Mariko Mimasaka (cuteheiress) wrote in carpediem_rp, @ 2015-11-22 12:12:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | character: jack frost (dropped), character: mariko mimasaka (dropped), thread: complete |
A poor girl wants to marry
Who: Jack and Mariko
Where: The lakeside
When: 11/15 1PM
Warning: None. Probably. Fluff.
Status: Closed // Complete
A picnic. A lovely, picturesque picnic before the weather started to get too cold and it made eating outside too troublesome. At least for normal people, she had a feeling Jack liked picnics in the snow or just the cold in general. Well he could just keep that to himself, Mariko only went out in the cold fully bundled, with more warming charms than she could usually count, and usually only for brief walks. Something about a runny nose being terrible unflattering on her complexion was her normal explanation
A lovely, casual picnic, with a person she had been hoping would kiss her with her heart in her throat and butterflies in her tummy.
That wasn’t the point right now though, she was determined to not hurt Jack anymore than she was already going to be forced to eventually. She grew unintentionally more fond of him every time they met, though she really had no one else to blame but herself. It’s not like she did anything to stop it. Meeting him with a basket of fruit, sandwiches and mint chocolates on the weekend, away from prying eyes on the shore of the lake definitely did not say ‘strictly platonic’ in any sense of the word.
If she were being rational, she would cut this off today. Her mind wandered to the boy far too often, she had exams to think about along with further planning on her future after school completed. It went without saying she would be returning home, but for how long? There were so many possibilities, she wanted to start her own business in America--no not wanted, that implied it was merely a desire. It was a foregone conclusion, a ‘when’ not an ‘if’ that she would have her own place carved out in this country. Here, where her family had not yet established the deep and immovable roots like they had in their homeland and neighboring nations. Even as far as France.
Instead of thinking about all that, she was here. Waiting for a boy. A nobody of a boy, whose lineage was unknown. Whose financial status (she suspected) was nothing to speak of, who had no special assets to assist her with in her future ventures aside from a remarkable affinity with ice magic.
A boy who made her smile. Who made her relaxed, who brought out a side of her that was reserved away, that had been hiding since her responsibilities had shifted with her brother’s transformation into an utter failure. Mariko enjoyed lying, little bits and stories that were mostly harmless. It came easy to her, without thought or twitch, no preplanning required. But she had not truly felt that urge with him, honesty came easy, and though warmth and sincerity was still a bit of a challenge it was becoming easier. More than that, it was something she wanted to have around him. So she sent him eye catching, memorable notes to show that she was still a girl inside though she acted cold sometimes, but that she was still a head above any other at this school. So she gave him demands rather than requests, and so she waited.
He supposed it would have been far too late to mention to her that he did not do well with demands. Orders. Rules in general, which was probably why he had spent so much time after hours in the form of detention for his harmless crimes. Since before he could remember he had always been a bit defiant, liked the air of freedom rather than the binds of restraints guidelines put in place by those who elevated themselves above him. But with her, it felt different even though it really shouldn't have been. Instead, he followed them without complaint just for a chance to spend a little more time with her. AND SHE HAD TO USE PEPPERMINT. His weakness foiled, and now she was obviously using it as a form of biological warfare. Damn her clever tactics, like Santa's fat ass to cookies, he too could not resist when she used that.
So, after his jail time sentence had been served for Dominic earlier that morning. Thank God, because that was a little more boring that it usually was for some reason. Dominic needs to lighten up a bit. Perhaps a plan was brewing just for him. Maybe zip lock bags of dry ice around his office? Freeze his pants to his seat making it so he couldn't get up for at least three hours. Make it snow in his classroom for a few days and encourage snowball fights during every period!? Oh man, all such delightful ideas! An inward grin played on his devilishly adorable features as he made his way down the gargantuan hilltop from the castle towards the visible lake at the bottom.
The same sneakers he'd always sported when gratefully for civvy clothing had still been a bit worse for wear. Mental note of the checklist he'd started a while ago that had been shoved to the back of his head for when there were actually holes in the soles of the current ones. They were fine for now, not that he wore them much anyhow but he was growing out of them a little. His hoodie a zip up this time, instead of the traditional pull over. Blue, his favourite color that contrasted well with the pale shade of his skin tone, choppy hair and crystal eyes. His jeans fitted, but frayed at the heel where they had once been too long and he ended up walking on them. Bunnymund hopping happily at his side, stopping ever so often to graze in the leaf covered grass before continuing on to catch up. "Come on, buddy." flicking his fingers in a wave before he took off in a sprint at a downward incline until he reached the bank of the lake.
Eyes scanning over the shore as he ran, he spotted her standing out like a sore thumb against the dull shades of Autumn around her. Light on his feet, though it was a little hard not to make a sound at all, given the rustle of the fallen leaves under them, he caught up to her and in one swift playful motion, both his arms went around her waist and lifted her tiny body from the ground. "HEY!" he couldn't help the hardy laugh, refusing to let her go just yet.
A squeak was emitted from her pink glossy lips when she felt herself suddenly lifted into the air, accompanied by a giggle and a grin that she quickly tried to suppress. The boy was getting far too comfortable with her, though her first instinct was a feeling of lighthearted joy at his arms around her again she tried not to display it so easily.
She wore a dark blue sundress with white flowers that was knee length, poofing out at her hips. Because admittedly, Skye was correct, she mostly owned dresses of various styles though it wasn’t something she had ever been ashamed of. Just like last time, her hair was up in a cute bun with a pink ribbon, and she wore shiny flats the exact color of her dress, because all proper ladies knew wearing heels when walking along soft dirt could be hazardous.
His pretty blue eyes were as distracting as ever but she tried not to blush at his sudden closeness and the firmness of his hands at her hips. She found herself whacking his shoulder with her hand, “You put me down right now Jackson!” It was a reprimand, and she was rather pleased with herself that she had managed to not laugh as she said it. She was wondering if him startling her when he showed up for their encounters was going to become a habit. It would be fitting for him, with his voracious energy and love of making people laugh.
Oh, that proud grin plastered across his face that he was able to earn a high pitched meep from her with his abrupt arrival. Though his playful expression dropped when that dreaded word left her lips. He hated being called Jackson it normally meant that he was in trouble, which in a way, he suppose he sort of was in her books. But it was mostly teachers and the Gorgon Queen Serafina that used that as a means to get his attention via under his skin. His lips pursed, his brow furrowed and his arms tighter around her waist in silent defiance against her request as he continued to walk with her still in his arms.
“NOPE,” he finally replied, “....not until you take it back, it’s Jack,” he corrected her. Oh, he was going to get her to take it back with an apology to accompany it as well. Veering off, readjusting his hold on her a little more comfortable - but honestly, she weighed practically nothing at all - and began to head closer to the shore of the nearby lake side. “What’s my name again? I didn’t hear you the first time,” his tone laced with mischief and determination to get what he wanted from her, perhaps an undertone rebuttal to her increasingly frequent orders. “I heard the water is nice this time of year, will you let me know?”
Of course he wasn’t really going to do it, it was just a scare tactic in playful jest anticipating the coming struggles to break free. His charmingly sweet smile had returned in full force as he reached the bank, leaning far over so that she too had to do the same. Pausing for a moment, taking in the reflection staring back at them both and how they looked together. Lowering his chin, Jack rested against her shoulder as his eyes scanned over the image off the glossy surface of the water.
Mariko has a somewhat-mostly-ish-secret fault of being stubborn and never admitting when she’s done something wrong or talked herself into a hole. It’s not something she is particularly proud of or even something she acknowledges even to herself but it’s definitely a thing. So instead of admitting that it was probably rude to call him Jackson when he preferred Jack, she instead she raised at him a challenging lovely brow--”What are you going to do about it little Puff?”
Her ankles hooked around his knees like an anchor as the water came closer, an indignant look crossing her delicate features, “You would not dare! Look at this dress! Look at my shoes! I was not born for mud!” That was rapidly becoming one of her catchphrases, so far she was not born for; manual labor, nobility, foul language, and now mud. Vague memories came to the surface, of tiny Mariko playing in a mudhole with her brother, but it was so long ago she hardly remembered it.
The hands that rested on his shoulders now threaded behind his neck, a blush at his head resting on her shoulder. It was hard to resist, and she stared at their silhouettes in the water, the sereness of the image was almost enough to forget the absurdity of his (hopefully) jesting threat. What would they look like, to a passerby? They would look like a merry boy holding a scowling hard headed girl who wasn’t really upset, both faces lit up with an innocent joy. She couldn’t help it, he was contagious.
"I wouldn't dare?" he challenged in return, "...and just how many dresses and shoes do you own that you can stand to get at least one of each dirty. Just think of it like a spa, Mariko...a nice...mud bath, spa thing...." that cheeky grin spread wider across his face as he straightened his posture, his arm now firmly under her tiny bottom to keep her in a position easily manipulated when he decided to broaden her lovely horizons just a little bit more. Toeing out of his own shoes first, craftily hooking his large digit between the hem of his sock to tug it down off his foot before the other was soon to follow with surprising balance given his hands were occupied.
Using his upper body strength, and the fact that she weighed practically nothing, he was able to balance her with one arm so that his other hand could go wondering. His fingers tracing down the length of her pale leg and finding the defined dips against her ankle hooked behind his legs. Grasping the heel of her adorable flats, he slipped the first shoe from her foot and let it fall to the rock where his had been. Switching, his other arm now under her while the other now scaled along the soft pretty skin over her flexed calf to the second heel in order to remove out of his way.
"Come on, Mariko, you're telling me you don't like the feel of muck squish between your toes? It's the best feeling in the world. It's kinda like natures natural massage!" Lawl, what? Yeah, he just came up with that and it was damn good. Totally using that as a justification for his bold step off the rock, letting his foot sink into the cool blend of water and earth ooze between his toes. Playfully his eyes rolled back and his jaw slack in theatrical pleasure. "Oh, yeaaahhhh..." when the second foot joined and he was now ankle deep, uncaring of the mess his jeans would be in after the fact. What mattered now was the moment, and enjoying her mortified expression plastered over her cute face.
“None of my things are to get dirty Jackson!” Now she was definitely using his name on purpose for his audacity! Implying that their gross lake was anything like a spa, wasn’t there a squid in the lake?! She heard his shoes drop and looked over with alarm at the ground, this was really happening. Another squeal, for good measure, just so he knew what was going to happen if he dropped her in the water. It was really a preview actually of what would be coming.
Goosebumps spread down her legs when his fingers skimmed down her leg, her flats sliding off easily to reveal soft, feet with neat toenails. The left foot having purple nails and the right having pink. Because of course they did. Immediately she wrapped them around his calf again to give herself the illusion of security, not that it would really much if he tried to drop her but it made her feel better anyway. Being threatened by mud, playing out by the lake on the weekend, it was so very innocent and childlike. It was something she missed. No schemes, no ulterior motives. Just his laugh and her shocked and mortified face.
They were in the water and she stared down at it apprehensively, “Do not dare!” Reflexively, her arms tightened around him as she stared down at feet disappearing in the water. Why was this happening to her?! She did nothing to deserve this! Was this because of that plan with Steve? Some sort of Puff solidarity? At least her dress was only knee length so if he did do the unthinkable, her lovely clothes would not get too filthy, and she knew all the best cleaning spells. Hopefully though he wouldn’t actually go through with it. He was a prankster but he wasn’t mean...right? right?
“Oh, that’s right. Just keep calling me Jackson and we’ll see what gets dirty,” he replied, he could feel the smooth muck goo between each toe, not finding it at all that unpleasant, actually. If she would just let go of her structured and perfectly planned world for just a moment and allow herself bravely step outside that comfortable pink box she had built around her to just be that sweet and rare carefree girl that seemed to only surface from time to time in his presences. So, lifting a foot from under the suction of the sludge with a loud slop sound and feeling the added weight of his heavy jeans soaked with sopping dirt.
His free hand reaching down to scoop a few fingers of mud from his arms length supply and held it up so that it was visible to both of them. “It’s not toxic, you know you can calm down...you just might enjoy it if you give it a chance. Besides, I was nice enough to remove your shoes wasn’t I?” he smiled, and without further warning he playfully swipped the bit of muck from his finger across her adorable chubby cheeks that was swiftly becoming one of his favourite features about her. The way the filled out when she smiled, even though it had been obvious to him earlier on that she was trying to hide it for some reason. Why? He wasn’t entirely sure, and thought she should stop being so cautious about it and smile a lot more.
“Wait a second, though….” he opened the guilty hand in a pause, his eyes darting all around as if he’d heard something out of the ordinary. “Nope, you’re not melting...so I guess it’s safe…” confessing, he chuckled with a pleased expression painted across his features. Oh, this was definitely going to be ending with her bare feet sinking into to silt with him if it was going to be the last thing he ever did. He was a man on a mission, and one no amount of high pitched squeals could stop him from achieving his goal.
“It is your name is it not? Why do you dislike it so?” Genuine curiosity distracted her from her annoyance at the situation for a moment. It was a question she had been wondering about since Halloween, truthfully. Jackson was a distinguished name, at least as far as Western names go. It was his, and it was given to him by his parents. At the mention of it though he always reacted so poorly. Her name was nothing remarkable by sound and meaning, except that it was her’s and so she loved it.
That was the last words he would hear from her for sometime said with such niceness however. Dark eyes tracked his filthy hand as if in slow motion where it rose in front of her face, powerless to stop it, so stunned into stillness was she even though she saw what was happening. The grainy, wet mud slid across her cheeks in a gentle swipe, and though she was definitely ‘safe’ from melting his ears were definitely not ‘safe’.
To call the noise that came from her throat a ‘squeal’ would be doing it a disservice, and to call it a ‘squeak’ would simply be lying. Rather, it was a shriek that competed well with an opera singer’s goal to break glass, and with it came more smacking to his shoulder along with her legs kicking back and away from him. It caused her to fall from his grasp, barefeet hitting the ankle length water with a splash and a shudder on her part. So, horrified and with her toes now firmly entrenched in mud, Mariko did the only thing a 17 year old heiress yearning for adulthood while desperately hanging onto the freedom of youth could do when totally out of their element and at their wits in.
She kicked water and mud at him, trying to clutch at her dress and bundle it up to prevent it from getting dirty though it was probably a lost cause. An 11 year old Mariko, fresh from Japan and hardly out from her parent’s shelter would have clung to him while berating his actions. An older one who had given up such indulgences as relaxing boys with beautiful eyes would have simply glared at him and gracefully trudged back to the castle. But this Mariko, barely surpressed a grin at something she knew she shouldn’t enjoy while trying to get revenge.
HOLY SNOW FLURRIES! He felt his knees buckle under the ooze of his brain practically melting from his ear drums and he could not help but let her go in attempt to protect himself from that horrid sound. Though, with his hands removed from around her tiny waist, letting her bare feet now sink into the very mud she was singing in disgust like a goddamn lake banshee, and not rushing to avoid sinking deeper into it but plowing him over to get to the rock he had left their shoes on to. His palms quickly went to his ears in attempt to muffled the ungodly sound that he triggered from the depths of her high pitched set of pipes. Honestly, at that octave she could probably shatter a pane of glass and through all the jokes he'd played on anyone, none had reacted quite as theatrical as this drama princess. Oy!
God, this girl really needed to get out more and realise that dirt wasn't going to erode her skin or something crazy like that. Well, she was certainly behaving like it! Hunching a little as he pressed a little harder, parting his lips to plead with her to stop before he had realised...she did stop, and with spray of muck now splattered over the front of his cloths in her incoherency rebuttal to his fun! With hands now extend to his sides and his jaw hung slack in shock that she would even do such a thing, he couldn't stop that ever contagious laugh that echoed over the still of the lake water before them, and the brown colored sludge now between both of their toes. "Look what you just did!?"
Of course he wasn't mad, instead rather delighted that she subconsciously opened the door for him to advance once again. One hand sinking under the cloudy surface of the water to scoop a palmful of wet dirt, minerals and probably some kelp or some plant life he was sure was growing in here. She liked Herbology, right? He snickered inwardly at his own mental joke before he took a step towards her. "It's only fair that if you did this," he pointed out, "than I get to do the same," ah God his cheeks hurt from smiling so much, despite the opera note he'd triggered first starting off, she was so darn cute and he couldn't help himself any longer.
The cleaner of the two hands now extended to revisit the dip of her waist with the other suspended at a distance for now, the drip of mud now sliding down the length of his forearm and under the sleeve of his sweater. But unlike her, Jack knew that all of this just could be washed out later so why not have some fun with it now? It was always his mentality. Play now, deal with consequences later.
Shock and horror painted her face, along with the light streaks of mud still across her cheeks at his approach. Really she was aghast at herself, splashing around in the water like a common child. It didn’t stop her feet from trying to get him twice as filthy as she was though, carried away by the joy of the moment. Letting herself relax and throwing herself into the retaliation whole heartedly, “You like it, do not lie!” The rebuttal came with a grin that she hardly tried to hide, and like many that she revealed to him, it was not practiced or canned like the ones she wore by default in public.
But even so she could not stop the way she hyperfocused in on the hand coming towards her, filled with muck, filth, bugs, disgusting water and Kami knows what else. So intent on his hand, she found herself ignoring anything else he said even though she could probably think of a dozen biting responses to whatever he thought was terribly clever. Perhaps she should have turned and bolted to keep from being worse off than she already was, heading for the safe shore and her wand to clean herself up and regain her dignity in the process.
But that would be running away and admitting he won. A proud girl by nature, and with a competitive streak that didn’t always get a chance to come out because of the way she presented herself, she would definitely not let him win--especially not with using such ‘dirty’ techniques. Well. If he could play that game so could she!
Taking a quick step towards him and reaching past his hands she grabbed at his shirt before he could grab her own, and she pulled him to her with a daring look. No hesitation before her lips pressed to his, chaste but insistent.
Oh.
Oh
The part of her brain dictating rationality, the part that had planned to stun him and walk away with her head held high triumphantly fizzled like fireworks dying out. The flutter of butterflies were back full force in her tummy, and why were her eyes closing?! Long eye lashes rested on her cheeks as they slowly closed, goosebumps and tiny electric shocks spreading throughout her body like wildfire.
This was not Mimasaka Mariko’s first kiss, but this was not how she knew kisses to be. This kiss made her toes curl in the mud and her hands clutch him tighter to her involuntarily. Uh oh. She was in trouble.
Oh man, that adorable coy smirk he wore in anticipation of victory was soon wiped clean from existence when the unexpected had bulldozed it's way past the expected. His bright crystal colored eyes shot wide, turning down sharply at the small fingers tangling in the fabric of his shirt before he returned to her stepping closer still and her pretty glossed lips had made first contact. CONDUCTOR? THIS TRAIN IS ABOUT TO DERAIL. ALL COHERENT THOUGHTS AND MISCHIEVOUS INTENT PLEASE LEAP TO SAFETY FIRST. The muck filled hand done what she had initially wanted, dropping to his side and letting the sludge drop back into the calf deep water.
His heart was horribly loud, his cheeks a faint flush hue and his breathing had become shallow and eased through his nose. It was a few moments before he reacted with the natural ease of things that had seemed to come with her unexpected guidance. He too slid his eyes shut, feeling the warmth of their innocent kiss dip deeper into a place they had not planned to go. But like with all teenage boys, he was finding that the sweet taste of a girls lips had been far more enjoyable in this moment than payback. Instead, he stepped a little closer with his arm coiling a bit more around her waist to close the gap that still remained between them. His head tilted more to accommodate the height difference between them and his lips coaxed hers to part to let him in.
Jack had not been an expert in the art of kissing by any means, but he was not a complete baffling fool when it came to understanding how to do things. And surprisingly enough, it was easier than he thought when choking down the theoretic hammering of his heart that leaped to his throat from his chest, and there was no hope in the North Pole to hide from her. But he could not stop himself, instead his tongue passed her sweet barrier, in search of hers for a more intimate flavour that was unique to only them.
Was she standing in the mud kissing Jackson Overland, the unimportant puff with his arm around her and his probably filthy hand on her dress? Yes. Yes she was. It was fabulous, and she wasn’t stopping. Mariko allowed him to pull her a little closer, taking a murky step with him until she had to move her hands from his chest to wrap around his neck because they could no longer fit between them.
This was not like kissing Trystan, or that one older boy she had kissed in her fourth year because he had acted like she was too frilly to do so. Now she realized that she had not kissed at all, not really. Before, she had always kept her head, scheming in her head like the true Slytherin princess she was born to be, plotting and working to control the situation. But this had none of that. This was all soft, insistent touches, fingers tangling into his hair to hold him in place--not that he would want to leave of course--wonder and warmth dashing away any machinations that would normally be in her mind.
This was what kisses were supposed to be. Her tongue reached out to meet his, and at the touch her body trembled in a motion small if she was asked later she would blame it on the water. The slush of her stomach, her heart in her throat and eyes closed in a quiet trust of the boy in her arms all coupled to cause her to lose herself and relax into the kiss. It was a wonderful and terrifying thing; to plunge into something heart first, with no regrets knowing you should. But she embraced the feeling, and him, head tilting to meet his taller form easily, finding he fit her well in this way, just like his smiles fit her to bring her out of her role she had created for herself.
Her goal had been achieved, even if the achievement no longer mattered and the mischievous thoughts had soon dissipated into a blur of nothingness. Instead, there was only this kiss and the quiet moment shared between them with the faint sound of his breathing fighting to catch up with the rest of his mind and his heart steadily increasing in speed the longer his tongue sought hers in playful exploration. Finding his soot covered hand now subconsciously lifting to accept her all the more with the weave of her fingers through his messy blonde hair, unintentionally leaving the distinct silhouette of his handprint on the flowing blue fabric without a second thought. But he was certain there had not been a care in the world from either of them.
When his brain had finally called him back to this disappointing realm called reality, Jack reluctantly peeled himself back just enough to end the tender kiss. His nose brushing ever so slightly against hers and the linger of her fruit tainted lips instantly missed once he had already tasted something he wanted to again. "Wow," his whisper was faint but loud enough to for her ears alone, and perhaps Bunnymund whom was now curled up on the pile of shoes they had left on the rock only a few steps away.
Someone in the recesses of her mind she realized that he had made her dress even dirtier than he already had with his hand. But most of her only noticed the pleasant weight of his hand and the way his touch both eased her nerves and set them alight. The steady and loud rhythm of her own heartbeat in her ears blocked out her voice of reason that was trying to remind her that she was Frenching Jackson calf deep in mud!!!!!. He kissed like he did everything, sincerely and with gusto and she found it endearing. It was a charged kiss that made her knees wobble just a little, but it did not leave the same tension in the air as the kisses that she had previously that were so single minded.
When he pulled away she let her forehead rest against his finding her lips were cold though the rest of her felt so warm, even the air she exhaled had a winter’s chill to it. A serene smile on her face that revealed far more than she would be comfortable with, if her mind was not a pink and fuzzy haze. It almost looked like they should be slow dancing, with her hands wound around his neck and his on her hips. Shiny, manicured fingers pulled gently at the fine strands of hair on the back of his neck idly before she grinned at his reaction. A mischievous spark lit up her eyes, not unlike the way his so often shinned, “I think I won, Jack” A far too pleased smile on her face.
Watching curiously through hooded lids as the cool fog passed between her lips a little thicker than usual. He'd never really thought of it before, but he knew now that it was because of his strange anomaly that set him apart from the rest of his peers that he wished he had an explanation for. Since the Auror's dispatched from the ministry the few months before his letter from Hogwarts had come swooping from the sky, he had been this way without second questioning it. They knew the boy had talent in areas were most would find challenging, especially with his exceptional ability to conjure winter elements. Surprisingly, even in the warmth of the summer season which he had grown a profound dislike for due to the profound heat that practically made him feel as though he were melting.
His smile slowly spread from ear to ear at her victorious claim and the gentle coax of her thin fingers through the sensitive place at the back of his neck that had him almost drooling. She seemed to have quite the talent for that. "Don't get so smug, I won't let you catch me off guard and derail my head like that again." With an assuring tone, he stole yet another small but meaningful kiss finding it difficult not to do so when he could still feel the heat of her breath against his lips, and the sweet scent of her lip gloss now tainting his with a pleasant flavour that he'd never admit to. The cleaner of the two hands lifted from her waist, ghosting his fingers over the soft flush plain of her cheek and under the curtain of long jet black hair.
"...but who exactly won what?" the questioning chuckle brought his attention to the fact that she was still standing with him in the cool mud, calf deep and the fabric of her deep blue dress soiled with the mud he hadn't meant to smear in a hand print against the small of her back. The pad of his thumb brushing over the hardened streak of mud he had painted across her face before their unexpected lip lock, figuring she had forgotten his prior victory. His smile grew cheeky, and he found himself chuckling at their very unique predicament without a care to follow his actions.
His arms went around her once more and lifting her from the water, using his hand to help guide her legs apart around his waist. His eyes never left hers, and his carefully step, one after the other towards the rock where Bunnymund had been watching over their belongings. Thinking that their plans to have a picnic would have to wait for another day, knowing full well that Mariko would want to clean off as swift as her little feet could carry her and Jack had been perfectly fine with that. She had done so much for him as it was, stepping outside of those walls she and the life her parents had constructed for her in order to taste a little bit of what it truly meant to let it go and be yourself. Grateful that it was he whom she choose to let herself to do so.
“I always win Jack. You will learn such eventually.” A flirtatious grin and a spark in her eyes, head tilted to lean into his touch on her cheek, “What makes you think you will not want to?” Mariko was not a seductress by any means to say the least, but she enjoyed flirting and teasing, it came easily to her, especially with Jack. Her parents had raised her to be good at manipulating people, fostering a love of winning and taking what she wanted. Competitive was not really the best term, Mariko just really liked having what she wanted. That’s all.
Most of those qualities fell by the wayside with Jack, they wanted nothing out of one another except one another. It was freeing and disarming, and it was getting harder after every encounter not to give herself to the feeling completely. She allowed him to pick her up, a light blush gracing her cheeks at the extra chaste kiss on her lips. Her head rested against his still, nose lightly nuzzling his before he set her down.
However, she knew there were things about him that he chose not to tell for whatever reason. Say what you will about old Pureblood families, but they knew secrets very well and she knew they were swimming under the surface with him, “One day Jack, you and I will have to discuss why you are always so cold.” It was not meant to sound pressuring, but innocent. She had learned a long time ago that being perceived as innocent and harmless tended to help her get her way.
Not that she should really care about his secrets or his past. They couldn’t be anything beyond what they were. Surely he knew that. Hopefully. Speaking of things that were being deliberately hidden--she wasn’t exactly eager to discuss that, or anything else that kept her awake at night.
She may have believed she was the victor of this round, but in many ways, Jack had felt the same with the filth covered accomplishment he was now setting to the safety of the rock. She was a mess, and would not otherwise be if it had not been for the infectious aura that magically brought out the fun in most people, despite trying like mad to deny his non-magical powers to do so. "If you say so, Mariko," his reply, laced with a light hearted chuckle that suggested he wasn't surprised, given being the heiress of something rather, she'd won more often than not. His imagination creating a young Mariko in her pretty, tidy dresses with a soft pout and a demand for her teddy back, getting exactly what she wanted.
It was then, when he felt her forehead still pressed against his and the breeze of her fruit tainted lips tickled his, that for the first time his thoughts had rested on the reality of their unique relationship. He was a boy that came from nothing. He lived in a small room above Honeydukes in the summer, calling Hogwarts his own during the school year. There was no money to his name, aside from what he had worked for under ol' lady Flume and not to his knowledge had his name 'Overland' carried any sort of influential weight among the higher society of their wizarding world. In fact, Jack was not told anything of his past before then, nor did he question it, but always feeling as though something was missing. She, on the other hand knew who she was, who she was expected to be and with wealth and power at her back through the support of family, whether she believed so or not, she still had them. They were from two completely different worlds, but they had rose above it all with even their first encounter.
And now, if felt as though they could not stand to be a part for long periods of time which was enough to make Jack's heart swell and stomach flutter with this feeling. She was his, and he hers and it was shown the way she gripped to him, to keep him close and wanting to inhale against this winter scent. Letting a deep breath lass his lips, he finally pulled just enough from her to take her hand in his, his other hand scooping up the pair of glittery flats and handed them to her before he grabbed his own with his fingers hooked in the heel. "Come on, I'm sure you're wanting to clean off..." he snicked, knowing that was his own personal victory. His fingers around her wrist, he turned his back to her and ensuring her arm draped over his shoulder before he leaned down to lift her to his back. Readjusting, his arms went under her knees and his back slightly forward for a more comfortable position.
"Why I'm so cold? You can ask, but I can't answer that question for you," he stated with a smile still spread from ear to ear, anticipating the question of why. "...I don't have an explanation for it myself. I've just been this way for as long as I can remember. Why? Does it bother you?" a faint shrug in his posture as he began to walk, the Arctic hare close behind, hopping along to keep up with them both.
It was rather silly she knew, reasonably. But with her shoes in hand she allowed him to carry her. It reminded her of her brother and her when she was a kid, before he became trash in her eyes. The thought was sobering, so she boxed it up like she usually did when those sorts of emotions or thoughts threatened her. Everyone had their way of coping, and her’s was to box things up and stick them in a corner of her mind. Ignoring them like wives ignored their husband’s mistresses.
Her wand was stowed back in the discreet pocket of her dress, and she could have cleaned herself up with magic. They both were well aware of that, but she rested her head on his shoulder as he carried her anyway. A little surprised he bore her so well, considering that he didnt seem that strong. There were many things about Jack that she found physically attractive, but his arms definitely were not one of them. That was okay though, if she wanted a big buff guy she would have forgiven Trystan for the slight to her pride instead of ignoring him whenever he caught her eye.
She watched Bunnymund hopping out of the corner of her eyes as she listened to Jack--”That fact in and of itself does not bother me, but you having been altered does. Who knows what other side effects it could have.” What was it with her and being drawn to boys who ‘can’t remember’ stuff? First Bucky(in a platonic way, obviously) and now him, “Not that it matters.” That bit was more for her than him, reminding her that whatever was weird with him didn’t matter because they weren’t anything. Couldn’t ever be anything. Speaking of that she spotted a group of Slytherin girls hanging around outside the greenhouses, instantly recognizing a few of them as some of the other Pureblood elite of the school. Damn.
A mostly gentle whack on his shoulder as she struggled to get down, “Thank you for the ride but I will be fine from here.” The Slytherin Princess was back, and she gave him one of her camera ready smiles that didn’t reach her eyes before turning away from him. It was cruel, and it wasn’t right, but the world would keep turning. This was how things were.
"I'm not entirely sure, I was never told much about anything. I'm not even sure anyone noticed but you or I. Either way, I haven't been in any pain because of it, it's almost the norm for me, you could say," his response rolled from the tip of his tongue as he spoke, recalling what he did remember. A ping of foreign frustration at the void hole in his life that perhaps he should have taken the time to rediscover himself instead of playing games as a subconscious distraction of the real truth, whether no one seemed to care much or they were withholding information on purpose. Jack just figured he would never know.
He'd not noticed the group of girls gathered just outside the greenhouse, instead he was thoroughly enjoying the conversation, as limited as it was, between them in an attempt to get to know him better. Aside from East, Bunnymund and the Man in the Moon no other had wanted to dig a little deeper under the surface, so he hid it with his uncanny ability to make people laugh and have fun. It was strange, but he felt a strange comfort in hearing others laugh.
Frowning when he had no other choice but to let her down, he turned to face her with confusion all of a sudden. They were having a great time, weren't they? And he watched in silence as she bid her farewell and flashing him that practiced, empty smile to which he had picked up on straight away. He nodded regardless, watching her turn from him and continue on up the hill where he had intended on carrying her anyway before his ears flickered to the sounds of distant giggles. Bright blue eyes turned, now noting the group of girls now whispering amongst each other while looking in his direction.
Of course, being the Jack thing to do he simply smile and waved earning an even louder giggles from the girls. Unsure if it was good or bad, he didn't care too much. "Come on buddy, we gotta get cleaned up too....ah, I mean, I have to get cleaned up..." he corrected, scooping up the white rabbit and placed him over his shoulder to take Mariko's place. "Girls are strange, don't you think?"