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Damn. That girl could speed walk like a ******** champ! And all while eating. If not for the emotional severity of the situation Lesely probably would have been impressed. Right that moment though, he jut wanted her to slow down so he could talk to her. She finally did so just outside the carnival construction zone. Stopping with her back to him, and allowed him to catch up. "Why'd you run off like that?" It probably could have been eased into in a much more subtle fashion, but he'd been playing subtle all day. and that wasn't getting him anywhere.

"Look, if I'm being too forward I can stop." Because of course the idea that maybe he'd done or said something over the line had sprung into his head as she was storming off. "I don't really know what I did to cause you to run off like that, but I'm sorry." He moved slowly up behind her until he could lay a hand on her shoulder.

He sounded a little like a kicked puppy, and not at all like his usual charming self. It was clear he was really bothered by the idea that the woman was upset with him.

"Can you put the potato salad down so we can talk, please?" Was that a bit of in his voice? He was actually reaching for the plate, and would put it aside himself if she didn't do so first.

She let him take the potatoes, so he set them on a bench just off from the path, hazel eyes watching as her shoulders slumped before she looked up towards the still ferris wheel. Certainly he would have preferred if she had faced him, but it was obvious they had tread into awkward territory, and not everyone was as comfortable with discussing things of such a sensitive nature. So he let her talk, and he didn't try to touch her again.

It should be noted though, that her request for him to relax had nearly the opposite effect.

When she was finished, he moved to the side so he could see her profile, head tilting in a bid to catch her eye, and couldn't help but smile as she asked for the potato salad back, despite the so serious nature of their conversation.

She was jut going to have to wait to finish stuffing her face though. "It was never really just joking with you, Mel." He rolled his shoulders, rocking back on his heels before slipping around until he was facing her. Assuming, of course, that she wasn't also moving to keep from looking him in the face. He frowned thoughtfully, fingers flexing in his pockets. "Do you want me to stop?" She was right, they had been flirting with each other since day on on the island, and though he would have always loved it if things could have progressed, he'd never really been anything but subtle. Now, he was trying to maybe taking things further, but really, it was up to her. "I can understand if you're not interested, I just kind of thought.." Maybe it had all been joking on her end.

Well this was going well..

With every word she spoke the humor in his features drained a little more until he was left with a confused, defensive frown. His brows lowering to pinch about his nose as his shoulder tightened with tension. How the hell had their day gone from her being eternally grateful for him and his help, to him now standing htere, being compared to woman, and insulted. He honestly had no idea.

Of course even in her angry, the act of blowing her bangs from her eyes was still cute as ********. No amount of sarcasm or bite could really do much to decrease for Melanie's attractiveness.

Wait. What was she saying now? He blinked at her, the sullen look fading as he realized she'd gone from yelling at him and telling him to leave to admitting that she didn't want him to leave, and had a lasting desire to jump his bones. Well that was certainly better.

Without out pausing to think he withdrew his hands from his pockets to catch her cheeks, ducking his head so he could press his lips to her's in a firm, though relatively chaste kiss.

It was probably for the best that she hadn't gotten to carry on with her rant. It had the feel of something that could have drastically changed the dynamic of their relationship beyond any kind of repair. Granted, it wasn't entirely clear until she'd melted against him that things weren't just going to crumple around them. The idea of losing her friendship on top of loosing the chance for things to maybe things to get a little more serious, didn't bare thinking about.

As if with her pressed against him there was any room for thinking. Her hands came to rest against his chest, and he let his hands fall from her cheeks so his fingers could trail along her arms before coming to rest at the small of her back.

There was a brief pause in the kiss and Mel's voice came in a murmur against his lips. It made him smile, breath leaving in something close to a chuckle before he gave her a quick peck. "That's my call." Then he was bumping his nose to her's, head tilting so he could catch her mouth once again, lips parting to make the kiss more.

He grinned down at her, leaning just those few inches forward so their foreheads could touch and he felt her bangs tickling along his cheeks. "I thought so."

So that was it. The catalyst that forced their dorky, playfully flirtatious relationship into something New, something more, but not altogether different. There would still be laughing. There would most assuredly still be jokes. He knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he'd still get pelted by the occasional piece of produce in the cafeteria. It had taken a little bit, admittedly, for him to realize that those little bits and pieces of his day were the things he looked forward to.

Now though, there would be so much more to look forward too.

Like that smile. That lop-sided, all too goofy grin that was now directed up at him. He smirked back down at her, and those hazel eyes took on a distinctly playful shine. "Well, now that we've cleared that up. If you're still hungry," he twitched his head in the direction of the plate. "I would hate to see you starve." In the seriousness of the situation leading up to this moment he hadn't realized just how mountainous a pile she'd loaded onto her plate. He held her against him, snickering softly as he nuzzled his subtly stubbled cheek against her own.

"Did you save any for the rest of the guests?" The last was whispered beside her ear.

He liked the implications that rang through her voice. He liked them a lot.

Laughing, he slid his hands up her back, fingertips kneading gently along her shoulder blades. "Not at all territorial, are we?" He brushed his lips against the lob of her ear, then slid back so he could look down at her again, catching the tail end of that almost feral grin. It sparked an answering baring of teeth from the lab tech before he let out a heavy, content sigh.

It was nice, being able to touch her, and knowing certain limitations were now gone.

The good employee in him felt like maybe they should think about returning to dinner sooner rather then later, but then a little, enabling voice at the back of his head reminded him that there were a lot of other staff members now in the Realms, and they probably wouldn't miss one lab tech and one handler.

He kissed her again, because he could, and it was long, and passionate, and very thorough, and carried along with it just a little bit of body language as those strong hands swept back down to the small of her back, and a few inches lower.