Dahlia Liang ✈️ Sam Wilson / Falcon (edgeofglory) wrote in dunhavenic, @ 2019-11-25 09:58:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !log, * jeanne, * terri, c: dahlia liang, c: verity mckinnon |
WHO: Dahlia Liang & Verity McKinnon
WHEN: Sunday, November 24, 2019
WHERE: Their home
SUMMARY: Finally talking about that kiss.
WARNINGS: None!
BINGO: Dinner and a Show
Verity was due home from a Pilots & Paws flight any minute now. The pictures Verity sent from those flights had always made Dahlia both happy and emotional- but, then, that was the natural sort of reaction with rescue animals, even when there wasn't a sad Sarah McLachlan song playing in the background. Expecting her home, Dahlia had started to make dinner- not for any particular reason or cause, but just, well, just because it sounded good. The weather was turning colder, so soup was always a good choice. The chicken and dumplings hadn't entirely been made from scratch, though- she wasn't entirely a 50's housewife. Rather, biscuits from a tin and some hearty canned soup, plus some extra grilled chicken and fresh vegetables added in. Still, it all smelled amazing, and even the Wright kittens had been prowling around, hoping to get a bit of a taste, once the dishes were served. -- A day in the air usually cleared Verity’s mind, and it had been clear while she was amongst the clouds with a two year old blind and deaf golden retriever by her side. Once Ginger had been dropped off at her destination, and Verity had returned to Dunhaven, her mind had time to wander again. As it usually did these days, her mind had gone to Dahlia and what they were very much Not Talking About. She knew that her brothers were right and a conversation needed to be had, but she hadn’t yet been brave enough to approach the topic. Which was, she could admit, maybe cowardly for someone who could shoot photon blasts out of her fists. She pulled a smile to her lips as she unlocked the front door to the house that they shared, and let herself inside. Immediately, she could smell a delicious aroma wafting out of the kitchen, and she sighed happily, calling out, “Dahlia, I don’t know what you cooked up, but I am here for it.” Her presence had attracted the appearance of their kittens. She bent down to give both of them scratches on the head for a moment before she stood to shrug out of her jacket and hang it on the hook by the door. -- Dahlia heard the door open, as did the kittens- the latter of whom rushed to greet Verity, winding their way around her legs with small a small chorus of chirps and squeaking meows. She turned around as Verity was hanging her coat up on the hook near the door, and offered a half-crooked grin. "It's Progresso and Pillsbury. Which is, I suppose, less fancy than saying it's my attempt at chicken and dumplings. How was the flight?" -- “It’s creative and probably a lot better than I could do. I’ll eat pretty much any incarnation of chicken and dumplings,” Verity offered, willingly admitting that she wasn’t much of a cook. If dinner was left up to her, it was often something ordered in, or something heated according to the instructions on the package. No one particularly wanted Verity to volunteer to bring anything to any family gathering. “The flight went well. Ginger stayed pretty calm for not being able to hear any of my reassurances as we changed altitudes. She has a great new family waiting for her,” Verity smiled. It wasn’t the Air Force, no, but it was something good and worthwhile, “I...the flight back was quiet.” Aside from her thoughts, anyway. -- "Don't call it better until you've tried some and not died, please," Dahlia offered, shaking her head, though amused. She really didn't consider the dinner to be much of a feat, but if Verity was happy, that was a good sign. As she pulled down two bowls and started to dish out their meals, she was quiet for a moment, considering Verity's response. It could have been a perfectly normal sort of quiet, after all. Clear skies, nothing out of the ordinary. But... She handed Verity her bowl, then nodded toward the adjacent (really, all one big room) living room. They ate dinner there more often than not, just for the comfort factor. "Good quiet or not-good quiet?" -- Verity laughed at the idea that the meal might be the death of her, but it smelled good, and she figured if it was mostly packaged, it was unlikely that it would ultimately be her downfall, "Fine, deal. But I have faith that it will be good." She took the bowl gratefully and settled into the couch without further prompting. Though as Dahlia asked her to define the quiet, Verity paused. She ate the bite of dinner that she'd had just to her lips before the question came, and took the moment of chewing that bite to give herself a choice on how to respond. They had needed to talk for a long time now, but she'd been fearful of that conversation. She didn't know if it was something that Dahlia wanted to talk about, and she also didn't really want to ruin their dinner by bringing it up. Even still, she kept letting those opportunities slide right by her. She kept pushing it back, further and further away, but it never got any easier to bear, "Not bad, but not…great." She pursed her lips a moment and pushed her spoon around in the bowl, her dinner giving off a little steam, "God, I mean the quiet. Not…the food is really good." -- Dahlia had taken her own spot at the other end of the same sofa, turning sort of sideways so she could face Verity (for conversation, of course) as they ate. This wasn't unusual. This was their home, and this was... just what they did. Who they were. But her eyes widened at Verity's response, initially thinking that it was about the food- even going so far as to rest her own spoon back into her bowl before she'd even taken a bite. Verity amended her statement, and Dahlia shook her head, admittedly relieved. "Oh, thank God." There was... something there. Out, in the air between them, unspoken and tinting their words and their moods and... everything. And Dahlia was fairly certain she knew what it was, because it was the same thing she'd been stubbornly pushing out of her mind for... God, for nearly two months now. Exhaling heavily, Dahlia shifted aside and set her soup bowl on the coffee table. (She still hadn't taken even one bite.) But she rested her hands in her lap, looked to Verity, and spoke, simply, "So. I kissed you." -- If Verity hadn't had a better hold on her bowl, she might have accidentally spilled it all over her lap and the couch, honestly. Though yes, it was a fact that Dahlia had kissed her, they had never acknowledged it. Not beyond that first moment, anyway. Her grip tightened a little around the bowl before she leaned over to likewise sit her bowl on the table, mirroring Dahlia's. "You kissed me. And then we never talked about it," Verity's voice was a little tight. Not angry or upset, but filled with unspoken emotions that she'd been wrestling with for months, "But it's…I can't forget it, Dahlia. And I can't ignore it for forever, but I didn't want to upset you by bringing it up." -- "I mean, ignoring it forever was... kind of my plan." Which was probably obvious, in retrospect, even if it was also the furthest thing from healthy, and they both knew it. Dahlia closed her eyes, drawing one hand through her curly hair, then nodded and continued. "I shouldn't have done it- not the way I did, anyway. There was too much running through my mind, then, and I didn't know what to do with all my thoughts and emotions. So I picked what was probably the worst choice." Even if, then, Verity had said not to apologize. She still felt like it was maybe a little appropriate to do so. "It's not like I've never thought you were attractive." This was just standard and obvious, right? Not out of the ordinary for friends, as they were. "And you know that I've kissed girls before," though that, at least, had usually been when she was inebriated and just seen as a bit of fun, not something serious. Which, Dahlia also knew, was more than a little damaging to people who actually identified as bisexual, but... That was another conversation, too. "But then you lost your memories, and I had to... to seriously contemplate what it might be like to live my life without the friendship that has defined it..." Her voice seemed to catch in her throat, and she glanced up to the ceiling for a moment. "I can survive anything else the military or even these god-forsaken dreams send my way, but I cannot live without you, Ver." -- Hearing Dahlia confirm that she would have preferred to ignore it for forever wasn’t exactly the most comforting thing that she’d ever heard. Especially as she continued, spelling out her regrets over the way that she’d done it - or that she’d done it at all - Verity just let herself fall silent, listening to Dahlia’s explanations, even if they stung. It was true, yes, that she knew Dahlia had kissed other girls before. Only when she was very drunk and never anyone that they knew well. Never anyone that she could be tied back to for a date or any other relation. She’d thought maybe Dahlia was just feeling...a little experimental, and she’d never said anything about it. Verity had just gone on with the never-corrected assumption that Dahlia was just as straight as she’d ever been before. She did feel guilt over the fact that she’d lost her memories at all, even though maybe that was misplaced. She’d had no control over those events. The dreams had intervened when she’d ended up with those powers, and her mind had needed time to heal. Though she knew that now, it hadn’t made that any easier for the people that loved her. Her heart tugged as she looked over to Dahlia, though that part of the discussion, at least, they’d broached before, “I know...that it was an impossible situation that was shitty and horrible, but you don’t have to live without me. I’m right here.” Her words were soft and reassuring, though her emotions felt as on edge as they had been the last two months...which was maybe not something wise for a person who could blast apart fully mature trees with her hands. “I can’t live without you either, you know. That’s one of the reasons that I’ve avoided this conversation for so long. Because I’ve been terrified that...that one or both of us would get hurt.” She looked down to her hands, twisting them together, and admitted, “I just...Dahlia, I need to know what you want. Or at least...if you regret it and just want to move past it, or even if it’s something you’re still working through. I need some kind of answer...even if it’s a temporary one.” -- I'm right here. Dahlia's chest felt tight, and- god, she wanted to hug Verity and just... not let her go. But that, too, was probably the wrong choice. "If I knew what I wanted, don't you think I would have told you by now?" The remark might have been sarcastic, in another time or place, but given everything else, this time it just sounded sort of... sad. But maybe that wasn't fair, really. And maybe she could tell some of the things that she knew she wanted, even if it wasn't the precise and direct answer Verity was searching for. "I want you to stay my best friend for the rest of our whole damn lives. I want each of us to find ridiculously attractive partners who treat us like the goddesses and/or superheroes we are. I want to fly across the country with you and stop at every little regional airport with a decent pancake breakfast we can find. And I'd love to figure out why my brain keeps replaying that kiss when it was pretty damn obvious you weren't into it whatsoever." -- Verity knew that figuring out or admitting what they wanted was probably going to be the most monumental task that they’d taken on since some of the missions they’d tackled in the Air Force. It had the potential to change everything, for better or for worse. Once again, she listened as Dahlia seemed to get those things off of her chest. Some of those wants were easy for Verity to promise. Others, she didn’t know what the future would hold. It was pretty damn obvious you weren’t into it whatsoever. Verity McKinnon had never been particularly adept at impulse control, and it was a quality she shared with her dreaming counterpart, Carol. As such, it took every ounce of her self control to not show Dahlia with her actions just how incorrect that conclusion had been. Thinking that her best friend was attractive was something that she’d ignored and pushed away for the majority of the last decade. She had jokingly talked about it over the years, yes, in that playful way that she always had, “Ah, yes, how unfair it is that the hottest girl in the room is so very not into women.” Losing her memories had made her forget that she wasn’t supposed to seriously acknowledge any attraction that she might have felt. Unfortunately, she didn’t think that kissing Dahlia again to prove her point was something that was acceptable in this conversation. Especially not when the both of them were already so damn confused. “I was shocked,” she admitted after a moment, her voice quiet, “I was...it was the last thing that I expected, but that...that doesn’t mean that I wasn’t into it, or that I couldn’t have been into it...given the chance.” She ran a hand through her hair, sitting forward a little, elbows at her knees, “Dahlia Liang, regardless of what happens here and now, I am going to be your very best friend until the end of the damn world, OK? I am going to eat pancakes with you at airports around this whole country. I’m going to blast Rocket Man at top volume whenever you’re sad. I’m going to make mistakes and do impulsive shit, but I’ll never water Alfonso on Tuesdays. I will always love you, and undoubtedly maintain that no one - even if they are ridiculously attractive and fantastic - is good enough for you because you’re the most badass superhero bitch in the galaxy. And I mean, that, you know, in the most adoring way.” -- Given the chance. Verity's promises were nothing that Dahlia couldn't (or wouldn't) have otherwise expected, but hearing them aloud in the middle of an otherwise difficult conversation made her heart feel ten times lighter. They were things she had no right to doubt, and she stubbornly promised herself that she wouldn't, ever again. "I know," she offered, finally, exhaling heavily and raking her fingers through her hair once more before then meeting Verity's gaze. They had been friends for more than a decade now, immovable fixtures in one another's lives. This, whatever this was- whatever this might be- wouldn't change that. "I know, and I wouldn't change a single damn thing about you, Ver." She was quiet for just a moment, then offered, "I need a date for your brother's wedding. You free?" -- Verity wasn’t someone likely to change for anyone, and that had never been a problem in the past before. She was glad that Dahlia didn’t think it was an issue now, either. At the suggestion that they attend her brother’s wedding together, her smile brightened. Of course, they’d have gone together anyway. They went to most events together. They were kind of a package deal, which was one of the reasons that Verity’s retirement following Dahlia’s probably hadn’t been that big of a surprise to most people. Still, she knew that this wasn’t just going together, as they always did. It was the suggestion of a date that might potentially mean more dates…that might change the course of their friendship more than that kiss already had, “Yeah. It’s a date.” -- Dahlia knew that they'd already planned on attending Ian and Ezra's wedding together, and it would hardly be the first event of its kind that they did just that. But... if they wanted- or at least were open to- something different... "I don't... entirely know how it might be different from... what we were going to be doing anyway," Dahlia admitted, with an almost rueful smile. "But I'm... open to suggestions, Ver." -- “Well,” she said after a moment, heart racing as she thought about the implications. This was new territory, and Verity desperately didn’t want to mess it up. Still, most things worth having required a leap of faith, and they may never know without giving it a shot. “You could give me a second chance at the kissing thing? If...that’s an acceptable suggestion.” Her cheeks flushed, knowing that she was usually much smoother and more confident in her flirtations, but most of the time, those people didn’t matter to her. -- Though Dahlia felt her cheeks flush a bit at the suggestion, her smile had returned without even the slightest hint of restraint. "Yeah," she nodded, and reached a hand out for Verity to take- to pull her closer in, or vice versa- "more than acceptable." -- Although she was fully aware that their dinner was probably getting cold, she couldn’t even focus on that. There were no small amount of nerves involved in this because Dahlia had been one of the most important people in her world for more years than seemed possible. Still, she reached out and took Dahlia’s offered hand, and pushed all of the worries out of her mind. Instead, she moved in closer, and let herself claim that kiss. There was no hesitation or surprise this time. -- Dinner could be reheated, so long as the kittens didn't get to it- but, honestly, at this point? Dahlia had almost entirely forgotten about it. Verity took her hand and moved in closer, and Dahlia let her grip instead slip up Verity's arm, fingers grasping against the sleeve of her shirt. There hadn't been even a breath of hesitation between them this time, and their lips met for a kiss that... Well, that felt much more like what she'd wanted their last one to feel like. Her eyes closed, and she tried to focus on... on everything that made this about Verity and not anyone else she'd kissed before. There was a softness to her lips, yes, but a demand behind it that Dahlia seemed to know, with certainty, she could grow addicted to. There was the faintest lingering aroma of engine grease and plane fuel that hadn't yet been showered away, but even that, too, felt familiar and comfortable and- fuck, it just felt good. Dahlia brought her free hand up to the back of Verity's neck, resting there. Her hair was up in its normal ponytail, so Dahlia didn't fuss with it, but she kept her touch there in... perhaps in silent askance not to pull away. -- Verity was used to kisses that meant little of anything other than heated, stolen moments that would soon fade. Such was the way that she’d operated for most of her adulthood...claiming intimacy when she could, for a couple of hours of warmth and good feelings. She rarely went back for seconds, much less thirds. This...this was entirely different than that. Dahlia was not someone that Verity ever could have walked away from. She’d been afraid to let this happen because something inside her seemed to instantly click into place...like all these years she’d been just one notch off center, and all it took was accepting this to set her to rights. A shiver traveled all the way up her spine, setting her nerve endings on fire as Dahlia’s hand rested at her neck. She reached up with her own hand to that damned pony tail that she was so often known for pulling her hair up into, and with one tug, that hair band let free, sending her hair cascading down, the hair tie falling to the floor, no doubt to be set upon as prey by the Wright Kittens. She was filled with nothing but warmth and good feelings, and even through her closed eyes, everything seemed brighter. She had let one hand fall to Dahlia’s waist, the other at her shoulder, thumb pressed gently to her collarbone. There was no way she was pulling away any time soon. -- The nerves she'd had, the hesitation and uncertainty and fear that had held her back... It had disappeared without a second thought. And though Dahlia might well have been able to resummon such feelings if she let her mind linger on them too long, for now she was quite happily distracted and had no intention of changing that. She felt Verity's hair come loose from its queue and cascade down, falling to frame their kiss and brushing against her skin, its silken softness only maddening enough to draw Dahlia's touch further, as she instead laced her fingers into the length of it. She could feel Verity's touch pressed at her shoulder, the pressure point there, and Dahlia let her other hand fall to Verity's waist in opposite of where Verity held on to her. When, several moment later, she finally shifted just enough to take a gasping breath and open her eyes, the words hadn't entirely come back to her... Yet, she couldn't help but remark, "Ver..." Another kiss, softer, slower, clearly unbothered by the statement to follow, "You're glowing." -- Her mind was hazy with very concentrated thoughts of kissing Dahlia. She did take a deep inhale when their lips parted, though her eyes had remained closed, sinking easily back into that second, slower kiss even as she gave a small hum of acknowledgement that she’d heard her name. She was glowing. Like, glowing with happiness? Radiatively pretty? A glowingly great kisser, five stars, would kiss again? She blinked her eyes open, and indeed, there was a luminous glow to her skin, tendrils of her hair seeming to sway a little in no breeze at all. She was a human light bulb...or just...filled with cosmic energy. Her hands against Dahlia’s clothes and skin didn’t seem to be scorching anything, and she murmured into another kiss, “Nothing’s on fire, right?” -- It wasn't the first time she'd seen Verity aglow, though it was certainly the closest she'd ever been when it happened. Still, apart from the visual shift, Dahlia couldn't tell that anything was different otherwise- and, well, the glowing didn't really bother her. Was it different? Sure. But what about everything that happened in this town wasn't? What about this, now, with them wasn't? Different wasn't bad. She managed a brief shake of her head, though this was more or less lost in their kiss. Just in case, Dahlia murmured a nun-uh against Verity's lips, though she didn't otherwise separate, just to ensure that Verity didn't think the denial was about this. -- As long as Verity wasn’t unknowingly burning Dahlia or their possessions, she could glow for the rest of her life for all she cared. With Dahlia content to ignore it, Verity just sank back into that kiss, that unearthly glow undoubtedly a beacon of truth about how she was feeling in that moment. Yes, most good things required a leap of faith, and it seemed that this time, it hadn’t been broached in error. Dahlia had taken her hand and jumped right with her. Even if they were in the midst of the unknown, she had faith that they would navigate it as they always did; together. |