[Marshell, O] Date or Not Date?

[sei]

If there was a worse place for Dymien's emotional health then he didn't want to ever see it. People all about, festive and jovial, left Dymien like a fish out of water. The only salvation was the bundle of things he was holding to his chest with a death grip. Dymien would never forgive himself if anything happened to that bundle. Since that day in the market, the name of which he still couldn't pronounce or remember, the young tailor had been working furiously to create the absolute perfect pieces. In fact he had been working so furiously that the day arrived and he was still touching up on everything. It didn't matter to him that his eyes were weary or that his fingers hurt from poking them too much because he had finished.

That proud bundle he held so close to his chest was his prize. The proof that he had not starved his body of rest without good reason. Or at least it was good reason in his mind. Others may not see it in such a light. But 'others' did not matter in this situation, for the only person who did matter in this was Marshell and what she would think. Just the thought of her brought a warm flush to his cheeks and a slight wooziness to the front of his head. She was wonderful and smart and beautiful and all that Dymien wanted out of this whole meeting was to please her. Well perhaps that was a bit of a fib and Dymien wanted a little more, but he already felt out of his element and was two steps from shutting down entirely. Once Marshell arrived he may be able to stave back the urge, but until she did he was still out in public with no business to attend to.

A passing stranger suddenly bumped Dymien and in his Marshell-thought induced coma he lost his balance entirely. The clumsy man tumbled forth in a screaming mess, constantly repeating, "No no no no no!" But despite his chanting of resistance, Dymien still met with the ground face-first. His first concern wasn't his face as much as it was the clothing he had wrapped in some plastic. Only after the young man had confirmed that he didn't break the package did he breath a little easier. Sitting on the ground like that though, rapidly looking over a plastic package, Dymien imagined he must have looked rather silly.

The worst part was that Dymien had specifically dressed up for Marshell. Sure, normally Dymien was a very dapper man, but he wanted to look really nice for her. Because it was a formal festival he was wearing a specifically designed Yukata for men that he worked very hard on. In fact he worked so hard on it that he had made a matching one for Marshell. Festivals made such garb common place and even though he had never participated like that before he decided to this particular day. His Yukata was a deep maroon, Marshell's color, with careful stitching around the color. The soft embellishments were subtle so that the garb didn't look gaudy. The one that the man had made for Marshell was at the top of the stack and matched rather well. A flush overcame his face as he wondered if wearing matching Yukatas was a couples only type of thing.

The other things that he had made for Marshell were special too. There was the specific battle dress he had sketched for her, created with loving detail, a battle skirt, the formal maroon dress he had started before her order, and one last dress as a surprise. That dress was mean for special occasions and was one of the most radiant things he had ever created. It was tasteful but specifically made to flatter every aspect of the woman. Dymien thought that if he ever saw her in it he might collapse. Over-all he was very proud of his work and held it like a treasure as he finally stood back up from his fall. Dymien winced as he thought about the damage he might have done to his Yukata. It didn't even cross his mind that when his head hit the ground it had caused him to start bleeding.

[Marshell Artyn]

Oh it was a horrible start off to her day. Marshell woke up late this morning, but that was not the most bothersome part. The thing that killed her the most was that in her day off, dancing away in her apartment, she lost track of time. Typically, she doesn't do that, being the Tempo Magic Muse and all that she is, but every once and a while it slipped, but why did it have to slip today, of all days. The festival had already begun and she had... a date. Of all things to be late for, a date. A date... With Dymien. All throughout getting ready she was covered in blush and flighty thinking about him. Finally she finished readying herself and set out towards the A Piacere District and the festival itself.

The crowd was thick when she arrived and noises were twice as abundant as the people. Places like these were not ideal for Marshell. She loved the activity and excitement, but all of the going-ons distracted her from finding Dymien. Very often, Marshell's gaze would avert to some noise or group of chatter. She tried her hardest to find him, really she did, but she absolutely could not find him. Dymien was tall, so she spent most of her time on her toes looking over the crowd, but to no avail.

She wasn't wearing heels this time around. She broke from tradition and wore flats and a plain white one-piece dress that stopped only about an inch above her knees. She figured since he would bring the dress she made, she would wear something small so changing into it would be easy. She wanted to wear his dress so bad, no matter how it looked, but she absolutely KNEW it would be fantastic.

Nonetheless, she was still having troubles locating her date. The term "date" kept ringing through her mind and it only fueled her want and need to locate him more. However, she sadly grew tired. The crowd was simply too big. Marshell found her way to a bench and sat down looking on the crowd in front of her. Her rush was pointless. She was late, and Dymien must have left. Her shoulders sank in her depression. Almost immediately after they did, a small amount of laughter came from her immediate right.

She looked up slowly as people tripped and stepped over someone. One had fallen over and none of them even thought about helping them. Instinctively, Marshell became a good samaritan, rose and hastily walked over to the fallen Tone. She had no idea it was going to be exactly who she was searching for.

When she arrived they had already stood back up, but still she wanted to make sure they were doing fine. "Oh my goodness. Are you okay? These people are very rude, please be careful. Are you hurt?" Marshell placed her hands on the person's back to catch their attention, but instead caught the eyes of Dymien instead. A long pause was cast over Marshell. It was a complete surprise to see Dymien there where she expecting anyone BUT him. "Dymien! Oh my! You.. You're bleeding! Dymien are you okay? Please tell me you're okay." Marshell licked her thumb and wiped it over Dymien's wound. She knew it was probably something he didn't want other's to see, and really, Marshell felt a little awkward basically licking Dymien's forehead. She didn't care though. Dymien needed tending to and that was more important than how others viewed her. She was on her tiptoes to reach the blood which looked just silly. She probably didn't even need to tiptoe that much anyways, but she did to make sure she would reach enough. Her eyes caught something that made her stop for a second or two. He had a scar over his right eye. She immediately opened her eyes to ask about it, but last minute changed her mind and spoke differently than how she wanted to. "I really hope you haven't been waiting long. I lost track of time. I am very very sorry." She changed what she said because she had no right to invade his privacy about the scar. Maybe later she would ask, but for now, she would refrain from doing as such.

Her heels reconnected with the ground and she looked up to Dymien. He was much taller when she had flats on instead of high heels. She giggled, smiled then just waited for her date's reply since she had no idea what to say next.

[sei]

The hand on his back was a little startling considering that the last time he had been touched it was the cause of his little face-plant. Dymien turned his gaze toward the person only to find her. She was asking if he was alright softly until she caught sight of him. Marshell seemed just as surprised as he when she realized they had found each other finally. There was an extended pause as they both seemed to need to take in the fact that they were face to face again until Marshell took notice of the bleeding that Dymien himself hadn't noticed. The muse's reaction was swift once she realized something was amiss and all Dymien could do about it was stand there and blush furiously at her soft touch.

When she licked her thumb and began to clean his wound, Dymien flinched a little. It stung considering it was a new wound, but Marshell had good intentions so he didn't let it show for more than a split second. Her concern was sweet and made Dymien feel all the more foolish for falling in the first place. At the very least he had kept good care of the things he had made for Marshell. The muse continued to tend to him, sounding a lot more concerned for his well being once she realized it was him and not a stranger, but Dymien spotted something off. Not that she was doing anything wrong so much as she hesitated for a moment. Dymien wondered why until he remembered it. His scar. It was embarrassing for someone to see it so close like that and perhaps she wanted to say something, but she held back. Dymien was thankful because he didn't want to explain. Not yet at least.

"I-I am... I am fine," Dymien finally stuttered in reply. His words were as unsteady as ever, but the effect Marshell on him didn't seem likely to wear off anytime soon. She spoke of how she hoped he wasn't waiting long and got off her tip-toes. It was only then that Dymien realized he was actually a fair deal taller than her, which was not how he remembered it to be the last time he had seen her. A stray glance to her shoes told him it must have been because of heels. In all honesty that was certainly not why Dymien was paying attention to in their first encounter. She was too radiant to focus on her shoes. "I wasn't waiting long at all! Don't fret over something silly like that," Dymien replied to her last comments.

It appeared as if after that comment Marshell was waiting for him to speak so he decided he would take care of the official business first. Even though that was the only thing keeping him in the functional dymien state of mind he wanted to see what she thought of his work. He had worked so hard to make things she could adore that he really couldn't handle his own anticipation. Biting his lower lip lightly, Dymien began to dig into the plastic package that contained Marshell's clothing. "I make something special for you just for today. I know you didn't ask for it but I thought you might like it and... um.... and..." His voice dropped off as he pulled the Yukata out. It felt a little clumsy to hold, but he held it out for her to see.

It was soft maroon to match his but had specifically places gold embroidery. Hers was meant to look more festooned than his with music notes and hour glasses about it in fanciful patterns. "I was really hoping you'd like this. Um since it was a formal event I thought it would be nice and umm..." The tailor's voice trailed off again as he lost himself in the desperate search for the right words. Dymien knew he must have sounded so foolish in that moment, but he was just thankful he wasn't stuttering on top of everything. That would have made him feel plenty more ridiculous. "I-I-I still made the other things though. And the dresses. I made those too. I just thought this might be special and nice," With the return of the stuttered Dymien's confidence flew out the window. He held out the Yukata pathetically with the rest of her clothing bundled under his arm.

[Marshell Artyn]

When Marshell had finished tending to his minor wound, and let herself fall flat-footed again, Dymien seemed to scan her to her toes and back up. He stopped her her feet longer than a split second, and all Marshell could think of was Why is he looking at me like that? I look horrible. Surely this isn't pleasing. It's simply a small dress and flats, nothing more.

[/color] But he spoke again breaking her train of thought. It most certainly wasn't silly. She still felt horrible about arriving much later than she had promised.

Dymien then reached into his plastic bag, which surprised Marshell because she had not noticed it until just now when he started fiddling with it. When he said that he had made something specially for her, she was expecting the dress that the young tailor had sketched and tapped into her imagination for. She saw an emergence of maroon, and her smile began to widen and beam the more color there was. It clicked to her just at this moment that he was wearing Maroon as well. A Maroon Yukata, to be exact. Very formal indeed and highly appropriate for the occasion. It did him good. Traditional wear was apparently good on Dymien, but she jsut assumed that most anything looked good on him. He was a Tailor for goodness sakes, obviously he was going to look dashing in whatever he wore.

However, when he remarked about how she DIDN'T ask her to make it, her smile vanished and eyes widened. It wasn't her dress and on top of that, he spent even more time on something else that she was not expecting. She was utterly surprised, but when Dymien held her Yukata out to her, the smile returned full force and her eyes glistened at how beautiful it was. She blushed and even felt a small tear forming in her eye. No one really gave gifts like this anymore, and for him to spend extra time on her like this was truly something special. She felt the fabric like she did the sketchpad back at the market. The only words that came forth were "Thank you..." She took the Yukata from him and slipped it on slowly, then wrapped it completely around. She looked back up to Dymien when she realized they matched.

It was simply beautiful. Maroon was obviously a plus with her, and Dymien already knew this about her, which she liked. The gold parts somehow seemed to flow with the contour of her long blonde hair. The hourglasses she requested on her special dress were also present on this Yukata, and music notes scattered around seemed to make it all work together. She was so impressed with the Yukata and how every single detail related to her in some way. Of course she returned with her typical bounce and squeal routine, which turned some heads of the surrounding Tones, where some gave looks that seemed to express "Oh god... Here we go with her." But also typically of Marshell, she cared only slightly less than nothing about what they all thought. She was here for Dymien, and that's what mattered.

"We match! ... And they're maroon! Dymien this is just too nice!" Marshell said as she looked back down to her very nice new outfit that fit perfectly. Of course it fit perfectly. Dymien was just good like that. Dymien was also a pro at stuttering, apparently, but that was okay. She giggled when he talked about the rest of the dresses, but she didn't even think on them anymore. "Dymien, thank you so much. I was expecting the dress, but this is so much better? I owe you so much!" Marshell spun around like a dog chasing its tail, but in this instance, she was only trying to get a good glimpse of the backside of her new Yukata. Her ONLY Yukata, for that matter. "I'm going to wear this around the Sanctuary. Definitely. Thank you so much, Dymien!!" She was completely enthralled with it, and she knew the other dresses would be perfect.

Marshell again found herself looking back up to Dymien, silence yet again. But She wanted to break it this time. What to do? What to do? Oh right, it was a festival. A date at a festival. She wanted to just go go go, but the little bits about Dymien she knew called out that she should slow down for once. All the while thinking these things, she looked around at all the people, alsmost as if se was expecting something to happen, but she was just looking, nothing more. Her eyes wandered to Dymien again, where she simply stated in what seemed like the most calm voice she had ever had, "Shall we walk and talk, Mister Derran?"

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[sei]

At first he was a little horrified because Marshell's smile dropped off when he pulled free the special Yukata, but once she caught full sight of it and her smile returned he felt himself easing a little. Things only got better as he watched happily for her full reaction, which seemed to come in gentle waves. The shock welcomed the astounded look which was followed closely by a light blush that made Dymien so happy he thought he might explode if he could. All the while the tailor's heart was swelling with pride at the fact that he had done what he intended and made something Marshell would enjoy. Even if it would only be worn for the purpose of one night it was still worth the effort to the man. Her squealing once she put on the garment only furthered Dymien's confidence in his abilities. Waywardly he wondered if he'd ever have that kind of confidence in his personality.

Hearing the praise made the tailor beam a little more and he fumbled a bit before realizing that something was missing from him. The man watched Marshell as he began to dig into the sleeve of his Yukata. Inside such sleeves were pockets, and while that was generally only on the larger sleeved Yukata's for women, Dymien still placed a convenient little pocket in his as well. For a moment the young man got lost in watching Marshell, listening to her every word like she held the secrets to the world and was just about ready to reveal them, but he recalled what he was doing just as she finished speaking. "You look lovely in it. I'm just happy I could give you something so nice," Dymien said softly.

Finally his hands came across what he was digging for in his sleeve pocket and a triumphant smile crossed his face. The slim glasses he pulled free made him feel a little foolish, but he did need to be able to see properly during their little date so he slid them on without another thought. Instantly things came into sharp focus and Dymien was in awe at just how pretty Marshell really looked in his creation. Or rather, how pretty his creation really looked on her. His hands clutched at the bag of her clothing a little tighter as he tried not to go into a stupor over her appearance. It was deceptively hard, which was an experience in itself for the distant little Dymien, but the young man managed to keep a good enough grip to manage.

"Walk! Right, that sounds good!" Dymien uttered quickly as Marshell suggested. It had been so long since he had done such a thing that it was all he could do to keep himself talking. Bumbling about, sounding foolish, was all better than the alternative of how he would usually act in such a situation. Cool. Detached. Perhaps cruel, but always always always a fair distance emotionally and mentally from everyone about him. It made the tailor's head swim as he thought just how close he really was to Marshell in comparison to anyone else in his life currently. His boss was an interesting exception, but that was most likely due to the fact that he was pretty much his land-lord. They certainly weren't buddy-buddy and they never spent time together outside of the shop.

Dymien was making himself so nervous with all of his rushed thinking that he almost forgot that there was a situation at hand that needed to be dealt with. Blushing even before he did the daring act he was thinking of, Dymien placed the bundle of clothing under one arm before holding out the other to Marshell. It was old-school-cheesy-offer-your-arm-to-the-lady-to-walk-together business, and it wasn't something Dymien would dream of doing normally, but it felt like one of the only things to do in such a situation with Marshell. "There's a lot that we can do here. I hear the festivals are always a lot of fun, but I've never come before. Perhaps when I was very young, but not in memory banks at least." The statement was a lot steadier than the young man thought it would be, which made him think he might not stay so awkward all through their conversation.

[Marshell Artyn]

Dymien was shuffling around his sleeves while Marshell was talking which proved to be a little more distracting than she had hoped as her eyes wandered from his to his arms as they dug around while she talked. Dymien said he was glad that he made something so nice. She thought to herself about how nice JUST this Yukata was and about how nice the rest of the stuff he had made for her was. Now she thought she was sounding greedy about wanting to see everything else. To avert from this she distracted her train of thought onto the next topic that she spoke of.

Her date had finally produced a pair of glasses from inside his sleeve like... magic! At least that's what Marshell thought since she had not knowledge of pockets and their whereabouts inside his sleeves. Magic was the only explanation for this act and that sly, cute smile of his proved it when he slid them on. She said nothing on his false magic trick, but instead remarked on his new look. "Glasses suit you very well, Dymien. I really like that look on you." and she spoke the truth, of course. Glasses were cute to Marshell, and she had worn her own pair of fake glasses in the past, but has never needed them. Her eyesight is perfect.

It was like Dymien was the epitome of cuteness. Throughout their first encounter, Dymien he had struck some chord with her and she couldn't figure it out until she had gotten home that night. She thought he was absolutely adorable after everything that happened back in that oddly named market. Now seeing him here at the festival, he's done nothing but fuel her thoughts of him being cute. In some odd way, him being the one that had fallen was cute and now his glasses. What next? Marshell was wholly excited for the rest of her date.

They walked for a short while. It was pleasant and nice albeit not much happened. It was almost a little boring, but Marshell cared not, for she was with Dymien and that alone made her forget the world around her. Soon after, Dymien presented Marshell with his arm and Marshell's face beamed a smile as she reached for it. It was so cute and clever, and honestly unexpected, so Marshell decided to throw a curve ball. It was like her to do this to those around her, as surprising people was her favorite past time. She even considered it her REAL job at some points because she loved it so much. This little twist though would hopefully get a good reaction, and it was something she had planned on doing tonight anyways. It was bound to happen, so Marshell made it happen now.

She aimed her strike as he talked about the things to do at the festival and to keep him occupied whilst planning, she replied, "Yeah. I think I've been to the festival as a child once before," her eyes fixed on his hand and almost had a confused and awkward look on it. He tongue stuck out as if she were thinking TOO hard. "but it's okay that you don't have any memories of the Festival. We'll just make... some... more." Her arm slid into his as she said this and sadly she had backed out of her tricky spin. Her aim was to hold his hand, but for some reason the time was not right to her. Marshell only smiled though as her arm wrapped around his, then pulling herself closer to Dymien. However, once her eyes reach the Tailor's again, the smile faded quick as she realized what she did. Oh lord. What have I done?! I can't take it back!

[/color]

She began to blush very hard once she found out the predicament she had thrown herself into. Luckily, not too soon after she remembered that changing subjects and distractions are blushing-repellent. "Well... Yeah. We'll find things to do. Ummm Like... Ummm do you like to dance? We can get something to eat? Soon the fireworks will start and we can watch them? We can.. umm... I don't know. I guess we could find something as we walk around?" Marshell's blush wasn't going anywhere. So much for the repellent.

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[sei]

The look of surprise on Marshell's face when Dymien pulled out his glasses was sort of cute and made the tailor chuckle a little. Her compliment on the other hand made him blush rather furiously. Glasses weren't cute! They were awkward and dorky! Or at least that was how it had been since he was young. Most often Dymien was teased for his appearance, especially when he was wearing his glasses. Awkwardly the young man cast a smile towards Marshell and said a quiet thank you for the compliment, not sure how else to approach such an issue.

If truth be told, Dymien was rather unversed in everything that had been happening between Marshell and him the entire time they'd been around each other. The young man had so devoted himself to his work that he had completely eliminated the concept of a personal life from his vocabulary. It wasn't as bad as he seemed to make it out though because Marshell made him feel nice. Dymien hadn't felt in such a way for so long that it felt so foreign to him, but he was enjoying it fully. The fact that he was enjoying it was weird to the young man though.

When Marshell began to speak again Dymien pulled himself from his thoughts. She continued off of his comment on only having been to the festival when he was young, as she too had no memories of the greatly anticipated festival. It made Dymien happy to hear that she wanted them to make memories together though. So happy he thought he might explode from blushing too much. Then Marshell wrapped her arm around his and pushed in close, which only intensified the fullness of his blush. For a moment their eyes connected and Dymien, a deep pink color, caught sight of Marshell blushing too. At least he wasn't alone in how often he was blushing.

Dymien was suddenly struggling for words, but Marshell seemed able enough to go off of what he said as a subject change. She managed a few questions, all possibilities of what to do. The fireworks would start sometime soon, so that might be a good direction to go. And if they found themselves somewhere to sit then he could focus on showing off all of her new clothing that he had worked so hard on. But for now he would have to stabilize his mind enough to communicate that, which was dramatically harder than he would have liked considering the colossal amount of blushing and embarrassing feeling.

"Well despite looking... formal... usually I can't really dance. At all. But umm. We could go find a place to sit for the firework show? I could also show you all the things I made for you. I don't want you to umm... have to wait too long," Dymien stated slowly. It was mostly level and strong sounding other than his 'umm'ing. That didn't really make him blush any more, it just lengthened how long he actually was blushing. "Does that sound alright?"

(Short and lame. Sorry Cal)