Has it REALLY been that long? (Phae)

[Price]

Phae didn't seem to be wasting any time at all. Price didn't even get a chance to meet the kid he'd put a sword to, though it wasn't as if any such meeting could result in anything but hard feelings, considering, of course, that Price DID put a sword to his throat. Regardless, it wasn't the usual red-haired beauty that Price was used to hanging out with that was leading him by the hand to his own dorm (which Price found ironic, but said nothing about for the moment.)

No, it was Angry Phae.

She wasn't in the mood for small talk or snappy little quips and quotes at the moment, and Price was more than sure he'd already quite used more of them in his initial showing up than he could afford, anyway. He'd have to deal with that later as well, no doubt, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Phae had found his room, reached into his pocket suddenly and forcefully, damn near sending the unsuspecting Price tumbling as she did so, unlocking the door. With a slight, uncharacteristic hesitation, Price stepped inside, waiting for Phae to come inside and close the door after her.

Sitting down rather gingerly upon his bed, Price put his hands in his lap and looked up at the unhappy girl standing above him, hoping to all chance that she was going keep that sword in its sheath, or better yet, take it off entirely.

"So, uh... you rang?" A bright, but likely soon-to-be-dashed smile crossed his face.

[Phae]

It had been a very quiet treck to his room. She didn't have time to hear why he had not talked to her in days no.. weeks yes weeks. She didn't waste any time. As soon as they reached the door her hand dove into his pocket and she fished out his key unlocking the door. She didn't miss the hesitation as he stepped into his own room.

He sat down on the bed as she unstrapped the sword from her waist. She sighed as he spoke and tried to be cute. She shot him one of those 'don't even give me that crap' looks and thought about what she wanted to say. She sighed softly and crossed the room trying not to let how much his absence had really gotten to her.

"You know.. you shouldn't leave a girl waiting. She gets worried and lonely. Starts thinking maybe you don't like her as much as you used to. Thinks that maybe you found someone better than her." she said softly looking at the floor.

This was a very soft side of Phae. But when she looked up meeting his gaze the pain was evident. After Junpei's disappearance the one of Blacky had hit her rather hard. She had thought that maybe she wasn't good enough for anyone. And had pretty much tried to go on as normal but as evident by the circles under her eyes it was wearing on her.

"Where do I stand with you? What am I to you, Richard?" she asked softly using his full name only something she did from time to time her tears welling but not spilling just yet.

[Price]

Price's head hung in a very un-Pricelike display of humility, clearly ashamed of his actions. Certainly, he had his reasons, but whether or not they had any sort of worthwhile justification was another matter entirely. The tone in Phae's voice, that slight tremble, that softness, the threat of tears just around the corner, was hurting Price more than any injury he'd ever suffered in any of his tournaments.

This time, Price was hurting on the inside.

He bit his lip, completely inable to meet Phae's gaze, even if she weren't looking down at the floor herself. He breathed in, a long, slow, deliberate breath, and released it just as carefully. "Phae..." he began, not even considering using his cute little pet name for her right now.

"Phaedra," he elaborated, trying his hardest to gather his words together into a string of sentences that somehow didn't end in tears, for either of them. "I didn't mean to go like that. I just... there was a tournament down below, back in the States. My dad, he was pushing me to go, he wanted one last show to show the world what the Price family was capable of. I... I wasn't even going to go, I told him I didn't need another tournament, that I was happy here, that I'd found a girl who I knew I could be with for a very long time. He... he sounded so hurt, Phae."

Price faltered a moment. Little was it known to most, if not all, at the Academy, but the boy's relationship with his father was very important to him. The man was his father, his mentor, and his sensei, and Price felt as if he owed almost all of his life to him. Everything he was, everything he had become, had a lot of his father's influence.

"I couldn't have that on my conscience. I tried to pretend like it would be alright, that I didn't care, but, in truth, there was a part of me that wanted it, too. I can't lie to you, I wanted to go back and be on top of things again. I mean, here, I'm just a nobody, you've all got crazy powers, and I, well, I don't have much in that regard. I wanted to make my dad proud, sure, but, really, I wanted to feel like I was actually worth something again, too."

Price's head finally lifted, his dark brown eyes rimming with traces of tears about to form.

"Sure, I went down, I won the thing, but it was a big tournament. It took all those weeks to finish. And every night, when I layed down to sleep in my hotel room, I would toss and turn for hours. That bed was just too damn cold without you in it there with me. It sounds lame, I know, but bear with me, cuz it's true: Not a night went by I didn't think about you in some way."

A small, closed-mouth, sad smile crossed Price's lips as he looked up at Phae, lifting her head to make her eyes meet his with his curled index finger.

'You want to know where you stand with me, Phaedra? What you are to me? You're the only thing that keeps me sane here. You're the girl who makes me feel like I actually am somebody at this Academy, regardless of how weak I may be magically. You make a victory, no, a thousand victories at a thousand martial arts competitions mean next to nothing to me, when you're presented as the alternative."

His smile broadened a little bit, as his eyes held hers.

"I won't say I made the wrong choice by going back down for the past few weeks, either. Because, you wanna know something, Phae? In making that choice, I realized exactly what I had here, and knew exactly where I truly wanted to be. Right here, right now, with you."

Price's words trailed off, as he stared into Phae's beautiful blue eyes. He had said his peace, and the floor was now all hers. How she would react, what she would say, what she would do, was all that was on Price's mind, and, for what may have been the first time in his life, he was truly concerned about the end.

[Phae]

It seemed that the silence hung heavily in the room while he seemed to gather his thoughts. Phae was worried about what he would say. She wanted him to say that he needed her and wanted her in his life. She couldn't look up because she was afraid of what he would say. She was really putting herself out here for him right now and putting her heart on the line as well. She swallowed as he said her name twice. Once her name and the second time her full name something only Junpei had done up til now.

She smiled softly at the use of her full name. It wasn't something she would hear a lot from him and he was sweet because he had given her a special nick name they only used for each other. She waited and he began his tale. Honestly, she had a feeling that it might have had something to do with his martial arts but she stayed quiet listening. Never in the time she had known Blacky had he ever been so subdued and quiet. She almost looked up but instead she waited letting him finished his tale.

She had never heard him admit to not feeling adequate and she could totally understand. She smiled softly and knew that he was opening up to her in a way the felt that it was rare people ever saw. She knew that it was something that meant a lot to him the way he talked about it.

When his finger came under her chin and lifted her head to look at him she let him. Her eyes met his both hers and his were on the verge of tears since admitting things and searching for things from one another. She smiled softly when he told her that he couldn't sleep because she wasn't there. That he wanted and needed her in his life. Tears fell down her cheeks but they had changed to ones of worry and fear to happiness.

"Richard." she whispered as she scooted over and pulled herself up into his lap. "Honey, you are talented. Not only in martial arts but in magic too or you wouldn't be here. They don't let magicians in they let wizards in. Besides just because you aren't uber powerful doesn't mean you can't be. So many people start without knowing their true potential but once it wakes it's amazing just like you are." she said softly.

"And I want to tell you that what you said to me means more than you could ever know. You see, I .. I have deep feelings for you and I had to know if you returned them." she whispered. "Junpei.. he came back.. and .. I needed to know about us. Because I feel something so strong for you and I needed to know if it was returned."

"You see I too haven't slept since you left. Sleeping wrapped in your arms is the only place for me. I'm so cold without you." she whispered softly. "I don't want to be without you. I want to be here with you ever moment I can. I want to wrap myself in your arms at night and sleep curled up next to you. I want to eat breakfast while holding hands like we do. I want to see that sleepy smile in the morning and scare you in the shower. I want to be the girl the cooks you breakfast and makes sure that you are cared for."

"I want to be someone that you wrap your arms around and know that I'm not leaving. I want to feel you here with me knowing that you won't leave me like he did. And honey, next time you go... take me with you. I'd love to see you fight. I'd love to be with you. Show all those tacky girls after you that you are taken and that I intend to keep you with me forever. I want.. to belong to you Blacky." she whispered.

Softly she leaned forward and kissed him gently but passionatly on the lips. All her feelings for him were filled in what she was giving him right now. Her hands ran up and down his chest urgently as she deepened the kiss. She had fallen for him she knew that and now that he had told her how he felt she felt that she was ready to be in a relationship again. Breaking the kiss she nibbled and kissed his neck.

"..Richard.." she whispered in the heat of the moment.

[Price]

"Phae, I-" Price began, but was quite suddenly cut off by Phae's lip against his own. All of the sudden, words didn't seem quite so necessary anymore. His hands instantly came up to the small of her back, slowly running their way up and back down again as they kissed passionately. Her hands did the same on his chest, causing him to exhale quickly in excitement. Breaking the kiss, Phae went for Price's neck, teasing him and softly sighing out his name.

Price could only let out a quiet moan in response, his loose grip around her tightening as he laid backwards on his bed, cross-wise, pulling Phae on top of him. Closing his eyes, he let his feelings take over, as if that was much of a difference from himself usually. Losing that constantly maintained martial artist's self-control, Price allowed his hands to run up Phae's sides, underneath her shirt, wrapping around her back as he pulled her closer to him. Everything had finally been laid out on the table verbally, and whatever was yet to come seemed like it would quite soon follow.

[Phae]

Phae would have smiled had her lips not been busy at the moment. He was kissing her back with that passion that she had not exactly expected just yet. She felt him pull her tightly to him and then they were soon laying on the bed. She was on top of him and they were still kissing. It was as if everything he had been holding back had finally come to pass.

He was letting go of his inhibitions and she kissed him back with everything she had. His hands worked under her shirt and began going up and down the skin there. Carressing her softly but urgently. She moaned softly as she worked her way back up to his lips. She stopped kissing him and looked down at him her blue eyes and his brown ones meeting.

"Richard.." she whispered softly with great care in her voice as she began to stroke his cheek. She wanted to see if he wanted to make another move or if he was going to let it stop here.

[Price]

"Oh, Phae," Richard cooed quietly with closed eyes, feeling the warm touch of Phae's fingers against his cheek. She felt so good this close to him, it was a feeling that Price, though he had physically been like this before with other women, could never be able to match. Something about this girl, her fiery spirit covering that vulnerable soul, her fiery hair accentuating her well-toned body, or maybe just the way she looked when she smiled, turned Price to jelly whenever they were together. His hands, still under her shirt, lifted up, and her hands rose as well to help him remove the shirt quickly from her body. After the sudden interlude, their eyes met again, and Price wanted more than anything to give himself to this girl, right here and right now. Nothing else felt right, nothing else would be so perfect.

But...

Something in the back of Price's head kept nagging at him. Something she'd said before she'd kissed him. Something he'd not paid much attention to at first, but then couldn't stop thinking about. Junpei's back, eh? What does she say to that, I wonder? Why does she need to know exactly how I feel now? She was seeing him... what does she want now?

Plagued with an all-new emotion he'd never felt before, doubt, Price tried to shrug it off, his lips meeting Phae's with an attempt at the same passion of moments earlier. Finding he could not match it, however, he broke the kiss after a few moments. Putting a finger to her lips, stopping her from saying anything about the seemingly awkward move, Price spoke again.

"So he's back."

Price paused a moment, gathering his thoughts before speaking again.

"Is this why you needed to bring all this information out of me? So you can make your choice? Phae, I believe that you meant every little thing you just said about me, and I know that you're the only thing I want in my life, but... is this really what you want right now?"

That kind, caring soul that seemingly only showed up around Phae was back again, his eyes full of worry for the girl. He was afraid she was simply thrusting herself into a position (no pun intended) that could set her up for an even harder fall, and did not want to put it upon her. However, the attraction couldn't be burned out so easily, and after saying it, Price leaned in close to Phae, and just next to ear, so that his words would reverberate sensually inside of it, Price whispered to her,

"Because I want for nothing more in the world than to give it to you."

[Phae]

Phae lifted her arms as her shirt came off. They had held off doing anything of this sort before now but it seemed that now was indeed the time to do so. She looked down at him as he called out her name and she smiled softly. Reaching down she unbuttoned his shirt while they were paused but her eyes never left his. Her fiery depths of azure looked straight into his hazel eyes.

He kissed her back and she kissed him but it felt one sided all of a sudden. He broke the kiss and she was about to speak when his fingers came up and covered her mouth. She knew he was keeping her quiet so that he could talk instead of her and she waited. Her breathing was still heated but she had a feeling what he asked next would be bad.

And it was. He asked her if this was what she truly wanted. Her eyes filled with anguish as she kissed his fingers looking down at him she lowered his hand from her lips. Tears streamed from her blue eyes as she looked down at him.

"I.. I love him. But I care for you too. I don't trust him, but I trust you. I.. I want to have a solid relationship but I don't know what to do. I yearn to have you hold me in your arms and to feel safe and content. But I feel bad because Junpei wants me back so badly. And isn't it fair to give him another chance? Yet, how can I trust him? I want.. to be happy. I want.. to be free. I want.. to feel safe everytime I fall asleep and not fear that I will be left and thrown away again. I need to be important and wanted. But I.. I can't pick... not yet.. I just can't. I need to finish dealing with him first." she whispered.

Crying harder she put her shirt back on slowly as she leaned down and cupped his cheek gently. She kissed him on the lips as her tears met his cheeks.

"Please.. don't hate me. But I don't want to lead you astray." she whispered as she cried into his shoulder sobbing hard as she knew now that he would most likely hate her forever.

[Price]

Ouch.

Price blinked a few times, listening to Phae's words as his heart sunk, and his whole world seemed to fall. So this was what was to become of all of this? Everything they'd worked for, everything he'd stood for her, breaking down and opening himself up to her and her alone, helping her through her darkest hours, only to be spurned for the very one who left her so distraught to begin with? Price bit his lip and cast his eyes downward as she buried her head into his shoulder, crying tears of worry for her decision. Price wanted to be angry. He wanted to get mad, get up, and throw her out for being so blind, so stupid, but he found that he couldn't do any such thing. Instead, he merely put his arms up around her, holding her close and gently rubbing her back, trying to console her.

"Yeah... so that's how it is?" Price started, still feeling rather betrayed by it all, the fact showing through in his words. Quickly, however, he seemed to lose the edge in his voice, letting out a long, low sigh. "I'm.... I'm not going to say I'm okay with this, Phae. He treated you like absolute shit. He only ever got what he wanted from you, and never reciprocated. And every time you needed him most, he left you high and dry, hell, he left you completely. I don't think it's fair to give him a second chance; I don't even think he deserved the first one. You're not doing yourself any favors here, Phae, and that's all my usual confidence aside. But..."

Another pause, another sigh. Price was truly crushed by all this, but still felt too strongly for her to really get mad. However, nothing could stop him from being disappointed in this girl's actions, and he certainly was. In his eyes, Phae was showing weakness here, and it was something he'd soon so many times before. The boyfriend in a relationship couldn't deal with commitment, so he strung the girl along the whole time. And through it all, no matter what, the girl was too damn optimistic, looking only at the good times and thinking that those few times were worth all the bad, and stuck with the personal torture and mental anguish.

Perhaps it wasn't QUITE so bad in Phae and Junpei's case, but to Price, it was all the same.

Shaking his head, Price pulled Phae away from his shoulder, wiping her tears away with a finger. "But if it's what you really want, I've no place nor right to stop you. Go to him, Lucky. Just don't come running back here if he hurts you again." That usual cocky smirk popped up on his face again, a little wink that seemed to scream the opposite: No, please, come right back the second he screws up.

"You'll always have a place here, Lucky. Just be careful, I still don't trust that whack-job. Never will."

Price leaned back on his hands, looking up at Phae with a little shrug. There seemed to be little left to say here, and though he didn't want her to leave, not by a long shot, he knew that she had made up her mind, at least for now.