"Great. Well, I shall see you later, Tyson," Natalya said, a bit of a shy smile crossing her face. Taking Tyson's hand in hers and giving it a shake, Natalya then took her hand out of Tyson's as she walked away and headed back up the hill to her house. As she walked away, she couldn't help but feel the same warmth come back to her cheeks. Being alone with Tyson definitely seemed like a fun thing to look forward to, but before that, she was going to need advice and tips on just what "hanging out" was going to consist of.
Eager to see how Natalya hanging out with Tyson goes? Read on to find out and I hope you all enjoy, my loves. =)
(Disclaimer: The author is not responsible for any blood sugar spikes, "Squee!"s, or "D'aawww!"s you may have while reading this. I only write what I feel/know will work in each chapter.)
Back in the house, Natalya had just gotten finished talking with Seth and the others about her encounter with the man at the bottom of the hill after taking care of the centipeedle that almost attacked him. While the other Gems had been fairly onboard with the blonde and pink-streaked Gem's retelling of how she saved a human from a centipeedle attack, where they seemed to get lost was when Natalya told them about the strange feeling she felt while talking to Tyson and after agreeing to see him again to "hang out".
"I think I might know why you're feeling so weird, Nattie," Dean said after Natalya had finished recounting what just happened.
"Really? You do?" Natalya asked. Seeing the sandy blonde Gem nod, Natalya then asked "Well...what do you think it is?"
"I think you just might be in love with this Tyson guy," Dean said, a teasing grin starting to cross his face.
"In love?" Natalya asked, confused by what Dean was getting at. "No, no. That can't be possible. I've only just met Tyson. That can't be the reason. ...Can it?"
"It does seem quite strange that you'd have developed feelings so quickly for the human-" Seth began before Natalya cut in.
"For Tyson, Seth. I've told you his name, so the least you could do is use it," Natalya said.
"Right, right. Tyson," Seth corrected himself-not that he really saw the need to do so. "It is quite strange that you'd have something in the way of feelings for Tyson so quickly. Maybe... Maybe it's just something that you really need to explore. I mean, I'm not one to really have any say on this matter, but...it can't hurt to try and figure things out."
Dean's "observation" didn't really seem to help that much, but hearing Seth out really seemed to assure Natalya-if not largely surprise her at first. It wasn't until she heard Roman speak up behind her that she felt that exploring her possible feelings for Tyson was the right way to go.
"Seth's right, you know? And, to a degree, Dean is, too. There's nothing wrong with wanting to explore these possible feelings you might have. Besides, aren't you the one that's always saying to take a chance when it comes to things like this?" Roman suggested with a slight smile and a shrug with his hands held up to show the two Gems in the palms of his hands.
Laughing a bit at Roman's own bit of advice, Natalya began to feel assured of herself that taking the leap in "hanging out" with Tyson would be an okay move to make. "Thanks a lot for the advice, you guys. It's just... I've never felt anything like this before, so I'm just...nervous."
"Relax, Nat. You've got nothing to be worried about. A Gem as kind and caring and funny as you are? Tyson'll practically be begging to see you more after when you two hang out," Dean said with a thumbs-up and a smile.
Looking from Dean to Roman and Seth, who both offered up smiles and nods of their heads, Natalya smiled herself as she let the other Gems advise her on what they felt were norms that should be followed when a human female hung out with a human male. Taking all of their advice, Natalya let it all sink in as she then went about trying to best motivate herself so that when she would go to see Tyson again, she wouldn't mess things up and possibly drive the human away.
...
The day finally came when he'd get to see Natalya again for their dinner meet-up, Tyson couldn't be anymore excited. It wasn't so much the fact that he'd be meeting up again with the woman that so effortlessly saved his life, it was more about the fact that he was meeting up with a woman that seemed fairly interesting. After getting good luck wishes from his good friends Antonio Cesaro and Antonio's wife Aksana, the brunette went on with getting ready for his date with the blonde and pink-streaked woman.
Standing outside of the Italian restaurant Marella's where he was planning to meet Natalya, Tyson couldn't help but twirl the stem of the pink daisy he had bought for the woman in a bit of nervousness. This was going to mark the first date he had been on in months, and he just wanted it to be a great one; after all, the last one he went on was a bit of a disaster with his date seeming more wrapped up in talking about herself than anything else.
"Tyson, hi!" Natalya's voice could be heard calling him.
Snapping out of his remembrance of dates past, Tyson looked up and saw Natalya waving her hand and walking his way. And, needless to say, he was feeling fairly awestruck by the woman walking his way. The last time Tyson had seen Natalya, she was wearing a white tank top, black pants, and a pair of black boots. So, seeing the blonde and pink-streaked woman in what she was wearing now had the brunette feeling as though he wasn't even looking at the same woman that so effortlessly used a sword to take down that monster that tried to attack him a few days ago: Natalya was wearing a simple short-sleeved light pink dress that went down past her knees a bit and a pair of strappy white and brown sandals; she also had her hair curled a bit as it fell down past her shoulders.
Coming to a stop in front of Tyson, Natalya said "Sorry for being late. I didn't keep you waiting too long, did I?"
"Huh? Oh! No! No, you didn't, Natalya. I wasn't here that long. Just wanted to wait for you before heading inside," Tyson said, already starting to feel a slight warmth in his cheeks. Quickly holding the flower out in front of him, Tyson said "It's not much, but this is for you."
"Oh, a daisy," Natalya said as she took the flower. "Thank you, Tyson. It looks beautiful."
"You're welcome, Natalya," Tyson said with a smile. "So, shall we head inside?"
"Sure," Natalya smiled. Stepping towards the door, Natalya was surprised to see Tyson walk ahead of her and open the door. "What a gentleman you are."
"It's nothing really. Just something my parents taught me to do when I'm with a woman somewhere," Tyson said.
"Well, I think that's quite nice advice of your parents to give you," Natalya smiled. While the Gem never quite knew just what having "parents" felt like, she could only imagine that the ones that gave Tyson such advice were a knowledgeable pair.
"It actually is. I'll be sure to let my parents know what you think of their advice," Tyson smiled as he followed Natalya inside the restaurant.
From there, the two had a pretty nice evening out together. After their dinner at Marella's-that largely consisted of some pretty delicious pasta, the pair spent a bit of time walking around the city with Tyson showing Natalya some of his favorite places to visit and just talking with each other in the hopes of getting to know the other better. It was all just so much in the way of fun for the two that when Tyson announced that he should be heading home soon, Natalya actually felt...disappointed; and this mostly coming from the fact that she didn't want her time with the brunette human to end just yet.
"I almost hate that you have to leave now, but...I understand. After all, work is pretty important," Natalya said, even though what she saw as "work" was fairly different than what Tyson told her he did.
"Yeah, it is. Besides, I actually like my job. It's pretty fun working with my friend Antonio and helping train teens that want to be wrestlers," Tyson said. "Just seeing how my teaching helps them grow confident in their own wrestling styles...it's pretty rewarding."
"I'd imagine it is," Natalya said, smiling at how Tyson spoke of his job. One thing that the blonde and pink-streaked Gem admired about the humans she had sworn to protect was the fact that a good many of them had goals and dreams and aspirations for their futures. So, seeing that Tyson was helping with building the futures of countless younger humans...that was something made Natalya smile as she thought about it.
Seeing the way Natalya was smiling had Tyson looking down as he tried to hide the blush that dared to climb up his cheeks. It hadn't been that often that he went on a date with someone that seemed genuinely interested in him and his life, so seeing that Natalya was so interested in him...it was making Tyson feel things he hadn't quite felt for another woman before.
Clearing his throat as he finally looked back up, Tyson said "I should...I should probably go now. But, ...maybe we could do something like this again some time soon?"
Feeling surprised that Tyson wanted to see her again, Natalya smiled and said "I...I would love to, Tyson."
"Great! Well, ...I'll see you later then," Tyson said with an eager smile. He was almost set to turn and head back to his place, but not before leaning and planting a soft kiss on Natalya's cheek. Seeing the surprised look on Natalya's face, Tyson quickly turned on his heel and walked away.
Standing and watching the retreating form of Tyson, Natalya slowly raised a hand to touch where Tyson had just...Wait. What exactly was it that he just did? The blonde and pink-streaked Gem was feeling a bit confused until she remembered a pair of Gems that she considered to be close allies and great friends doing the same thing quite often when they decided to be around. 'He kissed me. Tyson just kissed me! Granted, it wasn't like the ones Jimmy and Naomi share, it was still a kiss. And, honestly...it actually felt...nice.' Getting kissed by someone was a new experience to the Gem, and...she liked how it felt. A smile starting to cross her face, Natalya turned and began to make her way back home, her evening "hanging out" with Tyson something that she couldn't wait to tell Seth and the others about.
Present Day
"And that was just the start of Natalya seeing more of Tyson," Seth said. "After their first time hanging out with each other, although I suppose you could just call it a date, Natalya ended up spending more with Tyson."
"Aww, that's so sweet!" Bayley smiled widely. "They sound like such a great fit for each other."
"Surprisingly, they were," Seth nodded in agreement with a smile. "Sure, he was a human and she was a Gem, but they were enough alike that them being together was actually fairly nice to see. Plus, Tyson had a pretty great personality, so it was always great having him around."
"That sounds really nice, Seth," Bayley said. "So, what happened after that night? You said that Natalya spent more time with Tyson, so what happened with them after their first date?"
"Yeah, Seth. What happened next for them?" Sasha asked, feeling just as curious as Bayley was. Since the magenta-haired Gem had spent most of her time sealed away in the brooch that was meant to help with keeping her stable, she wasn't around to meet Tyson, so she wanted to know about this human that Natalya seemed to develop feelings for.
"Well, after their first date, they went on a few more. Around their fifth or so date, Natalya felt comfortable enough bringing Tyson around me, Dean, and Ro; it was also around this time that Natalya felt that we should let Tyson know about what we really are since he had already seen her in action before, and, surprisingly, he was pretty accepting of the fact that we were Gem warriors," Seth said, a slight smile starting to cross his face before it seemed to fade away just as fast. "Then, for the next two years, Natalya and Tyson had grown even closer to each other; if you want an idea, just think of how close your Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Naomi are. And, it was around their second year together that Natalya began wanting something that was largely unheard of for us Gems."
Taking note of the look on Seth's face, Bayley asked "What? What was it, Seth? What was it that Natalya wanted?"
OK. I know that it seems like I was fairly bare bones-y with what all came with Natalya hanging out with Tyson, but to keep this chapter from getting too awfully long, I decided to just include the high points of what came with it. And, it looks like some really nice and cute stuff came from it. From Tyson being adorably awkward to Natalya having a good time out with Tyson and their bond just growing from there, it was all just very nice, something that Bayley thinks is very sweet stuff (and if Bayley says so, then it must be true). Although, for as nice as Natalya and Tyson's story of getting close is, there's a dark cloud that seems to have popped up in their second year together. And just what is this dark cloud, you might be asking? That question shall be answered in the next chapter. Until then, don't forget to R&R please. =)
