silentlystrong (silentlystrong) wrote in the_dome, @ 2013-09-16 12:23:00 |
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Entry tags: | 04-10-2017, lily, lily and mickey, mickey |
First Date
Who: Mickey & Lily
Where: Lily’s place
When: Late evening
Lily walked down the street, gaze fixated on the stars and the moon above. She felt like she had aged a decade in the last two days with the gained knowledge of both vampire and werewolf existence. What else was out there? Obviously, zombies. But besides those wretched creatures, was there even more to be concerned about? She brought her focus back to her surroundings, realizing her being out alone right now may not have been the best decision. Thankfully, she was only a few minutes away from home and for a pleasant change, wouldn’t be alone.
The slight coolness to the air seemed to help with sobering her up a little bit from her time spent at O’Reilly’s with Lochlan.. or, she at least felt like it was helping some. After having a few shots too many in attempts to distract her from the woes of the pending full moon, she was desperately trying to get herself to a state she wouldn’t be totally embarrassed about around Mickey. Slowly climbing the stairs of her porch, she made her way inside and immediately fetched herself a glass of water. If they were going to drink tonight, she was definitely going to have to take it slow to avoid being a complete mess.
After about a glass and a half of what she hoped would be her quick drunkenness cure, she scanned the house to make sure it was in good order. It was such a nice night out though, she almost didn’t want to spend it indoors. She moved to her bedroom for a moment and grabbed her guitar, leaving to return to her porch. If she sat still, she was fearful she would fall asleep while waiting. Sitting at the top stair, she rested her back against the nearest wall and stretched her legs before her, blocking the pathway up to the porch if anyone were to pop up. She strummed a few chords, humming softly as she closed her eyes and rested her head against the wall as well. She sang, eyes still closed, finding some small comfort in losing herself in music for the moment. “What if I lay here and sang every song I know. Would you stay? Would you go away? I’m not much for conversation, I sing songs all day. Guitar strummin’, words on the strings where I play. Whisper me something, any sound will do. I want some secrets just between me and you.” Her voice was soft, yet strong in it’s own way, holding it’s own in the quiet of the night.
Mickey had put in a long hard day at the encampment, but he felt really good about how things looked. The cages were coming together, mostly done, and the people seemed at least a little more hopeful than they had before. He felt good about reaching to Lily too, though what Jack had said about her being interested was quickly confirmed with her speedy offer for drinks. He’d headed home to shower and find a clean shirt, plaid and loose. His hair was still damp from the shower when he pulled up, on his bike to get to Lily faster and take some of the pressure off his sore knee.
He hadn’t been expecting singing. For a long few moments after he pulled up he waited, just listening to her, enjoying the gentle sound even if he didn’t know the song. Instead of interrupting, he just parked his bike, listening from the walkway in front of her porch.
Lily continued, unaware Mickey had arrived. “The sky is gray, my clouds are blue, very blue. The sun is the strangest hue. I'm choosin' a lover who's color-confusin' my point of view.” She opened her eyes, catching a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye. She immediately stopped, nearly falling over with surprise. Apparently she wasn’t as sober as she was hoping she’d be by now. “Hi!” She could’ve died in that moment and been okay, red immediately brightening her cheeks over how graceful she must have looked.
As she stumbled of sorts, Mickey was starting towards her, one hand out to help her. “Hey there.” The red on her cheeks was actually really adorable, but he didn’t say that part. But the thought was definitely there.
While the embarrassment was still there, Lily found herself letting out a laugh. She noticed his hand out to assist her, finding the gesture really sweet. “I’m okay, I promise.” She set her guitar carefully down on the porch, pushing herself up but remaining on the top step. The question was did she want to try to maneuver down these things right now or dramatically wait for him to come up to her. “How are you?”
Mickey nodded, pulling his hand back and moving up a step towards her. “Not bad. Better than I thought I would be.” Part of that was her fault, giving him that positive feeling, but with everything he’d worked on going so well, he couldn’t help but be pleased.
Lily smiled, taking a step back from the top step so she wouldn’t accidentally teeter. It was so odd actually caring about being in this state in a negative sense, she just didn’t want to come across in the wrong light. “Come here, I have a secret.” She beckoned him with the come hither finger gesture, a grin replacing the previous smile she had been wearing.
He raised an eyebrow at that, but went where she beckoned, stopping a step below her, so they were closer to eye level. “What kind of secret?”
Lily scrunched up her nose, taking a step back towards the edge of the stairs to be closer to him. Lifting her arms, she wrapped them around Mickey’s neck for a hug, lips beside his ear. “I might be a little drunk already.” Now it was on the table, and she could stop mentally freaking out. And she could hug him. “Don’t tell anybody!”
That she was touching him like that, arms around his neck and everything, was distracting. It took Mickey a moment to realize she was talking and decipher was she was saying. When it finally came through he chuckled a little. “What did you do to get drunk? Start without me?”
Lily burrowed her face into Mickey’s shoulder for a minute, another laugh escaping her. She lifted her head and brought her arms back to her sides, shrugging innocently. “I may have had..” She stopped to think on just how many shots it was she ended up having. “Four? Four shots?” She took a step back. “But it was for good reason.” Reasons she didn’t really feel like talking about anymore tonight. “You have some catching up to do! Lucky for you, I have the best moonshine in town.” She nodded. Because Lance hadn’t come by tonight, there was enough to last for weeks.
“Four? That’s one hell of a reason,” Mickey said, guessing that was why she was touching him. Sober Lily probably wouldn’t. Not this quickly. “Should I be catching up? Or helping you sober up?”
Without hesitation, Lily answered. “Catching up. And then we can look at the stars, it’ll be fun.” She took another few steps backward, turning to open her front door. Mannix’ words played briefly through her mind about not inviting people inside, if they were vampires they wouldn’t be able to cross the threshold. Mickey was too sweet to mean any harm, though. “Come on in.” She held the door open for him.
Catching up. That might not be the brightest idea he’d ever had, getting drunk with Mannix’s sister, but it didn’t stop Mickey from going when she invited him in. He caught that too, that she’d invited him in the house. Mannix must have told her then. “Lead the way,” he said with a smile, deciding to just follow this and see where it went. Then he could deal with the fall out.
Lily lead the way to her kitchen, turning to face him as they reached their destination. “You don’t have to drink if you don’t want to.” She hadn’t stopped to think about the fact that not everyone enjoyed alcohol like she did. She moved to get herself another glass of water, deciding that would probably be a good choice for her.
“I know. But I also know I’m not going to let you drink alone. No fun in that.” Mickey wasn’t exactly susceptible to pressure. It just wasn’t in his nature.
Lily had taken a few sips of water before she grinned excitedly. “Well then! I do have some beer that you’re welcome to. Or, shit tons of moonshine. Zania loves me.” Glass in hand, she fetched a jar of the potent beverage and looked at it somewhat adoringly. “And I love her.” Looking to Mickey, she held the jar out to him. “Can you open this, please?” She began working faster at her water, knowing what was to follow.
It was good she looked away after she said that name. This wasn’t going to go over well with anyone was it? Zania wouldn’t like it. Mannix would hate it and Mickey had a feeling it wouldn’t sit well with December. Or it would sit fine with December and Mickey would be hurting. By the time Lily was looking back at him, handing him the jar, he’d pushed those concerns aside and nothing showed on his face. Taking the jar he held it up, nodding a little. “Definitely loves you. Didn’t know you two were friends.” He twisted the top on the jar, popping it open easily.
Lily perked up, nodding her head. “She’s lovely. I’m going to be bartending for her once she gets her club open.” She took one last drink from her water glass, setting it on the counter behind her. “Are you both friends too? What a small world!” Literally. She moved closer to him again, “do you mind sharing a jar with me?” She had no business trying to take on one of those by herself, even if she had been sober.
“Oh yeah? I think I’m building that bar.” Mickey smiled a little. At her question he nodded. “Not a very big dome, but yeah, we’re friends.” Or something close to it. He had spent the night with her just recently, but he didn’t need to get into that. Looking at the jar, he raised an eyebrow at her. “I think we should aim for half a jar and see how we feel.” Because he did still have work to do in the morning.
Lily laughed, beginning to feel herself come down slightly from the previous stupor she had been under. “I guess I’ll just have to think of you everytime I’m there, then.” She winked at him, knowing very well it wasn’t just the bar that would have her thinking about him. “We should go back outside. It’s pretty damn nice out.” She took his arm, lightly pulling as she walked back towards the front door.
“How are you going to get any work done?” he heard himself ask, half teasing. Flirting really. That didn’t happen often. He let her guide him out of the house, eying the jar before taking his first swig. It burned on the way down, and almost made him cough, but it was also good.
“I’m probably going to get fired from standing around and sighing all dreamy like all night.” Lily took a seat on the second step this time, leaning her back against the top step and resting her elbows up on it as well. “I’m really glad you texted me.” She glanced up to him, genuinely glad he was here.
Mickey didn’t have an answer for that. Would she really? Probably not. She was just teasing. It was a moment before he sat with her, smiling a little more. “You asked me to. I’m the type that does what he’s told.”
Tilting her head back, Lily stared upwards with a grin. “Well, who told you to? I only asked.” She was only teasing, hoping he had made the decision himself to reach out to her so soon. Or at all.
“You asking was enough.” Mickey smiled. “Your brother insisting was something else…” he said looking over at her. He wanted to be here, he’d already been thinking about it, but Jack’s little push had had Mickey reaching out a little sooner than he might have originally planned.
Lily was about to scoot closer to Mickey until he mentioned her brother. Any happiness she had in her face fell, and she looked borderline horrified. Which brother was it? It must have been Jack, he was the only one she had talked to about Mickey. “What did he say?” She stared at him, contemplating finding a hole to stick her head into to hide.
Mickey took another pull off the moonshine jar before shrugging. “Just that I should contact you before I missed my chance. And he approves.” Which was still not making sense to Mickey considering the little interactions that he’d had with Jack, but Jack had said it had something more to do with character than their friendship. “I think the threatened me at one point, but it was kind of vague.”
Lily decided she was going to do worse than smack him on the arm next time she saw her brother. He completely blew her playing it cool cover, and threatened the guy she was interested in on top of that. Leaning forward, she put her head in her hands, too mortified to even look at Mickey now. “I’m so sorry..”
He watched her for a moment before setting the jar aside and reaching for one of her hands to pull it away from her face. “Why are you apologizing? You didn’t do anything.” That was all Jack. And Mickey wasn’t really bothered by it.
Lily’s heart skipped a beat when she felt his hand on hers, mustering up the courage to look back over at him. “He’s always been really protective.” Rightly so. It was no exaggeration to say Lily had always had terrible taste in men in the past, but her future was looking better than anyone would have guessed. She was tempted to ask when they ran into each other, but decided against it. She kind of just wanted to enjoy the moment, at least for a minute.
“I can get that actually,” Mickey admitted. “I’m the same way in a sense.” He just didn’t have a sister around that needed it. Which meant December got the brunt of it, but he knew it spread out to people like Maggie and Zania too. He looked at her hand in his, tracing the fine bones with his free hand. “He didn’t hit me, which is what I imagine your other brother is going to do. I call it a win.”
Lily took to scooting closer to Mickey now, biting her lip to hide a smile as she stared down at her hand in his, enjoying the feel of his other hand tracing along her skin. She broke her gaze only for a moment to look up at him, puzzled. “Why would Mannix hit you?” She was definitely going to see to it that that didn’t happen.
He caught that smile threatening to show and didn’t want to make it fade, but at the same time it made sense to be honest. “Mannix and I don’t get along very well.” Or at all.
Lily’s puzzled expression only grew deeper and she shook her head. “I don’t understand.. Manny’s real sweet once you get to know him.” Okay, maybe she was a little biased. There were sides to both her brothers she chose to overlook, so in her eyes, they were both quite angelic in their own sense. “And you’re just so...” She wasn’t used to being completely open about her feelings with guys, so speaking it made her feel slightly uncomfortable. “Great.” She finished the sentence, hoping she’d be able to get some kind of answer on why they didn’t get along. If she had an idea what it was, maybe she could work her little sister magic to repair the situation. Mickey, she could convince in much more fun ways.
Was he? Was that what December saw in him? Sweet? Mickey didn't think so. He was pretty sure when it came to “sweet” he’d cornered that market. Mannix was just something else. “We didn’t meet on the best of terms,” he said finally, pretty sure that outright saying they’d been fighting over the same woman wasn’t going to go over well. “And I’m not all that great.” He reached for the moonshine again, taking a swing and wondering if she really did think he was great. That was new. Well, Zania had thought he was great, but she was too focused on how unavailable he was. Or maybe had been. He supposed he was now, what with December’s decision to just be everyone’s friend.
Lily didn't particularly like that answer, but she decided to drop it for now. She could probably dig a little deeper with Mannix. Maybe Mickey just thought they didn't like each other, but it really was all just a big misunderstanding. After Mickey had taken a drink from the jar, she reached for it for her turn. "I beg to differ. I think you're pretty amazing." She may not have known a whole lot about him at this point, but the feelings he had been sparking within her had to be an indication of something. She took a drink of the moonshine, squeezing her eyes closed for a moment as it went down. It burned, but she loved it. She may have had a little bit of an alcohol problem. She handed the jar back to him. "How old are you?" Time for twenty questions!
“You do?” Mickey asked, shocked to hear that. Great was bigger than amazing wasn’t it? How’d she land there? He wasn’t entirely complaining, but it was still something that took a moment to get used to. “Twenty-two,” He told her, taking the jar from her, but not drinking from it yet. He felt older than that, but that was all it was. “You?”
"Twenty-three." Lily answered, surprised Mickey was younger than she. Obviously, there wasn't a big difference in their ages, but she had just assumed that he was a little older with how he handled himself. She glanced over at the jar in his hand, curious as to how much she had drank so far and if he was feeling anything just yet. "How you feeling?" She looked up to his face with a grin.
"Should have guessed you were older." Mickey smiled at her and caught her looking at the jar and him. "Not drunk," he said. "But feeling a little warmer." The moonshine was strong and he was starting to feel that little bit of warmth around the edges.
"Do you typically go after older women?" Lily asked teasingly, she leaned forward to take a swig from the jar with it still in his hand. "Time to drink again, then!" Placing her lips on the edge of the glass, she moved her hand to tilt it back enough for her to get a good drink out if it. She was proud at how well she could handle the hot burn of the alcohol, though there was still that brief cringe whenever she did take some.
"No specific type," he told her. The women he dated were the ones that liked him and the typed varied. Though he supposed that she and December at least had the look in common. "Why are you so determined to get me drunk?"
Lily faked her best expression of suspicion, though she truly wasn’t questioning his previous dating history. “Uh huh.. that’s what they all say.” As to why she was attempting to get him drunk, she shrugged her shoulders lightly. “Because.. it’s fun? I’m having fun. I want you to have fun too.” She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “Or, maybe I just want to take advantage of you like the cougar I am.”
Mickey smiled, and reached for her hand again. “You know I don’t have to get drunk to have fun with you right?” He looked away. “Probably not for that second part either.” But he did take another swig from the jar.
Lily supposed he was right in that sense. Alcohol wasn’t an absolute necessity when it came down to someone’s ability to have fun, she thought it just kind of helped enhance the experience. It kind of helped enhance every experience, or mostly every experience. She returned her look to him with a grin. “Probably not,” she quoted. “But maybe?”
“Not even maybe,” Mickey said. “Trust me, if you wanted...you wouldn’t need any help.” She was adorable, interesting, and if she wanted to take advantage of him, he really wouldn’t stop her. He’d probably welcome it.
Lily fanned herself, a mischievous smirk taking over her previous grin. “Is it hot out here or is it just me?” She would never say that she had always been one to wait for sex with someone she was interested in, but she did want to connect more with Mickey before getting involved on a physical level. Still, she always found it flattering to receive feedback like that. “So, what do you do in your spare time?”
“Definitely just you,” Mickey said, smiling at her, because she was. He considered the jar, wondering if he needed more or if he should just let what he’d already had sink in. “I fix things.” Which was odd considering that was his job as well.
“Like what?” Lily asked curiously. She stretched her legs out before her, the moonshine she had consumed herself not completely settling in yet either.
“Whatever I can find. Coffee makers, toasters, radios. I tinker.” He made a habit of buying broken things from plenty of traders and re-trading the fixed items later for whatever he needed.
Lily smiled up to him. “Well, that’s pretty cool. I wish I was handy with things.” It seemed like one of the best skills to have, considering it could be put to good use in almost any situation. “So, when you’re not working, you keep fixing things.”
“You could be. It mostly takes practice.” Though he had a natural skill for it. “Yeah I do. It’s not very exciting.” Mickey looked at her, then shook his head and looked away. “Before the zombies, I did the same thing. Eight to ten hours at the garage, then home to fix things in the building I lived in.”
“I’m pretty confident anything I tried to fix shouldn’t be trusted.” Lily laughed. “But give me something to draw on, and it will be wonderful.” The arts was one of the very few things she had a lot of confidence in herself with. She wasn’t going to fool herself into thinking building would be one of them. “Did you used to work on cars?”
“So you’re an artist,” Mickey gathered from what she said about drawing. That was something he definitely wasn’t. He could be creative in a repair, but he didn’t think that was the same thing. “I did. What did you do?”
“Oh, no. I said it would be wonderful, not beautiful.” Lily shook her head. “Music is more my thing, really. I like to draw, but I’m much more in love with melodies.” She motioned back to the guitar that was still laying on the porch. “I guess that would make me an artist, though, wouldn’t it?”
Mickey nodded. “I think it does yes. More than I have going for me. Never learned an instrument.” There hadn’t been time when he was a teenager and prime to learn it. Now he was probably just too old.
Without hesitation, Lily turned to kneel on the second stair and reached for her guitar. “Time to learn, then. It’s so much fun.” She wrapped her hands around the neck and once she was confident she wouldn’t fumble it around while sitting back down, she made the move to do so. She placed the body in his lap, but continued to hold onto it. “You want to hold the neck of it.”
“Lily, no,” Mickey protested, but then he suddenly had a guitar in his lap. “This is not going to go well,” he warned her, but held the guitar like he assumed he was supposed to. He knew he had deft fingers from working on electronics and car parts, but he wasn’t sure this would translate over.
“It’s going to be okay.” Lily reassured him, moving down to the third stair and kneeling before him. “Okay, so there are eight chords you should learn first. They're the most commonly used ones.” She took the hand that was holding the neck, gently moving it up to the second fret. “This one can be tricky…” She narrowed her eyes, taking his pointer, middle and ring fingers separately to place them on the appropriate strings. Once she had them hovering over where they needed to be, she smiled. “Okay, just press down and strum. It’s an A major.”
Somewhere in the middle of her touching him and being right there, Mickey just stopped listening. He was too caught up in her, pretty as she was, sweet as she was, showing him how to do something. Once she’d settled his hands, it took longer than it should have for him to react, too busy watching her. Eventually he did what he was told, pressing and strumming, getting something close to the right sound out of the guitar.
Lily had been too caught up in her concentration to have noticed his delay, assuming he was just trying to get used to the feel of the strings and the way his fingers had to stay on them. Once he did get out the sound she had in mind, she looked up to him with excitement in her eyes. “See? You can do it!” She went to positioning his fingers again, the form for this chord a tad bit easier. “And this is a C major.”
“Probably only if you’re here showing me how to every time,” Mickey pointed out, letting her move his fingers again, then strumming the guitar again once she’d decided he was set.
“We can do it as many times as we need to. Before long, you’ll be a master.” Lily remained where she was, though left his fingers alone for the moment. She rested her arms on his knees, “does this mean you’re going to make me tinker with something?”
Mickey found that he didn’t like it when her hands weren’t on his, but her arms where they were was a good enough consolation. “Possibly. If you’d be interested. “I wouldn’t force it on you. You kind of have to like it to love it.”
Lily shrugged her shoulders, having never really tried to be handy enough to know if she’d like it or not. It could be fun, especially if she had the guidance of someone who knew what they were doing. “Do you like kittens?”
Mickey made a note to maybe show her if she ended up back at his house. He set her guitar aside gently and reached for one of her hands instead. “Kittens? I suppose. Don’t see why I wouldn’t.”
Lily entwined her fingers with his, liking how comfortable she was beginning to be with it. She slowly stood from where she had been on the stair, pulling for Mickey to stand with her. “You need to meet Princess, then!”
He went where she pulled, making sure to grab the jar with his free hand, knowing that wasn’t something that should be left out. “Princess?” Mickey had a guess that was a cat, but her hand as in his and he was pretty sure at this point, he was fine with not making assumptions. Or trying not to think too much. Being with Lily was nice. It wasn’t nearly as complicated or confusing it. At the moment, it just was.
Lily waited for him to be on his feet before she made her way up the steps, onto the porch, and through the front door. She hadn't seen the kitten since she'd been home, so she assumed she was nestled up somewhere sleeping. Scanning the immediate area and coming up empty handed, she made her way to her room instead. She dropped Mickey's hand as she walked through the bedroom door, a smile appearing as she laid her eyes on the pure white, fluffy kitten sprawled out on her bed. She gently picked the cat up and cradled her, looking back up to Mickey. "This is Princess!"
He’d followed after her, knowing the little bit of alcohol had made his limp worse and there was no hiding it. At some point he’d set the jar down, so by the time they’d reached her room and she’d let go of him he was empty handed. He’d stopped at the doorway though, an old habit from having two sisters, never entering unless invited properly. When she held up the sleepy kitty, he couldn’t help but smile, nodding a little. “She’s very cute.” And Lily was very cute holding her.
Lily rubbed at the kitten gently between her ears. "Oh, you can come in." She grinned, taking a step closer incase he felt odd about being in her bedroom. She hadn't really thought about it until she saw him hovering. "I found her wandering around outside a few weeks ago."
Mickey just nodded, drifting a step closer into the room. He felt a little odd, but nothing he couldn’t manage. It did have him thinking of where this led, if there was some inevitable next step and he was wondering if he should have just said they could meet at the pub. “Lucky her. She’s a little small to be out on her own.”
Lily saw a glimpse of Mickey's limp as he took a step inside, concern riddling her expression. "Yeah, that's what I thought.. are you okay?" She took another step towards him, Princess purring as she laid perfectly still.
He didn’t have to ask what she was asking about. He knew. He always knew. Nodding, Mickey did his best to stand up straighter, hating himself and his knee, knowing that this was likely the end of their fun. Why would she want to bother? He wasn’t even a fully functioning human being. “Fine,” he told her running his hand through his hair and not moving. “Knee doesn’t work right. Hasn’t for a while.”
Taking the remaining steps needed so there wasn't distance between them, Lily lifted her arms slightly so Mickey could pet Princess if he wanted to. Because who wouldn't? She was just too damn cute. "What happened?" She asked curiously? She thought nothing less of him with a limp, more concerned with how it occurred and if it caused him any pain.
“Running from zombies,” Mickey told her, voice lacking emotion. Actually most of him had shut down, quiet and reserved. He did reach out to pet the kitten though, fingers across the top of her head then behind her ears. “Wrenched it pretty good. By the time I got in here it’d healed wrong.” The pain had been blinding, but he’d made it out alive. That was what counted.
Lily nodded with understanding, quickly picking up on his mood change. She assumed he simply didn't like talking about it or thinking what led up to it, so she decided it was time to stop asking questions in regards to it. "Do you have any animals?" It seemed like the most natural progression in conversation, not wanting to be obvious that she was trying to ignore his limp altogether now.
He felt like an idiot. This was why he didn’t let people get close. He was bound to air the parts of him they didn’t want to see. Going with the conversation change, he buried the hurt parts and went back to being the Mickey everyone liked. “No. Haven’t ever. Wanted a dog when I was younger, but my parents didn’t have time for one.” Not with Rose being in the hospital.
Lily brought Princess back in close as the kitten began shifting, placing a soft kiss on her head before setting her down on her feet. The kitten arched her back and gave a big stretch, running her side along Mickey’s leg before wandering out of the room. “Maybe someone will have puppies or something that you could get.” She smiled at the thought, knowing very well she’d probably be getting herself a puppy if she ever stumbled across the opportunity here. “And then you’d have to do more than just fix things.” She teased, sliding her hands into her back pockets.
He watched the cat move, then looked at Lily, not sure what to do with her having her hands in her pockets now. Maybe those casual touches were done. Maybe he should go. “Trying to say I’m boring?” He was teasing back, wanting to see if her smile would come out more.
Indeed, her smile did come out to play again as she gave a shake of her head. “I’m just saying you should switch it up a little bit. Do something exciting.” She tried to think of exciting things to do, though they were a little limited in their options. “Like fly a kite?” She laughed, shrugging her shoulders and moving her hands to tickle lightly at his waist. “Figure out if someone’s ticklish. You know, the usual.”
Mickey was thinking that after the whole preparing for werewolves he was fine with not having anything exciting going on. After dealing with the full moon, he was going to be up for a break and about twelve hours of sleep. “Flying a kite?” he asked, confused, but then she was tickling him and it was such an odd sensation, something so unexpected, he was tensing and grabbing her wrists faster than actually laughing. Instantly he felt bad for that, loosening his hold on her and just keeping them there close to his skin. “You know if you tickle me, I get to tickle you back.”
“What can I bargain for you not to?” Lily asked, thrilled she had gotten a fun reaction from him, but knowing hers would be much more uncontrollable. It was a little ridiculous just how ticklish she was.
Forcing himself not to think too much about what he was doing, Mickey pulled her hands more towards his waist. “Depends on what you have to offer. Because that’s awful tempting…” It’d make her laugh, that was definitely for sure, and he wanted to see her laugh again.
Lily rested her hands on him, resisting the urge to assault his sides with her fingers again. Her mind danced over what all she could offer, but she was trying to be on her best behavior; he wasn’t just some guy who would end up being a bad decision, she was sure of that. “One of these?” She wrapped her arms around his waist, resting the side of her face against his chest. Without necessarily meaning to, she sighed with content and didn’t move.
Mickey honestly wasn’t sure what to do at first. He’d been hugged recently, yes, but it was usually Zania, whom he felt completely familiar with or December who was essentially an extension of himself. That Lily, so new to him, wanted to hug him, left him confused for a moment. The sigh, that cut into him, hearing it as much as feeling it. Then he was reacting, one arm around her shoulders, holding her there, the other brushing through her hair. “Yeah...that works.” Because it felt good. Really good. Just to hold someone and not have it come with so much baggage, so much doubt.
Lily smiled triumphantly, though Mickey wouldn’t be able to see it considering she was as still as a statue. She was afraid if she even shifted an inch, that their embrace would be broken and she wasn’t ready for that yet. The comfort of his arm around her and the other hand busy running through her hand was just the comfort she needed right now, and the warmth she felt bubbling within her as an additional result was addicting. “Do you think we can stay like this all night?” She finally spoke, wondering if she shouldn’t have voiced how much she was enjoying this.
"Might eventually get tired of standing," Mickey said with a smile. Did she really just want to be with him like that? Or was it just because he was there and she wanted someone?
“Are you saying we should lay down?” Lily couldn’t resist, a smirk crossing her lips now. “Why, I didn’t take you for that type of man.” She did lift her head to look up to Mickey, making it obvious with her still remaining smirk that she was teasing him.
"No, I just..." Mickey started until she looked at him and he realized she was teasing. "I'm not that kind of guy," he promised, feeling silly, but smiling just slightly.
Lily was glad Mickey caught onto her teasing and didn’t think she was being serious, playfully narrowing her eyes at him. “Are you sure? Not even just a little bit?” She moved her hands back to rest at his hips, fingers poised for another tickle attack. “Do I have to get the truth out of you?”
"Very sure. Too nice for my own good," he promised, but could tell what she was doing. "You do that, I'm going to tickle you back and see what truths I get out of you."
Lily honestly believed him, having noted Mickey hadn’t displayed any of the typical signs of an asshole. He felt very safe and trustworthy, and it was a nice change of pace for her in comparison to her past. “Oh, I’m an open book, handsome. Ask me anything, I’ll tell you.” She dared him with the mischievous glint in her eyes.
He watched her, smiling a little at that look in her eyes. “Anything?” He still had part of her hair, twirling it around his fingers. “Where did you see tonight going?”
Well damn, Lily hadn’t expected a legitimate question from Mickey right off the bat. She couldn’t help but chuckle at her own surprise, eyes wandering to the side for just a moment so she could think. What had she been expecting? She wasn’t entirely sure, but she knew she had been pretty open to multiple possibilities. Looking back to him, she gave a light shake of her head. “Honestly, I wasn’t entirely sure.. I figured we’d drink and have fun and see where things went from there.” His question had peaked her own curiosity, though. “Where did you see tonight going?”
Mickey laughed to himself softly, shaking his head and watching his fingers in her hair instead of her. “I was following your lead. Didn’t want to have expectations.”
“Inviting you right to my house was kind of forward, wasn’t it?” Lily grinned sheepishly, knowing how it must have looked. She hadn’t really thought about the invitation as anything other than the fact she had plenty of alcohol to share.
He shook his head, looking at her. “I was thinking of it like that. I figured maybe it was possibility, but I don’t like to make assumptions.” Mickey wasn’t against something either, he could feel that thought rising up. Maybe not something that involved staying the night, but something wasn’t out of the question.
“What’s it?” Lily asked innocently, a brattish desire to see him squirm at the question overtaking her. She knew very well what he was talking about, of course. Still, there was too much fun to be had in getting him to be a little more detailed.
She got what she wanted when she asked, him frowning, tripping over himself without actually moving anywhere. “Just...things. This. Us.” God, that wasn’t even an answer. He was a mess.
Lily looked down to them then back up to Mickey, forcing confusion to overtake her expression as best she could. “Hugging? Is this your idea of getting to second base?” She wiggled her brows at him, not being able to fight the urge to laugh at that moment. He just looked so distressed.
“No...okay not funny,” Mickey said, pulling away a little, putting space between them. “Just...not… It’s been a while.” Which was a lie. There was December and Zania and that hadn’t been that long ago at all, but it felt like it had been long since he’d done something like this, something so new. Zania had just made herself familiar and December had always been there.
Lily was surprised when he pulled away, not used to her teasing literally pushing someone away like that. Her smile dropped and she awkwardly crossed her arms, looking towards the door. “That’s fine, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s been awhile for me too.” While she had been more or less hugging Lochlan earlier and had enjoyed it, she hadn’t actually been physical with someone in at least a year. The negative ways her relationships had typically ended had put a self-imposed damper on her dating life for a bit, but she was getting back to a point where she was willing to try again.
Mickey watched her look at the door and instantly hated himself. She wanted to leave and it was her place. He let out a sigh then moved back towards her, catching her elbow lightly. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what to do here. I feel out of my depth and I don’t want to disappoint you. Got used to seeing you smile.”
Lily’s gaze shifted from the door back to Mickey as she felt his hand on her elbow, his immediate apology also catching her by surprise. Any apology at all, actually. She furrowed her brow, unsure why he thought he was ever going to disappoint her. “You don’t have to know what to do, just have fun.” She uncrossed her arms, though continued to keep them hovering more towards herself for the moment. “We can take this slow, you know. Not that this is a thing, but I mean.. we can just talk.” She wasn’t sure exactly what she was saying, but she was trying to communicate that he didn’t have to jump into anything serious with her out of nowhere.
“Remember the part where I’m boring,” Mickey said, pulling at her arm as he closed the last of the distance between them. “Whatever you want. I meant it, you wouldn’t have to try hard.” Even now, he was thinking kissing her might just make things easier, put them both in a better place, but he wasn’t sure he could do that.
A smile slowly re-emerged on Lily’s lips. “Maybe I would find the topic of tinkering incredibly exciting, though. I haven’t really tried talking about it before.” Not wanting to push him away from her again, she had resolved to avoid bringing up any other suggestions that would make him uncomfortable, serious or not. She also didn’t think it’d be appropriate to slide a joke in there, so she instead glanced down to the floor in search of what to do or say.
“No. It’s not. There’s not even anything to say,” Mickey told her, letting his hand slide up her arm to her shoulder, then towards her neck, pushing her hair out of the way. “I’m sorry. What would be interesting?”
Lily kept on her original train of thought, deciding it was safe. “There has to be something to say about it. I don’t even completely know the difference between a screwdriver and a wrench.” Her eyes worked their way back up to him, tilting her head slightly to expose more skin as she felt his hand brush the area.
“Wrench’s for pipes and nuts, screwdriver is for screws.” He hadn’t meant to keep touching her, but she was giving him access, and he was running his thumb along her neck, amazed at the soft skin under his calloused fingers.
“See? Fascinating.” Lily’s eyes slid closed as she rested her hands back on his waist, not ashamed of displaying how good it felt just to be touched. Like she had said earlier, it had been such a long time since she’d even had experienced the small things like this.
“Not even close,” Mickey said, shaking his head even if she couldn’t see it. Seeing her like that, appreciating him, that was enough to have him keeping at it, tracing her jaw lightly. “You’re beautiful, you know that?”
Lily was apparently in for a night of pleasant surprises, not used to being called beautiful. Guys had alluded to it, sure, but hearing it from someone for a change was refreshing. She opened her eyes to look up at him, hesitating. “You think so?”
“Mmhmm,” Mickey said, smiling a little. He hadn’t really intended to give that bit away, but it seemed fitting. “That was why I was watching.”
“Thank you.” Lily’s cheeks burned with red as she spoke softly, being treated nicely by a guy such an unusual concept for her. Usually, a blush would occur in these kind of situations if people were thinking about getting more physical, but not for Lily. Give her a compliment and she won’t know what to do with herself.
“You’re welcome,” he told her, back of his fingers brushing along her cheek. He really couldn’t stop touching her. Or from leaning in closer, watching her, smiling at that blush. It fit her.
Lily felt her cheeks get warmer as Mickey got closer, knowing very well her previous blush must been obvious since it was spotted by him. If she didn’t calm herself down, she felt it was entirely a possibility that her cheeks would melt away right there. “What are you all smiles about?”
“I like the blush,” Mickey told her honestly. There wasn’t a point in lying here. “I’m impressed I managed to bring it out of you.”
Lily laughed nervously, hands coming up to cover her cheeks as much as she could. “I don’t know what you’re talking. I’m just hot.” Well, that wasn’t a complete lie. Her cheeks were pretty warm, but not for any reason other than the fact that he single handedly was able to do that to her.
Mickey reached for her hands, pulling them away. “You are, but not how you mean it.” He held her hands, looking at them, focusing there instead of her mouth, which was distracting and having him thinking of kissing her again.
More laughter followed. “Mickey,” Lily wrapped her arms around his waist. “Keep it up and you’re going to make me pass out.” Finally, she admitted he may have had a little bit to do with the color. “And then that would just be awkward.”
“Just the compliments do that?” he asked, surprised, but letting her hold on to him like she was, brushing her hair off her face. “You’d be fine. I’d take care of you.”
Lily nodded slowly, “I guess so. Is that weird?” She was pretty confident it was unusual, but she guessed there was the possibility other people felt the same way. “I’m just going to start complimenting you right back.” She spoke like it was a threat, but wasn’t sure how intimidating it really was.
“No. It’s...nice.” It didn’t happen with many people. So many were too used to being complimented, expected it, that it didn’t affect them. “If you can come up with something, I’d like to see you try.”
Lily found comfort in reassuring her that it wasn’t odd, and a smile resulted because of it. It was replaced with a look of pure determination, however, as she wanted to get him to blush as much as she was still recovering from. “You’re incredibly handsome.” She started, bringing a hand up to brush some of his hair from his eyes. “And you manage to be adorable at the same time.” Her other hand wandered up his arm, “you have nice arms. Which is hot.” She smiled again. “And, I could easily get lost in your eyes.”
She definitely got what she was going for. He could have handled one of those, but all of them at once had color making its way into Mickey’s cheeks, his hands going to her waist. “Alright...but you’ve used them all now.” And he needed to stop thinking about kissing her or he was going to wind up kissing her.
Lily watched color rise like she had wished, a smirk showing she was pleased with the results. “Oh, I’m not done.” She moved her other hand to rest on his other arm, idly tracing to chest. “I like that you’re taller than me, it makes you look really tough. And honestly, the thought of you working away on something kind of gets me hot.” She may have crossed the line with that one, but she had a mission to fulfill. “It’s so manly.”
Line was probably crossed, because Mickey didn’t have an answer for that at all. He opened his mouth to say something and wound up giving up, just shaking his head. “Alright, alright...you win.” He ran his hand through his hair, ducking behind it.
Lily lifted her hand to brush Mickey’s hair from his eyes again and gave a shake of her head. “Well, it’s all true.” She moved her hands back to his waist. “I told you I’d be honest.” She wasn’t sure what to say from there, not wanting him to pull away again like he did before. Instead, she just looked at him and took him in.
“Not sure that was honest,” he said, shaking his head, before taking her face in his hands. He wasn’t moving away again. Not now. No, instead he was leaning down again, face closer to hers. “You’re making it harder to be nice.” Which was something he’d normally never say.
“It was!..” Lily began to argue, though her words fell as Mickey’s face was closer to hers, her gaze shifting down to his lips. The flutter that had struck her the first night they’d met returned, her fingers curling to wrap around the material that was shirt. “Maybe I don’t want you to be anymore.” She said softly, eyes darting up to look at his.
"No?" Mickey didn't want to be. He also didn't want to deal with the fallout. But she was so close to breaking his resolve.
Lily answered with a slow shake of her head, pressing herself closer to him and bringing her face even closer to his, their noses nearly touching. Her fingers weren’t just wrapped in the sides of his shirt now, they were nearly clenching the material as if he’d slip away at a moment’s notice. She didn’t know what to expect now, but the anticipation was nearly killing her.
This was not where he expected to wind up. Not with her, so close and so fine with everything he was doing. And while part of him was screaming about what else there was, about December, and Zania and if this meant any anything at all given his feelings about them, it all quieted when he crossed the last of the space between them and kissed her. He didn't need to be there, he needed to be here.
As soon as Mickey’s lips met hers, Lily’s hands released his shirt and slid up his chest, arms wrapping around his neck instead. Both the amount of time that had passed since she’d last been this close to someone and the tension that had built up in the moments leading to the kiss were enough to bring out a soft moan from within her. She pushed herself up just slightly by standing on her tiptoes, wanting to be as physically close to him as she could be.
That was not all helping him stay good. His hands caught her waist, lifting her up a little to make it easier. He kept her close, right against him.
Even with Mickey’s help, Lily wasn’t where she really wanted to be. She lifted a leg at his side, attempting to silently communicate that she wanted to be lifted and held by him; she wasn’t about to break the kiss to make the request, because stopping it was the absolute last thing she wanted to do.
With or without it being a while since he'd done this properly, Mickey got it, lifting her with ease. He was strong, plenty of hard work put into being without on of his legs. Picking her was all but easy, making it easier on him too, not having to bend over.
Lily wrapped both legs around Mickey’s waist, breaking their kiss only to catch her breath for a moment. She trailed kisses along his jaw before gently nipping at his neck, sucking gently at the spot she had picked before moving her lips to return to his, a hand running through his hair and remaining there.
Completely distracting. It took her mouth and teeth on his neck to get him moving, lumbering towards her bed and dropping to sit, which put her in his lap. Hands no longer needed to hold her, her tangled them in her hair, kissing her harder.
Lily was too caught up in the kiss to have noticed they were moving until she realized they seated on her bed, returning the intensity of his kiss. She hesitantly ran her hands beneath his shirt, raking her nails along his chest as she sat up slightly on her knees, her breathing becoming heavier.
She had to know what she was doing. If she didn’t she should have caught it in his gasp, gripping her hips a little more, trying to pull her closer. She seemed to want him and he was keen to go along with that, fingers along her back under her shirt.
Lily bridged any gap that was between them as she felt Mickey’s pull, her back arching as she felt his fingers on her bare skin. Any thoughts she had of being good and taking things were slow seemed to vanish with second longer that they kissed, her hands pulling up slowly on his shirt. Obviously, she was going to give him the opportunity to say no, but if not.. that damn shirt was coming off, and soon.
What could he do? She was pulling at his shirt and Mickey, without thinking, went to help her guide him out of it, arms up to help he get it off of him. It would reveal all of his tattoos, the rose on his forearm and the phoenix on his shoulder blade, but he didn’t care. It might be too early, too soon, but there was no point in stopping her.
Lily was pleased when he lifted his arms for her, shirt tossed to the side once it was up over his head. The split second it took to get the shirt off had separated their lips, but she found other ways to keep some contact. She placed kisses on his neck again, leaning forward enough to hope her silent communication would again work, and that he would read she wanted him to lay back.
Maybe he was just too in tune with her. As she pushed he leaned back pulling her with him as he hit the bed, looking up at her, fingers back in her hair again. He knew this would come to this, but now that he was into it? He didn’t mind it as much as he thought he might.
Lily ran her nails lightly along his sides, placing kisses on his chest as her eyes shifted to look up at him. The thought crossed her mind that she had just been telling him they could take it slow, and this was essentially the complete opposite of that. “We can stop if you want to.” She panted out, hoping that he’d be honest. She wasn’t concerned with what she wanted at the moment, that was pretty obvious, she just didn’t want him to do something he wasn’t comfortable with.
Mickey couldn’t help but watch her, surprised at everything. When she told him they could stop. “I know,” he told her reaching for her to pull her closer and against him. “Not yet.” He didn’t want to yet. He was liking this part.
Mickey’s words were like music to Lily’s ears, smirking as he reached for her. She complied with his pull, leaving no space between them as she ran more kisses along his chest and back up to his jaw, tugging at his bottom lip between her teeth before placing her lips back against his. She shifted her weight onto her right leg and pulled gently on his left shoulder, trying to get him to roll over on top.
She really didn’t have to do what she was doing, but Mickey didn’t stop her. When she pulled he went, lifting her up and rolling her under him. Then he was propped up on one forearm, looking down at her, kissing along her jaw.
Lily was more than pleased at how well Mickey read what her body had wanted, her eyes sliding closed as he ran kisses along her jaw. She slid her hands up his arms, squeezing them before she slid her arms around his neck, grinding her hips upwards against him.
Mickey caught her hips, not letting her get any further with that as good as it felt. “That might be too much.” Not that he didn’t enjoy it, but if she kept at that, this was going to end far differently than she wanted it to. Or he was ready for. He did slip one hand up higher, under her shirt and along her ribcage.
Lily pressed her head back against her mattress, a soft whimper coming from her at his stopping her. She did stop, eyes opening to look down at him. “Sorry.” Had she not been so caught up in what was happening, she may have been baffled. No one had ever told her to stop before. But, for now, she wasn’t thinking about that, his hand was on her ribcage and she was waiting to see where it’d go next.
“Slow right?” Mickey asked, because that whimper made him feel like a jerk for trying to slow things down at al. He kept his hand around her ribcage, holding on to her.
Lily was quickly hating the fact she’d even said anything about going slow. Knowing herself, she knew she had to stop for the time being or else she’d start with the grinding again to try and change his mind. Bringing her hands up to rest on the top of her head, she looked at him for a minute, her breathing beginning to slow back to normal. She began to think back on him being a gentleman and controlling himself, though she was interpreting the act in her own distorted way thanks to her past. “Am I not pretty enough? Did I do something wrong?”
Mickey was watching her, surprised at the way she just slowed down like that, all but grinding them to a halt. Her questions had him shaking his head, no idea where that had come from. "No. God no. None of that. I just don't...I can't. Not until I know you better." He'd been a pretty strict three date rule kind of guy. "No. You're gorgeous. And doing everything right."
Lily didn’t really believe him, looking to the side to avoid making any further eye contact with Mickey. She was all in her mind now, thinking over the night and the possibilities of why he really didn’t want to have sex with her. Why did I think I was good enough for him? She thought to herself. Propping herself up on her elbows, she tried to pull herself out from under him. “I think I’m going to go to bed.” She continued to look away, hoping to hide the tears welling up in her eyes.
When she tried to move away, Mickey let her, getting up and off the bed, but not far away from her. He could tell something was wrong for sure. Reaching out, he turned her face to look at him. "You didn't do anything wrong Lily. But you deserve better than this. Than falling into something without knowing me."
Lily remained quiet for a minute, running over Mickey's words in her mind. She was truly struggling to grasp the concept that she was worth more than she felt she was, and that he, for one reason or another, could see and respect that. "Okay." She spoke softly to attempt to cover the waiver in her voice. "Thank you." It seemed to her to be the right thing to say, even if she was still trying to wrap her mind around the concept.
He leaned in closer, using one arm to prop himself up on the bed, the other still holding her cheek, thumb running across her cheekbone. "I want to Lil," he told her, watching her eyes. "I really do. But I also really like you and...I'm still amazed that you like me. I want to get there, but we can take our time." He kissed her again, lightly, hoping she understood. There was too much in his head that made him want to just sleep with her, make it easy, but he couldn't. Not with everything else going on. He wasn't ever going to be that guy.
Lily blinked, her eyes brightening a bit as Mickey’s words finally began to sink in.. at least a little bit. "You do?" She asked to his saying he liked her, gaze shifting down to his bare chest for a brief second then back up to his eyes. "Why wouldn't I like you? You've been nothing but good to me." And then she felt his lips on hers again, and everything seemed to be okay again.
"Being the good guy doesn't always get you the girl," Mickey pointed out as he pulled away. Ask your brother about that sometime. "If you still want me to go, I will, but I'd like to see you again."
"Well, I should send the girl a thank you card for being a complete idiot." Lily didn't have a clue who it was that seemingly broke Mickey's heart, but she supposed she had an opportunity to help fix it and she felt lucky for that. She sat up as he pulled away, hesitating. "You can stay, if you want to." She wanted him to, but she could understand if he wasn't feeling comfortable enough to tonight.
"Card goes to your brother first," Mickey said, wincing once the words were there. That shouldn't have been out loud. He moved away, turning his back to find his shirt and giving her a flash of the phoenix tattooed on his shoulder before he pulled his shirt on. Looking back he shook his head, leaning to kiss her again. "Not tonight. You should sleep and I have to get up early. But we will go out soon. Promise." And if he stayed, he was worried they'd go through this again when he pulled up short.
Lily tilted her head in confusion, not sure she wanted an explanation to that statement but knowing at this point it would drive her crazy not to know. "What about my brother?" She did catch sight of his tattoo and appreciated the work, wanting to take a closer look.. but she also wanted an answer to her first question before she got sidetracked with his ink.