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+---- Thread: the pause between breathing (/showthread.php?tid=5674)
the pause between breathing - Isla - 06-05-2021
Despite the fact that the infirmary is officially back up and running, there is a helluva lot to do. From copying patient records, sterilising new equipment, ensuring all surgical tools are present and accounted for, it's a good thing that Isla doesn't need to sleep, because she'd absolutely not have the time. She's leaving the Temple once again in the dead of night after checking her overnight patients will be alright, a refreshing breeze ruffling through her hair as she sets off home.
Whether Varus will be there or not when she arrives is another surprise she's looking forward to uncovering. The soldier and the medic hardly live in each other's pockets, especially with how demanding her job is most of the time, though she does feel a little thrill of anticipation that he might already be there when she gets back. Such is the perks of a relationship, she supposes, and the thought brings a soft smile to her lips as she strolls through the domiciles.
RE: the pause between breathing - Varus - 06-05-2021
He hasn’t wanted to surprise her, but since the training and everything, he’s gotten a bit back in his soldier mindset, with a hard set jaw and the mask set in place because he doesn’t want to take it off unless he’s inside where he knows it’s safe. He spent a few moments walking through the Domiciles, heading toward Isla’s before deciding against it until he can get a hold of himself, but finds it absolutely pointless in the grand scheme of things. He’s too in it, all he can focus on is the surge of adrenaline his body tells him is there even if it’s been a while since the spar, and a mind that takes him deeper and deeper into his mind.
He’s actually leaving the way from Isla’s when he finds her, a bit of a surprise that flashes in his gaze, keeping to the shadows of the moon out of pure habit from where this mindset takes him, but he pulls himself out of it enough to go to her. [say]Isla.[/say] His tone is deep as it is a bit hoarse mentally, using her name in such a sound that it surprises even himself. But he doesn’t stop, reaching out with his metal hand to snatch her by her wrist, to get her to spin toward him in the shadows of a building. [say]Are you heading home?[/say] It seems like she is, but he’s not quite ready to yet. He’s got a lot on his mind he needs to burn off.
RE: the pause between breathing - Isla - 06-05-2021
He's spoken into her mind before, but it isn't a regular enough occurrence for Isla to be entirely comfortable with it, and the way she flinches a bit upon hearing her name growled through an unexpected mental bond says as much. It doesn't even sound all that much like the man she's been hoping to find at home, but Wessex aside he's the only one she knows with the ability.
[say]"Cal?"[/say] Falling to a halt, Isla is just in time for him to reach out and snag her by the wrist, spinning her towards shadows that her eyes can penetrate all too easily. She spots him there, dressed to train and obscured by the mask on his face, and her surprise softens into something altogether more worried. [say]"Yes, I was,"[/say] she says slowly. [say]"Is everything alright? Did something happen?"[/say]
RE: the pause between breathing - Varus - 06-05-2021
[say]Yeah.[/say] He sends automatically, noting the way she flinches but having no other way to prevent it, he keeps on. He reaches out to get her to focus on him and she’s met with tired blue eyes, smudged marks around the edges of the mask that blend him in further, but he doesn’t let go of her wrist. He keeps a hold of it, if not a bit more gently now that she knows where he is, and he steps forward toward her, something almost apologetic crossing his gaze.
There’s a moment of silence as he shakes his head. [say]No, nothing happened. Everything’s fine. I just… I can’t go home yet.[/say] He sends over after a moment, gaze scanning her face before he’s scanning the domiciles. [say]I have to clear my head and I just… Wanted to tell you so you weren’t concerned. That’s all.[/say] Hopefully that’s enough of an explanation. Hopefully she’ll understand what he means by it.
RE: the pause between breathing - Isla - 06-05-2021
He steps out of the shadows a bit more and she lets her gaze dance over his face, marking the patterns of exhaustion, of tension, of being there but not. It's something, Isla realises, that she's seen before in the soldiers she used to treat on the field, where they can't fully bring themselves out the battle. [say]"I see,"[/say] she says, stepping in closer to slip tentative arms around him, watching him closely in case he'd prefer the distance.
[say]"Is it like before? Or worse?"[/say] she asks, referring to their previous dalliance with the knife that had buried itself beneath his ribs, and his state of mind back then. She doesn't reach up to remove his mask - not yet, anyway - instead glancing over his shoulder and down the streets; it's opposite to the direction of her house, and yet it might be a decent plan to burn some time and energy.
RE: the pause between breathing - Varus - 06-05-2021
He lets her scan him, checking him over as she always did with her medic ways. He leaves it bare for her, to see how he’s both here and not, how his mind tears itself between wanting to get back into his normal and feeling as though he’s too far gone to reach it. Her arms slip around him, fitting over the new get up he wears, slightly different and padded in some aspects while the rest seems nearly skin tight, and he lets himself reach out to run his hands along her arms, huffing out an unnecessary sigh.
Her question has him pausing for longer than he otherwise would, quick to quip and joke and be playful replaced by his quiet brooding solitude. [say]Worse.[/say] Because now he can’t be mad at himself for fucking up, too focused on the sensation of feeling listless in a current he has no way of overcoming.
He doesn’t miss her gaze though, his own snapping to follow it, before focusing on her pale face in the moonlight again. [say]Do you have something in mind that might help?[/say] He asks, because if she doesn’t and he’s this paranoid and wound up right now, he might think something’s about to go wrong. In fact, his grip on her tightens protectively with the thought. [say]We should start moving, then.[/say]
RE: the pause between breathing - Isla - 06-05-2021
Ordinarily Isla would make a point of poking fun at the assassin gear he's adorned - not because it's anything to laugh at, on the contrary, but because there are so many places for her grabby hands to go, so much padding to test out and see if it's adequate. But worse rumbles through her mind and she stays her fingers to splay them out across his chest; Varus has no heartbeat these days, but she swears she can feel the hum of the heart mechanism in his chest as it works.
[say]"Hm?"[/say] His grip tightening on her has her focusing back on him, belatedly caught up in his sudden paranoia. [say]"Mm, I have an idea. But I... no, we can talk about the specifics later. Let's go."[/say] Isla sticks close beneath his arm, leading them swiftl down the street to a certain door which leads into a certain room, one they are both markedly aware of at this point.
And Isla almost winces as they arrive outside it, glancing up to Varus. [say]"We don't have to,"[/say] she says slowly. [say]"I don't even have to go in with you. I just thought it might help to distract you."[/say]
RE: the pause between breathing - Varus - 06-05-2021
He doesn’t know what she’s thinking, all he knows is he wants to get out of the open. He feels too exposed with everything right now and his mind isn’t helping, so when she has something in mind, his arm drapes protectively over her shoulders, tucking her in tight against him so that she doesn’t have to stray far. And to be honest? Where she leads him is not at all where he expects.
He stares at the door for a moment, swallowing hard, working his jaw, debating the pros and cons of it. It’ll be his first time with her and does he want it to be when he’s all mentally exhausted and guarded and paranoid? Does he want to go in by himself and try to alleviate it? He doesn’t know, at first. But he thinks she is right in the fact that it would distract him. And if he’s distracted by it, he certainly doesn’t want to be alone for it.
He debates for what feels like forever in silence before he’s looking back at her, arm slipping off from her shoulders to twine his fingers with hers to pull her along with him to the door, slipping into the room and shutting the door behind them with a slam as he shudders and takes a deep breath, trying to keep a handle on it as it floods him, flushing him silver beneath the mask. He’s almost surprised as it courses through him, again and again, but it starts to break under the ice.
RE: the pause between breathing - Isla - 06-06-2021
It feels as though they stand here in silence forever, gazing up at a door that Isla knows is not as innocuous as it looks. [say]"It's alright, we can think of something el--"[/say] She's cut off by his arm slipping from around her shoulders, by fingers twining between her own, and before Isla can ask if he's sure, he's tugging her into the warm darkness, the door an echoing slam behind her.
And for a second Varus isn't the only one who needs to gather himself. Heat surges through Isla's belly and she feels everything all at once; the air whispering against her skin, the smell of something sweet and floral in the room, the crest and pull of lust and all the physicality that goes with it.
She sees Varus, too, with his back to her, gazing on him in a way that feels the same and somehow different. With cheeks flushed silver and a mind now singularly focused, she steps up behind him, pressed close, her arms slipping around his waist. [say]"How do you feel?"[/say] she whispers, pressing a kiss to the soft skin just behind his ear, her hands dipping lower on his hips.
RE: the pause between breathing - Varus - 06-06-2021
He’s sure. He’s more than sure when they step into the room and the door slams shut behind them. He’s flooded with all sorts of sensations, smell and taste and everything else he’s gotten so used to not having. It’s like when your leg wakes up after it’s been asleep for some time, the needles stinging in such a way that promises relief after so long as you charge through it. And charge through he does.
He forgets how heavy the metal arm is, how cold it is in comparison to the rest of everything, how odd it feels in comparison to the regular hand that remains braced against the door. He shivers and shudders as he lets everything else in, the sensation of need and lust combining in with his mental state to make something that’s nearly feral. It’s a relief, though, evident in how he shivers more as she presses herself against him and Varus sucks down a sharp breath, metal arm tensing against the door as he feels her kiss. It’s different this time for him, different because he can feel how soft her lips are now, how her hands carry a softness as well as callouses from her work.
He forgets he’s wearing his mask, forgets how the clothes seem far too tight, especially around his hips as her hands dip lower. [say]Better. Good.[/say] He manages to grit out, sucking down another breath and turns quite quickly with blue eyes shadowed in lust and desire, hands abandoning the door in favor for touching her now that he can. He’s careful with the metal one before it warms up, but the other tugs Isla closer by her hips. [say]It’s been a while for me, Isla.[/say] It’s a low rumble, almost an apology if it weren’t purred and sultry. Already he’s quick to find the hem of her shirt, to try and tug it off over her head, to let his fingers roam along the expanse of soft skin and drink her in.
RE: the pause between breathing - Isla - 06-06-2021
It doesn't sound better, or good, but Isla is too caught up in what she's feeling and the look in his eyes as he turns around to question it. Like a fly caught in a web, she's drawn in by the hands on her hips which leave her splayed against his chest, cheeks still silvery, eyes hooded. [say]"And I get to be the one to break you back in?"[/say] A fanged smile curls across her lips, and she pulls back just enough for Varus to pull the shirt over her head, leaving her in only the skirt she'd worn to the clinic that day.
[say]"Lucky me,"[/say] she purrs, stepping in again to wind her arms around him, feeling every scrap of leather and fabric and letting her kisses trail down the column of his throat. It feels like suddenly the missing piece of their attraction to one another is falling into place; more than shared interests, more than books and nerdy banter and intellectual conversation, there's raw physicality that begs to be explored.
And honestly, it doesn't matter if it lasts for five hours or five seconds - firsts aren't everything, and they've the whole night to burn; that probably explains the way Isla's fingers move straight to the buttons of his pants. That and she stands no chance of figuring out how to get his other gear off.
RE: the pause between breathing - Varus - 06-06-2021
Oh that certainly gets his gaze to simmer more, pulling his mind from the way he tries to deal with the sensations around him to focus on her and the feel of her hands against him, the weight of her as she presses against his chest. It’s enough to spark a soft breathy laugh. [say]No, lucky me.[/say] He murmurs, tugging her shirt off, hands roaming now to her side and up to cup her breast, thumb brushing along her nipple, chin tilting up for the warpath she takes along his neck.
It reminds him of the mask as her hands dance along the fabric he wears, and he reaches up with the metal one to tug it off, tossing it to the side where he can grab it later when he’s more put together and not on a one tracked mind of wanting to fuck her. It’s a tight fit from where Isla’s hands work to unbutton the pants, his erection tenting the fabric and practically begging for her attention. It drives him wild too as she succeeds, a breath of relief shuddering out of him, his arms snaking around her suddenly to walk her back and back and back until she’s back against the wall, lifted so that she’s more level with him, hands now moving to tug at the skirt she wears much under the same impression that she is about his clothes.
He doesn’t even want to get it off of her, just wanting to hitch it up enough that there’s little to impede them. “[say]I want you, Isla.[/say]” He says aloud for the first time, pressing against her. He dives in for a kiss, one that’s greedy and devouring, his cool metal hand pressing in against her thigh now that he’s hitched her skirt up while his other hand moves to help support her, despite how he’s pinned her against the wall between him and the wood.
RE: the pause between breathing - Isla - 06-06-2021
His hand finds her breast and she gasps against his neck, her fangs just about grazing the skin without pricking it. Now is not the time for that, not when they're just getting started with all of this, and she moans a note of impatience as she's distracted from getting her hands on him by his walking her backwards. But the mask is gone and as her back hits the wall and Varus's cool fingers snake beneath her thigh, she surges up to meet him in a kiss.
Her hands just about manage to free him from the tight fabric when he's hitching her up against the wall entirely, Isla shuddering out a breath and letting her tongue flick against his one last time before his voice grates the air. It's enough to have her melting, a smile teasing at her lips, and she reaches between them to wrap her fingers around his cock, squeezing. [say]"Have me, Cal,"[/say] she whispers, leaning in for another kiss and tilting her hips to tease him in.
Fast, hard, relentless. If there's one thing that will take him out of this mood, this is it.
RE: the pause between breathing - Varus - 06-06-2021
It’s a lot all at once, but he’s bolstered on by her moan, by the way he presses her against the wall, by how he’s greedy and about as tactful as a teenager as he fumbles to get her skirt up, devouring her in a kiss. And when she reaches between them and he feels her grip his cock, he can’t help the groan that leaves him with it. His hips automatically grind against her hand.
It’s really all he needs, incapable of denying himself. The hand supporting her moves to her hand, grasping it by the wrist and pins it above her head while the metal hand shifts to become the support, pressing against the outside of her thigh as she tilts her hips toward him. And it’s all he can do to try and pull away from the devouring kiss, to let the silver flush coat over his cheeks as he moves to kiss at her skin, sucking a silver mark there.
His hips buck, and Varus shudders and groans against her neck as he slips inside her, trying to orient himself into the feel of her and not completely lose himself in the feel of everything else. It works for a moment, the Ascended managing to overcome himself in order to start a rhythm.