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it didn't take long for him to ride his braviary from his place to stormy's. once she logged out of the game after...the incident he took got himself disconnected and gave maybe a good hour of just silently lying in bed thinking about what happened. not a whole lot really came out of that as his mind just kept focusing on her. so it was probably a very good idea to race over to her place and just...ask her what the heck that was all about.
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as he touched down into lavaridge he didn't even bother letting valiant land before he jumped off and raced towards stormy's house where he stopped just a few feet short of the front door. he thought about what he would even say? how would she even react to seeing him? he did just come straight over here after all. was that creepy? it probably was but they were friends so like, that didn't count right?
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his mind raced with thoughts as his breaths were heavy and loud before he took a deep one and decided to just go "fuck it" and start knocking on the door. "hey storms? its me kaz! c'mon open up. we...gotta talk." that last sentence trailed off into a whisper as he was starting to regret coming here and just fucking it all up because he would say the wrong thing. boy did he not think this one through.

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There's a rapid knock on the door and she chokes on her sip of wine, starting a long slew of coughing and choking before she rights herself. Panic sets in and the pit in her stomach gets heavier as she forces herself to set the glass down and face her demons.[break][break]

"No, no, no, no, no."[break][break]

She whispers frantically as she approaches the front door. She makes an effort to fix her hair from hat-head as she stops short at the door.[break][break]

"Oh dear.. Kaz? I'm, uhh.. I'm really not feeling well right now, I'd hate to get you sick."[break][break]

The woman clears her throat again to enunciate her fake illness. But she ultimately gives in to her own guilt and opens the door just a little bit to see him on the other side.[break][break]

"We need to talk? W-why? We don't need to talk, we just- we just talked an hour or so ago."[break][break]

Her cheeks are flushed however, and it's not the few sips of wine she'd had.

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maybe they didn't need to talk, maybe she was right. perhaps more time was what they needed to just let things simmer back to normal for the both of them. of course kazimir was already here standing on the other side of her door wanting to know what was going on and well...he wasn't one for going back on a decision like this. "well then...let me talk ok?"
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he pushed himself against the door and stuck half of his body into whatever space he could. she could try to slam it on him but he was pretty sure his body could hold out till it started to bleed. yes he was that dramatic, this called for a little dramatic action! "look uh..i think your really cool stormy. like super mega cool. hell even amazing if i can be honest. i just wanna say that you'll always be a good friend-"
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he bit his lip as that last word escaped his mouth and instantly regretted it. that probably was the last thing he should be saying after a kiss. even if it was a spur of the moment kind of deal. so he shouldn't say anything else but of course he will anyway. "i just wanna make sure we'll be close still...y'know?"

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Stormy hazards a shaky breath as he begs from the other side of the door to let him just talk. His voice is muffled and she's more than a little anxious to hear what he has to say, so she opens the door a little bit wider. [break][break]

In the process, Kazimir has pressed his back up against the door and wedged himself into the crack she's left open - clearly trying to prevent her from slamming it on him. She has no intention of doing that, in fact, and actually opts to let the door swing open. She looks stressed and overwhelmed - relieved to see him but at the same time uneasy.[break][break]

The overwhelming emotions only get worse when he starts to talk to her, finishing his thought with 'you'll always be a good friend.' It at first makes her look away, disappointment leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. But then a gentle wave of relief takes over and she starts to try and believe it.[break][break]

Friends, good friends. He wants them to continue to be good friends. That's good, right? That was what she wanted, right Friends?[break][break]

Besides, it wasn't like she'd kissed him kissed him. It had been a friendly peck on the cheek. Just friendly, and friendly was okay, right? Miraculously, the weight in her chest manages to get heavier and lighter at the same time. Like she was giddy and stressed and relieved all at the same time. She might pass out.[break][break]

But instead, she gently pulls the door open, though the weight of his body against it probably swings it open quite suddenly. [break][break]

"Of course, Kaz, of course. We'll always be close. W-we're close friends."[break][break]

She swallows awkwardly before gesturing for him to come inside.[break][break]

"Did you... want to come inside?"

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the lump in his chest went down as she agreed that they would indeed still be close friends. he still felt a little guilty about how he was phrasing everything it was still nice that she seemed to be ok. "yeah sure i'd love to. kinda feeling squished in here." he joked in an attempt to lighten the mood as he was let inside the house. brushing himself off he took a glance around before thinking of what to say now that he was actually in here, he hadn't really gave it much thought about what he would do after he said his piece to her. he really should have thought this through a little more.
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"you um, got any snacks or something? I kinda forgot to eat before i...logged on and before i got here. stomachs kicking itself for anything at this point." food was a nice distraction and it would probably help him think. still he probably shouldn't keep silent for too long or things would get awkward. it was just tough to find the right words to say.
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"so i think i'm gonna take a break from that game. i logged so many hours into pulling that one stupid sword i think my mind broke more than twice doing it. what about you?" it probably wasn't the best idea to bring up the game that started all of this but it was one moment that kinda shook them both up. not an entire dumb video game.

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The lump in her chest would settle uncomfortably when he agrees to come in. While she had wanted him to come in and act normal and force the water under the bridge, she had also wished he might just leave so she could scream into a pillow and cry about how awkward and awful she is.[break][break]

But she offers him a warm smile - albeit a bit forced - as she steps aside to let him make his way inside. He glances around and she immediately feels insecure and worried that he's judging her home. To be fair, it's a little less than stellar given her addiction to the game. Maybe it was time to log off for good this time.[break][break]

So she begins to power clean in the background, stopping only when he turns to look at her and ask for snacks. Stormy's cheeks flush as she tucks the garbage behind her frame.[break][break]

"Oh, sure! Of course, yeah. I haven't had dinner yet, I'll put in something quick."[break][break]

The woman escapes the room then, fleeing to the kitchen to dispose of the garbage and to grab some exotic microwave dinners and start reheating them. In the meantime, however, Stormy glances over her shoulder and around the corner of the kitchen to look at Kazimir.[break][break]

"Hey, uhh.. I threw some food in the microwave - can you watch it while I shower real quick? I'll be right back."[break][break]

Without waiting for a response, she darts down the hall to her bedroom. Though in her hurry she doesn't bother closing the bedroom door behind her, and leaves the bathroom door slightly ajar so that the fan in her bathroom would be rendered basically useless - as usual.[break][break]

But she turns the shower head on and paces impatiently until the water is hot enough to peel her skin off - perfect.

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the prospect of having some dinner was enough to knock some positivity into his him as stormy went about setting up some microwave dinners for them. as she's getting everything ready kazimir just watches her, trying to force a smile on his face as he tries to frame this moment as two friends just relaxing with one another. when she turns around to look at him he finally manages to get that smile up for her. it felt good.
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as he took a step to see what she was making she suddenly mentioned him watching their food cook in the microwave while she cleaned herself up real quick. he nodded in agreement and placed himself in front of the appliance as she made her way to her bathroom. a few minutes passed and the sound of a shower turning on reached his ears and kaz did his hardest to not even picture what her's would look like. yeah the first time they've met they did take a bath together so...that sort of melted down the awkwardness of them seeing each other in such positions was kind of moot but there was just something more sacred about it happening in someone's own home.
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he busied himself by messing around with the apps on his phone until the ding of the microwave went off. "that was pretty quick." he mumbled to himself as he took them out and set them on a table. he could still hear the shower running and grabbed a few paper towels to cover the food so it could stay warm a little longer before going up to stormy's bathroom. at first he was worried about intruding on her but the food was ready, and his mind and stomach was a little more focused on that then worrying about being embarrassing. once he reached it he pulled the door more ajar and peeked his head in without hesitation, "hey storms, foods ready."

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Stormy sinks her toes into the plush bathmat by the shower, waiting until the water was the perfect temperature. The repeated pelting of her raindrop shower head against the wall bounces off the shower curtain as well. It's almost therapeutic along with the heavenly smell of shampoo filling up the room.[break][break]

She pulls the curtains closed behind her and lingers in the heat for a moment, just focusing on relaxing and enjoying the time alone while Kazimir remains downstairs.[break][break]

It doesn't occur to her that her bathroom door is ajar or that the dinners would have taken little to no time to cook. Just as she's finishing wringing the shampoo from her hair, she hears the very familiar and very shocking voice of Kazimir at her door. [break][break]

She was just about to step out of the shower when he speaks and shows his face around the corner. She squeals, reaching for the shower curtain to cover herself up for fear he might have seen more than he'd bargained for in that brief moment.[break][break]

"K-Kaz?"[break][break]

He had mentioned food but all she can think about is how embarrassed she is that he's in her bathroom and she's holding a shower curtain around her body and - holy shit - she's pulling too hard and the tub is slippery and she's falling.

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there was a beat after stormy cried out kazimir's name as he stood there in the doorway staring at her with a quizzical look on his face at her for acting a little weird. why was it weird for him to just barge into her bathroom to let her know that food was ready? it wasn't until it hit him that he was in stormy's bathroom...while she was in it, that it hit him why this might be a bad thing. "oh fuck sorry i-i was just-!"
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he closed the door about halfway inbetween them so that his line of vision wouldn't be privy to. he was ready to just bolt out of the house and run, so he took one last peek into the bathroom to apologize when he saw her stumbling in her own tub. his instincts took over in that next second he raced towards the tub. with arms outstretched he managed to catch stormy as she fell and hold her in his arms and pull her out of the tub and hold her close to him so she wouldn't hit anything else in the room. "oh man that was close. you ok storms?" the concern that was showing on his face completely override any shame or embarrassment he felt earlier. right now he was just wondering if his friend was ok.

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For a long moment, Kazimir stares at her but he isn't staring at her, but rather, his eyes meet hers and there's no hint of mischief or ill intent. He's genuinely concerned she might miss dinner - he isn't here to catch a peek.[break][break]

However, just as it occurs to him that this might be inappropriate is the moment Stormy tugs too hard on the curtain and the rod unsticks. She'd been meaning to tighten it for a while but it had never actually fallen all the way down so she'd had no reason to do it.[break][break]

It clatters against her wrist and she gasps in surprise in pain before it crashes against the porcelain and she loses her balance, falling - albeit still mostly wrapped in the curtain - out of the tub.[break][break]

Except she's quickly scooped up into Kazimir's arms and oh my God, he's warm, and firm, and perfect. She feels woozy and overwhelmed as she finds her hands had wrapped around him to catch herself.[break][break]

Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to drink that glass of wine before a steaming hot shower. [break][break]

She licks her lips, then, as she glances up at Kazimir's face to find that he's concerned for her - genuinely. But her face is so close to his and her heart is thudding so damn loud in her chest and he smells pretty damn good considering the overpowering smell of her own pleasant soaps and shampoos.[break][break]

"Y-yeah, I really should.. ah.. tighten the shower rod next time. I kept... meaning to..."[break][break]

But something kickstarts her confidence and she's not focusing on what she's saying and instead she's focused on how impossibly close they are and how easy it would be to just lean up and...

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"i could...i could help with that. y'know after we eat. i'm...pretty handsy..." he couldn't quite say anything else in response as he looked down at her in his arms. despite her being a little damp she certainly felt warm. was it because she was so close to him? or was it him that was feeling warm all of a sudden? it didn't really matter because as he looked down at her there was just something in his brain and heart that was telling him to to move forward.
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to move forward and plant a kiss on her lips.
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it wasn't even a simple quick peck, he held that kiss for as long as he could as he slowly adjusted her in his arms to plant her feet on the ground and hold the kiss at the same time. as he did his hands moved around, letting the curtain drape even more loosely around her as they moved up to her upper body and hold her closer to him in what felt like a minute long moment of just...well he didn't even know what to call it other than love.
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he loved her. he was in love with her. more than he ever thought he was and as he pulled away to catch his breath he looked at her with warm blue eyes and a smirk with a face that was as red as a pokeball. "uh...yeah...um...i...stormy i love ya girl. your amazing you know that?"

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Did he say 'handsy?' He did, didn't he? Is she misreading the situation, hearing what she wants to hear? Her heart is pounding and her cheeks are flushed - but that might just be from the shower. Her skin felt hot to the touch and she couldn't rightfully say what the source was. She felt like she was boiling with anticipation.[break][break]

And then she feels his arms shift and he's leaning forward and she's leaning forward and all of a sudden her hands are buried in his hair and her lips are locked with his and she's standing. The curtain has shifted, hanging loosely around her because she's abandoned her attempts to keep it up, she's preoccupied. Instead, she's more focused on enjoying the moment, indulging in something she had been thinking about for a long time.[break][break]

At some point, she had developed feelings that surpassed 'just friends'. They were partners, allies. She had learned a lot from him and had grown attached. At some point, she had anticipated seeing him more than she had their training sessions.[break][break]

Kazimir is the first to pull away and she releases a quick exhale, her cheeks flushed with colour. The warmth deepens when he speaks, admitting his feelings, pulling to the surface the truth that had been hovering between them.[break][break]

"W-what did you say?"[break][break]

Her hands slide to his chest instead of around his neck now that she was standing in front of him. She feels dizzy, overwhelmed with emotions she hadn't wanted to bring to the surface. And yet they were here, and Kazimir had just said he loved her. It surprised her how happy that made her feel.[break][break]

"You l-love me? Me?"

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oh gosh he was going to have to repeat himself wasn't he? that was...well he was hoping that what he said at first would pretty much get his point across! he couldn't outright blame her though, he was in the same state of shock earlier today. how could he expect her to just be fine with a confession of love out of the blue like that? "c'mon...didn't ya hear me? I...i love you. i really do." this time instead of another kiss it was a hug, one tighter than the ones he'd normally give her yet at the same time wasn't as friendly or bone crushing. it was somehow more soft, tender even, as he held her close to her and rested his chin on top of her head.
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"ya been a hell of a good friend and partner storms. like a hundred times over. i really don't know how i can pay ya back for all that but i can sure as hell try with a bit of my heart....fuck did that sound super cheesy?" he broke out into a chuckle as he said those last words and realized they probably sounded weird coming from him. he just wanted to make sure that she could clearly understand that he did in fact love her. "now uh...should i let ya get dressed? food's probably getting cold as we speak right now."
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not the most romantic way to end a moment like this but he figured some kind of sense of any normalcy would help calm the nerves of both of them. after all he could tell that ever since he stopped by he probably made her feel like a mess, it was the least he could do especially after confessing to her.

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