Welcome to Gaia! ::

Harmony had left it all in his hands. The summer was busy, her social life picking up because of the free time but also her work schedule went insane. She spent time with her family and generally forgot about Ryan and the shoot she’d done with him. She was nervous, of course, because it was her naked body in them. Part of her wondered what would happen if her mother saw them but the other part of her said that she was an adult and could do as she wished in her chosen medium.

It was still a surprise when she got the call.

She was quick to invite him over for dinner, smiling to herself and hoping that they could spend some time hanging out afterward. She liked Ryan and they had things in common, what with their photography passion. And, inside, she was curious about the shots and how they came out. She was worried they wouldn’t be very good, she wasn’t a model, but part of her hoped they were.

This was different for Ryan. He didn’t usually deliver and discuss shots unless they were for work, but of course this wasn’t just work. He had done a favor for Harmony, a friend, something of a foreign word to him. He didn’t have much friends until recently. He could still count on one hand the people who came to mind with word all very very new. One of which he still wasn’t sure about.

He rang the doorbell and waited with a binder in hand full of prints, a disc and some negatives. He’d meant to invite her to develop at least the film ones with him, since he had a darkroom in his home, but he’d taken an impromptu vacation when he was kidnapped. It’d taken time to recuperate from that only to have to fight a demon youma train that tried to eat some of his fellow officers and some senshi and did eat some people. He sighed, his life was ******** up.

He pulled at his collar trying to wipe the small burn welts on his neck. The bruise on his cheek he could do nothing for, but at least the ones on his torso weren’t visible.

Harmony jumped up at the sound of his knock, rushing to the door in a way she hoped didn’t appear too eager. She smiled at she opened the door but immediately his wounds caught her eye and she frowned, taking his hand and pulling him inside.

“Oh my God, what happened?”

Following in the way of her mother, though no one would ever be wise in pointing that out around her, she brought him to a chair and put him down and went for her first aid kit. She pulled it out and started working, not really letting him rest on pleasantries. She felt they were too close for that, despite the fact that they really only knew each other from class. Hell, Harm just loved everyone and wanted the people around her to be happy.

“Ryan...what’s going on? Did you get into an accident? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Ryan was too shocked at be dragged in and fixed up to answer her question at first. He tensed at first because he’d never been very fond of touch and people being in his personal space, but at the same time, she probably could take better care of them than he could and he wouldn’t have to bother Alex for more bruise cream.

“I uh,” she said taking her wrist and moving them away for a moment, “honestly didn’t tell anyone. It wasn’t an accident. I got into another fight. Sadly not uncommon. Happened a lot in highschool. Almost got banned from gym, never cared much for contact, so contact sport usually ended badly.”

He laughed lightly, mostly because it was the truth, he had indeed gotten into a fight, he just wasn't forthcoming with the reasons. “They will heal. I've managed to avoid permanent injury thus far.” He touched the healing bruise on his face, but that only succeeded in making his collar slip back revealing the small burns on the back of his neck. How does one get burned in a fist fight and in such interesting circles.

“Come on,” he said putting the binder on the table, “let’s look at your prints.”

“Ryan…”

She was put off of her care and frowned, knowing that burns were not part of most fist fights. She had seen them and though she didn’t know what caused them she didn’t think she was getting the truth about things, either. Harmony stood, leaving her first aid kit aside, and was brushed aside. His explanation wasn’t satisfying but she did notice that he shied from her hugs and didn’t want to push if she was invading privacy that was obviously important to him.

Her chin dropped and she nodded, biting back the issue.

“Yeah, let’s look at them. I’ve been dying to see how they came out. I meant to call you sooner but with Tony in the hospital with Nathan and all the accidents…”

That was all her mother could come up with to explain the close call with Painite and the injuries Tony and Nate sustained while trying to stay alive against the crazed general. Harmony often wondered why she felt like she was out of the loop in her life, like she was always missing something that no one really wanted to tell her. The lies never quite added up but she just swallowed them down, as always.

“Well, you’re here now, right?”

Ryan instantly felt bad and that was something he was not used to at all. Where was that feeling coming from. He hadn’t meant to be so abrasive and it seemed Harmony was going through a tough time too. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean … uh I don't.”

Nope he didn’t know what to say so he sufficed for awkwardly rubbing her back and giving an apologetic look before leaning forward just sort of staring at the book. He was half tempted to tell her she really didn’t want to know, but likely only made her more curious as shirt shifted revealing another bruise just above his hip.

He opened the book the first picture revealed was a shyer one with Harmony sitting in the chair, still the image was beautiful and very alive in a sort of way. Ryan couldn’t really explain it, but despite it being one of the most clothed images which hadn’t been the purpose of the shoot at all, it was his favorite.

“I really like this one. I was thinking of adding it to my portfolio if you are okay with that.” He said this while pulling a disc out of a front and handing it to her. “This has all of the digital prints on it. You should be able edit them as you like. I didn’t do much to any or them. You were a great model.”

“No, it’s ok.”

She was honestly used to it by now and took no offense, trying to give him a reassuring smile to tell him that what she said was true. There was no need to dwell on it, she rarely did. Harmony much preferred to look on the brighter side of life, needing to be cheerful and optimistic despite the things happening around her that were inevitably out of her control.

She turned her attention to his binder, looking at the picture he pointed to first. A loud gasp escaped her. Was that really her? She looked...shy and sweet and there was something about her that looked relaxed despite being scantily dressed.

“Thank you, Ryan. They’re beautiful. Of course you can use this one for your portfolio. You deserve to. I can’t…” She shook her head. “It’s beautiful.”

She took the disc and smiled, holding his hand for a brief second before she took it away.

Ryan gave a smile and settled a bit more giving her a grin as she took the disc. "Promise to show me what you do with them if anything okay." He sat back the dopey grin on his face probably doing nothing to make the bruising less in your face.

"Okay," he said turning the page revealing another shy shot of Harmony. He had developed at least have the shot so the binder was really fully. He flipped slowly and after a few pages it was like telling a story. A cute and he guessed maybe somewhat flirty story as she eased up and begin to shed some layers.

"You look more at ease here. It looks like you were really enjoying yourself. It's funny really, but I never really thought to have someone do a photo shoot of me. I'm always behind the camera."

He flipped the page again and came to another favorite of his. Harmony was completely nude in it but tastefully so with her hair covering most everything. It had a dainty sort of elegant playfulness to it.

"I really like this one too. You look at ease."

Harmony watched a little in awe of the photos they paged through, looking at them as if they were someone else entirely. She knew it was her but there was just something so different in her bearing, in the final outcome, than her day to day self. She actually teared up a little, nodding at him and promising to show him anything she changed, though she didn’t think she’d need to change a thing about any of the shots.

She picked up the last photo he pointed to to get a closer look, smiling to herself as she studied it.

“Ryan, you should try this. Hell, I can set the room up. We could do a warrior photo shoot. You look all beaten up anyway.”

She motioned to the room down the hall that housed her equipment and backdrops. She could easily imagine him and had a few ideas about how to style it, should he be willing to try.

Ryan nodded and pulled the print from the book before sitting it in front of Harmony. "You should frame it," he said closing the book and arching an eyebrow at Harmony's words despite pretty much suggesting it.

He gave something of a laugh, but stood, "I doubt I would be good at it, but I'm willing to try and besides never hurts to try something new right? And I've certainly got warrior bruises." He motioned for her to lead the way as it seemed they were in for another photoshoot.

"So what kind of warrior are we talking ... Greek ... Roman ... something else entirely."

He admitted, "I've got a few cuts, scrapes, and bruises on my torso and legs too. I hope you're not squeamish. It was a really nasty fight."

“Oh God.”

Harmony frowned and reached for his shirt, moving to help him out of it to see what they were working with. If he was going to get naked for a photo shoot his shirt was hardly the most sensitive piece of clothing to lose. She didn’t like to think of her friend in pain, or fighting, and as she got a good look at everything tracking his body she winced, shaking her head.

“Roman,” she offered, in answer to her question, but her hands were running over his torso, light touches memorizing skin and surveying the damage on his body. “Ryan, this looks so bad.”

Nothing like a simple bar room brawl. She got a strong feeling again that she was not in possession of everything she could know. She was too distracted by that itch to really focus on the fact that his body was very well put together and, under normal circumstances, she would be horribly attracted to him. And that, well, being around a half dressed boy her age was not something she was in practice of outside of her photo studio.

She looked up, catching his eyes as she did. Suddenly what was happening kind of caught up with her and she gulped silently, realizing her hands were still on a very muscled torso. She snatched them away quickly, looking shy.

Ryan tensed again at her helping to remove his shirt, but tried to relax. He had a feeling Harmony was just one of those people he'd have to get use to it with. Sweet people were often like that, but at least she wasn't adding to the bruises.

"I ... um ... I'm no medic and bruise balm can only do so much. I should probably be less aggressive and I could avoid this sort of injury."

When she snatched her hands away and turned shy he couldn't help, but to smirk though he made sure not to comment.

"Not terribly fond of doctors, but I guess maybe I should get patched up. Not right now however, you've got an artistic view to put together and maybe you'll be able to add to your portfolio. "

He stood waiting for instructions because while he was bruised, in jeans with his nicely styled hair he looked anything but Roman. "Shall we get started then. "

Harmony tried not to look too much but found herself casting sidelong glances at Ryan while she prepared. She knew he was an athlete, and a good one, but had never really gone to watch him compete and had certainly never seen him like this. She wondered if he’d had the same problem. Obviously she would inevitably look at him as an artist but until then, well, she was only human and her friend was certainly very attractive.

“Alright, come here.”

She fixed his hair first, having him sit in a chair while she rubbed product into his hair and styled it the way she liked, the only way she would actually be taller than he was. She was at it for a little while, giving him nothing to really look at but what was chest level in the room. Once that was done she nodded to herself and crossed the room to grab a black cloth.

“Here.”

That was wardrobe and she figured he could use it however he liked, since turnabout was fair play. She’d been shy at first and wasn’t sure if he was, God knew he had no reason to be, but she thought she’d give him the option at first until any shy feeling went away.

“Are you ready?”

He sat in the chair while she fussed with his hair and figuring he should probably get a haircut soon, since his sides were growing out which made for a much less neat style with his wavy, curly hair. He wasn’t sure if he actually wanted to actually cut it or not though. “Think I should keep the undercut or let it grow out. I’m fond of it, but not sure what I want to do.”

It was murmured to Harmony while she styled his hair before he was handed an black cloth and he sort of look at it realizing that was what he’d be working with today and decided that he and Harmony needed to go costume shopping, but maybe after Halloween.

He took the cloth and went to change. He slipped out of his jeans, socks and shoes before wrapping the cloth around his tying, then taking the rest of the fabric over his shoulder in tucking it in for a makeshift toga. His arms, legs and much of his torso was visible and riddled with a collection of bruises, some if you looked closely enough you could see where nearly heeled.

He came out motioned for Harmony come over, “I’m not sure this is going to stay in place. I think it will probably fall off if I move to much.”

Ryan had clearly not been to a toga party before and was inexperienced in the ways of wrapping one.

“Well, I didn’t think you’d be wearing it for very long.”

Harmony smirked at him and raised her camera, taking a test shot to judge the lighting. It was mostly for fun so she didn’t bother with more than a red backdrop to bring out the auburn highlights in his hair and the red of his burns and bruising. She made a few small changes and took another, and judge this to be as good as she was prepared to make it.

“Anyway, togas aren’t really Roman.”

She brought him her fake boulder that she ended up using a lot in her photography for different settings. It was sturdy enough to sit on and he could use it to camouflage If he wanted to get on the ground. She didn’t think there was anything wrong with showing nudity, persay, but she wasn’t sure he wanted to be, ahem, flapping in the wind the entire time.

“I didn’t think you were afraid of anything,” she teased.

Ryan arched an eyebrow at Harmony before realizing what she meant and nearly laughed, but smirked instead. He had a light blush across his face, but he couldn't help being a little bit cocky. "Didn't know you wanted to see me naked. Honestly you could have just said I want to shoot you nude."

He winked at her and fussed with a strand of her hair before shrugging. "Well if the toga is not quite right maybe you can adjust it for me. Or we can just call me a Greek warrior or whatever."

He was suddenly a lot more comfortable holding his arms out to allow Harmony to do what she would with the cloth. "Me afraid, never. I'm ready for whatever is thrown my way."

He leaned forward to the side of her head close to her ear, but not close enough to be touching. He wore a small grin when he said, "are you," before drawing back. He gave her a grin before turn to go start her photo shoot.

"Come on Harmony. Let's see if you can make me shine as much as you did. I doubt it only because you're a natural."

Harmony stammered.

“I thought since you shot me nude that’s what you meant.”

Had she offended him? She panicked for a moment as she gripped her camera a little tighter. She hadn’t consciously thought about getting him naked, or maybe she had and just didn’t want to say it aloud. She was caught now, trying to figure out what to do before he started teasing her and she felt a blush sink into her cheeks.

She moved to fuss with the cloth, draping it over him more like a loin cloth than a toga to get a better feel of roman culture. It wasn’t perfect but, then, it wasn’t meant to be on very long either. He moved to the side of her head and what sounded like a purr caressed her ear, making her shiver.

“I’m not afraid of a challenge. You shouldn’t tease if you’re not going to follow through, you know.”

He stood in the makeshift loincloth, his eyebrow arching once more at her words and trying to figure out whether he should continue to tease her and call her bluff, which he thought for certain she was. Though he wasn’t entirely sure, but it was what it was.

“I always follow through Harmony. I mean honestly I think it obvious from the bruises, but you could always see for yourself.”

He stood with a sort of look on his face that said you're bluffing before moving back towards the boulder she had set up as a prop earlier sitting down on it with a very thinker-esqe pose with a smirk. His expression was very daring, but maybe what he was daring her to do wasn’t completely obvious. He was currently very amused by the situation he found himself in. “Well?”

Harmony honestly had no idea what to do. She felt like she was supposed to do something but whether it would be with the camera in her hand was a little up in the air at the moment. He was sitting up on the boulder and she hovered at indecisive for a few long moments, not doing much more than looking at him. She felt tension, and it was thick.

She made a decision and set the camera aside for a moment. She moved toward the sitting model and bent down, pressing her lips to his before she could change her mind. Slowly she knelt to the ground in front of him, pressing her chest to his. Her arms went around his neck, though she was mindful of his injuries.

Whatever Ryan was expecting, that wasn’t really it. He thought for certain she was bluffing, but it turned out she wasn’t. Her lips was pressed against his and her chest as she wrapped her arms around her neck and Ryan was in shock. Still he kissed her back, a hand going up into her hair, the other around the small of her back.

He wasn’t entirely sure he should really have responded, but he wasn’t one to back down from a challenge and never had been. “And here I thought you were bluffing,” he murmured, though after he said it he thought it probably wasn’t the best thing to the girl you were currently kissing.

“Bluffing? Me? Never.”

She kissed him again, liking the feeling of his hands in her hair. She pressed tighter against him and grinned into the kiss, happy to know she could at least manage to surprise people, that she didn’t have to be what people thought of her all the time. There wasn’t something wrong with wanting something, or, in this case, someone.

She was a good girl, but sometimes a good girl needed a bad day.

“If you don’t think you can keep up I can always stop…”

She gave him a smirk, raising an eyebrow at him. She wondered if he’d keep this up or tap out.

Ryan smiled at her and shook his head before pulling her into his lap and pressing a kiss to her cheek and another to her ear before whispering. “I think I can keep up.” He blew gently on her ear before moving back and trying not to smirk, but being rather unsuccessful before he moved forward to claim her lips again.

Ryan had never been overly fond of touch and he often made this very clear, but he had to admit, he was 120 percent okay with this sort of touch and well maybe he over reacted a little bit. Maybe he’d be a little less quickly to shove someone who laid a hand on him, now … probably not, whatever

The hand on her back slipped under her back of her shirt trailing fingers across soft skin. Harmony seemed perfectly seriously, but Ryan still wondered if she would tap out now.

Harmony was not going to tap out. She liked the feel of his hands on her skin and felt she was ready for whatever was to come. When he slipped his hand under her shirt she smiled and tugged it off, figuring that it didn’t make much of a difference since he’d already seen her naked. And, besides, he was currently dangerously close to naked himself.

“I’m not hurting you, am I?” She panted, pausing to be serious and mindful for a moment. He was injured. “If I am we can stop or...move. My bedroom is across the hall.”

It had to be softer than a foam core boulder and a hardwood floor.

It was kind of a wonder to her how they got to this point considering that she seemed to remember that he didn’t like getting physically close to people and yet here they were pretty darn close and, if things kept on, probably going to get closer. Her heart was thumping madly in her chest, racing, but she wasn’t pulling away.

When Harmony removed her shirt that was really all the confirmation Ryan needed that she was fully committed to what he knew was about to happen. He had to admit that he was certainly not unhappy. He of course never thought showing her her prints would lead to fun of the more sensual kind but he was not objecting.

He ached sure, but with the adrenaline pumping in his blood made it so he hardly noticed if he was comfortable at all. “You’re not hurting me and besides there is nothing wrong with a little pain.” He winked, not that he was a terribly kinky person, but it seemed an appropriate response.

He looked to the door and nodded releasing Harmony so she could stand, though as soon as they were up Ryan had his hand around her back again, pressing kisses to her back and moving them toward the door. He stopped and grinned at her briefly as the reached the hall fully expecting her to lead the way.

Harmony nodded, understanding and putting his pain from her mind. He chose this and she meant to follow through, not because of a dare but because she wanted to. When he stood she did, letting him press to her and giving a small moan with his kisses.

“Ryan, you should know...I’ve never...this is...I’m still a virgin.”

She looked at him uncertainly, assuming that he didn’t have that problem considering he was attractive, and a senior in college, and, well, maybe just because she thought he shouldn’t be. She hoped it was ok for her to be, that it wouldn’t change anything. They made it to her bedroom and she kissed him again.

“I still want to.”

Ryan was a little shocked by her admission with how forward and bold she was through most of their teasing and leading up to heading for the bedroom. He decided to forgo admitting he wasn’t any more experienced that her instead opting to say, “I’ll go slow.”

They could learn together and if she figured out he was a virgin, than that was that. When she kissed him again, there was no more debate, melding against her and leading her to the bed. They’d surely figure it out and spend the afternoon enjoying the new experience.