tampered | log on going; closed

Current Mood: scared

log on going; closed

When; Saturday February 20
Rating; Awesome because Priestly's Mouth is involved (AKA R)
Characters; Inara Serra & Priestly
Summary; It's a Not!Date out in Xanadu
Log;

It took Inara half the night to relax. Everything had been off kilter since she'd come back from the trip to Serenity because she was determined to live more and take some chances. The problem lie in that Inara wasn't really comfortable with taking chances so when Priestly had taken her at her word and asked her out on a date, she'd panicked a little and nearly shoved him out the door with a rushed 'This isn't going to work...'. Priestly had saved everything, smoothed it out and calmed her down then he'd suggested a not!date. It would be an evening that didn't involve candlelight, romantic dinners, flowers or dressing up.

That's why she's currently walking around one of the lotus ponds at the Dewi Shri. Her hand is link with Priestly's and swinging loosely between them. She's wearing a pair of his jeans and high heels. Her hair is pulled back in a messy bun secured with a pair of chop sticks and her makeup is so minimal, she feels a bit naked if she takes a moment to think about it. It's all part of the not!date and she's still nervous. It's evident in the way the fingers of her free hand drum against her leg. She's never been in an open, real relationship because the guild's dating policy had been so complicated and when it came right down to it, very few men were willing to share their significant others. It's not that she doesn't want to. Seeing Miranda had convinced her of one thing; Life is entirely too short not to take chances.

Life is apparently not too short to be absolutely terrified of taking those chances.

"Dinner was excellent. I haven't eaten here before."

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Returning to normal like he'd wanted to initially wasn't going to be a choice Priestly could make. Inara was markedly different, and he even noticed changes in himself; little ones. So when they started on this little upswing, he'd wanted to make sure she kept moving forward. Not to mention he was more traditional than he liked to let on. Sure, he was okay with messing around and playing the stupid little games; those types of things existed to give people the opportunity to test the waters.

Overall, Priestly just wanted to stay out of the delusional cloud he'd put himself into since arriving. And if making Inara appreciate the bonuses of a solid relationship was going to help, he thought it was just an added bonus to getting to be around her all the time.

"Same here. I was not feeling those weird noodle things when they set them down, but for how much they looked like tentacles, they tasted really fucking fantastic." He liked their idle chatter, it reminded him a little more of the return to an even keel they'd started on.

It was progress that Inara hadn't intended to make. At least not initially and not consciously. As far as traditions went, they resonated in Inara more than she'd ever admit. She'd once pretended to be a fairy princess just like every little girl and fairy princesses have princes to save them. Right now, she constantly fought running, not because she didn't care about Priestly but because she cared too much. She was beginning to appreciate those bonuses and if it helped Priestly stay grounded, all the better.

She laughed and shook her head. "We could have ordered octopus," she teased him. "The noodles were very good. Messy but good. I liked the blowfish as well."

Even keel. That was a good place to be.

He made a face at the o-word and linked their arms together as they walked. "Messy is always better. Like sloppy joes or playing in the mud." Okay, so maybe he was driving the point home a little too overtly. It was the heat getting to him, his defense is solid.

Mostly he wanted to make sure Inara knew that he wasn't the type to just run away, ever. Sure he was a little skittish at times, maybe one might even call him lazy, but when it came down to it, he thought he was ready to prove it to her. Even if it took however long they'd be stuck in the City for.

"Messy is just messy, Priestly," Inara told him with an arched eyebrow. "Some one has to clean it up." Hers was entirely solid too. She'd stand by it.

He was definitely the 'sticker' between the two of them, which was one of his appeals. Priestly would always ask her stay and Inara? Absolutely a runner. She ran from emotional situations and medical situations in an attempt to avoid the mess that she was certain would come with each of them.

He mirrored her arched eyebrow and then rolled his eyes a little. "How does that even make sense? If the fun in making the mess isn't worth the clean up, you're doing it wrong."

Priestly had a hard time shutting his mouth, ever. Sometimes he didn't realize that he sounded more belligerent than questioning, but really when it came down to it, he really just wanted to know other people's opinions. Inara's especially interested him, because he liked how she thought. She always seemed to be able to be cool-headed and diplomatic. "Not to mention if you time it right, you don't get caught with the clean up."

He also might not really be aware of just how much subtext was in their talk. Or he probably wouldn't have said that last bit.

Yes that was a bit of an almost unladylike snort at his words. "If all you have to do is have fun then take off to leave someone else with the clean up then I can easily see why you like making the mess. Someone always has to deal with the part that isn't fun."

She glanced down at her feet and shook her head before glancing back up at him again. "I guess I've been stuck with clean up a few too many times."

Subtext? Yup. And his comment didn't really bother her much, even in relation to the subtext. Inara would leave long before he thought about cutting out to avoid cleaning up.

"Hell yeah. If I had the coin, I'd hire a god damn maid to follow my ass around," he joked, now. "Though really around here, what's going to happen to me? Some random haughty know-it-all would chide me for littering and...?"

It was something he'd hated thinking about in any real capacity before. Now though, with how their conversation was turning a bit more serious, he felt he could say it without having a nervous breakdown. "Well, you're just too damn responsible, I think. You'll probably be the one yelling at me!" Priestly laughed and pulled her a little closer.

The joking didn't exactly break the serious mood but it broke the subtext and flipped the conversation back to a conversation about physical messes. She smirked and shrugged. "You get cursed. The bigger the mess, the more inconvenient the curse."

It was a half serious answer to the bigger issue brewing in his head. She smacked him playfully when he pulled her closer. "Oh like I picked up the trail of clothes you left on my floor this morning? There was yelling. You were singing in the shower and didn't hear it."

"Good point," he said, happy for the moment with her explanation. Not to mention he was more interested in continuing the playful fight-flirting she was starting.

"Is it cliche if I say you're cute when you're mad?" He knew it was, and he knew she probably wouldn't buy it. But it was a little bit true, too. "Not to mention, I'm just really free spirited. You know that. It's hard for me to follow regimen, I'm not built for it."

Fighting and flirting went hand in hand as far as Inara was concerned. She rolled her eyes at his cliched 'compliment'. "You haven't seen me made enough to throw things. I'm incredibly accurate and not in the least bit cute." A half smile curved her lips and she tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. "That's called messy. Sometimes less kindly lazy. I'll start hiding your clothes then you won't have anything to wear except my robes."

Fortunately, Priestly had always been susceptible to light abuse as a turn on. Something he found he just drifted toward, when a girl sneered at him or made fun of his anything. He would be the first to admit his masochism to an outside observer.

"You're always cute. And now I feel like you've just thrown the gauntlet. It's my duty now to piss you off to the extremist of fucking extremes." He thought on her warning for a moment before shrugging. "I've worn weirder."

It worked well for them. Inara had a tendency to abuse in the kindest sense. She simply took care where and how she applied her abuse.

"Alright but I can't be held responsible if you don't like the results," Inara warned him. Mal used to make her angry on a daily basis because she was pretty when she was angry. "I never thought I was one of the 'cute' girls. Kaylee is cute. I'm...something else."

Her brow furrowed and her arm tightened on Priestly's a bit. She took a deep breath in an attempt to settle her stomach. She didn't want to end this night being sick. It'd been entirely too good a night.

"Are you trying to tell me you're a man?" Because trying to argue with a woman on her attractiveness never yielded good results. His only option here is to joke, of course.

Not to mention they were supposed to be having a good, relaxed time walking through Xanadu after a little num-nums. He assumed that her tightening was just an attempt to get closer to his nurturing and hilarious self.

"Precisely," Inara answered with a smirk. The nausea was getting worse and she loosened her hold a little moving over to a bench and pulling Priestly with her.

"Let's just sit for a minute. I think the noodles-" She bit off her last word, biting her lips between her teeth and closing her eyes. All her concentration at this moment was in not vomiting.

Priestly sat with her, all other trains of thought put on hold (Inara would totally make a sexy man) while he crouched in front of her, brow creased. "You all right? We can head back now, if you're not feeling good."

Of course she'd make a sexy man! It was Inara after all!

She shook her head at him, not sure if it was a no to 'you all right' or a no to 'head back now'. One hand went to his shoulder and she started to get to her feet with the idea of rushing past him to throw up in the bushes. She didn't make it, doubling over before she'd even gotten to her feet and retching. She ended up hitting her knees and Priestly, well he was the unfortunate target of the vomit.

Priestly's eyes close and he presses his mouth closed, too late to dodge the bulk and unwilling to freak out now that he's covered in it. He leans back a little and scoots to the side, however; a repeat performance isn't something he's looking forward to.

"You all right? Maybe the blowfish is getting to you. I can get you some water if you want." He's really not sure how to handle it, except getting her home eventually.

"Wǒde tiān, duìbùqǐ," she apologized breathlessly between retching. She moved away from him to throw up some more.

This night? Not going exactly the way she wanted it to go. Especially when she sees blood in mix.

"home. Just-home," she said after another minute then apologized again with tears in her eyes.

"Hey, hey, no it's okay. C'mon," he says, even though he figures it won't actually make her feel better. He wipes his face off finally, a little shocked at the red he sees on his arm when he pulls it away and bends down toward her to rub her back again.

"Just, sit a second, make sure you're a little settled. Then we'll get moving." Because he planned to try to carry her maiden style and it wouldn't end well if she kept ralphing as they went.

Edited 2010-02-19 03:35 (UTC)

It took a moment for the heaving to subside. She smoothed a hand over her hair, glad it was actually out of her face for once. "I've got something for the nausea at home," she said quietly then looked up at Priestly. "I'm sorry. This is not how I wanted the night to end. You can shower at my place. I might even have some of your clothes there."

"Are you kidding? Vomit's a big time aphrodisiac from my time," Priestly joked before managing his arms around her and lifting gently. He began to walk, still slow at first but intent on picking up speed, back toward the City. Distraction was the name of the game, and it's as much to keep him from acting foolish as keeping her mind off of her sick stomach.

"I can be naked. I'm okay with it, you're okay with it - win-win?"

Inara laid her head on his shoulder and tried to take deep breaths. She was trying not to let this upset her anymore than it seemed to upset him. Also, if she didn't vomit again, it'd be great.

"I wish I'd known that before now. I would have spent a lot more time vomiting on you," she told him with a strained laugh. She puts her hand on his neck covering the tattoo there.

"Win-win," she agreed.

Her stomach was a mess of butterflies and she wasn't sure if it was because of the nausea or because this was too much. Priestly was going to ask questions and he deserved answers. There was also an ache in her chest because when he was gone, she was going to miss this.

It didn't take too long for them to get down to the subway, and Priestly continued the idle goofy chat as best he could at first. Once he stopped walking and his butt found a seat on the transportation, he found it difficult to keep his mouth running on inconsequential things.

"This subway should have way more hobos to be authentic, you know." His leg bounced nervously, and his stupid conversation was getting worse.

She appreciated the stupid conversation though. "The public transportation system in my world is very clean but then everything in the core is clean. It's not until you get to the outer rim that it's dirty."

She's trying to help him with the stupid conversation and the keeping both of their minds off what's going on. "At least the smell is authentic?"

He chats with her idly, seeing her smell comment and raising her a pee stains on the ceiling. The ride home is a little awkward but when they come to their stop, Priestly's all over making sure she feels okay.

"Can you walk? I mean, I'd carry you again but I think I spent my payload getting you onto this thing." It's a joke but it's also true.

"I can walk," she snaps just a little, immediately feel badly about it. "Duìbùqi. I can walk. I just don't feel well. Thank you for being so kind."

She pushes herself to her feet to prove her point. She forces a smile to further illustrate it and holds out her hand. "I would appreciate a shoulder to lean upon though." She wants him to feel needed because in all honesty he is.

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