Depending on where you began the story, it was about Monmouth. It's door had just been knocked on with small but assertive hands and Gansey wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. He knew in the logical sense of answer the door and say hello but everything around him no longer hummed with the nervous energy of seek. find. wake. know know know. He was left with a strange sort of un-emptiness, a warm whole-ness that he was unaccustomed to.
And as the soft afternoon light filtered through the high windows of Monmouth onto Blue's silky pearl shift in the doorway, he became acutely aware of the specific parts of himself that he didn't know what to do with. His hands hung uselessly against his rumpled khakis (he hadn't bothered to change before crashing into his bed the fateful night before. Before the weights on his eyelids dragged him entirely into oblivion for the following 14 hours, he managed to scrawl in his notebook Dying - unprecedentedly exhausting).
The second body part what's purpose was being called into question were his eyes. He typically maintained a monitored "above the nose only" approach to looking at the girl in front of him, but as he ushered her inside with a smile, they flitted dangerously down. Down over her flushed freckled cheeks, the slightest sheen of dew on her elegant cupid's bow, down to the most forbidden of all, her mouth. Out of habit, he brushed over it quickly, shifting his gaze to hint of lace trim across her collarbone and-
"Ehem," she cleared her throat, quirking an eyebrow to show she wasn't actually upset at his only slightly apologetic staring. "It still doesn't feel real." The way spoke was half laugh, half harsh expulsion of air. He shut the door and followed her into the middle of the warmly lit room.
There were too many things she could be referring to. The finding of Glendower, the subsequent and downright deadness of Glendower, the momentary and decidedly less downright deadness of Ganesy himself, the demon's defeat, the sacrifice of Cabeswater to bring him back. All of these were notable and paramount instances to be ruminating on and yet... the only thing at that moment Ganesy found to be unbelievable was the fact of the girl in front of him. It was unbelievable to him that Blue was standing there, all the fear and worry and longing and star-crossing and couldn't be-ing, it was all over, and Blue Sargent was standing there, utterly and devastatingly kissable. And Ganesy had no idea what to do with his hands.
"Did you just come home and pass out?" she eyed his hastily discarded boots and sweater on the floor and the disarray of his t-shirt. He blinked twice, trying desperately to form a sentence but becoming lost in the languid way she scratched her neck with sparkly navy fingernails, leaving soft red marks in their wake. He would like to leave some marks there. He shook his head slightly trying to clear it. "Calla had to give mom some of her extra special tea last night she was so wired. The extra is whiskey," she rambled on casually. "And then she had to give Orla one too because she obviously dealt with a major trauma last night and then eventually we just passed it around after I articulated that I might be the one who actually most needed some calming..." she trailed off. Laughed a little. Looked pointed past the large elephant in the room (we had our first kiss last night with the intention to sacrifice you and then you died while your lips were kind still on mine and now you're alive again and we're standing here... alone?)
"Where are- everyone?" she finished eloquently.
"Ronan drove straight to DC to make sure Matthew was actually as fine as Declan claimed and Henry stayed with Adam because he wanted to be home but we weren't sure he should be alone what with the Cabeswater no longer existing and him being part Cabeswater.." he trailed off. Laughed a directly towards the elephant with a smile.
Blue was inspecting the curtains and turned at the sound of him crossing the room. "Have you eaten? We were all supposed to meet for breakfast but it's already so late and I don't know what time they'll be up but I need coffee and we probably have some time if you-" she was interrupted by whisper of her satin skirts brushing up against his knees as he pressed in close. Danger-zone close. The kind of close they avoided all together because with one millimeter between their lips it would be far too easy too- oh. He curled a hand around the back of her flushed neck, her nose pliant and unexpectedly but far from unpleasantly cold against his. A soft breath of mint washed over her as he parted his lips and leaned in-
"Ganesy?" she didn't move. Neither did he.
"Yes Jane?" he was was electrified, she was everywhere.
"The curse, we don't know if it's fully gone. I don't want to hurt you or-" He grinned as he crashed his mouth to hers. He wasn't afraid of anything anymore.
OH. So this was kissing. This was kissing and meaning it. Blue thought she'd been fine with the nosing, and necking and hair stroking and that she wasn't really missing out on anything anyway but she was wrong. All of her senses were Ganesy Ganesy Fire Fire Fire. She inhaled sharply through her nose, coming to her tiptoes to press to him fully. Her bangled arms wrapped around his neck, fingertips digging into shoulders, wilder and faster and hungrier than it'd ever been before. He responded with a strong hand on her waist, her ribs, curling around the top of ribcage just under her chest. She became distinctly aware of the fact she wasn't wearing a bra. She became distinctly aware that she didn't care. Ganesy cared, she became aware that she could feel him caring against her hip. She let out a soft gasp into his mouth eliciting a gentle bite of her lip and then she was against the wall. He had picked her up in a fluid movement she'd hardly noticed and she wrapped legs around his waist in a way he noticed a great deal. Her vintage shift had hiked up around her thigh, making way for hands, Ganesy's hands, that she'd only allowed herself to admire from an observational standpoint and now they were raking trails of fire up her thighs.
This was months of no's and cant's imploding into one writhing yes yes yes and she was undone. She prided herself on being a sensible person, a girl with a good head on her shoulders. But at this moment Blue wasn't even positive she had shoulders because his entire tongue was in her mouth and he tasted like mint and sunshine and heat and please more. She could normally only feel the stars in her chest when she was outside but now they fizzled and burned under every inch of her skin, alighting with every movement of his lips.
"Blue-" he moaned into the hollow of her jaw. She clutched his face and held it, his eyes held Cabeswater churning in a storm, his lips were swollen and an unholy shade of pink. Her king was an animal, wild and marvelous and breathing and alive.
"I love you," she said against his lips, pulling them into the kiss again.
"SO how does everyone feel about-" Henry Cheng burst through the heavy door with all of the ceremony of a grizzly bear. He eyed the scene with surprise but very little embarrassment "hashbrowns?" he finished. "Because I hear there's about to be a magical artifacts mob war and I'm going to need fried potatoes to deal with that."