Xing Li ☮ Ted Tonks (xing) wrote in dunhavenic, @ 2020-01-18 22:17:00 |
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It had been a very long time since Rachel went on a proper vacation. Outside of a few spring break forays in college that she hadn't even really wanted to go on in the first place, her vacations had been relegated to those taken with her family, usually during summer breaks from school. They had become less frequent when Luke, then Theresa, had graduated from high school, but the vacations had been some of her favorite memories, when she looked back on her past now. Once everything had happened with her family, though, and she had sunk so deeply into nursing school and then her actual career, there was little time for her to do much of anything. When Rachel did take time off, it was usually for a reason -- or simply because she needed a few days of staycation after a particularly tough run of it at the hospital. Being able to take time off to actually leave, go somewhere with a beach, and get to be with Xing at the same time, well. They had joked about taking a vacation like this together, even before they had actually admitted their feelings for one another. The fact that it had actually come together in their favor was pretty nice, indeed. While their rental had a pool of its own, it was the beach that Rachel had been looking forward to seeing the most. It was only a short walk to get there, the weather a kind respite from Virginia winter, especially after the blizzard only a handful of days prior to their leaving. It was nice to get to step into her shorts and flip flops and leave behind her gloves and heavy coat, if only for a short while. Rachel could already tell it was going to be hard to go back and not just for the change in attire and temperature; she was already finding herself getting used to all this time spent with Xing and only Xing. At that beach she'd come to love, the sun was starting to make its trek toward the horizon. There were others around, though the beach was far from crowded, which was a plus side of having chosen to stay at a more local rental, she thought, rather than a busy resort. Rachel's fingers were laced with Xing's as they slowly walked the shore, right where the waves lapped up to the sand. Her feet were bare, her toes sinking into the cooling sand, and paired with her shorts and the top of her swimming suit. Rachel was, without a doubt, very content. "You know," Rachel was saying with a smile, looking up to Xing, "if I didn't know any better, I'd expect my alarm to wake me any moment for work. This is too nice." -- Xing had first promised to take Rachel somewhere warm and beachy months ago, before he'd ever even considered that they might one day be dating. It had been a playful suggestion, then, but he was more than pleased that it had actually come to pass. They'd spent a fair portion of their time at the beach, and it had been unexpectedly freeing just to be able to tuck his phone away and set up under a beach umbrella for an hour or so, or to chase Rachel through the low surf until he caught her around the waist to playfully chastising laughter. It was... really nice to have no distractions from her. Barefoot and otherwise just in his simple swim shorts, he gave Rachel's hand a squeeze as they walked. "I've been giving a little knock on the dining table back at the rental each time I pass, just to make sure it stays real as long as possible." -- "Okay, good," Rachel replied with a quick grin, "between that and the little pinches I've been giving myself, we should have nothing to worry about." Though, if she were entirely honest, she'd been expecting to wake up from her life in general and find that everything the last several months had been nothing but a very nice dream. Every morning that she woke up in her home in Dunhaven, rather than the small apartment she had rented in Philadelphia, felt like a victory of some kind. Rachel let their arms swing loosely between them as they walked, a little jump to her step. "I know I've said this a million times already, but I really did need this, you know? Time away, time with you..." She flashed Xing a smile, fingers squeezing his once. "It's so good." -- After a moment, Xing raised their joined hands up, prompting Rachel to spin around once at the edge of the surf. "You can say it a million times more, it doesn't make it any less true. We both needed this. And now that we've gotten it, I think we'll both be… more vigilant about getting it more regularly, you know? Maybe not something so… extensive," though it was nice to get a few states away from norma, too. "But just, every now and then. Taking the time." -- Rachel grinned as she spun, knocking her shoulder playfully against Xing's arm as she caught her footing again. He had a point and it was a point that she liked. This was a good reminder that she could go out and do something for herself -- or for the both of them -- and the hospital would keep running and their loved ones would continue on with their lives as normal. It hadn't even been much of a chore to ensure that they could both be off at the same time at the hospital. "I like the sound of that," Rachel agreed. "Even if we just do some kind of staycation where we hide ourselves away for a long weekend, we can take the time. I think I can find it within myself to do that, especially with you." -- "I have heard," Xing offered, with a little quirk of a grin, "that there's even a bed and breakfast in Dunhaven now." (It wasn't now, of course- the thing had been there for ages.) "So since I can't ... exactly offer up my apartment for said future staycations," because he had a roommate, and because the heat and the AC liked to go out at severely inopportune times, "I'm sure I can swing a night or two at the Cozy Cottage, when the time comes." -- "That would be very nice." Rachel tugged gently on Xing's arm, bringing him closer. "I've never actually stayed at a place like that before. You know, somewhere that had a breakfast that wasn't just bagels in a conference room. Sounds almost luxurious." Though, the luxury in it would definitely be the simple fact that they would be there together; it was easy for her to admit that she very much liked falling asleep and waking up next to him. "And, for the other staycations, we always have my house," Rachel added. "Of course, my house does come with the disapproving stares of Jude, but he becomes easier to ignore as time goes on." -- He stepped in closer as she silently asked him to do, more than happy to take advantage of these private (or private enough) moments to be a little extra affectionate. "I admit, I just like the idea of staying in bed with you and being waited on by someone else bearing breakfast. Which… may not be exactly how it works," he wasn't actually sure, "but it's a nice thought, yeah?" Her cat Jude was… particular, yes, but Xing wasn't against him- or the idea of her house- by any means. "2020 is going to be the year Jude lets me hold him. It's my resolution." -- "It's a very nice thought," Rachel agreed, not needing to think too hard about it to know just how appealing it was. "I don't get to be lazy very often, but I very much like the idea of being lazy with you." She had to grin at the mention of his Jude related resolution. Her cat definitely had a personality and liked only one person -- Rachel, herself. It was part of what endeared her so much to him. Still, she knew that the fact that Jude even deigned Xing worthy of being in the same room as him was indication enough that he didn't not like him. Tolerated, maybe. "I have no doubt you'll get to wear him down," Rachel said, tipping her head to the side in thought. "You should probably immediately give him a treat every time you come over from now on. That will speed things up, for sure." -- "I'm not sure I even knew what lazy was, until recently," Xing admitted with a little laugh, though it was mostly at his own expense. "We're not really the type who slow down or stop very often, Rach, even when we really need to." Their enjoyment of this time away just proved that, right? "Is it considered bribery when it comes to felines? Or just… conditioning a favorable response to repetitive positive stimuli?" -- "Maybe if we're not good at slowing down ourselves, we need to keep an eye on each other to hold each other accountable," Rachel suggested, tugging lightly on Xing's arm once more, this time to draw him in as she let go of his hand and looped her arm around him instead. "I think that I'm much more likely to be lazy if you're the one recommending it." She laughed, then admitted, "How do you think I got him to like me as much as he does?" That wasn't entirely true as he was a much friendlier as a kitten and had gotten attached back then, but she was pretty sure that her daily feeding of him was what kept his affections where they were. -- "I like that," Xing agreed with a little nod. Rachel had pulled him closer with an arm around his hips, and he returned the gesture the same way. "We're used to giving orders, not taking them. As nurses, anyway." (Because that's who had the real power in the hospital, and everyone knew it.) "So we'll work to our strengths, in that." Rachel had adopted Jude as a kitten, so it only made sense that she was his favorite person, but Xing still couldn't help himself as he added, "I'll just have to work on bribing him more often." Even if, with that, he was… more or less inviting himself into her space more often, too. -- Rachel let herself lean into Xing, just a bit and not quite enough for either of them to lose their footing. She was affectionate with him more often than not, but it felt especially nice to be able to just be as sappy as she wanted to be here, away from the hospital where some semblance of professionalism was expected. It hadn't taken long for her feelings to latch onto him after they had first met, even if it did take them both some time to admit to them after they had gotten used to their shared dreams, and the novelty of being able to act freely with him hadn't worn off -- in fact, she doubted that it ever would. "You can bribe him whenever you want," Rachel decided, giving Xing a smile. "He'll like getting treats, I'll like having you over. It's a win for both cat and catmom." -- Though he certainly wasn't trying to think about what would happen once this vacation time ended, Xing had to admit- at least to himself- that he was definitely going to miss the easy physicality they had segued into, together. Being the first opportunity they'd had to spend this much time together, uninterrupted and without obvious distraction, he was... becoming used to it and would definitely miss it, back in Dunhaven. Leaning over, he pressed a kiss to Rachel's hair. "I think you know which one of those two I really care about impressing more." -- Rachel leaned into that press of Xing's mouth to her hair, a familiar warmth blossoming in her chest at the gesture. She liked that she could attribute that sort of feeling to him. It had been a very long time since anyone inspired it. "I might know," she replied, a soft teasing tone to her voice. "But maybe you should tell me. Just in case." -- Xing knew she was teasing him, but he didn't mind playing into it, for this. After all, it gave him an (unneeded) excuse to kiss her- which he did, stopping there at the edge of the surf and in that perfect sunset glow that would have made this whole thing cliche if it didn't feel so damn real. "You, Rach. Of course it's you." -- "That's what I was hoping you'd say." Rachel beamed up at Xing, though she didn't know if it was because of the kiss or his words. Maybe a little bit of both, if she were being completely honest. She lifted her hands, taking his face in them before lifting herself up on her toes, ignoring as they sunk a bit into the sand, so she could kiss him herself. She would never, ever get tired of that. -- He let his hands fall to her waist, helping to keep her lifted onto her toes even as they both sank a bit into the wet sand beneath them. Xing was totally infatuated with her, and had been for some time, though the novelty and delight at her returning such feelings had not yet worn off. "We should head back soon," this whispered against her lips, even as he segued into yet another kiss, unable to help himself. -- Letting her arms snake around his neck, Rachel was happy to meet him in the next kiss -- and one more, for good measure. She didn't know when the last time had been she'd felt so light in a relationship, so simply happy. Definitely not in the relationship she'd had before leaving Philly. Maybe not even in any of the others that came before it. They hadn't been terrible relationships by any stretch of the imagination, but they also hadn't been with Xing. He made all the difference. When she spoke again, Rachel broke away just enough to let her nose bump against his playfully and grinned. "Only if you promise we'll pick up where this left off when we're alone and not scandalizing innocent beach goers." -- A little laugh was mostly caught in his chest when Rachel bumped noses, with Xing wrinkling his up in response. "I think I could make you a great many promises, Rachel, but that one will be very easy to keep." |