xp_logs | Airport, Monday evening.

The log you've all been waiting for? No, okay. Maybe not, but it is definitly the log -I've- been sitting on for days. :)

A rather smallish log - the promised Doug embarassment, though, perhaps not quite as embarassing as he thinks, and much more pleasant.

The plane ride back to New York had been as un-eventful as could be expected, especially since Marie-Ange spent most of the time reading and drowning out the noises of the other passengers with her CD player and earphones.

The last half hour of the flight, however, she spent alternately clutching the armrest of her seat, and trying to relax. After lightly teasing Doug for a week, she couldn't back out now, and she did not think she honestly, that she wanted to. But she was nervous enough to think she might sick up - and she was trying like anything not to, because that was just disgusting. More so with what she was planning.

Once the plane landed, she leaned back in her seat, and closed her eyes. It had been a simply horrible month, except for this last week, and the upcoming week had nothing but good omens surrounding it, if the cards could be believed, and Angie had no reason to disbelieve them anymore. As the other passengers, and her classmates, started getting up to leave the plane, she stood, going through the motions of retrieving her carry-on bag and coat automatically.

Before she was really aware of it, they had left the plane, and walked - in what had seemed like no time at all, though she was certain it should've taken longer - to the gate. Marie-Ange forced down one last wave of nervousness; she would not back out on this. Today, there would be no hiding, no running away - and scanned the small groups of people waiting for travelers for familiar faces.

Doug subconsciously tapped his foot, ignoring the amused grins that Alison and Jamie kept flashing him. The past week had been...comfortable, and nice, and good. Chatting and emailing Marie-Ange nearly every day had really strengthened the bond that had grown between them ever since their respective nervous breakdowns. He wiped his forehead absently. He'd been blushing up a storm since the beginning of the car ride, so he had gone into the bathroom and patted his face with a damp towel. Also, he had worked very hard to swallow back the acid taste in his mouth so as to avoid sicking up from nervousness.

Even though everyone was telling him it would go fine, that it was obvious Angie liked him, he was still incredibly nervous due to his lack of experience, and scared that he would somehow mess things up because of it. Unaware of the nervous tic in his foot, Doug scanned the crowd impatiently. The plane had landed, and passengers were debarking, so where were they?

As Marie-Ange looked around, she caught some of her classmates moving in a specific direction, and followed, quickly catching sight of a familiar set of faces, and one -very- welcome face in particular. Without bothering to hold back any of her eagerness, even though she knew it would likely lead to some teasing, she darted around the group to greet Doug with a bright smile, stepping forward in a gesture that demanded nothing less than a welcoming hug.

Doug's face brightened in response to the warm smile on Marie-Ange's face. He stepped forward impulsively, blinking for a moment when he saw the sweatshirt that hung off of her shoulders, just slightly too large for her frame. "Angie, why do you have my Colorado sweatshirt?" he asked confusedly just as he got an armful of gorgeous French redhead.

A very faint tinge of pink colored Angie's cheeks. She hadn't really been thinking when she packed for the return flight, and had pulled the sweatshirt on over her own shirt for warmth automatically. She looked up at Doug, and instead of answering, unwrapped one of her arms to curl behind his head, pulling his face down towards hers.

Doug's eyes widened at the arm curling behind his head, and then everything almost seemed to move in slow-motion, and his attention became hyper-focused. He smelled a hint of apricots, not like perfume. Perhaps her shampoo. He noticed the shine of lip gloss on the lips that slowly came toward his. He watched Marie-Ange's eyelids flutter shut at the same time his did, and then there was nothing but the soft sensation of her lips against his. Tentatively, his hands settled on her waist as they kissed. How long they kissed, Doug couldn't say. His eyes remained closed and his lips slightly parted as Marie-Ange's lips slowly drew away from his.

Angie uncurled her hand from the back of Doug's neck, and let herself blush. He hadn't run, he hadn't been scared, or pushed her away, and - in what she was going to call a small miracle - he had kissed back. Doug Ramsey, of the well-known tendency to blush himself to death, to hide and to curl up in a little ball, had kissed back. She watched him for a moment, ignoring the crowd, and the comments from her classmates, until Doug opened his eyes. "I missed you." she whispered, smiling

Doug's face flushed red as he belated realized the whoops, wolf-whistles, catcalls, cheers , and -Oh God-, camera flashes, had come from the rest of their classmates, who had seen the whole thing. His mouth opened and closed a few times, no sound coming out. He ducked his head shyly. "I missed you too," he whispered very softly.

Jubilee walked up and grinned at Marie-Ange, slapping Doug on the back as he stood hugging her friend. "Doug, like, dude, you dog, Like, majorly cute by the way. This is just soo cool. So, tell me you're takin' her somewhere nice tonight."

Doug blushed rosily. "Um, probably not tonight, but we are supposed to go out to dinner. Probably on the trip to Minneapolis..."

Jubilee grinned, winking at Marie-Ange. "Very cool. You so like, better take her somewhere fancy, like, where she can dress up and stuff, dude."

Marie-Ange stuck out her tongue. "Who said he is taking -me- out, Jubilee?" She grinned, and ducked her head against Doug's shoulder.

Jubilee grinned and suddenly hugged them both before winking and walking off. "Then you better take him somewhere fancy then, and I want pictures!" she said as a parting shot.

Once it became very obvious that if they did not move from the spot, that one or more of their classmates would resort to moving them bodily, the couple - though Angie wasn't sure how comfortable Doug would be with that term quite just yet - unwrapped from each other. Angie shouldered her carry-on bag, and tucked her free hand into one of Doug's.

Doug tried to ignore the overly-pleased smile on Alison's face and focused on Marie-Ange. "How was the flight?" he asked quietly.

"Quiet, though.. too long." Angie smiled, and squeezed Doug's hand. "I .. was a little anxious."

Doug smiled a goofy-looking smile. "So was I. Had to go wash my face and try not to puke, I was so nervous."

"Ick. .. I am glad you did not.. " The response came accompanied by a nose wrinkle, and a slight shudder of disgust. "Sicking up.. would have been bad." She was now even more especially glad she hadn't gotten ill herself. Kissing someone after throwing up just seemed icky. Kissing someone after -they- threw up was definitely icky.

Doug nodded. "I brought a full tin of Altoids in case. Nothing worse than walking around with that acidy taste in your mouth." His thumb brushed gently over the back of Marie-Ange's hand. "So I got Kitty to do most of the packing for you. You'll just have to do a little more, and then you can sleep as long as you want in the car tomorrow morning, okay?"

"There are worse things.. " Angie said quietly, half unaware of what she was saying. Mentally, she mused over the remaining contents of her closet. She still had the date to pack for, and possibly dinner with Doug and Jamie's friend, and she should probably bring the good sketchpad if they were going to be in the car for many days.

Doug continued to smile at Marie-Ange as the group slowly made their way out to pile into the van. He quickly moved all the way in on one of the seats, and when she sat down next to him, very cautiously put his arm around her shoulders, smiling in relief when she leaned up against his shoulder and closed her eyes tiredly. He continued to watch silently over her for most of the drive home, still unsure what he had done to deserve something so amazing in his life.