Warm Souls

Sayo smiled as she put down the menu. "I'll get one of these then," she said while pointing to a picture of one. It looked and sounded good, but that wasn't why she was smiling. It was because of the way the man was looking at her with that clean, pleasant smile. It wasn't the same look he had the day they first met, and it was only after spending a lot of time together that it started to come out. And it made Sayo all warm on the inside. "Yes, let's do that."

When their food came out, Sayo was surprised how spicy it smelled. For once, Angel's smile and breathing dropped as she stared at the food. Sayo pulled out a piece of chicken and let the little dog grab it from out of her hand. She pet her furry head and looked across at Charlie. "Looks like it already passes the test for her."

As the meal went on, Sayo quickly got full from all the rice, beans, tortilla, and the other goodies. "So..." she started as she patted her lips with a napkin. "Did you ever bring your ex here?"

For a time, all was well in the world. Charlie didn't feel any worries or pressure from anything. He had Sayo and Angel with him, everything just felt very care free. He had been training again although hadn't had an official match since his PPV tag match debacle. He had recently done some voice work for a small game studio and gotten a bigger paycheck than he expected.

Charlie ate his burrito more slowly than usual, not wanting to look like too much of a pig in front of Sayo. "I never brought Talia here, no. This is where Alaina and I hung out a few times after she moved out to be with her now ex boyfriend." Charlie said with a pause. "Is it weird that my best friend is a female? There isn't anything between us despite what Talia thinks and says. Alaina has a new boyfriend now too." Charlie added in at the end, not entirely sure why. A lot of people cheated on their significant others. Still, Charlie never had and never would, same with Alaina.

"You are just so... amazingly awesome. I would never want to see this get messed up babe. I...." Charlie paused for what felt like forever, but was only a second. What came out next came out without any rational thought. It was just a reflection of feeling. "..love you."

Sayo nodded. She knew her question might have been a little bit of a downer...but she wanted to pry just a little to see how touchy it was for Charlie. She knew enough that he loved his ex. Maybe not anymore, but enough that it really hurt him when she left.

And she believed Charlie when he said there was nothing between him and Alaina. She'd met her a few times and although he certainly cared for her, he never seemed to show anything beyond that. Maybe sibling love, but not romantic.

But even still, his sudden profession caught her completely off guard.

Thankfully she wasn't chewing on anything as she swallowed instantly and harshly. There was a moment while she recovered her bearings and smiled warmly. Awkwardly, she reached over the table and held his hands. "I love you too."

Just in time for Christmas too.

Charlie took Sayo's hands and held them, smiling warmly at her. "What do you and Angel want to go do after we finish eating?" Charlie asked as he continued to hold Sayo's hands, and looking down at Angel for a brief second. Angel barked quietly and perked her ears up, wondering what they were off to do next. She didn't seem to have much preference.

Charlie looked back at Sayo's pretty eyes and wished he could simply sit back and stare into them forever. He knew that he made a good choice seeing Sayo and was forever thankful for Angel bringing them together. Charlie stood up slightly and leaned across the table, wanting to give Sayo a little kiss.