(Untitled)

[epitomeofvanity]

WHO: Miyazawa Yukino [epitomeofvanity] + Don Draper [change_just_is]
WHEN: Friday, February 20th, 1953
WHERE: Schwarzalbenheim; Apt. 2
FILTER: Closed.
WHAT: Cooking Lesson time!
STATUS: [COMPLETED]

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[epitomeofvanity]

The hand at her back sent an electric energy straight up her spine. She knew what was coming. It stopped the words that were about to come from her mouth and had her hands coming up to attempt a shield, but he was prepared and she was not and so the peck landed. It was very brief, compared to the others, but it was no less of an invasion -which was becoming, sadly, an expected one- that got an instant reaction. It came in two distinct parts.

The strangled cry came first. It was filled with irritation and frustration. It was coated with blame as well, but not for him. If she told him to stop, she thought he was enough of a gentleman to do what she asked, but this had become something of an ill-advised game. Like when she was fighting with Asaba, petty tricks became common place and their unrelenting spirits refused to admit defeat, but they had been on even ground. Don had a very, very unfair advantage, and Yukino was determined to level the playing field, even if she hadn't figured out how yet.

Her fingers had brushed the underside of Don's chin, a testament to her reflexes, even if they hadn't been fast enough. They were, however, quick enough to clench and immediately lash out at him, almost simultaneous to her vocalized dismay. It was a hard graze to his chest, because somewhere in her mind she realize deliberately punching him in the heart might not be forgiven no matter how she batted her lashes. Though maybe she shouldn't have held back, because he had gotten her again. TWICE. In ONE day.

That only made her hackles raise even more because she couldn't STAND losing. The competitive spirit that had seemingly lay down to die was writhing and bristling and having an all out fit at her inability to win against his craftiness, something she should excel in, whether it was mental or physical. It makes her stomp her foot and claw the air in irritation as the redness takes over her whole face, down her neck, and puts a fire in her eye that might be misconstrued as homicidal when it was simply -simply might not be the right word- vengeful. She swats at his chest, open-handed this time, and she isn't even sure what's she saying or what language it's in -Japanese, incidentally- but it has to do with him being intolerable and he had no right to complain when she gets revenge on him and that she was going to eat delicious food in front of him and he couldn't have any.

Despite this, Yukino isn't mad. And there is a tweak of her lips, a little curl that belies her eyebrows downward cast that says it's probably okay. Even if she's still hitting him and frustrated and probably breathing pretty hard.

[change_just_is]

The hits to his chest surprises him, and he stumbles back, unable to keep the expression of surprise off of his face even though he tries as hard he can for his face to remain neutral. The redness in her face looks more like frustration than a blush at his advances, and he's not sure whether she even appreciates the flirtation at this point, or whether she feels flattered. Her physical reaction says no, and the words she's shouting at him in Japanese also say no, but that little twist in her lips says yes, even if it's only briefly.

As he steps back, he shrugs, appraising her. Again, she'd surprised him with her physical strength, and her ability to not give into his seductions, even when most women would have by now. But perhaps unfortunately for her, it only makes him want her more. It's starting to become a game to him, too, and it's a game he doesn't intend to lose--it's a game he's never lost before, and he won't start now.

But the grin is back on his face, and the expression of surprise is long gone. He'd thrown her off, and he can't help but laugh a little at the expression on her face. If he's still able to throw her off in this way, he feels that he probably still has a chance to make her give into his flirtations and kisses, even if it takes a little while. "I really should get going," he says, and continues grinning.

[epitomeofvanity]

Don's surprise is balm for her wounded ego, but it doesn't last for long, because he quickly finds his smile again. The amusement at her temper tantrum -because that's exactly what it was and she would be ashamed of it later- leaves a twinkle in his eye. It didn't help that she was only giving him mild slaps instead of rib cracking blows like she should have been for what he'd done. Again. This battle, this WAR, was far from over, but Yukino still didn't know the stakes were quite so high.

Her breathing is deep but ragged, and she fumes at his laugh. Yukino pulls her shoulders back and puts her hands on her hips, eyes narrowing dangerously at him as she makes a very concentrated effort at staring down at Don from a foot below him. Her face is red more from exertion now, and she can't honestly remember getting worked up like that in a long time. "You..." and now the red is definitely getting deeper, as she thinks about what he just did, and not in terms of a game or battles but just as a kiss. "You are... just...!" And it's like the sudden conversion back to English is making it harder for her to think, or it's just thinking of his hand in the small of her back as his face gets incredibly close, so she hits him on the arm. "Go! You are bad. Very bad!"

[zack_rules]

Having retreated a little further into the house to give the two more privacy at the tail end of their apparent date, Zack was understandably concerned to hear Yukino suddenly break out into incoherent shouting. It wasn't a sound he was at all familiar with, and given how well they'd all been getting on a few minutes earlier, it was pretty shocking.

He made his way back towards the door, calling out, "What the heck's going on out there?"

[epitomeofvanity]

Even though she was about to start pushing Don towards -and possibly down- the stairs, she heard the voice coming from inside the apartment. It sounded concerned, and it was getting closer and she stiffened. Zack! She had forgotten all about him! Her face flushed harder in horrified embarrassment as she realized he had heard everything she had said. Her brain was a little fuzzy on exactly what that had been, or if he'd been able to understand what she said anyway, but her hysterical and shrill yelling must have been enough.

She took in a deep breath and tried very, very hard to steady her breathing and hoped that the redness in her face wasn't as brilliant a shade of red as she knew it was. Her breath came out a little shaky, mostly from the sudden yelling, and because, for some reason, she was extremely nervous about Zack finding out anything about what Don had did. "I-It's fine." Damn. It sounded breathy, too. Today had started off so calmly, too...

[change_just_is]

Don looks at her worriedly. For some reason, she seems to be more concerned about what Zack thinks than about what Don had actually done. Or at least more concerned about Zack finding out about it. He smiled at her, trying to calm her down. He certainly didn't want Zack to get the wrong idea--what he'd heard may have sounded a lot more questionable than it had actually been, as Yukino had screamed at him as though he were doing something far more inappropriate than simply kissing her.

"I just startled her," he calls. If Zack comes into the hallway, he'll see that Yukino is blushing, but he might not know the full story. And besides, it was true. He did startle her, at least based on her horrified reaction.

[zack_rules]

Zack stopped before he reached the hall. Yukino sounded a little shaky, but if she said it was all right, then he'd trust her that at the least she didn't want it to be his business. He had his suspicions about what "startled" was supposed to mean--unexpected tongue? hands where they shouldn't be?--but he wasn't about to add to it with an unwanted rescue. He'd just have to be sure to have a chat with Don about it later.

"..all right," he said. "But try to be more careful. It almost sounded like somebody was getting murdered out there."

[epitomeofvanity]

Yukino felt an immense flood of relief as his voice stopped getting closer. Despite how little confidence her voice must have inspired about her well being, Zack wasn't going to come out and see her totally flustered. In a few minutes, she was going to try and drown herself in the tub for totally over-reacting. Sadly, the first time she had punched him was probably a better reaction than the total fit just then. Oh, Kami, where had her tact and quick thinking mind gone? She couldn't be so out of practice to melt down like this, right? Violence was definitely better than screaming.

Her voice came out more confident as her eyes fastened on Don, now back to their narrowed slits. "I'm sorry, Zack, next time I'll make sure it really is a murder," and her voice is sweet as she smiles at Don. Her mind was cranking, and her hands were behind her back as she assumed a very non-threatening posture and looked like noooothing strange at all had happened. "I'll see you later, Don."

[change_just_is]

Don grins at her, because he can see how she's trying to make it look like nothing happened, but he knows that her mind must be going a million miles a minute, trying to figure things out. If it hadn't completely thrown her off, she wouldn't have reacted that way. And maybe there was a little bit of attraction to him, too, if she seemed so embarrassed. If she hadn't cared at all, wouldn't she have reacted less? He told himself this to give him hope, because he certainly wasn't going to give up now.

"I'll see you soon," he agreed, turning and heading back down the stairs. He intended to bring his portfolio by very soon, and maybe he'd get another chance with her then. She probably needed some time to calm down after the fit she'd just thrown. Her overreaction showed that there might be a little something there, even if she didn't admit it. But he could wear her down.