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Post by Lyra Newbury on Nov 24, 2016 5:48:42 GMT -5
Lyra would have been so happy to hear those words come from Julian's mouth had he not sounded like it was the worst decision he had ever made. She moved from her place on the coffee table to sit next to him on the sofa. Wrapping her arms around him, she leaned her head on his shoulder.
"I love you," she whispered to him.
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Post by Julian Faust on Nov 24, 2016 5:54:33 GMT -5
He wrapped tentative arms around her as well and replied, "I know." he held her tighter.
'I wish you didn't', he thought silently.
"Let's go to bed." he said wearily lifting her high against his chest and carrying her to the bedroom.
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Post by Lyra Newbury on Nov 24, 2016 6:02:24 GMT -5
Lyra wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her to the bedroom. They said nothing else for the rest of the night but he held her and in fact had kept the nightmares away. When she awoke the next morning she smiled. Until she remembered her dream.
She had been with Julian. They were happy and it was everything she had wanted. But there was something else in the room with them. Something small that wiggled around and made strange noises. Lyra leaned over the railing and picked up something wrapped in a pink blanket. It was a baby.
Lyra's eyes fluttered open and she rolled over to see if Julian was still there.
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Post by Julian Faust on Nov 24, 2016 6:10:20 GMT -5
He had stayed awake most of the night waiting for her to fall asleep and waiting til he could be sure she would stay asleep if he left. When she was dead to the world he stayed in place his thoughts driving him mad. He missed his window to leave as he finally fell asleep next to her.
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Post by Lyra Newbury on Nov 24, 2016 6:29:32 GMT -5
Lyra didn't know of his dastardly plan to sneak away in the middle of the night. Had she known, she likely wouldn't have greeted him in the same way. As she rolled over she saw that he was still sleeping. She smiled and kissed his chest then quietly slid out of the bed and sneaked off to the kitchen.
Several minutes later she returned with a plate of eggs and toast. She set the plate on the table next to the bed and sat beside him. She leaned over and kissed his chest again, this time letting her lips trail lightly across his defined muscles.
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Post by Julian Faust on Nov 24, 2016 18:55:16 GMT -5
It was a hell of a way to wake up, but Lyra soon had his full attention though he was still partially asleep.
When his eyes fully opened the previous evening hit him like a fist to his gut. Lyra had been assaulted, but more importantly she revealed how close to the edge she was. The terror that had kept Julian awake most of the night returned.
"Morning." he said with a weak smile. The smile grew as he noted the food and preparation she had gone through for him, "A good morning it would seem."
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Post by Lyra Newbury on Nov 25, 2016 1:42:15 GMT -5
Lyra grinned as he glanced at the plate she had prepared him. The toast was a little burnt and the eggs were a little runny, but it was edible and she had made it with love. She laid her head on his chest and looked over to him. "Mimsy's been trying to teach me how to cook. I asked her to after you showed me how fun it was, but she's not the best teacher."
As a house elf, Mimsy continually tried to prepare the dish for her anytime Lyra had a question or needed assistance. She was trying to be a good instructor in order to please Lyra, but her natural demeanor was at odds with Lyra's request. It didn't help that Lyra requested cooking instruction infrequently, and only when she was feeling particularly good. Suffice it to say, she hadn't had many lessons.
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Post by Julian Faust on Nov 25, 2016 1:49:05 GMT -5
That was the day everything changed between them. Julian's cooking lesson and a few too many martinis.
"Well perhaps I can take over for her." he said pleasantly. He still wasn't confident about what he was doing, what they were doing. A part of him still believed it would end painfully, but he couldn't think beyond her disregard for life. He had to be with her. He had to protect her.
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Post by Lyra Newbury on Nov 25, 2016 2:06:22 GMT -5
Yes, everything had changed in that one day. It was simultaneously the best and worst day of Lyra's young life as she finally knew what his touch was like, and felt the warmth of his love for the first time. But it was also the start of their discord and the turning point in Lyra's melancholy. She had struggled before then from time to time, but she hadn't been able to pull herself fully out of the depressive state since that day, which she had always been able to do before. Now she soaked in it like a bath, surfacing long enough to go to work or go out with friends or Mason, pretending nothing was wrong. But nothing had been right since that day.
But everything seemed right in the morning light. Julian had agreed to try with her, and Lyra was confident that his concerns were unfounded. He would see that once he gave them a chance. Lyra would be the perfect girlfriend, he wouldn't be able to find any faults with her or their relationship and then he would stay with her. She smiled at that thought, and at his offer to continue teaching her to cook.
"That would be wonderful," she replied in the most sincere happiness she had felt in the longest time. Lyra crawled up to him and pressed her lips to his. As their lips parted she smiled and spoke softly, "I won't be offended if you can't eat it. I told Mimsy to be ready to make something in case it was too awful."
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Post by Julian Faust on Nov 25, 2016 2:11:16 GMT -5
He ate it, every soggy and burnt piece, he consumed with a smile. Where did they go from here? On top of not being ready or ever being emotionally capable of a relationship, Julian didn't even know what his next move should have been.
"How are you feeling?"
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Post by Lyra Newbury on Nov 25, 2016 2:24:07 GMT -5
She sat cross-legged on the bed and watched with a child-like glee as he ate the breakfast she had made for him. She could make him breakfast every morning if he smiled like that. Her heart was singing.
"Great!" She had a slight headache, a leftover reminder of the night before, but it was hardly noticeable amidst the joy of being with Julian.
"Do you have any plans for today? Because I was thinking if you didn't we could..." She paused, giving herself a moment to enjoy the 'we' she had just used in making plans with Julian. "Do you remember when we went to that church and I told you how mad I used to get because the muggle art ignored me? You said some muggle art moved. Could..could you show me?"
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Post by Julian Faust on Nov 25, 2016 2:26:58 GMT -5
He felt the anxiety welling up in him as her eyes reflected the hope he didn't have. He opened his mouth to make up an excuse as to why he couldn't take her, but it died on his lips.
"It would be my pleasure." he said reaching out and touching her cheek.
"I should probably go home, shower, change. I can pick you up tonight. We'll go to dinner too."
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Post by Lyra Newbury on Nov 25, 2016 13:19:21 GMT -5
She leaned in to his touch and placed her hand on his. She closed her eyes as a smile played on her lips. The sun shining through the window made Julian look even more angelic than normal. Lyra could have stayed in that moment forever.
Her smile faltered for a brief moment as Julian said he needed to go home first. Would he come back? Would he stand her up? She ignored her insecurities and nodded. "That sounds lovely."
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Post by Julian Faust on Nov 25, 2016 13:34:09 GMT -5
He needed some time to let things wash over him. He had been avoiding his feelings for her, and her feelings for him since they first slept together, preferring to isolate himself with his art. He practically attacked her at a lower point in his drinking, and again at the Ball. He had royally screwed things up, and he didn't know how to fix them. A large part of him wanted to hide again, he still believed that she was better off without him, but then the idea of her ending up like Belle made him reconsider. He would do anything and be anything she needed if it meant she was safe.
He stood then, and brushed her hair out of her face. He leaned in and kissed her softly, "Seven?"
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Post by Lyra Newbury on Nov 25, 2016 20:43:43 GMT -5
The tenderness was something that had been absent from most of their intimate moments. She experienced some of it during their last day of escapades, when she had betrayed Mason, but it seemed different now that Julian was hers. Actually and truly hers.
"It's a date." She sat up on her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck. She needed just a moment to look at him up close, to smell him, to memorize him. She smiled and gave him a quick kiss. "I'll see you at seven."
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Post by Julian Faust on Nov 26, 2016 13:34:10 GMT -5
Julian's gut twisted one last time as he deepened the kiss she gave him. It could have easily led to more, as kissing her, and being with her stopped his turbulent thoughts and allowed his body to take over, but her words and the image of the previous night gave him the clarity to get up.
"I'll see you at seven."
He gave her one last smile before heading toward the door.
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