InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "That's right dead man!"

tigertiger (tigertiger) wrote in wished,
@ 2010-08-28 20:00:00

Entry tags:

!2003: 08, !incomplete, stephanie fawcett, stephen cornfoot

Who: Stephen Cornfoot and Stephanie Fawcett
When: Saturday Night
Where: Stephanie's Flat
What: Stephen comes over to see a painting and what he will find will surprise him.
Rating: PG?
Open/Closed: Open to Stephanie Fawcett

There was nothing better, in Stephen's opinion, than being so near a best friend that saying 'be there in a sec' was true without having to apparate. He didn't mind apparation but not only was their neighborhood a muggle but the act of apparating was never his strongest magic. He was always too nervous about the very act to feel right about it and the whole thing was rooted in the need to be confident in doing it.

So when he said he'd be over he had meant he'd jog down the three flights of stairs to exit his building and jog over to the one right next door, up another four flights just to visit Stephanie. His hand gripped a small, velvet, black box tight and it was with that hand, knuckles white with how tight he gripped it, that he knocked before simply walking in.

Stephen knew the door would be unlocked, knew she'd be waiting and so he began to talk at once.

"Okay, so, your stairs remind me of..."

His mouth went dry and his heart began to pound wildly. He was staring at the painting that took up that wall, unable to formulate any coherent thoughts or words until a minute had passed.

"When did... What did... you did that?"

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impermanence
2010-08-29 01:30 am UTC (link)

After finally sleeping, Stephanie felt a lot better than she had over the last few days. She hadn’t really been up very long, but since she had, she’d been staring at the wall...at that painting that she just hadn’t been able to get out of her head. It stared back at her, challenging her to declare just why she’d been so obsessed with the idea. It was as if this idea of hers actually meant something, and she just didn’t know.

It wasn’t until Stephen walked into her flat after telling her that he’d be there, that she really pulled her gaze away from the mural. But then, it kind of stunned her how he seemed to be panicking a bit at the sight before him. Stephen was a Seer...did he know something that she didn’t? What was going on?

She looked almost cautiously between him and the mural, trying to establish some kind of connection, “Yeah, this was the obsession that I was telling you about. It’s been in my head since...gosh, sometime Wednesday,” she got up from the couch and took a few steps towards him, but staying between him and the painting.

“I know it’s not something I usually do...” but then, she didn’t think that was really the cause of his shock, “What’s wrong?”

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tigertiger
2010-08-29 01:41 am UTC (link)

And it wasn't even a lack of thought being the problem. It was an overload of thoughts, questions, possible explanations that plagued him and made it difficult to say anything worth speaking out loud. Stephen wanted so badly to touch the painting, wished it was magical so he could see it move and see it play out just to make sure...

Just to see his dream roll fluidly across that wall would help him make sense of the thing.

Stephen stepped forward, past her and reached a hand out as if to touch the wall but he didn't let them graze the painting in case it was still wet. He glanced over his shoulder and dropped his hand.

"Who is the girl, in the painting?"

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impermanence
2010-08-29 01:53 am UTC (link)

The way that he was acting made Stephanie really believe that this was much more than she thought it was. She got a little nervous about it then, fidgeting as she watched him. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and stayed quiet while he observed it for a moment. Maybe he’d had a disturbing vision about her and didn’t know it was about her until just then.

She pondered his question for just a moment, staring at the girl in the picture, “I guess the beauty of it is that it could be anyone that you wanted it to be,” she said at first, tilting her head very softly, and coming closer, standing right beside him in front of it, “...but when I look at it, I see me. They’re silhouettes because...well, they’re going somewhere, but they aren’t going there alone, you know? They’ve passed through the day and they’re continuing on into the evening to whatever is out there. They might be lovers, they might be friends...”

She felt a blush in her cheeks. Perhaps they were both. All she had been able to think about was this painting, and now...she was sharing it with this person that she’d always loved, “None of us want to go on forever by ourselves,” She looked up at him with a bit of a smile on the corners of her lips, not knowing why she was anxious, “We walk this road together, right?”

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tigertiger
2010-08-29 02:11 am UTC (link)

He understood the painting at once, there was no question as to what it meant. He knew what his dream meant at once in the same way. They had been walking, him and her, and it didn't matter where because they were together and that feeling? That intense and simple feeling of being loved and loving in return. He got that. He wanted that and knew, with everything in him, that such a thing was meant to be for him.

He just didn't know when. Or with who.

We walk this road together, together, together.

Feeling stupid didn't hit Stephen often. He was an intelligent guy and maybe that made him seem a bit arrogant but now he was doubting his intellect. For the first time in a long time Stephen felt incredibly obtuse. He swallowed hard.

"That's me," he pointed again, cheeks burning bright. "I dreamt this. That's me, and if that's... if that's you... than this is supposed to be yours."

Stephen turned toward her a bit more and with his palm up he held out that small ring box.

"I was.. I was hoping you could clean it for me, s'why... why I brought it."

That sounded awful, worse than it did in his head but he couldn't stop rambling now. He felt light headed and so anxious that his back was tensing up.

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impermanence
2010-08-29 02:34 am UTC (link)

As soon as he said that the man in the painting was him, Stephanie was blushing, because yes...as soon as she’d realized the girl was her, she knew that the man was him. There was no other way for her to see things. Stephen and Stephanie...they were a package deal. For years now, she had known no other friend that she could call her best, and he...well, he was the longest standing relationship that she had, even if it was just friendship. She didn’t think family counted so much with that, because they were obligated...Stephen was there because he wanted to be.

He was handing her a small box, and...it was supposed to be hers? She didn’t understand. Slowly and delicately, she reached out to his palm and opened the box, already half-knowing what she would find. His grandmother’s ring...he was going to give it to the girl that he would marry. Was he saying that she was that girl? Was this...some kind of almost-proposal?

“Stephen...” she said softly, her voice breaking a little bit, looking up at him with anxious...albeit slightly hopeful eyes, “This is your Grandmother Esther’s ring...when you say it’s supposed to be mine...do you mean I’m supposed to marry you?” Her tone was careful...she didn’t want to say much more until she got that answer, because this was a fragile moment...this was not what she had expected. She made sure that she didn't sound opposed to the idea...in fact, she might have sounded a little inclined towards it.

Thinking about that wasn’t really so difficult, actually. For so long she’d told herself nothing would ever happen...perhaps she’d been wrong.

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tigertiger
2010-08-29 03:02 am UTC (link)

The way she carefully proposed the question made his heart ache so fiercely he had to clutch at his chest as if to do so was to quell the feeling that it might burst at any moment. He blinked owlishly and stared at her as if what she asked was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. In fact, it was.

"Grandma, how did you and Grandpa Felix know you were.."

"Meant to be? I don't know, libn. I suppose we always knew, even when we were just.. friends. He had been my best friend and he still is."

Slowly the corners of his lips tugged up into a wide, wide smile and he tilted his head boyishly.

"Yeah. Yeah, I do," the smile faded quick for a moment and he stepped forward to swipe that ring box out of her hand quickly. His eyes went wide and he extended his index finger as a gesture of, 'one minute!' Then he turned on his heel and took a deep breath before spinning back around then down to one knee, the ring box opened and extended up toward her.

"Stephanie Mariana Clarity Fawcett, will you continue being my best friend, will you continue to bring me soup when I'm sick and will you let me make you blueberry tea when you're mad at me so you don't stay mad at me and I know this is weird, I reckon this is the most bloody strange proposal in the entire world but I believe in fate and fate has twisted our two life lines together so tightly that if you say no I won't stop asking until you say yes because marrying your best friend is the best idea since the invention of that bloody amazing shampoo of yours but it even trumps that and I know, I'm rambling, I'm sorry, but this is the biggest prophecy I have ever had and it's the first one I want to be true so badly I think... I think I might have a heart attack if you let me keep rambling.."

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impermanence
2010-08-29 03:26 am UTC (link)

Her heart thudded painfully when he smiled that incredibly smile of his. Never before had it made her knees quite this weak. Sweet Rowena, she hoped she would still be standing in a few moments.

With his confirmation, she was scrambling for a reply, but him taking the ring back stalled her for a moment. She watched him carefully, trying to decide just what he was going to do, but getting down on his knee...oh, she had to be dreaming, didn’t she? Of course, not even in her dreams before had Stephen proposed to her. Kissed her, yes. Told her that he loved her as he held her tightly in his arms on some winter night, yes. But offered her marriage, no...it seemed unfathomable even in her dreams.

Even if it was the strangest proposal ever given, it also had to be the sweetest...the absolute best. Stephanie hadn’t really ever imagined herself getting married...she thought it could happen, but planning it never crossed her mind. He was saying so much that she wasn’t sure when he was going to stop for air or give her a chance to answer. Of course...the answer was obvious to her. There was only one, could only be one...nothing else was acceptable to her heart or her logic.

“You know...even if you hadn’t said all that, I’d still give you the same answer,” she said a bit softly looking down at him. She felt the girly urge to cry, but held it firmly at bay, “So, yes...yes, I will marry you, Stephen Felix Cornfoot...because you are the only one I’d walk down the road of forever with...you always have been.” Perhaps it wasn’t quite as fancy as what he’d said to her, but she meant it just as much. And even though she hadn’t even kissed him yet, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was only this for her. She held out her hand for him to bestow her with the ring that was now hers...the ring that had been hers before either of them had known it.

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tigertiger
2010-08-29 03:45 am UTC (link)

Why hadn't he thought of this before? It wasn't like he was actively searching for someone or anything but hadn't that been simply because he was content? He was happy and now it made sense and now the smallest piece of the puzzle of his life was being put in place. Stephen had never felt so full, or complete, or so.. so..

He let out a held breath slowly and plucked the ring out of the box. Stephen reached for her hand and gently pushed that ring up and over her slender finger. He laughed then, let a soft chuckle escape his lips. When he tilted his chin back to look up at her there was a twinkle in his dark gaze.

"I'm such a git," he rose to his feet a hand still holding fast to hers. He used that hold to pull her forward then lifted his free hand to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"I should've... should've known. I mean I feel like I've always known but I'm a complete plonker, I mean really, if I were you I'd understand completely if you wanted to smack me upside the head. Sweet Rowena, doesn't this feel right? Stephanie. Stephanie I have the biggest urge to kiss you, can I? Maybe I shouldn't ask, Godric my nerves are shot.."

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impermanence
2010-08-29 04:02 am UTC (link)

For years, Stephanie had known...she knew, but she didn’t say anything because he didn’t seem to know. Her fear was that it was only her infatuation, and that it wasn’t really meant to be. Still, she realized how silly that was now that she was standing there with a ring on her finger. She was engaged...she was going to marry Stephen.

Being on Cloud 9 hadn’t ever made quite as much sense to her before. She couldn’t stop smiling. The best descriptor of her emotions were giddy, but perhaps with just a touch of nervousness, because...well, who wasn’t when something like this happened to them?

She felt heat in her fingers from where he was holding her hand, and she could only look up at him when he brushed back her hair, not bothering to veil the adoration in her eyes that always should have been there before.

But she didn’t bother right then telling him that she’d been more than a bit in love with him for a long while, “It does feel right...so right,” she said, still grinning, “Stephen, relax. I’m still me, and you’re still you. ‘Course, I’m all flustered myself but...you don’t have to ask if you want to kiss me. You can kiss me any time you want,” she swore it sounded like a promise when the words fell from her lips. But she couldn’t wait...she had to know what it felt like. So she stretched up on her tip-toes, pulling him close, and pressed her lips to his. It was the best feeling she’d ever known, brand new and yet oddly familiar. Yet, she couldn’t be bothered to think about that, not now...not when she was finally kissing Stephen.

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tigertiger
2010-08-29 04:18 am UTC (link)

If ever there was any doubt in his mind that this was not fate, that this was not divine, that doubt was eradicated with the kiss she so delicately placed upon his mouth. It felt like there was a hummingbird stuck under his ribs for his heart was beating that fast. Just before his eyes shut he saw a flash of colors dancing off her body, saw it pulsating off his own hands that were coming to cup her cheeks. It was a green and red interchanging faintly.

Harmony. Love. Balance. Passion. Energy. Stability.

Stephen was not usually a greedy man nor was he a man who was particularly rough but when he returned the kiss there was nothing soft or gentle about it. It was needy and hungry and the taste of her lips was so familiar it was like tasting something he had before and forgotten even existed. It was heavenly, had him sighing against her mouth before he lowered his hands to her shoulders, the small of her back and then finally the curve of her behind.

He broke the kiss just long enough to bend at the knees and lift her up in his arms.

"I love you I love you I love you..." he murmured against his mouth, lips kissing at the corner of her lips.

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impermanence
2010-08-29 04:46 am UTC (link)

Perhaps she didn’t have some kind of foresight, but Stephanie knew what she felt, and nothing before in her life had ever been so perfect. She knew that Stephen had always been the one that loved her most...and when she thought about it, their relationship had been increasingly less platonic over the years. She really wasn’t certain about how many mixed-gender best friends frequently got wrapped up in each other’s arms and just laid there for...well, however long they felt like it.

But they hadn’t kissed before, and definitely not like this. She didn’t protest the sudden intensity of his kiss, her hands roaming up over the soft fabric of his shirt. No other kiss had ever felt like this one, she was sure of it. No one else had ever driven her wild and tamed her at the same time. There was this heat between them kind of like setting off a spark and then watching the flame grow like a wildfire...it was an intense burn that she reveled in. His hands were making her melt into his touch, pliant and wanting.

She held to him steadfastly when he picked her up, helping to support her weight in the best way she could, not caring where he took her. The bed, the couch, some nameless place that was only theirs...anywhere was okay as long as she had him with her.

Hearing him say that he loved her was like something out of a dream. She wanted to pinch herself to know that this was real, but then...it was too vivid, too perfect to be some figment of her imagination. It was just that she had longed to hear him say that and mean it the way that he surely did now, “I love you,” she whispered back, her lips brushing his. Saying it made it that much more real.

She needed this now...like a drug in the bloodstream, she craved him. She caressed his lips with her own, sweet and yet urgent, tasting him like she wanted to so often before. She had one hand tangled in his hair, the other at his neck, fingers pressed unconsciously to his pulse point. She felt restless and content, but the constant was him. It would always be him.

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tigertiger
2010-08-29 05:51 pm UTC (link)

It was as if a levitation charm had been placed on her for her to feel so light in his arms. Stephen shifted his weight and rocked back on his heels for a moment. Both arms snaked under her thighs as he stepped forward, toward her bedroom.

Stephen kicked the door shut behind them and grinned against her mouth. Something was murmured, a soft sigh of adoration as he lowered himself to the edge of the bed. He dipped his chin against her shoulder and buried his face against her neck, eyes closing.

The next morning would be the first morning of the rest of his life spent waking up next to Stephanie, which in it's self was nothing new but the idea of waking up with her tangled in his arms, a sleepy smile rolling across lips he would get to kiss made the idea something to look forward to, something entirely new.

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