The Heights of Londo [IC 3: For The Love of the Lady]

[Comissar]

Leah glances at Alyssa and gives her hand a quick squeeze to affirm that she was alright, even if she was stumbling on her words a bit. She nods an affirmation when she's asked about her reasons for asking about places to eat, feeling her cheeks warm as she did.

[Hazuki]

"You mean you don't find her company thoroughly enchanting?" Clayr asks. "Yeah, I get it. I can go either way - I didn't want to come here in the first place, though it's been nice talking to you two."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa shakes her head. "It's, um, a lot to take in a once. If you want to go we can, um, cover for you. It's been nice to meet you!"

[Comissar]

Leah fights back a grin at Clayr's flattering description of Parkin. "It's, umm, hard to complain when you're allowed to stay for free." With her free hand, she tucked a strand of hair away from her face, "It was nice talking with you. Umm, properly, this time."

[Hazuki]

"I think I'll go." Clayr says, with a brief look at the tray of cakes before she heads to to the door. "And see you some other time." She says, as her Mareep baas at the pair.

[Comissar]

Leah nods, "Umm, ok, if you're sure." She offers Clayr a wave as she heads out the door, then gives another, quicker wave at her Mareep as it follows after her. She watches the door for a few moments after she's gone, before looking back to Alyssa, a slightly guilty expression on her face. "... You don't think we pushed her to leave, do you..?"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa waves to Clayr as she leaves. "And, um, thanks for the cakes!" She offers Mareep some scratches before she goes, giggling a bit at the static.

Turning back to Leah, she shrugs, though she has a bit of a guilty face too. "Maybe? But, um, we did say she could stay. She probably just, um, felt uncomfortable?" She kisses Leah on the cheek. "I think, um, she might have left anyways. Unless we, um, had more to talk to. She seemed a bit...bored?"

[Comissar]

Leah couldn't help but break into a smile as Alyssa kissed her cheek, feeling her chest flutter. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Though it, uh, it does mean we can spend a little longer together this morning." She squeezes Alyssa's hand, leaning in to return the favour.

Once she's pulled away again, she smiles at her again, "So, umm, did any of the places Clayr mentioned sound good to you..?"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa tries to keep her composure as Leah returns her kiss. Her mind wanders a bit in the feeling before it finds Leah's question to grab hold of. It takes her a moment of just vocalizing to put her thoughts in the right direction before she can answer. "Um, yeah, um, I liked the, um, the hut place. Something private and, um, just for us. If you're, um, okay with that." She looks Leah in the eyes and smiles back.

[Comissar]

Leah nods, a grin on her face, "Yeah, I liked the sound of that one, too." She breaks into a giggle, "Umm, I guess it's, uh, it's a date!"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa smiles and giggles along with Leah. "Are you asking me?" She leans in close enough to kiss Leah. "Because I'd say yes." She kisses her on the lips quickly and leans back, trying to keep from lingering too long.

[Comissar]

Leah closes her eyes as Alyssa leans in to kiss her, enjoying the all too brief moment. She opens her eyes again as Alyssa pulls away, finding herself wishing she'd stayed just a little longer. The thought brought a smile to her face, and she absently squeezed her hand around Alyssa's. It took her a moment to realise she hadn't actually answered. She grinned again, "Umm, then, uh, I guess, uh, I guess it's a good thing I asked..."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa smiles and winks at Leah, returning her squeeze. "We never would have gone if you hadn't!" She looks at Leah's eyes and starts to blush. Stammering a bit, she gestures towards where Parkin and Maddy left. "I, uh-um, wonder how, uh, long they'll be."

[Comissar]

Leah feels her own cheeks heat as Alyssa holds her gaze. Turning her attention to the door, she shrugged, "Not sure. Umm, I was never really into doing make-up for myself. And, uh, and they don't sell the stuff I did use over here, anyway, so... I don't really know how long it'll take." She shuffles in her seat, resting her head on Alyssa's shoulder, "... I, uh, I guess you'll have to get back to painting when they're back, though..."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa seems a bit surprised by Leah's head on her shoulder, but relaxes into it almost immediately. She nods at Leah's comment before remembering that she wouldn't be able to see that very well. "Yeah. I'll be done, um, around usual time though. And, um, I won't have to watch Parkin for the rest of it. I've got, um, a lot of notes and stuff. So, um, if you want to be with me while I paint sometime you can. Though, um, I'd need to work, and, um, to be honest you take up a lot of my attention." She takes a second and says, "I meant that in a good way."

[Comissar]

Leah grins at Alyssa's comment, "I guessed. I, uh, I might join you some time but, umm, I could use the time today to book a table..?"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa smiles and nods again as she says "Yeah, um, maybe tomorrow night? I've been tired the last few days." She absently traces circles with her thumb on the back of Leah's hand.

[Comissar]

Leah hesitates, then nods, "Yeah, sounds good." She brightens up again, watching Alyssa trace patterns on her hand, "It should, uh, be easier to book, though, for tomorrow." She grins, "Just make sure you, uh, you don't work too hard tomorrow."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa smiles. "I'll try." She sits in silence, enjoying the moment. Her thumb still traces circles on Leah's hand while she holds it.

[Comissar]

As it becomes clear that Alyssa didn't have anything else to say, Leah let her eyes close. In the quiet of the room, she let her other senses take over. The warmth and proximity of Alyssa was comforting, letting her completely relax. The slow tracing on the back of her hand served as a reminder that she wasn't simply asleep, a thought that brought a smile to her face.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa notices Leah relaxing and giggles at the feeling. She tries to keep her breathing level so as not to jar Leah from her shoulder and resists the urge to just turn and look at her. After a good moment of silence she asks, "What are you thinking about?"

[Comissar]

Leah smiles at the question, gently squeezing Alyssa's hand as she answered "You."

The simple statement brought a blush to her cheeks, and she had to fight through butterfrees in her stomach to continue, "U-umm, I'm thinking, uh, thinking about how lucky I feel that, uh, that I got to meet you... How much I, uh, I'm looking forward to tomorrow..." She opened her eyes and lifted her head up off of Alyssa's shoulder, turning to look at her, "A-and, umm, how I, uh, I wish we could just stay like this..."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa's cheeks heat up at Leah's answer. Noticing Leah's feelings change too, she puts her other hand on top of their clasped hands to show her support. When Leah turns up to look at her, she smiles, slowly turning read at Leah's words. "You're a really good friend and, uh, you're more than that, too. And, um, I feel lucky that we met, too. I didn't really, um, get along with other girls my age and, uh, I didn't know if we'd be friends but I, um, I'm really glad we are and I want to, uh, I mean, I'd like to stay just like this, as long as we can." She's not sure how much more she can say, so she just pulls Leah in close and hugs her, squeezing her a bit. She whispers in her ear, "You're really special to me."

[Comissar]

Leah watches Alyssa as she speaks, a soft smile playing on her lips as she joins her in blushing. She gratefully accepts the hug, returning the squeeze Alyssa gives her. At her whispered words, she finds her whole face heats as she breaks into a grin. Not certain she could trust her voice, Leah gave another squeeze as thanks for the kind words. After a moments quiet, she attempts to respond, "A-a-and... A-and y-you are... T-t-to me, t-too."

[tgva8889]

As she pulls away, Alyssa looks Leah in the eyes with some concern but a really wide smile and warm cheeks. "Are you okay? I, um, I'm not always sure and, um, I want to be sure you're happy." She wipes a bit of moisture from her eyes before she takes Leah's hand again.

[Comissar]

Leah swallows and nods as she pulls away, smiling, "I-I am, y-yeah." She gives a small laugh, glancing down, then back up with another smile, "I am, really. I... I don't remember being this happy with, uh, with anyone else." She brushes a strand of her hair away from her face with her free hand, giving Alyssa's hand a squeeze at the same time, "I know I, uh, I struggle sometimes with, uh, with my, uh, my words. But, umm..." She squeezes Alyssa's hand again, "But I wouldn't want to, uh, to be anywhere else."

She leans in, then hesitates, pulling back a little. "Umm, are you ok..?"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa feels a bit of tension leave her and relaxes as Leah talks. She seems a bit surprised by that feeling, but she keeps her composure and listens to Leah with a smile. As she's listening, she starts to hear her own heartbeat and she smiles. At first she leans in a bit when Leah leans in, but she feels a pull in her stomach when Leah stops. When she asks her question, Alyssa nods emphatically. "Yeah! I'm good. I'm really happy." She pulls back a bit to sit up straight, her eyes gazing over. She runs her free hand over her scar. "I just, um, want to be sure you're okay. I'm really happy, um, being here. With you. And, uh, I like being here with you." Looking back to Leah, she smiles again, realizing it faded a bit while she was thinking. "I would tell you if I was feeling something bad."

[Comissar]

Leah watches Alyssa carefully, smiling again at her answer as she nodded. "Ok." She raised her free hand toward Alyssa, hesitantly reaching out to cup it around her cheek. She leans forward again, the tugging in her chest strengthening as she did. "I'll, umm... I'll hold you to that..."

She closes the rest of the distance, going for a kiss. She lingers on it longer than Alyssa had for their last, but still pulls back sooner than she wanted to, unwilling to push too much. She only pulls back a short distance, cheeks flush as her eyes flicked between Alyssa's.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa seems surprised when Leah cups her cheek, but when she pulls in Alyssa moves in too, kissing Leah in return. Her free hand moves to support Leah as they're close. She leans in a bit more as Leah moves away, but stops and moves back a bit once she realizes that Leah is pulling away. Still close, she tries to keep her breathing steady. With such little distance between them, Alyssa feels the warmth from both her cheeks and from Leah. She smiles, not wanting to move away. Looking down, she moves Leah's hand up to where her heart is so she can feel how quickly it's beating, but she doesn't say anything.

[Comissar]

Leah follows Alyssa's gaze as her hand is moved, breaking into a grin as she felt the rapid beating of her heart, her own pulse seeming to quicken to mimic it. She looks back up into Alyssa's eyes, grinning as she realises they were just as red as each other. Glancing back down again, Leah twisted her hand on Alyssa's chest, gently moving Alyssa's hand so that it was resting over her own heart instead. The simple gesture coaxed a giggle out of her, and she looked back up again with a smile.