driftfleet | Iskaulit Mingle

[ somehow, it looks like every cell in his body is smiling. ]

Yeah? [ fumbling for that comm! ]

[She laughs. This time, not because he's funny but because she's lightly nervous about this, but a happy sort of nervous.] Yeeeep. In the folder named XXX-Man. Which sounds gender specific to not my gender, but that was just for the pun. Blame Xavier for the lack of inclusivity in the name.

He and I are gonna have words.

[ in the folder he goes and -- his breath hitches. ]

How long can I look at these before it gets awkward?

Let's find out. [She wraps her arms around him and kisses his neck fondly more than seductively.]

[ he smiles and kisses the top of her head ]

You really are the perfect woman.

I learned it from watching you. [Pause.] The perfect part, not the woman part. You know what I mean!

[ he laughs ]

If you need me to show you my manliness again, I'm gonna need another seadog.

[She gives him a squeeze.] You don't need to prove anything to me. Not that I'm opposed to seadogs or frisky business.

[ he doesn't, does he? he doesn't have to save the day, enjoy sports, work out, or be anything but himself around her. there's such a wave of affection sweeping over him and he doesn't know what to do with it or himself. his voice is a little choked up. ]

Hmm. I'm not done cuddling you yet, so it's gonna have to wait.

Cuddling is one of my favorite parts. [She hears that in his voice she slides a hand to his cheek and kisses him tenderly.] You make me happy.

Are you saying something isn't?

[ he has to be a little difficult, if only to keep the mood lighter, himself from making it heavier. he kisses her back. ]

You make me happy too. Happier than I ever thought I could be.

Nope. It's 100% favorite parts. The math adds up. [He can be heavy around her too. She doesn't mind. She loves him at all densities. She's nuzzling against him.] So much happier than I ever thought I could be. Happier than I thought I deserved to be.

But never as happy as you deserve.

[ because she always deserves the best, and nothing is ever perfect, so he's always going to keep trying harder for her. ]

Hey, I am preeeeeeetty happy. [Brushing her fingers lightly over his shorter hair.] The love of my life made me seadogs and a baseball game and he loves me.

[ seriously, is there even a point to waiting or planning? she says things like that and the proposal is on the tip of his tongue. ]

He loves you more than he knew he could love, and he's always been a big lover.

[He thinks she says great things? She's on the verge of tearing up here. Actually, she might be a little further than the verge.] That is a lot of love, but you show me that every day. Even without puppet baseball. [Squeezing his hand.] I feel so loved with you. [Voice starting to fail her.] I wish I could tell you what that means to me. [She tries. The digital scrapbook is an attempt. Her kisses. Her looks. The way she wants to make the Twin Roses nice for him. Or when she sings karaoke because it's something meaningful to him.]

You do.

[ how can he not tear up when she is? he's already so vulnerable after that scrapbook and everything she's been saying, and the sex, and just the occasion in general. a whole year together. it's been so long since he's been in a relationship that lasted this long. ]

You tell me every day. [ he kisses her forehead ]

[She shifts to better hug him because she needs a good firm hug and it feels so good to bury her face against his neck.] We're basically the best couple. [Teasing but...not. She's so happy with him. She can't imagine feeling this good with anyone else.]

Made for each other.

[ he holds her tight. he's never put stock in destiny, but when he's holding kitty all those years of loneliness back home almost make sense. he couldn't have a successful relationship there because she wasn't there. ]

[It does feel like they were made for each other. Neither broken, but both bent, and together they fit.] I'd live my life exactly like I did it again if it meant getting to you.

[ that's incredibly moving - but also scary. he doesn't reciprocate with his own confession - he loves her so much that he would give up on her if it meant a better life for her, one with her parents, and a world that didn't go to shit. no fighting, no fear, no death beyond natural causes. ]

You got to me. I'm not going anywhere.

[She's only really thinking of making the same choices. Even the ones that feel like mistakes when she looks back at her life. She can't even imagine a life where things turned out so differently that she kept her family and the world wasn't destroyed. She knows those versions of reality are out there. There are other Kittys. But that's not her. She'd be an entirely different person and even as hard as it's been, even with the low points she's had, she doesn't want to be a different person. She just wants to be the best version of herself she can be.]

I know you wouldn't. [Not if it's his choice. And that means something. It means a lot. But she doesn't want to lose him to forces beyond his control either.]

[ and maybe that different person would look at him the way beautiful women have his entire life, maybe that person would tell him we're just really good as friends. but if she'd be happier...that's his priority, really. he wants to be happy, but he wants kitty to be happy so much more. ]

Hey - [ he smiles at her and strokes her hair, the way he knows she likes. ] what do you think you'd like to do in National City? [ he doesn't want to think of getting torn apart, not today. today is about being together. ]

[She is happy. Right now. Right here. Just as she is because of Winn.]

You. A lot. [Little smile. She sees where he's going here.] And other than that, I don't know. It's been a long time since I was in a place where I could decide for myself what I'd be doing with my future. All that possibility is kind of amazing. Kind of scary too, but more amazing.] I could be an agent and work with you or I could go into tech or teaching or learning. I could actually go to college and get a degree or ten. [Would some part of her enjoy having more degrees than Reid? Yes, yes some part of her would. But that also seems like a lot of work for spite when she's too active to stay in academia that long.] Or I could be a really awesome seadog vendor. I see big money in that.

You joke, but California's a good market for that.

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