[QL] -- no prob ♥paintitgrayApril 29 2011, 08:02:47 UTC
She'd tried rolling over and going back to sleep, but tossing and turning hadn't helped and neither had pulling the covers over her head. Finally, she'd thrown them off and gotten up to make herself a cup of tea, with a spare blanket wrapped over her shoulders to keep warm. The night was a chilly one.
It cramped her wings a little, wrapping them up like that, but it was perversely comforting to be reminded that they were still part of her body. She shifted them a little, curling them closer against her back, and stared at the faint glow of her stove flame in the dark...
The knock on her door, to be honest, startled the hell out of her. She jumped, half-turning, and stood staring at the door for a long, heart-pounding moment before she heard...Smoke's voice, filtering through the door.
For a disorienting moment, she wondered if she was still dreaming. Then she shook her head to clear it, pulled the blanket tighter around herself and went to the door, unlocking it and pushing it open.
It was lighter outside than in, with her shutters closed. Kurayami blinked blearily in the starlight, blanket clutched around her and trailing on the floor behind her, and blurted the first thing that came to mind.
He winced and turned away at first. "The Wilderness - got stuck without my journal." Then he looked back at her. "Alone. That's why I couldn't get back, or even ask for help. I was gonna write something tomorrow, since it still hurt today."
The Wilderness. He was trapped in the Wilderness. Alone. For an awkward moment, Kurayami stared at him, letting that idea sink into her sleep-fogged brain. She knew what that could mean, at its worst.
"God," she murmured, finally. "Was it a good Wilderness, at least?"
As she spoke, she reached out for him, as if to touch his cheek. Sense caught up, and her fingers stopped short, paused in midair. She wanted to kiss him - half to reassure him, half (selfishly) to reassure herself after that hell of a dream - and the realization left her feeling oddly shy, after almost three weeks of his absence. She swallowed, glancing at him for some cue.
"Uh, no. Not really." He was too tired to be anything but bluntly honest just then. He was rubbing the nape of his neck as her hand started to fall away from his face, so he reached out to grab it. "That's not why I'm here."
"The Sphere decided to clue me into the fact that you had another nightmare," he began with more than a little bitterness to his voice. "Right after I got back, heh. So I wanted to make sure you were oka-- going to be okay." He squeezed her hand a little, subconsciously. "Since I'd never actually felt it before."
She frowned at that, but curled her fingers around his, absentmindedly. His hand was warm and solid and real, and it did more to snap her out of her post-nightmare haze than a dozen cups of tea.
"'Felt' it?" she echoed. What exactly did that mean?
He let go of her hand to touch the blanket that was covering one of her wings. "That dream you just had. I had it too - firsthand." His expression was apologetic. "Not that I wanted to, but I did. So I can say a bit more seriously now that I know how it feels: to wake up from one of those nightmares."
"You..." Her mouth worked silently, shocked and a little angry - but the anger faded quickly. It wasn't his fault what the Tree had or hadn't thrown at him. But that meant...
"You saw all of that?" She swallowed, anger giving way to a bit of embarrassment, and glanced reflexively over her shoulder. The murals. He'd seen them before, but now he would know. And not just that, but about the others like her...and...the end of the dream, too. Damn.
"Yeah. Sorry." His hand moved off her wings and to her shoulders. "It's happened to me before, so I knew what to expect, but gotta say..." A small smile tugged at his lips. "I was never in any of them." He quickly forced down any other quips on that subject; he could playfully try to get her goat another day.
"I'm serious though that if you want me to leave for the night, I can, but if not, I can do that too."
Her hand tightened around his when he mentioned leaving, and for a long moment, she just looked at him. Her eyes were dark and worried in the shadows, as she examined the lines of his face, looking for hints to where he was going with this.
Something about that rueful smile of his, though...it made something unknot in her stomach. She let out a held breath, slowly. So, he knew. Fine. Technically, that made them even, in a sense. And she wasn't telling his secrets around, was she?
"No," she said, shaking her head slightly. "I...I was just putting on a pot of tea. If you want a cup." She managed a small smile of her own. "Since you came all this way."
He was pulling his hand back to his side when she reached for it, and that little motion plus her tentative words made him smile at last.
"Well alright then."
He turned a hand towards the door, implying she had to get out of the way before he could actually come in. However, he still stepped closer - at a right angle to her body - and quickly leaned down to kiss her near her ear.
She opened her mouth to retort something to that, but...well. What came out, after a beat, was a wry laugh. Mostly at herself, to be honest, because when had she started missing him? When had a kiss from him become enough to make the roots of her hair and feathers prickle comfortably?
Sooner than she'd thought possible. Hell.
"Idiot," she muttered, smiling faintly, and stepped aside to let him pass. She pulled the door shut behind him, and went to see about that tea.
Well now he was starting to feel a little mischievous. He watched her move away and waited until her back was completely to him. Then, he walked up and reached out with his left hand to just tap her on the left wing, not enough to hurt. He then side-stepped to her right, put both hands behind his back, and grinned broadly. He knew she'd know it was him, and he was just pretending that he thought he could get away with it.
Carefully measuring tea leaves into the pot, Kurayami hesitated when she felt the tap on her left wing. She glanced in that direction, just in time to see Smoke duck away to the right.
Oh, so that's how we're playing it, huh? she thought, keeping a straight face and going back to her careful measuring for a beat or two...
...yeah, he was still standing close enough. Without looking up from what her hands were doing, she swatted at him with her right wing.
He started to lean back, but it wasn't fast enough to completely get out of the way of the feathers. He then took a few more stumbling steps backwards to get out of range, and laughed a little.
Hmm, wonder if she's ticklish...
He reached out again to bat at the feathers nearest to him again, then stepped in to try to tickle her side. He had no idea if he'd be successful; he was just in a playful mood.
It was a lucky thing she'd set the pot lid down, and was waiting for the kettle to boil. Kurayami flicked her wing absently as he made another try for it, then jumped slightly as his fingers found her waist instead, setting off an involuntary twitch of muscles.
Shit. She gritted her teeth, determined to cover for that little jump, and gave him a bit of a Look. Was he really going to start this?
Yes, he was really going to start this, because it was late and even he got a little loopy on little sleep. Plus, what Kurayami didn't know was how Gojyo used to act around Goku when they were playing around - so like Gojyo, Smoke could devolve into childish playfulness without the Sphere's assistance in the right situation.
Like right now.
He smirked and then just stood up straight again, hands behind his back> Then, he started scooting around in a circle, dragging his feet until he would pause, scoot some more, pause again, and repeat. He was grinning the whole time, knowing it was just ridiculous.
It cramped her wings a little, wrapping them up like that, but it was perversely comforting to be reminded that they were still part of her body. She shifted them a little, curling them closer against her back, and stared at the faint glow of her stove flame in the dark...
The knock on her door, to be honest, startled the hell out of her. She jumped, half-turning, and stood staring at the door for a long, heart-pounding moment before she heard...Smoke's voice, filtering through the door.
For a disorienting moment, she wondered if she was still dreaming. Then she shook her head to clear it, pulled the blanket tighter around herself and went to the door, unlocking it and pushing it open.
It was lighter outside than in, with her shutters closed. Kurayami blinked blearily in the starlight, blanket clutched around her and trailing on the floor behind her, and blurted the first thing that came to mind.
"Where have you been?"
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"God," she murmured, finally. "Was it a good Wilderness, at least?"
As she spoke, she reached out for him, as if to touch his cheek. Sense caught up, and her fingers stopped short, paused in midair. She wanted to kiss him - half to reassure him, half (selfishly) to reassure herself after that hell of a dream - and the realization left her feeling oddly shy, after almost three weeks of his absence. She swallowed, glancing at him for some cue.
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"The Sphere decided to clue me into the fact that you had another nightmare," he began with more than a little bitterness to his voice. "Right after I got back, heh. So I wanted to make sure you were oka-- going to be okay." He squeezed her hand a little, subconsciously. "Since I'd never actually felt it before."
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"'Felt' it?" she echoed. What exactly did that mean?
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"You saw all of that?" She swallowed, anger giving way to a bit of embarrassment, and glanced reflexively over her shoulder. The murals. He'd seen them before, but now he would know. And not just that, but about the others like her...and...the end of the dream, too. Damn.
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"I'm serious though that if you want me to leave for the night, I can, but if not, I can do that too."
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Something about that rueful smile of his, though...it made something unknot in her stomach. She let out a held breath, slowly. So, he knew. Fine. Technically, that made them even, in a sense. And she wasn't telling his secrets around, was she?
"No," she said, shaking her head slightly. "I...I was just putting on a pot of tea. If you want a cup." She managed a small smile of her own. "Since you came all this way."
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"Well alright then."
He turned a hand towards the door, implying she had to get out of the way before he could actually come in. However, he still stepped closer - at a right angle to her body - and quickly leaned down to kiss her near her ear.
"I missed you too."
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Sooner than she'd thought possible. Hell.
"Idiot," she muttered, smiling faintly, and stepped aside to let him pass. She pulled the door shut behind him, and went to see about that tea.
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Oh, so that's how we're playing it, huh? she thought, keeping a straight face and going back to her careful measuring for a beat or two...
...yeah, he was still standing close enough. Without looking up from what her hands were doing, she swatted at him with her right wing.
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Hmm, wonder if she's ticklish...
He reached out again to bat at the feathers nearest to him again, then stepped in to try to tickle her side. He had no idea if he'd be successful; he was just in a playful mood.
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Shit. She gritted her teeth, determined to cover for that little jump, and gave him a bit of a Look. Was he really going to start this?
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Like right now.
He smirked and then just stood up straight again, hands behind his back> Then, he started scooting around in a circle, dragging his feet until he would pause, scoot some more, pause again, and repeat. He was grinning the whole time, knowing it was just ridiculous.
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