alnifolia | OPEN POST;

[ Lucky for him, Kasumi isn't too terribly caught up in it. She's drunk, for sure, and when she really thinks about it, she'd rather Peter be hesitant about this very fact than if he were to take advantage of the situation--because that would be a douchey thing to do, and god knows Kasumi's seen her fair share of douchery in all her "moving on" attempts.

So after a moment of contemplation, she manages a smile, even chuckles a little, and places her hands on Peter's shoulders in like, a totally platonic way. ]

Yeah, sure, whatever you want, Quill.

[ He at least is nice enough to cover both of her hands with his, squeezing her fingers gently.

But, you know. Strictly platonic.

He swallows-- gulps, really-- looking a little awkward still. ]

Do you-- I can head out. If you want me to.

[ She can sense his awkwardness, and she'd probably feel that way too, but she's pretty much incapable of feeling awkward like, ever, and especially so when she's drunk. ]

You know, I actually don't want you to, but I won't be that offended if you want to head out since I'm like, super drunk and all.

[ She slips her hands out from beneath his to take a step back as though to say "yeah, you can go if you want--" but it fails pretty spectacularly when one foot's caught with the other, and she's pretty much tripping backwards. ]

[ He's tipsy, sure, but after that-- thing that just happened, he feels like he's sobered up quickly enough, which is why he darts out to catch her around her waist.

It's sheer luck that he manages to catch her and pull her close without the both of them just toppling over. ]

-- You okay?

[ Now it's her turn for her breath to hitch as she gasps, and she exhales sharply when Peter pulls her close, her hand inadvertently grabbing onto his shirt when he does it. Smooth, Goto. This really isn't helping, though, so--goddammit. She sort of stares at him, wide-eyed. ]

--Yeah. I'm... fine.

[ He pulls her upright, helping her regain her footing. ]

Good. Seriously thought you were-- um. Thought you were... gonna...

[ -- he suddenly notices that they're awfully close, aren't they? Especially with how she's pressed up against him, her hand tangled in the fabric of his shirt. And the way she's looking at him--

He swallows roughly, and awkwardness turns speeds right along to nervousness and indecision.

Because god damn, she's gorgeous. ]

[ His words are lost on her, because she's noticed how close they are, too. Her lips part ever so slightly, her grip on his shirt tightening--she thought she would be okay letting him go and letting them just "talk about it in the morning," but this right now? It's driving her mad, because he has her in his stupid, strong arms, right up against his stupid body that she's seen before and god help her, she wants to see it again-- ]

Peter.

[ Fuck it. ]

Kiss me.

[ It's only after he's already moving that he realizes he, uh. Probably shouldn't be doing this.

But it's too late, and he closes the space between them before he realizes it, pressing his lips to hers, and holy crap, he's been wanting to do this forever. ]

[ Oh, thank god, because she's wanting to do this forever, too, as evidenced by the fact that she makes a pleased little sound when they finally kiss. ]

[ It takes far, far too long for Peter to finally pull back, and when he does, he looks a little surprised at himself and at the fact that he really, really wants to do that again, but--

There's an obvious reluctance as he's pulling back further, hands dropping uselessly to his sides, and he's quick to turn his eyes up at the ceiling. ]

-- That-- that was a mistake. Sorry, I shouldn't have--

[ She's got a mind to do that again. She definitely wants to, and she wants to pull him back close to her with the hand that's still hanging onto his shirt--but when she hears him call it a mistake, her grip loosens until she finally just lets go, letting her hand drop to her side. ]

--Do you honestly think that was a mistake?

[ She keeps her eyes on him, even if he won't make eye contact. ]

Kasumi. You're drunk.

[ Yep, that's going to be his fallback explanation for the rest of the night.

Especially since he's starting to get that gross feeling that he's taking advantage of her, and maybe chivalry is dead, or whatever, but guilt sure as hell isn't. ]

I just-- I shouldn't have done that. Not when you're not thinkin' straight.

[ She just--sighs. Because as much as she wants more, she can't possibly argue against that. She's drunk, really drunk, and this isn't how sober Kasumi would have wanted their first... kiss, or whatever, to go. ]

You're really nice, Peter Quill. You know that?

[ She folds her arms, then, in a sort of defensive, guarded manner, like she's expecting the answer to her next question to hurt. ]

Just... Do you not-- [ like me like that? Because the kiss just now felt so right, somehow, but maybe he just did it because she asked. ] Never mind.

[ when she backs off, he's a weird mix of relieved and disappointed.

-- No, he's relieved. Yeah. He should be relieved. He'll convince himself of that soon enough.

At her aborted question, though, he frowns. ]

You okay, Kasumi?

Yeah.

[ her grip on her own arms as they're folded visibly tightens. She's drunk enough to want to just ask what he thinks about whatever just happened, but she's starting to sober up enough to know that any such conversation would just be deflected with, "Kasumi. You're drunk." ]

I'm fine. I should probably drink water--

[ in spite of herself, she isn't yet sober enough that her coordination is all the way back, considering how she almost just fell before Peter caught her, and how she now spins on her heel to walk towards her kitchen, and how she nearly walks right into the counters, and how when she opens a cupboard to grab a glass she can't... reach... why. ]

[ Kasumi why do you even put things that high.

He wants to laugh, but considering everything that's happened, the sound dies in his throat. Instead, he goes to the kitchen, moves in beside her, and plucks down the glass she's reaching for. ]

Hey, maybe you should take it easy.

[ ~~Because Keiji used to do that to piss her off and the habit was ingrained in her after he died.~~ Also because she's usually coordinated enough to stand on her tiptoes...

In any case, she gladly takes the glass from Peter. ]

Isn't that what I'm doing?

I dunno, I kinda counted, like, two or three almost-disasters when you were making your way from the door to here.

[ she's filling her glass up with water and taking a sip as he talks, her eyes locking onto his over the rim of her glass. ]

So you were watching me pretty closely, then?

[ sorry, Peter. Drunkasumi can't help but miss the point. ]

[ -- Congrats, he actually splutters a little. ]

What? No, that's-- do you not remember almost crashing into your counter, just now?

[ She's leaning with her back against the counter, now, both hands around her glass, and she emits a triumphant little 'hmph' at Peter's reaction. ]

Yeah, yeah. Relax, Peter. I'm just kidding. I-- [ she clears her throat. ] You don't have to worry about me asking you to kiss me again.

[ Tonight, at least. Or possibly ever, but she really wouldn't want that. ]

[ He doesn't have an explanation for that weird little twinge of disappointment, but he's careful to hide it from his expression.

Still, he wants to try to keep things light, so he pulls a sour face. ]

Drink your water, kid.

Hey, don't call me kid. You're gonna make yourself feel old.

[ Buuut she drinks her water like a good girl, and when she's done chugging that, she actually manages to set the glass back down onto her counter without, like, slamming it. ]

So, hey, um. [ She takes a deep breath. ] Sorry about earlier. We should... probably just talk about it in the morning or something, right?

[ He huffs out a laugh at that, and at her question, he hesitates, chewing the inside of his bottom lip.

(Bad habit. Mom always told him to quit it, but he never did.)

Eventually he nods, though. ]

Yeah, we can talk about it tomorrow. But don't worry about it, okay? No hard feelings.

[ A part of him expects she might not remember, come the next morning. ]

Yeah.

[ Is the only thing she can really respond with, to that. She lets Peter show himself out of her apartment, and she somehow manages to make her way over to the door after he closes it behind himself to stand on her tiptoes and look through the peephole as he goes back into his own apartment. It's only then that she lets out a huge sigh, locking her door and turning around, her back slumping against it until she essentially melts into a curled heap on on the floor, bringing her knees up to her chest and resting her forehead there.

Way to freaking go, Kasumi.

She eventually manages to haul herself to her actual bed, and not her couch--there really wouldn't have been an excuse for sleeping on the couch instead, since she lives in a studio--and if there's anything she's thankful for tall that alcohol for, it's that it lets her fall fast asleep once her head hits the pillow.

Come morning, she sleeps in later than she usually would, given that it's a Saturday after an exhausting (in one way or another) Friday night, but she does still get up before noon, because that's the sort of thing that's been hard-wired into her system. And--she has one hell of a headache, but she knows just the cure for that.

Pancakes.

And she excites herself into the idea to the extent that she mindlessly grabs her phone with a mind to shoot Peter a text (something she does even though he lives literally twenty feet away):

Hey neighbor! I'm gonna make pancakes. You in?

--But it's staring down at her message that she starts thinking about what transpired last night, and for the first time possibly ever, Kasumi's. A little embarrassed. Is this text too peppy and casual considering she basically asked him to kiss her like some desperate teenager or a helpless woman in a lame chick flick?

The text she ends up sending him simply reads:

Pancakes? ]

❖
OPEN RP POST ① Pick a character ② Pick a prompt (or DIY) (shamelessly and selectively pilfered from bakerstreet's Random Scenario Meme) ③ Do the thing!. table code by betterdolphin

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