[MillietheWarrior]

Torch decided, as he took another bite of pie, that he liked her laugh. It was musical, and sweet, just like he imagined she was. And she worked in a bakery; that was definitely major brownie points in her favor. He certainly seemed fond of her, if only for the fact that she’d given him free pie. But there was an underlying fondness there as well, one he did not understand  but was willing to analyze and explore further. He’d never felt that way about anyone; it was obviously his first ‘crush,’ possibly the only one he’d ever have in his short life. He had no clue what a ‘crush’ was, except that it felt like a very strong ‘like’ and a desire to protect, much the same as he felt for his brothers. Yet this was a little…different.

Torch had lived a relatively sheltered life, despite being a soldier in the GAR, so he had little to no life experience with the outside world. It was probably a given that he’d fall for the first woman who was kind to him; it was almost expected. And here he was, proving the ideas about men like him right. “Oh yes you are,” he said quite happily, smiling at her as he very nearly cleaned the plate down to the last crumb. “Awesome is certainly the word that comes to mind when I think of you.” He carefully pushed his plate away from him, folding the napkin neatly on top of it, and placing his fork on top of the napkin.

He might have been a solider, but he’d also been taught manners, and it was expected of someone like him to keep all belongings, whether personal or otherwise, neat and tidy. It was a practiced habit that he couldn’t break even if he wanted to. He glanced up at Am’maria curiously when she cut herself short, a frown on his face. Would he…What? Torch had to know. He hated when people left him hanging; it always made him edgy and nervous. Maybe it was something important. “What, what?” he asked, lifting from his seat and hearing his helmet bounce against his thigh plate. He’d clipped it to his belt earlier that day and hadn’t bothered to put it back on.

He wondered if he had any missed messages from Punch, then decided he didn’t care; his ill-tempered sergeant could wait. He had more important matters to deal with. He glanced at the clock quickly, before his gaze settled back on Am’maria. “Maybe I can finish that sentence for you. Would you like to go for a walk? I’ve got a few more hours before I have to report back, and I’d like to see what all is around this town. I’ve never been here before…” He smiled brightly. “But I found three nice things here today. One: the bakery. Two: the pie. And three; you!”

[8]

[ToxicShadow]

It was apparent that even if she attempted to disagree with his compliments toward her, he would insist even more upon them. Am'maria could have continued to argue with Torch, but what would have been the point? She had the feeling that, even if she did, he would keep on insisting that what he said was true. Unless she wanted to make a seen about it, accepting it was much more ideal for the lot of them. Eventually, even with her low self-esteem, she began trying to wrap her head around the concept. Someone actually found her to be worthy of praise.

Soon enough, the man had finished off the entire whipped cream covered pie slice, and everything was neatly placed together on the table. She found his manners to be refreshing. To many people around here left everything a mess, making her job that much more difficult. It wasn't exactly her job to clean up after slobs, no, she was there to take food orders and such but, nope, she had to do that too, since people were too disrespectful to organize their used dishware and any garbage that may have been created.

Am'maria took a step back when Torch stood from his seat, not out of fear or anything, but to give him his space. And, yes, she was secretly a little startled, but by no means was she fearful. Unfortunately for the young woman, it had become natural to be jumpy and easily startled over the littlest things at times.

There was absolutely no possible way to hide the pink tone that flushed into her cheeks as blood rushed to her face, Am'maria being a combination of pleasantly flustered and flattered by the man's comment. Still, she tried. Am'maria's vibrant colored eyes wandered down to the floor, taking a moment in hopes that the color would fade to some minor degree before she met his gaze again. How could she refuse his offer? If he was leaving soon, that didn't give her very much time. She found herself wanting to know more about this man, whom was equally kind to her as she was to him. She'd never met a man like him. She especially wanted to find out just what this man did, casually wearing this peculiar armor of his and having to "report back" at a certain time. He even seemed to speak in some other tongue which she had never heard of before. Perhaps it was a language dead to most people? Ah, who knows.
Her eyes lifted to his slowly, Am'maria biting down on her lip just a little. In that instant, she seemed even more sweet, innocent and fragile than she had otherwise. "How could I possibly say no?" She answered him, softly, by returning a question. "I've lived in this town for awhile now, so I might be a pretty decent guide for you. Though, I don't know if I really know the best places... I get off in about fifteen minutes. Do you mind waiting around here until then?"

[MillietheWarrior]

Very little escaped Torch’s notice; the blush was no different. Although he couldn’t imagine what had made her embarrassed (For that was what he equated it with), he didn’t comment on it, and instead, smiled brightly down at her. His smile faded somewhat, however, when he saw the look of indecision on her face. Had he done something wrong by asking her to go for a walk? Today was a day full of social gaffes for Torch; he felt like an idiot, and he wished he knew more about women. Maybe if he was more like Ride, he wouldn’t have been presented all these awkward, embarrassing situations, and he wouldn’t have created any of them for Am’maria either.

He silently cursed his inexperience and lack of contact with the fairer gender. He certainly wished she would agree to go with him; Torch wasn’t sure why, but he didn’t want to leave quite yet. He had a few more hours before he had to report back to the base with his findings about the town, and he wanted to spend them getting to know this strange woman. He didn’t know what it was that attracted him to her; it could have been any number of things, like her baking skills, or her mannerisms, or the shy, sweet look on her face. Either way, he found the idea of leaving her alone a bit painful to think about, and decided he’d just savor the time he had here, instead of dreading his immanent departure.

When she spoke again, Torch was catapulted out of musings by her agreement. His smile instantly brightened, and he glanced at the clock. Fifteen minutes didn’t seem like a very long time, did it? "Of course I’ll wait,” he said happily. “I should…wait by the door. To stay out of your way,” he said, suddenly bashful. He wasn’t exactly easy to maneuver around, so he felt it best if he waited where he wasn’t in her way. “Don’t want anyone running into me. I’m like a giant rock, aren’t I?”

He laughed nervously, patting the back of his neck with his hand, before he ghosted across the floor towards the door. For a giant armored man, he moved surprisingly swiftly and silently, his movements more graceful than he seemed to imagine they were. He didn’t even bump into a single table as he maneuvered between the small aisles and took up post beside the door, folding his arms over his broad chest and leaning carefully against the wall to wait for her with a smile.

[9]

[ToxicShadow]

More than pleased to hear that he would wait, Am'maria found herself even more excited about the prospect of getting off of work soon. On a day such as this, she usually counted the hours until she would be able to leave and seclude herself once more, to make sure she was hidden from any danger. Now, however, she was counting mere minutes until she'd be able to enjoy herself. Somehow, she couldn't imagine that being around Torch would bring any danger or, if it happened to, that he would somehow find a way to keep her safe. He seemed like that sort of man, so happy that nothing ill could follow him around or graze him even if it tried.

Am'maria chuckled a little at his comment and nodded. "Yes, I suppose you are rather... large compared to most people, huh?" Of course, she meant no ill by her words. "But then, it must be rather easy to make sure someone gets out of your way if you absolutely need to get somewhere, too. Being large seems to have some advantages." Shortly after she spoke, she turned to peer at another customer calling for her aid from their table. "Just fifteen minutes," she reminded herself in a whisper; and off she went.

She spent the next ten-or-so minutes bustling around the tables, fetching refills for customers and taking the order of one elderly woman who'd entered the shop and scurried around Torch to find herself a seat. The whole time, she appeared much lighter on her feet and even smiled with honest ease at the customers. After getting the woman settled in, the young waitress was found fussing with something behind the counter once more; another woman coming in, seemingly being her replacement as she greeted Am'maria and the cashier with a dreary, "Hey guys..."

The next step in her path had Am'maria vanishing into the back, just three minutes left. The minutes ticked by quickly for her as she took off her apron, washed her hands, folded her apron and placed it, along with a small brown paper bag, into her purse. Once she'd clocked out, she slipped out toward the door her eyes on Torch, a smile in her face, and another larger brown paper, the sort large enough to have handles, in one hand. "All done here! I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long... Ready to go?" She was excited enough, and in a good bit of a hurry.

[MillietheWarrior]

Torch watched her work carefully, yes following her movements. She seemed content in her work, and she seemed good at it. Was this what civilian life was like? Finding a job you enjoyed and just doing it? He couldn‘t imagine being anything other than a soldier. He wasn’t trained to do anything else. He could never see himself waiting tables or taking orders for foods that he couldn’t see himself ever baking. How did civilians spend their lives then? Was this it? Just a monotonous, everyday play by play of working and then returning home? Did they do anything for fun? Torch suddenly found himself fascinated with the mundane lives of civilians.

Torch had never had any free time before. He’d never spent it whittling away the hours at work, or doing something for fun. Everything he did was because he was ordered to, and even his spare time was spent stripping down his weapon or cleaning his armor. Torch waited patiently for Am’maria to join him, still quietly observing her and musing on the contrast between a life as a civilian and one as a soldier. It was dangerous thinking, and he knew if Punch had any inkling as to what he was thinking about, he’d live up to his name and punch those thoughts out of his head.

Torch could only chuckled at the thought, broad shoulders shaking slightly as he shook his head slowly. When Torch looked back up, he realized that Am’maria was gone., and a brief flash of panic raced through him. Had she left out the back way and ditched him? Had she forgot about him? His heart stuttered painfully in his chest at the thought of being left behind, and he raised himself off the wall, looking relatively saddened by the fact that he would be leaving the small bakery alone. His fears, of course, were unfounded, as Am’maria slipped through the store towards him.

He smiled brightly, glad he hadn’t been left behind, before he held open the door for her. “For a minute there, I thought you’d…” He quickly shook his head, chuckling. “Never mind. Let’s hit it,” he said with a grin as he followed her out the door. He glanced down curiously at the bag, and pointed to it with one hand. “What’s in that?” he asked, then seemed to think better of it and quickly back-tracked, explaining his curiosity. “Uh, if it’s personal or something, you don’t have to tell me. Just wonderin’.”

[10]

((Phail post...O.o))