#so kind of nudging her into acting and gauging her certainty is a way to gain peace of mind

[coldshrugs]

94. tentative kisses given in the dark for io and estinien? :O

thank you owen and rinny!! i had a lot of fun with this one :>

brash and hopeful pairing: io / estinien word count: 660

The beach is empty, save for their meandering patrol. This is nothing unusual; despite the coastline’s more direct route between the Great Work and the northwestern Host outpost, travelers prefer the ease of the Perfumed Rise’s worn roads.

Estinien has no complaints. He and Io stroll in comfortable silence, each step slowed by soft pink sand.

They still call it “patrolling,” though their armor is back in the city, and they carry their boots in their hands. His mind is on her, and the kiss they shared a few days ago. Things have changed. The few moments spent together since have been thick with the same anticipation he felt that night, but the timing and company haven’t been appropriate for revisiting the thought. Tonight, however…

As the last sliver of sunlight melts into the sea, a salt-sharp breeze rolls in, gently tugging at hair and clothes. Estinien stops, catching Io’s wrist with his free hand.

She turns back to him with a curious half-smile, wind-swept and lit only by moonlight. “What is it?”

“You–” he says, and his hand slides from her wrist to entwine with hers– “are driving me mad.”

He pulls her closer, searching her face for a sign she might not want this. Might not want him. Io’s eyes, darker than the night descending around them, shine with mirthful interest. Her lips spread into an inviting grin. 

Her shoes hit the sand with a muted thud, and she lifts her hand to his chest. Estinien closes his eyes, inhales at the contact. The pressure of her palm over his heart, beating out of time. Her fingertips brush exposed skin. They tingle across his collarbone, then chart a path to his neck, where they rest, warm and soft, against the back of it.

“May I kiss you again?”

Estinien, eyes still closed, feels Io’s hesitant stretch up into the short distance that separates their lips. Her breath is on his face, her body brushes his, but not as close as he wants her. He drops his boots and pulls her flush against him, trying not to laugh at her little gasp.

“There is no need to ask. My answer will be ‘yes,’ without exception.”

But he doesn’t move. He waits for the press of her lips, timorous and tender, against his. It is only a moment before she melts against him, nervousness giving way to the heat that builds between them with an ease that surprises him.

Io’s touch is soft, observant, but sure. Her arms around his shoulders, her hands in his hair. Estinien smiles into the warmth of her kiss. His fingertips grope at her back, her hip, relishing the feel of her blouse bunching under his hands and the way she shivers when his fingers meet her skin. And gods, he could ask to lift it off her, right here on the shore, but no – no, there will be time enough for that in the future they walk into together. 

He stops himself, pulling back to rest his forehead against Io’s before taking in the sight of her. Her breathing is quickened, her eyes are closed, and she is appealingly disheveled. The smile she wears is new to him, somehow smug and bashful at once. He tucks the image into his mind, a precious little keepsake.

Finally, she meets his gaze. “Fine, no more asking. But we will be equal on the matter. You need not ask either.” She swallows, then tucks her face into the space between his neck and shoulder. “I am yours.”

The pounding in his chest is agonizing, an adrenaline rush he hasn’t felt in ages. He kisses her temple and lays bare his intentions. “On that, too, we are equal.”

She looks at him with that secret, satisfied grin. They stoop to recover their sandy boots, laughing at their previous eagerness. Hand in hand, they continue their façade of a patrol, unable to focus on anything but each other.

[mondlers]

our love’s all wrong

pairing: brittany/mike rating: t summary: so this drabble has been sitting in my drafts, half written, for about 30 years. anyways i have a lot of feelings about brittany/mike in glee’s first season and am occasionally overwhelmed by all the potential there. don’t worry, my brittana heart is put into this one too. this is for my very own brittany to my mike: @cvtgrant. you give me caterpillars, babe.

For a moment, Mike thinks that maybe it’s the tail end of his vitamin D rush that’s set his heartbeat into overdrive, but it doesn’t take long to figure out what’s really to blame. That pill made him feel like he’d just taken a shot of adrenaline to the chest, ready to take on anything and everything, but this is a different kind of high. He watches in amazement as the glee girls twist and twirl in front of him and the rest of the guys. Chocolate eyes aren’t focused on the yellow dresses or the whirling hair of his peers but rather the enchanting way in which Brittany Pierce moves to the beat of the song.

Even in their frenzied states, Brittany moves with precise, calculated movements that sets her apart from the other girls. Whether she’s throwing down to a driven R&B beat or gliding elegantly to a slow and burning ballad, she's the epitome of talent and grace no matter what the setting. Mike’s eyes stick to her like a magnet, not truly listening to what can and may be the mashup that defeats his team. All of his competitiveness went out the window when Brittany stepped into the choir room and started dancing.

While the other guys congratulate the girls on their epic performance, Mike has one priority. Wasting no time seeking out the blonde, he takes a step closer and catches Brittany’s sight. Bright, blue eyes light up with excitement and she flings herself into Mike’s waiting arms. Nearly lifting her off of her feet, he smiles impossibly large and she squeals happily in his tight embrace.

“How did it look, Mikey? Was I amazing or what?” Keeping a steady hold on his shoulders, Brittany pulls back to look at him fully, her pale complexion flushed with color from fatigue and excitement. He offers a small nod and tries not to get lost in how beautiful she looks, especially now as she beams with pride.

“You were incredible, B, like always” he assures her, giving her side a playful squeeze as he continues to hold her near. If she were any closer, she’d no doubt feel the heavy thump of his heart beating wildly in his chest. “Seriously amazing.”

She bounces happily before throwing her arms around him again, not letting go for several moments that feel like they aren’t long enough. Finally untangling themselves after everyone has started to separate and prepare for passing time, Brittany plants a chaste peck on Mike’s cheek before retreating and going to gather her things.

Obscure objects line the walls and door of Brittany’s locker, though that’s nothing new. Mike watches in mild amusement as the blonde sifts through her belongings, gathering her things before they leave for her house. Tucking her newest drawing of Lord Tubbington into a folder in her locker, Mike’s brown eyes pay more attention to other things; like the way her hair, so rarely left down anymore, tumbles past her shoulders and how different she looks out of her typical red and white cheerleading ensemble.

“I like seeing you out of your Cheerios uniform,” he tells her, a small smile following. Brittany turns to him, a flattered grin gracing her lips. A pink tongue darts out to wet dry lips and she turns her trim frame to face him completely, a hand reaching out and gently finding a place on his chest.

“Mikey...” she coos playfully. Dull nails drag lightly down the fabric of his shirt and stop just above his abdomen, resting there and fisting his shirt lazily. The sensation makes him fidget with anticipation, an anxious laugh escaping him.

“Well, I didn’t mean it like that,” he admits through soft laughter, eyes averting down towards her hand resting on him. “But you know, that way is true too.” A nervous knot forms in his stomach and it takes every fibre of Mike’s being not to just lean over and kiss her right then and there.

There’s always a weird sensation when he’s placed in this situation with Brittany. He isn’t sure what they are, if they are even anything at all. Brittany is notably promiscuous, and proudly so, which Mike has no qualms with. It just makes it that much harder to gauge where that sets him in her world.

Admittedly on the opposite side of the spectrum when it comes to the importance of sex and all that it entailed, Mike is always blatantly aware that the act doesn’t mean quite the same to Brittany as it does to him; at least not on an emotional level. He knew that when she took his virginity last summer and he knows it now. He’s okay with it too. He can’t ask her to feel something she doesn’t or change who she is, but that understanding doesn’t make the truth of the situation any easier to swallow. Being with her incites a frenzy of emotions in Mike that he knows Brittany doesn’t wholly share.

But she keeps coming back to him and for a while now, they’ve seemed fairly exclusive. Brittany is never one to be hush hush about her conquests and, to his knowledge, he’s been the only person she’s been with since the latest school year began. There’s a sense of comfort in that. It fuels his hopes that maybe he isn’t as replaceable as he feels sometimes.

Brittany seems to notice that Mike is becoming lost in his thoughts and offers a coaxing nudge on his stomach, flattening her palm and running it along his abdominal muscles. Meeting her gaze, soft lips tug into a seductive smirk that makes Mike weak in the knees.

“We should get going,” she speaks up, taking a step closer and using her free hand to brush back the hair from his forehead. She pays no mind to whether anyone is around or approaching and that act in itself makes Mike feel that much better. Piercing blue eyes hold his gaze and beckon him to follow her lead. “You’re making my stomach feel like it’s full of caterpillars.”

“Caterpillars?” Mike questions, eyebrows furrowing.

“Caterpillars,” Brittany repeats. “They’re like butterflies but, you know, not all fluttery yet.” Her nose scrunches upwards as she grins at Mike and he can’t stifle the laughter that bubbles up.

“I like that,” he says with a nod and a gentle smile. “So what turns them into butterflies?”

She answers him a gesture rather than words, her hand sliding slowly along his stomach and down the front of his jeans to give him an encouraging squeeze. He feels his breath hitch and immediately, his chest fills with anticipation. Wasting no time to wrap his hand around the one roaming through his dark hair, Mike guides her away from her locker with a sly, knowing smile.

“C’mon,” he instructs, closing her locker door gently. “Let’s get out of here.”

It’s their usual routine. 

Mr. and Mrs. Pierce both work days, which leaves the home to their only child until 5:00pm when they return. This convenience is much to Mike’s pleasure since his house is no place to be bringing Brittany. Not only is there a serious lack of privacy but Mike shudders at the thought of his judgmental father meeting Brittany. Everything Mike loves about her is something his father would loathe. His mind flashes briefly with anger but it fades quickly as Brittany ardently tugs him down the familiar path to her bedroom.

When he enters her room, he’s greeted by a fevered kiss, the door closing loudly as Brittany shoves it shut behind them. With a firm grasp on the collar of his shirt, she removes it before Mike can do it himself. Toned arms slide from the fabric and he feels a sudden sense of urgency, aching to have her join him.

For the two of them, their romps have become an intricate dance of sorts, set to a rhythm they follow with grace and certainty. It’s nothing like his first time with her, which was more clumsy than he cares to admit. While he’s grown accustomed to the familiarity of their hookups, Mike’s positive he’ll never get over seeing Brittany like this: baring all of her beauty for him without a hesitation or worry. 

These moments are a blessing and a curse, in a way. Being close to her, being with her, Mike feels wholeheartedly grateful that of all the people Brittany could choose, she chose him to share this with.

But that’s all this will ever be. And the weight of that reality is a bit heavy at times. The reality where he gives all of himself to a girl who’s heart belongs to another, even if they won’t admit it. It’s the reality that keeps his tongue held tight when the I love you’s threaten to slip through, because he knows he’ll never receive the gesture in return; not sincerely, at least. 

Those words from Brittany are reserved for someone who Mike, no matter how hard he tries, can never replace. 

His distractions lead his gaze to settle on the picture of Santana and Brittany on her end table, the girls beaming in their Cheerio uniforms, linked arm in arm. Noticing the loss of focus, Brittany’s hand finds a place on Mike’s cheek and nudges at his chin until his eyes are looking back at hers.

“You with me, Mikey?”

He swallows hard and allows himself to drink in every beautiful feature of her face. Soft smile cracking into something almost sad and stomach knotting impossibly tight, Mike places a lingering kiss on Brittany’s plump lips before answering.

“Always.”