yo (timeinbetween) wrote in the_dome, @ 2013-06-27 23:57:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | 04-03-2017, claire, claire and gabe, gabe |
Placeholder
Who: Claire and Gabe
When: Evening
Where: Claire’s House
Warnings: some mild making out ;)
The onslaught of rain had cut Claire’s day at the vegetable farm short, and she was soaked through by the time she got home. That was when she found the note from Ren, who had apparently decided to leave for a bit and stay with another ‘friend’, although Claire had no idea who the friend was, and Ren didn’t respond to texts Claire sent her afterward. It left Claire feeling guilty for the rest of the day, but she tried to focus on cleaning the house and distracting herself.
The power outage was a bit jarring, but after Claire lit some candles to create some light, she went back to scrubbing the kitchen floor, unable to really resist the urge to clean. By the time she finished, Claire was tired and her muscles ached, but at least the kitchen was completely spotless, the counters wiped down and the cupboards organized properly.
The sky had grown even darker, and Claire realized the day had shifted to evening while she had been cleaning. Picking up her phone, Claire sent a quick text to Gabe, glancing out the kitchen window toward his house to see if he was home. She was guessing he was, given the weather, but it never hurt to make sure. If he had tried to contact her during the storm, she had been completely oblivious to it, overwhelmed by her guilt that Ren had left, and her need to get things clean at the same time. hey, you over there?
Gabe had tried texting Ren in the morning and received nothing in reply. He waited a few hours, then tried again. She hadn’t been at school that morning and, though they often missed school for their own reasons, Gabe was fairly certain it was because she was avoiding him. The one thing he and Claire hadn’t talked about yesterday was Ren and he realized that might create a problem of sorts. He was trying to deal with it, but it was hard when she wouldn’t pick up or answer his texts.
With it pouring down rain, he wasn’t out working, but maybe she was in the greenhouse. Claire was likely home, though, and he thought about calling her, but decided he should probably clean house first. When the lights went out, he was done with that and settled down to read. He lit some candles and only got a few chapters in when he fell asleep. Claire’s text woke him.
I’m here. Want me to come over? He would have asked her over to his house, but with the rain coming down as it was, he didn’t want to get her soaked.
Claire chewed gently on her lower lip as she waited for his response. When it came, Claire felt a sense of relief, and she leaned back against the kitchen counter, thumbing in a quick response. yes. or i could run over there. don't want to get you completely soaked. Although admittedly, Claire couldn't help but think that Gabe would look kind of sexy with his hair in his face and water dripping down his body... Which... probably wasn't the smartest train of thought her brain could take, but oh well. She decided to blame teenage hormones, or something.
Gabe was up and off the couch before Claire even had a chance to reply, pulling his shoes and on and reaching for an umbrella. He wasn’t sure how much good it would do, but it was better than nothing. i would be a bad boyfriend if i asked you to come over here just so i could stay dry. He texted, then took off out the door and into the rain, not even waiting for a reply. The distance between their houses wasn’t all that far, but the wind and the rain had still done their damage by the time he knocked on her door.
Claire saw him coming, and she was unlocking the door and pulling it open just as he knocked. Stepping back so he could come inside, Claire looked him over, feeling a little bad that he was so wet just from a short run across the yard. Although she had been right, because he did look cute with rain dripping off of him, though she knew it had to be uncomfortable. "Let me grab you a towel," Claire said as she shut the door quickly and hurried around him toward the bathroom. When she re-emerged, she had a thick, fluffy towel in hand, and Claire smiled at him through the dimness of the house. "I'd offer you a dry shirt, but somehow I doubt you would fit into my t-shirts."
Gabe wasn’t feeling bad about getting wet from the rain. He was grinning like an idiot, pleased that she was there to greet him, that she’d been waiting for him. What he really felt like doing when she opened the door was pulling her into his arms and kissing her, but he thought that might be a little dramatic. “Thanks,” he said, standing in the doorway as she hurried to get a towel. With her gone, he noticed just how cold it was. And he was wet. Wet and cold. “That’s okay,” Gabe answered, peeling off his shirt before wrapping the towel around himself. “I’d say throw mine in the dryer, but I just remembered the power’s out. Do you happen to have wood for a fire, or are we down to blankets?”
Claire barely heard Gabe's question, because she was distracted by the fact that he was suddenly shirtless. Shirtless, in her house, in the candlelight. And they were alone. "Wood...?" Claire tore her gaze from his chest and looked up to his face, confusion evident in her expression before she seemed to comprehend what he was saying. "Oh! Uh, yeah, but only like two pieces. Ren and I hadn't thought we would really need any..." Turning away, Claire hurried over to the fireplace to see about getting some heat going in the room. "I'll get you a blanket from my room, though."
It only took a second for Gabe to realize why Claire was so distracted and then he only grinned further, enjoying the attention from her. He’d never minded girls looking at him, but it was far better when it came from a girl he liked. “It might be good to get it going, but maybe only one piece? We can try and drag it out,” he suggested, hoping it could bring them some warmth, but not wanting to waste it all at once. “Have you heard from Ren?” he called out as she went to fetch a blanket. He was getting the sense that she wasn’t home at the moment, even if he didn’t know where else she might be.
She did as he suggested, using only one log, surrounding by some crumpled paper to get the flames going. It added much needed light to the room and then Claire hurried off to grab a blanket from her bed. She brought it back to the living room to hand to Gabe, unable to keep from frowning when he asked about Ren. “Uh. No. I mean, yes, but not lately.” Claire glanced toward the fire and slipped her hands up into her sleeves a bit to warm them. “She’s staying with someone else for awhile, I guess, but she didn’t tell me who. Just left me a note.” The guilt came rushing back, and Claire rubbed her hands together before looking back at Gabe. “I didn’t tell you, but she and I got into a fight after you told me that you two had kissed each other.”
Gabe watched her start the fire as he dried off. Everyone knew how to start a fire these days. You couldn’t have survived without a skill like that and Claire was as skilled as any. When she returned with the blanket, he set the towel aside and wrapped the blanket around himself. “With someone else?” Gabe asked, trying to imagine who that might be. “Skylar maybe?” It was a longshot, but he didn’t really know who else she was close with. It had always been the three of them. “Was this before or after I made you breakfast?” he asked, pulling her over to the fire and taking a seat in front of it. It would keep them warm and maybe help dry his pants.
"I don't know. I've texted her a few times, but she hasn't responded." Claire let him tug her down in front of the fire, and she got comfortable beside him, drawing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them. The heat from the small flames was already warming her, and she hoped the power would come back on soon, otherwise she would be using her last piece of firewood, and then what? "It was the same night you told me," she admitted, giving him a mildly sheepish look. "I hadn't planned on saying anything to her, but... and I didn't want to tell you about it over breakfast because I didn't want to ruin the morning. And then we were having a good time with the movie and everything so..."
No wonder she wasn’t responding to his texts. It made even more sense now that he knew Claire and Ren had gotten into it, but it worried him that neither of them knew where she’d run off to. “Okay... Well, what did you fight about?” Gabe asked, pulling her closer, his arm draped around her. The fire was still small, so it felt like they were sharing more body warmth anything else. That was something he could enjoy, so long as it wasn’t because they were actually freezing. That might put a damper on things.
"You." Because that was the truth of it. Mostly. Claire rested her head against him, happy enough to be close to him, and it wasn't just for the body heat. "I just asked her why she did it... she knew I had feelings for you. Then she basically said that since I hadn't... uh, officially claimed you, then it wasn't worth getting upset over. Since you and I weren't together..." Claire trailed off, because it still kind of stung that Ren had thought of things that way. "I don't know. Maybe she had a point. But I guess, I just figured if I had known she liked you first, I wouldn't have made a move on you because she's my friend, you know? It was stupid of us to fight. She was upset that you told me after you asked her not to. We went to bed angry with one another. And now she’s gone somewhere else."
“I told her not to tell you because I knew you’d be upset and I... I didn’t know what to do about it at the time. I knew it wasn’t what I wanted,” Gabe said, frowning as he pulled her closer. Once he’d had some time to think on it, it was so easy to see that Claire was the one he wanted to be kissing, holding like he was now. It wasn’t that Ren wasn’t beautiful, but he didn’t have the same feelings for her. “I don’t always think Ren thinks about others feelings like you do. That’s something I like about you. She’s probably just off pouting somewhere, which I guess is better than being here and yelling about it.” She and Gabe had gotten into it plenty of times in the past and it was bound to happen again. While they were good friends, sometimes they could be oil and water.
Claire knew Ren would come back eventually, then they would talk and make up and things would get better. She didn't know how things would work out between Ren and Gabe, but that was probably for them to figure out. Claire had witnessed plenty of their bickering fights over the past few years, so she assumed that's how they would work this out too. "I probably overreacted some," Claire admitted after staring into the fire for a moment. "I guess I just saw it as Ren is Ren, you know? Like, she's beautiful, and fun and could have anyone. Maybe a part of me thought she was trying to have you, despite how I felt. It's stupid, though, and I was just being insecure, I guess."
“She’s also argumentative, difficult, and completely out of her mind,” Gabe pointed out, just so Claire would remember that Ren was by no means perfect. She was beautiful, sure, but so was Claire, in his opinion. They were just different kinds of beautiful. “Maybe she could have anyone, but I’m not sure anyone would have her, if that makes sense. Don’t compare yourself to her. You’re very different people and there’s a reason I want to be here with you, like this, and not her,” he said, giving her a small hug and kissing her on the cheek. He was used to Claire’s insecurities, but he’d never had to deal with them when it came to their relationship. This was new, but not too difficult to handle. “Things will be fine. She’ll cool down and come home and hopefully let it drop.” With Claire, at least. He was pretty sure the two of them would have words.
All those things were true about Ren, although Claire wasn’t sure she would say her friend was out of her mind. But they all had issues stemming from the zombie outbreak, as well as normal, everyday problems. Claire didn’t think she would ever understand why Ren had kissed Gabe, but being there with him now, with his arm around her, she was certain she could forgive Ren. Gabe’s words made her feel a bit more secure, as if she wasn’t going to lose him to Ren later. Smiling softly, Claire looked away from the fire to Gabe’s face before she leaned in a couple of inches to press a kiss to his jaw. Talking about Ren had helped her distract herself from the fact that he was shirtless, but she was becoming more acutely aware of it. “Thanks. I know it’ll work out eventually. I just don’t want you two to be fighting either.”
Gabe wasn’t looking forward to the fight he knew he and Ren would have. He never looked forward to a fight at all, and theirs tended to be of the yelling sort. It would happen, and then they would move on, just like they always did. But there were a lot of things Gabe would rather do than discuss the complicated relationship he had with Ren, and most of them involved forgetting them and enjoying his time with Claire. He liked the way she smiled with the firelight on her, the way she kissed his jaw. Gabe shifted so he could look into her eyes, his hand finding hers. “I’m not worried about it,” he said softly and wondered if it was appropriate to kiss her. They’d been having a discussion, but now he was distracted.
Claire certainly didn't mind moving on from the topic of Ren. Every time she thought about it, she felt weird, almost defensive, and a little guilty and that wasn't a great combination at the moment. Not when she had Gabe sitting next to her, shirtless and still looking stupidly cute with his hair damp and slightly in his face. When he spoke again, Claire barely heard him, but she hummed some sound of acknowledgment in her throat before leaning in the short distance to press her lips gently against his. It was potentially dangerous to want to kiss him this badly while they were alone, and he was shirtless, but Claire knew they were both mature enough to recognize their limits, and stop when they needed to. But she had also been waiting for so long for something like this, and she wanted to take advantage of it when she could.
Apparently it was a good time to be distracted and he wasn’t the only one. He supposed it was the situation-- being next to the fire, barely dressed, alone, and actually knowing they wanted each other. All it took was one kiss from Claire and Gabe was eagerly kissing her back, one hand sliding behind her neck to hold her close and the other at her waist. He pulled her closer as he deepened the kiss, his heart beginning to race. It felt like he’d been waiting forever to do this, even if all it was at the moment was kissing.
This? Was nice. So much nicer than having difficult discussions about Ren. Claire let her own hand slide into the damp hair at the nape of his neck, parting her lips slightly to taste him a little better. It still amazed her that Gabe wanted this. Wanted her, but Claire wasn't about to let her insecurities get the best of her. At least not right now. "You're warm," she murmured against his lips before her fingers trailed down the curve of his neck to his bare shoulder. Obviously he was warm, seeing as how they had a blanket and a fire in front of them, but that didn't really cross her mind. She just liked the feel of his skin, and being able to touch it now. Claire wanted to touch all of him, but managed to refrain from pushing him back onto the floor so she could.
Gabe enjoyed the feel of her hands on him, would have encouraged more of it if he knew how. What he could do was return the favor, and his hand slipped under her shirt tale to rest on her bare back. He pulled her closer, so much so that his body was finally pressed against hers, as his thumb stroked back and forth along her back. “It’s the fire,” he said, smiling against her lips, though he was pretty sure he’d be warm anyways. That happened when Claire got his heart beating faster than usual.
"Mmhmm." Claire wanted to make some kind of quippy joke, but it was becoming increasingly hard to concentrate now that his hand was under her shirt, touching bare skin and making her shiver. Since his hand was on her back, Claire took that as subtle encouragement to let her hands roam. Just a little. With their bodies pressed together, she settled for running her hand down his side, and around to his back. Liking the feel of him beneath her hands, Claire suddenly recalled all the times in the past where she had fantasized about what it would be like to do this. Only the fantasy hadn't come close to reality, not even a little bit. Pressing her mouth to his again, Claire felt confident enough to deepen the kiss and hoped he wouldn't mind.
Gabe was good at taking cues and for once it felt right to go where he wanted to. His arms tightened around her as he urged her to lean back onto the floor, his lips never wanting to part from hers for a second. The more she touched him, the more confident he became as he continued to tell himself that he would know when to stop. He just wanted to feel a little bit more of her body against his, her hips against his own, their legs tangled together. Gabe’s hands slid lower, over her ass, as he pulled her against him, kissing her hungrily.
It was so easy to get caught up in the way Gabe's mouth felt on hers, the way his hands moved over her body, and Claire was unable to stop the moan that formed in her throat when she felt them on her ass. Sliding one arm around his shoulder and neck, Claire moved back to the floor, her heart thudding like a jackhammer in her chest. Unlike the first time they had kissed, there were no nerves present to keep her from fully enjoying this. All she felt was excitement and heat and it seemed she couldn't get enough of Gabe's bare skin under her fingertips. They would stop when it was time to stop, and Claire was positive she would know when that would be. Only it wasn't right now, and Claire flicked her tongue against his, pressing her fingertips into his back to keep him close.
He hadn’t know just how overwhelming the feeling would be until he had Claire beneath him, moaning softly as they kissed. It would be so easy for him to get carried away, to push this to a level that he knew neither of them were ready for, even if his body would have argued differently. As a teenage boy, he’d been waiting so long for this that he had to force himself to keep some kind of control. Claire meant more to him than just getting off, though the way her fingers pressed into his skin was more encouraging than she could know. He hummed softly in response, hands sliding up to her rib cage as his tongue flicked back against hers.
Maybe she wanted to be encouraging, on some level. At least whatever level her hormones ruled. Which right now, felt like most of them. It was pretty amazing to find that such a simple thing as kissing would get her blood pumping so hotly. His hands on her certainly helped, but every stroke of his tongue against hers sent fire licking down her spine, and it seemed to pool directly between her legs. Letting one hand drift down to his hip, Claire let her fingers rest just above the waistband of his jeans. It was pure instinct to draw her knee up, wanting to be pressed more intimately against him. It occurred to her that she would have been content with just laying there with him for the rest of the night, kissing until their lips were swollen and their bodies were aching. She knew they could hold off on anything more, but damn did it feel nice at the moment.
It was such a little thing, the way her knee moved up, allowing him to be even closer, but the pressure there made such a difference that Gabe moaned softly. That was as dangerous as Ren straddling him at been, the sort of thing that made him grind back against her before he could even think not to. His hands moved a touch higher, enough so that his fingers slid another the edge of her bra, not yet daring to slide beneath. He could kiss her all night, but keeping it at kissing was the hard part for him, especially when he wanted so much more.
The feel of his body pressing against hers that way had Claire inhaling sharply as pleasure surged inside of her. She wanted to wrap both legs around his waist and keep him right there for awhile longer, but the feel of his fingers so close to her breast pulled her out of the arousal clouding her mind. “Wait,” she murmured, disappointed in herself for stopping him when she really didn’t want to. Claire opened her eyes and sighed. “We should stop...for now, I mean.” God, but she didn’t want to. She wanted to let him do whatever he wanted, preferably while they were both naked, but Claire wasn’t entirely sure she was actually ready for it.
He knew, deep down, that she was right. They should stop, but it wasn’t at all what he wanted. Gabe moaned softly, rolling his hips against hers as his hand slid back down her ribs. He used to worry about how he would handle being aroused around a girl, but he’d never thought he’d be so comfortable with it. Claire knew what she was doing to him, that much was certain. “I know,” he said softly, kissing her jaw, then her neck. It wasn’t exactly stopping. That turned out to be harder than he thought.
Her eyelids grew heavier when he pushed his hips to hers again, and Claire released a shaky breath that ended in a soft moan. They still had their clothes on, for the most part, but that still felt pretty amazing. Tilting her head so Gabe had easier access to her neck, Claire let both hands slide over the small of his bare back, and then down over his ass. It might have made her blush under any other circumstance, but she wasn't really thinking about what they were doing anymore. Was it so wrong to just want to touch him for a little bit longer? She lifted her hips to press against him again, and when sharp pleasure surged through her again, Claire decided there was nothing wrong with it at all.
Was it okay to keep going if they left their clothes on? Gabe had the feeling that that wasn’t what Claire meant by stopping, but it was hard to focus when she was grabbing his ass and moaning. The only good reason he could see for stopping was that, if this wasn’t going any further, then he was only going to become more frustrated. What he wanted had never been more clear. “Claire,” he whispered, his hand moving down to her hip as he kissed along her jaw. “If we don’t stop, I’m not going to want to.” Not at all. And despite wanting it, he doubted they were ready for it.
It was strange to feel relief and disappointment at once, and while her body insisted they were more than ready for this, Claire knew it was too fast. Yes, they had been friends for years, but this was different. It was just hard to stop when it felt so good. Unable to help it, Claire moaned softly in disappointment before slowly sliding her hands to his back again. She opened her eyes to look at him, managing somehow to smile despite the fact that all she wanted to do was grind herself against him until they were both going crazy. "I don't think you want to stop now," she teased, her voice a near whisper. "But... we have to. I don't have any condoms here anyway." Because if they had intended on having sex, Claire would have definitely had one of those laying around somewhere.
Mention of condoms put things into perspective for Gabe. He desperately wanted to sleep with her, right now, there on the living room floor, but they’d been dating for, what? Three days? Perhaps sex was a bad idea, no matter how good an idea it felt like. “I don’t want to,” he agreed, “But I know we should. And I know if we keep this up, we won’t. And that’s a damn good reason to stop.” He was pretty sure they weren’t ready for sex, but he was two-hundred percent positive they weren’t ready for a baby. It would be just their luck for Claire to end up pregnant and Gabe wasn’t willing to risk it. He kissed her once more, then rolled off her, panting softly as he stared up at the ceiling. “What can we do that doesn’t involve me wanting to take your clothes off?” he asked, looking over at her with a little grin. “Have you had dinner?”
When Gabe rolled off of her, Claire nearly grabbed him to keep him put, but that would only lead to more kissing and she didn’t want to get all worked up only to have to stop again. She watched him instead and smiled before rolling onto her stomach beside him. “I think anything we decide to do could involve the removal of clothes, but maybe making dinner would be a good idea. I haven’t eaten yet.” She had been too busy obsessively cleaning everything to even think about food, but now that he was mentioning it, Claire realized how hungry she was. “We could make something simple, I guess, since the power is out. But you may have to fashion a shirt out of that towel, or blanket, because I can’t have you walking around like that and distracting me.”
Gabe could have forgotten about food completely, at least while he was kissing Claire, but once brought up he realized he was starving. It would be a good distraction for both of them, though the idea of wearing a towel in the kitchen amused him. “You may just have to put up with it,” he grinned, slowly rising to his feet and offering her a hand. “Come on, let’s see what we can find.” Hopefully the power would be back on soon, but if not he could keep her company the rest of the night. He’d just have to practice a little more restraint when it came to kissing her.