The Long-Awaited Reunion
Aug. 31st, 2004 01:53 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsMuch later this afternoon, at the airport, Kitty's plane finally arrives. Jamie, having made productive use of the wait to make friends with the security personnel and thoroughly investigate the local vending machines, is very glad to find better things to do with his time. They have what passes for a normal conversation between students at Xavier's--interdimensional menu comparisons--and engage in shockingly public displays of affection.
Jamie hadn't really ever appreciated the scope of air travel before. Intellectually, of course, he knew that O'Hare and JFK were two of the largest airports in the country, but he'd never really thought about what that meant until now, after five hours jogging back and forth between baggage claims checking on nearly two dozen disembarking planes.
On the other hand, he had gotten on first-name terms with quite a few of the security guards; one of them passed by on his regular patrol beat and waved.
"Got another one coming in the other side of the terminal, Jamie."
"Thanks, Ralph. Hope springs, huh?"
Ralph laughed. "Must be quite a girl, is all I can say."
Jamie shot a grin over his shoulder as he made his way down the terminal. After a few minutes, he found a good vantage to watch the disembarking passengers, and settled in to wait.
People began filing through the doors. Frazzled-looking older couple, no. Japanese tour group, no. Random busy-looking people in suits, already talking on their cell-phones, no.
He was just about to write this plane off as a loss, like all the others had been, when a knot of suits broke up and went their separate ways, aggressively-slim briefcases swinging . . . and there she was. There she was, there she was, thereshewasthereshewasthereshewas. Jamie was out of his seat and weaving through the crowd before he quite realized he'd gotten up.
She was back on the east coast. She`d be seeing Jamie again soon. She was going to kill the next sweet old lady who said "Aren`t you awfully young to be traveling alone, dear?" And also this load of oh-so-fashionable buisness people who were in her way. She could slip around the slow moving couples, and the tourist groups only stared a little bit when she cut through them, but there just wasn`t space to get past this group and she was feeling more and more as though it ought to be leagal to shoot people on cell phones.
"Move it, move it, move it," Kitty muttered to herself, and eventually they did. "Finally."
She resettled her backpack - and the weight of her laptop back on her back felt really good after all these months - and darted forward, glancing around quickly. Scanning through the crowds it finally dawned on her...
I didn`t tell Jamie when my flight was... He won`t be here... And she wasn`t going to cry, she wasn`t.
It was the quick sound of feet that got her to look up, and the familiar look of Jamie`s smiling face which broke her resolve. "Jamie!" she cried out, launching herself at him, tears already leaking out of her eyes.
He'd dreamed of this moment practically every night he was in Asgard, but the reality was so much better. Jamie caught Kitty in mid-pounce and kissed her, as long and as thoroughly as he could, all the loneliness and worry--and not a little pain and fear--of the long months fading away. When it finally became absolutely necessary to come up for air, he pulled back just a little, smiling and brushing a stray tear off her cheek. "Hi."
It took Kitty a few moments to come back off cloud nine when she could finally breathe again, and the fact that the only thing running through her mind was Jamie, Jamie, Jamie, Jamie, Jamie... didn`t make it any easier to come up with a cohearent response, but "Hi back," seemed easy enough. And "I love you," was the most natural thing in the world.
"I love you too." He kissed her again, smiling. "And now I'm home. Missed you. And who said you could get prettier when I wasn't looking? When was that decided?"
"It was one of thoes spur of the moment things - I didn`t figure you`d object. You look..." Kitty finally really processed how Jamie did look, blacksmith shoulders and everything. "You look fantastic. Life in an alternate plane of reality seems to have suited you, because you didn`t have thoes muscles in July."
"Mm. I had to get all new shirts--Angie and Alison and my mom dragged me shopping with them. I have this sympathy for dolls now." He grinned. "There were parts I really liked, and I didn't think you'd complain about all the exercise I got. Not in a hurry to ride that ride again, though--I plan to stay in the same dimension you're in for the foreseeable future."
"I think that`s a very good plan," Kitty said, kissing Jamie again. "And I`m going to want a fashion show at some point. If you`re going to go shopping without me, I at least get to see the results."
"It wasn't my idea to go shopping. My idea was to give Alison some cash so she could grab me some new T-shirts." He grinned. "I probably should've known better, though. So, okay, we can do the fashion show when we get back. I'll even demonstrate my armor if you want." The grin turned speculative. "And then, y'know, it's supposed to be a nice night, I was thinking we could camp out in the treehouse? Dinner, candles . . . maybe a present or two . . ."
Kitty giggled. "No, I didn`t figure you chose to go shopping, but that doesn`t mean you get out of the result." She raised an eyebrow. "You have armor... My knight in shining armor actually has armor. And will it stop a spear?"
"I think camping out in the tree house would be lovely. Just a night the two of us - cause as much as I`ve missed all of the Mansion, right now... I just want to be with you."
"It's dwarf-made chain mail," Jamie said in mock-offended tones. "It laughs at spears." He grinned. "Or, well, I assume it does. It laughed at a couple of swords and a dinky little goblin knife, anyway." His expression turned tender. "Just the two of us sounds wonderful."
"Swords? Swords? Please promise me, armor or no armor, you`ll stay away from swords in the future?" Leaning against Jamie, Kitty held him tightly. "I don`t want to lose you again, not even for a minute."
"Hey . . ." Jamie held her close, stroking her hair. "You aren't gonna lose me. You don't ever have to worry about that." He smiled reassuringly. "Doug and Angie and a couple of the others are learning how to use swords in self-defense class, I think, but I promise I'll stay away from anybody who actually wants to hurt me with one, how's that?"
"Yes, I guess I can live with that. Besides, I`d rather you knew how to defend against one than you didn`t. At that, I really need to get back into one of the self-defense classes myself. Dance and gymnastics may make me flexible and fast, but it`s no use if I need to do something other than dodge." The horn sounded as the luggage belt shuddered into motion. "Oh, my bags..."
"See, I'm all in favor of that. You don't get to get hurt either." Jamie snuck in one last kiss before shifting around to stand behind her, arms around her waist, so he could watch for the bags. "But take dance too, okay? I said I'd take it with you this year and you know how Alison'll get if she thinks I'm welching." He grinned. "And now you get to take advantage of one of the perks of having a boyfriend around who worked out for three months a few weeks ago. No carrying your own bags unless you feel like it."
Kitty giggled at that. "No worries," she said. "I`m hardly going to give up dance, either at the school or my lessons with Stevie. I was actually even thinking if `Yana would want to go with me. I know when she was little she wanted to do ballet, and it really is good exercise. Besides, after whatever it is that happened with Piotr, I think it would be good for her to get out of the Mansion occasionally. Oh, that one`s mine." Pointing it out, Kitty let Jamie haul the suitcase off the conveyor belt - it was heavier than it looked and probably had been crammed with more than a few books, but was no problem for the boy. "That and the laptop`sit."
"Oh, that sounds like a really good idea. I think she'd like Stevie." He snickered. "And I'm dead sure she won't be able to stand Karen, but I almost want a video of that. All two seconds of it. If 'Yana's feeling generous." He hefted the suitcase and grinned. "Okay, how many of these are textbooks and how many are trashy romance novels, and did you at least look at Uncle Harvey's encyclopedia mysteries?"
Kitty grinned. "Yes, I may have to open book on how long Karen lasts. Great odds on anything over half a minute. As for the suitcase..." She stuck out her tounge. "I didn`t bring back any of the romance novels, and yes, I really like you`re uncle`s books. They were a really, really good idea and a nice change from my mother`s stuff."
"Oh good, I'll be sure to tell him that compared to mind-numbing bodice-rippers they make a nice change of pace. He'll love that." Jamie snickered. "C'mon, I think we can still make it to the car while it's still technically in short-term parking . . ."
Kitty blushed, and said, "Yeah, sorry about that again," then followed Jamie out to the car.
"It's not that I mind the wait," Jamie explained as they walked. "Five hours, ten hours, three months, I can deal with that." He paused. "Well, maybe not three months. I don't think Tom Hanks is cut out to play me." He grinned. "You're here now, and I have first dibs on the teasing rights, so all is right with the world. Besides, airport vending machines? Very nice selection."
Kitty raised an eyebrow at him. "Somehow I doubt the selection would be up to Lorna`s standards, and you`re right, Tom Hanks could never pull off playing you - not nearly cute enough. We shall just have to make sure there`s no more three months apart for us."
"There are five-star restaurants that aren't up to Lorna's standards. Also entire parallel dimensions." He smiled. "And no more three months apart sounds like exactly the kind of genius idea I fell in love with."
"Yeah, but how good is the cooking in most parallel dimensions, do you think? I mean, Limbo can`t have had very good food." Kitty grinned back at him.
"I'm thinking it probably didn't, no. Asgard, now, that wasn't too bad, if you like meat-heavy diets. They had me on vitamins for a while after I got back. And, you know, I can't decide if it's fun or terrifying that this is the conversation we have." Jamie shook his head, smiling ruefully. "Beats the weather, I guess."
"Go with fun, I think. Less worrying in the long run, and besides, I`ve had my fill of so-called normality for quite a while. When it gets to the point where you actually miss the insanity which is life in the Mansion, you know you`ve been gone to long."
"Well then, fun it is." Jamie grinned and unlocked the trunk of the car, settling Kitty's suitcase inside. "Let's get you home to the nice comfy nuthouse, then, shall we?"
"Nut house, sweet nut house," Kitty said with a grin.
And much later this evening, after happy reunions all around, Kitty and Jamie sneak out to the treehouse for a bit of private time involving pillows, stories about Asgard, a particular bracelet, a particular scar, playing with food, advanced states of undress, and even more shockingly private displays of affection.
Jamie looked around the treehouse one last time, making sure everything was ready. The candles were lit, arranged carefully around the walls where they wouldn't light anything on fire. The floor was more-or-less covered in pillows, borrowed from linen closets all over the mansion, in lieu of a mattress. There were blankets in case they needed them. A tray of food stood on a little clear space on the floor. On the tray, next to the food, was a vase with a flower in it. The box with the bracelet in it was tucked carefully out of sight. Everything was ready.
Well . . . Jamie grinned thoughtfully. There was one more thing he could do. And she'd noticed, at the airport. Before he lost his nerve, he shucked off his shirt and tucked it under one of the pillows. There. Now all that was needed was for Kitty to show up. Which she should be doing any minute.
Happy reunions with her roommates aside, it hadn`t been all that difficult to explain why she wouldn`t be there tonight. As Kitty put it, one more night without her bed wouldn`t kill her, but one more night without Jamie might.
Climbing up the ladder to the tree house, Kitty smiled to herself, very, very glad to have a place they could go to get away from the mad house. She loved the Mansion and all it`s inhabitants, but after three months away, a little break was a wonderful thing.
And the sight that greated her in the tree house was also a wonderful thing.
"Wow... Jamie," Kitty breathed, eyes fixed on the boy in front of her, (although it took a concerted effort to keep them from drifting down to Jamie`s boxers). "Um, yeah. I said you look fantastic, right? Because, yeah... doesn`t even cover it."
Jamie grinned a little self-consciously and patted the pillows next to him. "Figured after what you said at the airport, you might like a closer inspection. I guess I pass?"
"More than," Kitty said with a smile. "But then, if I`m the one who`s setting the test you`d always be the teacher`s pet." Settling down on the cushions, she added, "Although I`m the one with the cutsy name..." Reaching up, she ran a finger down the muscles of Jamie`s arm, then blushed.
Jamie shivered at the touch, goosebumps pebbling his arm. "And I'm the one suddenly wishing for pants," he said, voice just a bit hoarse, ears and neck decidedly scarlet. "I, um. Do you want." He cleared his throat. "Present. Before or after we eat?"
Kitty`s blush deepened, but she didn`t move away. "Um, either`s fine... No, before," she said. "I`m curious what on earth or off it you found."
"Okay, then, I'll just get it." Jamie grinned, ears still red. "Think you'll like it."
As he rolled over to reach under one of the pillows, his boxers rode up slightly, revealing a jagged scar on the back of his right thigh; a few inches long, it vaguely resembled a percentage sign, the thick central line of the original wound flanked by two offset puncture marks.
Of course, Kitty was watching him move closely, and when the scar was revealed she gasped. "Jamie!" In a flash she was kneeling next to him, fingers tracing over the scar. "God above, Jamie... you didn`t say it was so bad!" she said, worry evident in her voice as she ran her hand over the healed skin.
Jamie froze at her gasp, then twisted back to peer awkwardly over his shoulder. "I did say stabbed," he said worriedly. "And that's the exit wound, it looks a lot worse than the other one. It's all healed, though. Good as new--that's just surface scarring, it's even supposed to fade away after a while. I'm okay now." He rolled over, sat up, and tentatively put his arms around Kitty. "Really, I'm okay now."
"The exit wound..." Kitty said, biting her lip. "Jamie... God." She curled into his arms, holding him tightly. "I came so close to losing you, didn`t I? And I never even knew... There wasn`t anything I could do..." She was shaking slightly.
"Hey, hey . . ." Jamie pulled her close, rocking gently back and forth. "It missed everything important. Didn't hit any tendons, or ligaments, missed the bone, completely the wrong side of the leg for the femoral artery, and I got medical attention right away. And magic healing, remember? By the time I woke up the next day I was already pretty much completely out of the woods. They weren't gonna let me die. I wasn't gonna let me die. Not without seeing you again."
"Love you so much," Kitty whispered into Jamie`s chest. "I refuse to lose you." She pressed a kiss into the skin in front of her.
"Well, I refuse to be lost." He tilted her head up for a proper kiss, and pulled back only reluctantly. "If I . . ." He paused, uncertain. "If they let me join the X-Men, like I said in my letter I was thinking about . . . when I go on missions, I promise, I'll come find you, and we can worry together until I get back."
Kitty leaned into the kiss. "We`ll talk about that when it`s time to talk about that," she said. "There`s still a year and a lot can happen in a year. A lot did happen in a year."
"All right." Jamie smiled. "I do want to talk about it, mind you, but right now . . ." Reaching behind him, where he'd dropped it in the rush to comfort Kitty, he brought out a flat wooden box. "Right now it's time for presents. This is 'happy birthday, happy anniversary, welcome home, I love you, and I'm really really sorry I got kidnapped to a parallel dimension and made you worry.'"
"It's a hell of a list of things which need presents, huh?" Kitty said, taking the box. She carefully opened it, peering into the box.
"Well, it's a hell of a present, I think . . ." Jamie smiled hopefully.
The box was lined with blue velvet, on which rested a slender silver bracelet. Serpentine, stylized animal shapes twisted around each other--they might have been wolves, or possibly horses, it was hard to tell--and joined together to cradle a deep blue star sapphire, nearly an inch in diameter, polished until it seemed translucent, six flawless rays nearly glowing. Delicate runes were traced around the setting, and trailed down the bracelet's arch.
"Oh, wow, Jamie..." Almost hesitantly, Kitty reached into the box, running one light finger down the bracelet, tracing over the runes. "Jamie, this is too much... How on earth did you get this?"
Jamie grinned. "That's what I said. Disa gave it to me, to give to you, because she said I'd need something special to make up for making you worry like that, and that's what this is--her dad made it for her mom, when they were courting, and her mom gave it to her when she died. And she said she'd be insulted if I didn't accept it, and . . . well, nothing's too much for you." He hesitated slightly. "I can read the inscription, I learned how . . ."
"Can you really?" Kitty started. "Asgardian dwarf you can learn, but Fren..." She trailed off and then looked up at him bemusedly. "Her father made it for her mother and she gave it to you?" She paused. "To give to me?"
"That's what she said. Gunnar traveled a lot too, when he was younger, and I talked about you all the time, maybe it reminded her--and when they do generosity, they do it in a pretty big way, the dwarves, it's an honor thing." He traced the runes himself, then ran his fingertips just as lightly across the back of Kitty's hand as it rested on the box. "Want me to read it to you?"
Kitty chuckled slightly. "You really have no idea, sometimes, do you love. Yes, I`d love to know what it says."
Jamie smiled. "Well, I'm not sure I'm getting the whole nuance, or anything, because even after two months they were still poking fun at my accent some. But this is the way I read it." He snuggled closer to Kitty, lifting the bracelet out of the box and turning it in the candlelight. "'However far I travel, my love is with you; the heart knows no distance, and yours is the star that will always lead me home.'"
Kitty leaned her head against his chest, staring at the bracelet. "It`s beautiful, and I love it, and I love you. And you really don`t get why she gave this to you?"
Jamie's forehead wrinkled. "She said why. To give to you for being gone." He smiled. "Dunno what I would've done over there if I hadn't had a friend like her. You would've liked her, she took really good care of me."
Kitty chuckled. "I`m glad she took care of you, and more glad she sent you back to me. Jamie, a girl does not give a gift like this for no reason..."
Jamie blinked, honestly confused. "Um. But she said what the reason was. Or is this leading up to something where the punchline is 'a squirrel,' and everybody laughs?"
"No," Kitty said. "no squirels. I love you deeply, but sometimes you can be really dense." She smiled to herself as she leaned against him. "A girl gives you the bracelet her mother left her that her father made for her... Jamie, you are an eminently lovable person and I am not the only one who knows."
Jamie blinked. Several times. "You mean she--but that's--I mean, I--it doesn't--she didn't--" He covered his eyes with his free hand and groaned. "I am the biggest idiot in the world. All lesser imbeciles make way before me."
"No, you're not," Kitty said firmly. She tugged his hand away then held onto it. "You're wonderful and sweet and charming and very easy to love. Trust me on that one." She leaned up to kiss him.
"Mmheh." Jamie was grinning when he finally pulled away. "Every time you do that I lose all track of what I was about to say and I develop this sudden urge to do all sorts of things that aren't continuing to argue the point. I guess I'm not the world's biggest idiot, then." He shook his head. "I still feel bad I didn't notice, though. I mean, she was . . . a really great person, and a good friend, and it probably hurt, me not having the slightest clue she was coming on to me. I could've at least let her down easy." The grin perked up again. "Can I blame it on being ruined for the whole rest of the female gender because I met you first?"
Kitty grinned. "Well, I'm hardly going to object to you doing things that are more interesting than arguing with me. Similarly, i don't object to the compliments." Leaning against him again she smiled. "I'm sure she knew you meant well."
"Hope so. She deserves somebody nice. Who isn't me, because as previously noted, spoiled for the whole rest of the gender over here." Jamie cocked his head suddenly. "Uh . . . this doesn't mean you don't want the bracelet, though, right? Because it still means what I meant by it, even though I didn't figure out what Disa meant by it."
"I still think it's lovely and I do want it, love. There's something very appropriate about it, too, I think. She helped you and sent you back to me. I wish I could have met her."
Jamie idly twined a strand of Kitty's hair around one fingertip. "Well, she was short . . ." He chuckled. "You would have liked her. Very practical. Very loyal, to her friends and her people. Not above putting one over on the confused Midgarder now and then, though--not that she did that much anymore after the dragon showed up." He waggled the bracelet a little. "Want to try it on?"
Kitty nodded and held out her wrist. "A dragon. An honest to god dragon. I can hardly believe it. Tell me about it."
Jamie slipped the bracelet over Kitty's wrist, then brought her hand up to kiss her fingers. "Beautiful." He grinned. "Nice bracelet, too." He settled back into the pillows with an utterly contented sigh. "Dragon, dragon. Hmm. Did you ever read the story, or--there was an opera, too, I think--about the ring of the Nibelungs? Sigurd, and Regin, and Fafnir, all that?"
Kitty giggled, then settled against Jamie. "Well," she said, "I avoid Wagner as a general rule, but I do know the story, yes."
Jamie grinned. "That makes things easier. Okay. Apparently what nobody told Wagner was, between the whole knifes-his-dad-makes-off-with-the-treasure-and-turns-himself-into-a-dragon bit and the gets-killed-by-Sigurd-with-help-from-backstabbing-brother part, Fafnir found a lady dragon somewhere, and had a son. And it's actually probably pretty good, all things considered, that Fafnir wasn't around to help raise the kid--not that I told Fyrlaf that--because Fyrlaf, that's the son, is actually not that bad a guy. Greedy and lazy and arrogant, sure, but basically a decent guy under that, for somebody who's a hundred feet long and breathes fire."
Kitty blinked, then sat up and twisted around to get a better look at Jamie. "You met Fafnir's son? I'd say something about that being imposible, but you are recounting tales from your time in Asgard, so I think it's a moot point."
Jamie grinned at her. "It actually gets better. See, one of Gunnar's ancestors married somebody who was descended from somebody who'd married one of Fafnir's sisters, or something--from when Fafnir was still a dwarf, of course--and that's enough of a family tie for Fyrlaf to be able to call on Gunnar's clan every so often for food and a place to sleep for the night. Kind of ticks Gunnar off a little, because Fyrlaf eats a lot--but anyway, Disa and I walked in right when Fyrlaf was finishing reciting the line of descent that makes him a relative--which is part of what you're supposed to do, to claim guest-right, but all the connections happened thousands of years ago, so it was a long recitation--and Fyrlaf spotted me and asked about me. Guess what happened next."
"I couldn't even begin to..." Kitty started, then paused. She knew her boyfreind well and had read a lot of fantasy novels in her life. "Oh,god, Jamie. Did you start punning with the dragon?"
"Aw, no fair." Jamie snickered. "Yeah, that's what I did. We were trading Norse mythology puns back and forth for a while, and then he said it was pretty impressive I had the nerve to joke around with a dragon, and he gave me that big opal I showed you."
"Only you," Kitty said with a smile, "would pun with an honest to god dragon. I'm just glad he didn't decide you were an impertinant human and eat you." She lay back against him again. "But it is a very pretty opal, and a hell of a story."
"Oh, eating other guests of the clan is a pretty serious breach of hospitality. Besides, they roasted a few cows for him, he was set for munchies." Jamie smiled. "It was actually a lot of fun. I wasn't good enough at Dwarven by then to pun in it, and I didn't get much chance to with Disa and Gunnar."
"Heh. I love you. You're strange, but I love you."
"I like to think the strange is a bonus. I mean, I'm pretty sure this is not a normal life we're leading, here." He smiled and leaned down for another long, heartfelt kiss. "Nothing weird about loving you, though. That's probably about the sanest thing I do."
"Can't argue with that... any of it. A bonus it is then," Kitty said, kissing him back.
"Y'know," Jamie murmured lazily after they pulled apart again, "it's probably a good thing I just threw together a snack platter instead of asking Lorna to make us a fancy dinner. We'd be in so much trouble for ignoring it like this."
Kitty snickered. "Indeed, and I'd rather not end up on the bad side of the best chef this side of the Atlantic on my first night back. Can I help it though, that you're more interesting than the food." She grinned. "I had food all summer, but this is the first time I've had you."
Jamie grinned back. "That was an observation, not a complaint. I'd much rather have you than food myself. But that's the beauty of the snack platter . . ." He reached over and snagged a strawberry, tracing it down the center of Kitty's forehead and the line of her nose before brushing it against her lips. "We get both."
"That," Kitty said, "is a very good point," before stealing the berry away from him with a bite.
"I have those sometimes." Jamie reached over for another strawberry, dangling this one temptingly just out of reach. "I tell you lately how much I missed you?"
"I think," Kitty said, sliding her hand up his arm to pull it, and the strawberry, closer, "that it's been at least five minutes." She pressed a kiss to Jamie's fingers as she stole this one.
"Five whole minutes, huh?" Jamie assumed a thoughtful expression. "What should I do about that, I wonder?" He snagged another strawberry, held this one in his teeth, and grinned.
Kitty grinned. "I think the strawberries are working quite well to keep me from dwelling on it." She wrapped her arms around Jamie's neck as she kissed him.
"Oh, really? That might be a problem, actually . . ." Jamie looped his arms under Kitty's, settling his hands comfortably near her waist, and tried not to think about how much clothing there wasn't between the two of them. "See, if the strawberries are able to keep you from dwelling all by themselves, we've got a bunch of grapes over there with no purpose in life, and that's just sad. Think you can come up with something to do with them?"
"Oh, I'm sure I can come up with something..." She reached over to snag one of the bunches. "You've done the viking thing. How about Ancient Greece?" she asked holding the grapes for Jamie. "Althouhg," she added, "I'm overdressed for a slave girl."
Jamie craned his neck to snap playfully at the grapes, not wanting to let go of Kitty long enough to actually use his hands. "I'm arguably undressed enough that it averages out," he mused, "although don't let me stop you from deciding that's a silly argument and not to be listened to."
Kitty grinned wickedly as she pulled the grapes away. "Actually, you're probably overdressed too. It was very warm in Greece..."
"Oh, I get it. Going for the last shreds of my dignity, are you? It's going to take a little more than grapes for that . . ." Jamie's ears went red, and he added, quietly, "but it's not entirely, y'know, out of the question, or anything, if you want to."
Kitty blushed back, biting her lip. "I... um... I don't know," she said. "Why don't we just..." Kitty's mind offered up the term 'baby steps', but she was dammed if she'd actually say it. "Why don't we just sort of wait and see?"
Jamie smiled. "Plenty of time. No need to go faster than we're comfortable with. And actually, um--well, I would if you asked, but . . . given the choice, I kinda like keeping it slow. Wasn't sure if I was ready for this far, with the, you know, just the boxers. But it wouldn't be fun if we weren't both relaxed enough to have fun, I think."
Kitty smiled back. "Love you so much," she said, leaning down to kiss him. "What did I do to deserve you?"
"Mmm. No deserving. You're you, and I love you, and that's the way it is." Jamie grinned. "And you were saying something about slave girl outfits?"
Kitty laughed. "well, I lack harem pants but," she said as she pulled off her t-shirt, "This is closer," she finished.
Jamie's jaw sagged, and it took him a moment to remember that Kitty's eyes, were, in fact, up there. "Closer is good," he managed. "God, you're so beautiful."
Kitty was still blushing. although, she remimded herself, her bikini probably covered less than her bra did, it seemed very different. She couldn't think of anything to say, so she just leaned over and kissed Jamie.
Jamie's hands caressed up and down Kitty's spine as he returned the kiss, immersing himself in the moment. Taking it slow and comfortable, he thought dimly, sure had its moments.
Kitty shivered slightly at the feel of his hands on her skin. "Love you," she murmured into the kiss.
"Love you back," Jamie whispered, brushing past her ear on the way down to nuzzle her neck.
Jamie hadn't really ever appreciated the scope of air travel before. Intellectually, of course, he knew that O'Hare and JFK were two of the largest airports in the country, but he'd never really thought about what that meant until now, after five hours jogging back and forth between baggage claims checking on nearly two dozen disembarking planes.
On the other hand, he had gotten on first-name terms with quite a few of the security guards; one of them passed by on his regular patrol beat and waved.
"Got another one coming in the other side of the terminal, Jamie."
"Thanks, Ralph. Hope springs, huh?"
Ralph laughed. "Must be quite a girl, is all I can say."
Jamie shot a grin over his shoulder as he made his way down the terminal. After a few minutes, he found a good vantage to watch the disembarking passengers, and settled in to wait.
People began filing through the doors. Frazzled-looking older couple, no. Japanese tour group, no. Random busy-looking people in suits, already talking on their cell-phones, no.
He was just about to write this plane off as a loss, like all the others had been, when a knot of suits broke up and went their separate ways, aggressively-slim briefcases swinging . . . and there she was. There she was, there she was, thereshewasthereshewasthereshewas. Jamie was out of his seat and weaving through the crowd before he quite realized he'd gotten up.
She was back on the east coast. She`d be seeing Jamie again soon. She was going to kill the next sweet old lady who said "Aren`t you awfully young to be traveling alone, dear?" And also this load of oh-so-fashionable buisness people who were in her way. She could slip around the slow moving couples, and the tourist groups only stared a little bit when she cut through them, but there just wasn`t space to get past this group and she was feeling more and more as though it ought to be leagal to shoot people on cell phones.
"Move it, move it, move it," Kitty muttered to herself, and eventually they did. "Finally."
She resettled her backpack - and the weight of her laptop back on her back felt really good after all these months - and darted forward, glancing around quickly. Scanning through the crowds it finally dawned on her...
I didn`t tell Jamie when my flight was... He won`t be here... And she wasn`t going to cry, she wasn`t.
It was the quick sound of feet that got her to look up, and the familiar look of Jamie`s smiling face which broke her resolve. "Jamie!" she cried out, launching herself at him, tears already leaking out of her eyes.
He'd dreamed of this moment practically every night he was in Asgard, but the reality was so much better. Jamie caught Kitty in mid-pounce and kissed her, as long and as thoroughly as he could, all the loneliness and worry--and not a little pain and fear--of the long months fading away. When it finally became absolutely necessary to come up for air, he pulled back just a little, smiling and brushing a stray tear off her cheek. "Hi."
It took Kitty a few moments to come back off cloud nine when she could finally breathe again, and the fact that the only thing running through her mind was Jamie, Jamie, Jamie, Jamie, Jamie... didn`t make it any easier to come up with a cohearent response, but "Hi back," seemed easy enough. And "I love you," was the most natural thing in the world.
"I love you too." He kissed her again, smiling. "And now I'm home. Missed you. And who said you could get prettier when I wasn't looking? When was that decided?"
"It was one of thoes spur of the moment things - I didn`t figure you`d object. You look..." Kitty finally really processed how Jamie did look, blacksmith shoulders and everything. "You look fantastic. Life in an alternate plane of reality seems to have suited you, because you didn`t have thoes muscles in July."
"Mm. I had to get all new shirts--Angie and Alison and my mom dragged me shopping with them. I have this sympathy for dolls now." He grinned. "There were parts I really liked, and I didn't think you'd complain about all the exercise I got. Not in a hurry to ride that ride again, though--I plan to stay in the same dimension you're in for the foreseeable future."
"I think that`s a very good plan," Kitty said, kissing Jamie again. "And I`m going to want a fashion show at some point. If you`re going to go shopping without me, I at least get to see the results."
"It wasn't my idea to go shopping. My idea was to give Alison some cash so she could grab me some new T-shirts." He grinned. "I probably should've known better, though. So, okay, we can do the fashion show when we get back. I'll even demonstrate my armor if you want." The grin turned speculative. "And then, y'know, it's supposed to be a nice night, I was thinking we could camp out in the treehouse? Dinner, candles . . . maybe a present or two . . ."
Kitty giggled. "No, I didn`t figure you chose to go shopping, but that doesn`t mean you get out of the result." She raised an eyebrow. "You have armor... My knight in shining armor actually has armor. And will it stop a spear?"
"I think camping out in the tree house would be lovely. Just a night the two of us - cause as much as I`ve missed all of the Mansion, right now... I just want to be with you."
"It's dwarf-made chain mail," Jamie said in mock-offended tones. "It laughs at spears." He grinned. "Or, well, I assume it does. It laughed at a couple of swords and a dinky little goblin knife, anyway." His expression turned tender. "Just the two of us sounds wonderful."
"Swords? Swords? Please promise me, armor or no armor, you`ll stay away from swords in the future?" Leaning against Jamie, Kitty held him tightly. "I don`t want to lose you again, not even for a minute."
"Hey . . ." Jamie held her close, stroking her hair. "You aren't gonna lose me. You don't ever have to worry about that." He smiled reassuringly. "Doug and Angie and a couple of the others are learning how to use swords in self-defense class, I think, but I promise I'll stay away from anybody who actually wants to hurt me with one, how's that?"
"Yes, I guess I can live with that. Besides, I`d rather you knew how to defend against one than you didn`t. At that, I really need to get back into one of the self-defense classes myself. Dance and gymnastics may make me flexible and fast, but it`s no use if I need to do something other than dodge." The horn sounded as the luggage belt shuddered into motion. "Oh, my bags..."
"See, I'm all in favor of that. You don't get to get hurt either." Jamie snuck in one last kiss before shifting around to stand behind her, arms around her waist, so he could watch for the bags. "But take dance too, okay? I said I'd take it with you this year and you know how Alison'll get if she thinks I'm welching." He grinned. "And now you get to take advantage of one of the perks of having a boyfriend around who worked out for three months a few weeks ago. No carrying your own bags unless you feel like it."
Kitty giggled at that. "No worries," she said. "I`m hardly going to give up dance, either at the school or my lessons with Stevie. I was actually even thinking if `Yana would want to go with me. I know when she was little she wanted to do ballet, and it really is good exercise. Besides, after whatever it is that happened with Piotr, I think it would be good for her to get out of the Mansion occasionally. Oh, that one`s mine." Pointing it out, Kitty let Jamie haul the suitcase off the conveyor belt - it was heavier than it looked and probably had been crammed with more than a few books, but was no problem for the boy. "That and the laptop`sit."
"Oh, that sounds like a really good idea. I think she'd like Stevie." He snickered. "And I'm dead sure she won't be able to stand Karen, but I almost want a video of that. All two seconds of it. If 'Yana's feeling generous." He hefted the suitcase and grinned. "Okay, how many of these are textbooks and how many are trashy romance novels, and did you at least look at Uncle Harvey's encyclopedia mysteries?"
Kitty grinned. "Yes, I may have to open book on how long Karen lasts. Great odds on anything over half a minute. As for the suitcase..." She stuck out her tounge. "I didn`t bring back any of the romance novels, and yes, I really like you`re uncle`s books. They were a really, really good idea and a nice change from my mother`s stuff."
"Oh good, I'll be sure to tell him that compared to mind-numbing bodice-rippers they make a nice change of pace. He'll love that." Jamie snickered. "C'mon, I think we can still make it to the car while it's still technically in short-term parking . . ."
Kitty blushed, and said, "Yeah, sorry about that again," then followed Jamie out to the car.
"It's not that I mind the wait," Jamie explained as they walked. "Five hours, ten hours, three months, I can deal with that." He paused. "Well, maybe not three months. I don't think Tom Hanks is cut out to play me." He grinned. "You're here now, and I have first dibs on the teasing rights, so all is right with the world. Besides, airport vending machines? Very nice selection."
Kitty raised an eyebrow at him. "Somehow I doubt the selection would be up to Lorna`s standards, and you`re right, Tom Hanks could never pull off playing you - not nearly cute enough. We shall just have to make sure there`s no more three months apart for us."
"There are five-star restaurants that aren't up to Lorna's standards. Also entire parallel dimensions." He smiled. "And no more three months apart sounds like exactly the kind of genius idea I fell in love with."
"Yeah, but how good is the cooking in most parallel dimensions, do you think? I mean, Limbo can`t have had very good food." Kitty grinned back at him.
"I'm thinking it probably didn't, no. Asgard, now, that wasn't too bad, if you like meat-heavy diets. They had me on vitamins for a while after I got back. And, you know, I can't decide if it's fun or terrifying that this is the conversation we have." Jamie shook his head, smiling ruefully. "Beats the weather, I guess."
"Go with fun, I think. Less worrying in the long run, and besides, I`ve had my fill of so-called normality for quite a while. When it gets to the point where you actually miss the insanity which is life in the Mansion, you know you`ve been gone to long."
"Well then, fun it is." Jamie grinned and unlocked the trunk of the car, settling Kitty's suitcase inside. "Let's get you home to the nice comfy nuthouse, then, shall we?"
"Nut house, sweet nut house," Kitty said with a grin.
And much later this evening, after happy reunions all around, Kitty and Jamie sneak out to the treehouse for a bit of private time involving pillows, stories about Asgard, a particular bracelet, a particular scar, playing with food, advanced states of undress, and even more shockingly private displays of affection.
Jamie looked around the treehouse one last time, making sure everything was ready. The candles were lit, arranged carefully around the walls where they wouldn't light anything on fire. The floor was more-or-less covered in pillows, borrowed from linen closets all over the mansion, in lieu of a mattress. There were blankets in case they needed them. A tray of food stood on a little clear space on the floor. On the tray, next to the food, was a vase with a flower in it. The box with the bracelet in it was tucked carefully out of sight. Everything was ready.
Well . . . Jamie grinned thoughtfully. There was one more thing he could do. And she'd noticed, at the airport. Before he lost his nerve, he shucked off his shirt and tucked it under one of the pillows. There. Now all that was needed was for Kitty to show up. Which she should be doing any minute.
Happy reunions with her roommates aside, it hadn`t been all that difficult to explain why she wouldn`t be there tonight. As Kitty put it, one more night without her bed wouldn`t kill her, but one more night without Jamie might.
Climbing up the ladder to the tree house, Kitty smiled to herself, very, very glad to have a place they could go to get away from the mad house. She loved the Mansion and all it`s inhabitants, but after three months away, a little break was a wonderful thing.
And the sight that greated her in the tree house was also a wonderful thing.
"Wow... Jamie," Kitty breathed, eyes fixed on the boy in front of her, (although it took a concerted effort to keep them from drifting down to Jamie`s boxers). "Um, yeah. I said you look fantastic, right? Because, yeah... doesn`t even cover it."
Jamie grinned a little self-consciously and patted the pillows next to him. "Figured after what you said at the airport, you might like a closer inspection. I guess I pass?"
"More than," Kitty said with a smile. "But then, if I`m the one who`s setting the test you`d always be the teacher`s pet." Settling down on the cushions, she added, "Although I`m the one with the cutsy name..." Reaching up, she ran a finger down the muscles of Jamie`s arm, then blushed.
Jamie shivered at the touch, goosebumps pebbling his arm. "And I'm the one suddenly wishing for pants," he said, voice just a bit hoarse, ears and neck decidedly scarlet. "I, um. Do you want." He cleared his throat. "Present. Before or after we eat?"
Kitty`s blush deepened, but she didn`t move away. "Um, either`s fine... No, before," she said. "I`m curious what on earth or off it you found."
"Okay, then, I'll just get it." Jamie grinned, ears still red. "Think you'll like it."
As he rolled over to reach under one of the pillows, his boxers rode up slightly, revealing a jagged scar on the back of his right thigh; a few inches long, it vaguely resembled a percentage sign, the thick central line of the original wound flanked by two offset puncture marks.
Of course, Kitty was watching him move closely, and when the scar was revealed she gasped. "Jamie!" In a flash she was kneeling next to him, fingers tracing over the scar. "God above, Jamie... you didn`t say it was so bad!" she said, worry evident in her voice as she ran her hand over the healed skin.
Jamie froze at her gasp, then twisted back to peer awkwardly over his shoulder. "I did say stabbed," he said worriedly. "And that's the exit wound, it looks a lot worse than the other one. It's all healed, though. Good as new--that's just surface scarring, it's even supposed to fade away after a while. I'm okay now." He rolled over, sat up, and tentatively put his arms around Kitty. "Really, I'm okay now."
"The exit wound..." Kitty said, biting her lip. "Jamie... God." She curled into his arms, holding him tightly. "I came so close to losing you, didn`t I? And I never even knew... There wasn`t anything I could do..." She was shaking slightly.
"Hey, hey . . ." Jamie pulled her close, rocking gently back and forth. "It missed everything important. Didn't hit any tendons, or ligaments, missed the bone, completely the wrong side of the leg for the femoral artery, and I got medical attention right away. And magic healing, remember? By the time I woke up the next day I was already pretty much completely out of the woods. They weren't gonna let me die. I wasn't gonna let me die. Not without seeing you again."
"Love you so much," Kitty whispered into Jamie`s chest. "I refuse to lose you." She pressed a kiss into the skin in front of her.
"Well, I refuse to be lost." He tilted her head up for a proper kiss, and pulled back only reluctantly. "If I . . ." He paused, uncertain. "If they let me join the X-Men, like I said in my letter I was thinking about . . . when I go on missions, I promise, I'll come find you, and we can worry together until I get back."
Kitty leaned into the kiss. "We`ll talk about that when it`s time to talk about that," she said. "There`s still a year and a lot can happen in a year. A lot did happen in a year."
"All right." Jamie smiled. "I do want to talk about it, mind you, but right now . . ." Reaching behind him, where he'd dropped it in the rush to comfort Kitty, he brought out a flat wooden box. "Right now it's time for presents. This is 'happy birthday, happy anniversary, welcome home, I love you, and I'm really really sorry I got kidnapped to a parallel dimension and made you worry.'"
"It's a hell of a list of things which need presents, huh?" Kitty said, taking the box. She carefully opened it, peering into the box.
"Well, it's a hell of a present, I think . . ." Jamie smiled hopefully.
The box was lined with blue velvet, on which rested a slender silver bracelet. Serpentine, stylized animal shapes twisted around each other--they might have been wolves, or possibly horses, it was hard to tell--and joined together to cradle a deep blue star sapphire, nearly an inch in diameter, polished until it seemed translucent, six flawless rays nearly glowing. Delicate runes were traced around the setting, and trailed down the bracelet's arch.
"Oh, wow, Jamie..." Almost hesitantly, Kitty reached into the box, running one light finger down the bracelet, tracing over the runes. "Jamie, this is too much... How on earth did you get this?"
Jamie grinned. "That's what I said. Disa gave it to me, to give to you, because she said I'd need something special to make up for making you worry like that, and that's what this is--her dad made it for her mom, when they were courting, and her mom gave it to her when she died. And she said she'd be insulted if I didn't accept it, and . . . well, nothing's too much for you." He hesitated slightly. "I can read the inscription, I learned how . . ."
"Can you really?" Kitty started. "Asgardian dwarf you can learn, but Fren..." She trailed off and then looked up at him bemusedly. "Her father made it for her mother and she gave it to you?" She paused. "To give to me?"
"That's what she said. Gunnar traveled a lot too, when he was younger, and I talked about you all the time, maybe it reminded her--and when they do generosity, they do it in a pretty big way, the dwarves, it's an honor thing." He traced the runes himself, then ran his fingertips just as lightly across the back of Kitty's hand as it rested on the box. "Want me to read it to you?"
Kitty chuckled slightly. "You really have no idea, sometimes, do you love. Yes, I`d love to know what it says."
Jamie smiled. "Well, I'm not sure I'm getting the whole nuance, or anything, because even after two months they were still poking fun at my accent some. But this is the way I read it." He snuggled closer to Kitty, lifting the bracelet out of the box and turning it in the candlelight. "'However far I travel, my love is with you; the heart knows no distance, and yours is the star that will always lead me home.'"
Kitty leaned her head against his chest, staring at the bracelet. "It`s beautiful, and I love it, and I love you. And you really don`t get why she gave this to you?"
Jamie's forehead wrinkled. "She said why. To give to you for being gone." He smiled. "Dunno what I would've done over there if I hadn't had a friend like her. You would've liked her, she took really good care of me."
Kitty chuckled. "I`m glad she took care of you, and more glad she sent you back to me. Jamie, a girl does not give a gift like this for no reason..."
Jamie blinked, honestly confused. "Um. But she said what the reason was. Or is this leading up to something where the punchline is 'a squirrel,' and everybody laughs?"
"No," Kitty said. "no squirels. I love you deeply, but sometimes you can be really dense." She smiled to herself as she leaned against him. "A girl gives you the bracelet her mother left her that her father made for her... Jamie, you are an eminently lovable person and I am not the only one who knows."
Jamie blinked. Several times. "You mean she--but that's--I mean, I--it doesn't--she didn't--" He covered his eyes with his free hand and groaned. "I am the biggest idiot in the world. All lesser imbeciles make way before me."
"No, you're not," Kitty said firmly. She tugged his hand away then held onto it. "You're wonderful and sweet and charming and very easy to love. Trust me on that one." She leaned up to kiss him.
"Mmheh." Jamie was grinning when he finally pulled away. "Every time you do that I lose all track of what I was about to say and I develop this sudden urge to do all sorts of things that aren't continuing to argue the point. I guess I'm not the world's biggest idiot, then." He shook his head. "I still feel bad I didn't notice, though. I mean, she was . . . a really great person, and a good friend, and it probably hurt, me not having the slightest clue she was coming on to me. I could've at least let her down easy." The grin perked up again. "Can I blame it on being ruined for the whole rest of the female gender because I met you first?"
Kitty grinned. "Well, I'm hardly going to object to you doing things that are more interesting than arguing with me. Similarly, i don't object to the compliments." Leaning against him again she smiled. "I'm sure she knew you meant well."
"Hope so. She deserves somebody nice. Who isn't me, because as previously noted, spoiled for the whole rest of the gender over here." Jamie cocked his head suddenly. "Uh . . . this doesn't mean you don't want the bracelet, though, right? Because it still means what I meant by it, even though I didn't figure out what Disa meant by it."
"I still think it's lovely and I do want it, love. There's something very appropriate about it, too, I think. She helped you and sent you back to me. I wish I could have met her."
Jamie idly twined a strand of Kitty's hair around one fingertip. "Well, she was short . . ." He chuckled. "You would have liked her. Very practical. Very loyal, to her friends and her people. Not above putting one over on the confused Midgarder now and then, though--not that she did that much anymore after the dragon showed up." He waggled the bracelet a little. "Want to try it on?"
Kitty nodded and held out her wrist. "A dragon. An honest to god dragon. I can hardly believe it. Tell me about it."
Jamie slipped the bracelet over Kitty's wrist, then brought her hand up to kiss her fingers. "Beautiful." He grinned. "Nice bracelet, too." He settled back into the pillows with an utterly contented sigh. "Dragon, dragon. Hmm. Did you ever read the story, or--there was an opera, too, I think--about the ring of the Nibelungs? Sigurd, and Regin, and Fafnir, all that?"
Kitty giggled, then settled against Jamie. "Well," she said, "I avoid Wagner as a general rule, but I do know the story, yes."
Jamie grinned. "That makes things easier. Okay. Apparently what nobody told Wagner was, between the whole knifes-his-dad-makes-off-with-the-treasure-and-turns-himself-into-a-dragon bit and the gets-killed-by-Sigurd-with-help-from-backstabbing-brother part, Fafnir found a lady dragon somewhere, and had a son. And it's actually probably pretty good, all things considered, that Fafnir wasn't around to help raise the kid--not that I told Fyrlaf that--because Fyrlaf, that's the son, is actually not that bad a guy. Greedy and lazy and arrogant, sure, but basically a decent guy under that, for somebody who's a hundred feet long and breathes fire."
Kitty blinked, then sat up and twisted around to get a better look at Jamie. "You met Fafnir's son? I'd say something about that being imposible, but you are recounting tales from your time in Asgard, so I think it's a moot point."
Jamie grinned at her. "It actually gets better. See, one of Gunnar's ancestors married somebody who was descended from somebody who'd married one of Fafnir's sisters, or something--from when Fafnir was still a dwarf, of course--and that's enough of a family tie for Fyrlaf to be able to call on Gunnar's clan every so often for food and a place to sleep for the night. Kind of ticks Gunnar off a little, because Fyrlaf eats a lot--but anyway, Disa and I walked in right when Fyrlaf was finishing reciting the line of descent that makes him a relative--which is part of what you're supposed to do, to claim guest-right, but all the connections happened thousands of years ago, so it was a long recitation--and Fyrlaf spotted me and asked about me. Guess what happened next."
"I couldn't even begin to..." Kitty started, then paused. She knew her boyfreind well and had read a lot of fantasy novels in her life. "Oh,god, Jamie. Did you start punning with the dragon?"
"Aw, no fair." Jamie snickered. "Yeah, that's what I did. We were trading Norse mythology puns back and forth for a while, and then he said it was pretty impressive I had the nerve to joke around with a dragon, and he gave me that big opal I showed you."
"Only you," Kitty said with a smile, "would pun with an honest to god dragon. I'm just glad he didn't decide you were an impertinant human and eat you." She lay back against him again. "But it is a very pretty opal, and a hell of a story."
"Oh, eating other guests of the clan is a pretty serious breach of hospitality. Besides, they roasted a few cows for him, he was set for munchies." Jamie smiled. "It was actually a lot of fun. I wasn't good enough at Dwarven by then to pun in it, and I didn't get much chance to with Disa and Gunnar."
"Heh. I love you. You're strange, but I love you."
"I like to think the strange is a bonus. I mean, I'm pretty sure this is not a normal life we're leading, here." He smiled and leaned down for another long, heartfelt kiss. "Nothing weird about loving you, though. That's probably about the sanest thing I do."
"Can't argue with that... any of it. A bonus it is then," Kitty said, kissing him back.
"Y'know," Jamie murmured lazily after they pulled apart again, "it's probably a good thing I just threw together a snack platter instead of asking Lorna to make us a fancy dinner. We'd be in so much trouble for ignoring it like this."
Kitty snickered. "Indeed, and I'd rather not end up on the bad side of the best chef this side of the Atlantic on my first night back. Can I help it though, that you're more interesting than the food." She grinned. "I had food all summer, but this is the first time I've had you."
Jamie grinned back. "That was an observation, not a complaint. I'd much rather have you than food myself. But that's the beauty of the snack platter . . ." He reached over and snagged a strawberry, tracing it down the center of Kitty's forehead and the line of her nose before brushing it against her lips. "We get both."
"That," Kitty said, "is a very good point," before stealing the berry away from him with a bite.
"I have those sometimes." Jamie reached over for another strawberry, dangling this one temptingly just out of reach. "I tell you lately how much I missed you?"
"I think," Kitty said, sliding her hand up his arm to pull it, and the strawberry, closer, "that it's been at least five minutes." She pressed a kiss to Jamie's fingers as she stole this one.
"Five whole minutes, huh?" Jamie assumed a thoughtful expression. "What should I do about that, I wonder?" He snagged another strawberry, held this one in his teeth, and grinned.
Kitty grinned. "I think the strawberries are working quite well to keep me from dwelling on it." She wrapped her arms around Jamie's neck as she kissed him.
"Oh, really? That might be a problem, actually . . ." Jamie looped his arms under Kitty's, settling his hands comfortably near her waist, and tried not to think about how much clothing there wasn't between the two of them. "See, if the strawberries are able to keep you from dwelling all by themselves, we've got a bunch of grapes over there with no purpose in life, and that's just sad. Think you can come up with something to do with them?"
"Oh, I'm sure I can come up with something..." She reached over to snag one of the bunches. "You've done the viking thing. How about Ancient Greece?" she asked holding the grapes for Jamie. "Althouhg," she added, "I'm overdressed for a slave girl."
Jamie craned his neck to snap playfully at the grapes, not wanting to let go of Kitty long enough to actually use his hands. "I'm arguably undressed enough that it averages out," he mused, "although don't let me stop you from deciding that's a silly argument and not to be listened to."
Kitty grinned wickedly as she pulled the grapes away. "Actually, you're probably overdressed too. It was very warm in Greece..."
"Oh, I get it. Going for the last shreds of my dignity, are you? It's going to take a little more than grapes for that . . ." Jamie's ears went red, and he added, quietly, "but it's not entirely, y'know, out of the question, or anything, if you want to."
Kitty blushed back, biting her lip. "I... um... I don't know," she said. "Why don't we just..." Kitty's mind offered up the term 'baby steps', but she was dammed if she'd actually say it. "Why don't we just sort of wait and see?"
Jamie smiled. "Plenty of time. No need to go faster than we're comfortable with. And actually, um--well, I would if you asked, but . . . given the choice, I kinda like keeping it slow. Wasn't sure if I was ready for this far, with the, you know, just the boxers. But it wouldn't be fun if we weren't both relaxed enough to have fun, I think."
Kitty smiled back. "Love you so much," she said, leaning down to kiss him. "What did I do to deserve you?"
"Mmm. No deserving. You're you, and I love you, and that's the way it is." Jamie grinned. "And you were saying something about slave girl outfits?"
Kitty laughed. "well, I lack harem pants but," she said as she pulled off her t-shirt, "This is closer," she finished.
Jamie's jaw sagged, and it took him a moment to remember that Kitty's eyes, were, in fact, up there. "Closer is good," he managed. "God, you're so beautiful."
Kitty was still blushing. although, she remimded herself, her bikini probably covered less than her bra did, it seemed very different. She couldn't think of anything to say, so she just leaned over and kissed Jamie.
Jamie's hands caressed up and down Kitty's spine as he returned the kiss, immersing himself in the moment. Taking it slow and comfortable, he thought dimly, sure had its moments.
Kitty shivered slightly at the feel of his hands on her skin. "Love you," she murmured into the kiss.
"Love you back," Jamie whispered, brushing past her ear on the way down to nuzzle her neck.
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Date: 2004-08-31 12:21 pm (UTC)Pants. I don't think I've laughed so hard in a reeeeally long time.
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Date: 2004-08-31 04:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-31 04:56 pm (UTC)Then again, what am I talking about? You can have it whenever you'd like! I'm the one who gets to read the logs! :D
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Date: 2004-08-31 05:34 pm (UTC)heh. Glad to hear you liked the log. We need to snark, now I`m back.
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Date: 2004-08-31 07:15 pm (UTC)Yes! Snarksnarksnark. How did Paige end up rooming with Jubes again?
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Date: 2004-08-31 07:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-31 07:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-31 07:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-31 07:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-31 07:32 pm (UTC)Well, that fits in really well with Jamie's post for tomorrow. ;)
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Date: 2004-08-31 07:38 pm (UTC)And yes. What, you mean you haven`t developed areomancy powers?
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Date: 2004-08-31 07:40 pm (UTC)Areomancy? Well, that's my trouble right there. I've been concentrating on oreomancy. Mmm, cream filling.
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Date: 2004-08-31 07:53 pm (UTC)Is the cream filling usually fairly accurate about the future, then?
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Date: 2004-08-31 07:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-31 08:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-31 08:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-31 08:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-31 08:21 pm (UTC)Of course, I think she's a bit giddy right now. I blame Doug. (not that anything happened recently, just that she's all squeein my head today)
no subject
Date: 2004-08-31 08:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-31 08:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-31 08:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-31 07:18 pm (UTC)-whistles innocently- I have no idea. None. Really.
Email is of the good. Will email you.