There's a road ahead of us Who: Jack and Mariko Where: Astronomy tower When: 11/11 7:30PM Warning: Cavity inducing fluff probably, with a garnish or heart crushing. Status: Closed // In Progress
Mariko huddled under the soft purple blanket that was wrapped around her like a cocoon, protecting her from the evening chill. Below her was a dark blue blanket with an added cushioning charms for comfort. Needy she might be, but at least she knew how to fulfill her wants and had the willpower to do so.
Jack might love the cold, but she herself had mixed feelings, and so she had retrieved hot chocolate from the kitchens in two thermoses she had borrowed from Bucky & Skye along with two mugs she had borrowed as well. Tea cups she had in abundance, but those were not really suitable for this occasion. Though she wasn’t really sure about the occasion, was she meeting with a friend? Yes, but Bucky & Skye are friends, and they did not hold hands, and she did not feel the need to kiss Skye.
It was only 7:15, she liked being early, although Jack kind of seemed like the late type. To normal occasions she preferred to run fashionably late to display her importance and how low the occasion ranked on her priority list, but for events that she was hosting it was drastically different. Early and prepared. It was the end of the day, so her hair was tied in a cute bun on top of her head with a pink ribbon, leggings and a lined jacket with her normal skirts. No heels this time, just sparkling slippers, so she did not make noise on the stone steps on the way to the tower. Most of that was hidden of course, as she was cocooned in a blanket even though it wasn’t that cold yet, eyes locked on the Skye and the stars visible through the light cloud cover.
The Astronomy tower, like the Room of Requirement, was known for couples. It afforded a certain amount of privacy, along with a rather romantic view of the sky and the beautiful grounds of Hogwarts, but of course Mariko hadn’t chosen it for it’s romantic vibes, just the serenity that came with it after the somewhat chaotic couple of weeks they had. Along with a want to share something like this with Jack, along with the quiet that could only be found in places like this.
Here he was yet again, but unsure whether it was his heart or his brain leading the way for his feet in accordance with the request secretly at the Astronomy tower. The cool Autumn air had yet to drop a few degrees with the early night fall this time of year, but soon the fog of heated breath against the crisp transition as a reminder. Indeed, the cold didn't quite bother him as much as it would the next person, for some unexplainable reason, but that did not mean Jack would not come prepared as well. A few layers under the heavy hooded blue sweater, a multi colored scarf with a stripe or two to sort of match, but not really trying and fitted jeans with worn blue and white sneakers that had seen better days. Next thing on the check list, new kicks?
Bunnymund had decided to come along this time, with Jack's hood providing a nice hammock for his little fluffy butt hiney and front paws dangling over his shoulder. "You better not take a crap in there or there will be trouble," turning his side-long glare to the curious rabbit sniffing around the shell of his ear, Jack pressing his lips together in annoyance. Indeed, he was almost sure the evening would be more about adorable counterpart and less about quiet moments spent together under the stars. It was so hard being so darn cute, wasn't it, Bunnymund he was honestly the weirdest girl magnet they would sooner run off with tucked under their arm than stick around Jackson.
Stuffing his hands in the attached front pocket of his hoodie, he climbed the steps of the tower at his own pace and taking a few moments here and there to appreciate the blanket of stars that began to twinkle over the mid knight dome. His eyes rested on the semi phase of the silvery moon disappearing behind an approaching gray cloud, just in time to see the craters forming a the famous face. The man in the moon. He held his breath before taking few more flights that lead him to the very top, the fog of his exhale was faint but visible when he finally rounded the threshold of the open archway.
"Mariko?" maybe his voice had subconsciously come out as a whispering tone, half wondering if he had been running late again? Normally he hadn't put much thought into such things, he'd get there when he got there but perhaps, maybe this time he was a little more conscious of it. His smile appeared at the sight of her in the dimly lit room when his gaze rested on her warm little bundle, "hey," he continued with his whispering octave, striding his way deeper inside towards her. "He insisted," justifying the white rabbit perched on his shoulder with a slight nod of his head.
A smile pulled at her features at his face and voice, something out of her control that displeased her a little. Her bare hands reached out from the blanket, grasping one of the mugs and the corresponding thermos, “I brought hot chocolate” Subconsciously she matched his tone, she wasn’t sure why he was whispering but it seemed to be fitting so she went with it without much thought. It went without the quiet stillness of the room, as well as the secret part of their encounter.
But then her eyes widened at the rabbit that was staring at her, “Oh, so this is your more charming half,” The grin came easy, as she patted the spot next to her, curious about the rabbit. She had only ever interacted with them for brief periods and not often since she had come to Hogwarts. Jack was the only student she knew of who had a pet rabbit rather than an owl, cat, snake or rat, “I don’t have any pets. I envy you a little.” The fluffy bundle was definitely all that Jack had hyped him up to be, cute and quite furry. Sometimes she lamented the agreement between her and her family that pets were not a good idea for her situation, but then other times she saw girls in beautiful dresses with animal fur or the smell of animal clinging to them and she felt perfectly satisfied with her decision.
He was just on time, which met with her approval, and made her feel even more confident with her impulse to continue meeting him like this. This was not something her fellow Slytherins would necessarily expect from her, not just Jack being part of it, but the prim Princess sitting in the dark outside alone without anything fancy, so little makeup and without demanding anything of anyone.
Well maybe a little demanding still, “Are you too bundled up to share my blanket?” So maybe it had been cheesy or cliche, but she had brought a blanket big enough for them both to use it as long as they weren’t allergic to one another.
"So they say," his shoulders fell in a shrug but his smile had not once did the same. His hand from his pocket, Jack grabbed the loose skin at the back of Bunnymunds neck and lifted him with no fear of harm to the animal before he set him down. "Go do your thing, and we'll do our--" but before he could even utter the words the rabbit had made a damn B-line straight for Mariko. Oh no you don't! And before Jack could put another thought towards it, he had subconsciously taken her offer in the form of cutting the hare off at the pass. Leaning far over, both his hands shot out to guide his little hopping in an entirely different direction. "Not this time, pal.."
In one smooth motion, Jack slid in under the cover of her large purple blanket until he felt his back against the cobble stone wall. His knees bent comfortably and his hand silently taking his side of the blanket to coil it more around them. Perhaps gathering up his courage and nonchalantly slid his other arm around her in an honest attempt to keep her as warm as he could. Which, he was not entirely sure he actually could pull such a thing off given his strange oddities. "I'm impressed. This is a little out of your comfortable realm. I like it!" leaning in just a smidgen over the mug of hot chocolate with a deep inhale. "That's amazing. You know what goes awesome with hot chocolate? Candy canes or just something peppermint," but either way it was a fantastically strange place he was becoming oddly accustom to.
"You know what else smells really good?" his mischievous grin grew impossibly wide when he pressed his face against the side of hers, drawing that misty soft scent of strawberry and a few other girly fragrances that surprising blended fairly well together on her. His nose ghosting over her soft cheek until his voice grazed the shell of her ear in a playful snickering whispered, "You." Well, he never said he was a poet in any sense of the word, but his compliment was true and honest wanting her to know that he had thought so, That pink parchment had been such a tease to both he and Bunnymund. So much in fact that the note left under his pillow from her first owl had been torn to pieces over his bed covers because the animal had the same idea as his master. It just smelled so darn epic.
The giggle that came from her was cute but open, definitely still from her arsenal of different laughs she had perfected over the years, though her face was a little too open, eyes scrunching too much to be picture perfect. More natural, more open. Idly she wondered why he had brought the animal if he was just going to make keep him from her, however the arm around her waist distracted her from all thoughts of the creature. Instead of fighting him she leaned into him farther, his ever cold fingers causing an odd sort of contradicting warmth to flow through her side, flowing from where his hands made contact with her even though the jacket.
The teasing, innocently flirtatious voice came out before she could stop it, “What would our thing be Jack?” When he pointed out the obvious but snuck in his approval she gave a half shrug, “I wanted to try something new. With you.” Darn. That last bit should not have come out, even though it was true. Jack had a dangerous way of drawing out honesty from her, slowly poking more holes in the self she displayed to the world the more time they spent together. It was something she enjoyed, but she knew that she probably should not. He was an indulgence, one that was getting harder to resist.
Before she could think of a response to the mint comment--and of course he would have some very strong opinions on hot cocoa, the winter obsessed boy--he was so much closer. Nose, mouth and breath were on her’s cheek, ghosting over her ear and her jaw. Face scarlet, and heart suddenly pounding painfully and loudly in her chest, she could hardly hear her own, “Thank you,” But she did catch that it came out in Japanese, causing her to blush further. It was so bold of him, and it was amazing that it effected her so, leaving her out of sorts even though it had been more playful than anything else(right? right.).
Pulling away suddenly, she took the blanket off her shoulders, another impulse hitting her, thinking that perhaps his boldness was contagious, “The blanket is not big enough after all.” With all the grace of a girl who had been raised to make every gesture and every movement smooth and with meaning she folded herself in front of him. Moving his legs so she could lean back against his chest, one leg pulled inwards and the other straight in front of her to lay against his. Her head leaned back on his shoulder, returning the nuzzle with her nose against his neck, “You are not so bad yourself.” Two could play that game, and she would keep telling herself that was why she did it, not in order to snuggle against him or encourage him to hold her.
Maybe he could blame it on the cool night air, how he wanted to ensure that she would be warm enough with the coming evening blanketing the dimly lit room in shadows. Save for the dance of fire light from a few candles that had been lit before he had arrived. Was it an excuse he could plausibly justify to himself for this unconventional relationship they had randomly and blindly fell into together. Jackson had never been the type for seeking such things, his concern had been far too preoccupied with more pressing endeavours that required, pardon, demanded his more mischievous appetite. Like creating a massive skating rink from one end of the hall to the next. Sneaking into the Slytherin dorms and cooling bed sheets under a heavy comforter just before lights out, to get a shocking surprise. Well, that one wasn’t planned yet. But it was in the works.
With a curious slight tilt to his head towards her, her bashful thank you in her mother tongue made him realise the bounds he may have over stepped. Well, that is until she shifted under his arm and moved from her comfortable spot to a better one. He felt his own flush rise to his face, just as hers did moments before. His back stiffened, but allowed her to make herself at home between his parted thighs and moulding back against his chest. “Right, far too small...:” clearing his throat, he had done his best to move as little as possible, content with the new position where she had once again taken the lead.
“Oh?” turning so that noses barely touched, but close enough to feel the soft warmth of her cocoa tainted breath against his lips. “And what do I smell like, exactly?” his laugh was genuine and sweet to match that adorably contagious smile that practically infected anyone who had come into contact with it. And of course, he knew that their time alone would be short lived with Bunnymund chaperoning, only casting his blue eyes to where the rabbit had hopped under his leg, towards Mariko and under the blankets with her.
“Well, now that all three of us are nice and cozy, what are we looking at tonight?” he let his head fall back to the cobble stone wall behind him, his gaze fanning across the overhead skylight giving them a rather exceptional view of the twilight of stars dotting over the clear night canvas. But he couldn’t help it, his attention seemed to always fall back to the largest celestial body hanging in the sky at night. The moon.
Mariko returned the grin, leaning back to smell at his neck, nose lightly touching his skin as she did so, “Hmm” she drew out the dramatic thoughtful moment as if contemplating his question of his scent deeply. The self appointed princess who was not above flowery(though normally true) words, “Like the first winter’s frost,” A tentative hand that moved with a shyness that she would never admit to settled on top of his free one, “And comfort.” That was not expected, it lacked her shallowness that she often displayed and was more quiet and open.
But it was hard to feel anything but a light hearted joy when he smiled at her like that. None of Jack’s smiles were practiced or canned like her’s, they were all sincere and earnest. He poured all of himself into everything he did, and he was so different from her and the people she had grown up with that it was hard to resist and even harder to remember why she had to when he was so close.
The rabbit that was now burrowing into her jacket insistently brought a bemused look to her face, and she unzipped her coat so he could be warmer and closer to her. He only seemed to settle down contentedly once she had folded it and the blanket over him, odd, with how soft and thick her fur was. Maybe it was because he was so used to snuggling with Jack instead who seemed to be naturally cold that he was happy to have someone warmer.
The hare did not bother her though, she merely reached up to pull out the ribbon around her hair so it would not hit his chin as she settled with her back against him to look at the sky and better hide the color in her cheeks at the self that was exposed here and the earnest sweetness that peeked out around him, “The constellation Cepheus, one of the stars is expected to be brighter than normal tonight.” There was also, of course, always the moon drew her eyes, but tonight it was hardly visible.
A soft chuckle through his nasal passage when her thoughts had brought her to the obvious conclusion that most would have, if they stopped to actually smell him and to formulate a flowery response to it. Though, he had felt his mind in a somewhat derailment when the brush of the tip of her nose grazed ever so gently along the pale strip along his neck as a pleasant refreshing reminder for her own formulated response. With the warmth of contact, as minimal as it had been so far, had been more than enough for that tingling slosh turning in the pit of his stomach the moment her fingers sliding over each dip beside his knuckles to weave with his.
The comfortable silence shared between them for a few moments while settling to the new position, her small body curled up against his chest and her long dark hair now free from the ribbon that fell cascading over his shoulder from where she rested her head. If they had been in ever watchful eyes of their peers, they would possibly have been labeled as quite the an oddly mismatched couple but for Jack, he did not see her in the same light they had. To him, she was sweet and open. Her smile, when he had noticed that they were once very forced and practiced came more genuinely in her own unaware softness. He had touched a very real part of this -so called- self entitled serpent princess who most saw nothing but a porcelain doll. She was as pretty as one, there was no denying that but she was more than what she seemed. For that, Jack just allowed things to flow naturally without questioning. Perhaps that was part of his problem in this. He didn't question.
Instead, he was far more interested in the sky where she had pointed out the constellation after Bunnymund curled up against the warm body instead of his now. He spotted it right away, as Jack had always spent the majority of his time awake gazing up at the moon in particular that the rest just sparked a curious interest as well. His hand slipped from under hers for the moment, both of them raising to place the pads of his pointers and thumbs together in an irregular rectangle shape to isolate the Cepheus. "Here," he whispered against the shell of her ear. "Aldermin, is in the Northern sector...it's a hyper giant and the closest star - relatively speaking - to us."
How did he expect her to focus when he did that? Goosebumps spread across her skin like wildfire, and had it been anyone else causing little shocks to run through her from the contact with her ear she would have thought he was doing it on purpose. To further disarm her and make her melt, but it was Jack and so she could suspect him of nothing but innocence even as she took a sharp intake of breath through her nose as he leaned in closer to whisper to her, trying to hide it immediately after of course.
Mariko’s makeup was as meticulous and perfectly planned for the evening as usual, wearing enough on her face that someone like Jack would not be able to keep up. Everything chosen for this occasion to play up her eyes and lips, making her features look more angelic and young while downplaying her (what she thought were) chubby cheeks. This was normal, she never went left her dorm without at least the first few layers of makeup on, and never past her common room without a full face. Even with all this however, she felt bare with Jack, like he could see through all that planning and crafting, it was an odd feeling, and one she was sure that he had no idea of. If she were being rational she would not be here, this could not end well, especially for him, but it i was painfully obvious that she wasn’t planning on acting reasonable anytime soon.
Instead she tilted her head to peer through the square he had made picking out the stars and easily finding the brighter one with his help, “I am surprised you are ever calm enough for star gazing Jack,” The teasing remark was coupled with her looking back at him with a playful grin like one of his with a challenging eyebrow raised to see what his reaction would be. Mock offended? Actual offence? Her fingers idly ran through Bunnymund’s fur, it was a soothing motion that came easily like welcoming the animal to snuggle against her.
A slight turn of his head to meet her gaze half way, his fingers breaking their formation and his smile fading to an, instead, warmer smile. "There are many things people don't know about me," his answer simply rolled off his tongue, his eyes lowering to the smooth gloss of her fruit tainted lips and his mind collapsing to the deeper truth of his statement. If someone were to ask of his family, of his life before Hogwarts he would be at a loss for words, because there were a great many things Jackson did not know about himself either. What he did know was what Hogwarts and ol' lady Flume had taught him, honing his skills with a dash of mischief to keep everyone on their toes, of course.
His heart was pounding so loud, it had drowned out everything else that would dare to interrupt the moment that had locked them both into place. The soft side brush of her nose against his had sped his light breathing and parting the thin line of his lips where they were now so close he could practically taste the gloss on hers. Maybe for a moment, Jackson felt like a normal teenage boy with a normal teenage girl, devoid of any life and social complications that would overdramatically ruin them. Like there had been no void, blank space or black hole before this place they were in right now.
But the thoughts swiftly dissolved back into the reality that was now, and he drew back just a little to gather his jumbled thoughts before he turned back to the sky. His fingers once again lifted in front of them both, his arms encasing around her for the second time, blocking in the semi phased moon just about to be masked by a passing grey cloud. "When I have restless nights, no one else tends to be awake. So, I talk to someone who doesn't judge me. Who sees me for who I am and accepts me without a word," it was the first time he had spoken of his odd habit to anyone. He loved Hogwarts, that was the truth of it and all the students here he had considered a strangely dysfunctional family, of sorts, that he had tried to fill said void in his heart. But he never could. "Look here. You can see the nose, eyes and mouth of the Man in the Moon. I'm always looking at the night sky, so I guess you could say it's only natural to want to learn more about it," followed with a small shrug.
That was true. Mariko had one of the best gossip networks in the school, hands down, and most of her knowledge of Jack came from his pranks. No one knew about his family, which usually either meant that they were unimportant or he didn’t have one. If they were shameful people would whisper, but they needed something to whisper about, and with Jack there was none, and her ear had been to the ground about him since Halloween.
There was a moment then, it was tense and the air was heavy with something she couldn’t name. He was going to kiss her, she was sure of it. That’s what boys did when they were getting up the courage, it had happened to her before and she had seen it in a muggle romance film at a sleepover once. Involuntarily, her breath stopped and the moment stretched on because she didn’t realize she wanted this until it was about to happen. This part of her didn’t care who he was outside of this room, the blanket and his arms around her.
All at once the moment was gone, and he did not kiss her.
It brought her back to reality, and as she did with all things that negatively affected her, she boxed up her disappointment and stowed it away in the corner of her mind. Only giving him a slight pout to tell him, yes I know, and no I don’t approve because she couldn’t say such a thing out loud. That would make it real.
Jack encouraged the whimsical side of her, the one that loved theatrics, poetry and getting lost in a world that slipped farther from her grasp the closer she came to proper adulthood. Skye and Bucky were dear to her, but they didn’t even understand metaphors, in some ways they were too grounded and literal, she had the feeling Jack would. Again, her head tilted to the side, peering at the moon to make out the shapes, it reminded her of cloud watching in the grass when she was a child, making animals out of the clouds.
Words clawed their way up her throat, and she refrained from looking at him, fingers pulling at the hem of her jacked in a sudden bout of nervousness, words flowed easily to Mariko on a, sincerity did not always have the same ease, “The moon is almost gone tonight, but I am very pale. You can speak to me instead.”
“I have been,” he did not skip a single beat in his simple rebuttal, because truthfully Mariko had been the only person aside from Easter and Bunnymund that he had opened up to over the past six years at Hogwarts. He had always been an open book, provided the right questions had been asked, or tactfully approached. But it was rare moments like these, that he had felt nothing needed to be said for this side of Jack that most never got to experience on a more personal level. His nerdy fascination with the evening sky had come all too naturally given the proper backdrop for it. Thanks to her, it was practically his invitation to talk about one of his interests to someone that didn’t have a cotton tail and massive ears, or the ever silent celestial body hanging in the sky. “You know, they say the Kitora star chart is the oldest in the world. It was carved inside the cave of an ancient Japanese tomb, or something.”
Well, it was certainly determined this evening that oblivious Jackson had zero talent for swooning, unlike his fluffy tailed counterpart now snuggled up in Mariko’s lap. Of course...shifting his makeshift picture frame to yet another line of stars forming a warped sort of arrow facing upward. “This is the Aquila, and it’s brightest star is rightttt there,” removing his pointer temporarily from his boxed structure in order to point out just where he was speaking of. “...it’s called Altair. I read that it’s believed to be flat at it’s poles because it rotates so fast.”
Finally, Jack lowered his hands from where they aided her with a visual of what he spoke of, slipping one back under hers. His other reached around behind her, the gentle brush of his fingers against the pale plane of her neck to scoop the few stray strands of long dark hair from where it tickled his chin. Also, evidently and unintentionally exposing the full length of her arched strip of skin to his full view. He hadn’t known what initiated him to do such a thing, but the sudden impulse had taken over his relatively coherent thoughts to a fumbling, what the heck am I doing, mess. Parting his lips around a small area of soft scented flesh in a gentle massaging coax against her warm skin.
“Oh.” Pink lips formed the syllable as her cheeks heated to match their color, it had truthfully not occurred to her that he was finding the same solace in her that she was finding in him. Mariko did not consider herself particularly selfish or self centered, but sometimes sometimes she missed things like that people felt like what he was apparently feeling even if it was the same as her. It left her even more out of sorts, brain creaking to a stop like a stuttering muggle car. It was one thing to have someone affect you, and an entirely different thing.
“Maybe I could visit it one day,” With you, but that second part would not come out. Her affections for him were growing, but years of lessons and being immersed in her parent’s world were impossible to shake so soon. So she left it as is, hanging in the air.
The impromptu astronomy lesson was unexpected, and surprisingly enjoyable in their casual intimacy with his arms around her, “Altair. That is Arabic is it not? Does that mean they were the first to name it or just the most notable?” Most constellations were Greek or Roman, that she had learned. Although speaking from the perspective of a non European she knew that they tended to take over everything as if they were the first to discover something when someone from her part of the world or the Middle East saw it as commonplace.
Out of a growing (dangerous) habit, her fingers twined with his naturally when his hand found its way back under her own. So encased in her thoughts she hardly noticed him brushing away her hair, it was harmless, and it had been tickling her neck anyway. Jack though, apparently had a way of derailing her composed and controlled self, with the smallest gestures. Lips touched her neck gently, and her eyes closing at the sensation, along with a quiet gasp and a subconscious tilt of her head just slightly to give her permission--her welcome.
It was a wonder how it even had come to this so effortlessly and smooth that Jackson had taken the small invite to novel explore just a little bit deeper into the depths of this unfamiliar realm. But things seemed to flow unexpectedly together in their own special way, with warmth from her fingertips threading between the dips of his knuckles to weave with his inviting him to deepen his gentle taste of her delectable flesh. His mind already falling under the spell of her undeniable enchantment, leaving much of his coherency in a hazy mess of melting thoughts. It had taken all of his will power, his brain struggling to fight back against the hammering thud of his heart behind the cage of his chest that he had felt leap into his throat long ago, to pull from this uncharted territory he was still trying to piece together.
Even though her soft gasp and arched neck had egged him to continue, he had done the honorable thing where some would not, he drew back from his feed to regather his senses. His tongue sweeping swiftly over the lower line of his lip, leaving a reflective silver trail of moisture with what remained of her unique tang against his taste buds as of to remind him later when she was no longer encased against him, and he was left with just his recollection of it.
The Astronomy lesson long since forgotten with the comfortable hush between them, save for the flickering sound of candlelight battling against the cool night air to stay alive at it's final moments of wick it had left. A slow, genuine smile appeared against the dim shadows dancing off this boyish features that he could not hope to stop. "You feel that, don't you?" his question had been more rhetorical than one seeking an actual answer. He knew she felt it, just as he did. How they had fallen so easily into one another. Mariko finding her true self in his genuine presences, the confidence to be that person not expected of her and just enjoy life as it had come. He, finding an ear to listen to his babble on this topic and that without judgement because of his erratic nature that labeled him more of a trouble maker than a boy seeking to fill a blank space that he just could not seem to.
It was an odd thing, how she felt so attuned to him. They were so very different, their families and lineage aside. Mariko could be cold hearted, she knew many people but kept the majority at an emotional distance, she lied easily, her facial expressions were controlled and practiced. Her assessment of people and their merit did not focus on their goodness or virtue, but rather their status and their use to her. A mix of what her family made of her, and a girl struggling to take her own hold on her future.
But Jack--Jack was another thing entirely. He was earnest, with his smiles and laughs straight from his heart. He didn’t judge her for being the shallow Princess she was(because lets be honest, it was partially an act and partially genuine) he took that with the part that blossomed in his presence. With his easy smile, an infectious laugh and pretty blue eyes she had found a place with him where she did not have to be wary or controlled, he listened, and he cared. It was more addicting than she expected. While he found with her the same, someone who listened and--though it was unlike her-- did not judge and accepted. He was calmer with her, at least part of the time, and she wondered what the implications of that were, what that meant. Usually she figured people out so easily, and for someone who seemed so simple at first, she was sometimes at a bit of a loss with him.
Why his lips on her neck, his hand against her fingertips, his arms around her seemed to send little trembles and shocks was beyond her. Mariko kept her head when she was angry, or when she was sad due to years of lectures and lessons, but he left her like jelly.A feeling she felt that she should have been above somehow, that she was beyond responding to this boy in this way was there, but it was not enough to stop her. Enough to stop the faint blush across her cheeks, the heart in her throat or the goosebumps across her skin.
So when he asked her his question that he surely already knew the answer to, she should have said No, what do you mean?. She should have nipped it in the bud. Drawn a line in the sand, let him know she was beyond the reach of his smiles and the comfort of his arms around her and his scent tickling her nose. But, she did not, “I do.” The answer was simple, it was not flowery or fancy, but it was weighted. Filled with a little bit of nervousness, a little bit of wonder, and a dash of hope.
There had been an audible content sigh that had managed past his lips when her simple answer had given the answers to the vague question he had asked. In the reality of it they were like oil and water through the eyes of their peers, he was the night and she was the day. Two polar opposites in every way that had fit together with such ease, like the missing piece of a jigsaw. And he felt his cool skin warm to her welcome confession in agreement with his own.
Pulled from his silence when the light of a single candle had finally burnt out, leaving the room just that much dimmer with the following others scattered throughout the tower. One by one, each light began to fade with lack of wick to sustain it's light when Jack had finally spoke again. "It's late, we should be getting back before we are caught after curfew," his voice echoed off the stone walls in the serene lull of their complacent juncture.
Shimmying himself upward against the wall, Jack helped himself to his feet first before he offered a hand to help her do the same. The open Thermos scooped up in his hand, tipping it to his lips to take a mouth full of warm cocoa she had brought along that he had yet to taste until now. "Not bad, could use peppermint, though. Like I said. Next time," he muttered against the metal lining before taking yet another drink before reaching for the back of Bunnymund neck and hoisting him to his spot on his shoulder where he would find his hind legs cradled once more in his hood. "You're a bad influence on me, you know. Keeping me out all hours of the night," grinning he extended the container to either recap or take another cupful for herself.
The gratitude and relief that she felt that he didn’t push her for more made her like him a little more. Mariko could only take so much opening up during such a small time frame, and she knew where they stood logically but she had not thought of the best way to explain it to him in a way that he would understand but would hopefully still keep him around.
Because she still wanted him around. She wasn’t stupid, she could admit that, even if everything she said to Bucky was true, she still wanted him around. Just not officially, or publicly. The admittedly spoiled heiress was far too used to getting what she wanted, and this was no exception.
“Yes, more detention is the last thing I need. A whole month from that pompous, unprofessional excuse for a Professor has really displeased me,” Face twisted into a scowl as she took his hand, standing and smoothing out her clothes, taking the thermos in hand. She felt a bit silly, but she took a delicate sip from it all the same. The boy was a bad influence on her, next thing she knew her elbows would be on the dinner table.
Grabbing the blanket and mugs in hand she stepped closer to him with an air of innocence, petting Bunnymund again, it was still rather odd but it worked for him somehow. “Next time?” An eyebrow raised, a deliberately flirtatious tone and a playful challenge to her words, who was being the bad influence now?
Cocking an amused brow the way she had, once more, rambled on about her string of insulting displeasure with the outcome of her noble act. Jack hadn't had the pleasure of running into said professor nor had he known the full scope of the post Halloween confrontation that had led to her malingering disgust with a sentence that now could not be changed. It was typical for a prim and proper princess who had rarely, if ever toed the contravene lines. Lines Jack had overstepped, perhaps danced on more occasions than he could count and he hadn't found it all that horrible. Not even the reading and writing assignment he had received from the counselor for freezing her tongue to a candy apple a few weeks ago. Oops!
"Well, you did know what was going to happen when you took the fall for something you didn't do for something as serious as under age drinking," known well for his fun and, for the most part, harmless pranks in his own light hearted ambition to earn a laugh or two but punch spiking had never been his ideal style of fun as others tended to. It may have seemed a little childish to others, but Jack was a kid a heart and it would always be apart of his endearing personality traits that had made him so incredibly naively open and lovable when one got to know him as she had taken the time to do. And maybe his unconventional ways had been rubbing off on her, the way she sipped straight from the thermos when offered to her, earning her quite the playful grin when he noticed.
He too responded with curious shift in his brow at the challenge. Hey, it wasn't him who sent the rose petal and strawberry scented parchment asking him out the two isolated dates they already had. "Yes. Next time," he straightened his posture, maybe puffing his slightly with confidence when he took the lead down the steep spiral staircase from the, now dark, Astronomy tower. "Watch your step," offering a hand extended behind him, making sure he did not venture too far ahead, just in case she required him for balance on their descend.
“Technically we never said we consumed any alcohol,” The correction came out as a whisper as she followed behind him, taking his head easily. Frankly she did consume alcohol, but just a few sips and from a flask. Not spiked punch. She wasn’t an idiot. For this reason (and because her feet needed a break) she had worn flats for their little outing and kept her eyes on him as they walked carefully and quietly. This curfew rule was silly, but some of the staff members seemed to take it more seriously than others.
Reaching out, she poked him in the back of the head as they reached the bottom of the staircase. They faced a long hallway leading back into the castle proper with a storage closet and an empty classroom along the way. What were the scheduled for the patrols anyway? Darnit, she should have chosen a Ravenclaw troublemaker to get involved with instead of Hufflepuff, “Don’t puff out your chest too much little Puff, people might think you’re a strutting bird.” Speaking of patrols, were those-- yes, yes they were, “Jack! Footsteps!” Surely she could get out of something so minor, a bat of her eyelashes or maybe some fake tears. Maybe she could say they were chasing his rabbit
"You don't have to consume to be guilty of the spiking it. Just because you didn't drink it, didn't mean others under age that attended. Get me?" he rebutted simply, but honestly what was done was in the past now. She was severing her time for something she did not do for a teacher she did not care for and never will and that was that. The next time, he was sure she would think twice about sticking her neck out to take the blame with her friends from the sounds of the way she complained of her assigned duties under the professor’s supervision. His sweet smirk played across his boyish features at her attempt justification, detention really wasn't that horrible but perhaps it was just because Jackson considered it a sport now.
With his hand encasing around hers a little tighter, casting a half smile over the curve of his vacant shoulder at the puff reference with a mild shrug. But like her, his ears flickered with a sharp turn of his head towards the sound the echoing footsteps against the stone hallway unsure of which direction it had been coming. That's the thing with these old castles, nothing was ever what it seemed to be! DAMNIT! Had it really been that later? Did the time fly by so quickly that they hadn't even noticed how late past curfew that had stayed out? Maybe it was because of Jack's usual restlessness that he hadn't paid much mind to it anyway.
"Come on..." he whispered harshly, but just as the footsteps had carried throughout the castle, so did even his hush tone. So, in a swift motion he spun suddenly to face her with his free arm around her tiny waist and began to walk her backwards into the empty classroom that they just so happened to be passing in that particular moment. Reaching up, he plucked Bunnymund up from behind his neck and handed him to Mariko. "Shhh, and you, be good," he to ordered the Arctic Hare before he closed the door, hiding Mariko from the pending doom that was about to unfold.
Taking a few striding steps away from where he had left her in an attempt to detour the footsteps in a direction focused on him. He began to whistle, some random winter song that suddenly popped into his head, his playful stroll along the dimly light passage did well to cover any kind of attachment he may have had associated with him. "Which way...I'm so lost! Whatever am I gonna do?" he spoke dramatically.
Perhaps it was a lingering habit from his years as a Prefect, but he always found himself walking around the school at night. He knew he didn't need to, but it also gave him something to do. He still needed things to do and focus on. The need for thinking coupled with the difficulty sleeping made it seem like the only sensible action. So when he heard footsteps, he rolled his eyes. Of course there were students out when they shouldn't be. Of course.
When he heard someone whispering and the sort of dramatic, nonsensical speaking, Dominic's expression turned serious and he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I sincerely doubt you are lost or that you have no idea what you are going to do. You might as well drop the act and accept the punishment." A beat. "And then get back to your room where you should be currently." Honestly, sometimes he had to wonder about students. When playing purposefully obtuse, they usually just came off as dense or touched in the head. He neglected to say so, however. He had sense enough not to say things to students that were unprofessional.
"I will contact you tomorrow about your detention." If he continued to act like he was lost and being ridiculous, Dominic had a feeling he was going to give him another detention just for being frustrating. Perhaps his exhaustion was making him a bit more grumpy than he expected. His eyes focused for a moment on the rabbit, arching an eyebrow before he shook his head and let whatever he'd wanted to say drop. "I suggest getting back to your dorm now."
In a theatrical three sixty pivot to the expected rebuttal to his successful distraction, ending in a casual lean against the nearby wall facing him. "Oh, hey professor...." his elbow resting above his head and crossing his ankles in a slight incline, flicking his pointer with the click of his tongue against the roof of his mouth in a bit of a smug display. "I just figured it out, I was on my way and then...I got distracted, you know how that can be sometimes, right? I've seen the way you eyeball Ms. Balan. Well, if you don't you really should. She's kinda ok, for a old lady. Anyway-gotta-bust-nice-talkin."
Quickly, he pushed himself from the way in a second swift pivot on the ball of his foot around Dominic with a cheeky wave. For reals, wasn't he a teachers assistant anyway? They don't wield the real power! "Detention? It's only like a couple of minutes after curfew..." throwing his hands up and started strolling, blithely lifting both his hands against the back of his head sheepishly. Ok, so it was maybe a little later past the appointed time but he was honestly heading that way now, yeesh! "No need to be hasty. I'm goin', I'm goin'," he waved his hand dismissively before the bounce in his step sped down the hallway.
It was a few moments after the shadows swallowed him that his voice came bouncing off the walls once again. "Wait...where...am ...Nevermind, found it!" Hopefully with all this loud blabbing, Mariko was able to slip away with Bunnymund undetected. He'd get a few more detentions tacked on to the ones he'd already piled up for this month if he remembered to do so the next day, but it was well worth it in his book.