"That sounds perfect. I'll see you in ten, then." He smiled softly to himself, checking his wrist watch for the time. "Do you need anything else for today. Azusa?"
Tali pushed off of his counter and made his way out of his apartment, humming a small tune to himself. He had been up and ready for quite some time now, dressed in his usual style and prepared for another day out on the town. Not that he'd be doing much. Maybe after his date he'd find something useful to do.
Not that he had anything useful. He'd usually be recovering from a hangover and a long, exhausting night at about this moment. That usually happened for half the day. And then he'd be off on his own for a little bit before he went back out on the town.
Today he didn't have anything planned. It was going to be a long day after this date.
"Uh, more time to get ready." Azusa joked, laughing a bit. "But yeah, see you in a few." Azusa hung up and sprinted to her bathroom, prepping for the morning. That included brushing her teeth, curling her hair, putting a little makeup on, packing her lunch–there was no way she was going to get all of that done in ten minutes.
(Sorry, just finished up a class)
"If you need it, I can wait for a bit." He offered, smiling at nothing in particular. "Take your time, I'll see you outside in a little bit." Once the call ended Tali took his time getting to his car, humming a familiar sort of hymn the temple had taught him.
It took him back to days where he would sit around the shrine and listen to the older, lesser deities sing as they did chores. He never had to do any. Or at least no one made him do any. Tali guessed they were afraid of him and he didn't blame them. It was slightly alarming to have someone like him around. Someone who's powers only benefited themselves.
The entire drive towards Azusa's apartment Tali's mind was preoccupied with the ethics of just telling her what he was right then and there. It would probably chase her off but that was probably better wasn't it? Better than letting her think she scored a date with a man who was actually handsome and quite normal. She wouldn't have to deal with his cocky nature and the superiority complex he so casually showed off.
He hesitated after parking, sighing as he got out and leaned against his car, waiting for her to come out. It was too risky. He didn't want to get stabbed if Azusa somehow ended up carrying a knife for protection or something. God. He really was an asshole wasnt he?
(Hello beautiful person!)
About five minutes passed by and Azusa finally exited her apartment, contemplating for a few minutes conversation topics for the two of them. She had to at least try to be organized like that. She dashed down the two flights of stairs and waved, smiling nervously at Tali. Part of herself was surprised she had even managed to get a date with this guy.
"So…" Azusa's brain stopped working. Words, Azusa. Anything at this point would work. He's staring at you~ "Why'd you ask me out again?" Oh, great. Nice job, me!
(Hello hello hello even beautifuler person!)
Tali waved back excitedly, his mood already picking up at the sight of her. She always looked so nervous around him. Tali knew he could be intimidating but was it that bad? He gave her a reassuring smile, tilting his head to show his interest when she spoke.
When the question finally processed in Tali's brain he couldn't stop the snort of amusement that left his throat. "S-sorry, I'm not laughing at you, that was just funny." He covered his mouth and turned his head away, snickering to himself. Once he was composed enough he turned back to her, taking in a deep breath.
"You're quite cute, you know that? I asked you out because I like you. You're a good conversation." He felt his face heat up so he looked away again, adding in a small: 'And you're pretty.' Under his breath. Tali was hardly ever shy. He was usually bold, brash, egotistic. He was only ever shy when it came to people he couldn't understand or outdid him in the bold sense.
Pull yourself together. Be Tali. You're better than most, remember? You have no reason to be shy. He really was starting to dislike that little voice. It was going to cost him another date with the woman in front of him and he did not want to lose that chance. It would be better that way, though. You know what you are.
"Sh-shall we go?" Tali gestured to the slim, dark gray sports car he had previously been leaning against. As long as he kept his body and mouth busy he wouldn't think of anything complicated. His life was simple. He got what he wanted by stealing faces. It's unfortunate you don't get what you need.
Azusa laughed. "Of course!" Her eyes widened at his mode of transport. "Where did you get the money for that, though? That probably cost more than my apartment and paycheck combined! I guess I took you for the humble type… My bad for assuming." Azusa felt a bit awkward now, knowing that he had the kind of money to get expensive and nice things. Why go for a woman working at a dead-end job? Sure, she could go back to school and probably be a good businesswoman, but Azusa never really liked college much.
Tali laughed at her reaction, opening the passenger door for her. "It was a gift." He wasn't lying. It was a gift. But he had already paid it off with the money he made from, well, doing his 'business.' So are you a prostitute now? Was he embarrassed of it? A little bit. Would he admit it? No.
"Ah… yeah… I'm not exactly humble… I guess I should try to be a little better with it, shouldn't I?" He feigned awkwardness, laughing halfheartedly. Truth was, he was proud of the car. Sure he had been given it but he paid it all off on his own. Some of that money was even from him actually working. So maybe he had been searching for a different lifestyle. He was just trying to figure stuff out.
"Don't worry too much about it. Business stuff."
"Oh, alright." Azusa stepped in cautiously–she didn't want to contaminate the car with her 'modestness', if that was a thing. She decided to ask the question that was bothering her. "So…why am I your date of choice on this decently alright Monday morning? Some women would kill to be in my place right now." Why did that remind her of the Tali she met at the party? Azu's cogs were turning. I mean, sure, I told him he was lucky, but he was insistent that he wanted me. Then again, he was so full of himself. Maybe they know each other? That wouldn't be too far of a stretch.
He gently shut the door and walked around to the other side to climb in. The repeated question made him wonder if she was feeling inadequate. He sighed, turning to her and looking her over.
"Do you want the truth?" He asked firmly, not waiting for her answer before he continued. "I've been with plenty of women who are, in some ways, better off than you. But they're not what I want. I told you before, I like talking with you and you've caught my eye. You're a good change, someone who confuses me as much as she interests me. Maybe I'm curious of where this will go? Maybe I'm genuinely interested in you. Just because you're not 'successful' in societies standards doesn't mean you aren't desired." Hypocrite. Where's this thinking in you? Why do you tell others it but refuse to take it to your own heart? Aren't you afraid of your real face? Don't you cover it so you don't have to look at yourself in the mirror?
Tali fell silent, looking away in… embarrassment? Shame? He didn't know what it was.
"Well, that's nice of you, but I don't want you to feel like you need to coddle me just because of my societal position. I hope you can understand that, Tali." Azusa relaxed a bit, putting her purse–a dark burgundy in color with a few tassels on the zippers, nothing too fancy–on her lap, putting her lunchbox on the car's floor. Azu fidgeting with her fingers while looking around. The car was sleek, neat, organized. Azu could count the steps it took for her to get from the apartment to Tali through the windshield–it was spotless. Azusa felt more ashamed that she wasn't dressed fancy or that she didn't put on a touch more eyeliner than she did when she was in a hurry.
(I laid down at 5, anddddd I just woke up. Dang man. I’m disoriented)
“Of course I can, Azusa. And I won’t. We are equals in my eyes.” He reassured her. He did see her as an equal, if not not greater than him.
Tali pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street, watching Azusa every time he was stopped at a light or stop sign through the corners of his eyes.
“Do I intimidate you, dear?” He asked out of the blue. They were getting close to the coffee shop and he just had to know. “You don’t have to be nervous around me. You’re fidgeting…” he noted, risking a glance at her for a split second. His anxiety was starting to spike, that inferiority complex part of him kicking in.
“I promise I’m a good guy.” Liar! Liar! Liar! “I won’t hurt you.” No, but she might hurt you if she knows what you are, Monster! “You have my word.” Your word is about as reliable as your real face. It hardly exists anymore. You’ll hurt her emotionally somehow, or she’ll find out you’re a monster and then she’ll run. You have no chance. No chance.
Tali wanted to scream at his head, to scream ‘shut up!’ and to argue with it. But he wouldn’t let himself interact with it. Interacting made it worse. He would ignore them, keep moving on.
“I’m not a man who’s big in his industry, you know.”
"I–a bit, yes." Azusa admitted. "I'm nervous, mostly. I haven't had a need for dates in…well, years. I mean that literally!" Azu chuckled to herself, her laugh falling flat. God, it's really been five years, hasn't it? No wonder you're this tense and unsure about yourself.
"But it's fine, just a temporary thing. I should be more focused on my social life now that I have a good, steady job, right?" She didn't expect the question to be answered. "Anyway, where are we going, exactly?" Azusa tried to distract Tali–or was she distracting herself?–from her own nervousness and insecurities.
“Really?” He asked, surprise lacing his tone. “Years?! Have you had any suitors? I’m sorry if that’s a little too personal, but it’s really been years? You’re such a gorgeous and fun woman, I’m surprised.”
And he was surprised. Surprised enough he hardly registered her other words. She didn’t seem the type to be like him but he had thought she had gone on at least a few dates recently.
“Oh. There’s a coffee place down by Center Street I love. It’s really quite nice.” He hummed, smiling softly. “I frequent it a lot. Especially when I need a little pick me up.”
(Hello amazing Kat!)
"Nope. The last person I dated was my high school sweetheart. He…was a bit too controlling for my liking." Azusa shrugged it off. It wasn't like it was some big deal that Diego had put her into a corner for most of those two years. It wasn't a big deal that he sweet-talked his way into her becoming distant from her friends. It wasn't a big deal that she came out of the relationship a broken girl, unsure of who to trust and what to do. It wasn't a big deal that her family didn't do horseshit about it–they didn't even care!
Okay, maybe it was.
Azusa looked at Tali. This had been the one person who didn't try to pressure her into being someone she couldn't be. Why was that? Did he actually like her, or was she just a new pretty face in this man's life that he wanted to try out? Azusa hoped it didn't matter to her, but secretly, it did.
(Heeellooo! Wonderful Sam!)
“Ah… I understand why you left him. Controlling relationships are… not good. Don’t let anyone tell you what you can or can’t do in a relationship. That’s up to you.” That was especially important in his line of relationships. He never got too attached, as he had to move on to the next one to get what he needed. And as much of a bad man as he was, he didn’t like to hurt people. He hated breaking hearts.
And yet he did it so often.
He did catch her eyes on him, but he paid no mind to it. He was used to people staring at him. It usually didn’t bother him unless he was having one of those strange days his confidence seemed to disappear completely.
Tali wouldn’t have an answer for her if he knew what she was thinking. He was a wreck of emotions and past learnings he couldn’t shake. He was the literal description of a soul in turmoil. On one hand he thought he deserved and ruled the whole world and should get exactly what he wants. On the other he felt like he was less than the dirt of the ground, a monster harming others.
He wouldn’t be able to decide if he just wanted to try her out or if he really did feel something for her. He didn’t know the difference.
( =) )
"I can try to get the day off if you'd like. My boss doesn't like me at the moment, but he owes me for my hard work." Azusa said, not really paying attention to anything. "Maybe buy a rotisserie chicken and a quart of lemonade and go picnicking." Her voice was light, thoughtless. Azu's train of thought looked towards the future instead of the past, for once.
(:D)
Tali nearly had a heart attack at her suggestion. It sounded so fun, so pure. He wanted it so badly.
“That sounds… like the best thing I’ve ever heard. I would love a picnic. But don’t stress too much about getting today off. We can always go another time.” He winked, sighing happily as turned into the parking lot of the coffee shop.
Once parked he let out a sigh and beamed softly to himself. He could get used to hanging around Azusa.
"So glad you said coffee, elsewise, I'd probably be late to work for the third time this month!" Azusa laughed to herself. She really wished she could sleep in more often. A question popped up in her head.
"Hey, so what kind of job do you do exactly? You said you went around gathering people's information, but what kind of information. Like a social worker?" Azu didn't fully understand. There weren't many jobs out there that would pay for gathering information, especially ones that would allow Tali to live in such a lavish lifestyle like he seemed to be. Could he possibly-?
No, there is no way such a dedicated person would sell himself like that. Just be glad that someone's interested in you for once!
"I heard this place has great croissants and pastries." Azusa tried to distract herself, but her thoughts lingered in the back of her mind.
Tali chuckled softly. “Do you run on coffee too? It’s the only thing that can keep me going.” Next to Vodka and lemonade mixed together. Ah. Yeah. He did love that taste. He called it a Lemon Drop but it wasn’t quite a Lemon Drop (he preferred straight vodka and lemonade to the syrups and lemon juice they used in the actual drink.)
His thoughts were interrupted by Azusa. He tensed up a little more than he wanted to, biting his lip. He didn’t answer her even after they had parked, thinking over what he should tell her.
“Something of the sorts…” he murmured eventually, stepping out of the car and walking around to open her door for her. “I’d rather not talk about it, if you don’t mind. It’s not the most thrilling work.” He sighed deeply, rubbing at his borrowed face.
“Though you are right about their pastries. They have some of the best I’ve ever had. I love the cheesecakes they sell here the most of anything else.” He smiled at her, hoping she wouldn’t pry into that side of his life anymore.
He didn’t want to disappoint her. He wasn’t a good man. He wasn’t a man at all.
(I just want to hug him okay? Your depressed baby needs comfort >.<)
(Also good morning/afternoon!)
"Yeah, I think they have a 4.7 star review last I checked…which was a while ago, but you know…" I usually don't go to high-end places like this. I'd normally just get a coffee from McDonalds or something… Azu shut up he is taking you out on a date you are supposed to enjoy it!
Azusa stepped out of the car with a weary smile. Her outfit did not scream, 'I'm going out on a date with this really cute nice guy!', but rather, 'I'm a semi-depressed workaholic but I hate to admit it!' Azu tried to avert herself from the awkwardness.
"Ready?" Because I'm not!
(XD I really do make sure he suffers sometimes Ahahahaha but no yeah. He needs a hug. As does Azusa. And she needs to be passive aggressively told she’s AMAZING. Also: goood morning (it’s morning here, idk if it’s afternoon where you are tho))
“I haven’t checked in a while so I wouldn’t know.” He offered a small smile, doing his best to keep up the facade he had created for her.
“I’m ready, shall we?” He offered her his arm, showing off his dazzling smile. “What type of coffee do you prefer? I personally like my black with a little bit of vanilla cream.”
(It's morning still here, just wasn't sure when you would be on today. I believe you are 2-3 hours behind me (as of typing this it is 11:04 am)
"Ah, I usually like a cappuccino or a latte, something light. I'm not very big on coffee's bitter flavor." Azusa smiled, taking Tali's arm with her hand. God, he is cute. And well-toned, too! Azu has to look away to hide her blush, deciding to look at a small flock of birds. She saw one with an injured wing. I'm kind of like that bird. My family only cares that I live, but nothing else, as long as I don't ruin their name.
"Sorry, I was…looking at something." More like reflecting on your past. Azu feigned a smile, taking Tali's hand in hers, closing the car door with her free hand.
(I think that’s probably the case. I can’t remember what time i replied, but it’s 10:53PM right now so I’m guessing it was around 8-9AM. And sorry for the wait, I took a mental health day today with my friends and we went out to do stuff.)
“Not a lot of people like it. I enjoy the bitterness of it for some reason. Guess it just wakes me up more.” He mused, eyeing her as she focused on the birds. He followed her gaze and studied them for a little bit, finding it amusing the way they strutted about with no care in the world.
“The birds?” He asked, looking down at their hands and smiling warmly. He locked the car as they walked towards the entrance, his eyes finding Azusa’s face. She was so pretty it almost hurt. A beautiful face only accentuated by her makeup. Nothing like the plastic-and-makeuped-faced women he met with. She was so real, and in more ways than one.
“Birds are funny little things. If I wasn’t such a cat person I’d love birds.”
"Eww, a cat person! Relationship over!" Azusa teased, smiling broadly. God, I need to stop acting so…so childish around Tali. Though was Azusa really acting, or was she genuinely falling for a guy she met not 12 hours ago?
Almost suddenly, Azu hugged the man, burying herself into his chest. "Thanks for this." In truth, Azusa was surprised as she presumed Tali would be.
Tali smirked and stuck his tongue out at her playfully. “How rude, am I really all that bad?” He teased, winking at her.
That all disappeared quickly when he felt her arms wrap around him. Tali tensed, his eyes going wide. “Y-your welcome?” He replied softly, hugging her back softly. “Though there’s no need for you to thank me… I should be thanking you for letting me do this.”
(Henlo beautiful bean of a person!)
"Dogs are ten times–no, even more–better than cats." Azusa wished she could stay with Tali there forever. Sadly, she had work in an hour, unless she decided to follow through with her calling Ross and taking the day off.
"Well, you deserve to be thanked, Tali. You are the most kind person I ever knew."
(OOOH Idea! What if Ross is like one of those bosses who harasses Azusa (simple stuff like saying inappropriate things, maybe touching her a few times) and maybe Tali has to change faces to help her out? B/c lord knows she would be embarrassed if she saw this Tali start yelling at her boss.)
(Hello!! Sorry for the wait! Got busy and might be for the rest of today)
“Dogs are okay. I like them too. I just can’t do the slobber… it grosses me out. Guess I could always get a smaller breed that doesn’t drool too much….” he laughed softly, hesitating before he gently carded his fingers through her hair. Soft…
Her words hurt his heart. He really wasn’t a kind person. He was selfish, needy, and kind was the last word anyone would ever use to describe him.
“Thank you, again, though I really think the sentiment is better for you.”
(:000!!!! I LOVE IT! He could always ‘borrow’ the higher up’s face. Like the CEO or someone? Or someone else important. Tali would 100% go in there and just go offff on him.)
Long story short, I can't use Notebook for much longer. If you want to (and I still do!), we can continue this on another platform.
I’d love to, and I don’t mind using another platform at all
