Kingdom Hearts - Blades of Three Realms

[[XIII] Roxas]

"It looks like Sora and Riku are both pretty serious about this," noted Roxas. He winced a little on Crystal's behalf as she started letting herself take the abuse from Kairi's elemental magic. Talk about getting a taste of your own medicine. Of course, she was taking it in stride so there probably wasn't anything to worry about.

"Well, it's not like they have an opportunity to show off their skills every day," Namine pointed out. "Especially since Sora and Riku normally only get to spar with each other. They're competitive, sure, but having some variety makes the battles more interesting for them."

"So this is what Sora is really like, huh?" Xion was fascinated by what she was seeing to say the least. "He's not entirely what I was expecting."

"Well, you only ever saw the fragments of his past," Namine explained. "It's been quite a while since then and he's constantly building off his experiences and growing as a person."

"You don't seem surprised to see me again," Xion realized.

"Once the memories were restored it kind of made sense," Namine replied. "You've heard about it too, haven't you? The girl blessed by a goddess," she flipped open her sketchbook to show a vague crayon drawing depicting Crystal alongside an image of Cosmos. "Sometimes she even makes the impossible possible."

"It sounds like you've been keeping tabs on us," Roxas observed.

"Well, I like to know that you're all doing okay," Namine admitted. "But I promise I haven't been prying too deep."

"Oh, that one looked like it hurt," Roxas winced again as Crystal went down to another lightning strike.

"She is an awfully good sport about this," Xion agreed.  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Roveth would glance back upon seeing Riku teleport away from in front of him and proceeded to walk two steps forward before whirling around and proceeding to bring up Lockdown to block the attack, of course the force of the blow did make him bend his knees, however he just smirked into things and sank down into his own shadow before reappearing from Yen-Sid's to get behind Riku to aim an upwards diagonal slash with Lockdown in hand. "this won't be the beatdown you may expect Riku, cause i'm pretty unorthodox, so do try and make me use my cards, if you dare."


Shiro meanwhiile had his blue eyes glowing as he studied Sora's movements and such via Structural Analysis as he moved both bokken and Revival to counter and block the flurry of slashes from Sora's kingdom key, before he'd start using the bokken to specifically block the keyblade, and use Revival to deliver counter slashes in return, going into a reactionary/counter style of fighting since he had no plans on using too much magic, given he still hadn't found the right words to some of the spells poking about in his head short of the more devastating ones and using his reality marble here would probably lead to being blasted by Yen-Sid so that was another thing to worry about.


Axel nodded a bit as he listened in on things before chuckling at Roveth's attempt to be sneaky on Riku just as Riku teleported on him first. "yup, definitely going to see a rivalry between Roveth and Riku, not too sure on Shiro and Sora since Shiro tends to think fundamentally different from the rest of us." he said with a hum before chuckling a bit at seeing Crystal go down to lightning magic and all, those had to hurt!  

[[XIII] Roxas]

After a short while Master Yen Sid would of course call off the fighting once he was satisfied by what he had seen. Sora was battered and bruised, with a bloody nose stopped up with a tissue and Riku patching up his injuries with bandages. Riku remained more or less unharmed, although his muscles were certainly aching from matching blows with Roveth for as long as he had been.

"You're not half bad, I'll give you that," Riku nodded to Roveth while tightening a bandage around Sora's arm causing the smaller boy to whine in protest.

"Okay, I think I maybe overdid it a bit," Sora admitted while Riku applied the bandages. "But do you think you could be a little more gentle? Or maybe you could let Kairi do that for me instead."

"No way Sora, Kairi needs a rest just like we do," Riku finished adjusting the bandage on Sora's arm. "And besides, she wanted a chance to get to know Xion and Crystal while they're both here for the moment."

Xion was a little more talkative at the moment as Crystal was still feeling a little numb from all the Thunder spells she had withstood during that whole practice session.

"It would seem that you three represent a considerable fighting force," Master Yen Sid observed with regards to Shiro, Roveth, and Crystal. "I sense great potential in this young lady, perhaps even the potential for mastery with a bit more effort."

"What, really?" Sora spoke up in surprise. He was especially surprised given that he himself was still struggling to achieve his own Mark of Mastery.

"Not to sound disrespectful, but I'm not looking to become a master," Crystal spoke with complete seriousness. "You see, where I come from, the way of the sword is a lifetime commitment. No matter how skilled you get or how powerful you become, there's always more room to grow. It's a journey down a path of limitless possibilities. And, as for me personally, I still have a lot left to learn."

"Well now, isn't this amusing," Master Yen Sid was genuinely impressed. "It is a rare thing for a child to show such extraordinary wisdom. Perhaps you aren't ready quite yet, but I shall look forward to the day when you decide to change your mind. The many countless worlds out there need more Masters who don't seek or abuse power."

"Defending the worlds is something I can already do as I am now," Crystal responded. "And I think that both Shiro and Roveth will agree, we don't mind doing our part from behind the scenes."

"That's so weird though," Sora was clearly very confused by Crystal's logic. "Why wouldn't you want to become a Master?"

"She's still more qualified than you are right now, Sora, so you might want to take some notes," Riku pointed out. "It's true that becoming a Master grants you access to certain privileged information, but it's not like that knowledge is necessary for fending off the Heartless or upholding the balance between light and darkness."

"Well, I've seen firsthand what it is that Crystal, Shiro, and Roveth have been doing while you've both been busy studying under Master Yen Sid," Roxas spoke up. "They've chosen a difficult path to ensure that you guys can train and study in peace. And they never complain about how hard it is doing the right thing, although Crystal and Shiro will both complain at length if you ever try to give them credit for it."

"Roxas!" Crystal immediately flailed at that rather blatant accusation, which only further proved his point. "Why would you tell them a thing like that?"

"It's true though, you both get embarrassed so easily whenever anyone tries to thank you," added Xion.  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Shiro of course would also flail, wincing while doing so, he was sporting quite a few bruises as well, no bloody nose thankfully but a nice black eye on his left eye was clearly there "o-o-oi! what'd i tell you about giving me praise! i just do what normal people would do in my situation!" he said, clearly not understanding how his line of thinking was fundamentally different from others. Roveth of course was patching Shiro up himself "shush Aibou and stop squirming, i'm trying to put bandages on you!" of course, Shiro did settle down, but he did give Roxas an affronted dirty look which probably looked hilarious with his black eye.

Axel of course looked amused in general from things as he shrugged "ah, let them do what they want and just thank them anyway later." he said, cueing an 'Axel!' from Shiro and another hilarious dirty look at the Dancing Flame.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

The look Shiro gave Roxas didn't really do him any favors as it only seemed to get Roxas chuckling at how silly it made Shiro look instead of being interpreted as a real warning. Suffice to say, it also made Sora start laughing, although it also made him wince as some of the bruises he had sustained were making it hurt to laugh so hard. Even Crystal couldn't seem to take Shiro seriously making that expression with that black eye so severely offsetting his ability to look properly angry that she burst out laughing too. Xion managed to contain her own laughter, although an amused smile did escape her and probably wouldn't go unnoticed. The fact that Crystal's hair was also standing on end from all the Thunder abuse didn't help matters either as that only elicited even more laughter all around.

"Well, it sounds like you're all getting along just fine," Riku observed with his patented smirk returning.

"So, what do you all plan to do next anyway? I take it you're only here for a quick visit during your travels, right?" Kairi decided to ask.

Crystal shrugged a bit. "Honestly, unless the Dimensional Distortion Grid gives me a reading on more Heartless appearing somewhere, we don't have any immediate plans. We've been pretty busy these past few weeks so a little down time might not be such a terrible idea anyway and I know after the last few places we've visited I could really stand to do some laundry before I start running out of things to wear."

"So then maybe you'll stay in Twilight Town for a little while and we can do more catching up," Namine suggested.

"Not a bad idea," Roxas agreed. He looked to Axel. "Gives us time to help Isa get settled at the apartment." Next he looked to Roveth. "And you can catch up with your little fan club."

"Oh yeah, that's right, Roveth made quite an impression on Hayner during our last visit," Crystal recalled. "I'm sure he'll be ecstatic."  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Shiro did glance to Crystal's hair and did give off a look of amusement in his seen eye, at least until Roveth got his chuckles in, and pulled out one of his cards, summoning the healing generator he used a few times before, and a couple of high level humanoid monsters in Yubel, and using a quick magic spell in 'Ancient Rules', summoned Blue-Eyes toon dragon, which was a cartoonish variant of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon he himself used, and much more manageable in size, with all those levels, the healing generator would begin spreading healing warmth over those considered allies pretty quickly, though bruises and the like would still be there, the black-eye for shiro, and more than likely Sora's bloody nose would easily be healed, and any other aches and pains gone pretty quickly. once that was done Shiro would speak up rather easily now that he was calmer "yeah, i'm also not feeling anything tugging me to look for any Rifts either to dive into, so staying in Twilight town it is, i probably need to get some clothes washed myself."

Roveth chuckled a bit, leaning against the wall while letting his partners do their work, though yubel seemed to stick close to Roveth, maybe even.. well attach to his arm so to speak, causing only a 'light' blush to appear, but he took it like a champ. "hmm.. i did promise Hayner i'd help teach him my methods of pranking and such, i just gotta remember to instil in him a sense of honor. basically: never prank those who don't deserve it, always use pranks that are harmless, and never use pranks that cause collateral damage." of course, Shiro snorted, but Roveth ignored him a bit "might even give Olette and Pence some tips on how to help keep Hayner from getting into too much trouble with the pranks too when i'm not around to cause utter havoc on that 'Discipline Squad' leader."

Axel chuckled a bit and shook his head at Roveth before looking to Roxas with a smile, though it was -almost- a smirk "well, i can also stand to help Demyx get Isa settled in at the apartment alone, so no worries on helping me Roxas... maybe you could take the free time to have some fun with you and Crystal.. like a date or something?" he said almost offhandedly, but you know damn well with his amused eyes he was currently waiting for the flailing from both of them on that offer.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

Once the healing generator came into effect and Sora's bloody nose was healed he was of course able to remove the tissue he had crammed up there to stop the bleeding and could breathe normally again. Of course, being as most of his injuries were the bruises he had sustained from getting hit by Shiro, Sora was still going to be aching for a while.

"Well, if you're staying in town, maybe one of these days we can have another match," Sora suggested to Shiro. Sure, it hurt fighting him, but it was probably really good practice being as it was someone strong other than Riku. Sora was pretty sure he wanted none of fighting with Roveth though. He seemed like the kind of guy who would just confuse him and make him trip over himself trying to figure out how to fight him and none of that really seemed like fun to Sora.

"We're going to work more on your defense before that happens," Riku assured Sora with a meaningful look. Sora kinda shrank under his gaze, but recovered when Riku turned that gaze over to Shiro. "For the record, you might want to work on that a little yourself."

There was a long drawn out pause during which Roxas and Crystal both kind of just stared at Axel going steadily more and more red in the face.

"Eh?!" was the obligatory confused and surprised exclamation from Crystal.

"But Axel, I've never even been on a date," Roxas was embarrassed for a slightly different reason it would seem. "What am I even supposed to do?"

"Just have fun," Riku shrugged. "It's really not that complicated. You spend time with someone you like and just try to enjoy yourselves. I mean, you've got plenty in common so it shouldn't be that hard to find something you can do together. Of course, if you're feeling bold, you might even try to make it a little romantic."

Oh yeah, that got Roxas blushing even harder. It really didn't help at all that he still wasn't over seeing Crystal in her thief outfit.

"Huh? Oh yeah, that's right, what am I getting so worked up about?" Crystal actually managed to calm down rather quickly. "It's not like I've ever been on a date before either."

"You haven't?" Roxas was more than a little surprised to hear that. It always seemed to him like Crystal had done a little bit of everything.

"There was never any reason for it," Crystal scratched behind her ear. "But I do think that maybe it could be fun."

"You see, you two will be fine," Riku gave an approving smile.

Xion hadn't missed the pattern of the conversation. If Axel was going to be working with Demyx to get Isa settled into the apartment, Roveth was going to be plotting with Hayner, Pence, and Olette with regards to Seifer and the Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee, and Roxas was going to be out on a date with Crystal, that meant that she and Shiro were going to be left to their own devices. Even if it wasn't intentional, that did seem to be how things were going to play out.

"Don't worry," Namine whispered to her. "You're already helping him more than you know."

"What are you talking about?" Xion was surprised and confused and blushing rather profusely again.

"I know you'll figure it out once you're ready," Namine smiled pleasantly and returned to drawing something in that sketchbook of her's.  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Shiro just chuckled a bit, pondering on the shield thing, he had a few ideas from watching the Shinigami and hollows back in 'A Bleached World' he wanted to try out for defense, but didn't get a chance with Sora bringing the fight up close so fast "true, though i have a few ideas in mind for defense as it is, and i do have a few barriers and restraining techniques, but the barriers are more for blocking magic, or in one's case.. powerful enough attacks that'd be construed as massive Area of Effect or continuous Barrage of things at me all at once." he said, thinking particularly of Danku for the first, and Rho Alias, his 7 petal'ed barrier that could withstand an activated Gae Bolg aiming to pierce it.

Roveth of course just chuckled, and dismissed his allies of the shadow once the healing was done, though Yubel seemed to pout cutely about it, before he focused his attention on the two blushing individuals as he smirked a bit lightly "well, before Ojou-sama gets ready for this date of hers, she needs to freshen up a bit and get the static cling out of her hair, otherwise she might scare off the locals." he said with a patented Roveth quip while making a mental note to take Shiro aside sometime soon to help him out in finding some smaller scale defensive measures he could work with since he doesn't know Protect and the likes.

Axel just gave off a small laugh at their reactions and just grinned when Riku took over explaining things, he looked over to see the embarrassed Xion, and gave off an amused raised eyebrow in general while he got up off the wall and grinned "so, should we head back into Twilight Town Proper and get started on things?" he asked, idly smiling at everyone and all.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

Even if Crystal didn't have an outward reaction to Roveth's chosen term of endearment or rudeness, probably both coming from him, she did inwardly cringe when she heard it. It seriously made her skin crawl to be addressed so formally. Of course, she'd have been bothered even just by being addressed as Crystal-sama.

"Right, sounds like a plan," Crystal nodded. "And yeah, I definitely need to take a little time to make myself presentable again."


Once they left Master Yen Sid's tower, leaving the group of Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Namine behind them for now, the rest of them would mainly be regrouping at the apartment now being shared by Roxas, Axel, Demyx, and Isa back in Twilight Town. Those who needed to would have taken advantage of the building's public accessible laundry machines and then Crystal would have gotten washed up, dispersing the electricity she had absorbed from the Thunder spells into lightning based synthesis materials to hand over to the Moogle. Once she emerged again, with her hair now tamed back to normal, she would have also changed into something a bit more casual than her thieving attire, although still certainly more feminine in style than most of her usual attire. Crystal wore a light blue strapless blouse and a pair of blue jeans that were ripped rather purposefully at the knees, with matching blue sandals and finger-less gloves. The only component of her normal attire that was still present was, of course, the pendant in the shape of a dragon on the stainless steel chain that always hung around her neck.

Being as they were back at the apartment, Roxas had managed to change into another set of his regular clothes from the seemingly endless selection in his bedroom closet. Roxas wasn't really sure what to expect after being so severely distracted by Crystal's thief outfit. Somehow, even though her choice of attire this time was far less boisterous and provocative, the fact that Roxas could now look at her without flailing internally was probably why he even more effected by it causing his face to be immediately overtaken by a fresh wave of blushing.

"Well now, this is a surprise," Isa observed while taking in the rather amusing predicament that Axel had brought back with him. "The little princess certainly does clean up nicely, doesn't she?"

"Oh wow, you look great!" Xion was quick to hop on the bandwagon.

Crystal immediately blushed in embarrassment from the compliment. "Heh, thanks. Honestly, I wasn't too sure how this was going to work since I don't usually wear tops like this. I mean, it isn't really practical for combat and all, but I thought now was maybe a good time to finally put it to use."

"It's really cute," Roxas managed to find his voice through his blushing. "I know you said before that you don't have much fashion sense and only think about what looks cool, but maybe you weren't giving yourself enough credit."  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Shiro himself had been getting his clothes washed as well, and unfortunately, after checking his pack, saw he only had one thing to wear, and sighed, slipping into the suit/armor that made him, if Roxas looked, way too similar to the man in the red only with no tan, and of course, without the red clothing to go with it, as he sighed, crossing his arms a bit and just let his clothes get washed and all.

Roveth of course would have already left after using a bit of shadow manipulation to get a pair of kahki pants and a blue shirt in general to go check on his -buddies- in Hayner's gang, since he had promised to stop by whenever he was in town "Yo." he said, grinning all the while as he leaned on the entrance to the hideout.

Axel of course, with Demyx, would be busy working getting Isa settled in as well as various other things, like adjusting furniture and all.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

Roxas did indeed notice the suspiciously familiar outfit on Shiro and was about to comment on it when Crystal took him by the arm to escort him out.

"Come on, let's get out of here while the peanut gallery is actually too busy to want to spy on us," Crystal used that as a pretense to get them outside and away from the apartment. Really, she was saving Shiro the trouble of having to explain himself.

"Okay... so then, that guy I saw inside Shiro's Reality Marble... he really is a representation of Shiro's future self?" Roxas gathered that was the real reason Crystal didn't want him bringing it up in front of Shiro.

"It's one possible future and it's definitely a version of the same outfit," Crystal confirmed. "As long as Shiro remains as himself, though, there isn't any reason to be concerned by it. So, with that in mind, let's not make too big a deal out of it. Shiro is already self-conscious enough about wearing it as it is."

"I kinda get what he meant today when he said he thinks of you like a sister figure," Roxas chuckled a bit. "You've been looking out for him a lot."

"Someone has to," Crystal gave a vague sort of wistful smile. "He gets into way too much trouble by himself."

"So, I'm still not exactly clear on this whole 'date' thing. Is there a plan or are we basically making this up as we go along?" Roxas decided it was probably a good time to change the subject.

"Well, I guess on a 'normal' date we would grab a bite to eat and maybe see a movie or check out some other local attraction," Crystal explained rather vaguely. "Of course, there are plenty of other options if any of that sounds too boring."

"All I usually think to do is sit up on the clock tower eating sea salt ice cream so I really don't mind keeping it simple," Roxas pointed out. "Although that's probably too obvious if anyone else decides to come looking for us so if we want a place with a little more privacy, what about taking the Underground Concourse out to Sunset Hill? The others probably wouldn't think to look for us there. And even if they did it would be difficult for them to follow us if they don't know their way through the tunnels."

"It's certainly one of the town's highlights," Crystal agreed. "Sure, let's see how it goes."


And now we shall see how well Shiro lasts through the rest of the afternoon and into the night on his own with Xion. Xion, of course, didn't have a basis for recognizing the outfit Shiro was wearing like Crystal and Roxas would have so instead of being surprised or alarmed to see Shiro dressed as he was she just thought he looked rather cool and perhaps even a bit more badass than usual.

"Roveth left already. Axel and Demyx are busy with helping Isa to get situated. So, with those two gone, I suppose that leaves us on our own," Xion pointed out to Shiro.


"Hey, Roveth!" Hayner greeted him with a huge grin. "Are you back in town for the Struggle Tournament? It would be really awesome if we both entered so someone can take back the title of champion from Seifer. A guy named Sora had it for a while, but he hasn't been back for the tournament in a while so Seifer managed to reclaim it."

"Hayner has been really worked up about this for a while now," added Pence. "But he's never been able to beat Seifer himself."

"Not to mention there are some other tough competitors in the running this time around," added Olette.  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Roveth had chuckled a bit, putting his hands behind his head while thinking on it "i might consider it, though i might help you train to beat Seifer though if you'd like, though it'd have to be quick training if this tournament is starting soon. wonder when the goon squad will try to get back at me though?" he pondered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, cause he had been seriously considering just watching the Struggle fights since they weren't real life or death battles, and his style would probably get him disqualified in some way given he tended to use shadows a lot.

Shiro would nod a bit, though he did seem uncomfortable in what he wore, he'd at least become comfortable around Xion compared to the times he's been with girls and all "yup, and without my regular clothes, maybe i won't be bothered too much by Seifer or something, though i might still be because my hair color's pretty unique." he said, reaching up to tug at some hair to look at in amusement, before shrugging "ah well, we'll just see what happens, ne?" he said with a smile, putting his left hand on his hip with a smile and all, though if he were a mind reader, he'd probably agree that he'd look badass, but at the same time he's still uncomfortable about it.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

The tunnels of the Underground Concourse were reasonably empty at this time of day as only those such as Roxas and Crystal were using them for transit to bypass having to wait for the next train from Central Station to Sunset Station in Sunset Terrace. The train schedule was fairly consistent and reliable, but the tunnels were generally faster so long as they were accessible to the public, which conveniently they were. Crystal was being a good sport about it and seemed to be enjoying the outing thus far, but Roxas was still somewhat lamenting the fact that Axel had put them up to this and wondered if it was really okay.

"Relax and try not to overthink it," Crystal took Roxas by the hand and gave him a quick smile while falling into stride next to him rather than rushing on ahead as was her more usual pace. Roxas blinked at her in momentary confusion. "You were kinda spacing out," Crystal calmly explained.

"Oh, sorry!" Roxas quickly apologized. He hadn't even noticed that in his concern he'd momentarily zoned out back there.

"Like I said, don't worry about it," Crystal gave his hand a squeeze and kept right on walking. "I don't really mind that Axel was the one who suggested it. Sure, you wanted to be there to help out because you guys are best friends and all, but he's only looking out for you too. And I'm glad he trusts me being with you. That really means a lot."

"I hadn't really thought of it like that," Roxas responded while once again being a little surprised. He knew that Crystal had a lot of insecurities about her past and that she worried a lot about people in general, but it hadn't really occurred to Roxas that Crystal was also struggling to seek out approval and acceptance like anyone else. It should have been obvious from what Riku had said to him before back on Radiant Garden and from what Crystal had told him in the dreamscape. Being able to trust in others and to be trusted in return, that seemed really important to her. Crystal had talked to Roxas quite a bit about her past, but he knew she wasn't telling him everything. She had even said it herself that certain memories were too hard to talk about. Now it made Roxas wonder just how deeply Crystal had been hurt. It was easy to overlook because she seemed so on top of things and, aside from the handful of times she had broken down after having those nightmares, she was almost always smiling. At least, since Roxas had been traveling with her it seemed like she was usually smiling. He did wonder vaguely if that had been the case when she was traveling alone with Shiro or in the months she had spent off the radar with him and Roveth after Roveth's creation. It reminded Roxas of what Riku had said while they were visiting Master Yen Sid's tower, about the way Crystal looked at him. Roxas assumed that must have meant that Crystal looked at him differently somehow. Knowing how she felt about him, Roxas guessed that was probably the reason for it and if being with him had made her happier, then it was worthwhile to keep it that way.

"Come on, let's go," Roxas decided to pick up the pace again so they could get out of the tunnels to finally reach their destination.

Once they were out of the tunnel it was only a short hike to Sunset Hill. The view from the hilltop was spectacular as ever and Crystal wasted no time in finding a comfortable spot to watch the crimson-orange glow of the evening sky.

"This world always delivers when it comes to finding an amazing view," Crystal was cheerful as ever.

"I think that's why I've kept coming back to it," Roxas agreed as he sat down next to Crystal. Crystal leaned back against him and Roxas somewhat reflexively put his arm around her.

"I've seen a lot of different worlds, but this one is definitely special," Crystal nodded. "I don't feel so lost when I'm here."

"So is this it?" Roxas wondered vaguely. "Is this really all there is to this whole 'date' thing?"

"Pretty much," Crystal chuckled a bit. "We're keeping it simple. Not that there's any need to complicate things. Where we go and what we do is really secondary to us having a good time because we're together. Sharing it with someone you love is pretty special."

That very blunt and direct reasoning got Roxas blushing pretty hard, although he was also smiling and much more relaxed than he had started out on the way through the tunnels. "So, being together is enough, huh? Yeah, I guess that really makes a bit more sense than what anyone else has told us today."

"Even so, this is a really great spot for it," Crystal decided. It was quiet and peaceful. And there really weren't any other people around at the moment so they kind of had the place to themselves.

"I'm glad I got to come out here with you," Roxas nodded. He tugged Crystal over, more onto his lap, so he could get his other arm around her to just hug her close for a while. "To be honest, I wasn't so sure I could handle it."

"Well then that's something you won't have to worry about anymore," Crystal leaned back against him, being relaxed and obviously comfortable with being so close to him. "I think you can handle being around me just fine."