Mercy On My Soul

Clyde frowned a bit in disappointment when Mercy smacked his hand away and wiped the tears away herself, telling him to shut up with all 'that' crap that he was telling her. He could only sigh after all that, he was so tense right now and was afraid he was screwing this up. Why else would she be like this with him now?

But Clyde's mood perked up when Mercy smiled pleasantly at him, looked him in the eye and thanked him for the gifts. He smiled back at her. "My pleasure, Ms. Mercy." He told her with slightly reddened cheeks before watching her do an adorable cute half spin. That was certainty new for him to see, part of that whole happier and lively Mercy that Clyde liked to see, but never before had he seen her do something like that, considering how uptight she often got. He'd have to try and bring out more of that Mercy if he could. Maybe that was the real her.

"Huh? Oh! Uh... A-A'ight." Clyde let out as Mercy told him to have a seat and that she would repay him someway. Well that certainty a good sign. He sat down and his lips formed a wide and pleasant smile. that might have been a good sign. He was going to suggest dinner and a movie or maybe... Ice Skating? But he decided to leave it to her and proceeded to quickly sit down like a well behaved and reformed delinquent.

He's brows raised as Mercy asked him to be honest with her. "Hm?" He let out before he heard her question that made him chuckle slightly, especially when she smiled at him.

"None! 'Cause you're damn well the only woman who's got me by the balls and havin' me think about her every damn night for what reason I sure as hell ain't figured out yet! ...Well you and the crazy cheerleader who's prolly out huntin' my ass down in Kyoto. Ugh..." Thought Clyde to himself. He really hoped Lilly would just get over their little encounter and move on to some other poor soul.

"Weeelll... I don't mean to brag buut...Just you, Ms. Mercy." He replied in a lighthearted manner.

Mercy let him speak, clacking away at the computer until she felt the silence was just about to get awkward. Her fingers didn't even break stride as she began to talk. "Anyone who starts out a sentence with, 'I don't mean to brag' definitely means to brag, Mr. Gastin." She said and turned her head enough to throw him a sly smile. "What, exactly, are you bragging about?" She said, knowing she had him in a nice little trap.

"That you're lonely and desperate on Christmas Eve or you think you might have found the one girl in Tokyo who could be that? I don't think I like either of those choices very much." She stood up and adjusted her glasses before sliding over tot he bar.

"I hope you've been laying off the booze." She said in a serious manner, suddenly. "But I think that for tonight it wouldn't be bad to have a little bit of this egg nog. It's really good and Rally will just let it spoil..." She said as she wrinkled her nose at the thought. She pulled two glasses out of the bar and poured a half glass for each of them. She then handed one to Clyde.

She looked him over and then closed her eyes. Her stomach tensed up a little bit but she tried to ignore it. She opened her eyes and held out her glass. "Merry Christmas, Clyde." She said and then took a prissy sip of nog.

She licked her lips and nodded. It did taste good. She then slid back to the desk and plopped down in her seat. She folded hands and pushed her chin onto it. "She blew a stray lock of hair out of her face and then looked at Clyde. "I don't really want to finish this." She said and then looked back, shrugging it off and typing even faster than before. "There are shops still open." She said. "Just some restaurants and bars. I haven't really eaten in a while. I'm sort of hungry. And... uh..." She said and looked at him quickly. "No offense, but I think I'll pass on the bar..." She said. She definitely wasn't looking for a repeat of last time.

She shifted so she was slumped n the chair, her arms dangling off on either side. "Stupid Tokyo..." She muttered and looked up at the ceiling. "I guess we could go to Harajuku or something." She said, looking up at the ceiling. She then stretched and straightened out, letting out a cute squeak before she put all the paper work in its place and shut off the computer.

She then turned and looked at Clyde. "How does that sound?" She said matter-of-factly.

Clyde sat fidgeting with his hands there during that awkward little moment until Mercy finally responded. It got him wondering if he said something dumb. "...I know. That's why I said it." He responded to her in a slightly cocky manner that faded as she asked what he was bragging about, his eyebrows raised and he heard her speak, her words cut him down, he felt his stomach sink as she took his words in a different direction and commented on his loneliness and supposed desperation... Or that he was visiting Mercy because he thought she was that way. Clyde frowned immediately.

"Bragging that I'm gonna go see a pretty pink haired young lady that's been on ma' mind for a long while." He told her factually with a slight hint of attitude. He was about to start blabbing about he managed to resist Lilly because he wasn't desperate enough to enslave himself. That being said, it was a story probably best not sharing. Even if Mercy was the one and only reason Clyde resisted having sex with Lilly.

Clyde turned his head and sunk his chair when Mercy asked about his drinking habits. He got the same way when his mom asked him if he had been smoking. He didn't know why it was such a big deal anyway, he got drunk a lot, big deal? Why was it even a big deal to her? He remembered Heather getting the same damn way. He needed to drink sometimes, people never understood that.
"I have." He lied. He wasn't drinking before matches anyway, just afterwards, helped deal with pain sometimes. Physical pain and The other kind. He got a little excited to have some egg nog though, he had it before and it was decent, so he took one of the glasses from Mercy when she offered it. "Thank you'." He responded courteously. "Joyeux Noël." He responded casually with a twangy version of the french language from his Cajun roots.

Clyde hesitated for a sec, he might have downed the whole thing if he didn't stop himself, so He took a decent sip but didn't try to down the whole thing. He knew he wasn't going to get drunk on just that half glass but he promised himself no booze while with Mercy. "Ahh. Dang, that's good." He commented with a light laugh before he titled his head at Mercy curiously.

"Shops? Why shops? I just got ya' hundred dollar headphones..." Clyde thought. What else could she possibly want? He then heard her speak of restaurants and bars and her reluctance to have the latter. Clyde honestly didn't want Mercy drunk either, if getting her drunk was the only way she could get intimate with him then Clyde was wasting his time. That would be a big kick to the esteem too, that you're only wanted when someone is drunk.

"Uh... None taken Ms. Mercy. I actually ain't really up touchin' too much liquor tonight. I was honestly hopin' you'd let me take ya' out to dinner though." He'd say cheerfully after slicking his hair back, which fell forward immediately. He promised he wasn't drinking as long as he was with Mercy tonight. God forbid if he fucked up, a bar called The Bitter End was waiting for him. Same place he met Taylor. Same place he went after Mercy told him to get lost. His heard turned when he heard that cute little squeak from Mercy as she stretched out, Clyde's face reddened a bit. "Goddammit she's really really cute when she does that!" Clyde exclaimed from within but remained very collected on the outside.

He picked his head up when Mercy turned to him about going to Harajuku. Was that a district in Tokyo? Or a special kind of restaurant? "Sounds great! I'd love ta' accompany ya' and stuff." Of course it sounded great, He was going to finally spend some real time with her. "That a District or somethin'?" He asked curiously as he rose from his chair and held out his hand to her with an innocent smile that was quite genuine and only wanted to lead her out of the place like a real gent. At least that's what Clyde figured. He was new to this.

Mercy raised an eyebrow at Clyde's words. Well, he couldn't really expect him to know what was what in Tokyo. The only reason SHE knew was because that was just how she was. She, of course, knew where all the trendy spots and shopping districts were. She had plotted all that out when she had arrived. Even if she wasn't rich enough to spend wantonly, she still loved window shopping and people watching.

"Mercy nodded at Clyde. "Yes. It's a shopping district. One of the most famous in the world... Gwen Stefani wrote a song about it." Mercy turned her head. Not that she expected him to know that or that she was particularly proud that she new. But a lot of her paralegal friends liked it so she tried to keep up with some of the trendier music even if it wasn't necessarily her thing. "That's where those Ganguros go as well..." Mercy wrinkled her brow. "A-Anyway, yeah. There's lots of stuff and people there! Let me get my coat!' She said and ushered Clyde out of Rally's office.

"I'll leave the headphones here. I don't want to have to lug them around. The ipod I will bring with me." She said grinning. I will want to switch all my music over right away!" She really was excited about it as she stuffed it into her suit coat pocket. When she came out, she locked Rally's door and then went over to her coat rack and began slipping n her winter gear. First she slipped a pink scarf around her neck and then fitted the rest on. A wool knit salt and pepper colored beanie with matching gloves and a wool jacket that came down past her knees.

Whens he was finished, she turned and looked at Clyde and smiled. "Are you ready?" She asked, rubbing her hands together as she stepped out to let Clyde out so she could lock the door to the office. After that, it would just be a short cab ride to Harajuku!

"You mean the chick from No Doubt?" Said Clyde with a grin a curious tilt of his head as he was more interested in Gwen and No Doubt than one of the most famous shopping districts in the world that was often occupied by: "Gangawhata?" He thought with a raised eyebrow before Mercy ushered him out after declaring that she needed to get her coat.

"G-Great! Really glad ya' like that." Clyde stated while smiling pleasantly at Mercy's joy and enthusiasm regarding the gift. It made Clyde happy to see her smiling and so laid back, not stressing out or being so uptight. Taylor may have been right yet again, maybe Mercy did need someone who could get her to have fun and ease up. Dang that punk yet again.

While Clyde mulled over his conversations with the wise but foolishly retired, loudmouth girl with blue hair, he waited patiently for Mercy as she locked Rally's door and got her coat, a scarf that complemented her hair and a beanie that seemed to aid Mercy's cute factor as she put it on. "Yep!" He responded to her in an enthusiastic and pleasant manner while smiling back and stepping out into the hallway with her, letting Mercy lock the door to the office. Truth be told he wasn't too thrilled about shopping, it was boring. Rather, Clyde was more excited at being able to spend his evening with Mercy instead. Shopping didn't sound so bad now.

"So I know ya like Music a lot... But what kind'a music do ya like the most? ...You like Gwen Stefani?" He asked her casually while trying to extend his arm, hoping she'd take it and allow him to escort her. Regardless if she did, Clyde would walk with her to the elevator in front of that guy from before, whom Clyde would greet again as he raised his head at him to give him a silent. 'sup.' From there, if the guy wasn't doing it, Clyde would push 1 to take them to ground level.

"Yeah..." Mercy said raising an eyebrow. That girl had moved on past that band, hadn't she? She shrugged and only spared a glance at Clyde's arm, ignoring it and continuing on as they slid into the elevator where the guard pushed the button, remaining stoic as the two chatted. "She's ok, I guess... That stuff is ... alright..." She added. She then raised her eyes up at Clyde when she asked what kind of music she liked. "Trance." She said with absolute conviction. "Techno otherwise. I mean... I like some other stuff, but mostly trance. I like music that I can get lost in. And if I need to concentrate on something else, I can still do it. If I want to dance or really groove, then I can do that too!" She grinned sheepishly as her eyes bulged with excitement. "It's the perfect music!" She said gripping her fists close to her chest.

When the door opened to the lobby, Mercy put her hand against Clyde's chest to keep him from moving forward. She then looked at the guard and thanked him and said that she just needed a second and everything would be fine. He nodded and went back to his post as Mercy pushed the closed elevator button and the doors swung shut.

Mercy then turned and faced Clyde, putting both of her hands on either wide of his arms and holding him at length. "Clyde, listen..." She said in a tone that was soft, yet serious. "You're trying waaaay to hard. I know, you like me or..." She blushed. "Or... whatever. I can't blame you." She said turning her eyes as she let her ego inflate a little bit. "But.. all the cheesy stuff.. It's really a turn off... You just need to be yourself and act ... normal." She smiled a bit. "If that's possible!" She teased and let go.

"You're a nice guy and all. I guess..." She forced herself to admit it begrudgingly. "But I wasn't really looking for... something... and I still don't know if I am. And I don't know if you're that guy, even IF I am. But..." She smiled and looked at him. "I'm not really going anywhere, ok?" She said sincerely.

Mercy then turned and looked at him coyly, running her fingers up and brushing away her pink hair as she turned and strode out from the elevator. "C'mon! We have to get to Harajuku before the shops close!" She said without turning her back as she marched towards the lobby, intent on hailing a cab.

Clyde frowned when Mercy glanced at his arm and just ignored him. Making him sigh with some defeat as Mercy moved into the elevator, he managed to keep himself in good spirits though as the night was still young! Even if it did a feel a tad chilly now.

"Ah, Trance." Clyde said while he stroked his chin like he knew what Mercy was talking about. He didn't listen to Techno really but he knew what it was, but didn't really know much about trance. "Ain't Trance and Techno the same thing?" Clyde asked himself. It was all electronic in Clyde's eyes but Mercy made it sound like they were 2 different things, maybe they were. Still he found her enthusiasm and excitement in talking about her music choice and how much she enjoyed to be very, very cute. The way her eyes got while she held her fists close to her chest and grinned was just adorable. She probably had no idea how hooked she had him.

When the elevator door opened, Clyde blinked as he was stopped by Mercy and watched her politely dismiss the guard. Clyde looked on with confusion as the guard left and Mercy had the doors close on them. His eyes perked up and his heart beat a bit faster when Mercy grabbed his arms and told him to listen in a soft yet serious tone, telling him that he was trying way too hard and that she knew he liked her... Before going on to state that she couldn't blame him. Clyde huffed with amusement after hearing that. Sounded like something he'd say as a bad joke. His eyes would shift from Mercy as he nodded in agreement that the cheesy stuff was a turn off for her. But he wasn't sure if being himself and acting normal was something she'd even like, let alone good enough. His mood lightened up though at her joke and he smiled back a her warmly.

He listened to her state she wasn't really looking for something and didn't know if she still was or if he was That Guy even if she could be That Girl. Regardless it was hard for Clyde to feel hopeless as Mercy smiled at him and told him she wasn't going anywhere. He knew he had been really uptight, nervous and trying too hard to be Casanova. He felt if he wasn't better than his best he'd have no chance with her. But maybe he really did just need to act normal and above all to take things slow and steady instead.

He smiled warmly as she gave him that coy look before she brushed away her hair and turned to leave the elevator. Clyde was standing there playing back that hot little maneuver in his head for a minute before he heard Mercy bring him back down to earth. "Huh!? Oh! Yeah, right!" He said before darting out off elevator to catch up with Mercy in the lobby and follow her out of the massive headquarters.

Mercy walked with Clyde out of the big lobby and stepped out to the chilly cold and shivered. She rubbed her sides and then hailed a taxi She slid inside and told the cab driver where to go. As the car sputtered off, she leaned back and closed her eyes. She turned up the [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-c5Evu8zlOI:15we45bq]music that was playing[/url:15we45bq] just loud enough so that if Clyde said something, as long as he didn't mumble, she would hear it. Other than that, she just wanted to relax and enjoy the ride.

It wouldn't be too long before they reached Harajuku and Mercy turned down her headphones and turned to look at Clyde. "So...." She began in a soft tone. "What do you want for Christmas?" She asked. "It's not like I have anyone who can help me out,so it will just have to be like this." She added matter-of-factly.

When Clyde saw Mercy shiver, he was quick to think about offering her his coat to keep her warm, but he hesitated on being cheesy again, that and Mercy was quick to call for a cab. She really needed something thicker if her jacket wasn't keeping her warm enough. Either way Clyde slid inside the cab next to Mercy and eased into his seat, hands behind his head as he let the car take them to Harajuku.

He day dreamed briefly over the night's outing before he heard Mercy speak, he picked up his head and looked to her right as she asked her question. Clyde blinked immediately, of course he wanted to say he wanted Mercy for Christmas, it was true after all, but he kept that cheesy little statement to himself.

"I Uh... Honestly don't know. I ain't really thought about it 'till now. I've never really been too picky about things either." He told her with a light shrug and pleasant smile before his eyes narrowed at her slyly. "...So, Is this why we're coming to Japan's most famous Shopping District?" He asked while giving her a curious look.

"Uh, yeahhh." Mercy said frowning a bit. "I told you that I was going to get you something because you got me something." She turned her head and looked out the window. She wrinkled her nose as her breath fogged up the window and she turned up the volume again, this time to keep Clyde's words out of her ears. She brought up her hand and wiped the fog away as they entered Harajuku and she stepped out of the cab after paying and thanking the cab driver.

Once she was out of the cab, she turned her music down and looked at Clyde. "If you don't have any good ideas, then I'll have to think of something on my own and I don't know if I can guarantee that our tastes will match up." She said smiling at Clyde as she held out her hand for him to take so that she could cross with him into the district and get to all the shopping centers. Once they were a little ways down the streets and Mercy had a good idea of where she was at, she would let go of his hand and pull her hands close to her chest, holding onto her jacket. "If you don't pick something soon, then you will be out of luck." She said. "But, don't worry. I will definitely love the gift I get you." She said with a slight tease.