That's it? Hmm, well, let me know when you're done. I mean, if nothing else comes up.
[ It feels like a fifty-fifty chance that there's some surprise party in wait for him, that she hasn't heard about — but something more like eighty-twenty, that something stupid is going to blow up that requires his attention. This is one of those off-calendar holidays, after all. ]
[ He can skip it! Really! And the dinky cupcake he was going to get, just because it seems like the thing to do. Brenda and Paco always stashed one away in his locker on his birthday. They were cute like that. ]
Well, if you're that impatient, I suppose you'll have to make it a quick trip.
[ First of all, it was clearly his mistake to mention any plans if he would be so willing to cancel them, since she's stubbornly not letting him. How dare he try to prioritize her, etc, etc. Second, impatient certainly implies something she hasn't stated, and certainly nothing he's had chance to agree to. Or not.
[ It's light, though, teasing and affectionate, a huff of a laugh in the back of his throat. She is bossy. And he's bad at saying no. But she's clearly got something in mind, and he wants to see how it is. ]
[ Jaime just snorts in response. ] Okay, okay. I'll be quick. See you soon.
[ He's not lying, though he doesn't rush his way through it too much either; he does need groceries, after all, and Ruka will just tease him for being overeager. She's not wrong either. It's not long before she receives a text. ]
[ He's right, she would absolutely tease him. Instead, overeager can probably lobbed at Ruka, this time: it's not even ten minutes later that she pulls up in front of his new address, much too quick for having gotten here from home. Was she, in fact, just waiting around Heropa until his schedule cleared up to her satisfaction? Yes. Yes she was.
But never mind that now. She rings the front doorbell, like a civilized person, and waits. When he finally opens the door, she looks... well, like she usually does coming over, riding jacket and helmet still on, red gloves; there's a slightly-larger-than-standard shopping tote hanging off of one of her arms. ]
[ By now, the two of them are something, though Jaime doesn't know what it is. No, scratch that. He knows exactly what it is for him. But he doesn't know what it is for her yet, and he's trying to take it slow. He can go slow. He's good at slow!
But still, the lopsided grin he gives her is a little different than the ones he'd given her before. It's one she's been seeing more and more often, though. ]
[ It's... different. Things are different. It's nothing she's willing to put words to, yet, and sometimes it feels like if she spends too much time thinking about it, she'll jinx the whole thing, but... it's something.
That smile is something.
She crosses the threshold, setting the bag to the side while she gets in order: jacket off, helmet off, loose pigtails wound back up into their usual buns, shoes off. As she goes through the process, she continues: ] If I'd been in a hurry, I would have gotten here before you. Obviously.
Obviously, [ Jaime echoes, raising his brows at her in a way that means you're not fooling anyone, but he doesn't see any reason to call her out too much. That's always been her job, after all. ]
I'm just reading too much into things, right? [ It's funny. He's not sure where they're at, and it's not comfortable, but it's not the same as before either. Obviously. The discomfort's gone - he's just still trying to feel out where they're at, what he's allowed to do. ]
C'mon, let's go sit. And you can say hello to the dogs. Bet you can hear BB scratching at the door already.
Mmmm... maybe. I couldn't say. [ She's not doing a good job of hiding her smile, mouth scrunched but cheeks rounded, gaze bright when she looks his way — a tease, in good humor. She's in a good mood, rare as those are, but she's still as evasive as ever. For how often and how easy it seems to her to pin down the edges of everyone else's actions and motives, she keeps edging away from the same treatment in return. Even for something as flagrantly apparent as "arrived faster than expected."
As Jaime heads into the house, she follows, holding the bag's handles with both hands folded neatly behind her back. It's her first time in the new place, but it is... pretty much the same as the old place, if one forgives the fresher paint on the walls. There's a little bit of different placement for some of the furniture and some of the little homey touches, but much of it is still very clearly Jaime's. Still. It must feel different, to be displaced even this small a distance from your home of nearly five years. ]
They haven't been getting into trouble, have they?
[ Jaime had already been in a good mood, considering, but he's always been the sort of person to feed off of other people's moods; it's hard not to smile right back at her. She's not fooling him for a second, but he'll let her enjoy the game while it lasts. It's not as though it's not fun for him too. ]
This little stinker rolled his way into a bath yesterday. He was about as happy about that as I was. [ He picks up BB at that, looking him right into his dopey eyes, then turns him around to hold him out towards Ruka. He licks her nose. He's always reliable for that sort of thing. ] Good idea, little guy. [ Jaime laughs and tucks BB closer into his body, giving Ruka a kiss on the cheek too before they sit down, because he's allowed to do that sort of thing now.
Welcome to cheese, Ruka. Remember: you signed up for this. ]
And you both survived? [ It's a little airier than the other teases; when he pulls back far enough to see her face again, her nose is scrunched up and her cheeks flustered pink. Still smiling, too, but going to sit gives her an excuse to pivot away from the direct assault of his bright expression. It's been a few weeks, now, but it's done nothing to dim the newness of it. Every little piece of affection is a burst of surprise, and no amount of rationalizing or reminding herself how things have changed ever seems enough to prepare her for the reality of it. It's not a bad thing, but there's no amount of playing cool that can hide how much she gets swept up and off-guard.
She sets the bag down on the couch, the paper bottom crinkling at the weight of its contents, and sits beside it. When she turns back towards Jaime — posture polite, with her back straight and her knees locked together in a prim slant, but with one socked foot folded over the other, toes curled — it's with arms outstretched, hands making a beckoning motion.
[ He's grinning at her too. God, this is stupid. They're stupid. This is the sort of thing that he'd look out from the outside and think both I'm very happy for you and I don't have time for that sort of thing, but look at them now, smiling about nothing in particular. Another time, it'd be enough to make him feel a little guilty for it, finding what happiness he can, but... heck, life is short. If this is what's making him happy - and making her happy from the looks of it - then why not? Who's it hurting?
He's not so comfortable that he takes the obvious bait, though. Not yet. So BB is dumped into Ruka's arms, all bright eyes and wagging tail and lolling tongue. ]
[ He's all yours, Jaime says, and the easiest tease to shoot back catches in her throat; it hangs there, thought unspoken. She takes the dog. In playful exaggeration of Serious Intent, Ruka sets BB partially in her lap, balancing him upright on his hind legs while holding his paws, bending them gently for "examination." A shift, and poor, beleaguered BB is put flat on his back while she fusses with his ears, and rolls him from one side to the other as she "works." He's suffering so much, Jaime. Look at him. His soul is tormented. Never has one dog endured so much.
The exam ceases with a little appraising hum. ] Passable. [ She lifts BB back up and plants one quick kiss to the top of his head, then promptly releases him back to the floor. Of course, with something as high energy as a practical puppy in her arms, the near-methodical reservation of her own movements only becomes more apparent. Each little half-roll was calibrated, the scratches and strokes measured, even the smooch a deliberate choice.
So, too, when she turns back to Jaime: she doesn't spring into action with his same careless speed of impulse, but with the apparent ease of something done before, or whose cost has already been paid. Ruka takes both of Jaime's hands and, as she'd done with BB, she turns them both this way and that, as though checking for damage. Through her gloves she can feel the heat of his palms; her thumbs sweep out from the center, over the heel, and back. ]
Your turn, [ she murmurs, voice already dropping back—too quiet, too low, too thin for too little breath—as she trades a hand holding his to a hand at his cheek, his jaw. Just enough to keep him in place when she presses a kiss to his forehead.
[ Jaime flushes a little. It's funny - he loathes attention. Everyone knows that. They can feel it in his stuttered speeches to the press and in the way he flies away from them given the slightest opportunity, how lost for words he gets when confronted with people who know him for good or bad reasons in the public and his extreme reluctance to take on anything even resembling a leadership role. He's been dragged into celebrity and heroism kicking and screaming and a part of him has never managed to move on from that. Frankly, he doesn't think he's ever going to move on from that. He's just not made for it.
But it's not that he loathes attention. It's that he loathes attention when he's looked at for leadership for hard times, or when the full weight of the public eye is on him. When it comes to stuff like this, in private moments, the attention coming from someone he adores, treating him with this sort of tenderness, he soaks it up like a regular Booster Gold. Any day where her attention is focused on him on this is a good day. ] Is that so? [ He says, trying to play it off. He does so poorly. He leans in low enough so that when she places a hand on his jaw, he lets some invisible force guide him so he's glancing up at her. ]
[ Oh. Oh, this is... more than she was expecting. There's a thrum to her hold on his hand, a thoughtless little jump to her pulse that she can't control; she lets go. As much as you want, as much as you're willing to give, they'd talked about it, and they meant it, sure, but it's different to see how soft it makes his expression, how attentive. He spends a lot of time in his own head — she does too, though not in the same way — and it reflects in his face, in his moods. The way it sometimes seems like he fades into the background, drifting through a room half-awake, or how much more present he is when he's upset, or when she is. He's here, now.
Her one hand stays at his jaw; the other brushes the loose bangs out of his eyes. Her throat is too dry for the playful teasing back — no passable, no well, I've hardly checked enough to tell, right? Cleverness is discarded quickly. ]
Yeah, [ is all she can manage instead, a little rasped, and it feels dangerous to sit this close and talk this quiet, and it feels like a mercy that she's still wearing gloves. Not much of one, though.
[ Jaime has no idea what's going on through her mind. All he knows is that her hands are on him and she's looking at him and there's no place he'd rather be. Other people might think that he wants some big party, or to be the centre of attention, or for someone to spring some big, wonderful thing on him. And that would be fun. And he'd enjoy it.
He prefers this, though, this feeling of her here with him, for him. There's no disasters. They're not talking about some horrible thing that's happened, or struggling with their inner demons. It's everything that he'd wanted before he'd confessed, the easiness of knowing you want someone and that you're wanted in return. That's enough impetus for them to be together. He doesn't know how she's feeling now and, for once, he's not trying to figure it out. He's happy to take that quirk of her lip at face value.
Jaime's got roommates. It's probably rude to take up the living room like this. But he can't bring himself to care, so he leans into the kiss, shifting his weight on the couch so he can lean into her proper, bringing one hand up to her cheek as well. ]
If that's what I get for my birthday, I should have it more often, [ he teases, voice low and bright all at the same time. ] You missed a couple, you know.
[ All right, so he's not subtle. But it's his birthday. He gets to be greedy today. ]
[ It's coy, and quiet; his hand is too warm on her face, and she feels it shift placement when she talks. He's sitting so close and there's already enough contact that his roommates could probably be in the room and she wouldn't notice them at all.
This is incredibly dangerous, but she can't find the motivation to care. ]
And how should I make up for — well, how many are you counting?
Edited (JUST FIXING THE ICON SHUT UP) Date: 2019-06-01 04:28 am (UTC)
[ He hasn't been counting the years. He knows she probably has been - she's always had a better head for that sort of thing than him - but this isn't really about the years. It's just about being stupid and greedy and languishing in the moment. He hasn't been able to be stupid and greedy in a long time. He finds that he's thoroughly enjoying it. ]
More of the same works, [ he says, a laugh on his breath, a brightness in his eyes. ] What's the saying? If it ain't broke, don't fix it?
[ Kissing's great. Why did he go for years without kissing again? He can't seem to remember. ]
[ It feels almost like a blessing that her scope of vision is so limited — with his face this close to hers, sure can't quite see his whole expression, but even three-quarters feels like too much. He's so happy, and his mood so bright and so warm. Figuratively and literally, on the last count; she's pretty sure she can feel the heat radiating off his face, even where they aren't touching.
She shifts on the couch; their knees bump. ]
You sure that's enough? [ She speaks quiet; she moves her hand back to comb through his hair, unable to feel the direct texture of it through her gloves, but the pressure alone is nice. ] I didn't bring presents for me, you know.
I said that's enough, not that I wouldn't accept more.
[ Though really, he's pretty sure whatever she has for him can't top this. He's being a big goof, and he knows it. But it's fun. He's happy. He still can't believe he's allowed to have this, in some ways, and that Ruka's right here humouring him. If she's enjoying this half as much as he is -- well, then they're on the right track. ]
If you really wanna move onto the next bit now, I hope you know I'm gonna hold you accountable for the rest of it.
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timeasmymeasure
as though chronological time means anything to our dumb asses
Date: 2019-04-23 12:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-04-23 08:00 am (UTC)[ Cheerful. Affectionately sing-song.
What the fuck, honestly. ]
What are you doing today?
no subject
Date: 2019-04-25 12:58 am (UTC)...grocery shopping? [ JAIME, YOU'RE THE MOST BORING MAN ALIVE. ]
no subject
Date: 2019-04-25 06:47 am (UTC)That's it? Hmm, well, let me know when you're done. I mean, if nothing else comes up.
[ It feels like a fifty-fifty chance that there's some surprise party in wait for him, that she hasn't heard about — but something more like eighty-twenty, that something stupid is going to blow up that requires his attention. This is one of those off-calendar holidays, after all. ]
Okay?
no subject
Date: 2019-04-26 08:18 am (UTC)[ He can skip it! Really! And the dinky cupcake he was going to get, just because it seems like the thing to do. Brenda and Paco always stashed one away in his locker on his birthday. They were cute like that. ]
no subject
Date: 2019-04-26 08:27 am (UTC)Well, if you're that impatient, I suppose you'll have to make it a quick trip.
[ First of all, it was clearly his mistake to mention any plans if he would be so willing to cancel them, since she's stubbornly not letting him. How dare he try to prioritize her, etc, etc. Second, impatient certainly implies something she hasn't stated, and certainly nothing he's had chance to agree to. Or not.
As usual. ]
no subject
Date: 2019-04-27 09:36 pm (UTC)[ It's light, though, teasing and affectionate, a huff of a laugh in the back of his throat. She is bossy. And he's bad at saying no. But she's clearly got something in mind, and he wants to see how it is. ]
You want anything?
no subject
Date: 2019-04-27 10:29 pm (UTC)[ She knows exactly why, but she isn't lying. Stubborn, demanding, or ruder things — but usually just stubborn. ]
But, no, I can't think of anything I need. Just, let me know when I can come over. Okay?
no subject
Date: 2019-05-02 08:52 pm (UTC)[ He's not lying, though he doesn't rush his way through it too much either; he does need groceries, after all, and Ruka will just tease him for being overeager. She's not wrong either. It's not long before she receives a text. ]
Ready when you are.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-02 09:34 pm (UTC)But never mind that now. She rings the front doorbell, like a civilized person, and waits. When he finally opens the door, she looks... well, like she usually does coming over, riding jacket and helmet still on, red gloves; there's a slightly-larger-than-standard shopping tote hanging off of one of her arms. ]
Hey.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-07 01:56 am (UTC)But still, the lopsided grin he gives her is a little different than the ones he'd given her before. It's one she's been seeing more and more often, though. ]
Hey. You got here in a hurry.
[ With something too. A gift. It's gotta be. ]
no subject
Date: 2019-05-07 02:59 am (UTC)[ It's... different. Things are different. It's nothing she's willing to put words to, yet, and sometimes it feels like if she spends too much time thinking about it, she'll jinx the whole thing, but... it's something.
That smile is something.
She crosses the threshold, setting the bag to the side while she gets in order: jacket off, helmet off, loose pigtails wound back up into their usual buns, shoes off. As she goes through the process, she continues: ] If I'd been in a hurry, I would have gotten here before you. Obviously.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-13 09:09 pm (UTC)I'm just reading too much into things, right? [ It's funny. He's not sure where they're at, and it's not comfortable, but it's not the same as before either. Obviously. The discomfort's gone - he's just still trying to feel out where they're at, what he's allowed to do. ]
C'mon, let's go sit. And you can say hello to the dogs. Bet you can hear BB scratching at the door already.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-14 07:36 pm (UTC)As Jaime heads into the house, she follows, holding the bag's handles with both hands folded neatly behind her back. It's her first time in the new place, but it is... pretty much the same as the old place, if one forgives the fresher paint on the walls. There's a little bit of different placement for some of the furniture and some of the little homey touches, but much of it is still very clearly Jaime's. Still. It must feel different, to be displaced even this small a distance from your home of nearly five years. ]
They haven't been getting into trouble, have they?
no subject
Date: 2019-05-20 04:19 am (UTC)[ Jaime had already been in a good mood, considering, but he's always been the sort of person to feed off of other people's moods; it's hard not to smile right back at her. She's not fooling him for a second, but he'll let her enjoy the game while it lasts. It's not as though it's not fun for him too. ]
This little stinker rolled his way into a bath yesterday. He was about as happy about that as I was. [ He picks up BB at that, looking him right into his dopey eyes, then turns him around to hold him out towards Ruka. He licks her nose. He's always reliable for that sort of thing. ] Good idea, little guy. [ Jaime laughs and tucks BB closer into his body, giving Ruka a kiss on the cheek too before they sit down, because he's allowed to do that sort of thing now.
Welcome to cheese, Ruka. Remember: you signed up for this. ]
no subject
Date: 2019-05-20 06:28 am (UTC)And you both survived? [ It's a little airier than the other teases; when he pulls back far enough to see her face again, her nose is scrunched up and her cheeks flustered pink. Still smiling, too, but going to sit gives her an excuse to pivot away from the direct assault of his bright expression. It's been a few weeks, now, but it's done nothing to dim the newness of it. Every little piece of affection is a burst of surprise, and no amount of rationalizing or reminding herself how things have changed ever seems enough to prepare her for the reality of it. It's not a bad thing, but there's no amount of playing cool that can hide how much she gets swept up and off-guard.
She sets the bag down on the couch, the paper bottom crinkling at the weight of its contents, and sits beside it. When she turns back towards Jaime — posture polite, with her back straight and her knees locked together in a prim slant, but with one socked foot folded over the other, toes curled — it's with arms outstretched, hands making a beckoning motion.
Presumably, she's asking for the dog. ]
Let's see how well that went.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-25 12:28 am (UTC)[ He's grinning at her too. God, this is stupid. They're stupid. This is the sort of thing that he'd look out from the outside and think both I'm very happy for you and I don't have time for that sort of thing, but look at them now, smiling about nothing in particular. Another time, it'd be enough to make him feel a little guilty for it, finding what happiness he can, but... heck, life is short. If this is what's making him happy - and making her happy from the looks of it - then why not? Who's it hurting?
He's not so comfortable that he takes the obvious bait, though. Not yet. So BB is dumped into Ruka's arms, all bright eyes and wagging tail and lolling tongue. ]
He's all yours.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-26 05:56 am (UTC)The exam ceases with a little appraising hum. ] Passable. [ She lifts BB back up and plants one quick kiss to the top of his head, then promptly releases him back to the floor. Of course, with something as high energy as a practical puppy in her arms, the near-methodical reservation of her own movements only becomes more apparent. Each little half-roll was calibrated, the scratches and strokes measured, even the smooch a deliberate choice.
So, too, when she turns back to Jaime: she doesn't spring into action with his same careless speed of impulse, but with the apparent ease of something done before, or whose cost has already been paid. Ruka takes both of Jaime's hands and, as she'd done with BB, she turns them both this way and that, as though checking for damage. Through her gloves she can feel the heat of his palms; her thumbs sweep out from the center, over the heel, and back. ]
Your turn, [ she murmurs, voice already dropping back—too quiet, too low, too thin for too little breath—as she trades a hand holding his to a hand at his cheek, his jaw. Just enough to keep him in place when she presses a kiss to his forehead.
Will they ever get to what's in the bag. ]
no subject
Date: 2019-05-29 02:03 am (UTC)But it's not that he loathes attention. It's that he loathes attention when he's looked at for leadership for hard times, or when the full weight of the public eye is on him. When it comes to stuff like this, in private moments, the attention coming from someone he adores, treating him with this sort of tenderness, he soaks it up like a regular Booster Gold. Any day where her attention is focused on him on this is a good day. ] Is that so? [ He says, trying to play it off. He does so poorly. He leans in low enough so that when she places a hand on his jaw, he lets some invisible force guide him so he's glancing up at her. ]
Do I pass inspection?
this is disgusting and i hate them
Date: 2019-05-29 08:59 pm (UTC)Her one hand stays at his jaw; the other brushes the loose bangs out of his eyes. Her throat is too dry for the playful teasing back — no passable, no well, I've hardly checked enough to tell, right? Cleverness is discarded quickly. ]
Yeah, [ is all she can manage instead, a little rasped, and it feels dangerous to sit this close and talk this quiet, and it feels like a mercy that she's still wearing gloves. Not much of one, though.
Her lips quirk. ]
Happy birthday, Jaime.
[ And, foolishly, she kisses him. ]
they're living out their lost teenage years IMMEDIATELY AND IN FULL
Date: 2019-05-31 10:58 pm (UTC)He prefers this, though, this feeling of her here with him, for him. There's no disasters. They're not talking about some horrible thing that's happened, or struggling with their inner demons. It's everything that he'd wanted before he'd confessed, the easiness of knowing you want someone and that you're wanted in return. That's enough impetus for them to be together. He doesn't know how she's feeling now and, for once, he's not trying to figure it out. He's happy to take that quirk of her lip at face value.
Jaime's got roommates. It's probably rude to take up the living room like this. But he can't bring himself to care, so he leans into the kiss, shifting his weight on the couch so he can lean into her proper, bringing one hand up to her cheek as well. ]
If that's what I get for my birthday, I should have it more often, [ he teases, voice low and bright all at the same time. ] You missed a couple, you know.
[ All right, so he's not subtle. But it's his birthday. He gets to be greedy today. ]
khaji please tabulate the proper obnoxiousness duration to make up for Traumatic Teenage Years
Date: 2019-06-01 01:13 am (UTC)[ It's coy, and quiet; his hand is too warm on her face, and she feels it shift placement when she talks. He's sitting so close and there's already enough contact that his roommates could probably be in the room and she wouldn't notice them at all.
This is incredibly dangerous, but she can't find the motivation to care. ]
And how should I make up for — well, how many are you counting?
no subject
Date: 2019-06-03 11:15 pm (UTC)[ He hasn't been counting the years. He knows she probably has been - she's always had a better head for that sort of thing than him - but this isn't really about the years. It's just about being stupid and greedy and languishing in the moment. He hasn't been able to be stupid and greedy in a long time. He finds that he's thoroughly enjoying it. ]
More of the same works, [ he says, a laugh on his breath, a brightness in his eyes. ] What's the saying? If it ain't broke, don't fix it?
[ Kissing's great. Why did he go for years without kissing again? He can't seem to remember. ]
no subject
Date: 2019-06-03 11:29 pm (UTC)She shifts on the couch; their knees bump. ]
You sure that's enough? [ She speaks quiet; she moves her hand back to comb through his hair, unable to feel the direct texture of it through her gloves, but the pressure alone is nice. ] I didn't bring presents for me, you know.
no subject
Date: 2019-06-06 05:57 am (UTC)[ Though really, he's pretty sure whatever she has for him can't top this. He's being a big goof, and he knows it. But it's fun. He's happy. He still can't believe he's allowed to have this, in some ways, and that Ruka's right here humouring him. If she's enjoying this half as much as he is -- well, then they're on the right track. ]
If you really wanna move onto the next bit now, I hope you know I'm gonna hold you accountable for the rest of it.
[ Call it an IOU. ]
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From:TWO HUG TAGS IN ONE EVENING!!!
From:hugbugs....
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