Many thanks to those who took the time to read and review a newbie! I'm really enjoying this. Kitty, I'm writing as fast as I can… hee… As far as romance goes… well… I hate to rush things… J
The mansion was as quiet as it was going to get in the evening. All the kids who were known to be able to sleep were in bed, and Ariel and Logan sat on an overstuffed sofa, waiting for a tape to rewind.
"So tell me again what this evening is supposed to be." Logan took a long pull from his beer bottle and stared at the screen.
Ariel Waters, her titles left in the office, sighed. "It's supposed to be two people - coincidentally, a man and a woman - watching a movie together. Without being anything else." She shook her head and sipped her beer. "Just… friendly. Can you handle that?"
"Yeah, I just don't see what it's supposed to prove." He shifted uncomfortably on the sofa, hopped up and began fiddling with the adjustments on the large home theatre system that the Professor had installed for classes. She smiled at his back as the FBI warnings went by silently.
"And you're not saying…."
"I'm not not saying anything. I just don't think that you're right."
"Ah. So you're completely comfortable right now. As long as you don't have to sit here next to me socially."
"Look, Ariel, I'm- you wouldn't catch me saying for a minute that I don't have trouble getting along with a lot of people-"
"And hopefully, if you did say that, it would be with slightly better sentence structure-"
"But I don't think I have any trouble specifically with women."
"Ah, he says it at last."
"What?"
"Nothing. Just finish avoi- fiddling and get back here." He turned, frowned into her grin, and walked back to the sofa she was sitting on.
"So what are we watching, anyway?"
"Hush. It's one of my favorites." She picked up the remote and began to fast forward through the previews.
"A chick-flick, eh?"
She turned a cool green stare on him. "Do I strike you as a particularly chick-flick type?"
He shrugged. "You're a chick, aren't you?" The stare intensified until he broke and laughed. "Okay, okay, so you're not a chick. You're a …" He stopped, looked away and scratched his beard, considering.
"I'm a what?"
He looked back at her, still thinking. "You're a… hmh. Lady? Woman?"
Ariel hit the pause button and did a slow pan down to her clearly feminine chest and back. "You sound unsure."
He shook his head and looked away again. "No. I'm sure." She couldn't tell if there was a grin hiding there or not. "But you chi-… uh… women are known to get sensitive about what you get called."
"You could ask."
Logan shrugged. "Okay. Fine. What do you like to be called?"
She grinned mischievously. "I like 'Ariel', myself."
"Funny. What phrasing, Doc- ah, Ms. Waters, would you prefer your gender to be represented by?" Her eyes widened as her eyebrows shot up.
"Why, Logan, that was quite good." She smirked a bit as he rolled his eyes. "I like 'woman', although 'lady' is fine when it's said respectfully." She smiled. "Now be quiet and pass the popcorn."
He mumbled something and picked up the bowl that was on the floor.
"What?"
"I said," he said grumpily, "you women are crazy." He frowned at the screen as the camera panned across beautiful pastoral landscapes. Titles appeared. "You're kidding."
"Why?"
"Shakespeare?"
"And what is wrong with Shakespeare?"
"Nothing. I mean, maybe it's not a chick-flick, but Shakespeare is just so boring-" He leaned forward abruptly and his jaw dropped as the people onscreen began taking off all their clothes and leaping into baths. "What the –" He looked at her briefly, trying to look at and away from the screen simultaneously. "What is this?"
"'Much Ado About Nothing'. I think you might like it."
"I don't know… it's kind of…"
"It hasn't started yet."
"You call that not starting?"
"You call that being comfortable with intimacy?" She blinked at him innocently.
"I don't think watching…ah…"
"Go ahead."
"What?"
"Go ahead, I dare you to call Shakespeare 'porn'"
He stared at her as she continued to blink innocently. After a moment, his jaw twitched, and it was only a few seconds before they both laughed. "Okay, okay. You win. I'll be a good boy." He glared theatrically. "But I do not have intimacy issues. I am not afraid of women."
"Ooh, afraid of women. I never thought of that. What an interesting concept."
He stopped, the beer halfway to his lips, and shot her a look out of the corner of his eye. "You know, I could just go out for beer instead."
"Just try to relax, for heaven's sake. We're both adults, there's nothing here to make you nervous or embarrassed."
"Right. Did you look at her?"
"Hell, no, I was too busy looking at him." She chuckled and sipped her beer.
Logan finally sat back and they settled into companionable silence, only broken by the crunching of popcorn and the occasional explanation of Shakespearean phrasing on Ariel's part. In the theatre-like ambience of the big room, they found themselves naturally moving closer together so they could speak more quietly. By the time the movie was over, Ariel had her legs tucked up under her and was leaning against his arm.
She grabbed the remote as the credits rolled. "So? What did you think?"
"It was pretty good. I'm surprised."
"Well, good." She got up and stretched, yawning. He didn't stir from where he sat. "Logan? What's up?"
"I'm not tired."
She looked at him, fondly and a little sadly. "Not tired, or afraid to try to sleep?"
He turned away, and she watched him make a conscious effort to be open. "A little of both. Got any more of that? Maybe a little less soupy?"
"What, more Shakespeare?" She laughed, and stopped when she saw that he was quite serious. "Well…" she wandered over to the shelves and poked around. "Ooh, Henry V. Also Branagh, and on dvd to boot. Want to watch it?" He shrugged. "It's got fighting…" She wiggled the box from the dvd as if it were a box of candy.
"Beats fighting with my pillow. And I hear this Shakespeare guy was more than a one hit wonder."
"He certainly gave it his best effort."
By the time the movie was half over, Ariel was nodding, her head leaning on his shoulder. He shifted, dropping his arm around her, and she rested her head more easily on his chest. A few scenes later, Logan asked her what the prince had just said, and got no response. He nudged her, looked down, and realized that she was sound asleep. His smile almost became a laugh, but he kept quiet so as not to disturb her.
With an uncharacteristically gentle gesture, he pushed her hair back out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. As he leaned over, he smelled the soft perfume of her hair, and his lips brushed against her head as he rested there, relaxed. He blinked once or twice at the movie, his eyes opening more slowly each time. Suddenly they jerked open, his expression hard. He looked at the sleeping woman next to him and his jaw tightened.
"Right." He stood with grave determination, easing Ariel carefully down on the couch and covering her with a blanket from the shelves near the big screen. He shut down the system, cleaned up their snacks, and stood for a long moment beside the couch, watching her breathe. Brushing his hand softly over her hair, he whispered. "I guess you win." He walked in the dark to the door and opened it, looking back over his shoulder. "But you don't know why."
Closing the door softly behind him, he walked out into the hallway, down to the main garage, and kept walking, out into the cool night air. "Damn."
It was four AM according to the pale turquoise readout on the entertainment system when Ariel shifted, her eyes fluttering open. She stretched, a confused expression on her face as her mind tried to place where she was. Suddenly reality clicked. She sat bolt upright, stared at the clock, and looked around the dark room. Her mind, without even trying, reached out for another presence, and found none. "Well, Dr. Waters, there's a surprise." She swung her legs off the couch and saw a glass of water had been left where her beer bottle had been. Taking a sip, she smiled ruefully. "Damn."