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Things hadn’t been right for awhile now, and it was mostly his fault. Kieran wasn’t one for confrontation, which was probably what Calla always counted on. It wasn’t her fault that he was just finding it harder to pretend like everything was okay. The rangers were supposed to fix that, but it felt like a bandaid over an infected wound. [break][break]
So, it was probably a good thing that emerson whitlock had invited him out, otherwise he might have soured further over it. Kieran didn’t often give in to negative feelings, as he had programmed himself into being positive almost all of the time, but when he did succumb to them well… he could be an emotional guy.
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Unexpectedly, the festival felt overwhelming at first, maybe because instinct would require him to curl up into a ball under some covers and ride out the emotions until he emerged the positive butterfree everyone knew him to be. That didn’t mean he was going to run away from the situation, he couldn’t do that to Emerson.
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Finding the small redhead wasn’t exactly an easy thing to do in this crowd. It was dumb, he should have set up a specific location. Why was he so stupid all the time? “Sorry… excuse me… coming through.” He pushed through the crowd of people, still unable to find the other man.
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“kieran! hey, kieran!” That was either a familiar voice or god telling him it was time to ascend.
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His eyes connected with red hair, confirming that it wasn’t yet his time. He tapped Em’s shoulder, beaming brightly. “Hey there, stranger. Looking for me?”

[attr="class","bottom"]emerson whitlock [break]

A hand tapped his shoulder, and both climbed up to his ear—startled. The familiar voice soothed the surprise that rattled through him, though. How had kieran gone from in his semi-line of sight to behind him?[break][break]

Emerson whirled, some of his hair smacking him in the face before he peered up at Kieran. He’d tried to tie it back a bit, but it seemed like some had come loose.[break][break]

It was difficult to avoid turning a bit pink as that megawatt smile was leveled at him. At him, of all people. It made his knees feel wobbly. But Kieran, he’d decided on evaluation (and also maybe a little pokegram creeping,) was nice to just about everyone.[break][break]

So this wasn’t, like, special treatment or something. So his face could kindly cool it with the blushing, thanks. Oh. He hadn’t replied yet, had he?[break][break]

“Yeahhh, that was me. Mhm,” a nervous laugh garbled some of his words, “I didn’t think I was very easy to find.” For a variety of reasons. Small…quiet…forgettable.[break][break]

For right then, he didn’t sense anything that might be amiss with the taller man, though maybe that wouldn’t be the case if Em wasn’t wrapped up in his own social anxieties and could calm down for a moment. But this was good for him. It should be fun. He was excited, even.

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[attr="class","ooc"] Kieran Roth       | eep [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-dedenne"]

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"Oops! Sorry for startling you." Em was a lot like his pokemon, mouse-like. He was easily startled and even more so overwhelmed. Kieran realized that the crowds here were probably a bit overwhelming, huh? Hopefully this wasn't too much for him. Granted, he was still surprised when the offer was presented. Things were often easier in theory than in person.
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"You are pretty small, but you have pretty hair, hard to ignore that." It took a lot not to touch said hair, tease the other a little bit. Maybe not give the other a heart attack over idle contact, yeah? Part of him wanted to encourage the other, give him a boost of confidence like he did when he talked in tech. There were moments where he forgot he was speaking to Emerson, and sometimes through text when... well he wondered where this was leading.
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Not that he was about to insinuate that there was more there than a friendship. Em was a little difficult to read in that regard.
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"So we're here, I've found you, what do you wanna do?" He grinned at that, before fishing a response he knew the other would like. "They have the most amazing kabobs here. You interested?" Food seemed to be a point of commonality for them.

[attr="class","bottom"]emerson whitlock [break]

At the apology, Emerson quickly shook his head. The ponytail he’d gathered his hair into smacked him in the face again. Unruly even when wrangled back. “No! No, it’s okay.” How embarrassing… Still, it wasn’t like Kieran was expecting anything in particular from him, so he should just play it cool and not act so flustered over being surprised. But, well, Emerson was Emerson and he couldn’t not be flustered. He seemed literally incapable of it.[break][break]

“Pretty?” he blinked rapidly, hand lifting to absently pat at his own head as his face rapidly turned a shade that matched said hair. Was he serious? No way. It was Kieran who had the pretty hair, fluffy and cloudlike while Em’s was just a mess. Always tangling up despite his efforts to keep it brushed. “I- well..I’m glad you found me, then.” Through his embarrassment, he tried to smile, but he probably looked dumb. Like it was a fake smile, but it wasn’t! He just wasn’t good at whatever this was. It had been enough effort to get him out to a bar with JAMES BAKER, who was a established buddy, without being totally awkward.[break][break]

This felt amplified to a thousand, because..because– because nothing. There was nothing to derive from this. If he could’ve smacked his cheeks a little bit to sharpen himself up and not look like a moron, he would have.[break][break]

He didn’t have the confidence that came from hiding behind his phone or his computer, and that stupidly made all the difference in situations like this. When he didn’t really know how to express himself. “Um..” he looked around the crowded space wildly, for something to latch onto when thankfully Kieran seemed to have a suggestion prepared. “Yeah, definitely. Let’s do that. I like kabobs.”[break][break]

But any snack was good, really.

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[attr="class","ooc"] Kieran Roth       | eep [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-dedenne"]

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Maybe it was the fact that Emerson was tiny, but Kier couldn't help but think of the other as breakable. And maybe not so much in the literal sense, but he still seemed sensitive and small. It was like approaching a feral puppy and hoping it didn't run away. The approach mattered and so too did the handling. He wanted to be careful with him, but not make him feel awkward for it. It was difficult task, far more than he initially realized. Kieran was caring, but he wasn't careful. Most of the bad things that happened in his life were due to his own bumbling clumsiness and he was afraid that this would go the same exact way.
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Even then, he couldn't quite help himself. He just had to go and tease him because yeah, it was pretty. He was pretty. Had the other been a little less terrified of everything, Kieran might have been a bit more obvious with his flirting. He'd never restrained himself on that before, but he also really wanted to be Em's friend. It had occurred to him recently that despite all his attempts at bleeding kindness, he didn't actually have that many friends.
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The poor guy's face matched the scarlet tone of his hair and Kier almost felt a little bad after provoking it.
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"Awesome!" He beamed, deciding that he was done lighting the poor guy on fire, even if it was admittedly cute. Though the resistance was difficult and likely futile, he would respect the other's boundaries. To give him some space, he quickly went to ordering a box of kabobs knowing that the pair of them could likely put them away. Mostly meat and veggies, but he ordered an additional pair of cake kabobs as well. Thanking the merchant, he returned to Em. "There's a place away from the crowd over here." He let his free hand dangle, entertaining the thought of grabbing the other's hand before shoving it away. Let's not scare the puppy.

[attr="class","bottom"]emerson whitlock [break]

Emerson didn’t blame him for treading carefully around him. A lot of people did. And he didn’t really help his own case—practically startled by his own shadow the way he was. But he also wanted to hope that maybe Kieran would start to see the more open, talkative side of him that his friends, like JAMES BAKER, did. Kieran was so friendly and upbeat, how could he not want to be more confident around him?[break][break]

Em could be cool, right..? Too bad he was in his own head about the whole thing. For a moment, though, Kieran knew how to distract him. The smell hanging around the food stall was amazing, his eyes growing wide at the assortment he ordered. Obviously awed, even if short lived.

“Yeah, that sounds nice.” Somehow, he was immediately hyper-aware of Kieran’s hand as it dropped to his side. It could be like...the game, right? Just that easy. A simple, effortless gesture. Emerson swallowed, face burning at the mere prospect of it. His fingers twitched, and he reached—[break][break]

Before swiftly chickening out.[break][break]

He bit down in his lip, panicked about whether or not the fake out grab was noticed. In a rush, his fingers curled into Keiran’s shirt sleeve instead. “So we don’t get separated,” he tried to justify, cheeks dark as he looked back at the crowd. He frowned as he looked down, huffing to himself. This was stupid, he was stupid. Maybe he should’ve found a stall selling local drunks, because at least then he would’ve loosened up some. But then the buzz would numb him. He didn’t want that.

“Actually—“ he blurted, “I just wanted to- I mean, I er…” His hand slipped down, and curled around Kieran’s. His ribs ached from holding in his breath, heart hammering loud in his ears. He stared at the ground ahead of them. There was an instinct to beeline to the quieter area, but then he’d be dragging the other and that would make it worse.[break][break]

So much for being cool and confident.

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[attr="class","ooc"] Kieran Roth       | eep [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-dedenne"]