Baby Steps Who: Marie and Rick When: Tuesday evening Where: Marie's place
Marie had made the plan for Rick to come by the apartment when Nora was at work so they could practice with his ability. She didn’t have a lot of heavy things for him to lift, but she supposed the furniture would do for now, at least to start. They could always move outside if they needed to.
After her conversation with Nora though she’d reconsidered some things and put a tiny bit of effort into her looks. It had required sneaking into Nora’s closet to steal a tank top to go with her jeans, then set to trying to read while she waited on him.
Rick was actually excited. He wanted to spend more time with Marie and the fact that she'd invited him over was actually really thrilling. Knocking on the door to their apartment, he rocked back on his heels a little and stuffed his hands into his hood pockets.
Marie jumped at the knock even if she’d been expecting it which meant she was a touch rattled when she opened the door. He was huge. She’d forgotten that part. So much taller than she was. And broader. “Um...hello.” Not the best answer, but it would have to do. She jumped back pulling the door open so he could come inside.
Rick smiled, looking down at her and beaming a grin her way. "Hey!" He said, waiting for the door to open before hesitantly stepping inside. "Now's still a good time, right? Or is it not?" Hopefully it still was. He could come back some other time but it seemed silly when he was already here right now and so was she.
Marie shook her head, then tried to fix her hair. “No, now is great.” She pushed her hair off her shoulders, then closed the door, leaning against it for a moment. She was nervous. That was new. This shouldn’t make her nervous. She blamed Nora’s attempts to explain things. “I made notes,” she said moving past him to pick up her notebook. “And some information I still need from you.”
“Ok, let’s start with that then,” He suggested, taking a moment to pull his feet out of his sneakers and starting toward her couch. He was pretty good at just making himself at home and he really should be more aware that this wasn’t his home, but it didn’t seem to really dawn on him. “Or do you want to start with that info you need first?”
She stood there, watching him comfortably sitting on her couch, not sure what to make of it. “I...we can start with either.” She hesitated for a moment looking at the paper, but not sure what to do with it. What would Nora do? Marie thought about that then came up with something else. “Do you want something to drink? I think I should have asked.”
“If you’re having a drink, I’ll have a drink. I can help,” He offered, moving to stand up. “Water would be good.” He wasn’t too picky, couldn’t really afford to be on an island anyway. “We could start with your notes though. Maybe my answers will be answers to some of that information you need from me?”
Marie didn’t know what to do with him when he stood up besides look up at him. For a moment she hesitated then nodded, moving past him. “I’ve got other things too, but water is fine.” She got down a cup from the cabinet, reaching up enough that the bottom of the tank top lifted to show that the line of star tattoos went all the way down her back.
He followed, feeling weird sitting in the living room by himself, and watched. He wanted to help but she hadn’t asked and he needed to remember that sometimes that ticked people off. When she reached up, though, he got way distracted. “You have tattoos? Awesome. Those look great! What do they mean?”
She looked back, holding on to the glass to stare at him. No one ever asked about her tattoos. Most of them no one could see, but no one ever asked. She waited a moment then set the glass down, turning to pull her hair up so he could see where they went up her back. “They’re me. I guess. Just...connectivity.” She looked over at him. “There are others too.”
“I’d love to see them someday,” Rick said, surprised that he was so forthcoming with it but he really would, and not just because it’d mean there was less clothing involved. “They seem really well done. And if they’re you, then I definitely like them,” He promised with a smile.
Marie stared at him, surprised that he’d say that. “They’re um…” she tried to come up with the right words, but couldn’t quite find them. “They’re hidden.” How did she say that her tattoos were in places that even Nora hadn’t seen them. She would be missing a severe amount of clothing. “You’ll like them because they’re me?”
“Of course I’ll like them because they’re you. I’ll like them even more because they’re you,” Rick said, grinning a little at her. “Tattoos are cool, period, but these ones. They’re guaranteed to be the coolest ones I’ve ever seen.” Maybe someday she’d show him but until then, he’d be scouring for glimpses of them under her shirts from now on.
Marie let her hair drop, turning to look at him. “Really?” she asked. “Just..because they’re me?” Who said that and meant it? Rick seemed to. She tilted her head slightly, watching him.
“Well, yeah. And because they’re cool, but mostly because they’re you,” He said, shrugging a little. “Do people not like your tattoos? Because those people are definitely wrong.”
“No one has even asked about them,” she said. “I don’t think anyone has even noticed them. Except for you.” Instantly she felt uncomfortable, not sure what to do with herself.
“Well, they definitely look cool,” He said, smiling as he started toward her to take the glasses and start to fill them up with water. He held one out to her and sipped at his own. “So, notes?”
“Notes…” Marie said, but didn’t sound convinced. She stood there for a moment then said something she really wasn’t expecting to say at all. “Do you want to see them? The stars?”
Rick wasn’t expecting that as a response to notes. He watched her for a moment and then nodded. “If you want to show me, yeah. I’d love to see them. But only if you want to show me.”
Marie nodded, then reached for his hand, moving towards the living room and sitting him on the couch. She took a deep breath then turned her back to him, moving her hair out the way again and lifted her tank top up and mostly off, revealing the line of stars that ran from the base of her neck down to the base of it. It also gave away the fact that she didn’t have on a bra.
Rick was stunned. The tattoos were just as gorgeous as he thought they’d be but it was the whole picture, all of Marie there in front of him unhindered by lack of a bra that really took his breath away. “Beautiful,” He said honestly, smiling in awe as he leaned closer. “Wow.”
She peeked over her shoulder at him, half biting her lip as he said that. “You think so?” she asked. He was closer, when did he get closer? Why did she not mind that he was closer? Marie had to wonder if this was what Nora had meant, about feeling right. She’d wanted him to look at her that way since the first moment she’d seen him.
“Definitely,” He promised, smiling more at her. He wanted to touch her, to trace his fingers over her tattoos, but he didn’t want to push her too far. She was important, too important to scare off. “They look gorgeous. You looked beautiful in that dress from the party but maybe next time you could wear a backless one? Show off the art.”
Marie felt her cheeks warm up and pulled her shirt back on, fixing her hair before turning back to look at him. “Something backless? When...why would anyone want to see it?” she asked. “It’s my skin. It’s not a painting.”
“Because it’s beautiful and you’re beautiful and people would like seeing it, seeing you.” Rick watched her, sad that he probably said something wrong to make her put her shirt back on. “I know it’s your skin, it’s a part of you, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t a work of art.”
Marie stared at him, eyes wide for a moment. “You...really think that?” she said softly, drifting closer to him.
It made him really sad that she had to keep asking. That maybe no one had told her this before. Frowning, he leaned a little closer and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. “You’re beautiful, Marie, really. And everyone can see that.”
He kissed her. Marie touched the space on her cheek, the same one that Christien had kissed and stared at him. She tried to find words, but she failed to come up with something reasonable. “I watched you,” she wound up blurting and wishing she hadn’t.
Rick was expecting a lot of things. An angry Marie, an upset Marie, a lot of things he was prepared for but that he wasn’t and the sheer strangeness of it had his lips breaking into a grin. He laughed a little before looking back her way again. “Whaddya mean?”
Marie closed her eyes and moved past him, though he was so huge he took up so much of small living room. “Before. Before the party. I saw you. And I watched and...I need to stop talking.”
"No, it's ok," He said, turning to watch her as she walked. "I'm a big guy, I probably took up a lot of room." But he was feeling like she meant it differently than she was saying. "How did I not even see you? Because that seems wrong to me."
Marie watched him for a moment then moved back towards the wall. After a second she disappeared, blending into the wall completely. That was how he’d never seen her, she’d hid from him.
“Oh...wow,” He said, standing up and staring at the spot that she’d just been at. “That’s incredible. You could be a CIA spy like Sydney Bristow…but cooler.” Taking a few steps forward, he reached out his hand, waiting to see if she’d touch it.
Marie hesitated, then reached for his hand, watching it fade for a moment before she dropped her concentration and came back into focus, blinking and shaking her head. “I don’t know who Sydney Bristow is. But you didn’t see me because I was hiding from you.”
“She’s the most kick ass secret agent ever.” He took her hand and tugged her gently toward him, smiling again. “That’s ok. I feel like you might expect me to be mad at you about that. I’m not, though. I promise.”
“Is she real?” Marie asked, confused. She was so bad at pop culture. She stumbled towards him, looking up at him surprised. “You’re not? You don’t think it’s weird?”
“Well, no, but you could be the real version of her if you wanted to.” He said, shrugging a little as he looked at her. “I’m not mad. I don’t think it’s weird. I mean, I wish you had just come talk to me, but you were doing what was best for you. I’m just glad you’re talking to me now.”
“I didn’t know what to say.” Marie didn’t know what to say now so it wasn’t any better. She’d forgotten why he was here actually. That wasn’t like her, but there was just something about him.
“It would have been ok. It’s still ok, though,” He said gently, still holding her hand. “I’m happy we’re here now, though, and that you’re not still invisible. You’re too pretty to be invisible all the time.”
Marie was speechless, staring at him, then her hand in his. “I still...don’t know what to say.”
“That’s ok. I just want you to know that it’s ok if we talk and it’s ok if we’re silent. I talk a lot, but I can try to be quiet sometimes too,” He teased, smiling at her a little. “Why don’t we go sit down, talk about those notes you have?” All he wanted was for her to feel comfortable with him.
Marie hesitated for a moment then nodded. “It’s okay if you talk. I’m good at listening.” She moved back to the couch, picking up her notebook, and waiting for him. “So I was thinking about what you can do, how you do it. Can you explain it again.” Yes focus on the work and not how much she liked him holding her hand.
Rick walked with her and sat down, nodding as he did. “Sure. I’m just...this is such a jerk way to say it but I’m just strong. I found out I was really strong when I started lifting up beams at construction zones without help, after the incident. So...I’ve just tried to learn to harness it and make sure I use it safely.”
Marie nodded, making a note in her notebook. Then she found herself shifting on the couch, turning to look at him better and move closer to him. “Do you tire like normal? Or do you not realize how tired you are?”
“Uhm..I can wear myself out of I go to hard and just kinda...collapse into a big snoozefest, but usually I’m ok. I only did that a couple times in the beginning before I got the hang of it.” He smiled a little more at her. “So if you need someone to move furniture around, I can definitely do that for you.”
Marie smiled at the idea of him collapsing into a pile of sleepiness, so much that she was still smiling when he suggested moving furniture for her. “I think you could move the furniture with me on it,” Marie said shaking her head. “What about other things. Do you find yourself...accidentally using the strength with others or when you don’t need it?”
Rick grinned at that and then stood up. “I can move furniture with you on it. You’re so tiny, I could definitely move it with you on it.” He didn’t move behind the couch but instead just crouched down and placed his hand underneath the base of the couch and lifted it easily, arms flexing maybe a little on purpose, and lifted the couch up into the air, high above his head. “See? Teeny.” Very gently, very carefully, he placed the couch back down and then sat on it again.
He thought about her second question and leaned forward, elbows on his knees, then shrugged a little. “Sometimes. I try not to. I’m better with controlling this power now, but in the beginning it was worse. Now I just count myself lucky that I can protect those I need to and help those who need it.”
Marie made a tiny noise when he lifted her up, couch and all, but she did look impressed. Especially at the sight of his arms because yes, that was impressive. “So lifting me would be nothing.” She listened to his answer to the second question and nodded. “Does it change with your emotions? Do you have to keep them in check to control it?” Looking at the question again, which had seemed logical when she wrote it now it sounded like an innuendo didn’t it? What had she been thinking?
Rick just smiled a little, running a hand over his head. “I could lift you up like nothing. It’d be fun actually,” He said, and then shrugged a little. “As for controlling emotions, it doesn’t hurt to have that calm in you but sometimes I go Hulk, yeah.”
Why did Marie want him to pick her up? She really did. That was silly. He was making her think and feel things that she never thought she would. “Fun? How?” Swallowing she looked down at her notebook again. “Hulk?”
“Hang on, don’t tell me you don’t know about The Hulk?” He asked, a pleading in his eyes. “Have you heard of The Hulk? You know, ‘You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry...’ thing? He’d get to the rest of it later but right now it was so important to know if she knew about The Hulk.
Marie made a face then nodded. “That one I think I know. He’s green yes?” she said. “But I don’t understand the context.”
“He’s green. He’s a normal guy but when he gets angry, he turns into this big, green, ‘hulking’ monster, get it?” He asked, wiggling his eyebrows a little. “The whole point is, sometimes when I can’t control my emotions, I get angry too, like Hulk angry. Irrationally angry. It doesn’t happen often but there’s always that threat.”
“Oh yes, that makes sense.” And an interesting play on words. Marie’s eyes widened ever so slightly. “That sounds scary.” Emotions weren’t always her thing, but she was aware of that one.
“It gets scary, which is why I try really hard to not let it get to me. But sometimes it’s hard to control and I could use some help there. Learning how to really calm myself down, how to really gain control of it and just...make sure I don’t hurt someone. It’s the last thing I want to do, hurt someone.”
Marie nodded, making notes and not looking at him. Her mind was still on him picking her up. Why was she still thinking about that. “Hopefully you can keep the control.” She looked up at him, watching him for a moment, not sure what to say next.
"Unless you think I need to lose control to find it again," He suggested, looking back at her as he studied her. She was so focused and he wondered what had been said to get her to that place again. "What do you think, Teach? Am I a lost cause?"
Marie shook her head. “Why would you lose control? How?” she asked. She set her notebook aside and shook her head. “No, you’re not a lost cause at all. You seem to have a great hold of it. You make it look easy.”
“Well...for example, if you were in trouble, I’d lose it. Hands down,” He said honestly. “And I’d want to be sure that when I got back to you from kicking whoever’s ass put you in trouble that I didn’t hurt you as collateral damage.”
Marie opened her mouth, but words didn’t come out. He would hurt someone for her? “You barely know me…” she said shaking her head.
"Doesn't mean I don't like you, or that I wouldn't want to protect you if you needed it," He said, looking back at her gently.
Marie stopped shaking her head, not meaning to speak again, but she had to know the answer and the way her mind worked meant she was going to ask the question. "Like me how?"
Rick turned a little more to face her. “I don’t kiss people I don’t like,” He said, smiling a little more. Maybe she needed a clearer idea of what he meant. Maybe the kiss on the cheek wasn’t enough? So he leaned in and pressed his lips gently against her own instead.
"Yes, but..." He wasn't answering her question. At least not until he kissed her properly. Which no one had ever done before. Ever. Marie froze, sure she was dreaming. She had to be dreaming. After a moment she kissed him back though, not sure what she was doing but some sort of instinct taking over and moving her mouth against his.
Rick smiled against it, loving that she wanted to kiss him back, loving that he didn’t get an eyeful of her fist instead. He kept the kiss shorter this time, pulling back but staying closer to her still. “Like you like that,” He explained.
Marie's hand was over her mouth as soon as he pulled back, blush creeping onto her cheeks. "No..I.." Why did she have no answer for him. Ducking her head she nodded, wanting to write something down on her notebook just do something. For a moment she bit her lower lip, then looked back up at him. "Okay."
Rick was quiet while he watched her and after a while he just nodded. “You know, if you want to, you can do that any time you like. I’ll never be mad about it,” He promised, smiling at her then leaning back into the couch again.
Marie looked back at him curiously. "How does that work? Do I ask?" She paused for a moment then clarified. "I never have before. Kissed anyone."
Rick smiled a little more. "You don't have to ask. You can just do it, whenever you feel like you want to." Whenever it felt right, he would happily let her kiss him. "You can ask if you want to but you really don't have to."
Marie looked at him curiously. "That seems too open ended. What if you don't want to be kissed? Or if you're sick or something?" She shook her head, reaching for her notebook again, but flipping back a few pages to her notes on relationships. "Everything I've read says to respect boundaries and understand and communicate." She held the notebook out to him so he could see.
Oh, so she had a notebook. On relationships. Ok. So she really hadn’t done this before. He reached for the book and lowered it to the couch, looking in her eyes. “When it feels right for you, you can kiss me. If I’m sick, maybe not just so I don’t get you sick too, but...It’s all ok, Marie. Nothing you do is going to upset me.”
Why was he taking her notebook? Marie looked completely confused, staring at him again. "I'm not...good with want." She looked at her hands for a moment, thinking about what she wanted. She wanted to try kissing him again, and that thought alone surprised her. She usually struggled with what made sense and what she wanted, but that was loud and clear. Taking a deep breath she looked at him again and leaned in to kiss him again.
Rick smiled when she leaned in and matched her, kissing her back gently as he shifted a little closer to her. He wanted to let her explore her wants and wanted to be gentle and slow so as not to scare her off.
Clinically the whole kissing thing was weird. Why, thinking about it objectively, would anyone ever want to do that? But the moment he kissed her back, Marie melted a little and realized why people did do this. Marie reached out without thinking, one arm going around his neck to pull him closer, or rather pull herself closer since he was so much larger than she was.
He definitely smiled back into the kiss then. Wrapping an arm around her middle, he pulled her closer, hopefully up into his lap, and kissed her back. She was perfect in every way and Rick wanted her to be as comfortable as possible.
Like he had to try to get her into his lap. He was much stronger even without the ability and with it she was like nothing to lift. So before she could really realize it, she was sitting in his lap, straddling his hips and kissing him. When she pulled back she was surprised, one arm still around his neck, but she was blushing again. “Is this okay?”
“For me it definitely is. Is it for you?” He asked, still so concerned about her feeling comfortable and going at a pace she felt safe with. If he was pushing her too far, he’d back off but he really did love having her there with him.
Marie shifted, getting a little more comfortable and was surprised at how warm being this close to him made her feel. “Yes,” she finally landed on, nodding. “Am I doing things right?” she asked, wanting to be properly scored like any student.
It only made him smile more. “Of course you are. You can’t do this wrong,” He assured, leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek and venture pressing one lower, then lower again until he reached her neck. He waited, though, wanting to see what her reaction would be to this and if he was even allowed to move forward.
“I don’t think that’s right. I’m sure I could do something...wrong…” Marie’s voice trailed off as he kissed her cheek, then her jaw, then lower and her breath caught in her throat. That felt really good. Her fingers twisted in his hair, holding him where he was because that felt really nice.
Rick was happy to feel her fingers in his hair because he wanted to stay there and show her that they could enjoy this without it being scary. He continued to kiss there, being very gentle and thinking that he might not try to leave a heavy mark just to be safe.
Marie was pretty sure she was purring. Could she purr? Did people purr or was that just cats? Either way, she was making a happy noise, shifting unconsciously in Rick’s lap, trying to get his hands to touch more of her while he kissed her.
Rick continued on, happy to see her, feel her, like that. She was so perfect it was a little ridiculous but he knew he needed to go slow here. He needed to put the brakes on soon, to prove to her that they could build up together. Slowly he pulled back and looked up at her gently, leaning up to press a soft, quick kiss to her lips.
Marie whimpered when he pulled back, looking at him confused. “Why did you stop?” She didn’t want him to stop. She wanted him to keep doing that forever. It made her feel warm all over, made her stomach and lower twist into little knots. And despite it being slightly uncomfortable it was a great feeling.
“Because we have all the time in the world and I want us to go slow. To get comfortable knowing each other,” Rick said, reaching up to smooth back a piece of hair behind her ear. “Because I don’t want you to think I’m only interested in you because of this.”
She listened to him, leaning into his touch without thinking about it. “Slow makes sense,” she agreed. “But...what else would you be interested in?”
“You. And I’m gonna work on helping you see that you’re interesting too,” He said. “Because you are and you deserve to know that. I like you, but it’s important that you know how great you are too.”
Marie was still confused, but she wound up nodding. “So more than just this. What comes next?”
“We just spend time together. You let me take you out on a date even, maybe,” He said, lacing his fingers with her. “But whatever we do, I’d like it if we got to do it together.”
Dates. Right she knew about that. She could do that maybe. “Okay. A date.” Marie nodded again. “We can do something together.”
“Ok then. A date then. Give me some time to plan it, though. Want it to be special,” He said, smiling at her again. So he leaned in and pressed another kiss to her cheek. He could happily spend the rest of the night here slowly kissing her and even though he still wanted to go slow, he was glad they were making progress.