Chapter Seven
"Hey, Train, Hey, Eve… How'd your date go? Train'll have to catch me up on everything that happened… In the other room… Right now…" Sven said, not hiding very well the fact that he was suspicious.
Train shrugged, and walked into the other room, shutting the door so that I couldn't hear. Little did either of them know that I had trained for the three years that Train was gone to focus my hearing using my own nanomachines. Even before Train left, my hearing had been excellent. Now, it was almost superhuman.
"Okay, Train… What happened? And don't skimp on the details!" Sven demanded. Train laughed, and I could practically hear him waving Sven off, and Sven getting annoyed at Train's laissez-faîre attitude.
"Let's see… We went to see Colours out of Space… But even before that, we ran into Kyoko in the city. That was a bit of a distraction. Then I noticed that someone was following us. We fought Lugart Won again, and I captured him… Here's the bounty, by the way…"
"Holy shit, Train! This is forty million dollars! Last I checked Won only had a bounty of ten million! But anyway… Did Eve enjoy the date? Eve didn't get hurt in the fight, did she? What happened after you turned Won in?" Sven demanded, firing questions off at a rapid pace.
"After we turned Won in, we went down to the gun store and bought some bullets. Then we actually got into a pretty lengthy conversation. You'll probably find out from Eve-chan, too, but she and I are dating now, so, I guess I have to talk to her father and ask for his blessing on our relationship…" Train said. My heart fluttered slightly. I was surprised that he was behaving so responsibly.
He told Sven the truth about my relationship with him, and asked for his permission. Sven was quiet for a minute… Then for two minutes. Then, I heard a crack in the kitchen, and a bump. Sven had just punched Train and Train had fallen on the floor.
"Get up, Train. Normally, I would say no. You're ten years Eve's senior. But that's a logical argument, and I know as well as anyone that logic has no place in love. I can't stop you from loving Eve or Eve from having feelings for you. Eve is old enough to make her own decisions. But let me tell you…" Sven said, now whispering so that I had to focus with all my might to hear.
"If you mess around with Eve… If you go around behind her back and break her heart… I'll break every bone in your body…"
"I'll keep that in mind, Svenny baby. Besides, the Black Cat doesn't break promises, and the Black Cat already promised Eve-chan that he was serious about this relationship."
My heart practically stopped when I heard this. I felt my body heating up. Train had just told Sven that he was serious about me. And I could practically hear Sven grinding his teeth in frustration at Train's laissez-faire attitude.
"Hold on, Sven… Something smells like viola music." Train said. This confused me. The statement was inherently inaccurate. Or was it?
"Eve-chan… You can stop listening at the door. Our conversation isn't really a secret. Your daddy is just giving me the whole 'if you hurt my baby girl, I'll rip you a new one' speech." Train said. I jumped slightly, and sniffed the air.
I never knew that I smelled. Did Train equate the smell of a viola to a good smell or a bad smell? I was pretty worried at the time… I had taken a shower that morning, as I do every day. It was warm out that day, though. Despite being fall, it had been uncharacteristically warm.
I jumped again when the kitchen door opened and Train and Sven walked out. As Train looked down at me and offered his hand, I shook my head and got up on my own.
"I didn't… What do you mean I smell like a viola?" I asked, caught between worry and annoyance at Train's rather cryptic statement.
"Oh! Ahahahaha! That's right… I don't think anyone except maybe Sephiria and Creed ever knew this. Synesthesia… To me, you smell like a viola playing… I see the look on your face. You don't smell bad. I just have an overly acute sense of smell…"
"You have Synesthesia?" I asked. I looked up at Sven who shrugged.
"What is Synesthesia?" Sven asked.
"It's neurological condition in which a person confuses two or more senses. So my natural scent brings to mind a viola playing for Train.
"The more accurate term in most cases is Ideasthesia, indicating that concepts could substitute for one's senses, like Train smells me as a viola playing. Most violas don't have a particular scent, but the sound of a viola playing is very distinctive."
"I never thought you really smelled like anything." Sven said, feeling terribly perplexed.
"Everyone has a natural scent. It's how some animals hunt. How do you think dogs recognize their master? It's based largely on how their master smells."
"O-kay… I guess I can accept that." Sven said, feeling slightly confused, still.
"Don't worry, Princess. You smell fine. I like the way you smell. It's calming. I love the color of viola music. It's sort of a pastel color… I guess pastel would be the right color. Your voice also has a very pretty color, Eve-chan.
"It's sort of a pastel blue. I like your voice." Train said, kissing me gently on the cheek. Honestly, I craved more than that. I wanted to kiss Train on the lips, to keep kissing for hours, to just lie on the couch cuddling and holding him.
I wasn't ready for sex yet. But I wanted to feel close to Train, to be intimate with him, to be near him. I wasn't sure if I truly loved him, or if it was that I hadn't been able to see him that caused me to pine after him as she did. Either way, I couldn't deny that I wanted to be near him, to be with him.
"Hasn't anyone told you in your 26 years of life that viola music isn't a smell? And for that matter, what does Viola music smell like to you?" Sven asked irritably.
"I'd say… A pastel blue."
"And what does pastel blue smell like to you?" Sven asked irritatedly.
"Like Eve -chan's voice, of course." Train said with a laugh.
"Speak in human language! Tell me in normal language!" Sven demanded angrily
"Well, if I was explaining normally, I wouldn't be telling you that Viola music or pastel blue smell like anything. They inherently don't have smells. My neurological condition causes me to confuse sound and sight with smell. If I had to say, Eve has a kind but slightly sharp voice. Very concise and no-nonsense.
"I like it, Eve-chan. It's cute how serious you are." Train finished with an apologetic smile. I sighed. I couldn't stay mad at Train. I loved him way too much. But hearing this, I couldn't help but blush slightly. Sven looked at Train suspiciously.
"I… Have to go out for a while and get some supplies. Now that we have money again, we really should get some food. Promise you won't do anything I'd make you regret while I'm gone, Train." Sven said with a scowl. Train gave Sven a thumbs up.
As soon as Sven was gone, though, I walked over to Train and pulled him down on the couch next to me. I was going to get that time alone with him if it killed me. Train looked at me, probably surprised at what I was doing. His eyes were wide, right up to the point where I kissed him.
I looked at him, my eyes narrowing.
"Close your eyes, Train." I demanded. Train obliged, closed his golden eyes and kissed me back, hugging me, holding me close to him.
As he closed his eyes, he cupped my cheek gently and pulled me closer, craning my neck upward to meet his much higher lips. Train leaned down, and kissed me gently on the lips. Suddenly, I could see fireworks exploding in my line of sight, and I gasped with happiness as his tongue slid along my lips, prodding his way into my mouth.
As he moved his tongue in my mouth, and I tried to mimic his movements, though I admit I wasn't nearly as skilled as he was, I found myself becoming extremely hot. My body was heating up, and I started feeling dizzy. This was a new experience for me. I could only attribute it to arousal. As I was pressed against Train's body, I could feel him getting harder as well.
He really was quite big. I was slightly afraid of the time that we would inevitably go all the way. Would it hurt terribly to have sex with him? No. That wasn't something to worry about right now. Just enjoy the moment.
Slowly, I felt Train's hands running gently through my hair, and down my back, smoothly ghosting over my skin, sending a strange but ecstatic tingling sensation down my spine and across my entire back. It was an incredible feeling, and I found myself unable to hold in my cries. Finally…
"A-ahh!" I moaned. Train pulled away, looking down. As my eyes followed his, I saw that there was a wet spot on my panties. I jumped up, horrified at what I had done. Our furniture wasn't exactly fancy. But it wasn't cheap either. I didn't want to damage the couch. Sven would flip his lid when he found out that we had not only done what we had done, but also ruined the couch.
"Don't worry about the couch. I've cleaned up worse messes than this. Let's see." Train said, trying to remember how to clean up messes on a couch. That wouldn't be such an issue. Train waved it off.
"Don't worry, Princess… There's nothing there. See? Haven't you ever… You know… Masturbated before?" Train asked with an eyebrow raised. Eve blushed, shaking her head.
"S-sorry I'm so inexperienced, Train." Eve muttered. Train merely laughed about this.
"No apology needed. I think it's cute. I like that innocent part of you, Eve-chan." Train said, kissing Eve and going upstairs to put his gun away. He couldn't remember why he still had it out. But overall, it didn't matter. He put his gun away in a locked box, along with the new ammunition.
"So, what do you wanna do now, Princess?" Train asked.
"I'd like to know how you know what viola music smells like? Have you…"
"Yes… Back when I was Number XIII… I went to a philharmonic concert, and the viola captivated me. The sound that came out of it was so beautiful. I bought a viola after that, and began teaching myself to play.
"I was never very good. But I think the viola is still at our Deternerlehe base."
"Not anymore. We had to consolidate a few bases a few years back. So the viola is either at our Cupar base or our Neuveville base. We had some financial trouble at the time, and we needed to sell our base. I can't say when we'll be going back there."
"Hey, Train! Eve! I picked up another sweep! We're going to Neuveville. Pack your stuff!" Sven said, interrupting Train and Eve as they were about to kiss again. Train silently cursed, then grabbed his gun and the bullets, and hurried with them.