Dancing Meme

[pyroknight]

Did you ask your partner or did they ask you? Have you got two left fee or is the Viennese Waltz your jam? Maybe it’s awkward or it could be romantic or both? Either way it’s cute as hell and a time you won’t soon forget.

1. Post your character and the character you want to interact with in the subject line.
2. Use RNG and enter 1-9 to pick a scenario.
3. Try not to step on each others feet!
4. Rinse & Repeat

scenario

1. Club House. You're in your secret place: near a stream in the woods, your club house, the secret garden, an abandoned building. The place where you two always met or the place that you just decided to meet or maybe you guys just came across each other? It's time to throw caution to the wind and dance.

2. Glamorous Gala. Beautiful party with bright lights and dazzling ball gowns. Maybe you were invited or you snuck in, perhaps it’s a masquerade and you're able to parade around as someone else. You’re here, might as well enjoy yourself. You can dance in the grand ballroom or maybe out on the patio or into the garden were you are alone and uninterrupted.

3. Beneath the Moon. It's night, perhaps just after a fancy dinner or as you find yourself on a stroll through the park. What better way to complete the night than with a slow dance? Maybe you want to bathe in the moons light and you begin dancing without a care in the world. Everyone’s asleep, no one will see you.

4. Home. Who needs a fancy place to dance? Just push the coffee table out of the way and play the music. It could be fast or slow or just learning how and wanting to stay out of sight. It doesn’t matter what’s around you.

5. Inappropriately. You’re at the grocery store, the library and you hear a song you just want to dance to. Surly someone will join you or maybe you’ll get funny looks until you pull them to dance will you. You only live once, might as well enough it?

6. Club. It's hard to hear and you might have been drinking or maybe you just arrived and you got stuck in the middle of the dance floor? If you can’t talk you might as well dance.

7. Silence. Who needs music to dance? The Rhythm is all in your head or perhaps you and your partner are softly humming a tune to step too? It’s a secret, shared between you and them. With your hands held lightly together.

8. Once upon a Dream. Caught singing and dancing in the woods and you just decided to go with it? Disney would be proud. It can happen anywhere and just maybe you are in a dream together and you’re dancing with only clouds to hold you up.

9. In the Rain/Snow. There is no reason to stop because of weather. You can keep dancing and having fun. Everyone else runs for cover but its moments like these when you really live.

Comments

Home!

[ki2k]

In addition to moving in to their new apartment together - he was living with Ruri, holy hell! - it was nearly Christmas, so there were decorations to be put up on top of getting their belongings and furniture sorted. Kitt didn't have a lot in the way of personal items, but he'd made up for it by splurging on Christmassy things, including scented candles to make the apartment smell like gingerbread and pine. It was the first Christmas he'd be celebrating as a human, and he was looking forward to it with a nervous sort of excitement.

Another thing he'd done was to purchase a housewarming gift for the apartment - a high end sound system with satellite radio and Alexa. The music currently filtering out from the speakers was a cheery collection of holiday tunes, perfect for the season and excellent background noise for decorating.

He glanced over his shoulder to briefly see what Ruri was doing, then returned his focus to the artificial pine garland he was trying to drape around the door frame.

Home!

[pyroknight]

"I love this song." The words were spoken like a thought, light and passive, needing no further reply. "I wonder if we can get Clair de Lune on this." She really didn't know how the sound system worked and she was going to get frustrated with Alexa but Ruri was excited.

She's getting to live with someone she knows. Someone she has a completely inappropriate crush on but she's happy all the same. It's new and exciting and for some reason she can't stop smiling. Her cheeks are even beginning to hurt.

Ruri found that she had collected a lot in the last few months. She had the rose that Merlin had given her before disappearing, he had claimed that it would never wilt. She had her camera and the resources she had collected for her writing. Her room was already needing another bookshelf. She had her school papers, curriculum and laptop which she used mostly for school and a little bit for her own personal writing. It had taken her awhile to save up for the simple machine and it couldn't do very much but Ruri was happy to have anything to write on.

Her head turned towards Kitt when she felt his gaze. "Do you need help with that?" She hadn't purchased as many Christmas things Ruri hadn't celebrated Christmas for years and she wasn't sure what they were going to do. She had a teachers salary and was trying to think of something to get Kitt.

She had no ideas...

[ki2k]

Kitt looked up sharply at that, a curious light in his eyes. "You like Debussy?" He himself loved classical music, but he was careful to keep it to himself, knowing full well that he was something of a rarity among most people he'd met. Not taking his eyes from her, he spoke to the room, "Alexa, please play Clair de Lune." One side of his mouth quirked up into a small smile as he nodded approvingly, almost to himself, before turning to wrestle with the garland again as he lost himself momentarily in the music.

Speaking of inappropriate crushes... He was trying desperately to keep his excitement in check at being able to live with her, to not appear stupidly enthusiastic and off-putting. They were friends, that was all. He couldn't bounce around her feet like a lovesick puppy after all.

Kitt hadn't intruded on her as she set up her room, though he had carried several boxes of her things. It never failed to amaze him at just how much humans could accumulate or why they needed so many things. His own room was spartan - a bed, a nightstand, a lamp, a dresser, and some books. He couldn't imagine needing anything more. Still, he didn't begrudge her any of her belongings - people's needs, and what made them feel secure, were all very different. As for her computer, he would be more than happy to give it a few tweaks here and there.

"I really think I could. It's a bit long for two hands to manage, I'm afraid. If you don't mind...?" He turned to look at her sheepishly, blowing some hair out of his eyes with a frustrated grunt. Decorating was supposed to be fun, right? He hadn't imagined it could be so difficult and labor-intensive as well.

Gifts? He hadn't so much as given a thought to gifts! Oh dear...

[pyroknight]

"Yeah." Ruri wasn't familiar with a lot of classical music but she knew the songs that she liked. Back home she had a few CD's but she rarely took the time to sit and memorize titles and artists of specific pieces. Piano music often played in the background when she worked. Ruri didn't have the ability to write to music that had words and that had developed her interest in classic and techno music; both of which didn't have words.

Bright brown eyes watched the speakers as the familiar song began to play. Ruri smiled. "Thank you." She really needed to get better at using Alexa. She might ask Kitt to go through the tutorial again... if it wasn't too much trouble.

"Of course not." Ruri rose to her feet and walked over to Kitt to help him decorate. "I'll hold this end?" She asked, waiting for specific instructions so that she didn't get in his way while trying to help him.

"We're just putting this up there, right?"

[ki2k]

Kitt had an extensive working knowledge of classical music, artists, dates, biographies, and oh yes, the music itself. But he had no idea that she, at least in part, shared some of his preferences. Even his own programmer preferred folk and early rock. And Michael - he was just a lost cause musically, as far as Kitt was concerned. But now, she could write and he could listen and... this arrangement was going to work out well, he could feel it.

Nothing concerning Ruri was too much trouble. She mustn't be silly like that.

He nodded at her, handing her a snaky bundle of the annoying decoration. "I want to hang it over and around the front door frame. But I need you to hold it while I arrange it. If that's all right?" He glanced over at her, then stopped, tilting his head as if he'd only just realized that they were truly living together now. And another thing - she looked so eager standing there, ready to help. It gave her face a wide-eyed, child-like innocence, open and... extraordinarily beautiful. Perhaps it was the lighting, the music? He'd known she was pretty; his new human perspective had allowed him to appreciate that fact. But this was different. This was... What? Feelings. There were feelings. Feelings and familiarity and knowledge that all combined and coalesced in this one moment, making him realize suddenly that...

Not taking his eyes from her, he spoke over his shoulder. "Alexa, please restart the music. Clair de Lune." Dropping the garland, he held his hand out to her invitingly. "Ruri, may I have this dance?"

[pyroknight]

Ruri stepped forward to take the bundle from him, her fingers carefully picking out the festive strands in order to keep them tangle free. "Of course." She could use the break. "How many decorations did you buy?" She didn't have the money for this sort of thing but she didn't want to stop Kitt from decorating. It reminded her of when she was younger and it filled her with an instant sense of wonder and excitement.

It really was starting to feel like the holidays.

Light brown eyes rose to meet Kitt's. "Dance?" She blinked, surprised, before placing the garland carefully on the bookshelf next to the door.

"I don't know how to dance." She slipped her hand in his despite her uncertainty. What if she stepped on his foot or fell into him? His touch was warm and as he lead her to the center of the room she felt her doubts slip away.

"Will you show me how?"

Butterflies fluttered nervously in her stomach while a light dusting of pink colored her cheeks.

[ki2k]

He wasn't worrying about the tangles, or how much he'd spent on decorations. Still, he drew his attention back to what she was saying, though with difficulty, as he was mesmerized by the way her eyes caught the light. "Ah, a lot? The Foundation used to throw lavish balls for Halloween and Christmas, charity fundraisers. It spotlighted the work we were doing, while raising money for various causes. They always looked so enchanting, almost magical and dreamlike, seeing the Mansion transformed into a holiday wonderland. I could never partake of the actual festivities, of course, but I always watched through my monitors, completely entranced by everything. This is the first time I'll be able to celebrate Christmas from the inside, as it were, and even though this isn't a Mansion and even though we won't be holding a grand ball, we can still transform our apartment into something else, something new and wonderful for the holidays. Sharing them with you will make it more special to me, Ruri." She was his best friend, and he wanted to share his wonder with her.

"Dancing is something I've particularly wanted to try. I was always fascinated by the way the couples moved together on the dance floor. I've never danced either, but I've learned the basic steps. The rest we can figure out together. Shall we?" He nodded at he with an encouraging smile as he watched her tuck away the garland into a neat pile on the bookshelf.

Her eyes could definitely become a distraction for him, even as her hand felt small and warm in his. "Follow my lead." He smiled down at her, slipping his free arm around her waist, pulling her closer, his hand pressing into the small of her back as he began to step carefully, slowly gliding them in a small, imperfect circle. "Like this. See, you're getting it already."

[pyroknight]

Ruri felt herself fall into his description of the holiday. She felt the wonder, the excitement and the warm buzz that came from being around family and friends. "Wow." It caught Ruri a little off guard. She hadn't know that Kitt was such a talented storyteller. Not that she was surprised but Kitt had always been so practical about things, not like this, and listening to him talk about the holidays sounded absolutely perfect. "That sounds wonderful. I can't wait."

Maybe she'd buy a few decorations for the apartment too.

One hand rested gently in his while the opposite hand was placed on his bicep. Ruri was fairly sure that this was the right position; like holding the wheel at 10 and 2 while driving.

She stepped forward as his hand pressed against her lower back, closing the small distance between them. She wasn't able to look down at her feet and instead found herself staring up at Kitt. She felt the heat in her cheeks and really hoped that Kitt didn't notice it or the fluttering of her heart.

"I don't think not stepping on your feet means I'm getting it." Ruri exhaled a soft huff of laughter as she followed his lead. She had no idea what she was doing but as he stepped, she felt the soft pull of his arms and she followed. After a few circles she began to recognize the pattern and slowly began to step with him instead of after him.

"You're very good for someone who's never danced before." Kitt really was amazing.

[ki2k]

He didn't think of himself as a storyteller, so much as trying to express to her what he was remembering, what he was hoping to recreate in some small fashion. The Mansion was gorgeous on a regular day, but during the holidays it became truly spectacular, and those had been the few times that Kitt had wished to be more than what he was. Alas, Santa had never seen fit to grant him that particular wish - at least, not until recently, and in a way that was quite unexpected.

Was it strange that he enjoyed shopping? He would be happy to accompany her. There wasn't such a thing as too many decorations!

He held her there, his eyes on hers, his own heart pounding a rhythm in his chest at having her so near, so there. He took a deep breath, a cleansing breath, willing the tension in his body to ease as he caught the tempo of the music and began to move with it, gently pulling her along.

"You're not giving yourself enough credit. Not stepping on my feet is huge." His smile grew wider as he spun them around in time with the music, noting with pleasure how they both seemed to fall into the steps with a seemingly practiced ease.

"I was about to say the same of you. I may not have danced before, but I spent a good amount of time watching, analyzing, and learning from the couples at the balls. All I'm doing is re-creating what I've seen and learned. You're the one who's coming into this blind, and you're doing a remarkable job. Are you sure you've never danced before?"

The music continued on, and Kitt knew that he could have danced with her forever. She felt right in his arms, comfortable, like she belonged there.

[pyroknight]

Christmas, shopping and decorations faded like a mist from Ruri's thoughts. It was hard to think about anything else with Kitt holding her so closely in his arms. She felt the heat of his skin where they touched and then the steady rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. Every motion felt large and obvious though Ruri knew that it was all in her head. He probably hadn't noticed.

Her smile grew at his kind words while her heart tightened nervously in her chest. "No. I never danced but I do know some martial arts. It's a little similar." It was how she had used her powers though it's been years since she practiced. Ruri didn't think she could defend herself against anything right now.

Ruri was staring up at Kitt, not realizing how wide her smile was or how flushed her cheeks were. She stepped an inch to far to the right with her left foot and gently stepped on the side of Kitt's foot.

"Ah! I'm so sorry." Talking about it had obviously jinxed her! "Sorry." She whispered again as she stepped back into the pattern that Kitt had been following. "I'll get better so... we can keep practicing." Ruri didn't want to stop dancing with him or stop feeling close like this. There wasn't anything that she could compare this feeling too.

"If your feet accept those terms."

[ki2k]

He perhaps hadn't noticed because his own thoughts and feelings were in the way, threatening to turn an innocent dance into something far more. He willed down the emotions, did his best to ignore the sensations, focusing instead on the dancing, the movement of their feet together, the way their bodies...

Stop. Feet. Concentrate on the feet. Don't think about the bodies. Pay attention!

"Hmmm, yes, martial arts is very akin, I think. They require a mastery over your body, your movements." Stop stop stop! He would have loved to hear about how she used martial arts to, well, marshal her powers. But for right now? There was nothing to defend against, unless she counted Kitt's less than wholesome thoughts. It struck him once again how very different he was like this, not only noticing human females, but feeling things, yearnings and longings that he couldn't account for. And this body of his wanted things too, despite his efforts to control its reactions. It was altogether disconcerting, and yet not wholly unwelcome.

The step on his foot was actually quite a welcome distraction, as it shifted his attention to a very different part of his body.

"Don't mention it, really. It's fine, Ruri. It didn't even hurt." And it gave him a measure of relief. "I'd like that. To keep practicing. My feet are quite happy with those terms." He was looking down at her now, all of his smiles gone, unable to pull his eyes away from her. If he leaned in a bit more, pulled her just fractionally closer to him...

Wait, he wasn't just thinking it! He'd been doing it! And now!

And now his lips were a hair's breadth away from hers, so close he could feel the heat simmering between them.

[pyroknight]

Ruri had no idea what it looked like from an observational point of view but she was happily surprised at how easily they moved together. They stepped in time only pausing because of her clumsiness. She didn't want to stop dancing but she felt a little deflated after stepping on his foot. Maybe she wasn't good enough...

Her chin tilted up, her eyes met his and her thoughts completely blanked.

She knew that they'd been standing close but it had been a thought more than a fact. Now she felt him. His hand pressed on her lower back as their chests hovered a few inches apart. Her palm rested in his and... he was moving closer!

Ruri's pulse raced as the heat of Kitt's breath brushed against her lips and cheek. She froze. She's never kissed a boy and that's what he was doing... what's it? He was so close.

She inhaled a slow breath, feeling her chest rise slightly. All she had to do was close that small distance. Ruri wanted to. She wanted to kiss him more than she'd ever wanted to do anything but she was terrified. She couldn't stand the thought of him pulling away, but then, hadn't he leaned forward? Did he want to kiss her?

Ruri swallowed silently and then moved that small distance until their lips touched. It was soft, warm and Ruri felt herself trembling nervously as heat coursed from her lips, spreading to the rest of her body.

She had never felt like this before.

[ki2k]

Wasn't good enough? Could she really be thinking such a silly thing? She was human, while he was merely play-acting at it, still very much out of his depth and sinking fast. And she thought she wasn't good enough?

He'd never kissed anyone in his life, though he'd observed humans kissing on many, many occasions. He'd only recently begun imagining what it might be like if he were the one doing the kissing, and berated himself mentally for thinking such things. He had no right, surely? Besides, he'd probably be terrible at it, a puppet pretending to be a real boy. And Ruri had never given him any encouragement or reason to think they might be more than just friends, had she? And yet here he was, taking advantage of her, and she was too nice to stop him...

He released her hand, moving to enfold her into both of his arms, his now free hand pressing on the back of her head, his fingers tangling into her hair. There was no distance now between them, their bodies pressed close, but even as he deepened the kiss, opening his mouth to take her in, to taste her tongue on his, warm, silky, sweet, his body awash in the chemicals of arousal so that he felt hot and cold, exhilarated and terrified, shaky and still secure - even with all that, he was apologizing, speaking into her mouth, whispering 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry' over and over - but he never once tried to pull back, or tried to break the kiss that held him spellbound. If anything, it only grew hungrier, the satisfaction of scratching the itch that had burned within him for months on end, ever since he'd met her.

Except now there was a new itch, or more accurately, an insistent demanding that only grew fiercer the longer he stood there with Ruri in his embrace. He tried to ignore it, or will it to disappear, but he had no experience in controlling his desires. He could only stand helplessly, shifting on his feet to relieve some of the ache. He was wearing sweatpants, which was a small blessing; they were loose enough to hide some of his discomfort. As he moved his hands to cup Ruri's cheeks, he kissed her again, and this time the apology he whispered was genuinely contrite as he did pull away, his face flushed red from a combination of embarrassment and a lingering hint of delight.

"I'm sorry, please forgive me. That wasn't right of me. I shouldn't have done that."

He was going to need a very cold shower. And maybe a paper bag to put over his head when he faced her again.

[pyroknight]

Ruri might have been human but she was the furthest thing from ordinary and that didn't even take her ability to control fire into account. She'd missed countless life experiences and after her resurrection, she never sought them out. Ruri felt like she had missed her chance and everything that came after was borrowed time.

Now she was experiencing life and she didn't know what to do with that experience or what it could mean.

Ruri felt her head swim as he pulled her closer, his lips parting to breath him in. Had he always been this intoxicating or had she only noticed now that they were kissing? She knew she liked him but that was worlds away from this kiss. It wasn't just a crush anymore. She listened to her pulse as it quickened and felt a warm flush that threatened to consume her entire body. The heat started at her lips but she soon felt it coursing through her limbs and then gathering at her abdomen. She had no idea what this feeling could be.

Her left hand stayed on his shoulder; her fingers curling as if to hold him closer. When he dropped her right hand it moved to his waist.

She felt his apologizes rather than heard them. Why would he apologize? Was she doing it wrong? Was this not how people kissed? Did he not want to kiss her?

Ruri felt her blood run cold as he pulled away.

Her lips curled together, feeling the lingering heat of their kiss across her lips. She would never forget that kiss. "Why not?" She heard the question before she realized that she had spoken it out loud. "I-" Ruri's eyes dropped and she suddenly felt like a bashful middle school girl again. "That was my first kiss. I don't want you to be sorry about it."

"I-" She wanted to kiss him and to feel him pressed against her.

[ki2k]

True, and he hadn't forgotten for a moment just how extraordinary she was - that was part of what made her so intriguing to him, that combination of amazing ability coupled with her sweet, guileless personality. She was charming, she was fascinating, she was in his arms and he was kissing her. But if he'd known how she felt, like she was living on borrowed time, or that in many ways they were both experiencing what life had to offer for the first time, he might have felt less awkward, less insecure about his own feelings for her, and the actions he was taking. Surely she was more experienced than he was?

Did she really think of him in those ways? He would have scarcely believed it had she told him. He thought of himself as mostly ordinary, his personality pedantic at best. It was the car that set him apart from others, that was all. She on the other hand had an interesting career, a passion for storytelling, a personality that drew in others. She made people feel special because she was interested in hearing their stories, in listening about their lives. She made him feel special. But now he was taking advantage of that quality of hers.

He stared at her for a long moment, his mind wrestling with what she was telling him as he shook his head. "But it's - that was your first kiss? How is that possible?" He thought she was brilliant, beautiful. Had no one else noticed these things about her? Now he was stammering, trying to jump-start his brain into coherency and get it coordinated with his mouth. "I mean, that was my first kiss, too. And I've wanted to do that for a very long time, it's felt like forever, but it isn't right because we're only friends, Ruri! I didn't mean to take advantage like that. It was selfish and I'm very sorry. Your first kiss should have been special. I'm sorry." He hadn't known, and because of that he'd messed up what had been up until that moment a very pleasant evening with his best friend. He ran his fingers through his hair, looking sheepishly miserable, afraid to meet her eyes.

[pyroknight]

"I-" Ruri's voice caught in her throat.

How was that possible?

It was a difficult question. She would have to tell him everything and she was terrified that he'd leave if he knew the truth about her. She wasn't normal, she wasn't human or a car. She was dead or half alive. Her form looked like she thought it would when she reached her twenties but it's borrowed. Everything about her life was borrowed.

She didn't want it to be borrowed anymore. She wanted to live the stories that she wrote about.

Ruri swallowed her fears and took a step towards Kitt. She heard what he was saying but he was wrong. Everything he was saying was wrong. She wanted to contradict him but Ruri found it too difficult to speak. Instead she moved: she rose to the tip of her toes, placed one hand on his and the other on his shoulder, looked into his eyes and kissed him. It was a brief kiss, warm and light. Gone only a second after she'd felt the warmth of his lips. Her eyes rose to meet his, hovering an inch or so away from him. "You aren't taking advantage of me."

She exhaled, feeling her fingers tremble. "I wanted to kiss you too. For a long time. This was special to me, the best first kiss someone could ask for." Ruri was terrified but she pushed herself to continue. "If anyone is being selfish it's me." Her eyes dropped as she whispered his name. "Kitt. I'm not even alive." Her hands slowly released him as she pulled away. Ruri expected questions and then she expected him to leave and she wasn't going to stop him.

[ki2k]

He was looking down at her, concern that was bordering on worry filling his eyes. He'd ruined everything. He should have just stuck to the dancing, because now everything was a disaster. He wasn't designed for something like this, and he had no right to desire it - or her. And now she wasn't talking, she'd just gone silent, and the worry spilled over until...

She kissed him. She'd looked right at him, right into his eyes, and she kissed him. Brief, oh so brief, but with a sweetness that caught his breath in his throat as his eyes followed her, every movement, every moment, her words transforming his worry into astonishment. His voice, at first barely above a whisper, broke as his first questions were asked. "You did? It was? But why... Why didn't you tell me?" It wasn't wasted time, the months they'd spent getting to know one another, but could it have been so much more? But she was still speaking, and now he tilted his head to one side, confusion clouding once more into worry.

"Selfish? No, never. Never Ruri..." He was talking over her, but her words managed to cut through the fog of his befuddlement, his name in particular catching his attention.

"I... I don't understand. How can you not be alive? Of course you're alive. My scanners - they would have indicated something as major as that! What are you talking about, not alive?" No. She could try to pull away, but he reached out to drag her gently back to him. "Talk to me. Tell me what you mean by that." He wasn't letting her go, not now, not when he knew she felt the same way about him that he did about her.

[pyroknight]

"I didn't want you to leave." It was the answer to his first question though it now felt out of place in the conversation. Too much had been said... more than Ruri could ever take back.

How could she have told him when she'd never felt this way before? She didn't even know what was happening until she felt the startling painful stab of jealousy. How could she had told him when she couldn't offer him a future? She was being selfish. He just didn't see it yet. She had to explain. She owed him that much.

Ruri bit her lower lip as she gently stepped back towards Kitt. She didn't want to pull away from him. His arms were warm and, even if it was only for a moment, she was happy. Her eyes closed and she inhaled the familiar scent that clung to Kitt's skin.

"I'm not alive." She repeated in a soft voice. "I died. In middle school. That's why I have never done so many things and why I didn't have many friends when we first met. I never tried to make friends before... before I met you." Ruri kept her eyes closed, her thin frame leaning against Kitt as she continued. "I told you once. That I could see spirits. It's a family trait but there is more to it than that. My family goes back to Cain and Able. When we die, we are able to return but as a death god. I ferry souls of those who don't want to die. I didn't know about it until after I had died. My mother did something. I couldn't ask her because when I woke up she vanished. It's been six years and I haven't aged a day."

It wasn't the whole story but Ruri had to stop and breathe. She was terrified and trembling in Kitt's arms.

[ki2k]

He would have regretted knowing he did anything to cause her to be jealous, but he couldn't imagine why on Earth she would have felt that way to begin with. Had anyone ever felt jealous for his attentions? It didn't matter anyway; he already knew that whatever she might say now, leaving was out of the question, not now, not with the way he felt about her. He was only just beginning to understand what these feelings were, to make sense of the vague and unformed (or perhaps simply unanalyzed?) longings he had been experiencing. In the quiet times that he spent processing the day's events, he'd always shunted aside those thoughts he associated with Ruri, storing them away to be analyzed another day - a day that secretly wished would never come, afraid to face his feelings and what he felt would be her inevitable rejection. But now - well, he'd gone and opened the Pandora's Box, hadn't he? The AI part of him was shaking its head at the stupid human part, he knew.

He let her speak, listening intently, but his confusion only continued to grow.

He could feel her shaking when she finished, but he didn't let her go, he only continued to hold her, pressing her close up against him while he turned her words over in his mind, unsure of where to start with what she had told him. He finally decided to start at the beginning and work his way from there.

"How did you die?" He was resting his cheek against her temple, his eyes closed, breathing in her scent, glad that she had chosen to take the leap towards friendship with him - though he still wasn't sure why she'd made that decision. "And you still do that now, ferry the souls of the dead? Are you a spirit yourself, then? As a death god?" And her mother - what had happened to her mother? Had she made some sort of bargain, Ruri's life for hers?

[pyroknight]

It was hard to believe that any of this was happening. Ruri inhaled a slow, deep breath tasting Kitt's scent on her tongue. Had he always smelt like this? Felt this warm? The questions buzzed through her head as she leaned against him, her eyes closed and her voice silent as he processed her confession.

Ruri hadn't ever told anyone what she was or what had happened before. It wasn't that she didn't know how, stories were her passion, but who could she tell? Who would believe her? Right now, the answer to both of those questions was Kitt. He wasn't doubting her. He was concerned, she could feel the tension brought by worry in the way that he held her, but he was also patient; politely listening to her story.

"I do. If I ignore an assignment then someone will come for my soul." She spoke softly, her eyes closed. "I am but somehow I had a body created for me. I don't know how... I had no one to ask." She hadn't been able to find her mother but she stayed in that house, hoping that her mother would one day return home.

"I told you-" She began. "That I could always see spirits and they gave me and my friends these abilities. Well, it did more than just give us something. It made us targets for darker spirits. One of us, Kristen, had been taken over by one of those dark spirits. It was killing her in hopes to keep her body. I was the only one who could see it." Of their friend group, she was the only one who could see spirits. "So I used what my mother had taught me and traded my soul for Kristen's. The evil spirit pulled me with it and my soul left my body. When I woke up... years had passed."

[ki2k]

For his own part, Kitt's head was swimming at the bombardment of sensations as he held her close; when was the last time he'd had such sustained contact with a human? It had also been Ruri, yes? On the couch, watching a movie - but even that hadn't affected him like this. They weren't just friends anymore, of that he was certain - but what were they now? Why was her scent so alluring, her breathing so soothing, her warmth so comfortable?

Of course he was concerned; his feelings for her had only continued to grow the more time he spent with her. And by now, he had become so accustomed to the idea of magic and the paranormal, it had become as familiar as going to the car wash. Her story concerned him, but only because he was worried for her. If there was anything he could do to help, he wanted to be there for her.

"Have you helped to ferry anyone here, since you've been in Hawaii?" He pulled back, holding her by her biceps, searching her eyes with his. "What do you mean, someone will come for you soul?" He didn't like the sound of that, not one bit. If anyone tried to harm her, they'd have to go through him first now, he'd make sure of that. "Is this... was this your appearance before all of this happened, or do you look different now in this new body?" This was something he could at least understand, being caught in a semi-similar situation.

He pulled her in close again, because now that he was holding her he could hardly bear any distance.

His own voice turned dark, thick with his own bitter memories of a night several months past. "I've had some run-ins of my own with less than savory spirits." He held up his left hand, the bracelet tight around his wrist. He was convinced that the bracelet had been planted for them to find, in order to eliminate the threat he posed. It had worked that way, for a time. "Like a demonic possession, you mean? But..." He looked at her sharply, confusion now warring with the concern already on his face. "Do you have a soul? Or do you share it with the demon? Or did it finally let you go?"

[pyroknight]

Her head was spinning and her heart pounding frantically in her chest. Ruri couldn't find it in herself to calm down. She was waiting for that moment when Kitt walked away and it felt like every second drew out that inevitable end.

He pulled away, holding her by her biceps and Ruri's breath caught in her throat. She met his gaze with hope and fear mingling in her light brown eyes. "I haven't. Not since I met you. I can see things here. I saw your bracelet when I first met you and thought you were one of those demons. Only after you explained did I realize it was something else. But- I haven't taken a soul. I don't know where I'd take it." She licked her lips before continuing. "I have a soul and if I had aged, this is what I would have probably looked like. I don't... have pictures of me as a child here but the body is technically new. Only six years old. And." Each one of his questions repeated in a round inside her head. "Someone, like me, will come for me if I stop ferrying souls. They will make me go back with them and I'd be dead."

She thought he was going to pull away from her when Kitt pulled her towards his chest. Ruri closed her eyes but resisted the urge to wrap her arms around his waist. She wasn't sure she could move without Kitt's help.

"The demon let me go. I forced it too. When I was brought back.. I'm just me but I won't age I don't know if I can have a life. Everything I am is borrowed." Ruri felt tears prick at the corner of her eyes. "I really like you. I want to kiss you but I can't do that to you. You deserve someone with a future."

[ki2k]

Walking away was something he hadn't even considered. If only he'd known she was worrying about something so silly as that!

"So whatever did this to you - it can't find you here?" The relief in his voice was obvious, but he knew it was too early to be assuming things. But they'd met before they'd ended up here, so... was it something to do with the bracelet. It was old; Sumerian, so far as he could tell, and in his brief research into the subject he knew that their magic was dark and powerful. But he shook his head at the strangeness of it all. Taking her away, replacing her body with a replica that couldn't age... It was almost as though she was a sort of android, and the thought brought an involuntary smile to his lips. "I suppose you'll have to keep ferrying souls then, won't you? We all have jobs to do, this is no different. Well, a little different. But are you able to speak with the souls? To comfort them on their journey? I can't think of anyone else I would want to ferry me across, Ruri." It gave him momentary pause, wondering if his soul was too different from that of an ordinary human. Would he have a reaper such as Ruri come to take him?

"Impressive that you're stronger than a demon. That shows a remarkable strength of will, don't you think?" He shook his head again as he looked at her, this time with a sad sort of amusement in his eyes. "Do you really think this body I'm in right now belongs to me?" He wouldn't let her answer him, because instead he leaned in to catch her lips in another kiss, slow, soft, tender. Maybe she wouldn't do it to him, but he could surely make that decision for himself, couldn't he?

[pyroknight]

"I don't know." She didn't want to give him false hope, to tell him that they couldn't reach her here, but she didn't know for sure. Ruri had considered that, while she was here, she was free but she didn't want to let her guard down. It's never been this long in between jobs. "I do. I try to comfort them. To tell them that it's okay and that there are people waiting for them. Some jobs are harder than others." Ruri always had issues ferrying the souls of children but she did what had to be done.

"I don't think I am stronger." Maybe more stubborn than a demon.

Ruri closed her eyes and shifted to rest her face against Kitt's chest. Her hands finally rose, gently pressing against his torso; not pushing him away or pulling him closer. She inhaled and decided that she really liked the way that Kitt smelled. Her head lifted at his last question, a word and a half escaping her lips before she felt his kiss. "I do-"

Her body stiffened and then relaxed against him, her fingers curling slightly as if to cling to his chest. Heat touch her lips and then swelled and pulsed through her thin frame. It was a pleasant sensation and she felt herself falling happily into that alluring warmth.

Ruri's body was pressed flush against his as she met the force of his kiss. If it was possible, she would never want to pull away. Her lips parted and she inhaled as her tongue brushed against his lips, seeking to clumsily deepen their kiss. She didn't know if it would be their last kiss or another in a long string of kisses but she wanted it to last, to fall into this moment, as if there was nothing in the world except for them and the music that brought them together.

[ki2k]

"I think if someone like you showed up to comfort me in my final moments, to help guide me to the other side, I would have no fear. You are a very comforting presence, Ruri." He frowned for a moment; did an artificial being such as himself possess a soul? Could he be ferried across, or would he simply cease to exist? "Is there any way that I can help you, if the need arises?" He didn't want her to bear that burden alone, not if he could do something.

"I think you are." He stopped himself before he could stick his tongue out at her like a childish twelve-year-old.

But now, he was already lost in the embrace of that kiss, parting his lips so that her tongue could find his, returning the kiss back onto her with a desire unlike anything he'd felt before. She wasn't warm, she was hot, the heat between searing with passion. He'd spent long hours chiding Michael on his skirt-chasing ways, but now he realized he'd never understood in the slightest the feelings and sensations brought on by close physical contact with another human. And quite by accident, completely out of his control, his body was indeed reacting to her nearness, the tightening of his boxers as he grew hard. He hated himself for it, for spoiling this perfect, innocent moment, so he ignored it, ignored its demands, instead focusing his attention on kissing Ruri, delighting in the slick smoothness of her tongue as it brushed against his, the feeling of his fingers digging into her sides to hold her there and never let her go. The music had fallen away, replaced by the blood that pumped in his ears, the soft sucking sounds as they pulled away to breathe, only to dive back in to the kiss.

Now he understood.