It’s a wonder one of them doesn’t slip on wet tile and thunk their head in the heat of the moment while trying to relocate. But it’s managed all the same, and it’s not until afterward that Calla finds this funny. After the rush, and the following contentment as her breath settles and evens out again.[break][break]

Head nestled against a pillow, it tips to the left to look back at him when he speaks. Her expression erupts into one of amusement, closely followed by a laugh.[break][break]

Then she rolls onto her side entirely, an arm folding and settling underneath her head. Curling half-way in on herself like a lazy cat. Still-damp, silver strands of hair sliding over her shoulder. “Yeah, fun is definitely one way to put it.”

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] URIAH BLACK [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-vulpix form-alola"]

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]

It’s sort of sweet, she decides. To see this side of him without the excess in confidence. Not that she really minds it to begin with—she’s always thought Uriah carries this trait better than many.[break][break]

“Me too.”[break][break]

She lets herself lean into it, curve against the traveling of careful hands. Her own lift to wander; one finds the curve of his jaw as the other continues a downward slide.[break][break]

Her heart is a trapped sparrow in her chest, fluttering relentlessly against her ribs, but the kiss sends the frantic edge of it away in a soft sigh against his lips, and Calla is soon lost in this, and in him.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] URIAH BLACK [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-vulpix form-alola"]

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]

There’s no way she can fully fall back on the excuse of this being no more than a drunken excursion. Yes, she still feels the sluggish buzz of liquor in her system, but it’s long dulled in comparison to the kiss shared back at the bar.[break][break]

That feels a million years away from now.[break][break]

“Yeah, you’re usually the opposite of bashful,” she replies with a scoff of laughter, but hearing it from him does well to settle some of the same in her as well.[break][break]

She bites down on her bottom lip and looks back up, finally trying to swallow down the last of those lingering nerves. “Yeah? You do?” Her brows lift—a genuine show of surprise, as if it hasn’t already been obvious.[break][break]

Maybe she’s just a little slow on the uptake.[break][break]

Her hand lifts to cover his where it’s settled against her neck. It’s still risky, there’s a lot that could go wrong. And Calla doesn’t like to make impractical choices. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t want this, either. As evidenced by the subtle tug of her hand on his, encouraging exploration.
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] URIAH BLACK [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-vulpix form-alola"]

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]

“Well, I think you succeeded.”[break][break]

The hand that brushes over her shoulder distracts her from what she was saying, and draws a slight shiver under her skin. Her own raises to push back damp hair from her forehead as she keeps her gaze trained on his.[break][break]

“I mean, I’m not covered in green body paint…but sure. Yeah, yes.” At most, the make up she used might be smearing by now and there might be some silvery glitter-spray in her hair, but nothing near as elaborate.[break][break]

When she finally looks down, it’s with a sheepish laugh, a shy smile. “I’m being so bashful right now, it’s so dumb.”[break][break]

It’s not that she’s mad about it–it’s more a thing for Calla to marvel at. She’s been with people, sure. But this is different. It’s not the cut and dry efficiency of a meet up. There’s too many knots to qualify as ‘no strings attached.’[break][break]

But the fact that it makes her keep fumbling is a little annoying. All to do with herself, not him.[break][break]

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] URIAH BLACK [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-vulpix form-alola"]

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“You hired an actual professional just for a sports bar party?” Her laugh is a bit incredulous as she continues to scrub at the green paint on his back. It distracts her from fixating on the tone of his shoulders, or just how obviously fit he is. “Why?”[break][break]

Though if he’d asked the receptionist, she probably would’ve smacked him with a rolled up file folder, in all honesty.[break][break]

“It’s what I’m here for.” Well, not quite. But still.[break][break]

Her hands linger to draw idle shapes across his skin as she speaks, peering up at him through the patter of water from the faucet with squinted eyes. Though all she can see is the back of his neck.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] URIAH BLACK [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-vulpix form-alola"]

The ability to make him laugh eases her own awkwardness somewhat, which emboldened her enough to ask in the first place. But she leans around him to reach for some soap when he accepts the offer.[break][break]

“How did you even manage this?” she asks, still lathering soap onto a loofah (that’s what it’s called, right?) “Did you ask your Uber driver to paint you too?”[break][break]

It’s silly, it’s all silly, and her laughter echoes off the closed space of the shower walls before careful hands try to scrub the paint off his skin as the water at their feet starts to run green.


[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] URIAH BLACK [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-vulpix form-alola"]

“Sort of wish that got caught on camera.” Even if still tipsy, the whole scene laid out from end to end feels oddly…domestic?[break][break]

It’s sort of strange to consider. But not by any means bad.[break][break]

“Worst case, it stained your skin and you have to attend your meetings this week all green.” The snort that slips free might be a bit unladylike, but she can’t help it. The mental image is too funny.[break][break]

“…Right.” Her hand slides into his when offered and she follows his lead. The water is warm (way warmer than that day at the beach,) and it lulls the fluctuation of her nerves until they settle in a low level hum.[break][break]

“Do you want help? With the paint?”

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] URIAH BLACK [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-vulpix form-alola"]

“It probably wasn’t even the weirdest ask he got tonight,” she responds with another laugh, letting him swat her hands away as she goes back to undoing the clasps. The gigglish laugh earned is reward enough. “How many tries did it take to get them right?”[break][break]

She doesn’t even necessarily want to know the details, it’s just idle chatter. Small talk that skirts around the elephant in the room that sounds a lot like the patter of running water, and looks like the cloud of rising steam, fogging the mirrors over.[break][break]

Once he’s freed of his extra arms, her hands drop away, fingers combing through the long strands of her hair instead. “Hope this body paint isn’t stubborn,” she adds with another laugh. And honestly, she’s grateful that she didn’t go nearly as all out.

[attr="class","ooc"] URIAH BLACK [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-vulpix form-alola"]

If they were smart, there probably should not be a next time (much a this time,) given her position at the company he’s been tasked to run. And the last thing Calla wants is to cause later complications for Uriah.[break][break]

But swept up as she is, she cannot quell the stirred up want that simmers under the surface, and the knowing that it’s not the first time she’s considered it. It’s been there in the way he never fails to coax something kinder out of her. Present in how softly he looks at her, or the boisterous tilt of his laugh.[break][break]

So— “Next time, yeah.” Smiling as he kisses her again, bashful as it remains and he turns away. She busies herself by pulling her hair free of the ribbon it had been tied up in.[break][break]

“How did you even get this on?” she asks with a laugh as she moves to undo the straps holding the arms in place. Fingers tickling at his sides briefly because even now she can’t quite escape the urge to be playful.

[attr="class","ooc"] URIAH BLACK [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-vulpix form-alola"]

As if on command, his comment draws more heat to her face. As if it were even possible. It almost feels like she’s gone cherry-infused all the way down to narrow shoulder caps, but surely not.[break][break]

Is that silly to him? It’s a worry that quickly dissipates under the lens of how he looks at her, then moves to touch her.[break][break]

Carefully, she leans into his touch and the cradle of his hand, eyes still on his. Then shifting just enough, her face turns inward to press a kiss against his palm.

“I’m glad you think so. I’ll keep that in mind for the next time I consider having too many Uriah Bombs.” It’s hinged on a sheepish laugh, and maybe it’s also a little expectant as she waits, expression shifting into a silent what next?

[attr="class","ooc"] URIAH BLACK [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-vulpix form-alola"]

Of course Kieran was going to be an exception for her. What sort of sister would she be if she only ever treated him coldly? There were very few people who got that pass–and more often than not it was something that happened on its own, based on energy. Kieran was naturally bright and warm, her counterpart. So while she actively chose to be softer with him, it wasn’t something difficult to do when he was as sweet and kind as he was. He was all the better parts, even if she was the more organized of the two of them. That only went so far.[break][break]

It was only natural that her sharpness still poked him at times, and Calla always felt guilty for it afterward. So as a result, she always tried to make up for it. Though she wasn’t always the most perfect at it, either.[break][break]

“Gotcha,” she replied as she expertly worked at turning the eggs at just the last moment. Really, her chiding that morning wasn’t exceptionally pointed. And in all honesty, Kieran was probably the naturally neater of the two of them–strange as that felt to admit. Calla had to actually work for her tidiness more than it coming to her on its own. Her mind could be a cluttered place, and so her surroundings often reflected that until she put everything back in order (on both counts.)[break][break]

Sliding the plate of fresh eggs over to him, she took the moment to pick at her own. As gung-ho as she was to get going, she held a degree of reluctance all her own to tackle those particular totes. She couldn’t stand the idea of just chucking them without at least looking for anything salvageable, though. A habit bred from the years spent trying to hold onto whatever little thing they could scrape together just to get by. “Yeah, that sounds good. Something silly sounds nice.” Her voice was quiet as she cut her food neatly, intending to join him right after.


[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Kieran Roth m: spring cleaning [break]





[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ditto"]

The moment almost feels way more tender than she anticipates for being as tipsy as she is. And she doesn’t really know how to handle that vague awareness, but the way her own name sounds on his tongue shivers through her, and it’s all she can focus on.[break][break]

How that’s all she wants to feel right now.[break][break]

Sparks ignite under her skin in a trail that follows the back of his hand, and it draws a soft exhale from her that should only be considered encouragement. She’s never been too good at receiving compliments, let alone one so soft in intonation, so she only chews on her bottom lip for a moment as her smile persists at the corners of her mouth.[break][break]

“You’re not so bad yourself,” she murmurs after a moment, her own fingers moving to draw along the line of his jaw, his neck. “But you’re still very green.”

[attr="class","ooc"] URIAH BLACK [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-vulpix form-alola"]

She doesn’t care about the fact that the green paint might smudge the fabric of her dress. It’s far from her mind as he lifts her like she weighs no more than a feather, and her legs hook around him to steady herself.[break][break]

Her heart beats quick as the collision of their mouths turns almost frantic. With her arms around his neck, her fingers slide up into the short strands of hair at the back of his neck–occasionally a huff of laughter presses to his lips whenever they bump into something en route to the bathroom.[break][break]

He’s quiet. “Uri?” she mumbles, and hazily, her eyes blink open to meet his. Stomach flipping over as their foreheads pressed together, shaky breath mingling. After a moment, though, she leans back in his grasp. Just enough to reach down and find the hem of her dress where it slid up her thighs, then tug it up over her head to let it fall away before her hands settle on his shoulders again.

[attr="class","ooc"] URIAH BLACK [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-vulpix form-alola"]