Current State of Affairs [Lucien|Open]

[Reira Ling]

[OOC: HAHA. He's so adorkable. <3]

Reira paid no particular head to the light sweat and shaking since she too was pretty much the same for different reasons. The silence bugged her just a tad since she was used to chitchatting to get her mind off the thunder so the whole minute and a bit just made her super tense. The halfie stayed still hugging onto Lucien until he spoke up after the boom, this time clear enough.

The girl stared at Lucien wide-eyed as her lips slightly parted in shock at the confession. She was partly confused because they had just met and she wondered what brought this about! Beyond that the last time she was seeing someone was back in high school three or four years ago and he had died in front of her which really didn't help her develop anything as serious in the relationship area of her life.

Reira continues staring as she tried to wrap her mind around it all. She never thought this would come up and she just felt a little uncomfortable.

"Like....like Like?"

That's a lot of likes!

[Lucien DeChain]

OH GOD I TAKE IT ALL BACK
SHITSHITSHIT WHAT DO I DO
Ok, calm down, this can still be salvaged
No turning back now man!
SHIT WHY DID I JUST SAY THAT

Lucien froze. Nothing in his life ever prepared him for these things.

After a moment, he shut his eyes tight, almost dreading the situation, and said softly, "....Yes?"

And immediately regretted that too.

[Reira Ling]

"Oh."

Reira just stares and stares and stares! Well okay, she did blink in between but she's quiet for some time.

"...why?"

[Lucien DeChain]

"Oh."

AND THEN SILENCE. Lucien is really not doing so well with this! That's the fourth worst thing to hear right now. The third being:

"...why?"

Okay, start panicking.

No time to think, just talk.

"Well... I just haven't felt this much at ease with anyone since I came to California. I feel like I could tell you things, things that I rarely talk about. I realize that I've just met you, and I know this is sort of strange..." Hey I just met you and this is crazy...

"...But you're different from most people. I should know, I am, too. So," He paused. "I figure, why not?"

[Reira Ling]

That makes sense, I guess?

Reira relaxes a bit and nods along. She has no idea what to do in all honesty. She doesn't hate Lucien and it's not like she's creeped out by him by any means but she didn't know what to do in circumstances like these! Usually she's a friend-zoner and totally just brushes people's advances off and laugh while being all 'Sup bro, we good? Good' before they even confess. This time around?

Hmm....

"That's brave of you." Silence. After a minute, "I don't know what to do." she admits.

Cue nervous-awkward laughter.

"Haven't...done this in awhile."

[Lucien DeChain]

Lucien was still frozen to place, as they were still hugging. At least that was a good sign, right? Right?

As Reira laughed awkwardly, he inwardly thought that this might be, just might be, going kind of okay. As she finished her statement about having not done this in a while...

Okay, that probably means one of three things. The first, she hasn't tried desperately to let a guy down easy, while trying to maintain dignity in both parties, in a while. The second, she hasn't hugged someone during a thunderstorm while they confessed their affection in a while. The third, she hasn't awkwardly tried to make a guy make a move on her because she's not bold enough to do so herself. OH GOD THAT'S A BROAD SPECTRUM.

"I've... Never done this before." He would say, as he slowly released the embrace, to look her in the eye, hoping to find an answer in there.

[Reira Ling]

Her eyes would widen slightly in surprise!

Reira just looks back rather shyly and uncomfortably as he pulled apart from her. For just a moment she averts her gaze before returning it deciding to relay some information that might help clear the situation up for herself if not him. You know, thinking aloud.

"I uh...only dated someone once before. I asked them out but they passed away a few years ago and now I don't know...?"


She looks back at Lucien.

[Lucien DeChain]

Lucien would hold his gaze steady as long as he could, while she had spurts of staring and looking away. He listened intently on her words, not wanting to miss a single hint for or against his odds here. Then, she said that her only other time, he had passed away. And, he knew what to say, then.

"I know what it's like to lose people. People you care about. But, you can't let that stop you from, ah, well, you know..." Nope, lost it. Wait. Got it. "Can't let it stop you from being connected to people. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that you can't close yourself off from the people who care about you."

And, for good measure, he decided to add, "And, trust me, I won't die."

[Reira Ling]

Reira nods slightly. A lot of people in her life had died or had left her by herself which caused her to continue wandering. She always hits the dusty trail after awhile and if she stayed too long in one place, the people would leave her after some time anyway which was why she didn't join a faction in the first place contrary to the family values that they seem to imply.

If she joined, those she were close to would die, or they would leave going their separate ways.

The last little blurb from Lucien made her smile though.

"Really, and what makes you so confident?" Reira playfully pokes him in the arm.

[Lucien DeChain]

"Confident?"

He would chuckle as she poked his arm. The knot in his stomach let out almost completely. If this was going okay now, maybe... Just maybe!!

"I've been through a lot of situations, especially recently, where other people would have given up, run off, died, or worse." Yeah, he had. Too many to count. And, still more to come.

"And, I'm not dead yet, right?" He would smile his best full-faced smile as he looked her dead in the eye. No pun intended.

[Reira Ling]

She purses her lips in thought as he mentioned being in those tough situations and being able to survive them. Rei stared back and examined his smile a little doubtfully after all, the one she had dated had also been through a lot. He was the strongest person she knew and he still died.

"We'll...see." she comments after a long period of silence. "People tend to...leave."

That is to say, Lucien seemed nice and she wasn't totally opposed to the idea of getting to know him better. Then again she was afraid of not being ready, or that once she let him in then he might leave like Auric. He wasn't even a romantic interest but he left for business often and a lonely Reira was not a particularly happy one.

"And I'm not sure if I'm ready. But! As you say, I can't stop people from connecting with me and I'm not...entirely opposed...." she glances back at him momentarily before turning away.

[Lucien DeChain]

Lucien continued to study Reira, trying to see how her reactions were. As she mentioned the fact that people tended to leave, Lucien got a serious look on his face, almost trying to assure her.

But, she continued on, saying her piece about how she might not be ready. And, then, some awesome words came in contact with his ears, sending nerve pulses through his brain. After being nervous for so long, it was almost euphoric.

"If you don't think you're ready, we can go slow... I'll try to prove my trust to you." Though saying that rather confidently, and smiling a soft smile with it, he wasn't really sure what 'slow' was, in relationships, since he had never been in one. But, he was willing to learn.

He glanced upwards, noticing that the storming had stopped. He could still hear the soft patter, patter, as the rain hit the pavement outside, though it seemed to be letting up a bit. It was too late to go anywhere, though, and the rain was still strong. Still, Lucien seemed hopeful.

"The thunder stopped." He smiled as he looked back and into Reira's eyes.

[Reira Ling]

Rei smiles at his comment and nods.

"I would appreciate that."

It wasn't like she didn't trust him, since she was already here taking shelter in the storm. But on a deeper level she would love to know him better before developing anything. Emotional and relationship related risks were ones that she was a little more hesitant to take.

As Lucien glanced up Reira would unconsciously do the same. The joint attention to the soft pitter patter of rain was cut short when Reira turns her attention back to Lucien. She observes him for a brief moment before he turned back to look at her.

"Thank goodness."

She smiles softly.

[Lucien DeChain]

Lucien smiled as he realized that Reira had been looking at him. A feeling welled up inside him, one that had been growing for the last part of the night. If nothing else, Lucien decided to label it as infatuation, and put it in its own unique file folder. It was special, to be one of a kind in Lucien's mind. Something that he himself cherished.

Lucien's gut started to wrench again as a feeling overtook him; it was that same nervousness, but why? As he looked into Reira's eyes, the feeling grew, and the knots in his stomach got exponentially tighter, and he started to learn forward instinctively, towards her. Their faces were just inches apart, and Lucien's eyes grew soft from the steady gaze, as he leaned in...

And doubled over. It wasn't nervousness after all! It was just a stomach cramp. Missing her head by a fraction of an inch, he leaned right over in pain, taking one of his hands away from Reira's back in order to hold his aching stomach.

"It's okay, I'm okay... It'll go away in a few seconds." He groaned, as soon as his lungs were able to inflate.

[Reira Ling]

You know that prolonged moment where you just stare into one another's eyes? It usually leads to something quite pleasant or not depending on who it was. Either way Reira wasn't so oblivious as to simply wonder what Lucien was leaning towards her to, instead she kind of expected, well, you know - a kiss!

Either way she kind of leans back feeling all kinds of nervous! But when the moment came Lucien just doubles over causing Reira's eyes to widen in surprise, since it was not what she expected! The nerves immediately were replaced by an overwhelming sense of concern! Immediately she'd put her hand to his shoulder and leans to take a look.

"Are you okay!? What's wrong?" she presses before he responds. "Does this happen often...?"

Rei had a feeling it did.