Nathan chuckles alongside her laugh, taking a swig of the beer and perking up an eyebrow. "I bet it's a wonderful thing for her. C'mon, tell me, what did you get for her? Knowing you, it's pretty damn grand." He then makes a show of suspiciously looking around for a moment, before adding, "I don't think she's going to appear out of the woodwork again, so your secret will be safe."
#Nate'sApartment – December 22, 2019
Leah sucks in her lips as she considers, her free hand turning towards the heart-shaped locket on her necklace, thumb idly stroking across the surface where her last name is engraved. Scrunching up her nose she gives a small shake of her head, smile spreading across her face once more as her big green eyes turn back to Nathan. "I'm not sure I can trust you to keep a secret." she teases with a matter-of-fact shrug of her
shoulders, smug look taking hold. "Sooooo~ maybe you and Sofia should come by for dinner and find out for yourself." she continues, her delivery more of a challenge, masking the fact that she had come with full intention of inviting them over for Christmas.
Nathan tisks with a squint of his eyes, but a small grin playing on his lips as her signature smug look appears on her features. "I'm both offended... and delighted," he muses. He pretends to consider the challenge for a moment or two, his free hand cupping his chin. "Hmmm. Well, I suppose I can't turn down such a tempting offer. To see the surprise on Tara's face? That'll be a memory for all."
Leah manages to restrain her own dorky glee over Nathan accepting the invitation by biting at her lip for a moment. Her thumb continues to brush over the small metallic item dangling from her neck, brightly colored nail picking at the engraving as she turns her focus back towards the television and takes a sip from her drink. She's not particularly sure why the titular character is biotically flinging all manner of objects at
a dangerous-looking asari, but he certainly does look furious, so kudos to living up to the name. But it doesn't matter, it's mostly just background noise. Once her giddiness is under control, she hazards a glance his way. "Good." she says simply, doing her best to be a smooth operator.
Nathan hums a small, low chuckle at her simple, one word response. He reaches over to place the beer on the coffee table with a dull clunk, before leaning back. After a moment or two of the outlandishly over the top special effects of Furious Volus droning from the screen, Nate uses one of his own legs to prop Leah's up a modicum so he can drag a crooked knee up onto the sofa. Allowing his body to twist a
little more freely, he runs an arm across the back of the sofa and leans towards her, grey eyes being drawn to the locket. "May I?" He asks, fingers gesturing to it so that he may get a better look.
Leah shifts against the armrest a bit as Nathan begins to move. It's not until his attention turns to the small piece of metal in her hand that she realizes she's been fidgeting with it. "Oh! Umm-... sure." she offers sheepishly, leaning out to the side to set her own beer on the edge of the coffee table. She tucks a loose strand of hair back behind her ear as she lifts the locket to give Nathan a better look. The necklace
it's on is short, so it doesn't do much to help. It's nothing impressive. Certainly more of a sentimental piece than expensive. Especially considering that Leah doesn't exactly seem like the jewelry type. It's little more than a heart-shaped piece of metal with 'Mercier' engraved across it. She casts a glance down to it, tucking her chin in as she attempts to look it over. As she thumbs the locket open, it reveals another
engraving on the inside. 'Leah'. On the opposite side a picture is inlaid. A much-younger Leah and her parents. It's almost uncanny how much she resembles her mother. She tilts it up momentarily to get a look at it herself, tiny smile spreading across her face.
Nathan peers over the keepsake, eyes flitting to the small text engraved across the metal. A smile, small, creeps onto his lips as the locket opens. A non digital picture is a rare sight indeed in this day and age, but they are still around. He idly lifts a finger to the locket, supporting it as he just looks over the fond image in silence. "She's beautiful," he says quietly, glancing up to Leah. "Your
Leah sucks in her lips, eyes fixed to Nathan as he studies the locket. His comment brings her smile right back out, however. "She... got me this for my sixteenth birthday." she muses quietly. "She had one just like it." The comment causes her to once again tuck her chin to her chest as she attempts to get a better look at the picture. A mostly fruitless effort given the short length of the chain. A fact that also makes it
rather awkward when she tries to point out the locket around her mother's neck to Nathan, forcing her to lean up a little closer for him to have any chance at spotting the small detail. "You can-... Uhh-... see?" she stammers, tilting her gaze downward as the distance between them closes, leaving her staring at his shirt.
Nathan inadvertently moves in closer, to try and catch a better look at tiny detail on an already tiny object. He stops as Leah moves in closer and he instead looks to her, breath hitching in his throat. "Uh... yeah, I-I think I can." He quickly returns his attention to the locket and, indeed, he can see her mother bearing a similar trinket. The background noise of the film dims to almost silence, the
pounding of his heart drowning it out with a cascading rhythm. He finds himself struggling to find any more words to speak, the initially harmless inquiry now turning into one of the pair's more signature awkward moments.
Leah does her best not to dwell on the closeness- comforting and inviting as it is- as Nathan studies the photo. Which also has the side effect of causing her to remain awkwardly silent, gaze focused intently on the collar of his shirt to avoid making eye contact. "...Yeah." she breathes softly, her voice barely audible as she swallows at the lump in her throat and hazards to meet his gaze.
Nathan breaks his gaze from the locket and meets hers instead. Nathan's finger at the locket is joined by his thumb, gently taking the locket and clicking it closed. Two voices battle in his mind, a conflict of what should be done next, how he should act, what he should say, do... "So..." he murmurs, barely audible, "I'm... I'm going to kiss you now. 'kay?" The finger and thumb move to tenderly take her chin,
tilting her head up a little more to him as he leans in to press a soft kiss against her lips, eyes closing. In for a penny, in for a pound as his family used to say.
Leah thoughts clearly preoccupied by her own internal conflict, is quickly jarred from that by the words that Nathan speaks. With a wistful look in her big green eyes, she gives a small nod of her head. Legs awkwardly angled around Nathan and back against the armrest, she's not in much of a position to take the lead. Little more than putty in his hands, she happily complies, head tilting upwards to meet his lips with her own.
Anxious jitters aside, it doesn't take long for her to find comfort in the intimate moment, eyes closing as she pushes the nerves aside. It's something that's been on her mind ever since they shared that night in the compound. Gently and cautiously she presses into the kiss, the rigidness in her body slowly dissipating.
Nathan 's heart goes like a jackhammer in his chest, the noise almost deafening in his ears. Her hesitant pushback lays aside any lingering doubts or misconceptions and the warmth of the moment takes to the forefront of his mind. The touch on her chin falls away and instead his hand slips to lay across the back of her neck, fingers brushing across the amp. A familiar feeling now, no hesitation or urge to pull
his hand away when his skin makes contact with it. Instead, he pulls her in a little closer, a small measure of encouragement for her. This moment felt... strange to him. Strange because of how normal, how right it feels. They're not sharing their comfort in a ships lounge after escaping the Collectors, nor is it the tender moment they shared after being shot and stabbed against the slavers. No, this
moment is... two people having a tender moment, free from the chaos of their lives. It was strange... but a good strange.
Leah slowly, slowwwly relaxes into the kiss. The sensation of fingers against her amp sends goosebumps across her skin and the tension that enters her body can surely be felt. Muscles tighten and her hands that lay awkwardly in her own lap clench into fists. It's an involuntary reaction to the meeting of two aspects of her life that have never gone well together: Relationships and her biotics. For such a small piece of
equipment implanted at the base of her skull it certainly wreacked havoc on her social life. But she doesn't break the kiss. And, when Nathan doesn't either, that fresh round of tension slowly begins to release from her body. She deserves the opportunity to be happy. To feel normal. Whatever that means. To have a chance at some slice of happiness after the hell she's waded through. They both do. As the kiss turns a
Nathan draws in a little more to her, drawing out the kiss for as long as he can. There was a moment where the tension in her body almost caused him to stop, to draw back and begin a bumbling apology. But a part of him knew that for her, that was reaction. Aspects of her life that she has struggled with for a long, long time. So he doesn't shift away. He carries on. But eventually, the thundering of his heart
slows and he hesitantly breaks the kiss. His hand remains against the back of her neck, fingers tracing across both skin and metal and his eyes crack open, a soft exhale of breath escaping him. The corner of his lips twitch in a smile. He tries to think of something to say, but his mouth just moves wordlessly.
Leah's entire body up towards Nathan when he finally pulls back, taking a moment for her racing mind to catch up and realize that he's broken the kiss, causing her head to lull forward, unruly bangs dropping into her face. Her fingers give a playful dance across his side before pulling back. She takes a deep breath, sheepish smile tugging at her lips as her eyes slowly peel open and she brushes the hair back behind her ear. At
first she merely studies his face. His grey eyes and the contours of his cheeks. "That was-..." she eventually offers in a whisper, her words cut off by a breathless snicker as she shifts back, the back of her head pressing against the arm rest as she sinks into the couch, legs still awkwardly angled around Nathan.
Nathan finishes her sentence. "Not the end." It takes him a moment to process his own words after they left his month, causing a red tinge to flush his cheeks. But he slips on a sly smile, a cheeky flash to his eyes. He takes his arm off the back rest of the sofa and leans over her, propping himself just above her using his forearm to balance against the armrest. "I mean after all... we still got another
Furious Volus to go through." The hand that was on her neck had slipped away when she lent back and it has now fallen to idly rest by her side. Nate's eyes flick to hers, where he gives a small shrug of one shoulder.
Leah's cheeks turn a shade brighter in turn as Nathan finishes her sentence, causing her to suck in her lips in an attempt at hiding the goofy grin that is clawing its way out. "Yeah...?" she hums softly, tilting her head ever so slightly against the arm rest. As Nathan begins to lean over her, she sinks a bit deeper into the couch, taking the opportunity to maneuver her legs into a more comfortable position so that she has
one on each side of him. She once again finds herself avoiding his gaze, green eyes turning back to his shirt as butterflies flutter in her chest. She reaches up and begins to play with the collar of his shirt, thumb idly flicking at it. The words that follow cause another snicker to slip out and she casts a glance towards the television. By this point she forgot the movie even existed. "We do..." she agrees, voice
caught in her throat as she tries and fails to meet his gaze, her big green eyes bouncing right back to the collar of his shirt.