maskormenacelogs | March Catch-all

Maria?

[That's a girl's name, and he can't help but widen his smile at that. Suddenly, being dragged along for the ride into trouble isn't so far off now. After all, Kei had done the same to him.]

So SHE was the masermind behind it all, huh?

Yes, exactly! She was always very passionate about her ideas. [His face practically melts when he thinks of her, a wistful smile on his face.] ...Still is.

Heyyyyy~ I know that look anywhere!

[His finger reaches out and points, tapping Manolo right over the heart.]

You got a -thing- for her!

[His shoulders shake with a small laugh, but he's not at all ashamed when he says:] Of course! Who wouldn't? She's wonderful...

Yeah?

[His hands shove in his pockets, legs fanning out in an awkward, meandering walk for a few steps. Something's on his mind, and...if anyone would have the answer to that...Manolo probably would. The guy knew emotions.

Hell, their talk right now and the fact that registration was something he'd consider for PEOPLE is a selling point.]

What makes her so different? I mean...girls are girls, right?

[He's legitimately confused, too. How do you pick just one?

Why does he sort of feel like HE has? Things he won't admit right now, but...maybe Manolo can shed light on it.]

[What makes her different? How does he even count the ways? Manolo doesn't miss a beat in responding.]

Maria is...Maria. She is like my guiding star, the one who helps me be a better person by giving me courage when I make difficult choices. She has never apologized for staying true to herself, not once, even when her father shipped her off to Spain for ten years. She is someone I want to be like, someone who will fight for those who can't fight for themselves, someone who will lay down her life for another without a second thought. I just...[He rubs his eyes, which are getting suspiciously moist, but he's still smiling.]...really love everything about Maria Posada.

[Kaneda looks at Manolo, clear on his face that he wasn't expecting an answer like that--an answer like that just didn't exist in his world. No one back home talked about any kind of girlfriend or spouse like that, it was always bittersweet or cosmetic, if you wanted to get anywhere near affectionate. But the way Manolo describes her...it's like she's his everything. What gets him up in the morning...what he thinks about inbetween what you normally think about during your day.

A part of him can't even understand that kind of affection...and yet...something about it sort of seems to hit home. Which...quite frankly, worries him.

He fights that part down, though, his smile coming through.]

Damn...you've got it bad for her, huh. You think...anyone can feel that way about a girl? You know...bad guys, good guys? It's ...univ-- [His tongue gets tied on this word, trying to think of a synonym.] It applies to everyone?

[His shoulders shake with a small laugh, half embarrassed by the look on Kaneda's face. He's always worn his heart on his sleeve, but not everyone wants to hear about his feelings. Still, he did ask, and Manolo isn't going to downplay his love for Maria.

He pauses, mulling over that question, turning it over in his head before giving a quiet answer.]

If you can care about someone, even a little bit, I think it's possible to love them. It might not happen right away. Maybe you have to take a few side roads before you reach that feeling that tells you you're home. Or it could hit you like a sack of bricks, and suddenly they're all you can think about. Everyone is different, which means no two relationships will ever be the same. But...I truly believe everyone has the potential to love someone else with all of their heart.

["They're all you can think about" rings in his head like an alarm bell, his brain trying to smother it as he denies what that means. There's...no way.

The reason Kaneda couldn't settle was he never found the right one. 'There wasn't one', he told himself for the longest time. Girls slept with him because it was like sleeping with the captain of the football team--a status symbol that he readily accepted at the time.

But now...that doesn't seem nearly as appealing as it used to.

It makes sense, the way Manolo phrases it. Anyone has the capacity to love someone like that... But beneath his dirt-stained, scarred, battle worn exterior, maybe a part of him just had accepted that it was the life he led. That a guy like him--born on the street with no parents, no future, struggling to survive with his brother, hardening himself into someone who could kill if he had to...

A person like that wasn't good enough for any girl who didn't use the term 'one night stand.']

Maybe you're right. World's full of surprises, huh?

[But that's a secret best kept to himself.]

Edited 2016-04-02 20:10 (UTC)

More than you may realize, my friend.

[Manolo studies Kaneda for a moment, and he can't help but give a cheeky smile.] ...Why are you asking these things, anyway?

...!!

No reason. Just...you know, curious about how it happens to other people.

Me? I never feel that way.

[Ever. EVER!]

Really? Never? [The stupid grin on his face says he ain't buyin' it, Kaneda.]

Never.

[Lying like the dead, here.]

You think I'm the type of guy who's...into all that?

Amigo, whether you're that type of man or not...all it takes is one person to turn your world upside down.

Yeah? I don't know...some of us are tough nuts to crack.

And some people are tough cookies we just can't resist, no matter what we tell ourselves. There's no shame in it!

Shame? It's definitely not shame.

...

[Pause.]

I mean, cause I don't have that going on in my life.

[Kaneda, you are a terrible liar. But Manolo has more tact than to call him out outright. Instead, he arches an eyebrow and quietly chuckles.]

Well, if I may say so, you would be a very fine catch.

[The fact that it's coming from Manolo surprises him, and those brows raise up to show that. Sure...he knows for a fact how good looking he is. If there's one thing that didn't need to be inflated, it was his ego. But coming from Manolo, that's...well, it's new.

His hand goes to the back of his neck, smirking.]

Yeah? I think so too--girls can't get enough of me.

[Something about that response tickles him, maybe because it reminds him a little of Joaquin. Either way, Manolo just laughs.]

I don't doubt that! But...I meant as a long-term boyfriend or maybe even a husband, if you ever decided to marry.

[If Manolo was going for the killing blow, that'd be it. Kaneda stops dead, looking at the man as if he started speaking some alien language, garbled in his ears and eyes widening. It's not necessarily a bad shock---he's not disgusted.

But it's obvious that this is the first time he's...EVER heard that in his life.]

...

[For once, he has nothing to say. He can't...it's all still processing.

Manolo thought that he...KANEDA...could be a long term partner to someone? After so many years of telling yourself you'll never get attached, and everyone saying how much you sleep around, and you can only gleefully confirm it...it's turning his world upside down right at that moment.]

[Like he said...it only takes one person to turn everything on its head, Kaneda.]

Why do you have that look? [He's not sure what he expected, but that expression, like he'd caused something in the poor man's brain to break, definitely wasn't it.] Come on, is what I said really so strange?

[Coming back to his senses, he shakes it off, trying to at least get back to a normal walk cycle.]

It's just...I've never held a girl longer than a week, you know? Buckling down and settling...it's not a thing guys like me do.

[What he doesn't specify, though...is how he FEELS.]

It's not settling! It's finding someone you want to start a new story with, so you can see it through together while you face the world. You just didn't feel that way about any of the girls you knew before, that's all.

[That's...a new way to look at it, really. For the longest time, he'd just assumed he wasn't that type of guy to find a girl that was perfect for him. No girl really felt that perfect. Tetsuo had found one...of course Tetsuo had found one. The guy was gentle underneath that tough facade, and any girl would probably fall for him if he showed that a little more.

Kaneda...he'd pretty much given up that ever happening.

So to hear it put like this...it's a bit new.]

So the only reason I couldn't find one I like more than a week was cause none of em were...'right'?

[He sounds curious, like this is a concept he didn't even knew existed.]

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