When Strings Meet [Closed]

Vega let the towel drape over his head as he took his glasses and began to wipe them. His gloves had become soaked and was forced to remove them. "Yes I would, thank you." Vega reached down at the coffee pot and poured a cup for Shiki and himself. Vega brought his hand to Shiki's and placed one over them. "Based on your hands you really need this." He wrapped his hands around the cup and let it warm them a bit before he took a sip. "I have to say this is much better than the coffee at the cafe. About the question I completely understand, everyone has their own reasons for keeping things to themselves. I'm sorry for asking it was rude of me."

"No offense taken," Shiki said bluntly. "No one in their right mind would not ask. But trust me, it's better you don't know."

She took her own cup and began sipping it. She breathed out, pleased of the taste.

"Amanee knows how to make good coffee," Shiki said. "Anyhow, thank you for trying to help me earlier. Your weapon...looked absolutely brilliant. I've never seen strings used in such a method."

The old woman known as Amanee came up the stairs with a stack of clothes. She handed a large white shirt (which would probably fit Vega just right) and a long pair of pajamas. She then went over to Shiki and gave her her own clothes.

"Young man," Amanee said. "You can change in that small room over there and lend me your clothes. I'll have them washed and warm dry in fifteen minutes. Shiki you'll change in your own room obviously."

Shiki nodded.

"Thank you, Amanee," Shiki said. She looked at Vega and jerked her head towards the room. "Go on ahead. Once your clothes dry I'll see to it you get back to Beacon."

Vega looked down at the clothes and and smiled at Amanee. "Thank you ma'am I really appreciate it." Vega walked toward the other room with the clothes in his arms making sure to keep them away from his own clothes to keep them dry. Once inside the room Vega removed his clothes and folded them neatly before drying himself off a bit more. Once he was adequately dry he put the loaned clothes on and looked down at himself. "Much different than my usual suit that's for sure." Vega picked up his clothes and headed out the door. "I have to say its a little nice to be wearing something other than my suit for a change."

"Oh, dear," Amanee said as she tried Shiki's door when Vega disappeared into the spare room. "It looks like your room keys are downstairs. I'll go get them. I'm sure your friend will take a while to change so you can change out here."

"It's not a problem," Shiki said bluntly, eager to change. The room had a small kitchenette partitioned by a half-wall and she decided it would be best to change there where she could drape her clothes on her chair. She placed the fresh clothes on the table while she unlocked her Shiro Kuma backpack and untied her belt with Dark Orson. She proceeded to removing her wet vest and blouse and was just about to unsnap her bra's clasp.

Vega stood in the doorway with his clothes in his hands and his jaw on the floor. In a rare instance of loosing his composure for a moment Vega drops his clothes and can only stare at the girl across from him. Before he makes an even bigger fool out of himself Vega reverts to his calm personality and picks up the clothes. Leave! She's getting dressed...but she does look amazing. Vega takes a deep breath and walks over to the chair where Shiki placed her own wet clothes and left his. Every part of Vega contradicted itself. His legs telling him to run but not being able to move, his heart telling him to stay calm while beating furiously, and his brain cursing his vulgar nature while letting his imagination run wild. Vega couldn't say anything though he greatly wanted to, his mind ran wild with thought until only one remained, a name. Itzapa Vega turned away from Shiki and began to walk away but stopped after only a few short steps. "I'm sorry."

Shiki turned around upon hearing Vega, but not in any surprise. She had let go of her clasp just before it came off and she saw Vega walking away. She tilted her head.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked, as if completely oblivious of the fact she was half-naked, her black top glaring against her white figure and the lace finishes clinging onto her.

Vega kept his back turned but couldn't believe she hadn't noticed him all this time. "Not long." The red quickly spread across his cheeks. "A girl as beautiful as yourself should be more careful about where she gets changed. There are some terrible people in the world who would take advantage of this situation." Despite Vega's words his body remained still not moving toward the door and giving Shiki the privacy she deserved.

"Oh, I see," Shiki said with regards to his first statement. "My room's locked so I can't change anywhere else."

Shiki then thought of the last statement as she kept her back to Vega's removing her top to a dry one.

"Advantage? Advantage of this situation how? Is it because I don't have my weapons?"

Around this time, the sound of footsteps downstairs were heard.

"Shiki!" Amanee's voice said. "I'll leave the keys by the coffee table. I'm going out to play cards with Eglantine."

"Okay," Shiki said plainly. The door shut and Shiki resumed to slipping on a white dress.

Shiki looked at the time as she yawned.

"Oh dear," Shiki said. "I believe we may passed the time for the last commuting ship. I'm sorry about that, it completely slipped my mind. Would you like to stay in the spare room tonight?"

Vega's embarrassment began to fade slightly. I guess she doesn't get it. "I uhh-" Vega stops his sentence and clears his throat to regain some composure. "Yes that would be amazing thank you." Vega made a short bow toward Shiki. "If there is anyway for me to repay you just let me know, I always pay my debts." Vega looked up from his bow and saw Shiki in her night dress with the light of the moon behind her. All the red that had vanished from his face had now returned but there was something else. He turned around and walked toward his room. The image of his late teammate Itzapa popped into his head and he felt a deep shame. What exactly was I hoping to happen?

Shiki walked past Vega, not really conscious of the fact her white dress was pretty see-through and her black underwear was probably still noticeable in the bright light.

"You can use the spare room you just changed in, of course," Shiki said. Shiki went ahead to open the door for him. She realized he was quiet. "You seem bothered. Is something wrong?"

Vega's body began to shake as if he were holding back some great force. As best as he could to fight off whatever impulse that was going through his head he could bear it no longer. He was  weak man and his urges won the best of him. Without any indication of his plans Vega closed the distance between them in an instant and pressed his lips to hers. Holding nothing back Vega let his tongue go wild inside her mouth letting it do as he pleased. His heart pumped with adrenaline and his thoughts became a blur but he did not let up. After what seemed like an eternity Vega finally released Shiki and looked into her eyes. "You are what has me bothered. What kind of a man could resist when he is alone with a beautiful women dressed like that." 

Shiki had been more than surprised as Vega leaned close to her. She was about to yelp, but the moment she opened her mouth, it caught onto Vega's. She had never kissed a person before and she had no idea what it was supposed to feel like. A part of her was alarmed. Very alarmed. Alarmed to the fact that she was receiving an abrupt kiss, from a stranger at that. But something else struck her. Her heart suddenly began beating very rapidly. All her senses were high alert, every part of her wide awake as if jolted with electricity. Her right eye could see Vega, his eyes closed as he went in for the kiss.

She could hear the sound of the rain only getting louder outside, deafening any sound of anything inside the small apartment area of the studio. She smelled the scent of Vega's skin mixed with that of the rain that had soaked them and had now dried. She could feel his suddenly now warm body pressed against her cold one, only the thin layers of their clothes keeping from their skin actually touching. She felt his lips pressed against hers firmly but also intimately as his tongue twisted with her own. Finally, Shiki's own eyes closed and she kissed back, letting her lips press closer to his as her hands clutched onto the thin cloth of his shirt.

Vega then pulled away from her and spoke. Shiki could feel the blood rushing up to her usual pale cheeks. She looked at him, transfixed. His damp hair still clung to his own narrow, pale face. There was a sharp determination in his eyes that made him look like hawk. He looked handsome. Devilish, perhaps. Attractive. Something Shiki didn't know she could feel. Most of the night, she had already taken favor to him. He had a way with his words. He was quiet enough to not press on issues, but also knew how to keep decent conversation. The best part? He had a way with thread...the strings of his weapon. Shiki wondered if there was a chance for her to create a bond with such a person and the opportunity laid right before her.

Shiki looked at Vega for a while before her pale small hands lifted to Vega's face to pull him into another kiss, her hands moving from Vega's face to his shoulders to make him firmly pressed against her. After a moment or so, she let go of the kiss to breathe.

"Why resist then?" she said. And then she pulled him into another kiss within the next second.

Vega was surprised by Shiki's actions; surprised that she didn't push him away, surprised that she pulled him in, and surprised that the kiss felt so amazing. Vega brought his right hand to Shiki's cheek caressing it and brought his left hand to the small of her back pulling her in closer to him. Letting go every once in a while can be a good thing. During their kiss Vega quickly became incredibly conscious of Shiki's body. He felt the cool touch of her skin, the warmth of her cheeks, the small amounts of water that were still in her hair. As he noted everything about her a feeling of wanting to be closer to her began to fill his being. He felt something incredibly different about her that brought out his curiosity. She was no longer some interesting girl that he met, she had become a woman he wanted to be with. After a few more moments Vega broke the kiss between them but still held her body close to his. Vega brought his forehead down and touched it to hers, his breathing was slightly heavy as he recovered from the kiss. His hand came off her cheek and slid down to her shoulder right on her nightgown. Vega looked into Shiki’s eyes and his hand began to tug at her dress a bit. Vega began to speak with a calm voice as he always did but deep inside he was incredibly nervous, his cheeks were a flaming red as he prepared his words."Shiki would you care to continue this somewhere more comfortable?”

Shiki looked at Vega for a moment and remained silent, just letting their bodies press the way they were against the door. Finally, one of Shiki's hands dropped from holding Vega and edged towards the door, pulling it to a close on the dark room as she locked it.

"If that's your wish," she said softly.

Her other hand dropped and held Vega's own hand as she edged away from him and began leading him closer towards the center of the room and the white bed wedged to the side of the wall. She seated herself down quietly as she looked at him with gravity, tugging onto until he was at the ledge of the bed. She let no words pass as she straightened up to kneel. Her one hand came to her eye patch and slowly removed it, revealing a bright green glass eye.

She used her other hand to firmly hold Vega's shoulder and draw him closer so their faces were close together. Her soft pale lips opened.

"I can't seem to recall where we left of," she murmured as her hand dropped from his shoulder to pulling on the cloth of his shirt. "Care reminding me?"

Vega reached over to Shiki bringing his hand to her chin and giving her a quick kiss. "I would love to remind you." Vega began to lean in closer to Shiki as his previous uncertainty was now gone. Vega's hand reached down to Shiki's thigh and made its way under her dress. While his hands was busy, Vega brought his lips back to Shiki's neck and began to give her soft kisses as he made his way down toward her chest. Vega's hand began to move up her body while under the thin dress Shiki wore. It moved slowly enjoying every part of Shiki's body as he passed by until he reached her breasts. Though she was still wearing underwear Vega could easily make out her features in great detail. Vega pulled away from Shiki and quickly unbuttoned his shirt before throwing it to the ground. He now brought both hands to the bottom of her dress and lifted it off her. For a moment all of Vega's actions were stopped as he stared at Shiki's soft pale skin, her beautiful black hair, and her amazing eyes. Vega audibly gulped as he prepared himself for what followed and moved in closer. Vega wrapped his arms around the small body before him and whispered in her ear. "You are truly a beautiful woman."

Fade to Black

Around six o' clock in the morning, Vega would wake up to an empty bed, little sunlight coming from a window as gray clouds loomed over everything outside.

The sound of a whistling kettle was coming outside as well as the voice of an old woman and a middle-aged woman.

"The dolls are looking lovely today," Amanee said.

"Of course they do," the voice of the other woman said.

"And the new dress Shiki worked on was lovely."

"Yes, it was," the second voice said in a deadpan manner. "So, Shiki, you'll be leaving after breakfast?"

"Yes, once Mr. Anansi wakes up and eats," Shiki's voice came, also rather flat and apathetic. "We can't miss the bus. I'm sure he'll wake up soon."

"He's handsome," Amanee's voice said.

"His physical appearance deems to appeal, yes," she said blankly. "Thank you for letting him stay, Eglantine."

There was silence for a bit and the pushing of a chair and the placing of a plate in the sink was heard. "It's no problem. I'm going to go. I have to work on my next project."

"I will go, too," Amanee said. "I haven't dusted the counter in a while. So little customers..."

Vega opened his eyes and for a moment was confused. Wait a minute the sofa in the RV is blue. Vega lifted his head and reached for his glasses which were luckily on a nearby nightstand. He scanned the room and the memories slowly began to flow back in. His face turned a deep red. Vega dropped his head into his heads trying to hide his embarrassment from the non existent people in the room. After a few moments of silence Vega raised his head and had a look of happiness and disbelief. "I can't believe that happened,and with such an amazing woman." The image of Itzapa's smiling face flashed before Vega's eyes and he shook his head trying to forget. "Why now of all times." Vega got out of bed and found his clothes which had now been dried and put them on. He walked over to the door and stood in front of it wondering what kind of face to make. "Are we a couple now? Was it a one night stand? Do I have to prove myself in front of her family. Should I be happy? Embarrassed? Modest?" All sorts of ideas ran through his head and his worried about what to do, in the end he could decide what kind of face and just left the room with whatever face appeared which happened to be a face of worry. Vega heard the sound of conversation in one of the rooms as he reached the end of the stairs and walked in. He was greeted with the sight of three women including Shiki who made a smile appear on his face. "Go..Good Morning."

"Morning," Shiki said in a blank manner as she sipped her coffee.

Just as Vega had entered, the other two women had left before they could hear Vega's greeting. Shiki jerked her head to motion for Vega to sit.

"We should be leaving after breakfast," Shiki said plainly. "With the buses being full and all."

It was as if she had no remark whatsoever she had slept with Vega, who had been a complete stranger, and was now back to other things in life.

Vega blushed when he looked at Shiki and realized they were all alone. "Umm yes that sounds like a good idea." Vega took his seat and began to drink his coffee. The air in the room was filled with awkwardness (For him at least) as he tried to not look at Shiki and remember last night. After what seemed like an eternity of gathering his courage Vega finally turned to Shiki and spoke. "Shiki, where exactly do we stand?" Vega hated how frantic he must have looked, he tried to think why this woman had such an effect on him. "After last night I mean. I'm want to know what you think."

Shiki looked at Vega calmly. The coffee was steaming and she moved over to the counter to turn it off and pour some more into her cup and then placed down the pot. Sitting back, she brushed her bangs away from her face and sipped her drink.

"What do you mean, where we stand?" Shiki asked. "Was last night supposed to incur something?"

Vega scratched his head in confusion. "Well yes it did." Vega's face turns a deep red as he remembers the night but forces himself to look at Shiki. "What we did is a very umm intimate thing. Its the closest to people could ever get, it's what lovers do some people don't even do it until they're married." Vega was silent for a moment until he notices what he said and then became wide eyed. "NOT THAT I'M SAYING WE SHOULD GET MARRIED." Vega believes he saved himself but wonders if he offended her. "Not that I don't think you're worth marrying you're a very beautiful girl. Bu..bu..but that doesn't mean I only think about you physically you have a great personality too." Vega could no longer take it anymore and turned away from Shiki and faced a wall opposite to her. He crouched down and put his head in his hands and began to shake his head. In an incredibly low volume Shiki would be able to hear Vega chanting the word "Stupid" over and over again. Shut up! Just shut up! You're only making things worse! Vega remained in his position cursing himself for ever even opening his mouth.

"Strange," Shiki said as she thought on Vega's words, though she didn't seem bothered at all by his behavior, nor confused. She merely drank her coffee some more. "I merely thought people did it for pleasure."

From her coffee she moved onto spreading butter over a piece of stale toast and then nibbling it.

"But since I didn't know that it means it had nothing to do with forming foundations," Shiki said. She raised the toast in the air as she nibbled it into the shape of a head. "Though I wouldn't mind doing it again. But then again, it was only for experience's worth."

Vega's head perked up from the mention of again. He shook himself trying to keep his thoughts straight. No that will only confuse you more. Vega stood up and turned to face Shiki he had finally calmed himself down and was back to his usual demeanor. "I see. No again won't be necessary. If this was just an experience I can accept that." Vega gives a short bow and keeps his straight face. "I hope you found it enjoyable and thank you for letting me stay the night but I believe it is time I returned home. I failed to inform my teammates I would be gone this long."

"Hm, yes, we should get going," Shiki said as she stood up as she picked up her bear backpack and Dark Orson. She nodded to Vega and they soon were out on the street at the bus stop. Shiki waited patiently and the rain began to pour lightly once again. She turned to Vega.

"Question, is it odd that we did what we did?" she said casually. Her tone was plain as if she were asking about weather.

Vega looked down at Shiki, a small shade of red on his cheeks but an overall calm expression "I wouldn't say it was odd...but maybe the circumstances around it were." Vega turned away from Shiki as he waited for the bus to arrive, something about her emotionless responses despite the subject made him feel as if he was experiencing his embarrassment as well the her share that she clearly did not feel. Silence pasted between them, Vega would often welcome silence as he felt at peace but now silence was only a pain which he would give anything to end. "Sh-Shiki what do you think about me?"

Shiki turned to Vega and looked at him plainly. The rain was getting heavier and the bus zoomed to the stop and made a small hissing sound as the door opened. Shiki looked back to the bus entrance.

"I think the proper term to use would be fascinating," Shiki said as she got up on the bus steps. The two found empty seats at the back since the front was now full. The bus door closed behind them and began hissed closed. As the two sat down, the bus pulled forward, its loud roar muted to a mechanical hum on the inside. Shiki pulled out a small patch of embroidery and began to sew.

"Such interesting circumstances we must be in," Shiki said. "How strange thread works, does it not?"

Vega didn't know what to make of Shiki's words. I'm not even sure how I feel about her. He looked down at his spools of wire with a sad sort of look, "Yes, strange in deed. So many different outcomes depending on how we use the string." As he looked at his wrists Vega could not help but make a fist and have an almost angry look on his face. In a low volume he spoke, "If we don't change the string when we have the chance it might become to late to have it the way we want it." Vega abruptly turned to Shiki with determination in his heart. I don't know how I feel about her just yet but I'm damn sure not going to keep it that way. "Shiki I have a proposition for you. What we did last night was a short term experience. What would you say if I could offer you a longer term experience with a variety of possible endings?" Vega gulped, he wasn't sure why such a plan popped into his head but this bus ride was only so long and he didn't have a chance to rethink it.