daemonized | RECOLLE IC CONTACT.

Oh, I believe you're not the sort of man to say such words lightly.

[playacting and joking is one thing, easily deduced and discovered. but it would be hard to lie, this close and with the sincerity that he's had ever since he first said the words to her. she was trusting him on this, no matter if it was a big leap or not - and so he could trust her.]

But should I doubt? It's simple. Be constant and true to me, hold me close and say again that you need me at your side. Think you can manage?

I think I can manage that.

[He says it as if it were not something he was already inclined to do. As if he didn't already need her by his side, in the same way he needs air to breathe.]

Shall I declare it now? I think I will. [Though he looks amused, nothing he says is insincere.] I need you by my side, for as long as you will have me. You make me happy, and continue to do tenfold when you are near.

[that's sudden, and as much as she was prepared for sweet words given the direction of this conversation, Grell still finds herself affected by his decision - which is good, she thinks, that she still finds her heart fluttering by a smile and his proximity. she's blushing, but still smiling.]

If there was even a shadow of a doubt, you've thoroughly chased it away.

[so simple. and something she was so charmed by all the same. he has no idea, she thinks, of how much effect he has on her. how difficult it sometimes is to be eloquent and say things in words that can also be communicated through a touch, a look, a kiss.]

I'm glad I make you happy, for I'm yours for as long as you like.

So forever then?

[He chuckles, saying those words with such simplicity. But right now they feel so easy; she says for as long as he likes, and he cannot fathom a moment in time in which he would not want her presence near.

He leans in to kiss her, lightly this time, and pulling back to comment again.]

Or maybe that's too presumptuous of me.

[it doesn't help her heart to hear something like that slip out of his mouth, and so she has to deflect with a joke. run back into safer territory.]

Not presumptuous, but...you'd get bored of me eventually.

[airy and light and this close he can see how much still the nature of such a statement affects her. she had the upper ground for a moment! why!]

[Is there safer territory, now that the conversation has taken this detour? That's the real question.]

Bored of you? I may be a man of many talents, but even I cannot achieve the impossible.

[That's a no. He doesn't believe that he would ever be bored of her. He'd be a true fool, indeed, if that were the case, someone absolutely dead inside.]

You're blushing again. Did I say something to embarrass you?

Embarrass me-oh, you know exactly why I'm blushing!

[there's really no safer territory, and she tries to rearrange her expression to seem more serious - it's hard when he's so close.]

I'm not embarrassed. You're just-

[impossible, she wants to say. but she can't bring herself to.]

[Oh, he knows he has her at a disadvantage. And if he were a person who took less pleasure in seeing her blush, especially this close where she cannot hope to hide it as easily, he would relent. But Ardyn is certainly not that person, and instead he places both of his hands on each side of her waist, leaning in a little so that she cannot hide her face. This is how a predator corners its prey, probably. He's just a very amorous predator at the moment.]

I have absolutely no idea, actually. [That's a lie.] And I'm just what?

[he can't just say terribly sweet things and expect her to walk away fine. he's just too pleased with himself. she could say a hundred things, and they all die in her throat, not good enough for this situation where she's cornered, but pleasantly so. for as much as it flusters and winds her up, it would be a lie to say she dislikes him coming in and stealing her words away and forcing her to think more impulsively.

it also helps that she knows exactly how to reverse the situation, if she wants to.]

You're just going to have to take responsibility.

[so close that she can't hide her face means it's effortless to close that last tiny bit of distance and kiss him again, cutting off any smart reply he wants to make.]

[If he looks pleased with himself, it's simply because he is. He does enjoy seeing that he can affect her like this, for it's a good sign, meaning that attraction and affection exist in some form, though being netted up with his words in the shape of embarrassment. He has no regrets in doing so, because he knows that sooner or later, he'll get his own comeuppance, when the situation turns itself on its head and the roles reverse.

Now, though, he's told about responsibilities, and gets a kiss as a reward. Whatever he was going to say is never uttered, and instead he's caught with his lips against hers; this time, he makes no effort to shorten it. He only deepens the gesture, leaning in, one hand moving up to press gently against her back, and thinking idly to himself that if this is the responsibility he must bear, then so be it.]

[if he's going to make her blush and get her words all tangled up in her own place, and if he's the reason her heart is humming at such proximity, then yes, there's that sort of responsibility to bear, for reminding her how attracted she is to him. not that she ever truly forgets, but in a moment like this, all the clever words and back and forth feel truly unnecessary when it's easy to convey everything she means like this. when taking their time and pressing herself closer is enough to reaffirm so much said and unsaid.

I love you, I missed you, I need you. better to let that come through when it's most important than any old movie.]

[Eventually the kiss has to end, though it's with a wistfulness that Ardyn finally pulls away. Something playful has creeped into his eyes, his words, sometime in the meanwhile. This should honestly not at all be surprising to Grell by now.]

At this rate, what I had had planned for us later will happen now.

[Not that this is a bad thing, but. Well. Wasn't there talk of baking? And their movie has been so hilariously discarded and forgotten about.]

I'd hate to interrupt any intentions you already had for the day.

Oh, you had plans for us?

[she says the word with just the right amount of faux surprise, as though she was completely innocent in this whole affair from the start. she continued it, yes, but he started it.]

Consider this - all my suggestions for the day were simply that, suggestion. And then consider that if you wish to accelerate things rather than let your designs play out as you originally intended, that is in your hands. For my part, I can't say I'd be upset either way, though I am curious to know how your plan was supposed to proceed over the course of the day.

[That faux surprise does not fool him, but it certainly does make him look more amused. Though he gives her a joyfully questioning look in return.]

I suppose less plans and more of an idea of what we can do. I did allude to it once before. [And he did too, as passing of a remark it might've been.]

There are no grand complexities behind it. Merely that we would spend time doing whatever it is we like -- time to relax and enjoy each other's company -- before I thought of, perhaps, undressing you with more than just my eyes.

Perhaps.

[she says the word back carefully - she's not him and therefore apt to pick and prod at the meaning always - but she draws it out just so, before her expression turns into a grin.]

Well, the choice is yours, now or later. You know I won't make you leave until you utterly have to, no matter what.

[who cared if the order of things got mixed up and rearranged? it was all part of the same time spent together, in each other's company, content to be alive and have weathered everything.]

[She may be reflecting that word back at him, slowly and purposefully, but in the end, she still does give him a choice. Which certainly doesn't discourage him even one bit, as she'll find out with his next reply.]

Now or later? Then I choose now. [He leans in close, as if they're not already sitting close to each other as it is.] And you can choose where.

[The couch will do the job just as fine as a bed would, when you're as ~~thirsty~~ willing as Ardyn.]

Edited (when ur paid literally expires 3 seconds before you press submit) 2017-09-07 14:16 (UTC)

[she doesn't need to verbally say it, extracting herself from him and leading the way to her room. while it is attractive to go in for immediacy, the choice was hers, in the end. and it also means that once he steps instead, she stops, pivoting around to take hold of his scarf and physically pull him down a little to kiss him strongly, moving back only after a few seconds have passed.]

...I've wanted to try that for a while.

[an easy confession, and she looks so pleased with herself to say it.]

[He follows. Of course he follows. He would honestly follow her to the ends of the earth right now and think nothing of it.

Stepping into her room, however, he's met with her hands grasping at his scarf and tugging him down, meeting her lips with a fervency that's impossible to ignore. He's simultaneously surprised and pleased, feeling his heart beat in his chest with what must be anticipation. This kiss is bold and it lingers. He'd almost be sorry to let it slip away, if not for the fact he knows there are more awaiting him later.]

Is that so? [-is what he manages to breathe out when she steps away.] You could've done so any time you liked.

[And that's the truth as well.]

Oh, there were many times I would have. But I had the self control to wait.

[until it would be as perfect as it was going to get, until she was absolutely certain that he'd enjoy it as much as her and it would leave them both thinking it ended too soon.]

After all, within the first month of meeting you seemed like it might have been a touch too soon.

[surprise, Ardyn...she simply hadn't said anything because she wasn't sure, and content to sit in the security of friendship. it had been enough, until they could both ask for more.]

[He's about to make a comment, something to do about how they haven't the need for waiting or for self-control right now, and he intends to lead her to her bed to show her that much. But then she references that within the first month of their meeting she would've wanted to kiss him like that, fervent and passionate, and it's enough to put a halt to all other thoughts right now. Impossible as it may seem.]

The first month...? [He echoes, nearly disbelieving. He looks at her questioningly and huffs out a small laugh.] I would've let you. If you would've done it within the first week of our meeting, I would've let you.

[He would've been beyond pleased with that turn of events. Friendship, of course, was nothing to be ungrateful for; but friendship alone was not what he had initially hoped for, but settled quietly into the idea, as he had been certain she never expressed interest in more than that.]

Why didn't you?

I...are you serious?

[her thoughts have been derailed, and the look on her face has become honest disbelief as she processes this. within the first week. god, had she been blind to something and thus proceeded on with her impressions that had led her to quietly shelve the idea? it had been steadfastly ignored, until things got set in motion with a push.

she can't help it. she has to openly laugh at everything. laughing and shaking her head at herself but honestly amused that all this time...]

Didn't want to complicate things if you didn't feel the same...

[they're fools now and they've been fools, apparently.]

[He's very serious. As he told her once before, he had found her striking when they first met, and conversation after conversation revealed that she was more than just an impossibly beautiful face. Ardyn would have to have been dead inside to not feel that initial pull in her direction.

He again steps closer to her, but this time pulling her suddenly rather close to him, hands at her sides and looking down at her. The very clear look of amusement on his face completely negates what he says next.]

Oh, you laugh, but I don't consider this a laughing matter at all.

[No, it is amusing. Though it does boggle his mind a bit to think that they could've been like they are now years ago.]

You gave me no indication that I should hope for anything more than what we were. So what's a man to do, but stay resigned to his fate? I thought friendship was at least better than not knowing you at all, Grell.

[she's still chuckling a little as he pulls her to him, looking up to see how his expression and his words don't align. it's something to leave one stunned, yes, but also, what could they do but laugh at themselves?]

That I will confess as my fault, for not thinking to test the waters and being overly cautious. And yet I can't bring myself to regret it, for how I got to know you as my friend.

[which he still is, through and through. it's just beyond that now - but she has to admit, friendship first had the advantage of being honest without expectation. they had already been comfortable around each other. that she feels grateful for.]

Are you upset? Do you feel like we've really lost any time?

Very upset. Can't you tell?

[Again, everything about him reads as not upset at all. The smile tugging at his lips should be the first proof of that.]

And don't try to downplay this revelation with talk of friendship. We may not have technically lost time, as I did still know you in some fashion, but not in the way I would've liked.

[Another farce. He would never define it as just friendship, because that implied a dismissiveness that he never applied to their interactions. She was a good friend, is still a good friend, even if there's far more to it now.

(But let him keep up the act, just for a bit longer.)

Ardyn is angled just right to be able to fall backwards onto her bed, and he'll do so, but not without bringing her down with him. When his back is against the mattress, his arms are still around her, he looks up at her face with a tilted grin.]

I'm distraught. What will you do to comfort me?

[he speaks of being distraught, and she's trying to not dissolve into laughter again. the smile on her face suggests as much, she can tell exactly how false his words are. but she'll indulge the act - there's no reason not to.]

I have a few ideas.

[leaning down over him, some of her hair falls forward over her shoulders, framing her face as her expression changes from simply stifling her laughter into something with a little bit of an edge.]

Certainly I can't just leave you like this.

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