An Afternoon Walk Home (Mingxia)

[Kiku Honda]

She had caught him off guard. Unluckily for the young man, no proper excuse came to mind. After what seemed like a good three minutes of incoherent rambling, Kiku managed to think something up. "Th-The cat! Mingxia, the cat! It is..." or so he thought. Nothing was coming to mind. This was bad. His face was still red and Mingxia still looked perfect, bathed in the sunset.

"Sh-shall we go? The kitten must be starving." he settled. His widened suddenly, realizing she might interpret that wrong. "H-However, it's not because I wish to go to you home sooner!" he quickly added.

[taiwan]

Mingxia tilted her head a little. Kiku was very confusing at times- if she didn't know better, she would've sworn he was about to...

She shook her head. No matter. Kiku had brought up a good point- they didn't know the last time the kitten had been fed. "Ah, of course!" Mingxia said happily. "We're almost to my house, too." Sure enough, she could see the hedges lining the road that gave her front lawn a little privacy.

[Kiku Honda]

The older student sighed a sigh of relief internally. That was too close. His heart skipped a beat just then. He was just about to blurt out the worst possible thing he could have said. His heart sunk a bit, as well. He liked Mingxia. But he treasured their friendship as well. If he asked Mingxia out and she said no... no, no, he didn't want to even think about it. A soft expression came onto his face, trying to hide a small part of sadness wondering if their relationship was going to be like this forever.

As the pair took a few more steps they reached the hedges Mingxia was talking about. Kiku looked at the peaceful lawn and up at her house. It was big yet simple and elegant. Modest, even. The garden was well taken care off, the lush green grass giving off a pleasant feeling to the house. As they reached the gate Kiku suddenly stopped in his tracks, something just occurring to him.

"Mingxia, is your family inside?" he asked as a light shade of red came across his face once more.

[taiwan]

As much as she tried to get it out of her head, Mingxia could not stop wondering what Kiku stopped himself from saying. He couldn't have meant to say what she thought he had... Kiku was a few years older than her, after all, and most likely had his eye on one of the prettier girls in his class. Besides, as much as she was aware that her feelings for him went beyond friendship, there was no guaranteeing that their friendship would be ruined if something went wrong. Maybe it would be best to just ignore it...

Mingxia sighed as they stepped up to her gate. She had always loved the lawn and the way their landscaping was done; even though they weren't inside the hedge yet, she felt like she was about to step into a much milder climate. She was about to step onto the lawn and take her shoes off then and there, but she sensed awkwardness. She turned to find Kiku standing at the gate still.

"Mmmm, msxi, my mother won't be home for another hour today, and Father will be a half hour past that," she said. "Their company has meetings each week, and my father's department usually stays after to discuss marketing. Why do you ask?" she asked, a sweet smile curling her lips curiously.

[Kiku Honda]

Kiku gulped. He was afraid of this. Kiku shifted uncomfortably in his little spot just outside her house, his overly modest nature acting up again. He had trouble just being with Mingxia alone at school. But at her own home? Kiku could feel the blush on his face grow deeper. He didn't know what to say. More so what to do.

"I-It's nothing, I'm sorry for asking such a strange question." he said as he finally moved from his spot. He wanted to change the topic fast. Boy, how many times has this happened? He felt like their conversations followed a distinct pattern of weird question to blushing to trying to switch topics.

As the older student followed in after her. They were on her porch now. "Is the kitten alright? We still haven't decided what to do with it." he questioned.

[taiwan]

Mingxia shook her head. "Aah, it's fine. If we had gone to your house, Kiku, I probably would've asked the same exact thing." It was true- as it stood at the moment, Mingxia felt really quite anxious being alone with him in the first place, and now that they were at her house... She blushed as they went inside.

Oh, the kitten! She looked at the little creature in her hands to find that it had fallen asleep. "Oh... it's fallen asleep... how cute," she cooed quietly. She looked up at Kiku. "Would you like to hold it while I go find some tuna?" she asked, holding it out slightly in offering.

[Kiku Honda]

"Ah, certainly." he agreed as he put his arms out to accept the sleeping kitten. He couldn't help but feel his face warm as the exchange took place, the honest and simple physical contact made his cheeks burn slightly. He examined the cat, sleeping in his arms. Honestly, it never crossed his mind the cat might be dirty. It didn't smell at all so he figured it would be clean enough. Heck, even if he had gotten lice, high grade anti-lice shampoo was readily available. It's not like he didn't enjoy being a highlander after all.

His eyes wandered around Mingxia's house. It was sleek, modern yet had a hint of her cultural background that manifested itself in some old antiques placed strategically around the house. Magnificent, in his own opinion. He wishes his mother had this kind of sense of style. Not that he didn't like his house, it felt old and he kinda liked it that way but he enjoyed this change in scenery. Almost forgetting this was Mingxia's house, his eyes snapped back to her. "I'll just wait here, then." he said abruptly.