Tell me, what is it you plan to do with
your one wild and precious life?

                                                                                                 
                                                                                          —Mary Oliver, The Summer Day

Nene strolled along the Las Vegas Riverwalk, allowing herself to bask in the presence of Yoko and her soothing spirit. They were both out of the office now. Evening had arrived so they decided to use the time to take a walk together. Their steps were varying in speed every few minutes, uncontrolled and they both looked tired from the day's activities. Nene walked like someone who'd just finished a relentless amount of footwork on an investigation scene. As for Yoko, she wasn't walking, rather she was gliding across the boardwalk. Her footsteps were making no sounds at all. Work was such a chaotic place, at least here they could stare down at the riverbed and even admire the stars that were above their head right that second. Nene and Yoko reached the bridge and they both stood there for a good few minutes to appreciate their surroundings. Nene rested her elbows on the bridge's flat surface and looked up at the evening sky.

"You have something on your mind?" Yoko glanced at Nene, before going back to admire a frog that had just landed on a leaf in the river. Yoko started to smile, but it dived into the water again and she frowned. She turned her attention back to Nene, feeling hopeless that the frog would come back up again. "Now that you ask, I'm trying to figure out how many stars are in the sky right now," Nene replied. Yoko was expecting a different answer, but for the sake of keeping the peace of mind, she nodded and went along with the conversation. She replied back to Nene in a playful voice, "I think we'd be here all night if we tried doing that." Nene nodded in approval. Of course it would. Too many stars in the sky to keep count. Just like issues of today. Too many problems in the world to keep track of. Who knew that going to a beautiful and well maintained riverwalk would be such a rewarding experience for those burdened with the sins of the world they lived in? 

Nene shrugged and threw a wary look at Yoko. "Yeah. Better than being out there, though."

"Out where?" 

"Out there. The bloodshed. The agony after losing a loved one. The tears. The words being said at a funeral."

Nene's expression held Yoko's own expression with a cold and distant caress. It was the first time in a long time where Nene had to see another war go on between the families. It was inevitable in this kind of life that Nene chose for herself, but even so, she is a human still with feelings, not trained enough yet to benumb herself of the seven deadly sins of this world. Yoko looked out at the river, her eyes growing tired. "Is this why you dragged me all the way out there?"

Nene raised an eyebrow and said, "hey, for the record - you wanted to come too." Her lips formed into a pout. "And yes fine, I just wanted to get away from it all." 

Nene was young, still new to the casualties and consequences that would result from being involved in the mafia. It was all business though, nothing personal right? "I never knew you to be so afraid of death." Yoko interrupted her train of thought and for a second looked at her, baffled by what Nene just said. First time in a while that Nene had expressed herself like this. Nene usually put up a wall around her. "Oh, I'm not afraid. Not at all. Just a lot of emotions running on my mind," Nene clarified. Her voice was low and her frown less concealed now. A hand touched the back of Nene's. "You're stronger than this, you know that? I know you are." In times like these, it was good that Yoko was always around. Nene was an impulsive son of a gal, who knew what she'd go end up doing. A long silence passed between them before Nene spoke up again. Her elbow was still resting on the bridge, but now she was resting her chin in the palm of her hand, body slightly bent forward. 

"Yoko?" 

"Yep?" Yoko took out a cigarette from her front pocket. Luckily, Nene was there with a lighter and she lit it for her. Yoko wasn't a smoker much, but it was starting to get cold now and she needed something to burn her throat and make it warm. On another note, curiosity about Yoko's love life randomly grew in Nene's mind. Nene quickly put the lighter back in her jacket. "Quick change of subject, but... Why haven't you settled down yet? All these years of knowing you and you've never opened up to me about your love life." 

"Uh... Hah, you mean my non existent love life?"

Nene's shoulders sagged hopelessly. "I'm trying to be serious here."

"Okay. Fine. Well to be quite frank with you, I don't think I've ever had the pleasure of feeling any romantic feelings for anyone. Or sexual desires for that matter. Weird, right?" Yoko let out a stream of smoke. Nene did that thing where she looked at her with wide eyes and where her jaw was almost touching the floor. "Wait, what? So you're aro?" To be fair, Nene had never really bothered to ask. Rather, she was waiting for Yoko to one day knock on her office and surprise her with a new hubby. Or something like that. She definitely flipped the script on this one. 

"Yep." Yoko replied bluntly, before taking another drag of her cigarette. She didn't want it anymore, so she dropped it on the floor and squished it with her heel. 

"Interesting... Guess I learn something everyday. But ya know... You don't have to be aro forever. You never know, maybe somewhere down the line... You will change your mind. When you meet the one." 

Yoko yawned and put a hand over her mouth. "Yeah, about that.. I'm not getting my hopes up." 

Nene was nosy, but most of all... corny. She couldn't help it and said to her in her usual cutesie voice, "in all seriousness though, I want to see you with someone one day. Someone that makes you happy, someone that makes you feel like the only girl in the world, someone who is like a tall glass of lemonade on a hot summer day."

Yoko snorted. "I appreciate the sentiment, girl."

Even though she kept on denying the inevitable concept of change, Yoko knew... Nene was right. She probably won't be aro later. It's not like what happens now will stay. Unless the Gods of this world really don't want Yoko to find her soulmate. 

"And today's life lesson is..." Nene put a hand to her chin, thinking. 

"Is what?"

"Put yourself out there, take risks, allow yourself to go past your comfort zone... So when you're all old and wrinkly you can look back and feel satisfied with what you've achieved in life. We only have one. Cats have nine. Ugh. Jealous of those furry critters." 

"Mhm. Kay." 

The conversation ended abruptly, with both of them drifting off into their own world and thinking about the days ahead of them. Nene thought to herself, even with all the events that just had happened... There is something about it that makes Nene feel whole at the end of the day. Maybe it is the fact that she is reminded that she is still human. She is still here. She can still feel pain. It's a bittersweet thing. 

Yoko was almost falling asleep and Nene noticed. It was getting pretty dark. Nene cut her thoughts short and smiled towards her. "Icecream? There's a place down the street called Sweet Joyri."

A smile was plastered on Yoko's face as she looked up at Nene. 

"Now that is an offer I can't deny."

After thirty or so minutes of discussion, Nene finally stood up from her seat and gave a short nod to Ambrocio. They were both going over the security measures and contingency plans for their latest client. On top of The Serpent Sisterhood, they also had a bunch of other people to deal with. Nene was known to always want to be on top of her game. At first, people may not see her as the responsible or prepared type, but hey... She had her good days. There's a reason why she's the best, right? Nene smiled towards Ambrocio and asked, "is that all for today?" Her question earned a definite nod from Ambrocio after he scanned the list of things to discuss down on his notepad. He took a few seconds before answering. "Errr, yep. That's everything done and dusted on my agenda for this meeting. Touch base again tomorrow morning?" The office was alot less dingy today. No offence to Yoko, but maybe it was because she wasn't here this morning. Plus, it's not like Yoko wouldn't have accepted a day off from work. She wouldn't have stand a chance if she clocked in today. She needed her hangover cure so she was at home. 

Ambrocio and Nene understood. They always do. 

Nene smiled at his question. "As we always do. Thanks Amb. I think I'm going to grab something to eat." Ambrocio walked out of the office with Nene, who slung her jacket around her arm. It was a nice day today so no need for her coat. She did want to bring it though just in case. "Ah, lunch break.. Yes. Mind if I join you?" He asked her kindly as they both reached the elevator. The elevator made the DING! sound and they both stepped foot inside before Nene pressed the ground level button. She turned to Ambrocio, smiling. "Why not? I could use some company." This made Ambrocio happy inside. It had been quite some time since he and Nene had spent some quality time together. The significant increase in clients and the high demand for better quality services definitely left them both with no time. But now finally, it was lunch break and they could hang out. 

"Great." Ambrocio replied. 

The doors of the elevator slid open, and the both of them stepped out. The place she liked to go to for lunch breaks was literally just a ten minute walk, so she continued along the path beside Ambrocio. She looked at him. She smiled. "Do you like burgers and fries?" Ambrocio shook his head and laughed. He had brought his own lunch, not intending to use his money for takeaway when he could just make something way healthier at home and pack it for work. It saved a lot of money. Just in the last month, he had pretty much spent most of his earnings on food. A man like him and with all the responsibilities he has to keep up with, is bound to get hungry 24/7. "I brought my own lunch. I just meant if I could come and eat with you." That explained why he was carrying a Tupperware container. She glanced at it and questioned, "oh, right. What are you having for lunch?" 

"Sushi." He said. 

They both turned a corner and found themselves in front of the place Nene would usually find herself at on a lunch break. She stopped in front of the entrance before turning to him and smiling. "Woah. He's boujee or whateva." Ambrocio had a smug smile. "You know it." Then they entered the vicinity where people were drinking, laughing and eating. Nene loved diners. Such a comfortable atmosphere. The only reason why there'd be any silence in this place is because people were busy enjoying their food too much. She took a seat at her usual table and Ambrocio followed her. He spoke again. "By the way... Where is Yoko at?" 

"She had to run somewhere, unfortunately. Got caught up with something back at home." Nene frowned. A concerned look was plastered on Ambrocio's face. "What? What happened?"

"I think her brother caught a bad cold. I feel so bad." Nene said as she caught the attention of a waitress. A woman with thick framed glasses and a cute bob approached the pair with a handy dandy notebook in hand. She took both of their orders, smiled and went away. The conversation resumed. Ambrocio looked around, before he said, "ah. That's unfortunate. So it's just me and you in the office today, huh?" It wasn't that bad. They did good at taking care of the office when Yoko was absent, anyway. The waitress from before finally came back and hastily placed Nene's order in front of her. Nene thanked her with a smile. "Hah, yeah probably." She replied back to Ambrocio. He looked down at her order as he took some chopsticks between his fingers and used it to pick up a sushi roll from his lunchbox. "Burgers and fries, huh? I swear that's all you eat and you're still the size of an ant."

"You don't know my secrets, young one."

Nene took the metal fork that was beside her plate and stuck it into a french fry. "Double cheeseburger with sweet potato fries on the side are my absolute faVOURITE." 

Ambrocio ate, but it didn't seem to satisfy his appetite. "My sushi just sounds plain and boring now."

"Next time I'll treat ya to this. Eat your sushi."

He shrugged, smiling. "Will do."