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 Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2013 9:06 pm
Every part of him seemed to be screaming at him to remember, to remember because this was so familiar, everything about it was familiar. Stormy was crying and the sight of it made his stomach twist with pain, made his chest ache. Gale's fingers curled in hair, his eyes closed, feeling her fingers warmly brushing against his cheeks, and the gesture was somehow soothing, somehow reassuring, even with his thoughts as a muddled mess.
He took a deep breath, following her advice.
"I saw..."
Gale tried to remember it, tried to grasp it back. It hung there, at the forefront of his thoughts, dangling just out of reach, as though it were mocking him. He made a soft noise of frustration, leaning forward as though almost making to kiss her again, but stopped just before he did, a low growl in his throat.
"It's right there," he said, his voice coming out slightly sharper than he had intended. His arm tightened around Stormy's waist, his other fingers still in her hair. He felt jarred, unsettled, and his grip on Stormy was half because he wanted to keep holding her and half so that he would have something steady to keep him safe, keep him from falling. "I can see it and it's just...it's right there, but I - "
"Call me Stormy."
"I remember you...talking about our names," Gale mumbled. "But that's it. I can't...grasp the rest."
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Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2013 9:33 pm
She blinked and tensed at the sudden sharpness in his voice but did not move away (couldn't, really, even if she wanted to). It wasn't the memory she wanted him to remember, but . . . It was something. "That was when we met, right?" Stormy asked as soft as ever, trying not to incite him further. "Where I thought it was so cool and funny to meet someone named G-A-L-E. That's good, Gale, even if you don't remember it all. That's progress."
And she tried to smile for him, even if it was still a little watery, even if it was a little hard to see in this position.
"I-It's not too much, all this, right?" She was loathe to get out of his arms now, but maybe Gale would prefer a little space now that they had really started disturbing the water . . . "Maybe if I told you what I remember, it'd help . . . I don't want to push too much if it's upsetting you, though. I'm just--I'm really glad you remember even a little," Stormy added with a grateful (if still tinged with sadness) smile.
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Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2013 9:41 pm
He tried to grab the memory back, but it came in snatches, vague wisps and tendrils that were difficult to hold onto. "I...think so," Gale mumbled, his eyes still closed, trying to remember, but it slipped away again.
He moved both of his arms so that they were around her waist. "Don't move," he said, and his voice was slightly muffled, Gale's face pressed against her shoulder now. "Don't...go anywhere. Not yet. You're not upsetting me."
It felt natural to be holding her like this, but the mess inside of his head made it ache.
"Tell me what you remember."
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Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2013 10:51 pm
Gale could have been holding her hostage at this point and she wouldn't have put up a fight. "Staying right here," she affirmed quietly, moving to accommodate him as he hid his face in her shoulder; her arms quickly slid under Gale's to wrap up around and meet at his lower back. "Let's see . . .
"We begin our story a few days before Christmas." Stormy took on a more narrative tone, still soft but with clear annunciation. "The air is crisp and cold thanks to one Mr. Allan's miracle, and there's snow blanketing the normally foggy island. There's a girl sitting on the training fields, dressed to her toes for the weather and feeling happier than she's been in a long while, and even though she knows it's because of the JOY from the snow, she doesn't mind; everyone should be happy for the holidays, even someone like her.
"She's beginning to make the foundations of a snow sculpture when someone calls to her. It's a boy with one arm in a cast wondering what she's doing. They'd seen each other before, you see, on the mission not too long ago, but they hadn't talked because a certain division leader was being moody sympathizing students being on the premise." She paused briefly and remembered Mei and Thackery, smiling a little to herself as she began to lightly stroke Gale's back.
"So she invites him over to help if he wants, which in retrospect was dumb because he had only one good hand and she only had two gloves, and building a snow dog takes work. But they share them and work together anyway, since the boy is such a gentleman he doesn't refuse, and they talk. They talk about a poor dragon haunting the island, and about how he got the cast, and how the world isn't really in black and white but in many wonderful shades of gray . . . And they talk about Rubik's cubes too, because the girl is bad at small talk," she added with a self-effacing chuckle. "And also how geometry sucks, and that neither of them finished their schooling, and how he's never had a snow ball fight before, and that she promises him one because nobody should go their whole life without trying--because the boy grew up too fast and didn't get all of those wonderful childhood experiences, and it hurts her to know that a world could deny someone that."
Stormy stopped to sniffle, rubbing her nose on the sleeve Gale wasn't occupying and willing herself not to cry anymore.
"She forgets the snowball fight, of course," she went on, "because she's a forgetful creature who needs Disney nicknames to remember people, let alone promises. But she doesn't need to for him because his name is iconic to her, because two little weather patterns came together and didn't destroy but created something new--a-and the Joy doesn't make her nearly so happy as that, because for a while she thought she didn't have much of a point at Deus. And there she was making an important friendship over something s-so simple."
There was another traitorous tear leaving her, and Stormy had to take a steadying breath and wipe it away as well, glad Gale's face was hidden because she felt that her blush hadn't fully gone away from before.
"Though he doesn't know how much it impacts her, after meeting him life is more beautiful that week to her," she murmured with a little smile, "in all its splendiforous shades of black and white and gray. A-And, um, that's how Lightning and Thunder first met~"
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Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2013 1:14 pm
Stormy's voice was somehow hypnotizing.
Even if he couldn't remember anything about her in regards to certain aspects, even if he couldn't remember their first meeting or why he felt the way he did about her, Gale could have listened to her speak all day long. There was something about the cadence of her voice, the soft way in which it rose and fell, the affectations in all the right places, drawing him in and making him sink full into her story.
There were some people who were made to tell stories, and right now Gale decided that Stormy Ortega was one of them.
Life is more beautiful.
He somehow felt that this was applicable to him as well. He could very well remember life before Stormy, even if he could not remember the circumstances of their meeting, and he could remember life after meeting Stormy.
The difference was staggering.
More scenes flashed across Gale's mind, disjointed and fragmented, pulling apart at the seams. He tightened his hold around Stormy, and turned his face a little so that she would be able to hear him more properly, his nose against her neck.
"...my arm was injured," he repeated quietly, voice slightly muffled. "That must have been...right after my meeting with Caelius, then...that we met. Right after I was stabbed and in the hospital wing."
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Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2013 1:52 pm
It was an inappropriate sound to make after what he said, and maybe she could blame it on his grip tightening and forcing the air out, but she gave a watery chuckle anyway; Gale's nose had tickled her, yes, but he was slowly piecing it together too, and even if it was just around the memory it was better than nothing. "Sounds about right," Stormy agreed with another sniffle, patting his back for a job well done. "Later on I learned about the marks it left on you, and even though they're not the best reminders of what happened, personally I think they look cool...Like battle scars.
"We had hot cocoa later on, I dunno if you remember." She smiled a little at the memory. "I was in a weird mood after the Kings mission 'cause I couldn't sleep, and you visited me asking about having a chat, and I almost told you off at one point...God, I was so awkward." She sighed out her nose and let her head loll lightly against his. "I don't know how you stand it sometimes."
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Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2013 11:09 pm
Her laugh was still pretty, still lovely, even if it was punctured by sniffles and sobs. Gale leaned back a little, reluctantly pulling his face away from Stormy, as well as his left hand in order to look at it. The black marks were still there, as ugly and vivid as ever, spreading upwards onto his wrist and most of his arm. At first he had been angry about the marring, but after a while it had become a reminder that he had, in fact, stood up to Caelius.
Even if standing up had nearly cost him his life.
Gale looked back at Stormy, lifting his blackened hand to tenderly stroke his fingers down the side of her face, lingering near her jaw. He felt a surge of protectiveness, of caring, and it warred with the confusion of the memory loss, everything messy and chaotic.
"It's not a hard thing to be around you," he murmured, feeling slightly dizzy, and leaned his forehead against Stormy's, Gale closing his eyes as the tiredness sank into his bones, into his very being.
"You told me you don't want me out here by myself," he said, and slid his arms back around Stormy's waist.
"Can I stay with you, then? Or you can stay here, in the other bedroom."
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Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 10:03 am
At least even with a missing memory, he still didn't mind reaffirming what she already knew--the reassurance of being cared for that she knew and felt, yet still needed to be told of to know it was real.
There was a manner to his touch she craved, and maybe it was because she was sensitive after having the past thrown in her face again, or maybe she was drained by their new living situation on top of the amnesiatic antics, but either way Stormy felt like crying again; ugh. But what was it now it called to mind, what was that quality, where was something to distract her from it . . tenderly. That's how Gale did it. And that was a song wasn't it? Who sang it again, Fitzgerald or Nat King Cole or someone else . . .
Without preamble she started to hum the melody, the words escaping her. And as she did, she thought over her answer.
"I'll need to talk to Nevada," Stormy said at length, lulled into a peaceable state. "She's my roomie, it's only fair . . . But I can get back to you on that? Promise it won't take weeks this time," she joked with a little smile. "Or if you know someone who wouldn't mind having a roomie, talk to them? It doesn't matter to me so long's you're nearby."
She noticed belatedly that she was beginning to sag against him and forced herself to straight up, barely containing a yawn. It was hot on the Island, but in his arms it was just cozy instead. "I might have to take you up on a nap here, though. Sun's making me lazy like a cat~"
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Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 2:51 pm
He had forgotten that Stormy lived with Nevada, but it was not a memory that was lost in the abyss of confusion, just a mere oversight on his own behalf. A part of him was disappointed, but maybe he could ask someone if he could stay with them, though he wasn't sure who there was to ask, really. Bix had Ceres, and was most likely with her most of the time. Candace had Dakota. Marcus was married and probably wouldn't appreciate the third wheel.
Stormy had shifted partially away, and Gale reached out, pulling her back against his chest. "Where are you going?" he said, and pressed a kiss to her cheek, unable to resist in spite of the mess in his head. He let himself rest his forehead against her temple, kissed the side of her head, and then reluctantly dragged himself away again, trying to sort through the heavy waterfall of emotions he was currently feeling.
"Do you wanna sleep upstairs or on the couch?" he asked.
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Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 4:28 pm
This time a slight but delighted squeak left her when he pulled her close. "Nowhere!" she chirped as he kissed her cheek, flushing a little with pleasure as she retaliated with a light scratching to his back. "Nowhere, promise! Not without letting you know first." And it was easier to smile knowing that, despite the confusion he felt, Gale could still be this affectionate with her--and it was easier to nurse some hope that he'd fully recover as well.
Once released, Stormy rubbed at her eyes quickly before any other tears decided they wanted to form. "Hmmm..." She hummed in thought as she turned and toed off her sneakers, then laid back against the opposite arm of the couch. "Your couch is pretty comfy," she stated with a simple smile, moving to prop her legs atop his lap as she stretched out. "I think I'll lounge here for a bit~"
Her feet, while covered by socks, still didn't smell fresh as daisies. Blame the heat.
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Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 6:20 pm
Even if he couldn't remember much she was just so damn cute and he felt that irresistible draw towards her that made him want to just hold her forever and never let her go. Perhaps it was because he'd spent a great deal of his life watching others go through the same thing and never getting to have it himself, but even then there was just something about her that made him want to stay near to her.
A little smile tugged at his lips as Stormy stretched out, Gale watching her carefully.
"Works for me," he said softly, and leaned over her, hesitantly at first, but then gave her a very light, very brief kiss before sitting back up, propping his own feet up on the coffee table in front of him.
"Sleep," he told her. "When you wake up, I'll be here."
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Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 7:18 pm
"Good thing too, because you couldn't move me if you tried . . ." Well no, Gale could most certainly try, but she found herself trailing away when, for a brief moment, he hovered over her. Her hands drew back to her chest protectively, but in the blink of an eye the kiss had been delivered and she was left alone.
Stormy missed having long hair to cover her face with; she hoped he didn't notice how pink she was getting.
"You too . . . I-I mean, me too! You and me, too. Uh. You sleep and I sleep, and we'll both still be there. Yes."
She hastily turned so she could bury her face between the couch's arm and cushion, mumbling a "Happy dreaming," before willing herself to sleep and forget her fluster.
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Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 9:22 pm
While Stormy slept, Gale read one of the books that was stacked on the glass topped coffee table he was currently using as a footrest. Every now and then, he would glance to the side, as though making sure that Stormy was still there, still breathing, one hand resting lightly on her legs currently across his lap.
<< You care for her a great deal. That much is obvious. >>
That's not good enough, thought Gale, in a frustrated sort of tone as he watched Stormy again, leaning over to brush a few stray strands of hair from her face. I want to know why and I want to know how and I can't figure out any of it.
<< Patience. >> Jinhai said gently. << We'll figure it out, my friend. Just have some patience. >>
Gale buried his face in his book and sighed.
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Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 9:38 pm
For the most part Stormy napped without moving much; an occasional foot twitch or soft, cut-off gasp, sure, but she ended up almost curling inward against the cushions by the time she did wake up with an abrupt whine. Her body was not pleased with the amount of sleep she got, however, mistaking the nap for actual sleep; without an alarm to keep her on schedule, she slipped into just enough REM sleep to make her body crave more--except not while sleeping on that side anymore. Ughhghghhg.
Remembering she wasn't on her bed but at Gale's house roused her more, and with a yawn Stormy forced herself in a sitting position . . . for all of three seconds. Afterwards she was shifting her legs and tilting to flop against his shoulder sleepily, making a soft grumpy noise that was probably meant to be a hello. Drowsy eyes squinted at the book in his lap questioningly before she huffed a long sigh.
Why was it so hot everywhere, Gale. Whyyyyyyy. She felt the way her bangs were plastered to her forehead with a light sweat, but she was too sleepy to bother with it at the moment.
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Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 9:54 pm
Every time Stormy jerked in her sleep, Gale was there to put a reassuring hand against her arm, or squeeze her hand, soothe her back to sleep if he could. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, and for the most part he hoped she was able to get a little sleep.
It was only about an hour and a half later that she awoke, and Gale felt her stirring as she slipped her legs from his lap. He lowered the book and glanced sideways in time to see her giving him a bleary eyed, sleepy look before she was against his shoulder, snuggling against his side, and Gale felt his stomach twist.
He slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her half into his lap.
"Morning," he murmured softly, and bent down, pressing a kiss to her temple. He stroked her damp hair away from her face and kissed her forehead, shifting so that he could hold her more carefully.
"Are you awake?"
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