The Office > Home
By the time the sun was rising over St. Portwell once more, Casey had loaded several crates of supplies and readied them for delivery. With his magic, the entire floor had been alive with the pattering of materials sliding themselves into boxes. The constant thudding of his ammo presses making up for lost stock. Theo's quiet but persistent recounting as he watched the various bits of the large order come together. He had a clipboard and a list, and was constantly marking down one after the other until it was all done.
From his seat, Casey had time to personally examine the data Leon had brought in. About the Sycamore's latest ethereal meeting spot, and about their timetable, where they'd wind up, et cetra. He wasted no time planning their date around this.
Couple's lunch on the Lady of the Bay: A fancy ferry that took people on a leisurely ride from the North end of the Bay out to the surrounding islands. While it stopped at places like Cracker, he planned on a small island nearby Elysium. Close enough that if there was a serious emergency, they'd be able to respond.
Not like the destination in particular didn't have anything… Like Cracker Island, Misty Island had its own small town with rustic shops and kerosene lanterns lighting the cobbled streets. Initially a fort and the town that rose around it, Misty was mostly famous for the old reused structures. The main part of the fort had been converted into a resort, which he also booked a night in.
He planned on presenting it as optional, but even if they didn't spend the night there, he wanted to give her the option in case she found it appealing. At this time of year, it was mostly empty anyway, meaning they had the run of rooms.
After the lunch and arriving on the island, he figured they'd attend the small carnival living in perpetuity there, to ride a few rides and play a few games in the cold. It probably would've been a better summer trip, but Misty Island was quite aesthetic during the winter. Frozen mist often congealed into big spikes of ice overnight. Some called it magic, others tried to prove them wrong…
But it was a peaceful place: A particularly silent hill climbing up from the water.
Satisfied with these plans, Casey spent another half an hour learning how to make pancakes on the internet. It seemed easy enough, so long as the stove top stayed at a decent temperature. He was kind of astonished she'd managed to set the fire, but…
It was funny to him that they didn't really have most of the ingredients. No buttermilk, no strawberries (he'd eaten them all), no maple syrup.
So he went down to the occupied floors, knocking on doors until he managed to gather enough of what he was looking for. A few security team members were foodies in their own rights, and gave him some tips to go along with his requisitioned ingredients in exchange for a little gossip. One even had a heart-shaped mould, which Casey was excited to use.
Finally making it back upstairs, he checked his watch. Eight hours had passed so quickly… The bees were still buzzing about the hanging garden, and he put his grocery haul on the kitchen island before making his way to where he'd left Trisha. Half expecting her to be awake, he didn't knock on the half-opened door. He just poked his head in to look around.
Trisha was awake… sort of. It was that half awake state that she drifted in and out of in the morning, considering waking up then always deciding to snooze a bit more. Her whole body was curled around the pillow Casey had used to replace himself, cheek pressed into it and eyes squeezed shut. Her long hair spread out across the couch and across her face. At some point while sleeping she'd kicked off most of the covers and her sweatpants, leaving bare legs sticking out from a t-shirt that reached her knees. The covers had ended up added to the pillow in her arms, trailing across her shoulders.
It wasn't Trisha that noticed Casey peering in, too busy trying to get back to sleep, but the bees scattered about the room. There were about ten resting across her body in various spots, and more on the couch and on the television. A couple buzzed over to Casey inquisitively, recognising his smell. The ones on Trisha started to move, crawling into her bare arms. She let out grumble, shifting and trying to dislodge them.
“M’sleepin, stop…"But the bees were insistent. They'd been woken up by the intrusion, and they were rested - so their Queen must be too. Pheromones bombarded her and little feet crawled all over her. She wasn't going to get back to sleep through this, so… her eyes cracked open, squinting at whatever had bothered them. A sleepy smile pulled up her lips as she spotted Casey's face. Seeing him made waking up worth it.
“Morning… best view to wake up to," she mumbled, letting go of the pillows and pushing up onto her elbows.
“Did you sleep at all?"Once he realized she was conscious, Casey slowly swung into the room. He was grinning from ear to ear.
”Naaaah… If I’ve got work to do, I can pretty much just stay awake. Like when you’re gaming.-”Casey’s eyes narrowed into a vague smugness.
”-You were totally gonna keep playing the other night!”Being careful to avoid any errant bees in his path, Casey slid up onto the edge of the couch so he could inevitably pick her up… She didn’t know it was coming, but from the moment he saw her messy hair, he knew it was a necessary action.
”So… I spent the night planning a quiet date for us. Stuff you usually do in Summer, but I think you’ll enjoy this a lot more. It’s a pretty nice little trip not too far away.” He was alongside her now, propped up on one elbow with his legs stretched along the length of the furniture. The free arm stretched out, hooking over her and tugging her in to plant a kiss on her cheek.
“I don't stay up all night just to game," Trisha grumbled. But she immediately softened again when he pulled her over, stretching out her body so she could wriggle up right next to him. As she did the bees on her body flew off, towards the back of the couch. Her eyes creased happily as she looked up at him, gaze openly loving in her still waking up state. There'd been no time for anxieties to creep in…
And he was talking about their date. He'd planned their date. A nice little trip… how much had he planned? She would've been happy with just a nice meal out, but he'd… planned a whole thing for her? The more it settled in, the clearer the love and soft happiness across her face got. She leaned up to lightly kiss him.
“You planned a whole trip? Just for a date? Really?" It was pretty clear by the way she smiled that she wasn't upset about it, but rather shocked. She was. It was a lot for her… he'd put in so much effort… A soft giggle escaped her lips. She felt giddy, like this was her first relationship. It was her first love...
“That sounds really nice. Are you going to tell me what we're doing, or is it a surprise? I don't mind, I just need to know how warm I need to dress."”It's as much of a surprise as you want it to be, my dear…” Casey chuckled, returning her kiss with another on her forehead.
”I would definitely bring a coat. We're gonna be doing a bit of walking. You should also pack for an overnight, since we're not gonna be sleeping here.” he grinned, impressed with himself that the stuff he'd wanted to do was actually available.
”I thought about waiting to ask what you wanted to do, but… Well, like, in movies and stuff it seems like the romantic thing to do is just plan and assume that you have the other person's interests at heart. Was I… Right?” he asked gently, trying to gauge a response.
Trisha looked at him with wide, shining eyes. Then she nodded, practically beaming at him. If it included staying somewhere overnight that meant he had a whole day planned… or at least, a vague plan for a whole day. They probably weren’t going very far, considering what he said yesterday, but that didn’t matter. It was a full day’s date planned just for her…
“Yes, yes, definitely right. Having someone put in the effort to plan something is… really really nice. Like I really matter that much to you.” Of course he’d said it plenty of times to her, and proved it too, but it each thing added up. Her hands came up to cover her face as she began to go red, rolling over to bury herself against him as she giggled. She just hadn’t experienced something like it. All that effort…
“It’s really romantic… don’t tell me what we’re doing, keep it a surprise. Unless it involves any extreme sports… which I assume it doesn’t? Not that I’d mind, just that's an ask in advance thing… Oh, when do we leave? I need to know how much time I have to get ready. And to pack.” She paused, uncovering her face to look at him again. Her face was the picture of satisfaction - even though the date hadn't even started yet.
“Thank you, Casey. I’m really looking forward to it.”Casey was elated seeing Trisha getting so excited over it. He only hoped she didn't accidentally get her hopes up high for something incredibly extravagant. It was meant to be simple, emphasizing the time they could spend with one another in relative proximity to Elysium should things go particularly south. Not that he expected such, nor did he do anything drastic like task a crew with circling the island to prevent breakouts.
Definitely not…
Looking at his watch, it wasn't exactly ten yet. Plenty of time.
”Lunch is at One! But, I wanted to try doing something as a couple before we leave. I will say there's a big chance you're gonna think I'm an asshole over it, so it's totally optional and I won't be mad if you say no and just spend all your time getting ready instead…”Of course he knew the risk of bringing up pancakes after she'd nearly burned their home down.
”I guess I'll just ask…-”Casey slipped from the couch down to one knee. His hand slowly pulled Trisha's into his.
”Would you… Make pancakes with me?”Trisha's head tilted to one side as her body followed him, twisting around and up into a sitting position. She looked a little confused. Why would she think he was an asshole over it when he'd already suggested it the night before? If she was going to react it would've been then. It almost made her more upset that he thought that but… the excitement and warmth over their date was greater. She wasn't going to ruin that.
And he was being so cute about it.
“Yes," she said simply, blank confused look turning into a smile again. Her handle curled in his and she swung her legs over the edge of the couch, sitting right in front of him.
“So long as you control the temperature… and maybe weigh out the ingredients… I'll be in charge of simple tasks like mixing and making sure bees don't fall into the batter. Or we can do it all properly together, where you stand behind me and turn it down when I almost burn it again."She didn't seem… upset about the whole burning incident. It wasn't the burning that had upset her so much as the failure, and the fear that if she couldn't even do that one thing for Casey he'd decide she wasn't worth it. But the worse hadn't come to pass then.
“You know… one day when you actually ask the question I'm going to be expecting something like this. I guess then it'll definitely be a surprise."The
question was something he wasn’t sure of. Probably marriage? That was the only
question one could be emphatic about in this context, right? He
had gotten down onto one knee… It wasn’t like he was going to ask her to the shooting range over a platter of heart-shaped pancakes and a-
”Y’know, you’re really inspiring. I don’t really know what question you mean,-” he grinned, sarcasm leaking out of his smug face.
”-so now I have ideas for our next like… Thirty dates, and they all start with uh-”From behind his back, Casey pulled out the heart-shaped pancake mould that he’d left in his back pocket. Since he hadn’t actually sat, it was still in pristine condition.
”-these bad-boys! Someone downstairs had these laying around, now they’re letting me borrow this one! I didn’t know if hearts were gonna be too sappy, but I loved it so…”Standing fully, Casey offered his arm down for Trisha to take hold of.
”Getting up? Or you want me to get things started? I watched a whole bunch of videos last night about making pancakes, so I bet between the two of us they’re gonna be perfect.”The heart-shaped mould was cute. Sure, it was really sappy, but that was fine. Trisha was happy to be sappy with Casey, especially when it was just
them. It was nowhere near as sappy as saying they loved each other…
“I’m awake now, so…” She shook out her hair, before pulling it back and tying it into a loose ponytail with the hair tie pretty much permanently around her wrist when at home. Then she reached out from his arm, using it to pull herself to her feet.
“Getting up. If you watched videos you know more than me, I just read some tutorials… How do you, uh, use that.” She gestured to the mould, leaning into him and looking at it curiously.
“Do you put it in the pan and then put the batter in it? Or do you cut the batter in the pan? Won’t it be a bit tragic if we mess it up and end up with like a broken heart or something?””Oh… Pretty sure they just get greased?”She was practically weightless as she pulled against him to lift herself fully. He could’ve carried ten of her. Would’ve, would. Would always be willing. His mind danced at the prospect of her love and affection being expressed between them in this tender moment. The lender had
told him to grease it, of course… But she didn’t have to know that. He didn’t care. She asked, and he had an answer, and it just felt right. Like they’d always be able to do for one another.
”And, honestly? If we start putting fruit or chocolate or whatever into them, I don’t expect them to hold up amazingly. So, temper yourself ‘cuz we’re probably gonna end up with a few broken ones…”His free hand now swept up to ruffle her bedhead properly, planting a kiss atop the fuzzy mass and dancing with her in a little motion. His hip bumped into her side, jostling her around slightly.
”How long d’you think it’s gonna take you to get ready? I’m not thinking we need to go crazy… But I’ll let you ultimately pick out what we’re both wearing since you’re the expert there.”“You just want to get out of making the decision,” Trisha retorted accusingly, eyes narrowing up at him before she quickly broke and smiled. She was happy to pick for both of them, even if it would take her a little bit longer. Or maybe it would be easier, because she knew what they both had…
”An hour or two? I don’t need to wash my hair, so probably closer to an hour. I’ll give myself an hour and a half to be safe. Not cause I’m doing anything too fancy, just makeup and taming my hair can take a while. Then choosing outfits for us both…”She shrugged one shoulder. She wanted to look nice, but she could achieve that with relatively simple makeup - she
was naturally attractive, after all.
“C’mon, let’s go make some pancakes. Oh, if we have strawberries can I cut some up for the bees in here? I can sense they’re expecting something.” She didn’t really try to drag him anywhere, instead just hugging his arm and swinging her body back and forth, continuing the motions from his jostling. Like she was excited to get going.
Casey didn't give her much time to hang off of him, scooping her off her feet to cradle in his arms. He could lift her forever… Carry her for the rest of their lives. Just to feel the cursory weight of a human who was still breathing… He'd held a hundred dead comrades in the exact same pose, cradling their bodies as he pulled them from this hole or that trench.
But she wriggled slightly, probably to adjust her own comfort. Her hands didn't grip at him desperately. She wasn't gasping or breathing heavily or crying and begging to be put out…
But what if she was?He looked down at her face, and his cheeks puffed with air that he slowly released. Trisha would be able to clearly feel him tense up as he did so, followed by an exhale that released some of it.
But his face was a little sadder now, though his awareness of the moment prevented him from breaking down into an anxiety attack.
”C'mon, Bee Babies! Let's get some breakfast!” he called after the few still working their way around the den.
Spinning on his heel, Casey was careful not to let Trisha smack into anything as he walked her back down the hall and into the kitchen.
”Alright, get ready-” he did his best to cover up the earlier anxiety with a joke. Pretending to drop her to feel her scramble in his arms, he finally bent down and let her feet touch the floor. It was enough to tell her she was still safe, and that she could escape him now.
Still laughing, he redirected his thoughts.
”Gotchaaaaa… Alright, you go ahead and get to choppin’ on the fruit, I'll get our actual mix made. Deal?” he asked with a wide grin.
Trisha let out a breathy laugh, heart pounding a little faster from the joke drop. She couldn’t exactly stop the jolt of panic that came with it, no matter how much she knew Casey wouldn’t actually drop her. But she’d felt his tension and she’d looked at his face long enough to see the slight sadness there. She didn’t know why… and decided not to ask about it. He would say if he wanted to.
“Deal. Be careful with the flour, it’ll get everywhere before you know it.” She lowered her heels onto the ground, but rather than immediately escaping she turned around to face him. Her face moved forward slowly, rubbing their noses together with a soft smile. Then she gently kissed him.
“And no getting it on me. If I have to wash my hair, that'll be an extra thirty minutes getting ready.”She smiled teasingly, before slipping away from him. It didn’t take her long to locate the strawberries, getting out a plate and a small knife. It also didn’t take long for all the bees in the hanging garden to fly down to her, like they were perfectly trained to come when called. The reality was the opposite - she’d been actively telling them to stay away until she detacher herself from Casey. The mass of bees swarmed onto her, crawling across her shoulders and arms along with going in underneath the large t-shirt. The ones that had followed her through from the den didn’t bother joining their sisters, instead gathering around the plate.
“Yeah, yeah, good job keeping watch last night even though I didn’t ask you to- oh, I did? Huh- hey, be patient.” Trisha talked out loud to the bees as her pheromones swirled around her, reaching out to push away one that had started crawling towards the strawberries she’d picked out. It fell on its back and wiggled its little legs before right itself.
“It’ll be easier to share when I cut up. Once you’re full you can go rest, I won’t need many of you today. Mhm, that’s right, you’ve earned it.”The actual conversation with the bees was nowhere near as indepth, but it existed. She smiled softly as she cut the strawberries in half, before cutting each half into six pieces. These were flipped up so the sweet insides were right there for the bees to devour. The scent was sweet even to her…
“Waiiiitttt- okay, I’m done.” She stopped actively ordering them to stay away as she put the knife to the side. Immediately the bees moved off her and onto the strawberry pieces, fuzzy bodies covering the plate. She turned back towards Casey.
“Most important job done- keeping the bees away from any interesting smelling batter. Do we have any other fruit left? I don’t want to give them too many strawberries, cause they’re for us too.”Casey had been watching her just as much as he was watching the powdered flour rise out of the bag like baker’s smoke. He had two bowls, one for his own pancake mix, and one for hers. Assuming she'd not exactly enjoy a set of pancakes worth a few thousand calories, he set aside the flour from Andrade to focus on the normal batch first.
”Yeah! The classic stuff. There's blueberries in the uh… Crisper? I never know what to call those drawers. Blueberries, raspberries, and there's grape jelly on the door I think. Also, can you take a stick of butter out? And four eggs…”He was doubling up the batch, but the assumption was that he would make her batch entirely, while only having a cake or two from the special flour blend to supplement his intake for the day. A lot of the videos said pancake batter was good for a few days before one started to risk foodborne illness, so he'd have plenty to just eat as he wanted…
”I'm not sure if mixing the fruit into the batter changes it… So we'll leave it plain and add what we like as we cook them?” From the bags of room temperature ingredients he left on the counter, he pulled out baking powder AND baking soda. Same with the container of buttermilk, which a lot of videos said to leave out as room temperature or even hot ingredients made integration easier.
”Chocolate chips and peanut butter is also an option… I was thinking about just making a pb&j out of them, like using them as bread? God I love pancakes…”Clearly genuine, Casey beamed from ear to ear as he measured out two cups of flour from the bag and dumped it into the bowl. He didn't get why people sifted the flour if it was all going to melt together anyway. Couldn't possibly fathom the little clumps of raw flour they said would inevitably ruin the experience.
”Should I… Sift this shit? Like, how worried are you about clumps of raw flour?” he asked with curiosity in his voice.
“If you mix it hard enough won’t it be enough? Sifting yesterday was how I got the flour everywhere, and I’d rather the clumps in my food than all over us,” Trisha responded, coming away from the fridge with the container of blueberries and raspberries stacked on each other and the grape jelly in the other hand. She put them down on the counter, grabbing another plate to throw a bunch of the fruit on along with a glob of jelly. This was pushed over next to the cut strawberries the bees were devouring. They quickly split in half between the two plates.
So her thoughts turned to their own food, and what Casey was thinking about making. Her mouth opened slightly as she tried to figure out if she could bite something like that. Depended on how thick they made the pancakes…
“Pb&j pancake sandwiches do sound nice… but I think I’ll stick to single layer ones. Adding what we like as we cook sounds good cause then we can make a whole bunch of different ones - I’ll have my healthy fruit filled ones and chocolate filled ones separate.” With a bright smile towards him, she opened back up the fridge. A stick of butter and two eggs were grabbed, which she put next to the other ingredients. She scurried over to him and leaned up to quickly kiss his cheek, before just as quickly backing away with a soft giggle.
Two more eggs- what would’ve been a trip or two for Casey with his much larger hands took Trisha three, final two eggs held in one hand. The other reached out to grab a raspberry, popping it in her mouth as she came back over.
“Mmm this is good- shit.” A momentary lapse of concentration was enough for her to let her hand tilt down, one of the eggs slipping out of her fingers and hitting the ground. Raw egg splattered out, some of it catching her sock and her bare shins. She froze, staring down at it. It wasn’t like she was normally clumsy… Why did it just seem to be worse in the kitchen?
“Oh, uh, where do we keep the towels again? I’ll get another egg- sorry, I didn’t mean to.” She jumped back into action again, safely depositing the remaining egg on the counter before looking around with a hint of panic.
The deposited egg started to roll as if compelled by its fallen comrade to join in sweet oblivion. Casey put the measuring cup down in front of it, preventing further escape, before his hand slipped into his pocket to grip his Channeler. He was still smiling at her as he gave the situation a full onceover.
Then the dancing slip-mop slid out from its place next to the fridge. Probably scared Trisha half to death.
”Heyyyy, no sweat Babe. I’ll let magic take care of stuff like this. Did you get a lot on you? You wanna wash up?”The dancing mop was already brushing past her as it adhered to Casey’s instructive spell. It’s little bottle of cleaning solution sprayed down the affected area, sweeping across it several times as it intentionally gathered the eggshells into one place.
Once the spell was cast, he trusted his design enough to follow through with the situation how he would to the best of its abilities… Given that it didn’t have arms, it’d require a little intervention here and there. But for the most part, it was good at cleaning. He’d done this a thousand times at the base up north…
”There’s a cupboard next to the sink in the bathroom! he pointed forward, directing Trisha in the assumption she was going for a towel for herself. As everything came to a vague halt, all he could do was stop with the dry ingredients and do what he was going to have Trisha do next: Casey snapped the cold butter stick in half, peeling the paper off and putting it into a bowl, then setting it in the microwave to mostly melt.
He figured one minute would be good, not wanting it to burn or boil over.
A shaky breath escaped Trisha’s lips as she half jumped out of the way of the suddenly moving mop. It was fine. He wasn’t upset with her and it was just a little mistake. Just a dropped egg… and they didn’t even need to clean it up. Magic really didn’t make things easier.
“It’s not a lot but I’ll go clean it off,” she said quietly, following his pointing and heading towards the bathroom. It really wasn’t that bad. All that was needed was a quick wipe down of her shins with a damp towel from the cupboard Casey had mentioned. She pulled her socks off with a grimace and bundled them up together.
She didn’t immediately go back into the kitchen, instead heading across and up to the loft. Dirty socks were thrown in the laundry basket and fresh ones pulled on, along with a pair of sweatpants so she wasn’t just in Casey’s shirt and underwear. Not that she had a problem with that, it just didn’t seem like the safest when cooking. What if she got something hot on her legs?
Completely egg free, she came back down for the kitchen, shuffling over towards Casey and pausing just a bit away from him.
“Is there anything else I can help with? I promise I won’t drop anything else, that was a one time thing, normally I can keep a hold of things while bees are running all over me.” Her tone was light, a bit of a joke to cover up the hints of anxiety that came from something so
small.
By the time she came back, Casey was whisking away while the enchanted broom and dustpan struggled to do a pair’s work. The dustpan had backed its handle into Casey’s leg, the broom itself sweeping the last bit of shell into the waiting tool.
”Of course there is! Grab the pan out from under the island here… Not like the regular one with the handle, the uh… It’s wide and flat and takes up two burners…”It was clear that the gears were turning a bit in his head.
”The… Fucking… Griddle? I think it’s a griddle. But, be careful! It’s heavy!”The smell of buttermilk and fresh fruit wafted through the air. The bees kept wandering toward the former’s container with intent to redistribute the vaguely sour liquid among themselves. He wasn’t sure if bees could even do anything with milksops or lactic products, but he wasn’t keen on them falling in and getting stuck, so he kept blowing them away.
”Then when it’s on the stove, just turn both the burners onto, like, medium-high. At that point, we can both sit for a second while this stuff incorporates.” he grinned at her, whisking away still. He was being real vigorous with it, thinking about little flour clumps the entire time.
”Ooooh, Babe… This is a great arm workout, honestly. Full range of motion, active resistance; what’s not to love?” he grinned widely, jokingly flexing as he spun the tool in the bowl.
“Medium-high… are you sure?” Trisha looked up from where she was squatting down in front of the island, pulling out the griddle - if that’s what Casey thought it was, it probably was. Trisha didn’t really have any idea about what these things were called either.
“What if it burns again?” Though she was a bit skeptical about it, she lugged it over to the stove. It was heavy, but not so heavy she couldn’t actually carry it - just she had to grab it on both sides so the weight was even between her two arms. She got it up and over two burners, before turning them up to medium-high just like he’d said. Then she could really take a moment to turn and watch him, lips curving up into a joyful smile as he joked and flexed.
“Maybe you should replace going to the gym with cooking- I bet you could find something to work out everything. Like, squatting up and down with a heavy griddle! Great for the calves.” Her eyes squinted playfully as she moved over towards the buttermilk container, hand coming up to catch the bees that still hadn’t given up on their strange quest for what remained inside of it. She deposited them back with all the others, sending out a command to stop doing that. With the bees scolded, she could go back to look at Casey - jokingly looking him up and down, before biting her lip.
“You look good while doing it too- plenty for me to love too. Maybe I should just watch you do all the work.” Casey gave a warm laugh from his chest, followed by a jokingly skeptical look at his favorite person. Half “Oh, come on.” and half “Right now, seriously?”, the look screamed sarcasm in every direction as he stepped a few feet closer to her. Still whisking, he planted a kiss on her head.
”You're so goofy… Uh… Grab another stick of butter? Then open it at one end, and rub it across the griddle top until there's a big patch of melted butter. When it's got a nice melted tip, rub it onto the heart mold as well, then put that mold with the thin side down in the butter.”Casey was good at instructions at the very least. You had to be in the military; it was amazing how often someone would have regret after giving vague orders to a group of relative strangers.
”Have you ever taught anyone to use the computer? Like, how you do, not like basic stuff…” he asked, just finding things to make conversation over.
“The coding? Nope. I'm mostly self taught so I wouldn't be a good teacher, I don't think." Trisha shrugged one shoulder, smiling at him as she grabbed more butter. Melting it onto the griddle was easy enough - after all this wasn't the stage she'd failed at when making pancakes yesterday. It was when the batter had actually gone on… and when she added oil to it.
“I’m not talented at it like someone like Cass- it comes a bit easier because it's logical, but I spent a lot of time just learning before I was decent enough to get any contracting jobs with it. Thankfully the maths degree helps a bit there… But I don't think I could teach it. Not like Reyna taught me a bit- she was super patient."She started rubbing butter into the mould, beginning to understand a bit more how it worked now that she was actually holding it.
“I’d be better than Cass, I think. She'd tried to help me once and it was rapidfire information I didn't understand, ending with ‘it's just that easy.’ It wasn't… but I really don't know anything impressive or unique. Read a couple of my books and you'd learn most of it." Heart mold in hand, she hesitated in front of the griddle.
“Put it down in the butter, like, on here?"Watching the hot liquid fat bubble away, he noticed that it wasn't exactly how the tutorial had shown it was going to look. They'd emphasized that butter has a low smoking point, but it wasn't quite hot enough to get it bubbling the way he was shown.
”Yeah, just right in the puddle you made. It has to heat up too, I'm sure, or the top of it would still be raw and stuff.”Satisfied with his mixing job, he slid the bowl onto the island top and stretched his arms a bit. Then, stepping forward to get much closer to Trisha, he grinned.
”What about boxing? You think you'd ever let me teach you how to throw a good punch?” he asked only as a half joke.
”Or, are the bees with guns already too much?”The heart mold was placed onto the bubbling butter before Trisha answered. She stepped away from the stove, closing the gap between the two of them and turning around to face him. Her lips pursed thoughtfully. Would she let him teach her that? She’d considered learning
some kind of self-defence ten years ago, but she didn’t exactly get on with anyone in the coven that could help with that… with Casey it would probably be fine.
“The armed bees go way beyond boxing,” she laughed, arms coming up to loosely drape over his shoulders.
“I’m not sure about boxing itself, but it’d probably be good for me to learn some self-defence… even if it's just so I can get away and run. So I guess the answer is I would, if you’re patient with me. And I get rewards. I don't want it to be army boot camp style.””Rewards?”Casey’s smile deepened as he tried to parse out what exactly she was expecting.
”Y’know you can just ask for more cuddles, like, it doesn’t need to be a reward thing.”He tapped her forehead against his, giggling as the butter began to really sizzle.
”Oh shit, alright… Lets get plates, and then uh… Stand by with your fruit or whatever you’re putting in, okay?”He was moving to the drawer to grab silverware, slapping a couple of forks down on the table, then picking up the metal bowl with the normal batter in it to begin whisking away again. It’d stayed fairly frothy, so he was hopeful that the mixing job he did was enough to keep it all together.
His gloved hand- the Channeler, the worn down olive drab fingerless glove, the relic of a war now passed - crept down and touched the piping hot metal heart, his spell adhering the surface of it tightly to the surface of the griddle. The temporary joining of two objects was a spell that often came in handy, and it’d do just fine for making it so Trisha didn’t have to hold it as he muckled the batter into its open basin. Now waiting, he watched as Trisha followed through on her end with warmth in his heart and love in his eyes.
This is exactly what they fought for. These moments.
“I meant a kiss each time I did something right," Trisha said as she moved to the counter, picking up the tubs of raspberries and blueberries, along with a couple of plates. She knew she could just ask for more cuddles, and the same with kisses - or she could just kiss and cuddle him. She still wanted all of those too. There was just… something appealing about a little reward to get through something she'd find pretty physically strenuous.
But right now, there were pancakes to make. She leaned over and carefully put some berries in the batter, making sure not to splash any on herself. She didn't put too many in - not sure how it would work out - but there was enough that it should be nice. Once they were in they sank down into the batter, the raspberries practically began to melt into it while a couple of the blueberries burst. It wasn't what she expected but as the juices leaked into the cooking batter it looked… nice.
Her stomach gave a quiet grumble, and she looked down at it with a mixture of shock and embarrassment. She didn't normally get that hungry, nevermind her body actually complaining about it. Not that she felt much more than a little ache as the warm smells of the cooking pancake filled the air.
“How long do we wait? Since it's in a mold we don't have to flip it, do we? Do we just… wait and watch? It won't burn again, will it?" She asked a series of rapidfire questions, looking up at Casey with a smile and a hint of nervousness in her eyes.
Casey's instinct was to just answer her myriad of questions down the row. But with Trisha so enthused, now seemed like the perfect time for a little bit of sarcasm… Maybe the errant joke or two.
”I'm honestly just gonna give this one up to the griddle demons. They don't get fed enough, so we're just gonna let it go until it's black and charred.”He was grinning from ear to ear, voice as emphatic as possible to get his joking implication across.
”Uhhh… Huh… I honestly don't think I can burn this though. I wish you could see what I see…”His glove passed over the mould to release the adherence spell from it when he pumped a bit of White Lux. The heat from the griddle, the ring and the pancake siphoned into his eyes all at once.
Holding it, he found a perfect gradient from cooking side to the other side with still raw batter. He could tell the little flour and sugar blob was cooking into a fine pancake from beneath and on all sides.
”Uhhh… I'll flip it just to see what this color is?”By color, he meant the heat scale. He'd done this before with optic sights that didn't come with a thermal registry, but he'd never actively attached the image into his own senses. Popping the heart mould up, he pulled it away and watched the batter sag from the sides just a tad. Then the spatula slipped under, and the whole thing flipped.
Still a little pale, Casey nodded.
”Oh, now I've got it I think…-”He handed the spatula over to Trisha.
”-Now it's your turn. When I tell you. Until then, I want you to… I don't know, ask me a question? Any question. I'll answer it honestly.”Trisha looked at Casey with wide eyes as she took the spatula, suddenly being put on the spot both for flipping
and asking a question. Any question. What did she want to ask…
“You’re really giving me this? Then it really will go to the griddle demons… I don't have any of your fancy magic or skills," Trisha grumbled jokingly to give herself a bit more time to think without just staring at him.
What did she want to ask? There was so much she could ask… but she didn't want to ask anything too personal, or needy. It would make it seem like she didn't trust him to be honest normally. 'What would make you leave me' was one that immediately came to mind- but she didn't want to know, and she couldn't ask after yesterday. Not after everything he'd said about when he'd kindled. Because she didn't want him to think she didn't believe and trust him- because she did. Her own issues were just too much.
But it couldn't be anything too silly either. That would just be avoiding it… because maybe he was giving her the opportunity so she opened up a little more? She wasn't sure. She was probably overthinking it. Maybe he really just wanted her to ask any question, and it was just to fill the time.
Though the internal struggle felt like it took an age, in reality she wasn't silent for all that long. Enough for it to be obvious, but not enough to lose the opportunity.
“If- when- we move to the middle of nowhere, what would you do about your family?"Casey was about to reassure Trisha that it was only an offer when she managed to squeak a meaningful question onto the table. Still staring at the slowly changing thermal gradient of the pancake, it's lovely heart shape no longer confined behind a ring of metal, he considered what she meant by it.
”Like… As an entity? I hope to support whatever good they do from a comfortable distance. Hopefully they're doing good things that don't have to do with making a pyramid cult for their own benefit. Like, I'm not gonna stop watching Leon fight… I'm not gonna leave Mia behind to deal with life alone. I'll do what I can. ‘Cuz, y'know, I love them. Does that make sense?”To his surprise, the color of the pancakes's heat signature changed rapidly when it was fully cooked… The golden brown exterior was the result of leaving it there for an extra moment.
”Go ahead, flip it. Almost done.”Trisha didn’t say anything at first, brows furrowing as she pushed the spatula underneath the mostly cooked pancake. Her flip wasn’t quite as neat as Casey’s, but it was difficult to get wrong when it wasn’t batter anymore. She then shoved the spatula towards Casey to take the pancake off when it was ready… because she felt like the delay between him telling her it was ready and her getting it off might be enough for it to burn.
“It does make sense, I…” Well, she didn’t entirely understand that. She didn’t have that. She didn’t love any of her family, aside from the mom who didn’t want her. That didn’t mean she didn’t want it and she wasn’t a bit jealous that he had a somewhat positive relationship with his siblings, dysfunctional as the whole situation may be.
“I was worried that you’d… cut them off. I wouldn’t want that, because I do like Mia- and Hari, and especially Ed. I don’t like Leon, but I know that he does care for you. I know you wouldn’t want to, but in case you thought you had to for… me…” She was trying her best to be honest, to explain her reasoning behind the question rather than accepting his answer and leaving it at that.
“But I wouldn’t want Lynette around any children we had. I wouldn’t want to expose them to that.”Casey heard what Trisha was saying. He heard well enough that he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand at attention. It was hard to imagine Lynette being around another year, never mind being around when they had their children. It wasn’t going to end well, this little fracture that was building. It was becoming a fissure quickly, and he had no intention of stopping it. Every single oath he swore to would be broken.
He had no question that things would go belly up. The face of his mother was in his mind as he stared at the slowly changing gradient in the thermal image of the pancake. Like a sunset on something that he thought was beautiful in a way.
Then the pancake started to burn. He could smell it, and hadn’t noticed the sunset growing incandescent. His hand swept down, snagging a plate off the island and bringing it over to quickly flop the pancake onto. It wasn’t
awful. Not like the nightmare Trisha had experienced. Just a little darker than Casey preferred on a pancake.
”Ahhh… Don’t worry. It’s not bad. Look, the other side is perfect too…”Clearing his throat, he gave a bit of a flat-lipped frown, then flipped the pancake over on the plate.
”I’m… I’m sorry Honey. I was just caught in a thought, I stopped paying attention for a second. Here, let’s load it up again and we’ll make you a better one…” he said, sounding a bit dejected over letting it burn after telling her it wouldn’t.
”But, I don’t think you’ll need to worry about Lynette around our kids. So, don’t even consider it. I promise.” It was only out of sheer love for Casey that Trisha was able to suppress the gleeful smile threatening to pull up her lips, and the dig of ‘see it’s not so easy, is it?’ She knew it wasn’t the right thing to say. It wasn’t the nice thing to say, and it could be hard to take as a joke… it might even start a fight. She was comfortable and happy enough to suppress that side of her.
“Alright, I believe you,” she said simply. Her gaze moved to the pancake- that really wasn’t that bad- then back up to meet his eyes. She reached out to take the plate.
“This is fine- it’s just a bit crispy. I’m happy to eat it! The next one should be for you, it’s not fair if I have two before you even have one. This is really fine.” She brought the pancake to her lips, taking a bit to demonstrate.
She immediately regretted it- not because of the slightly burnt bit, because it was still
really hot.
“Fuck, is hot,” she mumbled through it, tilting her head back and waving a hand in front of her eyes to stop the reflexive tears from the slight burn to her tongue.
Casey’s face twisted into a sympathetic frown.
”Ohhhh, dude! Of course it’s hot, why would… It’s… There’s fruit in there! It gets super fucking hot and turns into jelly!”Rather than start a new pancake, he pushed past Trisha and went into the freezer for an ice cube. Bringing it back to her, he kissed her forehead and held the cube up.
”Open up… It’s better to ice it right now, it’ll help.” he said gently and empathetically.
“I didn’t think- It’s not that bad…” Trisha grimaced as she swallowed the burning piece of pancake - she’d gotten a bit of raspberry, but managed to avoid the blueberries that looked ready to explode with scalding juice.
Even though she protested, she still parted her lips and took the ice cube directly from Casey’s fingers. Her lips immediately pursed, nose scrunching up as if she had eaten a lemon rather than frozen water. It was
really cold and the contrast to the too hot pancake just made it worse.
“M’shry,” she mumbled around the ice cube, still making a sour expression over its coldness - and frustrated she couldn’t really speak with it in her mouth. She’d just been trying to prove the pancake was fine, not make him worry…
Casey had stayed to watch her as she dealt with the ice cube in her mouth against the burn. His hands migrated to her cheeks, holding her face in his hands and gently rubbing with his thumb. As she mumbled, he pulled himself closely to give her a kiss on the lips. When he pulled away, he pointed at the sink.
”Go ahead, spit it out… It’s okay, Babe! Just, now you’re gonna have a burn on your tongue.” he giggled
”It’s gonna suck next time you eat something.”Satisfied that she was okay, he pulled away fully and took the mix he made for himself into his hands. He got the peanut butter ready, then poured a layer.
”I’m gonna have to do it now too, y’know?” he giggled.
“Wha?” Trisha still had the ice cube in her mouth as she shuffled over to the sink. She shot him a look of confusion, before leaning over and spitting the cube into the sink.
“Do what? Burn your tongue on a pancake? That’s stupid-”She paused, moving back over to him with a teasingly smug smile. She stopped right in front of him, hands clasped behind her back as she leaned forward slightly.
“If it’s cause you want me to kiss it better you can just ask.”
The Lady of the Bay
There were no more
incidents with the pancake making. Instead it was just time- and food- enjoyed. Then, getting ready. It was actually quite easy for Trisha to pick the outfits: she knew from the start what she wanted Casey to wear, and it narrowed down her options trying to match with him.
It didn’t mean she took any less time getting ready. Makeup, hair, packing… it was all a lengthy process for her, including a bit of acting (unnecessarily) cute so Casey agreed to carry her heavier overnight items.
She was practically giddy with excitement over the date. Just spending the whole day
and night out together was enough for her.
“So… where exactly are we going?” Trisha asked as she got out of the car at their destination- the Bay, it seemed. A beach picnic? A boat ride? An unknown (to her) restaurant on the seafront?
She shoved her hands into her long navy wool jacket. It was left open to reveal what she was wearing underneath- the outfit she’d put so much thought into. A green knitted sweater with darker green and blue thick stripes tucked into a grey denim miniskirt at her waist. She’d worn thick, dark tights and more practical boots. Her hair had been pulled back into twin dutch braids over the top of her head, intertwined together into a braid bun at her nape. There were subtle hints of greens in her eyeshadow to match, while the rest was left reasonably natural with her lips done with a muted rosy brown lipstick.
The entire ensemble matched with what she’d chosen for Casey. The green floral shirt she’d picked out for him yesterday over a white undershirt, matched with the fabled grey jeans he’d learned of the very same day. She’d left jacket choice up to him- with the caveat that it couldn’t be a hoodie.
They looked nice together. Perfectly matching. She really liked it… Unable to hold back a warm, cute smile as she looked at him.
“We’re not going fishing, are we?” It was a joke, of course- not that she’d actually mind… she’d do almost anything with him.
Casey laughed heartily at Trisha's inquiry, thinking about the last time he'd gone fishing… He hadn't. Fishing happened around him, sure, but he couldn't remember a point in time where he'd picked up a rod himself. Having also grabbed his wool peacoat (a pillaged naval coat he snagged from a carrier's laundry room), they looked more like two twins whose parents wanted them to dress like that. Though, he couldn't complain. He told her to match them, and if she thought it was cute then he was satisfied with that. Besides, they were both incredibly warm. Practically immune to the gusts of wind blowing in off the sea.
In the short distance, the loading docks for the Royal Touring Company were devoid of people and boats. However, there was a smaller crowd gathering around the loading plank for the ship he presumed was their booking. It looked like some families, a few more couples; but the Catamaran style ferry was so big that he questioned how it could operate without losing money.
With one arm locked into hers, the other holding onto both of their overnight bags, Casey couldn't really direct Trisha's attention… He couldn't point up at the ship, so he did his best to nod outward toward it.
”No, Babe… No fishing on the ferry, I'm pretty sure. Even if this is a cruising ferry, I think they'd get mad at us.”He giggled, leaning down and planting a kiss on her head.
”I think this one's called like, Lady of the Bay or something. It's a lunch cruise. Supposed to be like a three hour round trip, but we're getting off at one of the later stops and not getting back on.”As he said that, he bounced the bags in his outer hand around slightly, directing toward them.
”You did say that you didn't want me to tell you where we're going, so whatever island we end up on is gonna stay a mystery.”Trisha smiled warmly up at him, before looking over towards the docks. Even without him gesturing to it, it was easy to figure out where they were going. There was only one ship docked after all… and she was glad it was a ferry, as much as she joked about fishing. The thought of being on a small boat, when she couldn't swim, made her nervous. But thankfully that wasn't the case!
“Now I'm going to spend the whole journey trying to figure out what island we're going to," Trisha joked. There was only a small selection… and she'd only ever been to Cracker and Elysium (sadly). So it was exciting that they might end up on a different one.
As they made their way towards the small crowd there was a slight bounce in her step. A lunch cruise and then an overnight on one of the island stops… It was more than she expected. Not that she didn't expect Casey to put in so much effort after everything he'd already done for her, but she would've been delighted with just the meal. She could count the number of proper dates like that she'd had on her hands.
“So long as it isn't one of the abandoned islands, and we're camping without a tent… I'll be happy wherever we end up. It'll be a good surprise." She looked up at him with an expression full of joy, eyes slightly creased and smile wide - and the date hadn't even properly started yet. Though as they got closer to the ferry she pressed a bit closer to him. The risk of falling in while boarding was slim to nonexistent, but just in case…
“With this amount of people they could probably spread everyone out enough it'd feel like you'd booked the whole boat," Trisha commented quietly.
“A private luxury lunch without having to pay for it… I bet they'll put everyone close together, but I'm still glad it'll be quiet."Casey was lost in his thorough excitement about a more summer-oriented camping trip. He wasn’t the biggest fan of camping, but he knew a surefire way to make it as easy and luxurious as possible for both of them. Of course, if things didn’t boil over, he could probably…
”Wait… Why would they cram everyone together if there’s so much room? That’d be silly: We’ll ask if we can find somewhere a little more private if that ends up happening.” he finally responded, now locked in a battle of logic.
Of course, there was no real reason besides being able to keep an eye on everyone easily… But they were paying guests? He supposed no matter what, there was a chance that people would cause trouble despite dropping half a Krugerrand for a luxury lunch cruise.But some couples had their kids? He didn’t mind little ones, but this wasn’t exactly the place he expected to see them.
Casey could only assume that most of the people here weren’t actually here for lunch… Just using it as a tourist-y ferry.
The Lady of the Bay was bedecked with a red belly devoid of any markings, and as it climbed up out of the water, the red seemed to fade into a cool grey that almost swirled into itself… Like the break of the ocean fading as it was sucked back out to sea leaving only the sand beneath it. Lights were strung around the open-air deck, and there was plenty of seating for hundreds of people who just weren’t here.
”I did pay for it, by the way… The lunch thing isn’t the standard ticket; which reminds me!-”Casey squeezed Trisha’s hand a couple times before letting it go.
”-I gotta get our tickets ready. They’re in my email, I’m pretty sure.” he giggled.
”But, also… Maybe we can go camping at some point soon. If we use a little magic, I bet you any amount of money that we could have the nicest little camping trip no matter the weather.” he laughed, shrugging his shoulders as his phone slid from his pocket.
”Would you be down?”Trisha tilted her head, thinking about it for a moment. From a comfort perspective the idea of camping had never appealed to her. But then she’d always been jealous of the kids at school who got taken camping by their parents. It always seemed like more effort, and closer. You couldn’t just abandon your child in a hotel room to attend an academic conference when staying in a tent together…
“If it's with you, yeah, definitely,” she nodded after a little bit of thought. She knew she could enjoy it with him. She could probably enjoy anything with him.
“I honestly don’t really know what camping involves… beyond sleeping in a tent. I’ve only ever seen it in films and a bunch of them were horror films- which I wouldn’t want to experience. But I’d like to with you- go camping, not experience horror films. I want to try new things with you.”He smiled and nodded. Her expression of desire to just
be with him made a well of warmth bubble up inside his chest as his finger fumbled on the screen of his phone.
”Oh, yeah. We’ll do our best to avoid the horror part. Though, I’m… Kind of happy? This is the first nights sleep I’ll get in like several months where the possibility of a fucking evil cat crawling into my brain doesn’t exist. Nooooo cats. Well, I’m certain there are some if there’s mice. Or, like, people living there. But, not our cats.” he giggled.
Finally, he found the email with the ferry company’s name and pulled it open. There was a file that downloaded, and he sighed.
”Why, why… Why download? Just open it and show me my tickets…-”Grumbling, he then tried to open the file and was greeted with a prompt asking him to download a PDF viewer because the phone couldn’t read the file.
”-You’re shitting me. God, I would huck this thing into the water if it didn’t have our tickets on it. I knew I should’ve printed them in the office…”Stopping wholesale, he had to stare at the phone before frowning.
”Uh, Trisha? I… I know what a PDF is but like… Do you know which reader I should download? Does it matter?”He held his phone up so she could see the screen. He was scrolling through the app store, clearly stuck in the mire of PDF viewing software.
Trisha wasn’t quite able to stifle her laugh. She wasn’t laughing
at him, exactly, she just found it… endearing. Surprisingly cute.
“It doesn’t matter- here.” Trisha slipped her index finger under his eternally scrolling finger, gently pushing it away from the phone screen. She scrolled right back up to the top and hit install on the second one in the list- which was the standard. It started to install slowly.
“It all does the same stuff- just download one of the top ones if it's for something simple like this. You can always forward the email to me too if it's easier.”He shook his head, laughing and smiling.
”It’d be just as much effort. Uhhh… Thank you. Honestly, you could tell me it’s simple and stuff but I honestly wouldn’t know one way or another what is and isn’t simple. It’s all Martian to me.”His attention returned to the little bar that told him what the progress of the download was, staring intently until it was done and opened up an application. Instantly, there was a bevy of confirmation notifications and other crap which he was able to ignore pretty safely. Then it was showing him his phone, and the files accessible by the app, of which there was way more than one.
”Wait, what the fuck are all these?”His furrowed brow became one of humor.
”Oh, my God… They’re all the same menu... I must’ve-” he paused for a moment, trying to think of what the Hell allowed this to happen. A slow smile cracked his frown open, however.
”-Oh… Right. Last time I got hammered by myself. I was trying to see the menu for this Chinese food place but it kept just kicking me out of the explorer and not showing me a menu. I was getting pissed, so I just ended up calling them and asking what they had.”He laughed gently, scrolling through the hundred or so instances of this identical menu until he found a file that wasn’t the same. Opening it, he found a couple of QR codes embedded within, and the writing around them confirmed them as tickets from the Royal Ferry Company. They were specifically marked “F&A”, which he extrapolated as Food and Accommodations… Though, he wasn’t sure what kind of accommodations they meant. Maybe it was just the service?
”Aaaaalright, there they are! Fuck yeah Babe- I’d high-five you but I ‘got no free hands, so…”His face pressed forward and planted a soft and sweet kiss on her lips. Pulling away, he hooked his arm again while sleeping the screen on his phone.
”Your escort is available once more, my Sweet.” he smiled coyly.
There was a hint of redness on Trisha’s cheeks as she smiled warmly up at him. So smooth… she certainly preferred the kiss to a high-five.
“I’m happy to have my super handsome escort back from his technology adventures,” she giggled, leaning into him for a moment. It was nice to be able to help him with something, even if it was just simple phone use… Something she’d keep having to help with, it seemed. Not that that was a problem. But it wasn’t important right now…
“Lead the way, dear,” she said with a little put on accent like they were in an old black and white film.
Casey smiled widely, especially thrilled that she seemed happy. His glove was stuffed deep in his coat pocket, so reading her exact emotions was out of the question… But there was a bubbly feeling between them that wasn’t natural. Almost like static. He was compelled to keep her just a little closer, causing a strengthening in the sensation… Maybe it was him? Regardless, they spent the next few minutes in line waiting for the boat to load. One PM sharp, and the crew members pulled the little rope to the side to allow everyone on board. Tickets were scanned, scanned again, and people were directed one way or another as they reached the top of the gangway.
For Casey and Trisha, there was a moment where the woman scanning seemed to have trouble with their tickets. A little anxiety before she ultimately asked to look at Casey’s phone directly. Looking at the tickets, she gave up an epiphanic nod and fiddled with her machine slightly before scanning again. The confirming
beep washed the anxiety away, and the two were allowed to pass up and onto the ship. While most people were directed left, the two of them were asked to head to the right.
Not too far away, they were met by an attendant who opened the door for them to enter the dining area of the ship. It was like a small restaurant absolutely cut off from the rest of the boat; though Casey immediately saw the removable wall which he assumed separated them from the main rider area. It seemed like, just like at home in Leon’s place, there was a potential reason why they’d need the bigger space at points. But for now, the dining area was almost entirely theirs alone. One other couple sat in a far booth, but the attendant guiding them along intentionally brought them further away without Casey or Trisha having to prompt them. It didn’t look incredibly fancy, but it was absolutely chic and stylish. The booth seats seemed to have the same coloring as the ship, with the red fading into grey and a crown at the upper middle of each backrest.
In addition, there were little hooks that let them hang their coats up, and the attendant also showed them a drawer under their booth seats that comfortably fit their luggage so they could keep it there.
Pointing things out to them, the attendant let the duo know that they were permitted in the main cabin as well, but that there was a more private and intimate observation deck above them if they desired to roam. They handed the two a key for their foot lockers, and let them know there’d be just under an hour before lunch would actually be available. Menus were placed on the table, as well as a couple slips of paper that the two of them could mark their orders down on.
“In case neither of you are around but we come to collect orders, you can just fill these out and leave them! There’ll be an announcement when the food is going to be delivered to tables as well, so you don’t need to worry about anything. Can I get you two anything to drink for now? Wine, we have beers on tap, soft drinks-” she offered, letting her statement hang in expectation.
Casey looked at Trisha and shrugged.
”You want something good? Or, you wanna wait?” he asked her flatly.
Trisha wasn’t sure what Casey meant by ‘something good.’ Alcohol? If he meant alcohol, then she definitely wanted to wait- as much as she liked beer, she could barely handle more than one with a meal.
“Just a sprite, or whatever you have like that?” she responded almost questioningly. She glanced back up at Casey, voice getting a bit quieter.
“Not sure which that counts as.”Casey gave a gentle laugh, being sure to not condescend.
”Just alcohol, y’know? Uh-”He looked back at the attendant.
”I’ll take a beer, why not? You have Last Round?” he asked.
“Yep! Draft or bottle?”
”Bottle, please! Thank you so much.”“Of course! A lemon-lime, and a bottle of Last Round! Are you guys planning on heading upstairs right now? Or should I bring them back here?”
”I’m sure we can wait here! Trisha?”“We’ll wait,” Trisha nodded, leaning slightly towards Casey. It wasn’t like what they could see from upstairs- loads of water- was going to go anywhere if they waited for a few minutes.
“Thanks.”“Of course! You two get comfy then, and if there’s
anything you need, there’s a button!”
She pointed it out on the side of the table, smiled, and bowed slightly before stepping away toward the other couple on the other side of the hall. Alone once more, Casey had slipped his coat off and hung it on the side of the booth. He stretched slightly, taking a deep breath.
”You wanna sit? We can probably walk around if you want. Up to you.”Trisha didn’t immediately take her coat off. Her hands slipped into her pockets, urging the few bees in them to crawl up her arms and under her sweater. She hadn’t brought that many with her but bringing none basically wasn’t an option, unless she wanted randomly timed visits. This way was easier… once she was sure there were no more bees in it she also took it off and hung it up.
“Let’s sit for a bit. I want to look at the menu first… And I don’t know what you have planned on whatever island we’re going to, but I assume it involves walking?” She slipped into the booth, squishing right up and patting the seat next to her to indicate she wanted him to sit there just now. At the same time she pulled one of the menus closer to her.
“This is really nice… and quiet. It feels like it’s just us which is exactly how I like it. I didn’t know St Portwell had something like this- how did you know about it?” She smiled at him as she asked, genuinely curious.
Casey was stuck for a moment as he tried to figure out what to tell her that wasn’t “I was scouting the internet for shit to do near Elysium Island.” But, he figured he didn’t have to lie, even though he knew she may take it poorly… No lies. Not unless it’d hurt her directly. Embarrassedly, he scratched his head and sighed.
”I was looking at Elysium, honestly… And then I saw that this company does Bay tours. When I read more about it and saw the different offerings they had, I knew it would be perfect. Just a nice relaxing cruise.” he did his best to explain without
focusing on Elysium. Like she’d just accept it and brush it under the rug.
“Oh." Trisha didn't say anything else for a moment, leaving him in limbo as she stared at the menu without reading it. Internally she was fighting down the reactive annoyance. She didn't want to snap because he
had planned this whole date, and the lunch cruise was a really nice idea. It was just difficult to stop herself latching onto the idea that the focus was Elysium, and Sycamore, rather than her. But he was with her. They were still on a date… it was just part of his job.
“You’re not going to run off in the middle, are you? The surprise end island isn't there?" It was still pretty hard to tell how she was reacting when she finally spoke again, even though from Trisha's point of view the fact she wasn't getting upset was a good reaction.
Casey’s fingers tapped away on the table as he watched her go over the menu. He wasn’t going to mention how much she reminded him of Lynette in that moment. The measured reaction, the unclear intention behind the questions… He wasn’t sure at all if she was pissed or just nervous, and worse was that there was no chance for him to check: His glove was in his coat. Wildcasting would only make it obvious that he was doing just that, so he had to play it cool as possible.
”Only if I got a signal from Leon that they need the Temple’s help. Even then, there’s no chance I’d be needed. I set the Mariners up on the west end of the bay, so if there were any problems, they would probably get there first. But, no… We’re not going to Elysium Island. Today isn’t about that: It just happened to be the prompt for me to plan something nicer than getting sloppy at a bar or taking you to a shooting range. I’m sure neither of those are ideal dates for you, right?” he asked calmly, doing his best to stay level and not just breaking down apologetically in the hopes that she wouldn’t start screaming at him or something.
Trisha visibly relaxed as Casey talked. As she did her hands slowly moved towards his. So it wasn't really about Elysium. At least, he shouldn't need to respond. That was fine then. The date location, which was very nice, hadn't been chosen solely for closeness to a potential fight. He was right that she preferred something like this but…
“My ideal date is anywhere with you," she responded quietly, finally looking up from the menu and at him. Her expression was still quite blank as she forced herself through the last bits of annoyance, but her gaze was soft and her lips slowly starting to pull back up towards a smile.
“I like something like this because you're putting in the effort… for me… so I was worried maybe it… wasn't…" she trailed off in barely a whisper.
There was a gut reaction to kill the anxiety with humor. The comment left his lips before they even had the chance to curl upward into a smirk.
”So, then… We can go to Elysium and it’ll still be okay?”Obviously, or at least obviously to him, this was a joke. But also he almost instantly felt like it wasn’t the right joke to make.
While it wasn’t obvious to Trisha whether it was a joke or not, it was pretty clear she didn’t take it too well. This time there was no measured reaction, just a sullen pout and her whole face screwing up a bit. While she didn’t look
pissed off she was certainly sulking in response.
“No. The only other thing that happens there are sex parties. I thought you weren’t interested in that kind of thing.”He could feel her deflate. Casey didn’t need White Lux to know that she was definitely not happy now, and all he could do was frown in an empathetic response.
”I’m sorry… That was a bad joke, it played with your emotions and that’s not what I should’ve said. I promise you it was just a joke, and-”A memory crossed his mind. The night of his Ascendency Ceremony, when Mia was having a particularly hard time. They were at Le Tournesol…
I guess you can sit between us.Jesus Christ… His hand slipped up to his face, clutching his mouth before his face was consumed by a frown.
”-and… God, I’m… Such an idiot. Please, I’m really fucking sorry, I don’t want our day to be like that. I shouldn’t be like that to you…” His voice was wavering slightly, like he was actually going to get emotional over it. He was, but not because he was apologetic. Rather, it was the reason
for him being apologetic.
The association with the action. The smirk on Lynette’s face as the worst possible dig came out of her mouth. Like she knew exactly what button to push.
“I didn’t realise it was a joke,” Trisha’s head shook just slightly - barely enough to look like a purposeful action. She probably should’ve realised. She’d been told she was too sensitive plenty of times before… Cass teased her about it all the time. So maybe that was on her- no, it had been a bad joke. He was apologising for it.
“It was a bad joke but it’s alright, you’ve said you’re sorry so- so it’s fine, I’m not upset anymore.”That wasn’t quite true- not that she was lying, it was hard to stay upset with him when he was apologising that much. There were just memories there for her too, from the last couple of years. A bad period in her life. A much worse boyfriend or two. Somehow even worse times without them.
“Even without everything with Sycamore that place sucks,” she opened up a little bit. Mostly because she didn’t want him to start thinking she was overly sensitive, even if he’d been the one who started apologising…
”I’m positive it sucks. I wouldn’t want to go there, and the only joy I would find is burning whatever buildings are there to the ground.”And maybe killing a bunch of her Elite contemporaries… But just like she didn’t want him to think she was oversensitive, he didn’t want her thinking he was a murderous psychopath. He had no gripes over building relationships or anything that came with psychopathy, so… His Doctor had cleared him, after all…
His hands stretched out.
”I was just thinking about the other night at Le Tournesol. When Mom upset Mia, she… She had this fucking smirk. Like this evil little grin, and it was so fucking soft I had to use my White Lux to even see it. But, I feel like… She got pleasure out of it. Out of like… Taking what her daughter’s problem was and throwing it back into her face. It was a very Lynette coded joke. It just came out of my mouth so naturally that when I gave it a thought I felt sick.” he explained.
He hoped she understood, and waited for her to take his hand so that they could both seek and find comfort in one another.
”That’s not ever what I want for you. I don’t ever wanna be that person in your life who does shit like that to you. Do you understand me?” he seemed a bit more serious now that he was trying to make a point. Not so sad. Convicted in how he felt, because he knew exactly what’d happened. All he could do was be honest with her in turn.
Trisha automatically reached out for him, her fingers threading through his and curling round the back of his hand. She understood where all the apologising came from now, though she didn’t quite know what the seriousness was here. It didn’t really seem like a risk to her. It wasn’t like she’d put up- oh, she probably would. She just didn’t expect him to end up like that.
“I understand. I don’t want you to- and I know you won’t. Doing something a little like your Mom doesn’t make you like her… I say things like mine too, and when I catch myself doing it I always get upset too.” Not that it was all that often, she hadn’t exactly spent enough time with her parents for that…
“I won’t let you be anything like that for me, anyway… and you’ve been the opposite. You really have been.” Her voice got a little quieter. It was as much comforting him as it was herself. Because she knew he meant everything he said and he wasn’t like the people she’d been with who weren’t immediate obvious problems and became them later…
Like perfect timing existed, the attendant came back with their drinks and a simple smile.
“Anything else I can get you guys for now? We’re gonna be pulling away here in a few minutes. We don’t have any pickups scheduled for our first two stops, so those should be quick as well. We’ll have some nice leisurely time out in open water.”
Casey was still very much involved in just looking at Trisha and being a little emotional, so when he turned to look at the woman in front of them, he did so with wide, sad eyes.
”We’re here for it… I think we’re okay for now.” he nodded, looking at Trisha.
“What he said,” Trisha said very simply.
Accepting their assurances, the woman sauntered away to continue her other duties, leaving the star-crossed lovers alone once more.
”I love you… It’s hard not feeling like you’re constantly on the edge of becoming someone you know you aren’t. I spent so much time away, and now they’re back in my life and it’s like… I don’t know. Sometimes I wish she’d just disowned me. But, then… I would have a whole separate set of problems, wouldn’t I?” he frowned, shaking his head.
”All we can do is try for one another. Thank you for reassuring me, even if I was the one who told the bad joke.” he expressed, soft eyes looking up at her from a slightly slumped head and face.
“Well I also… love you… so I don’t like seeing you sad.” She shrugged slightly, lips pulling up into a slight smile. Her grip on his hands was a bit tighter- she’d squeezed when he mentioned wishing he was disowned, and hadn’t quite loosened up yet. She was trying not to dwell on it… It wasn’t like her mom had properly disowned her. And she understood, because his mom was much more manipulative than hers. Even if he’d said the other day that her mom was worse… she didn’t really think that was the case, because it wasn’t like she manipulated Trisha or anything. She’d never
ever wished to be disowned.
“We chose each other… That’s what matters. I want to try for you.” She pulled herself out of the thoughts about their moms, trying to focus back on them.
“At least we both have family problems? Imagine if only one of us knew how to deal with it… or maybe that makes it worse, and it’d be easier if one of us had a normal family…”Casey vaguely shrugged, his face turning back up to look at her fully.
”Fuck ‘em, y’know? We’ll make it through together. You’re right. We’re choosing one another every day. I never wanna choose anything else, Trisha. So, I’m happy to be here with you, on this boat or in the middle of the woods, in the depths of the Pit… I still wanna choose you.”His thumb crossed the back of her hand in a gentle, tender and loving stroke. His smile opened again, and looking at her in this moment was all he really wanted. All he could ask for. Why think about hurting people? Why think about
being hurt?
He picked one of her hands up, kissing it gently and squeezing to reassure her before letting it go.
”Detour over. No Elysium, no Sycamore, no Mom and Dad bullshit, right? Us, and a romantic (hopefully fun) night!”
The Lady of the Bay > Misty Island
The rest of the time before they docked at the chosen island was peaceful. Thanks to an announcement as the boat pulled in this location was finally revealed to Trisha. Misty Island… She didn’t know very much about it. In her mind that was a good thing. A new place meant no memories except the ones she made with Casey.
It had already been one of the nicest dates she’d been on. A nice meal, good company, interesting location… It was quiet enough that she could fully relax and just be herself like she often only was at home. The views were nice too, even to someone a bit bored of sea views thanks to growing up in the city. More than anything the fact that Casey had found and booked it for them made her very happy.
And it wasn’t even over yet.
“What’s the plan, then?” Trisha asked as they made their way out of the dining area, and towards the loading plank to get off the ship. She’d taken his hand as soon as they were both up with their coats on, while walking close enough to him that their hands almost got in the way.
“Are we leaving our bags at the place we’re staying first, or just bringing them around with us?” It wasn’t like she was even carrying them, a thought that made her giggle a little bit, but she just… liked vaguely knowing what was going on even with the whole trying to keep it a surprise thing.
Looking around the place gave Casey the same feeling as he had looking at the pictures. He’d never bothered coming out here either, the one chance he had more or less ruined by Junior. He could only giggle thinking about all those years ago. How it was so innocent now, but torturous back then.
The island wasn’t big enough for cars, but there seemed to be a booming bike rental place offering segues, electric scooters, and obviously bikes themselves for renting. There was also a map, which very clearly showed which side of the island they were on. The resort was a short distance up the western side, with these little islands not being more than half a square mile in total area.
He looked at the bikes and things, then down at his luggage. His eyes narrowed at the clear-cut tourist trap, and he took a deep breath.
”Uhh… I think it’s best if we head over to check in. Just so our stuff is safe, and we’re not lugging it around. Since, y’know… Someone’s got a sense of humor.” he grimaced.
Outstretching his free hand, Casey waited for Trisha to take it before extrapolating.
”I mean… I’m sure not everyone is coming to sleep here, but… Don’t you think it's a little funny that they don’t rent anything that can hold a bag? Not anything substantial at least, like…”He rattled his overnight bag. It wasn’t bigger than a backpack.
”Like, there’s no golf carts? Or even-”He was completely gobsmacked by a woman pedalling by with a little trailer hitched to the peg slots of the bike’s rear wheel.
”-Oh, no shit! They fuckin’ make those? A bike trailer?” he laughed aloud.
“Yeah, have you never seen one? You know they make ones that you can put kids in too?” Trisha looked up at Casey with raised eyebrows and a small laugh. It wasn’t exactly some amazing technology… though she guessed people just tended to drive around St Portwell.
“It doesn’t really matter if it can hold a bag because I… don’t… know how to ride a bike…”Casey didn’t skip a beat, his eyes still locked onto the bike and the little trailer behind it as it peddled into the distance.
”Well do you want to fix that? Or are we gonna save it for another day?” he asked casually, never implying that it was okay and that she didn’t have to.
He didn’t know a world without riding a bike. His first freedoms had been on two wheels; down to the corner store with Leon and some of the other Temple kids who lived in the apartment complex.
“Maybe, but… It’ll be embarrassing if I fall,” Trisha furrowed her brows a bit. Wasn’t she too old to learn anyway? But if she didn’t then they’d have to walk, because she didn’t particularly want to go on what looked like less stable electric transportation… She gestured towards one of the paths that seemed to go along the edge, not particularly far away from the sea where the tide was right against the short cliffs.
“Is it even fixable?- What if I fall there and then end up in the water? Would you save me from drowning?” Suddenly she was catastrophizing.
Casey couldn’t help laughing. As she asked if he would save her from drowning, he nearly crumpled, his torso bending at an angle as he let her hand go to grab both his knees. Suppressing a laugh this big hurt deep in his chest, but he didn’t want her to think that things were hopeless. He had a tear and a smile as he managed to return to an upright position, groaning slightly as he wiped it away.
”Babe!? Why on Earth wouldn’t I save you from-”And then he was struck by something profound.
”-Why… Why would you drown? Don’t tell me you avoided bikes and the pool as a kid…”“Avoid makes it sound like it was on purpose,” Trisha grumbled, cheeks heating up a bit. It wasn’t her fault she couldn’t ride a bike or swim… though she’d gotten herself into this situation by even mentioning drowning, but it was a genuine concern!
”I’ve been in a pool… just it was with school and most of the other kids could already swim at least a bit. They just dumped the few of us that couldn’t in the shallow end and then when I… threw a tantrum over it… they let me out of it. They were probably scared dad would do something if they didn’t. I didn’t bother learning later cause it’s not like I normally do risky things like riding a bike for the first time next to the ocean.””Oh, Babe… My Trisha Bee…”Empathetically, Casey let his bag touch the ground gently before embracing her tightly.
”I didn’t mean avoid like that… It’s just not something I’ve really considered. A life without bikes and swimming and all that physical shit wouldn’t be the same to me. I guess it makes it more important in my eyes than it is.” he said softly, planting a kiss on the top of her head.
”If you don’t want to walk, we can go inside here and see about a tandem bike or something, so you don’t need to do anything. Or we can walk… I’m not trying to pressure you into anything on a nice day like this.” he smiled down at her now, pulling away slightly.
”But, I would save you. And I would love to teach you, because it’s really not that hard. You use the exercise bike ever?” he asked.
“Maybe it’s not hard if you learn as a kid,” Trisha let out a light huff, but she wasn’t actually upset or anything- just complaining. She tilted her head up to smile at him. As much as it sucked to not know how to do the things most kids were taught by their parents… it was fine because he was willing to teach her. He wasn’t even judging her for it. Not that she should be judged for something that wasn’t her fault.
“I used it once or twice… I normally go jogging rather than going to the gym.”She looked to the side as she tried to decide what to do. She wasn’t sure. The idea of finally learning was nice, but… she leaned away from Casey slightly to look around, before also looking at the map. It didn’t actually look like a bike was necessary…
“Let’s just walk today. It’s not like we have anywhere specific to be once we’ve dropped off our bags, right? You can teach me another time… I’d like to learn, but maybe learning swimming is more important? Then I won’t have to deal with Tansy inviting me on yacht trips before rescinding it because I ‘might fall in and tragically drown.’ Not that I ever want to go, but I won’t have to look at her smug face.”With only the smile on his face to tell her how he felt, Casey simply opened the hook of his arm for her to hold onto. When she got close enough, he pulled her into a tight little hug before letting her relax into position. Since they were both only expecting an overnight, the relatively light loads were only cumbersome in the context of being out and about.
Having to drag them through the relatively small shop fronts here on Misty Island would probably wind up disruptive. But here in the open, it was just another walk.
One with his favorite person, of course.
As they began their trek, the road pulled inland in a hairpin fashion, pulling itself up a short incline that flattened out at the top. Another hundred yards on, and they were about the small town. The first establishments were closed things; beach shops featuring ice creams and boogie boards, tourist requirements. Then probably the closest thing to a general store the island had, and it was relatively busy thanks to the eight hundred or so full time residents. From outside, they could see a few tables and a coffee machine, as well as the usual coolers and shelves for snacks and goods.
Casey could see the little Kino area clear as day, and practically heard the electric buzzing of the monitor showing the different numbers called. It was comfy, despite essentially being a Legalized gambling den…
Then there were more shops. Locals selling whatever they could. Most were specialty shops who only opened up during the tourist months, closing and bringing their stocks back to related shops on the mainland.
But it wasn't dead at all. Little places to eat had bread and fresh food scents wafting from their doors. In the short distance, the sound of carnival rides shaking and vibrating as people screamed out in joy and fear filled the background. From behind a string of buildings, one could see the crest of the sole roller coaster operated by the carnival.
Casey's eye was naturally drawn from it down toward one of the shops it towered over… A familiar word that elicited a guttural response from him.
In measured, unflashy text scrawled across the sign over the door, Casey read the word
Firearms. Trisha would be able to feel him tense up as little, like a kid seeing a toy they want. But he didn't say anything, nor did he try to tug her toward the shop… Calm. Calm.
Eventually, they made their way out of the little town center, and ahead on this loosely paved road, they could see a building bigger than all the others rising up to stare out into the sea. An eternal vigil of a retired guardian. The Hess Memorial Resort was once part of the network of forts protecting America's West coast until it was decommissioned just before the outbreak of the Great War. Since it was such a recent change, the facility itself was an extremely modern and comforting resort meant to capture the tourists in the summer and subsist in the winter.
The entry was only gated visually, and there were plenty of signs letting guests know they're welcomed and to simply push open any door that
seemed locked. Inside was fairly austere, simply due to the fact that at one point this place was a Naval facility. Great attempts had been made to make the entry feel incredibly welcoming, with false fireplaces surrounded by different lounge sets. Amidst it, there were all manner of potted plants that gave the space a natural feeling.
The check-in went fairly smoothly, and this would be the first instance that Trisha would get to hear some random civilian thank him for his service. The older man at the counter made something of a big deal of it, shaking Casey's hand enthusiastically before implying that he had also served long ago. Curious enough to be polite, the two men sat and had a quick conversation about MOS’ before they were handed their key and sent on their way.
There were several suites located throughout the resort, and theirs happened to be detached from the main facility. Casey booked it purposefully, in case they wound up needing the absolute peak of privacy.
As such, they wound up walking through the facility completely before coming out on the chilly coastline again. There were several pillbox structures dotting the hillside; converted turrets of massive naval guns. They were concrete cabins now, and while it wasn't clear on their rear approach, opening the door and looking in revealed massive window panes that replaced the old turret slits to let the glory of the frothy North-West Pacific shine into the bunker.
As a suite, there was an onsite toilet and pantry unit. The floors had been laid down with hardwood, and there were these odd lamps that radiated warmth like they were under the counter at a local fried chicken shop. Additionally, there was something cute that he'd specially requested: On the main table of the place, there was a surprisingly adorable bath-towel sculpture of what could only be described as a bee.
It was guarding a box of chocolate covered fruits, with a note that welcomed them to the resort, and gave them a number to call for any sort of concessions necessary.
While the view outside was relatively beautiful, he was incredibly excited to see this little touch he requested come to life. Not openly reacting to it, he waited for Trisha to take everything in as he slowly entered the suite.
Trisha was at loss for words upon stepping in. It was lovely. A nice view and a cozy atmosphere that she could imagine relaxing in later. It felt comfortable. Not too luxurious and cold, but nice enough it wasn’t lacking at all. It was separate too, so they didn’t have to worry about noisy neighbours in the case of poor soundproofing.
Then there was the
bee. She darted over to it as soon as she spotted it. It was… impressive. That was her first thought as she saw the way it had been put together. Her gaze moved to the chocolate covered fruits and notes, which she picked up and gave a quick read. Nothing too interesting… She very carefully picked up the bath-towel bee, making sure it didn’t unravel. She spun around to face Casey, holding it up with a warm smile that lit up her eyes.
“Did you ask for this? That’s so sweet… it’s almost as cute as my bees are, isn’t it?”Seeing that she was happy with it, Casey almost melted. He'd been putting their bags into the armoire for safe keeping, and turned to look at her fully.
”They did a great job… I never expected uh-”His hand came up to touch the bee, finger gently tugging against the, presumably, wire coat hanger wings.
”-y'know, they got the hardware out. Pretty impressive by my standard.”He laughed in a goofy fashion, leaning down and kissing Trisha's head.
”I'm happy you like it… I was worried you would maybe get put off by the fact that it was a fort. Or, y'know, that'd we'd be in a gun turret…” he admitted.
“It’s a nice gun turret,” Trisha retorted, putting the bee back down on the table. As she did some of her own spilled out of her sleeves, crawling onto the soft towels. Her bee free hands grabbed his.
“If it was just a grey, cold box with small metal beds or something like an army barracks then yeah, I’d be pretty put off. But this is nice.”She got close to him, smiling sweetly up at him.
“I’m not that fussy. I just need somewhere that feels a bit warm with a comfortable bed, and you. I guess the bed doesn’t even need to be that comfy, since I can just sleep on you. Should we test out the bed?” Her eyes squinted teasingly, smile turning playful before she laughed.
“To see if you have to be my mattress for the night… and if it’s firm enough to support your back.”Without a second thought, Casey scooped Trisha up from her currently standing position, jokingly slamming her back down into the bed with a gentle puff of air. His knee lifted up, and in an instant, he was next to her. Their hair made a collective spread beneath them as both were able to stare up at the ceiling. Casey’s hand found Trisha’s, and he slightly turned his head to look at her.
”Y’know, this is pretty comfy, but you should probably get closer just in case you need to adjust.” he grinned.
Trisha giggled, rolling onto her side and shuffling over to hug into him. It was nice, because it was like it didn’t matter where they were. Home, here, anywhere… it would be comfortable and safe if the two of them were together.
“Mm, it is, but it’s still not as comfy as you. Nothing else is the perfect combination of comfort, warm hugs, good looks and company. So as long as you actually stay in bed tonight… it’ll be good.” She spoke lightly, leaning forward to softly kiss his cheek.
“We shouldn’t have laid down… now I don’t want to get up,” she jokingly groaned, wriggling even closer.
Feeling exactly what she meant, Casey groaned and laughed a little bit.
”You can’t do this to us, Bee… If we lay here the whole time, when will I have the chance to win you a giant carnival stuffy?” he asked with a very sincere kind of concern in his voice.
“Oh, well then, I guess we have to get up.” Trisha said with exaggerated reluctance. Really, it was cute… she’d never had anyone win something like that for her before. Not that she’d gone to carnival’s often. Most of the time she’d spent at Oceanview Gardens was when it was closed because of a city wide disaster.
“We can start a carnival stuffy collection, put them in a corner in the den.”She pushed herself up onto one arm, seeming to be making a move. But instead of getting off the bed she flopped over on top of him. Her arms went to either side as if trapping him in… very ineffectively.
“You have to pay the toll first to get up,” she grinned down at him, before cutely pursing her lips.
”Oh, no…” Casey said in a very calm, almost joking voice. She had pinned him, yes, and then could feel his shoulders still lifting off the bed despite her best efforts. He didn’t do it fast, nor with a lot of force. It was the inexorable overwhelming torque that just couldn’t be stopped.
But he only pushed up enough to meet her face with his own, going in to plant a
very strong and passionate kind of kiss that he hadn’t really given previously. There was something in it that had more than love. Excitement, anticipation, and a desire for her to really
truly acknowledge that he was
the one.
The only one who could excite her, and make her happy and thrilled. His hands both gripped at her wrists, pulling them off him and around her back so she couldn’t do anything about it… And he continued to kiss her like that. It could’ve been a minute, it could’ve been an hour, but eventually he let her wrists go, pulling his lips away while their foreheads pressed against one another.
”How’s that for the toll?” he asked very quietly in what was a somewhat intentional sultry fashion.
“Mm… good…,” Trisha breathed out. Her face was flushed and half lidded eyes looked directly into his. A look filled with desire for him and to give herself to him. She hadn’t been kissed so passionately in a long time… No, it had never been like
that. There was never love and more, just lust. It was so much better. More thrilling. It made her mind go blank for just a moment.
“But unfortunately the toll just doubled.”She kissed him back just as passionately as he kissed her. It was a little messy, tinged with desperation and vulnerability. Like she didn’t ever want to be apart from him. She didn’t. If she died here in his arms, she’d be happy.
“I love you,” she whispered, lips still close enough to his that he’d feel her breath as she spoke. Her fingers dug into his shoulders and she was completely lying on him now.
“I think we should enjoy the bed a bit more before we go out…”Casey almost said yes… It was close. But he had to remain conscious of time, and budgeting it accordingly made him more or less flaccid. It wasn’t a lack of desire so much as a desire to do other things first. It wasn’t primarily on his agenda…
He gave her a soft smile, and while his hands grabbed tightly around her rump, it wasn’t carnal. It was just firmness, contact and a bit of shock.
”Christ… You’re like a roadman. You ask for the toll, see my fat sack of coins, then all of a sudden the toll doubles? Daylight robbery this girl…”He laughed, smacking her right cheek playfully.
”Come on, you’re getting blue balled. I know you’re gonna regret not getting your genuine jumbo monkey if we don’t go and have fun. Besides, there’s some shops I wanna see too…”He did kiss her again, this time more playfully, but he didn’t really
force her off of him.
”What color is it gonna be?” he grinned.
Trisha let out a light huff, pushing herself up with hands on his shoulders so she was sitting rather than lying on him. She looked down at him with a playful pout, but wasn’t actually upset by it. She did wriggle on top of him a little bit, hands pressing into his chest - petty, teasing revenge along with just feeling him there. Making sure to
not take it as a rejection. What she’d told him the day before was true- she was happy to wait as long as she was with him. Sure, she really wanted him right now, but it wasn’t like she had no self control.
“You’re lucky I’m patient enough to wait until tonight, and that I love you enough to not get upset,” she shot back playfully, with a smile that hopefully told him there wasn’t actually any pressure. She rolled off him and back onto the other side of the bed. As much as she didn’t want to, she needed to for just a moment. Otherwise she really might try to jump him…
“What colour is what gonna be? My nonexistent balls? You already answered that- oh, the jumbo monkey? Those come in different colours? Which ones- oh, well, obvious answer, green.” Trisha swung her legs round, standing up. She started fussing around with her wool sweater, untucking it from her skirt and tucking it back in so that it was up to her standards.
“Which shops do you want to see? More than just the gun one?” Of course she’d noticed his reaction at the time, she just hadn’t commented on it.
”Hey, wait, what do you mean wait until tonight? You’re gonna… You’re gonna wait until I’m all innocent and asleep to… Take advantage of me!?” he giggled, playfully covering himself up as if she was shaming him with her gaze.
”God, I’m such a piece of meat…”These were his favorite moments; little bits like that, where the two of them could pick on one another. Those were the best jokes in the barracks, and they were the best in his relationship too. Nobody was taking anything
too seriously.
”Uhhh… I didn’t see it? But there’s supposed to be this shop that sells things that smell nice. Expensive candles and perfumes and stuff like that. I figured maybe we could find stuff for ourselves, and for the bees… And then obviously, we’re gonna hit every ride and game, ‘cuz it’s November and it’s fucking cold out and there’s probably nobody there.”A shop full of nice smelling things… that did sound nice. But before she agreed with the plan, she had her honour to defend.
“You think I’d wait until you’re asleep? And what, do everything myself? What’s the point in having a big, strong boyfriend if I have to do all the work? And anyway-” She flicked a hand over her shoulder as if flicking her air… except it was in a braid bun at her nape, so it didn’t really have the same effect.
“-most people would love for me to take advantage of them.”She couldn’t keep up the jokingly haughty pose, pursed lips splitting with laughter. She really did feel comfortable around him… she didn’t feel the need to act like anyone but herself. Her actual self, as opposed to the one she put on just to please people or be what she thought they wanted.
“I do like the sound of that shop. Some fancy candles around the house would be nice.” She decided not to mention that she didn’t really wear perfume. Couldn’t. Even though the pheromones weren’t the same as normal smells, they could still be masked or messed up by it.
“... And every ride, even the big rollercoaster? Or maybe it’s not that big, I’ve never actually been on one. Is it better or worse than teleportation?”Casey’s brow furrowed.
”Like… As far as a ride?I guess it depends on the teleportation; someone like Clarissa is actually pretty smooth, but this guy in my old squad had this teleportation spell where it, like, dragged you in and spat you out. It was rough.”Casey shook a little bit remembering the sick sensation.
Still, he pulled himself up completely until he was standing with his coat again. He yawned just a little, looking back at the bed.
”Geeze… How can you expect a soldier to do all that on a bed? My back hits that thing, it’s cap time.”He pulled his hand up, just under her chin to lift her face and plant another kiss. He was just so happy to be in the moment, and the only way he could possibly express it was through affection toward her. With every fiber of his being, he wanted to grab ahold and squeeze her until she squeeked.
”I love you too, by the way… Don’t think I missed that.”Pulling away, he still had a grin and took a deep breath.
”Shops first, or carnival first?” he asked.
“Shops, so you don’t have to carry all the massive stuffies you’re going to win me around them,” Trisha answered without hesitation. She smiled warmly at him, gaze full of returned affection.
“I guess… shops, then rides, the carnival games? That makes the most sense… unless you plan to buy loads. What do you even do with bags when you go on rides? Maybe we should do the rides first…”Casey nodded, shrugging slightly.
”Thaaaat’s exactly what I was thinking. God forbid that gun shop has something nice in it, I don’t really want to be carrying something like that in a bag around a place where teenagers make up eighty percent of the workforce. No accountability there.”He looked around the room, pointing at the little fridge next to the stove unit. There were waters, and he grabbed a couple before snagging a chocolate strawberry from the box on the table. Shaking the second water playfully, he handed it to Trisha, and spoke with a mouth full of fruit.
”Ahh cahhy ih ihuf yuh wauh…”“Oh, you’d carry me everywhere? That’s so sweet, but I should use my legs,” Trisha teased as if she couldn’t tell exactly what he meant, taking the water bottle and shoving it in one of her coat pockets. They were deep enough to be practical, at least. She then held out her hands towards the towel bee.
“C’mon, ladies.” The twenty or so bees she’d brought with her buzzed up and onto her hands, neatly crawling into her sleeves.
“If you’re done stuffing your mouth with fruit, let’s go,” she smiled brightly at him, reaching out to take his hand. As much as she’d been the one trying to get them to stay in bed she
was pretty excited to go out and do things together. She’d requested a proper date, rather than what was… the normal for her. Though the lunch had already been a lot more than normal.
“Do you think the bees’ll be alright in my coat on the rides?” she asked as they made their way for the door.
“I could leave them behind, but it doesn’t really feel… right if I’m outside without at least a few.””They do just kind of crawl all over you, don’t they?” he asked, chuckling slightly.
”I’m sure they’ll be fine. They’re bees! At worst, they jump off you and meet you back at the bottom.”Making his way out to the door, he waited for Trisha to get close before opening it for her.
”After you, my sweet Lady.”As he spoke, he triple checked his pockets. Wallet, keys, knife, a new addition in the room’s keycard, and finally his concealed carry. Ready to go.
“Very kind of you, my Lord.” Trisha grinned, putting on an exaggerated posh English accent. A little bit of an imitation of Sal, a little bit of her dad…
The temperature drop going back outside was a bit of a shock, and she shivered for a moment, pulling her hands up into her sleeves. Little fuzzy bodies crawled onto them, vibrating to heat them up. She giggled a little bit, shooing them away from one hand to push it back out so she could reach for Casey’s. Rather than that, she found herself being scooped into a full trot, Casey swinging her legs up and off the ground as they made way for their destination.
Mixtape Ghost N
Zombiedude101
Atrophy
Estylwen
Blizz
AtomicEmperor
NoriWasHere
Silly
Snowdrops
BlazingBark
