A Café, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday

[whenshewasnice]

Apparently Natalie had a new favourite place outside her apartment: the café near her building.

She'd meant to just visit for a little bit of fake Thanksgiving last week, but the pastries were good, the tea was great, and the place itself was cozy. And maybe she needed to get out of her apartment for reasons that weren't meetings elsewhere in the city. Of course, she'd come here on the way back from a meeting, but, still.

It was a good place to unwind before going home.

Even if Natalie's way of unwinding involved sorting through emails on her phone. Whatever, her unwinding time, her rules.

[ooc: NFB, open for texts and calls and stuff!]

Comments

[pursuedthestars]

Jim took a breath and let his shoulders sag.

"Sorry. I'm not used to talking about this and it usually ends in people telling me I could be so much more and I don't wanna be anyone but myself."

[whenshewasnice]

"I don't want you to be anyone but you, either."

And she was getting used to dealing with people who got that pressure from others. (She didn't want Peter to be Ender or Valentine, either.) She watched him with a steady gaze.

"You're plenty."

[pursuedthestars]

"I appreciate that," Jim told her after some silence. "You're one of the few who accept that."

[whenshewasnice]

"Everyone who doesn't is an idiot who can't see you for the shadow of your dad."

Her tone was mild but suggested she was pretty sincere about that 'idiot' bit.

[pursuedthestars]

"I don't want to talk about my dad anymore," he said, squirming uncomfortably. "I told you but can we please do something else? I wanted you to know and all but I don't want to talk about it anymore."

[whenshewasnice]

"We don't have to." That squirming said all there was to say, anyway. She offered him his letter back. "We can do whatever."

[pursuedthestars]

"I wanted you to know," he reiterated, taking the letter and shoving it in his pocket, "but I just don't like talking about it too much. So, thanks."

[whenshewasnice]

"I know, I got it."

She'd done the exact same thing to him, what, two weeks ago? Shared the terrible tale of Todd leaving her and then left it at that. She knew how it worked to let someone in on something without in-depth conversation afterwards.

She reached a hand out, and brushed the backs of her fingers lightly against his cheek. "Missed you during my fake Thanksgiving. And no, that's not a guilt trip. Merely affection."

[pursuedthestars]

"How'd you spend the day?" Jim asked, leaning towards her fingers slightly. "Working?"

[whenshewasnice]

"Mostly, yes." There was nothing surprising about that. Not a thing. "Went to the café and had a giant pastry as my fake Thanksgiving meal."

[pursuedthestars]

"Sounds thrilling," he joked with a little smile. "I had a lot of turkey and stuffing. And then pretty much just slept the rest of the day away."

[whenshewasnice]

"Because you're a lazy ass." She turned her hand, her fingertips brushing against his cheek now. "I'd be jealous, but work was satisfying."

[pursuedthestars]

"Well, I can go crawl into your bed and you can sleep the night away with me," Jim offered.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie shifted and leaned in closer, and her hand moved so she could loop her arm behind his neck. She kissed his cheek, this time, and her voice was quiet and soft.

No one else got to hear that, these days.

"I think I'd like that."

[pursuedthestars]

"Want me to carry you?" Jim asked jokingly. He gave her a tiny smile from the close proximity and sighed quietly.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie gave him a tiny smirk back. The tiniest. Hardly there.

"Are you strong enough?"

[pursuedthestars]

"Of course I am."

He slipped an arm around her and then cradled her legs with his other arm before standing up. She wasn't that heavy so that made it easy to walk her back to her bedroom and lay her gently down on the bed.

"See? Plenty strong enough."

[whenshewasnice]

"Oh, I knew you were," Natalie told him, with more of an obvious smirk because it had pretty much gotten that way as soon as he'd picked her up. She beckoned him to join her on the bed. "It's one of the things I find attractive about you. I just wanted you to show me."

[pursuedthestars]

"Tricky," he said, dropping down beside her and stretching out. He sighed again and gestured her closer. "C'mere. Let's fall asleep for awhile."

[whenshewasnice]

"I used my brain to get the benefit of your brawn."

Never mind that they were both extremely capable individuals both physically as well as mentally. She shifted closer willingly. He was warm and she craved that right now.

[pursuedthestars]

Jim dropped a kiss against the top of her head and let his eyes slide shut. He figured that her warmth and the comfort of the bed was going to lull him to sleep pretty quickly.

He sighed at that and held her tightly.