Re: [Tea: Daniel/Claire]
A threshold was a most peculiar thing to a vampire. It was difficult to explain to someone like Cris, who (in Daniel's estimation) needed visible lines and hard boundaries on his life, but such a small thing as someone else's home was not simply inhospitable to Daniel. It was an impossibility. He could look past her and acknowledge that somewhere behind was a structure with a roof and four walls, an interior of her own, but while she called it home it was as far away from him as the moon.
He smiled a (gentlemanly, flat-toothed) smile in response to her greeting, and when he realized she was in no hurry to let him in, he smiled even wider. Shifting his weight onto his back foot, he lifted his chin and looked tragic. "Oh, my lady, have pity on," pause to come up with some suitable bullshit, "an innocent..." What did they call this fool thing? "Road... walk...er?" Snort of annoyance. Modern American English, also on the moon. He gave up. "Traveler."
By that time, of course, she was letting him in, and he laughed low as he balanced both books on his palm, reset them against his hip, and entered. Coming close in a single long step, he gave her a kiss to the side of either cheek in the manner he always did, but this time he paused when stepping back and tapped the flat of his curved first finger under her chin. Gently.
He turned and sniffed at her wine as he came close to her. ...Probably her wine. Turning his head, he took in the couch and the puzzles. It took a slight adjustment to his path so he could tip his chin and see the title of the book. He wasn't familiar with the one with all the ribbons, and he picked it up to add to the two in his hand before carrying on to the edge of the table to investigate her phone. He could never make the damn thing make a phone call, much less play music. "What are you reading?"