Christopher Addington Higgs (_sculpted) wrote in vrrpg, @ 2017-05-28 21:41:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !complete, char: astoria higgs, char: christopher higgs, location: other, time: 2009 05 |
RP: Pretty as a picture
Who: Kit and Astoria
When: Monday May 8 [Backdated]
Where: Ruins somewhere in the UK
What: Another not-a-date
Warnings: None, really!
After the weekend, realizing that Callie wanted more than the one night, that her own feelings ran deeper than friendship toward Kit, that her life had been utterly complicated by the stupidity of decision-making while under the influence of tequila, that letting her sister get to her was a mistake (she wasn't a prude, damn it!), and then actually confiding in Daphne all her weird and confused feelings toward Kit... well, it made her all the more anxious about her plan for her and Kit this morning all the more nerve wracking. But Daphne had encouraged her to go after Kit if that was what she really wanted, and considering the fact that she'd never felt this giddy fluttering about anyone in her life before, she was inclined to agree with her sister on this one.
Kit was... amazing. He was gentle and sweet and passionate and artistic. He was a Pureblood wizard, but he wasn't arrogant and pushy in all the wrong ways. Yes, she still wondered if he might be gay, considering his scene with Callie at the party a couple days ago and his insistence that he did the whole fake boyfriend thing with some frequency thing, but even if that were the case... She could live without sex with her potential future husband, she rather thought. Wasn't that what she'd always hoped for? And if her impression was wrong and Kit wasn't gay? Well, he made her heart race in a different way than she was used to.
There was also the complication of, what did he know?! But she'd come to realize that mattered little in the grand scheme of things. With as much as she adored him already, she couldn't help but imagine she would be honest with him, and if he weren't interested in the future she was looking for, she would still hold him dear and close as a friend. Perhaps this morning she would find out whether or not he was interested...
She'd worn a flowy, summery dress, but covered it up in a standard black cloak before Kit arrived, rather wanting to surprise him with it. Her expanded bag was packed with food and drinks and anything else she could think of that they might possibly need while exploring the ruins and whatever else they might decide to do with the day. She didn't have any firm plans for the day other than this morning at the ruins, but she knew that she would spend as much time with him today as she could, as that was the whole point of taking the day off.
"Ready?" she asked him, holding out her hand so that she could apparate them both, inexplicably pleased that he was willing to side-apparate with her.
Kit had been looking forward to the outing since she'd proposed it. Especially since he'd told her to surprise him, so he didn't know where they would be going to explore. He also really wanted to hear her play, if she chose to do so. He wasn't certain she would.
Since he didn't know where they were going, he'd dressed for a midline, figuring she'd have given him a heads up if it were somewhere to one huge extreme or another. He'd prevaricated a bit on what to wear -- not unusual for him, honestly, given his line of work in the wizarding world and all, but also because he wanted to look nice for her (he wasn't looking at that too closely, especially given what he'd found out recently) but they were going out to somewhere possibly remote, so...
He broke the mental chatter by choosing a nice pair of black slacks that weren't so nice he'd miss them if he did something to them and a silvery grey shirt that flattered his eyes. It wasn't fastened up all the way, but he had a way of pulling off almost anything (even messy, he had a certain appeal that served him well in modeling). Since it was early, he also chose a dark jacket that seemed to blur the line between cloak and Muggle jacket and flared out a bit around the knees. Boots completed it, since boots were ever versatile in his opinion, and needed for exploring.
He arrived promptly when he said he would, with a few things he thought might be good to have shrunken in his pockets. He could even shrink the jacket later if needed.
"Yes! Unless you think we need to pick up anything before we go," he said with a grin. His hand slipped into hers without a second that. His weren't model soft but they weren't hard labor rough either; an inbetween of someone who worked with clay and wasn't afraid to get a little dirty. "Lead on, my dear. I'm eager to see where you've picked for us."
Astoria considered it for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't think we should have to. I'm fairly confident I've thought of everything," she added, patting her bag fondly. And she did try to be prepared for excursions such as this, though she didn't usually have a companion on them.
As his hand slipped into hers, she felt that fluttery feeling again and fought down a blush at it. "I am, too. I really hope you'll like it." She blew out a breath and then closed her eyes and focused on the spot she wanted to apparate them to, and a moment later they were there. When she opened her eyes and saw they were just outside the ruins, the sun shining through the large opening that must have been a window, cutting through the mist that clung in the air, she sighed in pure contentment. This was precisely why she'd wanted to come so early; it was just so beautiful.
"Would you like to look around first? Or... I do have a bit of a surprise for you," she admitted, her cheeks definitely tinged pink now.
He cleared his mind and let her bring him along with her. It was surprisingly easy to do. And when they arrived, the scene was simply so lovely that he couldn't help but echo her sigh with one of his own. He found some unknown tension in his shoulders falling away, and he was smiling easily. Not that he hadn't been before, but it as even more so now.
"This is your outing, my dear, so please, take the lead. I think we'll have plenty of time to explore," he said, looking down at her with a grin. His curiosity gleamed in his eyes a bit, and he had no idea what she was going to pull out of her metaphorical hat next. He was intrigued. By the surprise and by her.
She was something of an anomaly in his world, someone who was in on both sides of it now. The number of people who were that were... incredibly small, and no one had been added in so long. And she'd gotten in so quickly, he was still reeling a bit.
When she heard his sigh as well, she glanced over at him with a soft smile, pleased that he seemed to find this place as peaceful as she did. "I think you're probably right." At least, she hoped he was, as she didn't want to rush through this day. She wanted to spend as much of the day with him as she could.
Astoria bit her lower lip for a long moment before finally deciding... "All right, close your eyes. Just for a minute, I promise," she assured him. Once she was confident he was playing along, she pulled her wand and went to work casting some spells to reinforce the bit of ruin that housed the window. That done, she tucked her wand away, drew her cloak off, and opened her bag. She pulled her violin case out first, then put her cloak inside of it.
A glance toward Kit showed her that he was still playing along with his eyes closed, so she levitated herself up to the ledge. Once in place, she lifted her violin to her chin and settled the bow against the strings. And then, she started playing, hoping that he would enjoy the surprise, that he would understand that he could open his eyes now without her telling him, that he wouldn't think her ridiculous.
Kit went ahead and closed his eyes, playing along with her. He didn't know her well enough to be able to guess at what she was about just yet, though he was starting to get to know her a bit, he thought, even if the other night had added some additional confusion to the mix. He was keeping that at a distance for now, though, because he wasn't even sure what he was thinking at this point.
It wasn't until he heard the first pure note of the violin that he opened his eyes, unerringly finding her where she'd positioned herself on the ledge. His breath caught in that moment and he realized, not for the first time, how utterly lovely she was. She was truly beautiful, outlined by the sun and that look on her face that he suspected onl came over her when she was playing the violin.
His fingers itched for his pencils and paper, to try to capture the moment, but he resisted because he wanted to watch. Without looking, he shrugged out of his coat and leaned back against a bit of the ruins, eyes trained on her raptly. Not once did he think her silly, simply lovely, and he was enjoying her surprise completely.
As she played, Astoria couldn't help moving with her violin, though she couldn't be quite as lively with it as she might have been if she were not standing in the window of the ruins. She wasn't sure why the upbeat music was what came to her just then, but maybe it was an expression of all the emotions that had been bubbling up in her over the past few weeks, symbolic of the hope she had for where things could go with them.
Kit was someone she could see herself able to let her passions show with, and that was huge to her. She'd never truly thought she would find a wizard she could feel this way about, even if she didn't think she was sexually attracted to him. There was definitely a strong attraction, but she rather thought it had nothing to do with his physical bits and everything to do with him as a whole.
After the final notes faded off into the mist, Astoria lowered her violin and bow, and bent a bit at the waist in a silly little bow, biting her lip as she looked at him, hoping he'd enjoyed it.
It was upbeat and hopeful and not what he'd expected, though he didn't know exactly what he expected. He liked it, however. A lot. He thought it gave some insight, somehow, into her passionate side which he suspected very few people got to see. He was lucky, largely because she'd seen into that side of him too, and few people knew about it.
He was grinning when she stopped, and he clapped his hands together quietly, not from lack of enthusiasm but because this place seemed to demand from him a bit more softness than usual. His approval was writ on his face and in his body language though.
"Brava, brava, bravissima," he praised her. "That was beautiful, Astoria. Thank you. A wonderful surprise." He pushed off the wall then, and approached the ledge, his eyes up on hers respectfully as he held up his arms in an offer to help her down the old fashioned way.
His praise brought a tinge of pink to her cheeks, and she didn't release her lower lip from her teeth until he'd crossed to her. "You're welcome," she responded. She handed him her violin and bow first. "You can set them on the ground - they've got protective charms on them," she assured him.
After he'd done so, she bent down to rest her hands on his shoulders, trusting that he would catch her waist and help her down, since that's what it seemed he was offering. She felt that ridiculous fluttering in her chest as he lowered her down, and they were still so close to the ledge that she didn't have much room to keep a respectable distance between them.
Her hands were still on his shoulders, and as she looked up at him, her breath caught. She'd kissed plenty of blokes in her adult life, but none of them had ever made her flutter. And yet, she had the ridiculous urge to kiss him now. Honestly! What had come over her?!
Kit took the carefully and set them over on a safe space nearby and went back to her, raising his arms up and encircling her waist with his hands. He was as strong as his maintained muscles suggested he might be, and he helped to lift her down from the ledge and set her carefully down right in front of him. By necessity it put them very close together, and his breath caught for a second as he realized it.
It gave him a full flutter of nerves to realize how close she was and, once again, how lovely she was. In that moment he thought about how he should kiss her right now, but he was so nervous suddenly. When was the last time he'd genuinely kissed a woman and not just been playing pretend? It had been... a really long time, it felt like.
And it showed, a little, when he blurted out softly, "You are ridiculously pretty, Astoria."
Was he? She thought for sure that he was about to kiss her, and she held her breath in anticipation, feeling light and almost dizzy at the thought. Her eyes nearly closed, and then... he blurted out that compliment. Sure, it was done so softly, but it still threw her off, and she blushed deeply at it. Oh, of course she'd been given plenty of compliments on her appearance before, but this felt different.
He was different.
Astoria tilted her chin down, peeking up at him through her lashes. "Thank you," she breathed, the compliment touching her deeper than she'd thought it could. Reluctantly, she slid her hands down off his shoulders and took a small step to the side. Despite admitting to Daphne yesterday that she had feelings for Kit, she still wasn't sure what to do about them. "I have more songs, if you'd like to hear them?" she offered for a distraction.
Her blush and shy expression did nothing at all to make him think her any less pretty. She blushed prettily, after all. It was a genuine compliment from someone who appreciated beauty but who also appreciated her. He knew it might not be taken that way, given how he'd worded it, but the spontaneity and genuineness was very heartfelt.
And it showed that he could be quite .... shy, perhaps, might not be quite the right word, nor awkward, but that boy was still a part of him, who hung on the fringes learning to hide better by being outgoing and popular.
Kit did reach out and take one of her hands, though, brushing his lips silently over her knuckles. "I'll listen to anything you wish to play for me," he told her.
Oh gods. Why did he have to go and do that? It was such a standard, polite, Pureblood gesture, but it felt like so much more when he would brush his lips over her knuckles like that. It set the butterflies loose in her stomach and had her all flustered. And then, the words he spoke! She wasn't this ridiculous girl, and yet with him, it seemed she was.
"Well, then..." she murmured, looking up at him again for a long moment, trying to figure out what the right thing to do might be. Playing would probably be a good idea just then. Right. It would give her hands and mind something else to focus on, and perhaps even help her get this ridiculous fluttery feelings under control.
She moved away from him then, picking up her violin and bow again and started playing as they walked around the ruin. It was gorgeous and peaceful, and though it was different doing so, she was so happy to be sharing this with him.
He did sometimes fall back on those manners he'd had instilled in him from birth, though in this case it was partly to conceal his own confusing rush of feelings and everything. He didn't want to make an inadvertent misstep, which often backfired on him as it made her somewhat cautious in nature even when it seemed as if he wasn't.
So Kit backed off a bit as they walked, giving her enough room to play however she needed, though his attention stayed trained on her. The dress was beautiful, and it flattered her very much. And her playing? Her playing was exquisite.
And when she stumbled slightly because she was playing and not paying a lot of attention to her feet, his hand was right there to steady her until he was certain she was all right, and there was a quick, warm grin with no words uttered before he backed off respectfully again.
They circled around part of the ruins like that. When they passed back by his coat, he paused because his fingers positively itched at this point and he picked up his sketch book from the pocket he'd secreted it in as well as a pen and a couple of pencils which were tucked in a convenient pocket down the side seam of his pants meant to hide a wand in. If they found a place to settle for a few minutes, he'd have them so he could satisfy his fingers' desires.
There was nothing like playing the violin to sooth Astoria's nerves, and oh, how her nerves were rattled lately! She still couldn't wrap her head around the fact that she found herself interested in Kit when she'd never had this sort of interest in any male in her life. But he was quite unlike any other male in her life, and she was really trying to just stop worrying about it and enjoy the process of getting to know him better.
What she didn't expect was for her to get so lost in the music and company that she lost her footing. A soft gasp sounded between them, both from the disorientation of beginning to stumble and from the fact that his hand was on her again. A moment later, though, she smiled back at him, wondering if there would come a time when he could casually touch her without causing that flurry of flutters in her.
Once they'd circled back to where they began, she noticed him get his sketchbook out of his coat pocket, and she smiled at him, pausing in her forward movement though she continued to play as she started to speak. "What are your fingers itching to draw?" she asked curiously, happy to let him do it, though she wondered if it was the ruins or... her.
"You," he found himself saying quite honestly. He wanted to draw her. Certainly the ruins held a draw for the artist as well, but right now mostly he wanted to draw her, he wanted to draw her playing, he wanted to try to draw whatever came out of his fingers while she did so. Music was a creative force that had always spurred his own creativity.
He loved to draw people anyway, but right now especially he was very drawn to her and wanted to put her down on paper. She was, as he'd told her, ridiculously pretty, but it was more than that he wanted to capture. He wanted to show that passion on paper that she was sharing with him.
He wanted to see what she turned into on paper. He tended to be able to know people better through making art of some sort of them, like somehow he was seeing more into them than he was just by talking to them. He didn't know how it worked, but it was likely subconscious signals they put off that he didn't process on anything but a subliminal level. But he wanted to see her on his paper and show it to her, to show her how he saw her.
That simple, honest answer had her flushing, tilting her head slightly away from him shyly. It simultaneously warmed and flustered her that with all the beauty around them he wanted to draw her. "All right," she murmured. "Do you mind terribly if I keep playing while you do?" she had to ask. She would feel like self conscious about him drawing her if she had something to occupy her hands and mind.
"No, please, continue," he said, and with a light, gentle touch to the back of her elbow he nudged her towards a certain section of ruins. He then took a seat on a fallen rock that was if not comfortable at least usable, and cross an ankle over his knee and used the spread to put his pad on.
Then he let her music wash over him as he glanced up and down at her as he drew, taking her in. The first two pages of the pad were taken up with her, from this angle or that. Then she started to play something else, something still fast but also quite light and pretty. A little ethereal.
He barely noticed when he flipped the page again, each sketch done just enough that he'd be able to finish it later without thinking hard. This sketch was a bit different, as he'd fallen into that zone of listening and drawing that he often did when allowed to. Fairies and pixies danced around the ruins in figures as if at a grand ball. Not exactly the sort in the wizarding world, no, but those of myth a bit, with flowers as clothing and such. The princess looking one, in the middle, looked a bit like Astoria. Some others lounged in parts of the ruins.
Astoria let him direct her where he wanted her, and then she lost herself in the music. She watched him watching her off and on, but she didn't want to make him uncomfortable or distract him from his art, so she mostly just focused on the music with her eyes closed.
She had no idea how long she played, but after a while the music shifted to something rather enchanting. It still had a rather quick tempo, and before long she was visualizing a story to go along with the music. There was a celebration of the spring equinox with mystical forest creatures, though they were different from the ones in their world, more the stuff of Muggle legends. They danced around a witch who was dressed in a thin, white dress, flowers in her hair, her hands raised toward the sky as she chanted a spell of some sort.
Eventually, the fairies and pixies paired off to dance, and the witch in the middle sank down to lay in the grass. The music slowed and her imagination started playing the scene out as if in slow motion. The handsome man slowly making his way through the dancing creatures, his brown hair tousled, his eyes searching until he found the witch at the heart of the ruins. She held a hand out to him, inviting, and he lowered himself over her. Their lips touched, and the creatures began chanting, the music picking up pace again...
Quite suddenly, Astoria stopped playing, her cheeks flushed darkly. "Oh!" Good gods, her heart was racing, and how ridiculous that was! She couldn't bring herself to meet Kit's eyes, wondering if he'd felt it too.
He kept flipping pages, starting new things, unsatisfied until finally the witch in the middle came into being. Not that he'd discard any if the sketches, they had promise. But his fingers wanted something and he had to find what. It wasn't always like this but sometimes it was.
He really fell into the zone then. Then he took another page as something shifted again, adding someone else. Something else. He didn't immediately realize his cheeks heated slightly in response to whatever warmed the music and the drawing, but his eyes flew to hers in surprise at the unusual jolt as she stopped, and he stopped, a man kissing a witch.
He gave her an almost rueful smile, cheeks still faintly warm. It wasn't that he was embarrassed by anythinf he drew for he had drawn explicit things. But with her he was just a bit... more aware of her.
She could feel his eyes on her, and it flustered her further. It was a long moment before she finally raised her eyes to meet his. "What did you draw?" she found herself asking, her mouth dry. There was only one other person she'd felt that sort of electric connection with while playing, but she'd always assumed it was because of Isadora's veela side.
Calling upon all her courage, she actually managed to take a few steps toward him, wanting to see what he had drawn, to see if he'd seen what she had in the music.
"It's really raw," he said apologetically as he flipped back to show her the progression of pictures until it had finally started to feel like it was supposed to. Including the last scene. His cheeks pinked just a bit again.
He hardly dared to peek up at her to see her reaction, so he ended up glancing up under his lashes, trying to judge her thoughts.
When he flipped through the pages, she finally came closer and knelt next to the rock he sat on, setting her violin and bow carefully next to her. The sketches were rough but also expressive, and she could easily see the inspiration he'd felt in each page. When they got to the last page, she flushed deeply. She reached out one slim finger to brush over the image on the page, biting her lower lip as she tried to sort out her thoughts and feelings.
"You drew it," she whispered in awe, her eyes finally lifting to meet his. "You saw the music - the story, I mean..."
One corner of his mouth lifted in a lopsided smile. Some might mistake it for an uppity smirk, but he didn't think she would at this point. "Did I?" he asked, eyebrows raising. "I was just drawing what my fingers wanted. It took them a little bit to find it, obviously, but I found it."
He'd never really tried what she'd spoken of, with the painting in her bedroom. He'd never really thought about it. He's somehow, a time or two, drawn or seen more in a person or thing than was evident right off, but he's always put it down to intuition.
Astoria nodded in confirmation, her lips curving up in a delighted smile. "You did! I'd wondered if it was possible for you to, or if it was... veela magic." She was thrilled that he'd been able to find it, to do this. "Do you think... I mean, I know it's not your preferred medium, but do you think you could paint this one for me?" she asked, flipping back to the one of the witch in the middle surrounded by the dancing fairies and pixies.
He rather wanted to experiment more at some point. See if it was possible more than once, what it took to find that zone that it obviously needed to happen. "I'd love to paint it for you. I still love painting." It just meant he loved clay even more. But sketching and even painting as still something he did relatively often.
She relaxed slightly at his assurance that he'd love to paint it for her, relieved a bit that she wouldn't be putting him out for it. But it was such a beautiful image, and she wanted to see him bring it to life on canvas. "It's no rush, of course, I know you've got a lot going on right now with the show coming up," she assured him. She just thought she would really like more of his work displayed in her home.
"It'll get done this summer." Which seemed very broad but when he wasn't working on the show he was working on another project for her, the one he wouldn't tell her about completely yet. He wanted it to be a surprise and he hoped it would please her in the end.
Astoria could live with that. She could be excessively patient when it suited her, and it certainly did suit her in this situation.
And then she decided she wanted to tell him a different sort of story. She picked up her violin and bow again, holding them carefully in one hand and then motioning with her free hand for him to join her again in a walk around the ruins. As they went, she told him some of the stories she'd learned of the ruins, knowing that it was a bit odd that she knew the history of the place, but then it wasn't widely known that she was something of a history buff. Her fingers still itched to play, so she did so intermittently, alternating between her storytelling and the music, but he didn't seem to mind.
Eventually, they ended up back in the center of the ruins again, and she opened up her bag, digging around for the blanket she'd put in there. "Are you hungry?" she asked as she finally found the blanket and pulled it out. "I brought food in case we wanted to have a... in case we were here long enough to get hungry." For some reason telling him she'd thought it would be nice to have a picnic with him seemed silly, even if that was clearly what she was setting up.
He'd never been big on history of the sort they were taught in school for two big reasons - all the reading blurred together in his head and it was boring, and Professor Binns made it even more so. Names and dates weren't generally his thing. He'd managed for his master's because that section of history did fascinate him. He'd even be interested in comparing and contrasting magical and.muggle history of that sort.
But she made it come alive. He had always liked a good story. And Astoria had a deft turn of phrase. Kit listened with his head tilted towards her and his pad under his arm, his attention intently upon her. And he didn't mind at all when she interspersed her stories with her music. Indeed he enjoyed it and found it quite refreshing. She was an undemanding companion thus far and he enjoyed it.
"How can I say no to a picnic in a lovely spot with a beautiful woman," he said with an easy grin. "Is there anything I can help with?"
He was so charming! And Astoria was a woman who adored being charmed, especially when it was like this, with someone who didn't seem to have any ulterior motives than a genuine desire to know her as a friend, who seemed as willing to ignore whatever electricity charged between them for the time being. She certainly was nowhere near ready to explore these feelings she was developing for him, but she was determined to enjoy every moment she got to spend with him.
She handed him the blanket with a smile. "Put that out, if you don't mind?" she said when he asked if he could help. And once that was done, she sat on the blanket, adjusting the skirt of her dress around her modestly before opening the bag again. She started pulling things out, handing them over to him as she did - there was a bowl of mixed fruit, charmed to stay cold, and other breakfast foods similarly charmed to keep. "I wasn't sure what you would like, so I brought a variety," she explained, cheeks flushed lightly in embarrassment at the admission. And there really was far more food than either of them would probably be able to eat, plus a variety of juices and tea.
Kit took the blanket and spread it out carefully and lent her a hand so she could sit down and then smooth out her skirt. He watched through his lashes but didn't stare. Like he'd told her, she was ridiculously pretty, and he liked to watch her. Then he sat down, stretching out long legs and then setting things down in easy reach as she handed them to him.
"I'm pretty easy to please," he told her honestly. "I like all sorts of food. I'm not even sure I have a favorite that doesn't vary with my mood." His grin was easy going and warm. He did set to pour himself a glass of juice and then held it up offering to pour for her too.
That was good to know. "I don't really have a favorite, either," she admitted. There were all sorts of foods she enjoyed and very few she hated. At the offer, she nodded her head, not minding starting with juice this morning.
As wonderful of a time as they were having, though, now that they were sitting and there was food and drinks, some of her apprehension regarding where things could go with him since the party on Saturday came back to the surface. She wanted to address it, wanted to find out what he knew and if it had changed how he felt about her, but she also wanted to ignore it and never ever bring it up with anyone again. But that was the coward's way out, and as much as she knew she could be one, she didn't want to be a coward with him.
"I'm sure you're wondering... what that all was about on Saturday?" she began softly, peeking sideways at him. It led with the assumption that he didn't really know anything, and how he responded would hopefully tell her whether or not that was true.
Kit started to eat a little of this and a little of that, enjoying the fruit particularly especially since he didn't always buy enough for his place. It tended to slip his mind, as much as he did enjoy it. He didn't precisely expect the subject she brought up, but it somehow wasn't a complete surprise either.
He did for a moment consider lying and playing dumb. But the thought came and went pretty much as soon as it arrived. As good as he was at pretending, he didn't want whatever this was, friendship or whatever, to have a foundation on a lie.
"I know a bit of it," he admitted quietly, contemplating the strawberry in his fingers and peeking at her much as she peeked at him. "I didn't know you were the girl Callie wanted to impress or any of that until she pointed you out when you arrived. But we're close and I knew she wanted to make an impression on some woman." And that she'd slept with her, but he hadn't learned that til right near when she'd walked in. He just knew a lot had been going on with his younger friend.
"I simply didn't want here to be a scene for either of your sakes. I know it was presumptuous of me to move you outside, but I thought it was for the best, and I honestly did not listen in. I just ... kept an eye to make sure things were all right."
A bit. She wasn't really sure she believed that's all it was, as it sure seemed like he and Callie were close. "Oh, no, it most certainly was for the best. Callie, I love her dearly as a friend, but she... hasn't quite learned to control her emotions and avoid a scene."
She sighed, looking down as she picked a bit of fruit from the bowl, chewing on it slowly, thoughtfully. "I'd received some very... upsetting news last month," she began, not quite looking at him. She wouldn't tell him about Daphne - he wasn't Blaise! - but she could impress upon him the seriousness of whatever news she'd received. "And I went out for a girl's night with Callie and behaved reprehensibly. It's no excuse, and it shouldn't have happened. That's not me! And then I didn't talk to her for weeks, so I was shocked by her behavior on Saturday, though I'll admit that I didn't help things. I just... When I saw you kissing her, I..." Oh gods, could she just crawl in a hole and die now, please?
"Anyway, I'm certain she and I will find our way back to the friendship we had before. I just hope you don't think less of me for..." Everything. She finally peeked over at him again, knowing her cheeks were still a deep pink, but unable to do anything about it.
His smile was a bit fond. "She's still some growing up to do," he admitted. "But on the same coin, she's probably always going to have a bit of dramatic flair." Which would continue go get her in trouble a bit. But he knew theater types and somehow she seemed like that sort to him at times.
"Not reprehensibly. It's not like you both didn't have a part in it," he said with a small shrug. "Or obviously that either of you didn't have something else on your minds. You all probably should have talked before but you learned from that at least." Both of them.
He did get surprised into looking at her when she mentioned them kissing. "I'm sorry," he offered, misunderstanding a bit. "I hadn't known you all had anything at that point." Not the first time (in recent history no less) that he'd made a mistake with Calypso like that.
She was lovely when she blushed. "Why would I?" He asked genuinely. "Its not like you did anything horrible."
Somehow she thought Kit was probably right about that, but Callie was a dear friend, and so she would encourage her to keep the drama to more appropriate times and places. Astoria closed her eyes and winced faintly at his next words, though, feeling appropriately chastised. Yes, she should have talked about it with Callie before anything had happened, but she'd not wanted to talk or think. She'd behaved so unlike herself, and though she understood why, it was still horrifying to her.
"What? No, that's not what..." She was horrified all over again, that he seemed to misunderstand and assume that she was upset because Callie was kissing someone. "No. Callie and I didn't have anything." Not beyond that one night. But she couldn't bring herself to tell him outright that it had bothered her to see him kissing someone.
It was sweet of him to say, even if she did think she had. She'd broken her rules and slept not only with someone close to home, but it was someone she knew and knew well, someone she considered a very close friend. "Well, what's done is done. I just... wanted to... Well, I'm relieved that you don't think less of me. I'm... really not that girl." She was typically far more serious than a drunken one-night-stand with a good friend.
Kit wasn't trying to chastise, though at least if it did come over that way, it was gently and kindly spoken. It was rare for him to be otherwise though he definitely had his days.
He frowned faintly, obviously a little confused. He spoke before he thought. "Oh. Well, it happened with Ginny the one time, so I assumed..." but that would mean... His brain was slowly playing catch up. Surely she couldn't be jealous of him.... but really that was the only other answer. His mouth opened and closed as he tried to figure out what to say.
"Even if you were that sort of girl... I try not to judge. I'm far from perfect, myself." Though part of him was grateful she wasn't that sort of girl because he was confused enough inside about her without adding more of the same.
He seemed to be catching on, albeit slowly, but Astoria wasn't going to expand upon it further. It was out there in some way, and that was that. Whatever feelings these were for Kit, she was content to take her time getting used to them while she got to know him better.
"Thank you," she said softly. She would never say a person was perfect, but she rather thought whatever faults Kit might have were clearly minor, though she was aware that she did still have more to learn about him. Even so, she was glad to have had this conversation, and she felt she could put it behind her as far as Kit was concerned now. She only hoped that talking to Callie whenever the time would come would lack excessive drama as this one had had.