Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne.
Author's Note:
Thank you Dawnsama for the lovely review! I'm kinda disappointed about the reviews too! But you gotta roll with the punches, am I right? Anyway, I shall continue on despite the lack of interest because I do so love this style of writing. Thanks again for your kind comments! You're too sweet!
T- Thank you for reviewing also! And yes, Van left Fanelia for earth. I plan to explain that after awhile.
Smiles:)- You're too kind! Thank you! I do try to make memorable characters that can interact w/ those we know from Escaflowne. I hope that I've written the Escaflowne cast in character! Of course, now that they're on earth they've had to adapt. But I try to stick to their original personalities somewhat, while making them develop in a way as well.
CinderellaxVan- Thank you very much for the glowing review! I was so happy to receive it! I hope you found that you liked my other stories as well. I hope you'll let me know!
Rai Dorian- Thank you for reviewing this, along w/ the other stories I've written! Your support means a lot!
To The Lady In Black07- Thanks for taking time to review! You and I seem to do well with angsty characters, huh? I hope that the moody poetry and journal entries make sense to you.
And last, but certainly not least I'd like to thank Sadie Joyce, also known as Myst Lady. You've been with me for so many of my stories, and I can't thank you enough! I hope you're still reading my fictions and enjoying them! You're truly a devoted supporter! Thanks so much!
Again, thank you to all my reviewers and I hope you enjoy the rest of Chi-Town Nights!
Chi-Town Nights
Chapter 7:
Call It a Reunion
His nerves were definitely strung tight; she could tell by the way he incessantly picked at the invisible lint on his gray shirt. Truth be told that he had plucked off all the infuriating fuzz an hour ago when he had stood before the bathroom mirror. Yet still he seemed determined to rid the long sleeved cotton shirt, temptingly revealing the outline of his muscles, of even the most minute and therefore unseen particles of unknown matter.
She smiled thoughtfully, thinking on two hours before when he had run around shirtless muttering about ties, silk shirts, and tuxes. For a half hour he had torn his room apart searching for an illusive red shirt, cursing first in Fanelian, and then the more colorful English, which provided a wider variety of indecent words. When she had come up from the laundry room with the clothing in question he had snapped at her, plucking the shirt from her hands. Of course she had disregarded his sullen disposition, forgiving him immediately. The man was a bundle of twitchy nerves after all. In the end he had apologized generously and settled on the gray shirt and black slacks, the very same that he now shifted in anxiously by her side. She pursed her lips shaking her head lightly as she watched him go from pulling at the front of his shirt to yanking at a thread at the top of his pants. Gently she stilled his hand, taking it into hers with a reassuring smile. He sighed, one corner of his mouth quirking upward in a crooked smile. Bringing her hand to his lips he kissed it, letting it linger against his mouth for several moments, calmed by the feel and scent of her flesh. The light blush in her cheeks brought him back. She was still so much of the girl he had met while slaying a dragon. He smiled gratefully, letting their entwined hands fall to their sides.
Squeezing his hand she urged quietly, "Come on, let's take one last look. I know you'll feel better once you've made sure you like where your pieces have been placed." Hitomi never ceased to amaze him with her keen knowledge of his mind. The surprise shown on his face for a mere second before he nodded pensively.
***
"Speed up Dryden!" Merle insisted for about the hundredth time that night. She was leaning between the two front seats, glossing her lips in the rearview mirror.
"Relax, Kitten, we'll make it." Dryden replied in his lazy drawl. Slumping further into the driver's seat he sighed contentedly, reaching for the volume dial. Before he could turn up the Chili Peppers, Millerna smacked his hand away as she turned in the passenger seat to look over her shoulder.
"Orion, you're sure it's alright if you're out late? We might not get back for awhile," She said in an almost motherly tone as she tried to see him in the dark interior of the Escalade (AN: Dryden's ballin' lol).
He smiled with a nod, "Yeah, my mom went to my grandma's, so I have the house to myself, because her husband's working. Oh- but- don't worry- she doesn't mind if I'm out late- I don't have a curfew or anything."
"Oh, alright." She replied with a smile and turned back.
As Merle plopped down next to Orion she sighed turning to look at him eagerly, "Do I look alright?"
"Beautiful- but- um your eyeliner is a little smudged at the right-," He answered, outstretching his hand to wipe away the brown mark. Before he could touch her face she shot up again with a gasp.
"Oh no!" She cried, worriedly peering into the mirror again. She grunted in frustration as she spotted the error and licked her fingertip. Rubbing at the corner of her eye she ripped a Kleenex from the holder with her other hand. After muttering and murmuring to herself lamentably, she whined, "Millerna, help!"
"You'll have to wait until we stop, Merle, I can't reach you." Millerna responded with a sympathetic smile. She frowned suddenly glancing at the highway, "Dryden, slow down." He started at the sharp command, but eased off a bit on the gas.
"But he can't see me like this! Look at me! I'm wretched!" Merle pouted, dropping to the seat. Dryden smirked, catching Orion's gaze in the rearview, and rolling his eyes. Orion nodded in agreement with a wry smile twisting the silver barbell pierced through his eyebrow.
"But Merle, you look fine, there's nothing wrong with your make-up- I mean it's not what I would wear- but-" Millerna tried.
"It's too much, isn't it?" Merle gasped, cutting the woman off, "Damn it! I knew I shouldn't have used this stupid purple shimmer…" She continued to bemoan her appearance, insisting she had smeared everything and looked like trash. Dryden turned up the music. Orion sighed. And Millerna turned the music down.
"Dryden, pull off at the next exit." Millerna said with an assured nod. Dryden sighed and turned up the music. Orion patted Merle's shoulder comfortingly, looking completely helpless as he bit his lip. And Millerna again turned down the music. A pattern friendly bunch for sure.
"Hurry up, Dryden, why are you going so slow?" Merle snapped as she contented herself to picking up the makeup scattered on the floor. The driver stifled another sigh, as he wondered if anyone had smuggled a bottle of aspirin along for the long drive.
***
Folken hated being late. It could only be Lani that was holding him up, Van reasoned. He smiled at the knowledge shaking his head.
"What?" Hitomi questioned with a smile.
"My brother's late," Van replied, leaning to his right to speak lowly into her ear.
Hitomi laughed softly with a knowing smile, "So he is. I'm glad they made up."
Van shrugged, "Yeah, I guess. He'll be late for everything for the next couple weeks."
Hitomi sighed nodding reluctantly. She knew that Van was right. It'd at least be a few weeks before Lani and Folken had another disagreement. Despite Lani's bitter hatred of unoriginality, her and Folken's relationship was like clockwork, a network of outrageous fights and predictable, yet odd endings. The girl wondered what brought them back together time and time again. But then musing about their relationship always produced a similar conclusion. Hitomi had no idea what made them click.
As she put aside that useless train of thought she spotted a familiar face. She gasped, "Merle!" From across the room the girl heard her name, instantly picking Hitomi out in the crowd. Merle's eyes lit like fireflies in the night. Hitomi's grip on Van's arm tightened with excitement as she broke into a wide smile. Van's arm tensed beneath her hand as he too stared anxiously at the advancing clique.
She looked radiant, the pink-haired teen who pushed her way through the mass of students, their parents, and teachers, her anxiety radiating from her small figure. Her wavy hair had grown just past her shoulders, and there were several new piercings dazzling brilliantly on her body, her newest being the diamond that adorned the right side of her nose. The white jeans scribbled with phrases were skin tight, like the white baby t that left her bell button exposed. Even the oversized Punk jacket with all the chains seemed to mesh well. She had developed nicely, though she was still short and petite. But it suited her. Her new image and attire could not hide the little catgirl that Van had grown up with.
Van finally took notice of her other accessory, the one calmly walking at her side, his hand in hers. This was certainly a new development. The last time Van had known, Orion had merely been a friend. Not that he disapproved. In fact he quite liked Orion, and had caught himself wondering at how well he would treat his best friend. Orion complemented her quite nicely to be honest. It must have been Orion, Van thought, that had brought about the change in her. Before he knew it, they were standing in front of him, Hitomi receiving a hug from both.
"You look great," Hitomi smiled, a tear rolling down her cheek as she stood back to look at Merle.
"Thanks," Merle beamed, wiping at the tears that had squeezed from her eyes. It was a touching scene, two of his favorite people coming together so happily that it almost overwhelmed Van. They were both beautiful beyond words and he felt extremely blessed by their presence. He swallowed the rising emotion as Merle looked up at him with her wide blue-gray eyes. Was this one of those made-for-T.V. movie moments? A moment in time where the connection between two characters is so strongly felt it's almost sickeningly sappy?
"You're nose…" He gave her a half smile, "It looks good on you."
Her eyes closed as she broke into a wider smile, the tears continuing on down her face, "Yeah." She opened her eyes to nod at him. He knew that the moment had been crushed and somehow become just plain awkward. She'd grown up so much he wasn't sure how to greet her anymore. He was used to her launching herself into his arms with no restraint, crying his name as though he were her long lost lover. He expected tears, at least that was familiar. And yes, the connection was still strong between them, but they had grown up. This time she was restraining herself. He was certain that there would be no more glomps, at least not with her, not with his little catgirl.
Merle. You've grown up… I knew it would happen someday. He wanted to sigh, but he held it in. Instead he smiled at Orion, offering his hand, "How's the band?"
Shaking the offered hand Orion smiled wryly with a half shrug, "Pretty well split."
"A little too cliché if you ask me," Dryden said from behind Orion.
"Yeah, I guess so," Van replied. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Hitomi hugged Millerna.
"Well at least he found something productive to do with his time for awhile." Millerna shot Dryden a meaningful glance as she smiled at Orion.
Hitomi blinked, questioning innocently, "And running an international Internet provider isn't productive?"
"I suppose, unless you consider the time it takes away from other more important things," Millerna responded in a bored tone as she rolled her eyes. Hitomi smiled nervously, unsure of where the conversation was headed.
"Being your own boss isn't so bad! You can take all the vacations you want," Dryden drawled, ignoring the bait dangling before his eyes. He slipped an arm around Millerna's shoulders with a smile.
Van nodded, "So it's going well."
"Quite," Dryden replied brightly, giving Millerna's shoulders a squeeze. He gazed around the room slowly, "But you're not doing so bad for yourself either, huh?" Clusters of nicely dressed people mingled with those who didn't give a damn about their appearance, standing before the paintings and sculptures about the room. The Gaea Exhibit seemed successful enough to Dryden. And as Millerna sighed, leaning into him slightly as she put her arm around his waist, he felt rather successful too.
Author's Note: So, we have Dryden and Millerna. I always thought that they'd make a cute couple. Dryden would keep Millerna on her toes because he's so unlike Allen, ya know? What do you guys think?
Also, please let me know what you think about Orion's character being w/ Merle.