| And Miles To Go Before I Sleep | ||
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(OOC NOTE: A mistake in logging happened, and the first part of the scene was unfortunately lost. I have summed up the first part to the best of my ability.)
Today is the day of the date! Lucas and Sun have met up, Sun with a picnic basket in tow. After setting up the blanket, the picnic commenced, along with a bit of idle chatter about the most recent of Sun's drastic personality changes, as well as no lack of bluntness from Sun about her romantically-inclined intentions in regards to the blind man. The meal includes a wide array of salad type meals (potato salad, pasta salad, etc.), with still-warm Philly Cheesesteaks as the main part of the meal.
For his part, Lucas is simply enjoying the taste of the sandwich - Philly cheesesteaks are delicious, and a rare thing to have someone actually make in this place. He laughs when Sun says she'd offer to take him 'outside time and space' and just shakes his head. "S'ok, I've been. Wasn't the best day I ever had. Think I'd rather stay on the ground." Yeah, that's an understandable feeling.
It turns out that Lucas finishes his sandwich pretty quickly, and then he flops back onto the blanket, somehow managing not to crush anything or anyone as he lays back with his hands underneath his head. "So you're sayin your old self still had bad taste in men?" He wrinkles his nose up, and grins, obviously making a joke.
"Can't blame you in the slightest." Sun smiles faintly to Lucas...and promptly shoves the rest of her sandwich into her mouth when she notices Lucas eating faster than her. Hopefully he doesn't notice how unladylike like that was. "It's nice for me, but I think I'm the only one who would feel that way." She lays back on the blanket, on her side so she can watch Lucas with bright blue eyes. He can't really see her, but she can still admire him.
"I guess my old self DID have terrible taste in men, and that certainly hasn't changed, it seems. Maybe it's just because you're the first attractive man I've met in a while who wasn't a customer at my coffee shop." She chuckles, pulling a bunch of grapes out of the basket. One is gently poked at Lucas' mouth, a not-so-subtle hint that there's more to eat. Because food is awesome, and grapes taste delicious.
"Met a couple people what could travel outside space-time. Didn't envy em." Lucas stretches his arms behind him again for a minute, and it is worth re-noting that he is in impressively good shape. If he'd shave off the full, black beard he would probably be decently attractive. As is though, it doesn't quite work for him. At least the rest of him is flattering.
"Well, at least if y'picked another bad date, y'picked one that y'don't hafta wear makeup for, right?" He shrugs, and then blinks at the grape. "Ah... haven't had grapes in forever." So eat the one she's offering you!
The dragoness watches Lucas thoughtfully as he speaks, apparently quite content with this conversation and how it is going thus far. "It is true, I don't have to wear makeup for you, and that's pretty nice. Not too fond of eye liner and mascara, they make my eyes feel strange." At least that hasn't changed. "Probably didn't even have to wear the nice dress, but it felt right, I suppose." She offers a lyrical chuckle.
As he remarks on the grapes, she promptly pops it in his mouth, whether he wants it or not. He can spit it out if he doesn't, and she might not even get offended. "So why are you so down on yourself, hmmm? I seem to notice that you carry a bit of guilt with you." Her hand reaches out, finding his and brushing her fingertips over his knuckles.
"Mmp!" Lucas makes a sound as the grape is popped into his mouth, and he laughs before munching down on it. He has the sense to wait till it's done before talking, at least. "Well, a man's no real man if he can't at least appreciate dressin up." Lucas nods his head sagely, then grins. "S'what I always said. Just cause I can't see it, doesn't mean it's not nice."
When Sun asks him why he's the way he is, though, Lucas offers a small shrug, and his grin shrinks to just a small smile. "Well, y'know how sometimes, y'do somethin y'can't take back?" He shifts a bit, to lean back on his elbows on the blanket, but doesn't pull his hand away from Sun's. "Sometimes the things y'can't take back are the kinda things what can't be forgiven."
Idly, Sun links her finger with Lucas, eyes upon his hands for a moment, before turning up to the man's face. "Well, I should hope you appreciate it. I did get this dress specifically for today, after all." She smiles faintly, watching him with a look of growing fondness on her face. Though his grin shrinks to a small smile, she still gazes fondly at the man, using her other hand to trace the lines on Lucas' hand while she holds it.
She doesn't mention that it's difficult for her to do those things she can't take back. Best not to rub that in, she figures. Instead, she sits up. "I understand that." With her fingers still linked with Lucas', she plucks a grape from the bunch, examining it thoughtfully. "Though I tend to find it best to leave the past...in the past. I have done some unforgivable things in my...time..." She hesitates at 'time', for some reason. "However, I feel there's a point where one can let those unforgivable actions cling too tightly, thus preventing future progress. The past is the past, and nothing can be done to change it...all we can do is move forward, because...for most, at least, forward is all that there is."
With a slightly impish grin, she pops the grape between her lips...and promptly leans down, attempting to give the fruit to the man by way of a kiss.
"For me?" Lucas blinks, then laughs. "All th'more reason to 'preciate it, but I can't rightly say y'picked the right guy for the job." Yeah, even though he probably has some sense of how the dress looks, it's likely to be pretty vague. "Blind guy and all." As he so frequently likes to remind people...
As Sun links her fingers with his, and traces lines along his hand, Lucas makes a quiet sound, and 'glances' down towards their hands. He doesn't look disapproving, but wears a rather difficult-to-read look upon his face. "...Still things I got left t'do, 'fore I can let the past go. What's that poem? Miles to go, before I sl--" Lucas is cut off by an unexpected method of being fed, and he blinks as he finds Sun's lips on his. It's been a long time since he's been kissed, and his beard probably makes that quite a prickly kiss at that. There's a tell-tale quake in his lips, telling that he does like the kiss, before he makes a (delayed) sound of surprise, and gently lifts a hand up in sort of a 'stop' sign. Just because he likes it, doesn't mean he's ready for it.
For what it's worth, Sun seems to enjoy it while it lasts. At his hand motion, she slowly pulls away, smiling. She lets the silence linger for a moment, watching him; her hand still hasn't left his, and won't so long as he continues to allow it. The impish smile is gone, replaced by a warm contentment. He didn't freak out and push her away, at least, so that's gotta be something...right?
Finally, she breaks the silence. "...Sorry, I seem to have acted a bit rashly, there." Despite the apology, her voice is warm, if not happy. Lucas can't see the bright red tinge to her cheeks, but it's rather audible in her speech. "The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep...and miles to go before I sleep..." She pauses, lifting her free hand to touch his bearded chin. "...And miles to go before I sleep."
It'd be no exaggeration to say that Lucas' face is redder than it was before Sun's little trick, and when Sun pulls away, he clears his throat a bit; clearly she took his breath away. "Ah..." At her apology, Lucas shakes his head, and it's hard to say if he's contradicting her, or just trying to clear his thoughts. When she recites the lines, though, he raises both eyebrows, and smiles a bit. "Good t'know the classics aren't lost 'round here." Strange - he doesn't seem like much of a reader.
After a moment of Sun touching his chin, Lucas slowly sits up with a sigh. "...I gotta make things right 'fore I can start anythin so nice as that." So he admits it was nice. "...Can't do that 'till I find her, and say my peace." ...Her?
"I'm particularly fond of Dylan Thomas..." She pauses, watching him thoughtfully. "And you, my father, there on the sad height; Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light..." She closes her eyes as she recites the last line of the poem, smiling faintly. Another short silence, before blue eyes once more turn to the man, watching him with a thoughtful smile.
"And what if you never find her? Will you hold on forever?" She asks this with an almost amazed innocence to her tone, watching his expression. She still has his hand clasped in hers, and her thumb idly traces over his skin. "What if I could help you? Would you accept? It would be a selfish use of my particular skills, on my part...possibly because, despite being one of the few who can truly say that I have all of the time in the world and mean it, I seem to have a rather large amount of impatience." If he'll allow it, she lifts his hand, planting a kiss on the back of it.
"I dunno." Lucas responds, doing his best not to react to the almost-electric sensation of touch coming from his hand. When one doesn't really have much in the way of human touch for as long as Lucas, prolonged exposure is kind of a delight, so long as it's by choice. "...Always kinda thought the search was my penance, and figured if it took forever, it just meant I didn't deserve t'move on, y'know?"
With a pause, Lucas turns to 'look' towards Sun, and makes an awkward grimace-smile of a face. "Well I guess y'don't." He carefully disengages his hand from Sun's, so that he can lie back on the blanket again, and closes his eyes. "Long time ago, best friend's name was Rachel. I was goin through one heck of a mess, but she helped me through it, kept me from losin myself." Sounds like something a friend would do. "She was good people, and strong, too, but... when she lost control of herself, wasn't no one else what could stop her." Well. That's not ominous.
There's no resistance from Sun as Lucas pulls his hand away, though she does scoot a bit closer. "That seems like a very self destructive way of thinking to me, though I can understand the sentiment behind it, I believe." She tilts her head toward him, then, listening as he starts explaining with a curious expression on her face, watching his face as he speaks. When he pauses, she waits for him to continue.
"In what way did she lose control, if I am not asking too much?" She leans just a little closer, still seated, and hugging her knees to her chest. She seems to be taking this all rather well, reacting more with concern about him than anything else -- despite her proclamation of selfish desires.
There's a little shrug from Lucas when Sun hits the nail on the head about his self-destructive tendency. She's not wrong, but he's not really seeing the problem with being self destructive, either. Not with the guilt he's got. "...She bonded with somethin strong, strong enough t'give her incredible power - power t'do good - but it slowly drove her crazy, until she couldn't be reasoned with no more. And she couldn't be stopped when she decided to take th'world out with her." Oh. Well. Bollocks.
"I killed people before, but never like this, and never so unfair."
The dragoness sits quietly after he speaks, taking in the weight of his statements. After a moment, she shifts, her knees accidentally brushing against his hip as she does so. One hand reaches out, cupping his cheek in a comforting gesture. Then, she leans down, planting a gentle, lingering kiss upon his forehead. "That's not your fault. That's not her fault, either. There is nobody and nothing to blame but the source of that power she gained."
Another small kiss is planted upon the man's brow, before she pulls away, giving him whatever space he may need. "If I was in that situation...if I was that dangerous to myself and others...I would want to be stopped." She pauses again, watching Lucas with a look of quiet introspection. "I would think it a kindness of whoever could stop me, if I lost myself that far. You say she was a good person...don't you think she would have wanted it that way?" She can't help but graze the tips of her fingers over the back of his hand again. "And do you think that she would want you to grieve for her so much? I wouldn't want anyone who I came to care for in pain after my passing...I would want the good parts celebrated. I would want them to live happy, full lives, and remember me fondly. Not the bad parts."
To Be Continued...
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