![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
x-cable.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsOn Saturday, Nathan and Moira go for a long hike and a long talk, have a lovely dinner and talk about some more important things in the inn's wine cellar, and get up to all sorts of mischief there and in their room afterwards. (Rated R for the aforementioned mischief. Never let it be said that middle-aged folks can't have a healthy sex life.)
The woods were nearly silent except for the occasional bird singing. Moira stopped on the trail and tucked her hands into her light jacket pocket. This was amazing. She was so used to the openness of the ocean that she marveled at the comforting closeness of the trees. With the ocean, you could look out and see nothing but the water and sky for miles upon miles. Here, there was something everywhere, a full landscape instead of an empty one. It had its own charm. She turned and smiled back at Nathan, enjoying how the new clothes looked on him.
Nathan raised an eyebrow at her, but couldn't help a grin. "Admiring your handiwork?" he asked, stepping carefully over a protruding root. He felt amazingly good; the physical activity was exactly what he had needed. They were better than halfway up the trail. The staff at the inn had recommended this particular hike, saying that there was a particularly good view at the top.
"Mmm, aye," she replied, laughing as she held out her hands to him. She was slightly flushed but couldn't tell if that was from the walk or other things. All the tension was gone from her body and she knew that was a combination of the weekend and hearing Nathan tell her he didn't want to keep running. Life, right now, was good. "Yer fallin' behind...gettin' old?" She winked at him.
"Yes," he said frankly, still smiling as he took her hands. "I've also been doing way too much sitting around this month. Getting out of shape."
"We'll 'ave ta fix tha' then." She brought up their hands and kissed his knuckles as they started walking up the trail again. "We do 'ave an exercise room tha' I use when I'm stressed." Her mind flashed back to her conversation with Logan while she was on the treadmill and wrinkled her nose at the memory of her nearly killing herself on it. That was what happened when it was set to eight and you got distracted.
"That'd be a start," Nathan said, deliberately not reacting to the images that flickered along the link. "What I'd like to do is find a sparring partner, though."
"There are a few options," she mused. "Pete, Logan...some o' th' older students." But they both realized it wouldn't happen until he was better. Still, it was good to plan ahead. Moira sighed peacefully as the wind picked up and blew her hair back.
The mention of students brought Nathan's thoughts back around to a couple in particular. "I need to sit down with Angie when we get back and get started teaching her those meditative techniques," he said thoughtfully.
"Tha' be nice, it would probably 'elp 'er quite a bit." She smiled up at him. "An' ye as well."
Nathan fell silent for a minute or two as they climbed. "I didn't dream last night," he said finally. "Didn't dream last night, haven't been seeing or hearing anything unusual today--" He hesitated, glancing sideways at her, and decided to come clean. "I even skipped the meds this morning, and I'm still seeing nothing."
"Ye could 'ave told me when ye did tha'," Moira muttered, slightly irritated. She rolled her eyes. Men. "I did tell ye ta take them when ye felt ye needed to...thank God, ye dinnae 'ave ta today." #I like it when yer all 'ere...#
He laughed briefly. "I like it too, Moira, but it's--disconcerting." He focused on the trail for a moment, not wanting to trip on the rough ground. "Especially given what she said before she vanished. She said 'soon'. Told me her patience was running out."
Her grip tightened on his hand. "She'll 'ave ta find more, won't she?" Moira's voice was rough with emotion.
"Askani," Nathan murmured as they continued to climb. "At least I know what to call her, now." Although he wasn't sure that was her real name, or at least not the name she had been born with. "What does it mean, when a leader takes the name of her people?" he mused aloud. "What does it say about her?"
"I could say a few thin's 'bout her." That was petty. But rightfully so, Moira justified, nearly tripping over a large rock.
"She didn't want you in that kitchen," Nathan murmured, thinking back to the impressions he'd gotten while he had been frozen at the table, watching Askani and Shinobi talk. "That's what made her use my telekinesis; she was trying to stop Shinobi from calling you."
Moira paused and looked up at him in confusion. "Wha's so special 'bout me tha' she'd do tha'?"
"Well, think about it for a moment," he said wryly, hauling himself up a particularly steep stretch by grabbing a handy tree. He turned and offered Moira a hand. "You're totally headblind, but formed a link with me that you've been using to pull me back to the present every time I start to slip." Moira frowned at him as he pulled her up to where he was standing. "You're in her way," he said, unable to help frowning himself as several very nasty possibilities occurred to him.
"Well. Tha's good, aye?" She settled her hands on his waist and peered up at him. "Wha's wron'? Yer worried 'bout somethin'..."
Nathan sighed heavily. "What if she tries the same thing she did with Shinobi?" The thought of his telekinesis being used to hurt Moira was almost physically painful and he gritted his teeth.
Moira froze for a second and then pulled Nathan closer. "I'm bloody stubborn, love, I'd survive. Ye fought 'er off last time, aye? An' if me force o' personality 'as 'er at least a wee bit concerned, tha's somethin' ye dinnae 'ave before." She gave him the "I'm right" Look.
"Stubborn woman," he said, shaking his head and hugging her tightly. Her words hadn't soothed his sudden worry, but he pushed it away for now. One thing at a time. "I think you've got her beat in that department, quite honestly."
"Nathan, I've got *everyone* beat in tha' department. It gets worse as I age," she said cheerfully, reaching up to kiss him.
He would kill anyone that hurt her, Nathan thought dimly, rather too engrossed by the kiss to manage much in the way of coherent thought. Well, he'd been willing to do that for a while, now, but always before there had been thought involved. He had fantasized about doing terrible things to Joe MacTaggart for years, for example, but had always let Moira's disapproval restrain him. Now, though... much simpler.
When the kiss ended, she leaned back and quirked an eyebrow up at him. "Ye seemed rather gleeful there for a second," she murmured. "Do I even want ta know?"
"Probably not," he murmured back, drinking her in with his eyes. She wasn't meant to be locked away in a lab or an office somewhere, he thought. This was her sort of place. Out in the open air that had lent a flush to her cheeks, with the sunlight glinting off her hair... "You are so beautiful," he said softly.
He had an amazing affect on her ability to blush, Moira realized dryly, feeling it in her cheeks. Being called that...she didn't think she'd ever get used to it, though she liked it. "An' yer downright sexy," she replied, snuggling back up to him and putting a hand in his back pocket.
He grinned a bit sheepishly. "I haven't shaved in two days," he said. He had occasionally grown a beard for cover, but this was the first time it had come in silver. It had made him feel even older when he'd looked in the mirror this morning.
"I like it. Even if it does tickle." She reached up and rubbed her hand against his cheek. It was incredibly attractive and she was fascinated by the color change. Smiling, she reached up and nuzzled under his jaw.
"Mmm... keeping doing that and we're not going to make it to the top," he warned her.
Chuckling, she stopped and tugged on his hand. "Well, if'n tha's th' case, I'll behave." From the looks of it, it really wasn't that much further, but she did want to see the view.
It had definitely been worth it, Nathan thought fifteen minutes later, holding onto Moira's hands as they stood at the top of the trail and looked down over the landscape. Mountains and trees and Lake George, shining in the sun... "Not Muir," he said quietly. "But it'll do for now."
"Aye, tha' it will." It took her breath away. So very different than Muir but gorgeous in its own right. The wind picked up again and Moira tilted her face and breathed it in. It was so calming here, so peaceful.
Nathan glanced down at her, something of his own tension easing even further as he saw the bliss on her face. Somehow, despite his worries about the silence in his mind, about what Askani might do, Moira's expression alone made him feel almost... content. It was a very alien feeling, very unfamiliar to him.
"Yeah. Hell of a view," he murmured, staring right at her.
***
It was like she couldn't tear her eyes off him, even as Nathan slid her chair out for her. She'd never seem him dressed up before, slacks had been about the dressiest thing she had ever seen him in. But the suit hung so well on him and the color worked wonderfully. Moira took a look around, a little overwhelmed by where they were. With the place nearly deserted, they'd been seated in the corner of the wine cellar. Candles were put in various locations and the soft lighting set a tender mood. She turned back and smiled at Nathan.
"You just had to pack that dress, didn't you," he murmured, sitting down across from her. "I'm not going to be able to take my eyes off you all night." The necklace was sparkling in the candlelight, and he tilted his head, deciding that yes, that had been a particularly inspired choice on his part. There was something about it that tickled his sense of the symbolic tonight, too. The dark circle, hemmed in by the light--
"Would it 'elp any if'n I told ye I followed up on me promise from th' store?" she replied, smiling slowly at him. Unconsciously, Moira ran her fingers down the side of her necklace as she reached to touch the back of Nathan's hand.
"Well, no," he said, deadpan. "But I'll do my best not to drool on the table."
Laughing, Moira gave his hand a quick squeeze before picking up her menu. Her eyes widened slightly at the selection, though, really, after the brunch they'd had she shouldn't be surprised. "God, no idea where ta start." She tilted her head slightly, shivering as her hair fell across her shoulders.
Nathan made a thoughtful noise, examining the menu. "An appetizer, maybe?" Mischief seized him and he suggested the oysters; Moira scoffed at him and countered with the lobster-and-scallop-stuffed crepe. In the end, they settled on the mussels with leeks and Fontina cheese sauce. She then ordered a salad and the maple cider chicken, while he opted for the stuffed salmon. The waiter seemed a little surprised that they weren't interested in wine, but merely smiled and went to place their orders, climbing back up the spiral stairs out of the wine cellar. Nathan felt a little sorry for him, running up and down like that.
He turned his attention back to Moira, who was studying him thoughtfully, her chin resting on her hand. There were soft, barely audible thoughts murmuring along the link, and he smiled a bit uncertainly. "What is it?"
"Jus' thinkin' tha' despite all th' chaos an' everythin' else, tha' I 'aven't been this 'appy in years." Moira reached for his hand and linked her fingers through his. It was true, too. No matter the amount of stress, she wouldn't give this up for the world. She'd rather have to fight for what she had then go back to the waiting and unknown. She caressed his knuckles with her thumb and smiled at him.
Nathan found himself at a loss for words as her thoughts were suddenly clear and bright, coming across the link like sunshine. It could drive away all of his shadows if he let it, he thought suddenly. If there was one thing he had learned about Moira in all these years, it was never to doubt the strength of her will. "Moira," he said a bit hesitantly. "What we were talking about last night--"
"Aye, nothin's wron' is it?" She didn't think so, not the way the link felt and the way he was looking at her.
"No," he said quickly. "Nothing's wrong. I was just thinking more about--working on sorting things out." Vague, but he knew she would know what he meant, and that he meant more than just the damned visions. "Except it hit me that I don't really know where to start."
"Does it matter?" She did the tilted head thing again. "I mean, really...'tis like a puzzle, Nathan, one piece at a time. Doesna matter where we start, jus' tha we do."
He used his free hand to lift his water glass and take a sip from it. Another buying-time mannerism, he thought, blinking at it. He wondered suddenly how many times he had given himself away in negotiations and other tight spots, doing that. "Contemplation isn't something they ever encouraged us to do," he said, knowing Moira would know who they were. He wasn't about to start blurting out specific details about Mistra in a semi-public place. "They were much bigger on compartmentalizing. If something bothered you, you built walls around it and sealed it safely away." He smiled thinly. "If you didn't, you got labeled as unreliable, and they weren't much on salvage."
"Well, it's a bloody good thin' I am," she replied passionately. "'Tis only fair...ye think I'm wort' salvagin' an' wort' breakin' down me walls." Times like this, she wished she had the power to find whoever founded and ran Mistra and do horrible, nasty things to them. Repeatedly. With large objects.
Nathan smiled helplessly, enjoying the mental image to no end. "You are," he said softly. "And you've broken down more of my walls than I think you realize. There are some, though..." He trailed off, troubled, and went on telepathically, just in case the waiter was on his way back down. #You're not the only reason I've been thinking about this so much, just the most important one. Being around all the students... some of them are as damaged as I was, or more, but they all have choices I didn't.# He tried to smile, didn't quite manage it. #I ought to be happy for them--I am, but there's a selfish, bitter part of me that won't quite shut up, too.#
Moira brought his hand up and ran her lips over his knuckles. She couldn't help but smile when she felt him shiver slightly. #We'll work on tha', Nathan, jus' like everythin' else, even if'n it takes us until we're ninety ta do. We'll succeed.# The smile she gave him was one of hope and encourgement and love and she pushed those feelings down the link at him. #Ye'll beat them in every way tha' matters.#
"When did you develop this much faith in me?" he asked with a nervous laugh.
Moira just smiled. "Always 'ave 'ad it. Ye jus' dinnae know."
The waiter appeared with the mussels, and they ate in silence for a few minutes, just watching each other. Moira was the only person he'd ever been able to enjoy silence with like that, Nathan thought, smiling inwardly. Everyone else, even other people he cared deeply about, felt like they had to fill in the conversational gaps.
The link was pulsing gently in the back of her head and she sighed, feeling rather content. The cellar was nice and cool, though it gave her goosebumps, but she enjoyed it. She edged her leg forward slightly and rested it against Nathan's, just wanting the contact.
"After we're finished dinner," he murmured finally, watching her eat the last of the mussels. "I have an idea."
"Oh?" This should be interesting to hear.
"Mmm," he said, and projected a carefully crafted series of images involving the two of them, the pillows off the bed and couch, and the nice, soft rug in front of the fireplace back in their room.
Moira flushed and shivered, though not out of embarrassment The way he was looking at her didn't help, either, and she suddenly wanted dinner to be over with, no matter how good it was.
Nathan felt his lips curve in a smile that he knew most people would have described as 'wicked' and been, well, bang-on in saying so. "Our waiter had a very open mind. Our entrees won't be ready for another ten minutes," he murmured, reaching down the link and into her mind. Experimentally, he went deeper, catching his breath as his awareness of her expanded, blossoming like a flower of light in his mind. He could feel her heart beating as if it were his own, could feel the trembling starting in her muscles. Tentatively, adapting one of the few telepathic interrogation techniques he'd been taught, he applied a tiny, measured amount of pressure to the pleasure center in her brain. She made a soft sound and relaxed in her chair, her head tilting back a little, her lips parted slightly. "And he won't be back down for another five," he added, secretly delighted by the reaction. "Shall we make the most of it?" He reached out with his telekinesis this time, imagining his hands on her, but telekinesis was a lot more versatile, he realized quickly. He could touch her everywhere at once.
Moira whimpered and arched slightly in her chair. It really was like he was everywhere at once and she trembled. She bit her lip, trying not to moan. He was being positively evil but, she shivered again, she rather liked him like that. A whimper escaped as the touching went lower and she closed her eyes. This was not fair, she decided, trembling. He was getting her all hot and bothered, and very much so, and looking quite smug while doing it. Moira was not so succesful hiding another moan this time around.
But the table was small, so...with what was left of her mind, she slipped off her high heel and slowly ran her foot up the inside of Nathan's leg, very slowly, higher and higher.
Nathan sucked in a breath, grinning at her. "We," he said a bit breathlessly, "are going to knock each other silly if we're not careful. The feedback... can be a bitch."
Moira panted slightly and sat up, shivering. :"I can only imagine." She paused and smirked at him. "We can either go on 'avin' a lon', verra lon' dinner or..." Moira laughed at his pout. "Or we can 'urry through it an' skip th' food dessert." She laughed again as the link perked at that suggestion. "Dessert in our room it 'tis then."
***
There were really a satisfyingly large number of pillows in the room, Nathan thought, easing Moira back onto a carefully arranged pile of them. She reached up and brushed the hair out of her eyes, smiling at him, but there was a smoulder in her gaze that he wasn't used to seeing. Looked good on her, though, he decided. Her dress was in a heap on the floor a few feet away, along with his suit. She'd left the necklace on. He had to admit, he got something of a kick out of that.
He could feel the warmth of the fire blazing cheerfully beside him as he leaned in to kiss her, none too gently. By the time the two of them had finally gotten back to the room, they had both been half-out of their minds in a frenzy of anticipation. Moira's fingers slid through his hair and then downwards over his shoulders. He felt her nails bite into his skin and growled deep in his throat, reaching out with his telekinesis again.
Moira moaned as she felt him growl against her mouth. She arched in surprise when she felt his hands scrape gently along her sides, but there was sensation along her legs as well. He was doing what he had started to do at the resturant and she shuddered. When he broke off the kiss, probably to breathe, she ducked her head slightly and nuzzled his neck.
She smirked and bite gently, scraping her teeth along the sensitive spot she'd discovered the other night. Two could play at this game, she decided, starting to lose her ability to think rather quickly.
Nathan shivered, drawing in a sharp breath, and stopped for a moment to gather what he could of his composure. He needed to stay with it for a while yet, he told himself fiercely. If he was going to do this right... He shifted downwards, moving down over her body with his hands and his mouth, unerringly finding her most sensitive spots. The link was wide open, and part of him reveled in how clearly he could sense her thoughts disintegrating into a brilliant, glittering haze. She was slumped back against the pillows, breathing raggedly, her hands clenching white-knuckled on the rug and one of the loose pillows. The firelight flickered on her skin, and he hesitated for a moment, just to fix the image in his mind.
Then he moved lower.
The sudden sensation had Moira moaning and she bucked, stars flooding her eyes. Was that a hand or his power holding her down gently? She couldn't tell and didn't much care. This was more intense than anything she'd felt before and she wanted to drown in it. But he was having all the fun...Moira reached down and tugged on his hair, whimpering.
His thoughts were all ragged, all over the place, but they were still smug. Moira shivered as he slowly came back up, mouth trailing kisses the entire way up. She could feel the control he was trying to keep and decided that that would not do. With a sharp tug, she brought his head back down and kissed him hard. He growled again, which sent shivers down her spine.
But she was the one to look smug when she suddenly flipped him over on his back and straddled his chest. Moira smirked and reached down and pressed kisses against his neck and shoulders, biting every once in a while.
Her sudden aggressiveness startled him, and for a long moment he just laid that, shaking as she set about marking her territory quite comprehensively. "You--have this thing about being--on top, don't you?" he managed breathlessly. She tossed her hair back over her shoulder and gave him a look that left him feeling every so slightly singed. "Should never--have shown you that move while I was teaching you dirty fighting--" he went on, a gasp cutting off the words as she bent over and nipped at his throat again.
He turned the tables on her again, using his advantage in weight and reach shamelessly. Moira let out a yelp as they slid sideways, half off the pillows, and then laughed, a wild, free laugh that made his heart soar to hear. "How do you feel about not leaving this room for the next twenty-four hours or so?" he murmured, and gasped again as she raked her nails down this back. "Witch!" he said with a laugh of his own, pinning her hands over her head. She was grinning at him recklessly, even as she struggled, and he leaned down to claim her lips again.
Moira stopped struggling and leaned up into the kiss, purring slightly. She arched again, rubbing her body against his. Nathan growled again and took one hand off from holding her wrists and grabbed her hip as he returned the favor. The stars appeared again as she moaned into his mouth. The smile he gave her as he ended the kiss was no longer just smug. It sent shivers through her body and she gasped as Nathan lowered his head to her neck and returned the favor of the gentle bites.
This teasing was driving her insane and she managed to wiggle out a hand. He was too engrossed with the sensitive spot on her shoulder to notice. But he noticed when she ran it down his chest, lightly scraping her nails and then especially when it darted lower unexpectedly.
It was suddenly very difficult to breathe, with the link burning into his mind like an incandescent circle, a circuit that had suddenly been completed. He heard the noise Moira made, a low, husky sound that wasn't a moan and wasn't a cry, heard it but also felt it in his bones. She sagged back against the pillows, quivering in reaction to the blazing of the link, trying to catch her breath. He pounced on the opportunity, quite literally, and Moira did cry out this time as he pushed into her, hard. Her legs wrapped around him, and she arched against him with each move he made, her breathing rapid and shallow. She was whispering something on the link, words that made no sense.
There was a low rumbling sound Nathan was making and Moira whimpered as he bit down on her shoulder. She clutched him tighter and bucked against him, making him shake when she ran her nails up and down his back. She felt push his hands under her, to hold her tighter against him. For a second, she forgot again where he ended and she began.
Then she opened her eyes and found him watching her, eyes darkening with love, passion, lust. And then her eyes widened as she felt him reach out with his telekinesis and touch her...everywhere, all her sensitive spots at once. She began to shake and cried out. #N-nathan?!# It was intense and overwhelming and she moaned, losing herself again.
As he moved against her, faster now, she heard a word tumble across the link. #Mine.# It was then that she lost control and just held on.
He was seeing through her eyes as well as his own, feeling everything doubled, reflected back on him like a mirror. It was too much, and his vision went white as he held onto their shared consciousness by the skin of his teeth as the world seemed to fly apart in fragments around him. But she was still there, with him, pulling him back, not letting him go. He realized, then, that she always would be. No matter what.
He came back to himself, realizing dimly that he had managed to shift sideways so that his weight wasn't directly on her. Moira was still shaking, clinging to him, and he raised a trembling hand to wipe the tears from her face, suddenly worried. Had that been too much? His head was pounding from the feedback, which made him wonder what hers felt like.
Moira made a noise, what she wasn't exactly sure. Her head was swimming, nearly literally at this point. The link was searing white, but in a good way this time. She murmured when Nathan wiped away the tears and she felt concern bubbling up from his end of the link. "D-damn," she managed, trying to stop from seeing double. Two Nates...that would be too much, she thought weakly. Though she was fine, just...stunned.
Breathing a little easier, Nathan pulled her into his arms and relaxed back against the pillows. She hid her face against his chest, still shuddering. "Never letting you go," he murmured dizzily, not sure where the words were coming from. "Never."
"'s good ta know," she mumbled into his chest. "Was jus' thinkin' th' same." Moira shivered, a little chilly despite their rather vigorous activities, Nathan's body warmth and the fire behind...next to, she realized...them. "...'m nay movin'."
Nathan pulled recklessly at the comforter with his telekinesis. It billowed up into the air, as if caught by a powerful wind, and flew across to land more or less on top of them. He freed a hand, managing to get it spread over the both of them evenly. Moira gave a sigh that sounded more content than shaky, curling more tightly against him.
"F-Forget cooing," he muttered into her hair, a smile tugging at his lips again. "The kids'd be jealous."
The woods were nearly silent except for the occasional bird singing. Moira stopped on the trail and tucked her hands into her light jacket pocket. This was amazing. She was so used to the openness of the ocean that she marveled at the comforting closeness of the trees. With the ocean, you could look out and see nothing but the water and sky for miles upon miles. Here, there was something everywhere, a full landscape instead of an empty one. It had its own charm. She turned and smiled back at Nathan, enjoying how the new clothes looked on him.
Nathan raised an eyebrow at her, but couldn't help a grin. "Admiring your handiwork?" he asked, stepping carefully over a protruding root. He felt amazingly good; the physical activity was exactly what he had needed. They were better than halfway up the trail. The staff at the inn had recommended this particular hike, saying that there was a particularly good view at the top.
"Mmm, aye," she replied, laughing as she held out her hands to him. She was slightly flushed but couldn't tell if that was from the walk or other things. All the tension was gone from her body and she knew that was a combination of the weekend and hearing Nathan tell her he didn't want to keep running. Life, right now, was good. "Yer fallin' behind...gettin' old?" She winked at him.
"Yes," he said frankly, still smiling as he took her hands. "I've also been doing way too much sitting around this month. Getting out of shape."
"We'll 'ave ta fix tha' then." She brought up their hands and kissed his knuckles as they started walking up the trail again. "We do 'ave an exercise room tha' I use when I'm stressed." Her mind flashed back to her conversation with Logan while she was on the treadmill and wrinkled her nose at the memory of her nearly killing herself on it. That was what happened when it was set to eight and you got distracted.
"That'd be a start," Nathan said, deliberately not reacting to the images that flickered along the link. "What I'd like to do is find a sparring partner, though."
"There are a few options," she mused. "Pete, Logan...some o' th' older students." But they both realized it wouldn't happen until he was better. Still, it was good to plan ahead. Moira sighed peacefully as the wind picked up and blew her hair back.
The mention of students brought Nathan's thoughts back around to a couple in particular. "I need to sit down with Angie when we get back and get started teaching her those meditative techniques," he said thoughtfully.
"Tha' be nice, it would probably 'elp 'er quite a bit." She smiled up at him. "An' ye as well."
Nathan fell silent for a minute or two as they climbed. "I didn't dream last night," he said finally. "Didn't dream last night, haven't been seeing or hearing anything unusual today--" He hesitated, glancing sideways at her, and decided to come clean. "I even skipped the meds this morning, and I'm still seeing nothing."
"Ye could 'ave told me when ye did tha'," Moira muttered, slightly irritated. She rolled her eyes. Men. "I did tell ye ta take them when ye felt ye needed to...thank God, ye dinnae 'ave ta today." #I like it when yer all 'ere...#
He laughed briefly. "I like it too, Moira, but it's--disconcerting." He focused on the trail for a moment, not wanting to trip on the rough ground. "Especially given what she said before she vanished. She said 'soon'. Told me her patience was running out."
Her grip tightened on his hand. "She'll 'ave ta find more, won't she?" Moira's voice was rough with emotion.
"Askani," Nathan murmured as they continued to climb. "At least I know what to call her, now." Although he wasn't sure that was her real name, or at least not the name she had been born with. "What does it mean, when a leader takes the name of her people?" he mused aloud. "What does it say about her?"
"I could say a few thin's 'bout her." That was petty. But rightfully so, Moira justified, nearly tripping over a large rock.
"She didn't want you in that kitchen," Nathan murmured, thinking back to the impressions he'd gotten while he had been frozen at the table, watching Askani and Shinobi talk. "That's what made her use my telekinesis; she was trying to stop Shinobi from calling you."
Moira paused and looked up at him in confusion. "Wha's so special 'bout me tha' she'd do tha'?"
"Well, think about it for a moment," he said wryly, hauling himself up a particularly steep stretch by grabbing a handy tree. He turned and offered Moira a hand. "You're totally headblind, but formed a link with me that you've been using to pull me back to the present every time I start to slip." Moira frowned at him as he pulled her up to where he was standing. "You're in her way," he said, unable to help frowning himself as several very nasty possibilities occurred to him.
"Well. Tha's good, aye?" She settled her hands on his waist and peered up at him. "Wha's wron'? Yer worried 'bout somethin'..."
Nathan sighed heavily. "What if she tries the same thing she did with Shinobi?" The thought of his telekinesis being used to hurt Moira was almost physically painful and he gritted his teeth.
Moira froze for a second and then pulled Nathan closer. "I'm bloody stubborn, love, I'd survive. Ye fought 'er off last time, aye? An' if me force o' personality 'as 'er at least a wee bit concerned, tha's somethin' ye dinnae 'ave before." She gave him the "I'm right" Look.
"Stubborn woman," he said, shaking his head and hugging her tightly. Her words hadn't soothed his sudden worry, but he pushed it away for now. One thing at a time. "I think you've got her beat in that department, quite honestly."
"Nathan, I've got *everyone* beat in tha' department. It gets worse as I age," she said cheerfully, reaching up to kiss him.
He would kill anyone that hurt her, Nathan thought dimly, rather too engrossed by the kiss to manage much in the way of coherent thought. Well, he'd been willing to do that for a while, now, but always before there had been thought involved. He had fantasized about doing terrible things to Joe MacTaggart for years, for example, but had always let Moira's disapproval restrain him. Now, though... much simpler.
When the kiss ended, she leaned back and quirked an eyebrow up at him. "Ye seemed rather gleeful there for a second," she murmured. "Do I even want ta know?"
"Probably not," he murmured back, drinking her in with his eyes. She wasn't meant to be locked away in a lab or an office somewhere, he thought. This was her sort of place. Out in the open air that had lent a flush to her cheeks, with the sunlight glinting off her hair... "You are so beautiful," he said softly.
He had an amazing affect on her ability to blush, Moira realized dryly, feeling it in her cheeks. Being called that...she didn't think she'd ever get used to it, though she liked it. "An' yer downright sexy," she replied, snuggling back up to him and putting a hand in his back pocket.
He grinned a bit sheepishly. "I haven't shaved in two days," he said. He had occasionally grown a beard for cover, but this was the first time it had come in silver. It had made him feel even older when he'd looked in the mirror this morning.
"I like it. Even if it does tickle." She reached up and rubbed her hand against his cheek. It was incredibly attractive and she was fascinated by the color change. Smiling, she reached up and nuzzled under his jaw.
"Mmm... keeping doing that and we're not going to make it to the top," he warned her.
Chuckling, she stopped and tugged on his hand. "Well, if'n tha's th' case, I'll behave." From the looks of it, it really wasn't that much further, but she did want to see the view.
It had definitely been worth it, Nathan thought fifteen minutes later, holding onto Moira's hands as they stood at the top of the trail and looked down over the landscape. Mountains and trees and Lake George, shining in the sun... "Not Muir," he said quietly. "But it'll do for now."
"Aye, tha' it will." It took her breath away. So very different than Muir but gorgeous in its own right. The wind picked up again and Moira tilted her face and breathed it in. It was so calming here, so peaceful.
Nathan glanced down at her, something of his own tension easing even further as he saw the bliss on her face. Somehow, despite his worries about the silence in his mind, about what Askani might do, Moira's expression alone made him feel almost... content. It was a very alien feeling, very unfamiliar to him.
"Yeah. Hell of a view," he murmured, staring right at her.
***
It was like she couldn't tear her eyes off him, even as Nathan slid her chair out for her. She'd never seem him dressed up before, slacks had been about the dressiest thing she had ever seen him in. But the suit hung so well on him and the color worked wonderfully. Moira took a look around, a little overwhelmed by where they were. With the place nearly deserted, they'd been seated in the corner of the wine cellar. Candles were put in various locations and the soft lighting set a tender mood. She turned back and smiled at Nathan.
"You just had to pack that dress, didn't you," he murmured, sitting down across from her. "I'm not going to be able to take my eyes off you all night." The necklace was sparkling in the candlelight, and he tilted his head, deciding that yes, that had been a particularly inspired choice on his part. There was something about it that tickled his sense of the symbolic tonight, too. The dark circle, hemmed in by the light--
"Would it 'elp any if'n I told ye I followed up on me promise from th' store?" she replied, smiling slowly at him. Unconsciously, Moira ran her fingers down the side of her necklace as she reached to touch the back of Nathan's hand.
"Well, no," he said, deadpan. "But I'll do my best not to drool on the table."
Laughing, Moira gave his hand a quick squeeze before picking up her menu. Her eyes widened slightly at the selection, though, really, after the brunch they'd had she shouldn't be surprised. "God, no idea where ta start." She tilted her head slightly, shivering as her hair fell across her shoulders.
Nathan made a thoughtful noise, examining the menu. "An appetizer, maybe?" Mischief seized him and he suggested the oysters; Moira scoffed at him and countered with the lobster-and-scallop-stuffed crepe. In the end, they settled on the mussels with leeks and Fontina cheese sauce. She then ordered a salad and the maple cider chicken, while he opted for the stuffed salmon. The waiter seemed a little surprised that they weren't interested in wine, but merely smiled and went to place their orders, climbing back up the spiral stairs out of the wine cellar. Nathan felt a little sorry for him, running up and down like that.
He turned his attention back to Moira, who was studying him thoughtfully, her chin resting on her hand. There were soft, barely audible thoughts murmuring along the link, and he smiled a bit uncertainly. "What is it?"
"Jus' thinkin' tha' despite all th' chaos an' everythin' else, tha' I 'aven't been this 'appy in years." Moira reached for his hand and linked her fingers through his. It was true, too. No matter the amount of stress, she wouldn't give this up for the world. She'd rather have to fight for what she had then go back to the waiting and unknown. She caressed his knuckles with her thumb and smiled at him.
Nathan found himself at a loss for words as her thoughts were suddenly clear and bright, coming across the link like sunshine. It could drive away all of his shadows if he let it, he thought suddenly. If there was one thing he had learned about Moira in all these years, it was never to doubt the strength of her will. "Moira," he said a bit hesitantly. "What we were talking about last night--"
"Aye, nothin's wron' is it?" She didn't think so, not the way the link felt and the way he was looking at her.
"No," he said quickly. "Nothing's wrong. I was just thinking more about--working on sorting things out." Vague, but he knew she would know what he meant, and that he meant more than just the damned visions. "Except it hit me that I don't really know where to start."
"Does it matter?" She did the tilted head thing again. "I mean, really...'tis like a puzzle, Nathan, one piece at a time. Doesna matter where we start, jus' tha we do."
He used his free hand to lift his water glass and take a sip from it. Another buying-time mannerism, he thought, blinking at it. He wondered suddenly how many times he had given himself away in negotiations and other tight spots, doing that. "Contemplation isn't something they ever encouraged us to do," he said, knowing Moira would know who they were. He wasn't about to start blurting out specific details about Mistra in a semi-public place. "They were much bigger on compartmentalizing. If something bothered you, you built walls around it and sealed it safely away." He smiled thinly. "If you didn't, you got labeled as unreliable, and they weren't much on salvage."
"Well, it's a bloody good thin' I am," she replied passionately. "'Tis only fair...ye think I'm wort' salvagin' an' wort' breakin' down me walls." Times like this, she wished she had the power to find whoever founded and ran Mistra and do horrible, nasty things to them. Repeatedly. With large objects.
Nathan smiled helplessly, enjoying the mental image to no end. "You are," he said softly. "And you've broken down more of my walls than I think you realize. There are some, though..." He trailed off, troubled, and went on telepathically, just in case the waiter was on his way back down. #You're not the only reason I've been thinking about this so much, just the most important one. Being around all the students... some of them are as damaged as I was, or more, but they all have choices I didn't.# He tried to smile, didn't quite manage it. #I ought to be happy for them--I am, but there's a selfish, bitter part of me that won't quite shut up, too.#
Moira brought his hand up and ran her lips over his knuckles. She couldn't help but smile when she felt him shiver slightly. #We'll work on tha', Nathan, jus' like everythin' else, even if'n it takes us until we're ninety ta do. We'll succeed.# The smile she gave him was one of hope and encourgement and love and she pushed those feelings down the link at him. #Ye'll beat them in every way tha' matters.#
"When did you develop this much faith in me?" he asked with a nervous laugh.
Moira just smiled. "Always 'ave 'ad it. Ye jus' dinnae know."
The waiter appeared with the mussels, and they ate in silence for a few minutes, just watching each other. Moira was the only person he'd ever been able to enjoy silence with like that, Nathan thought, smiling inwardly. Everyone else, even other people he cared deeply about, felt like they had to fill in the conversational gaps.
The link was pulsing gently in the back of her head and she sighed, feeling rather content. The cellar was nice and cool, though it gave her goosebumps, but she enjoyed it. She edged her leg forward slightly and rested it against Nathan's, just wanting the contact.
"After we're finished dinner," he murmured finally, watching her eat the last of the mussels. "I have an idea."
"Oh?" This should be interesting to hear.
"Mmm," he said, and projected a carefully crafted series of images involving the two of them, the pillows off the bed and couch, and the nice, soft rug in front of the fireplace back in their room.
Moira flushed and shivered, though not out of embarrassment The way he was looking at her didn't help, either, and she suddenly wanted dinner to be over with, no matter how good it was.
Nathan felt his lips curve in a smile that he knew most people would have described as 'wicked' and been, well, bang-on in saying so. "Our waiter had a very open mind. Our entrees won't be ready for another ten minutes," he murmured, reaching down the link and into her mind. Experimentally, he went deeper, catching his breath as his awareness of her expanded, blossoming like a flower of light in his mind. He could feel her heart beating as if it were his own, could feel the trembling starting in her muscles. Tentatively, adapting one of the few telepathic interrogation techniques he'd been taught, he applied a tiny, measured amount of pressure to the pleasure center in her brain. She made a soft sound and relaxed in her chair, her head tilting back a little, her lips parted slightly. "And he won't be back down for another five," he added, secretly delighted by the reaction. "Shall we make the most of it?" He reached out with his telekinesis this time, imagining his hands on her, but telekinesis was a lot more versatile, he realized quickly. He could touch her everywhere at once.
Moira whimpered and arched slightly in her chair. It really was like he was everywhere at once and she trembled. She bit her lip, trying not to moan. He was being positively evil but, she shivered again, she rather liked him like that. A whimper escaped as the touching went lower and she closed her eyes. This was not fair, she decided, trembling. He was getting her all hot and bothered, and very much so, and looking quite smug while doing it. Moira was not so succesful hiding another moan this time around.
But the table was small, so...with what was left of her mind, she slipped off her high heel and slowly ran her foot up the inside of Nathan's leg, very slowly, higher and higher.
Nathan sucked in a breath, grinning at her. "We," he said a bit breathlessly, "are going to knock each other silly if we're not careful. The feedback... can be a bitch."
Moira panted slightly and sat up, shivering. :"I can only imagine." She paused and smirked at him. "We can either go on 'avin' a lon', verra lon' dinner or..." Moira laughed at his pout. "Or we can 'urry through it an' skip th' food dessert." She laughed again as the link perked at that suggestion. "Dessert in our room it 'tis then."
***
There were really a satisfyingly large number of pillows in the room, Nathan thought, easing Moira back onto a carefully arranged pile of them. She reached up and brushed the hair out of her eyes, smiling at him, but there was a smoulder in her gaze that he wasn't used to seeing. Looked good on her, though, he decided. Her dress was in a heap on the floor a few feet away, along with his suit. She'd left the necklace on. He had to admit, he got something of a kick out of that.
He could feel the warmth of the fire blazing cheerfully beside him as he leaned in to kiss her, none too gently. By the time the two of them had finally gotten back to the room, they had both been half-out of their minds in a frenzy of anticipation. Moira's fingers slid through his hair and then downwards over his shoulders. He felt her nails bite into his skin and growled deep in his throat, reaching out with his telekinesis again.
Moira moaned as she felt him growl against her mouth. She arched in surprise when she felt his hands scrape gently along her sides, but there was sensation along her legs as well. He was doing what he had started to do at the resturant and she shuddered. When he broke off the kiss, probably to breathe, she ducked her head slightly and nuzzled his neck.
She smirked and bite gently, scraping her teeth along the sensitive spot she'd discovered the other night. Two could play at this game, she decided, starting to lose her ability to think rather quickly.
Nathan shivered, drawing in a sharp breath, and stopped for a moment to gather what he could of his composure. He needed to stay with it for a while yet, he told himself fiercely. If he was going to do this right... He shifted downwards, moving down over her body with his hands and his mouth, unerringly finding her most sensitive spots. The link was wide open, and part of him reveled in how clearly he could sense her thoughts disintegrating into a brilliant, glittering haze. She was slumped back against the pillows, breathing raggedly, her hands clenching white-knuckled on the rug and one of the loose pillows. The firelight flickered on her skin, and he hesitated for a moment, just to fix the image in his mind.
Then he moved lower.
The sudden sensation had Moira moaning and she bucked, stars flooding her eyes. Was that a hand or his power holding her down gently? She couldn't tell and didn't much care. This was more intense than anything she'd felt before and she wanted to drown in it. But he was having all the fun...Moira reached down and tugged on his hair, whimpering.
His thoughts were all ragged, all over the place, but they were still smug. Moira shivered as he slowly came back up, mouth trailing kisses the entire way up. She could feel the control he was trying to keep and decided that that would not do. With a sharp tug, she brought his head back down and kissed him hard. He growled again, which sent shivers down her spine.
But she was the one to look smug when she suddenly flipped him over on his back and straddled his chest. Moira smirked and reached down and pressed kisses against his neck and shoulders, biting every once in a while.
Her sudden aggressiveness startled him, and for a long moment he just laid that, shaking as she set about marking her territory quite comprehensively. "You--have this thing about being--on top, don't you?" he managed breathlessly. She tossed her hair back over her shoulder and gave him a look that left him feeling every so slightly singed. "Should never--have shown you that move while I was teaching you dirty fighting--" he went on, a gasp cutting off the words as she bent over and nipped at his throat again.
He turned the tables on her again, using his advantage in weight and reach shamelessly. Moira let out a yelp as they slid sideways, half off the pillows, and then laughed, a wild, free laugh that made his heart soar to hear. "How do you feel about not leaving this room for the next twenty-four hours or so?" he murmured, and gasped again as she raked her nails down this back. "Witch!" he said with a laugh of his own, pinning her hands over her head. She was grinning at him recklessly, even as she struggled, and he leaned down to claim her lips again.
Moira stopped struggling and leaned up into the kiss, purring slightly. She arched again, rubbing her body against his. Nathan growled again and took one hand off from holding her wrists and grabbed her hip as he returned the favor. The stars appeared again as she moaned into his mouth. The smile he gave her as he ended the kiss was no longer just smug. It sent shivers through her body and she gasped as Nathan lowered his head to her neck and returned the favor of the gentle bites.
This teasing was driving her insane and she managed to wiggle out a hand. He was too engrossed with the sensitive spot on her shoulder to notice. But he noticed when she ran it down his chest, lightly scraping her nails and then especially when it darted lower unexpectedly.
It was suddenly very difficult to breathe, with the link burning into his mind like an incandescent circle, a circuit that had suddenly been completed. He heard the noise Moira made, a low, husky sound that wasn't a moan and wasn't a cry, heard it but also felt it in his bones. She sagged back against the pillows, quivering in reaction to the blazing of the link, trying to catch her breath. He pounced on the opportunity, quite literally, and Moira did cry out this time as he pushed into her, hard. Her legs wrapped around him, and she arched against him with each move he made, her breathing rapid and shallow. She was whispering something on the link, words that made no sense.
There was a low rumbling sound Nathan was making and Moira whimpered as he bit down on her shoulder. She clutched him tighter and bucked against him, making him shake when she ran her nails up and down his back. She felt push his hands under her, to hold her tighter against him. For a second, she forgot again where he ended and she began.
Then she opened her eyes and found him watching her, eyes darkening with love, passion, lust. And then her eyes widened as she felt him reach out with his telekinesis and touch her...everywhere, all her sensitive spots at once. She began to shake and cried out. #N-nathan?!# It was intense and overwhelming and she moaned, losing herself again.
As he moved against her, faster now, she heard a word tumble across the link. #Mine.# It was then that she lost control and just held on.
He was seeing through her eyes as well as his own, feeling everything doubled, reflected back on him like a mirror. It was too much, and his vision went white as he held onto their shared consciousness by the skin of his teeth as the world seemed to fly apart in fragments around him. But she was still there, with him, pulling him back, not letting him go. He realized, then, that she always would be. No matter what.
He came back to himself, realizing dimly that he had managed to shift sideways so that his weight wasn't directly on her. Moira was still shaking, clinging to him, and he raised a trembling hand to wipe the tears from her face, suddenly worried. Had that been too much? His head was pounding from the feedback, which made him wonder what hers felt like.
Moira made a noise, what she wasn't exactly sure. Her head was swimming, nearly literally at this point. The link was searing white, but in a good way this time. She murmured when Nathan wiped away the tears and she felt concern bubbling up from his end of the link. "D-damn," she managed, trying to stop from seeing double. Two Nates...that would be too much, she thought weakly. Though she was fine, just...stunned.
Breathing a little easier, Nathan pulled her into his arms and relaxed back against the pillows. She hid her face against his chest, still shuddering. "Never letting you go," he murmured dizzily, not sure where the words were coming from. "Never."
"'s good ta know," she mumbled into his chest. "Was jus' thinkin' th' same." Moira shivered, a little chilly despite their rather vigorous activities, Nathan's body warmth and the fire behind...next to, she realized...them. "...'m nay movin'."
Nathan pulled recklessly at the comforter with his telekinesis. It billowed up into the air, as if caught by a powerful wind, and flew across to land more or less on top of them. He freed a hand, managing to get it spread over the both of them evenly. Moira gave a sigh that sounded more content than shaky, curling more tightly against him.
"F-Forget cooing," he muttered into her hair, a smile tugging at his lips again. "The kids'd be jealous."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
OK, this was cute
Date: 2004-03-29 07:00 am (UTC)But really. Telepathic stimulation of pleasure-centers? Crude and slow, Nathan. Crude and slow. I prefer a more ... direct approach. But empathy's good that way.
Very good.
Very, very good.
Just ask Amanda.
Manuel
Re: OK, this was cute
Date: 2004-03-30 02:27 am (UTC)Re: OK, this was cute
Date: 2004-03-30 05:43 am (UTC)Or am I hallucinating the two dozen or so times that ... oh, wait.
Never mind.
A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell.
Manuel