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Tweak says, "¡Ay, caramba!"

Jill Mastrano (needstobreathe) wrote in madisonvalley,
@ 2018-12-25 13:02:00

Entry tags:

!closed, !log, jill mastrano (needstobreathe), ~2018 december, ~25 points, ~~~eddie castile (willfreakout)

Who: Jill Mastrano and Eddie Castile
What: Delivering a Christmas present
When: Backdated to last night
Where: Eddie's apartment
Warnings: TBA
Status: Closed/On-going

Just because things were weird between them didn't mean they were terrible. And it certainly didn't mean that she was going to do something like avoid him on Christmas. Well, Christmas Eve. Close enough. Point was, she had a present for him and now that she was going to be meeting with Sydney on Christmas Day? She was taking advantage of the moment to duck over to his apartment and give him his gift.

She couldn't help the butterflies in her stomach that she felt as they reached her apartment -- thankfully, Garin was on duty with her that night, had been even before the kids had all shown up. Chris had been spared having to try shifting any part of the rotation around to help out anyone who'd suddenly had super young children show up. And Garin was even being helpful for a change and not teasing her mercilessly like he generally did any other time he was on duty. They had a routine. It was theirs, it worked.

They reached the apartment building quickly, and it was only a minute or two before they were outside Eddie's apartment. Garin took a position a short distance away from the door, giving Jill the privacy she needed to knock and then wait nervously -- and she was definitely nervous as she stood there, gift bag in one hand, smoothing down non-existent wrinkles in the skirt of the dress she was wearing.

Nerves sucked.

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willfreakout
2018-12-26 01:33 am UTC (link)

To Eddie, Jill would always be welcome. Not just because she was his ward, and he had a duty to her no matter what the others here said, but because he loved her with every bit of his heart and soul. If nothing came of it, he would be sad, but he was also used to the idea of loving her from afar, like a knight to his lady.

He opened the door quickly, and smiled at her warmly as he stepped out of the way to let her inside. He gave Garin a bit of a cold look before closing the door, sealing him outside. She was perfectly safe with him. Safer, maybe, than with Garin, since Eddie was actually a trained Guardian.

"Hi," he smiled, looking at her dress. "You look pretty."

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needstobreathe
2018-12-26 02:27 am UTC (link)

"Thanks," she said with a shy smile, tucking a lock of hair behind one ear. "I wanted... I wanted to look nice for you. I know I'm just coming by to give you your Christmas present, but still."

Damn it, this was awkward.

She held the bag out, trying not to blush any more than she already was. "Like I said, I know it's not much, but..."

It was a stuffed cat, one that she'd seen while out shopping with Sabina. Jill knew she'd probably have to explain her logic to Eddie, and that made her feel stupid already, but she was kind of committed in this whole thing already.

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willfreakout
2018-12-26 02:37 am UTC (link)

"You don't have to try to look nice for me," he said softly. "I think you're beautiful whatever you wear." It might have sounded cheesy if he wasn't so entirely sincere about it. He meant every word.

When she held out the gift, he looked at it for a moment in surprise. He didn't quite understand why she was giving him a stuffed animal, but he took it and looked at it. It was cute. And at least a stuffed one wouldn't scratch him.

"Thank you," he said uncertainly. "I like it."

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needstobreathe
2018-12-26 02:59 am UTC (link)

"He looks like Lord Snugglesby," she said, a little sheepish. "And I figured that now... you know... there's one cat in the world that doesn't hate you. And since I got you this one, and you got me Lord Snugglesby for my birthday a few years ago... it kind of makes sense."

Well, it had at the time. Maybe it didn't, really. She was bad at this, okay? But she'd tried! That had to count for something, she thought.

"You don't have to pretend you like it if you don't, though," she said. "As long as you're not laughing, that's all that matters -- and you didn't, so obviously it's okay." Pretend there was logic that made sense, Eddie. Just pretend.

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willfreakout
2018-12-26 04:05 am UTC (link)

Eddie's smile grew when she explained. "No, I do like it, Jill. I like it a lot. It's adorable."

And he wasn't lying, either. Any gift she gave him he would have loved, but he loved her convoluted reasoning and just watching her ramble like she always did. It was charming.

"I have something for you, too."

He went into the other room and brought out a Christmas giftbag. Inside was a pink-handled knife.

"I'll train you to use it. Since...I'm not there with you all the time."

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needstobreathe
2018-12-26 04:46 am UTC (link)

Jill looked at it for a moment before placing it back in the bag, smiling at him. "Thank you," she said with a grin. "I love it. And I really appreciate you training me to use it."

She set the bag aside, moving in to hug Eddie, arms slipping around his waist. God, she'd missed this. Hadn't realized until right then just how much she'd missed it. And hadn't realized how much she wasn't going to want to step back after she'd hugged him. She was trying to give him space to deal with the fact that he'd been there before and that they'd been together before, while still trying to be there so he could see that she wanted to be together again. Whenever he was ready, of course, but even so.

But there was only so much trying she could do before it started getting to her, before she started realizing just how much she'd underestimated her own feelings about the entire situation. Taking a step back, hoping she wasn't making a really big mistake, she kissed him. Just a light kiss, but enough to make her stifle a sound.

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willfreakout
2018-12-26 05:36 am UTC (link)

“I want you to be safe, Jill. Even if I can’t be with you all the time.”

When she hugged him, he gasped and wrapped his strong arms tightly around her. This was paradise to him, just getting this chance to hold the girl of his dreams in his arms. She was warm and soft and fit perfectly against him, and he almost teared up from the feel of it.

When she kissed him he was momentarily stunned into inaction. But he came out of it soon enough, kissing her back with all the considerable amount of love in his heart.

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needstobreathe
2018-12-26 11:33 am UTC (link)

Oh, thank God he was going with it. Even if it wasn't going to be anything more than this, at least he was responding to her right then. That was all she was asking for. Jill whimpered softly, one hand coming up to lightly clutch at the front of his shirt while the other hand rested against his cheek.

She kissed him again, because when else was she going to have this opportunity in the near future? He was still adjusting to everything -- not that she blamed him, of course she didn't, but at as long as he was willing to kiss her? She was more than happy to keep kissing him.

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willfreakout
2018-12-26 02:08 pm UTC (link)

Eddie would have been content to kiss her all day. He found himself lost in the moment, entirely at her mercy. After a few moments, though, he came back to himself and forced himself to take a step back. His eyes were still large and dark, though, as he looked at her.

"I - I'm sorry," he said, feeling like he'd let his feelings get the best of him. He hadn't meant to do something that she might not be comfortable with.

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needstobreathe
2018-12-26 02:16 pm UTC (link)

"You shouldn't be," Jill said quietly, looking at him evenly -- the awkward girl who would've looked away was gone, had been gone for years. At twenty, Jill was still just as awkward but had started coming into her own. She'd started pulling together her confidence -- especially when she knew what she wanted. "I'm the one who kissed you."

She flashed him a slight smile. "That was me trying to resist the urge to push you down on the couch and start making out with you. We don't have to worry about you making me uncomfortable, we have to worry about me making you uncomfortable."

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	willfreakout 2018-12-26 02:21 pm UTC (link)
	Eddie blushed a little at the idea of being pushed down on the couch. He liked the idea way more than he would ever say, but he also knew that right now, it was impossible. He couldn't do that just now. "I...want to. But I should't. Not yet." He smiled slightly. "That was...well..amazing, though." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

needstobreathe
2018-12-26 02:31 pm UTC (link)

"I know. And I won't push you," she said. "But you need to realize that it means I'm here, Eddie. That I'm yours. That you don't need to run from everything. It's okay to be scared, but you don't need to run from it all. I'm yours and you're mine. And when you're ready for it, we'll move forward. Together."

Because she could wait. She would wait.

"And I know you're not ready for that whole making out thing, but... do you think you'd be okay if I kissed you one last time?" She grinned mischeviously. "I mean, it is Christmas Eve and all..."

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willfreakout
2018-12-26 04:17 pm UTC (link)

Eddie didn't think he was physically capable of saying no to that. Looking at her, his heart clenched, and there was absolutely nothing else in the world that he wanted more than to kiss Jill again.

He nodded. It was just a kiss, and it was Christmas Eve. If that was what she wanted, then she should have it.

Carefully, he leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips, his arms pulling her closer to him.

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