Who: Marina/Number Seven and Adam Young What: Making a decision/Taking the next step Where: Adam's place When: Early January Warnings: Cuteness Status: Closed, Complete
When Marina had seen Adam’s post, she knew that she had to talk to him. Even seeing him talk online had caused such a surge of emotion in her heart that it was unfair not to share with him exactly how she felt. Honesty was important to her, and she knew it was to him, too. She picked up his gift off the table and made her way over to his house. She stopped for a moment outside his door to collect herself before taking a deep breath and knocking. *** Adam was anticipating Marina’s arrival, and was near the door when she knocked. He opened the door to let her in, and greeted her with a smile. The fact she’d said they needed to talk made him slightly apprehensive, but he really didn’t think it was anything bad. He supposed it could be, but it didn’t seem like it would be. “Come in,” he said, stepping back to let her in. He closed the door behind her and snapped his fingers to tell Rhiannon to get down off the couch. The bulldog moved from the couch to one of the chairs. . “Your gift is under the tree if you want to put that one there too.” He figured they’d exchange gits after a while. *** Marina put his gift under the tree, then went to take a seat on his couch with her legs tucked under her. She didn’t know how to start this; she didn’t know what to say. For a moment, she simply sat in silence before looking at him with big, nervous eyes. “I have something to confess to you, Adam.” *** Adam fixed them both a cup of tea, and brought the mug to her along with cream and sugar. It wasn’t the same as coffee, he knew that because coffee was not the same as tea for him, but it was what he had, and what he knew how to make without using powers he’d rather not use. “Whatever it is, you can tell me,” he said, his voice soft, masking any concern he might have about what she might say. They weren’t actively dating, at least not officially, so it wasn’t likely she was going to break up with him. Likely it was something else, but what? *** “I know,” she said. And she did. But it was still terrifying, what she was about to say. So she took the tea and sipped it for a moment. “I…” she hesitated. “I want to be more than friends. I have feelings for you that are...more than friendly feelings.” Now she sounded like an idiot. But she’d gotten the words out. *** He didn’t think she sounded like an idiot at all. A sentiment like that was often hard to put into words, he knew that, and he was proud of her for the effort. He reached for her hand, holding it in his. He wanted to tell her to take a deep breath, but that felt contrite. He smiled instead and moved his thumb to caress the back of her hand. “I must confess, Marina. I feel the same. I’ve been feeling it for some time.” Possibly since the music festival, if he were honest with himself. *** Her cheeks flushed a little, but her eyes twinkled. She really hadn’t expected him to agree, and her heart fluttered a little in surprise. His hand was warm, and even that soft touch felt electric to her. She looked down at their hands, smiling - truly smiling - for the first time that she could remember since Eight had died. “So...I don’t know if it means anything...but I needed you to know.” *** “It definitely means something,” Adam told her. “It means a lot, actually.” The truth in her smile wasn’t lost on him. He could see it in her eyes, the pure raw joy of it like he hadn’t ever really seen before. She’d smiled, certainly, many times when they’ve been together. But this one was different. “It means we are a couple. Courting. Or dating, I suppose.” His smile matched hers. It meant a lot more than that, but that was a start. *** It was different. It was a brief, but unguarded look inside of her, at the happiness that she was capable of under the right circumstances. She’d never even been that open with Eight. She’d never had a chance to make sense of that before it was over. “I’d like that. Being a couple, I mean. But I think we should still go slow. I’m still...needing to go just a little at a time. I don’t want to rush things.” The slowness was why she’d been able to open up like she had. She wasn’t afraid and she wasn’t being pushed. Her heart had simply led the way. *** “I have no objection to that,” Adam told her. He meant it too. He wasn’t interested in rushing, or tumbling into anything they weren’t both ready for. They were well matched in that respect, and Adam had nothing but respect for her. “I see no reason to rush into anything. Perhaps hand holding. An occasional kiss?” He very much wanted to kiss her. He was too polite to do so without asking, though. *** That sounded good to her. Very good. She did want a relationship with him, and she was very attracted to him, but she wasn’t ready to go to bed with him yet. She loved that he wasn’t pressuring her at all. “Kissing sounds nice,” she said, looking at him just a little expectantly. She wasn’t brave enough to do it herself, but she definitely wouldn’t push him away if he tried. *** He decided that was a good segue. He shifted a little closer. Both her hands in his, he leaned in just a little, tentative but purposed, and softly kissed her lips. He closed his eyes, allowed himself to forget the world around and just...feel. He felt the soft warm wetness of her lips, the press of her body to his, the subtle beat of her heart. This, he thought, was perfect. There was no pressure, no expectation of something more. There was just this kiss, and that was all that mattered. *** Marina gasped slightly as she leaned into him, returning the kiss gently and tenderly. It was everything she wanted, and it felt like every part of herself was tied up in it. Most importantly, her heart and her soul. She wasn’t sure how long it lasted, but when it finally ended she pulled back a little, looking at him with her tender brown eyes. She didn’t say anything, only gently laying her head against his shoulder, and snuggling against him. *** Adam shifted slightly to accommodate her laying against him. He slipped his arm around her to hold her close. He sighed deeply, content, happy. Rhi game a little snort from where she lay across the room. Adam glanced at her, but his focus was entirely on Marina. There was no feeling of urgency, no need to rush into anything. Kissing was nice. Holding hands was nice. For the moment, it seemed neither of them required more than that. The rest would come in time, when they were both ready. *** After a moment, Marina broke the comfortable silence. “That was really nice,” she said softly. “I...I’d only actually been kissed once before.” And that had been a rather complicated thing. Eight had been dead...sort of. And she’d been grieving. This wasn’t like that. There was no sadness here, which made it all that much more special. *** “I’ve only ever kissed one other,” Adam said. And that was...well. Pepper was his best friend. And she was a closed chapter in his past. “Here’s to new kisses,” he said, smiling a little smile. He could sense her emotions, and wanted to reassure her that it was all right. He knew she had experiences before him, just as he had experiences before her. That was part of life, and it was all right. *** Marina didn’t care if he had prior experiences. It might be good if he did, actually, since she really didn’t know much. Growing up in a convent didn’t go very far in teaching you how to act with boys. “I hope I don’t disappoint you,” she said softly. “I mean...I’m a little nervous about all this. I mean…” She blushed horribly. “I mean, I’m guessing you’ll want to...you know, have sex eventually and I don’t even know…” She knew how it worked, technically. But anything to do with the relationship part confused her terribly. *** Adam took her hand in his and gave a firm squeeze. “It’s all right, Marina,” he said softly. “I’m not in any great hurry. I like you, and I am excited to explore a more intimate relationship with you,” he continued, smiling a little smile. “But I respect you, and I promise I won’t pressure you. We will confront each milestone in our relationship together, and when we are both ready for it.” He’d never had sex, either. He’d never really felt a need. He’d thought he might, with Pepper, but it never happened. And that was okay. He was actually kind of glad now that he’d never gotten that far with Pepper. “When it’s time, we’ll figure it out together.” *** He might just be the sweetest guy she’d ever met. She was pretty sure he was. After all, he somehow knew how to say exactly the right words at exactly the right time to make her feel absolutely better about everything. All of her fears pretty much disappeared. They could take their time. He wasn’t going to pressure her. She’d known that all along, but she hadn’t realized how much she needed to hear it in words. She smiled a little. “So...we’re dating then?” *** He gave her hands a firm squeeze. “I think, yes. Yes we are. If that’s all right…” He met her eyes and smiled a soft, warm, supportive smile. He would never pressure her. At the slightest sense that she felt pressured, he would back off. He respected her too much to try and force her into anything she didn’t want. That wasn’t his way. *** “It’s more than alright,” she said with a warm smile. She almost couldn’t believe this was happening. She almost couldn’t believe that she was this lucky. When Eight had died, she was sure that she’d never let her heart open like that again, but she had. She had, and she had found Adam, against all odds. She squeezed his hands back. “It’s more than alright. It’s perfect.” ***