Dinner and discussion [rp for lapsedsaint]

[aesthetic_mojo]

Charlotte made a simple dinner, but she did make it rather than getting take out. It was still warm enough to serve it out on the patio, so she set that table complete with wine and candles. She wanted dinner to be as pleasant as she could make it.

The kittens cooperated, thanks to a healthy serving dished up in the kitchen just for them. Over the meal, Charlotte made herself tell a light, amusing story about an old client. When they were done, she cleared the table, leaving John to enjoy his wine and the sunset.

She cleaned up in the kitchen, letting him decide when he was ready to come in and talk.

Comments

[aesthetic_mojo]

"And I'm annoying your cat again." She laid still except for her hand lightly caressing him. The touch changed to a more tender brushing of her fingers over his cheek. "Yes, we are. We're talking about getting ready for marriage."

"Go ahead."

[lapsedsaint]

He smiled slowly. "Does that upset you, that I said 'my' cat?"

[aesthetic_mojo]

She swallowed back the worst of her laugh to keep from startling said cat. "Upset me? Not at all. It does surprise me, though, given how you reacted to his tricks when you met him."

She rubbed just above the kitten's nose. "Are you his, little man, hmm?"

[lapsedsaint]

He laughed softly as Al tried licking her finger. "Well, he is always the first one to greet me in the door. It's always my ass he sticks his claws into."

[aesthetic_mojo]

"Those are good points, yes." She let the kitten gnaw on her finger. "I stick my claws in your ass sometimes, too. Is that part of your criteria for picking me?"

[lapsedsaint]

"Of course it is." He shifted some so he could kiss her hand. "I'm pretty easy."

[aesthetic_mojo]

She bit back another laugh. "I lick you unexpectedly and shed on you, too." She rubbed her thumb over his lips. "Fascinating way to chose a mate."

[lapsedsaint]

He licked her thumb and smiled. "And how would you go about it?"

[aesthetic_mojo]

"I didn't realize I was." She sat up a little and looked at him. "I'd look for someone who didn't let me get away with anything. I'd want someone who challenges me to think." She grinned. "Also, someone who puts his socks where they belong."

[lapsedsaint]

"I've done very well with my socks, you know." He nipped at her thumb, then closed his eyes as he leaned back again."

[aesthetic_mojo]

"You have."

She decided she'd had enough of placating the cat and took a moment to use pets to coax him off John's chest. He was on the floor looking confused before he knew it. Once he was gone, she slid up a little so she could nuzzle at John's neck. "You don't have any family?"

[lapsedsaint]

He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her as he leaned his head back. "No. None. They're all dead."

[aesthetic_mojo]

She sighed against his neck. "What about kids you grew up with? The teachers?" She pulled his shirt up a little so she could rest her hand on his belly. "There's no one?"

[lapsedsaint]

He shrugged a little. "Not really, no. I still know where a few of the fathers are. But that's really it." He let her rub his belly. "I wasn't really one for making friends."

[aesthetic_mojo]

She made a soft, pained noise. "I wish I couldn't see you as a child. I'm sure it's got nothing to do with the reality of it." She pressed harder against him. "I keep meaning to ask you for pictures."

[lapsedsaint]

His arms tightened around her a little more. "Pictures that I don't have." He looked down at her and smiled a little, then kissed her hair. "Do you have pictures?"

[aesthetic_mojo]

"I don't." She shrugged. "I left with almost nothing. Some clothes, a few books, even fewer pieces of jewelry. I had to be able to carry it all." She met his eyes. "I could get some, if you wanted."

Her voice reflected the sudden tension in her body.

[lapsedsaint]

He shook his head. "Past is the past. We have the here and now. The past doesn't matter."

[aesthetic_mojo]

She didn't relax any. "Everything we are is informed by the past, John. When they find out we're--"

She went quiet, using the heat of his skin under her and and lips to calm herself. His calm assertion they were being watched made her edgy enough, the addition of her family into the mix made her twitcy.

[lapsedsaint]

He looked down at her and sighed. It took him a few moments to continue. "Charlie, from a certain perspective, I have no past. It might inform us, but it doesn't have to define us. That's what I'm trying to say. The past is only as important as you make it."

[aesthetic_mojo]

She made herself take even longer than he had, caressing him the whole time more the way she'd pet one of the cats than to inflame him. "From the time I left I knew I wanted to be something 'other' than them. Meeting you made me realize I wanted to be something 'more.'" She rested her head low on his chest. "Will you help me look back without getting lost in it?"

[lapsedsaint]

He ran his hand over her hair and smiled softly. "I will. I don't want you getting lost, so I'm not planning on letting you."

[aesthetic_mojo]

Shifting up in a rush, she kissed him hard, then slunk back down to her place on his chest. She was stunned to realize she believed him and it took her breath away again. "Thank you."

"We have two weeks?"

[lapsedsaint]

He nodded slowly and smiled. "Yes. At least two weeks. WHat would you like to do?"

[aesthetic_mojo]

"My first instinct is to say stay in bed, but that won't work." She chuckled. "Someone has to get up long enough to feed the monsters."

She snuggled into him. "I'd like to do more of this. Really talking. Lots of it."