[FIN] Stress Relief

[BlackFireKitsune]

After a long, hard first week - which Sera had miraculously survived somehow, though she still wasn't sure how - she had arrived back in Camphoreon without incident and immediately procured for herself a good, proper meal. A little later, though, she couldn't help but want to go out and relax, and there was nothing better she could think of than going out to a club. Not alone, though, which was easily fixed with a quick phone call to one of her friends.

Not long after, Seraphine found herself arriving outside her favorite club, wearing her favorite club outfit, and looking around for a certain other brunette to see if he had arrived before her, or if she would need to wait a bit for him to arrive.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

The brunet arrived a little out of breath. He leaned on his knees for a few seconds, breathing hard. "Sorry," he gasped. "I got here as fast as I could. I didn't realized you'd come back to the city already!"

With a smile, he dusted himself off and stood straighter once he'd caught his breath. "So you're done with training for now? Sounds like cause for a celebration." Taking her hand, he kissed it, as he felt was becoming a customary greeting. "Congratulations. And might I say you look charming as ever."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Ah, there he was. With a smile, Seraphine turned to him as he apologized, and she shook her head. "Are you kidding? I came back as soon as I could. Sagestone is boring as s**t - it's just full of rocks." And rocks, in her opinion, were probably the most uninteresting things ever. Actual rocks -- gemstones, while sometimes called rocks, were obviously different and didn't count.

Her hand was taken and kissed, and her smile subsequently broadened. Even if he did it every time, she still enjoyed it. "And you look as handsome as ever," she replied coyly before taking on more normal tones, "and yeah, I'm done training for the week. I get to come back every weekend, so--" She ended the sentence with a simple shrug. Her week of training had ended, and therefore she'd returned to Camphoreon as fast as she possibly could manage. "I'll have to go back on sunday, but I don't even want to think about that right now."

"What I do want to think about," the brunette continued with a devilish grin, "is exactly that -- celebrating. I figured you might be up for a little fun too," she added with that same grin before she turned for the door, opened it and headed inside ahead of him. Ohhh it felt like forever since she'd been in a club. Granted it probably had only been a week or two, but still. Forever.

"So what about you?" She asked as she turned to walk backwards a few paces. "How've you been doing?" As far as she knew, all he did was work nights; she wasn't aware of any hobbies he might have that required time or a lot of effort like her training was starting to do.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

Akira laughed at her opinion of Sagestone. "It certainly sounds like it was full of rocks. And the 'sage' part doesn't help the boring image."

Reddening involuntarily at her compliment, he looked away, grinning like a madman. "You've got to stop being such a tease," he mumbled, shaking his head and trying to shake off his embarrassment with it. "I guess all that hard work hasn't made you any less sassy. Okay, if you only have the weekend, then I say let's make the most of it."

A thought occurred to him. "Un...less, of course, you want to spend it resting. I wouldn't want to deprive you of your beauty sleep." Not like he supposed Sera was one for sleep, but even a night-life girl like her had to get some shut-eye sometime, he figured. "But if you're up for some fun, so am I. Haven't had any without you."

He froze. "I mean - that is to say - I - I didn't want to have any fun without sharing it with you. Not that I'm not capable of it or...uh...well I've spent some time with Nate." He shrugged, trying to seem casual. "We hang out." As if he knew the meaning of the word. In truth, he probably wasn't capable of having fun on his own. That probably needed to change, but there just wasn't much to do without good company. "...But other than that, work, and sleep, I'll admit I have almost no life."

"How about you? Has that woman been helping you any, or has she just been a drill sergeant?" he asked with a smile, opening the door to allow Sera in.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Oh, it is -- and it's terribly dusty there," she added with a dismissive wave. Ugh, terribly dusty and dirty and gross. Oh well.

His statement, however, made her half-turn to aim a devious grin at him. "Me, a tease? I don't know what you're talking about," she teased. "I don't know what you mean by 'sassy' either." Of course she did. "Resting is lame though," she pretend-whined, then grinned at him. "I'll sleep later - right now I want to have some fun, and it sounds like you do, too," the girl added with a laugh and a devious little grin. "Though it sounds like you've been having fun with Nate too, hm?" Good to know that he swayed both ways. "I know what you mean though, it isn't as fun if you don't have someone to share it with -- though I wasn't aware that you wanted to do it with me, specifically," she added coyly. They hadn't even been there five minutes and he was already red; it was just way too easy.

"I guess she's been helping," the brunette said lightly with a shrug, though she wasn't as keen on this topic, "but it's only been a week so far of actual training, so I haven't noticed any difference yet." Even if they trained all day long, every single day. Ugh.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Heheheh...okay, 'fun' is putting it a bit...strongly. I don't know exactly what it is we're having. That guy is something else," Akira declared. "He's like a - a male version of you is the only way I can think to put it. Which I don't know would be considered a good or a bad thing, because I can hardly handle you as it is."

With a fond sigh, the brown-eyed young man plopped himself down at a seat at the bar and put a hand to his face, shaking his head. "Why do you feel the need to do this to me? Why?" He slapped his hand down on the counter, revealing a flustered smile. "Fine. Would the fact that no one dances the way you do be a good reason? I still need to learn some of those moves."

Raising a hand, he called the bartender over. "I'll be buying a drink for myself and the lady, please. I'll have whatever she's having." Turning to Sera, he raised a brow. "That so? What kind of training do you go through? Just regular battles? Do you discuss strategies?" He paused. "Sorry...probably not something you want to discuss, is it?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"He is," Sera agreed with a small chuckle. It still amused her greatly that Akira was trying to hang out with him, though mention of him being a male version of her made her eyebrows shoot up before she started to laugh. "Seriously? I've never thought of that before, and that's kind of a weird thought," really it was, "but... No, I don't think so. I guess we're similar, but that's about it," the girl ended with a shrug. It helped that Nate was pretty cool, so being compared to him - or vice versa - was perfectly fine by her.

"Oh, you haven't handled me at all yet," she retorted with another devious little grin, then leaned forward to rest her elbows on the counter and place her chin atop her laced fingers. "And I still don't know what you're talking about - all I'm doing is being myself, and I can't help it if I'm an awesome dancer," she teased as she stuck out her tongue. "Maybe I'll teach you some of my moves sometime, but they're a bit different between girls and guys." If a guy danced like a girl, it would probably be really weird unless he wasn't straight. Then it would be fine.

He'd have whatever she would have, hmm? That sounded suspiciously like a free pass to get something alcoholic. Preferably something very alcoholic, both because she could really use it and also because she was curious as to his behavior while tipsy or drunk. "In that case," she said with another little smirk as she turned to the bartender, "two cosmopolitans. What kind of training? Battles, battles, and more battles," the brunette said with a dismissive wave of her hand as she turned back to Akira. "So much battling, with some strategy thrown in sometimes." She didn't exactly care to elaborate on other types of training in which they had to battle, kill and cook some of the pokemon. That wasn't exactly pleasant or fun in any way, shape, or form.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Is it weird?" Akira asked with a smirk. "I suppose you've never imagined yourself anything other than the gender you are, then?"

A sanguine flush bloomed across the brunet's face as Sera mentioned not having 'handled' her. His mouth crumpled and he absently reached up to grab a fistful of hair as he averted his gaze from her. "Like hell you don't," he murmured, unable to keep his wavering lips from forming a crooked smile. "I was never one to distinguish gender roles very well, so if you're going to teach me those moves, I expect you'll have to teach me about those differences, too."

Innocently unaware of the 'free pass' he had granted Seraphine, Akira nodded ignorantly in confirmation to the bartender before returning his attention to the lovely young lady beside him. "Egh. That sounds...positively...tedious," he finished, laughing as he gave up on finding something polite to say about it instead. "I can't even imagine. But I'm glad you're here now." He paused, thinking. "Sorry...remind me why you're putting yourself through all this again?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"It is weird, and I never have. Ever. That's weird too," the brunette didn't hesitate to point out with a smirk. "I'm me, and I'm perfectly happy being me - and being a girl. Why in the world would I ever even entertain the thought of considering what I would be other than that?"

His reaction made her laugh and grin at him again rather deviously. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't," she replied evasively, "but you're enjoying it either way. Don't even try to tell me you're not. And I'm sure there's plenty I could teach you, about dancing and.. other things," she finished, though didn't elaborate on what she might've meant.

"Ugh, it is, but that's not something I feel like talking about tonight," she said, dismissing the topic with a shrug, though she couldn't help but grin at him. "Oh, are you? I'm glad I'm here too - and isn't it obvious?" She asked as the bartender passed them each their drink and left. The brunette picked up her glass, giving the deep red drink a brief glance before she took a sip of it, then smirked at him, "Because I like to spend time with you - and it sounds like you like to spend time with me," she guessed, assuming it was correct and not even considering that it wouldn't be.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Oh, really? Did you ever stop to think that maybe it's you who's weird for being so close-minded? There's this thing people use called 'imagination', and would you believe it, it's not a crime!" Akira grinned, clearly amused by Sera's opinion. "But that's good that you appreciate being who you are. That's all too rare in the world."

Waving a hand dismissively at her claim that he was enjoying it, the brown-eyed young man turned his head away, chuckling. If she was going to keep this up, he wasn't about to simply grant her the satisfaction of seeing its effect on him; at least not so easily. "'Other things', huh?" he repeated, his smile evident in his voice. "There's only so much I can take, you know. Even men have their limits and I'm a sensitive guy."

"Say no more; we have plenty of other things we can discuss," Akira answered, reaching for his drink without thinking. "Well...y-yes, I mean, I-I-" Seconds after he watched Sera swallow her own beverage, the twenty-two year old choked on his own, words and all. For a frightening moment he couldn't breathe and he hit his chest with a fist as he slammed down his glass, all but breaking it in the process. When he finally managed to clear his windpipe enough to talk, he gasped, "W-what is this stuff? Is this - " He leaned over to inspect the liquid. "- is this alcohol?!"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Oh, I use my imagination pretty often - just not to pretend I'm a boy or anything weird like that," she said with a short, dismissive wave of one hand. "I don't know why it's so rare, people are dumb to not like who they are. You can't be happy with anything else if you aren't happy with yourself first; that's kind of obvious. Anyone who thinks otherwise is just fooling themselves."

"Yes, 'other things'," she replied smoothly, though she grinned devilishly at his words. "Ohh, you're sensitive, are you? I'll definitely keep that in mind for later," the brunette said in a murmur as she raised her glass to her lips again, watching him over its rim.

While his reaction initially seemed positive, he suddenly choked and sputtered about. Oops. Busted. "Was it not supposed to be?" She countered innocently as she took another sip of hers, just in case he got any ideas to take it from her. Such thoughts were always first to come to mind after reactions like that.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"The grass is always greener on the other side," Akira remarked, shrugging. "People always think there might be something better. What they have is usually all they know, so it's human nature to want more. It's usually only in hindsight that people can look back on what they had and cherish it. As for being happy with oneself...isn't there always room for improvement?" He regarded her fondly, intrigued, as usual, by her unfamiliar insight.

"Don't you take that to mean more than I meant by it," Akira warned, unable to keep the flusterment out of his tone. "And - well - I mean, didn't you just turn 19? You've still got two years before you should be drinking!" he whispered in alarm, leaning forward and glancing about for anyone who might have happened to overhear.

When she took another sip, he gaped at her stupidly in bewilderment before attempting to snatch her glass away. Such audacity! "Give me that!" he demanded imperiously.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The whole 'looking back on what they had' bit left a bitter taste in her mouth - or maybe that was just the alcohol - though she shook her head. "Depends entirely on what it is you're wanting to improve, because sometimes there's just no room left." Though she didn't say, of course, if that applied to her. She wasn't even sure about that anymore, honestly.

Her mild inner turmoil at the memories such words dredged up clouded her thoughts, and before she could think about his reactions again he had succeeded in taking her drink from her. Her now empty fingers curled in where the glass had been, and she stuck her tongue out at him in a pout. "Oh please, as if such a superfluous thing like age has anything to do with it," she said with another shake of her head, though she instead leaned on the counter, a little closer to him, and gave him a devious little grin. "And besides, I'm damn certain I can hold my alcohol a lot better than you can."  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"...And sometimes people just say that because they worry that if they'll change, it'll be for the worse instead of the better," he replied without hesitation, as if he was familiar with the concept. "But what do I know? I don't have the 'balls' to do anything." Though he attempted to speak casually, it was obvious the term 'balls' was something he still wasn't at all comfortable with voicing. His composure wavered and his gaze wandered once more.

"Oh, would you please stop doing that," Akira said, catching sight of that pierced tongue yet again out the corner of his eye. "You're acting just like my sister, Nijiko! It's for your own good, you know; those laws about age are in place for reasons. You have no right to make that face at me!"

When he dared to look at her again, he nearly jumped. When had she come so close? At the grin on her face and her choice of words, his mouth became a thin line and his face went flamingo pink. Then, without another thought, he raised the glass he'd taken from her to his lips and attempted to down it in one go.

He choked a bit and had to take a little easier in smaller gulps after, but by the time he could speak and breath again, he panted triumphantly, slamming the empty glass back down on the table. "I'm older than you. I have more life experience."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

She scrunched her nose up at him briefly at his words. "Oh? I'm pretty sure you do have the balls somewhere in there -- you just have to find them." Find them and freaking use them, because just having them didn't do s**t.

That was kind of an awkward topic though, so she pushed it aside. His reaction made her brows raise, and she flashed her teeth in a grin as she giggled, "Oh, please; I could stop if you really wanted me to, but," she gave an airy shrug, "I don't think you want me to."

She watched him without a word as he attempted to down the drink, a grin slowly spreading across her face, but a sudden laugh escaped her as he claimed more life experience. "Oh, life experience, is it? Well, if that's your game, then I am damn sure I have had more alcohol-related life experience than three of you put together," she pointed out with a devious grin, eying the second drink. "Careful, or you'll hurt yourself."