A/N: Disclaimer: Refer back to Chapter 1.
WARNING: FLUFF, WAFF, SUGGESTIVE THEMES
Chapter 6: Spring Blooms
Argilla yawned. She was still within Harley's car, still stuck in a traffic jam.
"What's the holdup?! We've been stuck in this traffic jam for nearly an hour…!" she whined.
The man beside her chuckled, "What do you expect? It's the weekend…and it's the rush hour too. A double whammy."
Argilla let out a frustrated grunt but said nothing.
"I'm bored!" she suddenly said, "Harley, tell me a story!"
Leaving the steering wheel in the care of just one hand, Harley brought the other one to his chin in thought, "Hm…I dunno about stories. I'm not that sort of guy. But you Argilla, I'm sure that you have tons of stuff like that. Care to share?" he asked, throwing her a sidelong glance.
At seeing that she was once more the center of attraction, Argilla thought, "Hm…Well…erm, ever surf the net?" she asked.
Harley shrugged his shoulders, "When I was younger; maybe. But now…No. Not really. Why?"
"Ever entered chatrooms?" she prodded.
"Who didn't?"
She grinned; just the answer she was wanting to hear…
xxxx
Serph returned the cell phone to his pocket.
'No signal on where she is…' he thought, again, all the more disappointed.
'I'll call her later. Maybe it's the sandstorm.' he mentally reasoned.
'Or maybe she just didn't want to pick up your line…' a silky and venomous voice snidely said.
Serph frowned but then shook his head, 'What she does and with whom isn't my concern.' he thought resolutely, furrowing his eyebrows.
He thought so; yes.
But did he believe so…?
He didn't want to answer that.
xxxx
"She turned out to be…a he?!" asked the older man loudly, shocked at what he had heard from the young woman beside him.
"Hell yea! Sometimes effeminate men are more effective to play female roles than females themselves!" chirped the female. She then shook her head as she continued to laugh, enjoying Harley's laughter.
"Gee boss…it looks like you're still quite the baby within the outside world, huh?" she asked, her pink eyes widening in wonder, staring at her trainer as if he were a tasty piece of sweet candy.
Harley laughed, "Well, not everyone can be as perceptive when it comes to the world's abnormalities Argilla."
"Hey!" Argilla snapped at the sound of his sarcastic comment and there crossed her arms over her chest, "I resent that!"
Harley laughed once more and there opened his mouth to speak when he had been interrupted as his colleague's phone began to ring.
"You better get that." he told her.
"Yea." she affirmed as she grabbed the phone from her bag's pocket and there answered the call, "Hello…? Serph…?"
"Hey. Where are you guys now?"
"Harley and I are stuck in traffic!" she grumbled childishly, not noticing the silent and cold air that seemed to pervade Serph's end of the conversation.
Argilla then blinked as a thought suddenly hit her. Serph was calling her…? From where? It wasn't from his cellular phone. That was for sure! Mildly surprised, she removed the phone from her ear in order to see the number from which her nerdy friend called.
'The office…?' she asked in sadness…and a bit of pity.
'He's…in the office…? During a weekend…? Just right after a goodtime…? At nine in the evening…?' she asked sadly.
"Oh Serph…" she trailed off sympathetically, her heart sinking as she considered just how sad…and lonely Serph's life had really been.
"What? What's wrong?" came the worried reply of the male.
Argilla turned to her side, gazing through the window and there spoke lowly, her voice gentle and truthful, "Serph? What are you doing there at the office…? At this time at night?"
"Haha…Nah; don't worry about that. I just have some pending work to do…" he explained with feigned happiness.
Argilla frowned; his façade was very easy to transcend that it was almost insulting.
"Serph." said the girl in a steadfast and serious tone, "You can do that tomorrow."
"I know. But I don't want to be overwhelmed by work the next day and…"
Argilla had had enough. There he went again with his flimsy excuses. Wanting him to cease his infernal mindless babbling, the female snarled over the phone and it undoubtedly caught the man's attention, rendering him quiet.
Mentally nodding that she had managed to silence her favorite nerd, she spoke, "Serph. Let's go out." she proposed.
"W-what…?" he asked, slightly stuttering.
"You heard me." she barked, "You and me. Let's rendezvous at the mall. What do you say?" she asked; already knowing what it was he was going to say.
"…Erm…sure I suppose…I mean, I have nothing to-"
"Good." she said, cutting him off, "I'll meet you at the mall in half an hour."
He said nothing for over a few seconds and Argilla may not see him or hear him…but she just knew…that he was smiling all the same.
Another thought then crossed Argilla's mind, "Wait a second Serph. Harley and I left before you guys did. How'd you get to the city that quick?! We've just passed halfway through!"
Serph chuckled at the end of the other line, "Argilla, Harley's a safe driver. And the person I was with wasn't."
Argilla raised an eyebrow, "Who?"
"Sheridan." he told her with a chuckle. Argilla blinked, "Sheridan's a rough driver?" she asked in surprise, her thoughts imagining her purple-haired and olive-skinned teammate's driving skills and not to mention, his driving etiquette and manners…
"Erm…whatever works to get you to your destination faster…" she said with a sweat-drop.
"Right." Serph affirmed with a laugh, "So, I'll see you in half an hour?" he asked.
"Will do! Bye!"
With that, the line went dead.
"So. Going on a date?" asked Harley.
'Gosh! Harley!' she internally screamed. He was right there!
'Oh yea! Forgot about him…Hehehe…' she mentally nervously laughed.
"A date? Nah. I don't go on dates Harley; you know that." she told him in a scolding fashion.
Harley merely chuckled, "Whatever you say Argilla…Whatever you say."
xxxx
"Heheh…"
"When you laugh, Madame, it can't be good for the world." said a voice from behind her, lightly startling the girl.
She immediately straightened up and turned sharply around, only to see Harley's grin, "Talking to yourself again?" he asked, looking all the more smug.
Argilla rolled her eyes but said nothing.
"So…" Harley said, trailing off, his eyes on the ceiling, "How was your date…?"
"What?!" roared the female.
"Ssshh!!" scolded the older man, "Not so loud!"
Again, Argilla blushed before quickly recoiling from the tedious emotion of embarrassment and glared daggers at her trainer, "It wasn't a date!" she hissed angrily.
Harley chuckled at her behavior, "I was just kidding…No need to take it too seriously." he said cheerfully.
"Hmph!"
Harley sweat-dropped at seeing her childish display of behavior, 'Such a brat…' he thought.
"My weekend was fine thank you!" she huffed defiantly.
Harley shrugged his shoulders, 'Well, someone is in a bad mood. Must've been a lousy date.' he thought with a nod.
"So," he began once more, breaking the silence, "it'll be for another couple of weeks…before I'm outta here!" he said excitedly, laughing.
At that, Argilla froze and there turned sharply to him, "Did you have to remind me!?" she asked painfully…
Harley's smile slowly faded from his face as he saw the pain in her facial expression…only to be mirrored by the same degree of pain within her pink pools. She was scared; wasn't she…? She was scared of being alone…
He sighed as he smiled languidly, "You'll be fine on your own." he assured her; their eyes holding each other's gazes.
"I won't be completely gone Argilla; you know where I've decided to join. Right?" he asked gently.
She nodded.
He widened his smile…ever so carefully and spoke once more, "You can call me anytime you have a doubt. You know that; right?"
Again; she nodded.
"You're a clever girl…You're fresh and eager to learn. You'll learn the tricks of the trade soon. I know this is your first job and it can be scary. But there's no other way than forward. You'll do just fine." he told her with all the confidence that he could muster.
Argilla pouted; did he really mean that…? Or was he saying that to make her feel better? Somehow, she doubted the former but was displeased with the latter.
"How do you know that?" she snapped; irritated that Harley was attempting to quell her growing anxiety.
"I know because I trained you." he told her bluntly.
Argilla's eyes widened only to return to their original sizes, saying nothing.
Pleased at her lack of response, taking it as a positive one, another cheerful smile graced Harley's full lips, "Good. Now work on those deals. I want approvals by the afternoon." he told her stiffly.
Argilla made a face; annoyed at the fact that the gentle air of confidence and faith between herself and Harley had been tumultuously tossed as the reality flooded back in.
'Right. Approvals…' she thought.
Seeing that she had been alone in her office cabin, her eyes found the computer screen once more…and it was then that her mind began to meander once more.
More specifically, over to the weekend that she had just had.
Specks of silver then blinded her pink orbs.
'Serph.' she thought; his name bringing a quaint smile upon her lips as she recalled her few moments with him at the mall, at a quiet little coffee shop…
She giggled a bit as she remembered how awkward he felt as they sat together, at a casual place.
Flashback
"Something wrong?" she asked, surprised as she noted his behavior.
There he was, looking at everywhere and nowhere.
His silver eyes darted left and right, never remaining in one spot any longer than a few milliseconds.
She made a face, 'He's probably feeling weird.' she thought.
She then saw herself and there blushed. She had taken off her black jacket and was just left with her strapless lacy purple corset.
"Sorry." she apologized; knowing now the reason for her companion's apparent behavior of discomfort.
"No!" Serph immediately blurted out, taking her by surprise, "I'm the one who should be sorry…" he told her as he fixed his eyes on the table, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes every few seconds, "You have every right to dress the way you want to…It's just that…" he trailed off, hesitating.
"I know, I know." she said, sighing a bit, "Girls from Muladhara are conservative and all that."
"No! That's not it at all…!" objected the man before her, stopping whatever words that were to form within her lips.
She tilted her head to the side in confusion, her gesture a sign asking for him to continue his explanation.
"Girls from Muladhara dress like the way you do." he told her.
She then straightened herself and looked at him with a silly expression on her face, "Then why the weird actuations?" she asked.
He shrugged, "Muladhara has different religions. You know that. Erm, but yea…My religion is…"
"Yea, yea…" Argilla said, waving her hand dismissively, "I know. I'm sorry. But…You already know how free-minded my religion is, right?"
He nodded but said nothing.
"Then, if you're to be my friend, you have to get used to this. But…otherwise, just tell me and every time that I'll meet you, I'll come all covered up." she said with a small laugh.
The man joined her in her laugh before shaking his head, "No…You don't have to do that. It's a free country after all. Don't worry about me…I'll get used to it in no time…!"
"Good!" she said with a bright smile and a curt nod.
The nervous smile within Serph's lips, however, did nothing to repel a small laugh.
End Flashback
Argilla found herself giggling once more.
When she had initially met Serph and had gone with him in that lunch where he confessed to having her as the first girl he had gone out with in Ajna, she had almost choked on her food with shock and utter disbelief.
But then, as she noticed how he avoided the sight of skimpily-clad girls or her exposed arms, shoulders and collarbone the weekend prior, she would dare say…that she had begun to believe in what he had said.
His actuations previously had been proof enough that he really…was the conservative type.
'A nerd who probably considers himself not mature enough to be with girls…' she thought with a bored face.
She then raised an eyebrow, 'What a very restrictive culture and religion. But I suppose it's a good thing. He's not a pig then.' she thought with a positive note, convinced that her colleague and now friend to be different from those chauvinistic males whom were all pigs in her eyes.
Argilla smiled once more, 'I hope he likes what I had gotten him…' she trailed off mentally, thinking of the small piece of sentimental trinket that she had given him…
'I know it wasn't a hug…but it would have to suffice for now.' she thought with a nod, thinking how out of place it would have been to really give Serph a hug. Not only was it the wrong place, but the mood was all wrong; the cruise, in her opinion was the best place…but all that had been shattered as they had not even conversed in person on board the ship.
She then shook her head, 'Past is past…but yea, we did agree that we'll go out again.' she thought with a smile, 'Yea, there'll be other chances…'
She continued to smile only to be interrupted by a soft knock on the door.
She turned and there was met with a pair of deep red eyes.
"Hello there."
xxxx
Serph sat on his chair, just in front of his desk and computer screen, looking at the small trinket in his hand. She had given it to him last weekend…
He chuckled as he remembered his behavior, 'I probably appear strange in her eyes.'
He knew that he had acted strange and that it had been brought to her notice…But in his opinion, he couldn't be anything else.
How can he be?
He had been brought up in such a way…
What way?
The straight way.
No hanky-panky or romance before marriage.
He sighed.
Marriage.
That was another strong subject…He closed his eyes tightly shut, attempting in vain to shut out various voices that seemed to spew from every corner of his mind…
"Jan, when are you going to settle down…?"
"Jan…I won't be able to take care of your forever…"
"I want to see my grandchildren too Jan…"
'Mother…' he thought, saddened.
That was right.
Marriage. Again, he shook his head. He just wasn't ready…! Couldn't his mother, brother or the people from their culture understand that getting married and raising a family wasn't all that life was all about…?
Sure, he had no qualms in settling down…! He'd want to! Who wouldn't…?
'It's just that…I'm not ready.' he thought with a heavy sigh. 'Even if I get married now…I wouldn't be able to provide all the needs a family would require…'
And what needs were those…? He knew that he was financially stable. But…there was such a vast amount of requirements in order to bring about a stable marriage and family life.
Maturity.
Fidelity.
Passion.
Vision for the future.
His being suddenly shrunk.
Things that he didn't possess at the moment.
He tightened his hands into fists in hidden and subversive frustration and when he felt something cool within the folds of his skin. He blinked and looked down…
The small trinket that she had given him.
At seeing the small charm, all frustration seemed to have ebbed away, a veil of quaint euphoria hanging upon his aura.
His pink-haired friend.
His thoughts then meandered over to the time that he had had with her at the café. And moreover, he had remembered the fun discussion that they had about their own cultures and religions…And again, he found himself thinking of romance and marriage…
However, now that he had equated his pink-haired ex-trainee with the words "romance" and "marriage", the subjects didn't seem so poignant after all.
While he had been indoctrinated with the notion of having one's parents as his whole universe…and having love as a byproduct of a successful arranged marriage, Argilla had been indoctrinated in nothing but the freedom of choice, freewill and…the absolute accountability for one's actions and its subsequent repercussions…
And most importantly, the freewill to wield and shape one's destiny.
He knew that their beliefs, core values and principles differed, and at times, even clashed. However, he neither felt offended nor insulted. He didn't feel as though her sharp words or blasphemous thoughts and feelings were pushing him away.
No.
On the contrary, he felt as if his eyes had thus far been shut.
As he had listened to his pink-haired friend's ideas on such subjects, he found himself to be intrigued…
He had never heard of such opinions.
No. That was wrong. He had heard of them…but he had always shut them off from his brain before he could even begin to comprehend them. And the reason…?
'I don't want to cross any lines here.' he thought to himself.
But then again, if that was the case, why was he intrigued with the way Argilla saw things and the way she thought…?
He closed his eyes and sighed, defeated…
'I…I don't know…'
That was the truth. He really didn't know. He didn't know what it was within her that propelled him to be interested in subjects that he would consider earlier as off-limits.
There was just something within her pink pools that pulled him to her. Her voice…and the conviction that she had expressed with what she believed in…
'Strength…' he thought with a nod as he remembered those sparkling pink eyes.
Yes; she was strong…with a calculating mind but at the same time, a person with a kind heart.
He then chuckled; she may be a bit prissy and somewhat of a spoiled brat, but when it came to subjects of religion, love and freedom, she was anything but prissy and spoiled.
His eyes then wandered to the trinket that he still held.
He smiled.
It was a jade comb.
But not just any jade comb. It was hers…
He looked at it closely and saw the engravings on the small oriental-styled comb. There were two dragons on the opposite sides…He touched it with his fingers and marveled at the smoothness of the comb.
Flashback
"Serph…" she whispered, leaning forward.
He looked at her with a strange look in his eyes, "Yes?"
There they were, having finished their little personal get-together and were both seated in his car.
She had not a car with her and the thought of her going home in a cab had been something preposterous in his eyes. Hence, he had asked that he drop her home to which…she had agreed.
"I want…you to have this." she told him with a gentle smile on her face.
"Argilla…?" he asked her unsurely, as he watched her take a small pouch from within her purse.
"Here. I hope you like it." she told him, beaming as she handed the pouch to him.
Serph gently took the pouch from her but then again looked at her, "Argilla, I don't want anything from you. I told you that."
She shook her head, "Whatever is in there…is mine to give. And I want you to have it. So, please open it."
Sighing, he let his eyes fall to the pouch in his hand and there undid the golden knot that tied it. He then pulled out the object within…
His eyes widened; it was a jade comb…
He had…never seen anything like it before…
His silver eyes flew to her face; a shocked facial expression pasted all over, "Argilla, I can't take this." he told her as he returned the comb back within the pouch and handed it over to her.
She frowned at him and shoved it back to him, "I told you; it's mine to give to whom I will. And I want you to have it…! Please take it!" she asserted politely, her voice deep and resolute.
"Argilla…" he looked at her with sad eyes, "I can't take it…"
The woman before him snarled angrily as her pink eyes flashed dangerously, "You'll take it Serph! I gave it to you!"
Serph said nothing; stunned at her outburst.
At that point, Argilla's anger was quickly replaced by a beaming look as she smiled, "Besides, if you don't take it, it'll be like you're insulting me."
Serph raised an eyebrow, "Huh?"
She giggled, "Well, yea. It's bad manners to refuse. Remember? It's just like in your culture. When someone offers you some sweets or food, you can't refuse it, can you? To do so would be the gesture of outmost disrespect, correct?"
He opened his mouth to retort but closed it soon as he found that he had nothing to counter her with.
She was right.
He sighed and there smiled as he took the comb into his hands. He looked up at her again and smiled, whispering a very grateful "thank you".
End Flashback
Without thinking, he bought the aforesaid comb towards his face…and there brought it to his nose. Inhaling deeply and gently, he closed his eyes and exhaled softly…
It still had her fragrance.
Jasmine…
Jasmine…That was the flower of his people. Women from his culture often tied their hair in long braids…inserting the flowers within their locks…
'Why couldn't she belong in my culture instead…?' he suddenly found himself wondering and pondering.
At his comprehension of such a thought, he suddenly bolted upright with widened eyes. What…had he just been doing…?
He blinked and looked at the comb accusingly.
He then blushed, 'Just…what the hell had I been thinking…!?' he thought to himself with untold and immeasurable embarrassment.
Forget that!
He had just thought about Argilla belonging in his own culture! He shook his head, 'I better get back to work…' he thought, putting the comb away within the safe confines of his personal drawers.
xxxx
A/N: Terms…
Jan: pronounced as the Frenc "Jean"; which is Hindi for "life"; was used as an endearing as "jan/my-life" such as "darling" or "sweetheart".