continued eating.

Just then, Nathaniel came back from his jog, wearing a grey sleeveless shirt and black jersey shorts as he whistled along the music playing through his earphones. He was about to go upstairs to check up on the two girls when the smell of bacon caught his attention, making him realize that at least one of them, perhaps even both are already awake, so he ditched his initial thought and continued upstairs anyways to wash his face and change into a fresh shirt.