Immediately after arriving, Adelaide had used a charm to turn down the color saturation in her vision to keep herself from having a headache. In the days that followed, she’d been gradually reducing the effects of the charm, wanting to make sure that she experienced what this version of the world had to offer as much as possible. Her efforts extended beyond the color, too -- she’d been doing a fair amount of exploring, trying to take in what Atlantis looked like when it wasn’t under COS control. It was beautiful, and it was heartbreaking. She was frequently overwhelmed, though she kept those parts to herself.
It was while exploring that she finally found herself stuck under the mistletoe she’d been hearing so much about. Really, it was a marvel she’d not had the experience sooner. Her feet felt stuck in sand, though, so she knew it was the impacts of the little plant overhead. Sighing, she kept an eye out for a passerby. “Hi, excuse me. Any chance I can bother you for some help?” she said, finally spotting someone.
Michael was mid-run, trying to get in some exercise while the weather was at least not a bloody blizzard. He was due to meet up with Anthony soon, and had very, very nearly missed the little call for help.
Halting suddenly, he ran a arm over his just-barely sweaty forehead, and flashed the requester a megawatt smile. “Hey, yeah, what can I help wi--” Cutting off as he walked forward, but before he got too close, he noted the jingling mistletoe overhead. “Tis the season, apparently. They’re even more persistent here as they are home. You want me to find someone for you, or--?” Michael left the question hanging, letting the ball drop in her court.
Adelaide had all but prepared to flag down someone else when the man acknowledged her and came her way. She returned his smile with one of her own, nodding a bit as he noticed the mistletoe. “Apparently. It’s my first encounter with it, ever,” she commented. “This sort of thing doesn’t exist in my home.”
At his question, she shook her head. “Do you think you’d mind helping instead? A kiss is a kiss, and I’d really rather just be free of it.”
“Ever?” Michael sounded a bit incredulous at the idea, and suddenly a little self-conscience. He wasn’t about to be someone’s first mistletoe kiss and have it be shite. “I don’t mind helping, but you deserve a real bloody good kiss if you just think a kiss is a kiss.”
He looked a bit cocky when squaring off his shoulders and giving her a smirk. “I can help with that.”
“There’s not much in the way of creativity where I’m from. I’m still getting used to color, much less kissing plants,” she said, shrugging a bit. His words made her eyebrows lift. “You don’t have to go overboard on my account, really.” It was a curious thing, the idea of a ‘bloody good kiss’ -- she wouldn’t deny that.
“Well, I’d appreciate it,” she said, offering an amused smile in response to the cockiness and the smirk.
Michael figured he’d let her do the leading on just how creative they could get, and he kept up the smirk as he got pulled into the Mistletoe’s hold. Stuck there now, he grinned down at her before reaching up to cup her jaw, his thumb ghosting over the smooth skin there. He was in no hurry, giving things time to warm up a little before he descended slowly, thumb tugging at her chin so she’d open her mouth just a little before their lips met.
Lack of creativity aside, Adelaide had experienced plenty of kisses. They were all suitably functional, with very little flair. Just by building anticipation the way he was, Michael was giving her a little bit of extra curiosity. Her heart rate picked up just a little, and she found herself far more eager for the contact of their lips than she could recall being before. She lifted the remaining little bit, meeting his lips, hers parting at the request of his thumb.
As tempting as it was to dive in with gusto, Michael kept things slow, taking his time pulling her apart piece by piece, (hopefully) proving that kisses could be otherworldly levels of creative, to give her something to remember. It wasn’t until they were a good minute in that he dove headfirst, getting more than a little ahead of himself at the warm response he was getting, but waiting for her signal to end it before he could talk himself into pulling away.
Against her expectations, Adelaide found herself falling into the kiss in a way she certainly hadn’t realized was possible. Instinct and his guidance allowed her to meet him in his intensity and progression, and when she did pull away, it was after a few moments, and very breathless. She blinked, observing him a moment, face flushed, before nodding a bit. “Okay, yes. I can see the appeal of that.”
Michael huffed out a little laugh, separating slowly, dropping his hand away and using it to tangle into his hair in a stupid effort to look more cool than he felt. “Thanks? I mean, yeah, same.” And it wasn’t always like that, but Michael enjoyed kissing, had since Ginny in the dark hallways of Hogwarts.
“Oh- I’m Michael Corner.” He thrust a hand out to shake hers, even if it seemed uh, beyond that, now, but it was still the polite thing to do. “I should’ve said that before, sorry ‘bout that.”
In a gesture almost mimicking his, Adelaide pushed her mane of hair back as well, cheeks still warm and heart still racing. “Adelaide Vallon,” she responded, taking his hand and shaking it. “Don’t apologize, you’re fine. I suppose this time travel thing is made for new experiences anyway,” she said, offering an amused, almost sheepish smile. “Are you a permanent resident, or a visitor like myself?”
“Visitor, my best mate’s a resident.” Keenly aware of the fact that he was a slightly sweaty mess after his run, Michael backed off just a little, before she was stuck near his sweaty arse. “So, hey, got a little time left. I need to go shower, but if you want to get food before this is over…?” He left the question hanging, but followed it up with a salacious grin. “Or if you need anymore kissing, just let me know.”
“Sure, I’d like that,” she responded, amusement turning to a bit of a laugh at his grin. She shrugged a shoulder. “I may take you up on that. There’s a lot of creativity I’ve apparently missed out on, and now you’ve got me curious.” Adelaide was less flirtatious than she was honest, though the two were easily muddled in this particular instance. She was curious, and kissing was the tip of the iceberg. One of the very, very few perks to a functional view of ‘intimacy’ was that it didn’t make her shy in the slightest.
Michael, the dumbass he was, gave a quick laugh and to accompany it, a little bow. Clearly, he was proud of himself, and even as he backed away, he flashed her another grin. “Well, I’m going to walk around with that compliment for the rest of my year, cheers love.”