RP Log - Dinner that Goes Downhill Fast

[dynames_pilot]

Who: Lockon, Neptune, Pluto, Uranus
When: today
Where: Pluto's hut, out in the village, training grounds
Rating: PG-13?
Warnings: violence, angst
Notes: Episode 1 in a four part series!
Summary: Lockon and Pluto have dinner together then things get interesting.

Lockon headed over to Pluto's hut on the night that they had agreed upon. He had brought some flowers and something for dessert since he had been told when he was younger that it was improper to not bring a present for the hostess. He paused on the step a moment then knocked.

Pluto was in the kitchen, and turned the heat down on the soup that was cooking on the stove so she could safely answer the door. She smiled when she saw Lockon at the door, stepping back once she had it open so he could come in. "Good evening."

"Good evening," Lockon said. "These are for you," he said offering her the flowers. "And I brought something for dessert."

Pluto's eyes widened as she saw the flowers, since she was not expecting anything like that. Her cheeks turned slightly pink, and she managed to smile slightly. "Thank you...I wasn't expecting you to do this, Neil."

"I wanted to. I was taught that it is polite to get a gift of some sort for the hostess."

"You brought two for the hostess." Pluto smiled as she pushed the door closed with her body. "Does that mean that you are not content with merely being polite?"

Lockon blinked. "I guess I just decided to bring the cake as an after thought," he remarked. "I'm being overly polite?"

Pluto chuckled softly, nodding slightly. "I think so. I have to finish making dinner, but it is almost done. Would you like to put the cake in the kitchen?"

Lockon nodded. "Okay." He headed towards the kitchen.

Pluto went into the kitchen as well, turning the heat back up again. "I hope you don't mind soup, bread, and a vegetable dish. It is something that I grew up with."

Lockon shook his head. "I don't mind. It sounds like what Lyle and I ended up doing most of the time."

"I think this would be quite a bit different from what you and Lyle did, Neil." Pluto smiled, stirring the soup slightly so a few chunks of chicken could come to the surface. "Unless you added lemon to your soup."

Lockon chuckled. "No, not usually. Just the general concept of soup we did a lot, not necessarily that kind of soup."

Pluto chuckled a little, checking on her vegetable dish next. That was done, so she pulled it out of the oven and let it sit on the stove.

"Do you want me to set the table?"

"Only if you really want to. I can do it myself, you are a guest here."

"I don't mind," Lockon said.

Pluto smiled, "I won't stop you if you want to. Please ask me if there is anything you can't find."

Lockon nodded. "Okay." He started pulling out the dishes needed.

Pluto finished her cooking, humming an ancient tune as she did so. She didn't mind if Lockon heard, since he had already heard her sing, even if he didn't quite remember it.

Lockon smiled, listening to her hum as he set the table. It was a beautiful song.

Pluto turned around once she had finished her cooking, turning off all the heat sources and making sure things were off the heat. "It's ready."

"It smells good," Lockon said.

"Thank you." Pluto smiled, "Would you pass me the soup bowls, please?"

Lockon nodded and passed the bowls over to her.

Pluto ladled the soup into the bowls, handing them back to Lockon when they were filled as far as she would do.

Lockon took the bowls back when she handed them back and carefully placed them on the table so as not to spill them.

Pluto smiled, sitting down at the table after placing a plate of pita down in the center of it. "I think we should start with this first."

Lockon nodded, sitting down. "Okay."

Pluto started eating her soup, and it tasted perfect to her.

Lockon started eating as well. "This is delicious," he said.

"Thank you." Pluto blushed faintly, not used to being praised for her cooking.

Lockon smiled and continued eating.

Pluto continued eating, occasionally glancing at Lockon.

"Did you have fun at the dance?" Lockon asked after a few minutes.

"I did." Pluto smiled, "It has been a very long time since I went to a dance like that."

Lockon smiled. "I think that's the first one I've gone to like that."

"Did you enjoy it?"

Lockon nodded. "I did. It was fun."

Pluto's eyes glittered as she looked at the Irishman, "I'm glad you had fun."

"I hope there will be more like it while I'm here. Not necessarily Valentine's Dances, but dances in general."

"There tend to be dances on occasion, when the occasion calls for them." Pluto smiled, "I have had to help people with formal wear on several occasions."

Lockon chuckled. "Probably a fair amount for this dance."

"That is true."

"That means there was a good turn out at the dance."

Pluto chuckled slightly as she got up, taking her now-empty soup bowl to the sink. "There seemed to be a good turnout. A few people were not there, but I did not expect them to be."

Lockon nodded. "There's always people who don't go. I did see that Sumeragi and Allelujah went together."

"They looked very nice." Pluto smiled, rinsing her bowl before coming back to the table.

Lockon finished his soup and took his bowl back to kitchen and rinsing it out before coming back. He was starting to get nervous again, but he didn't let that show.

Pluto took the plates off the table, carrying them over to the stove. She had made a version of moussaka, but used a variety of vegetables instead of simply eggplant, and it had no meat in it. Making sure both plates had enough on them, with a little more on Lockon's, she set them back down. "I hope you like this..."

Lockon smiled. "I'm sure I will."

Pluto managed a slight smile as she took a bite of the dish. She was mildly surprised that it came out so well, considering eggplant was not one of her favorite foods, but she had not found a way to make moussaka without it.

Lockon tried it. "This is good."

"Thank you."

Lockon returned to eating. As he ate, his mind was going over whether he should tell her or not.

Pluto was relieved that Lockon liked her cooking, and she ate the rest of her dinner. Her nervousness was gone for the moment, just glad that things were going well.

Lockon finished the plate of moussaka and took the plate out to the kitchen to rinse it off.

Pluto finished hers after Lockon finished his, and she took it into the kitchen.

Lockon smiled at her. "Thank you for making dinner."

"You're welcome." Pluto smiled, "I do enjoy cooking when I have the chance."

"That's good," Lockon said. "I enjoy it as well even though my cooking skills aren't as good."

"Maybe next time we have a meal, you should cook?" Pluto suggested, wondering what kind of food Lockon could cook now.

Lockon smiled. "Okay. Should we have dessert or wait a bit for it?"

"That is up to you." Pluto smiled, "It might be better to wait a little, but you brought it. You should decide, and I did make a fairly light meal."

Lockon thought for a moment. He did want to tell her how he felt tonight and depending on her answer, there was the possibility neither of them would want it later. "Maybe we should have some of it now."

"All right." Pluto smiled, taking the cake out so Lockon could get to it. She was blissfully unaware of Lockon's plan for later on, the thought that there was more to this visit not crossing her mind. "Do you want the honor of cutting it?"

Lockon nodded and cut two slices into the cake. He then put each of the slices on plates. He handed one of them to Pluto.

Pluto smiled as she took her plate, taking out two forks for the cake. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I hope you like it."

Pluto tried a small bite of the cake, eyes widening in surprise. "What kind of cake is this?"

"It's a generic white cake, but I added cinnamon and dried fruit to it so it would be a bit different."

"It's very good, Neil."

Lockon smiled. "Thank you, Kore."

Pluto blushed faintly at Lockon's smile, although she couldn't explain why. "You're welcome."

Lockon resumed eating again.

Pluto finished the cake in her own time, setting her plate down on the counter when she was done. "Thank you."

Lockon set his plate down as well. "You're welcome."

"I think I can finish cleaning up in here tomorrow. Would you like to sit down and talk in the living room?"

Lockon nodded. "That sounds good." Damn the butterflies were back. His mind was racing on if she would want to hear him say that.

Pluto smiled, heading out to the living room and sitting on the couch. It felt nice to sit down with a full stomach, and she made herself comfortable there.

Lockon followed her out and sat down as well. He smiled.

Pluto smiled at Lockon, idly thinking that he had looked much more handsome in the suit he had worn to the dance. The thought made her blush faintly, and she hoped that he wouldn't ask too much about that.

Okay...he might as well just get it over with. He'd never find out how she felt unless he said something. "Kore...there's something that I want to tell you."

Pluto wasn't expecting that, her blush fading away almost as quickly as it had appeared. She felt a pit open up in her stomach, feeling nervous for once. "What is it, Neil?"

Lockon took a deep breath to try and calm his nerves. "Kore... I... I think... I've fallen in love with you."

Pluto was glad that she was sitting down on the couch, because her legs felt as if they would not have supported her weight. She couldn't help but stare at Lockon, her garnet eyes wide in shock. "N-neil..."

Lockon looked at her. "I know what you told me before about how we can't be together, but... I love you."

"You...you can't be serious..." Pluto felt tears welling up in her eyes, and she couldn't help it. Her heart felt like it was aching because she knew they could never be together after they left this island, yet she did not want to admit to herself that she shared some of those same feelings. "This has to be a mistake..."

"I'm sorry," Neil said softly. He wasn't apologizing for how he felt about her, but for how it was making her feel. He hadn't wanted that kind of a reaction.

Pluto shook her head, part of her wishing that this was just a strange dream. She waited a moment, looking at Lockon for a brief moment before she dropped her head into her hands to conceal her tears. "This can't be..."

Lockon lowered his head, wringing his hands nervously. He felt bad for upsetting her like this. Part of him wished that getting up and leaving would erase that he had said anything, but he knew it wouldn't fix anything so he just sat there.

"Please...please tell me..." Pluto blurted out as she tried to keep from sobbing, "Is this just a dream? This can't happen..."

"I'm sorry..." Lockon said again sadly. "It's not a dream."

Pluto dropped her hands, head still hanging down as her hair obscured Lockon's view of her. She couldn't take it anymore, reality sinking in once he had told her that it wasn't a dream. A few more tears later, and she started sobbing, heart aching since she had a good idea what would happen now. She didn't want her heart to hurt like this, she didn't want to love someone since she knew she was always going to be alone, and she needed to get the pain out before it tore her heart apart.

Neptune headed up to Pluto's hut. She hadn't realized that Pluto was supposed to have company tonight so she had come to talk to other Guardian. Before she knocked however, she saw inside the window. Pluto...was crying? And Lockon was there as well? Neptune slowly stepped away from the door. She frowned and turned heading back to her hut.

Lockon looked over at Pluto. "Do you want me to go?" he asked, having not noticed Neptune arrive and then quickly depart.

Pluto shook her head, taking a minute to find her voice again and be able to speak without more tears coming. "No. Don't go. Don't leave me like this."

Lockon nodded. "Then I'll stay." He put his hand on Pluto's shoulder.

Pluto refused to look at Lockon for now, so he wouldn't be able to see her tears. She continued sobbing until she finally ran out of tears, wiping them off her face.

"Kore...I'm sorry I upset you," Lockon told her.

"Neil..." Pluto managed to push part of her hair back so she could look at him, her face still wet from her crying. "You didn't mean to, did you?"

Lockon shook his head. "That's not what I intended to do. I...I don't know...I didn't want to hurt you." He was confused, half wishing he could take back what he had said.

Pluto held her head up again, her eyes still filled with the pain that she was feeling. "I know...I'm sorry. I...I don't know what to do."

Lockon nodded. "I understand."

Neptune stepped back inside after her very short visit to Pluto. She sighed and frowned a bit, obviously wondering about what had happened between Lockon and Pluto. She was caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice where Uranus was.

Uranus was just heading outside.

She looked up. "Hello, Aeola," she said, sounding distracted.

"Thalassa?"

"Kore had company," she said as though to explain why she was back so soon after leaving, but now she sounded a bit worried.

"And?"

She sighed, unfortunately not knowing Uranus's threat or that she had actually carried out said threat once before. "It was Lockon...she was crying Aeola."

Uranus bristled. "Take care of Kore."

Neptune looked up. "What?" She was a little taken aback.

"Take care of Kore."

Neptune nodded a bit.

Uranus turned and left.

"Aeola," Neptune said following her onto the step. "Where are you going?"

"Take care of the problem."

Neptune blinked and followed after Uranus.

"Thala!"

"What are you going to do?"

"What I said!"

Neptune just kind of stood there a bit in shock.

Uranus turned and stormed off to go find Lockon.

Lockon kept his arm around Pluto, comforting her until she calmed down a bit more. He didn't want to leave her when she was so upset.

There was a knock at the door.

Pluto only faintly heard the knocking at the door, not really wanting to get up. She needed to stay next to Lockon, needing the physical contact with someone to help her calm down.

Lockon looked up at the knock. "Do you...want me to get that?" He figured it was probably for someone else in the hut.

Pluto shook her head, not quite trusting her voice as she clung to him.

Lockon nodded.

Uranus was sick of this. So, she kicked the door open.

Lockon's eyes flew open. His first thought at seeing who was beyond the door was "oh shit".

Pluto raised her head when she saw the door open, her eyes widening when she saw Uranus there. She still had tears running down her face, clinging tighter to Lockon.

"Kore... I warned him." She said coldly.

He wasn't sure if it was stupidity or the fact that he didn't want Pluto to get hurt since he obviously was going to, but Lockon moved away from her.

"Neil!" Pluto blurted out, watching him move slightly. She turned to Uranus, wiping the tears off her face. "It's not his fault!"

Uranus didn't say anything as she grabbed Lockon's arm and dragged him ouy.

Lockon stumbled after her, unable to get away from her.

Pluto knew what was going to happen, but she still had to try to stop it. She pushed herself up and off the couch, slowly following them after she felt like she wasn't going to fall over.

The blonde kicked Lockon to the ground when they got far enough away.

Lockon fell to the ground. He tried to push himself up again.

"STOP IT!" Pluto yelled as soon as she could see what was happening, determined to not let Lockon be hurt any more than absolutely necessary at this point.

Neptune came running up, having gathered enough of her senses to try and help. "Kore..." she said when she saw her. "I'm sorry."

Uranus turned.

Pluto walked towards Lockon, not caring if she was going to get hurt or not. "Stop it...it's not his fault..."

"He still made you cry!"

Lockon simply dropped his head, having not made it back to his feet yet. He felt bad for doing that.

"It's still not his fault!"

"No! It's your fault!"

Pluto looked down, still making her way towards Lockon. She just didn't want him to get all the blame for something he never intended to have happen.

"Uranus..." Neptune said in a hushed voice.

The blonde looked at Neptune.

Neptune fell silent again, not sure what to say.

"Please..." Pluto looked at Uranus, "Don't hurt him."

"Fine. But don't expect me to speak to you until you come to your senses Pluto!" She snapped before storming off, somewhere...

Lockon looked up, watching her leave.

Pluto sighed, falling down onto the ground with the stress of what had just happened.

Lockon blinked and moved to wrap his arms around her.

Neptune closed her eyes a moment, then left them alone.

Pluto sighed, leaning against Lockon. She started crying again, finding tears from somewhere. "I'm sorry..."

Lockon closed his eyes a moment then got up, heading off to find Uranus.

Uranus was busy in the training grounds, just working out some of her frustrations.

Lockon headed up to the training grounds, somehow expecting her to be up there. He walked up, staying a distance away when he got up there. "Uranus."

She stopped and turned. "What?"

"You shouldn't be so hard on her," he remarked. "It was my fault."

Uranus waved her hand, wind knocking Lockon over.

Lockon was obviously pushed over with force of the wind. He started to push himself up again.

The blonde guardian was then there, her eyes dark. She kicked Lockon.

Lockon fell again, wincing from the kick.

"I told you! Don't make her cry! I warned you!"

Lockon nodded. "I know you did."

She shook a bit.

In a low voice, Lockon said, "Unfortunately, with how I feel about her, I don't think its possible for me not to." He meant that in the fact that he would upset her with the knowledge that he loved her.

"Argh!" Uranus threw another thing of wind at Lockon, sending him flying.

Lockon went flying again, landing hard on the ground. This time it was harder to try and get up.

Pluto dried off her tears again, managing to get to her feet. She headed in the direction Lockon went off towards, wondering just what he was getting himself into.

Uranus shok.

Lockon, able to get to his hands and knees, stared at the ground. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

"Sorry isn't enough!"

Pluto almost stumbled when she got to the training grounds, keeping herself upright only by some stroke of luck. She looked out there, and saw Lockon in bad shape with an angry Uranus there. She walked towards them, wiping her face off.

Lockon nodded. "I know."

"She's practically my sister!"

"Aeola..." Pluto whispered, not sure if the other Guardian would hear her.

Lockon lowered his head even more. "I know."

Uranus looked up.

"Please you two...don't do this..." Pluto's voice got a little louder, but not much more so. "I don't want this."

Lockon looked over at her. "Kore..."

"I warned him!"

"I heard you the first time you said that, Aeola."

Uranus shook her head.

Lockon lowered his head again.

Pluto sighed, looking down at the ground. "Aeola...did you ever make Thala cry?"

"Yeah..."

"Did she cry when you told her how you felt about her?"

"I don't remember?"

Pluto sighed, "That's what happened..."

Lockon nodded.

She sighed.

"I'm sorry." Pluto felt really bad, and wouldn't have been surprised if she was going to be left alone after this. "For all of this...it's my fault..."

Uranus sighed.

"Kore..." Lockon said softly. "It's not."

Pluto shook her head, walking towards Lockon and Uranus. "Neil...you didn't know."

"I'm sorry, Kore," he said softly.

"Just kiss and make up. CHrist."

Pluto blinked at Uranus, then blushed. "Aeola...I'm sorry, too."

"I'm sorry too." Urnaus said.

Lockon slowly pushed himself up.

"Friends again?" Pluto asked, wanting to help Lockon, but she needed this done first.

"Of course Kore."

"Thank you..." Pluto sighed in relief, going over to Lockon now.

Lockon leaned a bit into Pluto when she got to him.

Pluto helped keep Lockon upright, looking at how badly he had been beaten up. She didn't like the look of him, but it just made her feel guilty even though she had made up with Uranus.

"I'm going back to my hut."

"Aeola...please let Thala know I'm sorry if she blames me for any of this."

"I will."

"Kore..." Lockon said softly. "Could you help me back to my hut?"

"Are you sure?" Pluto replied softly, "You live with three teenage girls..."

Lockon was silent a moment then said "Maybe not."

With one last glance, Uranus headed back to her hut.

Pluto watched Uranus leave as she thought, then looked up at Lockon. "My hut. You can have my bed for now."

Lockon nodded, not about argue at the moment. "Okay."

Pluto slowly helped Lockon back to her hut, using the time to get a better look at his injuries.

Lockon walked slowly next to Pluto. He wasn't too badly injured. The worst of his injuries had come from landing wrong when he went flying.

Pluto sighed when they got back to her hut, and she got Lockon into her room. "I suppose you were right about dessert..."

Lockon chuckled softly, laying down on her bed. "I guess so."

"What did she do to you?"

"Knock me over with wind." That in of itself was rather shocking to the guy who didn't know she could do that. "Kicked me once, and threw me through air with wind."

Pluto shook her head, not surprised. "That sounds like her. Her powers are wind-based...I'm just glad she never punched you."

Lockon nodded. "Me too."

Pluto sighed, brushing Lockon's hair away from his face. "Do you need me to get you anything?"

"Maybe some aspirin."

"All right." Pluto got up, leaving for a few minutes to get the aspirin and a glass of water.

Lockon smiled and took the water and aspirin and swallowed the medicine.

Pluto pulled her chair over so she could sit next to the bed, watching over Lockon.

"Thank you for letting me use your bed, Kore."

"You're welcome, Neil."

Lockon yawned a bit and laid back onto the bed.

Pluto sighed, "I'm sorry...I never wanted you to get hurt."

Lockon nodded. "I know. It was my fault. I went to find her afterwards."

"Why?"

"I don't know...I didn't want her to be mad at you, I guess."

"I don't understand..." Pluto blinked, still unsure of everything that went on.

"Well, she's your friend...and she's like a sister to you. I didn't want her to be mad enough to not talk you."

Pluto sighed, taking Lockon's hand in hers. "That still doesn't mean you have to go and let her use you as something to beat up."

Lockon smiled. "I know. But that's one thing about me, I sometimes act before I think."

"That's why you're here, I think."

Lockon nodded. "I'm not going to deny it since it is true."

"Well, you're honest." Pluto chuckled softly, "I just hope you learned to think before speaking?"

"I hope so," he remarked. "At least when it comes to Uranus. Being tossed threw the air hurts when you come back down."

Pluto winced, having a good idea of what that would feel like. "You're staying here for several days unless you really want to have to explain what you did to either of the healers."

"Uh...no, not really since one of them lives in my hut."

"All right." Pluto nodded, sighing slightly. "The aspirin should help you get some rest, then. Is there anything else you need?"

Lockon shook his head. "No. Thank you, Kore."

"You're welcome, Neil." Pluto got out of the chair, "I'll just get a few of my things from here so I can sleep on the couch."

Lockon nodded, not really liking that she had to sleep on the couch, but knowing if he slept there, he'd probably hurt a lot more than he would if slept in the bed.

Pluto got a pillow, blanket, and her short nightdress so she could sleep comfortably, smiling at Lockon as she headed to the door. "Please wake me up if you need anything."

Lockon nodded. "Okay. Good night."

"Good night."