Of course I recognize you. Those eyes. That nose. That’s still you.

his boyish grin could quite possibly heal the world.

i can't help but feel like i led you astray what if there's a world where we don't have to live this way?

" well, nice to meet'cha alex!" another toothy grin before lifting up his hand to fumble at his messy strands of hair. " silver actually, and yeah. one of them do. the other has a mix of my old man and my mom's hair color. pretty sure you already know one of them? "

damn- it really made /that/ much of an impact? he honestly remembered his dad chewing him out for not controlling his strength. " heh, you seem to know all the stuff. my kid sisters aren't really the sporty kind so we don't talk gridball around each other. what's your name? year?"

yawn. . .

| ♪ | i like how alex hasn't connected the dots just via the hair LOL

taking a deep breath, he let out a sigh before his expression turned to his usual toothy smile. "nah, it's good. i was in a bad mood at the time and just kinda needed an outlet. but i guess if it made that much of an impact, i guess i played my cards right!" with a laugh, he'd glance over atー

| ♪ | cecil being the good ol modest man (bro felt hella bad about taking out the opposing player but he was kind of in a crappy mood at the time bc of aria's seclusion)

" heh. . .didn't think that whole debacle made that much of a stir with the gridball players. " he seemed a bit nervous, rubbing his neck once again while averting his gaze. " honestly it was kind of an accident at the time, and it sorta turned into a whole story. . . "

" really? cool. " a smile on his face as his other hand rested against his neck. " zuzu high alumnus. year -6. name's cecil shiraishi, good to meet ya! "

| ♪ | just gonna pretend our sdv verse is in 2025 rn bc i don't math

he'd rub the back of his neck with an eyebrow raised. his hand rested on his hip while tilting his head. "uhh, i used to play gridball a lot back when i was in high school. now i just play on my spare time from work. you play too?"

| ♪ | shiraishi men help me

glances over at the jock looking at him. huh- didn't think he'd see one here. " . . . uh- yo. is there something you need? "

" ehhh he'll live with it. " with a huff, he glanced over to see her burying her head into his shoulder; a chuckle rising from his throat. " why're you hiding, tails? "

cecil's eyes seemed to soften as he nuzzled his head against her own, finger still twirling her hair around it in the process. " heh. then it's a date. no jairo this time, just us. "

with a roll of his eyes, he'd look down at her with his face a little closer to her own. " you literally just gave me a kiss for my birthday. i want to take you out on a date. . .if ya want to. "

" yeah? " blue eyes stared down at her as his finger twirled around her hair. biting the bottom of his lip in a moment of pondering, he tilted his own head. . .seems like the shiraishi siblings do have similar habits. " what if i said i wanted to bring you? "

" oh ha ha, i still go to the gym when i can y'know. " rolling his eyes, he rested his head on his free arm, looking to the side. " i'm down to go. i need a break from work anyways. "

( stretch ) whew-! man, this makes me miss doing gridball. i feel like moving around.

| ♪ | ngl i feel like cecil and alex would get along a bit espc since cecil used to be in the gridball team when he was in hs

"whoa- seriously!?" cecil's eyes seemed to brighten as he looked down at her, a visible smile on his face.

"really? what else ya got for me, tails?" with a smile, he tapped his cheek against the top of her head with a relaxed sigh.

"eh- it's been a while but it wasn't unwelcome." his nail would gently scratch at her neck while he used his other arm to rest his head.

it wasn't something he wasn't used to. in fact, they've done this before, but this felt somewhat different from just regular fun. pulling back with a bite on her bottom lip, blue eyes looked down at her whilst a smirk appeared on his lips. "aren't you cute."

"alright then, you asked for this." his lips then connected with her's, his hand that was rested on the nape of her neck pulling her closer to him in the process.

"i'm giving you one more chance to push me away if you don't want what's coming for ya, tails." his face drew closer, his lips dangrously close to hers.

okay yeah that surprised him more than the kiss on the cheek. brushing his hand to the back of her neck, he seemed to move closer to her as blue eyes stared down at her. "watch it, tails. you're treading on a pretty risky territory here."

"heh. . .when did you plan to hit me with that, cheeky tails?" he seemed to lean his face down toward her with a smirk on his face. "it's good, thanks."

" . . . ! " he froze for a moment before looking down at her. wow- he- actually might really like this gift.

heh, thanks tails.

"fine, fine, stop calling me old first and i'll shut up."

damn. . .already 25.

"heh. . .here you are, laying on me as if you haven't been calling me old earlier."

"mm. . .huh- oh, hey tails. what's up?"

( rubbing the back of his neck when he pulled back, he let out a sigh before shaking his head. ) nah. i've been busy all day today so i've been skipping my meals.

heh. sure, tails. we can do that. ( he brushes her hair back to press a kiss against her forehead. )

( taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm his own anger, he nuzzled against the top of her head once more. ) . . .got it. i'll stay over tonight.

heh. . .i thought you didn't want me to when i asked? ( a little squeeze around her body. ) . . .do you want me to?

har har, i didn't even flick you that hard. . . . (pulls her into a hug, burying his head into the top of her head.) . . .just keep your guard up.

( light flick of the head ) you can't just take these things lightly. be more cautious, tails.

just let me know if you catch anything suspicious, yeah? i. . .can't promise that i'll be calm if i find out something happened after the fact.

tails. just because you don't want to pay any mind to it, doesn't mean it isn't concerning. ( he's placing his hand on his hip. ) watch out, okay. . . ? do you want me to stay over at your place just in case?

hah. . . sorry- i'm calm. . . ( with a show of his eyes, he'd look back down at her. ) you're being watched? by who?

talia i'm not kidding around. ( yeah. . .there's the signature glow in his eyes whenever he's getting pissed. ) what's going on.

tails. spill it.

okay goddamn you /do/ realize it's kind of useless to lie to me right? what're you hidin.

. . .did you name one after me??