[Finished] Back in reality

[Saaga Sun]

”I’m sure she had. I have a lot of respect for my mother; she was just trying to raise me in a way that was accepted by our society. I really didn’t understand her when I was younger, but now I get how hard it must’ve been for her,” Saaga reminisced and thought for a moment how differently the women on her island were treated in comparison to the mainland and Republic City especially. It was not easy to fit in a conservative society if you had even an ounce of free spirit. If her mother had been anything like her, she was sure she had been suffocating inside.

“Hah, as I recall you didn’t need much of an incentive last time to put me there, or am I wrong?” she said, raising an eyebrow and eyeing him from behind her tea cup. Her eyes had a certain wicked glint in them.

She was actually enjoying this playful banter between them. She didn’t get to crack jokes often since not many people in her social circle shared her brand of queer humor. She was often sarcastic and ironic and her use of black humor wasn’t appreciated by her peers. Maybe it was because of the things she’ been through that she tried to find misfortune and misery amusing. It was a way of coping. She was happy to know Narye didn’t seem to mind it.

“Oh him? No, he’s the senior apprentice there. My boss is away meeting his old student, but with my luck he’ll be back by the time I have to return. There are four of us working there right now, though our junior is down with the cold at the moment,” she told him, not really getting why he’d be interested in the boring details of the glass shop workers.

[Narye Matsuya]

"We all eventually understand what our parents were trying to do."

To Narye, that seemed like one of those universal truths(Truisms?) that everyone learns over the course of their life, at some point. When a person is young, they are rebelllious and even a little smart alec-y, believing they know everything and that everyone is working against them.

When Narye was young, he always disobeyed his father's desire to not have his son sleep with all the daughters in town, and then subsequently get in trouble for it. It was not until his father had a heart-to-heart years later that he finally got a grasp of what he had done to his father. While Narye was out sowing his wild oats, his father was earning a bad reputation through association as "The father of the one bad kid". Suffice it to say, it broke Narye's heart because the of them were actually really close.

"Yeah. I was a headache for my dad. The man had infinite patience for me."

He gave a little toast to his father before he took a sip of his tea again, a smile on his face for all the memories. Though he nearly gagged a bit when Saaga made her come back to his threats of repercussions. Narye couldn't say much, but he pointed at Saaga with a wicked glint in his own eye as well.

*koff* "Got me there, honey... You're just too irresistable."

They were supposed to be taking it slow, and they mostly were even with the jokes, but the jokes were making Narye feel frisky again. He found some of his thoughts wondering if there was enough time in Saaga's break for some more private time. But he was trying to drown those out with casual conversation, and more jokes.

"That's good. I didn't want to feel guilty if I made that guy run the shop alone by, say, taking his coworker away for too long."

[Saaga Sun]

”Somehow I have little trouble imagining you being a handful when you were a kid,” Saaga chuckled and felt a twinge of sympathy for Narye’s father, though she’d never met him nor knew what he was like. She thought of her own father then too, wondering what he would make of her now if he were still alive. She supposed he wouldn’t be too happy to know his only daughter was gallivanting with a man who was not much older than him. He had always strictly opposed it when people married their daughters off to men twice their age and had mentioned many a time such a fate would not befall Saaga while he was still breathing

“How accurate that turned out to be…”

Though she didn’t think being courted by Narye was any kind of punishment, quite the contrary, it still shamed her slightly to go so much against everything her parents had ever hoped for her. The practical realist in her was rearing its head to whisper she should not expect much from this potential relationship. Most likely it would end up being a casual fling. Nothing ever lasted.

“I guess it must be part of my natural charms,” she said to him with a small grin, pushing her negative thoughts aside. She could dwell on them later when she was alone and did not have to worry about him looking for a crack on her façade.

“Tseng really doesn’t mind me taking breaks. It makes him feel less guilty of his own tardiness if I should run late. Unfortunately my boss doesn’t share his leisurely sentiments, and neither do I. I’m not in very good graces with his grouchiness as it is. Lounging about during work hours doesn’t really raise my stocks,” she told him and finished her first cup. She’d go back to the shop as soon as they’d finished drinking their tea.

She poured herself a cup of the green tea next and studied Narye’s face for a moment. She wasn’t about the let herself get dragged into his pace. Work would always be a priority. Relationships came and went, platonic or otherwise but her craft was a constant.

[Narye Matsuya]

A handful was quite an accurate description of younger Narye. Sure, sometimes he was a good kid and always helped out around the farm and the fields. When it came time to put the work in or a harvest needed to get done, he was faithfully there sweating with his father. But when he wasn't doing that, Narye was like any other teenage boy, if not more so. Alongside the serial flings with girls, Narye had that group of male friends that always managed to get into trouble, or make trouble.

Speaking of fathers, Narye had yet to tell him about what he had been up to in the relationship department. Though this seemed like a casual fling now, even if it stayed that way Narye's father may not take to it very well. Narye had nothing to compare to and predictions as to the reaction were turning up a blank. Hedging his bets, Narye assumed that his dad would not like his son seeing and sleeping with a girl who could pass as his granddaughter.

"Well then, I guess I'd better get you back to the shop soon-ish. I don't want you gettin' in trouble with the boss."

Finishing off the last of his sweet flower tea, set the cup down and leaned back in the chair. The green tea seemed to be for Saaga mostly, so he refrained from just helping himself to it.

"Thanks for coming out, Saaga. Despite the rought start, I really enjoyed just sittin' down and talkin' with you."

He didn't think taking it slow would be a bad thing, but it was starting to look like that it would be pretty enjoyable in its own right. A nice talk, getting to know each other, a shared sense of humor. As frisky as Saaga got him, he was liking keeping it casual for now. Though there would have to come a point where he would have to talk straight himself and ask what kind of relationship Saaga was interested in before things got too deep.

"You have a phone number? Maybe I could call you out instead of just showin' up unannounced at your shop again."

[Saaga Sun]

Saaga smiled at Narye’s comment. She was already neck deep in trouble with master Zhang, but his sentiment on the matter was sweet. Her boss had not liked her from the moment she first talked back at him. That had happened roughly three hours after she’d set foot in his shop for the first time and was asked to demonstrate how much she knew about glassblowing. Having been taught by her mother from the age of ten, Saaga had been over confident in her abilities and the moment Zhang had commented on her form, she had flipped her lid. Thinking back on it, it was a sort of miracle the old man had agreed to take her on as his apprentice.

She was still very impatient when it came to work and would often pester the geezer about receiving her master’s title. He always replied in the same condescending way, saying: “There’s always room for improvement.” She wondered if they didn’t get along because they were too similar in a way. Naww, that could not be it.

“I’m always in trouble with my boss, but you’re right. I need to get back soon,” she agreed and seeing as Narye had finished his cup, she poured him some of the green tea. If she wished to be back at the shop in time he should help her out in finishing their order.

“You know, I enjoyed it too. We should do this again sometime,” she said and after some considering his question about how to contact her, she added: “I don’t have a phone. If you need to reach me you can call the shop and ask after me. I’m usually there during the day.”

She fished a pen from her vest pocket and wrote the number down on a napkin. She would have liked to give him a calling card, but she didn’t have any on her.

[Narye Matsuya]

Being in trouble with the boss had only been an issue for Narye on a few occasions, and they typically were not his own fault. Narye was a good teacher and he tended to work better autonoumously so he never really saw his superiors outside of meetings and such. The couple of times he had been in some kind of hot water, it was actually because there were some concerns about misconduct with his students when he had started out. Basically, when he started being a teacher, he hadn't quite grasped how to handle an uncooperative student without yelling at them. It was embarassing.

The green tea she poured him was good, but he still would have preferred that flower tea over it. Maybe Narye just had a different taste in tea than Saaga. Unlike the flower tea, he drank the green tea faster, not savoring it quite as much. Looking into the tea, he was reminded how expensive the selection seemed to be on the menu and he decided to pull out his wallet and place it on the table for later.

Narye was happy to hear that she was taking pleasure in his company during their little tea break, and especially happy to hear that she was up for going out again. He was a little disappointed to hear that she didn't have a phone, but not everyone had one so it didn't seem like too big of a deal. The napkin was carefully folded and placed in his pocket.

"Y'know you can always come by my place if you want too, assuming you remember where it is. I'm typically there in the afternoons and evenings. If you ever need a place to go to."

He remembered some of the things she had said or inferred about her own living arrangements, and it didn't seem like she was all that pleased about it. This was another thing he wanted to know about, out of curiosity and concern, but that felt like prying.

"And don't worry about the tab. This will be on me."

[Saaga Sun]

”I do…but I wouldn’t want to intrude on you,” she replied curtly, dismissing the idea of spending time at his place, at least for now. She didn’t say it, but the thought of being alone with him in his home made her feel a little nervous. And considering all the rapid developments of their first encounter, she thought it was better if she avoided being truly alone with him for a while. It didn’t mean she did not trust him to refrain from getting physical (though she had her suspicions), it was more like she didn’t know if she could trust herself. When she thought of her actions the other night, she shuddered at the thought of having gotten carried away so easily.

“I’ll keep your offer in mind though,” she said, not wanting him to start wondering if she utterly disliked the thought of going to his apartment. He had a lovely home, even though she had probably been better acquainted with the bed sheets and the bedroom ceiling than with the rest of it. She resisted the urge to audibly groan at that thought.

When he offered to pay for their order, Saaga gave him a look that was halfway between displeased and perplexed. She didn’t really want to owe him anything and even though she wasn’t a very well earning woman, she still had money to pay for her share. The only time she’d ever let anyone pay for her was when she went out for dinner with Tahrro. And that was only because he had wanted to compensate her for all the trouble she went through to find that blasted bracelet of his. She looked at Narye’s wallet and frowned a little, before raising her eyes to his face again.

“I wasn’t going to worry about it. How about we just split it in half? I think that’s more fair,” she suggested and stuck her hand inside another pocket to rummage for her little money bag.

[Narye Matsuya]

"Well, the offer still stands."

Narye could not exactly blame her for being a little short with him when it came to his invitation to his own home, they were supposed to be going slow and what he said was about halfway to him asking her to move-in with him. Unlike her comments from earlier in their little excursion, Narye really took no issue with her reply this time. Though part of it may be because he was gradually getting used to Saaga's mannerisms and the way she spoke, and learning to seperate HOW she sounded with what she may actually mean.

Case in point, Saaga's reaction to Narye's offer to pay for their tea order. She looked like she was honestly put-off by his assertion to pay for the two of them, like he had insulted her by the offer. But Narye knew better. Saaga probably wasn't insulted, but she probably didn't want to feel like she indebted to him or like she subservient to him somehow. Basically, it was her strong-willed-ness coming through.

"Split? Yeah, I can live with that."

Pulling out a few Yuans from his wallet, Narye placed them on the table with Saaga's contribution and stood up from his chair. He waited for her by the door with a smile and a hand.

"This was a nice little outing, really. So should I escort you back to the shop, or do you want to just split here?"

Narye wanted to spend more time with her but she needed to get back to her shop, and he was suspicious that the more time he spent with her the more randy he would get. He also wanted to give Saaga a kiss goodbye, but well... that would depend.

[Saaga Sun]

”Good,” she smiled at him, pleased to know he was not one of those people who refused to take ‘no’ for and answer and would argue on and on about how they should be allowed to pay, or they should be allowed to do this and that. She was easily fed up by such behavior and had no problems with dishing out some strong words in retaliation.

She counted the appropriate amount of yuans and placed them on the table and then proceeded to stand up and walk to the door. She paused by the counter and exchanged a few words with the matron, thanking her for the service and bidding her to have a good day. The older woman craned her neck to see her go to Narye and when she saw her taking his hand her eyes widened in shock. It was not her business to make assumptions of her customers’ relations, but that was quite scandalous. He was almost old enough to be her father.

“Well, it’s a rare treat for a girl such as myself to be paraded around town on the arm of a gentleman. I wouldn’t mind taking you up on that offer,” Saaga replied jokingly and came a little closer to him.

Just talking with him casually like they had just now, made her feel much more comfortable around him. She was still keeping a certain emotional distance, but that wasn’t really Narye’s fault. She was just hesitant about giving too much of her into a relationship before knowing what the other person felt about her. Of course she’d applied that approach to just platonic relations, but she felt it might have actually made more sense in this context. It was better to be careful than to get hurt by diving headfirst into commitment. Again it was her practicality reminding her not to get swept away.

[Narye Matsuya]

Just before they left the tea shop proper, Narye had one nice look around the cozy little establishment, admiring its elegance. One of the last things he saw before turning the full way around was the owner, the matron, looking quite openly shocked. It was easy to tell what she was being shocked by, the woman was not doing a very good job hiding her gaze or what she was looking at: Saaga and Narye. The actual last thing Narye saw was the matron giving him, him specifically, the evil eye. It was... disapproving, to say the least.

Of course Narye's only response was to shoot the woman a nervous smile as he walked out of her sight and down the sidewalk, Saaga on his arm. That kind of reaction was within Narye's expectation and, surprisingly, he couldn't muster much energy to care. Saaga's company, and her affections no matter how little, more than outweighed the few disapproving looks he would get. Walking back to her shop, Narye was feeling very good and he walked tall and proud with a girl on his arm.

Once he was sure they were out of earshot of the teashop, Narye looked over at Saaga with a small laugh.

"Did you see the tea shop lady back there? I don't think she approved of you walking out with me."

The glassblowing shop where Saaga worked was not that far of a walk away and they were soon there. Stopping almost in front of it, just out of sight of the front windows, Narye turned to face Saaga and rubbed her arm gently with a contented look on his face.

"Again, thanks for taking the time to have some tea with me. I hope we can do it again some time."

Narye took the chance and leaned-in for a kiss.