xp_logs | Nathan and Moira, Thursday night

Taking a small break from moving into their new rooms, Nathan and Moira reminesce about the last six months, then decide to buy new furniture. Then, Nathan asks Moira something that winds up meaning a lot to both of them. (No, not that. Yet.)

Moira straightened up from her crouch, blowing bangs out of her eyes. She was simply amazed at how much _stuff_ they had in their rooms. When she had been there by herself, the rooms had pratically been empty. Almost living out of a suitcase feel to them. With Nathan came stuff. Couple stuff, single stuff--mostly stuff. An eyebrow rose a little bit as a box floated by into the room they were debating turning into a study. "We still 'ave a lot left, do we?" she asked, turning and wiping sweat off her forehead. She'd been shamelessly using Nathan's powers but had also not shirked her share and was soaked in sweat now.

"Not too much," Nathan said as he walked in, another couple of boxes coming floating behind him. He gave her a disapproving look as he saw how she was sweating. "Moira, I told you I'd take care of those... you're supposed to be taking it easy."

"Liftin' boxes an' movin' thin's shouldnae upset me ulcer," she retorted, but a sneeze from the dust took away any sting in her words. "Ugh. Besides, I 'ate sittin' on th' sidelines an' watchin', ye know this."

He wrinkled his nose at her. "Impossible woman," he said, a smile taking away the sternness of the words. Floating the boxes into the study - and it was going to be a study, one way or the other - he came over and kissed her.

Giggling, she kissed him back and then snuggled up to him. "We smell," she said, cheerfully. "An' 'tis a good thin' I find ye cute when yer sweaty..."

"Mm," Nathan said, wrapping his arms around her. "It's too bad GW had to go - we could have recruited him. And trust Dom to vanish into New York the minute anyone mentioned menial work."

"She does seem ta move fast...most o' th' time in th' opposite direction," Moira admitted, grinning into Nathan's shoulder. She eyed the room. "But we seem ta be gettin' a good deal done wit' jus' th' two o' us, aye?"

"We'll be done before you know it," Nathan said with a nod, telekinetically shifting around some of the furniture as he spoke. "I think, though, I could do to sit down for a bit."

"Aye, so could I." Gently, she nudged him towards the couch and smiled when he didn't resist. The couch, thankfully free of boxes, books or other random piece of stuff, felt far too good as Moira crashed onto it.

Nathan sighed contentedly as he flopped down beside her and she snuggled up against him. "Feels good," he murmured, not knowing quite what he was talking about. The link, maybe, quivering warmly at the back of his mind.

"Mmhmm," she agreed, almost sprawling across him as her bones suddenly turned to jelly. She was not as young as she used to be, she admitted to hersef dryly. "Ta much stuff. Yer a 'orrid influence on me."

"Me? I'm the man who came with a single bag, which you packed, remember? You started the shopping." He laughed softly as she half-collapsed across his lap. "Back in Lake George, when you decided you needed to dress me..."

"Ye owned one pair o' pretty much everythin' except socks an' underwear," she grumbled at him. "An' aye, I know, I was th' one who packed yer bag. Because ye were snorin' so loudly I couldnae get ye ta wake up."

"Because you drugged me," Nathan pointed out, staring down at her with a wistful little smile playing on his lips. "Six months," he murmured finally, playing with her hair. "Didn't we have this talk already, before... well, before?"

An answering smile crossed Moira's face as she rolled, finally settling so she could look up at him. "Aye, we did. Time really does fly, doesnae feel like six mont's," she murmured, closing her eyes as he kept playing with her hair. "Think we've gone beyond th' longest time ever spent together."

"By quite a ways," Nathan said, his eyes distant. "Next thing we know, it'll be a year..."

"Wow." She cracked open an eye. "Ye okay?"

He focused back on her, smiling absently. "Why wouldn't I be?" he asked, still playing with her hair. The fact that she had bought a case of that heather shampoo was a very good thing, he thought, not for the first time. "We need a new bed, you know."

Moira grinned. While she was not really one for clothes or shoe shopping, she did rather enjoy furniture shopping. "I know," she said, not bothering to hide the cheerfulness. "An' an actual wardrobe or somethin' alon' those lines. Ooo, an entire new bedroom?"

"If you want. We really could use a bigger bed - you keep complaining I hog the one we have." He poked her lightly in the ribs. "Which is a funny complaint, coming from a blanket thief."

Squeaking, she batted his hand away and gave a return poke, giggling when he snickered. "I figure 'tis me way o' gettin' back at ye," she pointed out, sticking out her tongue at him.

Nathan glanced in the direction of where the laptops were sitting on the desk, levitating one over and turning it on as he did. "Online shopping is our friend," he said, floating it down to the coffeetable as telekinetic 'fingers' danced over the keyboard, calling up a browser and then one of the big furniture sites.

Moira turned on her side and braced her head on her arm as she watched him. "Tha's so fun ta watch," she said, playing with his knee a little. This was, oddly enough, rather comfortable, but she focused on the screen of the laptop. "Somethin' out o' th' ordinary but nothin' ta funky. Thankfully, we've got similar tastes, love."

"Might as well look for a full bedroom set," Nathan mused, picking one of the sidebar links. His telekinesis was definitely getting back to where it should be, control-wise; he wasn't having any trouble using the laptop without touching it.

She grimaced at some of the selections. "Lord, modern bedrooms are so nay for me," she grumped. "Maybe 'tis tha' whole growin' up in a castle."

"What about this one?" Nathan asked thoughtfully, calling up the larger picture of a much more solid wooden bedroom set, the elaborate carving almost archaic-looking.

"Eeehhh..." Moira tilted her head. "Ta 'eavy, I think, ta solid--" She paused as several amused thoughts slipped across the link. "Nathan!" Moira swatted his knee and rolled her eyes. "We dinnae need somethin' _tha'_ solid..."

"You're sure about that?" Nathan asked lightly, then called up another bedroom set. "We could go to the opposite end of the spectrum. Something more delicate-looking..."

Another nose wrinkle. "...verra wavy," she said, bleching silently at the very modern-looking metal bed. "I like wood but th' last one was ta dense for me tastes."

Nathan flipped idly through the choice, then stopped at one. "Well," he said, a different note in his voice. "How about this one?" It was ash, solid wood but oddly elegant. Almost Romantic, in the traditional sense of the word, with a definite touch of the exotic about its sleek lines.

Moira sat up slightly and peered closer to the screen. "Tha's gorgeous," she breathed. There was a pause. "Want."

"Buy," Nathan said placidly, picking a credit card number at random and calling up the 'Buy now!' screen. "We might have to paint the room, though. I'm not sure the beige, nice as it is, would really set that off appropriately."

Being girly about goregous furniture was perfectly acceptable, she decided, letting out a soft squeal as the purchase started. "Wonder wha' would look best wit' it?" she asked, settling back down firmly on Nathan's lap as she thought, tugging on her hair lightly.

Nathan pondered. "Green," he said softly. "Sort of dusty green..." He could see it in his head.

"Ooo. Verra nice an' relaxin'."

"Our little haven," Nathan murmured, looking down at her, imagining her curled up on the bed, underneath a gauzy canopy.

While she didn't get anything precise over the link, there was a steady increase of happy thoughts from the other side of the link. Directed at her. Rolling over, she looked up at him, eyebrow raised. "Wha'?" she asked, curious.

Nathan smiled, reaching out and tucking her hair behind her ear as it tried to fall across her face. "Nothing," he said softly. "Just you..."

"Wha' 'bout me?" Moira asked, grinning as she caught his hand in hers. "Th' link jus' went all warm an' fuzzy. Nay tha' I'm complainin' in th' least, mind ye."

Still smiling, Nathan shifted his grip on her hand, so that he could pull her upwards, almost into a sitting position. "I'm going to ask you something," he murmured, "and it may be kind of jarring, but just... hear me out before you react, okay?"

Both eyebrows started traveling together towards her hairline and she tilted her head, frowning a little. "Oookay..."

"Would you come to California with me? Not tomorrow or anything," he said quickly when her eyebrows went up even further. "And not for long. Just for a day, once I figure out where we're going..."

"...California?" Moira asked, blinking, that weird feeling in her stomach going away.

Nathan took a deep breath, realizing how nervous he was. Hoping that what he was about to ask her wouldn't hurt her. "I want to find their grave," he said very softly. "I want to say goodbye. And I... I'd like you to be there, because I need to be able to turn around and see you. So that I remember that this is real, and that these last seven years..." He took another deep breath. "I have to say goodbye to them," he said, almost in a whisper, "but I need to be able to come home with you afterwards. Please?"

Her throat suddenly felt very, very tight. Effortlessly, Moira shifted upwards, fulling sitting on his lap, so she could wrap her arms around his neck. "O' course," she murmured, holding him tight. In truth, it would be good for both of them. Him, obviously, the most but it would put to rest the last few worries in her mind about everything. "I wouldnae be anywhere else."

Nathan closed his eyes, hugging her back just as tightly. "Thank you," he whispered, still smiling despite the way his eyes were stinging. "Have I told you recently how much I love you?"

"Aye, but I dinnae think I'll ever tire o' 'earin' it," she admitted, burrowing her head into his shoulder.

"I'm not afraid of the future anymore," Nathan murmured shakily. "It's a funny feeling."

"'Tis a liberatin' feelin', isnae it?" she asked, raising her head to brush her lips against his cheek softly.

"Liberating. A little nerve-wracking, but liberating." He shifted his hold on her. "How tired are you?" he asked after a moment, his voice deliberately casual.

"Hmm?" Moira thought about it for a second. "Nay verra, why?"

"Neither am I." He grinned, suddenly and almost irrepressibly. "Want to see if we can break the old bed?"

"Nathan!" It was hard not to laugh, though, and grin back. "...oh, why th' bloody 'ell nay? I've always loved a good challenge."