And the World Shall Forget You

[Nayt]

Etsu let out a small sound, a muffled sort of yelp, as she found herself on her back, hands over her head, and Eld right on top of her. Well, not quite on top of her, but he certainly had her in a position very similar to the one she had him in. Except he was a bit closer to her than she was to him, and not without requiring it, either. He could have just sat on her hips and still have enough arm length to pin her hands over her head. No matter how much she should have felt otherwise, Etsu did not feel too terrible about this. At least not terrible enough to say or do anything about it.

Still, this put her in a bad place. And she probably should have been more worried than she actually was, but instead, Etsu was taking this moment to get a breather. She'd really had no break yet, ever since she through Eld into the water a little while back. She breathed hard and fast, not quite gasping for air, but not quite calmly taking deep breaths, either. From all this rough housing, she was in quite a bit of disarray. Her shirt rode up to her ribs and her hair was well out of her face (something she did not notice, and likely would continue to leave unnoticed lest Eld said something about it).

All she could do was stare up at Eld's face, feet from her own (a fact she was well aware of), and hope this boy was knew some precepts of mercy . . .

Simultaneously, though, there was a strange warmth in her heart. Odd as it may have seemed, even to her, Eld holding her down like this and nothing more would have been fully acceptable means of mercy.

[Zach Kaiser]

In all probability, he could have pulled off holding down both her hands with one of his if he tried--he was, after all, bigger than she was. But for the time being he was content to stare down at her in triumph and catch his breath.

He wasn't any better off than she was. His shirt was already too small for him, and now that it was wet it was practically skin-tight on him. Like her, his hair was also in disarray, something much more unusual for him given how clean he normally was. And he was breathing hard, too...

Eld couldn't help but notice that even in her current state, Etsu looked comely. Or perhaps especially in it. Being able to stare at her like this without her getting mad (hopefully) was enough for a victory reward for him for now.

[Nayt]

Eld stared at her, and Etsu stared at him in return. He wasn't letting go, wasn't letting her up, and wasn't pulling away from her, either. He wasn't leaving her room to wriggle or squirm-- just . . . hanging over her. And a week ago, she would have thought this to be the most evil thing he could do. But now, she didn't know. Now, she wasn't even thinking about it.

Before Etsu knew it, her heart was beating a little harder than before. When had that started? Was it when she looked at his shoulders? Or when she started staring at his eyes? But then, when she looked at his lips, her heart beat even faster. Etsu's face fell expressionless; she returned to stoicism, and though she should have said something, she did nothing of the sort. But in the back of her mind somewhere, she was thinking it. There was still a logical sector back there that wasn't overdrawn by all the thoughts of a lost arranged marriage, starting over with the inability to disregard all her thoughts about married life, conflicting feelings about Eld, and recounted thoughts from before last night. Like when she started thinking things she'd been trying to avoid, always when she got close to him. Well now she was as close as ever, and now she couldn't get those off her mind.

Eld needed to let her go.

Under better circumstances, how would this have gone? At some point, perhaps when he pinned her, said, and did nothing more than that-- nothing more than watch her face and eyes --it must have stopped being a game. They'd stopped roughhousing and playing around. That's how it would've been under better circumstances. A scenario where Eld's parents told him the truth, that is. And then, after all this, with them both breathless and happy after exerting themselves so, he'd have leaned down and . . .

Etsu's cheeks began to flush red at the thought, and she again stared at his lips. She caught herself, looked at his eyes, and bit her lower lip. Still thinking about what if's, Etsu was lost again.

Eld needed to let her go before she made a huge mistake.

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld did not miss the way Etsu's cheeks turned red, starting at a point on each side of her mouth and spreading across her face. Something in the mood was changing; he didn't quite feel like wrestling with her now, and he got the impression she felt the same way. But where it was going, he wasn't sure. It was...confusing.

He went through things in his head to say, but he couldn't think of anything that didn't sound incredibly dumb. Probably, he should have gotten off of her and helped her up, but...he couldn't stop staring, his mind in such a flurry of images and feelings and daydreams that it may as well have been blank for all the good it was doing him.

Still, his grip loosened considerably; if Etsu wanted, he could push him off her with little effort (even if she didn't outright knock him down, he'd get the hint and climb off), or she could just squirm her way out from under him.

[Nayt]

He wasn't getting up. Eld wasn't letting her go. He loosened his grip and the tension in his muscles, perhaps. But he wasn't getting up, letting her hands free, and letting her go. He wasn't letting her go for a reason. Because he wanted her there? With him? Under an illusion of his power, or just . . . in close proximity? Or was it that he wanted her? That if his parents had told him the truth, that this passing time of silent gazing wouldn't be the end to all this? That he'd lean in and stay there, let her hands go, put his hands on her hips, hold her to him.

These weren't good thoughts to have. This wasn't the way to define their relationship. This wasn't the right way to--

Or maybe it could've been their first. Their first what? Their first something. Something they'd never done before. They'd have known each other for years, been engaged for the whole time, but they acted just like friends, both in public and in private. They never did anything that couples did, because they didn't know how to broach the subject. It was all too embarrassing for the both of them, and there they'd be, wrapped up in each other's eyes, one pinning the other, and all drives to breech that gap closing in.

This needed to stop. This round and round . . . she needed to wriggle away and--

But they weren't engaged now and they probably never would be. Etsu knew she needed to quit thinking about it, but when she did, when she thought of the now, this is what she came to. A confusing twist of a relationship that progressed with neither rhyme nor reason. A batch of pent up emotions wanting to spill out all at once. A cadre of urges and wants all bottled up and put in crates marked to never open 'til her twentieth birthday. Etsu half shut her eyes and felt her heart pounding out of her chest as she gave that first something a name.

She clenched her hands into loose fists, but couldn't bring herself to push away. If Eld didn't want her to go . . . if Eld wanted her like this . . . if they'd have truly been something all those years back, had a few unfortunate events never happened . . .

Etsu took a deep breath, shut her eyes, and quickly lifted her head up to put an end to all those thoughts and feelings. To finalize them all with her lips against his in a quick, yet soft peck.

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld wasn't sure what to expect Etsu lifted her head. A headbutt, maybe. (Not really.) But he wouldn't have dreamed that she'd kiss him. And he definitely wouldn't have counted on kissing her back.

It was a short kiss, short but sweet. There were a million things he wanted to say and ask, but everything got all jammed up and never made it to his mouth. All his previous arguments against himself--that they were cousins, that things would be weird, or even that he had some feelings for another girl--fell away in the swirl of emotion that came over him.

It wasn't long after the brief kiss was over that he'd open his eyes (not having realized he'd closed them) and, if he saw no regret, or if Etsu made no attempt to move from under him, he'd lean down and plant another kiss on her lips.

[Nayt]

She . . . really had no idea how that was going to be received. By either party, actually. Etsu was just taking a stab in the dark, drawing a physical conclusion about things-- about their relationship and what she saw in Eld --and that was all. She hadn't thought about how she might feel about it, and definitely hadn't given Eld's thoughts on the matter any consideration. And the result on her end, of course, was almost overwhelmingly positive . . .

That was it. That was her first kiss. And for all the protests founded in her heart and mind, it sincerely felt good. Because she'd kissed someone who wouldn't ever try to hurt her. He could have many times. He had every reason to most of the time, too. But he didn't, and he was always gentle with her-- and his lips were as warm, soft, and inviting as they looked. And as she leaned her back back down the ground again, she couldn't help but stare up at his closed eyes, then to his slightly parted lips, and wonder if she'd truly just done that.

And the answer was clear when Eld looked at her. The redness along her cheeks intensified and Etsu felt it the very second her breath caught. Eld was looking right at her. Acknowledging what had happened. That she'd actually kissed him. And then . . . he returned it. Just like that, he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers, this time. At first, she tensed up all over, not knowing how to react, but soon she closed her eyes and finally let her hands, bound in loose fists, relax.

Perhaps her friends at home would have giggled about this. Joked about how Etsu was becoming a harlot for kissing a boy she wasn't even dating. But damn them. Etsu was almost engaged to this boy. She'd wanted that engagement, and on some level, he wanted her. Maybe it was that he wouldn't have minded the engagement. Maybe it was that he was attracted to her. It didn't matter. Reason held no bearing on their lives right now. Justification existed somewhere in Eld's mind, and that was good enough for Etsu.

[Zach Kaiser]

The way Etsu stared up at him, face flushed and short of breath, erased what little resistance there was in him. It wasn't just leftover desire from the events of the morning, though he knew that was part of it. The realization that she was supremely attraction was coupled with the one that she was, despite everything before last night, a kind person, a caring person who'd simply believed herself betrayed.

So he was content for awhile to simply enjoy the taste of her lips as they kissed, the scent of her hair as he broke it just long enough to inhale, the feel of her skin as he slid his hands up her wrists to lightly clasp her fists, before becoming lost in the kiss all over again.

After a little while, a breeze strong enough to chill his back hit him, and he became aware of his surroundings once again. Which was to say they were laying in the dirt near the lake, still dripping wet, a circumstance that was starting to get cold. Not to mention anyone who decided to come for a swim today would catch them.

Reluctantly he parted from her and finally spoke. "Perhaps this isn't the best place for this..." He was all for continuing someplace a little more secluded, like at their camp.

[Nayt]

Eld was a vastly better kisser than Etsu. This became readily apparent to her when he took lead and she could do nothing but follow. He was her first kiss. Her first dozen and a half kisses, too. He held her hands, still above her hand, still upon the ground; he still had her pinned and he was still atop her, and there was nothing she could do, not even if she wanted to do something about it. There was nothing Etsu could think of, though. There were Eld's lips, and that was the extent of it. He was soft, gentle, and though he appeared to be holding her down still, it didn't feel at all like Etsu was being forced into this. She followed his every long kiss and did the very best she could to keep up . . .

It was all happening so fast, yet it was all too intoxicating to really sink in. She wasn't feeling the full weight of anxiety, at least not until Eld stopped and suggested they continue elsewhere. That was when anxiety struck like a knife, sent her heart sprawling into dizzying self doubt, and left her trembling.

Despite her anxieties, though, Etsu felt warm the whole time-- even after Eld suggested they go elsewhere. Her body may have suffered a chill from the breeze, but her heart was pounding, flowing lifeblood fast, and keeping her warm all over. And though she knew in the back of her mind that it probably was not a good idea to follow Eld back to camp and let him kiss her some more-- that he was a boy and boys did not just stop at kissing once they built up enough courage --that voice of reason was still muted since the first time she kissed Eld. She was trembling, yes, but that would have seemed less like anxiety and more like the cold Eld was feeling.

"H-- hai . . ." she whispered, breathlessness masking her anxieties.

This was a bad idea that she could not say no to. Not yet, at least . . .

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld slowly climbed back to his feet, and bent down to offer a hand to her to help her up. A hand that, if taken, he would continue to hold, leading her into the woods back towards their camp.

He was only vaguely aware of what he was doing, and definitely wasn't thinking much ahead. Thinking at all was getting difficult; his head was pleasantly abuzz with sensation that was Etsu.

It didn't occur to him that they were only further muddling their already rather vaguely defined relationship, one that was drifting chaotically between ideas like family, friend, rival, possible fiancee, and others. Part of him knew continuing as they were (let alone possibly going further) was probably a bad idea, but he was helpless to stop himself. No matter how much willpower he mustered right now, if she were to give him another breathless, longing look, he would be a goner.

So he entwined his fingers with hers as they walked, anxiously awaiting what would happen next...whatever that might be.

[Nayt]

She accepted his hand and once again felt a great warmth rush over her, mixing with all the heat from before, and forcing the chill of the breeze against them to hold back its displeasure for just a little while longer. It was uncanny how shy Etsu was, now. She took Eld's hand and walked by his side . . . and said nothing at all. Her cheeks were red and she kept tasting her lips. The taste of Eld's was still on them.

Etsu had no idea what else was next. What he'd say to her. What he'd want to do with her. And by the time they got back to camp, a large part of her was kind of . . . scared. Scared, anxious, and kind of curious. Enough that Eld would have to go pretty far pretty quick to get Etsu to deny him.

But her trembling was very easily mistaken as chilliness-- which was very much accurate. Etsu was cold and wet. She wanted to dry off and get warm . . . which could probably be a good distraction from this all. Etsu let go of Eld's hand once they reached their camp, put her hands up to the middle of her chest, and shivered. She looked over to Eld sheepishly, then back to their tent.

"D-- did we . . . pack tower-r?" she asked, much meeker than usual.

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld was rather surprised by the question. He was so wrapped up in the emotional dilemma that it took him a moment to gather his wits in response to a practical one. "U-Umm...well...I don't know. You did most of the packing." He could only assume that since she was asking, she hadn't--he certainly didn't. He hadn't planned on swimming much or at all.

"W-We'll have to either wait out here and air dry, or change into some dry clothes." Except then Eld realized the problem with the later option. "Except, if we go to get the clothes we'll get the inside of the tent all wet." Needless to say, the last thing they wanted was to get the place they were to sleep damp, smelly, and uncomfortable.

Which left only one real option that didn't involve them freezing while they dried. He walked over to a nearby tree and sat down, leaning back against it. "H-Here," he said, motioning her to come over to him. Given his suggestion the previous night, it was probably pretty clear what he had in mind: if they were close enough together, they'd warm up (and dry off) much faster.

He neglected to specify just how close Etsu should get, though; that part was entirely up to her. But the more contact they had, the better it would work...

[Nayt]

Etsu watched as Eld took position down at the base of a tree near their tent, and at his invitation, felt all that shyness assailing her again. She was visibly hesitant, looking at the ground and shuffling her feet and everything. She even went as far as to suggest alternate methods of drying:

"A-ano . . ." she whispered, "We can . . . ar-rso use . . . br-ranket."

A blanket as a towel. It could then be hung out outside and left to dry. They really had no shortage on blankets, anyways. The amount she packed for a pseudo-mattress effect was honestly a bit much. Still, it was comfy, so if they started a fire later or something, that'd be a good time to hang it, and maybe wet clothes, up to dry. Speaking of, Etsu hadn't thought so far about the whole wet clothes thing, and how using a blanket as a towel would help that out. Cloth had a habit of taking forever to dry and all.

Yet despite her hesitation and alternative proposal, Etsu did ultimately move over to Eld, where she sat directly next to him, her shoulder right up against his chest.

[Zach Kaiser]

"T-That's a good idea." If they were covered they'd warm up (and therefore dry off) much faster. If his mind was in the right place it was something he might have thought of himself. It did lead him to a suggestion of his own, though.

He was hesitant to say it, knowing it might be taken the wrong way, but decided he'd suggest it anyway. "Umm...i-if you want, we might dry off quicker if we...uh...s-strip to our underwear and hang the other clothes f-from a branch or something. I-It wouldn't be any worse than being in bathing suits, I figure," he added as justification.

Whether or not this idea was suggested, he intended to go and get a single blanket. Etsu'd packed plenty, so even if it got wet they could afford to be without it.

[Nayt]

"To . . . to our?" Etsu trailed off.

She averted her eyes from him and furrowed her brow in thought. He wasn't serious, was he? Wait-- he was going to get a blanket. He was actually serious, wasn't he? Etsu felt her heart pounding. But rather than conclude right now that they were officially going to way too fast and needed to hold up and be satisfied with just kissing for the next forever, she took Eld's advice and forced herself to conclude that it was just like wearing swim wear. It was still a little more revealing than swim wear and was definitely a lot more intimate, but those were things Etsu couldn't think about right now. If she did, she might explode.

By the time Eld got back out of the tent, he'd find that Etsu had stripped down to the bare essentials already and was sitting back where Eld left her, back against the tree and knees held close to her chest. Her wet clothes had been discarded and tossed into a pile a few feet away, and all she had on to claim was a set of pink underwear.

Despite the justification that got her to strip down to this with only minimal consideration, Etsu still found herself nervous. Please don't look, please don't look, please don't look.