Where Do We Go From Here?

[Amz]

Jamie settled two small dangling earrings into her lobes as the finishing of her ensemble and took a step back to examine herself, smoothing down any wrinkles from the carefully chosen dress with gathers near her middle. She did a quick turn-about to check all her angles, eyes and hands lingering on her flat stomach.

It was nearly eight months since Jamie and Tadel had decided to try their hand at a relationship together, an explosive moment that came to a head after a year of push and pull. It started out careful and tentative, Tadel's gentle ministrations opening up her locked heart as their relationship deepened. Now, she couldn't imagine her life without him, and came to covet those rare moments when they could be together outside of the expectations of duty.

Fingers went to her dark brown curls, bouncing them off her index finger with a twist to put them in place. She huffed a deep breath, feeling her heart jump into her throat. trying to avoid a nervous habit of lip biting. The details of where they were going hadn't been divulged, she'd wanted to be surprised, not the other way around.

She took a quick glance toward the chrono on the wall, expecting him at any moment, but knowing that sometimes their commitment to the Galactic Alliance and their different schedules had run into their personal time in the past. It was to be expected, given the lives they lead, and she was mostly reserved to that fact.

When the knock at the door came, it caused her to startle slightly, her heart beating at a wild gallop.

With the best smile she could pull off, and a graceful stride, she went to open the door for him. A flush of heat rose to her cheeks as the door slid open, seeing Tadel standing there. "Hey Handsome," Jamie stepped over the threshold for a quick greeting kiss, feeling the door 'swoosh' closed behind her. Her eyes looked up and briefly searched his, her long fingers fiddling with his jacket and smoothing it out.

"You're timely tonight."

[member="Tadel Perris"]

 

[Ilias Nytrau]

She wasn't the only one that was nervous.

This wasn't their first date. Getting into the monkey suit, and getting otherwise ready for this was easy stuff, except when it came to his head. His heart. The past eight months were unexpected, a hopeful thing turned to reality, the pacing careful and considerate. He had been following her lead, her cues his guide. At first, the process had been fraught with so much caution, and second-guessing himself, but given time, the rhythm fell into place, and being without her was something that he could no longer grasp. Those contingencies were gone.

So as he came to her door, he lifted a hand to knock, hesitated, and dropped it, fingers brushing over a hot pocket. One deep breath later, when his hopes had overridden his fears and the smile returned to his face, he lifted that hand, fingers curled in, and knocked. A couple moments more and the door opened, revealing what was, to him, the most beautiful creature in the 'verse every time he saw her. The rise of blush to her cheeks only turned up the dial on that.

When she spoke, the smile on his face widened, and nerves lost their edges; the quick kiss, he was pulled into, easily. "Hey yourself, beautiful," the reply came, when the door ceased to swoosh, and he let her fiddle with his jacket until he took her hands in his own as she commented on the hour of his arrival.

"Small miracles," he said in turn, "ready?"

[member="Jamie El-Eison"]