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 Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 8:40 pm
She had spared enough time to see the Princess safely back to Crystal, shaking and uncertain, their hands twined together. With the Opal, she knew her poor Princess could look after herself enough--Virgo wouldn't have to risk being discovered by the Academy matrons. Imagine that furor! After the chaos of the battle just now... all she really wanted to do was lay down and sleep for a week. Tomorrow was Sunday... and she'd told Dad and Pop she'd be staying the night with Grayson after some senshi business. So it'd be okay.
Now she was scaling her boyfriend's apartment building, looking rather... worse for wear... as she slipped up to the window. Her hands drifted to the edge of the window as she leaned over on the fire escape, checking. Darn. The window was locked shut--he must have fallen asleep before unlocking it so she could get in. She settled herself on the very edge of his windowsill, rested her head against the frame and knocked twice. Hopefully she wouldn't wake Paul... just Grayson.
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Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 9:13 pm
If there was a muscle in his body that didn't hurt he'd like to have someone point it out.
Normally, at this hour, Grayson would be in one of two positions: face down in his pillow, sound asleep, or out scaling rooftops on patrol. Considering the abuse he'd been putting his body through in the daylight hours, though, his senshi duties were taking a backseat... and he was ashamed of that. Especially now that his parents knew about him and Elke (in more ways that one, he supposed) he had a responsibility to be there for her, with her. And honestly, some nights, he meant to, he just..
The spray of the water felt so good over his aching body. He'd stumble out of the shower, hopefully usually with a towel anchored around his waist lest he scandalize Paul, and make his way to the bedroom. Halfway through getting dressed he'd fall face-first on the bed, and the next thing he knew, his alarm was going off and it was time to head back to the fire academy.
Luckily, he'd just gotten out of the shower that night. Hair clinging to his face in soaked curls, he stumbled into his bedroom and wrinkled his nose at the pile of dirty laundry stacked up next to the door. He needed to get to that soon.
Tomorrow, maybe.
He released his hold on his towel just in time to hear a sharp rapping against the window. Hastily clutching at it and anchoring it to his side, he turned and stared, his semi-started expression relaxing when he recognized the silhouette against the window.
Heading over, he unlatched the window and shoved it up, annoyed when it creaked and protested -- the window was always sticking -- and leaned out, offering one hand. (The other one was definitely firmly keeping that towel in place.) "Sweetheart, what's up?"
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Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 9:50 pm
He hadn't been asleep! She breathed a relieved sigh, and leaned away so he could open the window; then she slipped over the windowsill, her hand firmly anchored in his. It was cold out, and with her senshi strength she could easily force his window down--so she did, before Grayson could catch cold. Then she shed the guise of Virgo, her exhaustion coming to the fore.
"The meeting went horribly," Elke said into his chest, threading her arms under his and clinging. "It went so bad. Grayson, I don't wanna fight anymore."
Then, she noticed that he was in fact... naked. Well, he had a towel on, but it was still close, and she backed off for a moment. "Um..." she scrambled for something to do while Grayson got dressed, but in the end just turned around. Maybe she could use a shower herself, but she didn't want to impose. She just wanted to be close to the person that she knew in her heart to be the most important in her life.
He'd been safe. The whole time. It made her giddy with relief, and if she started to cry, she muffled it with her hand.
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Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 10:39 pm
For someone who'd spent most of his life completely immodest, it was a bit of an adjustment to find himself flushing under what would have been a completely casual interaction before. Of course, Elke was his girlfriend now, whereas she had always been his sister, but that wasn't it entirely. As bad as the scarring was on his face, it was equal if not worse down the length of his body. Elke didn't care, had insisted time and again that she didn't, so he tried not to let it bother him, but.
But.
He ran a hand down her hair, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead before she turned away. Shimming into sweats and a tee shirt was a fast, albeit somewhat awkward procedure (finding a clean pair of boxers proved to be the most difficult part) but when all was said and done, he touched her shoulder lightly and spun her around.
Then, hands braced on her shoulders, he sat down on his bed and pulled her onto his lap. "Tell me about it," he said, gently, running a hand down her arm.
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 1:55 am
Grayson, she thought, was perfect. Anyone would be hard-pressed to find someone just so trustworthy as he was to her; they were like two pieces of the same puzzle. She wanted to tell him this, but couldn't think of a way. Instead, she took a deep breath and buried her face in the crook of his neck, hands fisted in his shirt. "There was a meeting, and the Princess was there, and Andeon was drunk, and there was a man named Kurma and he took us to space--really, Grayson! To space! We could see the earth and everything!--and he said that meeting that way wasn't safe anymore, and they needed somewhere safe for us to meet, and then Bla--Chibimoon showed us into Elysion, and--and--"
Her face heated, and she bit her lower lip to muffle a sob. It was shameful and embarrassing to have to admit this. She didn't want to admit it! But Grayson had to know. He was a Zodiac, and she'd have to tell them anyway, eventually. "I lost the Princess," she said into his shoulder. "And the Negaverse was there. They attacked us and so many people were dying and I could only protect so many of them, and I couldn't find the Princess so I helped the Dream Priestess and one of her guardians and Chibimoon because what else could I do? The Princess has already lost so many people. And." She reached up to twine her hands into his hair, the damp curls reassuring against her palms. "And so many people were dying, Grayson. I was so scared."
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 8:24 pm
What could he do but hold onto her? Grayson had never been good at comforting others, and it was a constant trial and frustration for him; he cared, deeply, much more than he felt he could ever expression, but in the face of great upset, he was helpless. It had been this way his entire life, though at least with Elke, it came a little bit easier. The agitation that he felt here, though, was nothing compared to Jude -- at least Elke would let herself cry on him, at least here there was a history that allowed him to relax a little -- but still.
He ran his hands up and down her back, lips tugged into a frown, and simply said, "It's okay, baby." It wasn't okay, it wasn't really, but it would be; he had to believe it would be, because they were fighting every day, weren't they? And they would restore balance, or at least as close to it as they could. They couldn't give up. In the end, things had to be okay...
But each time they lost someone, the future seemed a little dimmer, a little more bleak. Would it be worth it at the end? If they arrived hand-in-hand, but halved? These thoughts, while at the forefront of his mind, were best left unvoiced. Elke didn't need his uncertainty or his wavering optimism. She just needed someone to hold her.
And that, at least, was something he could do.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there." That was the worst part, wasn't it. His expression was pinched, but in order to keep her from seeing and worrying, he tucked her snugly against his chest. "You did wonderfully. The princess is safe, and so are you."
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 11:27 pm
Those words, his assurance that it was okay, they were lies. But lies that she wanted to believe--not forever. Maybe not even for the whole night, but for tonight, for this moment, she was going to believe that Grayson meant it and could make that kind of promise. He was... not her lover, but her love, and he wouldn't lie to her.
He was right, too--she did okay. She kept the Princess safe. Chronos hadn't suffered a single injury, between the Opal and Virgo's Immaculate Reflection. The leopard, too, she'd managed to watch out for--and Helios, and Chibimoon. There'd been damage sustained there--damage that had refracted back to the ones who'd caused it. She knew, because for a few very long minutes, she had borne those wounds and escaped the attentions of an inattentive General-Queen.
That was not something that Grayson needed to know. He did need a reminder of the most important part...
"And you're safe," softly, almost reverently, with her head tucked against his chest, over his heart. The steady lub-dub of his heartbeat was reassuring. Perfect, even. She was glad Grayson hadn't been there, glad she'd told him to stay home and rest. "I should telephone Dad and Pop and tell them the meeting's over," she said, wiping her eyes and sliding a hand into her pocket.
The conversation with their parents was brief. When she hung up, she wrapped her arms around Grayson's neck and curled up in his lap. There was his heartbeat again; it was calming, and reminded her of how exhausted she was. "May I sleep with you," she asked after a moment. They hadn't stopped just because of their new relationship. She still felt like she should ask.
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 11:46 pm
Grayson worried, but to say he worried was almost the same to say that he breathed. When he cared for someone it was with his whole heart, and no matter how many times it was bruised or broken, he couldn't change that. The guilt, too, was consuming, because no matter how often he was told that it was good that he was safe, or that people had been fine without him, he still blamed himself. For every scratch, nick, or moment of pain, there was part of him that burned with the knowledge that he had not been there to take the blow. Even though it would be unappreciated, that didn't stop him from wanting to be the sword and shield for those he loved, Elke especially. The Princess.
But especially Elke.
So when she came back to his lap, he simply folded her in his arms, pressing his nose to the crown of her head. He kissed the part in her hair, hands running slowly up her back; reassuring, comforting, not intended to arouse in the least. Never in his life had he felt like he held something more precious, except in those faraway memories where Leo recalled another woman, one just as vibrant and strong and vulnerable all at the same time... but even still, it wasn't the same. Sometimes, the memories tried to merge, a strange sense of deja vu and a coming home that rested too comfortably to be natural, but he was still well aware of the distinction between Elke and the Virgo of the past.
Hands braced against her shoulderblades, he spoke into her hair, long-lashed eyes drifting closed as he did. "Of course. I wouldn't get any sleep if you weren't here." His palms dragged down her back, lightly, because he had seen the bruises, didn't doubt the existence of more hidden beneath her clothing. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Elke, ever.
And still, at the back of his mind, was the tiny voice condemning him for not being there.
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Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 12:45 am
He meant to reassure and comfort, and he succeeded. Despite her place now as the Zodiac Captain, none of them could forget she'd only ever been intended to be the sixth of twelve, a member of the team that was arguably the weakest in terms of offensive attacks. A team that, now, was down a member--who could forget? She couldn't. It weighed on her like a set of manacles, freezing or stalling or even aborting her attempts to improve the Zodiacs.
There was no way to replace Jude. No way to replace Hero. She was aware of this, and because of it she practically melted into Grayson's embrace.
"It's late," she said after a minute, in a way that said more than that; it was thank you, I love you, all in two single-syllables words. "We should sleep..."
The simple suggestion seemed to be enough to remind her boyfriend of the late hour, and the fact that both of them had to be up the next day. They shifted up the bed and under the covers, and drifted off to sleep together.
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