Realistic or Modern "....Flowers In Your Hair." [Kaoru Asuna x Gears.]

[Kaoru Asuna]

Ria didn't know what she should be doing. She was just trying beginner-level things until he responded in a pleased way. She'd never done this before -- touched anyone like this, kissed anyone like this. She wasn't even sure she was kissing him right. But it felt good to her, and she caught him sighing a few times.

She tugged the hem of his shirt up, towards his head, silently asking him to take it off while she kissed him, their tongues dancing in a manner she hoped was pleasant. She wanted him. And she was also trying to quiet her virgin jitters, whispering how shitty this was going to be on her end. So she kissed him, and tried to forget about the rest.
"I-I've never done this before. Anything like this," she murmured, kissing his neck.

 

[Gears]

Granite tried his best to follow along, not wanting to reach under her shirt- though he enjoyed her doing so, instead he just held her- though one hand was admittingly going a bit low. Two years without any sort of relationship made him have difficulty thinking of what to do- and he had always been too nervous to do anything more than kissing.

He quickly took the shirt off, wincing a bit when he heard a tear, before returning to the kiss, holding her close as he felt the outside world faded away. He hoped he was doing this right- he was blunt and unrefined in every other regard- fighting, speaking, interacting- was he the same in this regard. "It's been a long time..." He said, trailing off as he kissed her again- desperate for that taste.

 

[Gears]

(So fade to black in a post or two?)

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

(Yeah. So after the next few posts, we'll just skip to a bit after they're done, I guess? Or until the morning?

Sorry, I'll try to post later. I don't have time right now. )

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

"If I'm being honest, I'm kind of nervous," she said quietly. "It's not normally the most...comfortable...experiance the first time."
Saying that upped her jitters level, so to distract herself, and maybe him from trying to dissuade her, she pulled her tank top over her head, reveling her bra. She loved the sudden look on his face so much that she kissed him deeply, then gently took one of his hands and ran it down her neck to her chest.
"You can touch me...it's okay," she murmured, moaning at his touch. "I'll tell you what I like, and you tell me, too. The more we talk about it, the better this can be for both of us."

 

[Gears]

Granite nodded a bit, realizing this would be her first time- he didn't even remember all that had happened the first time- this would be better. "I'll try to be gentle."
He was almost shaking- at least on the inside- he probably wasn't doing as well keeping his nerves hidden on the outside. He froze as she removed the top- eyes glued on the exposed skin- blush as clear as blood on white linens.
The warmth of the kiss returned him to reality as he returned the vigor and passion she gave him, hand going a bit further down her back.

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

They slowly lost more clothes, slowly explored each other more. Ria ended up rolling on top of him, kissing his neck and chest.
"Hey, Collin?" She leaned up above him, resting her weight on her hands on each side of his head. "This isn't going to be all this is, right?" She sighed.
"I mean, we're not going to get up tomorrow and get dressed and act like this didn't happen? I don't just want to be your boss in the morning -- I disdain that whole dynamic anyway.
I want you...so badly. But I really want this to mean something -- to both of us. It does, doesn't it?" She looked into his eyes, waiting. She was sure she'd sleep with him anyway, whatever he said, because she wanted him too much, but she hoped he felt the same.

 

[Gears]

Granite lost himself in the passion, for once not looking in every corner for threats- listening for enemies- only thinking about Ria.
After a moment, he responded, voice nervous- clearly unsure. "I- I don't know. I don't have a lot of experience with relationships."
Just one- and he had screwed that up
He was shocked- one day on the road, and they where both head over heels? He always craved something- someone, not just surviving- but living. He leaned forward and kissed her, gentle rather than mad and passionate. "I will give you whatever you want."

---

Crystal grinded her teeth- having failed to drown out the pair above, tempted to interrupt them- but she eventually decided to silently grab her jacket and move to the grass outside, making sure her jacket was keeping her warm before laying on the grass- blanket wrapped around her as she stared at the skies.

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

Hope fulfilled. She was moved, this close to crying happy tears, completely forgetting about her doubts, and fears of how the next short while was going to be. She just smiled, and kissed him back, so carefully. This was everything she wanted. (Okay, they can fade to black now.)

 

[Gears]

(So next morning?)

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

(Yeah. And I'll be offline in about 5mins, so I'll try to but probably won't catch your next post. Later!)

 

[Gears]

Granite slept soundly that night- holding Ria close after hours of passion and ecstasy. As the sun lazily rose over the mountains, golden light peeking into the barn. The pair where still bathed in shadow in the loft, likely keeping Ria asleep. Granite rubbed his eyes, shifting a bit as he looked at Ria. He smiled a bit, tempted to kiss her. He wouldn't do it- he wouldn't steal a kiss like that. He simply lay with her, not caring about the rising sun.

---

Crystal groaned as she got up- it had been surprisingly comfortable out there, her thick blanket keeping the cold out as she stretched, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she looked at the barn. They had been quiet, likely hoping to keep the farmer from noticing, but had likely been up late. She decided to walk to the car, searching her bags until she found some of the non-spoiling rations Granite bought, eating them on the hood of the car as she waited for anyone from the barn to make a noise.

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

Ria woke up slowly -- drowsy, warm. Not even caring where she was, what time, what day. And when she moved, felt him -- Collin -- wrapped around her, opened her eyes to find him gazing lazily over her. Lovingly, she thought. She remembered everything, heart quickly refilling with euphoria. It had been so much better than she'd expected. Miraculously painless. Blissful.
"Hey," she murmured, slowly reaching up to comb his messy bangs from his forehead, brushing her thumb over a myriad of small scars. "Morning."

---

Andrew woke early, already downstairs before everyone else at 5:37am.
Out the open front curtains, he saw Crystal sitting on the hood of Tellion's car. If everyone was still asleep, it wouldn't hurt to go say hi. He could always make up an excuse anyway.

He walked out to her, smiling, and leaned beside her.
"Good morning. Anyone else up yet?" Because I really want to kiss you, he thought.

 

[Gears]

Granite was so comfortable that he barely noticed Ria waking up, smiling a bit as she opened her eyes. The night before had been hardly romantic from what he could tell- but he didn't care as much about those things- and Ria appeared to have enjoyed the night before. A voice in the back of his mind wondered if it had all been because of the alcohal, she wouldn't want to be with someone like him for more than a- No stop. He kissed her before sitting up, stretching a bit. "Morning- should have gotten up early so we would have breakfast."

---

Crystal put the ration aside as she looked up at the rising sun, basking in the warmth. It hadn't been too cold last night, but she still wished she could have found a warmer place to sleep, maybe she could have climbed to Andrews window last night- she got up early enough to avoid getting caught. standing up straight as she saw Andrew approached, letting him walk to the hood- eyeing the visibility she was sure no one could see them.

"Not a soul." She quickly leaned forward, the height difference giving her a bit of an issue as she kissed him- something quick but leaving enough time for some passion.

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

(Well, shit. I realized after I posted last that I messed up a bit. Ria's supposed to have these scars on her back, but I didn't mention them, so you didn't know. I was going to reveal them later in the story, but I hadn't anticipated coitus, so that must have thrown me for a loop.

I wouldn't have wanted her to talk about them at this point, but we could just add some posts to nip in a mention about them, or just remove them from the story entirely. I don't want to remove them, but any reveal now -- unless she'd kept her shirt on and/or told him not to touch or look at her back -- wouldn't be as impactful. But I'd rather have a less impactful reveal than none at all.

Really, I guess I can just describe the scars to you, Collin could have seen them, but she refused to explain them, and she can explain them later. I don't think we need to edit or add posts, probably.

So, she has a lot of large, deep, long scars all over her back. They're shockingly bad. She can't really feel anything back there anymore because of the damage, and I was originally thinking it bothered her for people to touch or see them. She doesn't want the pity, or to see it in people's eyes, even if they say nothing.
Like I said, I guess we can just keep in mind mentally that he saw the scars, she wouldn't talk about them, and they went on from there. Okay?)

---

"Yeah. We'll have to eat something pre-packaged once we get on the road," Ria said quietly, yawning, then sat up behind Collin and wrapped her arms around his chest, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Do we have to get up yet? You really wore me out last night, in the best possible way," she whispered, kissing the skin behind his ear softly.

She didn't think she ever wanted to get out of bed. She hadn't dreamt at all, and she'd fully expected the night terrors he'd described. Her hangover wasn't kicking in just yet, and the death wheel in her head hadn't started spinning again. Maybe if they just went back to sleep, those thoughts wouldn't come back...

But she knew they would, and that they couldn't stay much longer. She was already burdening the Garner's enough, and she said they'd leave in the morning.

---

That kiss didn't feel like enough for Andrew, so after a glance back at the house, he took Crystal's hand and guided her around to the back of the barn and kissed her deeply, softly.

 

[Gears]

Granite nodded a bit busy trying to find his belt as he gathered his clothes. Whatever Crystal had gotten into last night, she would be here soon- maybe drunk and sarcastic from a long night of whatever, and she would not be happy if they took too long to get on the road. He stopped when Ria approached, turning around and kissing her- hand careful not to touch the scars on her back. Granite had plenty of scars and knew she was serious when she refused to speak of them.

"We got a long road ahead- if we're lucky we'll get to our next stop before sundown." He gently moved arms as he gathered their clothes, grimacing on the tear on his under shirt, reckoning he couldn't stitch it back without finding a proper set of materials. He kept an eye on Ria as he dressed, eyes lingering on her scars.

---

Crystal let Andrew lead her behind the structure, losing her view but she didn't care. She gave a conspiratorial grin as he pulled her into the shade before kissing her again- one arm lingering on his back while the other felt his jawline.

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

Ria nodded in answer and gently took her clothes from his hands. She really prayed being with him last night had magically solved her problems, because aside from his help, she wasn't sure how she was going to get through this day sober.

She dropped the pile on the mattress and pulled on her undergarments. She'd tucked her arms through the sleeves of her shirt before she noticed Collin gazing -- at her scars. Her old anger started welling up.
"Don't, Collin. I don't need that from you." She didn't yell it, she was angry -- hated the pity in his eyes. And she wished it hadn't come out so hotly, but she wanted him to stop.

She jerked the top over her head and quickly pulled on her extra shirt, jeans, socks, and boots, lacing them carefully because she was picky about the fit, but not wanting to sit that close to him at the moment.

---

He lifted her by the waist and spun her around, trying to keep a joviality in what was probably their last moment together for... He didn't really want to think about the answer, because one possibility was ever.

Her set her down, keeping her against him, gently breaking their kiss and pressing his forehead to hers.
"I'm not going to say goodbye, because that's not what I want this to be," he whispered. "But whatever we're going to say to each other, it should probably be right now, because I don't think we'll get another chance without prying eyes."
He pulled back just enough to look into her eyes. "I'll miss you. All the time. Until you come back to me." Andrew didn't want to cry, but felt wetness in the corners of his eyes anyway, turning his head so she wouldn't see.

 

[Gears]

Granite was about to speak, say something- those scars looked awful- dare he ask where she had gotten them? He shrank- Shrank - as she spoke nodding a bit before finishing getting dressed- God, he had probably ruined it, he sighed and rubbed his head, walking to the ladder.

---

Crystal let out a girlish giggle as he set her on an old box, leg brushing his thigh as he got closer- though she stopped when he spoke. She couldn't help herself from tearing up a little as well, voice having only the slightest shake thankfully. "I'm just thinking of it as a short respite while I drag those two morons across the country- won't be too hard going the same way." She wiped tear from her eye that had begun to fall down her face.

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

Ria hated herself for getting angry. It wasn't his fault. They looked horrible, and pity would well up in anyone... especially someone who cared about her. She jumped up and caught his arm just before he reached the ladder, turning him around.
"I'm sorry, I..." She trailed off, rubbing the coarse material of his shirt between her fingers. "I hate the pity I see in your eyes when you look at them. I don't deserve it, that pity. And I've never been able to talk about them. Only two people even know I have them, neither of them know what happened, and one of them is dead. I-I don't deal with things," she faltered, running a hand through her hair, probably looking a bit frantic.
"I just push everything down and some things won't let me bring them back up. This is one of those things. Just don't -- don't stare. And don't ask, because I can't tell you. Okay? I'm so sorry. I'm not angry with you at all." She slowly leaned into him face first, bringing him close, because she couldn't bear to ruin whatever it was that they had.

---

"Hey, don't cry," he murmured, cradling her face in both hands and wiping her tears away with his thumbs, trying to smile. "You're so strong, don't be a baby like me," he tried to laugh, but it caught in his throat. He couldn't help himself and hugged her, so tight, smoothing his hand over her hair, trying to feel the warmth of her, because he knew she'd soon be gone, and started to cry.

 

[Gears]

Granite paused when Ria grabbed his arm, looking back at her, smiling a bit before she spoke- the weight of her words, still wondering what had happened to her. He nodded a bit before hugging her- arms careful to avoid brushing against the scars in case they where sore.

---

"Well I'm not a heartless bastard- at least not the first part." She muttered- voice muffled as she was pressed up against him. "And I'd look like an asshole if you where crying and my eyes where dryer than the wastes."

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

Ria relaxed into him, relieved that he seemed to accept her apology. But she noticed he wouldn't touch her back, and despite that she normally didn't want people to, she didn't care if he did.
"You can touch them...it's okay. They don't hurt or anything. In fact, I can't feel most of my back, which is one of the main reasons I don't like people touching me there, because most of the time I don't know they did at all." She rubbed his up and down softly, and a minute later, leaned up to kiss him. "Thank you, for caring."

---

Andrew sniffed, nodding into her shoulder. "Sorry. I just didn't want you to cry because I knew it would make me cry and...God, I just feel so selfish. Why should you want to come all the way back here for me? And who am I to even ask that of you?" He almost started up again, but tried to keep his tears in check. This was already hard enough.

 

[Gears]

Granite was comforted by her warmth, holding Ria close. She may have said she didn't really minded, but he still was hesitant in case she was just saying so to make him feel better. The few glances he had seen of the scars, they appeared healed enough, but he didn't want to potentially harm her. For all of his talk of needing to hurry, Granite didn't steal a fast kiss, but leaned into a long burning kiss- he would be able to tell if anyone was approaching, and this wasn't too loud. He could spare some time- spend it- with Ria

---

Crystal froze, this feeling still odd to her. They had spent a few hours together, but she still had little to no experience of real love. Why would a man like him think himself below a Whore? She often acted sophisticated or superior to others when such an act was effective in a con, but this was... Odd. "Call me callous, but I haven't cried in a while... I think you make a good exception to my usual stone heart"

(Now I wish we had a moment when Ria or Granite had tapped her on the back and we could have hinted it better.)

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

(Yeah, I really screwed up by not mentioning it at all. Sorry. I guess I was just so focused on revealing it later that I didn't even want to mention it, but I knew I needed to, and I'd planned on it, too. It just slipped my mind I guess. I think I should mention that the scars are seven years old, totally healed, ect. They're why Doc and Owen found her and had to nurse her back to health.)

The sudden depth of his kiss was a surprise but a desired one. He'd been so tender the night before, and this was a beautiful continuation of his careful attention. She moaned into his lips, quickly starting to want him all over again, and even though she knew they should be getting ready to leave, she didn't stop him.

---

He leaned back enough to focus on her face, caressing her cheek with the back of his fingers. "Yeah? Well, I haven't seen a callous part of you yet -- though I didn't think you the weepy type. You're sweet, and fiesty, and brave. I don't know how I'll get along without you while your away. But I can't wait to get you back." He kissed her, long and passionately, counting it as the closest thing to goodbye he would get.

 

[Gears]

Granite was tempted to get lost in this- descend into ecstasy and devotion to Ria. His arms held her close as he drifted away- forgetting it all- his job, his rules, his past. He could spend hours there- doing nothing but comforting her, loving her.

---

Crystal shivered at the touch, smiling like a moron- loving another of those kisses- full of intimacy and ecstasy, but also tenderness and love. Her hand crept along his arms, feeling them as she pulled him closer, deeper into the kiss. After a moment she broke away, face red. "Guess it's just the masks I wear- whichever is the real one." She murmured. "I barely function period- but I think I can try to keep my skin for you- when I get back."