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 Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2013 10:29 pm
He still hadn't quite managed to catch his breath. Gale had one hand on Stormy's leg, the other still resting on her waist, but she was moving away from him now, climbing out of his lap and sitting deliberately away from him. It sort of hurt, but at the same time, he wanted to respect her need for space.
His face was still hot. Gale raised an eyebrow.
"Selfish?" he repeated, slightly confused, and his voice was a little hoarse from lack of proper air. He cleared his throat, swiping a hand across his forehead to get some of his sweat dampened hair out of his eyes.
"That wasn't selfish," said Gale, and exhaled slowly. "It was...well, I..."
He tried to formulate proper words.
"I remembered," he said, after a moment. "Something, not everything. Bits and pieces, really."
His gaze flickered towards her.
"I remember you saying you were glad you lit up my world."
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Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2013 10:58 pm
She got a little thrill from hearing his voice strained, but it didn't show just yet. Behind her hand she sucked her lips in and kept his taste for just a little longer, and sweat collected on her brow uninterrupted (if she moved too much, it might break the mood, after all).
But Gale said he had remembered something, and immediately her hopes ran away with themselves. Stormy perked up and lifted her gaze, watching him for signs of recognition, or something finally finally back into place. What she got instead wasn't what she wanted, but the quote was very familiar to her; her heart was in for the long haul today, it seemed, as it began to beat faster.
"I remember that," she said softly. Feeling it was okay to move now, albeit slowly, she lowered her hand and pushed back her bangs before they stuck to her face. "That was . . ." The day we agreed to date, right? She realized Gale still didn't know she remembered, but she wondered if that was important at this point, or if it had been rendered moot by her actions; it wasn't as if she wanted to talk about that horrible memory anyway, not when it felt so incongruous, and not when she was scared to find out if it was the truth or not.
So what if it didn't match up to the happiness she felt now? People were more than just their happy moments.
"That was the day you played doctor for me," Stormy continued with a weak smile, sniffling again. "When I got a bad cold from that dip in the ocean and all. I-It's good: you're remembering more." Maybe kissing really was the way to make him remember--or she should reign herself in before she made a fool of herself out in public.
Public. God, she'd made out with him out in the sun and everything . . .
Stormy rubbed at her cheek more self-consciously, her face remaining scarlet. "Anything else?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2013 11:18 pm
If he thought a little harder he could see vague pictures forming in his head; blurry, like undeveloped photos, greyscale and out of order. In one he could see Stormy's face, her skin pale, her hair spread out on the pillow beneath her as she slept. In another, he could hear her laughing, feel her breath on his skin as she leaned closer to kiss his cheek.
Thinking of that made him think of this and Gale's cheeks reddened a little more because he had just made out with Stormy Ortega, on a beach, on Deus, in the bright, hot sunlight and it had been...
...well, wonderful, if he really was being honest with himself. Gale cleared his throat a little again.
"I..." he said, his head aching slightly. "I remember...the boat. I remember the ocean...and I sort of remember the infirmary, bits and pieces of it really. Nothing concrete enough to piece things together, but vague phrases and images here and there."
Gale turned his head to look at her, a small smile on his face.
"Maybe you should kiss me more often. Seems I remember things when you do," he said, gently teasing.
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Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 8:33 am
A soft laugh left her along with a smile that said Don't tempt me. Remembering herself in public was one thing, but in private she needed to be extra careful..."Maybe you're just saying that to get me to kiss you at all," Stormy teased back, still blushing fiercely but at least beginning to move past it. "I think the sun's getting to me..."
Her shoulders finally slumped after what felt like an hour of being tensed, and a small rush of air escaped her in a sigh. "At least you're making progress," she said as she grabbed her water bottle and chugged, all of the talking and kissing and internal stressing making her thirsty. Then Stormy pressed what coolness was left from it to her neck. "We watched a bootleg of Toy Story you had, and you gave me soup. You'd also let me shower and borrow a shirt." The least she could do was try to fill those little gaps and see if that helped trigger more.
Although, really, if he insisted on the kissing theory she wasn't going to snub experimenting with that more.
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Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 8:59 am
She was laughing again, which he took to be a good sign. Gale rumpled his hair again, pushing the damp strands away from his reddened face, which was still somewhat flushed. The look Stormy gave him was returned with one of his own.
"Maybe," he said lightly, and then laughed. "And if the sun's getting to you, then it's definitely getting to me."
Following her suit, Gale picked up his own water bottle and took several long swallows, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand as he lowered it. "Toy Story," he repeated, frowning slightly in thought. "I...remember something about that. I remember...the couch..."
But there was nothing else. Gale sighed a little and scooted towards Stormy so that he was beside her again, leaning to give her a very light and gentle kiss.
"Thank you for helping me."
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Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 9:41 am
"We were cuddling," Stormy offered, because that was an important detail to her. "And I was sniffling and coughing all over you, and I sounded like a frog from the bog! Only frogs are better swimmers."
She almost ducked her head when Gale leaned in, but she chose to do so after the light kiss (really, she couldn't get enough of that) in order to be at least a little coy. "It's nothing...That's what I do: I help people," she replied with a smile and light shrug. "That's all I want to do."
And maybe kiss him some more okay really stop.
"If the sun's too much, we could go back inside? I, uh, sort of made it heavy back there, which probably was weird t'you..." Stormy twiddled her fingers. "Sorry about that. Nevada says I have Stormy Crazy, and I think I see her point."
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Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 9:47 am
He raised an eyebrow. "I like cuddling," he said, and grinned, leaning forward to gently bonk his forehead against hers affectionately. "Especially when it's with you, of course. Actually, I like it only when it's with you, let's be honest here."
Laughing, he kissed her temple and reached for the box of half eaten snacks. A few water bottles were stacked on top, and then he tugged at the towel beneath them both, pausing after a moment to look back at Stormy.
"Hey," he said, and tilted his head a little. "Don't apologize, okay? Dating you means dating all of you, not just a part of you. So I'll take the crazy and the not crazy and the affectionate and the wary and the beautiful and the frog in the bog; I'll take it all."
Gale held out his hand towards her.
"Come on, Watson."
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Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 10:32 am
"You could cuddle with someone else and like it! Nevada's a fantastic cuddler," Stormy pointed out as a matter of factly. "And one day we'll squish Ms. Candace or Mr. Bix like a sandwich!" But she might have been joking, as she broke into a grin at the image in her head and nuzzled their foreheads together, humming at the sound of his laugh and the feel of his kiss.
When he stood, she didn't follow at first. First her eyes went to his hand. Then to him. The hand. Him. Gale's words galavanted in her head, and she still didn't know how he could say things like that so easily. So Stormy stayed sitting for a while longer, peering up at him with a curious mix of emotions.
That, and she was watching the sun catch his hair again, like it had on the misty training field a while back.
Eventually she took his hand with an affectionate look and helped herself up, fingers curling around his. "Vacation's over already, Holmes?" she asked as she picked up her messenger hand and slung it around her neck, then plucked her umbrella up. "I was just starting to enjoy it..."
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Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 12:34 pm
Gale gave Stormy a dryly amused look.
"I think I'd much rather cuddle with you than Nevada," he said. "No offense to her, since I'm sure she is a good cuddler, but I may or may not be just a tad biased towards certain individuals that I spend my cuddling time with."
He rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "And I'd sooner cuddle a whale than Bix. Though, now that I think of it, a whale might smell better than Bix as well..."
It was clear from his voice that there was a definite note of affection in talking about the other hunter. For a moment Gale stood there, his hand outstretched towards Stormy, and he wondered if she was going to take it or if she was just going to stay where she was.
But then she reached up and her fingers were warm and familiar in his. Gale smiled at her and tugged her along, sliding his fingers through hers and squeezing lightly.
"All good things must come to an end eventually," he said. "Unless, of course, it's you and me, and then I'll just make sure that doesn't happen."
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Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 1:22 pm
She remained chipper in the face of his dry humor. "Gale cuddling a whale...sounds like a tall tale for shortstop!" Stormy quipped, grinning as they began to move. "Let's hope I'm always around for cuddling, then, because I am like the cuddle master, okay? Can't escape my arms if I don't think you should!"
Like the iron vice grip she'd put him in while they kissed.
She swung their arms and yawned. "Speaking of, I feel like napping again. More curling up on the couch, please~ And if you're nice and smell good and patient, maybe I'll show my particular bias about certain someone's getting affection~" She was babbling almost, venting her remaining nervous energy in sweet words that were bordering saccharine (she couldn't help herself), but she did mean to collect on that claim.
"We're better than a good thing, sunshine~" Stormy continued with a bright smile towards Gale. "But your determination is admirable~"
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Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 3:35 pm
Gale let out a groan, rolling his eyes. "You make such terrible jokes," he complained, but there was a smile on his face anyway, Gale leaning closer to Stormy. "You better be always around for cuddling, otherwise I'll be very disappointed."
Almost to the house, he squeezed her fingers. "A nap sounds good right about now," he said. "Maybe I'll take one as well, and we can get a little bit of rest again, since we were obviously preoccupied earlier."
This was said in an entirely innocent sort of voice, but was betrayed by the cheeky sort of smile on Gale's face. He made his way up the steps of the little yellow house and pushed open the door with his free hand, stepping over the threshold.
Once inside, however, he immediately dropped everything onto the ground, turned around, and swung Stormy up into his arms, hauling her against his chest.
"What were you saying about showing me a bias?" he asked with a wide grin.Ol-j-man that is a terrible ref photo BUT IT WAS ALL I COULD FIND OK
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Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 4:22 pm
"I make the worst jokes," she agreed with a solemn nod. "I once made a joke to Nevada by mixing bewilderment and wildebeest together to make bewilderbeest, and I tried to make a joke with my brothers once about flaming balls." She couldn't help but crack up at how awful the latter had flopped, poking Gale's arm with her free hand. "It just means you should watch what you say, because I am! You did say you'd take all my crazy~"
Preoccupied. Yeeeeaah. While her blush had almost faded by then, it flared up just a little even at the mention of it, as if it were something scandalous (not that she would have liked it any less had it been). "Naps fix everything," Stormy added mildly as they reached his house. As Gale opened the door, she imagined there would have been an exchange about what to do and who went where, and whether they should end the day or not--but he made the decision easier with one fell swoop before she knew it.
She squealed a little at first in surprise as she dropped her things, but it quickly turned to laughter. "I said if you were nice! Are you taking me hostage, Gale Gentry?" she prompted him with a grin and a raised brow, her arms and legs already looping around him to steady herself. "Awful! Awful, awful boyfriend!"
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Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 7:41 pm
"Hostage?" Gale repeated with a devilish grin, his arms wrapped around Stormy's waist to hold her steady. Kicking aside the dropped umbrella, towel, and other miscellaneous items, he took several steps into the front living room.
"I'm always nice," he said, and tilted his head up, kissing the underside of her jaw before he promptly pushed and threw Stormy over his shoulder, holding onto her legs to keep her from falling over entirely.
"See?" he said, making an effort to conceal his laughter and failing miserably. "Nice, right? A good boyfriend carries his girlfriend into the next room, and you think I'm not being nice."
Staggering into the living room, Gale pulled Stormy back so that she was in front of him again and set her on the back of the couch, still keeping his arms wrapped around her waist as he stood in front of her.
"Always," he said teasingly, and kissed her.
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Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 8:18 pm
She didn't know where this burst of bravado came from, but she was as powerless against it as a balloon was in a storm. By the time Stormy was beginning to react to the jaw kiss (D-Did he miss on purpose or on accident? She mumbled Gale's name in confusion), she was tossed over his shoulder and begin brought in, and she did the only thing she could do at that point: wiggle and laugh loudly.
"Hey! Heyheyhey nooooooo, this isn't nice at aaaaaall," she whined (and lied) with an unstoppable grin. "This is kidnapping! You should be ashamed of yourself, Gale!" She lightly beat at Gale's back to play up her part (her other hand was busy touching the impression his kiss left behind) and wriggled as best she could in his hold, though not so much to escape as to at least look like she was putting up a fight.
She wasn't very good at actually doing it at this point.
Stormy was still shaking with residual giggles by the time Gale set her down, though much like him her grip didn't release him; her arm slid as she was put down, but where it stopped she made a fist in his shirt. She was already drawing more breath to cool off from the burst of laughter, so in a way it was almost unfair that he chose to kiss her proper then and set her breathing off erratically once more; then again, he was clearly playing dirty here. "Awful," she panted under her breath when she pulled away to stage off getting light headed again; her face was starting to hurt from how much she was grinning. She tugged at his shirt to reprimand him. "Just taking an innocent girl home a-and treating her like that!"
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Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 10:56 pm
He might have said said that he regretted some things, but acting silly and goofy at this current moment was not one of them, especially considering the seriousness of the conversation they'd had not even ten minutes ago.
Sometimes having lightheartedness was good.
"Nope," said Gale cheekily. "Not ashamed at all."
He swayed closer, sliding his arms tighter around her waist, his forehead against hers. "But maybe I am a little awful," he conceded, and he kissed her again, slow and gently searching, smiling against her lips. Gale leaned into it, and after a moment, broke out in a fit of laughter as he pushed hard, sending the both of them toppling over the back of the couch (it wasn't that high to begin with) and onto the cushions below. Gale rolled mid-fall and landed on his back, Stormy half on top of him, in a tangle of arms and legs and laughter.
"Still want that nap?" he asked playfully, his hands on either side of her face as he kissed both her cheeks and then her lips, a wide, teasing grin on his own face, and it was obvious he was clearly enjoying this.
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