Closed Log

[dontmindmepleasecontinue]

Who: Sheska and Koizumi
What: plans, dinner, panic, dating
Where: the police station and Sheska's apartment
When: Tuesday, July 9th
Warnings: cuteness may ensue

Now that school was out, Koizumi finds himself working at the police station nearly every waking moment that he isn't busy with Kyon or Haruhi. It's hard work, and most of his fellow officers are definitively not people he would have normally chosen to spend time with, which doesn't make the job any easier.

Nevertheless, he manages to come in to work every day, not just with a smile on his face, but a genuine smile. And the reason for that is because the first person he sees when he walks in the door - as well as the last person he sees before he leaves for the day - is almost always Sheska, greeting him brightly and optimistically, with a smile to rival one of his on her face. It's not really something he's considered, but it makes his day considerable brighter, to have that smile to look forward to, both coming into work and in the middle of his shift. Even the days she's not working, he's encouraged by the thought of the smile she would be wearing when he walks in.

So it is that Koizumi enters the police station at 6 in the morning, a wide smile on his face as he greets the receptionist.

"Good morning, Sheska-kun. How are you today?"

Comments

[librariansheart]

Oh, there he was; awareness of his surroundings came back into his face, and then he speaks. Only the words he says don't make any sense. Not that they aren't real words. Individually they're all definite words, but the way he's strung them together don't seem to make a realistic sentence.

Sheska is left blinking, staring in complete bafflement. "I..." What? Ok, take this one word at a time. There were only five of them, it couldn't be that hard.

The idea finally sinks in with dramatic and visible results.

She yelps, going immediately and brightly pink, eyes wide and muscles suddenly stiff. Unsure what precisely she was going to say, she opens her mouth, but even if she had known, she was stuttering so badly that she couldn't actually have gotten anything meaningful out anyway. Squeezing her eyes shut, she shakes her head vehemently and swallows heavily, trying to regain mastery over her tongue.

"I-I'm f-flattered, sir, r-really, I... A-are you f-feeling okay? I d-don't..." she stammers, unable to meet his eyes and retreating in on herself in confusion. "I d-don't understand, i-is the island d-doing something again? I-I should check the N-Network..."

[dontmindmepleasecontinue]

Oh. Well... that fairly effectively answers the question. She isn't interested. Having regained his composure, Koizumi remains calm and collected, though he feels a sinking sensation in his stomach. Of course she doesn't like him that way. He should have trusted his instincts in this. Resigning himself to his usual position in relationships, he fervently hopes that he did not just ruin his friendship with Sheska.

He immediately attempts damage control, trying to mitigate the fallout of his idiotic question. However, though he could easily get by and have things go back to normal by blaming it on the island, he does not. However it affects their relationship, she deserves the truth in this. "Forgive me, Sheska-san. I spoke inappropriately." The abrupt shift in honorifics is pronounced, though he fails to notice it himself.

"It isn't the island. I just realized my feelings for you, and spoke without thinking. I understand that you're not interested. My apologies."

[librariansheart]

She flinches at the sudden honorific, and looks up, woefully dismayed. Waving her hands apologetically, she almost reaches for him before pulling back hesitantly. What on earth does a person do in this situation? "Oh n-no, no, th-that's not it at all! I... I don't... Ah, this is a lot to process. It isn't... I've never... Um."

She's with Rudy! Sort of. Maybe? They haven't spoken much since that night, and that was over a week ago, and she doesn't really know what to think anyway and... Koizumi is younger than her, but so much more mature than most people his age, and he... he actually likes her? She likes him, that's certain, but... She never thought it was even an option! How do you even put this in words?

"I-It's not that I'm not interested... e-exactly. Um. I... I'm sort of... seeing someone at the moment? I think? A-and it's a surprise! I-I mean, I've never been-- Popularity was n-never one of my traits, and I... I'm not... I never thought - never dreamed - that there might be..."

She stops and shakes her head again. "I-I'm sorry. I'm not explaining this well at all. Um... I really am very flattered, and I... I l-like you. I'm blown away a-and this doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but... I really do like you. I just... C-can I think about it a little while?"

Maybe get some advice...

[dontmindmepleasecontinue]

Koizumi patiently struggles to figure out what Sheska is saying.

Oh. Oh. So... so she does like him? Or she might, at any rate. Except she's seeing someone else. She thinks? What does that even mean?

Koizumi internally shakes his head and stops trying to figure it out. She needs time. That he can understand, and it is easy enough to accommodate. He speaks gently, his tone somewhere between abashed, confused, and hopeful. "Of course you can, Sheska-san." He's still aware enough of what just happened between them that his honorific is purposeful instead of automatic. "Take all the time you need.

I'm sorry if I made things difficult or confusing for you." Should he... leave now? It would be difficult to pretend that this never happened. He makes half a motion to stand up before arresting the motion and looking to Sheska for his cue, to see how she was reacting.

[librariansheart]

She moves as if to take his sleeve when he starts to get up, then stops, biting her lip. How did this get so complicated so suddenly? It had been such a relaxing evening, and she'd just completely wrecked it with her social ineptitude. How do you even make up for something like this? Was there a way? Well... There wasn't any other way than to try, was there.

Sheska gathers the shreds of her courage with a breath and leans forward to actually make eye contact of her own volition. It was hard to figure out just how to express what she was feeling, so she simply left her face painfully open, regret, apology, consternation, guilt writ large. "Koizumi, I... I'm sorry. This isn't your fault. It's..." She drops her gaze and grimaces in self-recrimination, making a little frustrated gesture, as though she knows that cliched expression isn't going to help either of them before forcing herself to look him in the face again.

"You've done nothing wrong!" It's almost a wail and she's having a hard time keeping her voice from trembling. "I'm just..." Her voice drops to a much softer level, almost hard to hear. "I'm no good at relationships. I've read all about them, but I don't..." No, this isn't about her. It's about him, and how she's hurt him. "You're wonderful, and I never thought I could be so lucky, to have someone so sweet and patient and kind be even remotely interested in me like that. It took me by surprise, but it... It makes me really happy."

And it did. Her chest ached with it, even suppressed as it was by shock and guilt. It brightened some secret corner of her heart that Rudy as an adult hadn't quite. Making the effort, she pushes back the befuddling haze and lets some of that shy, grateful appreciation come to the fore.

Tucking a stray strand of hair back, she glances down and then back up at him, asking hesitantly, "Did... Did you want to stay a little while? I know it's late, and I sort of ruined this but... I don't want this to hang over our heads, i-if you know what I mean?"

[dontmindmepleasecontinue]

Though it almost physically pains him, Koizumi's face is open and uncontrolled - moreso than Sheska has ever seen before - as he is not even attempting to conceal or disguise his emotions. There is confusion there, and happiness, sorrow, hope, and guilt; he's no longer sure whether he wears a smile or a frown. He sees her expression, the emotions that are warring within her as well. He wants to relax her difficulties in this, to put her at ease about the whole thing - still almost regretting saying something in the first place - even as his heart jumps to hear her say such things about him.

"I... I've never had any experience with relationships either, Sheska-kun." He's still aware of the honorific he chooses, and it's intentional this time. Though he's still unsure and hesitant, the next sentence is strong and sure, eyes shining with sincerity. "Rest assured, however, you've ruined nothing. You're incredible, Sheska, you're a treasure, even if you don't see it yourself - and I feel blessed simply to have you as a friend, much less... anything more than that."

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before looking back at her and giving her wide and genuine smile, reminiscent of his usual ones, though far more uncertain and tentative. "If you want me to, I would love to stay a while longer." He hesitantly reaches out and half takes her hand, his fingers gently curling around hers, the gesture tender and reassuring.

[librariansheart]

Her swollen heart jumps and catches in her throat to see him so laid bare. She nearly blurts out that she's made her decision and it's him, just to see that hurt and guilt go away. She never wanted to cause him any pain. It was such a poor way to repay his kindness, and he didn't deserve it. But that wouldn't be fair to Rudy, either... What a mess.

His compliments renew her smile even as she mutely shakes her head. It's nice to see some of that tension in him retreat, and she finds herself responding instinctively, opening up her posture some. She isn't expecting him to take her hand, her eyes widening slightly and the warmth deepening across her cheek again, and she dares to tentatively squeeze his fingers in return. Her heart is so loud... surely he can hear it... What does all of this even mean? Is a person always supposed to react like a giddy schoolgirl when confronted with someone who professes some sort of mad attraction to you?

"I'd like that, if that's all right," she says. "I, ah... I should tidy up, but would you, um..." She casts about for an idea. She didn't want this to go poorly, but what on earth were they supposed to do now? She wasn't going to let him help clean up. That's just rude. Her eye falls on the hall closet and she has an idea. "What about a board game? If you like them, I mean... I bought a few at Juanes a while ago, but I never did get a chance to open them and test them out."

[dontmindmepleasecontinue]

His smile actually turns a little shy when she blushes and squeezes his hand, and a mirroring heat rises a little in his own cheeks.

He starts to open his mouth to offer to help her clean up, but he catches himself in time. Sheska would feel bad if he helped. His eyes follow hers to the closet. "I would enjoy that a lot, Sheska-kun. I used to play board games with Kyon all the time in the clubroom." His broad smile continues, a little more confident. "I'll go peruse our selection, shall I?"

He strolls to the hall closet, and examines the contents. Apologies!, Misfortune, Scribble, and Foursome are the first he sees. There are several more, and he spends a moment searching through them, but there are none he thinks particularly suit the evening. He comes back with Foursome, Scribble, and a deck of Tricycle® playing cards, holding them up for her to see. "One of these, perhaps, Sheska-kun?"

[librariansheart]

She gathers the dishes, rinses, and slips them into the dishwasher - such a wonderful invention! Moving her flowers off to one side, she remembers to go put down food for the soulful-eyed hound and turns in a swirl of heavy skirt to find her guest carrying a few games. "Oh, good! I'd been hoping to have someone teach me those! Have you played either of them before?"

Sheska gestures to the table and comes over to join him, the prospect of learning something new entirely a delight to her.

[dontmindmepleasecontinue]

"As a matter of fact, I have. We can start with Connec- er, Foursome, I think, since it doesn't take that long, and move on to Scribble afterward." He wears something of an amused and knowing grin. "Somehow, I think you're going to be really good at that one."

He takes out and sets up the Connect 4 ripoff, explaining the game. "Though strategy is a little more nuanced, the game itself is very simple. We each receive a color - red or black - and we take turns placing a piece into one of these slots at the top, where they slide down until they hit the bottom or another piece. The goal is the get four of your pieces in a row - vertically, horizontally, or diagonally - before your opponent."

[librariansheart]

"Oh! That is fairly simple. Like tic-tac-toe, only with an added spot. All right!" Picking up one red and one black in either hand, she holds them behind her and mixes them up before offering him closed fists. "I think black goes first? Pick one!"

Inviting him to touch her. That was a step, right? An example of trust? It was probably too obscure, but... She's trying. It's hard to express.

[dontmindmepleasecontinue]

"Exactly, except you have to start on the bottom and work you way up." Actually, Koizumi's fairly certain that red is supposed to go first. "I believe you are correct, Sheska-kun."

Luckily for her, he is at the moment extremely aware of all their actions, and the invitation does not go unnoticed. A small, soft smile graces his face at the gesture. Maybe she really does like him, after all.

He languidly reaches out and gently touches his fingers to the top of her left hand. "This one, I think."

why yes I did randomly generate which one he chose

[librariansheart]

The red target rings gleam in her upturned palm and she smiles apologetically. "I suppose I start then." She hesitates for a moment, then chooses the most obvious strategic point - the center.

The game starts out quickly on her side of things, slowing down once they have three rows or so mostly filled. She tires to keep up a sort of light conversation, talking about the common games and children's rhymes of her home and how some of them match or differ from ones in this world that she's found. Several easy rookie mistakes and intrigued laughs later, it's clear that she's picking up some of the strategy quickly.

[dontmindmepleasecontinue]

Koizumi makes no obvious errors in the early game, but though he gets close a time or two, it is obvious that his experience does not present him with much of an advantage here. After the first couple rows, he's rapidly put on the defensive, as Sheska displays a clear aptitude for the game.

Regardless of how he's doing, however, his cheerful smile never disappears, and he laughs easily. He takes to the conversation quickly, actually very interested in the topic, and what it might say about the relationships between the world or simply about human nature, with conjecture and ideas about both which he shares freely.

Though he tries not to think about it in such terms, he also wonders what it might say about Haruhi and her life and existence beyond four or five years ago.

When they are a little more than halfway up the board, he reacts to the trap Sheska laid for him, though it's a bare move too late for him to prevent it. Anything he does now will lead to her victory within two moves. He makes a noise of mock dismay, though he's laughing again moments afterward. "Oh, dear. That was well done, Sheska-kun. I'm afraid you have bested me.

Shall we play again, or would you like to move on to another game?"

[librariansheart]

Sheska was a little afraid of his reaction - she'd never had luck with people she'd beaten in a competitive game - but she shouldn't have worried. Joining in, laughing releases any lingering tension in her and she doesn't feel a need to apologize, for once. "I wouldn't mind another game, but I must admit, Scribble is rather tempting. Though, I'm not sure it would be fair, if you're not as used to English spelling and such," she says, stacking her few excess pieces and examining the Foursome grid more closely. "How...? Are you just meant to tip it upside-down?"

[dontmindmepleasecontinue]

Koizumi gives something of an unassuming shrug, still smiling. "Perhaps I would be at something of a disadvantage, but hardly moreso than I apparently am here. You very clearly met and surpassed my skill at it within the space of a single game. I have my doubts as to whether I'd fare better in the next one."

He leans forward, indicating and then pulling the lever at the bottom, and all the pieces come tumbling out. "You simply slide the bottom like this, Sheska-kun."

[librariansheart]

"Oh, no, really, I'm sure I just got lucky. I'm not usually-- Oh!" Her self deprecating commentary is cut short by her childish delight at the release mechanism. Capturing a few escapees before they rolled off the table, she laughs. "That's marvelous! I can certainly see why it's such a popular game. Children must love the end as much as the game itself."

She gathers everything to put away, nodding at the Scribble box. "I don't suppose you'd set up for the next one, then? I haven't had a chance to read the rules, but the box said something about forming words to score points?" She can, of course, quote the box word for word, but that would be showing off in the worst way, and she really doesn't want to put him off or boast. This is about having fun!

[dontmindmepleasecontinue]

Koizumi doesn't continue the earlier vein, not wanting to give Sheska a chance for more self-depreciation. "I certainly know I did, as a child."

He takes out the Scribble board, two of the tile racks, a pen and a piece of paper to keep score, and then picks up the bag of letters, offering it to Sheska. "It's fairly simple. We each get seven letters to start with. The numbers on the letters indicate how much each tile is worth; blanks can be any letter, but you don't get any points from them. You start in the middle of the board, and then have to build off the words already played. Various squares on the board will make letters or even the whole word worth double or triple what it otherwise would have been, so placement is important." He spends several more moments explaining the little details and intricacies of the game. "I think that's about it. Make sense?

Tell you what, if you're worried about me being at a disadvantage because of my English, why don't I go first?"

[librariansheart]

After a few clarifying questions and running to go fetch a dictionary from her shelf, she was ready. Slipping her seven tiles from the proffered bag, Sheska lines them up on her little rack, already shuffling and reorganizing them enthusiastically. "Oh, yes, please do! It'll be a favor to me, honestly. Hm." She had a few options, but she was already seeing how difficult a game this could be. She was several letters short for that one, and one or two for that... Oh, an s, or even a d would probably make a difference! An e would be especially useful just at the moment, though. Hmm.

[dontmindmepleasecontinue]

Koizumi smiles at her indulgently, glad that his offer to try to even the odds a little is received so well. He chooses his own tiles, lining them up on his rack and simply looking at them, very intently, for more than a minute. Eventually, he switches the tiles once, twice... and then his smile widens with a quiet 'ah', and he comes forward with the word 'fervid', netting an mildly impressive 34 points. That should allay her fears that this might be an easy game.

... Or it would, had she ever played it before, and had it been anyone other than Sheska.

Regardless, he smiles at her genially as he dives into the bag for more tiles. "Your turn, Sheska-kun." The game continues quickly for his part, never spending more than a minute or two on any particular word. "Failure", "leisure", and "enamor" quickly come and go as the game unfolds, and he keeps up a casual small talk with her, for all the world as if what had happened between them at dinner had never occurred.

[librariansheart]

Sheska is of course suitably impressed by such a good start, and fusses with her letters before coming up with 'impulse'. She's slower to come up with words, but the more they play, the faster she gets, and her greater vocabulary starts to come into play.

Homage...
Zealous...

She chats amiably, if a little distractedly, running through her mental dictionary to try and find something that fit best with her letters. Her poker face is dreadful, a little, intent half-frown of concentration that does nothing to disguise her excitement when she finds something she likes, nor her dismay when it doesn't work or he lays a word where she had meant to.

And then she discovers the trick of adding to two words with one letter. She stops dead in the middle of what she was saying and stares a moment, considering the options. Is that against the rules? She glances at Koizumi and reaches for the booklet to check. No... not against the rules. Hm. Hesitating slightly, she picks up her pieces and lays 'pleas' down so that the 's' matches the end of 'impulse'. Not a lot of points, but it still feels a little like cheating.

[dontmindmepleasecontinue]

He's glad they can go back to chatting amiably after what happened at supper, though he's still a little intently aware of his reactions to her, watching her pure delight and disappointment in the game, noting just how open and honest her face is, and how well that suits her.

He had started out a little ahead, and managed to stay even with her up till this point, but as she's getting used to the game she starts drawing quickly ahead, and by the time the game is halfway through - though he isn't sure if she is even aware of the score - she's managed to take a sixty point lead, which no signs of stopping anytime soon.

He laughs delightedly when she discovers she can make two words with one letter, gently amused at her expression. He smiles broadly, and states, with enthusiasm. "Ah, now I really am doomed!"

[librariansheart]

Dismay and chagrin twist her lips and puts tight lines around her eyes, and immediately she's apologizing. "I'm sorry! It's not wrong, is it? I-I mean, I couldn't find anything about it in the rule book, but if it's a rule you don't play with, then I can do something else instead!" He doesn't seem upset at all, but she's been bitten too many times in the past.

[dontmindmepleasecontinue]

He holds up his hands as if to forestall her. "Ah - don't worry, Sheska-kun, it's a perfectly legal play."

He shrugs elaborately. "I was simply lamenting my apparently inevitable looming defeat." This is obviously a lie. He's not lamenting it in the slightest.

[librariansheart]

She flushes, embarrassed. "I'm overreacting again, aren't I?" It's one of the things she's always been teased about, but he doesn't actually sound upset? Fiddling with her remaining tiles, she laughs a little, more self-depreciating than amused. "Well, um, your turn, then, I suppose."