It goes slowly, people. They are not afraid, they just have no idea where they are going to. They just have evidences to work with…
Evidence
Chapter 9: Reactions
CC entered the kitchen decisively and stopped at the exact spot where the swinging door couldn't reach her if it was opened by other person.
(You learn to stay out of the way in a house with so many people wandering around. Especially when the Fine Family is included in the wandering ones.)
Niles stopped stirring some sauce and looked at her with curiosity.
'I've had my share of good will for the day, helping Maxwell to get rid of that', she announced matter-of-factly, making an emphatic gesture of palms turned to him, 'Don't expect me to do any other nice deed today'.
Niles smiled at her, 'Midnight is just some hours away. I can wait'. He followed her with his eyes while she approached him until she was by his side and could smell the food he had in front of him.
'Uhmmmmm', she praised his cooking and, he dared imagine, something more about being so close to him – if the way her upper body brushed his arm when she inclined was some indication.
'Will you stay for dinner?'
His mouth kept having a life of its own, so it seemed: he had just said something about seeing her at midnight, and then didn't phrase this thing about dinner as if it was a question.
She glanced at him, obviously recognizing both the innuendo and the invitation. She smirked, 'It depends on what you are preparing'.
'Mushroom risotto'.
Both smiled at that. It was one more of her favorites, 'You don't leave me an option, really'.
He nodded, 'I'm fond of not letting ways out for you', he winked at her and resumed his task.
CC stayed looking at him for a while, noticing how many meanings his phrase had because, in fact, she sometimes found it really hard to go against his wishes. He managed to make her bend, sometimes through a well placed word, sometimes by a surprising gesture...
It wouldn't hurt if he made me bend by more surprising words and more well placed gestures...
Well, it was not like he had recoiled when she had got close. In fact, he resumed stirring the sauce and his arm would brush her body delicately, as if he was reaching out from time to time.
She leaned a bit more, this time on the back of his shoulder to not mess with his cooking, and started, 'I was thinking...'
'That's great', he interrupted, his voice a bit lower and softer than such a zinger would usually demand for good effect.
Anyway, she squinted at him and gave a step back.
He immediately stopped and turned his head to her, 'I mean, it's always great when brilliant magical people dedicate their time to think, so they can make a better world for us, mortals'.
She rolled her eyes at his nonsensical cover, 'That's the better you can come with?'
He looked at the pan again and resumed stirring, 'It's not my fault. I've lost my train of thought when you moved'.
She crossed her arms, annoyed, 'Oh, sorry for entering your personal space and disturbing you'.
'When you moved away, silly woman', he corrected, not looking at her.
'Oh', she said and immediately uncrossed her arms and came closer again. This time, she let her upper body touch his back, but managed to put his leg along with his, 'Is it better?'
He turned off the pan and relaxed, permitting their bodies to touch in such a way that was impossible to ignore the electrical charge created by the friction. He looked at her, 'Yes, it is. Now we can resume our conversation'.
'Which conversation?', she asked, letting her hand caress his back and her eyes search his face as if her there was to do just that.
Niles noticed she seemed somewhat distracted, 'You said you had been thinking. It's such a rare occasion that I suppose it was important'.
'Uhum', she murmured, savoring the opportunity to feel him against her body and to have his softest voice talking to her.
He was going to encourage her to talk, but it felt really good to be under her eyes like that, while she was almost hugging him.
Good idea!
He gulped down some insecurities and moved in a way that his arm passed under hers, circling her waist. That made her grounded enough to rub her calf on his.
She felt he straightened his hold on her and smirked, 'This is interesting'.
'How so?'
She seemed surprised by his question. She didn't think about it – she just said it. That was how things should be working, wasn't it?
'I don't know', she finally answered, 'It just is'.
She pecked his lips and got out from his arms, slowly, walking to her preferred spot behind the island, across from him.
Niles breathed deeply to recompose himself, noticing she had not backed away because he had in some way made her shy – she was looking at him as if she enjoyed both the being close and the waiting part of their game.
(He did, too, but he had been living inside it for such a long time that he didn't find it so easy to deal with, now that she was a willing participant.)
Niles decided he needed something to distract him. So, he passed by her and went to the other side of the island to pick some green leaves he needed to wash.
(If it brought her to his side again was just a side effect.)
CC had moved, too, when he moved, to take a bottle of water from the fridge, and soon was by his side to watch him prepare the leaves.
The fact the two of them were purposefully sharing the same space while easily dislocating around each other made them feel intimate again.
Niles gave some more steady breathes while CC bit her lower lip.
She felt that was a good moment to resume her previous assessment, 'I was wondering if you would take me home, if I stayed for dinner'.
He froze for a second, a million scenarios on his head for her reasons to ask: maybe she had been worried about going out so late; maybe she wanted to discuss something with him that must be done out of the mansion; maybe she wanted to pull a prank; maybe she had something for him to fix; maybe she just wanted to make him be out late, knowing he had to wake up very early in the morning...
He settled for a neutral, 'Is something the matter?'
She seemed confused by his question, 'Why do you ask?'
'I asked first'.
She was clearly annoyed, now, 'If you don't want to, just say it. You don't have to act so suspicious just to save face'.
He was slightly offended by the misunderstanding, 'I have to think of my own well-being. I don't want your pimp to think it's my fault you are not making your rounds in the usual corner'.
CC looked at him for some instants, registering the zinger, and turned to get out of the kitchen.
'Where are you going?', he asked, startled by her reaction.
'Anywhere far enough that I can't strangle you'.
Niles stayed there, looking at the swinging door after she departed.
Something didn't make sense, in this.
Realizing that it was the fact they hadn't established which was the role of the zingers in this new relationship, he put the knife on the island, dried his hands and run after her.
That conversation must not be over until they had it clear where they stood.
He reached her in the way to the office and took her by the arm to make her turn to him, 'May I count it as a defeat?'
'What?', she barked in his face.
'I threw a zinger, you didn't like it and, instead of telling me what was going on your mind, you walked away. No spontaneity; thus, you loose the round'.
'How do you dare?', she hissed and took her arm away from his grasp, 'I was trying to talk nicely to you, I even asked you to take me home after dinner, so we could have one of those conversations we had when we were allied against Nanny Fine, and you threw it all away for a tramp joke. Do you really think you're worth my time?'
He stayed looking at her for a moment, trying to discover if she was angry.
When he decided she was just frustrated, he went closer and took her by the forearms, delicately, 'Don't you feel better putting it in words?'
'I'm not sure. Maybe I should have just strangled you'.
'Next time, try it', he said, smirking at her appeased instance, because he was rubbing his thumbs on her arms.
'Why did you do that? Why did you decide the moment was perfect for an offending joke?'
'Haven't you ever wondered why our perfect moments usually involve it?', he answered, 'We say these things to each other and this keeps the conversation going, and it often turns to be the highlight of the day'.
CC seemed in awe, 'You're right…', she looked at his hands on her arms, 'I just found it strange because…'
'Because?'
She gave a step back to be out of his grasp, 'Because when we decided to be spontaneous, I thought we would be naturally nicer to each other'.
Both realized it meant when they were evil, they were pretending.
That was worth further reflection, but not now.
'We have been nicer', he assured her, 'Your actions, especially, brought back my faith in Humanity'.
She tilted her head at him, 'But what about you? When are you going to be nicer?'
He didn't know what he found more Babcock-ish – the fact she hadn't been surprised by being praised for competence, or that she immediately demanded something from him, 'I have been, too'.
'Oh, really?', she crossed her arms on her chest, 'Could you please point it out for me?'
Niles was a bit shy, and talked lower than she was used hearing from him, 'So many things happened today, from Miss Grace envelopes to that', she nodded, showing she understood he was referring to their small kisses in this same place, 'I was excited but at a loss, and I suggested the pie, and you were happy… I... just could think of making one of his favorites for dinner', he wriggled his hands, 'There's not much I can do, all of a sudden, and while at work, to be nicer…'
'And I asked you to take me home and you were not prepared for it...'
'Yeah… maybe… kinda… sorta…'
CC let a slow smile appear on her face, 'It means I win this round'.
His head snapped at her, 'I beg your pardon?'
'I surprised you with the invitation, and you reacted going back to old safe ways. I think it is way worst than walking away from the kitchen, in terms of spontaneity'.
She said and turned from him to enter the office, and Niles followed her, 'Oh, it's not. Nothing says I can't deal with it more than walking away'.
They kept discussing the subject while CC picked a pile of contracts and walked to the glass doors, 'There's more than one way of walking away. Saying something unrelated with the argument at hand, for example'.
He opened the doors for her, 'It was not unrelated. You and rounds in street corners are never unrelated'.
She went through it and sat at the small table in the solarium, 'You're being childish, Niles. Just admit you've lost'
Niles closed the doors behind him and Maxwell and Fran, who were at the office desk by the time, kept listening to them.
'One sure way of trying to save face in a lost argument is fighting the opponent, not his reasoning. This is considered a low blow', the butler said.
'You're childish, Niles', the socialite repeated.
'Am not!'
He pouted for effect, and Fran and Maxwell were shocked to see that his expression made CC burst into laughter.
Niles grinned at her, shaking his head, 'Stop laughing at me, Babcock'.
'You should be used to that, trying to be funny all the time'.
'At least, I'm funny because I'm clever, not just plain foolish'.
You're so foolish you can't distinguish why people are laughing at you'.
'Oh, well, you would know about being in the gray zone. Sex changes surgeries were not that well done in the Dark Ages, and we still can see you're not really a woman...'
'Come closer, so I can show you how much of a woman I am'.
'CC! Niles!', Maxwell bellowed from the office.
(Fran didn't know if her boss had seen the same she had, but she was really surprised by the show. First, because their words were as hard as their worst arguments and, to an outsider, suggested the edge of physical violence or suing;
Second, they were grinning at each other all the time.
That, she was sure Maxwell had noticed, or he wouldn't have interrupted them.
What Fran was not sure he had seen was that the 'Come closer' from CC was said with a come hither look.
And were following Niles' quite heated glance over her body at his 'not really a woman' zinger.)
They immediately came inside, sensing the urgency of the producer's yell, 'Yes?'
'Aren't you forgetting something?'
They exchanged glances, 'What?'
'I'll help you', Maxwell said, hiding partially his annoyance, 'What are you supposed to be doing, now?'
Niles looked in the general direction of the kitchen, saying, 'I had started dinner...'
At the same time, CC pointed to the small table at the solarium, 'I had to read those contracts...'
'And what were you doing?'
They looked at him, then at each other, and then both said, 'Oh'.
'Exactly', Maxwell said, and Fran had to suppress an urge to kiss him, because he was really cute when trying to reason with people.
CC turned to Niles, 'Well, you better go. Just make the best dinner ever and maybe I can forgive your slip'.
'I'd like to discuss it further', Niles said with a smirk, 'Later'.
For a moment, she just stayed frozen in shock. Then, finally registering what he was proposing…
(… and resisting the urge to point out how slow he had been to answer to her question…)
… she managed to make a businesslike face, 'All right. I'll make sure to have the time for it, after dinner'.
'You better'.
'Good. Now go'.
And, for a moment, they almost leaned into each other for a good bye kiss.
Fortunately, they caught themselves before they did it, and Niles just excused himself and exited.
And CC warned the people who stayed, 'I'll be reading the contracts outside, if you need me, Maxwell'.
'Does he ever?', Niles yelled from the corridor.
She would have answered, but a glare from her partner (and an amused stare from Nanny Fine) were enough to make her retreat.
Obviously, she had to go hurriedly to the office door and yell back, 'Whatever, Bell Boy!', before going calmly to the solarium.
Well, if this is not the craziest thing?, Fran thought.
She was used to the harsh words, and sometimes she wondered if they were what they seemed to be, between those two.
Curiously, this time they clearly were exactly what they seemed to be: sexual innuendo and flirting barely disguised as offense.
Well, if this is not the craziest thing?, Fran thought, again.
And decided she would observe those two with more attention, from now on.