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CHARACTERS: Casper & Irina
WHAT: Stepping over lines of friendship, don't mind them.
WHEN: Sunday afternoon.
WHERE: The common room, i.e. some of you can witness it yw.
WARNINGS: Slightly 🌶 but in a japaleno way
WHAT: Stepping over lines of friendship, don't mind them.
WHEN: Sunday afternoon.
WHERE: The common room, i.e. some of you can witness it yw.
WARNINGS: Slightly 🌶 but in a japaleno way
Irina is a person who loathes interruptions of her peace and quiet. She covets those little spaces on the ship where she can find them, limited as they are, and can't fault anyone for seeking their own.
Unfortunately, she's a heat-seeking missile when she notices Casper off in her favorite chair, and takes it upon herself to cross over, pop onto the arm, and reach to tuck a loose lock of blonde behind the other woman's ear. "When I see you here, you are like a little cat. I have to come interrupt."
Casper hates how easily flustered she is. It's easy in other situations to keep calm, cool, and collected when she needs to, but the graze of Irina's fingertip brings a light dusting of pink to her cheeks.
"I know the phrase is 'let sleeping dogs lie,' but I think most people leave the cats alone too." Contrary to her words, she scoots to one side of the armchair to make room for Irina.
It's with a bit of smugness, almost expectation that it would happen, that Irina takes up the invitation. "If it is stray cat, yes, but you are not a stray." She angles her hips sideways slightly so they fit better. "Were you sleeping with your eyes open?"
"I didn't mean it that literally," she offers with a shake of her head, "and I'm not a housecat, either." Not in a long, long time, really.
Thoughts of her conversation with Lola are hard to keep at bay with Irina next to her, which does make it twice as hard to feel entirely normal about anything in that moment. She does allow herself to lean into Irina, given that it's almost — maybe is — necessary in the space constraints of the armchair.
"Mm, then I will not pet you like one." Irina's lips curl up in a ghost of a smile as she tips her head against the back of the chair, then closes her eyes comfortably.
It's silly to feel a tug of disappointment over that — it's just a joke, after all, and she's no cat to be pet — but she ignores it as her gaze settles on Irina's face. "You came over here to take a nap on me?"
"You looked warm," Irina explains, as if it says everything. Warm and botherable. What she can't explain is where it became comfortable for her to do so. "And I am warm. It is beneficial for us both."
"But I'm not napping," comes the murmured objection, though it's hard to come up with a real objection that doesn't give away that she'd find it slightly torturous to let Irina nap on her. "What about when I want to get up and you're dead asleep on my shoulder?"
The other woman hums. "I do not do dead asleep. I am light sleeper." Irina does open her eyes, having not intended to genuinely drift to sleep in public. "I can put my head on your shoulder anyway if you like."
"I was saying that I don't want that," Casper objects, aware even as the words come out that Lola would laugh at her for turning so far in the opposite direction of what Lola would say. "This's fine as is," she adds after a moment to soften her first response.
Irina doesn't feel offended by it, at least, certainly doesn't sound it as she laughs a soft, "Okay. Then I will be quiet as a mouse and you can go back to your daydream."
"Don't need you to be quiet, either." The idea of sitting there with nothing to distract her from the closeness of Irina sounds entirely miserable. "I'd say I could grab the cards, but don't think it'd be too easy to play in the chair."
"It would not. I could get my button collection," Irina suggests in the kind of tone that says she doesn't particularly want to move. "We could talk. You could tell me why you like this chair so much."
"Next time," Casper offers with a small smile, "for the button collection." As for Irina's next request, she shrugs her shoulders. "It's prime real estate. It's in a corner. Might be able to hear there's other people in here, but can't see them, at least. It's comfy. If I've got my headphones in, I can almost pretend I'm the only one in the room."
There's a shuffle as Irina adjusts her ear more comfortably against the cushion. "It is your safe space to turn off the world."
"Something like that," Casper murmurs, gaze following as some of Irina's hair falls forwards, hesitating a beat too long before reaching out to tuck it back behind her ear. Irina's lashes flutter at the softness of it. "The planes're better, but."
"They are. I like the quiet." Dark eyes look past her. "I had a place like this, before, but it was not a chair. I would go there to be away from everyone, even my sister, if I needed to have a bubble to myself. It was an apartment where the outside wall was… gone, blown away. It looked over a shopping mall. I would watch the plants grow over everything, and look at the sunset. Sometimes I would see an animal down below. It was like… being on the top of what was left of the world. It was peaceful."
"Sounds nice," Casper admits, "for the alone time alone. That's the hardest thing to come by here." Always true, but especially true these days. Sharing a room with three people was miserable at best.
"Mm. Do you want me to go then?"
"No." A beat. "You can stay."
Irina's lips curve slightly as she tips their knees together. "Casper," she prompts softly after a couple moments of companionable silence. "Do I make you nervous?"
Irritatingly, Casper's cheeks flush bright red at the question. "No," she lies, not very convincingly for a spy, "why would you make me nervous?"
Aha. After years of enduring Lola's teasing nature with her on the opposite side, it feels a bit out of her comfort zone to slide her face closer by a whole centimeter. Lola's variant of seduction is different from Irina's, but part of this exercise is, really, to test the waters. To see what's permitted. "I don't? You're sure?"
"No." A beat. "I mean, yeah," Casper corrects herself, a little flustered. "That's—no, you don't. Yeah, I'm sure." She's not stupid enough to think that she's convincing, but sticks with it all the same. She does not, however, shift away at all.
This is entirely too charming for Irina, who reaches to tuck the tiniest bit of hair behind Casper's ear, though there's no need. "You make me nervous," she mumbles, and leaves this admission at that because it's too vulnerable. "Beautiful women do not do this to you?"
I don't make you nervous is an objection on the tip of Casper's tongue before she thinks the better of it, brow furrowing as she tries to make sense of that as a possibility. "They do," she settles on instead, her own bafflement making this conversation slightly easier. And then, quieter: "You do, yeah."
"What should we do about it?" Irina's fingers linger in the air, brushing lightly against Casper's cheekbone before dropping into her own lap.
Casper hesitates, before settling on: "What do you want to do about it?"
They're so close. It would be so easy, but Irina doesn't want to startle her away. She drops her gaze to the blonde's mouth. "What if I said I like to be the one who makes you turn this nice shade of pink?"
"I'm not pink," Casper objects, though that only leads to a deeper blush. "But I'm not—I mean—s'fine if you do."
Another centimeter closer, and a whisper. "Casper."
Biting her lip, Casper's gaze drops to Irina's lips. "Irina," she murmurs back, dragging her eyes back up to meet Irina's.
Fingers draw up to touch her knee, but go no further. Just resting, as Irina's thumb rubs back and forth. Voice low, she asks: "Could I kiss you?"
There's a lot of words on the tip of Casper's tongue, but she's not sure the right ones will come out if she opens her mouth, so instead she nods.
Irina's chest rises and falls with a deep breath as she relocates the backs of her fingers to Casper's cheek. This is so different from so many kisses given and received, but she tries not to think too hard about it as she leans in touch their foreheads, then oh so gently brush their lips together.
For all of her nerves and hesitation, Casper finds a couple things to be true. One, that she has not forgotten how to kiss, despite her last kiss having been before boarding the Mnemo for the first time. And two, that she has missed kissing. Pressing closer, Casper meets Irina's kiss with an unexpected intensity.
A chair in the common room isn't Irina's idea of a good place and time for this, though her body moves against her will. Her hand slides to bury into Casper's hair to cradle her head, and she lets her guide the kiss how she sees fit.
Casper's fingers find Irina's neck, resting lightly there as she keeps kissing her, thumb brushing against her jaw. Breaking the kiss — talking — feels like it might ruin the moment, so she doesn't. Until she has to, to catch her breath, and even then, there's a noise in the back of her throat that sounds a little… protesting.
"What?" Irina murmurs with amusement and a small smile. She feels pleasantly flushed. "Do you want to recline this recliner?"
Reminded of the fact that they are not alone, but instead in a room with several other people, Casper flushes again. She considers that she should not, but, ultimately, decides it's not enough of a deterrent. "No," she murmurs after a moment, "I just want to—" Leaning in, her lips brush against Irina's again.
The beginning of a laugh is smothered in the kiss, which Irina is happy to reciprocate, even though it means not being able to see that sweet flush. Much as her hands want to wander, they are in public, so she slips her hand to Casper's jaw instead. She pulls back, kissing the blonde twice in quick succession. "What do you want, krasavitsa?"
"This," is all the elaboration Casper bothers with, tilting her head for another kiss that Irina meets her for.
Later, Irina will reminisce over the fact that this chair is a great place to fall away from the world, or maybe, she supposes, it's kissing Casper that does this. This liplock goes on for some time, and when Irina withdraws, it's not solely for air, but to brush kisses along Casper's jaw. "Do you want to do this in my bed?" she whispers against her skin.
"Yes," comes out too quickly — embarrassing — and Casper's cheeks flush again. The idea of getting up, walking out, and knowing that there will probably be people to walk past that know exactly what she's been doing in this armchair does give her pause, however. "I'll meet you there. In a few minutes?" Time to collect herself. Time to… not have to look Lola in the eyes as Irina kicks her out.
"In a few minutes," Irina agrees, not without first tracing the line of Casper's nose and then kissing her softly. Regrettably she eases herself to her feet, loathe to leave this comfortable space, and then she's off with a small smile.
Unfortunately, she's a heat-seeking missile when she notices Casper off in her favorite chair, and takes it upon herself to cross over, pop onto the arm, and reach to tuck a loose lock of blonde behind the other woman's ear. "When I see you here, you are like a little cat. I have to come interrupt."
Casper hates how easily flustered she is. It's easy in other situations to keep calm, cool, and collected when she needs to, but the graze of Irina's fingertip brings a light dusting of pink to her cheeks.
"I know the phrase is 'let sleeping dogs lie,' but I think most people leave the cats alone too." Contrary to her words, she scoots to one side of the armchair to make room for Irina.
It's with a bit of smugness, almost expectation that it would happen, that Irina takes up the invitation. "If it is stray cat, yes, but you are not a stray." She angles her hips sideways slightly so they fit better. "Were you sleeping with your eyes open?"
"I didn't mean it that literally," she offers with a shake of her head, "and I'm not a housecat, either." Not in a long, long time, really.
Thoughts of her conversation with Lola are hard to keep at bay with Irina next to her, which does make it twice as hard to feel entirely normal about anything in that moment. She does allow herself to lean into Irina, given that it's almost — maybe is — necessary in the space constraints of the armchair.
"Mm, then I will not pet you like one." Irina's lips curl up in a ghost of a smile as she tips her head against the back of the chair, then closes her eyes comfortably.
It's silly to feel a tug of disappointment over that — it's just a joke, after all, and she's no cat to be pet — but she ignores it as her gaze settles on Irina's face. "You came over here to take a nap on me?"
"You looked warm," Irina explains, as if it says everything. Warm and botherable. What she can't explain is where it became comfortable for her to do so. "And I am warm. It is beneficial for us both."
"But I'm not napping," comes the murmured objection, though it's hard to come up with a real objection that doesn't give away that she'd find it slightly torturous to let Irina nap on her. "What about when I want to get up and you're dead asleep on my shoulder?"
The other woman hums. "I do not do dead asleep. I am light sleeper." Irina does open her eyes, having not intended to genuinely drift to sleep in public. "I can put my head on your shoulder anyway if you like."
"I was saying that I don't want that," Casper objects, aware even as the words come out that Lola would laugh at her for turning so far in the opposite direction of what Lola would say. "This's fine as is," she adds after a moment to soften her first response.
Irina doesn't feel offended by it, at least, certainly doesn't sound it as she laughs a soft, "Okay. Then I will be quiet as a mouse and you can go back to your daydream."
"Don't need you to be quiet, either." The idea of sitting there with nothing to distract her from the closeness of Irina sounds entirely miserable. "I'd say I could grab the cards, but don't think it'd be too easy to play in the chair."
"It would not. I could get my button collection," Irina suggests in the kind of tone that says she doesn't particularly want to move. "We could talk. You could tell me why you like this chair so much."
"Next time," Casper offers with a small smile, "for the button collection." As for Irina's next request, she shrugs her shoulders. "It's prime real estate. It's in a corner. Might be able to hear there's other people in here, but can't see them, at least. It's comfy. If I've got my headphones in, I can almost pretend I'm the only one in the room."
There's a shuffle as Irina adjusts her ear more comfortably against the cushion. "It is your safe space to turn off the world."
"Something like that," Casper murmurs, gaze following as some of Irina's hair falls forwards, hesitating a beat too long before reaching out to tuck it back behind her ear. Irina's lashes flutter at the softness of it. "The planes're better, but."
"They are. I like the quiet." Dark eyes look past her. "I had a place like this, before, but it was not a chair. I would go there to be away from everyone, even my sister, if I needed to have a bubble to myself. It was an apartment where the outside wall was… gone, blown away. It looked over a shopping mall. I would watch the plants grow over everything, and look at the sunset. Sometimes I would see an animal down below. It was like… being on the top of what was left of the world. It was peaceful."
"Sounds nice," Casper admits, "for the alone time alone. That's the hardest thing to come by here." Always true, but especially true these days. Sharing a room with three people was miserable at best.
"Mm. Do you want me to go then?"
"No." A beat. "You can stay."
Irina's lips curve slightly as she tips their knees together. "Casper," she prompts softly after a couple moments of companionable silence. "Do I make you nervous?"
Irritatingly, Casper's cheeks flush bright red at the question. "No," she lies, not very convincingly for a spy, "why would you make me nervous?"
Aha. After years of enduring Lola's teasing nature with her on the opposite side, it feels a bit out of her comfort zone to slide her face closer by a whole centimeter. Lola's variant of seduction is different from Irina's, but part of this exercise is, really, to test the waters. To see what's permitted. "I don't? You're sure?"
"No." A beat. "I mean, yeah," Casper corrects herself, a little flustered. "That's—no, you don't. Yeah, I'm sure." She's not stupid enough to think that she's convincing, but sticks with it all the same. She does not, however, shift away at all.
This is entirely too charming for Irina, who reaches to tuck the tiniest bit of hair behind Casper's ear, though there's no need. "You make me nervous," she mumbles, and leaves this admission at that because it's too vulnerable. "Beautiful women do not do this to you?"
I don't make you nervous is an objection on the tip of Casper's tongue before she thinks the better of it, brow furrowing as she tries to make sense of that as a possibility. "They do," she settles on instead, her own bafflement making this conversation slightly easier. And then, quieter: "You do, yeah."
"What should we do about it?" Irina's fingers linger in the air, brushing lightly against Casper's cheekbone before dropping into her own lap.
Casper hesitates, before settling on: "What do you want to do about it?"
They're so close. It would be so easy, but Irina doesn't want to startle her away. She drops her gaze to the blonde's mouth. "What if I said I like to be the one who makes you turn this nice shade of pink?"
"I'm not pink," Casper objects, though that only leads to a deeper blush. "But I'm not—I mean—s'fine if you do."
Another centimeter closer, and a whisper. "Casper."
Biting her lip, Casper's gaze drops to Irina's lips. "Irina," she murmurs back, dragging her eyes back up to meet Irina's.
Fingers draw up to touch her knee, but go no further. Just resting, as Irina's thumb rubs back and forth. Voice low, she asks: "Could I kiss you?"
There's a lot of words on the tip of Casper's tongue, but she's not sure the right ones will come out if she opens her mouth, so instead she nods.
Irina's chest rises and falls with a deep breath as she relocates the backs of her fingers to Casper's cheek. This is so different from so many kisses given and received, but she tries not to think too hard about it as she leans in touch their foreheads, then oh so gently brush their lips together.
For all of her nerves and hesitation, Casper finds a couple things to be true. One, that she has not forgotten how to kiss, despite her last kiss having been before boarding the Mnemo for the first time. And two, that she has missed kissing. Pressing closer, Casper meets Irina's kiss with an unexpected intensity.
A chair in the common room isn't Irina's idea of a good place and time for this, though her body moves against her will. Her hand slides to bury into Casper's hair to cradle her head, and she lets her guide the kiss how she sees fit.
Casper's fingers find Irina's neck, resting lightly there as she keeps kissing her, thumb brushing against her jaw. Breaking the kiss — talking — feels like it might ruin the moment, so she doesn't. Until she has to, to catch her breath, and even then, there's a noise in the back of her throat that sounds a little… protesting.
"What?" Irina murmurs with amusement and a small smile. She feels pleasantly flushed. "Do you want to recline this recliner?"
Reminded of the fact that they are not alone, but instead in a room with several other people, Casper flushes again. She considers that she should not, but, ultimately, decides it's not enough of a deterrent. "No," she murmurs after a moment, "I just want to—" Leaning in, her lips brush against Irina's again.
The beginning of a laugh is smothered in the kiss, which Irina is happy to reciprocate, even though it means not being able to see that sweet flush. Much as her hands want to wander, they are in public, so she slips her hand to Casper's jaw instead. She pulls back, kissing the blonde twice in quick succession. "What do you want, krasavitsa?"
"This," is all the elaboration Casper bothers with, tilting her head for another kiss that Irina meets her for.
Later, Irina will reminisce over the fact that this chair is a great place to fall away from the world, or maybe, she supposes, it's kissing Casper that does this. This liplock goes on for some time, and when Irina withdraws, it's not solely for air, but to brush kisses along Casper's jaw. "Do you want to do this in my bed?" she whispers against her skin.
"Yes," comes out too quickly — embarrassing — and Casper's cheeks flush again. The idea of getting up, walking out, and knowing that there will probably be people to walk past that know exactly what she's been doing in this armchair does give her pause, however. "I'll meet you there. In a few minutes?" Time to collect herself. Time to… not have to look Lola in the eyes as Irina kicks her out.
"In a few minutes," Irina agrees, not without first tracing the line of Casper's nose and then kissing her softly. Regrettably she eases herself to her feet, loathe to leave this comfortable space, and then she's off with a small smile.