Iskra
He'd meant to answer her question with more than words. Drown out the wonder with enough evidence to make her perish the very thought that he'd ever want to stop, practicing or otherwise. Something warm and slow and certain, which he still means to deliver, the intent sitting like hunger in his gaze as he holds her firmly in it. He's convinced he needs to do no more than allow himself to be caught in her grip, or now, as she's pulling away, return the favor.
A deep, shaking laugh erupts at the notion that it'd be insults appearing on the fabric. "I meant more bees or your name in a pattern, but insults are very on brand too." His brows lift, playfully encouraging. "What might I find, then?" He angles a look down at the shorts, smoothing a hand over one leg as though expecting words to materialize. He could think of a few as well, but he'd prefer to hear the list from the queen bee herself.
His attention drifts from the board shorts quickly enough, however, because she's slipping away from him and toward the water. Gods, Torchline has always suited her. The lanterns catch in her hair and dance across her skin while she moves along the edge of the pool, and his gaze follows without shame, lingering with quiet appreciation over the easy grace of her, over the sun-kissed expanses that Halo's layers never afford him to admire. Every now and then, he thinks he could spend the rest of his life simply looking at her. Which is exactly why he notices far too late that she's dipped her hand beneath the water, caught not on what she's doing, but how well she looks while doing it.
The splash catches him squarely. "Hey!" he admonishes as he's startled from his appreciation. He jerks back a fraction too slowly as cool water spatters over his chest and stomach, fresh and crisp with sensation. Her cackling is answered in turn with his own sputtering laughter. "Oh, that's it."
The words come with mock outrage as he lunges forward, breaking into a few quick strides before throwing himself into the pool in a spectacular cannonball, aiming to land close enough that the resulting wave chases after her. Water crashes upward around him, cool and dark and glittering in the lantern light. When he surfaces again, hair slicked back and grinning like a menace, he wipes water from his eyes and fixes her with a look of playful determination. "You're in trouble now, Honeybee." Then he's after her.
A deep, shaking laugh erupts at the notion that it'd be insults appearing on the fabric. "I meant more bees or your name in a pattern, but insults are very on brand too." His brows lift, playfully encouraging. "What might I find, then?" He angles a look down at the shorts, smoothing a hand over one leg as though expecting words to materialize. He could think of a few as well, but he'd prefer to hear the list from the queen bee herself.
His attention drifts from the board shorts quickly enough, however, because she's slipping away from him and toward the water. Gods, Torchline has always suited her. The lanterns catch in her hair and dance across her skin while she moves along the edge of the pool, and his gaze follows without shame, lingering with quiet appreciation over the easy grace of her, over the sun-kissed expanses that Halo's layers never afford him to admire. Every now and then, he thinks he could spend the rest of his life simply looking at her. Which is exactly why he notices far too late that she's dipped her hand beneath the water, caught not on what she's doing, but how well she looks while doing it.
The splash catches him squarely. "Hey!" he admonishes as he's startled from his appreciation. He jerks back a fraction too slowly as cool water spatters over his chest and stomach, fresh and crisp with sensation. Her cackling is answered in turn with his own sputtering laughter. "Oh, that's it."
The words come with mock outrage as he lunges forward, breaking into a few quick strides before throwing himself into the pool in a spectacular cannonball, aiming to land close enough that the resulting wave chases after her. Water crashes upward around him, cool and dark and glittering in the lantern light. When he surfaces again, hair slicked back and grinning like a menace, he wipes water from his eyes and fixes her with a look of playful determination. "You're in trouble now, Honeybee." Then he's after her.
I can see the sunshine for the first time in a while
It's like I've been baptized by the warmth of your smile
It's like I've been baptized by the warmth of your smile
