Part 2

[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 2



Harrison: Beaming proudly, Harri continued to eat his spaghetti, listening to them talk and feeling this great sense of togetherness about everything. Having grown up with just his mother in his life, he'd never really experienced a big family dinner like this. Now that he finally got to be a part of one, he was completely thrilled. He figured he was probably a dork for thinking that a dinner like this was so cool, but he could not help the way he felt.

"Oh, thank you," he said sweetly, taking a piece of bread. "I'd love to meet your brother sometime. Where does he work? I can't remember if you told me."

Cassie had made it sound as though her mother would interrogate him and he wasn't surprised that she wasn't really. He thought the girl's embarrassment over her family was so cute, and he imagined that most people felt that way about their families. "I wish I had a sibling," he said absently. "Although most people would probably say I'm lucky not to have had one, eh?" He laughed.

Cassie: "He works up in Albany, and comes home on the weekends sometimes on the train. But he works at a law firm up there. I'm not sure why there and not here in the city, but I think he thinks that most lawyers are corrupt around here maybe? But I mostly just tease him about how all lawyers are corrupt," she grinned. "Well except my brother anyways.. oh I don't know.. we had our ups and downs," Cassie answered.

"But I'm glad he's my brother.. and that I had him to look up to. And mostly, I'm glad because it got those two off my back.. he gets it worse then I do about getting married. But he is soon.. getting married. His girlfriend is really nice," she twirled the pasta around her fork and took another bite.

Harrison: "Oh wow, Albany...I've heard it gets really cold there," said Harrison, looking interested. He laughed at the lawyer comment. "Not all lawyers are corrupt. I think most of the corrupt ones work in Hollywood." He nodded as he listened to Cassie. "Yeah, I wish I had a sibling to hide behind whenever my dad asks me about things like that," he chuckled.

His eyes lit up a bit. "Your brother is getting married soon? Wow, that's great. I definitely want to meet him and his girlfriend. They're invited to the dinner at my house, of course." He hadn't really thought about the fact that Gabe would probably be there, too. Luckily, the fact that he was a Tale could be hidden behind the old 'best friends, met at a bar' routine. Hopefully Dr. Quinn wouldn't frown upon the fact that he lived with another guy. His paychecks didn't really pay enough for him to keep a house of his own; especially not a big, nice one on Long Island.

"So, Cassie told me that you're trying to raise money for new hospital equipment," Harri said, just remembering that fact. "For the oncology department, wasn't it?" Oncology was definitely not his favorite topic, but at the same time he was all for anything that would help bring an end to cancer. It was one of his life-long committments.

Cassie: She nodded her head a little, "It is cold.. I .. didn't mean corrupt I mean just.. well.. y'know.. lawyers.. evil.." she was probably getting an evil eye from her mother, but well she was oblivious, even if she figured she was doing it. "Well then if they are, we'll just have to have dinner when they both come for a visit.. in a couple of weeks.. " she added as an afterthought. Her mother nodded, "Oh yes.. that's fine.. I'll give him a ring and find out when exactly he's coming down here.."

Well then that was settled. At the mention of the hospital, her mother seemed to be a bit more in her element, "Oh yes. We need some new things, and there's a couple of new procedures we want to do, but it costs money to get the equipment to do them obviously.. so we're having the dinner. And.. Cassie invited you, right? I hope she did.. they like support at these kinds of things, and I don't just mean monetarily. They like people to bring family and the like."

"Which means I'm getting dragged along," her father mumbled good naturedly.

Harrison: Harrison continued to giggle. "I think that whole thing has been around since the dawn of time. Even Shakespeare created evil lawyers. Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, for example. That's even a nickname for lawyers now." He had such a vast knowledge of random facts. "So, if you're ever in an argument with your brother, I wouldn't recommend calling him 'Shylock', as it wouldn't be very nice." He laughed.

"Splendid," he replied. "I look forward to it. I hope none of you are allergic to cats. I've got six." He realized how odd that might sound, but he didn't care. It was the truth. "And they tend to be quite friendly."

Harri nodded, listening to Dr. Quinn. "Yes, she did invite me and I'd be more than happy to go. I'll even make a donation. I've been saving money for it, actually. I don't know if Cassie told you, but my mum died of brain cancer, so it's one of those causes that I try to help with in any way I can." Even though it still hurt to talk about, he was proud of himself. He had come a long way from the young man who couldn't even talk about his mother without crying.

He smiled sweetly at Mr. Quinn. "I think it will be a fun evening. I'm going to teach Cassie to dance. That's my plan." He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "It will be wonderful. I can just tell."

Cassie: Cassandra laughed, "I won't be calling him a shylock, definitely not." and it even got a chuckle out of her parents too. They seemed to think that Harri was obviously educated, which they were glad of. But then they never thought their daughter would like some hoodlum who didn't know his way out of a paper bag or anything. She was smart, as smart as her parents.

They both shook their heads, "No, no allergies here. We like cats.. would have had some if it wasn't for Argos," and speaking of the dog, he was in the kitchen, eating his own dinner though he'd probably be begging for food from the table any time now. "She mentioned it.. I'm so sorry, Harrison.. my grandmother died of cancer before Cassie was born.." she spotted Cassie give Harri's hand a squeeze and smiled.

"Teaching her to dance? My my.. that's ambitious," her father answered. "I've always tried to get her to at least try but I think you'll have better luck then I ever did."

A small blush passed over her face, "Yes well.. I suppose you're right dad.." and she seemed to be completely full, her plate cleaned and then pushed the plate to the side. "That was wonderful, Mom.. thanks."

Harrison: "Yeah," Harrison laughed. "It will be interesting to see what happens when he comes over sometime. Wellie, my eldest cat, has seen dogs before, but the kittens are a bit clueless. I'm sure it will be funny." He looked over at Argos and smiled fondly. "He's a good dog. I'm sure he'll behave himself."

He looked very sad to hear that. "It kills so many people," he said softly, looking at Cassie gratefully before gently squeezing back. "My dad's a brain surgeon, too, so I'll have to give him a ring. I'm sure he'll donate something as well. He knows the importance of new equipment."

Harri chuckled, blushing a bit. "I'm sure she'll be a great dancer. We can waltz together." His eyes seemed to sparkle as he looked at her. He went back to eating and finished his pasta happily. "That was the best spaghetti I think I've ever had," he said, smiling at Cassie's mom. "Thank you very much." He carefully got up. "Now, please, allow me to do the dishes." He took Cassie's plate and stacked it with his own. "Let the dinner settle a bit before dessert. Right, Argos?" He smiled down at the dog now wagging his tail at him.

Cassie: "Well then it looks like your father and I would have something in common, not that I ever went into surgery," her mother answered. "Thought about it once, but I didn't have the patience to be that still with my hands. And I liked kids too much.. thank you, that's very appreciated Harrison. And you're both very welcome for your food. I'm glad you liked it. Though Cassie will eat ... anything you put in front of her. Her brother once decided to be smart and put a worm in front of her and told her it was pasta. She ate it."

Cassie started to blush again, and put her hand over her face, "Well it felt the same..I don't know. It's not like I'm ever going to eat a worm again.. I got him back though.." she shrugged one of her shoulders. She blinked a little at him though, "Oh you don't have to do the dishes. I mean.. there's a dishwasher, you can stick them in there if you really insist.."

Her mother looked positively delighted, "Thank you.. I'm starting to think that we should just adopt Harrison as our own son, but then that would probably be bad for the both of you. Really, thank you."

All of that made Cassie get up from her place, "I'll help you stick them in the dishwasher, or at least show you where the soap is. Sometimes Argos likes to lick the plates before we stick them in there," she winked.

Harrison: "I love children," Harrison agreed, nodding. "In fact, I told Cassie that if I had followed my dad's footsteps and gone into medicine, I would have liked to be a pediatrician. I would have been a clowny doctor, though. Like that bloke. What was his name? Patch Adams?" He smiled. "Yeah... I really admire you for that." The worm anecdote made him laugh loudly. "Oh dear! That's so mean! But I guess that's what brothers are for."

He smiled and rubbed Cassie's back. "Have you ever had gummy worms? Those are good." He giggled and leaned in, brushing his nose against her cheek a bit before kissing it. He rested his head on her shoulder and looked at Cassie's mom, laughing some more. "Oh, that's very sweet of you." He felt like saying 'perhaps someday...' but didn't want to set Dr. Quinn off on a marriage tangent and embarrass Cassie further. "You're quite welcome. I've actually grown fond of doing dishes. I do it at work sometimes, just because."

"Oh, I'm sure Argos loves that. Yes," he said to the dog. "You love pasta?" He followed Cassie into the kitchen and proceeded to load the dishes into the dishwasher, after letting Argos lick each plate to his heart's content. "My cats kind of fail at that. They only lick dishes if they're covered with tuna or milk products." Once the dishes were put away, he washed his hands. "I guess I can ready the pavlova now. Do you have whipped cream or anything like that? That's sometimes good with it." He paused a moment, from the dishwasher to the refrigerator, to steal a kiss with Cassie, grinning.

Cassie: Her mother told him that she was glad that he liked children, and talked to him for a moment about being a pediatrician but finally let them both go off into the kitchen to clean up. Meanwhile the two of her parents went back into the living room to go let Argos outside so he could go to the bathroom and relax while they let the food digest and make room for the dessert.

"Yeah I've had gummy worms.. he used to buy them for me and then tease me about them with the gummy worms.." and Cassie's cheek blushed a bit as he kissed her. Her parents were probably muttering how cute they were to themselves. The dog licked the plates quite clean and then bounded out so that he could be let out. She hm'd a bit, "I'm not quite sure, you'll have to check the fridge and see.."

It was amusing because so far everytime he'd kissed her she'd been a little caught off guard, but that was what was cute about it. It wasn't like she wanted him to warn her when he was going to. "I like kissing you.." she whispered, starting up the dishwasher once they had everything all loaded up.

Harrison: "I won't tease you about gummy worms too much," he said, grinning. "I should make you Mud sometime. It's the weirdest sort of dessert snack, but it's fun. My mum used to make it for me when I was a kid." He loved the feeling of her blushing as he kissed her cheek. "You are so cute." He kissed her cheek again, even nuzzling her ear a bit with his nose.

He practically purred when he heard her say that. "Really?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist and leaning over her slightly. They fit so well together. It was amazing. "Probably not half as much as I love kissing you." Leaning in, he kissed her again, smiling softly against her lips. For several minutes, he forgot all about whipped cream and dessert and parents. When he finally came back to Earth, he was blushing. "I have to look for whipped cream now," he said. Then, he shuffled over to the fridge, carefully bringing her over with him. Giggling impishly, he kissed her again, opening the fridge at the same time. "Mmm," he said when he finally broke the kiss. "Now I'll look." He looked in the refrigerator and spotted a container of Cool Whip.

"Sweet-as," he said triumphantly. "I found some!" He carefully pulled it out and looked at it for a second. "Yeah, I bet this will taste great on it. Cool." He refrained from making a cheezy Cool Whip joke.

Cassie: Her eyes lifted in recognition, "Oh yeah I remember those.. those were good.." she really enjoyed his nuzzling and his kisses on the various parts of her body. When his arms went around her, she couldn't help but flush a bit, maybe not exactly a blush but well she definitely felt warm all over. And that's when he really kissed her. Of course she hadn't had that much experience with this either, but she was more then willing to try. And by the time he pulled away, she was a bit breathless, "Huh?" yeah she was a little dazed, but in a good way.

"Oh right, whipped cream.." she licked her lips a little. "And I think I just went from liking to kiss to loving to.." she mumbled against his lips when he kissed her again. This whole thing where he stole kisses was very cute. She ran her hands over his cheeks, not quite ready to let him go yet. And when she finally did, she was still warm and tingly all over.

The fact that there was whipped cream made her smile, or at least because he was glad for it. She giggled a little, "Now we just have to make sure the dog doesn't eat it all."

Harrison: Harri literally did purr at the fact that she was enjoying everything. He was a lovey-dovey, kissy sort of fellow by nature, so it was definitely a good thing that she was responding so well. He smiled down at her, rubbing his nose against hers again. "See? What did I tell you about things being inate?" He licked his lips before letting out a soft, dreamy sigh.

"I have that effect on you?" he asked her playfully, loving the feeling of her hands against his cheeks. "But then, kissing is wonderful." He kissed her three more times in a row and then set about getting the pavlova out and prepared. "The only problem I have with Cool Whip is that I always get that song in my head." He looked around the drawers for a few moments before finding a spoon to scoop the whipped cream out with. "The little jingle." He cleared his throat and sang, "Do do do, do the dollip!" He chuckled. "I guess that's how they get you to remember their product, though."

He looked a bit thoughtful. "Hmm, I don't really think there's anything in pavlova that's bad for him. Kiwis and strawberries...There's no chocolate, so I don't see why Argos can't have a little dog-sized serving. That way he won't feel left out."

Cassie: "I definitely think you're right," she told him with a small nod of her head. She was going to turn out to be the same sort of person if he kept up with that. And really, she knew he was going to, so it was only a matter of time. This time when he kissed her, she was expecting it, and made sure to kiss him back in return, hopefully getting better with the more practice she had. "They say practice makes perfect, with all the.. kissing. It's good we'll practice alot," she blushed and giggled.

Her head ducked a little shyly, "Yeah.. you do.." she admitted. She let him go so that he could get the dessert all ready. She laughed when he sang the jingle, "Probably .. yeah.. well if you want to give him sugar, but he's kind of like a five year old.. he might be bouncing off the walls.. but I'm sure he'd like that..

"Need me to help carry anything?"

Harrison: Harri grinned. "Mmmhmm," he agreed. "I'm very glad you like it, sweetheart." He gently ran his fingers through her hair. He was very happy that he had talked with her and told her how he felt. It hadn't been easy for him to keep it a secret. Even though it wasn't exactly the best kept secret. The flowers at her work had been kind of obvious.

"Do do do, do the dollip of Daisy!" he sang, dancing a little bit and pretending the spoon was a drumstick or something as he carefully put whipped cream on top of the pavlova, before cutting it into neat pieces. He laughed. "I'm kind of like a five year old sometimes too. I'll make sure he only gets a little bit." With that, he cut a small piece for Argos and placed it on a paper plate.

"Okay. Could you carry these two plates for your parents?" He carefully helped her grab the two plates of pavlova from his hands. "Got 'em?" They made a great pair already. He placed the small helping on the floor for Argos and whistled for him before grabbing the other two plates and following Cassie back out of the kitchen. "Pavlova," he announced. "It's only natural that a Kiwi dessert contains kiwifruit." He giggled pleasantly.

Cassie: Argos quite happily bounded into the kitchen after hearing his name and the word food, looking around for some until he found it on the plate. Harrison was probably his favorite person in the whole world at the moment, giving him something he'd never had before. But who knew if dogs even tasted anything with the way they woofed everything down.

Reaching out, Cassie took the plates from him, nodding that she had them and then headed out to the living room where her parents were waiting. "Makes sense.." she said, handing each parent their own plate and then went to sit down on one of the other seats, making sure that there was plenty of room for Harri. "Kiwis are yummy.." though for some reason that made her blush. Maybe her mind was in the gutter.

Her parents didn't seem to see it though, they just took their plates from Cassie, thanking Harri for making dessert and started to eat. "Oh this is wonderful," her mother commented cheerfully. "Thank you for making dessert or we would have been stuck with a bowl of ice cream."

Harrison: If Harrison realized how risque that statement sounded, he made no sign of it. Even though he'd been hearing 'yummy Kiwi' comments since he'd moved to the U.S. Mostly from a certain Neil McLaughlin and a certain Gabe Coolidge. But instead of commenting on it, he simply smiled. "Yeah, kiwifruit is one of my favourites, apart from strawberries. Which is another ingredient in my pavlova. People make them with different fruits, usually, but kiwifruit is always present, I think."

He was starting to sound like a chef on the television. He chuckled. "I'm glad you like it. Ice cream is good, too! We should get some ice cream next time we stroll through Central Park, luv," he said to Cassie. Overgrown kid that he was, he loved the idea of ice cream on a fun day and was a frequent visitor to the local Ben & Jerry's nearest his work. "I wonder if they let dogs in those horse-drawn carriages. I've always wanted to ride one of those."

Carefully eating his pavlova, he watched Cassie, smiling in between bites. There really was an unending list of things he was looking forward to sharing with her. His 'Romantic Activities' list that he'd had in his mind for as long as he could remember. But take your time, he told himself. You never know. You just might have the rest of your life with Cassie... That thought made his smile even bigger. He felt like singing now, but he kept it inside for fear of alarming her parents or something. Not everyone acted like they were in a musical.

Cassie: "Strawberries are good too.. I'm partial to bananas though.." which was totally an inside joke which her parents didn't seem to get but it made Cassie smile. "Raspberries might be good.. I love raspberries.." she said, taking another bite. "Ice cream sounds good. I can't wait until Rita's opens back up. I want frozen custard.. and a gelati.. those things are so good.."

"Depends on if the horses are scared of dogs, I would imagine," her mother quipped. "But that does sound awfully romantic.." she nudged her husband. "Why don't you ever take me on anything romantic?"

"Because you never want to go out, dear.." he intoned good naturedly. "Thought you liked to stay in. If you want to go out, I'd be happy to take you all sorts of places." it was obvious that they still loved each other very much. And that made Cassie happy.

Somewhere along the way she was going to have to pinch herself really at how wonderful this all seemed. She hoped it wasn't too good to be true.

Harrison: Okay, Harrison had to blush at that. "Yes, bananas are very good," he said a bit bashfully. "I'll have to make a special Cassie pavlova next time, with bananas and raspberries in it, then." He looked at her curiously. "Rita's? I don't think I've ever been there. Frozen custard sounds amazing."

He giggled cutely. "I'm a bit of a romantic, I must admit. I got it from my mum. I was probably the only teenaged boy who could quote Gone With The Wind...or would want to." He smiled, shaking his head. "I really recommend Central Park for a romantic day. Followed, maybe, by dinner at Tavern On The Green. Though I've only eaten there by myself, so far." He looked at Cassie. "I'm sure it's a lot better when you've got a beautiful lady with you."

He could tell she was happy, and it made him even happier. It had been a while since he'd really felt as though he made anyone happy. He couldn't think of anyone more deserving.

Cassie: For a moment her eyes widened in mock expression of horror, "Never been to Ritas? I'll have to take you there. They make the best frozen custard.. and gelati.. which is frozen custard with italian ice all swirled together. It's so good.. they're only open in the spring and the summer though. Once it does, I'll take you there."

She nudged him playfully, "I'm a bit of one.. I mean.. well, maybe a little.." though her mother seemed to snort at the fact that Cassie was romantic. Who knew why though. "Gone with the Wind's a great movie.." she stated as she finished her food. "All of that sounds.. really nice.. I can't wait until it gets warmer so we can do all of that.."

Oh yes she was blushing a bit but she loved every second of it.

Harrison: Harrison chuckled. "Nope. I've actually never even heard of it, if you can believe that. I must be sheltered." He loved custard, so he knew he would probably enjoy it frozen as well. "Spring is nigh," he stated, betraying the fact that he loved using old words. He didn't know anyone else who said 'verily'. "Soon there will be little baby animals all over the park."

He smiled. "I somehow knew you were a romantic." He looked inquisitively at Dr. Quinn, wondering why it seemed hard for her to believe. "It's one of my favourite movies. I always used to wish that I was dashing like Rhett Butler, but I'm afraid I'm a bit more like Ashley Wilkes." He blushed. "But that's okay, because Melanie is more my type anyway." Setting his empty pavlova plate down on the table, he gently wrapped his arm around Cassie. "I can't wait, either." Leaning in, he kissed her cheek again. He loved doing that.

Even though he was supressing it, he couldn't help hearing a song in his head. I've a funny feeling we'd make a perfect pair...Famous sights I want to see you seeing...The nights of you-and-me-ing... He wanted to write her a song. A ukulele song.

Cassie: "Aww baby animals and Rita's and warmer temperatures.." she gushed. "I love Spring. I think it's my favorite time of year. I mean all of the rest are nice and stuff, but there's just something about spring.." there was a small blush on her face, but she was getting more used to his compliments. "We should definitely watch it some time.. well watch.. listen.. Oh I loved Ashley.. I always thought he got a raw deal. Though Rhett does make me laugh."

Since they were all done, her father got up to get the dishes and put them in the sink, thinking they could get to them later. "Well then what are you two up to after this? Are you.. going to take Cassie home? We usually do but.." he wasn't quite sure. He could take them both home, but they were probably a bit too old for a chaperone.

Cassie shrugged a little and looked at Harri, "I dunno, we could walk back to my place or something.. it might be nice out for a walk. And the puppy's definitely going to have to get out some of that energy somehow." honestly she just wanted to stay around him.

Harrison: Harrison beamed happily. "I was born in Spring," he told her. "Well, maybe late winter but I prefer to think of it as Spring." He smiled as he listened to her and wondered how she thought Ashley and Rhett looked, and then he wondered how she thought he looked. Should he tell her? How would he tell her without it sounding random? "Ashley's just a different sort of bloke. Scarlett could never understand him, really. He was made for Melanie. Actually, Ashley and Mellie are my two favourite characters, even though the more obvious choice would be Scarlett and Rhett. Have you read the novel? I actually like it better than the film, even though reading it always makes me want to watch it." He laughed. "I'm a nerd, aren't I?"

He blushed a bit. "Yes, I can take Cassie home." At first, he thought he would drive her, but the walk sounded like a nice idea and beneficial to the dog. "Okay, we can walk back. I'll have to come back for my car, but it is a nice night for a walk. We can walk off some of the pavlova." He patted his tummy, smiling. "Are you ready to go? You might need a jacket or something." He took her hand, standing.

Cassie: "Oh it's most definitely spring, even if the weather is always a bit of a ninny when it comes to March.. but it'll get better.. at least the weather.. I hope.." she did recall once before it having snowed a lot in March but that was back when she was a kid. "Can't say I've ever read the book, no.. probably should. Might make more sense to me then the movie did. I mean someone told me once the parts I couldn't see where they weren't words or whatever, but you just kind of make things up as you go along.." she was going to have to put that on her book list.

Cassie grinned back at him, "A bit, but that's all right because I happen to like nerds and am something of one myself anyways.." she then hm'd a bit, "Oh right the car.. I wouldn't want you to walk all the way back here to get it. We can take the car back and then you can help me walk Argos around the block like we do every night? I mean if you want," she said taking his hand and got up. "Yeah I'm ready.. my jacket's by the door.."

While she went to go get Argos and his leash, her parents stood up so that they could say goodbye to both of them. Both Cassie and Harri received hugs from both of them, since they were the friendly sort and helped escorted to the door. "You two come back.. and we'll see you next weekend, right dear?" her mother asked, kissing Cassie's cheek.

Harrison: "That's true," Harri said, smiling. "It's usually a bit cold in New Zealand in March, too. It's turning into Autumn over there. Our Winter is Summer over there. But I had never had snow on my birthday till I moved here." He perked up a bit when Cassie said she had never read the novel. "Oh, it's definitely worth a read. There's a lot more to the story than is in the film. I'd really like to watch it with you, too." He figured he could probably show her what was happening in the quiet moments some of the time.

He blushed, laughing. "I don't think you're a nerd! I just think you're smart." He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. "Okay, luv, that works perfectly. I promise I am a good driver. I've never received so much as a parking ticket. And it will be fun to walk around the block. I can see more of your neighborhood."

Harrison went and got Cassie's jacket as she readied Argos. He gladly hugged Cassie's parents. He loved hugs. "I will definitely come back. Thank you very much for dinner and it was a pleasure meeting you both." He nodded, smiling as he watched Cassie with her mother. "We will see you next weekend. I'm looking forward to it." He gently wrapped his arm around her and led her out the door and toward his car, helping her inside. He proved himself to be a great driver, just like he said, and even went the speed limit (because she was in the car).

Cassie: They already had a lot of planned stuff to do together, which she really loved. Making plans with someone she cared about wasn't something she got to do very often for a number of reasons, but she liked the idea of having lots of things to share with him. Even if they had just remained friends, she would have wanted to do those things anyways, because she really did like him as a person, and a friend. She just happened to like him a bit more then that too. So she agreed with him as she got her jacket on and put the leash on Argos.

He lead Cassie, and Cassie lead Argos to the car, hoping the dog wasn't too big, though if push came to shove, the dog could sit in her lap, even as big as he was. She got into the car just fine, letting him get into the back. He seemed to be just fine though, wishing it was warm enough to stick his head out the window. And heck, she wouldn't know if he sped even if he had. She gave him directions back to her place, and when they got there, she got Argos out of the back seat and let him go to the bathroom before taking them both inside.

Harrison: Harrison looked around her place, smiling. "Home sweet home," he said sweetly. "I had a really great time tonight. Your parents are so sweet. Just like you." He wrapped his arms around her and gently pulled her close, nuzzling his nose against her nose. "I told you that there'd be nothing to worry about. You can even tell your mum that I like the names Daniel and Sophia." He grinned before kissing her softly.

"I'm looking forward to dancing with you next weekend. I'm sure you'll be great. You've got great legs for it." He blushed. "I mean...You know what I mean, Cassiopeia." He laughed softly, holding her close. "I wish you could have seen the look on your parents' face when you were talking about bananas. They knew that something was up but they had no idea what was going on." He giggled impishly. "It's fun having in-jokes. I don't think I've ever really been a part of an in-joke before."

He cuddled her in his arms for a few moments before leaning in and gently kissing her again. "So, do you want to sit a minute or go for that walk?" He looked over at the couch. "I'm easy."

Cassie: Once they got inside she set her things to the side and turned on some lights more for Harrison's sake then her own. It wasn't like she lived in the dark so to speak, but most of the lights in her place were usually off. She told herself the dog needed to see more then she did obviously. Feeling his arms around her, she slid her arms up around his neck and smiled, "Good, I'm glad you did.. I had a very good time too.. for once.. considering I go there every weekend.." she rubbed her nose back against his and started to blush. "Babies already? My my.." though she didn't seem to flustered about it.

One day she was going to have to stop looking so surprised when he said things like that, "I have nice legs? Well.. I.. thank you.. it's amazing that I have them since well.. I cut myself trying to shave them all the time.. gets better though.. I like having in-jokes too.. especially around them," she nuzzled her face a bit against his neck, inhaling his scent. He smelled very nice.

And this kissing thing was getting better the more she did it, "Are you?" she teased, unable to help herself. "We can sit if you want. Or we can go.. I don't care either.." she laughed. "Let's walk.."

Harrison: He loved the feeling of her arms around his neck. She was the perfect size for him. He was a bit used to having to either crane his neck or crouch a bit because he was so tall. Cassie was just the right height so that he didn't really have to worry about that. "Good. I hoped to make it fun." He chuckled softly. "Well, that's not up to me. I just meant that your mum might be bringing it up a lot more now... Parents tend to do that, I'm told." Honestly, he could see them having kids together and wondered if that was weird. He knew that it would definitely be something a long way off (especially because of his awkward past regarding pregnancy) but it didn't hurt to think about it. Cassie would certainly be a wonderful mother someday.

"Awww, poor legs," he said softly. "I cut myself shaving a lot, too. That's part of why I have a beard, so I don't do that." He laughed. "And because without the beard I look about twelve years old." He noticed her smelling him and blushed before softly inhaling her scent as well. "Mmm," he whispered. "I think I'm on Cloud Nine right now..."

He smiled down at her and laughed, looking at her with wide, amused eyes. "Wow, I did not see that coming," he said. "Uhm...Well, actually." He laughed again. "No, no. I'm not that kind of easy! A walk will be good. Can I hold Argos's leash?"

Cassie: "You did.. usually it's lots of boring stuff, us just sitting around and playing Scrabble or some other game, and then maybe a bit of television or something until dinner's ready. And half the time it's just stuff out of a box or a can, so she went all out this time," she said with a laugh. "I guess she was trying to make sure that you wanted to stick around. At least she's good about that. I've heard mother's can be a little overbearing when it comes to their kids and their boyfriends and girlfriends.." and he was right, her mom was probably going to bring it up, though maybe not for a couple of months. Actually, she'd nag about them getting married first. At least that's how she figured it, but who knew with her mother.

When she grinned, she slightly stuck her tongue out, but not at him, she was just amused, "Aw I'm sure you're a cute twelve year old without the beard.. but I happen to like it.. scruffy's good.." which translated mostly into that she didn't mind it up against her skin. In fact it felt nice. Go figure. She liked things that were rougher because she could feel them more then things that were smooth.

Poking him gently in his side because she teased him, Cassandra lead the way to the door and handed him Argos's leash. "Be my guest.. he likes to stop and sniff things.. I usually let him until I get tired of standing in one spot.. but we have each other to keep us company."

Harrison: "Oh, that doesn't sound boring," Harrison laughed pleasantly. "Of course I'm going to stick around! But not because of the food." He cuddled her, smiling down at her. "Though I do love spaghetti. And I don't mind if she's already planning our wedding or anything. It's cute, really. And you do really never know..." He didn't think that it was odd for Cassie's mom to be wanting them to get married. They were the right age and everything. His dad had been hinting at the same thing. And, so far, little had made him think that Cassandra wasn't perfect for him. So they were off to a good start.

He laughed a bit louder, blushing bright red. "I know, but I don't really want to get carded." He beamed. "I'm glad you like my beard. I'm quite fond of it myself. Luckily, most people seem to be. But some people hate beards for some reason." Giggling softly, he nuzzled against her so she could feel his beard against her cheek.

Very eager to hold the dog's leash, he wrapped his other arm gently around Cassie's waist and went outside with her and Argos. They went for a nice, relaxing walk around her neighborhood before going back to her place. He let the dog back inside and stood out on the front step, smiling at her. "I'll call you soon," he said sweetly. "And you can feel free to tell everyone that you've got a boyfriend now. So when you get the next vase of flowers at work, you can simply say 'Ha, they're from my boyfriend!'" He chuckled. "And I might go to a park somewhere and shout that I've got Cassandra Quinn as my girlfriend." Smiling, he leaned in and kissed her. "Does that sound good or what?" He linguered a few more seconds before leaning in and kissing her again for longer than he so far had. Everything about the night had been completely magical.