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 Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2018 7:03 pm
"Good! It was good. I liked..." What had she liked? What had she paid enough attention to about the movie in order to notice. "The one fight scene that was choreographed to song? If only it was that easy." Cordelia laughed softly, tucking a strand of hair back behind her ear after discarding the remains of their theater snacks into the rubbish bin outside the door. "All things considered, I liked the modern twist they put on things-- sucked into a video game instead of a board game brought to life? What did you think?" She nudged his elbow lightly with hers before heading back down the hall towards the lobby.
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 8:13 pm
To be entirely fair, even if he didn't know it, Fritz had gleaned about as much from the movie as Cordelia had - namely nothing in particular that he was capable of grasping at the present moment. His mind was still full of thoughts of soft touches and the bright light in Cordelia's eyes and the nervy, anxiety-inducing anticipation of what was to come.
Outside, in the lobby, he said, "A modern twist made it much more relatable, I suppose; but it was quite enjoyable, I didn't think that I would like it as much as I did."
Even if that liking had stemmed more from the presence of the person beside him than the actual content of the movie. Fritz disposed of their garbage into one of the rubbish bins standing in the lobby, then wove his way through the throngs of people milling towards the exit, gesturing for Cordelia to follow him.
Once outside, it was easier to breathe. The fresh air filled his lungs, cool winter air that tasted of snow and smoke and the faintest aroma of popcorn still wafting out from the theater. Fritz gave the building a quick glance, shoving his hands into his pockets and turning to look at Cordelia.
You can do this.
You can do this.
He gave her what he hoped was a relaxed, careless smile.
"Do you have a few free moments to assist me with one more thing, do you think?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 8:42 pm
The air had gotten colder while they were in the theater. If they lingered for too long she was likely to regret that she thought they'd only be out for breakfast that morning; that the weather had been moderate enough that she'd done out in just a sweater without thinking to grab a coat. The sun had warmed the day, the adrenaline from laser tag keeping her warmed until her flushed face had done the rest through the photo booth on to the theater. Cars passed by in the streets. Other couples-- couples-- stepped through the theater doors, the sound of heels on pavement clicking past. Light laughter floated past them and she felt her heart stop as she looked to Fritz, catching his smile. He was going to break her heart with that smile. Cordelia brought her hands up to her mouth, puffing a breath of warm air over her fingers. As her hands fell back down, rubbing together to keep the warmth spreading, she returned the smile with a nod. "I told you earlier today that I was entirely at your mercy for the day, Fritz. I'm yours."
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Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 7:41 pm
It was so hard to remember sometimes that this was the life he had chosen. That this was the life he had been given, and the one he had decided to take for himself. From the Surrounding to the kidnappings to the aching press of loss inside of his chest, Fritz had clawed his way back from the depths to allow himself to have even a fraction of this.
And somehow, in some way, the universe had decided to reward him with Cordelia Carden.
He still did not understand it. He still did not understand any of it.
Something in him ached at the phrase I'm yours, even if he knew that she did not mean it. Fritz offered her a small, faint smile, then gestured for her to follow him down the street, people jostling around them, laughter in the air as they made their way across the sidewalk. He could feel his heart in his throat, could feel every breath he took as though it was his last one, air inside of his lungs and then out.
He kept walking. He didn't say anything, just ducked his head, knowing she would follow.
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Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 8:47 pm
She'd said something wrong again. He'd met her words with a smile so slight that she almost missed it-- a smile that only tugged at the corners of his mouth and didn't quite make it all the way up to his eyes. Had it been the reminder of that morning? Had it been... He was carrying on ahead of her and she was taking extra steps to catch up once she realized that he'd started on ahead of her. There were some days when she cursed that his legs were longer, that his stride carried him further just a little bit faster. They were few and far between, of course, as she was usually too busy chastising herself for falling behind. He remained quiet and so she did as well, although it was so very tempting to ask where he was leading her this time before they both froze to death outside.... Dramatic much?
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2018 8:20 am
He kept walking.
The scenery around them changed slightly; the bustling streets gave way to smaller, quieter side streets where the crowds were less thick here, where the amount of people subsided to only a few that gathered in front of vintage coffee shops or stopped outside of antique stores to chat about how their day had been. These roads had been more busy once upon a time, but years of transitioning from older shops to modern day necessities made it so that everything here was more subdued; a sepia photograph of lost buildings and gentle hearted stores.
Fritz turned a corner, hearing Cordelia's footsteps behind him, knowing she was following and feeling as though his heart was about to explode.
If he got this wrong...
His own footsteps slowed a few minutes later, coming finally to a stop in front of a medium sized, square building on the corner of a street. It was painted a plain beige, and there were black signs across the windows that proclaimed CLOSED in large blocky letters. A notice on the front door indicated that the building had gone out of business some years previous.
Above the door, in faded yellow, non-working letters, read the name Blockbuster.
Fritz reached out a hand and pushed at the door, which opened silently and effortlessly under his touch. He held it open for Cordelia, watching her, still saying nothing, though something in his gaze was more serious than it had been all night.
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Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2018 5:38 pm
Eventually Cordelia began to pay attention to where they were walking. Eventually the scenery became more familiar. They were in an area that she had frequented more often when she'd lived at home with her family-- before she'd decided that moving out on her own for their protection was the best course of action if she was going to continue parading around as Sailor Corvus. Weekends had found her at the Blockbuster Video more often than not, picking up rentals before the convenience of Netflix or Redbox. There had been a vibe about movie stores that you couldn't replace. And there had been Fritz... She could feel her face flush as he paused in front of her. She prayed that it would look like nothing more than a splash of extra color thanks to the crisp air outside, although she supposed it was a bit too late to be worried about it now. She'd made a proper a** of herself going on about dates throughout the day, and how he must have had plans, and now he'd lead her here... Made it seem as though she was the only plans that he had. As the door opened she stepped through, worrying lightly on her lower lip as she did so while wondering what she was about to walk into.
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Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 6:48 am
He wondered if she remembered.
Fritz had forgotten. He had forgotten until a few months ago, and then it had come to him one night as he'd been staring at a blank canvas, shreds of paper littering the floor around him, brushes spattering paint across the drop cloth he used to keep the rugs clean. He'd forgotten, and then he had remembered, and everything had seemed to fall into place.
The Blockbuster was an old, abandoned thing, and had been for several years, but the shelves were still up, the counter was still in place, and a few empty, forgotten movie cases were still lined up in various places around the store. It was, however, a lot cleaner than it should have been for an abandoned building. There were a few cobwebs in the corners, but most of the debris and dust and drywall that had littered the floor had been swept away so that the faded blue carpeting looked simply well worn, rather than decrepit and dirty. The counter was also wiped clean, as were most of the shelves.
Inside, it was silent. Fritz had walked around to stand in one of the aisles, a few feet away from Cordelia, and now he stood, watching her, his expression hard to read in the shadowy, dim lighting of the Blockbuster. There were no working lights inside; the only source was the moon and streetlamps from the walkway just outside the wall of windows that was the front of the store.
Fritz took a breath. His heart seemed to want to fail him.
"Where are we?" he asked quietly.
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Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 8:57 am
Someone had taken enough care to make things seem as though the Blockbuster had only been recently abandoned instead of sitting empty for ages. They'd-- he'd, she had no doubt-- come through and swept aside the dust of years, making it easier to imagine it as it had been. She could see the cases, fresh and clean, the 'New Releases!' sign over its designated section. The lights were bright, the mood was warm and she was just getting ready to enjoy a nice, quiet night at home. Where are we? She could answer him with so many things. They were at an In-Between. This was a place where time stood still; a place that a thousand years from now might spawn a knight drawn from the myths and legends of a hundred moments just like this. They were at a Crossroad. It was a place where decisions made could make or break a million dreams of young children waiting on the Land Before Time, of teens holding their breath for the Lost Boys... Of adventure, of action... Of romance. Smiling, Cordelia opened her eyes, seeing not the past that had been, but the present that was. "We, my dear Fritz, are where our story began... Before we even knew there was a story to be told."
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Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 1:00 pm
He waited, his heartbeat something strange in his chest. It felt almost like an out of body experience; almost as though he was watching from the outside as they stood in this separated place, away from the rest of the world, away from everyone and everything else until it was just the two of them.
And she had remembered.
Fritz drew a breath that somehow hurt his chest, that made his breathing uneven, but he let it out a second later, exhaling until he could feel some of the tension ebbing out of his shoulders. The words he wanted to say were cluttered at the tip of his tongue, and yet he wasn't ready to say them quite yet. Not yet. Not when he had other things to say first.
He nodded, and felt a peculiar sense of calmness come over him, one that spread outwards through him like a warm wave because - this was Cordelia. This was his best friend, the woman he had relied on, the woman he had known all these years. He could trust her. He could talk to her.
He knew how to do this, even if he didn't.
"I met you here," said Fritz, putting out a hand, fingers skating over the top of a still slightly dusty shelf; an absent gesture of reminiscence. "I met you here, and we both wanted the same bag of Twizzlers, and...well, we tried to duke it out, but it didn't quite go well."
His eyes crinkled a little at the memory. His heart started to kick up again.
"I didn't know you then. That was six years ago, on Valentine's Day. Rhys had told me he was going out, but he just rode his motorcycle around and then came home later. I tried to tell myself that you weren't the woman from back then; that I was just...superimposing you over my memories, because then I would have to admit why I was so...afraid of remembering that it was you. I told myself it wasn't so many times that I forgot about it, eventually."
Outside, the world was still going. People walked past every now and then, laughing and talking. The faint sound of cars driving by and buses screeching and dogs barking could be heard even though the store doors. Snow was on top of the nearest lamp post that Fritz could see.
Inside, in this protected place, he could hear his heartbeat loud in his ears.
"I didn't remember fully until a few months ago. And by that time, I had already realized."
His chest was so tight that breathing felt impossible. Fritz exhaled again, and then reached lower onto one of the bottom shelves nearest to him, pulling out a single red rose. A blue-black ribbon the color of Cordelia's hair was tied around it in a simple bow.
His eyes rose and met hers, steadily.
"You told me that whoever the woman I was doing all of this for was fortunate. That woman is you, Cordelia."
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Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 1:52 pm
"Fritz..." His name was all she could manage as the world stood still, heart thundering against her chest and pounding through her ears so loudly that he was bound to hear it. She wanted to close the distance between them but she didn't, so used to giving him space that she wanted it-- needed it to be his choice for anything different. Cordelia swallowed as her eyes met his, rose color dusting her cheeks. She wanted to tell Fritz that she didn't deserve this, or any of the sweet things that he'd planned leading up to it. The part of her heart that had been battered and broken wanted to shy away from it all, but she trusted Fritz. She had become a better person through knowing him, learning to stand stronger on her own so that she could be an anchor to those she cared for. "To be fair... We were different people then, and when we met again the timing was all off and I don't know if I was the woman from back then." It was only recently that she'd started to feel like herself again; to remember the charming, flirtatious young woman she'd been, unafraid of anything that lie ahead. He knew all of that and more about her, just as she knew what he had been through in the time since they'd first met six years ago. She didn't need to make excuses about how either of them were different. He knew. Cordelia could feel her lips quiver and she pressed them together, still smiling. She laughed softly to ease a bit of the tension, drawing in a short breath that she then released as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I-- I'm going to let you finish with whatever it is you have to say first before I say anything else, or make an utter fool of myself, Fritz."
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Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 2:44 pm
He breathed in.
He breathed out.
"We were different, yes," Fritz agreed. "I can't think of a reason why I would want to go back to the person I was back then. I'm...quite satisfied where I am, regardless of how long it took me to get here and how many times I had to fall before I could stand."
As if in remembrance of this, the invisible oath around his neck gave a small twinge, a slight warning not to delve too deeply into self-deprecation. Fritz's fingers held a little more tightly to the rose in his hands, watching Cordelia's face, wondering if the laugh meant something good or something bad. Maybe she thought he wasn't serious. She knew how hard it was for him to do anything involving physical contact; how he sometimes felt broken and battered and pathetic because even the smallest touch made him feel antsy and jittery, as though he needed to wash his hands immediately, jerk away.
But she was kind, and she was full of heart, and she knew him.
Fritz took a step forward.
"I don't think you could make a fool of yourself," he said, and his heart was in his throat again. "I've known you for years now. You are intelligent. Brave. Strong. Kindhearted. Caring."
With each word, he took another step forward, slow and steady, pulse rapid under his skin, but his eyes never wavered from hers, Fritz's gaze locked on that dark gaze of hers. "Beautiful," he said, and his voice was quieter now, softer, with a feeling that wasn't quite intense, but left no room for argument as to its truthfulness. "Wonderful."
And now he was right in front of her, the rose held between them, and the world was tilting sideways.
"Cordelia Carden, I am, as it turns out," said Fritz, and there was a helplessly adoring, anxious note to his voice, "hopelessly and quite desperately in love with you."
The hesitation was only a fraction and then, without touching her, without letting go of the rose, he leaned in and kissed her.
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Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 8:23 pm
The last time her heart had skipped this fast was the night of the Gala. It was the night that had changed everything between them, turning her entire world on its head. It had taken months to bring Fritz back to Destiny City, longer for the two of them to patch things back together, and now he was shifting the earth beneath her again. She felt his words the way one might a caress, each emphasized word bringing a bit more of a blush to her face. They'd made an agreement at one point that there would be nothing but truth between them, and the way he spoke... He'd said it already, that she was the fortunate woman, and now he was saying so much more. His words melted her insides, filling her with a warmth she wasn't certain she had ever known. Before she had a moment to think, or overthink, on anything else he was kissing her. Fritz St James was leaning in and brushing his lips to hers. It wasn't the desperate sort of kiss that one might see in a movie around this time of year. It wasn't clinging or needy, not possessive or pushy. It was soft and light and that it was happening at all spoke wonders to just how far the two of them had come. Cordelia lifted herself ever so slightly onto her own toes in order to lean into the kiss; not enough to crowd Fritz, but just enough to let him feel the press of her lips to his in return. Her heels returned to the ground, although it still felt like she was floating. She could feel his lips on hers even as she drew away to look up to him. "I suppose I should tell you, then, that I am just as hopelessly in love with you and... Stars and stones, I've-- All day, all day I've been thinking of what I might say if you were to tell me there was someone else..." She was smiling through the tears blurring her vision, pouring her heart into her words even though she knew that he knew. "Having you in my life-- When we first met I didn't know how much I would need something just like this, someone just like you. I love you, Fritz St James. Everything about you."
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Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2018 4:50 am
It wasn't a movie star kiss. It wasn't some huge show where fireworks exploded and there was music playing and they were two people clinging desperately and dramatically to each other in a passionate frenzy where they never wanted to let go of each other.
It was himself, Fritz, and Cordelia, the woman he was in love with, and that was all that was needed.
It was something soft and gentle and quiet. It was just the simplest press of his lips against hers, and the answering press of Cordelia's to his, barely lasting a second or two, and it was enough to send Fritz's heart into overdrive, enough to make his pulse skyrocket until he felt like he was no longer breathing properly.
His own face was flushed as he drew back, watching her anxiously, wondering if he had gone too far. Wondering if he had imposed his own feelings onto her and now she was going to push him away, or maybe - his heart skipped a painful beat just thinking about it - maybe she didn't feel the same way -
But she did. And she was crying. And she was in love with him.
His hand rose, and his fingers were shaking. Something in Fritz's vision was blurring, blinking rapidly, and tenderly he smoothed a careful thumb over Cordelia's cheek, wiping away the first tear that had slid over her skin. He felt as though he was about to lift off of the ground, felt as though he was about to topple over the edge of a precipice.
"I love you," he said, and his voice shook. His other hand came up to mirror the first, cradling Cordelia's face with trembling gestures that were hardly touches at all, fingers butterfly light against her cheeks. Fritz leaned in and kissed her again, lips brushing against hers, still hesitant, still light, but with just a little bit more lingering this time.
"I - " His voice caught, wavered. A hopeless, choked out laugh. " - love you."
Another kiss. He was flying.
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Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 8:25 pm
Her heart ached. It was pounding so hard she thought it might explode, that she might explode. Fritz loved her. Fritz loved her. Fritz loved her. Cordelia's head tilted towards the touch of his hand, her own fingers coming up to flutter against the back of his hand only to rest on his wrist. There was a part of her wanted to hold on to him forever, to find a way fall into his arms and never let go. The part of her that had been so afraid of losing him for months was simply overjoyed to have this and wished for nothing more than this-- light and airy, blissful and beautiful. "I love you," she spoke softly, the words low and catching somewhere in her throat, eyes closed as she took in the tenderness alongside the laughter and the tears. They probably made a ridiculous sight between the two of them, crying and kissing in an abandoned Blockbuster. "I would do all of this again..." Everything that happened in the past, each step that had brought them together along the way. "I love you."
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