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 Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 6:43 pm
He listened to her soft hums and it made him smile, mostly because he knew she was having difficulty coming up with a proper answer. Gale leaned his shoulder against hers and laughed, the sound coming out oddly loud in the mostly quiet night of the deserted London street.
"Sounds just like you," he said. "I would probably be one of those people that would spend most of the day doing exactly what I always did because I wouldn't be able to think of anything else to do."
They had reached the portal now; it stood several feet off, but Gale didn't go through it just yet, slowing his steps even further, the mist of the fog dusting his hair and his cheeks so that they were slightly damp.
"Or," he added lightly. "I'd spend it thinking about you, since that's a pretty fun thing to do, I must say."
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 7:22 pm
Paralyzed by freedom? Absolutely her indeed.
"Sounds about right," she said in turn with a giggle even though it wasn't all that funny, finding Gale's laugh infectious--or she hadn't quite come off that high from earlier just yet. Slowing her steps with him, Stormy reached up and lightly brushed some of the condensation off his cheek, finding excuses to touch him.
His additional response made her snort, soft and good natured. "Now you're just sweet talking sentiments, Gale," she accused with a knowing smile. "As if you can't do that anyway~ You'd run out of things to think about before an hour's up, assuming you don't get bored." Her eyes flicked to the portal ahead and brought them to an even slow pace, practically dragging her sandals on the ground.
A stab of melancholy went through her when she realized they wouldn't be able to do something like this for another month.
"Do we really have to go?" she asked softly, already knowing the answer but needing to ask anyway.
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 8:12 pm
Her fingers felt warm against his cheek, which was slightly cooled from the mist that surrounded them. Gale smiled a little, turning so that instead of standing beside her, he was standing in front of her, his hands gently sliding around her waist. His fingers linked together against the small of her back, loose enough that if she wanted to, she would be able to pull away easily.
"I doubt it," he said, and the smile turned into a teasing grin, Gale leaning forward to rest his forehead against hers. "You are endlessly fascinating and wildly entertaining to think about, so I'd never get bored."
Her question made him sigh, his breath visible in the cool, dark air. Gale shifted a little, though his forehead stayed against hers, his fingers absently tapping against her back in slow, rhythmic gestures. "I wish we didn't," he said quietly, closing his eyes briefly. "I wish we could stay another night or another week or just...anything. But unfortunately, eventually, we have to go back to reality."
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 9:01 pm
There.
Somehow it didn't feel complete until their heads touched in that familiar gesture, where their minds could meet and their noses sometimes brush. It was as much about friendship as it was affection, and she appreciated the closeness along with the security of his arms, loose hold or not, and offered similar when she looped her arms around his neck. "I wouldn't feed me too much of that at once," Stormy murmured. "Kindness and sweet words. I'd swallow them all and want more and more, because I don't know how to take only a little and be happy with it." Much like her curiosity was never really sated, only forced to simmer in the background until it could leap out and investigate again.
She was tempted to close her eyes as well, but the sight of him doing so reminded her of the time she had woken up in the infirmary and saw him asleep there: while Gale's expression wasn't quite so peaceful, her eyes were still drawn to his face, the way the mist still clung to his eyelashes and brows. "Then this is all a dream?" she posed in return, saddened by the idea. "This world where we were born and grew up, that was just the sweet lie we watched until we woke to the cold white morning? What a life . . ."
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 9:07 pm
She just seemed to fit somehow; like she was supposed to have been there the entire time, like she was just made to fit in the circle of his arms and that he was supposed to fit into the circle of her arms. And he liked the way that this was their special thing, foreheads together, like they were sharing some secret part of space and existence where it was just the two of them and no one else.
"So keep taking and I'll keep giving," said Gale lightly, a smile playing on the corners of his lips. He drew her a little closer, fingers looping together against the small of her back and the smile was soft, gentle.
"No dreams," he corrected. "At least, not right now. We're simply in a different reality, seeing as how there can be more than one at at time, you know."
He felt another drop of mist or rain on his cheek. "And this reality...is much more pleasant, I must say," Gale murmured, opening his eyes again to catch Stormy's, his expression both affectionate and soft as he lifted one hand, his thumb brushing against her cheek.
"What say you, Watson?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 10:23 pm
You can't, Stormy found herself thinking. You can't just say that and . . . And feed that impulse. He was too kind, she couldn't just . . . but she'd never be able to say no if he was giving it so freely. And that was one reason, Stormy believed, that had drawn her to him. Gale said things with conviction she lacked and made her believe things that she otherwise would have dismissed.
She was holding herself back, but he kept drawing her closer, talking about realities and dreams like she was capable of remembering the line between them right now, with him so close and smiling like that. "You can only give so much," she mumbled, feeling her face beginning to warm up. "I-I don't . . ." But she lost the rest of what she meant to say once he opened his eyes and gave her that look, the kind that simultaneously made her want to melt against him and run away from it because somehow something so small made her go weak-kneed. There was nowhere to deflect such affection, and so instead Stormy gazed back and blushed even more fiercely than she had before.
"I, um . . ." It was getting hard to think, and Stormy was feeling strangely vulnerable. "I'm tired," she eventually managed, her gaze falling sheepishly. "Would you mind carrying me there?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 3:46 pm
He didn't really want to move, but moving was sort of a necessity at this point, and Gale smiled a little at Stormy's flushed face, leaning down again to press his lips against her temple, right beside her eye.
"I'll give it to you, okay?" he said, and then stepped back, his fingers smoothing away some of the mist from her forehead and cheek. But he was laughing, the sound still so oddly loud in the otherwise silent night, and Gale turned around so that his back was towards her, bending down slightly with his arms outstretched.
"I'll carry you anytime. Hop on."
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Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 4:40 pm
She had lied: she wasn't tired in the least. Her heart was racing, and Stormy was surprised he couldn't hear it at this point. It wasn't surprising that he'd be so generous and stubborn about it, given how he had spoiled her tonight, but...
But he was laughing for an unknown reason, and it was bright and sweet and pure like a bell in the night. She didn't want to leave, she wanted to force time to a standstill so she could listen to the musical notes longer, to have an excuse not just to climb on but to touch the planes of his back and the coat covering it, to rest her head against him and hide her reddened face from the world before it judged her for being so childish about all of this.
"Thank you," Stormy said softly, and as carefully as she could got onto his back. "And...sorry." Her arms remained looped around his neck, though her hands now rested against his collar. It wasn't the first time Gale had carried her, but she wondered if it would be the last.
After a few moments, she rested her head by his, cradled by her shoulder and his. "What made you choose your specialization?" Stormy asked in a thoughtful tone. "I never asked more about it, and I should."
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Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 7:32 pm
He waited patiently for her to climb up, and when she did, he wrapped his hands around her legs to keep her steady, straightening so that he would be able to walk properly. Squeezing lightly to reassure her, Gale stepped through the portal and through to the other side, back onto the island.
"Sorry for what, love?" he asked, wanting to tilt his head to look at her but since that would probably not work well, he kept walking, giving a nod to the curious-eyed techs who were working late night duty. Stormy felt warm and familiar and curled against his back and Gale tried to ignore the way his heart was pounding loudly in his chest.
"Ah..." he said, as he stepped out of the lighthouse and out onto the dimly lit grounds, the grass squelching wetly beneath his feet. "Well, I knew I wanted to do something involving the Horsemen. I didn't want to do weaponization or anything; that's not really my area of expertise. It did take me a while to sort everything because I'm very selective and I didn't feel good enough to do anything in particular."
His face softened a little. "But I was sort of...given a push by an old friend, one who's long since gone. His leaving was something I struggled a lot with, and I figured why not pick up where he left off?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 7:58 pm
She was sorry for a lot of things, most which left her when she heard the elusive "love" she'd been wondering about in the back of her mind finally appear. A very simple but pleased thrill went through her, even if on the outside the only manifestation was a slight squeeze of her hands against him and a small smile that crept on her face as she allowed herself, momentarily, to feel girlishly happy over something very small.
"It's okay to be selective. Death gathers all sorts of information, so trying to do something broad would be hard, I'd imagine . . . And we need ears to the ground as far as horsemen activities anyway." Once they were outside, Stormy lifted her head to view the stars, or at least what she could of them. There weren't many clouds out at least, leaving her view mostly uninterrupted. "I'm still trying to think of what I'd want to do, if anything," she went on to say. "Right now I sort of feel a little at a loss . . . not 'good enough to do anything in particular' like you say. I've been thinking about asking people what made them go into their fields to get a better idea of how to find mine."
The more she looked skyward, the more relaxed she felt; Stormy grew comfortable enough to let her head loll atop Gale's, assuring herself he couldn't hear her heartbeat now that it was slowing down. "Remind me, I have something to show you when we get to my room, then . . . But. Um. I'm sorry about your friend . . . I think he'd be proud of you, though." She pressed a light kiss to his hair (thrilled to have the rare chance to from this angle). "I can tell you've been working hard at it."
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Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 8:50 pm
They were almost to the dorms now. Gale slowed his steps, not wanting to get there too quickly, not wanting the night to even end at all because it was going to be hard finding time to just be alone just like this.
"You've got time," he said lightly. Overhead, the sky was an inky dark blue mixed with black, a few stray stars visible here and there. "And once you figure it out, you'll be just fine. Mine sort of...fell into place, so to speak. It wasn't something I had considered before, but there it was, and suddenly I knew what I wanted to do."
He felt her lips against his hair and his face was warm, Gale's eyes flickering. Shifting his grasp a little to keep her steady, he took a few steps upwards towards the building and then stopped a little, looking upwards.
"I hope he is," he said, and smiled a little. He resumed walking, up the stairs and into the door, nudging it open with his foot. "You'd have liked him, I think. He was a right odd fellow, but he was nice. And he treated us all like human beings, rather than just disposable things to be thrown away and forgotten."
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Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 9:08 pm
"If I figure it out." If there was anything to figure out to begin with. It wasn't like all hunters were specialized . . . Maybe she shouldn't get her hopes up. She was spending a lot of energy on what she already was doing anyway, so adding on it would be stressing . . . God knew she wasn't great at handling that.
Stormy smiled to herself as he spoke, though it was a little sad at the fringes. "That makes two, then," she observed. "Two odd but friendly people I wish I could have met. I guess you just attract that sort, don't you~" She hugged Gale a little tighter as they entered the building, the familiar white walls surrounding them with an odd sort of finality: the green mile, but not with death waiting at the end. Just being alone.
One, two . . . did that make her three time's the charm? Or would her penchant for finding trouble continue the trend of wistful words "you would have liked them"? Did she really have time?
Her hands squeezed each other a little more tightly.
"Is it better to think like that?" Stormy asked in a more subdued voice, playing devil's advocate less because she disagreed (quite the contrary) and more because talking filled the silences, talking extended their time together and gave her the courage to reach out. "To remember we're humans with personalities and possibilities when any mission can go wrong and snuff it all out? The aches must mount up after a while."
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Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 9:55 pm
"You'll figure it out," said Gale again, with more determination this time. Then he added, with amusement, "You are nothing if not stubborn."
He liked the way her arms felt around him. "Yeah," he said quietly. "Yeah, I sure do know how to pick them, don't I?"
It hadn't been his intention to get so somber on their first date, but this was all part of learning how to be with each other, wasn't it? This was how one learned to be comfortable, learned the deepest and darkest secrets, learned the hardships so that maybe with someone else they might just be easier to bear.
Being with Stormy already made life easier to bear.
"No," said Gale, and they had reached her door all too soon, too quickly. He let her down carefully, turning around so that he could see her, his hands at her waist again, pulling her close. "No, you're not going to think like that because thinking like that just means that you think you're disposable when you're not."
He swallowed and smiled, brushing her cheek tenderly. "You," said Gale softly. "are not even close to being replacable, so I will take the aches even if they are all I feel because I'd rather feel that than be disposable."
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Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 11:52 pm
A corner of her mouth quirked at Gale's decided response, wishing she shared that resolute spirit. But the future was unpredictable save for the fact that something always seemed to be brewing on the horizon. And even one hint of doubt was all it took to destabilize her, one piece pulled from the Jenga Tower to make it crash down. One witch to crack her.
"I think--hope--you pick them well," she commented softly.
In some respects Stormy wished he had allowed her just a little more time to let herself down, to cling to him still and press her face to his back and inhale what scent lied therein and just be still for a moment instead of wavering this way or that--to hide from him just a little more, as odd as that sounded. Even though it was night now, to her he still was like a sun, warm and brilliant but not something she could directly look at for too long without . . . something happening. She didn't know what quite yet because she had taken care not to create such a situation, to try and be as not-awkward as possible. Even as Gale turned around to face her, however, arms secured around her waist once more, she felt like she was moving, like she had been on a ship for too long and needed to get her landlegs back again; where she was moving towards, however, was a mystery.
And then she was looking into the sun again. Specifically the sun's chest area because she really couldn't find it in her to lift her eyes so much as an inch higher. Where should her hands go? The waist, the shoulder, the neck, kept to herself? Could she will them out of existence so she wouldn't have to fret over such a small dilemma?
Stormy's lips parted as if to speak, but the caress of her cheek made her once more. A hand rose to tentatively smooth out his suit, almost mimicking the gesture as she sought out even the smallest creases to fix. "Better to feel pain than nothing at all," she murmured, drifting. "Is it the best marker to know you're alive, though?" Combined with martyr complexes that made people trip over each other to sacrifice in order to protect . . . Her fingers back to clutch at his clothes and prevent him from going towards that nebulous intent, and then in a moment snapped back to smoothing them over once more.
"I'm . . . sorry." The light came back to her eyes in time to help illuminate her apologetic smile. "I've been pulling you down the wrong road. The correct one, marked in your dating handbook as you know, is the path where I tell you tonight was wonderful and amazing and that I hope to do it again sometime soon, and thank you so much for doing this for me. Pretend I said that instead."
Her hand began to slip away from him to join its sister.
"But I also don't want to say it because that means the night must end, so if you don't want to imagine I did . . . I could show you a little secret?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 7:04 am
Saying goodnight meant saying goodbye, and Gale didn't want that, not yet, not when he had probably one of the best nights in a very long time. He stood there with his arms around her and her face not looking at him, looking down, her hands smoothing across his jacket with almost nervous gestures, her voice soft and low. Gale's eyes flickered a little, dropping down to look at her through half lowered lashes. And she was so damn amazing, even with her quirks, even with her flaws, even with her ramblings and her dreamy voice and her tendencies to go off topic, because there was no one in the world that was quite as bright as she was, and it was like looking at a falling comet, something bright and miraculous and beautiful and rare that he just wanted to capture in his arms and hold there forever.
"I am alive," he said quietly. "And so are you. You're alive and you're here with me, and knowing that is what keeps me going these days. It's what keeps me moving forward."
A small smile tugged at his lips. "Don't be sorry," he said, and grabbed her hand before she could pull it away, holding it gently, his fingers wrapped around hers. "I don't want the night to end either, especially not after everything that's happened, everything we've talked about."
He kissed her fingertips and then, slightly reluctantly, let go. "All right," said Gale, his eyebrows raising slightly in curiosity. "Show me this little secret of yours."
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