inner_wolf (inner_wolf) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-01-28 12:59:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, groot, nina pickering |
Who: Nina and Gabe
When: Post wish plot - pre New Year
Where: Gabe’s place
What: Talking
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Closed
Nina had been relieved when Gabe had contacted her and let her know he was back to normal. She’d been really worried when she’d discovered ‘Groot’ but it had also made her realise that they should probably discuss their dreams. Especially considering she was a werewolf and her feelings for Gabe were becoming deeper. So she’d sent him a message and they’d agreed she should come over for tea and talking.
Gabe was still getting used to NOT being nine feet tall and made of branches. He was setting the table for their tea and being very meticulous about it. He walked around everything now with an extra sense of caution and a lot of unnecessary clearance; being a humanoid tree had been a lot harder than he’d expected. He’d been capable of doing cool things too, though, like creating bioluminescent spores and other plant like things, he’d saved a few of Nina and his own plants that had suffered from the frost, and he’d tried out making himself grow or shrink back down or extend his hands to grab things that were high up. It was the only silver lining because the flipside of being an alien was no one understood what the hell he was saying. And that had been the week he’d wanted to tell Nina how he’d felt about her. Being restricted to “I Am Groot” wasn’t exactly romantic.
The table set, he stood in the kitchen a little nervously, waiting for Nina to arrive.
Nina had been impressed by Gabe’s other form, he was like a gentle giant and his ability with plants had been even more intuitive than normal. She had rather enjoyed being around him but the communication aspect had been the most difficult. She liked talking to Gabe, he was interesting and they had good conversations. She had missed his voice the most.
Arriving at his place she knocked on the door and waited for him to answer.
Gabe nearly jumped at the knock and hurried to the door. He’d been trying to figure out in his head how their conversation was going to go, whether he should start with the dreams or telling Nina how he felt about her.
“Hey,” he grinned as he opened the door. “Or should I say, ‘I am Groot’?” He laughed a little at himself. He stepped aside so she could come in. “Tea’s done. Got some leftover Christmas butter cookies, y’know, in case you were hungry. Unless you want something else.” Now he was getting a bit chatty, either out of nerves or the fact he could speak entire, complex sentences again.
“Hey” she replied laughing a little as she stepped inside, “I have to admit I’m glad you can say more than that again” she told him with a smile. “Cookies sound perfect, thank you Gabe” She noticed the chattiness but couldn’t say she really blamed him, she’d want to talk a lot too after being unable to properly.
"You and me both," Gabe replied in relief. "Lesson learned in getting what you wish for. I'm still tryin' to get used to being this size again. Keep thinkin' I'm gonna knock something over." At least he didn't have to worry about knocking his head on the entryways to every room in the house now. He followed her into the kitchen and pulled out her chair for her before serving her tea. "Milk first, right?" The British seemed to do a number of things differently, including putting milk ahead of the tea. How one didn't put too much or too little he'd never know since it was a cardinal rule that for this experienced coffee drinker a dedicated milk station at Starbucks was a way of life.
“I imagine it must take some adjusting” Nina said, he had done very well though while a humanoid kind of tree. He hadn’t destroyed anything, in fact he’d been rather gentle. “Thank you” she said as he pulled out her chair, he really was a gentleman, “Milk first” she nodded, “Though it varies depending on who you ask. One thing us Brit’s don’t agree on, like Merlin for example, he puts the milk in last” she smiled.
Gabe chuckled. "And here I thought it was a rule or something. Saving Mister Banks was a lie." Most guys wouldn't admit to having seen that film and even Rocco had teased him about it. But he'd been on a date, and at the time the woman he'd been with had wanted to see it.
He poured himself a cup after giving Nina hers. He had nothing but a tea kettle from the stove and regular lipton tea bags. He was clueless about the stuff outside of the basics. Now if one asked him about growing tea he'd have been way more insightful.
"So," he started, "How's the baby? And the parents?" Their mutual friends, and Nina's housemates, had finally had their baby - on Christmas Eve no less.
Nina laughed, “Yeah, don’t believe everything about the UK that you see on television” she grinned, though she had seen the film and rather enjoyed it. She just thought it was sweet that he had seen it.
At home Nina had a ridiculous amount of tea, mostly sent from the UK from Merlin’s mother who was a complete sweetheart in supplying her son and his friend with necessary supplies.
“He’s adorable. They called him Ben did you know? Benedict Matthew, he’s healthy and sleeping well. And apart from being a little sleep deprived Merlin and Audrey are doing well. They’re so happy, it’s lovely to watch them. A little family”
Gabe suddenly looked serious and surprised."Wait...Tardis' aren't real??" He then broke into a stupid grin.
"Yeah I kinda missed the details being all Treebeard for the week." He chuckled. "Good to hear. Nice name. You sleeping okay? Imagine a screaming kid at two a.m. isn't exactly fun." Nina had managed to text him that they'd had the baby but he hadn't been able to text back and so that was all he'd known.
“I know heartbreaking right?” Nina replied with a grin in return, “It would be so damn handy too”
She nodded, “I thought you might have done. You’ll have to come see him soon, I’m sure Merlin and Audrey would love to see you” she added, because they’d been worried about him too. “It’s not too bad actually. He’s pretty well behaved and Merlin has soundproofed their bedrooms” which was very considerate of him, in fact he’d recently even offered to secure a room for her too so she could change at home instead of the hospital on full moon nights.
"Well, talk about lucking out," he smiled and lifted his cup of tea in salute and sipped. Ow, that was a little hot. He tried not to make a face and forced another smile.
"How are your plants doing? I think I'm gonna wait a few more weeks before replanting in case the OC decides it's Antarctica again." he said. "The two I put in the greenhouse are doing good." He had taken two of Nina's most stricken plants and placed them in his UV lit marijuana hot room so they could recover in warmth and safety. As Groot, he'd been able to further their healing and growth.
“I still have them inside but they’re doing well. I haven’t trusted the weather enough yet either” she admitted, “Oh I’m so glad, you did have even more of a magic touch with them in your dream form” she told him with a smile. She’d witnessed the most amazing things and it had been incredible.
"That was pretty badass, gotta admit." He grinned back. Looking across the table at Nina, her pretty face framed with golden blonde hair and that smile he loved seeing, Gabe felt a pang of guilt suddenly at not having told her of his dream self beforehand. Not that he could have ever predicted actually turning into his dream form, but still.
Gabe set down his mug and looked a little abashed. "Listen, Nina, I'm so sorry I never told you about my dreams. I shoulda, just..." he winced a little and gesticulated with his free hand, "I mean, saying you're a nine foot tree from an alien world is kinda...crazy sounding."
“Very badass” she agreed with a smile, even if she was happy he was back to normal now it had been interesting to see him as he was in the dreams. Though it had made her realise they’d never discussed the dreams and they probably should have, especially if she was heading the way she hoped they were.
“Please” she said, setting a hand over one of his, “Don’t apologise, I haven’t said anything about mine either and well, I had the same worry. It’s all crazy sounding” she said with a small smile.
When her warm, soft hand touched his Gabe felt his heart practically jump into his throat. It wasn't like they hadn't had physical contact before - there was the occasional hug hello or goodbye - but somehow this was different. Maybe because of what he had on his mind.
"I dunno if it gets any crazier than a talking tree," he smiled back, and gently grazed his thumb against her hand, appreciative of her understanding. "What's your dreams about?"
Nina was relishing the contact, because after she told him about the dreams and their real life effects she wasn’t sure if he’d even want to be around her anymore. Let alone hold her hand.
“A vampire, a ghost and a werewolf sharing a house” she told him with a small smile, “The werewolf in them is my boyfriend and he accidentally turns me into one as well”
Gabe's brow furrowed a little and he cocked his head to one side. "Damn. For real?" It sounded like the opening line to a joke. Except for the accidental turning part. "How'd he manage to do that?" And as he finished that sentence it occurred to him that some people got powers from their dreams. "Wait...can you...?" He still hadn't let go of her hand. If anything it stayed there out of concern.
Nina nodded, “For real, he was changing on a full moon and scratched me as he pushed me out of the way” she explained, then looked down when he asked the question she had kind of been dreading. She nodded her head slowly, “Less ‘can’ and more ‘have no choice to’. Every full moon I change, if I could stop it I would but it seems the dreams haven’t given me that choice”
Gabe's soulful brown eyes studied Nina even when she looked away from him. His heart hurt for her that she'd been dealt a bad hand with the dreams. He'd seen plenty of horror/werewolf/vampire films (except those stupid Twilight ones) so to some extent he understood the involuntary part of her transformation. One part of him thought being a werewolf was cool but it was plain to see Nina didn't think so.
"Hey," he said gently, and pushed his mug out of the way with his free hand and then covering their hands with his. "I'm sorry." He paused a long moment just looking at her and wishing he could make it better, then offered a small smile. "If I'm gonna pick I'm gonna say werewolves are my favorite out of vampires and ghosts because they're so badass." He frowned a little. "But that can't be easy not bein' able to control it. Does it hurt?"
In a way Nina supposed it was lucky that she did transform into something recognisable, something Gabe understood without her needing to go into too much detail. And she knew it could be a lot worse but sometimes she really just wished she was normal and that the dreams were just normal dreams.
She looked up and gave him a small smile, “I’m not so sure I’m that badass” she told him before nodding at his next question, “It does. A lot” It was excruciating as he heart shrunk, her bones changed and all her internal organs changed. “Guess I should be glad it’s just one night a month”
"Geeze," Gabe breathed. "Is there anything you can take beforehand to help? Do you think cannabis might help? What happens once you change?" He was curious and worried for her all at once and the questions just came tumbling out.
“I take a wolfsbane potion that a friend gave me and Merlin recreates for me each month, it helps me keep some sense of myself after the change. I can’t say I’ve actually thought about trying cannabis though the wolf has a higher metabolism so I can’t say it would remain in my system. Nothing eases the pain” she admitted before smiling a little at his questions, “Usually I just prowl around the room and sleep. Before the wolfsbane I didn’t remember anything and it doesn’t give me complete control but I do have awareness now”
It was quite a bit to take in, that werewolves were real, and this woman he liked happened to be one. Then again, hadn’t he been an alien tree not but two weeks ago?
He frowned when she said nothing helped with the pain. “Maybe we should try the cannabis. Can’t hurt. At the least like you said your system would only burn it off quicker once you finished changing.” Gabe was determined to help her, he couldn’t stand the thought of anyone being in pain that didn’t deserve it; it was why he grew the plants to begin with.
“So. You’re a werewolf. And I’m an alien tree. Or, I was.” He had to smile, because that was quite the funny combination when you thought about it.
“I suppose it’s worth a go” Nina said, maybe once Merlin sorted out the secure room at her place. She didn’t want to risk taking it and then not locking herself in properly under the morgue at the hospital.
“We’re a funny pair aren’t we?” she said, slight amusement in her tone because it was rather amusing.
“Great. I’ll mark the calendar for the next full moon and have something ready for you by then.” it made him feel better that he was helping in some way.
Gabe chuckled softly. “Yeah, we are.” And then he looked at her, still smiling, their hands still together, while inwardly Gabe tried to beat back the nerves that were threatening to make him choke on his next words. “Listen...um...speakin’ of pairs...I was wonderin’ if maybe you might wanna...go out sometime? Y’know, when you’re not a wolf and I’m not a tree.” It was a bit of a quick segue into what he had wanted to talk about besides the dreams, but it was better than trying to manufacture a way to bring it up.
“Thank you Gabe” Nina said, because that was very sweet and understanding of him and it was definitely appreciated.
She couldn’t help smiling at him at that, “Gabe, are you asking me out on a date?” she said, her voice obviously showing her delight at the idea. She couldn’t hide that.
The one downside to being human again? The ability to flush with color, which Gabe was pretty sure he was doing as he felt his face burn a little.
"Uh, yeah, I am." He said with a matching grin as he rubbed the back of his neck with a hand. She was smiling and sounded excited, so it seemed like she was interested. He hoped.
“I would love to” she told him as he blushed and she squeezed his hand in reassurance, “Very much so” she added a small blush of her own appearing on her cheeks.
"Okay, uh, great!" And now he was probably grinning like an idiot, which if he could see himself, resembled the same grin he'd had as Groot. This was awesome, she was as into him as he was with her! His mind was racing with excitement, and Gabe didn't want to tear his eyes away from how happy Nina looked but didn't want to stare either. He glanced down at their tea and then realized something. "Um...oh. Uh did you want me to heat that up?" He realized their tea had probably gone a little cold. "I can um tell you about my dreams, y'know since I wasn't able to as my dream self and all."
Nina was also grinning like an idiot so she couldn’t really hold it against Gabe, and the fact that he looked a little like Groot simply endeared him to her even more. He was adorable. She laughed a little, “Let’s heat up the tea and then I would love to hear all about your dreams”