paradisalogs | Such a quiet joy, knowing I'm your pick-up fix.

Who: Carolina and York
What: ~~Their final date~~ Just a totally normal night followed by not-normal angst.
When: Night of the 19th into the morning of the 20th
Where: Carolina and York's room
Rating: PG-13 to start

[Carolina's not been planning this date night for too long, but it's nice to have these little breaks from the drama that comes standard with the Castle. She's glad to see more of her team here, but there's always that slight shift in the dynamic that requires work to juggle. The date night is welcome by the time the week wraps up and as she starts tugging her dress on. Mostly everything is already set up, her quarters decked out in fancier trimmings than usual. Candles lend their soft glow to the ambiance and the low tinklings of music drifting from her stereo are light enough to easily be talked over.

Overall, though, she would consider the whole week to have been productive, considering they finally got the chip in her helmet to hopefully jog her memories if she ever disappeared. And tonight is a way to celebrate everything that's been slowly going right since the mess that was the season before. Well, that and an excuse to get all dressed up and eat fantastic food, which is what she'd told York that morning.

It's just a minute before 1800 that things finally get set all in place and she sits on the couch to wait.]

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Right.

[He doesn't break eye contact either for a moment, but then shakes himself as if startled and finds his own swimtrunks to put on. Once he's done he'll grin over at her and offer a hand to walk outside with. It's going to be chilly before they enter the pool now that they're wet, but the shower was probably a good idea anyway.]

Ready?

[She finally breaks her gaze from him enough to start tying her bikini back on. Taking a moment, she wrings her hair out in the shower and then accepts his hand, curling her fingers through his.]

Yeah.

[The air outside is, as predicted, pretty chilly and steam rises from the hot pool. Taking care not to let her hand go, York eases himself down into the hot spring and gives a very contented sigh. There's nothing quite like the hot water to ease any remaining tension, even if the earlier session against the wall already has him relaxed.]

I gotta say, I'm glad you like it here. Gives me an excuse to visit.

[Following him down, she sighs at the heat of the water. Now that feels nice. Lazily, she swims out toward the common pool with slow strokes.]

You needed an excuse to come out here?

Well, an excuse doesn't hurt.

[He'll follow behind her but at a fair distance. After all, he likes moving around all lazily. No reason to add any tension to the relaxing his muscles are getting right now.]

[She'll swim her way over to the rocks so she can lean up against one and let the warm water really soak into her muscles. The adrenaline has left her and the desire to pin him against the wall has settled into a lower, simmering lust.]

Not here it doesn't.

Got that right.

[He'll pick an underwater bench not too far from where she is and lean back against the wall. Granted, those knots in his back from carrying around his armor are probably permanently ingrained by now, but that doesn't mean a little heat relaxation against them doesn't feel wonderful.]

Of course, it's also better when get to share it with you.

[Carolina shifts to watch him, settling her head on her forearms. She could help with those knots with a massage, but right now she's feeling a little too lazy.]

I've gotten to share a lot with you since you moved in. [Which she smiles wider at.]

You won't find me complaining, that's for sure. Everything I get to share with you is just--

[He smiles, looking pleased and relaxed.]

It's the best, you know? Something we never would have had otherwise.

[That has her swimming over to him and settling down next to him so she can run a hand up his back.]

I know. [And she's grateful that she's had this chance, even if at first all she wanted to do was get back home.]

[He doesn't blame her for feeling that way at first - most people do. York's just glad she's come to see things his way.

He lets out a contented sigh at her touch and leans onto her, snaking a hand around her waist and grinning.]

I probably don't say this enough, but I really do love you, you know.

[Carolina lets her hand settle up around his shoulders, tugging him just a little closer. She'd never seen herself as the type to fall in love, between the Project and her headstrong nature. She didn't mind at the time either. Sure, she'd passed by opportunities to further her natural chemistry with York, but she'd been fine with simply ignoring those feelings as much as she could. There had been no room in her life for love until she came here, until she started to really get to know York and who he is outside of the Project.

And while the Castle had orchestrated their first kiss, it had also threatened to tear them apart well more than once with various losses of one kind or another.

Still, here they are. She takes a moment to run her fingers up into his hair at his words.]

I love you, too, York.

[He doesn't answer in words, just presses a kiss to her lips, long and slow. Sure, on the one hand he knows all they have here is borrowed time - either of them could return home to their deaths at any time - but that doesn't make him appreciate it any less. If anything it makes him appreciate it more.

And there's that stubborn bit of hope he doesn't want to examine too closely for fear that it won't stand up to scrutiny that says maybe, just maybe, they have a life waiting for them at home, too. Together.]

[And she answers the kiss easily, her lips pressing firmly against his wih no particular urgency. He's here now, real under her grip, alive beneath her fingers. Her nails side neatly through his dark hair before settling athe back of his head near his crown.]

[And he's more than content to stay like that for a while, after breaking off the kiss. York leans back against the warm stone of the pool wall and just snuggles with her for a little bit.]

It doesn't get a whole lot better than this.

[With a smile, she'll let him snuggle up, enjoying both the warmth of the water and him.]

Good. [It does please her that he's this content, it's been a rough past couple months after all.]

[~~And it's only going to get worse.~~]

How about you? Anything I can do to make this even better?

[She settles her arm along his shoulder with a soft smile.]

Stay. That's all I want.

My pleasure.

[And he will.]

[And she'll be more than happy to have him safe under her touch as she presses a kiss to his temple.]

Such a quiet joy, knowing I'm your pick-up fix.

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you've got new icons!!!

psh how did those get there

magic clearly

clearly!

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Wrap/time skip? :(