2023-11-04: Who Are You Gonna Kiss?
- Log: 2023-11-04 Who Are You Gonna Kiss?
- Cast: Sheryl Nome, Alto Saotome
- Where: Macross Quarter, Alto's quarters
- OOC - IC Date: November 4, 0097 (2023)
- Summary: Sheryl barges into Alto's room to yell at him about various things. It gets more serious than either of them would have expected.
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
The mission to the Macross Global has been far more successful than anyone could have rightfully expected it to be, at least as far as Sheryl's concerned. A lot of information has become known--a lot of paths to gaining more information have opened up--and the mysteries of Ranka's and Brera's respective pasts have gained sudden, compelling new leads.
But that's not why Sheryl is marching herself to Alto's quarters on the Macross Quarter. She'd been planning on doing this anyway for wholly separate reasons, but after he flew off on his own during the exploration, Sheryl is heading over there to chew him out.
And maybe make some subtle inquiries about what's going on with him and Ranka.
But mostly to chew him out!!
And so it happens that Sheryl simply barges into Alto's quarters, shoving the door open before folding her arms over her chest.
"Alto Saotome!!" she declares, glaring at him. (The fact that she's wearing his mother's omamori necklace right now probably doesn't help.) "You have a lot of explaining to do! What do you have to say for yourself?!"
Michael, who had conveniently left the door unlocked, slips out of the room behind her with a smug grin, a wink, and a two-fingered salute.
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Sheryl proceeds to burst into the quarters shared by Michael and Alto. Thanks to help from the former.
While the latter just happens to be changing.
Alto has a dumbfounded look on his face as he stands there only in boxers. He stares at Sheryl for several looooong moments with a mixture of confusion and embarassment. Before finally getting his thoughts in order enough to dive into his bunk, hiding behind the separator between his and Michaels.
As Alto scrambles to get some pants on, he calls back in response, "What do I have to say!? You're the one that just barged in here!" Peeking out from behind the separator again, Alto catches sight of Michael with that salute.
And gives him a stare that says 'I'm going to kill you.'
A quick rush to get some clothes on later, Alto proceeds to sit on the edge of his bed and look up at Sheryl, asking a little grumbly, "So what did I do now?"
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Sheryl is acquainted with Michael, and because Michael is Michael, merely being acquainted with him is to know that he's a colossal flirt. She didn't expect, when he shot her a message letting her know he'd left the door unlocked for her, to barge into Alto nearly naked.
It's arguable if this would actually bother Sheryl under normal circumstances. Right now, though, it does catch her off-guard, and she ends up ogling him as her face turns red.
An embarrassed Sheryl is a rare sight. Cherish it, Alto! CHERISH IT.R
Because in between Alto gawking back at her and scrambling behind the separator to get some pants on, Sheryl SHRIEKS. It's not that she saw anything she didn't like. It's a reaction Grace ingrained into her.
So, you know, that's another reason for Michael to immediately get out of dodge.
Sheryl whirls around, strawberry blonde hair and blue babydoll dress whirling around her as she glares at the door, still blushing. "How is this my fault?! You're the one who just stood there like an idiot!! How do I know you didn't want me to see?!"
...though if Alto had wanted her to see, this would change into a very different conversation.
Still, she lets him get dressed, resisting the urge to peep over her shoulder until he sits on his bed. That at least lets her shoot him an annoyed glance. "'What did I do now'? Are you serious? Did you already forget about flying off on your own literally yesterday?" She whirls around to jab a finger in his direction. "Ranka needed you, and you left her behind!"
She straightens, folding her arms again. She's still glaring, but there's a certain calculation in it when she continues, "Exactly what was so important on that ship that you needed to ditch your own girlfriend to go see it?"
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Alto would absolutely cherish embarrassed Sheryl were this ANY OTHER SITUATION.
He counters back, "I was literally caught with my pants down! Forgive me for having trouble thinking for a moment!"
But that situation is thankfully passed now. Instead he has to deal with this next one. Even though he had feigned not knowing what Sheryl was talking about, the truth is he'd been expecting something like this. When he'd come up with the idea before the mission to break off from the team, it didn't seem like such a bad idea.
But then during the actual moment...
Even as Sheryl barely starts explaining, Alto is already looking rather guilty. He knows he screwed up this time...
Still, he had a good reason.
A reason which Sheryl asks for. A reason... He can't give her, instead saying vaguely, "There was something else in the ship I wanted to check out..."
But then the last sentence registers in Alto's mind and his eyes go a little wide as he looks up at Sheryl, "W-Wait, girlfriend!?"
Yes, Alto. Girlfriend.
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
It crosses Sheryl to ask Alto about why he had so much trouble thinking in a situation where she was staring at his half-naked body, but she's sufficiently flustered that she opts not to. It'll be har--DIFFICULT. Difficult. To bring it up later, too.
...His training has been very kind to him.
But that's then and this is now. Judging by the look on his face, it seems like he does realize what he did wrong, but he doesn't seem willing to actually come clean about it. Sheryl eyes him in suspicion. She knows him well enough to be reasonably certain he didn't flake just because he felt like it, but without knowing his reasons... "And what did you want to check out so badly you had to leave the whole group to do it, even though everyone said it was a bad idea?"
Of course, while that's also important, Alto bites the bait she laid out for him. Sheryl smiles in a distinctly cat-like manner. That's just the reaction she was hoping for. "Yes, girlfriend," she replies breezily. "You and Ranka were getting awfully cozy during my concert last week. Are you saying that wasn't a date?"
As casually as she delivers those lines, she does hold her breath a little after delivering them.
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Sheryl presses a little further into Alto's reasons. But he doesn't seem to be budging, turning his head away from her as he says, "Can't say." It almost sounds childish the way he says it. But then it's probably better that then him trying to tell some lie. And if he's being this stubborn about it... Then it's probably important. If it was just a simple thing...
Then Sheryl's badgering probably would have caused him to just blurt it out in defiance.
Alto rubs the back of his head as Sheryl asks whether the concert was a 'date'. Alto silently admits that some parts of it maybe felt like it could have been a date... But at the same time, he was there to see Sheryl after all.
He looks up at her, trying to piece some words together, "Ah, well... I mean, maybe? I don't know! It's not like we organized it ahead of time or anything. We just happened to run into each other."
'Just happened to run into each other' might be a bit of a stretch, as surely anyone could have predicted the two would be at the concert. Though in Alto's defense, it was Ranka who sat down next to him...
It then hits Alto that he's wondering why Sheryl is going into this line of questioning. Is this just another one of her attempts to heckle him? He turns his head back to look at her.
... No, there's something there... After all, there was that time in the hangar...
Perhaps this is an opportunity for Alto to take the offensive. He has the home advantage after all, given where they are and what just happened.
Alto rises to his feet slowly, "Why?" He takes several steps towards Sheryl, and given the small nature of this shared quarters, there's not much room to retreat. Surely there comes a breach in personal space as Alto leans forward, looking at Sheryl intently as he asks.
"Are you jealous?"
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
The fact that Alto's being stubborn about not sharing the reason piques Sheryl's curiosity, and she blinks as she tilts her head. "Can you say why you can't say?" she wonders. It didn't sound like Monica knew anything about it, but maybe it's over her head. Maybe something Captain Wilder asked him to do?
There's so much on the Global, who knows what it might be.
Still, if he's being cagey, and if it really is something from above their heads, Sheryl expects she's not going to get anything out of him. That's just as well, considering her other reason for coming here.
"Hmmm... So you don't know, huh?" Sheryl says, tone at once dry and knowing. Despite everything, she can't help but feel sorry for Ranka. Her feelings were incredibly plain to Sheryl, even as she'd been busy singing and dancing for a huge crowd, yet Alto, who was sitting right there, 'doesn't know.' "If it were Ranka asking, what would you tell her?"
But then Alto gives her a look she's not sure she likes. She definitely doesn't like it when he starts questioning her, getting up and getting in her face. She doesn't retreat, proud creature that she is; she simply lifts her chin and meets his eyes defiantly.
This lasts right up until he says the J-word.
"!!" It's very unusual for Alto to go on the offensive like this, and he's treated to another sight of Sheryl blushing as she jerks her head back a bit. Someone emotionally intelligent would divine that he'd hit the bull's-eye; it's anyone's guess what Alto might get out of it, especially when she averts her gaze--but still doesn't retreat--and protests hotly, "What would I have to be jealous about?!"
Yes, Alto. What would she have to be jealous about?
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
It's true, Alto is not usually this aggressive. And it's absolutely not because he's trying to avoid the previous conversation. People do grow and change after all, especially at this age. Alto is no longer a student at Mihoshi. He's a fully fledged mercenary pilot with SMS now. It's been about two years since the two of them met. He's almost twenty.
And he is also slowly... SLOWLY starting to realize the situation he's in, with regards to Sheryl and Ranka.
That said, even still it's taking all he has to do this. Which is why he backs off a bit, leaning back again and giving Sheryl a bit of a reprieve.
To her question regarding Ranka, Alto looks away, rubbing the back of his head as he muses, "Mmmmm... If it were Ranka asking..." He imagines how exactly she might look doing so. Would she be embarrassed, fidgeting as she barely manages to look at him? Or would she do it in that enthusiastic way of hers where she stares at you with eyes wide in anticipation?
Either way... Alto nods, "Yeah, I'd probably say it was."
But then his eyes turn to look at Sheryl's face, realizing he has another opportunity here for a bit of teasing, "Of course... She's not the one currently here with me."
"In my room."
"Alone."
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
It's certainly true. Sheryl and Ranka have both changed too in the last two years; Ranka is bolder, braver; Sheryl is calmer, kinder. All three of them have changed since that day they first met. But there's certain aspects of their relationship--with him, with each other--that haven't changed very much at all. Sheryl eases up when Alto leans back, but that rosiness doesn't quite fade from her cheeks either. She watches him as he looks away and thinks over her question. And when he answers...
"...Oh."
For an instant, Sheryl looks genuinely disappointed, eyes dimming as she bows her head and her eyebrows furrow upwards. But then she purses her lips and frowns at him. "Hmm... So if Ranka were asking, it'd be a date, but when it's the other hopelessly enchanting woman in your life asking, you don't know? What exactly am I supposed to make of that?"
It's almost a tease, except for the part where she's completely serious. That makes it a contrast for Alto's actual tease on the hopelessly enchanting woman who's here with him, in his room, alone. Sheryl makes a little '!' sort of noise again... but she shuts her eyes and brushes her hair back. As flustered as she was earlier, she's seen Ranka take step after step ahead of her where Alto's concerned. If he would've said it were a date if Ranka had been the one asking...
"That's right. I am the one currently here with you."
She looks him in the eye.
"In your room."
She takes a step closer.
"Alone."
If Alto lets her, Sheryl will lift a hand to rest on his chest. She doesn't lean in for a kiss, but there is a bittersweet shine in her eyes as she watches him, waits for his answer.
"What do you make of that?"
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Who calls themselves 'hopelessly enchanting'?
Not that Alto is disagreeing.
Not that he would agree out loud.
Alto doesn't respond immediately, partly because he's still thinking it over. And partly because he's distracted as Sheryl moves to counter him, stepping closer.
Alto instinctively takes a tiny step back, though not out of her reach. All has strength of will vanishing, looking a little like a cornered animal as Sheryl places her hand on his chest. Alto stares at her...
Should he?
Shouldn't he?
Should he? Shouldn't he?
Shouldheshouldn'theshouldheshouldn'theshouldheshouldn'the?
A flash of memory, Ranka's head resting on his shoulder.
Another flash, a star shining down on Sheryl.
Alto takes a step back, moving his chest away from Sheryl's hand. He gives her a confused look, "What do you want me to say!?"
He turns away a little, staring into empty space as he clenches his fist, "I feel like I'm lost in a dark sky... Two stars shining equally bright... I don't know which path I should take!"
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Sheryl does, obviously! (And if you pay close attention to what she was saying, she also calls Ranka that implicitly. Sheryl knows she's just as charmed by her as Alto is. No matter how much they might be rivals in song and love, Sheryl can't help but adore her #1 fan. It's how she can be angry on Ranka's behalf that Alto left her behind, even though they'd been cozying up to each other just days before.)
She rests her hand on his chest--that chest that was bare only a few minutes ago--and he backs away, staring at her like he doesn't understand anything--or maybe like he understands too much.
What does she want him to say? She loves him. She knows that about herself. But... she'd also hate for him or really anyone to hurt Ranka. She knows that about herself, too. If she hadn't before--and rest assured she had--she would have definitely realized it after yesterday. With that question put to her here and now, in this context, she has to confront it just as he does. She loves Alto, and she loves Ranka.
Should he? Shouldn't he?
What can she say when she doesn't know herself?
He turns away and speaks of two shining stars, of being unsure of his path. Sheryl takes a little breath; sighs it out. Then she raises one hand, almost but not quite touching his face as she sings:
"Who are you gonna kiss? Me, or her?
"Who are you gonna kiss?
"My pure feelings will orbit the stars!"
All of a sudden, Sheryl finds herself breaking into a broad smile and a laugh. Such is the power of song, to let her break through her own feelings on the matter. "Well, Ranka is extremely cute, so I don't blame you for being conflicted. Fine! I'll let you off the hook for now," she says, raising a finger and winking. She rests her hands on her hips, eyebrows furrowing, and adds, "But you'd better do something about that indecision, Alto! Absolutely don't tell a girl it's a date if you aren't ready to commit to that. Say what you mean, and don't you dare mess around! If you end up toying with Ranka and breaking her heart, I won't forgive you--got it?!"
Now it's her turn to get up in Alto's personal bubble as she thrusts her face dangerously close to his, her blue eyes fierce.
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Alto is still looking away when Sheryl raises her hand to his face. But lost in his thoughts, it's the bewitching melody he notices first, turning to look up at Sheryl with a mixture of wonder and confusion.
Both of which are broken the moment she laughs. At which point it's just plain confusion and he stares at her, tilting his head.
Though there's nothing confusing about Ranka being cute. That's just a fact.
Alto isn't sure what he's supposed to do about the indecision though... And not toy with Ranka's heart? That's the reason why he's in this confusing mess to begin with!
Still, he would never intentionally set out to break Ranka's heart. And as Sheryl thrusts her face towards his, he nods a tiny little bit, quickly submitting.
Now that he appears to be off the hook for now, Alto muses out thoughtfully, "You're worried about her, aren't you?" While that's obvious from literally what Sheryl just said, she may get the feeling that he's actually talking about other things now. Such as some things that Ranka said yesterday.
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Isn't she just hopelessly enchanting, Alto~?
When Alto nods his understanding, Sheryl straightens, satisfied. Does he really get it? Well, that's something they'll all figure out later. Still, she does trust that he wouldn't hurt Ranka on purpose. Maybe she should worry about her own heart more, but--that's what it means to love someone, after all.
Alto comments on that too. It is obvious, but sometimes these things need to be said out loud. Sheryl's gaze softens, and she pushes a lock of her hair back. "Naturally. I didn't know how bad her memory loss really was--and I never would have guessed she might've been connected to the 117th Research Fleet." She looks away, sorrow reflecting in her blue eyes. "...I never guessed I'd be connected to it, either. What a coincidence..."
And then of course there's her suspicious about Brera... but Sheryl means to talk to him about that directly before she discusses them with anyone else, especially someone Brera hates. That's what he deserves as her friend, as little as she likes the bad blood between him and Alto.
"...Which I suppose I ought to let you in on, since you were gallavanting off somewhere else when it came up," she thus continues, folding her arms as she meets his eyes again. "It looks like they were conducting research on Vajra and something called fold quartz here--and the one leading that research was Dr. Mao Nome... my grandmother." She lifts a hand and brushes back her hair from her right ear, setting her earring asway. "This earring was a memento from her... and it might be made with that very same quartz."
Which is especially relevant to Alto, considering he has the other earring.
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Alto looks a tiny bit guilty as Sheryl mentions she wouldn't have guessed Ranka was connected to the 117th.
Alto has a terrible poker face sometimes.
Still he listens for a little bit. His eyes go a little wide at the mention of fold quartz and he instinctively raises his hand to the gem on the necklace beneath his shirt.
Once Sheryl finishes, she may notice that Alto looks surprisingly okay with all of this. Suspiciously so.
Sheryl doesn't have to wait long though to have it confirmed as Alto simply nods, "I know... About Ranka... And about your grandmother being part of the fleet." He didn't know about the fold quartz, but that's not necessarily the most important matter here.
Alto has a bit of an apologetic look on his face as he glances away, saying, "I guess you deserve to know... Don't tell this to Ranka... I promised her brother that I wouldn't."
Alto looks at Sheryl head on, his face serious, "Shortly before I joined SMS, after the Major was injured and Ranka had one of her episodes, the Major told me about Ranka. She was indeed born in the 117th Research Fleet. And her memories... The trauma she suffered... Was losing her entire family to the Vajra. The Major was one of those who responded to part of the fleet's SOS. It wasn't here at Gallia, but in deep space. They had probably folded there after leaving here." Of course, at this point Sheryl knows the rest about Ozma adopting Ranka as his sister.
"As for Dr. Mao Nome... I didn't know about her research. But when this expedition was announced, I did a little digging and found her name listed for the fleet. That's all though." Still, he didn't tell Sheryl...
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Sheryl does catch that hint of guilt on Alto's face, but she doesn't connect it to Ranka being from the 117th; she assumes it's guilt over running off to do whatever he did on the Global instead of being around to support her. When she shares the news and he doesn't seem surprised by any of it, though... That's weird.
All the same, when Alto admits he already knew not just about Ranka but about Sheryl's grandmother, her eyes widen in shock, lips parting. She doesn't speak, though; what can you say to that? It's just as well that Alto has more to tell her, and she purses her lips as she furrows her eyebrows.
Those brows lift in concern and sympathy as he explains. Sheryl isn't very familiar with Ozma, but she at least is acquainted with him, thanks to the SMS. So he went to rescue the survivors... She bows her head. "So that's why... That's awful," she murmurs. "Poor Ranka..." She raises her head. "I won't tell her, but don't you think she has a right to know this now? You ought to tell Ozma he should tell her the truth now."
Easier said than done, but who else is going to tell Ozma that but Alto?
And... so he dug around about the fleet... Sadness casts a shadow on Sheryl's expression. "I see," she says simply. He might not have told her, but she doesn't hold that against him. If all he knew was a name, what was there to tell?
"There were a bunch of logs and other things like that. You ought to make sure to read them once Ruri finishes going through all the data," she says instead. "It seems like Bird Human is going to be even more relevant than we realized."
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Sheryl does raise a good point, maybe now is the time to tell Ranka about her past. She certainly does seem to have a better handle on her trauma nowadays. It's not like it was two years ago. Though there's probably still the risk of a relapse...
Alto groans before finally agreeing, "I'll mention it to him... Not sure how he's going to take it though. He's very overprotective of Ranka."
Alto then looks a little bit guilty again as Sheryl mentions the logs found and that Ruri is going through them. It's probably because he's reminded that he also abandoned Ruri after she asked him to protect Archimedes. He scratches at his cheek, "I guess I should probably go see Ruri... Assuming she doesn't hate me or anything."
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
There's a risk with everything. If Ranka was able to walk into and through the Global even though it terrified her, Sheryl has faith that she'll be handle the truth of her own past. It's not actually her call to make, though; she's expressed her opinion to Alto, and Alto's agreed to say something to Ozma. After that, whatever happens is on Ozma. That said--
"He can be overprotective all he wants. Ranka's got a right to the truth," Sheryl states, unyielding. ...It's probably good for Ozma that Sheryl's tasking Alto with passing the sentiment along. Sheryl wouldn't hesitate to put him on blast if she were confronting him directly.
Just like she already put Alto on blast earlier. Ruri might not have come up at the time, but Alto already gets it. Sheryl smirks briefly and sets a hand on her hip. "If she does, you'd deserve it," she tells him bluntly. "But running away from her won't fix that, so yes, you should go see her."
She gives him a light push on the arm, if he lets her--but for all her bluntness, at least it's clear she's not outright angry anymore. Either way, she'll leave soon so Alto can handle Ozma and Ruri both.