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 Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2019 9:42 pm
Cordelia had no idea where the past year had gone. Somewhere along the way she'd found herself wrapped up in a whirlwind of visits to Corvus, shifts at the Paw and her usual weekly grind of patrols while shuffling in an online class or two and the occasional date with Fritz St James that didn't involve the potential of dancing with the Negaverse. It was not the life that she had imagined for herself, and yet... And yet... Cordelia didn't know whether or not she could actually imagine it being any other way. No matter how close the darkness crept, Cordelia Carden found her heart filled with light, laughter and love-- most days, at least. Lately the inkling edge towards anxiousness had returned. The first time she'd felt it as a result of spending too much time away from Corvus-- a week skipped out of obligation to things on Earth and her skin had started to crawl with a pent up feeling she hadn't found words to explain. What she was currently feeling was similar in the fact that when everything was quiet and she was left to her own devices the world felt wrong, but different in that she knew it had nothing to do with her Transcendence. Things had been going well lately. Too well. Cordelia shrugged the thought off as she retreated to the kitchen to start heating a kettle for tea, pushing the concern down only to have it well up again. Something always went wrong when things went well. They never stayed good for long. They.... "Oh, hush," she muttered, irritation edging into the sound of her voice. Why was it that just when she thought she'd been doing so well living in the present she found herself feeling trapped by the past and uncertain about the future?
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Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2019 6:06 pm
A basket of food was held in one arm and a bottle of wine was in the other hand, Fritz slowly climbing the steps towards Cordelia's place. The hand that held the wine - his left - had a new addition to it that kept drawing his attention back to it: a golden ring with a ruby red stone that was on his index finger, glittering slightly in the light.
It felt strange. Almost as strange as his knight ring had felt when he'd first put it on, as though the weight of it was unaccountably larger than its small form. He hadn't yet gotten used to the feel of it, cold metal against his skin, and sometimes he thought...
Well, no matter. He needed to talk to Cordelia about it, that was for certain. Fritz had explained what had happened and how he'd gotten it, but he hadn't discussed what it actually did, mostly because Fritz had only just figured that out himself.
His life was good right now. He wanted it to stay good.
He wanted it to stay with Cordelia.
Fritz lifted a hand and knocked on the door; then very gently pushed it open, poking his head around the end of it to peer inside.
"Love? Where are you?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 5:06 pm
"Kitchen!" came her call in return to the sound of his voice. It must have been later in the evening than she'd thought if Fritz was here already... Wait. Had she been expecting Fritz? Had she forgotten? Sometimes it was a relief that she'd given him a key; that he had a way to get in and chase her thoughts away when she was so lost in them that she might have slipped away into dark thoughts and contemplation otherwise. The times where she drifted into moments like that were few and far between, but when she did... Cordelia too a deep breath, tucking a strand of hair back behind her ear as she turned on heel to face the direction Fritz was coming from, rounding the corner into the living room. The sight of him, smiling and wonderful, eased some of her worries almost instantly. "Goodness, what all have you brought along with you? Food and no Wendell? How did you manage that?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 5:30 pm
The sound of Cordelia's voice, as always, unwound something inside of Fritz. He felt a little bit of the tension ebb away from his shoulders as he stepped inside, breathing in the familiarity of this place, of her home, of her presence, dark haired and dark eyed. She was smiling at him, her curly hair tumbling over her shoulders, and Fritz's heart gave a lurch of adoration he couldn't quite help.
It was difficult to grasp, sometimes, that he had become this fortunate, but it was wonderful too all the same.
He made his way over towards her, still holding his bags, and leaned over to press a very gentle kiss to her lips, Fritz lingering for a moment before pulling back to smile down at Cordelia. She had not - she had never pressed him for more than he could handle when it came to physical touch, generally letting him set the pace for what he was comfortable with, and he could not have been more grateful. The obstacle was still frustratingly there, but at least he was learning to work with it.
"No Wendell; he's out trying to find Oberon something shiny again, I believe," said Fritz with a small laugh. He deposited the bags and the wine onto the kitchen table. "And I just brought a bit of festive cheer, that's all."
Never mind that the holidays were long over.
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2019 6:16 pm
Cordelia reached up as Fritz leaned in, gingerly brushing her fingertips against the line of his jaw as she returned the kiss. The touch was fleeting, the lightest ghost of a caress before she drew back. At one point in time her instant reaction had been to hesitate, afraid that Fritz would flinch away. Afraid of so much. He had come so far. They had come so far. "Eta is with Thisbe and Tarvos. She muttered something about needing more training beneath her breath before slipping off earlier today." She was certain that the silver tabby was just fine, wherever it was that she'd found herself with the Doyle sisters. As Fritz moved Cordelia caught the shine of the ring on his finger, reaching out to lightly take hold of his hand before he could start unpacking anything from the bags he'd brought with him. "Is this the ring? It hasn't had any odd side-effects, has it?" She'd worried, of course, when he'd told her about what had happened. Odd things were hardly strangers to the denizens of Destiny City, but this was something new and there was always a chance that it could be a threat. "You've been well,even though you've been wearing it?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2019 6:55 pm
He felt a small shiver make its way through him at her touch; part uncertainty, part anxiousness, part adoration. Fritz wished, more than anything, that it was easier for him to accept more than this, but at the very least, they were working on it. He was working on it, and Cordelia was working with him, and that really made all the difference.
Before she could draw her hand entirely away, Fritz had turned his head, lips brushing Cordelia's fingertips with the lightest of kisses, affectionate and gentle. He lifted a hand and moved a stray curl from her forehead before his fingers dropped again, and he smiled down at her, feeling as though his heart was expanding three sizes just looking at her.
"Ah. Well, Eta's welcome to go to my place, if she wants; I'm sure Wendell would appreciate the company when he gets back," he said with a small laugh.
He felt Cordelia's hand on his and had to resist the urge to pull away; not because he didn't want her to touch him, but because he still wasn't used to this. Fritz made himself breathe, inhaling and then exhaling, and allowed himself to relax, quelling his pulse as much as he could.
"This is it," he said, lips quirking slightly in a wry smile. "I've found out what it does when I'm Celsus, though; it emits a flame that can't be put out, as far as I can tell."
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2019 7:25 pm
The lightest trace of color touched her cheeks as his lips touched her fingertips, warming her face as it lit with a gentle smile. Fritz may have wished that it was easier for him to accept more, but Cordelia was content with the little things like this -- that he reached out to her when he was comfortable to do so, enjoying that bit of closeness where it was given. Before Fritz had become a more prominent presence in her life, Cordelia had withdrawn herself from almost everyone. Established friendships always had a way of faltering. She blamed no one for that but herself, guilting herself to the point of nearly becoming a hermit on more than one occasion. Acknowledging that being who she was, being what she was, meant that it was very likely that she was simply supposed to spend her life solitary was something she had accepted. It was so much easier to keep everyone at arm's length. Doing so meant that there was no chance of being hurt. And yet... Cordelia's fingers trailed away from his as she released his hand, keeping the contact brief out of habit. "A flame that can't be put out? Do I want to know at what lengths you put that to the test?" Her tone of voice was lightly teasing as she looked from the ring to his face. "Is it safe?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2019 7:43 pm
He liked the faint dusting of red across Cordelia's cheeks; it was an endearing bit of color that he had caused and this alone made Fritz feel a little more secure in himself, and in the two of them together. They had built this fragile world between them, and now it was just a matter of laying the mortar with the bricks so that everything was secure and solid and unbreakable.
"Yes, well," Fritz admitted, a touch of dryness to his voice, "A few times, actually, so you're not entirely wrong. I thought I would give it a bit of a go, you see, and, well...I mean, it doesn't actually set anything on fire, unless the thing can hold fire. So I wouldn't be able to just set this loft on fire. I seem to be able to pass the flame to one other object, but then it can be put out."
He reached for Cordelia's hands again. "It does have another ability, though," said Fritz. His fingers curled around hers, and the ring glowed for a moment, bright red in the light of the kitchen. Warmth spread through his hands to Cordelia's; not the normal warmth of just their touch, but a deeper, less organic warmth that reminded Fritz of a heating blanket or one of those heating pads.
"Feel that?" he asked, smiling, and gave her fingers a squeeze. "That could be quite useful."
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2019 8:20 pm
If Fritz hadn't been holding on to her hands she would have jerked them away from his touch as it heated, a swell of panic welling up to take the place of whatever calm his presence had brought to the frenzy of thoughts Cordelia had lost herself in prior to his arrival. Magic was something that she had come to terms with accepting as a part of their powered lives. The thought of it weaving its way into their normal, average, every day lives... "Fritz-- Fritz, no, stop. What do you know about that ring? Or where you disappeared to? What if..." What if someone could track him using the ring? What if all the ring needed was to be activated for someone to know where he was? What if it had a power signature and he'd just given up their location? What if... What if? She could have rattled each and every one of those questions off in quick succession aloud. She didn't, the rational side of her mind arguing that Fritz was intelligent enough to have thought of half of those things if not all of them. He would have been cautious. He wouldn't ever put the two of them, let alone the other denizens of her apartment building, in danger intentionally.... Would he? "Are you sure.... Are you sure it's safe? I don't know what I would do if..."
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Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2019 10:39 am
His fingers tightened on hers instinctively and surprisingly just for a few seconds before he let go completely, allowing Cordelia's hands to slide free. The warmth he had called had started to ebb back away now, palms cool to the touch, and he glanced down at the ruby ring, docile on his finger.
"It's not bad," said Fritz quietly. "I can't quite explain it, but it's not bad. And yes, I've considered all the options. I've tested things thoroughly, but I still can't quite dredge up a feeling of discomfort. I'm wary, of course, you know me, but the feeling I get from it is not bad."
His hand rose and touched Cordelia's cheek, just lightly, a simple touch before it fell away again.
"Trust me," said Fritz. "I've been cautious."
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Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2019 7:23 pm
"I do trust you." She murmured as she brought her hand up as though to cover his before he could take it away from her face. Her own touch fell shy, however, hand drifting back down to her side as she tried to put words to the sudden swell of panic she'd felt. "Stars and stones, Fritz, I hope you know how much I trust you. It's..." I she said the words 'everything else' she risked sounding like an absolute nutter. It was also untrue, because it wasn't everything else that she didn't trust, just specifically things that she knew absolutely nothing about. "Can we have a do-over, maybe? I'll try to be less lost in my thoughts and you can try to warn me before using magic of unknown origins in my kitchen?" Cordelia managed the slightest trace of a smile, although she was certain it came off more uncertainly awkward than anything else. "I can certainly see uses for having a warmed up touch -- sore muscles, cold hands, thawing leftovers..." Let it not be said that she wasn't at least trying to see the brighter side of things. "I'm sorry, I really do know that you know how to look out for yourself... I just... " Worry because I love you.
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Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2019 4:56 pm
He could read the emotions on her face. After years of knowing each other, all this time being around one another, Fritz had started to learn how to translate the complicated feelings that Cordelia had in her eyes, in the tilt of her head, in the brush of her fingertips. It wasn't an exact science, but it was something more than what he had once had.
"I know," he said, because it was true, and also because she didn't need to finish her sentence for him to understand what she was saying. Or not saying. "I know after everything we've been through - everything that's happened - it's hard to know where the line is sometimes between 'magical object that will help us' and 'magical object that will entirely mess up our bloody lives.'"
His hand rose again. This time it was the backs of his knuckles that gently caressed Cordelia's face, barely a touch; something soft and tender that for a moment felt simultaneously fragile and secure all at the same time. Fritz was struck, not for the first time, just how much he needed her.
"I love you," he said softly. "Thank you for making sure I'm not doing anything dimwitted."
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Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2019 8:08 pm
"If you said that you received the ring as a door prize at a gala or a holiday pop-up event around town as opposed to picking it up somewhere randomly in space I'd have told you to discard it immediately." Her voice softened as she closed her eyes, tilting her head towards the gentle brush of his touch. She wasn't sure that a magical objected existed in the universe that wouldn't somehow mess up their lives in the long run, but she trusted him. "For what it's worth, the feeling is mutual -- I probably don't say it out loud often enough, but it's true." When her eyes opened it was so that she could look up to him, gaze drifting over his face as though hoping to find something that would make words easier. "I love you so much, Fritz. So much, that for all that I was so sure I'd figured out how to stand alone, I don't know what I would do without you in my life. The thought of something, anything, happening..." Cordelia's voice caught in her throat again as the words trailed off, chin tipping down as her eyes fell away from Fritz's, landing somewhere on his chest. He was the warm, amber sunlight of late summer to her bitter chill of winter. He reminded her that she could be gentle; that there was so much more to their lives than where they drew their power from. "You brought something that smells amazing. Please don't let me ruin it by being a worry-wart."
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Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2019 4:25 pm
"Well, we all know what happens at galas," said Fritz, with a touch of amusement in spite of the seriousness of the situation. He knew what Cordelia meant; things weren't easily trusted here on earth or in space; it wasn't as though they had a magical item detector that could tell them whether something was safe or not, and it was always better to err on the side of caution.
His hand shifted so that instead of his knuckles it was the tips of his fingers; a light touch, because it was all he could handle at the moment, but she had never pushed him farther, only waited and encouraged and supported. She was the foundation of all that was good in his life, and he needed her.
His expression was gentle. "And that is also mutual," said Fritz softly. "You're my light, and I will not let anything ruin that. Not now."
Not after everything they had both been through. Not after the years of self deprecation and pain and heartache. They had finally, after so long, found each other and that was not something that either of them was going to give up so easily.
"Yes, it's me," Fritz deadpanned, and then laughed. He leaned down and brushed a kiss over Cordelia's forehead, finally dropping his hand away, and reached for one of the bags.
"Potatoes and vegetables brisket and some red wine," he said. "I stopped by that place we like."
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Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2019 8:24 pm
"Then why don't we break out dinner, set a table and enjoy a meal together? Or we could take everything out to the living room, push the coffee table back.... Sit on the floor and have a picnic?" Her brow lofted as she stepped back to watch him, wondering briefly how she got to be so damn lucky. The answer was in the fact that it was so much more than luck. It was years of hard work and suffering as so many others had found their way in and out of her life. It was friendships that she'd run away from, convincing herself that she couldn't have nice things, loved ones that she'd pushed away. It was so much more than just luck. "Thank you, Fritz, for being so absolutely wonderfully you."
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