07-26-2014, 04:14 PM
He saw her eyes widen at his touch. They became distant, as if remembering. They were openings into her and though he could not see what she saw, he knew that he had entered her, that he had reached inside of her and gotten to her. He wondered if anyone had ever shown her love or kindness. A part of his heart twisted in anguish, remembering what it was like to feel alone and unconnected, to feel like you weren't good enough, that no one cared. It had been overwhelming. He saw that in her eyes. But he also saw her feel something for the first time. It was his care for her as a human being. But it was more than that. In her, he saw himself not so long ago. And he longed to give her what he had been given.
His heart lept at that connection. She smiled and nodded at his asking her to stay. but then she warned him about her staying. He wasn't sure what she meant but then she touched his cheek.
He was hiding behind the dumpster. It was cold and his heart was racing. That last jon had tried to choke him when he'd turned his back to him. The man was huge, his hands large and strong and he'd felt the air stopping in his throught, the bile in his stomach burning as it tried to push past the man's grip. Somehow, he'd broken free and had run. But he could still feel those hands around his neck, his breath coming loud and fast. Almost, he'd been killed.
He'd looked at his arms and saw the tracks that spelled out his addiction, the desperate craving thad had led him to this point. And fell to his knees and cried, quiet wracking sobs. Oh God, please! Help me please! He wanted to die. He was so alone, so afraid. The self-loathing nearly made him vomit. He cried and cried and-
her hand left his cheek and suddenly he was standing in from of Aria again, the tears in his eyes blurring her image. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and saw the fear and sorrow on her face. And he understood. She lived a solitary life out of fear, because of her...whatever it was. Her whole life probably. He remembered that feeling. But then he imagined adding a fear that you might hurt anyone you were close to.
It would be life in solitary confinement. It would be hell on earth, to drift through life, always looking in at others, feeling their joys and pains and knowing they were denied you, that you were not allowed to participate. he could well imagine the bleakness that would come over her, the anger and resentment and sorrow. It was a wonder she had not tried to kill herself. He would have.
Instead, she fought the war. She had been right. Good and evil struggling within her. And he wanted to help her. He wanted her to win. It might cost him- he now knew the costs. But he didn't care. He wanted to help her.
He summoned up all his peace, all his tenderness, his appreciation for life, for second-chances; his hopes and desires and every other good feeling he'd ever had; he filled himself with it and stepped forward to her, taking her face softly in his hands...
and he kissed her tenderly on the lips. It was not passion. It was not overture. It was not prelude to anything more. It was just his gift to her. Acceptance. Love. Kindness.
Aria didn't want to know what fears he had, she had plenty of her own. But the look in his eyes made Aria want to cry for him. She was sorry that she'd done it. But she didn't get a chance to say anything before he took her face in his hands and kissed her.
She had been kissed before, while the intensity had been nearly the same, it was for very different reasons. Aria didn't even want to think about what it meant with Dane, she pushed him as far from her as she could. Aria had never felt anything like this. It took her breath away. There was no way this day was going to get any better.
She'd started wandering the streets, looking for nothing imparticular, and found something that she never expected to find.
Aria pulled away, putting her forhead against his chest and kissed the dragon softly before looking up into his blue eyes. He brought a smile with a bare look to her lips. "And what do you propose we do with the new found time?
Everything from this moment forward was uncharted territory. He could not wield the power of the gods, she prayed, he could not. That would be too much, finally a soul who was normal, despite her lack of it. She didn't want to hurt him, she knew what would happen if the kissed turned into more. She didn't want to hurt him, it echoed in her head as a reminder, not that she'd forget, but she let it.
The kiss was beautiful, pure, devoid of anything but giving. When he finished, she was out of breath, but looking up at him. So beautiful. She was so beautiful and she needed him. She put her forehead agains his chest and then kissed him there. He smiled.
"And what do you propose we do with the new found time?
He laughed. Well, he could think of a few things. She probably could already feel it pressed against her. Well, he couldn't really help that. He was male after all. And she was beautiful.
But he knew that she was feeling emotional. If this was the first time she'd ever really felt connected to someone who cared about her, well, he couldn't take advantage of her like that. She needed someone who cared. While making love to her would certain show that, it would also complicate things. It could cause her to doubt that he really did care. And despite his own desires, he really did. He wanted this to remain something she could trust and depend on. In many ways, it would have been the same if she was drunk and lonely. And he didn't do that.
He stepped away from her, still smiling, and grabbed his shirt. The tightness in his groin would die down. In the mean time, they did have time. "We can talk. Have you eaten?"
And idea hit him. "Actually, I have an idea for your peace, if you want to see it....Now that I know you."
It seemed a foolish thing to say. He knew her name, but that was it. "We'll figure something out. But stay with me?"
Aria nodded. She would stay with him. She'd felt happiness from others, but not truly for herself. But it was so much more than just that. It was safer to be with Lucas than to go home. But that was just as frightening - going from one extreme to the next with little coping time in between. But the hunger was not there. She didn't want to hurt him. It couldn't be that easy, but she would stay, for now. She'd have to leave, have to go back to her job. Back to the darkness, back into the night to hunt.
"I would like to see it."
Food sounded fabulous, her stomach rumbled in protest. She didn't remember when the last time she'd eaten was. It had to have been earlier that morning. Aria smiled. "Apparently my stomach disagrees and requests food. We could do both?"
He laughed at her response. He got the impression she smiled very rarely, much less joked. And now she was doing both with him. He was satisfied. He hadn't fixed her. He couldn't do that. But they'd started a friendship. He could be there for her. She could trust him.
"Alright."
He got a pad and an pencil and then walked throughout the shop turning off lights. "You like Greek? There's a nice little place around the corner. We can eat while I show you my idea."
He went to the door and opened it, watching her. She was wreathed in shadows, the light from the street only illuminating parts of the shop. "Sound good?"
It had gotten darker than Aria had thought it was timewise. She didn't want to check her wallet, she didn't have any place else to be. It wasn't the time itself, it was the fact that she'd lost track of it so easily. It was disorienting.
Aria didn't have a preference for food. You ate what you were given when she lived with in the headquarters. Now on her own she regularly forgot to eat. Food was what nurished the body it didn't have to taste good, or so that was the way of it most of her life. "Sounds fine."
She smiled at him and hope he'd not be able to read her thoughts by looking at her. It all made Aria wonder what he'd gone through, why he could see through her and read her. He was just human, and for that she was eternally grateful.
Aria grabbed her coat from the rack and took the gloves from her pockets and shrugged on the black leather that had hid her weapons and herself coming in, going out, it only covered her weapons and kept her warm. She didn't want to hide with Lucas. At least not right now. He could ask her anything and she'd probably tell him the truth. But she hoped he wouldn't, there were things she didn't want anyone to know. Not a soul knew, she prayed, except Dane, and he was as unlikely to tell as she, or so she hoped.
She wasn't picky about food , anything would be fine so long as her stomach stopped rumbling, but did she trusted him? Aria doubted herself. She took a deep breath and convinced herself she trusted him! "I'll be honest, never had Greek food. No idea what is good."
"You've never had Greek food? Well get ready to live."
He smiled at her as she passed by him out the door. What he said lingered in the air. She really hadn't lived, not really. And he felt like he wanted to show her all the good things there were. He wasn't sure how much of it was possible for her- both because of her 'gift' as well as whatever it was that required that she carry around a sword. He'd seen it, but wasn't really sure how to broach the subject.
In any case, tonight was about giving her the sense of possibility, of showing her the good things life had to offer even her. It was about giving her hope and a reason to do more than survive. He thought of her words again about her struggle. It was about giving her the strength to keep fighting. "Stavros' place is good. It's not fancy or anything. Just a lot of love and a lot of flavor."
He offered her his hand, hoping she'd take it.
The walked the block or two before they came to the place. It was older, Stavros being the family name. Their grandson Costa ran the place now with his wife and daughters. They walked in to the smells of lamb and and beef being braised, the hisses and sizzles adding a smokiness to the air, voices yelling back and forth in the kitchen, and the clink of plates and glasses. It was pretty clean, though Lucas really didn't notice such things, not since his days on the street. If the place was too bad, someone would have shut it down. The food was always good and the customers were loyal.
Costa was at the front counter when he spotted them. Smiling he said loudly, "Ahh, Lucas! Good to see you. And you brought a girl this time."
He looked at Aria and smiled at her. "Pretty too. So what will you have?"
Lucas looked at Aria with a knowing grin. "Since you said you never had Greek, I'll get a bunch of stuff for you to try, ok?"
At her nod, he turned to Costa. "Ok, so...let's see. Let me get a gyro, umm, some tiropites. Oh, pastitsio. And your moussaka. And I guess some baklava for dessert."
He turned to Aria and smiled, looking her up and down exaggeratedly. "Sounds like a good snack, huh?"
He laughed a bit. "No, just eat what you want. Since this is your first time, you get to try a lot of different things. Consider it your first meal of your new life."
He smiled at her. He hoped she liked the food.
His heart lept at that connection. She smiled and nodded at his asking her to stay. but then she warned him about her staying. He wasn't sure what she meant but then she touched his cheek.
He was hiding behind the dumpster. It was cold and his heart was racing. That last jon had tried to choke him when he'd turned his back to him. The man was huge, his hands large and strong and he'd felt the air stopping in his throught, the bile in his stomach burning as it tried to push past the man's grip. Somehow, he'd broken free and had run. But he could still feel those hands around his neck, his breath coming loud and fast. Almost, he'd been killed.
He'd looked at his arms and saw the tracks that spelled out his addiction, the desperate craving thad had led him to this point. And fell to his knees and cried, quiet wracking sobs. Oh God, please! Help me please! He wanted to die. He was so alone, so afraid. The self-loathing nearly made him vomit. He cried and cried and-
her hand left his cheek and suddenly he was standing in from of Aria again, the tears in his eyes blurring her image. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and saw the fear and sorrow on her face. And he understood. She lived a solitary life out of fear, because of her...whatever it was. Her whole life probably. He remembered that feeling. But then he imagined adding a fear that you might hurt anyone you were close to.
It would be life in solitary confinement. It would be hell on earth, to drift through life, always looking in at others, feeling their joys and pains and knowing they were denied you, that you were not allowed to participate. he could well imagine the bleakness that would come over her, the anger and resentment and sorrow. It was a wonder she had not tried to kill herself. He would have.
Instead, she fought the war. She had been right. Good and evil struggling within her. And he wanted to help her. He wanted her to win. It might cost him- he now knew the costs. But he didn't care. He wanted to help her.
He summoned up all his peace, all his tenderness, his appreciation for life, for second-chances; his hopes and desires and every other good feeling he'd ever had; he filled himself with it and stepped forward to her, taking her face softly in his hands...
and he kissed her tenderly on the lips. It was not passion. It was not overture. It was not prelude to anything more. It was just his gift to her. Acceptance. Love. Kindness.
Aria didn't want to know what fears he had, she had plenty of her own. But the look in his eyes made Aria want to cry for him. She was sorry that she'd done it. But she didn't get a chance to say anything before he took her face in his hands and kissed her.
She had been kissed before, while the intensity had been nearly the same, it was for very different reasons. Aria didn't even want to think about what it meant with Dane, she pushed him as far from her as she could. Aria had never felt anything like this. It took her breath away. There was no way this day was going to get any better.
She'd started wandering the streets, looking for nothing imparticular, and found something that she never expected to find.
Aria pulled away, putting her forhead against his chest and kissed the dragon softly before looking up into his blue eyes. He brought a smile with a bare look to her lips. "And what do you propose we do with the new found time?
Everything from this moment forward was uncharted territory. He could not wield the power of the gods, she prayed, he could not. That would be too much, finally a soul who was normal, despite her lack of it. She didn't want to hurt him, she knew what would happen if the kissed turned into more. She didn't want to hurt him, it echoed in her head as a reminder, not that she'd forget, but she let it.
The kiss was beautiful, pure, devoid of anything but giving. When he finished, she was out of breath, but looking up at him. So beautiful. She was so beautiful and she needed him. She put her forehead agains his chest and then kissed him there. He smiled.
"And what do you propose we do with the new found time?
He laughed. Well, he could think of a few things. She probably could already feel it pressed against her. Well, he couldn't really help that. He was male after all. And she was beautiful.
But he knew that she was feeling emotional. If this was the first time she'd ever really felt connected to someone who cared about her, well, he couldn't take advantage of her like that. She needed someone who cared. While making love to her would certain show that, it would also complicate things. It could cause her to doubt that he really did care. And despite his own desires, he really did. He wanted this to remain something she could trust and depend on. In many ways, it would have been the same if she was drunk and lonely. And he didn't do that.
He stepped away from her, still smiling, and grabbed his shirt. The tightness in his groin would die down. In the mean time, they did have time. "We can talk. Have you eaten?"
And idea hit him. "Actually, I have an idea for your peace, if you want to see it....Now that I know you."
It seemed a foolish thing to say. He knew her name, but that was it. "We'll figure something out. But stay with me?"
Aria nodded. She would stay with him. She'd felt happiness from others, but not truly for herself. But it was so much more than just that. It was safer to be with Lucas than to go home. But that was just as frightening - going from one extreme to the next with little coping time in between. But the hunger was not there. She didn't want to hurt him. It couldn't be that easy, but she would stay, for now. She'd have to leave, have to go back to her job. Back to the darkness, back into the night to hunt.
"I would like to see it."
Food sounded fabulous, her stomach rumbled in protest. She didn't remember when the last time she'd eaten was. It had to have been earlier that morning. Aria smiled. "Apparently my stomach disagrees and requests food. We could do both?"
He laughed at her response. He got the impression she smiled very rarely, much less joked. And now she was doing both with him. He was satisfied. He hadn't fixed her. He couldn't do that. But they'd started a friendship. He could be there for her. She could trust him.
"Alright."
He got a pad and an pencil and then walked throughout the shop turning off lights. "You like Greek? There's a nice little place around the corner. We can eat while I show you my idea."
He went to the door and opened it, watching her. She was wreathed in shadows, the light from the street only illuminating parts of the shop. "Sound good?"
It had gotten darker than Aria had thought it was timewise. She didn't want to check her wallet, she didn't have any place else to be. It wasn't the time itself, it was the fact that she'd lost track of it so easily. It was disorienting.
Aria didn't have a preference for food. You ate what you were given when she lived with in the headquarters. Now on her own she regularly forgot to eat. Food was what nurished the body it didn't have to taste good, or so that was the way of it most of her life. "Sounds fine."
She smiled at him and hope he'd not be able to read her thoughts by looking at her. It all made Aria wonder what he'd gone through, why he could see through her and read her. He was just human, and for that she was eternally grateful.
Aria grabbed her coat from the rack and took the gloves from her pockets and shrugged on the black leather that had hid her weapons and herself coming in, going out, it only covered her weapons and kept her warm. She didn't want to hide with Lucas. At least not right now. He could ask her anything and she'd probably tell him the truth. But she hoped he wouldn't, there were things she didn't want anyone to know. Not a soul knew, she prayed, except Dane, and he was as unlikely to tell as she, or so she hoped.
She wasn't picky about food , anything would be fine so long as her stomach stopped rumbling, but did she trusted him? Aria doubted herself. She took a deep breath and convinced herself she trusted him! "I'll be honest, never had Greek food. No idea what is good."
"You've never had Greek food? Well get ready to live."
He smiled at her as she passed by him out the door. What he said lingered in the air. She really hadn't lived, not really. And he felt like he wanted to show her all the good things there were. He wasn't sure how much of it was possible for her- both because of her 'gift' as well as whatever it was that required that she carry around a sword. He'd seen it, but wasn't really sure how to broach the subject.
In any case, tonight was about giving her the sense of possibility, of showing her the good things life had to offer even her. It was about giving her hope and a reason to do more than survive. He thought of her words again about her struggle. It was about giving her the strength to keep fighting. "Stavros' place is good. It's not fancy or anything. Just a lot of love and a lot of flavor."
He offered her his hand, hoping she'd take it.
The walked the block or two before they came to the place. It was older, Stavros being the family name. Their grandson Costa ran the place now with his wife and daughters. They walked in to the smells of lamb and and beef being braised, the hisses and sizzles adding a smokiness to the air, voices yelling back and forth in the kitchen, and the clink of plates and glasses. It was pretty clean, though Lucas really didn't notice such things, not since his days on the street. If the place was too bad, someone would have shut it down. The food was always good and the customers were loyal.
Costa was at the front counter when he spotted them. Smiling he said loudly, "Ahh, Lucas! Good to see you. And you brought a girl this time."
He looked at Aria and smiled at her. "Pretty too. So what will you have?"
Lucas looked at Aria with a knowing grin. "Since you said you never had Greek, I'll get a bunch of stuff for you to try, ok?"
At her nod, he turned to Costa. "Ok, so...let's see. Let me get a gyro, umm, some tiropites. Oh, pastitsio. And your moussaka. And I guess some baklava for dessert."
He turned to Aria and smiled, looking her up and down exaggeratedly. "Sounds like a good snack, huh?"
He laughed a bit. "No, just eat what you want. Since this is your first time, you get to try a lot of different things. Consider it your first meal of your new life."
He smiled at her. He hoped she liked the food.