Third Date - Shaan & Trout

"I never said I'd only carry you if you fainted...I'd try either way if it'll make you smile. Might have to be piggy back though so I can feel the walls."

Yes! Trout whooped as he made it to the middle, then crouched down and walked slowly with his hands out toward the other side.

"OK coming your way nice and slow. Gonna try not to hit you in the--shit. Hey, your hair is soft." Trout was still talking when his hand brushed the top of her head.

If she didn't stop him, he'd keep one hand rested there to help him stay oriented as he plopped himself down on the ground next to her and scooped her into his lap with his long legs extended on either side of her. She'd be able to tell that he really was tall and a little on the gangly side, and neither fat nor thin, just about average.

"Hey, you..." he greeted her in an awed whisper.

There's no way you could be any cuter. You're already at maximum cutitude."

Trout's laugh shook his whole body, and probably Shaan's too. "Shaan, I have time to talk about whatever the fuck you want as long as it's with you. I'm not so sure my demonic patron will appreciate me hearing from other patrons, but that's his problem."

He let his fingers trail through her long hair as he moved one hand down to hook around her waist and pull her a little closer to his chest. She'd be able to tell he was wearing a soft t-shirt and jeans. He raised the other hand to take hers where she'd touched his clean-shaven cheek and brought it to his lips to kiss her knuckles.

"Man, I can't even think straight. I'm just so glad you're here. Is this okay so far? I wanna make sure you still feel safe. We can just chill quietly for a minute, if that helps."

Oh shit. Pink and fuzzy? I think you win."

Trout let his cheek rest against her head as she curled into him, sighing peacefully. He dropped their hands to rest on her knees and squeezed her hand gently.

"My favorite band is probably Daft Punk if I have to pick a real band. But I listen to game soundtracks while I work. I like Fall best because of all the sweatshirts and crunchy leaves. Coffee is okay but I prefer pop. And I think your rambling is sweet. You don't have to worry about me. I promise. I'm not in any hurry now that I've got you."

"You wanna tell me the same things?"

Trout chuckled softly, listening. He didn't realize it, but he trailed his thumb back and forth over her back as he did so. "Halloween birthday, huh? That's pretty cool."

"Nah, sometimes you've just gotta. I want to hear it all, anyway. My birthday is on December third, by the way." Trout answered, although as soon as she kissed his chest, even through his t-shirt, knowing she had done it made his heart rate pick up. He hesitated for a long moment.

"Hey Shaan...Would you mind if I kissed you?" he asked, releasing her hand. He carefully moved up her arm, just barely touching the skin, just so he could follow it up, over her shoulder, to her neck, and then trail his knuckles under her chin, getting a feel for where her mouth was in the dark. Of course, it didn't hurt that he was able to touch a little more of her, but he was careful to be gentle, just ghosting past and not groping. "I'm not sure if that would help the nerves or hurt them."

"Me too," Trout confessed, just in time for Shaan's lips to hit his. He let it stay light, just for a moment, before he slipped the hand that had been under her chin around behind her neck, using it to steady her as he deepened the kiss, just a little. Her fingers tangled easily in his curly hair, which she'd find was just long enough to form a mess of ringlets. He couldn't help grabbing a handful of her long hair and using the hand on her back to lift her, just a little, as he got caught up in the moment. Once he caught himself, he immediately loosened his grip and pulled back, just far enough that the two of them could breathe, although his lips still brushed hers as he spoke up.

"So...Not bad for your first time," he teased, although he sounded a bit shaken. "What do you think?"

Trout groaned when she grazed his lower lip with her teeth, leaning back against the wall behind him. "Holy shit, Shaan. Hell yeah, I could get used to that."

He took the hand from behind her neck back to run it through his hair, huffing out a sigh. "Holy fuck." He muttered to himself incredulously. "And you're telling me no one thought you were sexy as hell before this? I think you just must not have noticed, because there's no fucking way."

He gently tucked her hair behind her ear, letting his fingers comb through her hair as he did. "We can absolutely keep that up if you want. I gotta say, though, I'm doing my best to be a gentleman because I know you were freaked. But if you do that again, I make no promises." His voice deepened slightly as he finished, and pressed a lingering kiss to her lips. "The camera crew would probably have a hell of a lot of fun, though," he teased.

Trout exhaled slowly, trying to keep himself on an even keel, until she shifted to press up against him. Dammit, Shaan," he muttered, wrapping his arms around her waist, almost possessively. He leaned into her as well, bending to kiss the corner of her shoulder, then closer and closer to her neck until he had his face tucked into it.

"Greg knows his shit, even if he is definitely a retired spy," he told her, his breath playing against her neck and ear. "And I don't think I've ever actually felt sexy before in my life, but I will absolutely take it. I feel like I'm losing my mind, a little bit." He chuckled and kissed the little hollow behind her ear before he drew back to rest his forehead against hers.

"I don't want to get too sidetracked, though...Physical stuff is...definitely excellent...but the whole point of this is that I give a fuck about you. All of my fucks, actually. The entire fuck budget. You, the girl who kicks ass and plays D&D and wants to help people, and who needs her lawn to be well-manicured. Not just the very, very nice trappings that go with it. He laughed a little. "On the other hand, this is nice. All that's missing is the Jeopardy re-runs."

"Hey, nothing wrong with that. We can say whatever the heck we want. Fuck it." He laughed.

Trout snorted at the suggestion of a violent crime. Yeah no. I haven't punched anyone since the sixth grade, let alone been arrested for it. I have a rule against it, honestly. If someone is pissing me off enough that I want to deck them, I have to walk away. If it was to protect someone, fine, but I'm not gonna just haul off on someone because they insulted me, or something. Not worth it."

He trailed his fingers up and down one arm as he considered something else to 'info dump' to her about. "Well, there is one thing I've been a little worried about. I honestly haven't been drinking much since college. I went to one college party, got absolutely wasted, and threw up in this girl's purse. Ever since then I've been kind of avoiding it because I was so humiliated. So uh, you might need to help me out with not being a shitty drinker. Especially if you're still bartending, because if you and I are together outside of here, I'm definitely going to show up there sometimes to bug you. And to meet the super spy."

"Lunch every day, bring a variety and include desserts. I'm on it," Trout answered very seriously. "You have my word, I will make it happen." He followed her as she pulled back from kissing his cheek so that he could catch her lips instead.

"College isn't for everyone," he replied, unfazed, still absently tracing her arm with his fingers. "I only went because I had to get the certificate to do what I wanted and get paid a decent amount if I'm being honest. It was a community college, too, so nothing fancy. I got a pretty decent scholarship because I was on the dean's list--which I wouldn't have done if they made me take more than one writing class. I have the shittiest grammar--and so my student loans are mostly paid off. I haven't really had anything else big to spend on."