Lost, but found [Tag: Karena]

Anonymous

Aug 29, 2012 21:19:39 GMT -6

Jing had one of those embarrassed, closed-eyes smiles on his face as the Waterbender teased him. He was aware of the persona he gave off and knew it was not one of a “bad boy”. But in order to become a prim, proper, and eccentric person like Jing, one had to have gone the complete opposite way for some time. Partying, drinking, and being quite “loose” could describe Jing's teen years quite accurately. Though he knew he could divulge that information to Ichiro now, Jing felt it would be best to keep that to himself for now. If it ever came up, then maybe. Right now, however, he decided to maintain the image Ichiro had of him. Then, after his faux gasp, the future restaurateur vocalized his wonder on the subject of the trouble Jing got into. The words he said wouldn't give one the impression of flirting, but it was more the smirk on his face that did so. Deciding to just go with the flow, instead of over analyzing it, Jing retorted with a similar smirk to that of Ichiro “Enough to make you freeze your water.”

His companion then went on about his younger years, and explained that comment he made on his grandparents. It was good to see that it was more of a phase for his friend than a trait of his, the disdain for his grandparents. When he was a child, Jing visited his grandparents quite often. That was due to his mother and her feelings on family time, which had become his views as well. Although, Jing realized, he really hadn't been the greatest family man himself lately. But his was more out of a lack of ability, rather than lack of desire. He simply didn't have the money to travel right then. He did, however, stay in correspondence with his family through letters and telegrams. Soon, he hoped, he would be able to visit his home and report back fully on his new life. But that would take some time, and Jing was in no real rush.

“You'll find him, I'm sure of it.” Jing had a small smile on his face as he reassured his friend before taking another sip of his mango juice. Honestly, Jing felt that Ichiro would find someone. It was, most likely, just a matter of time. The only difficulty that could stop his search might be the lack of open gay men in Republic City. It could possibly be that Jing was new to the town, but he had only met one other gay man here, and he was sitting across from him. “However, I haven't seen many other gay guys around the city.” Jing finished. Ba Sing Se was the same, though. Guys could only find each other if they knew the right people or hung in the right crowd. He didn't miss that way of socializing at all. It was too reserved, required too much specialization and classification. Republic City was much more open in general, therefore it made sense that socializing was much more fluid too.

The freedom this city provided him was insane, in his eyes. Jing thought of just how completely unknown someone could become here and adored it. For all he knew, the person that sold him his paper could have been a former prince in the Earth Kingdom. The number of people made becoming uncharted child's play. This meant that one's vices could go completely unknown to an entire city if handled correctly. At home, this was not the case. Rumors spread like wildfire through Ba Sing Se, especially in Jing's circles. Along with that came the responsibility of family honor, a cornerstone of his father's almost daily rants towards Jing. In Republic City, his father couldn't scold him, which was just another item to add to the incredibly long list of reasons to love his new home.

“When it comes to personal matters, I try to make decisions that are what I truly want. Not what my parents want.” Jing stated after his friend ended with his mention of his parent's wishes. “But in this case, it's not like there's a choice.” This was a sad fact in their community. Though gay couples were usually the most loving and nurturing for children, it was physically impossible to make one. So, adoption was the only option. However, Jing often thought that if he were straight, he may go that route anyways. It wasn't as if he was the last stop in his family line. He had a younger brother and a younger sister. And, knowing that his wife would have to endure extreme amounts of pain during labor, it just seemed more humane to adopt. If you lived for any amount of time in Republic City, you could see on the streets how many children needed a loving home.

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Gia

Aug 30, 2012 20:23:13 GMT -6

Ichiro could see that Jing was slightly embarrassed when he teased the Earthbender about what had obviously been tumultuous teen years. He almost thought about asking, but Jing obviously didn’t want to talk to about it. If he had wanted to divulge the information, then he would have done so already. The fact that all he did was smirk and return the quip said that his friend obviously didn’t want to talk about it. That was fine with him. However, there was one thing that the Waterbender had to tease his companion about. “I think you need a new analogy,” he said, the smirk on his face again. “I am a Waterbender after all.” Freezing water would be very easy. All he would have to do was lift his hand up, and it would one simple movement and the water would become ice. However, there was no real reason to show his friend this, because he knew full well of his bending element.

Ichiro appreciated Jing’s belief that he would find someone one day. His smirk turned into a smile. “Thanks, I appreciate that,” he told him, even though he doubted it sometimes himself. It just seemed sometimes as if it was never going to happen. After all, his parents had been married young, so had Yuri’s parents, and Ren’ai’s mother had been young when she’d met her future husband – even though he was older than her. By how much, the Waterbender did not remember. The Earthbender then mentioned that he hadn’t seen any gay guys around the city. “They’re around. I’ve been on some dates, so they’re around. It’s just… There’s either not as many gay people as straight, or they’re just not as noticeable.” He shrugged his shoulders. He wasn’t sure which one it was, honestly, but there was really nothing that either one of them could do about either way.

When Jing mentioned making decisions that he wanted, not his parents, Ichiro nodded. He was right, of course. In the end, you had to do what made you happy. It wasn’t always that easy, though. Sometimes, your family expected things of you, and you were raised to believe that. Before you knew it, then you were going along with something and you had never given a moment’s thought to whether or not it was what you wanted or what they wanted. Of course, that had nothing to do with Jing. It did, however, have everything to do with his family and their restaurant. He couldn’t help that he kept thinking about it. He knew that he needed to give it a rest, but it was a heavy thing on his mind at the moment. Perhaps it would be better for him if he concentrated on Jing more. That would keep from his melancholy thoughts.

Ichiro smiled at Jing. “That’s a very good point,” he said, deciding to take his own advice and try to concentrate on his friend more and less upon things he couldn’t do anything about right now. That is, of course, unless he left his Earthbender friend to go and sulk and think about what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. There was a time and a place for all that, and it wasn’t now. “I suppose that I’ll just have to wait and see.” As he had mentioned earlier, he wasn’t sure if he wanted kids or not. Once he found someone to spend the rest of his life with, then the two of them could discuss it together as partners. That wasn’t going to happen, at least now. Jing and Tadashi were the only new people he’d met, and he wasn’t sure either of them. Tadashi wasn’t really his type, and he wasn’t sure if he and Jing would be anything more than just friends, but they had only known each other for a week.

Not long after Ichiro had spoken, their waitress had returned with their food. The Waterbender thanked her, and then sat up in his chair, as he had been previously leaning back. He took a deep breath. The food smelled delicious, and it had always been good here. The brunet wondered why he didn’t come here more often, and then he was reminded that he had no life – or at least hadn’t until just recently, upon meeting Jing and actually having someone to go and talk to outside of work. Of course, he didn’t really talk to people at work, either, but that was beside the point. The Waterbender ate some of his food, before taking a drink of his water. “I think it’s delicious,” he said to his friend. “I should come here more often.” He took another sip of his water before eating some more of his food. He was so hungry, so that maybe that contributed to how good the food tasted, but he always remembered the food tasting good at this little place.

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Last edit: Aug 30, 2012 20:24:22 GMT -6

Anonymous

Sept 1, 2012 0:38:49 GMT -6

The fact that his humor was lost on his friend didn't really bother Jing. Obviously, Ichiro was a Waterbender. This was known to the both of them. The Earthbender was simply implying that, at hearing how much trouble he had been in, Ichiro would involuntarily freeze the water before him. Possibly, his friend may have understood and just not found it funny. But instead of acknowledging his issue, he simply rolled it off with a simple “That's the point.” Jing smiled, again as he had before with his eyes closed. He did so quite often, he just rarely ever realized it. This time, however, he was embarrassed for his friend.

“Hopefully they aren't noticeable.”, crassly said by Jing after his friend stated that possibility, “I prefer it that way.” He, however, wasn't referring to men being hard to detect. It was more that he preferred more of the inconspicuous gays than anything else. In essence, he liked butch guys. The more manly, muscular guys. Jing could never really put his finger on why this was, but it had always been with him. Maybe it was the abundance of such men back in the Earth Kingdom, and how they were so celebrated there. Or how good of a protector one would make. For whatever reason that may be, Jing was happy that people weren't too obvious here. It was a good sign on the love-front.

Although, the love-front was never the best front for Jing. To be honest, Jing never really had a “relationship”. He had kissed a boy before, among other things, but no actual relationship. This was partly because he had no idea how to tell his parents. Jing would never want to be in hiding if he was in a relationship, it just wasn't who he was. His family knew he was gay, but he never came out to them. There was an unspoken knowing in the family. Jing's father wasn't too happy about it, but he surprisingly didn't bother Jing about it. And Jing wanted to keep it that way. Hopefully, in a city as large as this one, Jing would be able to find someone that fit the description.

After Ichiro acknowledged his advice, Jing nodded in agreement. It was nice to see that he and Ichiro agreed on so many things. People always say that “opposites attract” but frankly, it's hard to get along with someone that it your opposite. In those cases, there is very little in common between the two, which can be bad for certain people. Most people need to have somethings in common with someone to get to like them, which is why these two were getting along smashingly. One could only hope that their friendship would grow as the time passed. Jing knew that he could survive if it didn't, though.

Whilst the wait-staff brought the two their meals, Jing was still in his head pondering his day with his friend. It was a very pleasant one. The park was particularly splendid, seeing as he finally got to see up-close Waterbending. To top that, as the two spent time together, Jing learned more about his companion and how he felt on certain issues. Overall, the day was a success in the book of days. At least, that was how things had gone so far. Ichiro mentioned how good the food was, which prompted Jing to begin his meal. It was the same thing as what was before Ichiro, but on a smaller plate. It did look scrumptious, however. Jing grabbed his utensils and began to eat, going slow so as to thoroughly enjoy every morsel. He stopped, then said “I would have to say that I agree.”, nodded, then resumed his eating. This meal, this conversation, this evening was turning out to be spot on for Jing.

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Gia

Sept 1, 2012 22:03:39 GMT -6

Ichiro frowned a bit at Jing as he said the point had been that he was a Waterbender. What in the world was he talking about? The Waterbender was obviously missing something. He knew exactly what the Earthbender had been trying to say, but it didn’t make much sense to him without an explanation, as it was not anything he was familiar with. It almost bugged him a little that he had obviously missed something, but what else could be done? He was a Waterbender, and could freeze water easily. Did he possibly mean involuntarily, because of what the other man had supposedly done when he was younger? Maybe, but the brunet told himself that there was no use thinking about it any longer. His companion was obviously not bringing it up again, so there was no reason to dwell on it.

The conversation turned back again to gay men, and at Jing’s comment about not wanting them to be noticeable, all the Waterbender could do was nod in agreement. “I agree wholeheartedly,” he said in reply. He didn’t need a macho man or anything, but he certainly didn’t want someone who was more feminine than not. He had nothing against people who may find that sort of thing attractive, but it was certainly not with the brunet wanted in a prospective partner. It was nice to see someone else who agreed with him. It felt good to just be able to talk with someone and not have to defend yourself. Sure, the two of them had honestly not talked about much, but it felt good to agree with another person. It wasn’t that that he was becoming attached to Jing or anything, he merely enjoyed the other man’s company, and for now, that was good enough for him.

Ichiro took another drink of water, before eating some more of his food. When Jing said that he agreed that the food was good, the Waterbender offered him a smile before taking another drink and eating some more. “I don’t get out enough,” he said, stopping his consumption for a moment. “I know these places because I’ve lived here my whole life, but it’s like… I feel I don’t go here enough to really enjoy the food that some of these places have, you know?” The brunet knew that Jing was fairly busy himself and it seemed like him, that it was mostly by choice. He was also new to the city, so he probably didn’t know these places either. It wasn’t a big deal, but there were a few good places to eat along this street, and nearby. He had been to all of them at least once and most not often enough to really appreciate them and know how good they were. Some were okay, and not worth a frequent visit. This one, however, was on the list of ones to visit again.

While on the subject of things they agreed on, Ichiro remembered Jing’s distaste for Probending, something the Waterbender was quite fond of. It was a shame, but he supposed it wasn’t possible that they could agree on everything. Another part of him wondered if the Earthbender had ever really been to match, but it seemed he might have. He knew enough to know that it wasn’t classical bending, which had been the source of the other man’s distaste during their previous conversation. It was an interesting thing, but as he was eating, the brunet knew that he didn’t want to bring it up right now. It prompt a more heated discussion, and that would ruin the day. He pushed the thought out of his mind for now. “I’ll definitely have to put this on a list of places to go to again.”

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Anonymous

Sept 2, 2012 22:19:54 GMT -6

For once, Jing didn't feel like he was a snob for not wanting the feminine gay. Ichiro agreed with him, that more masculine men were more attractive. The problem for Jing wasn't that they were feminine, it was that they lacked that manliness that made men men. Although, the irony of such feelings wasn't wasted on Jing. He knew he wasn't the butchest gay around by a long shot. But Jing knew this, and he didn't pretend not to. Actually, he reveled in it. It was a good selfishness, in his eyes. If anything, they were standards, and one should always have standards. At least that's what his mother would say.

“I understand”, Jing answered his friend, “It's easy to miss things you see everyday. We take them for granted and, eventually, realize that we've swindled ourselves out of something great.” Even when Jing first moved to Republic City, and the months following, he would pass many different stores, shops, and restaurants that he would love to try. Unfortunately for himself, Jing hardly had time besides his lunch break, to go out during the day. As for at night, he lacked any person to go out with and explore these quaint little holes in the wall. No one wanted to do that kind of stuff at night alone, not even Jing. Maybe this was just the push he needed to actually stop in more often. Jing would be able to find many more decorations for his apartment, as well as inspirations for his designs. Along the way, he may even make a friend. Odd concept for Jing to think about, getting friends, that is. Nevertheless, Jing began to wonder if maybe he could do this with Ichiro on occasion but on purpose, instead of by accident like how everything seemed to happen between Jing and Ichiro.

As he thought, he realized that Ichiro was really the only person he had been out with twice. The circumstances didn't matter to Jing, however. It was nice to be able to spontaneously meet with someone like these two had been, but it didn't give Jing the same satisfaction as it would have had Ichiro invited him out. Paranoia ran rampant in Jing, and he was constantly second-guessing the meanings in what everybody would say. It took him many years to realize that some people actually meant what they said and nothing more. So, unless this person directly asked Jing to hang out with them, he would assume they didn't actually like him. Petty? Maybe. But that's how Jing was, and he wasn't going to change easily.

Ichiro then said he would add this to his “place's to go” list. Jing smiled, nodded his head, and took another bite of his food which was already half-way gone. He chewed slowly, enjoying the mixture of sweetness and spice in his food. It was scrumptious; a far better meal than anything he had had in the past month. After swallowing, Jing replied “I think I should too.” Picking up his napkin, Jing wiped his face of any possible crumbs or residue. He then took another drink of his mango juice. Finally, Jing said to his friend “Thank you for bringing me here, it's quite nice.” Turning and reaching for his bag on the back of his chair, Jing said to Ichiro, “Don't worry about this one, I've got it. It's my turn to pay.” Which, in all truth and fairness, was true.

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Gia

Sept 4, 2012 17:05:44 GMT -6

Ichiro nodded at Jing’s words. He was right, of course. It seemed like when you lived in place, you told yourself that you could always visit that place again some other time. At least that was how the Waterbender saw it. He told himself frequently as he was going home that he could go there later. That was true, of course. The problem was that it was always “later”. He never actually took the time to stop and go to wherever it was that he said he would go. After all, he lived here, right? He had all the time he wanted to go and see places when he wasn’t working or training. It wasn’t that simple, though. He never actually did go, and always ended up going to one of the same places that he always did, or just going home and eating there. It didn’t make for a very exciting life, but it was much easier to do that when you had no one else to go out and do something with.

Ichiro had a thought. Perhaps with Jing, he could finally have some downtime and go out and see some of the places that he always said he would. The Waterbender enjoyed spending time with the Earthbender, and said Earthbender didn’t seem to be running away from him or avoiding him or anything. In fact, at the park, he had called out to him. There would be no telling how things would go the more they spent time together. Anything was possible, so they could get tired of each other, or find that they have nothing to talk about. These things happened, but for now, they were getting along pretty well. He had so few friends, he wanted to make sure that he kept this one provided things continued like they had been. After all, there was no reason to chase someone away if they were a good friend and you two seemed to be getting along pretty well.

Jing volunteered to pay for the meal, so Ichiro waved one of his hands nonchalantly. “Sure, go ahead,” he told him. He didn’t mention that he had actually paid for their last meal. He got free food because his family owned the restaurant. That seemed like the same thing, though, didn’t it? Eh, it didn’t matter… The Earthbender wanted to pay for the meal, and the brunet wasn’t one to turn down free food. With that being said, one would think that he would eat at his family’s restaurant all the time, because he got free food there. That wasn’t true. For one, that wouldn’t be fair because no one else he worked with was able to do that. It would be flaunting the fact that it was his family’s restaurant, that his last name was Watashi, and one day, the restaurant would belong to him. If he wanted to be manager that people would like, he needed to make sure that everyone knew he was one of them.

Of course, thinking about his family’s restaurant brought back memories of what he had been thinking about earlier. Ichiro let none of the melancholy pass his face, though, because he didn’t want Jing to think that anything wrong. There was no reason to vent to him about his problems. He didn’t like doing that to begin with, and he hadn’t known Jing very long at all. “So, what do you plan on doing for the rest of the day?” The brunet wanted to ask him something, anything to get his mind off of what was going on. He took a sip of water as his mind drifted back to his earlier thoughts. Was there really anything wrong with doing something you enjoyed, even if your family planned it out for you? They weren’t trying to plan your life, it was just… you were their only child, and it was a family owned and operated restaurant. It was still a weird feeling, though, and he still wasn’t sure what to think.

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Anonymous

Sept 7, 2012 23:53:35 GMT -6

Conveniently, their waitress returned with the bill by the time Jing had gotten his wallet from his bag. The bill wasn’t too large, so Jing didn’t feel too bad about paying for the meal in full. Regardless of how much it was, he still owed his friend for what he had done earlier, before they became acquainted. The waitress left the bill and it’s leather case on the table, Jing thanked her, and she wished the two a nice day before returning to her work. One could tell she wanted a large tip in her tone and, sadly for her, Jing was not the type to do so. He always paid a harsh ten percent of the bill. In this case, that was quite small. It wasn’t Jing’ s problem, though, seeing as times were tough for most working class people like the both of them. After he had put the amount of money needed and the tip in the leather case, Jing slid it to the side. He wasn’t going to get up until Ichiro did, it was only polite.

Ichiro had made a feeble attempt at creating a new subject to speak about. Jing respected it, though. Ichiro obviously wanted to talk and so did Jing, so it was only a matter of time until one of them had done so. “Well.. I thought about maybe looking for a place to practice my bending. Haven’t had much luck with that in recent..” Jing had his hands clasped together, and he looked at them as he ended his sentence. His last bending encounter was with another Waterbender he had met in the week between their meeting last, which didn’t end as smoothly as it should have. Jing needed to practice as his grandfather had taught him, it had been far too long.

To prevent himself from being rude, Jing returned the conversational favor and asked “And what about you? Plans?” he looked up from his hands and in to the eyes of his companion, tilting his head with interest. That was one thing that Jing hadn’t realized before; this guy was interesting. Usually, Jing would meet someone and instantly grow massive stock-piles of contempt for the person because they simply couldn’t keep his attention. It was truly tragic, seeing as it wrecked most of his opportunities for beneficial friendships, but he did not care. If a person didn’t hold his attention, they became worthless in his eyes. Ichiro, however, didn’t have to worry about that, at least not for now.

The restaurant’s pace had slowed down; the dinner rush was over. Now there were just a few couples seated in booths near the back, snuggling and canoodling in the dim light. The man seated at the bar remained where he was, but much more hunched over the bar than he was earlier. It appeared that, at the kitchen door, a few of the wait staff were discussing a way to help the boy working the bar remove the obviously drunk man who had apparently passed out from his alcohol intake. Jing noticed this a few moments earlier, though; his focus was completely on Ichiro. When he focused like that on one person they usually began to open up, seeing his genuine interest in them. His dreamy green eyes didn’t hurt those odds, however. Jing wanted to see if there was more to this brown haired boy than what he had disclosed. He was thoroughly convinced that there were, in fact, more things to know about Ichiro.

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Gia

Sept 9, 2012 22:27:47 GMT -6

Ichiro nodded his head as Jing spoke of finding a place to behind. “I usually go to the park and practice,” he told him. With the lake there, it was a prime place for Waterbending. He wasn’t sure how Earthbending would do there, though. “A girl that I work with, her best friend works as a delivery person, and she’s an Earthbender. I saw both of them there practicing with each other, and then they were practicing with a Waterbender they’d found.” Yes, they were a Probending team, which would seem fairly obvious by the “one fire, one earth, one water” thing. The brunet didn’t want to go into any more detail about it, though, because he knew of his friend’s dislike for Probending. It was a shame, because it was such a fun sport to watch, even if it wasn’t classical bending. Oh, well, to each their own.

Ichiro gave a light shrug. “I’m sure if you looked around there, you could find a spot to bend where you won’t be bothered,” he told him. That was wanted. He didn’t like being bothered when he was practicing his bending, though he didn’t mind being watched. That was different in his opinion. “I’m sure there are other places in the city to practice, but that’s the first thing that came to mind. He almost asked what the Earthbender meant when he said that he hadn’t had much as far as bending was concerned recently, but the brunet figured that it wasn’t any of his business unless Jing wanted to tell him why. That was just the kind of person that he was. They still hadn’t known each other for very long, and as far as he was concerned, it was not his place yet to try to fish information out of him that Jing didn’t want to have fished out to begin with. It was too early for that just yet in his opinion.

Jing then turned things around and asked Ichiro if he had plans tonight. The Waterbender shrugged. “I never have plans,” he said, a smirk crossing his lips. “In all seriousness, though, unless I’m working, I’m usually practicing my bending. I already did that today, though, so I have nothing else to do but go home, take a shower, and… I suppose, read.” It sounded like a very boring life, but it was still his life. Besides, he had some thinking to do, but he didn’t want to tell his Earthbender friend all about that. He didn’t like to vent to people about his problems, which he was told was unhealthy. Truth be told, it probably was, but if he started going on about it now, then it would seem weird, not to mention it would make him sound like a whiney baby, something which he was not. It was better just to keep to himself, at least for now. Maybe there would be a later time for all that.

Ichiro enjoyed spending time with Jing, so it made him feel better that the other man seemed to feel the same way. After all, he didn’t have to ask the brunet what else he was doing tonight if he honestly didn’t care. Yes, it was polite, but it didn’t seem to be just that. He seemed honestly curious as to what he was planning to do for the rest of the night. It felt nice to have someone to talk to. Other than Probending, they had seemed to agree on everything else that they had talked about so far, but it wasn’t just that. They were no horrendous awkward silences. Silence in itself wasn’t the bad thing; it was being comfortable enough with someone to allow the silences when they happened. Inevitably, they did happen, they always happened. At the very least, he had someone to talk to and go to out to eat with.

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