2024-01-25: Romance and Terrorism
- Cutscene: Romance and Terrorism
- 'Cast: Shari Loom, Gerardo Aritza (NPC)
- Where: Barcelona, Spain
- Date: Jan 25, 2024 / April 20, 0098
- Summary: With Leina on standby in case things go poorly, Shari finally talks to her casual friend Gerardo about her real situation--and whether or not he wants to be involved with that.
>ok leina im walking there now
>crossing fingers
-=-=-
This time, it's Gerardo who waits for Shari. Sitting at a small, round table in Barcelona, he considers his wine and looks out into nothing in particular past a few other diners. He's waiting for Shari Loom, for a conversation he'd thought was better had in-person than over the phone like most of their talks. It was wine that had helped bring them together that first time...
"Hi."
Looking up, Gerardo spots Shari as she waves and heads over to him. Dressed in white and black, her signature dark makeup gives her a smoky look, and her heels click on the bricks of the terrace as she moves over to sit down. She smiles at him, a warm sort of thing that can't entirely cover the nervousness in her eyes.
"You are a vision," he tells her, as he's told her many times before. "I am glad that you could meet me today. I know that coming here is not always trivial... Though I do not always know why."
"That's kinda why we wanted to talk, right?" Shari says, "So we can... talk about that. And about... us."
"Yes. I think that there is an 'us' after all, even with the casual nature of our relationship so far." A beat, before Gerardo continues, "Whether or not you wish to pursue that 'us'... I believe it is there."
"Right," Shari says. "So..."
"Ah! I am rude. Please, get something to drink before we have this conversation. Tell me of your day, first. The trip!"
"Oh! Well, I took the train from the airport, and..."
-=-=-
"Ah, yes, good. Thank you."
The server sets down Shari's glass of wine and walks off again, and it's only then that Gerardo seems satisfied with Shari's talk of her day. Shari is used to these little formalities of his--or, as he'd put it, 'taking the proper time with things'. If she were in more of a rush it'd drive her crazy, but she's very not.
"Thanks," Shari says to the server's back, and then she closes her eyes and takes a sip of the wine. Dry and tart on her tongue, the sip is enough to put her in mind of memories. But it isn't just memories she's thinking about now. "...I've been thinking about what you said," Shari explains.
"That is good to hear. A man likes to be listened to."
"Heh. ...I always listen to you. I like hearing what you think. But, tangent. Right. ...I've been thinking about what you said, and..." Shari rolls over the words in her mouth before she comes out with, "I think there's a lot I don't know. And... there's a lot you don't know." Finding her footing Shari continues more easily, "So I'm going to tell you some stuff. And if after that you still want me to be your girlfriend, then we'll go from there. OK?"
"...You are a woman of mystery," Gerardo answers at a moderate length. "This I have known for some time. It sounds serious... and I have not always been very serious."
"Me either," Shari admits. "But I guess... I'm not in high school anymore. So I want to be serious."
"Perhaps that is best. Please, tell me of this 'seriousness' then."
Shari takes a breath. "...It all started with a Voice. You know I--I see things. I hear things. You've been there while it happened. You held my hand through it. Well, one of the things I Heard was this terrible voice of... authority. And this is gonna sound weird, because it was, but that Voice made me do things."
By the time she gets started, she only dimly registers his expressions; she has to keep going, until it's done. So...
"And that voice led me to some really scary people. ...Elisa Kafim. This Aunt wasn't that scary at first, but she got scarier fast. You see, I'm good with technology. Really good. And she had me make her things. Weapons, mostly. ...I know, that's pretty heavy. But stick with me for a while, OK?"
"All right," he answers. "But you are right, it is not what I expected."
"Right. ...So that was that for a while. If I didn't make the stuff she wanted, this Voice would scream and shout at me and show me these horrible things. ...So I did it. For her, and for Yuliana--who'd become her wife, when she came around. It was hard work, and it was scary, and some of the times I said I was busy with school I was actually busy with this stuff. I didn't tell you because... I didn't want you wrapped up in it. I thought it would be dangerous. ...And I worried you wouldn't like it. I mean, the Kafims are known super-terrorists. And that means I was..."
"That is..." Gerardo is surprised; she can see it. He shifts in his seat, his open blazer falling a little more open over his uniform shirt and tie.
"Hear me out to the end, please." Shari takes a breath and starts again, "What I heard was... some kind of evil god. And I know that sounds crazy, but if you'd seen the things She could help them do, you'd believe me. And there's a whole cult and everything, they had me help with it. Remember how you heard about this Silent Calling that was doing charity work and I told you to stay away? That's why. Anyway, like... That was just how it was for a while. But things changed, eventually."
He looks expectant, but as she asked, he doesn't interrupt. He is /very/ focused on what she's saying, now, leaned forward, wine set aside.
Shari takes another sip of hers to steady herself and then says, "I found out some things about the scary lady, and her wife, and their 'god', and... And it was too much. I was willing to risk all those terrible things again to get away. So I know, maybe I should've done it sooner, but I left. I ran away. That's when it became so hard to get ahold of me, you remember--I had to ditch my old phone. ...so they wouldn't find you. So they wouldn't find me. And I had a friend who helped me find a place to go for a while, and..."
"And well," Shari says, "There was also what happened in Nagoya, and why I didn't go back, and..."
"This is very much to take in," Gerardo says, once it seems clear Shari is done for at least the moment. "I confess, I wonder if you are... It is indelicate, but you see things; is it possible that this is... in your head?"
"I'd be bugged if you said that when it wasn't so... crazy," Shari admits, "But no, it's not. You heard about that 'incident' at the North Pole? That was them."
"...That was--Wow. You were involved in that? I am..."
"I wasn't there, but yeah. They used some of my stuff. My aunts. The big terrorists. ...So you see why I'm like, what if he doesn't want me after all this stuff, right? And since you wanted to be more serious than--well, than what we've been--I wanted to... open up to you. See what you thought of all this."
"I... am not sure I appreciate the honesty," he admits. "My world did not include such daunting things this morning. I did not know I was tied to such dangerous people and events."
"I--" Shari slumps a little, "I get it. I..."
"Wait," Gerardo says. "I did not say that I do not wish to be involved anymore. Only that... Well. It depends on what you wish to do now. What you will do from here. I cannot protect you from people like that; I am only a man, not a... god."
"I don't need you to," Shari says. "...But okay. What I'm doing now is... I thought about joining my friend in her big organization. But instead I ended up being introduced to these cool people, and... I'm working with them now."
"And who are these people? These new people who are not... horror gods?"
"The Photon Power League. I'm working with Dr. Kabuto and Dr. Yumi. They've been asking me to consult on stuff--stuff that might help against the awful things I helped happen."
"...Kabuto and Yumi? As in, Koji Kabuto and Sayaka Yumi, the famous heroes of Japan? You are working with such people now?"
"Well, yeah. They're pretty cool. And they pay me! I... I feel good about the work I'm doing with them, like I haven't in a long time. And I'm safe from the Empress now--that 'Voice'. See this jewelry?" she asks, pointing up at her ear where there's a green fold quartz attached to a gold backing. "It keeps her Voice away from me. So... I can do what I want, now."
"I see. ...Then you are not asking me to 'save' you."
"No. I just want you to 'see' me. For who I am."
"...I admit," he says, "That is relieving to hear. That you are safe. Even if we parted, I would not want you to be in danger. We have been friends if nothing else. But to hear that you are working with such heroes as well... I would not be comfortable with harming people. it is not my way. But that is not what you are doing anymore. And I cannot say I wish you had told me... because I would certainly have run the other way, if I had known before getting to know you."
"...But you..."
"'But' is right!" he says. "No, this story has not convinced me that you must be shunned. Though I should confirm... This, ah. Even though I do believe you... it is not some elaborate way of 'letting me down easy'? It is a daunting thing, to think that you would go to all this trouble just to tell me you do not feel as I do..."
"What?" Shari starts. "Oh! Um. No, it's not like that!"
"...You are sure?"
"No, not at all! I just--I didn't want to... start a relationship without... being honest about it. When we were just casual 'friends' it was cool to not know that much about each other, but... If you want to be more than that..."
"I see. ...Then yes. I do not know that I could be with a 'terrorist'. But a career woman, one who wishes to 'help'... This I can admire. And I do. You have been through much, and you look to the future. Yes... this I respect. So, Shari, I do wish it."
"That's--that's great!" Shari says, and then, "...OK, then. Umm..."
"Yes?"
"...Then before we talk about that, can we order? I'm starving."
"Ahahah," Gerardo laughs, "Yes, yes we can! One moment..."
-=-=-
"So," Shari says, setting down her fork, "I do want to be with you. Near you. I really like you, Gerardo. But..."
"But? You have more revelations? I think I need more wine if you can top what you told me earlier." He is joking around, but he feels it seriously. He watches Shari as she sips her own, and then shakes her head quickly.
"Nonono," Shari says, "Nothing like that. I only--Well. This is just personal stuff? I... I don't really know what 'love' is," she says.
"Love! Ah, I think we have experienced at least some..."
"No, I mean... I don't... So, I know that I like you. But I don't know if that's the 'love' everyone talks about. I want to be close to you; I think about you when you're not around. It hurts to think you might leave. But is that 'love'? I dunno..."
"...Maybe it is," he says, "And maybe it is not. But why be so concerned with a word? Your feelings are what they are--electric, unique, intoxicating. I am not concerned with what you call it, if you have these feelings."
"...I think I do," Shari says. "But I want to make sure it's okay--that I don't know... where it goes, if we go 'together'. Maybe I'll be into you even more. Maybe I'll discover what that 'means'. And maybe it'll just be like it was, or maybe it won't go great. I don't... understand, I don't... know."
"So," Gerardo says, "I think you overthink the matter. ...I do not ask 'love' just yet. If you find it never develops in this way, or if you already have it and must discover that, then that is fine. Our affair will be brief in the end, if that is so, and a thing that is short is still worth having."
"Really?"
"Really! But I think I feel this 'love' for you, all the more now that I understand you better. I will seek it. I will try to inflame it in you. And if I fail... Ah, such a bittersweet attempt it will be. But I am willing to gamble on this, Shari Loom. If it is only fleeting, then it will have been a beautiful thing. Do not promise me what you 'will' feel, then. Promise only that you will let me call you mine for a time."
"Gerardo..."
"That is what I ask, and I ask it plain. Will you be with me?" He watches her, again; he watches the feelings shift on her face, the wonder, the acceptance, the conflict, and eventually the smile that breaks through dark lips.
"Yeah," she says. "Yeah, I will."
A light spring rain starts to fall, but under their little roof, Shari and Gerardo don't have to mind it.
-=-=-
>hey leina
>things are good
>ill fill you in later
>thanks tho. i was kinda worried for a minute there