xp_logs | Frank and Topaz: Makin' Memories

x-pinnochio.livejournal.com posting in

In which the inevitable occurs.

Topaz was surprisingly twitchy as she sat on the sandy ground, waiting. Boiler Beach may not have been the most conventional place for a meeting, but their options were limited. The library was still closed, and their suites CLEARLY weren't safe for private conversations.

So Boiler Beach it was.

What was taking him so long? Topaz pressed her lips thin as she pushed herself, kicking the sand a bit as she paced. Maybe he wasn't coming. She wouldn't be surprised. She still wasn't sure how they had gone from weird, awkward conversation to...snogging. Her face burned just thinking about it.

He probably wasn't coming. Right?

No such luck.

Frank made a point of knocking very, VERY loudly on Boiler Beach's door before he came in. This was not a conversation he wanted to have, but he couldn't just ditch her. That would just be dickish. So he stepped through, very carefully keeping his distance and not making even a little eye contact.

He was going to get yelled at, but at least he'd understand what he was apologizing for.

"Hi," he said awkwardly.

Topaz jumped at the knock, whirling as the door opened. It was very hard not to notice the nervous, uncertain emotions rolling off him in waves. She took a deep breath, closing down the best she could. She needed a clear head for this.

"Hey." Okay, that was a good start. She wished he'd look at her though. And then she wondered where that desire came from. "How are you?" Okay, that wasn't as good.

"Good," he replied, not looking at her. Except now he wasn't talking. Okay. Say something in this horribly awkward pause. "Good! I, um... yeah. Got my job back at X-Corps, so... busy weekends, again." No, you idiot, something interesting! "Where'd you go? The brownstone?"

...Oh God. That was not a productive question to ask. Too late to take it back now...

"Oh, good." He still wasn't looking at her. "Jobs are good." What the hell was that? "Brownstone. Yeah. Amanda's got some books...magic books, I mean, not just random books, can get those anywhere." Rambling. Yeah, okay. That was great.

Topaz took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, finding her center. This was ridiculous.

She opened her eyes, focusing back on Frank, and said flatly, "We kissed."

Frank coughed, then looked up at her. This was the part where she started shouting and he took it like a man. He squared his shoulders. "Yeah. Yeah we did."

There was a pause. Suddenly, he couldn't bring himself to apologize for anything. "...I like you," he said, suddenly. "I do. I mean, my timing sucks, and Sue is a moment killer of the highest order, but... I like you."

He braced himself for the screaming.

It was a mistake. Heat of the moment. I didn't mean to. Sue's interrupting was a sign.

Those were all the things Topaz had been expecting Frank to say.

I like you somehow never made that list.

And just like that all of Topaz's resolve came crashing down. He liked her. He liked her. That wasn't possible, right? She was dreaming. He was having a laugh. Just having friends was more than Topaz had ever expected in her life.

But this?

"I..."

Words. She needed words. She had no idea what to say. Did she like Frank? She wasn't mad he had kissed her. Far from it. Very far from it. She wouldn't have minded it happening again, actually.

That was probably the definition of liking a person.

"I like you too." There it was. There were the words.

Frank froze. He stared at her. That... where was the screaming? She'd kicked him out of her room, wasn't she upset? But suddenly, he found it very, very hard to care. He was probably radiating big warm fluffy feelings that would kill his reputation stone dead, but he really couldn't give a damn.

"...Really?" He was grinning again. When had he started grinning?

Staring. Just staring. Oh god. Okay. Maybe she'd read the situation wrong. Heard the words wrong. Maybe he hadn't meant it like-

Wait, smiling. He was smiling. Smiling was good. No wait, he was grinning. Okay that was a very good. And so were the emotions that were strong enough to permeate her shields.

There was, surprisingly, nothing bad about this situation.

"Yeah." The word was slightly shaky - and possibly just a little bit exhilarated. "That's...okay...right?"

"Yeah, that's okay." He couldn't stop smiling, like at all. "That is... that's really okay." Thank you GOD!

He took a very tentative step forward. "So... I know this is probably going to need some kind of conversation, but... can I maybe kiss you first?"

Topaz couldn't get over the smile. As long as he kept smiling, she knew it was okay.

"Yeah." The word might have come out a little too quickly. "Yeah, that's..." She shuffled a bit closer without really thinking. "Yes. Yes you can."

The grin wasn't going anywhere. In fact, considering Frank's current state of mind, it was probably going to be hanging around for the forseeable future. He took three very quick steps, wrapped an arm around her hips, and kissed her.

It was a kiss he could now admit he'd been waiting for for a while. And it was very much worth it. Not that he'd ever admit that, of course.

He didn't have to admit it. His eagerness completely betrayed him.

Not that Topaz was complaining.

As a matter of fact she might have been grinning as well as she pushed up on her tiptoes, pressing her lips against his. Oh yes. This was okay.

This was incredibly okay.

They went on like this for... well, quite a while. Eventually, though the demand for oxygen led Frank to (very reluctantly) stop kissing Topaz long enough for his brain to formulate thoughts again. He leaned his forehead on hers instead.

"Wow."

...The aforementioned thoughts may not have been particularly coherent.

Oxygen was overrated.

Though being able to fill her lungs again was sort of nice, Topaz supposed.

A small smirk quirked at her lips at Frank's monosyllabic utterance. "You clearly haven't kissed too many girls if that's your reaction," she teased, meeting his eyes. This was such an intimate position...

And strangely enough, she had no desire to run.

"What, and you have?" he replied, smiling. "There some boy back in England I have to track down and beat up?" He was joking. Mostly.

"No, I have absolutely no experience kissin' girls," Topaz deadpanned. "And the boys weren't exactly linin' up for me either, don't worry."

"Pity. I never earned the "beat the crap out of her ex-boyfriend" badge back in scouts." He grinned, kissed her again. "Scout leader was very dissapointed in me."

"Ah, too bad." Topaz smiled as she kissed him lightly. It was strange, how natural this was. Strange, but not all together bad. "Probably a few years too late on that note anyways. Hate to break it to you."

"Why must you crush my dreams," he groused, still grinning. After a moment, it faded. "So.. are we..." God damnit, he wished he didn't have to ask this question, but it was just going to keep him up all night if he didn't. "Are we dating now?"

"Well it's kinda my thing." She shrugged a bit, smirking. At his question, she swallowed hard. "I...I think so? I don't know how this works," she admitted, ducking her head. "If we want to be. Do you want to be?"

He saw the worry on her face as he asked. "No," he groused again, squeezing her waist gently to make it very, VERY clear he was joking, "I just asked because I wanted to stop the awesome physical affection. Yes, Topaz, I want to be." He kissed her again, gently. "I want to be," he said again, more sincerely. "But... if you don't, this is probably the best time to mention it."

She raised an eyebrow at him, lips twitching a bit. "I know I'm good at hiding it, but I don't usually make a habit of letting people get this close," she informed him dryly. That was his answer. Of course she wanted it.

He snickered at that. "Smartass," he muttered, squeezing her again.

"Cool."