I'm pretty sure this is the fluffiest thing I've ever written.
Robbie's POV
I'm a bundle of nerves.
I'm currently sitting on the red velvet of the Vega families couch. It's Friday evening and there's a nervous energy bubbling up within me. Tori is finally willing to leave her sisters side for more than a few stolen moments, since her parents are at the hospital now. I'm on the edge of my seat and I can't stop my feet from tapping against the floor. I brush off my shoulder and smooth down my blazer, I feel so overdressed in the casual ambience of Tori's house. I'm halfway through straightening my tie when I hear the gentle clap of Tori's heels, as she appears at the top of the stairs behind me. I twist my body so that I can see her, my heart hammering in my chest all the while.
"Wow." I choke out, my breath hitching in my throat as I catch sight of her. If I had though my heart was hammering before, now it's pummeling my chest with the force of a tsunami. In a word, Tori is breathtaking. Her hair is tied up, with tendrils of her wavy brown locks cascading down and framing her perfect cheekbones. It becomes even harder to breath when my eyes dip down and I see what she's wearing. A shimmering purple dress hugs her figure, showing only enough skin to hint at what lays beneath, but never enough to reveal it's secrets. I swallow painfully, forcing my eyes away from where the slit going up the left side of her dress and away from her tanned legs.
"Are you alright Robbie?" Tori asks, freeing me of the mental fog I had been lost in. Her chocolate orbs are swimming with concern as she traipses down the steps towards me, her movements more fluid then water. My lips curve upwards and I find a smile perched over my lips. I realize that she's still Tori, she's achingly beautiful, but it's only skin deep. I'm almost certain that what lays in her heart and in her mind is even more wonderful.
"I'm…you're so beautiful." I finally mumble, wishing I hadn't decided to wear contact lenses so that I could hide behind the frames my glasses. Tori bites down on her bottom lip, her head dipping as she gazes up at me through her eyelashes. There's a faint tinge of pink on her cheeks and laughter tickles my throat. I can't believe that she's blushing because of me, it's both ridiculous and endearing at the same time.
"You're my date, you have to say that." She mumbles, bristling slightly on the spot. I shake my head incredulously, Tori's so unaware of the effect she can have on people, so unwilling to accept a complement sometimes. Plucking up my confidence, I step towards her, closing the distance between us. Entwining our fingers, I place a gentle kiss on her cheek.
"I might be your date, but that doesn't make any less true." The words shuffle from my lips and her eyelids slide shut as my breath tickles her ear. Sliding away from her, I guide her towards the front door. We need to leave now if I'm going to keep my word to Cat and Andre.
With a smile on my lips, but without another word, I guide Tori toward the passenger door of the black BMW I was able to borrow for tonight. Tori's eyes widen as I open the door for her, though she slides into the car with a grateful smile. Still grinning widely, I pace around the front of the car and slip into the drivers seat next to Tori.
"So Robbie, where are we going tonight?" Tori asks as I guide the car along the twists and turns leading us away from her house. Stealing a glance at her, my heart flutters in my chest. I still can't believe this is happening and my tongue shifts restlessly, more than willing to betray each and every detail of my plan. With a start, I return my gaze to the road and drum my fingers against the steering wheel, trying to clear my mind.
"We'll be there soon. Just…I want it to be a surprise." My reply comes in starts and stutters, my vocal chords rebelling against me. I can keep telling myself it's only Tori, but that's the problem. It's Tori, Tori Vega. Without realizing what I'm doing, I tighten my grip on the steering wheel. It's only when I see my knuckles bleaching white at the bottom of my field of vision that I force myself to relax a little bit.
"Oh." She replies, with a soft smile. I feel my heart hammer against my ribs with renewed vigor. Tori's putting her faith in me to have come up with something good for tonight. With that realization, the fear that what I've got planned isn't going to be enough swirls mercilessly within my mind. I don't know if anything s going to be good enough for our first official date.
A gentle hum fills the air around us, it's a soft melody, but it's one that I recognize well. My heart stops in my chest, frozen by the realization that it's not just any song Tori is humming, it's my song. Shaking my head, I attempt to clear my mind of all of the thoughts that this realization has conjured, to just focus on the road ahead.
We're only a stones throw away.
"We're here." I mumble, pushing the door open and hurling my frame out of the door before Tori can reply. It might seem rude at first, but I just want to make sure she doesn't get out of her seat before I have the chance to open the door for her. Fortunately enough, she's merely following me with her eyes as I briskly make my way to her door, confusion written deeply in her features.
My fingers reach for the door handle, pulling it upwards and I stepping backwards, I motion for Tori to come out. Grinning as she realizes what I had been doing, Tori rises from her seat with a grace that shames my hasty exit from the same car. As she steps into line with me, I see Tori's eyes light up as the scene behind me comes into her line of vision. Between the light mascara and the purple eye shadow, her eyes are sparkling with wonder. I feel my doubts die away as Tori dives towards me, wrapping her arms around the back of my neck she peppers my cheek with kisses. It makes all of the planning, all of the negotiating worth it.
"This is…Robbie, this is too much." Tori's words splinter as she speaks and her eyes mist over as she rests against my shoulder. I can only shake my head slightly at her reaction. For somebody that's so outgoing, so full of life, she sure does have a knack for thinking she's not worth any sort of effort. I wonder just how many terrible dating experiences she's had. Steadying her shoulders and pulling away from her, I take a deep breath.
"It's really not. Think of it this way, you're my second date in 17 years. I have a lot of spare money in my dating fund." Through my joke, honesty creeps into my words, dragging painful memories with it. I'd rather not think about my date with Jessica, I'd rather just focus on the vision of beauty currently giggling softly in front of me.
"I don't know how you were supposed to be the worst date ever. We haven't even sat down yet and this date is already in my top three." My heart clenches and my throat tightens at Tori's words, as I realize that she means every one. Linking my arm through hers, I motion for us to press forward. I almost reach up and attempt to pinch myself as we walk into the clearing, but then I realize that if this is a dream, I never want to wake up.
Earlier in the week I had been freaking out about where to take Tori on our first real date when Cat had wanted to take a walk. We ended up playing hide and seek in the woods around her house when we stumbled upon a small clearing, the very same clearing that we're drawing closer to with every step. Sometimes the way that Cat looks at the world through the eyes of a child is a curse, but when I had stumbled upon her hiding at the edge of this clearing, it was as if all of the pieces to the puzzle began to fall into place as Cat's worldview was a blessing.
Tori and I stand not too far from where I had found cat, illuminated by what seems like thousands of lights. I whirl Tori around as we drink in the fairytale come to life around us and the sound of her laughter drifts through the warm evening air. I thank the weather for holding out and even flourishing on this fine evening. The hours that Andre and I had spent slaving away out here earlier are all worth it when I see the glee on Tori's face.
Stepping further into the clearing, I reach forth and pull out a chair for Tori. As she lowers herself into the seat, I remind myself to thank Beck for convincing Jade to lend me this exquisitely crafted gothic furniture. I can't imagine the amount of convincing that must have taken. Skipping around the table, I take my own seat opposite Tori. Her gaze is still floating around the trees, seemingly taking the time to appreciate every last bulb of light.
"This is incredible." She murmurs, her thoughts drifting through her lips and into the physical realm. I bite down on the inside of my cheek, trying not to look as pleased with myself as I feel. Tori's eyes come to rest on my own and where I had seen the shimmer of tears earlier is something completely different. If I didn't know any better I could swear there is something deeper than gratitude flicking within her eyes, something that only I've only seen a handful of times on her face. Bristling under her gaze, I straighten my tie before my arms mechanically collapse, allowing my palms to fall onto my lap.
"I hope you don't mind, but there's only one thing on the menu." I stammer, all of my courage withering as Tori's eyes stay fixed on my own. I avoid direct eye contact, peering down at the table. Tori's slender fingers are laced and resting in front of her, my eyes wander past her fingers, resting on the material of her dress and then the tanned flesh above it for a stolen moment. Forcing my eyes rise rapidly above her chest, I hope that I've avoided looking like a total creep. If Tori's thinking anything like that, she's doing a great job of hiding it though.
"You're going to have to work pretty hard to ruin this date." She replies, words fluttering over the table and caressing my ear. With a smile perched on my lips, I reach into my suit pocket and slide my Pear Phone out silkily. The euphoria of achieving such a suave moment dissipates in as much time as it takes my eyes to register four missing bars on the screen of my phone.
"Crap." I mumble with disappointment lacing my voice. As I rise out of my seat and push my phone to the heavens, I curse my service provider. It's times like these that I wish my mother hadn't raised me to never waste money; otherwise I would just pay the disconnection fee and get on another plan. As it is, I'm stuck completely killing the moment as I try to find service. Tori's expression goes from a mixture of concern and confusion, to realization, to outright amusement as I dance around our little clearing, looking for any kind of service.
"Robbie…" She calls, the melody of her voice floating through the air and freezing me in mid movement. I'm still balanced precariously on once leg when my eyes fall away from my phone and focus on Tori. She's risen from her seat and has her left arm extended towards me. Her phone tilted slightly towards me, revealing four bars that weren't present on my screen. Sheepishly, I rapidly pump my legs towards her and grasp her phone gratefully and dial a familiar number.
"The Vega has landed. Code hungry. Curly out." I try to disguise my words by speaking in a hushed tone, though the grin on Tori's face suggests I wasn't anywhere near successful. One of the perils of having your friends assist you in a date is that they're still your friends; they're still looking for a laugh where they can get one.
"Sorry. Andre and Cat insisted on code terms. They said they wouldn't do it otherwise." I mutter, feeling a blush creeping up on my cheeks. At the sound of Tori's coo, I feel like digging a hole and waiting in there until dinner arrives. I'm about half a though away from looking for a shovel when Tori's hand creeps across the table and comes to rest on my own. Her lips up curved into a brilliant smile; golden flecks in her eyes sparkling with amusement. There's not a trace of malice, not a trace of derision in her expression.
"I think it's cute." Tori announces, amusement dancing in her chocolate orbs as giggles lightly. Puffing out my chest, I feel my confidence return, blossom even. If Tori is enjoying herself, then there's no reason to reach for the shovel just yet.
Conversation flows freely between us as we wait for Andre or Cat to bring dinner out. Tori's laughter fills the air frequently and I feel my cheeks hurting from the smile that's permanently attached to my lips. After a short while, we hear footsteps coming from the direction of Cat's house and a small figure appears from the darkness. Cat's wearing her very own waiters uniform and much to Tori's amusement, a fake moustache rests above her mouth.
"I bought dinner!" She shrieks, sounding overjoyed to be involved in such a happy moment. My smile stretches just a little wider at her enthusiasm and across the table, Tori is wearing a similar expression.
As Cat's tiny frame teeters towards us, a large silver platter with our plates of dinner resting on it, my heart leaps into my mouth. My muscles coil and I feel on the verge of a heart attack, it's not until Cat successfully lowers the platter onto the table between Tori and I that I'm able to relax.
"Thanks Cat." We chorus, hungrily eying the spaghetti in front of us. Despite Cat's many bizarre eating habits, it's a well-known fact between our group that Cat makes the absolute best spaghetti in Hollywood. With a giggle, Cat curtsies before whirling around and skipping towards her house, the darkness swallowing her once more.
Reaching under the table, I fumble around for a brief moment before producing a bottle of lemonade. I had originally thought about getting wine to really drive home the Italian vibe of our date, but then I realized that not only do I have to drive us home, but also I don't want Tori's dad to smell alcohol on his daughter's breath. Ever since her dad arrived home from Chicago and found out about Trina's accident, he's been overprotective to a fault.
Across the table, Tori wastes little time in picking up her eating utensils. I tip the ice-cold lemonade into our glasses and by the time I've lowered myself back into my seat, Tori already has some noodles wrapped around her fork. As we eat in a companionable silence, I can't help but steal glances at Tori between lifting delicious mouthfuls of Cat's cooking into my mouth, even with a noodle hanging from her lips, she's beautiful.
As I finish my last mouthful of spaghetti, I look up and smile. After all of the problems, all of the tears, things have finally worked out for us. I curl my hand beneath chin and prop myself up on it, allowing my gaze to linger on Tori. The fairy lights above us illuminate Tori's perfect cheekbones, the light shimmering through the branches above us. The natural glow of her deep brow orbs dances with the moonlight and I find myself suddenly breathless again, I don't think I'll ever get used to her beauty.
"That was soo good." The words drift from Tori's lips, bloated with satisfaction. She falls back into her chair and closes her eyes and I fight the urge to laugh as she pets her belly contentedly. Tori Vega, she's got the body of a goddess, voice of an angel and the stomach of a glutton. Her eyelids flutter open once more, the laughter catches in my throat and I find myself lost in her the deep pools of her eyes and she peers over the table at me.
"You did it." She announces suddenly. My lips purse together and my face contorts into a quizzical expression. A smile hitches itself to Tori's lips and her eyes sparkle with amusement before her tongue flickers over her lips, moistening them. I bristle uncomfortably in my seat as Tori's tongue lingers at the edge of her lips. It's another painful second before it glides back into her mouth and she bites down on her lower lip.
"This is the best date I've ever been on." The devilish expression drops off Tori's face with her admission and I breath a sigh of relief. I can still feel my heart thumping within my chest while the implications of her words seeps into my mind. Feeling a surge of confidence, my arm finds itself snaking across the table to meet Tori's and before I know it, our fingers are entwined.
"Does this mean I get a second date?" I ask, hiding my remaining doubts behind a crooked smile. Tori studies me for a moment, her eyes skating over my face as though there's some kind of hidden meaning behind my words. Eventually she giggles softly, the sound tickling my ears and chasing away the clouds of doubt that had settled over me once again.
Tori's laughter dies away after a moment and her lips part slightly, like she's finally going to answer me. Instead, the words die on her tongue and she pushes herself out of her seat. It's ridiculous to say, because I'm sure it's not medically possible, but my heart stops as her lithe form slides into a standing position. Tori's heels clap against the ground as she walks around the table, drawing nearer by the second. I tumble out of my seat without any of Tori's fluidity and come to stand in front of her.
"Count on it." She murmurs, leaning toward me and whispering into my ear. The brown in her irises darkens and a smoldering look replaces her usually effervescent features. I feel as though all of the moisture has left my mouth, that the power of speech has abandoned me. Between the swirling emotions within my brain, the torrent of movement in my heart and the physical reactions taking place below my belt, I find my arms snaking around her and pooling at the small of her back. Linking my fingers and drawing her closer, it's like electricity when our hips collide.
"Kiss me." Tori's voice is little more than a rumble as she peers at me through half lidded eyes. Tori's fingers skitter up and down my back and I decide that electricity isn't nearly enough to convey the feeling of her caress. This is like an Atom Bomb, a supernova, something cataclysmic.
In the second that I'm lost in my thoughts, Tori's patience vanishes and she descends on me, her lips coming down over mine. I can almost feel the smile on Tori's lips as she leans into me, her tongue skating against my lips. A low noise rumbles from Tori's throat as our kiss deepens and I can scarcely believe what's happening to me, what's happening to us. Tori's finger creeps under my blazer curls around the belt loop at the back of my pants, drawing us ever closer.
My blood is searing my veins and my heart is screaming for relief. Yet when we break apart, I feel nothing but remorse, missing the feeling of Tori's lips, the feeling of her body pressed against my own. Opening my eyes, I drink in the sight of the goddess in front of me. Her eyelids flicker open and a lazy smile finds it's way onto her swollen lips.
"Robbie, I need to tell you something." She mumbles, eyes darting towards the ground. Large brown spirals of hair fall over her shoulders as I feel her shift nervously in my arms. I feel my heartbeat spike again, concern mounting with every second that she doesn't meet my gaze.
"Is it my kissing?" I croak, my biggest concern rattling through my lips. Instead of a sobering frown, Tori's laughter fills the air again. It's a melody I could never get sick of hearing. She shakes her head slowly, dragging the loose tendrils of hair through the air behind her movements.
"No, nothing like that. It's…" Tori's voice cracks and falters, sending a nervous flourish across her cheeks. I purse my lips and wonder whether or not I should be the one filling this silence.
"I think I'm falling for you." Tori's words are like a gunshot through the night's air. Shattering the silence and surely sending any woodland creatures around us scuttling for cover. The space between my ears is a whirling mess of thoughts, chaos taking hold of my mind. It's incomprehensible; it's the realization that Tori Vega just referred to falling in love with me in a round about way. My mind stutters and I think it's on the verge of short-circuiting before my body takes control once again. I push my palms up her back, allowing the to rest on her shoulder blades as I eliminate the small amount of distance between us.
"The feeling is mutual." I whisper into her ear, feeling her melt against me. The groan of pleasure that shimmers through her lips is among the most beautiful things I've ever heard in my life. A confidence that I've never felt before rushes through me and I steal her in kiss, nipping at her lower lip. Tori's hands tangle in the curls of my hair as she pulls me ever closer, the passion burning between Tori and I engulfing my every sense. Her hands linger on my hips, sliding over me and leaving a trail of electricity behind them.
I could really get used to this.
It is, isn't it?
The story is winding down, but I've got one last adventure for the gang planned. Plus maybe an M rated chapter, depending on how well it turns out. Think of these final few chapters as a fluffy thank you for sticking with me through the darkness.
That's not to say it'll be all plain sailing though...
ZenNoMai sent me an awesome shout out in 20 Love Stories of Us, so in returning the favor to him and a few others. Seriously, check out the latest chapter of that fic, it's probably the best Rade one shot I've ever read.
Jonathan 81 is the sites other resident Rori fiend, as such we bounce ideas off each other a lot. Anybody that hasn't, should totally check out Bound and Unbound. They're both great fics.
Havok Mayhem just isn't getting enough love guys. Take Me Home Tonight is an awesome fic that's well worth checking out and leaving a review for. It's Rori, you can't go wrong :)
Ok geez, I'm gunna go now. That was long at least it was at the bottom though, right? Leave a review if the fluff doesn't choke you first!