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Me? A Model? [Leon and Sigr]

It was always a treat to come over to Alaia's home, it was different than any other place he had gone. The floor had a bit of leeway to it and the halls were so wide. He remembered when he had come over as a child, the entire place was a kids dream. So much space to run and play and being one of the only kids to call Alaia a friend, his childish ways seemed to be forgiven.

He had always wondered what her parents truly thought of him, both then and now. While he did not need the approval of any parent in order to call her a friend, it was always a welcomed idea that they would possibly see him as just that, someone that wanted to be with Alaia as a positive in her life. He wasn't sure how much she would even tell them about her own life and he would never push it on them behind her back, it felt as though it would betray some sort of trust.

He would hear Alaia in the kitchen, the sound of a glass from one of the tall shelves would reach his ears. The shelves that he would have to really stretch if he had to do it himself. He noticed the shifting of her tail as always, as it gave off the mood she was in and she seemed to be in high spirits today. As she came back to his failed memory but he couldn't help but chuckle at the comment about not needing a helmet. "I'm sure the coach would loose his marbles at the sight." His ability to let things slip his mind wasn't anything new, he would simply get distracted about one thing or another and it would just disappear from his mind before he knew it.

As she placed a soft kiss against his forehead, he would scratch the side of his cheek, a small hint of pink would come to the edge of his cheeks. He would quickly shake the embarrassment from his mind as she brought up that she did in fact have the notes he needed. "You are a life saver, once again." He was sure that she might not see herself in the brightest light but when he needed her, she was there with what help she could muster and it always brought him back to the idea of how anyone could see anything else besides that helpful girl.

He would take the glass and taking a couple of sips. "Lead the way." He would notice the tail once more, thinking of a cat having quite the field day if it got the chance to play with the hair of said tail. When they got to the room, he would look around as he had plenty of times before. Her computer screen catching the most interest as it looked like some sort of fashion links were open. She was doing her research as per usual.

He would take another sip from his glass as he noticed the book on the bed. Though, the sight of his tiny frame on a board that was hung on the wall would cause him to look the pictures over. The purest of the pure. He had never gone to where she was from and of the pictures and stories, it was a wonderful place for her. He could see in the picture alone that at the time, it really was. He would turn back to her as she would offer the bed to sit on.

Lionel would come to find a seat after placing the glass on the computer desk so no accidents would happen on the bed. Though, before anything else would come, he would reach around and take hold of the book she was reading. "But what is this? Doesn't look like homework to me~ Alaia, the fibber!" He would joke, not looking at the book in its entirety, the possibilities of it being school related could be there but he took his antics where he could as it was only around her that he felt he could.
 
"Ah!" Alaia looked genuinely surprised when Lionel grabbed the book, as with the excitement over his visit and the afternoon plans, she had just forgot she had been reading precisely that one. The book itself was harmless enough, just a fantasy fairy tale with all the usual trappings despite being a recently written book. The catch was that it was from an author and a publisher that were making conscious efforts on offering traditional tales that had a more modern and inclusive feel, from racial and social issues to sex and gender topics themselves. The one currently in Lionel's hands told the story of a cursed prince that despite being captive in his own palace, he used his smarts to escape from lots of difficulties himself. At the same time as that was going on, a faithful knight that always served the prince was in a quest of their own, trying to find a way to remove the deadly curse from him, gathering all the spell needed. The source of embarrassment for Alaia was that said knight was a centauress, one that by the end of that book, as she had already read it more than once, ended marrying the human prince.

"I was just done with my homework yesterday..." she said, wanting Lionel to focus on her instead of trying to reach for the book. The cover was pretty telling, as the illustration was split in half with the prince in a library and the knight atop some faraway hills and the still were impossibly looking at each other. His loyal knight, her beloved prince, read the cover, foreshadowing the end even if through the book lots of characters and the protagonists themselves thought that their union was impossible, forbidden. "Just... just give it back..." she asked, her voice but a thread, approaching Lionel a bit, extending one hand for him to give it to her, keeping her English notes in the other. It was pretty clear that she was so open with Lionel that he had caught her in an embarrassing situation, and it depended on him how that developed.

It wasn't like Alaia was saddened by it, or that she didn't enjoy Lionel's good natured teasing. They had known each other for so long that their trust around that was rock solid, so they often joked with each other as they had been doing until that moment. What she feared was that Lionel got some weird ideas from her reading that book, for what that could mean for their relationship. There was also that bit about if she was ready to openly admit to herself how she felt about Lionel, not to mention that if Lionel didn't feel the same for her, she would be left alone, with nobody to resort to, and was that fear that made her want to keep things as they were.
 
Lionel would let his thumb place itself inside the book, both to make sure that his grip on it was solid enough not to drop it and to keep a mark of where she had stopped. He knew she enjoyed a good book and while he was not as entranced by the written word, she was and he did not like to judge what made her happy. Though it came as no small surprise that she had finished her own work the day prior, always getting ahead of the academical curve. He would turn away from her so that the book would not be so easily taken, his hands shifting around so that he could hold it out, looking the cover over.

The picture was done in the usual art style of a book of its kind. Details in every stroke, the words of the book done in captivating letters in order to draw more attention to the book. The two opposing pictures on the book were what looked to be some medieval prince or royal type in a room full of books. Something that he figured she might have grabbed this particular book for though the other figure was just as telling. It was a knight of a kind, centaur in nature and it would seem to show a bit of adventure in the artwork which would also be something he could see her wanting to read as well.

"Wait, wait. I'm interested." He would look back to her, still keeping the book held out. "What's it about? Some magical adventures? Is it one of those lady-like novels I've heard about?" He would look back to the book, scanning over the picture once more, aiming to see if there was anything else that caught his eye that would give away any more details of what it was about. The idea of flipping to the page she was on came to mind, though jumping into the middle of a book would be a mixed bag, usually not something that could be done and get a solid premise of what was going on.
 
"Eh-" Alaia was caught by surprise by Lionel's interest, slowly blushing a bit the more she thought about it. He had seen the cover and now he was asking about the book? Had he seen something that made him particularly interested? No, no, no. It couldn't be that. She just caused that interest with her reaction, that was what it was, it had to be. Just that and nothing more. "Yeah, it's an av-adventure, I don't think it's particularly ladylike..." she said, her eyes avoiding Lionel's. "It's about a captive human prince that has to be smart to get away..." Alaia started to explain, her hands fidgeting with the hem of her top. "And about the centauress knight that's on a quest to rescue him" she completed, her face a hint more red, the color starting to get along her pointy ears.

Alaia was suddenly aware of where she had left the book. It wasn't like it was a particularly saucy tale, or she would be too embarrassed to even read it, but she had left it precisely on a particularly interesting moment along the middle of the book. The prince and the knight had finally found each other, and they were fleeing from the forces of evil, trying to reach his kingdom to ready the defenses. The moment in particular was one when the knight was washing herself on a lake, while the prince stumbles on her following a noise that he believed to be an enemy. The description of the naked knight was tasteful, her long blonde wet hair covering her chest as Alaia could as well do with hers, but it's the first time in the book where the prince sees her as more than a knight and a centaur warrior and starts to see her as a woman. That Lionel just interrupted her reading there and had the page marked was incredibly awkward, but there was little she could do.

"I didn't think you were in-into reading" Alaia stuttered once more, fearing what Lionel was going to do and not wanting to nudge him in any direction. Her eyes looked at him, part afraid, part hopeful, waiting to see what her friend would end up doing.
 
"Adventure huh?" She would give him the vague detail in a round about manner, not wishing to make eye contact with him anymore. When she said a human prince that was the captured one, it brought about quite the raised brow but not unwanted. Different wasn't always bad and this might not be all that complex . The fact that this prince used his intellect to escape was something Lionel couldn't relate too. When she began to speak of the other character from the front of the book, her face started to turn a beet red. The idea that the book would have a female knight was interesting enough but to be a centaur was sure to give Alaia a reason to read it.

He felt more in line with the knight when she went on about her, the idea of trying to protect your charge. The book seemed to break a lot of the norms that one would usually think of on a number of fronts. "I like the idea, sounds interesting." He would open the book to the page she had left off on, letting his eyes skim over the paragraphs to find one to start on that wasn't already a run-on. His lips would slowly part as he read on in his head but mouthing the words as he read them, helped him focus. He started as the prince had come across the knight bathing in a lake. The way that the pages described the interaction between the two of them, more so on the part of the prince, his vision coming to the realization that the woman was more to him than he realized.

Lionel would break away from the read as Alaia's words would cause him to stop. He wouldn't think much about the book till he would look back to Alaia and it seemed to hit him fairly hard. But it played differently in his own head, the idea of him standing waist deep in shallow waters while looking to a staring Alaia, the silence in the air mirrored that of the room they were in. "I..." His mind had gone blank, the ability to form words lost to him as his brain would reboot. "I read some books. I mean, of course I read books. It..." He would turn and hold the book back out toward her. "It looks like a good book to read. I might want to try it...after your done. I think I'd like it."
 
Alaia's blue eyes turned into the ocean, blue and wide, as she opened them completely while Lionel read the part of the book she had left it in. It took him a while, or at least felt eternal for her as Alaia's heart thumped loud in her ears, deafening. He didn't seem to give it much importance, but Alaia was able to make up some words as his mouth moved, her arms unconsciously rising from the hem of her top to cross in front of her ample breasts, covering what the character from the book showed. Lionel didn't seem to give it any importance, but as soon as his eyes focused on her, Alaia could see him turn into a stuttering mess, something that was quite a rare sight.

Her hands remained where they were, somewhat surprised by the development as she tried to analyze it. Was he embarrassed because he liked what he had just read? Was it curiosity? Or was the embarrassment because he thought that she wanted that with a human? A human like him? The possibilities blinded her, hampering her speech. "I- you can have it" she said. "I have read it already several times" she added, realizing as soon as she had said it that it revealed a special interest for the book. "Ju-just return it when you are done" Alaia finished, completely forgetting for a moment what they were doing there.

"Oh yeah, the English notes!" Alaia remembered, leaning to grab them like a life boat in the middle of the ocean. "Here!" she said, holding them almost like a shield between them. "Or do you need some help with these..." she asked, not wanting that an awkward moment formed a wall between them, but feeling a bit trapped by her own awkward teenage thoughts.
 
Lionel was making quite the fool of himself which, prior to this and a few times of poor judgement, was not something he did to himself. Even with Alaia, he never found things that caused embarrassment as most were just words and he took them as such. Harmless in their nature from people that couldn't use their body to show action to the feelings. But Alaia had always been in a league off to her own in his mind, never falling into any category he might put others into. It had began to be like that during their early years with the more he would hang out around her.

When she told him that he could have the book till he finished it, he would think to look away but his head seemed to be locked in place in his stare. He would finally be able to break away as she spoke of reading it several times so it wasn't a big deal in the slightest. He would look to the book, looking over the cover once more, thumb running across the title. "T-thanks."

She'd quickly shift gears, bringing up the work they had come to do in the first place which would cause him to snap back and look at the papers. "Yes! The work. The work that I came over for. Yes." He would still trip over himself but he would look to work that she pushed forward toward him. He would place the book in his lap and take the papers, laying them on top of the book, the words elegant in the way they were written and compared to his borderline basic writing, hers looked magnificent.

"Y-yeah. I keep getting stuck on..." He would look down at a single page, eyes skimming over the words till he found the part he was looking for, leaning over toward her so that he could point out the grammatical style that had been causing him the most issues but so that he could also see which caused him to get closer without really thinking the full scope of the situation over. "This part... keeps giving me trouble..."
 
Focusing on the homework helped, as the lesson shaved the edges of that awkward moment, although it was very much present. "Grammar isn't that hard, reading will help with that" Alaia encouraged, trying to both offer a bridge from the topic that was giving them trouble to the present issue. "Maybe the passive form is a bit odd at times, or finding the correct phrasal verb" she admitted, her eyes locked into her notes. "But if you get stuck when writing a paper, try to stick to the fundamentals" Alaia kept advising. "And try to avoid using some vocabulary or term you aren't completely sure of if you have an alternative-" she added, turning to face him when she froze once again.

Lionel's eagerness to ask questions had made him lean in, get closer, so when Alaia turned to face him to check if he was understanding what she was talking about, she found that Lionel's face was awfully closer to her own than she expected. Proximity rarely was an issue between them, being childhood friends bridged that gap naturally and they never were awkward close to one another, but after the moment with the book Alaia seemed to be more sensitive than usual to that and maybe she wasn't the only one.

"Ah- Lion..." Alaia whispered, so close that her breath must be caressing his face, not knowing what to do, wanting that he did something that would bring her out of that uncomfortable situation. Part of her wanted him to move back, that everything went back to normal, but another part wondered how would a kiss feel, a real one, his lips on hers-

Alaia's dreamy moment as she waited with her lips slightly parted stopped, as the front door opened and her mother greeted her loudly across the house, startling her and making Alaia bounce off her own puff bed. "A little help with the groceries?" her mother's voice echoed, prompting Alaia to move, not exactly knowing if thankful or resentful of the interruption.

"That was fast..." she just said, getting into the entrance. There Eider Jennet, her mother, was getting grocery bags inside the house with the help of Gorka Jennet, her father. Although both of them were about the same height than Alaia, it was clear that she was more similar to her mother, another blonde beauty but with a more leaner physique and shorter hair, than her father, a brown haired more muscular man.
 
Alaia always had a better way of explaining things to Lionel than any teacher could, this was already noteworthy but no less impressive. Saying that reading would help kinda felt as if it was fit to the situation all too well. He would nod along with her explanation that sometimes playing it safe would produce better results. He would notice a slight break in her teaching when she would note just how close he was.

He would turn, they were but a breath away from one another and the fact that she spoke his name could only show this fact. "Yes...Alaia..." The slow reply that would come from his lips was in hushed whispers. It would feel as though an eternity would come between them, frozen in time but not a single moment able to change its course. His heart in his chest would feel as though it was going a mile a minute, like he had ran a several miles.

Though, this moment in time would break as he would quickly shift himself to the loud proclamation of Alaia's mother, Eider. Lionel would stare at the book as Alaia would be off to help her parents with the groceries. Lionel would put the book and papers down and make his way to the front of the house as well, seeing Eider and Gorka, raising a hand to wave a greeting to them both. "Hey misses Jennet, mister Jennet." He would look around and asked. "Need an extra hand?" He felt it rude to simply stand there gawking like a fool but he felt a bit of work of any kind would get his mind back into the right place.
 
"Oh Lionel sweetie, you are here" Eider greeted, while Gorka just smiled and nodded. Alaia's mother could be quite similar to her with the blonde hair and blue eyes, but her equine half was a light caramel unlike Alaia's pure white. Gorka was brown haired with hazel eyes, but his equine part was white, even if it had some round light brown spots here and there. Both of them were street covered, so to speak, with mostly athletic clothes that showed their leaner bodies, specially when compared to Alaia's... surprising abundance.

"The more the merrier" Eider answered, as it wasn't as much that they needed the help, but the Jennet parents always tried to make him feel welcomed, feel part of the house. "Struggling with homework once more?" Eider wondered, as it wasn't rare to see him around for said reason. "Your last game was a great one, keep going" Gorka simply nodded. As far as Lionel was aware by listening to their family stories, Gorka had been an athlete during his school days, some kind of centaur football variant, and although those years were far gone and small specks of grey appeared in his brown hair, he still showed to be in shape.

"I thought you wouldn't come back until the afternoon for the movies" Eider commented, looking at Lionel. "Oh, sweetie, you can take our car if you want, we won't be going out today" she added, looking happily at Alaia. She had her own car adapted to her physique, but it was a small, somewhat cramped model that wasn't all that comfortable for human passengers. Alternatively, her parents car was not only big and comfortable, but was designed in a way that seats could move, turn, and fold in several ways needed so it adapted from being able to transport up to 8 humans, 4 centaurs or a mixture of them. "Are you staying for lunch or do you have to go back home?" Eider asked. Of course Lionel would have to wear something else for that afternoon, but that didn't mean he had to go so soon.
 
Lionel would smile at the greeting from Alaia's mother as he had done time and time before. They had always been nice to him and he saw them as true blue wonders when he was a child. The size of them and being part equine only made his imagination carry on further to the stars of these mystical people. Maybe it was because he was a child that these things came to him instead of what other people saw or maybe it was just because Alaia herself turned his mind away from those kinds of thoughts. It didn't matter, he wouldn't want it any other way than what it was.

"Awesome." He would acknowledge as he would move to help grab what he could without looking like too much of a try hard. As he got his hands full, he would turn to Eider with a hesitant laugh. "Yeah, same problem just a different day." He wouldn't even think the comment ill willed as her parents could run him into the ground and he would think it praise with the tone they gave. Her mother was always so kind in her words, the very definition of motherly. Her father would comment about his last game, his voice always stern enough that it inspired a bit of confidence in Lionel. "Yessir, It wasn't my best but I plan on going the extra mile in my next game. It's a week from yesterday, you're welcome to come if you can."

Her father interested Lionel the most, having known that he was a football player of his own race kinda made Lionel look up to him all the more. Lionel would carry the bags into the home as he would look back at Eider spoke of being surprised they were here. She would offer up their own car for use for the evening instead of Alaia's. "Oh, really? That'd be great!" He wasn't one to look a gift centaur in the mouth but as she spoke about if he would be staying for dinner or going home, Lionel would place the bags in the kitchen. "I wouldn't want to interrupt. I could just come back after you all have something to eat." He did feel a bit hungry but he was already getting so much from the family, adding to it seemed a bit excessive.
 
"And you keep beating those problems one by one" Eider nodded with a gentle smile, recognizing that even if Lionel didn't have an easy time with his studies, he never surrendered, always pushing himself to best any trouble that could appear in his path. "Oh, I'm sure we will be there" Gorka commented about Lionel's game. They were supportive of their daughter's friend and going to check on the school's football team exploits put them closer to the community, having not many but loyal friends between teachers and parents. Sure, they were still looked at strangely by most, but as Lionel did, they weren't ones to surrender. Alaia always was with them of course, sometimes excited enough to almost serve as a personal cheerleader when the game was tight, but normally she tried to be as discreet as possible.

"You are always welcomed, you know that right?" Eider looked at Lionel, making sure he understood that. "I'll need time to get ready after lunch anyways" Alaia pitched in, as being in an usual context with her parents and Lionel allowed her to calm down. "You... you can stay if you want" she hesitated. After what had happened, or almost happened, she was nervous about having Lionel close, her feelings still a turmoil that didn't seem to have a clear end, but she'd never ask him to leave. Her mother said the words, but for the three of the Jennet, Lionel would be always welcomed in their house, no matter what.

"Well, you have a bit to make up your mind yet" Eider commented once all the groceries had been sorted out and stored, "as I won't start preparing the lunch until" she took a glance at the kitchen clock, "half an hour or so" she said, stretching after dealing with the shopping spree. "You can keep with the lesson" Gorka commented, "don't let us oldies bother you two" shrugging, since they had interrupted Alaia and Lionel, even if he didn't know how much of an interruption it had been.
 
He always enjoyed the praise given by her parents, each seemed to hold a bit of weight behind them for differing reasons. It wasn't the same as his own parents, he felt it was their job to push him to do better. Though, they were not on speaking terms with the court being the only reason they would be able to be around one another. He figured there was a point where they might have loved one another, maybe even been able to be around one another without the need for police to be present. But they loved him, each in their own way and for that, he held no ill will toward either of them.

He couldn't help but smile just a bit more as her father spoke of trying to show up for the next game. That would always give him someone to look for in the crowd when his mother wasn't able to make it due to working which he was understanding of. Alaia was the most entertaining due to the fact that at several points, even if he wasn't able to see her, in the midst of a play, he could hear her off in the crowd or maybe that is just what he had grown accustomed too and it was all in his head. Either way, it helped him coordinate and that is what mattered the most.

The way that Eider looked at him was a familiar look that he would get from his own mother sometimes. A hesitant laugh would exit his lips as he would nod. "Yes, I do and thank you for the invitation... I would like too." His attention would turn to Alaia as his heart would seemingly skip a beat at the thought of their study session came to mind. Her parents spoke of the timeline in which the meal would be done, he would look back her parents and then back to the younger of the Jennet family. "S-sure. Can't forget about that." The moment between them pushed to the forefront of his mind though while he had gotten a few pointers, there were still points he was still unclear on. He was not one to run and this was no exception.
 
Alaia stared a bit at Lionel, as he seemed to be more pensive than usual, to have his mind busy with something, but soon he returned to be his usual self, or so she thought. He accepted the invitation to share lunch with the family, something usual enough to not be a surprise, but as the lesson came back to the forefront, it was clear that neither of them had the homework at their minds. Why didn't she hide that book when he knocked at the door? Why had she caused all that discomfort on her only friend? Seeing him stutter in front of her parents even if they didn't seemed to pay attention to it, Alaia soon grabbed him by a hand and dragged him back to her room.

Once there, door closed, Alaia turned out to Lionel, facing him with a determination rarely seen on the blonde centauress, her blue eyes ablaze. "L-Look, the book is just one silly thing" Alaia started, "just fiction, a fantasy" she clarified. "I just found the tale entertaining and that was all, it doesn't mean I want or could be a knight and-" Alaia paused, "and you are no prince that needs rescuing. Please don't get any strange ideas, I don't want for things to get weird between us" she said, lowering her head a bit. "I already know that such a relationship like the one in the book is impossible, I'm reminded of that every day, so that's why I like it, how it defies reality" she sighed.

"But in the end, it's just a fairy tale, right?" Alaia asked, the flame on her blue eyes quenched by a wet shine. "There is no way I could..." her hands were shaky, so she grasped them together against her chest. "That humans and centaurs, that we..." she voiced, soon shaking her head. "No, forget it, please don't stop being my friend, I won't make things weird anymore" Alaia said, wanting Lionel to be more than that, but realizing that it was impossible and not wanting to lose their friendship.
 
Lionel felt as though he was almost ejected from the room as he was taken by Alaia's hand and he had to quickly aim to keep pace as they would make it back to her room. He heard the door close behind them as he would make his way to the middle of the room, turning back to face his friend as seemed far more determined to bring something to light and wasn't going to back down. It was a rare sight to behold as there were few things in the world that he himself had seen her get this way about. He was actually a bit taken back when she brought up the book, stating the obvious nature of its written fictitious nature. He had not caught up to the conversation till she made the connection between the two characters and the two of them.

Once more, the sudden realization hit him just a bit slower than normal but did not hit him any less hard. He would think to speak but felt that she needed to say this for her own sake, the way she started could tell him this, no matter how thick he was at times. He had no intention of cutting in as these moments needed to be done. Even at the sign of tears in her eyes, which weighted heavy on his heart as it always did. Usually it was over something else, something that he could focus on but now, it wasn't anything tangible, it was emotion and he was in the mix with that very thing.

It wasn't until she brought up the wish for their friendship to never halt that was his pushing point. He would take the few steps toward her, his look stern and absolute as he would take one of her hands, clasped between both of his. "Alaia. No. Never in a million years will I ever stop caring about you. I don't care about weird or some book. I don't want you to keep anything from me, I don't want to turn into some guy at school or on the street that you can't talk too about everything." There was a pause in his momentum. Like his head had to catch up with his words and that the very words were understood to him in the moment for himself. "I...I don't know how to show you how I feel without making an ass of myself. But maybe..."

He would take in a deep breath which felt as though it would never be enough. "Would you want to... go out with me? Maybe...a date?" That is what was considered normal for most people and even if she wasn't human, it shouldn't stop that. Were they in love or was it just a heat of the moment thing over some passing book? He didn't know and he didn't have much in the way of experience in the matter either as even his parents weren't together since he was a toddler. Though, he did not seeing her like this and he felt that the weight on his heart wouldn't go away because he knew he felt something for her and he wanted to know.
 
"Ah!" Alaia was gladly surprised when Lionel took one of her hands between his, feeling his warm grip, his gentle strength protecting her. He was making sure that Alaia didn't fear losing him, he reassured her that wouldn't happen no matter what, that she could share anything with him. "Lion... thanks..." she whispered when she could, but Lionel was far from done, as he wanted to share something with her, his feelings seemingly, but he was as badly equipped as her to do so it seemed. Alaia waited with baited breath, one hand grasping the hem of her blouse while the other trembled in Lionel's grasp, nervous, brimming with anticipation.

Then he came with the simplest solution, yet it was something that didn't quite cross Alaia's mind, as they had been friends for so long that such a thing seemed a thought too odd to have. Once she managed to process his words after a brief pause, Alaia couldn't help but gladly laugh, a few small tears of happiness escaping her eyes, but not for long. "Yes Lion, yes" she nodded with haste, smiling at his friend, well now boyfriend. "Thank you, I'll gladly go on a date with you!" she approached him, her legs clopping nervously, fidgeting on the spot. "You are the best boyfriend a girl could wish for" she said, delighted that Lionel had turned a bad situation into a step forward she never dared to take.

"Although..." Alaia paused, pensive. "Then that means that..." she took her time, as she didn't almost dare to say it. "This afternoon and evening plan of grabbing a bite, watching a movie in the drive in theater..." Alaia paused before stating the obvious, even if it was a big deal for her. "All of that is now a date? It should be, right?" she said, amused by the idea that they had agreed to a date before it was even a date. "Ah, now I'm nervous even if the plan is the same! My mind is racing, thinking what should I wear and such..." she confessed, a warm smile on her face. "I'm happy though, and I couldn't feel any luckier" she said, staring at Lionel. Her friend. Her boyfriend.
 
Lionel did not know just how the entire situation would go, there wasn't much thought in it as most of his actions. He just knew that she needed to know that no matter the situation, no matter the obstacle or how things might look, that he would always be there for her when she needed him. The friendship that grew from such a tiny meeting in the grand scheme of things but it had bore such a rare fruit that they both never seemed to take for granted. Something that, until now seemed to always been never changing but always fresh though it had changed once again, a flower of adolescent love was starting to bloom.

To say that he was both unprepared and nervous would be massive understatements. He did in fact say the words but he was flying blind just as she was. He would tighten his own hand so that he would not crush her own within his grasp. The tears would have worried him if not for the smile that had accompanied them as his own smile had grown at the answer she gave him. He felt just as he did when they were kids, happy beyond measure that he could find no words for. He would listen as she would speak of how great a boyfriend he was. "I hope so. I just want to do right by you Alaia. I'm sure that you'll make quite the girlfriend and I'd want no one else to say that too." He would look down at his hands, finally unlocking his own grasp from himself so that she would be freed though, he didn't let his fingers leave hers.

It did take her a minute for the realization that their time out was now a more official matter. "Yes, I guess that it does." He would raise a corner of his mouth in a bit of a coy smile. "I'm glad that your happy Alaia and our date will be even happier. I'll makes sure you'll be as happy as you've ever been....hopefully I can measure up."
He would look at her and felt nothing but happiness, her smile was something he always strives for as there was too much negative in the world and he knew she deserved as much happiness as possible. "Wait, I need to get ready too." The thought came to him that he needed to prepare, make sure he had enough money and maybe pick something a bit better in terms of dress attire.
 
Even if Alaia herself had used the word boyfriend without giving it a second thought, Lionel calling her his girlfriend made her smile widen and her chest puff a bit. She was beaming, drunk in the very moment they were sharing, as silly as that could be. She played with his hands, not knowing what to do but not embarrassed about the contact between them, about her attire. Their relationship may had got into a new phase at that moment, but years and years of friendship had them so accustomed to each other that even between awkward teens there was an understanding that other couples didn't share since the start. "You always do, Lion. You always exceed expectations" Alaia confirmed, planting a hand on his broad chest.

"Don't end up dressing crazy, please" Alaia commented. "It may be our first date" she said, shivering a bit with the idea. "But it's just a movie, calm down" she advised, even if she was pretty excited with the idea herself. "Not to mention that it's way too soon, we yet have to-" Alaia was about to say, when a voice interrupted them.

"Alaia, Lionel, time to set the table!" Eider's voice was clearly heard even through the door. Eating time on the Jennet house was about to begin, but first they had to set the table themselves, a quite standard custom. Alaia silently nodded to Lionel, freeing her hands while heading out of her room. Should they tell something to her parents? How would they react? They loved Lionel, of course, so she hoped for the best, but the idea of something going wrong still got her nervous. Trying to distract herself, she soon started to retrieve dishes, cutlery, napkins and glasses from every cupboard and drawer they were in, lining them up for Lionel to set them on the table of the ample kitchen. It was an odd sight since the Jennet tended to eat lunch standing, but Lionel always had a chair for himself if he needed to.

The plates and glasses were a hint bigger than in a human house, although Lionel was accustomed to see those around. Centaurs needed a bit more water and food than the average human, although when it was the strong football player the one that ate lunch with them, there was no real difference. It still could be a bit amusing to see a girl like Alaia have such an appetite, but she didn't really mind it.
 
It showed in seemingly every way on Alaia at just how pleased she was, it was blinding but in a good way. A way that would bring a bit of a blush to his own cheeks, if only slightly. Her fingers felt different in some small way but they had not changed in any actual way. When she gave him words of encouragement and as she placed a hand against him. "Hopefully I'll keep that streak going then. Thanks Alaia."

He would chuckle as she told him not to go off the deep end when it comes to dressing up and he would nod in fake disappointment. "Well, since you cut me off at the start, I guess I have to down play it." Alaia was going on about something else when the voice of her mother came to them and spoke of the table being in need. Lionel would turn to Alaia as she nodded to him and they were parted as the young centaur would make her way out of the room. He would follow suit down the hallway and to the table where Alaia would start to unload the dinnerware onto the table.

Lionel began to take each plate and place it in front of the corresponding chairs as he had done more than once before. Napkins and glasses for each plate first and foremost, followed by silverware to match beside the plates. Even with the slightly larger items, he had become more than used to them by now after handling them for so long. He remembered when he first saw these items himself and thought they were impossible items, even when compared to the centaur family. When the food was added, they were generous enough to give him a smaller portion when he was smaller but at his current age and build, he tended to eat similar meal sizes to the Jennet family.

He would let his gaze turn itself upward to look at Alaia and couldn't help the smile that would reappear onto his lips. He would chuckle lightly as he would turn his attention back to the task at hand.
 
As assorted steamed vegetables and bowls with pork stew with potatoes and onions were passed around the table, Eider and Gorka had some small talk over the hearty meal. The parents were more than accustomed to not pressure Alaia, to avoid asking her "how was the school" on a daily basis since they knew it wasn't easy for her. That didn't mean lack of interest, Alaia perfectly knew that, but the family was accustomed to give her plenty of space since Alaia was a good girl that always shared her worries if she needed advice of talked about the good stuff so her parents could celebrate. As things were, even if the parents were still making conversation, Alaia's parents couldn't help but notice the looks, the giggles and the silences between their daughter and her best friend.

"So what are you up to?" Eider asked straight up, an amused smile on her beautiful face. She wouldn't pressure Alaia to talk if she noticed her being sad or angry, but looking beaming as she did, Eider guessed that she could poke for an answer. Gorka was a bit surprised by his wife's question, but he had noticed something odd as well and couldn't help but rise his curious eyes towards his daughter.

"Ah! Eh... Oh..." Alaia's face went through a kaleidoscope of emotions, from the surprise of being addressed about it to the embarrassment of a child getting caught with her hand on the cookie jar, with a bit of looking away nervously in search of an excuse in the middle. "Lion and I got a date tonight" she blurted, so quickly that the words stuck together a little bit.

"We... we know, darling. We already said you can have the car" Eider said, not getting the nuance of her words, while Gorka clearly did and looked pleasantly surprised.

"No, I mean..." Alaia's face turned crimson. "Like a date-date..." her eyes tried to find refuge on Lionel's.

"A date-date?" Eider's face transformed in a second, the mother herself getting a bit blushed. "A date!" she repeated, making her husband smile. "But that's wonderful, you two always made the sweetest couple" she said beaming, making it easy to see where Alaia's youthful enthusiasm came from. Gorka looked at Lionel without saying a word, the usually warm man looking somewhat serious. After a silent moment, he just nodded and returned to his food, making Alaia giggle. "Boys and their approval..." Eider sighed, poking a bit of fun at her husband's attitude. "You two have been going out for so long that I don't have any speeches, rules or curfews to talk about. Just have fun" she said, shrugging.

Alaia's smile illuminated her whole face, loving that her parents accepted it just like that. It wasn't like she expected lots of struggle, but she liked that they didn't make a huge thing out of it. Of course, deep down she knew that there would be further talks about it, they were bound to be, but at that moment, she didn't think of it nor did she care. She had a date with her Lion and everything was fine.
 
The meal before Lionel was just as good as it smelled and even more so in its appearance. It was any growing young mans meal of meals, hearty and would always be filling. It wasn't as if he wasn't fed in his own home, it was just that the normal serving size for the Jennet household was larger and that was just enough for him. He would glance between her parents as they would go on about their day and ever so often he would look to Alaia which would cause a brief moment in which he would stop his meal but then continue again, breaking eye contact. It was in mid-bite that her mother would seemingly shift gears and turn her attention onto her daughter.

Lionel couldn't help but quickly swallow the food in his mouth and cover it would his dinning hand as Alaia went through several facial changes and he could not let himself laugh or crack a smile at the situation though he was caught off guard. He listened as she would blurt out what he could assume was a confession of their night. It seemed that her mother wasn't quick on the uptake but a glance over to Gorka would show that he seemed to catch the new found news. Lionel would lower his fork down as Alaia would bring her attention to him to which he would give a slight nod and a hint of a smile.

As she let the water settle on the information, Eider would come breaking out of it as she made the comment of how well they were together anyway so it was only right. Lionel would make his posture a bit more straight, ridged as he would turn his attention to her father in silence. There was a moment between the two men and after it was done, they had come to an unspoken agreement. Lionel knew what was at stake and just how much both her parents loved their daughter but a father's love held a bit more weight when it came to potential suitors and Lionel had to know that.

Eider would then make the comment that there wasn't going to be any long speeches as they both knew them all to well by now. "I had some things already planned, now its a bit more personal tonight but don't worry miss Jennet, I'll make sure everything goes smoothly." Alaia seemed to illuminate the room with just how pleased she was with seemingly everything at the moment. Lionel couldn't help himself from having a smile plastered to his lips as he felt the beaming happiness becoming almost infectious.
 
The rest of the meal was perfectly fine, with Alaia's parents taking upon themselves the task of small talk to give the young ones some space, some peace to get accustomed to the new status of their relationship. A bond like that between a human and a centaur wasn't new, in reality or fiction, but it was rare enough to make it something notorious that usually stayed in fiction as an impossible and troublesome relationship or something that happened in other countries, sometimes seen as a debauched thing. None of the present thought that, but the parents were well aware that as happy as they both were now, and surely deserved to be, they would have to face some difficulties, but they would be there to support them.

"It was all delicious" Alaia said, once the meal was over. She started to pick up the table when Eider stopped her with a gentle gesture. "No, no, no" the mother said. "This gentleman has to go home to get ready for your date" Eider commented, the word date emphasized by a tone that was almost musical. "While you have to do the same" she turned to her daughter. "I know it's just a movie night, but your father and I" Eider said, a look at Gorka was enough to make him react and understand. "Can pick up the table just fine, just go to your room and get ready" she said, shooing Alaia away with a free hand.

"Thank you!" a brief hug from Alaia enveloped first Eider then Gorka, as she approached Lionel. "Well, you heard my mom" she said with a shy smile. "Don't come running back here or it will be for nothing" she chastised him, knowing that he was capable of doing so in his eagerness. "That will give me some time to pamper myself a bit" Alaia nodded. Not knowing exactly how to behave with Lionel now, specially with her parents just right there, Alaia just smiled and went back to her room, when she would usually hug him, but she was still finding her footing on that new thing their relationship had evolved to.
 
The rest of the dinner was fairly eventless, Lionel occasionally locking glances at Alaia, almost forgetting that he was in the presence of her parents and if he were to be brought into the current conversation, he would surely find himself at a loss. He was still trying to find his footing with his new relationship status, more so in the fact that he wasn't entirely sure how to go about it as for the most part, his sports career was his more focused goal in his life. While the friendship between the two had always been a staple in Lionel's life, he never saw himself taking up such a mantle.

It was nice. Though nice wasn't the best word, it seemed far too common for the feeling he felt when they caught each other starring. He felt as though he had just started a game and was on cloud nine. Though, he would be brought back to reality when he heard Alaia speak about the food. "Yes, it was great." He would turn his attention to Eider as she spoke about a date and how the table could be picked up by someone other than their daughter. Lionel would stand up, feeling that if he were to object, it would seem more disrespectful given the situation. He would simply bow his head to her mother and then to her father. "Thank you for the meal."

Alaia would make sure to tell him that he should do no such thing as rushing so that they could get properly dressed and ready for the coming night. He would nod his head in agreement and watch as she would leave, his hands coming up from his sides but stopping, coming back down to his sides. A normal hug would end the night between them but normal wasn't on the table anymore. He would wave goodbye to her parents and begin his way home, feeling a swell of energy made him want to burst into a rush but before he could take another step, Alaia's words came to mind, clear as day. He would take several breaths before walkings, abet hastily, to his home.

Once there, he would open the door and close it, looking around for any sign of life. As soon as the door would close, a female voice would call out. "Lionel, is that you?" Lionel would take off his shoes beside the door and make his way to his room. "Yes mom, I'm just home for a bit, I'm going out tonight with Alaia." A brown haired woman would poke her head out of the kitchen to look down the hall. "Oh? Is she helping you study again?" Lionel would make it to his door, opening it before speaking out. "...no... it's a date. I'm getting ready, don't come in." He would quickly close the door with a slight fluster to his cheeks. The mother, on the other hand, would pause for a moment before letting a smile cross her lips.
 
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