[FIN] Walk With Me

[BlackFireKitsune]

The brunette lowered her heels to the ground - she wasn't about to stand on her toes for the whole show - and managed to discern Luke's response from the noise of the crowd and the fireworks. It was a really great ending to a pretty cool evening, she had to admit, and when it had ended, she turned to the red haired boy as he posted his questions. With a light hum she thought about them briefly, but a breeze passed them and Seraphine hugged her arms over her chest, her lips pursed. "It's cold," she stated, as if this was enough of an answer, then clarified, "let's head back."

So saying, she turned and started walking towards the exit. "The garden and fireworks were pretty cool," she said after a few moments of walking - although she didn't say thank you just yet. A year ago, the thought to do so would've never crossed her mind, but now it did. She still wasn't used to such things persistently bugging her when she spoke to her friends, and she still wasn't sure if she wanted to use such niceties. She never did before, why should she start now?  

[Suudonym]

"Yeah, they were," Luke agreed, pocketing his hands to defend from the cool breeze. It seemed that she had enjoyed herself at least a bit; at the very least, it had helped to take her thoughts elsewhere for a little while. "Where are you staying? I'll walk you back."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Sera nodded as she walked, her arms still hugged around herself for warmth. The cold had even tinged her cheeks and nose pink. At his question, she held her breath briefly before her lips pursed. "Oh, um," her brows furrowed in thought, but from his phrasing he probably knew she wasn't at her old house anymore. "I'm, uh, staying in an.. an apartment complex. A few blocks away, I think." Well, she had stopped thinking about her problems, but that question just brought them all right back to the surface again.

"You don't... You don't have to walk me back, y'know," she ended lamely, and reached up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. The building looked so gross and it wasn't theirs. She wanted her house back. Apartments were gross.  

[Suudonym]

He blinked, somewhat surprised. "Oh," he said, "well, if you don't want me to, I guess…" It was a little uncomfortable for him to just send her off into the darkness after they had both had pokemon stolen, though. He couldn't imagine her family appreciating his condoning of it either. Frowning lightly, he tried to think of a compromise. "What direction are you headed? Is partway all right?" Persistent.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"No, that's not what I meant-- I didn't.." She sighed and directed a sad frown at the pavement, and removed her arms so she could shove her gloved hands into the pockets of her coat. "I just.. don't.. I don't like the whole.. apartment thing," she finished vaguely (and lamely) with a half-hearted shrug, not wanting to meet his gaze. And then she added in a sort of mumble, "just not used to it yet, I guess."  

[Suudonym]

"I'd say you'll probably get used to it eventually," he said quietly, "but I guess that's not what you want to hear." It was hard to think of what she did want to hear. Telling her that her well-being was more important than her living conditions was just preachy, and telling her it could be worse wouldn't change anything. He frowned contemplatively, but his thoughts were interrupted by a sudden heaviness in his extremities, an unwarranted breathlessness that he recognized too well. He paused momentarily, a hand on his chest as he hastily took account of the evening. The garden had been pretty large, and running to catch the fireworks from the central plaza probably hadn't done much good. He likely should have taken a break somewhere in between, but it hadn't really crossed his mind. Dammit.

"Uh, sorry, I… You mind if I take a second to catch my breath?" They weren't really the words he wanted to say when he next opened his mouth, but if he knew his limits, he would only start feeling faint if he pushed on. Damn his stupid heart.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Sera idly kicked a rock across the pavement. "Not really.. I don't know what I want to hear." A short pause before she sighed a little. "Well, I guess I do know what I want to hear, but I know I won't hear it, so really it's okay. Don't worry about it," she finished softly.

She didn't notice him pause but she did stop and turn when he began to speak, her brow furrowed lightly. "Yeah, sure," she agreed without complaint, and fully turned to walk the few steps back over to him. He didn't really... look too good, she couldn't help but notice. "You okay?"  

[Suudonym]

He would have preferred to sit, but as that wasn't really an option at the moment he contented himself to stand as relaxedly as he could, holding his hands at his mouth to breathe in warmth instead of the cold winter air. To his great relief, the unnatural buzz in his limbs slowly began to subside. "I'm all right," he said. "Just not used to these temperatures yet, I guess." Probably the worst cover-up he had ever produced, but oh well. It was better than belting out some sob story all of a sudden.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Him trying to breathe in warm air reminded her of how cold she was, so Seraphine removed her hands from her pockets and hugged them around herself again, even going so far as to rub her arms a bit in an effort to stay warm. His excuse, however, made her pause and give him a very dubious look. How long had he been here again? "..seriously?"

Her look quite clearly said she wasn't buying that for a minute, but if he was going to the trouble of lying then she wasn't going to bug him about it. She hated being caught in her lies and having to explain, so she gave him a shrug and continued on when he seemed ready to walk again. "It is pretty cold," she finally admitted, to at least let him know that she might possibly have bought it. Even though she totally didn't. It was halfway through winter and he was fine the entire time in the garden; seriously? Oh well.  

[Suudonym]

He lowered his head slightly, wondering if she was going to make him elaborate or defend himself. The final verdict seemed to be no, to his relief. It didn't really matter if she didn't believe him as long as she didn't make an issue out of it. He sighed lightly, lingering in the convenient warmth his hands were afforded before moving to walk with Seraphine.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

When he didn't immediately start walking as well, she slowed down a bit in hesitation. Was he not ready yet? Oh, but he started walking, so she shrugged internally and continued when he had caught up to her. Seraphine was essentially silent the whole way back, caught up in more depressing thoughts that she'd managed to escape from for the last hour or two that she'd spent with Luke. If he said anything during their walk, she would respond accordingly but not offer much more than a quick response.