[ elsa may be mortified by the sound of her own laughter but from the moment its first notes ring out in the din of the crowded restaurant, jack’s heart leaps, all at once, in his chest. a more prideful man might have found himself flustered by it, might have imagined more than a hint of mockery in its tone and drawn an instantaneous conclusion. to jack, however, it’s nothing short of music, an oft-imagined cadence drawn into reality — and by him, no less! he thinks. maybe.
for an instant, every thought of their impending meal vanishes and, despite a mild sense of bemusement, jack finds himself smiling tentatively (besottedly) alongside her, utterly enchanted. which is, really, what makes her reaction even more bewildering — at least, until he realizes how exactly this situation must appear to her. ]
Oh — no, no, don’t worry. [ briefly, he finds himself fighting the urge to reach out, to rest a soothing hand on her arm or some other such gesture. but — no, best not. he’s quite fond of his fingers, after all, and for all that elsa has been kind to him thus far, he’s much rather not breach that boundary without express permission. ] Really, I—
[ he cuts himself off, snapping his jaw shut before he can finish that sentence. i’d like to hear it again. ] … I don’t mind, I promise.
[ because he is being a little ridiculous, honestly. and who is he to turn down this kindness that elsa is offering him, now that he’s certain that he won’t wear out his welcome accepting it? he chuckles quietly as she goes on and, nearly without his notice, finds himself leaning forward slightly. ] Well — there’s a first time for everything, no? [ he quips, doing his level best to set her back at ease. it’s the least he can do, after all of this. and, offering her a soft, genuine smile: ] I’m honored.
[ and maybe that’s what makes her next remark hit him all the harder. for a moment, he finds himself distracted by the movement of her fingers, the soft shine of her hair as it catches the light from overhead. somewhere in the recesses of his mind, jack can’t help but wonder just what it might feel like beneath his own touch. like silk, maybe. softer, even.
her words don’t register at first — but when they do, jack blinks rapidly, lifting his head a touch as his lips part in muted surprise. perhaps it shouldn’t come as such a shock. after all, she’d invited him here, taken up his offer when she could have just as easily turned him away. god knows she had — has reason enough to hate him. his lies by omission had nearly cost her everything, and yet…
it’s a near-herculean effort to swallow the part of himself that fears nearly everything she offers, that begs in ragged howls for him to turn, run, flee from the prospect of letting someone in. too often has jack found himself drawn to people, desperate in his loneliness, only for his condition to force a rift between them or, worse still, actively place the other party in danger. he does his level best, of course, to keep the wolf in check but sometimes… sometimes that isn’t enough.
but elsa had survived the wolf. elsa is different — she has to be. ]
Only perhaps? [ comes jack’s teasing reply as another smile tugs gently at his lips. ] You wound me, Elsa. Should I consider this an opportunity to prove myself, then?
[ he’ll infiltrate that church So Good, just watch him. ]
[ Her heart swells automatically when she realizes any image of that sweet face contorting with hurt are all in her head. Instead she sees... a smile. It's not the nervous sort either, it's... composed. He's even a little suave there.
Well, cheeky. She doesn't think the other man could be suave if his life depended on it: it's part of the charm.
She smiles herself and a short chuckle leaves her. ]
I'd rather you be done with any heroics and play my plan as safely as possible. I was in the hopes that we might spend a little more time together after all this is done.
[ As she goes to reach for his hand the server returns. Before they get a word in the menus are thrust in the direction of the server like a dagger that doesn't quite leave her hand.]
Family style. Option A.
[ The employee seems to know they just dodged some unknown but dangerous activity and skitter away with no further questions.
Elsa just wants to be left alone with Jack for the moment, to let them have this small thing in a world of idiots and misery. Hell, she even needs to be free of her own thoughts at times.
So she reaches out like she intended to before, ignoring any bad manners on her part to the staff, any reservations from herself and places her hand on Jack's arm.
[ ah, but she does have his number, doesn’t she? it’s true that jack may not be one for dramatics — prefers, in fact, to employ a silver tongue against any trouble he might find himself in because he’s much, much better at that than anything involving physical altercation. but, at the same time, he’s not the sort to stand back and do nothing while the people he cares for are in danger. and, despite the rather tumultuous start to their friendship, elsa has become just that: someone he cares for.
he doesn’t doubt that he may have to throw caution to the wind, should things get more dangerous than they expected. but, until then: ] I defer entirely to you. [ he puncutates his reassurance with a brief dip of his head and, when he inevitably looks up again, he’s still smiling, if a touch bemusedly. ] And — I’d like that. Once we’re through with all of this and the moon.
[ it’ll be nice, he thinks, to have something to look forward to, something softer and kinder than another lonely drive to whichever safehouse he’d be holing up in, once the third night of the full moon had passed. frankly, he’s grateful for the simple pleasure of elsa even considering spending more time with him, given how much she must have on her plate, these days. jack is, in fact, so taken with the thought that he barely notices elsa’s hand reaching for his own until it’s much too late.
for all that jack does feel bad for the server - enough so that he gives the poor girl an apologetic smile as she slinks off with their menus and makes a mental note to ensure that she’s left a healthy tip - it’s difficult not to feel some measure of fondness as elsa soundly dismisses her. let it never be said, he supposes, that elsa bloodstone is a woman who does not know exactly what she wants, whether it be a mystical artifact turned family heirloom or a few more moments alone with the werewolf she’s dining with, and how best to get it.
but, then she reaches out again to clasp his arm — and, in that moment, the world around them falls silent.
it’s not often that jack is touched. people that know what he is tend to recoil from him, as though a brush of his fingers might pass on the curse that he bears and people that don’t… well. usually, he’d prefer for them to stay away, for both their safety and his peace of mind. and yet, here is elsa — elsa who wields her abrasive nature like a dagger to keep an uncaring world at bay, who has been taught since birth that people like him are not people at all, but heartless, ravening beasts with no thought in their minds besides violence, who had faced the wolf and had every reason to fear him — reaching out and resting a hand on his arm as if it’s nothing at all.
just briefly, jack feels something catch in his throat and, for a moment, it’s all he can do to meet her gaze, caught almost entirely off-guard. there’s a beat of hesitation, a flash of uncertainty behind his eyes — but, ultimately, he can’t stop himself from allowing his free hand to rest (softly, tentatively) atop elsa’s, his touch more than light enough to grant her the ability to pull back, should she so desire. ]
So am I. [ he tells her, fingers curling slightly over her hand as he relishes the warmth of it through the sleeve of his threadbare jacket. ] I mean, I know we’ve been — talking, since that night but… I don’t know. I wouldn’t have blamed you, if you didn’t want anything to do with me, after everything.
[ in fact, jack had been more than prepared to accept the fact that he’d never see elsa again. such was the way with most of the people he met — but, then again, perhaps he ought to have known that fate had something else in store for them. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
for an instant, every thought of their impending meal vanishes and, despite a mild sense of bemusement, jack finds himself smiling tentatively (
besottedly) alongside her, utterly enchanted. which is, really, what makes her reaction even more bewildering — at least, until he realizes how exactly this situation must appear to her. ]Oh — no, no, don’t worry. [ briefly, he finds himself fighting the urge to reach out, to rest a soothing hand on her arm or some other such gesture. but — no, best not. he’s quite fond of his fingers, after all, and for all that elsa has been kind to him thus far, he’s much rather not breach that boundary without express permission. ] Really, I—
[ he cuts himself off, snapping his jaw shut before he can finish that sentence. i’d like to hear it again. ] … I don’t mind, I promise.
[ because he is being a little ridiculous, honestly. and who is he to turn down this kindness that elsa is offering him, now that he’s certain that he won’t wear out his welcome accepting it? he chuckles quietly as she goes on and, nearly without his notice, finds himself leaning forward slightly. ] Well — there’s a first time for everything, no? [ he quips, doing his level best to set her back at ease. it’s the least he can do, after all of this. and, offering her a soft, genuine smile: ] I’m honored.
[ and maybe that’s what makes her next remark hit him all the harder. for a moment, he finds himself distracted by the movement of her fingers, the soft shine of her hair as it catches the light from overhead. somewhere in the recesses of his mind, jack can’t help but wonder just what it might feel like beneath his own touch. like silk, maybe. softer, even.
her words don’t register at first — but when they do, jack blinks rapidly, lifting his head a touch as his lips part in muted surprise. perhaps it shouldn’t come as such a shock. after all, she’d invited him here, taken up his offer when she could have just as easily turned him away. god knows she had — has reason enough to hate him. his lies by omission had nearly cost her everything, and yet…
it’s a near-herculean effort to swallow the part of himself that fears nearly everything she offers, that begs in ragged howls for him to turn, run, flee from the prospect of letting someone in. too often has jack found himself drawn to people, desperate in his loneliness, only for his condition to force a rift between them or, worse still, actively place the other party in danger. he does his level best, of course, to keep the wolf in check but sometimes… sometimes that isn’t enough.
but elsa had survived the wolf. elsa is different — she has to be. ]
Only perhaps? [ comes jack’s teasing reply as another smile tugs gently at his lips. ] You wound me, Elsa. Should I consider this an opportunity to prove myself, then?
[ he’ll infiltrate that church So Good, just watch him. ]
no subject
Well, cheeky. She doesn't think the other man could be suave if his life depended on it: it's part of the charm.
She smiles herself and a short chuckle leaves her. ]
I'd rather you be done with any heroics and play my plan as safely as possible. I was in the hopes that we might spend a little more time together after all this is done.
[ As she goes to reach for his hand the server returns. Before they get a word in the menus are thrust in the direction of the server like a dagger that doesn't quite leave her hand.]
Family style. Option A.
[ The employee seems to know they just dodged some unknown but dangerous activity and skitter away with no further questions.
Elsa just wants to be left alone with Jack for the moment, to let them have this small thing in a world of idiots and misery. Hell, she even needs to be free of her own thoughts at times.
So she reaches out like she intended to before, ignoring any bad manners on her part to the staff, any reservations from herself and places her hand on Jack's arm.
Truly difficult. ]
I'm... happy to see you.
no subject
he doesn’t doubt that he may have to throw caution to the wind, should things get more dangerous than they expected. but, until then: ] I defer entirely to you. [ he puncutates his reassurance with a brief dip of his head and, when he inevitably looks up again, he’s still smiling, if a touch bemusedly. ] And — I’d like that. Once we’re through with all of this and the moon.
[ it’ll be nice, he thinks, to have something to look forward to, something softer and kinder than another lonely drive to whichever safehouse he’d be holing up in, once the third night of the full moon had passed. frankly, he’s grateful for the simple pleasure of elsa even considering spending more time with him, given how much she must have on her plate, these days. jack is, in fact, so taken with the thought that he barely notices elsa’s hand reaching for his own until it’s much too late.
for all that jack does feel bad for the server - enough so that he gives the poor girl an apologetic smile as she slinks off with their menus and makes a mental note to ensure that she’s left a healthy tip - it’s difficult not to feel some measure of fondness as elsa soundly dismisses her. let it never be said, he supposes, that elsa bloodstone is a woman who does not know exactly what she wants, whether it be a mystical artifact turned family heirloom or a few more moments alone with the werewolf she’s dining with, and how best to get it.
but, then she reaches out again to clasp his arm — and, in that moment, the world around them falls silent.
it’s not often that jack is touched. people that know what he is tend to recoil from him, as though a brush of his fingers might pass on the curse that he bears and people that don’t… well. usually, he’d prefer for them to stay away, for both their safety and his peace of mind. and yet, here is elsa — elsa who wields her abrasive nature like a dagger to keep an uncaring world at bay, who has been taught since birth that people like him are not people at all, but heartless, ravening beasts with no thought in their minds besides violence, who had faced the wolf and had every reason to fear him — reaching out and resting a hand on his arm as if it’s nothing at all.
just briefly, jack feels something catch in his throat and, for a moment, it’s all he can do to meet her gaze, caught almost entirely off-guard. there’s a beat of hesitation, a flash of uncertainty behind his eyes — but, ultimately, he can’t stop himself from allowing his free hand to rest (softly, tentatively) atop elsa’s, his touch more than light enough to grant her the ability to pull back, should she so desire. ]
So am I. [ he tells her, fingers curling slightly over her hand as he relishes the warmth of it through the sleeve of his threadbare jacket. ] I mean, I know we’ve been — talking, since that night but… I don’t know. I wouldn’t have blamed you, if you didn’t want anything to do with me, after everything.
[ in fact, jack had been more than prepared to accept the fact that he’d never see elsa again. such was the way with most of the people he met — but, then again, perhaps he ought to have known that fate had something else in store for them. ]