Crush

Never having been on a date before, this was both exciting and nerve-wracking for the young naga. Those 'butterflies' he found he always got around Jericho were only squirming about the pit of his stomach even more so as they had left the apartment. Being a solitary creature and comfortable (albeit a little lonely) on his own, he hasn't even given much thought to relationships, let alone what a date would be like. Being this inexperienced made him feel quite nervous of what was expected on a date but as the night progressed, he was beginning to realize it wasn't much different than some of their other interactions. It was different in that they both were honest about their attraction toward one another but it was just as easy as it had been to talk to him up in that tree the first day they met or in that cafe not long after.

Though of course being a bit unsure and anxious due to his lack of experience, he found he was rather comfortable in contrast to how he'd always imagined or heard how a first date might be. Perhaps that was in part to them having established friendship beforehand. Whatever it was, he was easily enjoying himself and the company of the Nephilim sitting across from him. Having chosen a favorite dish of his which wasn't overly spicy or overwhelming for him, his week long food deprivation was satisfyingly taken care of. Even being Taiwanese himself and having grown up on both traditional Chinese food his guardian regularly prepared as well as dinning on his fair share of the Asian cuisine on the island, he still was unable to handle heavily spiced food. Unfortunately this was a good majority of Asian food, including that of the country he was born in and of which he has grown a taste for as a child. Being part snake had its ups and downs and this he considered both; he could handle raw foods such as meat easily but digesting heavily flavored food wasn't easy and it both tasted gross to him and made him sick to his stomach a majority of the time. Another perk to being a snake was the ability to swallow most human food and live prey whole which made it possible to skip the flavor of a meal should he prefer it. However, in contrast to that, Ettein was a rather delicate and careful eater when it came to human food and kept to his table manners (not so much out of habit but this is one of the more feminine traits he has which falls closely in line with being picky and liking to be clean).

"It is." He agreed to the first of Jericho's words, wiping his mouth with a napkin after finishing off his food. He hadn't ordered any desert as he wasn't a big fan of sweets and was already full. He didn't mind the fact that Jericho had, and wasn't in a hurry at all. "I'm surprised you could handle something as spicy as that." Not that it was truthfully surprising, it was said more in a teasing manner than anything.

"I tried it once when I was younger...that was a quick lesson learned." He smiled. He was glad though, that Jericho seemed to enjoy his meal as that meant possible future visits to Asian restaurants...no matter what their relationship turned up like at the end of the night. "Oh, yes...I did." He gave his response to the nephilim's question, his full attention on him. "And I hope yours as well." His smile widened a bit.

"...Thanks for this." He added in quietly. Though the night wasn't over and he wasn't about to allow it to end so quickly (as much as his non-assertive personality would let him), he still felt the need to thank him. He felt a little guilty somehow about not helping out with the pay. He had no extra money at the moment as he had no job to earn money and was simply living off of what his guardian gave him for his basic needs. He didn't dwell on it however, taking it as an opportunity to pay next time (if he had the money and if there was a next time).

“I wouldn’t say that’s a bad thing, really.” Ettein waved off Jericho’s comment of him having more common sense than the other. “You’re just adventurous and I don’t think that’s a bad quality to have at all.” Actually he rather liked that about the nephilim as it was one of the first things that really caught his attention about him. Although it was his voice to first rope him in, it was his many other qualities that kept his interest and one of those was his curiosity and sense of adventure. It gave him this almost wild or ‘bad boy’ sense about him (despite the fact that he was actually really sweet), and that was something Ettein found attractive in an individual. He himself was a rather curious person but often didn’t have the courage or motivation to do potentially dangerous or risky things. Not that he was afraid of everything but he was a little skeptical when it came to new food and certain things he was told not to do as a child…such as breaking into an abandoned building.

“Sometimes I wish I were more of a risk taker but…” He said, then shook his head almost immediately after. “Mm….maybe not but I like that you are.” After all, it was good they were different in some ways and if Jericho was as cautious as Ettein was most of the time they never would have gone to that abandoned building even though it turned out to be a rather terrifying experience, it was an experience nonetheless and it was fun for a bit. Besides, he wouldn’t mind doing something similar another time…but hopefully not something that involved giant vultures. If there were though, he’d have Jericho there to cling to….again. And that wasn’t a bad thing at all either.

It’s ok, really.” Ettein insisted upon Jericho’s apologizing once more…well maybe not flat out apologizing but it was still hinting at one. “I was planning one coming out tonight anyway, so maybe its better it happened the way it did.” He shrugged, really not angry at all about what happened. Terrified at the time, of course but it was easy for him to overlook it. Something similar would happened had he have just come out on his own if he didn’t time it exactly right and there wasn’t much of a way to tell if the nephilim was sleeping from under the bed anyhow. Next time though, this wouldn’t be much of a problem and that would make it less stressful for him. “I forgive you.” He added in, in hopes that maybe that would help clear the nephilim’s conscience.

At Jericho’s next question, Ettein found himself chewing on his bottom lip and humming under his breath in thought. “We could always go to a uhm not run-down theater.” He suggested, though it was more teasing than serious. “I don’t want to make you spend a lot of money though.” He turned the idea down almost immediately. He didn’t want to go back to their dorm just yet, as he was just now really waking up after having been asleep all day. “Oh!” He piped up with a new idea. “The beach is always really pretty at night and calm too…we could always go down there.” He mused with a light blush as he realized how sappy that might have sounded. He may as well have just said ‘I like long walks on the beach’ if he wanted to embarrass himself and show off more of his feminine side. Being partly a water snake, he was almost drawn to it. “I mean….it’s free after all.” He added in as an afterthought and as an attempt to hopefully not sound so silly as to suggest something sappy like this.

Ettein once again found himself blushing that night and flattered by jericho’s words. He never really thought much of his own interests in terms of being interesting to others as well; it was simply something that had caught his attention as a child and the same was with writing in his journal. Actually, he thought it was a little strange to others. Weren’t journals or diaries and the like normally seen as odd to others? Not that he wrote the day’s events in his journal or had any ‘deep dark secrets’ in there anyhow. His was more of a bestiary of sorts but it was still just as important to him. In fact, he normally didn’t allow others to touch it for fear of it getting messed up somehow, but Jericho’s words had him thinking. Especially when he said he admired it.

“If you want…I can show you sometime.” He offered with a smile. “I don’t usually let others see it, but I don’t think I’d mind if you did.” And that was the truth. He liked Jericho and the fact that he was interested in this strange hobby of his and actually, the idea of sharing this with him wasn’t bad at all. He’d be happy to show him his journal, he decided silently. He found his smile widening a bit at Jericho’s thanking him and he fell silent for a moment as he listened to what he had to say next.

“oh uhm….yeah…” He trailed off in thought for a moment, becoming a little shy with his next words. “Next time I’ll be sure to tell you but still, I’d have to ask that you not bother me.” He said honestly, shifting a bit and toying with a strand of his hair as was habitual. Though, he did find what Jericho said to be rather flattering in a way. “…Not just because it’s embarrassing…I mean it is and I still don’t like it but as I’ve said before, I don’t see very well during that time and I don’t want to accidentally bite you.” He explained, hoping the other would understand. He really was afraid of lashing out at someone in such a vulnerable state considering that it was difficult to determine what was what or who was who and he went off more on instinct than anything in that time. Biting someone was one of his greatest fears; he knew what it did to most people and wasn’t sure if they had anti venom for Krait bites on the island and he didn’t think he would be able to live with himself if he severely harmed someone or was the cause of their death.

To deter him from those dark thoughts though, he cell phone vibrated in his pocket. At first, he ignored it and gave a small laugh to the ‘bloodthirsty vultures’ comment…even though just the thought had a shiver running up his spin. He allowed his phone to ring several more times as Jericho had his attention and he didn’t want to interrupt him by answering it. He was glad that Jericho liked the idea of going down to the beach and didn’t seem to think it was as sappy as it had sounded to Ettein when he said it. He stood up along with Jericho, planning to answer his phone but it had stopped ringing so he decided to leave it but knowing who it was; his guardian, since he had no other real contacts in his phone, he knew he would keep calling until he answered and then most likely yell at him for not picking up the first time. Even though Raiden is an open minded guy, he is still strict in some ways and disliked having his phone calls ignored as that was his only way of contacting the young naga and checking up on him. Once out the door, his phone began its silent ringing in his pocket once more and he knew he had to answer it this time or he’d wind up both worrying Raiden and ending up with even more of an earful.

“Uhm…” He gave Jericho a sheepish smile, taking a few steps away from the door and pulling his phone out. “I should take this.” He said, hoping it wouldn’t annoy or anger Jericho too much. He’d try to make it quick anyhow and so answered the phone with a greeting that sounded like the English word ‘way’ and then proceeded to brace himself for what came next. He flinched a little at the yelling, pulling the phone away from his hear slightly. Not only was it loud because he was being chewed out but because there seemed to a lot of background noise where Raiden was and so he had to speak even louder to be heard. He gave Jericho another sheepish look, knowing he could probably hear an angry Chinese man ranting on the other end of the phone. The yelling soon subsided though and after a short and fast paced conversation in Mandarin, the phone was hung up and Ettein was left looking even more embarrassed than before.

“Ai ya” He huffed in something of a whiney tone with the ‘ya’ drawn out a bit, and pocketed his phone. “Why does he have to call at the worst times?” He put his attention back on Jericho, his cheeks now thoroughly flushed as he ran a hand through his hair and attempted to regain his composure. “Sorry about that.” He apologized. “Uhm…should we go then?”

That easily brought a smile to Ettein’s face, flattered that Jericho seemed so interested in something that held such importance to the naga. It meant a lot to him that Jericho both was interested in his hobby and admired it in a way. Having yet to run into someone who was just as curious about him as he was of them, it was nice and in a way and he found that despite the fact that he was rather ok with being alone, he actually liked the attention.

“Good.” He smiled. That settled it, he was going to show Jericho his journal when he hasn’t known anyone, even Raiden. It was his private collection of ‘data’ he’s put together over the years but he was beginning to really open up to the idea of sharing it. Especially with someone he liked as much as he did Jericho.

After an inconvenient call from his guardian who was both asking how he was and hounding him to keep his grades up and that nonsense, Ettein found himself rather embarrassed. Though, it seemed Jericho didn’t think much of it and that put him at ease. After all, if he hadn’t answered, Raiden would have called over and over until he got an answer and if ignoring the first call earned him an earful, a second time would have been even worse. Now with that out of the way, they could head down to the beach as they planned and have the rest of the night to themselves. Though, just as he was about to give an answer that everything was alright when Jericho asked, the nephilim had took off toward the beach. It didn’t take him long to figure out what was going on and to head off after the winged teen, calling a ‘now way!’ after him and laughing as he did. He could probably easily beat him if he shifted into his naga form as he was much quicker but he wasn’t one for cheating and besides…this was fun.

Once setting foot on the beach, Ettein had an inclination to rid himself of his shoes so he could feel the sand between his toes. That was one of the reasons why he loved coming down here; he liked to feel the environment around him and the beach was the ideal place for such a thing. There were so many things why the beach was one of his favorite places to come alone and to just enjoy but there were so many more reasons why being here with someone else made the experience all the better. It felt nice to share with someone, a spot he had once only come to for solitude. Even though they just got there, Ettein was already thoroughly enjoying himself. Dinner was nice and having the chance to get to know Jericho a little better was as well but the beach was so beautiful and even after having been yelled at earlier and their date intervened, the night was only getting better.

A chill ran down Ettein’s spine and a breeze swept over the beach and he immediately decided against possibly taking his shoes off and walking through the waves that hit the shore. It was a compelling thought, but not with a chill, however slight it was, in the air. Ettein has always loved the beach; there was a kind of free feeling about it and it had never failed to lift his mood should he be down or calm him should he be irritated. Many times as a child he had come here for one of those very reasons; maybe he was upset or needed to think something through. It had often been an escape for him but now, in this moment he wasn’t escaping from anything and rather, embracing the night for all it had to offer.

Both Jericho’s playful gloating and statement afterward easily brought a smile to the naga’s lips and drew a laugh from him. He shook his head in a playful disapproval in spite of what Jericho said. That was one of the many things he liked about the nephilim; he made him laugh and smile and that always something good about a person. This was perfect; the serene beach and the mood that hung over it as well as the dinner they had, he couldn’t ask for more. Though, it seemed he didn’t have to as Jericho made a move to grab for his hand.

At first, he was a little confused as to why Jericho was acting a little strangely but when he came closer and reached for his hand, he understood. He hesitated for but a moment as his stomach seemed to do a flip and then without saying anything, he completed Jericho’s attempt for him and took his the nephilim’s hand, intertwining his fingers with his. They had done something similar when they first met but that was out of convenience and this…this was more intimate and it had the naga both blushing and his heart beating a little faster. Being practically an outsider to relationships, this kind of thing wasn’t something Ettein had really done and so it made him a little nervous but it was a good kind of nervous and the warmth that came with the action was welcomed as well. Granted, he had already practically clung to him and hugged him earlier on but both those times didn’t hold the same feel, albeit they were nice in a way but this was somehow different and it was a different Ettein liked.

“No, I don’t mind at all.” He finally spoke up after a moment, looking up at the taller teen, his cheeks clearly colored with a deep blush. “You’re hand is warm.” He added in a soft voice.