Gaby Teller (recruitable) wrote in thedisplaced, @ 2018-08-23 15:58:00 |
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Napoleon was getting very good at planning trips. In another lifetime, he might have found his calling as a travel agent, as he had earlier joked with Gaby, but he was now using his natural born affinity for planning to benefit his personal life.It had only taken a few hours to plan their getaway to Beaver Creek and he thought, maybe a little smugly, that he had done a pretty good job of it. The former thief turned spy had just spent the day trying to sweep Gaby off her feet - somewhat literally done when he had saved her from tripping over a hidden tree root during their afternoon hike - and now they were just getting back from dinner. Dinner had consisted of a sampling of six different wines and Napoleon had indulged himself a bit more than he normally would have. He didn't need liquid courage, but the warmth of the drinks and the beauty of their surroundings certainly helped him be bolder than he normally would have that evening. They had taken the scenic route back to the suite that they were staying in and his arm had somehow found its way around her waist. “Did you enjoy yourself?” He asked, looking down to see her face bathed in the glow of the moonlight. She looked as gorgeous as always and Napoleon felt a burst of warmth in his chest as he took her in. The adoration he felt for her was more obvious than it normally was that evening. Gaby was not accustomed to being wooed. Sure, Illya could be romantic, and there was that night in Atlantis. But he had let it slip that the planning had been almost entirely Napoleon's. The American was smooth. It was one of the first things she had ever noted about him. And now all his wiles were turned upon her. In one day, he had managed to tick all of her boxes. Unexpected luxury, adventure, working with her hands, physical activity, delicious food and drink. And the company was not half bad either. It felt strange to be there with him, enjoying herself as she was. A part of her felt as if she were being unfaithful to Illya, but she had to remind herself that this was what he wanted. And having opened herself up to the possibility of it, she had discovered that maybe she wanted it too. She did not answer his question, but rather, posited one of her own. "Do you always put so much thought into first dates? It rather heightens one's expectations for the second." Gaby looked up at him with a playful look in her eyes. In the past year or so, he had become a lot more honest than he was used to being, at least around his partners and friends. Napoleon still had quite a few secrets hidden up his sleeve, but he made it a point to be as honest as he could in his day to day interactions. And that showed, as he answered her question a little more seriously than he would have if she had been any other woman. “In case this is the only chance I get to woo you, I decided I had to make sure it would be a day you wouldn’t be forgetting anytime soon.” Napoleon Solo didn’t date. He didn’t have long term relationships. His longest relationship had been through an undercover mission. So while he was good at wooing people, this was all relatively new to him - this trying to impress in hopes that Gaby would want to have some sort of relationship with him. “Well then. Lucky for you, and for me, you may have as many chances as you like.” If their road trip had told her anything, it was that they could have a relationship that went beyond the good-natured friendship and partnership they had developed as teammates. Even though her trust in both men had been tested with the revelation of the sexual relationship that they had felt compelled to keep from Gaby, they had made it out on the other side with their friendship intact. And now there was the chance for something more. Something the three of them could share. Of course, the prospect of it still made her a little apprehensive. She was far from a conventional woman, even in her own time, but this was a pretty big leap. Still, no one would ever accuse Gaby of being a coward. Now that she had made up her mind do it, she would push ahead at full speed, the way she did everything else. “You’ve certainly made this day memorable, Napoleon.” Their walk slowed to a halt as they reached their suite. It had been a long day, but it had passed by much too quickly as far as Napoleon was concerned. Tomorrow, he would be taking off for New Orleans to hopefully give Margo and Quentin a break from the craziness of their lives, but tonight was still all Gaby’s. While Napoleon wasn’t looking for anything more than just her companionship, he didn’t want to leave her quite yet. “The day might be over, but would you like to join me for a nightcap?” Napoleon asked, turning to look down at her face, smiling slightly. His arm around her waist had loosened just enough that she could pull away if she wanted to, but he hoped she didn’t. Slowly, he reached down to press his lips to hers - the first kiss of hopefully many. “I think you already know the answer to that question.” Nightcaps had been their chosen way of unwinding after a long day back when they were with U.N.C.L.E., though the word certainly had a different connotation now. Gaby did not pull away when Napoleon kissed her. In fact, after the first gentle brush of his lips against hers, she craned her neck so that she was able kiss Napoleon deeper than he might have expected. Since her time on this side of the portal, she had, by necessity, acquired an impressive collection of high heeled shoes. While they barely helped when it came to her giant Russian bear of a boyfriend, her current selection of evening footwear was proving useful with the American. There was a very obvious smile pressed into the kiss from Napoleon, when he felt the enthusiasm from Gaby. All the uncertainty, all the heartache, it faded into the background at just the hint of reciprocation. This was the only thing he was after, confirmation that Gaby wasn’t doing this out of some sense of obligation to Illya. That she was doing this for herself, because she actually wanted to see where things might go between them. Pulling away, a glimmer in his eyes that gave away the fact that he wanted more but was stopping himself, he turned to open the door. Gesturing to it with a sweep of his hand, he said, “After you, Ms. Teller.” The kiss, while brief, had made Gaby's pulse quicken in a way that told her she wanted this more than she had realized. She gave him a suggestive look with her eyes as she walked past him, through the door and into their suite. She was very much a take charge kind of woman, but tonight she was interested to see what happened with Napoleon behind the wheel. He had planned their day down to the minute. With the taste of him on her lips, she was interested to see what he had in store for the night. They were still very much feeling out one another's boundaries for this new phase in their relationship, and that was part of what made this so enjoyable. Gaby removed the thin cardigan she had been wearing over her dress and tossed it onto the sofa which she then leaned upon. "What are we having?" Instead of verbally answering her, he went to the wet bar and pulled out a bottle of red that had been waiting for them. He held the bottle in view of her, before looking for the bottle opener. She had him pegged correctly, knowing that every moment of this day was planned down to the minute. With the wine that they had with their dinner, Napoleon didn’t want to start mixing alcohols now and popped the cork, pouring two generous glasses for the two of them. If they ignored the underlying current of tension, of what could happen between them if they let this go further, this would almost be like being back home, spending time after an U.N.C.L.E. mission. Their version of a debrief. He pulled off his suit jacket and left it on one of the bar chairs, before approaching Gaby with their drinks. Offering one to her, he waited until had a good grip on the glass before tapping his to hers. “To that dress you’re wearing,” he toasted, before looking her up and down then taking a generous swig of his drink. Gaby gave an approving nod at Napoleon's wine selection and reached down to unfasten and remove her shoes while he poured. She gratefully accepted the glass, gave a small curtsey when he toasted her dress, and clinked her glass to his. She smiled as she took a sip of the wine, her eyes focused on him. She was doing her best to read him, wondering how far he would let this go. "What, do you suppose, are the chances that I will be able to recreate that pasta and mozzarella from this afternoon?" she asked, rounding the sofa and having a seat, her legs tucked carefully beside her. “Slim to none, I’m sorry to say,” he laughed, as he followed Gaby’s example and slipped off his shoes. Loosening his tie, he followed her around to the sofa and took a seat next to her, barely any space between them. He was, acutely, aware of Illya’s comfort limitations and knew that tonight couldn’t really go anywhere. But feeling out the situation, seeing what Gaby was comfortable with, this was worth knowing. “But I hear practice makes perfect. Maybe we can find some local classes when we get back?” Gaby shoved his leg playfully with mock affront. "We can't all be as skilled as you." She was intentionally vague about what she was referring to, then added, "Maybe. Seems a little rich for Tumbleweed, but I do think I am becoming spoiled by all of the easy means of travel." She took a larger sip of her wine. "I've actually been considering a visit to Berlin." She was not sure if she wanted company for such a trip. Making sure to take care of his glass so it didn’t spill everywhere, he laughed again before leaning back into the sofa. “We all have our special skills. So what if yours isn’t cooking? I can cook for us.” And he was happy to do so, it made him feel good to take care of his partners in whatever way he could. Smile still on his face, he asked, “You’re curious to see how it is now? Without the wall?” "I'm more than happy to let you." Gaby settled back into the sofa as well, and her arm brushed against his. It was only the lightest of touches, one that had happened countless times before, but tonight, it was charged with possibilities. "I am." She had been reading up on the history she had skipped over and was not sorry to have missed it. "I have no particular allegiance to Germany, but I am curious to see what became of the Fatherland. It seems the country is always having to rebuild itself, I wouldn't mind having a look at the result." Napoleon felt the tiny goosebumps rising over his arms and the back of his neck as Gaby moved by him, but he tempered down the urge to follow after her, to chase her for more contact. Instead, he shifted a little closer, still maintaining just enough space to be respectable. “It’s a good trip to make, if there’s any place to make a trip to. Think you’ll do it before school starts up again?” He himself was looking to take one more trip before school started up again. He didn’t mention, quite yet, that he was considering a career change. That was a subject for another time. Gaby had seen Napoleon's conversation with Illya on the network about their upcoming date, so she was quite certain Napoleon was making an effort to be on his best behavior. Still, she wondered where he would draw the line. The kiss moments ago, while not completely unexpected, left her eager to test the boundaries of this new thing between them. How long could he stand to be respectable? She took a drink from her wine as she listened to his question, giving a slight nod in response. “I may. Is that your way of asking to join me?” “I was looking forward to getting out of town one more time, before school began. I’m curious enough to visit Germany, if you’re willing to have me.” There was clearly some innuendo in those words, though he projected a completely false sense of innocence as he spoke. She knew him well enough to know he was full of crap. If Illya hadn’t been uncomfortable with the idea of things progressing further, the subtlety of what he wanted to do with Gaby right now would have been thrown out the window. Gaby’s lips curled up into a little smile that showed she knew exactly what Napoleon was getting at. “Oh, I’ll have you,” she replied matter-of-factly, her tone far less innocent than Napoleon’s had been. But she quickly added, “Just think: you won’t have to plan a great escape this time to smuggle me out of the country,” in order to defuse the situation a little. The minx. He smirked and was about to run with the line she had thrown him, when she reminded him of their first meeting. “I don’t know, smuggling you out of Germany would be a great follow up date, wouldn’t you say? I can cook for you again, we can have the giant Russian chase us all over Berlin. Ziplining in the midst of bullets sound like fun, don’t you think?” There hadn’t been bullets that time, when they had been zipping across the divide, but a little embellishment didn’t hurt anyone. Gaby swirled the contents of her wine as Napoleon's scenario played out in her mind. “Absolutely. I’d like to see you try to make arrangements for that trip.” She took a sip, glancing at him over the rim of her glass. “I wouldn't mind a car chase where I had greater control in terms of where we go and at what speed. Just putting that out there.” She cocked her head to the side, still eyeing him as if there was something new to be learned of him. “We never did go try out the go-kart track here. It came highly recommended by my lawyer friend, who I beat mercilessly, of course. I wanted to extend to you the same courtesy of losing graciously to me in a race.” “I should have known you’d be kind enough to offer me such terms,” Napoleon laughed, sipping at his red before he dropped his head back against the cushion of the couch. “Alright,” he said, rolling his head so he could see her instead of staring at the ceiling. “Second date, we’ll try that go-kart track. Third, Germany with enough car chases that you’ll be happy for the rest of your days. How does that sound?” “Like something to look forward to.” Gaby smiled then, the sort of warm, genuine smile that were a rather rare occurrence for her. So often her smiles were laced with some other emotion–sarcasm, annoyance, ridicule, allure. But lately, smiles like this one had become more frequent as she settled into life in Tumbleweed, into her relationship with Illya, and her friendship with Napoleon. She found herself rebelling against her own ingrained instincts of shutting things down emotionally, of keeping her cards close to her chest. It was terrifying, but also exhilarating too. She leaned her head back against the cushion like Napoleon had done and turned her head to face him. “Thank you for today, Napoleon.” She paused for a moment and looked down at her hands before returning her gaze back to him. “I will admit I didn’t know quite what to expect.” It was unclear whether she was talking about the events he had planned or something else. Part of him wanted to push, to ask what she meant, but part of him was just…content to let this moment be what it was. It sounded like she was open to there being more of this and he was willing to see how it went naturally. He loved them and if it went somewhere, that would be amazing. And if it didn’t, he was just content to know that they tried. “I do hope I can keep surprising you for however long as we’re in each other’s lives. But for now, I think it’s time for bed.” He raised his wine glass, which was now empty. They could have drank more, but he wasn’t willing to test boundaries under the influence of drink quite yet. Gaby glanced down at her glass of wine and quickly finished the little that remained. There had been no discussion about sleeping arrangements, although she had noted the presence of only the king-sized bed when they’d checked in earlier. “About that…” Her eyes wandered over to the bed. She anticipated him offering the bed to her while he, ever the gentleman, retired to the couch. “It seems large enough to share,” she stated matter-of-factly. “Not worried about wandering hands?” Napoleon asked, eyebrows raised, but serious. He didn’t want her to think he was trying to pull something funny here and as dishonorable as he was capable of being, he tried to stay on the up and up with his friends. “Because I will admit, I’m worried about yours.” A little smirk sneaked its way onto his face. Gaby gave a small shrug. “A little wandering is expected, so long as they stay in their lane.” She straightened her legs and began to get to her feet before turning around to smirk at Napoleon in return. “I promise not to compromise your virtue.” She snatched the empty glass out of his hand and walked over to return it to the wet bar along with her own. “I'm sure Illya appreciates it.” The smile in his words was clearly heard. Watching her walk away, Napoleon knew that it would truly be a test of their restraint, to see if all they did was sleep. Starting to unbutton his cuffs and remove the cufflinks, he stood and started to head for the bathroom. |