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Mao Sakibou ([info]ex_bigmaoth666) wrote in [info]genome_project,
@ 2010-11-09 09:24:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:mao sakibou, november 2010

Who: Mao and Luke.
What: Mao gives Luke his b-day present, and awkwardness probably happens.
When: Backdated to Luke's birthday party.
Where: Fox household.
Rated: Low?






This was going to be...kind of weird. They had made up, yeah, and Luke had come to his Halloween birthday party, but Mao had drunkenness to hide behind then. Today was different. Everyone was sober, not in costume, and Luke's mom was the host. Mao was convinced the woman thought he was some sort of freak transsexual baby RuPaul in the making or something, and if he denied it, she'd just think it even more. Who'd want their kid hanging around with someone like that, you know?

Though Mrs. Fox being there was likely the biggest thing for him to worry about, he knew that she wasn't going to be the only one there who didn't like him. Luke was friends with a lot of people who probably hated him. Oh, and Josie was sure to be around. Fuck. SO AWKWARD. Mao sighed, made about a hundred different kinds of unhappy faces, then bit the bullet and let himself in.

He was dressed all in black, per Mrs. Fox's invitation instructions, so he was not as easy to spot as usual, though his hair was still dyed for Halloween, the pink and blue streaks in his black hair had been replaced with orange, quite Halloweeny. He shifted the gift box he carried to a different arm and set out to search for Luke. He didn't really want to talk to him with a crowd around, but since it was the guy's party, he didn't think he'd have much choice.


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[info]usestheforce
2010-11-09 04:08 pm UTC (link)
Luke could not possibly have been happier. It was his birthday, he had a motorcycle, he was at a party surrounded by his friends (and a whole bunch of hot chicks), he had a motorcycle, his dad wasn't around to bother him, he had a motorcycle, he looked freakin' hot in his black leather outfit, oh yeah, and did he mention he had a motorcycle? Honestly, Luke hadn't been expecting to actually get the bike until after his birthday. Although he actually had made his deadline and was pretty sure he could continue to pay for insurance, his mother's sudden burst of reason had actually been a bit of a surprise to him. She'd seemed to against it! Then again, his mom was... weird. This was the woman who would be lamenting the loss of her son's childhood (one needed to look no further than the theme of his birthday party) and the next she was poking him to have grandchildren. Sometimes he wondered whether his mom was a little ADD.

Despite the bizarre birthday theme, though, Luke was having a great time. Luke had always enjoyed his birthday parties. Who didn't like to be the center of attention for a whole day? Currently he was floating around from person to person and clique to clique, talking and mingling with everyone and soaking up the attention and praise. Despite himself, he couldn't help but keep one eye out for Mao - hadn't he said he'd be here? After all Luke had shown up to Mao's birthday party despite all the drama surrounding it. And he'd come with a pretty sweet gift too, so the least Mao could do was return the favor. Right?

When Luke finally caught sight of him, he disengaged from his the little clot of friends he was talking to and sauntered over, his head held high and a grin on his face. Sure, he and Mao had had some problems in the past, but Luke was in too good of a mood to want to fight with Mao tonight, so when he approached he gave the other boy a warm smile. "Hey!" He enthused. "Glad you weren't so scared of my mom that you decided to stay home."

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[info]ex_bigmaoth666
2010-11-11 12:22 am UTC (link)
Mao spotted Luke surrounded by friends, as he feared. He hung back, holding his gift box in front of him as if it were a shield. He hated feeling insecure, it was the worse, and it always came hand in hand with shame. Even though he had made what he hoped to be a final, permanent resolve not to get upset over anything about Luke anymore, he couldn't help but still feel kind of jealous, and maybe a bit resentful. How could Luke go from a bullied nerd to a strutting ladies man able to meld with all the cliques but he couldn't?

Luckily, Luke noticed him and began to come over. That made Mao feel better, made him feel like he was important enough for Luke to leave his friends just to see him. Mao smiled as he was approached, but was dismayed to feel his heart flutter at being greeted warmly. Fuck. He was supposed to be over this bullshit!

"Naw, I've faced far worse!" Kind of. Not really. "Besides, I said I was gonna get you a big ass present and Mao doesn't go back on his promises." This was a lot more awkward sober. Mao held out the decent sized box, wrapped in a cartoon outer space gift wrap.

"So, here it is!" He shifted from one foot to another, a little rambley. "Like, your mom probably got you one already, so, like, you don't have to wear it, you could just, like, display it in your room or whatever."

It was a somewhat old fashioned helmet obviously hand painted like the Death Star. Mao had gotten it at the Salvation Army and painted it himself, it wasn't a super awesome fantastic job, Mao wasn't an artist on Luke's level, but it was still pretty good. Mao was a little embarrassed suddenly, for having spent so much time on it for someone who was just barely a friend.

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[info]usestheforce
2010-11-11 06:00 pm UTC (link)
"Uh-huh. Dude. She's my mom. I love her to death, but I doubt you've faced worse." Seriously. He loved his mother dearly, but she was one of the reasons he so rarely actually brought his various girlfriends back to his house. Especially now that there was the possibility that she would start demanding "grand babies" of them. Still, it was kind of funny that Mao was intimidated by her, especially since Luke had never really seen Mao be intimidated by, well, anything.

"Aww thanks. It's good to see that you keep your promises." For once, Luke wasn't trying to imply anything negative with the comment and he quickly tore into the the wrapping paper and opened the box. His eyes widened a little when he saw what Mao had given him. "Whoa." Luke took out the helmet and admired it, obviously impressed. "That is awesome.. Did you paint this yourself? Man, now I feel guilty for giving you a small-ass batarang."

Luke had actually been kind of proud of his present choice, but he clearly hadn't spent as much time on Mao's gift as Mao had on his. This realization made Luke just a little uncomfortable - hadn't Mao said that he was going to try to stop liking him or whatever? And giving Luke something like this... well, it wasn't exactly making Luke want to fight his own feelings either.

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[info]ex_bigmaoth666
2010-11-12 01:35 am UTC (link)
"I dunno, she did make me a sandwich and drove me home, so, I'm sorry to burst bubbles but she shouldn't have shone her soft side if she wanted to keep me away for good." He was talking the talk, but Luke was right. "I figured she wouldn't gut me even if I did do something crazy today, there's no way she'd find a Mad Hatter as good as me." Mao was quite proud of his role, even if he did think the Cheshire cat was kind of cooler. At least he wasn't a fairy. The very thought of Luke's role made him smirk to himself.

The other boy's excitement over his gift made Mao's cheeks grow hot, and it was very hard not to grin like an idiot. Fuck, why did Luke have to smile like that!? He shrugged his shoulders and ducked his head in a sheepish kind of way, "Yeah, I did." He flapped a hand as if brushing Luke's being impressed away. "It's no big deal, it didn't really cost me much and it was fun to do, so..." He shrugged a second time for lack of a better way to finish his thought.

"Dude, the Bat-a-rang is awesome, even if it doesn't actually work like it does in the movies." Yes, Mao had indeed thrown it around a few times, only to discover that bat shaped things weren't all that aerodynamic and all of Batman's perfect hits had be CGI.

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[info]usestheforce
2010-11-12 09:39 pm UTC (link)
Luke scoffed. "She was obviously just trying to get you out of the house. Duh. And yeah." Luke smirked. "She certainly got the mad part right." He held up his hand. "And don't you even try to crack jokes about my woodland sprite costume. I am the fucking Cheshire Cat. That role's sheer awesomeness makes up for everything." Th is wasn't precisely true, but at least Luke could still pretend. But he didn't really feel like arguing over whose roll was better. He was in too good of a mood to start yet another stupid argument with Mao. "So I figure I at least break even."

"Still man. It's the Death Star." Luke's smile became a little more serious. "I appreciate it." Although there was going to be the whole problem of actually wearing it. As much as he was tempted to, he didn't really want to mess it up. Hmm. Maybe only for special occasions. "And good. I'm glad you liked it. Just don't cut anyone's limbs off or anything. Those things are sharp." Luke had found that out the hard way, although he'd escaped with a pricked finger.

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[info]ex_bigmaoth666
2010-11-13 11:29 pm UTC (link)
"Okay. No." Mao lifted his hands in a 'hold up' position, but a friendly, teasing smirk formed on his lips. "The words 'woodland sprite' completely negate any awesomeness being the Cheshire Cat has. It's almost like you aren't even in the ballet anymore, that's how bad it is." He laughed, confirming he meant no harm with his comments, he was just being his usual teasing self.

"What is up with that woodland sprite shit anyway? I don't remember any fairies in the book, just talking flowers." He gave a thoughtful pause, canting his head. "Talking flowers are at least respectable things." Only Mao could make up a scale where talking flowers were rated above fairies and sprites in respectability and think it made sense.

Mao lifted his chin, proud that Luke liked his present so much. "You're going to look like a bad ass and a nerd all at the same time. You're welcome."

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[info]usestheforce
2010-11-14 05:50 pm UTC (link)
Luke scoffed. "Are you kidding me? First of all, woodland sprites can kick the shit out of talking flowers any day. We've got magical powers, yo. And fingers. I've love to see the stupid talking flowers defend themselves as I pull them up by their roots. And secondly, there can be no ballet without the Chesire Cat. How does she get to the Queen of Hearts' palace without me, huh?" Luke shook his head. "You're just full of it, man. Just stop."

Luke straightened up proudly. "Everyone knows I'm the most badass nerd on this island. And now I'm a badass nerd with a motorcycle. I pull it off. Game point." Luke paused a moment, tilting his head as he looked curiously at Mao. "So hey, how'd your date go?" he asked, relieved that he was actually able to pull off the casual tone in his voice. Not that he really cared. He was just curious.

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[info]ex_bigmaoth666
2010-11-14 07:18 pm UTC (link)
"Yeah, but, some talking flowers have thorns. Also, aren't sprites tiny things? How are you going to pull up flowers that are twice your size? Whatever." Mao was totally ignoring the fact that in reality, he was the tiny thing and Luke towered over him. And if he continued down that line, despite being a tiny thing, he had still kicked Luke's tall ass. So, yeah, Mao was completely and utterly full of it no matter which way you looked at it.

On the subject of his date, however, Mao wasn't as confident. He raked a hand through his hair in a nervous gesture, looking sheepish. "Uh...well, you know...It was okay." Apparently it hadn't gone the way he had hoped, otherwise he would have been all over the journals about it. He shrugged, then came clean with a laugh, "She kind of treated me like her little brother or something, I mean, she wanted to pay for things." It was supposed to have been a date, it had hurt Mao's pride when Mari said she'd pay for things. As far as Mao knew, when a guy asked a girl on a date it was his responsibility to pay for everything.

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[info]usestheforce
2010-11-14 07:38 pm UTC (link)
"Sprites are bigger than flowers. Obviously. It's not like the talking flowers are that huge. And fine. If you want to say that a wood sprite can't beat up a flower, I'll tell you what can. A fucking disappearing cat. And besides," Luke reached out to rest his elbow on Mao's head. "Size isn't always everything. You should know that."

"Just 'okay' huh? Clearly you need to step up your game." He smiled, and the lack of sarcasm in his voice indicated that he wasn't trying to put him down. "And Mari's like that. Some girls are." He shrugged. "It happens. The feminist revolution and all that." Why was he encouraging this?

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[info]ex_bigmaoth666
2010-11-16 12:29 am UTC (link)
Damn Luke and his stupid tallness! Mao's face burned when the other boy rested his elbow on his head. It sucked being so short! He ducked out from under Luke's arm with an indignant, 'Hmph!' and gave him a bratty look. "Quit doing that, you!"

Mao considered Luke's words, but didn't look too consoled by them. "Hm...Yeah, but I don't really think I want to step up my game with Mari." He blinked, realizing it might sound like he was saying Mari wasn't worth going for, and quickly attempted to explain. "I mean, she's really pretty, and nice, and like, she's probably the only girl who doesn't like, think I'm a complete idiot, but..." He let out a sigh. "I dunno, she deserves someone better than me."

He laughed a little to lighten the mood, "Maybe I should set her up with my brother."

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[info]usestheforce
2010-11-16 07:55 pm UTC (link)
Luke laughed as Mao pulled away. No matter how good (or just stupidly persistent) Mao's arguments were, it was nice to know that Luke could still fluster him by pointing out his shortness.

Luke frowned a little at Mao's first statement - Mari was like his sister and therefore he didn't take kindly to hearing her insulted - but he began to understand upon hearing Mao's explanation. "She's a great girl," Luke agreed. "But I doubt she's the only one that doesn't think your an idiot." He smirked. "I mean, don't get me wrong. You are an idiot. But don't fall into the 'she's too good for me' trap, dude. It's not a good place to be and it'll just make you lose confidence. And with girls? It's all about confidence."

It was kind of strange to have such a... civilized talk with Mao. He was sure that they'd had decent conversations before, but he couldn't remember if they were ever this tame. Then again, they'd just been arguing over wood sprites and talking flowers, so at least not too much had changed.

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[info]ex_bigmaoth666
2010-11-19 11:04 pm UTC (link)
Mao just all out rolled his eyes at Luke's attempt to assure him that the female race didn't all hate him. Luke had a point, but Mao liked being dramatic and it didn't sound as impressive to say only 'most' girls thought he was a creep. A rebuttal of, 'So what is it for guys?' was on the tip of his tongue, he actually had to bite it to keep it from coming out. Mao was wary of saying anything...suggestive. One of Mao's theories to help him get over liking Luke was to try and do away with flirtation between them. It was weird to realize that most of their time spent together before now was either fighting, or flirting.

"Uh, huh, uh huh." Definitely NOT one of his best come backs. At all. Sort of embarrassing, really. "So, anyway, uh...So did you get to see Mari dance? She's really good. I dunno why she never showed off before."

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[info]usestheforce
2010-11-22 08:09 pm UTC (link)
Luke quirked an eyebrow at Mao's clearly lackluster response, but he didn't question it. If Mao was willing to tone down his usual... Mao-ness, Luke saw no reason not to let it slide. It made him feel a little uncomfortable, though, as if Luke were looking at a jaguar trapped in a cage. Still, Luke didn't want to risk fighting, especially not tonight, so he didn't call him out on his weak-ass response and went with the flow of the converstion instead.

"Mari's like my sister, dude. Of course I've seen her dance. And yeah," Luke smiled. "She's really good. I don't know why she doesn't do it more, to be honest." Luke's eyes flicked around the room so he could find her, a warm light entering his eyes when he did. Sometimes, Luke wasn't sure what he'd do without Mari, even though they weren't as close as they'd been before. "But I don't think she likes showing off much. She's at least in the ballet, though! She'll be a great caterpillar."

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[info]ex_bigmaoth666
2010-11-24 02:36 pm UTC (link)
"Like your sister, huh?" Mao frowned a little then, not because he disapproved of how Luke felt about Mari, but out of sympathy for the girl. "She's like everyone's sister." So it seemed Mari had the same problem he did, people saw her as a sibling, and so never considered her as a romantic possibility. He knew she had to be lonely, she pretty much said so when she admitted no one had ever asked her out before, which was probably why he agreed to their date. No matter what Luke said, Mao fully believed she really was too good for him. He didn't want to be the one she settled for.

Mao's smile came back, though rather subdued, when Luke brought up the ballet. "Yeah, she's gonna be cute in that costume."

Again he felt the conversation was lulling and he needed to find something to talk about. Usually he was so good at this, but he was just full of fail around Luke. "So...uh...How are you and..." Oh, fuck, what was he doing? The horror of what he was saying fell on him but it was too late to stop himself, " and Josie doing?" He looked down and rubbed at his nose to hide the way he cringed. Way to sound like a creep who can't get over someone. Way to BE a creep who can't get over someone!

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[info]usestheforce
2010-11-24 10:08 pm UTC (link)
"She kind of is," Luke agreed, catching on to Mao's sympathy, but not to the same extent. "I really did grow up with her, though. Our families are pretty close." Granted, he didn't know Sasha as well, but that was a different story, and she was a lot younger than he was.

Luke looked around a little to make sure that all of his guests were having fun and that nothing was getting broken. He didn't have to stress out about either of these details (particularly the latter) as much as he normally would have, given the fact that his mother was technically the party's host, but Luke still couldn't help but feel responsible. But then Mao's comment brought him back to the current conversation, and even in his distracted state, he couldn't help but notice the look on his face.

Luke shrugged, keeping his voice light and nonchalant as he answered. "I'm okay. Josie's okay. We're both okay." He shook his head. "Honestly I don't understand why everyone's still making such a big deal out of it. We're not even dating." Of course, it was getting harder and harder to justify this, what with the late-night talks and the gifts of chocolate and the scary undercurrent of feelings that Josie, at least, seemed to be developing. But he wasn't about to bring that up, especially not to Mao. Especially not with the expression on Mao's face.

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[info]ex_bigmaoth666
2010-11-25 01:59 am UTC (link)
Mao could feel himself turning red. He was probably freaking out more than he needed to, but he couldn't help but feel so completely stupid. He raked his hair back, not hiding his next grimace. "I'm not making a big deal about it." That came out more defensive than he meant it to. He should really just stop talking. "Look, forget I even asked that, it just slipped out."

Feeling as though he just ruined the hope of keeping the conversation easy going, Mao decided it would be better if he made his escape now. Running off with his tail between his legs was a shameful thing to do, but at this point it seemed like he had already made enough of a fool of himself in front of Luke during their whole...knowing each other, that it was stupid to try to save face anymore.

"Hey, so..." He didn't look at the older boy as he talked, "Seeing how it's your party, your friends probably want to talk to you." It hadn't been a conscious thing, but Mao had just implied he didn't consider himself Luke's friend, or maybe just that he believed that Luke didn't think of him as one.

Mao let out a weak laugh, "They probably don't appreciate me hogging you, so, I should probably get going." He looked at Luke then, smiling. It was genuine, but a little sad. "I'm glad you like your present. I'll see you at rehearsal, right?"

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[info]usestheforce
2010-11-27 11:06 am UTC (link)
"Whoa!" Luke's hands shot up defensively, not as if he was going to actually block an attack (although with Mao and Luke, the idea wasn't exactly preposterous), but just in a general 'stop! Slow down' motion. "Relax Mao. I didn't mean you specifically." He shifted uncomfortably, realizing his mistake. It was Mao, after all, who'd made the biggest deal out of the news when it had first surfaced. Luke should've known better than to be flippant. Then again, Mao had asked. "Anyway. I just meant that people tend to think we're more serious than we are. That's all."

Luke wasn't terribly surprised when Mao began to make his hasty retreat, although it made his insides twist a little with guilt (at least, he thought it was guilt) as Mao turned to go.

"Hey wait--" he reached out, letting his fingers brush Mao's arm before he could leave. Which was awkward, because as soon as Luke touched him, he realized that he didn't actually have anything important to say. He faltered for an instant, his expression wavering between panic and dismay, before he said weakly, "You're my friend." He let him go, backing away a little with his eyes turned down to cover the slight flush in his cheeks. "I'll see you at rehearsal."

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[info]ex_bigmaoth666
2010-11-29 04:58 pm UTC (link)
"I know, I know. Forget it, seriously." Great. Luke took it exactly as he thought he would. Mao was quick to try to nip that line of conversation in the bud, he didn't want it to lead to a fight. He had kind of sort of not really made a personal vow with himself not to get into those kinds of fights with Luke anymore. No matter how tempting it was to keep going. He needed to learn some self control anyway, this would be good for him.

He had started to leave, but was stopped by Luke's touch. Great. Mao turned with reluctance, but there was no way he could have kept going, he was too much of a fool for that curly haired bastard. 'You're my friend.' Three words and any progress he might have pathetically convinced himself he had made in getting over Luke was gone in an instant. He went red, and flashed that ridiculously cute smile of his where he forgets that scrunching your nose is totally unmanly.

"Really?" He bit his lip, then continued to smile. "Thanks." He reached out and gave Luke's arm a light punch. Well, it wasn't a punch really, more like he just made a fist and pressed his knuckles against the other boy's arm for a second. "See ya." And off he went. Feeling better for now, but he wouldn't later when it sunk in how complicated all this shit was.

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