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+---- Thread: just a moment to hold (/showthread.php?tid=5256)
just a moment to hold - Remi - 03-19-2021
Remi's talk with Vai both had and hadn't helped. The general consensus was: stop overthinking, hang out with Isla, don't make this more of a problem than it is(n't). For sure the alchemist could do two of those things, and as the song goes, two outta three ain't bad.
Dressed in a suit (and gods does he feel awkward in it), Remi has a very strange conversation with his husband, about the date he's going on with a woman, and though Ronin laughs at him, straightens his collar and kisses him goodbye, the alchemist can't help but feel as though this entire situation has absolutely gotten away from him.
But he did very much want to look at the stars with Isla, and once he focused his mind on that fact and that alone, he felt a good deal better. Having knocked on Isla's door, Remi stands in the middle of the street, gazing up at the moon. There's a bag slung over his shoulder with things they'd need, and though he is in a suit and a proper collared shirt, still his hands are balled in his pockets. Looking entirely like the commoner he once was who has been given fancy clothes to wear that he might slip unseen in a world he doesn't belong in, he tries adamantly to ignore the butterflies in his stomach, already far too flustered about what this night might or might not mean.
RE: just a moment to hold - Isla - 03-19-2021
It hasn't occurred to Isla until she starts getting ready that this might actually be a date. It's only when she slips into her gown (and what a strange thing to be wearing, let alone where she might have gotten it from) and begins to pin up her curls that she considers it. And that causes butterflies to take off in her stomach in a way that, while not unpleasant, is certainly unwelcome when she considers her best friend.
She's just swiped a bit of silvery shimmer and kohl on her eyelids in the Hollowed Grounds's equivalent of makeup, and slipped into heels that she's not worn in years, when Remi taps at her door. Unlike the Lullaby, though, Isla has been brought up a duchess, and so as she opens the door to greet him it's with an elegance that suggests she ought to be wearing more than a midnight blue gown with some modest kitten heels.
To see him in a suit, though? A delighted, fanged grin spreads across her face, and she steps out to fuss over him and admire the effort put in. [say]"You look very handsome,"[/say] she informs him with a mischievous wink. [say]"Do I need to bring anyhting? To map the stars?"[/say]
RE: just a moment to hold - Remi - 03-19-2021
Turning in the moonlight, it's with comedic timing that Remi's jaw drops and his eyes widen. If Isla wasn't so naturally stunning this would seem like one of those mousy-nobody-turned-prom-queen moments. But Remi has always known the doctor to be effortlessly beautiful, so perhaps that's why it's so strange to see her looking intentionally beautiful.
[say]"Uhhh..."[/say] Her words are a buzz in his ears, and it isn't until he gives his head a slight shake and forces himself to pull in a deep breath that he's able to focus. [say]'You look incredible.'[/say] Remi blurts out with boyish honesty. [say]'And no, I've everything we need. And..probably a lot of things we don't."[/say] He adds with a laugh as he pats the bag at his side.
[say]"Shall we?"[/say] It feels both strange and natural to hold his arm out for her, stranger still that they look as though they should be going to a ball instead of trekking out into the Fields in the middle of the night.
RE: just a moment to hold - Isla - 03-19-2021
However Isla might have been used to dolling up and swanning out to uptight balls and various other get-togethers, she is by no means a vain woman. To see her have such an effect on Remi is enough to have her blushing already, and she finds herself glancing down at the dress as if she's been silly enough not to fasten it up at the side or something ridiculous. [say]"Oh...? Oh, I... thank you,"[/say] she says, suddenly aware of just how close they are to one another. Smoothing out his shirt and stepping back, Isla brushes a speck of invisible dust off her dress.
[say]"It's been a long time since I did this. I wasn't able to find a lot of the things I usually use,"[/say] she admits, but then Remi is offering out his arm and Isla is taking it as naturally as anything else, glancing to the bag and oOoOoing to him appreciatively.
Then they're off, and the Ascended forces herself to relax. [say]"You know,"[/say] she says softly to Remi, [say]"I half expected the world to end before we got a chance to do this. It feels strange to go out and be carefree, without anything apocalyptic happening."[/say]
RE: just a moment to hold - Remi - 03-19-2021
Remi too is caught up in the clumsiness of the moment, and as Isla pretends to wipe something off of her dress, he immediately frowns, thinking that he's gotten her dirty somehow. [say]"Oh, sorry. Was that..?"[/say] He looks down, brushing at his suit and expecting to see a large smear of paint or charcoal that he'd missed.
[say]'It has been...almost never since I did this.'[/say] Remi admits, not that it'll come as much of a surprise. [say]"I think I took a few girls out on dates in Northaven...mostly it was the ones who already knew I was gay and were happy to just go along with it."[/say] There had been the one with a leopard shift and dazzling blue eyes and black hair. What had her name been? He couldn't remember, though perhaps that was just because of the press of Isla against him.
[say]'Oh I'm sorry, are we meant to be carefree?'[/say] Remi asks, grinning crookedly at her over her shoulder. [say]"I'd planned to be quite awkward and make things weird."[/say] He adds, biting the inside of his cheek as if suddenly at a loss for what to do.
RE: just a moment to hold - Isla - 03-19-2021
[say]"Hmm...? Oh, no! No, that was... I just... nervous habit,"[/say] Isla admits, not sounding at all like the practical doctor who can go armpit deep into someone's chest cavity right now. And so, blushing and awkward and absolutely not carefree, they go tromping off into the fields together. Isla leans gently against him, almost as if to reassure him that he's not doing anything wrong, but at the same time she doesn't know exactly how to remedy the strangeness between them.
[say]"I suppose we are both doing a stellar job of that so far,"[/say] Isla says, pausing suddenly so she can stop them both in the long, fresh grasses of the fields. [say]"Remi, I... Shall we just forget about whatever we both might be expecting from this? I don't know about you, but I think I'm starting to overthink, here. And I just want to have a good time, and look at some stars with my best friend."[/say]
RE: just a moment to hold - Remi - 03-19-2021
[say]'I'm not sure I've ever seen you nervous before.'[/say] Remi says, though someone else might have just kept that to themselves and not drawn attention to it.
And then Isla does what she does best, calling attention to precisely the thing rearing its invisible head between them, and Remi can't help but laugh. [say]'That's all I want too. Vai and Ronin...they made such a big deal out of it, saying it was a date, and...'[/say] Then, realizing it still might be, he quickly shakes his head and continues. [say]"—I just...it doesn't matter what it is or isn't. There is no one else I'd rather be doing this with."[/say] Were he not in this stupid jacket, he'd have flared a wing to wrap around her. Instead, though he just nudges her closer as they crest a small hill.
[say]"I think here is good?"[/say] Letting her go, reluctantly despite the fact that the evening has just started, Remi reaches into his bag and pulls out a large plaid blanket. With a quick movement of his wrists, he unfurls it on the ground and offers Isla a crooked grin. [say]"M'lady."[/say] He begins to bow, but pauses halfway and frowns [say]"Or..duchess?"[/say]
RE: just a moment to hold - Isla - 03-19-2021
[say]"It takes a very special kind of person and set of circumstances to make me nervous,"[/say] Isla agrees, looking up at the alchemist and huffing out a long breath she doesn't need, nonetheless relieved to hear him speak. [say]"Yes, I was wondering if it was a date as well. Which - you know - if it is, of course I don't mind, and I'm glad that Ronin is okay with it, and... and I'll stop digging this hole."[/say] She chuckles.
Remi comes to her rescue and urges them on with exactly the right words. Leaning against him once more, Isla nods. [say]"Me too,"[/say] she murmurs, resisting the urge to glance up at the stars because she wants to save it for when he finds them the right spot. And when he does, spreading a blanket out on the grass in a gesture that she can't help but find completely charming, she raises her eyebrows at him.
[say]"I prefer doctor, if you please, sir."[/say] She grins, plopping down onto the blanket and reaching out to slip off her heels, folding her legs beneath her in a gesture that's as practiced as it is graceful. Patting the space next to her, Isla finally glances up at the sky overhead, and her lips part in an O of pure awe.
RE: just a moment to hold - Remi - 03-19-2021
[say]'I can't tell if that's a compliment or an accusation."[/say] Remi says with a puff of nervous laughter. [say]'Yeah, I don't need any help with hole digging. I'm quite deep already.'[/say] That she's alright with it being a date, but hadn't expected it to be necessary, has Remi sighing with relief. He'd let Vai's comments make it seem as though it was already a set in stone expectation, and to know that he and Isla were on the same page about it is something he shouldn't have ever doubted.
[say]'Sir? Where?'[/say] Remi rises, glancing sharply over his shoulder as if he expects to see this sir she was referring to. Glancing back with a crooked grin, the alchemist flops down next to her with a boyishness that it's entirely at odds with how elegant she looks. [say]"I was wondering how long you'd last in those."[/say] He says of her heels, before rolling onto his back to look at the stars as well.
[say]'I don't think I'll ever get tired of looking at the stars."[/say] Remi mumbles under his breath, tilting his head to gaze at Isla, and laughing suddenly as something occurred to him. [say]"If this was a date though, I think next I'd say, Though I've just found something else I'd much rather like to look at."[/say] Jovially said, still his pale eyes don't move from her, despite the stars overhead.
RE: just a moment to hold - Isla - 03-19-2021
[say]"It's a compliment,"[/say] Isla assures him with a sunny little a smile, though of course her attention is now stolen by the sky above. She leans back on her hands, glancing to the side as Remi plops down beside her, only to reach over and playfully clobber him with one of her heels before she sets it down. [say]"I'll have you know that I am able to dance all night in heels. Perhaps for our next date we should go dancing,"[/say] she suggests. [say]"Or rather, our next not-date."[/say]
Returning her gaze to the stars, a dreamy sort of smile drifts across her expression, before she lets out a peal of delighted laughter. [say]"Oh, is that so?"[/say] she asks, glancing back down at him before flopping to lie back as well. [say]"If this were a date, I might have just blushed and swooned, and we'd probably not be paying attention at all to the constellations you're supposed to be teaching me,"[/say] she remarks.
RE: just a moment to hold - Remi - 03-19-2021
[say]'Oh! It is a date then.'[/say] Remi says with a laugh as Isle waps him with a heel. Pulling a face at her, he snorts under his breath. [say]"I don't doubt it, I just don't understand why."[/say] He says of her wearing heels, before shrugging. [say]"Or maybe I do. Ronin is upset that I'm taller as well."[/say] Smiling a touch shyly, Remi bites the inside of his cheek. [say]"It's a not-date. I can show you how the commoners danced."[/say] He could guarantee it wasn't anything so stuffy as what the royals and other bluebloods did.
[say]'No, not at all. But instead, I would take your hand like this—"[/say] Shuffling himself closer so that they were shoulder to shoulder, he reaches for one of her hands, making her point her finger and lift it toward the stars. [say]"—and draw a shape like this. You see?"[/say] Putting their heads together so that he could approximate what part of the sky he was using her finger to point to, he drew out a shape, before pointing to another. [say]"And then I wold tell you a romantic story."[/say] Clearing his throat, the alchemist does just that. [say]" This is Altair and Vega. Her family were immortals and he was just a lowly cow-herder, but they fell in love just the same. But of course her parents did not approve."[/say] Laying on his accent quite thick to give the story a more musical feel, Remi tsks under his tongue as he shakes his head. [say]"And so they separated them by a great river, just there."[/say] Softly, he moves Isla's hand that she might draw out the river. [say]"But if he works hard enough all year long, for one night a year a flock of magpies will form a bridge over the river, so that they can be together."[/say]
RE: just a moment to hold - Isla - 03-19-2021
[say]"Well you see,"[/say] Isla says, and her dress falls away above her knee as she dangles her foot in the air above them, toes pointed. [say]"It's a common belief that this shape, with the ball and the arch of the foot just so, is precisely how a woman's body arches at the time of orgasm. The same with her toes. So heels are there to mimic that shape, and thus increase her sexual attraction."[/say] It's an explanation scientifically given, but as they are suddenly so very, very close, Isla's leg lowers and there's a very obvious blush on her cheeks, even if it's silver.
[say]"How the commoners danced? I'll show you how a duke would dance, and we can decide which we prefer,"[/say] Isla says. Then, of course, Remi is taking her hand, and she has to force herself to look away from him to watch him guide her fingers across the sky. A faint smile creeps across her face - a smile that only grows when he begins his story, his accent wrapping whimsy and loveliness around the words.
Isla is at least intelligent enough to know that she's charmed by this - thoroughly so - and so it's with a slow glance across at him that she raises an eyebrow. [say]"And then?"[/say] she asks, almost whispering the word. [say]"If this were a date, what then?"[/say]
RE: just a moment to hold - Remi - 03-19-2021
[say]'Wait, really?'[/say] Nearly he reaches for her, and had she left her leg in the air longer he might have sat up to study the shape in detail. As it was, he merely frowned. [say]'I didn't think you looked like a foot, when we..'[/say] But he can't quite say it, not when they're on a not-date, both pretending everything was fine and also calling out the awkwardness when it was convenient. Clearing his throat, he latches onto what she says next like a life raft. [say]"If it's anything like how Ronin dances, no thank you."[/say]
And then? Swallowing, the corners of his lips tugging up in far too quick of a smile that disappears just as quickly as it came, Remi raises a brow as if he's considering the matter quite seriously. [say]"Well...if this was a date,'[/say] He clarifies. [say]"I might say that a years worth of work to be with the one he loved was a small price to pay. But,"[/say] Shifting slightly, leaning more on his arm and side now to better look at her, he continues. [say]"were I separated like that, that no river, no matter how many star-lengths wide it was"[/say] (Remi not knowing the word for lightyears, of course) [say]"could not keep me away."[/say]
His lips twitch slightly, resembling both a smile a hesitant wince. [say]"And..I would probably try to move closer to you, like this.."[/say] Leaning onto his side fully now, Remi places his hand on the other side of Isla's hip.
RE: just a moment to hold - Isla - 03-19-2021
[say]"Well I should hope I did not look like a foot,"[/say] Isla says with playful haughtiness. [say]"It's only supposed to be a suggestion of it, Remi. You know, giving suitors the impression that you are sexually vivacious, letting them imagine how you might look in those sorts of scenarios and all that."[/say] He rescues them with the quip about Ronin, and Isla grins to him. [say]"And the worst part? If Ronin and I were to dance together it probably wouldn't look so out of place."[/say] Bluebloods, what could you do?
But Remi is continuing, and Isla can't help the girlish smile that spreads across her lips to hear him say as much about rivers of stars and small prices to pay. He shifts closer, too, and if she had breath it would be caught in her throat, her hands coming up automatically to gently press against his chest, his heart thrumming away beneath her fingers. [say]"Do you know, Remi,"[/say] Isla says softly, her cheeks dusted by starlight and her pebble blues thoroughly enamoured, [say]"that with that kind of charm offensive, I believe you would have anyone like putty in your hands."[/say]
She scrunches her nose playfully. [say]"And if this were a date, I would probably be helpless to stop you from kissing me, if that was what you wanted."[/say]