|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 8:20 pm
"It was meant to be!" she defended, wincing through a laugh as her bruise protested all the motion enough to finally break past the giddy spontaneity (apparently the strawberry had done the trick). "It's a double pun if you count the last bit in terms of our weathery names!" But she only fought Gale's pull just a little--more for show than anything else--at best turning her head as he rubbed more of the smoothie into her skin with a squeal.
At least he was lucky and wasn't going on the injured area.
"Well, if it means getting to stay close to you, I still win in some respects," Stormy pointed out with a playful look, grabbing her ponytail and trying to mesh it against his skin and "paint" more of the fruit smoothie on him (before it crusted over on her hair from one of his previous throws). "So! I'll allow you to win the battle because either way I'll win the war~"
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 8:29 pm
He caught the wince, trying to ignore the anxious flutter in his stomach because he had done that to her, instead drawing a smiley face in smoothie on her uninjured cheek. Gale leaned back and gave Stormy an almost incredulous look, batting her hair away from his face.
"Is that right?" he said, raising an eyebrow, and slid an arm around Stormy's waist, pulling her closer. "You're doing all of this to get closer to me, is that it? Well, well, I see how it is."
He leaned close, closer, closer -
- and then promptly smushed a banana piece on her forehead.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 8:46 pm
It was very hard not to go back into a fit of giggles as he traced the smiley, like the fruit had infused her with enough giddiness to fill a balloon like helium and float, but she did her best to stay still and allow it--free painless tattoo! "Glad you see it too~" she teased, "Or else I'd just have to make you see." Which made absolutely no sense, but Englishing got a little wonky when it looked like Gale was taking her seriously in this respect and had an arm around her waist tugging her to him. She told herself he had done this before and braced inwardly, her smile frozen in place as he leaned closer and she told herself no it's okay, heart, you can slow down, no really you can it's not like--
--Bam. Banana.
"From war to banananza," Stormy quipped before promptly bursting into laughter at her own pun. The banana mush quickly fell over her eyes, and while one broke from Gale's grip to wipe it away, the other blindly reached out for something to retaliate with--which in this case was one of the oranges on the countertop. The whole orange.
Not very great as far as non-injuring projectile fruit.
She still batted at Gale blindly with it nevertheless, though it ended up rolling around more than anything else. She did try and squeeze it, though, and force juice to come out through the cracks created therein as she struggled to get the surprisingly stubborn banana bits out of her face.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 8:54 pm
Gale smirked, clearly pleased with himself. "Banananza," he repeated, caught by her infectious laugh and grinning, his cheeks and hands sticky with leftover smoothie. He poked at Stormy's side, sliding his arms around her and attempting to drag her away from the counter - and from ammunition.
Except now Stormy had an orange and was whacking him with it, Gale laughing as he twisted around, trying to get free without actually letting go of her.
"You're a stubborn one," he said, grabbing the hand with the orange and feeling sticky juice seep over his fingers. He tried to tug it away, except this only succeeded in making it more sticky and more squashed and probably not all that effective.
"But I'm still going to win this."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 9:05 pm
The banana smear was mostly off, but it clung to her eyelashes like nobody's business, and Stormy found herself in a new bind as it mixed with the smoothie and strawberry juices and tried to invade her eyes. Mostly helpless and blind still, she was carted off with lessening beats of the orange against his chest, which was growing stickier by the second with even more juice, and with Gale's arms around her it was getting harder to move anyway.
"Banananananannanaaaaannnnnzaaaaaa~"
It sounded like a defiant cry of come at me, bro.
Stormy clutched at the orange with nails that dug, which . . . was not all that pleasant when Gale tried to jerk it away from her. "You should know I don't like going down without a fight," she warned him as she tried to reestablish a better hold of the orange before he could wrench it away.
< < That is not the belief I remember you exhibiting. > >
Thane's voice cut through her merriment like a knife, reminding her of how quickly she had caved in both the Sahara and the other desert mission, surrendering to the horsemen and attempting to maim Jake when ordered.
Her smile faltered, which was perhaps easy to disguise behind her ducked head, but her grip also tightened on the fruit involuntarily--enough to let it pop out of her fingers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 9:26 pm
He was enjoying himself - more so than he had in a very long time. It was so easy to just fall into this with Stormy, so easy to feel as though this was the right place to be. It was such a silly little thing, having a food fight, but considering Gale hadn't even have one as a child, this was a new experience for him.
Except he felt the sudden tension in her hand, the orange slipping away and rolling across the kitchen floor. Gale made a soft, triumphant sound that turned into a slightly concerned one, tilting his head to try and see her face, hidden by her fruit-matted hair, and he couldn't see her expression, so maybe he was over thinking this, maybe he was just imagining it .
"Stormy?" he said, and loosened his grip a little, leaning to the side. "You okay?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 9:40 pm
There was a moment's pause in which she scrambled to re-establish a mask, frustration and accusation pointedly aimed at Thane (who did little more than shrug it off, posing it as a simple observation). And then she turned to face Gale with the same giddy, if now apologetic look. "Sorry, went thinkthinkthinking too much again," Stormy answered airily, trying to push past the little blip. "Just a bit of fruit got in my eye is all, and I went off thinking if there had been apples involved if I would've become the apple of my own eye or something to that effect."
She rubbed her eye as evidence to this, careful not to accidentally mess it up and get something caught in her lashes. Her body was now host to a dull and constant pain from the bruise and lots of dried stickiness, making her feel gross overall.
But they'd played a silly game and she was still in Gale's arms, so that counted for something, right?
"So! The orange slipped from my hand and you've got me pinned, so . . . I guess that makes you the victor! What spoils do you want? And don't say 'me' because spoils are things you don't already have."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 11:05 am
Gale frowned a little, but he understood the idea of thinkthinkthinking too much. He wasn't quite sure what had triggered the momentary lapse in their little amusement, but whatever it was, she was trying not to let it show - and so he wouldn't push it.
"Here," said Gale, and reached up, moving Stormy's hand away from her face. Carefully he brushed a thumb over her eyelashes, wiping off some of the smoothie and banana until it was clean - well, clean and yet still sticky. His eyes flickered to the bruise on her neck again, and he suddenly felt a little ashamed at having pulled Stormy into this when she was hurt.
Gale lowered his arm again, sliding it around Stormy's waist so that he could link his fingers together behind her back. "You took away my only option," he said, in mock outrage. "Fine, if I can't say you, then how about..."
Thinking a moment, he said, "I can't think of anything off the top of my head now, so how about you just owe me a favor?"
He shifted his feet a little. "Now maybe you should get yourself cleaned up and then go put something on that bruise." Gale's cheeks were slightly pink from the shame, sliding his arms down away from Stormy's waist.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 12:10 pm
She mused to herself as he wiped some more of the mess off her.A favor was so very open and vague and possibly highly manipulative in certain situations . . . "A favor t'is," Stormy agreed with a little nod. "Though . . ."
She opened her eyes and turned her head to survey the fruit fight leftovers. "I'm surprised you're not telling me I have to clean up that up on my own!" she continued with a grin. "Very gentleman of you. But I can't leave just yet until it is cleaned, or else somebody'll get really mad . . . And the place'll start to smell really rank." Overripe fruit wasn't quite so charming. "So you're stuck with me for just a little bit more, winner~"
She didn't want to leave Gale's arms just yet, but they were already sliding off of her. Thus she stepped back and moved around, locating a few extra hand towels under the sink as well as a roll of paper towels. "Bruise doesn't hurt really," she tried to assure him as she set their things out on the table. "Just a sting here and there. Being an intermediate's helping smooth things along faster, I think. Or faster than before. Any other perks I should know about?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 1:12 pm
"Don't worry," said Gale. "I won't make it such a big, elaborate favor - unless you want it to be," he added teasingly, reaching out to tug on a sticky lock of her hair. "In which case, I'll make it worth your while as well."
He grinned a little. "Well, I am nothing if not gentlemanlike," he said lightly. "I was planning on cleaning it all up myself, but if you're up for helping me, I won't complain. And, well, I assume that it'll probably stink if we just leave it, so yes, it should probably be cleaned up a little.
Despite having let go of her waist, one of Gale's hands had reached out and found Stormy's, his fingers absently curling around hers as he took one of the towels. "I would believe you if I hadn't already seen you flinch," said Gale, with a sideways glance at Stormy, his eyes flickering towards the bruise again. "It'll heal faster than normal, of course, but still..."
He sighed, and then added dryly, "You get a better coat. Does that count?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 6:30 pm
"I am a Mist," she said with exaggerated importance, her tugged hair bouncing happily. "It's my job to be flexible~ So throw whatever favor you want at me like you did with those fruits! Preferably not in the eye, though. Unless you want me to be the apple of your eye that time~" She winked at him and got a few paper towels to half wet them in the sink, floating back to the countertop to begin picking up the more solid parts of their mess; their hands remained entwined as a sort of tether while she did so, reluctantly pulled apart for the sake of janitorial duty.
"Flinching is allowed if something stings," Stormy pointed out mildly, still trying to shrug it off. "Be lucky I'm not guilt tripping you, Gale~" She plucked the squashed strawberries off the floor with sweeping dips of her arms. "So! Yes, the coat is super spiffy, no lie. It's nice to finally get some color on there. But I've noticed Thane changed shape too, and the charge is different--before, I had to initiate the blast, but now he just goes ahead and sets the sword off without letting me know," she explained with a mock long-suffering sigh. "And I think there's something else too, because every time we had a full charge, I'd feel something just a biiiit different. Like something different than the acid explosion, it's hard to explain. Do we get different techniques maybe?"
Stormy stood up, debated trying to toss the bundled mess like a basketball into the trashcan, and thought better of it, instead walking over to toss it in. "It's also nice to not be looked down on so much," she added. "Now instead of just dirt, I might be considered top soil!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 7:22 pm
"Fine," said Gale, scooping up a handful of smashed berries and dumping them into the trash. He turned to look at Stormy over his shoulder, smiling a little. "No throwing things at your eyes or at your face anymore."
She was still brushing off the fact that he'd injured her, but Gale dropped the subject, not wanting to make her upset, even though it still made him feel slightly uncomfortable seeing that bruise. He took a small breath and then flicked his gaze towards her again, the smile widening.
"Yes, as you advance ranks, your weapon advances with you," he said, now wiping up banana from the counter. "You gain a second ability as you advance, something a bit different. For instance, Jinhai's bullets are ice covered with regard to one charge, and in another I am able to shoot myself and the bullets give me strength."
The smile turned slightly sardonic as Gale added, "It doesn't hurt when I shoot myself, it's just sort of like a warm feeling."
Reaching out, he tugged Stormy back towards him. "By the way," he said gently. "I don't think I told you congratulations for your promotion."
Ducking his head, he lightly kissed her forehead. "So this is me congratulating you and telling you that you're not dirt or top soil, you're the flower that grows from the top soil and dirt."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 7:50 pm
"The only exceptions to that rule are soft things like pillows or good ideas--I don't mind having either thrown at me," Stormy told him as she grabbed fresh paper towels to absorb the smoothie spilt on the ground. "Or nonsense things too, you know I'll happily take those~"
She then mused over what Gale had explained as she wiped the floor and tried not to wince while doing it; her head was starting to pound. Shooting himself, painless or not, still seemed rather morbid . . . Not to mention a little hard given the length of his sniper rifle. Do you have something like that you want to share? she asked Thane.
< < Hardly. > >
Stormy turned towards Gale, ready to ask what other attacks might develop, but was surprised to find herself being tugged close. "Oh! Ah, well, thank you," she chirped with a beam, her face scrunching momentarily with pleasure at the kiss. "I almost want to ask what sort of flower, but that's probably not a fair or legitimate question since it's a continued but not-specifics-needed analogy I wasn't expecting which, by the way, nice one! So long as I'm not The Last Rose of Summer, though, we're good. The title belongs to my mom."
That last part had come out a little dryer than expected. Stormy stepped away to continue the clean up, letting the little bit of space be her buffer for a few moments. "So is everything just attacking or healing or defending then? I know Tuck's can make a shield sort of thing, and Herc's--Evan's is like a stronger attack but without a recoil, like yours is."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 8:11 pm
"Okay, so pillow fight later," said Gale, his eyes twinkling. "I'm not so sure about good ideas, but pillows are easier to come up with, so next time you come over - and we're not sticky and gross and bruised - I might take you up on that offer."
He smiled down at her, wiping a bit of last strawberry from her cheek before he let her go. "The pretty kind of flower," he deadpanned. "I'm not really an expert on any sort of flower, and I have no idea what the names actually are, but just pick a pretty flower that's not the Last Rose of Summer, and you'll be good."
He was teasing her, trying to lighten the mood. Something in the air felt oddly tense, and Gale absently toyed with a mug, turning it over in his hands as he watched Stormy's back, his stomach slightly anxious.
"Ah," he said. "Pretty much. If you were to break everything down into the most basic of elements, that's how it works. Attack, heal, defend. Obviously the method of each changes with each person, but they're all grounded in those three basic things."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 8:39 pm
Ah, so that would be their next battle? She'd prepare accordingly~
If the air was tense in any manner to Gale, she didn't seem to look like she was aware of it--even though inwardly she was agonizing over the mistake of mentioning family. It had been a small push for herself, a test to see if she could handle it yet, and that had failed miserably. But even as her insides turned over, her outsides remained rather calm and focused on the task.
Stormy swept back again for another handful of paper towels, stealing a little dishwasher detergent this time to really make sure they left nothing sticky on any surface. "Better brush up a bit before you give me any," she teased. "Every flower has a different meaning, did you know? It all looks like red roses on television because that's the simplest, that's 'love which is passionate and romantic'. But white roses are a sign of purity and spirituality, and yellow roses are for friendships. It's funny because red and white roses together are supposed to symbolize unity, which The Queen of Hearts definitely did not have herself--although her soldiers were very much in cohesive units," she added as an afterthought.
"Here is a question, though! What if I'm not a flower but a weed, hmm? There are some in the world that are pretty still. Or perhaps I'm a venus flytrap? Or maybe I'm not a flower at all but a tree's seed waiting to sprout. Or a fruit! I hope not a vegetable, I do like being alive and conscious . . ."
She wore an eager expression that was anticipating a groan at the bad, if sneaky, pun.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
