A Basket Full of Awkward Love (Closed; Hatter94 and Rackie; M)

Anna just kept running and running without showing many signs of fatigue. Probably the easiest way to tell that she was indeed a bit tired too was to look at her red cheeks and sweat dripping from her forehead. That shouldn't be too surprising though, Anna's habit of exercising almost every day made her quite used to physical activities and so her stamina could be seen as... rather impressive...

Once on top Anna took a few deep breaths with her eyes closed and wiped the sweat from her forehead. As expected, even after running up the massive amount of stairs she didn't seem too tired. When Raicheal tapped Anna's foot, the meister looked down at her beloved one and smiled slightly, before shaking her head a bit. "Oh Raicheal, Raicheal..." She said quietly before crouching next to the weapon. "I guess I'll have to start inviting you to join me in my trainings. Thanks to those running up those stairs won't be a problem..." Anna told Raicheal before letting out a quiet giggle. "Alright, I'll take the lead from now but... I think you should rest here for a while first." With those words, Anna gently patted Raicheal on the shoulder.

"I'm ok... just need... a minute... or two..." Raicheal said as her breathing returned to normal before she opened her eyes only to look up at Anna and smile "Also... I would like that... training with you... just don't over do it when we start..." She giggled a little before she picked herself up to a sitting position and then stood up shaking a little.

"I'm fine..." She said though it was clear that her body was still a little drained "I can tough it out... let's keep going... and if it is ok with you... can I... can I lean on you for a bit?" There was a slight redness to her face as she said that, the source of which was hard to tell because she was either still flushed or was blushing.

Anna watched Raicheal's every move cautiously as if she was afraid that her girlfriend might faint from fatigue. "Slowly... Move slowly..." The ninja instructed the weapon when she started standing up. She even gently took her hand to make sure she wouldn't land on the ground again. Well, perhaps it was a bit too much running for Raicheal for one day? Yeah, most likely.

Anna giggled when she noticed the redness of Raicheal's cheeks. "Well, I could even carry you on my back if you wanted, my adorable lady~!" She told her, with a wide smile on her face. It was obvious that she was being serious about her offer. Also, it was obvious that if she wanted she could really carry Raicheal all the way to their destination.

Raicheal's face when bright red as there was no doubt this time that she was indeed blushing.

"I'm not that light..." she mumbled as they stood there awkwardly "Honestly Anna, I'm fine... it's a small miracle that I am just worn out by running up those stairs. When I first came here I had to be carried up in a stretcher but I am better now or at least better than I was." Raicheal stood up a little taller though she was still resting the bulk of her weight on Anna.

"Let's just keep going... I can rest when we get to the picnic spot you chose... then we can both relax and enjoy ourselves... ok?" She said smiling down at the little ninja, waiting for her to start leading them to the picnic spot.

"Actually, you're quite light but fiiiineee... You can always use my shoulders to support yourself!" Anna told Raicheal before she chuckled quietly at the thought of her carrying Raicheal. Well, that'd probably look slightly awkward anyways since Raicheal was taller, but it was doable for Anna. "Anyways, enough resting. Let's go!" The girl said enthusiastically as she started leading the way slowly. They needed to reach the woods first and from there they'd go to the spot Anna'd found. It would certainly take some time...

Last edited by Hatter94 on June 17th 2018, 4:13 pm; edited 1 time in total

Raicheal walked next to Anna as they made their way to the forest that the academy used as a training ground. She was smiling softly as they walked looking down at Anna every once and a while. She admired Anna's strength, not just physically but mentally as well. She often wished she had an ounce of the strength her girlfriend showed because for all that had happened to her she didn't feel any stronger. It was something she and Miss Crystal and Rose were working on but something they told her never sat well with Raicheal. They would say she is strong due to how much she survived but that wasn't strength... it was endurance. If she had been strong she would have done something to stop the gang rather than being rescued. She was a weapon, after all, she had the power needed... just not the resolve. Not like Anna. She could change the world if she wanted and has... at least that is the case for Raicheal's world. She wants to be like that but in the end... she is just scared... scared of what happens when push comes to shove. If the clown attack was any sign, she would fold into old habits rather than fight for her new life... but now... didn't she have something to fight for? Yes? No? Maybe?

Raicheal's mood had become visibly bluer as she and Anna walked and she looked a little more worried each time she glanced at Anna. The little ninja would have no clue what was going on in her girlfriends head but it didn't seem very happy. Just then, they reach the forest's edge and Raicheal looked up and over to the woods.

"This place always makes me smile..." She said with a small smile on her face "when I come here it always reminds me of home in a way." Just then Raicheal spied a patch of daisies laying under a tree in front of them. She let go of Anna and with her body having recovered a little she walked over slowly to the flowers and picked two of them. She turned around and walked back to Anna while affixing one of the two flowers into her red hair.

"Here..." She said stepping in front of Anna and weaving the flower into her shot white lochs of hair "I always enjoy placing flowers in my hair and I thought it'd look good on you too..." She said smiling at her, the sadness of before seemingly gone for the moment.

"Well? What do you think?" She said waiting for Anna's reply.

Anna was looking ahead all that time and luckily, or perhaps, unluckily, she wasn't really able to notice the sad expression on Raicheal's face. Her own head too was filled with thoughts. She was thinking about Raicheal, about Raicheal's secrets and about different ways to help her move on from the memories of the past and just learn to live with those. It would obviously prove to be a very difficult thing to achieve... making Raicheal focus more on the future than on the past... but there was hope. At least, that hope was something Anna'd been believing in. The only thing that would always make that hope stronger was looking at Raicheal's soul. In Anna's eyes, the weapon had the potential and opportunity to become way stronger. All she needed, in fact, was the will to become stronger...

When they reached the edge of the forest, Anna grinned and put her free hand on her hip. Before she could say anything though, Raicheal spoke. The white-haired girl looked at her beloved girlfriend's smile and just couldn't help but admire the cuteness of it. "This means... we've probably picked the best place for our picnic, right?" Anna commented happily, as she observed as Raicheal picked two flowers. Once again Anna found herself admiring her beloved's cuteness. She looked so gorgeous and the flower in her hair made her even prettier. To her surprise, Raicheal decided to place the second flower in her white hair, which made her both smile widely with joy and blush a bit at the same time. "W-Well... It certainly looks great on you! Hm... I need a mirror..." Anna commented before she reached into her basket to pull out her phone. She used the frontal camera as a mirror and after a few seconds, she put the device away to look at Raicheal. "Hmm... I guess it's cute! But what do YOU think? Hm? Hm? Am I cute? Am I?" Anna said happily, excited to hear Raicheal's opinion. A giggle followed her words. "By the way... it's kind of... romantic... maybe... that we both have a flower in our hair..." Anna added quietly with a red blush on her cheeks.

Raicheal giggled blushing more "Romantic... yeah... I guess it is... I just thought you'd look cute with it in your hair... which you do... you look very cute..." She said blushing more and swaying a little before she looked around and smiled.

" Yeah... this field looks like a great place for a picnic. It's pretty and calm plus the flowers are nice," she said smiling back at Anna. "Here," she said placing her picnic basket down " grab the blanket and hand me an edge. We can spread it out together and then get this picnic started!"

"Well, yeah, I guess this place is good enough. Gimme a sec...Anna just couldn't stop smiling. She was in such a great mood. And their picnic was about to begin for real! After placing her basket on the ground, she pulled the blanket out of it and turned to Raicheal to hand her one of the edges of the blanket.

ooc: sorry for a short post! ^^;

"Ok" Raicheal said as she took a portion of the blanket with a smile. "On the count of three. 1... 2... 3!" With that she tossed the blanket up in the air a little while holding onto the edges, letting it unfold and flow down onto the ground where she helped Anna to smooth it out. Once the blanket was in place she placed her basket in the center and sat down to the left of it, patting the spot next to her to show Anna where she'd like her to sit.

"Be careful sitting down, Anna. Sitting on the ground in a skirt can be a bit trickier then sitting on a chair." She said and while it was meant to be helpful, the light blush on her face wasn't doing her any favors.

With Raicheal's help, the blanket was on the ground quickly and without any unnecessary annoyances. It was officially the beginning of their picnic Anna was so excited for! The girl placed her basked next to Raicheal's, then took off her shoes to make sure she wouldn't leave any stains on the blanket.

When she heard Raicheal's advice about sitting down while wearing a skirt, she couldn't help but giggle quietly. "Oh, Raicheal, Raicheal... Despite everything I'm still a girl, you know? I know about such stuff! Besides... I don't really need to be careful with my skirt or anything. We're here aaaaall alone~! Just you and I~!" With those words Anna sat on the ground right next to Raicheal and adjusted her skirt a bit, just to ensure her girlfriend that she'd listened to and followed her advice.

Raicheal watched Anna remove her shoes and then followed suit. Pushing her feet together she kicked off her black flats and then kicked them off the blanket. She wiggled her toes a little bit, the scarring clear on her feet but she wasn't paying it too much mind at the moment. When Anna giggled and told her she was fine before plopping down next to her, Raicheal's face when a little redder.

"I k-know you're a g-girl..." She stammered a little as she looked off the side away from Anna "I just... wanted to help since you don't wear skirts as much as me... and even if we are all alone... I don't want you to feel embarrassed or something..."

Anna looked up at the sky for a moment, thinking about Raicheal's words. She found it really cute that her girlfriend cared so much about her comfort. With her head filled with happy thoughts, Anna peeked at Raicheal, only to notice that she'd become rather red on the cheeks, which brought a gentle, warm smile on the little ninja's face. She gently placed her hand on her girlfriend's shoulder. "Thank you Raicheal for your words of advice. I promise I'll be more careful with skirts. Oh and don't worry... You'd know it if I were embarrassed. Right now I'm not and I seriously doubt I will be anytime soon... Just... Well... how to put it..? I simply feel relaxed when I'm with you... So... there are really no reasons for me to feel embarrassed over something as trivial as any possible skirt "incidents" that might happen." Anna told Raicheal while smiling warmly at her.

Raicheal relaxed a little at Anna's touch, the redness in her face lessened and she let out a long sigh.

"I'm glad you feel that way..." She said smiling a little but there was still a somberness to her voice "I feel the same way... I feel relaxed around you... more than I have been with anyone who isn't a teacher... part of it is that you know my secret so I don't have to guard it from you but the other part... I just... I feel safe with you..." The blush returned as Raicheal drew her knees inward and hugged them. Anna had seen this reaction the night before, it was an act of comfort but also of protection... the act of curling inward to make herself smaller. Raicheal herself may not even be aware of how often she does this. To her, it may just be second nature. Curling up as she does when she is feeling upset.

"But I worry..." Sitting there in a ball with Anna's hand on her shoulder "I know I am safe but I can't help worrying... like the skirt thing... I know we are safe and we are alone but something that most girls would laugh off as an embarrassing moment scares me to the deepest parts of my soul... maybe it is just because it would feel like I was back with them... maybe it is because of some crazy idea that I will be identified by people who have seen me back then.... but it's isn't that crazy is it... it's happened three no four times in the past two years... I guess I'm just lucky it hasn't been more..." Raicheal laughed a little, it wasn't a happy laugh but one filled with nervousness and pent-up anxiety as her hair fell over her face.

"You know what the worst part is..." She said her voice cracked with a despaired panicked laugher "The eyes... that is the worst part... tens... hundreds... thousands... millions of eyes barring down on you at your most vulnerable moments... I... I never want feel that way again... and I don't want anyone else to as well..." Raicheal pushed a hand to her face as the laughing ended in a deep sob... it was clear she had been holding back tears for a while now.

"I-I'm sorry Anna... I-I r-r-ruined the p-p-picnic... h-how... how i-i-inconsiderate of m-me... I-I r-really a-am the w-worst..." It was clear to Anna that Raicheal was spiraling downward just as she had been the night before. For the short time that Anna knew her new girlfriend, it was clear that she was a very emotionally deep person which was both a blessing and a curse depending on which way her emotions headed.

For a moment Anna thought that the date was going smoothly and that it would go smoothly until the end. Of course, that hope was quickly gone when she noticed that Raicheal started a long monologue. Anna, despite looking calm on the outside, was quite sad on the inside. The only way to see what was going on inside her heart was to look into her eyes. She was sad because Raicheal was sad. It was that simple. Luckily, she still had hope. Hope that one day Raicheal will move on. That she will focus on the future. She was sure that such day would come. Perhaps not in a few months but in a few years. But that day would come eventually. It had to.

At one part during Raicheal's monologue, Anna couldn't help but move in to wrap her arms around her beloved girlfriend's weak body and pull her into a tight, warm hug. She didn't say anything though, to not interrupt Raicheal. The poor girl needed that. Needed to let it all out. It would make her feel better. For sure. At least that's what Anna thought. That's why all she could do at that moment was simply hug her to show her the support she probably needed. Anna wanted to show Raicheal that she had a shoulder to lean on. Someone who would always show her pure love and warm, loving support. Anna put her hand on Raicheal's head and gently started stroking her hair. With her eyes closed, she started moving slightly to left and to the right- almost like a parent trying to calm down a crying child.

Once Raicheal went silent, Anna opened her eyes and looked at her with a warm, loving smile. "You haven't ruined the picnic... It hasn't really started yet... You can't ruin something that hasn't started... So don't worry... it's just the beginning..." Anna told her quietly, with a warm tone. After a short pause to quickly collect her thoughts she started her own speech- "You know... I want to help you move on... I want to help you just... get through all this and that... so one day you can finally fully focus on the future and the present... To... to enjoy your life..." Anna made a short pause to shift the direction of her speech. "It's a good thing that you share your worries with me... I don't know if you feel that way but... it actually helps you... Because it's... a part of what love is... Love is... Love is sharing your feelings with your other half, you know? The good and the bad ones... It's always better to share your happiness with the one you love... And... It's always better to share your worries with the one you love... Because it's better to divide the worries between two people... It makes the burden smaller... Easier to deal with... Yes... I believe that's what love is... And I... I love you with my heart Raicheal. And because I love you... because I am with you... It means that I've accepted my role as someone who can help you carry a part of your burden... of your worries..." Anna said and closed her eyes for a second as she tightened the hug.

Raicheal flinched slightly as Anna hugged her but she made no move to stop her. She sat there crying and listening to her girlfriend, feeling as she did when she was younger and her grandmother would calm her down. She heard Anna's words through her slight snuffling as her tears subsided as she calmed down and cried herself out. Her body relaxed and her legs fell back to the ground as she leaned into Anna more to rest on her shoulder.

"I...I'd like that...” Raicheal said after several minutes of silence "I don't know if it will ever come... the day when I can move past this... but I like the idea of a day like that... but until then... I am just happy to have someone I love to share my many worries and issues with...” She smiled softly and nuzzled into Anna a little before closing her eyes.

"This is nice... I haven't felt this way in a long time...” She laid there smiling as the sun warmed her body and the sounds of Anna's heart calmed her mind.

You can always count on me, my love..." Anna whispered as she kept hugging Raicheal. She definitely wasn't going to release her from the embrace. At least until she was sure that Raicheal calmed her soul enough. Definitely, their date wouldn't start with any serious worries left in the poor girl's heart. Anna smiled, enjoying the closeness of her beloved one. Raicheal's worries were her worries. The burden was divided between them both. That's how it should be. That's how it would be. Anna would make sure of it. That was her way of preparing Raicheal to move on. To move past the old scars.
"We can stay like this for as long as you wish... We will start the picnic when you're ready... My sweet, sweet girl..." Anna whispered before she started humming a tune quietly. It sounded like a lullaby. Perhaps it was her way of trying to soothe Raicheal's soul?

Raicheal smiled a little as she laid on Anna's shoulder and honestly enjoyed being this close to someone else.

"You're making it hard for me to want to get up and start the picnic.” Raicheal said giggling a little "At this rate, the food will be warm by the time we try to eat it.” With that she somewhat reluctantly rose off Anna and looked down at the baskets.

"Your's first or mine?” she said reaching over to pull her basket closer "I have more lunch items but I am not sure what Mark packed in your's other than drinks and snacks. Which would you rather start with?”

"Can't we start with both?" Anna asked with a cheerful smile. "You know, we could take drinks from my basket and food from yours." The girl said before she took her own basket into her hands. She then opened it, reached into it a pulled two thick reusable plastic cups. One of them was pink and the other one was blue. "So, what do you think? Could we do it that way?" She asked.

Raicheal giggled a little as she opened her basket as well.

"Sure! What do you have to drink in there? I have some Pink Lemonade in my basket but I can have that any day. I'm more interested to see what you have.” She said smiling at Anna as she removed some plastic plates from her basket.

Last edited by [RACKIE] on July 30th 2018, 2:00 pm; edited 2 times in total

Anna started searching through her basket. Quickly a smile appeared on her face. It seemed like Mark prepared some delicious things for them. She pulled out two bottles of juice- one with orange juice and the other one with apple juice. Though it seemed like those weren't what made the girl so excited. She pulled a big thermos out of the basket and grinned. "Would you like to try cold kompot made of apples?" Anna asked Raicheal. She remembered that she was apparently allergic to strawberries, so it was a good thing that Mark prepared kompot out of apples.

ooc: oops my memory's playing tricks. let me edit my post quickly

EDIT DONE

OOC: LOL good thing, was was just about the post about that

Ooc: Yeah, I'm sorry! >.<

OOC: It's ok

"Huh... Kompot?” She said as the name rang a bell for her "That was the drink from last night right?" She looked at Anna and then at the thermos with a curious look.

"So... It comes in other flavors than... ummm... the one from last night? Then... ummm...sure... I wanted to try some last night but... well... ummm... Apple right? This one is Apple. You're sure it's apple and not the other one. Right?” She said a small note of worry in her voice.

» The Secrets of Past Lives (Closed; Hatter94 and Rackie; M)
» Nora's basket full of Characters
» I-It's not like I love you, b-baka! (Private, Arc and Rackie Maybe NSFW)
» A Fated Meeting (Closed with Rackie)
» Something strong, please. [Arc and Rackie][Permission only]