Cadence (princesscadence) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-01-13 07:54:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, kurt wagner (nightcrawler), princess cadance |
Who: Kurt Wagner and Cadence
When: After this exchange on January 7
Where: Cadence’s Dad’s place
What: He’s sick, she’s comforting him, and he’s comforting her, too.
Rating: Low
Status: Complete!
Cadence was at home at her father’s house, curled up in her pajamas on the sofa. She had the television on, and was watching the news. Her cell phone was sitting in her lap, and she was staring into space, trying not to think about her little nephew in the hospital, trying not to think about all the bad things that were going on. Too much sickness. The news was reporting that people were going blue. Blue??
One news lady was explaining, that as peoples' lungs shut down, their skin turned blue as their bodies had trouble pushing Oxygen through them. It was rather gruesome and a little disturbing. There were more reports of the dead and dying, as well.
The news was interrupted by a knock on the door.
Cadence was pulled suddenly from her thoughts at the sound of the knock. She sat up, wiped at her cheeks with her hand to remove any trace of tears, and clicked the television off with the remote. “Coming!” She called out, then climbed from the sofa and crossed to the front door.
Cadence’s father was incredibly well off. They didn’t call him the Taco King for nothing. His home was huge and elaborately furnished, though at the same time it felt like stepping into another country. The home was almost in the style of a Mexican Drug Lord. Cadence was perfectly at home there, as that’s how she grew up, but other people might feel a bit out of place stepping inside.
When she tugged the door open for Kurt, he could decide for himself. “Oh, Kurt,” she said, softly, and reached a hand out to him.
Kurt thought it was rather splenderous, this home. It was beautiful, and he didn't mind it, even if he didn't belong in a place like that. He ruefully thought he definitely couldn't match this, but he didn't feel ashamed. He lived how he lived, and it would get better with time.
He took her hand, turning his head when he sneezed. "Excuse me."
"God bless you," Cadence said without missing a beat. She tugged him into the house. "Let me get you some tissues."
"Danke," Kurt replied, squeezing her hand as he was tugged inside. Tissues would be muchly welcome. The house looked even bigger inside than out, and he looked around, a little awed.
“There’s a sofa,” she said, motioning to where she was sitting watching the television. “I’ll go grab those tissues. Have a seat. Can I get you something to drink while I’m up?”
"Just some water." Kurt sat on the sofa, and officially felt out of place. It didn't really bother him, so much. He could act the part, having seen more than enough movies to be influenced.
Cadence appeared in the living room a moment later with a glass of water and a box of tissues. She set them down on the end table closest to where Kurt was sitting, and then sat down beside him. She tugged the throw blanket off of the back of the couch and wrapped it around him. “I’m sorry you’re not feeling well.”
"I've felt vorse." He didn't know if he had the new flu that was going around. If it got worse he wasn't so stubborn that he wouldn't seek medical attention. For the moment he didn't want to take care away from others. "But danke. Forgive me for not greeting you properly."
Cadence smiled warmly. "How would you have greeted me properly?" She asked. "I'll let you have a do-over."
“A kiss on the hand, and then I vould touch your cheek and kiss you properly,” he replied. There were bags under his eyes, but he still had a twinkle in them.
“You can have my hand,” Cadence said, holding it out to him after straightening the blanket over his lap. “I’m not sure about the proper kiss, though, I’m afraid. It’d kill my family for another one of us to end up sick.” Her heartbeat sped up a little with fear. Though, she was almost willing to chance it to get a little closer with him. He had some strange affect on her, something she couldn't define and absolutely couldn't control.
Kurt took her hand, kissing the top of it, then her knuckles. Then after a moment's thought, he turned it over and pressed his lips against the thin skin of her wrist. "Ve can't have that, can ve? Nein." He didn't let go of her hand, and took a risk by putting his other arm around her shoulders. "You can be the strong one for them, ja? That's vhere you place yourself. Just remember to take time out for yourself."
The swashbuckler man didn’t want to get her sick. She was too beautiful, too kind, and too precious.
For a moment, Cadence didn’t mind about getting sick. She wanted to be there for her family, but being the rock for all of her nieces and nephews was an incredibly difficult job. She gave a little sigh and leaned in against Kurt, taking a moment to let him comfort her. It felt nice. Her eyes fell closed. “I’ll try.” This was a good start. “Tell me about your life on the ship.”
"Long, hard days," he replied, laughing, then clearing his throat. He turned his head away from her to cough. "There vere five of us. Ve vould get up early, eat a fatty breakfast, and then handle nets and sort fish for hours. You took a few minutes here and there, vhen you could, then it vas back to work. It vas less romantic than I thought it vould be."
"The other kind of romance," Cadence said, remembering a conversation that they’d had before. She picked up his hand with both of hers, and turned it over to trace her fingertips along his palm. “Did you enjoy it, though? While it lasted?”
"Oh, ja. I enjoyed it. It vas hard vork, but vork with the hands. It put food on the table for people and it was dangerous. Exhausting. I've got more scars than I care to count, and vhen I lost part of a finger I decided I needed a change in careers."
Cadence had been avoiding asking about that. She winced. "How did it happen?"
He blinked, then looked down at his hand. “Ah..that..” He gave a little cough, more out of embarrassment than anything else. “Ve vere in rough seas. The new boy had gone overboard, so I grabbed a rope and dove in after him. I lost it vhen my hand got caught as I vas being hauled back up vith him.”
Cadence tore her eyes away from his hand and turned to look up into his face. He was so very handsome, it almost took her breath away. There was a kindness and a sadness in his eyes, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on besides that. A gentle, surprised expression crossed her features. “You went in after... you saved his life?”
"Ja. It vas the right thing to do, and it didn't take much thought. Luckily ve veren't in colder vater. There vould have been nothing ve could have done except pray ve could fish him out of the vater fast enough." It had taken just enough thought to gauge the situation and make sure he had a link to the ship.
“Wow.” Cadence said. She’d only ever seen one episode of that show about the people who go fishing. Perhaps it was best that she hadn’t seen more of it. It sounded terrifying. “It’s a strong reminder about your courage, and your kindness.” She said, turning her hand over to lace her fingers with his together in her lap. “I don’t know if I would have been brave enough to go diving overboard after one of my fellow sailors.”
"I may have a bit of a heroic streak," he said, his face turning a little red. "But I didn't do it to be one. I did it because...it vas the right thing to do." Did he lack fear? No. Lacking fear wasn't healthy. It wasn't even that he wanted to die, or didn't care if he did. He just acted.
Cadence nodded softly, then cuddled back down against him again, bringing her head to rest on his shoulder. “I’m proud of you.” She said. Was that hokey? Whatever, it was true. It made her heart feel a little lighter to know how good of a man he was.
“You don’t need to be..” He leaned his cheek on the top of her hair. “I vas not trying to impress you vith that story. I vorry you might think I might have been trying.”
“No. I think you’re humble on top of being brave and strong.” She said, but now she was blushing. It was most likely coming through in her tone how much she was starting to fancy him.
“Liebchen, vere I not ill, I vould be hard pressed to...” he trailed off, and cleared his throat. “You’re beautiful, and strong in your own right. I’m glad you are not bothered by my hand. Rest assured, I’m not missing anything else.”
"Hard pressed to what?" Cadence asked, lifting her head to look at him.
“Nothing,” He grinned at her. Kurt’s eyes were full of mischief, fondness, and a dash of desire.
"No," she responded. His grin was infectious. Let's hope his flu wasn't. "What were you going to say?"
“Hard pressed to not ravish you,” He finished, quirking his eyebrows half in challenge.
"It's a good thing you're sick, then," Cadence teased him. "Easier to resist the temptation." She was incredibly flattered, though. She was in her pajamas today, her hair a mess, and he still was attracted to her. It made her feel good.
Kurt chuckled, rubbing a hand up and down her arm. "Ja. At least you look good enough for the both of us?"
A laugh escaped her. “Good enough? Really?” She was blushing deeply as she lifted her head to look into his eyes again. “I’m not the best looking one in the room.”
“Now you’re just being silly!” Kurt peered into her eyes, and fell silent, a smile curving at his lips. He enjoyed her company, and had since he’d first run into her. He wondered what excuses he could come up with to see her more often.
Cadence almost thought he was going to kiss her. She leaned in just a fraction of an inch, getting lost in his eyes, then remembered that he was sick. She didn’t want to catch it. She pulled back a little and cleared her throat. “...I should make tea.” She said, then climbed out from under the blanket and stood. “Do you want some tea?”
“Tea vould be vonderful,” He replied, thick throated. He wanted to kiss her, desperately, but he didn’t want to make her sick. He didn’t think he’d be happy with himself if that happened.
"You sit tight," Cadence gave him a smile, though her heart was thundering. She turned to turn the Keurig on in the kitchen, and leaned heavily against the counter, breathing hard. Who was he? How did he have this affect over her? She grabbed a couple of mugs and a couple of tea bags, clearing her throat. "Chamomile okay?" She called to him.
"Chamomile is more than okay!" He called back, voice rough. Plopping back into the couch, he closed his eyes, lifting his hand to check his forehead. He couldn't believe he'd gotten sick already. Months at sea in varying temperatures and he'd been healthy as a horse.
Cadence came back into the living room a moment later with two mugs of steaming tea. She gave him a smile and set them down on the coffee table before sitting beside in the armchair next to the sofa and tugging her legs up underneath her. “I’d offer you something else, but my father’s been busy and I’ve been at the House, so this place is nearly void of food.”
Kurt laughed, taking the tea and sipping at it. It helped his chest settle in a bit and made his throat stop itching. It smelled wonderful, and tasted wonderful, and he closed his yes to savor it. "The tea is fine, liebchen."
“Liebchen,” Cadence repeated after him. It most likely sounded strange with her slight Mexican tongue. She was smiling for the first time in what felt like days, at least, since her nephew was put in the hospital. “...what does it mean?”
"Sweetheart," Kurt replied. "Because you are one. I like the vay you say it.”
Cadence blushed deeply. “It must sound strange with my accent.” She didn’t have much of one, but enough that when she tried to speak in other languages it sounded funny. “I like the way you say a lot of things.”
"It sounds very nice." Kurt actually blushed a little bit, and rested his cheek on her forehead. "You are being too kind. And to think I have tried to shake my own off."
"It would be a shame to lose your accent." Cadence said, softly.
He smiled, deciding that maybe it was a good thing he couldn’t shake the thing. He’d never been the kind of person to be all that vain, though he tried to take care of himself. He was just self-conscious.
Cadence cleared her throat. "Would you like to watch a movie?" She asked, feeling a little awkward in the silence. The temptation to throw caution to the wind and kiss him was really strong.
"Ja! I don't think I'm up for much else. I hope you don't mind. I feel like I'm intruding."
"No, I'm thankful for the distraction." Cadence purred. She reached for the remote and clicked on Netflix. "At least I don't have to be embarrassed by what's on my queue. This is my dad's account." It was all crime dramas and gangster movies.
"Now I vant to know vhat's in your queue," Kurt replied. He didn't have Netflix, himself. He rarely had time to even sit down and watch tv, let alone movies!
“It’s all silly things.” Cadence said, going pink. She clicked through some of the recent arrivals, looking for something interesting. “Comedy or Drama?”
“Comedy. I think ve need laughter, sweet thing.” He watched her out of the corner of his eye. “Especially right now.”
“I have the perfect idea.” Cadence gave him a smile that flickered. There was still worry in her, but he helped to make her forget. A few clicks of the remote and The Princess Bride came on.
Kurt's face lit up. He loved this movie. "I could kiss you!"
Cadence laughed. “I thought we already decided that was a bad idea?”
He settled into the movie, and murmured cheerfully. “As you vish.”