AN: Well this is it: The End ;) Cept for the two epilogues.. heh just in time for christmas! as this is the christmas chapter. I can't update while I'm at home beyond this chapter because my parents comp doesnt have word =( So alas we're stuck with out updates. I hope you guys like this chapter =D
Thanks to all the reviewers =)
Almost everyone in the house was already stationed in what Liika assumed was their 'regular' spots by the time they got downstairs, though most of them were still milling around and were not yet seated. Liika followed Bryan, behind Tala and Ian, her hand still firmly clenched in his. It almost seemed as if his grip tightened the closer they got to the group. Ok, so he was a tad bit on the jealous side. She could deal with that.
"Ah, there you are! Bryan, bring Liika over here, I want to introduce her to everyone," Sashenka called from the opposite side of the room.
If at all possible Bryan's scowl got darker and his eyebrow twitched. Bloody hell, he didn't want everyone else to know her. She was his!
Liika caught the dark scowl and sighed, squeezing his hand. When he looked down and over his shoulder at her she smiled at him, her eyes filled with a slight reproval. Then, with one more squeeze on his hand she dropped it and stepped around him, peeking between Ian and Tala and smiling at Sashenka shyly.
Sashenka smiled back, motioning for everyone to quiet down. "Ok you guys, before we start-we're still waiting on Dominic and Spencer-I want you all to meet our guest, who will be staying with us for a couple of weeks during the holidays. Tala or Ian, would one of you like to introduce us to your friend? Or maybe Bryan?"
Tala and Ian glanced at the girl beside them, smirks crawling over their faces. Liika blinked in confusion as they were speaking in Russian and she didn't understand a word of it. Damn language barriers.
"Well," Tala started, knowing that Bryan wasn't going to say anything, as he placed a hand on the top of Liika's head. The aforementioned boy merely huffed and eyed the petit blue haired girl. "Where to start? This is Liika Tomoda. She's a Japanese beyblader. She has a big mouth and a short temper. She doesn't speak Russian, so don't even try. If you want to talk to her, speak English, I know you all can." Tala stated shortly. "Oh and if you fuck with her, you fuck with us."
"Tala!" Sashenka scolded gently, frowning at the red head.
Tala shrugged. He didn't like the majority of the people in his group home. He liked his foster parents and that was pretty much it. The rest of the eight teenagers could rot in hell for all he cared.
The other occupants in the group home stared at the girl that was surrounded by the outcasts in their household. They were surprised. They had figured that no one could ever like, let alone get close to, the four anti-social, mean tempered teenagers, that's why they didn't even try. They didn't like them, and the feeling was reciprocated-with one or two exceptions. Everyone got along mostly because they respected Sashenka and Dominic, their foster parents. And so it was basically out of respect for the parents that they greeted their enemy's friend cordially. After all, if she was friends with them, she had to be just as bitchy and asshole like as they were.
"It's nice to meet you." One slightly younger boy spoke out shyly in heavily accented English, his shaggy turquoise hair shading his blue eyes.
Liika smiled kindly back, speaking brightly. "It's nice to meet you too. All of you." She wondered what Tala had said to them that made them all look so weary of her. Their eyes were filled with distrust and they were eyeing her as if she was the enemy.
The bright greeting caught the group off guard and it showed when they blinked rapidly and threw each other confused looks, low murmurs in Russian followed. Liika frowned, tilting her head and leaning over to Ian.
"Hey, did I say something wrong?" She asked.
Ian raised an eyebrow and smirked, snorting. "No, they just find it odd that you're nothing like us. I'm assuming they expected you to be a carbon copy of our lack of social mannerisms."
"Is that what their whispering about?"
"Pretty much."
Liika threw him a look. "Wow, you guys are popular around here." She stated teasingly, elbowing him in the side.
He nudged her back, smirking. "We try. I think beating a couple of them up helped."
"You beat them up???"
"Uh, Liika is it?"
The group had dispersed to chat in little groups around the living room, leaving the Demolition Boys and Liika alone, though they watched the interactions out of the corner of their eyes. Tala's turquoise gaze immediately to the girl that approached them, narrowing in suspicion. "What do you want Melaniya?" He snapped.
The dark haired girl pouted, fluttering her eyelashes at Tala. It was all Liika could do not to burst out laughing, Ian however, didn't stop himself and snickered quietly earning a glare from the girl. "I was just wondering if Liika would like to come help me bring in the trays of snacks for the session. I was hoping to get to know her better." Melaniya said sweetly.
At this Ian's snickers turned into outright laughter. It was priceless! It was sooo transparent that the girl was trying to use their Kit to get close to Tala. Haha!
Tala looked at the dark haired Russian girl with something akin to amusement. Did she really think they would fall for that?
Bryan meanwhile gave Melaniya his best death glare and slipped his hand around Liika's waist, an action that was not missed by the other girl. Bryan liked this wench the least out of all the wenches he had ever met. She was conniving and slimy, she could have been Boris' daughter.
"Drop dead midget!" Melaniya hissed in Russian, sneering at Ian who smirked back.
Liika didn't miss the tone of the voices that were speaking rapidly around her. Even if she couldn't understand what they were saying, she could grasp the fact that the girl was wheedling her friends, a fact that didn't overly surprise her, given that she had had experience with the girl before. "What did she say?" Liika whispered to Tala, tugging on his uniform shirt.
Tala arched an eyebrow down at her. "She said she wanted to get to know you better," he said lightly smug enjoyment reflecting in his voice, "She also told Ian to drop dead."
Liika's eyebrow shot up and she glanced ahead at the girl that was watching her with eyes of a predator. Oh she just bet the girl wanted to get to know her better. The girl was practically green with jealousy.
"Sure, I'll help."
The shrugged reply caught everyone one around her by surprised. Ian blinked at her, looking skeptical. "You will?"
Liika shrugged again, stepping away from Bryan. "Sure."
"No you wont."
The blue haired girl craned her neck and stared up at her scowling boyfriend. He stared back at her with icy, firm eyes. "Yes, I am. I'll be right back." With that Liika nodded at the dark haired girl and both girls disappeared into the kitchen.
"What do you wanna bet there's a scrap in the next five minutes?"
"You think you're pretty clever don't you?"
Liika blinked, staring at Melaniya as the girl glared at her, her hands perched on her flaring hips. "Excuse me?" She replied in confusion.
"Don't play dumb with me," the dark haired Russian snapped, eyes narrowing even further. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. Coming here and flirting with my man!"
Liika gaped, trying to comprehend just what she was being accused of. Flirting…? With…her man? What the hell?? She assumed the girl was talking about Tala, which would make the accusation even more ridiculous. Not only was Tala not the stupid girl's man-he didn't even like her-but Liika was not flirting with him! Of all the stupid, absurd things… "You're…retarded." Was all she could come up with to say.
Melaniya's face turned a mottled purple and she screeched quietly, trying to restrain herself from hitting the Japanese girl. "How dare you!"
"No, how dare you." Liika hissed back, glowering. "You accused me, not the other way around! You're retarded if you think I was flirting with Tala when I'm with Bryan! Not to mention the fact that Tala is not your man, he doesn't even like you!"
She sputtered indignantly, slowly comprehending Liika's words. She chose to ignore the fact about Tala not being her man and him not liking her. After all, it couldn't be true! Who wouldn't fall for her grace, beauty and charm? After a few moments of silent glaring, Melaniya snorted daintily and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "With Bryan you say? I sincerely doubt it, I thought I told you, Bryan doesn't like girls."
Liika felt her eyebrow twitch in annoyance. The girl had insulted Bryan before…and gotten away with it. She wouldn't again. "I let it go before because I thought you were just kidding, but this time, I'm not. Bryan does like girls, and I happen to know first hand."
"Oh really?" A smirk spread over the red-tinted lips.
"Yes really. Are you doubting my word?"
"As a matter of fact I am. I dare you to prove me wrong."
Liika snorted, and would have tossed her hair had it been long enough. "Fine then!" She exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "Prepare to be proved wrong!"
"After you," Melaniya sneered mockingly, waving at the kitchen door.
Liika strode past her, a determined glint in her eyes. So the Russian bitch wanted proof that her boyfriend wasn't gay? She'd show her proof! Stopping just inside the room, Liika ran her eyes over the group of people, searching for the familiar lilac hair that belonged to her grumpy boyfriend. Ahh, bingo. She thought, catching sight of him on the other side of the room.
He was leaned up against the wall, sitting on the floor with his knees drawn up against his chest and his eyes closed. Tala was beside him and Ian beside Tala. Spencer had shown up in the mean time and was perched on a chair on Bryan's other side.
She closed her eyes, apologizing silently to him for the embarrassment she was about to cause. Liika never backed down from a dare, never. Her cheeks flooded with red as she opened her eyes and stalked determinedly across the room. Here goes nothing!
She reached him in seconds, ignoring the curious looks Ian and Tala shot her, as well as the nod from Spencer. Gulping she lowered herself to her knees and scooted forward, stationing herself between his knees. Bryan's eyes cracked open and one of his pale eyebrows rose as he studied her flushed face. What was she doing? He had a vague sense of dejavu, hadn't they been in this position before?
His suspicions were confirmed when her small hands cupped his jaw gently and guided his face to hers, joining their lips in one swift motion. Hmm…she was brave, kissing him like this in a room full of people. He was even more surprised when her tongue ran along his bottom lip seductively. Hm. Really brave. He wondered what the bitch said to her that would give her the courage to make out with him in a room with his foster siblings…all of which were terrified of him.
Bryan opened his mouth under hers, and growled in the back of his throat, his hands descending from their perch on his knees to circle her hips.
"Ugh! Ok, you've proved your point! Stop it before I throw up!"
Liika grinned against Bryan's lips and gave him one last kiss before twisting in his arms and sticking out her tongue at the taller girl who was watching from a few meters away, a disgusted look on her face. "Never mess with me, I know my boys!"
Melaniya growled before stomping away, back into the kitchen, her face bright red. Liika chuckled, her own face tinged pink. She tried to ignore the amazed stares that were now directed at her.
"Do I even want to know what that was about?" Tala inquired, tilting his head toward Liika.
"Well, other than wanting to kiss my incredibly sexy boyfriend and astonishing all your foster siblings," Liika paused in her slightly sarcastic reply, throwing Ian a glare as he mock gagged on his finger. "That hag of a girl that's obsessed with you inferred that Bryan was gay and dared me to prove her wrong. It pissed me off, so I did."
A smirk curled Tala's lips. "It appeared to have worked too…Maybe now she'll leave us alone. Hm, you could be useful to have around here."
"Yeah even with your disgusting public displays of affection!" Ian followed. "Bryan, how do you even stand it? The sap would destroy me!"
Bryan grunted, closing his eyes. Part of him was proud of his little wench. She had mustered up the courage to do something just to embarrass some stupid bitch. Part of him was annoyed that she used him to do it and the last part of him wanted to snap the bitch in half for calling him gay. Hn. Gay indeed.
As for the whole 'sap' issue, she was a bit affectionate in public for his liking-not that they had had much experience in public to judge-but she seemed like the type. However, it wasn't like he actually had to do anything, nor was it horribly unpleasant. As long as she was fine with it being one sided he was happy. Besides, it had certain advantages for him as well.
"Hey Sashenka! How come Bryan gets to bring his girlfriend to group time and I don't?" A lanky teen with spiked brown hair whined suddenly.
Sashenka, who had been out of the room at the time of the kiss, merely raised an eyebrow elegantly and clicked her tongue. "Because Alex, Liika is a guest in this house, your girlfriend has a home of her own."
"What?? You mean she's staying here? Where the hell is she going to sleep?" There were no spare beds in the house and couch was seriously uncomfortable, all knew this.
Ian answered before Sashenka could have a chance. "We spent six months together in the Siberian wilderness-alone. Where the hell do you think she's going to sleep dumbass?"
"Ian!" Sashenka scolded sharply, letting it be known that she would tolerate no name calling in her house.
"Bleh."
The boy named Alex looked as if he was about to explode. "You mean…he gets to have his girlfriend sleep in his room, but I don't? What the hell??"
"Alex, that's enough," Sashenka commanded shortly, sending a look at the brunette. "They are older than you, and besides, Spencer-who will be a legal adult in a month-will be there to chaperone them. Isn't that right Spencer?"
The blond looked amused for a moment before nodding. "Yes."
The brunette boy shot Bryan a dark look and looked away, jamming his arms over his chest. Liika tilted her head and looked up behind her. "I'm guessing that's the kid that you strangled?"
Bryan's lips twitched. "Apparently not hard enough."
She giggled, leaning back against his chest and snuggling in his arms. "Or maybe too hard." She was happy, and he was warm and smelled good. Life was grand.
"Alright, we'll just have to start with out Dominic tonight as he seemed to be running later. Let's start! Stefa, why don't you start by telling us about your week."
"Heh you should have seen their faces! They like…poked the pot with a stick and proclaimed that it wasn't done yet. Priceless!" Liika exclaimed, giggling hysterically.
She soon was joined by the rest of the group who all had a good laugh at the three boys' expense. The said boys were scowling, or at least Ian and Tala were, and glaring at the petite bluenette. Liika glanced at them, grinning cheekily from the safety of Bryan's arms. She had been selective about what stories she told so that a) she would not piss of the already grumpy Bryan and b) get pay back for all the suffering they put her through while in Siberia. Pay back was truly a bitch.
"Maybe we should tell a story about you," Tala sneered, "It seems to me you had quite a few embarrassing ones yourself."
Liika snickered. "The difference is, you live with them, and they don't know me. Oh come on, it wasn't that bad… I could tell them about the time that Ian did the-"
"Oh no you don't!" Ian cried, leaping over Tala and reaching for her neck. "You've caused enough damage for one night!"
Sashenka chuckled as Ian reached for the blue haired girl, who shrieked in protest and jumped up. Ian followed her and then both teens streaked up the stairs, yelling and banging as they went. The three they left behind just shook their heads and brought themselves to their feet. As usual the four boys decided when Group time was finished, and Sashenka knew not to push them. She stood as well and clapped for everyone's attention. "Ok, that about brings us to the end of Group time this week. Thank you all for your cooperation. Dinner will be in an hour, and you know schedule already. Dismissed!" With the proclamation she slipped out of the room and left the teens to do what they want.
Tala stretched, yawning slightly. "I suppose we should go save the little wench, though part of me is inclined to let him kill her."
Spencer chuckled lightly, shaking his head. "She was right you know…she didn't pick our most embarrassing moments. The pot incident was the worst of it I think and she had right to laugh at us."
"I still laugh at you."
Both boys shot their third member dark looks before ascending the stairs, avoiding the traffic that was traipsing up and down them. Bryan smirked. Personally he had enjoyed her little stories as he was no part of them, and he knew the troublesome two needed to be put in their place at least once.
"Yeah well, we could have told them about your temper tantrum when you over heard her in the forest, or how you pouted and sulked for weeks after and avoided her. Or how you always let her cuddle with you when she was cold, or how you lent her your clothing, or how we caught you two making out when we were away…"
"Shut up."
Tala smirked. He won. Again.
"Ooh! That's so pretty!" Liika exclaimed excitedly, peering up at the large Christmas tree that decorated Red Square. Her eyes sparkled brightly as she took in all the beautiful lights and ornaments and the very large star that graced the tree's top. "Wow."
"Geez…who knew she'd get so damn excited over a bloody tree. I mean…it's a tree with lights on it for Christ's sake!" Ian grumbled, crossing his arms.
Liika turned and stuck out her tongue. "It's not just a tree! It's a Christmas tree! You guys sure know how to kill the holiday spirit!" She said huffing. They really were kill joys.
She had wanted them to take her out and show her the sites of Moscow, particularly before Christmas as everything would be lit up and decorated. She also hoped to do some shopping while she was out, because she knew she would need help with translating things. However, it turned out to be more of a chore than anything else. They grumbled and complained the whole way, stating the Christmas was a waste of time and money and that they didn't see what was so great about it. It frustrated her to no end, and she was becoming daunted by the whole situation. Which dampened her Christmas spirit!
At least they hadn't taken down the decorations that had taken her hours to put up.
"You're holiday spirit maybe, we never had any to begin with!" Ian shot back.
"You can say that again," Liika muttered, looking vaguely disappointed. She loved Christmas, and they hated it. Where was the fun in that?
Tala caught the disappointment in her eyes and sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking up at the tree. "I suppose it's kinda nice…for a tree." He stated.
Liika's only reply was an indignant huff before she stormed away.
Ian groaned, throwing up his hands in defeat. "I suppose she's going to give us the silent treatment from now on." He said, looking to Tala.
Tala shrugged, running a hand through his hair. "We should go find her or she'll get herself in trouble." Ian nodded and they both set off, pushing through the busy square on their quest to find their teammate's woman. They knew she couldn't have gone far. "Oh and Ian?"
"Ya?"
"Try to put a little more enthusiasm into attempting to like Christmas. It's blatantly clear that she's attached to it and that it's making her sad that we don't care either way."
It was Ian's turn to sigh. He knew Tala was right, and that their apathy was hurting the stupid little wench, and if she was hurt and unhappy then they would be by virtue of Bryan kicking their ass. Even though he didn't muster any liking of the crap holiday either. He had been right in thinking all those months ago that she would destroy their team. They were being turned into fucking mush pots.
"Yeah, yeah fine. Stupid woman. I'm only pretending though!"
Tala laughed. "Fair enough. I think I might actually try to like this holiday. It's kind of nice to feel the love in the atmosphere rather than cold distain."
Ian stopped short and turned to stare at his teammate. "Ok, who are you and what the hell have you done with my captain?!" He demanded.
The red head grinned conspiratorially and winked. Ian snorted, suddenly aware of what Tala was talking about. Love in the air. Bah! He was just referring to all the girls that kept giving his sweet smiles and giggling. Stupid Tala.
"Oh come on Ian, no need to be jealous. The right girl will come along one day!" Tala assured, patting his short friend on the shoulder. "Even though probably the only girl shorter than you is already taken…"
"Fuck you Tala!"
Tala all but cackled, ducking Ian's attempts to smash his fist into the red head's face.
"Where's my woman?"
The two teens froze at the sound of Bryan's voice. They slowly turned their heads to see Bryan and Spencer standing a few feet away, carrying a few bags each, and Bryan glaring suspiciously at them. They then looked at each other and promptly exclaimed, "Shit!" at the same time before taking off running in the direction Liika had disappeared in.
Liika huffed, scowling. She didn't need them! And she didn't need to be around their grumpiness either! So what if they didn't like Christmas! She could celebrate it with out them!
Speaking of them, she was really stuck on what to get them-Bryan anyway. He was the hardest to buy for, as he didn't seem to like or want anything. She had bought Tala a shirt that said, "Bow down to me mortal men for I am the God when it comes women." She had had the English characters put on the shirt, and giggled as she paid for it. It was so Tala (since she had been in Russia she had witnessed the red heads unusual knack for attracting female attention…he was better at it than Kai).
For Ian she bought a wallet chain and matching wallet-he was always complaining that he was losing his money. And for Spencer, Tala had helped her pick out a Russian book he had been wanting. All that was left was Bryan.
She cursed him for being so…picky and for not liking anything, or rather not showing any interest in anything. She could get him beyblade parts, but that was…boring. She was his girlfriend, her gift should show that she loved him! But damn it, how did you do that for a boyfriend like Bryan?
Just then something flashed in the light from the street lamp from one of the display windows that bordered Red Square and caught Liika's eye. It was perfect!
Tala and Ian came to a stop, both panting and looking around desperately. The sun was almost completely set, leaving Red square to be lit up by the many street lamps and Christmas lights that shone cheerily in the cold winter's night. They searched the faces over everyone they passed or passed them, searching for the face of the tiny Japanese girl.
"Only she could disappear like that!" Ian growled, looking through people at the shop windows. "Bryan is going to seriously brutalize us."
"Not if we find her before he finds us." Tala replied, looking in the other direction.
Reds, blacks, greens, some shades of blue, but none the right color they were looking for. She had to be so short didn't she? Ian had just about given up looking in shop windows when he caught sight of a familiar toque covered head. "Oh thank God," he muttered, motioning at Tala to follow him.
Liika had just come out of the store, quite pleased with herself when she was grabbed on either side and yanked forward into the busy square.
"What the hell!" She screamed, struggling against her sudden bonds.
"Shut up! It's just us!" Ian snapped, releasing her instantly.
Liika ceased struggling and breathed deeply, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. Damn them! They scared the living hell out of her! "Don't do that! You scared me!"
"Yeah well, don't be stupid and fuck off like that! You could have got lost!" Tala scolded harshly. "Think a little more!"
"Not to mention what Bryan was about to do to us!"
"What I still might do."
Liika rolled her eyes and huffed, shoving past Ian and Tala to step in front of Bryan who was approaching the three, a dark and stormy look on his face. "Don't bother. I stormed off myself. Let's just get out of here, I'm tired of the lot of you's lack of anything cheerful or Christmas like." She grumbled, coming to a stop beside Bryan and Spencer.
Bryan frowned. She had been perfectly cheerful when he and Spencer had gone off themselves for a bit and left her with Ian and Tala, now she was angry. What the hell happened? He shrugged. The better for him. He was sick of the crowds anyway.
It wasn't Christmas that bothered him, and he knew Spencer actually quite liked the holiday, it was the crowds and craziness that accompanied it. He didn't like people, and Christmas brought too many of them out and in his way.
"Aw man, don't be like that Kit!" Ian wheedled. "We tried! This is all new for us!"
Liika paused, thinking about it. He did have a point there.
"Yeah. I said the tree was nice, what more do you want?" Tala added smirking.
She turned fully and eyed them skeptically. "I bet you didn't even look at the tree, just the girls under it!" She said smiling slightly.
Tala winked. "Touché."
Ian opened his mouth to comment but was interrupted when someone was pushed into the back of him sending him flying forward into the ground. The group blinked, Liika jumped, rushing to Ian's side and helping him up. "Are you alright Ian?" She asked.
"Yeah, who the hell-" Ian stopped short in complaining as his eyes fell on a guy about their age dressed in an elf costume, completely with pointy ears and shoes. Ian's eyes widened dramatically and he backed up slowly. "Ah! It's one of his cronies!"
There was a moment of silence before Liika and Tala burst out laughing-Liika had been filled in about Ian's fear of Santa's elves-Spencer joining them much more quietly. Bryan just smirked.
The boy dressed in the costume eyed the lot of them like they were crazy before muttering an apology and moving off, disappearing into the crowd.
"Hahaha! Ian's afraid of department store elves!"
"I am not!"
"You sooo are! You should have seen your face!"
"Well how was I supposed to know it was from a department store??"
"Oh I don't know, how about the name tag on his uniform!"
"Bah!" Ian finally had enough, and stalked off in the direction of the street. He didn't need to take their abuse!
Liika giggled. She felt kind of bad for making fun of him. Everyone had their fears-hers included needles and spiders. "Hey Ian! Wait up! I'm sorry!" She called chasing after the short Demolition Boy.
The remaining three shook their heads, smirking as they followed the other two. Life wasn't so bad.
Liika's eyes snapped open, a grin stretching over her face as she realized what day it was. She sat up, letting the heavy blankets fall to her waist as she looked down at the large boy beside her. He was laying on his side, facing away from her into the center of the room. Her grin became evil. She just bet he didn't want to be woken up at the crack of dawn-she had glanced at the clock to discover that it was actually before dawn, being 7 am-of course that was just too bad for him. She wanted to give him her present…and she wanted to give it to him now.
Leaning over, Liika slid her arm under the blankets and around his waist and then brushed her lips over his temple. "I know you're awake," she whispered quietly as to not wake the others, "I wanna give you your present."
He grumbled. "Go back to sleep."
Liika pouted, catching his earlobe between her teeth gently. "Come on…" she murmured, "Aren't you even a little curious about it?"
"No."
"Grm… Bryan…"
He sighed in annoyance, rolling over onto his back to stare up at her with sleepy, half lidded eyes. "You're annoying." He stated scowling.
She giggled, dropping a kiss on the corner of his mouth. "Thank you!" She then reached up to the desk and plucked a prettily wrapped present from the top and dropped it on his chest.
He didn't even bother to sit up, her just picked the gift up and turned it over in his hands, studying the wrap job intently. She had put a lot of effort into wrapping the long, narrow box. He wondered when she had had time to wrap it.
"Open it!"
He shot her a glare. "Pushy woman," he muttered, pulling at the taped edges of the paper. He almost laughed as she began to wriggle with excitement. She was…interesting sometimes.
He eventually got the paper off the gift, revealing a white-lidded box. Arching an eyebrow he took the lid off the box.
It was…well, it was very…nice. Carefully he lifted the thick silver chain out of the box and let it hang over his hand so that he could study the attached pendant. It was a falcon-he wasn't overly surprised of this, she seemed fond of his bit beast-etched in silver and looked a bit like Falborg, though there were significant differences. It was really nice, and Bryan once again didn't know how to react, a theme that recurred when dealing with Liika.
"Well…?"
He moved his gaze from the jewelry to meet her anxious turquoise gaze. "Thank you." He said quietly, putting the object back in its box.
"You like it?"
"Yes."
Liika bit her lip, tilting her head. "Really?"
Bryan grunted, sliding the box back on his desk with one hand, while pulling her down to him with the other. "Yes." He growled softly, taking her lips in a soft kiss.
"Good," she replied quietly. "Because you are the most difficult person in the world to shop for. You don't like anything."
It wasn't quite true, but Bryan said nothing. He liked her didn't he? But, he could see where she was coming from. He imagined buying a present for him would be extremely difficult.
"Well, since I promised I'd let you sleep if you opened the present, I'll let you do that!" She said yawning and crawling back down to curl up against his side.
He stared at her for a few moments before coming to a decision. Sitting up slightly he opened the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled something out, shutting it again after. With no ceremony he tossed it on her. Liika's eyes opened and centered on the small professionally wrapped box resting on her abdomen. Smiling she picked up the box and opened the lid. She lost her breath as she caught site of the boxes contents.
"Bryan…this…this is a…a promise ring!"
Bryan shrugged, rolling over to face the other way. "Yeah."
Liika gaped at the small ring. It was a thin band of silver, or white gold, she couldn't tell just by looking, and had a small blackish-multicolored stone that reflected blue, purples and reds set in the middle. With shaking hands she removed the silver colored circle from its bed of velvet and studied it carefully, taking in every detail with wide, rapture filled eyes.
As she turned it over one final time something engraved on the band caught her gaze and she ran her index over the Russian letters. "What does it say?" She whispered breathlessly.
"My name."
Liika felt tears stinging the back of her eyes. Despite his callous manner of giving it to her the small ring meant everything. It solidified their relationship and erased any doubts she might have had as to his feelings toward her. It was perfect…right down to the single stone that was set in the middle. It looked like a black opal…only with out the fluidity. The colors were slightly blocked, but still ran together in the swirly darkness that surrounded them. It symbolized him perfectly. Black until you looked deeper.
Sniffling she slipped the ring onto her left hand ring finger and wiped the small amount of tears that clung to her eyelashes from her eyes.
Bryan rolled back over when he heard her sniffle, a deep frown settling over his features. She was supposed to be happy, not crying. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He demanded sharply, not understanding her reaction at all.
"You…you…" She trailed off, unable to vocalize the feelings that were tumbling around in her mind and her heart. Instead she threw herself on top of him, kissing him heatedly.
Bryan's surprise and confusion soon turned passion as he kissed her back just as hard as she kissed him, and just as desperately. Women were confusing creatures.
When they came apart for air, Liika locked eyes with him, leaning her forehead against his, her breath coming in short gasps. "I was going to wait till later to tell you the good news I got yesterday, but with this," she twirled the ring idly on finger, "I wanna tell you now."
"Hm." He rumbled, his arms encircling her waist and his lips seeking hers once more.
She giggled, avoiding his searching lips. "I can't tell you if you're kissing me!"
"Hn."
Liika smiled, kissing him softly. "Mr. Dickenson called me yesterday…he secured my visa."
Bryan's eyes snapped open and narrowed on her face, something indiscernible flashing within the lilac depths.
"I'll return for a week in the beginning of January to challenge my exams then I'll be moving into an apartment here as a sponsored exchange student. He said…he said that if I still want to stay in a year, that he would try to secure me citizenship."
He was silent after her explanation, merely watching her with calculating eyes. Then, after a few moments he reached up with one hand and ran his thumb along her cheeks, under her eyes. "Good." Was all he said.
She chuckled, shaking her head. Bryan would always be Bryan, and that was just the way she liked it. Love swelled in her chest as her eyes softened and one of her hands traveled from his chest to his forehead, brushing back his bangs. "I love you…" She whispered sincerely. It was the first time she had ever said it to him, and it felt…good.
Bryan's eyes darkened and his lips tilted upwards. The words that spilled from her lips sealed her within him affirming her place in his icy heart. Pulling her face down to his he whispered against her lips, "Mine. Forever."
Suddenly a pillow was launched at them from across the room, hitting them both in the side of the head. "Shut the hell up! It's 7 am for fucks sake! Save your mushy crap for a decent hour!"
Liika broke down into a fit of giggles, cuddling against Bryan where she was content to stay for possibly the rest of her life.
