Part 1

[burrowedtime]

Who: Harrison Tweed (Tweedledum) and Cassandra Quinn (The Mole)
What: Cassie's faux-boyfriend comes to meet her parents
When: Sometime this evening
Where: At Cassie's parents place
Warnings: Totally G - though there is enough sappiness and sugaryness to make your teeth ache.

And apparently this chat is too big for one post so this is Part 1



Cassie: Cassandra had gotten to her parents house a bit earlier then she had told Harrison to arrive, bringing Argos along with her, though he didn't usually sit at the dining room table, and he really liked Cassie's parents. Probably because they bought him. So far it was all right, though her mother kept asking her lots of questions about Harri, and Cassie answered her the best that she could. Mostly it was things like:

"Are you sure he's going to eat what we're having?"

"Yes Mom, I'm very sure he's going to eat it. I made sure."

"Okay, but if he doesn't want to, what should I make?"

"You don't have to make anything else. Stop worrying."

"I'll try not to. Is he going to take you home?"

"I don't know, Mom. I was thinking that we'd just stay here all night long. Camp out."

"There's no need for sarcasm, dear."

And so it had gone on. Her father had pretty much sat in his chair, though set the table since Cassie was bad at that, and played Scrabble with his daughter. Of course it was a special edition of Scrabble. With letters and braille letters. They waited for Harri to arrive, with Argos curled up around her feet, semi-dozing. All in all it was something she was used to, at least in some ways.

Harrison: Harrison had pretty much spent the entire time since the invitation looking forward to this dinner. Now that it was finally Saturday, he donned his best suit and drove to Cassandra's parents' home, making sure to carefully follow the directions that had been given to him. Skipping up the steps to the door, he rang the doorbell, grinning excitedly.

Cassie: When the doorbell rang, Cassie tried not to look so excited and excused herself from her dad's presence and walked to the door. Argos was quick at her heels, ears perking up a bit and followed her to the door. She opened it up, and really hoped it was Harri, "Harri?" she questioned. Just to make sure. Maybe it wasn't the smartest thing to have a blind girl answer the door, but well she was expecting him. When they weren't expecting people, that's when she stayed put.

Harrison: Upon seeing Cassie, Harri nearly dropped the pavlova he was holding precariously in his hands. "Hello!" he said, chuckling. "Of course it's me." He smiled down at Argos, wishing he could pet him but wisely keeping the fruity dessert far from the dog's mouth. "How are you? I'm not late, am I? I drove as fast as I could. I meant to leave earlier, but I made pavlova and forgot how long it takes..." He laughed and shook his head. "And now I'm rambling."

Cassie: "Oh good," she relaxed a little and laughed and moved back from the door. "Come in.." she gestured for him to come in and Argos barked a little in greeting, wagging his tail quite happily at seeing Harrison. "Nope, you're right on time.. and you're fine.. do you have a coat? I can hang it up if you do. If you don't, I can lead you into the lion's den.." she reached out to where she heard his voice and patted his shoulder as best as she could, or at least she tried to. "You're not rambling.. you're fine.. I promise.. you look great.. I'm sure Mom will approve."

Harrison: "Hi Argos," he said in a sweet voice, as though he was speaking to a baby. "I've got a suit jacket, but I think I'm fine, thanks. I'm wearing my favourite suit." He laughed good-naturedly. "The lion's den... I'm sure your parents are not lions. Though I am a bit nervous." He smiled. "More because I've never done this before than anything, though... Excited nervous. God, I'm doing it again." He put his hand to his cheek and giggled. "Lead away, luv. And no, Argos, you can't have the pavlova."

Cassie: That seemed to make Argos happy, still wagging his tail, he padded over and nudged Harri's leg gently but didn't attempt to knock him over or anything. He could smell food. But he was a good dog and just stayed by his side.

Cassie grinned, "They are lions! But don't tell them that I said that or she'll yell at me," not really. But she might embarrass Cassie and pull out baby pictures or something. "Never done what? Meet parents? Really? We're just doing everything backwards aren't we?" she teased. She started to lead the way into the kitchen though of course she passed by her father first, who got up out of his seat. "Dad? This is Harrison.. Harri, this is my Dad.."

Her dad had gotten up out of his chair and went over to shake Harrison's hand, "Nice to meet you, son. Welcome to our... home. Thanks for saying yes."

Harrison: Smiling, Harrison nodded. "I've never gone to a 'meet the parents' dinner before... I was never invited to one." He laughed. "Oh, well, who needs to be traditional? We can switch things up a bit." He followed her, gently placing his unoccupied hand against her back as she walked so she'd know he was close behind but also because he just felt like it.

As the man got out of his chair, Harri smiled sweetly at him. "Hello, Mr. Quinn. It's nice to meet you, too." He shook Cassie's father's hand, looking directly into his eyes and immediately recognizing where she had gotten some of her appearance. "Of course I said 'yes'. I'm very happy to be here," he assured him. "As soon as Cassie told me about the dinner, I couldn't wait to come over. Isn't that true, luv?"

Cassie: "Well I'm very glad I get to be your first," which probably sounded worse then she meant it, but she didn't realize it came out that way. "Traditional is boring anyways.." she rather liked the feel of his hand at her back and knowing that he was there. Besides it probably looked really good to her parents, which was a good thing.

Mr. Quinn smiled and shook Harrison's hand, "Good.. good. Her mother has been looking forward to it. Not that I haven't, but.. well it's more of her gig then mine. I'm just here to make sure that Cassie doesn't get hurt.

She tried not to roll her eyes at her Dad, "Oh yes, he really wanted to come. I still think he's crazy," she teased laughing and her dad laughed in return. "And I'm not going to get hurt.. I'm a big girl you know."

Harrison: Being the innocent-type himself, Harrison didn't see the amusing way that Cassie's statement could be taken, but rather smiled at the fact that she was his first girl to introduce him to her parents. He'd always wanted a relationship like that - sort of traditional, with the parents knowing and liking him - for some reason, it always made him imagine himself wearing letterman's jackets and giving the girl his class ring, which was a sure sign he'd seen the "Thriller" music video a few too many times.

"I promise, I will not hurt Cassie, sir," he told Mr. Quinn politely. "I'm honoured and delighted to be here." He grinned at Cassie. "We know you're a big girl." He looked down at the pavlova in his other hand. "Er, this should be refrigerated, I think," he laughed. "I forgot I was holding it." He rolled his eyes a bit, laughing pleasantly. "I'm so excited that I'm forgetting things. Cassie always does that to me." He winked.

Cassie: Her father nodded his head a bit, "Yes, you're right and so is Harrison. You're a big girl. But that's kind of my job. And now that it's done, you can go deal with your mother," he gave her a small smile and then sat back down in his chair. "And when you're done with that, if dinner's not done by the time she's done talking your ear off, we can finish our game.."

Cassie saluted her father and turned to Harri, "Oh.. here I'll take it.." she held out her hands and when he gave her the dish, she lead the way into the kitchen where her mother was cooking. She went to put the dish in the refrigerator and motioned again with her hand, "Mom.. this is Harrison.. Harrison, this is my Mom.."

Her mom was a tiny Indian woman, very traditional looking who smiled and came over to greet Harrison, shaking his hand. "It's so lovely to finally meet you. Cassie talks about you all the time," which was probably making Cassie blush but anyways. "Thank you for coming to dinner. I have so many things to ask you. I'm sure Cassie's already told you that though. And to make sure that you're all right with spaghetti and meatballs?"

Harrison: Harrison eagerly followed Cassie to the kitchen, looking around at everything with a happy, curious expression on his handsome face. "This is a gorgeous house," he remarked.

He smiled at Cassie's mother and shook her hand, cupping his other hand around it in a friendly shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Quinn." He blushed cutely. "Oh, I'm sure she doesn't talk about me all the time, but that's very sweet of you to say." He looked over at Cassie, his smile growing. "Thank you for having me. Please feel free to ask away. I love answering questions." His eyes lit up. "I love spaghetti and meatballs! Wow. How did you know?" Harrison was definitely a charmer. A charmer who spoke the truth.

Cassie: Her mother obviously heard his comment about their house, which made her beam proudly, "Thank you.. we've had it since as long as Cassie's brother was born.. which is.. a while, and that's remarkable considering how bad New York has gotten.." though she spoke of New York with a fondness. "If you think you're going to have the urge to call me Medicine Woman, you can call me Mrs. Quinn. At least for now.. maybe eventually you can call me Narimi.." which was another subtle hint towards them being together.

Cassie was trying not to sigh. But she was impressed, really impressed. Not that she had doubted Harrison, but well not many people could charm her mom.

The shorter woman laughed a little, "Good choice I made then. Well.. let's see.. Cassie tells me you two haven't known each other very long. But that you met at the park.." well it wasn't like Cassie could tell her Mom about meeting over a strange book, as much as she wished she could. "But young love is so... refreshing to see. The way she talks about you, I can tell she cares very much."

Ah yes, Cassie began to blush a bit, wondering if she could sneak off into the other room.

Harrison: "I love what you have done with the place," Harrison added sincerely. "I've got a house on Long Island, but it's still being renovated a bit. I hope it looks this lovely when it's done." He laughed loudly. "Wow, I hadn't even realized that. Okay, Mrs. Quinn. Do you get that at work a lot?" He paused, looking thoughtful. "Narimi," he repeated, sounding the word out a bit. His New Zealand accent no doubt made it sound funny. "That's very pretty."

He nodded as he listened to Cassie's mom. So far, he saw no reason for her to be embarrassed. He was having a nice time, and absolutely nothing was forced. Of course, it helped that he had been thinking over a few things all day. His mind was clear.

"That's true. The park is such a nice place to meet people. It's very romantic..." He glanced at Cassie. It helped that they had actually visited Central Park the previous day. He had those memories to go on. "I care about her very much too," he stated, blushing brightly. Reaching over, he took Cassie's hand and soothingly ran his thumb back and forth against the back of it. "Very much."

Cassie: "Ah Long Island, now there's a place. Always said we should have moved there, but I wanted to be closer to work," she shrugged some at him. "But we made it work. And thank you.. no one's complimented my house in a while. Not even your brother's damn girlfriend..ah, pardon my language." Though her remarks got Cassandra to laugh in between all the blushing she was doing.

Anyways, back to answering his question. "Oh yes, all the time. Well not from the kids, since they're not old enough to recognize it, but all the time from the parents. But C'est la vie, as they say.." and apparently she was just like her daughter since even her mother was now blushing. "Thank you.. Mr. Quinn seems to think so too." then she looked at Cassie and nudged her, "He does have a sexy accent."

Okay, she was going to melt into the floor now. But his hand was in hers and so she couldn't run away, "Mother.. please.. don't.. why am I even bothering.." she gave his hand a squeeze. This seemed to please her mother, because she started to gush, "You two are so adorable.. I can tell by the way you look at her. Oh I wish you could see it, Cassie.. I think he's a keeper. I'll have grandchildren in no time."

Harrison: Harrison continued to smile, almost swelling a bit with pride over his new home. "I actually live farther away from work than I used to, but I didn't want to be living in a tiny flat all my life. Houses are better...more stable." He chuckled at the moderate cursing. "It's okay. Though I can't understand why anyone wouldn't compliment it. It's something to be proud of."

The fact that Dr. Quinn was now blushing made him blush a bit, giggling softly. He wasn't used to so many ladies blushing around him. Then he over-heard the comment about his accent and his cheeks went bright red. That was unexpected. He didn't know what was more surprising: the fact that Cassie's mom thought his accent was sexy or the fact that it seemed as though Cassie had originally told her so. He looked down at the floor shyly and laughed. "Um...Thank you. Wow."

As Cassie squeezed his hand, he looked back up at her and felt so giddily happy. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt like that - oh, except for yesterday when he was with her... He looked at Cassie's mom, a bit surprised that she was already bringing up grandkids, but he knew from what Cassie had told him that she was really looking forward to being a grandmother. "How soon do you want them?" he asked with a grin, obviously teasing. "I only hope they'll be at least half as beautiful as your daughter." There was sincereity in that statement.

Cassie: "Living in a place you love is key to being happy, along with surrounding yourself with the people who love and care for you. Everything is much easier after that," Her mother answered wisely. She turned to the stove so she could move some things around with tongs, or stir or whatever she was doing. And she seemed amused that Harri was giggling. "You're welcome.." and she liked that he was so modest as well. "A man who can't stop smiling around my daughter is one I like, so you keep that up.."

Cassie rubbed her eyes with her other hand and swallowed a bit, "Come on Mom.. I'm old but I'm not that old. You'll have them one day. Go back to bugging my brother about that, please?"

Her mother laughed and waved her hand, "All right all right, no baby talk. Ah yes, I think they will be. Cassie has very pretty features. Of course she gets all of those from me."

Cassie snorted slightly. "How about you go back to cooking, and we'll play scrabble until you're done."

"All right, go ahead you two.. have fun. And good luck against your father." she waved Cassandra and Harrison out of the kitchen.

Harrison: Continuing to grin happily, Harrison nodded. "That's very true. Long Island's a beautiful place. I love the city too, though. I feel very privileged to be able to work in New York City." He gave Dr. Quinn another adorable, shy look. "I can't stop smiling when I'm around her," he said honestly. "She makes me very happy. I don't think either of us blushes as much as when we're together."

He chuckled at Cassie's embarrassment, finding it quite cute. "You're not old!" He gave her hand an affectionate squeeze. "Yes, beauty clearly runs in the family." It had been a while since Harri had been around a mother like this. In many ways, Dr. Quinn reminded him of his own mother. Instead of making him sad, that realization made him even happier. He loved the way everything was going, and his nervousness was slowly turning into confidence.

"Scrabble?" Harri questioned. "I can't remember the last time I played Scrabble." He giggled again and followed Cassie, still holding her hand, back to her father and the Scrabble board.

Cassie: Cassandra's mother very obviously really liked Harrison, especially since he was very nice and complimenting her as well as her daughter, "I'm very glad.. you're just what she needs. What both of you need.. Cassie, you hold onto him, got it? If you screw it up, I'm going to be annoyed." well that was nice to tell her daughter. Cassie just kind of ignored her though, and squeezed Harrison's hand in turn.

"Yeah let's go play Scrabble.. dad always likes to play.." Cassie told him as she lead him back out to the living room where her father was waiting. She sat back down on one side of the couch, letting Harri sit next to her. "Hm, do you wanna start over Dad? Or do you want both of us to kick your butt?"

He smiled a bit, "Harri can help you with your turn.. because you're going to need it.." he smirked and finally laid out a word with his letters, and then gestured that it was their turn to go.

Harrison: Harrison just continued to blush modestly. I really don't think there's any way she could screw anything up, he thought. That's usually been my job...But not this time. He gazed down at Cassie with fondness shining in his big brown eyes as he went with her back into the living room.

He had never known that they made Scrabble in Braille, but he thought it was genius. There was actually quite a bit that he didn't know existed for blind people, and he was very glad that they did. It wouldn't be fair to exclude anyone from anything. In fact, he had been making a mental list of all the things he hoped to share with Cassie, regardless of whether she could see or not. He'd find a way to help her enjoy things that she may never have thought possible.

Smiling, he made a funny face at the letters as they were placed onto the board. "Hmmm," he said softly, looking down at his and Cassie's letters before forming them into a word of their own. It really wasn't fair to make poor Mr. Quinn play against a Carrollian. Harrison could make words out of anything. He was terribly annoying whenever he ate alphabet soup for that very reason. "There," he stated proudly, placing the word "raven" on the board and grinning. "I guess I'm not too rusty."

Cassie: Reaching forward, she ran her fingers over the letters, figuring out what they were thanks to the braille that was etched on the bottom but let him go ahead and pick the word. She grinned a little, "Good one.." though of course she'd have picked the same word probably. She reached for the bag and grabbed a couple more letters, and felt the braille on them before handing them to Harri so he could see.

Her father mumbled a bit and then rubbed his forehead a little, "I might actually lose this time."

"You lose most of the time, Dad," his daughter said with a small grin. He laughed a bit and then finally after a couple of moments put down his own word. "Oh wait.. forgot to see how many points you two got.. let's see.. ah.. double word.. hm.. 24.. good. And I've got.. 14. All right, your turn again. And no naughty words, Cassie loves to use them, because she thinks I don't know what they mean."

Her nose wrinkled, "That's gross dad.. I don't want to know that you know what they mean."

Harrison: Cassie and her father were definitely amusing. Harrison listened to them with a cute, childlike smile on his face. "Naughty words?" he asked, blushing a bit and looking at Cassie. "Oh, we don't know any naughty words, eh?" He nudged her a bit, flirting. Looking over their new letters, he created "angel" and let her feel them to be sure she approved. "I'm good at finding nouns."

Argos was now resting his head on Harrison's knee. Harri smiled down at him and said in that sweet, babytalk way, "Hello Argos. Are you on our team as well? I didn't know dogs could play Scrabble." He gently patted the dog's head and even went so far as to give his nose a little kiss. Harrison loved animals, so he couldn't help it. "Who's a pretty dog?"

"So, did Cassie tell you that she and I had lunch at my work last week? She got to pet a werewolf." He giggled. "Not many girls can tell their parents that, I'm sure." He brought his arm around her and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "The restaurant is usually lots of fun, but that day was the most fun I've ever had there."

Cassie: Cassie shook her head in response, "Definitely don't know any naughty words. Completely innocent," and to both statements her father just snorted in amusement at both of them, obviously not believing them for a second. She nudged him back playfully and nodded at Harri with her approval after he showed her the word he was going to use. "Ah that's.. 15 points, Pops.."

Argos's ears perked up a bit as Harrison started to talk to him, and then lifted his head up to pant a bit and obviously liked getting petted and kissed. Then he kind of rolled over half on his back so that someone could rub his belly. "Did he roll over? That's the .. pet my belly, Mommy.. sign. Actually he likes to be scratched more then petted on his belly.. big softy. Good thing he's not a guard dog.." she teased the poor dog.

Her dad looked up at the question, "Well she told me that she went to your work, but she left out the part about the werewolf. Fraternizing with lycans.." he tsked and shook his head. "If you come home barking at the moon instead of Argos, I'm not sure what we'll do with you. But really, she did make the place sound very fun. Maybe I can get her mother to join me for dinner sometime there. She hates going out."

Cassie leaned into Harri a bit and smiled. That's when her mother called them all to dinner, but told them to wash up first. She turned to look over at Harri, "Ah.. there's another bathroom upstairs.. " she slowly got up from her seat, her hand still in Harri's. Thankfully her dad didn't say anything too smart.

Harrison: Chuckling, Harri made a halo over his head with his hands. "Perfect angels..." He gestured toward their word. "It's written on the board in...is that cedar?" He grinned.

"Awww, dogs do love their bellies scratched. Don't they, Argos?" He giggled and gently scratched the dog's tummy. "Though I'm more like his daddy than his mummy, aren't I?" It had been a while since he had been around a dog. In fact, Argos was the first non-animatronic dog that he had spent this much time with in years. And he really liked him. He just hoped his cats wouldn't be too angry with him when he came home smelling like German Shepherd.

He looked over as Dr. Quinn told them to wash up, and then watched Cassie as she stood, not wanting to let go of her hand. "Oh...Okay." He got up and slowly let go of her, obviously not wanting to. Suddenly, he leaned in and whispered, "Whenever we get a chance, I've got something to talk to you about...When we're alone."

Cassie: Her eyes widened a bit and then nodded at him, "Well then.. come upstairs with me to wash your hands?" she whispered back, hoping he was close enough so that she could whisper and that her dad didn't think they were going upstairs to make out. Though that was probably going to happen no matter what. She took his hand again and then lead him towards the stairs and went up, "We'll be down for dinner in a minute.. going to wash.." she called.

"Yeah right.." her mother yelled from the kitchen. "Just don't take too long.."

Cassie blushed a bit and then lead him back towards the bathroom. Well, at least now they were alone. "What did you want to talk about?"

Harrison: Harrison bent his knees a bit to hear her whisper back, smiling. He waved at Mr. Quinn before going upstairs with Cassie. Now he was feeling the real nervousness. Blushing, he watched her go toward the bathroom and followed her, rehearsing the words in his head. "Oh, y'know...Things." Idiot, he thought, closing his eyes for a second as he had a 'D'oh!' kind of moment.

He turned the water on and washed his hands, hoping that that might help calm him down a bit. "Your parents are really nice," he told her. "I'm very glad I came to meet them tonight. They're quite funny, really." He dried his hands on the bathroom towel, looking into her eyes and biting his lip. "And, um... I was thinking... You know how we're supposed to be making them think that we're dating?"

His hands were shaking now. He carefully put the towel back on the little hanger before putting his hands in the pockets of his dress pants. "I mean, that is what our original goal was, right? So your mum would stop worrying about you finding a boyfriend..." Once he thought his hands were steady enough, he brought one out of his pockets and gently took her hand. "That's what I want to talk to you about." He wondered if she could hear his heart pounding.

Cassie: It was obvious that Harri was nervous, and she didn't know really how to make him not be nervous since he was the one who had to tell her something. She washed her hands after him, letting him get his thoughts together. "I'm glad you met them too, they really like you. I can tell. Not too many people can charm the pants off of my mom like that.." then she shut up to let him speak.

Slowly she nodded her head at him, "Right.. you want to.. talk to me about what we're telling my parents? Oh.. I mean is there something wrong? Did you want me to tell them the truth? I mean we can if you want.." she wasn't quite sure how they were going to take it, but well. She supposed she'd deal with that when she got to him.

Because really, what else could he mean? But then Cassie was kind of naive about all of this boyfriend and girlfriend stuff as it was.

Harrison: "Oh, no, there's nothing wrong," Harrison was quick to assure her. "I...Well, yes, I do want to tell them the truth, but..." Just say it, Harri... "I was hoping that maybe we could...if you want..." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, looking into her eyes. "Do you want to make it be the truth? Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

Yes, his heart was definitely pounding now. He could hear it. At least it seemed like he could. "I mean, if you're not interested, then that's okay too... Of course, we can always be friends. I just...thought I'd...check." His hand was shaking again. He hoped she wouldn't notice, but he was also sure that she would.

Cassie: Yeah she could feel his hand trembling, but she knew it was just nerves. However mostly she was more interested in the fact that he had just asked her to be his girlfriend. Her mouth formed a little 'o' and she, well she would have stared if she could. It almost seemed like she was. Just a little taken off guard.

"You.. want.. to.." she swallowed a bit. "Really? I.." somewhere in the back of her mind she realized that she wasn't actually answering him and that was a bad thing because probably thought that she didn't want to or something.

Quickly she blinked, "Oh Harri I.." she started again, "Yes.. I mean.. I want to.. I'm.. interested.." she laughed, because that sounded a little odd. "I.. like you a lot Harri.. I haven't actually.. liked anyone before. At least I don't think so.. but.. I mean it kind of already.. feels real.." she admitted, blushing a bit and then squeezed his hand. "Relax.. I want to.. yeah."

Harrison: The fact that Cassie seemed equally as nervous made Harri feel somewhat better. At least he wasn't alone. And nervous was a good sign in this sort of situation, wasn't it? He watched her as she slowly answered, finding her faltering replies incredibly endearing. He couldn't help but beam and let out a soft sigh of relief. "Oh good," he said softly. "I was hoping you'd say that... What am I talking about?" He suddenly wrapped his arms around her and gave her a big hug. He was one of those huggers who really envelopes people. Rubbing her back gently, he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"It felt real to you, too?" he asked her, cuddling her a bit as he held her. "Good...I was being real. I'm a terrible liar. I probably should have told you that before." He chuckled. "I wouldn't really have been able to act like it was true if it wasn't. But in my mind it was." It felt so nice just to hold her like this now. "Now you don't have to worry. And you can blush every day." He pulled back a bit and rubbed noses with her. "I love making you blush, Cassiopeia. I always will."

Cassie: Finding herself being scooped up into a hug, she put her arms around him and hugged him back tightly, giggling a bit, and liked the feel of his lips against her cheek. She smiled and blushed and pressed her face against his neck, "Yeah, it did.. ah.. well, now I know.. I'm a terrible liar too I think.. I'm glad.. it's real. I mean.. I respected.. the fact that you had a girlfriend and all I just.. didn't realize that I actually liked you.." she swallowed a bit.

"Are you sure it's not too soon? I mean after.. everything.. I can wait.. I don't mind.. I just want to be sure that you're sure.." her nose rubbed up against his and she smiled. "You're very good at making me blush so you're lucky.. though I love making you blush too Banana.." she gave him another hug. "Maybe we should get back downstairs before my parents think we're up here having sex or something."

Harrison: "Lying isn't very nice," Harri stated, "so it's good that we're both bad at it. It means it won't happen. Even my acting at work has to be sort of honest. It nearly kills me to pretend to be Australian sometimes." He laughed. "I know you did... I appreciate how you were there for me. It was very kind of you to help cheer me up." He blushed a bit. "I liked you the day we met. I don't think I would've kissed you if I didn't."

He nodded, smiling at her. "I'm sure. I mean, technically we've already had three dates. We can take things nice and slow... That's definitely the best way to go. You can feel free to poke me if we're ever moving too fast for you." He gladly hugged her again before erupting into more laughter. "Whoa. They'd really think that?" He gave her a crinkled-nosed grin. "Wow, they must think we move fast. All right." He took her hand and kissed it before heading back downstairs with her, pretty much glowing from happiness now.

Cassie: "I'd never lie to you, Harri.." and she wouldn't ever want to. "And I'll always be here for you.. and cheer you up.." ah yes, he'd kissed her. She remembered that vividly. In fact that wasn't really a day since then that she hadn't thought about him kissing her. "Slow's good.. since I don't know what I'm doing.. " she hugged him again. "No.. but they'd tease us about it, definitely. I'm pretty sure that my mother thinks I'll never have sex for real.." she blushed and gave a nervous laugh.

Giving him another hug, she finally let go so that they could head back downstairs. Now she really wouldn't be able to stop smiling through the whole dinner. Back downstairs, her parents were already sitting at the table, waiting. "Took you two long enough," her mother chimed in, gesturing. "Sit.. eat.. no rules at this table.." which since they were already mostly eating, was obvious.

Cassie sat down in one of the chairs, letting Harri sit down next to her and felt around so that she could put her own food on her plate. Her mother and father noticed her smile and looked at each other knowingly. Well semi-knowingly. They hadn't made out after all.

Harrison: Harri raised his eyebrows at that. He couldn't understand why that would be. But he wasn't quite sure what to say to it. "Don't worry about what your mum thinks, darling," he told her, gently stroking her cheek with the back of his hand and smiling at her blush. "What matters is what you want. I want to give you everything you want and need." He leaned in and kissed her cheek again. "And I'm sure you'll know what you're doing. It's pretty inate, once you're used to the idea of it." He chuckled quietly.

Once they were downstairs, Harri sniffed the air a bit, grinning. "Mmm, it smells delicious." He held the chair out for Cassie and made sure she was well-situated before sitting down beside her. Then he waited his turn before serving himself and then "mmm"ed again as he started eating. "My favourite food with my favourite girl and my new favourite parents. I feel incredibly blessed."

He noticed the looks that Cassie's parents were giving them and each other and blushed a bit. He could only imagine what was going through their minds. He supposed it had been a bit suspicious of them to sneak off together like that, but he couldn't have exactly shared a conversation like that with her while they were in ear-shot. Carefully, he scooted his chair a bit closer to Cassie and brought his arm around her again. "I'll have to make you all dinner at my house sometime," he said in between forkfuls of spaghetti. "Anything that you would like. And I brought pavlova with me for dessert, in case you wanted to put my cooking skills to the test. It's a traditional New Zealand dessert, named after a ballerina who visited once, a long time ago."

Cassie: All that she could hope for was that she would get a hang of how to act around him, though she liked how she acted around him already. He made her happier, and more fun, and that was obviously a good thing. "And we're blessed to have you here too," she answered before her mother got a chance to gush over how nice he was being. And they were happy obviously that he seemed to like them as much as they liked him. After she put her spaghetti on her plate, she started to eat.

"That would be great, Harrison," her father answered before her mother naysayed the whole going out to eat somewhere thing. "Wouldn't it, dear?" he nudged her and she blushed a bit. "Yes we'd love to have dinner with you, Harrison." her mother finally answered with a smile. "The pavlova smells absolutely delicious, I can't wait to try it," she gushed a bit, eating in between her conversation.

Cassie picked up the basket of bread and held it out for Harri in case he wanted some, "Did my brother say when he's coming home for a visit?"

"Ah in a couple of weeks," her dad answered. "He's busy with work or something. You know him."

"Right. Takes after Mom," Cassie smirked.