lovestruckletters | Space ghost coast to coast

[And close her eyes Maya does, standing straight and still and-- maybe peeking once or twice. She's excited, ok. Dandy could probably get a piece of trash from the yokai world and it'd be way more interesting than human trash, okay.]

Alriiiight, alright. Should I hold out my hands or something?

[Even with her eyes closed she's got that mischievous grin on, pulled slightly further to one side, trouble. And yet, she still has no idea.]

Nah, this is perfect. Just stand still for me.

[Dandy's way too excited, his little paw shaking as he finally reaches into his pocket to pull out his prize. It's still a leaf, but it's glorious golden leaf, no one could deny its superiority over the regular, boring GREEN leaf.

He's far too eager as his tail wags back and forth, placing his treasure on top of his head in utter glee. The transformation is near instant, surrounding him in a cloud of smoke that grows larger along with him. He can feel it, he can feel himself grow taller, and his grin is more mischievous than anything Maya can muster.

With nothing holding him back, he leans forward, placing his lips against hers like he's waited his whole afterlife to do this. Lips!! He has lips again! It makes the whole thing that much sweeter and he can't stop his cheeks from blushing up just a little. Like, how is she going to react to all this? We wanted it so badly, he never considered if she'd even like him this way. The idea causes his heart to race, but in a way that excites him. The anticipation of seeing what she does next makes this more fun than frightening, even if he could possibly lose his entire friendship in one quick kiss. It doesn't matter, not now, he'll worry about it later. Finally, finally he can express how he really feels.]

[Maya has no idea. Not the slightest inkling. All she has, for a moment, is the warmth of someone else's lips against hers and someone else's hands on hers. There's a moment where Maya doesn't react, doesn't question the warm softness, enjoys it even, she's always seen pretty lips and why are they on hers again? Oh yeah. Her eyes open and sure enough, someone is kissing her, huh?

...Wait, what?

Maya practically hiccups a gasp, pulling away to take in this stranger in front of her-- and all at once knowing who it is, who it has to be, not letting go of his hand with one of hers even as the other comes up to cover her mouth. Her mouth that... no longer works, apparently, as she keeps looking him up and down, red faced, mute.]

[It's hard to deny who this is with that pompadour. Not many people in the village choose to look this extra.

Dandy can't stop himself from grinning like an idiot, even if she's pushed away, he is so happy right now. He got to kiss her! And there wasn't any kind of horrible dolphin snout in the way!! It actually worked, he could just EXPLODE.]

Look!! Fingers!!

[He holds up his free hand and wiggles them around, like she should be just as excited about this as he is. BUT LOOK AT THEM!! He is SO happy to have fingers again!! Oh god, he can't wait to see his toes-]

[Even if Dandy hadn't proudly shown off a photo before and she hadn't seen Dandy's profiles while investigating his case with Nick, no one could deny that this pompadour sporting space case is Dandy, least of all not Maya. Her stomach does a strange swoop and she swallows, letting the hand that was over her mouth rest on her chest.

She does look at his fingers, looks at his face at his smile, feels that same weird swoop all over again. THAT'S weird. Gross. Maya blinks, wide-eyed, and--

Laughs.]

You-- jerk! What kind of prank is that?

[It's fine it's fine her face isn't red why focus on that when there's him, all shiny and human? She grasps the hand he's holding out, rubs the palm.]

Like the real deal! That's crazy!

[Oh... He wasn't expecting her to grab his palm like that, but it feels really nice. The way she explores every inch of his palm just makes it feel all the more real. It's real! He can barely contain himself, a part of him wasn't even sure this would work the way he wanted it to, but it's all exactly like he dreamed it would be!!

He doesn't even mind that she's calling him a jerk, that's just how good his mood is. He'll let it slide, for now.]

I know, right?! [He uses his other hand to tug on his ear, looks like that's real too. Honestly, he never thought he'd see the day where he'd get pumped over having human ears.] I'm buying SO many pairs of pants, ain't no one stoppin' Dandy now, baby!!

[And then he pauses. As excited as he is, he was kinda hoping for...more? Did Maya really think this was all some elaborate prank, didn't she realize he did this all for her? He figured one look and she'd be smooching him back in no time, but here she is, just...lookin' at his hand.

...She's not into him, that must be it. His heart sinks a little, the edge of his smile shrinking when the idea hits him, but he can't let that bring him down. He's celebrating, dammit! He'll just have to...celebrate a little differently than what he was hoping for.]

[She is just kind of touching his hand-- touching it and pressing her fingers into the warm living-like flesh and looking up at his face and immediately looking away several times. She doesn't realize why he's done this.]

Guess you finally got what you wanted, huh?

[It wouldn't be for her- why would it be? If it were something like that, she's missed a lot of cues (oh god, she's missed a lot of cues either way, hasn't she?) and-- and he'd always bragged about what a playboy he is, and why wouldn't he want to kiss a cute girl as soon as he could?

Urgh. That weird geeling tugs at her throat now, and she holds Dandy's hand captive between both of hers, lowering is so she can swing their hands, holding tight. He's still her best friend, and she's happy for him! And maybe likes having a hand of his to hold. His fingers are long and slender and maybe might even lock well with hers.]

I kinda forgot what you looked like before.

[She...forgot? How could she forget such a beautiful face? It only reinforces his idea that she's really not that into him, there's no way she'd just FORGET he's one good lookin' guy.

...Which totally means she always saw him as that cute puppy thing. Ouch.]

I mean, what I really want is to stop being a dead guy, but this'll do for now.

[It's still a disguise, and even if it's a good disguise, he can already feel the strain on his body. It's like the magic is streeeeetching him out and it's only a matter of time before he needs to snap back.

Not that he's willing to admit that, not even to himself. Dandy wants this for however long he can push it and that surely won't backfire on him. After all, he can't lace his fingers in between hers, like he starts to do now, with little puppy paws.]

[Maya stares at their hands-- lets one of hers go so they can just link, palm to palm. That's a nice feeling, one she doesn't get often, fluttery and sparkly just like that kiss.
...She really can't stop thinking about that kiss.]

Well, it's pretty convincing.

[She puts that free hand on her hip, always ready to jump back into teasing. It's so much easier than doing anything with those fluttering feelings caused by a dead guy whose attention she enjoys. She pairs a little smirk with it all-- she's totally normal, see?]

And pretty cute. I guess I can see why you'd miss it.

[Oh hey, there it is, a compliment. A compliment that throws Dandy off completely and he can only stare at her like a deer in headlights. It shakes him from his usual confidence, if he was still put together, he'd totally play it up.

Instead, he only says one word.]

Yeah?

[And there again that swooping feeling comes again like she's on some invisible roller coaster. That look... On that face! Maya- grins, pushes her hair away (from nothing, it was never in the way in the first place and her hand still makes the motions) and looks away-- looks back, smiles. Looks Dandy up and down, eyes lingering on those warm lips.

He looks good gobbsmacked. She's not entirely sure why that knowledge thrills her yet but it's not a bad feeling at all.]

Yeah. Who knew, huh?

[Her fingers, locked with his, give Dandy's hand a squeeze.]

You look more surprised than I do.

[His eyes flutter a few times, she just confirmed it. Maybe... maybe there's hope for him just yet.

"You look more surprised than I do."

Oh shit, she's right, he- C'mon, Dandy, get back in the game!! For crying out loud, he has that girl's hand wrapped around his!]

Heh...

[His attempt to sound like he has this all under control could be...better, it's definitely not as strong or as cocky of a "heh" as he'd like it to be. Look at her, the way she can't even look at him, that classic shyness. It's exactly what his ego craves, but at the same time, it's him who feels his stomach turn into knots. What sort of spell did she place under him, it's gotta be a medium thing.]

So how about it? Wanna test out this body and go out for a night on the town? [Can't believe he's finally getting to ask this girl out- How long has it been since he went on a real date?] I'm not sure if I could handle being out there all on my own~

Well, someone's gotta keep you out of trouble.

[She is still holding his hand. And she's not actually sure when you're supposed to let go of someone's hand when you've been holding it, either. Is it a time thing? Comfort? It doesn't seem so bad yet, and so she doesn't let go yet.]

But that's the whole point, right? Incognito with humans!

Under cover Secret Agent Yokai Dandy.

[It's not much of a human disguise if he can't blend in!!!]

[If she's not willing to let go, he's not either. He loves the way his hand feels against hers, his human hand. If he could just sit there and be reminded of that fact forever, he would.

Alas, he just made plans.]

Great, it's a date! You...wanna slip into something else, or is that the best outfit you got?

[Dandy is, of course, going with his classic look, the same look he...definitely died in. He never really...did consider the consequences of making his human disguise look...exactly like he did when he was alive. Why...why would he ever want to be anyone else? You don't fix what's not broken, after all. It's not like people freak out over seeing dead people or anything.]

[As smart as Maya can be elsewhere, she's thick as a brick in this whole affections department. She does, however, catch something else- that's how Dandy looked in his crime scene photos and earlier profiles.]

You're... Going out like that?

[She asks, pointing at him with her free hand.

If she wasn't so thick, she might have asked if he meant it, like a date, like an I-have-feelings-for-you-date, but she doesn't. It's a date could mean something friendly!!!

...she'll start putting together some clues shortly. Just give the girl a minute.]

[He BRISTLES.]

Of course- What the hell is that supposed to mean?! Duh, I'm going out like this, I got the damn thing so I could in the first place!!

[Of course he misses the point, he's as thick as a brick all the time. So...what?? She DOESN'T want to go out on a date with him?! Just wants to tote him around like a stuffed animal, he sees how it is. Dandy the pet. Wow. Just wow.]

[She both is and isn't expecting his bristling, and only backs away a little tiiiny bit.]

But-- what if someone sees you? You're a dead guy. Whose death was in the newspaper?

[Dying in a public place like a dolphin tank a will do that to you.]

[Oh... He didn't mean to scare her. Dandy's so used to being small and adorable, he forgot he could be scary in the first place. So he deflates, and only deflates more when she makes an incredibly good point.]

Sorry... My bad...

[Still, what's the point of having a signature look if you can't flaunt it around?!]

But, like, what else can I do...?

[Maya watches Dandy, thinking to herself- until she lights up again with an answer. She seems assuaged by Dandy's apology, not a sign of fear remaining. She's just easily spooked!]

Then-- you need another disguise! Like a human one. A new wardrobe!

[She stops, looking Dandy over again.]

And maybe a hat

[Well now it's his turn to be spooked, because there's a look of horror on Dandy's face the moment she says only the most evil word he can think of.

Hat.

His hands begin to shield his pompadour protectively, like she's ready to chop the damn thing off completely.]

Do I look like he kinda asshole who goes around wearin' hats?!

Well, no!!

But that's the point of a disguise, isn't it?

[She looks determined to defend this point, at least.]

Not looking like you!

[W-Well, yes, that is true, but the whole point of being human again was that he WANTED to look like him...

Dandy begins to sweat the more Maya starts to make sense.]

Yeah, well...how the hell am I supposed to get new clothes if I can't go out to get 'em in the first place?

AH--!

--Yeah, I didn't think about that part, actually.

[Now she looks stumped, too.]

I guess.... you could just wear your hair down, right?

[A harmless suggestion?]

[Harmless indeed.]

............down?

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