tampered | Log; On-going

Log; On-going

When; Dec 10, night (before the fireworks)
Rating; PG at the most?
Characters; Eugene Roe [

redcrossboy] & Holly Short [

captainshort]
Summary; It all started with a long-standing tradition and an innocent kiss, a little Christmas gift from man to elf, but she finds herself losing more and more to his Southern charm.
Log;

It was a couple of hours into the party and Eugene was still overwhelmed by the sheer extravagance of it all. Christmas parties in the past involved either a small celebration with family or a heartfelt letter from the General in the middle of France. But here, despite the chill outside, the soldier felt warm and content in the midst of food, music, and friendly faces.

Finally extricating himself from a discussion with Jack and Vala, Eugene wandered through the crowds with an eye out for his date. She was a bit more difficult to find due to her height, but he knew she was still in the room somewhere. She wouldn't have left without telling him, especially since he'd promised her a surprise and hadn't yet given it to her.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Captain Short was surprised at the number of offers she'd recieved for a dance. Obviously the elf was unused to being treated as an actual female, let alone lady, but who was she to refuse? She'd assumed people would have been put off by her height, or lack thereof, but that certainly wasn't the case.

With a twirl of emerald and silk, she ended the number with Sanji, whom she had honestly been looking forward to seeing. The bloke seemed nice enough, if a little eccentric, actually. Inclining her head with a cheery smile to the cook in farewell and thanks, Holly slipped away from the crowds towards the buffet table. Selecting a cup, she wandered to a lesser-populated corner of the room and sipped at her juice, wondering absently on the whereabouts of her company.

He found her seated alone at a window, sipping a drink and watching the guests as they chatted and danced and had a generally good time. Eugene made a beeline for her, picking up a drink for himself in passing. When he reached her, he smiled and raised his cup in greeting.

"Hey, having fun?" he asked, taking a seat beside her.

Holly glanced from the window at the familiar voice, pulling out of thoughts of nothing and everything, thinking back to old missions in the Arctic. Snow tended to remind her of such things, but now wasn't the time.

"Hey, yourself," she smiled, tipping her cup just so in equal toast. "All's well," she continued in answer to his question, shrugging. "I don't think I've been asked to dance so often in an evening." The elf laughed; "It can really take it out of a girl, so here I am."

"Well," he replied, grinning, "I'm glad you haven't gotten trampled. I'd be devastated if you were." He took a sip of his drink. "Though, I haven't gotten a dance from you yet."

Eugene leaned back in his seat, quickly adding, "But I'm not a good dancer. Really, I'm not, so it's probably better if we don't." His gaze wandered the decorations again, and his eyes lit up just a little when they rested upon the particular garlands overhead. But he quickly returned his attention to Holly seated in front of him.

She swirled the last of her juice around the bottom of her cup as he spoke, chuckling softly at his reply. She raised her glass to her lips and was about to drain the rest of it when he spoke again. Holly paused, grinning at him around the rim of her glass.

"I don't dance," she said pointedly. "At least, not till tonight. I'm sorry for my first few partners who had to practise with me. But I must say, I'm not that bad."

She smirked at him before finally finishing her juice, settling the glass on a nearby table, almost missing the shift in his glance altogether. Probably just admiring the decor like earlier, right? So it shouldn't be a cause for concern. Though...

"So," Holly began, quirking an eyebrow. "The evening's almost over. What's up?"

He downed the rest of his drink and set that next to hers, buying time before he had to do exactly what he'd planned. It didn't help that her complete attention was on him, or that his heart was beating as fast as it did in the midst of a firefight. But he was at the fringe of an amiable holiday party instead, in front of the woman he fancied.

Eugene reached out to lightly brush Holly's cheek with his knuckles, then leaned in and kissed her chastely. He lingered there for a moment, then pulled away, smiling.

She froze.

What else was there to do? This was, what, the second time - third? - in a few days? And even with time passing, the elf had no way of figuring out how to react, what to do. It was almost the same, except she wasn't falling off a roof.

Was she?

There was an odd sort of dizzying thrill in the gentle touch of lips to hers, and somewhere in the back of her mind, she had the insane notion to maybe, just maybe - for once - to just give in to it a little. But then it was gone, he was gone, and with him the kiss at the moment. And all she could to was blink and stare at him. Holly could feel the blush rising on her cheeks, heart pounding, and it took all her strength to keep calm. Inwardly, she was... she didn't know what. But it wasn't calm. Definitely not.

"What --?"

"We have an age-old tradition," Eugene began to explain, "that involves the plant called mistletoe." He raised his eyes to the decór above, particularly to the green sprig. "Basically, when two people find themselves under the same branch, they kiss."

He looked back at her, grinning nervously. "It's, um... I thought -- You don't mind, right?"

Mind? she repeated numbly. Though, really. She was a bit too stunned to speak. I don't mind? Why would I--

For Frond's sake, say something! shouted the part of her that wasn't twisted in knots. Holly swallowed roughly, shaking her head imperceptibly to clear it. There's time to think later!

She couldn't just sit there. She willed her heart to calm down enough to ease the pounding in her ears. She needed to hear what Gene was saying, and she did. Lips, still tingling from his, parted to reply. It was an effort, but she managed it.

"N-no, no, not really," tumbled out the words. "I just... I didn't expect --" She cracked a tiny grin. "Was this your surprise, then?"

The silence was unbearable, and as each second passed, Eugene wondered if he'd done the wrong thing. Then she spoke again, but her words were only a small bit of comfort.

"Yeah, it is. It's... kind of lame, I know," he conceded. He turned his gaze to the window, too embarrassed to look Holly in the eye. "I just thought, you know, the setting and the mood was right, so... But I'm glad you don't mind."

"No, of course not," came the automatic reply. Inwardly, Holly's thoughts were scrambling for coherancy. What should she do? Should she leave, stay, do what? Gene was a friend, a good one, she didn't want to lose that over something like this.

She hesitated, then touched his hand briefly, to get his attention. She didn't notice the imperceptible tremble to her fingers. She offered him a smile, as much as she could. Gently, she said, "Don't worry about it, alright? It's not the first time."

Though he would have liked to hold her hand, he refrained from it; he didn't want to push her too far when she was still uncertain about the situation. Yet her hands were trembling. Was she cold?

"I know. I'm just not... That was private, so I don't know if being in public changes anything."

Holly stood abruptly, tugging on his hand for emphasis. She was grinning now, some sort of reckless thrill or what, she didn't know. But it was there, and she had to move, and some... insane, utterly daft idea had popped into her head.

"Then change it back to private," she said simply. "I've my wings. C'mon."

"Wings?" He'd only flown once with her before, but it was not in the middle of December in formal attire.

He stood up anyway, letting her hold his hand on her own accord. Perhaps it was spur-of-the-moment, but it was a nice change, for once. "Where are we going?"

Perhaps it was just instinct taking over, masking the shock, but at the moment, she couldn't care less if the situation was awkward or not. And Gene's questions, his expression - they were enough to send her grin into a dangerous edge.

"Well, we were wondering if it snowed on the beach, weren't we?" She released his hand then, already turning and heading for the door, where her wings were hung nearby. Some small part of her wanted to be with him right now, and where was the harm in that? She didn't see it. Not at all.

"What, now? But the party -- and your dress -- " But she was already out the door. He followed her hesitantly, though perhaps he was a little excited, too. If she wanted to be alone with him, that was perfectly fine.

"I guess it won't be too bad," he finally conceded.

If someone said in Police Plaza that the Captain Short would be wearing a dress and kissing Mud Men in the human world in only a few decades... Well. They would have been asked if the fumes from the Dragonfly wingset had addled their minds. Captain Short wasn't a girl, she was the test case. The crazy girly captain that set the flight records and punched Mud Boys.

Who'd have thought it'd actually happen, eh?

Holly had the niggling feeling in the back of her mind that she'd come to regret this tomorrow, when she realised just what she was doing, but at the moment, she honestly couldn't have cared less. They needed a place to talk, and this wasn't it. The elf snatched her coat off her wingset, shrugging the warm material over her dress, then strapping the wings on after that.

As soon as Gene got to her side, she'd hook him onto her Moonbelt, and they'd head off to the beach.

Once hooked together, they stepped outside into the chilly winter atmosphere. And then they were off, passing through thinning clouds and beneath the winking stars. The cityscape flew past them, far below; building and tree alike sped further and further into the distance, behind them.

And then they were at the ocean, totally white except where the waves lapped ceaselessly. The pirate ships, anchored just off the coast, sat idly in sleep.

Eugene and Holly descended to the blanketed sand.

The elf didn't look up at him as she unstrapped her wings and hung them on a nearby branch. Her back was turned, then, and for a moment she stared into the forest instead of the ocean. It was starting to wear off, whatever it was. It hit her - she was completely alone with him. She didn't mind, but at the same time... what would happen?

Taking a breath, she turned away from the trees and looked back out over the water, taking in the snow and sand, the black waves, the clear sky. It was picturesque. Hazel eyes shifted over to Gene, and a quiet smile flitted across the fairy's features; he just added to it, didn't he?

"I suppose we'll miss the fireworks now," she commented idly.

Eugene was so cold. He had snatched up his coat just before leaving, but he was still so unused to chill of winter. He thought it shouldn't be a problem now, after... well, after Bastonge. But after surviving, and even with the knowledge that he was no longer in France, he couldn't help but glance back into the wintry forest.

He turned back in time to catch Holly smile briefly at him. He smiled too despite the cold and the uneasiness, and trudged over to join her.

"I guess so," he said to her comment. He spied a jumble of rocks closer to the water and headed for them. "It's really peaceful here, though. Really private."

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Log; On-going

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject