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 Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2013 11:46 pm
He seemed to have figured out the reasoning behind her question, which made her unsure if that made things easier or more complicated for Gale, knowing she could piece things together from bits and pieces and hazardous psyche work. Maybe she really was Sherlock when she wanted to be.
Stormy didn't flinch or pull back when he drew close, the only reaction being a sudden ball of nervousness in her throat that lessened little by little as Gale spoke, until eventually her shoulders sagged and she realized how tense she had been this entire time. And even still there was that little ball that refused to completely go away, but that was for a different reason: for relief was trickling into her system and turning that anxiety into a different nervousness, the kind just before showtime: stage fright. Had things subtly changed just by hearing his words? Was it possible to feel lighter at a moment's notice like this? Could she float off this bed if she tried very hard?
Thane remained unconvinced, for what else would he say when given such a question? But today, this moment, at exactly 12:34pm at Gale Gentry's home, for once Stormy ignored her partner and went with her heart.
His hand never left her face because she'd placed her on atop of his just as it was sliding off. She hadn't thought about the motion, only known instinctively that she wanted it to remain there; the warmth from his hand suffused into her cheek in seconds. And she leaned her head a little against it for a moment, exhaling a soft sigh with a hum as she closed her eyes.
"Okay."
She didn't have anything eloquent to say about it because once again Gale was scattering her thoughts like leaves in a very strong wind. But she did have a hopeful smile, even though she felt entirely gross and sick, when she opened her eyes a moment later. There were still a few spare tears falling, but what was liquid sunshine without a little bit of crying and smiling?
"Okay," she repeated more softly, her throat burning once again. But what was a little pain in comparison to acceptance? To new beginnings?
To finding out what that secret was hidden in Gale's smile?
Compelled to come full circle, even as her body protested more movement, Stormy let his hand slide away and leaned forward, took Gale's face between her hands, and placed a chaste kiss on his forehead in return, trembling with relief.
"Forecast c-calls for clear skies and sunshine the rest of the day, I think~"
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 12:03 am
Considering they had just almost drowned on a cruise ship that had been infected by unspeakably awful creatures, Gale was feeling remarkably good right about now.
No, he thought, because "good" was not a good enough word. It was too generic, too bland for such a situation. Too simple. Good was something one said when things were in actuality just all right.
He felt content. And the butterflies doing somersaults in his stomach made him feel not anxious, perhaps, but maybe a little nervous, because what if he did screw it up? He couldn't - or rather, didn't - want to imagine that, because seeing Stormy sad was like breaking something that wasn't meant to be broken.
But then she caught his hand as he lowered it and pressed it back against her cheek and every doubt that Gale had slipped away, replaced only by the fast, erratic beat of his own heart.
"Okay?" Gale repeated, and his chest felt tight, like there was not quite enough air in the room. Even though he had mentally prepared himself for the rejection, the acceptance of his offer still came as somewhat of a shock to him.
Okay, he thought, and Stormy's hands were on his face and her lips were against his forehead and every rational thought utterly scattered.
He'd been kissed on the forehead before, by Candace, but this was not even to be compared to that because there was such a difference in scenarios - and it had been Stormy that had initiated it, not him. He had pushed her before, too far, and had regretted it, but now she was the one who was making the first move.
His heart felt lighter than it had in days, in weeks, in months. Maybe even in years.
"Okay," he said, and there was a rather large, stunned smile on his face now, his face flushed.
Gale lifted his arms, wrapping them around Stormy's waist and pulling her towards him, burying his face in her shoulder. He could hear Jinhai making quietly amused noises of reassurance inside of his head, which only served to make him feel even better.
"Okay," he said again, and held onto her, not really wanting to let go anytime soon.
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 2:16 am
She made a small muffled noise of surprise as his hands found her waist and pulled her in, but it was quickly replaced by a content hum as Gale buried his face. It was funny to think their positions had been one way before and now had been flipped, with Gale hiding his face in her shoulder and Stormy being the one to wrap her arms around him and keep him steady. But she was fine about keeping things flexible, more than fine really, because that was why she was in Mist: she wanted to be and was ready to be whatever those around her needed. And Stormy was, by nature, fluid herself.
More than that, though, she just liked holding him regardless of the circumstance. Because even though she wasn't the one being held, she still somehow felt safe, and that was her chief concern above all other things.
Although the more she saw that smile, the more Stormy was starting to wonder if that particular priority needed shifting.
"Ten-four," she said to break the combo of okay's and made herself laugh a little, even as it caused her a small fit of coughs. Squeezing Gale, she rested her head snugly atop his shoulder, more than happy to stay in the position for as long as he needed. "'Okay' doesn't even begin to describe it, I know. It's a funny little word that never really means what it's used for. Poor thing."
She wanted to fill the silence since he'd said before he liked the sound of her voice.
"Were you ever going to tell me what you meant by 'chaos and magic'?" Stormy prompted him curiously. "Because now your diction's got me curious. Chaos I know, though it's a controlled sort of chaos. I don't fly off the handle or anything--well, hopefully not at any rate--but I guess I have a messy way of approaching things, huh? But where does the magic come from?" She smiled to herself, adding, "If I had any of Tinker Bell's fairy dust on me, I'd be floating like a cloud right now, but that's about it I think."
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 6:31 am
It was such a strange feeling.
Since coming to Deus almost three years prior, Gale had spent the majority of his time watching other people find happiness. First it had been Marcus, falling in love with Cass and then getting married. Then it was Bix, goofy, reliable Bix, first having his crush on Molly before finally finding Ceres. Then it was Eva, with her radiant smiles and enormous bear hugs, discovering that what she wanted wasn't Gale, but Otto. And at first it had been all right, because Gale had been happy for them.
And then it had gotten tiring, because it was one thing to be happy for someone, it was another thing entirely to be happy for everyone except yourself because the more that people found others, the more alone Gale had felt.
Except it was different this time. It was different because for the first time in his life he was the one that was wanted.
" 'Okay' isn't very apt for the situation right now, I'll agree," said Gale, his voice muffled because his face was still pressed into Stormy's shoulder. He shifted a little, drawing back to look at her and smiled.
"Chaos and magic," he said and his fingers were linked together lightly against the small of her back and he couldn't quite stop smiling because his heart felt so light against his chest that he thought it might very well fly away.
"Magic comes from every time you speak," said Gale, and lifted a hand, poking a finger against her cheek, right beside her mouth. "Every time you say anything, you create worlds. There is already one world, the world we exist in, but when you speak, more are made with every word, and you said you already understand the chaos part, so..."
He was smiling stupidly again. "Chaos and magic."
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 9:18 am
It wasn't fair that the lighter her soul felt, the heavier her body got. It wasn't fair that when she had energy to act, to celebrate, to be something and someone again, she was sick and physically needed to stay at rest. She wanted to flap her hands and dance with him and bounce and rant and sing and kiss him and fill Gale with more questions now that she was his gi...girrrl...
For the love of God, don't tear up again. Did people cry this much? Maybe her head was just leaking excess fluids.
But it was so very hard not to when he said such kind things that Stormy could actually believe, to hear him speak and see him smile in a way that could clear clouds from the sky or bring down the rain, to hear him say she wasn't just a girl but a master of worlds, someone he liked, someone he liked--! She felt small again, yet it wasn't from fear or sadness, but because she felt like her own happiness was compounding enough to dwarf her own body.
Stormy puffed out a cheek on the side he was poking and then laugh-coughed again. "Gawrsh, Gale," she said in a very Goofy voice, her face colored from delight. "I think you're starting to speak my language~" She beamed, poking a corner of his mouth in return and reveling in the small thrill it gave her because she could. "But until you're fluent, I will happily give you the bits and pieces I can, okay?"
Unsure of where to put her hands (Was the waist too boring? The neck too intimate?), Stormy delicately let them rest on Gale's shoulders. "I think I know the right word for this." She sucked in a breath, trying to remember how the tune went. "Iiiiit's supercalifragilistic--"
Unfortunately her nose decided at that point to unplug just enough to make her sneeze, which in turn popped an ear and spurred another coughing fit that left both her nose and throat raw. Stormy groaned softly and let her head loll back and eyes close.
"S'not fair I have to be sick right now," she whined. "I wanna do thingssssss."
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 1:35 pm
He couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out of his throat at her abrupt and untimely sneeze, tilting his head forward to rest it against her shoulder as his own shook with amusement. And it was somehow liberating, to just let go and laugh like this.
"You," said Gale, after a moment. "are adorable."
He leaned towards her and put his forehead against hers again, smiling with his eyes closed for just a moment because he liked this moment, he liked it being just the two of them, he liked it that she liked him, even if she was sick, even if his head was spinning and they probably both needed sleep, this was almost a perfect moment.
Gale leaned back and tilted his head curiously at Stormy before arching a brow.
"What sort of things?" he asked, all-too-innocently, and slanted forward, his face a mere inch from hers -
- and then, quite abruptly, he had swept her up in his arms again and was carrying her up the stairs, towards his room, but with an entirely innocent reason in mind.
"You need sleep," he said. "And the bed is more comfortable. You can take a nap there and rest, and I'll take the couch."
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 3:34 pm
"Don't laugh!" she whined half-heartedly, which was to say laugh as much as you want since she promptly joined him. Everything felt a little brighter that moment, like the saturation had been turned up a level, and everything also felt lighter as well; Gale's weight on her shoulder was barely noticed before and after he had lifted himself.
She stifled a cough as they touched foreheads, taking a peek at his face as he closed his eyes, wishing she had the bravado again to touch his face or pat his hair. But even just this was enough to make her even more bubbly. "And you are terribly patient and kind," Stormy replied sweetly, "and especially cute when you--"
Blush.
They were suddenly very close and his eyes were open and she only noticed then how they looked almost like honey, and she was going to say something and had absolutely forgotten what English was for a moment, beginning to mumble something in Spanish as her face colored--
And then before she knew it, she was swept off the couch again. For a moment Stormy's heart skipped a beat as she realized where they were going, but this was Gale, this was Gale, silly, not--
"I don't want to sleep," she protested mildly. "How can I sleep after that?"
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 4:12 pm
He smiled as he carried her up the short flight of stairs (the house was two stories, but there were only about six steps up to the second floor) - but the smile was gentle, not condescending.
"Fine," he said, as he kicked the door to his room open (there was a spare bedroom for guests, but at the current moment it was rather dusty and unclean, and would require quite a bit of reorganizing for it to be habitable again). Gale carted Stormy across the small room and carefully set her down on the bed.
It was only after this that he felt suddenly self conscious, because this was his room. A room where he had spent a great deal of time thinking and talking with Jinhai and sleeping and just being by himself. He hadn't really ever let anyone else into it, not because he hadn't wanted to, but there had never actually been a time where he had to.
And now he was suddenly nervous.
Gale sat down on the edge of the bed, giving Stormy a bit of room, his face tinged slightly pink.
"Maybe we can...just talk then," he said. "We can play a game. You tell me one thing about yourself, I'll tell you one thing about myself, and we'll just go from there. You know," he smiled. "Learning slowly about each other."
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 5:38 pm
There was another skip in her heartbeat at the sight of the bed anyway, though for a different reason this time: it hit Stormy then that he was setting her down in his room. His bed. He actually slept here and everything...
She sat up and crossed her legs, smiling eagerly at the idea nevertheless, even as she had to swallow down her nervousness. It was just like before when she had been afraid to disturb anything in his house the first time she had visited, only moreso because it was his room.
"I have a better idea," she countered, coughing into her arm. "How about two lies and a truth you have to guess at?" That was a real game! She sat up and cleared her throat, not waiting for Gale's approval.
"Lemme think...I used to own a cat, I visited Germany, and I have never eaten a cucumber." This was a sort of memory test.
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 6:00 pm
Gale turned around on the bed so that he was facing her, crossing his own legs beneath him, his hands in his lap. He had already kicked off his shoes beforehand, and now he settled down comfortably, smiling at Stormy.
"I've never played this game before," he said honestly. "But it seems interesting!"
Her first question had him tap his chin thoughtfully, Gale sorting through the knowledge he had of Stormy, piecing together various things that might indicate one thing or another.
After a moment, he said, "The second one, the Germany one."
Because everyone had to have eaten a cucumber at some point in their life, right.
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 6:32 pm
"Today is a day for many new things, then~ But yes! You might remember I told you that I visited a while back," she said, clapping her hands. "Or maybe you're a good guesser~ But that one was easy on purpose."
Stormy gave him a wink and clasped her hands in her lap. "Your turn!"
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 6:45 pm
He smiled, pleased with himself that he had remembered. Gale thought for a second, Jinhai making cooing sounds in his head. This sort of thing made him quite curious, and strangely at ease, even with Stormy sitting on his bed, in his room.
"I've never been to America, I really like broccoli, and I'm ambidextrous."
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 6:56 pm
"Hmmm..." Stormy only took a few seconds to consider it. "You...are ambidextrous?" she ventured, having gone a little squint eyed in the process. She rarely knew of people liking broccoli, and plane traveling was a snap to most of the populace. "And if so, is it because've the whole Caelius stabbin' you thing, or were you self taught before that?"
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 7:00 pm
He smiled.
"Actually it was the broccoli," he said, and laughed. "I'm right handed, but yes, Caelius stabbing me did put a little bit of a damper on my abilities for a bit. I tried using my left hand, but it came out as scribbles, so I gave up after awhile."
He rested his elbow on his knee, his chin in his hands and said, "Your turn."
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 7:11 pm
Oh! Small world, huh? "Interesting! The more you know," she stated with a sagely nod, pondering something harder. How much has she told him about herself again?
Stormy tapped her cheek in thought. "Hmm . . . My favorite letter is O, my favorite color is green, and my favorite fruit is papaya!"
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