"I'm sorry Long. It seems I have misjudged you again." Gado said regretfully. "Let me make it up to you, come over to my house for dinner sometime."
"You had me scared there for a minute Gado," Long admitted. "but if you are certain you wouldn't mind my company..."
"Yeah, that would be great!" Shina agreed. "At least, as long as Jenny's not there..."
"Dear I just don't understand what you have against..."
"She's such a slut Dad, honestly..."
"Now don't you get started with that young lady!"
"Perhaps the two of you would like to talk in the car?" Long asked, feeling a bit akward. Shina sighed.
"Never mind." she muttered before she walked out the door. Then she turned back to look at Long. "Anyways, I'll see you when it happens then, hopefully sometime soon." She gave him a farewell smile before turning around and walking off toward the vechicle. Gado pulled a plam-sized scheduler out of him pants pocket and tunred it on.
"What would be the best day for you Long? Have any plans?"
"Uh..." Plans? What plans? I certainly have no social life... he stared up at the blonde haired mercenary stupidly for a moment. "Not really."
"Hm..." Gado punched a certain buttom repeatedly. "Booked, booked, booked, busy..." he mumbled. "Ah! How about tomorrow night? Doing anything then? Is that too early or..."
"That would be fine." Long replied, then a thought entered his mind... "How am I going to get there?"
"No car yet, eh? Well that will come soon enough... can't expect everything in one month... why don't I have my daughter swing by and pick you up?"
"If she doesn't mind..." Long began, trailing off as he realized that she probably wouldn't.
"Alright then." Gado finished, sounding pleased with himself. "See you tomorrow night Long."
"Untill then Mr. Gado."
"You can call me Alan if you like."
"Alright Alan..." Long said, testing the word. "You are right about your daughter, she definately takes after you." A hearty laugh escaped the depths of Gado's chest. "Did I say something funny?"
"She is actually adopted." Gado explained. "But I supposed I do have quite an influence..."
"It must have been some time ago." Long interrupted, remembering their first meeting. "And you look so much alike."
"Yes, over 10 years I think. Her name was Jannu and her parents had been killed. So I took her in and after awhile and the two of us became inseparable. I always called her my little Shina... of course she won't let me call her little anymore. Always was a tough little thing, taught her how to fight from the moment she arrived. Wasn't really surprised when she became a mercenary at 14 years of age..."
"14?" Long asked, surprised.
"13 or 14," Gado added. "Somewhere around there."
"Did we all start killing at such a tender age?" Long wondered. He had not been any older himself by the time he'd made his first kill as an assassin for Tylon. Gado shrugged.
"It is a sad fact that the life of a zoanthrope is different than the life of an average human." he sighed. "I don't think I know one zoanthrope who didn't have to start defending themselves after the age of 13 or 14."
"It is a cruel world we live in." Long agreed. "And the normal people aren't the only ones who are cruel." He looked in to the other's eyes and discovered that they understood each other on the point.
"Long..." Gado began, searching the other's eyes for something. "Why did you refuse my offer? I believe you would be a great leader."
"I am truly and deeply honored Alan Gado, but I am not ready for it." Long replied, shaking his head. "Although I can fight again, deep inside of myself I still fear to use my skills, not to mention beast form. I cannot lead others while I fear a part of myself." Gado nodded, realizing that the other was right and trying to bring himself to accept that the hopes of all the zoanthropes rested on one man...
"I will see you tomorrow night then." Gado replied, stuffing the plam pilot back into his pocket.
"Until then Alan." Long replied, bowing respectfully. Gado nodded his head in acknowledgement and turned around and walked back to his car.
Long grabbed the bristled brush from his drawer and nervously drew it through his hair in fluid strokes.
"You know I can't help you with this if you won't talk to me!" Mike yelled from the TV room. Long sighed stared into the mirror, giving his hair a critical glance. Mike walked into Long's room and then right up behind him. "It looks fine. Why are you so picky? Aren't you just gonna out it up in those hair ties anyways?"
"I'm not going anywhere looking like I just got out of bed." Long complained, picking his red and white hair bands up from the table and drawing his hair back into one.
"Where are you going anyways?"
"Persistent aren't you? Must you always pry into my affairs?"
"It has somethig to do with that girl that was here the other night doesn't it?"
"Her name is Shina!"
"Aha! I knew it!" he yelled, shooting one fist into the air. Long sighed and rolled his eyes before adding the other band to his hair. One hand shot up to adjust his glasses and he gave his image in the mirror another critical glance. "So... you taking her out somewhere?"
"No."
"You going to the movies?"
"No."
"Any kind of resauarant?"
"No."
"How about the arcade?"
"I said I wasn't taking her out!"
"Oh. What are you doing then?" Long groaned and pretended to be busy straightening his shirt. "Is she taking you out?"
"No."
"Is she just coming here?"
"No."
"Are you going over to her place?"
"I'm not telling you!"
"Ah! A romantic evening over at her pad eh?"
"Will you be quiet!"
"Fine, fine," he agreed, walking out of the room and sitting back down in front of the TV. "afterall it's not my big night..."
"I am simply going to dinner with her family." Long explained, looking himself over and deciding that he wasn't going to look any better unless he had enough money for a suit.
"Oh, meeting the parents already eh?" Mike teased.
Long walked out into the TV room and said, "I am really getting sick of this." Just then the door rang. "Ah, finally!" He walked over to the door, opened it, and there she was. She stood there leaning on the wall in her usual denimn jacket, a white tank top, and green camoflage pants.
"Well, you look nice today..." she commented, noticing the slacks and what looked like a silk shirt. "Guess Dad didn't mention that the dress was casual."
"He didn't say anything about it," Long explained. "I just assumed..."
"Don't worry." Shina replied, giving him a wink. "I'm sure it will impress him."
"You think so?"
"Hey, have fun you two!" Mike yelled from the couch.
"Without you there, of course we will!" Shina yelled back. "Come on Long!" she grabbed his hand and whisked him off to the car. The car in question turned out to be some kind of new, black, sports car. Shina opened the passenger door for Long and jumped into the driver seat. They had scarecly put on their seat belts before she bolted out of the driveway and roared down the streets.
"Like my driving?" she asked, laughing at the shocked expression on his face. "I'm a wild woman in this viper, whew! Dad probably shouldn't have let me pick you up..." Long felt a churning sensation in his stomach as they skidded around a curve. It's going to be alright, he assured his angry stomach. "Long, you look a little sick..."
"I'm not going to be very hungry tonight."
"Alright, alright I'll slow down." For the moment she did. She brought the car down to a reasonable pace before stoping at an intersection. The streets were completely empty except for a black-haired young man in a red convertible to their left. He looked over her car and reved his engine in challenge. "Oh? So you think you can take me!?!" Shina sneered, reving her own engine. "It's on."
"Shina, maybe that's not such a good ide-AHHHHHHH!" Shina hit the gas pedal as soon as the light turned green, speeding down the street with the red convertible right at her side. Long put one hand over his stomach and used the other to grab the door handle as the speed forced his stomach up towards his throat. Shina's foot was firmly planted on the gas pedal and she grabbed the gear shift and switched it up another notch. The two were neck and neck for a few seconds more and then the man in the convertible shot her a wide grin before fiddling with something to his side, instantly a burst of energy and fire sent the red car flying off into the night.
"Hey! That doesn't come standard on a 2002 Mustang Convertible!" Shina yelled angrilly. "That lousy little son of a..."
"Shina." Long groaned, his stomach feeling as though it were climbing up his throat. "Can we please slow down now?" She looked over at him as if she had forgotten he was even there.
"Oh yeah, I guess I lost him... sorry Long." She took her foot off the gas for awhile and the car gradually slowed to a decent pace. "The nerve of that creep... No one beats me! I wonder who he is anyway?"
"Ugh," Long complained. "I feel like my stomach is lodged in my throat."
"I'm really sorry Long, I just get so caught up in the power of this car. I really didn't mean to upset you."
"I think I'll be alright." he replied, taking his hand off his stomach and trying to remove the grimace from his face.
"Hey, you won't tell Dad about this will you? He'd be pissed if he knew I was trying to start a street race..."
"Maybe if you promise not to do that again..."
"Of course not." Shina replied. "There's probably no one else here worth racing anyway." They drove on through the newly deserted streets on the outskirts of the city. Occasionally Long looked down at the millions of lights shinging from it into the darkness. "It's not far from here." Shina explained. "We didn't want to actually live inside the city of course... plenty of reasons for that." Long nodded absently, watching the bushes and an occasional tree fly past his window.
"I have half a mind to play a little hookey and just drive around here for awhile." she confessed, reveling in the quiet of the night and the sound of her engine.
"Why?" Long wondered. "Is something wrong at home?"
"Jenny's there." Shina spat the words out of her mouth distastefully. "I hate it when he invites her over, she's there almost all the time now! She joins us for dinner, she follows my father around eveywhere, lately she even sleeps in his bed!"
"Hm, I can see why you would be disturbed."
"I never did like the bitch! She never wears anything but revealing clothing and talks like she's some kind of authority over something. She nit-picks at our meals, and worst of all she's always flirting with my dad!"
"Shina, calm down, it's alright." She turned her focus from the road ahead to look at Long for a moment.
"Thanks."
"It's not a problem."
"I guess I just miss him sometimes... he spends so much time working, and so do I, but then he spends time with her."
"You should be his first priority." Long advised. She turned to look at him again.
"Yeah, I think so too..." Then she turned her face back to the road and drove on through the darkness. Her father did spend an awful lot of time away, ever since the ZLF first because a threat he had been gone. She knew that most of it was business and that he actially didn't spend much more time with Jenny than he did with her, but something still bothered her.
"I guess I am probably a little jealous of all the attention she gets from him." Shina admitted. "He does find time for me too, and he seems to be really happy with her. But I still don't like it."
"Well that's understandable, you obviously don't like her at all and you certainly wish he would spend more time with you right?"
"Yeah." she agreed. She lightly stepped on the brakes to low the car as she turned into a driveway. Long looked up at a large, white, two-storey house. Shina parked the car and they both got out and walked towards the front door. "Long? You won't mention this to Dad either right? He already knows that I don't like her."
"Of course not." Long assured her. She smiled and wraped her arms around his back for a big hug. Long returned the by sentiment warping his arms carefully about her waist and pulled her close so their faces touched cheek to cheek.
"Thanks Long, you're a great friend, and that means alot to me."
"I only wish I could do more for you." he replied, losening his grasp and stepping back. "Have you ever had a serious talk with your father about this?"
"Are you kidding? He keeps scholding me, he thinks I'm spoiled I guess..."
"Some day soon you should ask him to sit down and disguss the matter with you. Try not to insult her so much, but instead focus yourself on telling him your true feelings."
"I guess I could try it." Shina said, scratching at the back of her neck. "He won't like what I have to say though."
"But I'm sure he will appreciate that you took the time to tell him what your real feelings are, maybe he will even agree to spend more time with you."
"You really think so?"
"Of course."
"Thanks again Long." she said smiling. They finished their walk up to the door and Shina opened it. "Dad, we're here!" She lead Long into a small front room and hung her jacket on a coat rack next to the door before walking into the next room. It was a spacious room with the kitchen to one side, a fire was roaring in the fireplace in front of the couch and Gado and Jenny were sitting there kissing and feeling up on each other.
"Dad, that is disgusting!" Shina yelled to get his attention. She turned to Long. "You see what I mean?"
"Eh? What?" Gado mumbled, turning towards them, dark pink lipstick all over his mouth. Shina glared at him and put her hands on her hips. "Oh! I'm caught in the act am I?"
"Dear," Jenny cooed. "You've got lipstick all over your mouth." Gado wiped his mouth with his sleeve and got up from the couch.
"Sorry dear," he said to Shina "I almost forgot..."
"Dad! You always forget! How many times do I have to walk in and see you like this?"
"Told you we should have gone into the bedroom." Jenny said.
"You'd better be joking!!!" Shina furiously shouted, getting into her fighting stance. "Keep your filthy hands off my Dad!!!" Jenny did nothing but glare at her.
"Shina, please..." Gado said in an effort to calm her down. Long rested his hands on her shoulders and then gave them a soothing massage.
"Shina, I know how angry you are." he whispered into her ear. "But starting a fight right now won't solve your problem. You should cool down for awhile and talk with him about it later." Shina sighed discontentedly and losened her stance, kicking at the ground in frustration. A look of relief covered Gado's face and he walked past them into the kitchen to examine the contents of the refrigerator.
"So, what do we want for dinner?" he asked. "How about some hot dogs?"
"I don't care." Shina mumbled. Long losened his grip on her shoulders and began to massage down the tense muscles of her back. Gado gave the two a suspicious glance.
"Oh, not hot dogs." Jenny whined. "Who knows what kind of mystery meat that stuff is made of? Honsetly how can you eat those things?" Long felt Shina's back muscles tighten in response to her voice. Shina seriously considered making some kind of belittling comment, but Long massaged deeper into her tired muscles, easing some of the tension.
"Why don't we make the pot roast Dad?" Shina suggested.
"That would take hours." he complained, his head buried in the fridge. "How about homemade tacos?"
"Honey!" Jenny wailed in protest. "You always put so much hot sauce in those! Not to mention all the grease used to fry the tortillas." Shina tensed up a bit at the sound of the woman's whining but Long persistantly massaged the tension away. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the warm, soothing feeling of his fingers pushing into her skin and relieving the soft ache in her tired back muscles.
"Maybe I should make sandwitches then?" Gado suggested.
"Go ahead." Jenny reluctantly agreed. "I'll just make myself a salad."
"See what I mean?" Shina turned to whisper at Long.
"Did I sound like that?" Long wondered.
"Oh no, you didn't sound anywhere near as snobby as she does." Shina reassured him, smiling. Long finally let his hands drop from her back and they both turned to watch as her father got out what he needed to make the sandwitches and Jenny selected a few pieces of lettuce for her plate.
"See?" Shina whispered in Long's ear. "Nothing, not even a tomato. How can she survive when she eats like..."
"Ahem!" Gado interrupted them, glancing in their direction. "And what are we whispering about over here?"
"Nothing Daddy." Shina replied in a mockingly innocent tone. "Just the dinner menu tonight." He gave the two another suspicious glance before adding neatly folded pieces of meat and cheese to the empty pieces of bread he had laid out on top of a paper towel on the counter. They both went to go sit next to each other on the couch and Jenny got herself a glass of water and walked off into the dinning room to go eat. Gado got a few vegetables out of the fridge and began to chop them up in preparation for the sandwitches.
"Long." Gado called, motioning him over. "Would you come here for a second?" Long and Shina exchanged curious glances and Long shrugged before walking over to Alan Gado's side. Gado took a zucchini off of the counter and began slicing it. "So..." Alan whispered. "exactly what were you doing over there with my daughter?" Shina watched them curiously, wondering what her dad was up to.
"We were just talking..."
"I mean what were you doing earlier with your hands on her back?"
"She was angry and needed to calm down, so I gave her a massage."
"Ah, a massage? And is this the first time you've given my daughter a massage?" Shina looked over the scene carefully and realized that the vegetable her father had was a zucchini. Wait a minute, we don't need zucchini for a sandwitch...
"Alan Gado if you are trying to imply that I've done anything immoral to your daughter..."
"Just keep your hands off her!" Gado warned, raising his hand and chopping a large piece off the zucchini. "Get it?"
"Dad!!!" Gado looked up to find his daughter right behind him. "What do you think you are doing Dad!?! Long and I are friends, just friends! What's wrong with a little back massage!?!"
"Dear," Gado explained, "I am only trying to look out for..." Long backed cautiously away from the two.
"How humiliating!" she yelled, her hands folding into fists. "Didn't it ever occur to you that I can look out for myself!?!"
"But dear..."
"I can't believe you Dad! How could you embareass me like this!?! And in front of my good friend..." Jenny wandered into the room to see what was happening.
"Shina, I simply..."
"You're such a hypocrite Dad! You and Jenny go up and have sex in your room all the time and you won't even let me get a back massage!?!" The room went quiet for a few minutes, looks of shock registering on Gado, Jenny, and Long's faces while Shina silently fumed, refusing to take her angry glare off her father.
"How do you know that?" Gado asked, nervously scratching his head.
"You don't think I can hear the crack of the whip? And all that screaming!?! What? Do you think I'm deaf or something!?!" Jenny and Gado's faces turned a bright pink.
"Er, um... I am truly sorry dear."
"Sorry isn't good enough Dad! How could you do this to me!?! That's it! I'm leaving!" She walked over to Long, grabbed his hand and pulled him with her as she stomped towards the door.
"Wait! Shina, please!" Gado called, rushing after her. She stopped and let go of Long's hand, folding hers over her chest.
"Why should I?" she asked stubbornly.
"Shina, please, do it for your old dad, eh?" he walked over to her and rested his hands over her shoulders. "I am terribly sorry... I did not know."
"Hmpf!" she replied, turning her head the other direction.
"I thought you were gone when that happened."
"Yeah? Well you thought wrong."
"How can I make it up to you dear?"
"Get rid of her Dad! I don't like her!"
"Shina..."
"You're not going to get rid of her are you?"
"Shina, perhaps it is time we had a talk about this." He turned over towards Jenny and Long. "Why don't you two just go ahead and eat, make yourselves at home. Shina and I are going to have a little talk."
"Good luck." Jenny wished him, before disappearing back into the dining room. Long stood in his place and watched them walk into another room and close the door. He stood there listening to the low rumble of their voices for a moment before walking over to the kitchen counter where his sandwitch was waiting. I also wish you the best of luck Shina, I hope you and your father can find some peace. Long grabbed a plate from the counter and after searching a few cupboards he found a glass and got himself some water.
He walked into the dinning room to see a large oval wooden table capable of seating eight. Jenny sat by herself at the end of the table, munching slowly on the lettuce as if to savor every last bite of it. Long walked over to the other end, seated himself and began to bite into his sandwitch.
"You know, they really needed to have that talk." Jenny commented. "In fact, they should have done it sooner." Long nodded, and chewed and swallowed his bite of sandwitch.
"Yes, Shina was having some issues..."
"I know what she thinks about me." Jenny informed him. "But it's just too bad, Gado and I have a good thing going and he's not gonna cut me loose." Long consumed another bite of the sandwitch.
"I gathered as much."
"Anyway... I hope they can resolve the issue." Jenny said. "I really don't dislike the girl so much, but I certainly don't want things to continue as they have been going." Long nodded and continued eating his sandwitch.
"So... you are Jin Long... I know who you are." He looked up at her for a moment and then went back to his sandwitch. "You were an assassin for Tylon."
"And did Gado tell you that? Or did you figure it out for yourself?" he replied nonchalantly before going back to the food, secretly hoping that she would at least shut up long enough for him to finish his sandwitch.
"A little bit of both." she replied coolly. "So what is your interest in his daughter?" Long dropped the sandwitch back to the plate and looked up at her.
"Are you attempting to interrogate me?"
"I am simply satisfying a personal curiosity in the matter." she explained.
"I don't believe you."
"Why not?"
"Because I also know who you are... your reputation has gotten around."
"Yes, well, Gado did hire me once... in fact that is how I met him. However we are not currently under contract."
"But that's not going to stop you from finding information about his daughter for him is it?"
"All I want is the answer to one question and then you can go back to your dinner." Long glared at the woman, deliberating whether he should answer her question or not.
"What is it?"
"All I want to know is how close the two of you really are."
"You want the truth?" Long replied angrilly. "I'll give you the truth. We have seen each other a few times, we have talked about a few things, she hugged me once and once I massaged her back. That is the end of it, we are friends." Long grabbed his sandwitch and finished it off.
"Hm." She set her head in her hand and analyzed his response. "We shall see..."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"By your response I can tell that you are as innocent as you say you are, but..." she trailed off, letting the silence fill in for her.
"But what?"
"But there is something in your voice... I don't think you are really sure how you feel about her. I don't think you are sure you want to be 'just friends'."
"Say whatever you like 'creature of the night', but I will not dishonor Gado's daughter."
"I didn't say that you would now did I? I simply implied that you aren't sure whether or not you want to..." Long stood up from his seat and glared at the woman, just as they heard a door open and close and footsteps echoed up to them. Gado and Shina appeared at the entrance to the dinning room hand in hand, immediately aware of the tension.
"Long?" Shina asked. "What are you...?"
"I was just leaving." he replied, giving Jenny one last glare before rushing towards Shina, Gado, and the exit.
"Hey, wait! What happened in here?" Gado asked.
"Another one of your schemes Gado?" Long asked, walking up to him and looking him in the eye.
"Huh?" Gado replied, scratching his head. "I don't know what you're talking about, but after having a little talk with my daughter I wanted to apologize to you..."
"And is she your way of apologizing?" Long demanded, pointig a finger in her direction. All eyes focused on Jenny as she casually took a sip of her water and then turned to look at them.
"I only asked one, simple question." she replied. Gado let go of Shina's arm and walked over to the blond-haired woman.
"Honey, now I think we need to have a little talk..." She nodded and Gado gently took her hand and led her up a case of stairs.
"What was that all about?" Shina asked Long, looking into his face in an effort to discover something about it.
"She..." Long began, unsure of which words to use. Finally he just sighed and shook his head. "I am sure you don't want to know..."
"Yes I do." Shina argued. "Please Long, don't keep it to yourself. What was it?"
"It's kind of embarassing." Long replied, lifting one hand to stroke the back of his neck.
"Oh..." Shina blurted, a surprised look on her face. "Well, maybe if you don't mind then... It's just that I have no idea what she could say to..."
"She insinuated that I had feelings for you."
"Hm?"
"Feelings other than friendship." he explained, tilting his head to the side a bit.
"Oh..." she looked into his face curiously.
"And she also insinuated that I was thinking about acting on them." he reluctantly admitted, lowering his head and staring at the carpet.
"What? She thinks you're going to kiss me or something?"
"I don't know." he replied, shaking his head. "I guess it doesn't matter so much except that she insulted me."
"Well good, now we can hate her together!" He looked up from the carpet to see a glint of mischief in her eye. "We can get together and talk about how ugly she is behind her back!" She was so enthusiastic about it that Long began to snicker at the thought. "Come on Long." she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the other room. "Let's go sit down on the couch. Or maybe I'll lay down and you can give me another one of those back rubs..." So she dragged him to the couch and they sat together in front of the warmth and beauty of the fire.
"I'm surprised that it hasn't gone out yet." Shina said, getting up to poke at the cinders and add a fresh log. When she was done she sat back down next to Long, throwing one arm over his shoulder.
"Shina, there's something I have to ask you."
"Yes?"
"That night, when you were at my place and we were sitting on the couch..."
"What about it?"
"When our faces got so close we almost touched... what were you thinking?"
"Uh..." she stalled, nervously scratching the back of her neck. "I'm not really sure. I was just caught up in the moment I guess..."
"I mean... were you trying to..."
"Kiss you?"
"Yes."
"No... Yes... maybe... I'm not sure... I guess I was thinking about it."
"Why?"
Her cheeks flushed pink a little. "Well... I don't know... I guess because I felt really close to you at the time..." They both sat there nervously for a moment, thinking back to the last time they had been sitting together on a couch... "Long?"
"Yes?"
"What would you have done if I did kiss you?"
"I... I'm not sure."
"What were you trying to say before my dad's car honked?"
"I thought that maybe... maybe we should have stopped, but... I wasn't really certain..."
"You weren't?"
"I-I don't know."
"Well, that's good, neither do I." They both gave each other an understanding smile before staring back into the warmth and light of the fire. "Long?"
"Yes?" She looked up at him and use one hand to touch his cheek and turn his face towards her.
"What..." she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. What if she was wrong? What if he didn't feel the same way she did, but had different feelings entirely?
"Shina?" she inched her face closer to his, telling herself that she had never felt this way before and had to take a chance.
"What would you do... if I kissed you now?"
"I..." patches of pink began to appear on his cheeks as she moved to close the gap between them. He hesitated while she crept closer and closer, then suddenly, right before as they touched he turned his head, his lips brushing over hers briefly before they landed on his cheek. She pulled back and looked at him.
"Jannu... I'm sorry..."
"What did you just call me?"
"Um..." he looked confused until he realized that in the heat of the moment he had said the wrong name.
"Who told you my name was Jannu?" she wondered, still looking into his eyes.
"Your father."
"Oh." she stated, pulling back from him. "He is the reason..."
"Shina... I..."
"No, you don't have to say anything. I know he is very important to you... Long? Am I important to you?"
"Of course you are." he replied. "Aren't we taking this a bit fast though? Do you even have any idea how old I am?"
"Well... I know you're much older than me, but..."
"I am 30 years old Jannu."
"Jannu? There's that name again..."
"Oh!" his hand shot up to cover his offending mouth. "I'm so sorry..."
"No, it's alright..." she confessed. "It's just strange... to hear that name... I didn't know you were 30, you look younger I guess... to me. But Long, don't you want to find out?"
"Hm? Find out what?"
"How much we mean to each other."
"I..." he trailed off. He really wasn't sure. He already felt like he had lied and violated Alan's trust.
"Long, I want to." she said, turning his face towards her again.
"Shina... do you think we could slow this down a bit? I'm not ready for this."
"Of course." she said, smiling back at him. "We can be friends for awhile. But I just want you to know that if you're worried about my father, don't be. I talked to him about a lot of things in there and he promised to loosen up." She turned back towards the fire and stared into the leaping flames. He took a moment to study her face and wonder to himself what he really did want. When she had been close to him he had this sudden urge to reach out to her and complete the kiss, but couldn't bring himself to do it.
Was that just because of Gado? he wondered. Was her father the reason he hesitated? Or was it something else? A feeling deep inside him. He had never expected to feel this kind of emotion for anyone. He had never felt it before, never really known what it was like. Was he afraid of this? Afraid of it as he had been of the power of his beast form to hurt and kill? He found he could not answer his own questions for the moment, so he just let them stir inside his head as he looked at her lovely face, watching the fire.