Where It All Began

Suki hadn't actually realized it, but she really had stopped breathing for a few moments due to the shock. When she finally breathed in, her gaze lowered as Felix put the ring on her finger. She could swear her eyes were tearing up a bit, but it only seemed to make them shimmer in the light. She gave Felix a smile. "I-I guess Felix Kuriyama really doesn't like losing," she joked with a small laugh, but she was clearly still recovering from the shock of it all. It only seemed more real when she realized as she said his name, that it would soon be her own. She was starting to think maybe she had to sit down for a bit...

Felix shook his head at her joke. "This isn't about winning or losing, it's about doing what's right." He leaned forward, but made sure not to get too close, he didn't want her to go stumbling backwards. "But winning is always fun." He looked to a nearby chair and guided her towards it. "Take a seat while it sinks in. In the meantime, I'll get you your real lunch, not that scrawny stuff you called a meal earlier." He went over to the bags and pulled out a box of red bean soup, followed by a small box of dango. "

She wondered what that meant. Doing what's right. Did that mean...just how long had he planned this for? Suki smiled lightly when Felix made that little comment about winning being fun. Okay, she'd admit it, he'd won. Though she wasn't sure if this counted as 'fair and square'. She wondered just how he knew that she needed to sit down, or if it was just that obvious. She could only nod when he said he'd get her real lunch, taking a seat on the chair, as well as a deep breath. When she thought he wasn't looking, Suki wiped whatever tears were forming from her eyes. She actually never thought she'd marry. As strange as it sounded, she'd never seen herself as the type of girl who'd be able to marry. All her relationships had always been far too short, and subconsciously, she hated having to stay in one place too long. But really...she didn't think that would be a problem when it came to Felix.

Felix was glad to be set free of Serenity for the time being. With Kiara and Nora old enough for him to not be legally bound to them, he'd left a few months afterwards. Or course he loved his daughters, but their mother, as he'd recently found out, had put him through hell without realizing it. Felix didn't blame Serenity, but this was still her fault. He carefully fixed Suki a bowl of read bean soup and rice and took it over to her. "Here," he said as if none of the former event had just happened. Felix knew it had and he was glad too, it showed on his smiling face. A chance to finally just be with someone without the drama. He was sure Suki was the only person beside Aiko and Meridian who wouldn't make his life a nightmare. Why was it that he connected with all the good ones in their last few years?

Suki gave Felix a smile, and a small 'thank you' when he brought the bowl over, looking at him for a moment before saying something. "I...don't think I've ever seen you smile like that." It was nice. Refreshing, even. Either way, it made her happy to see him smiling. Made her smile. Looking down, she started quietly on the soup. At least, quietly for the moment.

Felix hadn't been accustomed to smiling, but it felt good to do so after so many years of just grinning and smirking. Now he had emotions. He felt alive! "I sort of change my views on things," he said. "The heartless act is over." It of course had not been an act, but who cared for the truth aside from him? He knew eventually he'd have to return to the Crested and confront Serenity on the issue at hand. He could only imagine how that would go over. Not well at all he suspected, but for now his main concern was Suki. "Do you like my smile," he asked curiously.

Suki didn't just stare down at the soup and rice while she was eating, though it would've been easier to do so through all the emotions that were running through her. She was glad to hear he'd changed his view on things, because it seemed like he was happier. Much happier, actually. She smiled lightly when he said the heartless act was over. "I never thought you were heartless, you know," she said softly. "I always knew there was more." Suki's hazel eyes blinked a moment after Felix asked. But then she smiled. "Very much."

Felix had been digging through the bag for the other box of Dango when Suki spoke. Slowly he stopped and looked at her. She hadn't thought him to be heartless. Felix was silent for a moment before going back to the bag. It was nice to know that someone had faith in him, even when he didn't have faith in himself. "Thanks," he murmured. He turned back to her when he had the second box. "Since you like it so much, I think I'll continue to smile." He gave a small nod. "So, what time do you get off," he asked just to start a conversation.

Suki was a bit curious when Felix had turned to look at her after she'd told him she didn't think he'd been heartless. Ah, had that been wrong to say then..? But it was true, anyways. To her, he'd just been another human with flaws. An ordinary person, to whom she'd just to happened to be attracted to. Of course, to Suki, that made him rather extraordinary. She nodded lightly at his thanks, though she felt a bit confused about it. Why exactly had he thanked her? When he said he'd continue to smile, Suki's eyes brightened, but she said nothing, only smiled again. Every so often, her gaze would land upon the ring on her finger as she ate. Oh man, she was really engaged...Suki lifted her gaze at his question. "Oh, I usually close up at about six," she told him, glancing at the clock. It was nearly five o'clock already. She didn't realize how fast time had gone by.

(Suki is one lucky girl.)

Felix hadn't noticed that she was glancing at her ring. So he remained happily eating his dango as he remembered the last time he'd spent time with Suki. That night she'd stuff a dango into his mouth, leaving him clueless and embarrassed, but the night had ended with him feeling like a weight had been lifted off his shoulder. She had kissed him. Whether it had been then that he'd decided he wanted to be with her, as more than just friends, or if it was before or maybe even after, Felix just knew this was right. "So, you want me to leave so I don't distract you until then. I don't have much to do, but I could always wander around the village, since I haven't been here in so long."

(Sure is. Fangirls are so jealous of her.)

Once Suki finished the soup, and took her time on starting with the dango, the same fond memory making it's way into her head as Felix. It made her smile, and she gave a small giggle. "Remember the last time we had dango together?" she asked. "I believe that was the only time I'd been able to make you blush like that," she teased. It was too bad he was so good at making her blush. She looked up when he asked if she wanted him to leave. "No, it's okay. I don't really have anything to do...it's been a bit slow this past week," she told him.

(As long as we don't have to fight them off, all is good.)

Felix was praying his face wasn't coated in a light shade of red as Suki brought up the memory he'd been thinking about. "Ironically I was just recalling that moment." He looked down at the ground. "And I was not blushing. I don't blush. It's against everything I stand for. I'm too manly to blush," he said with a grin. He crossed his arms over his chest after he plopped a dango into his mouth. "And just so you know, you're going to jinx yourself. It may be slow, but as soon as you turn your back, people will start flowing in. I know, I've seen it happen a thousand times." He nodded. "I bet you already know this. You just want to show me off it all." Felix couldn't stop the grin that was creeping across his face. He was being so ridiculously conceited. "I will gladly admit I have no problem with it, but I won't be able to fight off the swarming hordes of women." He looked at her casually. "Old Suki would probably shrug it off, but New Suki, I think she's a fighter. Not sure yet."

(See, even Felix senses the swarming fangirls...)

Suki smiled when she thought she detected a hint of embarrassment in Felix's expression. She couldn't help it, that memory was her fondest of the two of them by far, second only to what had happened mere minutes before. She giggled lightly when she saw him look down, protesting that he had not been blushing, before lightly biting the dango off it's stick. She didn't speak until after she'd swallowed it. "Hmhm, whatever you say, whatever you say." She wouldn't hurt his pride by calling him unmanly. "Nothing to be ashamed of, really, I thought it was cute," she giggled lightly. Okay, so much for not hurting his pride.

Suki gave a light laugh when he said she just wanted to show him off. "Weelll, maybe I do," she giggled. It wasn't entirely untrue, actually, just not in the way he was thinking, she was sure. She hadn't been dating anyone, to the knowledge of the villagers, so having a fiance out of the blue might throw a few people off. Suki raised an eyebrow a bit when he said he wouldn't be able to fight off the hordes of women. "I see no hordes swarming for you," she joked lightly. "And if you don't remember, the old me was a fighter as well," she said. She was referring to what had happened with that assassin incident that one time, as well as when she'd surprised him by ducking under the flying soccer ball. She didn't expect him to remember the latter.

(And he's not even psychic.)

Now why'd she have to go and take jab at his pride. "Felix Kuriyama is not cute Missy. He may be sexy as hell, but not cute." Felix chuckled a bit as he spoke. "And the hordes are coming, believe me, I saw them in the streets of the village, they'll be here any minute. But since Old Suki was a die hard fighter, I guess New Suki is a die hard fighter too." He flashed a grin at her. "So I shall be safe." Of course Felix wasn't planning on having to protect anyone while he was here. He still had returned to the status of shinobi. He pointed the dango stick at her. "So Ms. Gianna, has everything sunk in yet? Are you capable of standing without following over in shock or unconsciously cutting off all of your own air supply." Felix gave a small snicker.

Suki couldn't help but to start into giggling when Felix started being conceited as hell. It was funny, especially that he said it so casually, chuckle or not. "Hmhm, I'm starting to wonder if you're a bit deluded," she joked with a giggle, as he said he saw the hordes out on the streets. "Something like that," she said, when he assumed 'new Suki' was a diehard fighter. Not really. She would defend herself if she had to, but for the most part, she was a pacifist. It was rare that anyone would find Suki getting angry, and even rarer that it be enough for her to strike at someone. When he pointed his dango stick at her, she tilted her head just a little bit. She was feeling much better, actually, at least, in terms of not accidentally passing out due to her own excitement. "I think I'm fine now," she told him. "And don't you laugh at me," she said, though clearly she was joking. She looked off to the side. "It's not funny that you caught me so off guard like that."

Felix's grin darkened, "But it's just a fluke, remember." The grin wasn't one that could be considered evil. He was just being funny. "And just so you know, I didn't say a word," he said. "You don't see me laughing, do you? If anyone is deluded, it's you." He shrugged. "Maybe you're not feeling to great after all." He leaned forward, peering at her carefully as if examining her. He lifted two fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?" He asked. "What's the color of my shirt?" Felix could go on and on with questions, but was lazy so he stopped at two. (More like I'm lazy, but whatever.) He shook his head. "Answer these questions correctly and I will gladly accept that you are sane. Answer them wrongly and I shall escort you to the nearest medical facility. Please remember that this is for your own good, thank you." Felix gave a slight shrug. He wasn't sure where that had come from, but it sounded catchy, so he'd stick with it. Almost like a flight attendant, but he'd never actually ridden on a plane. He had seen them on tv though, so that was close enough. He gave a light at the thought and then focused his attention back on Suki so he wouldn't miss her answers. That would have defeated the purpose.

Suki kept her gaze to the side when he mentioned how it was just a fluke. "You were snickering," she said resolutely. "That's close enough." Suki blinked, looking at Felix as he leaned towards her, holding up two fingers and asking ridiculous questions. So she'd give equally ridiculous answers. "Seven and pink." Giving a light chuckle, she poked him on the forehead with her pointer finger. "My brain is perfectly fine, but I'm beginning to wonder about yours," she said.

Felix's face twisted in surprise at her answer. He stifled a short laugh as she poked him on the forehead. "And now I know why we're supposed to keep our headbands on our heads. To keep people like you from poking us." He grinned and moved back. "Also, I think I'll have to escort you to the nearest medical facility. I was holding up two fingers and my shirt is black, not pink. I'm too manly for pink, even though I'd look good in all colors." He pushed himself away from the corner and walked around the counter to the other side. "The only brain that is perfectly fine is mine. I can count and see perfectly. Hmm, then again, maybe you just need glasses."

Suki giggled and tilted her head with a small shrug that was meant to say 'oops' when he said their headbands were to protect them from people like her. That had been a bit childish when she thought about it. Oh well. She gave a small grin when he said that he was too manly for pink. "Oh but if you're so manly, you should have no problems wearing pink then," she told him. Maybe that had been a little devious, but little Suki had grown up, and learned some tricks along the way. She gave a light giggle when he said maybe she needed glasses. "I don't think I'd look so good in glasses," she told him. Truth was, she actually wore contacts, but he didn't need to know that. She had glasses at home, just in case she lost her contacts, but she never wore them, even if she did.

Kymin's stupid voice popped into his head when Suki said she wouldn't look good in glasses. "You'd look good in everything, or nothing at all." Pushing the idiot ninja's inappropriate comment to the back of his mind, Felix responded. "Well played Suki, well played." He then looked towards the door for no apparent reason. He should probably be furnishing his apartment instead of bothering her, then again, she did say she wasn't doing much. "So, how long have you had the shop," he asked.

Finishing her last dango piece, Suki stood up to take care of the garbage, glancing at Felix when he asked about the shop. It took her a moment to calculate it. Everything seemed to fly by. Tara had died five years ago, and then Suki moved back into the Gear, trying to get a foothold. That had taken nearly a year before she got a job. A couple of the villagers remembered her from her performances, Kim specifically, and helped her get things set up for the shop. That had taken...nearly six months. "About three years," Suki told him. "I was honestly surprised at how fast people began coming here," she said with a small embarrassed smile as she went around and leaned back against the front of the counter so she could look at Felix properly.

Felix blinked. Three years? That was a long time. "You shouldn't be surprised," he said. "Your music is pleasant to the ears, unlike some people I know." He gave a shrug. He looked at her sideways. "I'm going to go sit in a corner for the next hour," he said. He then walked back behind the counter and took a seat against the wall. Yes, he was sitting on the floor. Checking the bandages on his arm, he said nothing as the door opened. It was almost perfect timing. He smirked and looked at the wall with little interest.

Suki looked at Felix as he said he was going to sit in the corner. "You could...grab a chair from the back you know..." she said, blinking as he sat on the floor. She looked towards the door and stopped leaning against the counter to stand up straighter as a customer came in. Or rather, Kim was back. That'd been fast. His guitar wasn't on his back, so she guessed he'd gone home. "Forget something?" she asked with a small smile.

Kim nodded, walking forward, glancing around the shop like he always did. He liked the way she had instruments hanging on display. Most of them were string instruments, but there were flutes and some horns as well. Made sense that most of them were string, since it was Suki's area of expertise. "I forgot to grab a new pick before I left," he said, stopping in front of Suki. "That guy left? What's up with that anyways, you didn't tell me you had a boyfriend," he said with a small grin.

Suki looked off to the side. "Er, actually, he's still here," she said, sounding a little embarrassed as she looked off to the side.

Kim raised an eyebrow and then walked over to the counter, leaning over it. At first he was gonna try and look in the back, but he didn't have to, cuz the silver haired guy was sitting on the floor. Kim grinned. "Well hi there. Suki put you in time out?" he joked with a chuckle.

Felix slipped his glove back on just as Kim leaned over the counter. He'd been listening to the conversation with an amused look. Boyfriend, please, Felix was the fiance. Looking up at Kim he gave a small grin. "I was trying not to be distracting, but it looks like I'm still attracting attention." He gave a shrug. "Besides," he glanced at Suki. "I'm too manly for being put in time out." Yeah, he was going to stick with that. Suki would get the joke, he wasn't sure Kim would.

Kim was glad the guy seemed good humored. When he heard Suki chuckle at what he assumed to be an inside joke, he merely shook his head with a small grin. "Okay then."

Suki looked down for a moment, a light blush on her face. She wondered how this would go over. "And, um...actually..." When Kim turned to look at her curiously, she held up her hand to show him the ring.

Kim's face went a bit blank. "...wait really?" He looked to Felix, and then to Suki again. "The hell, did you just go from strangers to engaged or what?" He stood up and looked to Suki. He didn't look mad, but more confused. "You woulda told me if you had a boyfriend, right?" Once more he glanced to Felix, and then to Suki.

Looking down again, Suki seemed even more embarrassed. "O-of course I woulda. It's just...a long story," she said finally. "O-oh, right! Kim, this is Felix. Felix, Kim. He's helped me get the shop up and running after...um, yeah," she said lightly. She didn't want to bring up Tara's death. Didn't like to.

Kim turned to the counter and leaned forward on it again, crossing his arms over it. "Nice to meetcha. So tell me, did you just show up and propose to her outta nowhere or what? Cuz I've heard nothin of ya." He wasn't trying to be rude, of course. Only trying to protect his best friend. "What's this long story about anyways?" he asked curiously. Yes, he wanted to hear it from Felix.