(no subject)

[handelaar]

[The tent was old and way too big for just two people, but he'd gotten it years ago for cheap and like hell was he gonna go buy a new one when this one did the job. Well, as long as it didn't rain - from his crouch at the entrance he looked up between the trees - still clear skies, mild weather, and a light evening breeze.

Maybe he should try to find a tarp anyway. The house might be 15 meters away but goddamnit they were camping, and if it rained they were gonna be prepared. He took a moment to stick his head back into the tent, going over all the supplies for the eleventh time... Finally pulled back and stood to light a cigarette, satisfied.]

Comments

RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT WOW

[handelaar]

[....


Yeah, just gonna watch her go, gonna look back and up at the sky and take in the surroundings...

and then he realizes his smokes are in the tent. Fuck.

It's a few, cricket-filled moments later that he calls out.]

Bel?

Bice blows my mind every time.

[bellabelgium]

[ She's in the tent with her dress half off already before she hears him call for her. She knows he's not looking for her because he was the one suggesting they should move and seeing as he sounds like he hasn't moved at all he can only be calling for one thing. ]

What do you want, Ned?

[handelaar]

Uh.

[Maybe she can throw the package at his head... nah.]

Nevermind.

[He'll get up and do it himself, hauling himself up with a groan that, for once, makes him sound every bit as old as he is.]

[bellabelgium]

[ She looks at the entrance to the tent curiously before shrugging, peeling her dress off and sitting there naked for a moment as she sets it aside in a place is WON'T get dirty-- more so than it already is. ]

[handelaar]

[Really, he's not sure if pulling up his trousers only to pull them back down again is worth it. Ever one for economy he kicks them off only to yank his boxers up, gathers up the rest and makes his way over to peek in at her.]

My...

[smokes is how that's supposed to end.]

[bellabelgium]

[ She's tending to a loose hem on her dress before he peeks in, glancing over at him when she notices him and offering him a small, sweet smile. ]

...yes?

[handelaar]

[Blink.]

What's wrong... with...

[Dress, right, there's a dress beneath that smile.]

[bellabelgium]

Hm? Oh-- nothing. The hem is just a little loose. I'll fix it in the morning.

[handelaar]

[This is normally the point where he'd launch straight into a guilt trip, but all he does is stare a little more, dump blanket and trousers into the tent, and...

stare a little more

... before grabbing his cigarettes with all of the finesse being high and sleepy gives a person.]

[bellabelgium]

[ She blinks back at him curiously as he just stares, watching as he drops his things in the tent and grabs his cigarettes. ]

...don't take long, okay?

[handelaar]

[Another few blinks, and he decides that the best compromise is to fall back ass-first onto the grass he's standing on with a grunt. There. The tent won't go down in flames and he's still outside and she can tell him if he's taking too long.

He looks inordinately pleased over this truly brilliant solution.]

[bellabelgium]

[ His ass hits the grass and she looks surprised for a moment before letting out a soft laugh. He looks far too pleased with his own plan and it's rather endearing. She comes up with her own solution in turn, crawling towards the entrance with him and maneuvering herself right between his legs, sitting down in front of him with her back pressed to his chest. ]

[handelaar]

[She might be busy laughing, but he's busy with the snick of his lighter, and then before he knows it she's in his lap and one arm secures her before it knows it - and then he's got an armful of happy warm and naked Bel anyway.

It's probably illegal for someone to look this smug.]

[bellabelgium]

[ She smiles when his arm comes around her automatically, resting her own over his as she lets her head fall back against his shoulder, letting a long, deep sigh. ]

...did you ever think it would be like this?

[handelaar]

[There's a second where his gaze flicks down, and only flickers down, before he's using the second drag of his cigarette to consider the phrasing.]

Think?

[bellabelgium]

Yeah. Did you ever think that you and I would ever be like this. Like the way we are right now.

[handelaar]

Think.

[Ned just shove all that nitpicky and/or philosophical bullshit aside and answer the damn question.]

[bellabelgium]

Yeah. Think. Or is that too difficult for you?

[handelaar]

No...

[Probably the opposite problem. Exactly the opposite problem, in fact.]

Just wonderin'. Guess not.

[bellabelgium]

...I didn't either.

[handelaar]

[And then it's time to turn his questioning thoughts right back onto her:]

Think, or hope.

[bellabelgium]

[ Blinks, surprised at the turn around but she doesn't hesitating, just takes a moment to think. ]

In the beginning-- the very beginning... I don't think it was either. I knew then. It wasn't until we got older and things got more complicated that feelings started changing that I stopped thinking it would ever happen.

[handelaar]

Knew- ?

[He abandons the cigarette and cranes his neck enough to really look at her. Raises a brow. While he thinks he knows what she means, he wants to know before he bothers with anything else, says something foolish, or whatever.]

[bellabelgium]

[ She nods again, letting her head fall back against his shoulder and turning at an angle so she can look at him. ]

Yeah. When we were much much younger, when I first met you... I knew we were gonna be different.

[ Rolls her head back into a resting position, looking out at the dark sky. ]

I knew you were gonna be with me forever. It wasn't until we got older and things got more complicated that I really started to doubt if we would even be on speaking terms for much longer-- let alone stay as close as we were. But you never left me. Even when I left YOU, you were always there. You're the exact same as you were when we were younger. And there's no way the you back then would have left my side for anything...

[handelaar]

[Oh.

The beginning doesn't surprise him. Not really. Somewhere he'd known she felt like that, even if he's not, never was, in-touch enough with his feelings to pick them out like she can. He hadn't really met much of anyone when he first met her - no other children, definitely - he'd never stopped to think that maybe it wasn't just adrenaline from excitement and childish stubbornness and selfish wanting. But that she knew isn't surprising.

What is surprising is the rest, and that's the part that stills him, quiets him, makes him flush.]

Ah -

[Goddamn, he really hasn't changed. At least they've changed enough for him to be able to nose against her hair, near her ear, apologetic that he never can wrangle up the right words at the right time like she can.]