Sycamore Grove, Verona, Sunday Afternoon
The nice thing about living on the ocean was there was a lot of beach to mope on, and Romeo was prepared to take full advantage of it.
He might just dive into the water and not come back up. That was seeming the attractive option, then.
If there was one thing that dating Romeo had taught Yurika, it was that if he was missing, the first place to look for him would be the beach.
She hesitated for a moment before walking up to him, taking a seat and slipping her hand into his. The plane could wait for a few more moments, couldn't it?
Yurika. She had found him, somehow, and that reminded him an endless swim was not his only option. He gripped her hand, relaxing slightly as he leaned against her.
"So you found Sycamore grove," he said, sounding very tired
"Hai," she answered, giving his hand a small squeeze. "I knew if I started walking towards your ocean, I'd find it, and you, eventually."
"And so you did," Romeo had to acknowledge, digging a little in the sand with the fingers of his free hand. "It is a place I know well, even as the rest of the world makes little sense to me. I know not what I think about ..." he gestured vaguely.
"How did it go?" she asked, although she already had an idea. Anything that sent him to the beach obviously wasn't all roses.
"The good part," -- and his tone suggested it wasn't all that good -- "is that I am free to return to Verona, hzving forfeited only the purse I cared not for."
"But what the law might allow, my family has advised against."
Oh.
Yurika bit her lip and stayed silent, feeling completely and totally out of her depth. She wasn't good with things likes this. Ever.
"I think, there's more than one law in Verona," she said slowly. "If I were your family, I'd be worried that the pride that rules Capulet might not adhere to the rule of law. Abra and his friends aren't going to change their ways overnight. If he was willing to pick a fight at the wedding, they won't hesitate to ambush you when you're alone."
"That was the argument my father and good Benvolio made, aye," Romeo nodded. "Though it felt as though they were pleased enough to be able to say it, and honor me from afar once more."
He shrugged. "I knew I would go back to school after this. And yet." And yet.
That...hurt, actually. Knowing that he had, in some way, hoped to stay in Verona.
"Then screw them," she snapped, suddenly angry. "You could have stayed away and let them keep killing each other off. This wedding alone wasn't going to stop anything, it's just going to splinter each family internally and force people to change tactics. Yakuza families don't give up, they just adapt."
"You didn't have to come, and you didn't have to help, but you did. You aren't some convenient commodity that they can just shove off to the side until they need you next." Dōjima swiped at her eyes angrily with her free hand and scowled. "Fuck this, and them. Let's go home and find an invasion to stop."
He winced a little at her anger. She was right, he couldn't deny that, but ...
Verona was a piece of him. Not just where he was from, it was who he was. Outside Verona, he was no one in particular. Inside he was a Montague, and as much as he cursed that fate (and the family cursed its fate in having him, he supposed), it was hard to have that slip through his fingers again.
But. Yurika was reminding him, again, that it was possible there was a world for him beyond that he had expected, and his loyalty at that moment -- perhaps from then on -- had to be to her.
He rose to his feet. "You aren't wrong," he acknowledged quietly in a voice that shook slightly. "And I should say the same to you. You didn't have to come, and you didn't have to help, and you did more of either than I could have asked."
At his reaction, Yurika cringed inside, mentally cursing herself for letting her emotions get out of hand. Again.
"Hey." She stood up, taking a half-step towards him and holding out her hand. "Come here, you."
"What's a girlfriend for, ne?"
He reached his hand to join hers, closing the distance between them. "Then I'm lucky to have such a girlfriend," he decided. "I hope someday, somehow, I can prove myself half as true to you."
There was something else; he held it on his tongue for that second, just looking at her.
"Oh, don't worry," she teased, grinning at him. "I'm sure you'll find a way to show your appreciation eventually, you're a clever boy."
"Besides, if you'd given Rikku or Reno the chance to pack, they'd be here too. What did you think I was going to do? Wait in my cabin and wring my hands?" The look she gave him was clearly amused. "As if."
"Reno would have made my quarrel with Abra interesting," Romeo noted.
And then ... well, she had said he should show his appreciation, and for once his mind wasn't on sex. "I love you. Not just for this, though the fact you would come is part of it, but because you are fun and beautiful and clever and patient when I'm stupid and brave and ..." He was running out of breath, "And I know you likely won't say it back, but I care not."
Oh.
Kuso.
Her grin faded to something a little sadder and a little older, and Yurika shook her head slightly. "Honki? You...uso bakkari. You've got terrible timing, Montague. You know that?"
At which Romeo just looked at her for a long, long moment, somehow resigned.
"Tell me when a good time will be and I'll say it again, then."
"Mou ii yo, ne?" Dōjima replied, shrugging as she put on one of her crooked grins. "The Capulet must have knocked something loose in that pretty head of yours."
"Now, why don't you give me the grand tour?" she asked, linking her arm with his. "We've got some time before we have to leave, and we haven't gotten to have any fun."
Romeo could tell when he was being brushed off.
He also knew Yurika well enough not to mind it from her; she had warned him at the start, and he believed he would change her mind. Someday.
Not yet, though.
"I know just where to take you," he said, starting down the beach with a brief squeeze of her arm to say it's okay. "We'll see downtown, with the church and my old school, and then we'll end at a club where the music feels alive and woes are left at the door. And then to the airport, and then" -- he paused before this last word -- "home."
[OOC: ALL DONE! Preplayed with the fantastic dojima_hime. Follows this, this, this and this. NFB, NFI, OOC OK.]
He might just dive into the water and not come back up. That was seeming the attractive option, then.
If there was one thing that dating Romeo had taught Yurika, it was that if he was missing, the first place to look for him would be the beach.
She hesitated for a moment before walking up to him, taking a seat and slipping her hand into his. The plane could wait for a few more moments, couldn't it?
Yurika. She had found him, somehow, and that reminded him an endless swim was not his only option. He gripped her hand, relaxing slightly as he leaned against her.
"So you found Sycamore grove," he said, sounding very tired
"Hai," she answered, giving his hand a small squeeze. "I knew if I started walking towards your ocean, I'd find it, and you, eventually."
"And so you did," Romeo had to acknowledge, digging a little in the sand with the fingers of his free hand. "It is a place I know well, even as the rest of the world makes little sense to me. I know not what I think about ..." he gestured vaguely.
"How did it go?" she asked, although she already had an idea. Anything that sent him to the beach obviously wasn't all roses.
"The good part," -- and his tone suggested it wasn't all that good -- "is that I am free to return to Verona, hzving forfeited only the purse I cared not for."
"But what the law might allow, my family has advised against."
Oh.
Yurika bit her lip and stayed silent, feeling completely and totally out of her depth. She wasn't good with things likes this. Ever.
"I think, there's more than one law in Verona," she said slowly. "If I were your family, I'd be worried that the pride that rules Capulet might not adhere to the rule of law. Abra and his friends aren't going to change their ways overnight. If he was willing to pick a fight at the wedding, they won't hesitate to ambush you when you're alone."
"That was the argument my father and good Benvolio made, aye," Romeo nodded. "Though it felt as though they were pleased enough to be able to say it, and honor me from afar once more."
He shrugged. "I knew I would go back to school after this. And yet." And yet.
That...hurt, actually. Knowing that he had, in some way, hoped to stay in Verona.
"Then screw them," she snapped, suddenly angry. "You could have stayed away and let them keep killing each other off. This wedding alone wasn't going to stop anything, it's just going to splinter each family internally and force people to change tactics. Yakuza families don't give up, they just adapt."
"You didn't have to come, and you didn't have to help, but you did. You aren't some convenient commodity that they can just shove off to the side until they need you next." Dōjima swiped at her eyes angrily with her free hand and scowled. "Fuck this, and them. Let's go home and find an invasion to stop."
He winced a little at her anger. She was right, he couldn't deny that, but ...
Verona was a piece of him. Not just where he was from, it was who he was. Outside Verona, he was no one in particular. Inside he was a Montague, and as much as he cursed that fate (and the family cursed its fate in having him, he supposed), it was hard to have that slip through his fingers again.
But. Yurika was reminding him, again, that it was possible there was a world for him beyond that he had expected, and his loyalty at that moment -- perhaps from then on -- had to be to her.
He rose to his feet. "You aren't wrong," he acknowledged quietly in a voice that shook slightly. "And I should say the same to you. You didn't have to come, and you didn't have to help, and you did more of either than I could have asked."
At his reaction, Yurika cringed inside, mentally cursing herself for letting her emotions get out of hand. Again.
"Hey." She stood up, taking a half-step towards him and holding out her hand. "Come here, you."
"What's a girlfriend for, ne?"
He reached his hand to join hers, closing the distance between them. "Then I'm lucky to have such a girlfriend," he decided. "I hope someday, somehow, I can prove myself half as true to you."
There was something else; he held it on his tongue for that second, just looking at her.
"Oh, don't worry," she teased, grinning at him. "I'm sure you'll find a way to show your appreciation eventually, you're a clever boy."
"Besides, if you'd given Rikku or Reno the chance to pack, they'd be here too. What did you think I was going to do? Wait in my cabin and wring my hands?" The look she gave him was clearly amused. "As if."
"Reno would have made my quarrel with Abra interesting," Romeo noted.
And then ... well, she had said he should show his appreciation, and for once his mind wasn't on sex. "I love you. Not just for this, though the fact you would come is part of it, but because you are fun and beautiful and clever and patient when I'm stupid and brave and ..." He was running out of breath, "And I know you likely won't say it back, but I care not."
Oh.
Kuso.
Her grin faded to something a little sadder and a little older, and Yurika shook her head slightly. "Honki? You...uso bakkari. You've got terrible timing, Montague. You know that?"
At which Romeo just looked at her for a long, long moment, somehow resigned.
"Tell me when a good time will be and I'll say it again, then."
"Mou ii yo, ne?" Dōjima replied, shrugging as she put on one of her crooked grins. "The Capulet must have knocked something loose in that pretty head of yours."
"Now, why don't you give me the grand tour?" she asked, linking her arm with his. "We've got some time before we have to leave, and we haven't gotten to have any fun."
Romeo could tell when he was being brushed off.
He also knew Yurika well enough not to mind it from her; she had warned him at the start, and he believed he would change her mind. Someday.
Not yet, though.
"I know just where to take you," he said, starting down the beach with a brief squeeze of her arm to say it's okay. "We'll see downtown, with the church and my old school, and then we'll end at a club where the music feels alive and woes are left at the door. And then to the airport, and then" -- he paused before this last word -- "home."
[OOC: ALL DONE! Preplayed with the fantastic dojima_hime. Follows this, this, this and this. NFB, NFI, OOC OK.]