Chaos... or Christmas Dinner (Ferreras)

[Roland Ferrera]

He let out a soft groan as her lips touched his again, then he pulled her closer to him, deepening the kiss and allowing his emotions to take over. It was a long, hot, intense kiss, nothing like their two previous kisses. His hands tangled in her hair, and his body seemed to fit against hers so perfectly. He was in very great danger of losing control completely, and that scared him, but he couldn't bring himself to stop.

At long last, he pulled his lips from hers, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He didn't move away completely, though, and he raised his eyes to meet hers, a strangely vulnerable expression hidden in them. His lips quirked up in the corner as he said, "Now will you stay?"

[Riley Neves]

Riley's chest was heaving with her quick breaths, and she didn't know if she should meet his eyes or not. She should definitely go. All logic told her to run, but then, where would she go?

She pulled her body away from his, letting go of him and forcing him to let go of her. If she stayed so close to him, she would be in danger of kissing him again, and the point of that kiss was to stop. This was enough... this needed to stop.

From the edge of the desk, she nodded. "Yeah... yes, I'll stay."

[Roland Ferrera]

He took a deep breath when she pulled away. For once they were in agreement, even though they never spoke a word. This had to stop. It couldn't happen again. The only thing he wasn't sure of was how to make sure it didn't.

He really had no idea how to talk to her anymore, since everything he did seemed wrong. He just knew he had to try and be whatever it was she wanted him to be, so that they could keep the peace and keep this tension from exploding again.

He turned away from her, trying to catch his breath. "Good. I'm glad," he said. "Look... this... this can't happen again. It won't. I promise."

[Riley Neves]

Thank Merlin he agreed, Riley thought. This could absolutely not continue. But now it was out there, and hopefully they could just leave it be. She swallowed and nodded, licking her lips again, this time knowing she would taste him there. He tasted like spices and honey. How was that even possible?

"Right, of course. This won't happen again." She didn't know what to do with herself, especially with him just being there, so she smoothed down her hair and hoped that her red lips wouldn't give them away. "We should go back to your family."

[Roland Ferrera]

Roland was slowly gaining control of his breathing, so he turned back around to face her. He wasn't completely calm, but he was getting there. Maybe this really was all they needed to get this out of their system. At least, he could try to delude himself into thinking that for now.

"Yeah, we should get back there," he said. "I'll... I'll meet you out there in a minute." He needed another minute to collect himself and put on a good face for his family.

[Riley Neves]

Riley looked up sharply. He wasn't really goingt to make her go out there by herself?

She caught the look on his face, though, and understood, if only a little. She nodded.

"Roland, you..." She trailed off and tentatively took a step back towards him, reaching out, wiping a bit of lipstick from his lower lip. It made her wonder how much of a mess she was. As her thumb traced his lip, she slowly met his eyes. "I just..." can't finish my thoughts.

She dropped her hand and turned to go.

[Roland Ferrera]

As their eyes met, Roland found himself unable to breathe again.

This wasn't over. He knew it then, without a doubt. He could fight this all he wanted, but sooner or later, it would come back to this. He only hoped he wouldn't go insane in the meantime.

Somehow he managed to smile slightly. "Thanks," he said as she wiped the little bit of lipstick from his face. He wondered what it was she was trying to say, and he held his hand out to stop her as she turned to go.

"Riley--" He stopped, too, not sure what he wanted to say. He bit down on his lower lip, tasting a little trace of her still lingering there. Was she wearing flavored lipstick? She tasted like strawberries. "There's a mirror in the corner," he said at last, pointing. "Your hair's kind of messy."

[Riley Neves]

Riley looked at him for a long moment, her gaze unreadable, and then she laughed.

Honestly, what else could she do but laugh? The whole thing was just ridiculous, and telling her that her hair was messy just... well, it fit.

"Thanks," she said, licking her lips for a third time and then pulling them between her teeth as she chuckled again and made her way to the mirror. She fixed her hair quickly, though she watched his reflection.

Finally, she made it to the door and flashed him a smile before she was gone.

[Roland Ferrera]

He watched her go, a crooked smile on his face. When she was out of sight, he let out a heavy sigh and moved over to sit down at the desk for a minute. He buried his face in his hands, trying to find some measure of control.

Even though she had left the room, a hint of her still seemed to linger in the air--a heaviness, a scent. It made him feel like the room was closing in around him, strangling him.

What was happening to him? He could at least admit that he was attracted to her. That was as far as he was willing to consider. Even still, he knew instinctively that his feelings for Riley were vastly different from the feelings he had for, say, Nathalia. He liked Nathalia. But she didn't get under his skin the way Riley did. He just wasn't ready to admit to himself what that meant.

What he did know was that he needed to get this out of his system, and soon. And if they kept fighting the way they had tonight, this was going to happen again. But ignoring her didn't work, either... it only managed to enrage her. So he had to find a neutral middle ground. One that wouldn't arouse any emotions.

After a few more minutes, he finally pulled himself together and he got to his feet. He checked his reflection in the mirror in the corner, wiping away the last trace of Riley's lipstick. Then he left the room to join Riley and his parents and sister in the living room.

"Hey, sorry about that," he said, his voice calmer. "I hope you all didn't miss me too much."

[Lina Harper]

Before anyone could rightly respond, there was a knock at the door. Cara asked Roland to get it.

Lina, six months ago, would have been terrified to do this. Anymore, she just didn't care. Things between her and Cyrus weren't any better. She still loved him, and still wanted to marry him, but she refused to be a regret. When he came to pick up Mara, she announced that she was going to the dinner to... and damned be the consequences.

So here she was, Mara in her arms and Cyrus at her side, outside the Ferrera home. Here goes nothing.

[Roland Ferrera]

Roland couldn't have been more relieved to see them. Any new guest was good, actually, because they would take the focus off of him and Riley. But the fact that it was Cyrus, with Lina and Mara in tow, was even better. He felt, oddly, that he had an ally in the room now, with Lina here.

He smiled at them. "Glad you could make it," he said, giving Lina a quick hug. "Come in." He stepped aside to let them pass.

[Lina Harper]

Lina smiled, hugging Roland back, careful of the child in her arms.

"I'm only here for a little while. I promised Jensen we'd spent Christmas together." But however long she was here was probably going to be too long for Cara. It made Lina smile.

"Should I just go in?" She asked, knowing his mother would not be happy. She assumed Cyrus would do whatever he wanted... it wasn't him his mother would yell at.

[Roland Ferrera]

"Yes, of course," Roland said, smiling his crooked grin. "If anyone has a problem with it, I'll stick up for you. Please come in."

He still thought it absurd that she would have to feel that she wasn't welcome, when his mother would welcome Riley so completely. Not to mention Jamie's girlfriend. But Lina wasn't welcome? It was ridiculous. His mother needed to get over this... if she didn't, there was a chance she could lose Cyrus altogether. At the very least, she was missing out on the chance to get to know her first--and currently only--grandchild.

"Mum, look who's here," he said, feeling an almost perverse pleasure in knowing that his mother was not going to be pleased.

[Mara Ferrera]

Mara clung very closely to the Lady, of whom she had been heard called Lina. In Mara's opinion, Lina didn't feel right, and Mara had shortned the Lady's name to Ma, after herself. Ma seemed a lot more convincing of a name, and Mara took comfort in knowing that Lina's new name was closely related to her own.

Mara was not used to this place, she had never seen so many people staring at her. Usually a very curious girl, it was odd for Mara's immediate response to dig her face into Ma's neck. Breathing familiar scents and feeling a lot more comfortable, Mara relaxed. After about two more seconds, Mara decided she'd rather find out who all of these people were, and why she had come to here.

She was squished slightly from a hug, and saw the Dark Man. Mara gave him a big smile, showing the beginning of her teeth. Mara liked the Dark Man, he was always so nice to her. She relaxed against Ma and waited to find out more.

[Lina Harper]

Lina laughed. "Look, she's starting to remember you," she said softly, still holding the girl. "I'll let you have her later. I think it's safer if I go in with her. For me, anyway." She looked over her shoulder at Cyrus, then went into the living room.

She didn't know Riley, only of her, but the rest of the family, she recognized. "Merry Christmas," she said cheerfully, taking a similar perverse pleasure in this.

[Jamie Ferrera]

Jamie hesitated on the doorstep, about to knock. He had just apparated to the premises with Scarlette right next to him. He was unsure on what to expect when he had gotten inside. It had been awhile since he had been home, and this would be the first time his parents would have seen him walking completely healed from the entire Crucio/attack episode. Instead of knocking he leaned back against the frame and gave a small smile to Scarlette, silently wishing to stay out here in the snow with her.

Rumours were that Noah would be here, as would Lina. And some girl named Riley of whom his mother was fanatical about. Noah he could handle, and act as if they really didn't get along. Noah had some sort of inferior complex about his father that disabeld them from talking outside of school. He wasn't sure about Riley, but Maraa scared him. As much as Jamie obsessed over tha baby, he never felt completely comfortable with having to visit Lina and Cyrus secretly.

"Are you sure you want to go? I don't think it'll be as fun as you anticipated. Well, if you thought it would be fun at all, meeting the parents." Jamie managed to half joke.

[Roland Ferrera]

Roland smiled at Mara. "I think that's the nicest greeting I've had all day," he said warmly. It was too bad Riley wasn't close by at that point, because the transformation from the way he had been with her in the study was pretty dramatic.

He followed Lina into the living room, and quickly made his introduction. "Lina, this is my work partner, Riley. Riley, this is Lina, Cyrus's girlfriend. And my niece, Mara."

He carefully avoided eye contact with his parents.

[Scarlette Meyers]

"What would we do instead?" Scarlette asked. "Stay on the porch all evening?" Actually, she wouldn't mind it terribly. She tilted her head to the side and watched as he casually leaned on the doorframe.

She looked as if she were considering this very thing, and then finally shook her head. "No, your family will want to see you. You want to see them, right? If you say no, then I'll be worried." She smiled and took his hand. "I'm sure we can come up with an escape plan later, right?" She had a feeling he just wasnt up to it from the attack... there would probably be a lot of fussing over him.

"I'll be there," she finally said, in case that was the issue.

[Riley Neves]

Riley was not ignorant of the tension suddenly in the room, and a good deal of it was coming from Cara.

The second Roland made the introductions, though, Riley understood. He told her about Cyrus and Lina, and she immidiately smiled, stepping forward and shaking Lina's free hand.

"Hey Mara," she said gently, just short of cooing, and her eyes met Lina's. "She's a beautiful little girl."

[Cara Ferrera]

Cara was stunned silent for a moment when Lina walked in, and the warm smile practically melted from her face. She shot a look at Roland. Hadn't she specifically told him that Lina was not invited?

"Are you dropping Mara off?" She asked, an iciness to her voice that was hard to miss. It wasn't so much a question as telling her to get out.