alnifolia | OPEN POST;

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? ]

[ Peter stays up for a while, going over the myriad ways he fucked up. He shouldn't have kissed her (even though he'd really wanted to). He shouldn't have stuck around as long as he did (but he wanted to make sure she was alright).

And that look on her face, when he pushed her away -- he had no idea what to do with that.

But it was just-- a drunken mistake. They'd had a good time, that night, and Kasumi was just-- a very friendly drunk, sometimes. And last night she was just. Extra friendly.

Sleep doesn't come easy, that night. At least the next morning, he only wakes up with a slight headache. And enough fidgety energy to power five small nations, which he tries to expend by pacing back and forth in his apartment. They did say, after all, that they would talk, come morning. But he wonders if she even remembers anything? In a way, he hopes not, if only to avoid the awkwardness between them.

(She was, after all, his best friend. And he's not entirely sure when that happened.)

He's surprised to get the text from her -- just a simple invitation, and while he hesitates to reply, it's only for an instant.

Be right over.

It's a few minutes later, and Peter makes himself decent -- t-shirt, jeans -- and heads over, and while he'd usually just walk right in, this time, he knocks. ]

[ By the time Peter's responded, she's only barely managed to freshen up from the mess she woke up as. She did, after all, manage better than someone as drunk as she was did in terms of getting herself into her bed, but all that makeup didn't quite make it all the way off her face with the tired and drunken washing of her face. She's fixed that now, her face clean and bright but still tired, but thank god, because how terrible would it be to answer the door with dark circles under your eyes because you didn't take your mascara off properly the night before?

Then by the time he's knocking on her door, she's slipped on a loose, flowy lounge kimono to go over the tank top and shorts she's changed into since waking up, just to cover her cold shoulders. She strides on over to the door and, just to make sure, peers into the peephole to make sure it's actually Peter and not, like, that Bau guy or some rando--

When she sees that it is Peter, she--hesitates. Because she remembers everything about last night, for better or for worse, and she knows that they're going to end up talking about the thing that happened at some point during this, and there's a part of her that wants to pretend she doesn't, because like Peter, avoiding the awkwardness that comes with toeing the line between "best friends," (and seriously, when did that happen) and "something more" seems like a somewhat appealing idea.

On the other hand, though? She remembers that the kiss totally rocked, she remembers that she wanted more--way more, and... she doesn't know. She thinks it would be awesome if they did that again--maybe just jump off the cliff into "friends with benefits" territory, but who knows what Peter thinks? Only one way to find out.

She opens the door, her best "everything is okay" smile on. ]

Hey.

[ For his part, Peter shifts his weight from one side to the other, trying to mask his own anxiety. And when she answers, he gives her his usual smile.

Nope, nothing out of the ordinary today. No sirree. ]

Mornin'. How're you feeling?

Terrible, but that's what pancakes are for, right?

[ She steps aside, opening her door more so that he can step in. ]

[ He huffs a single breath -- something like a laugh -- and steps inside. ]

I usually just down a few painkillers and hope for the best. But pancakes work too, I'm sure.

[ After closing the door, she makes her way over to the kitchen, pulling a chair out for Peter as she passes by the table on the way over (and look, no crashing into the counters this time). ]

Want anything? Water? Coffee? Tea?

[ Truth is, Peter's been by so many times by now, that he could probably help himself. But this is Kasumi, playing the good host because she doesn't want to let this get awkward. ]

[ What's funny is, being treated like a guest actually makes him feel all the more awkward.

Life is weird.

But he takes a seat as directed. ]

Just-- water's fine, thanks.

[ That's not too far-fetched of a reaction, really, seeing as she's pretty much treating him like patron in a restaurant. But all the same, she grabs a glass (which she can actually reach now, seeing as she has enough sense to stand up on her tippy toes a bit) and fills it up with water before setting it in front of Peter on the table, giving him a small smile.

She walks to another corner of her kitchen after that, pulling a (cute-ass) apron off of a hook on the wall and putting it on so she can begin to prepare the pancakes with the ingredients she's laid out on the counter by the stove, and she gets to work. She does shoot a glance over her shoulder at Peter, though, just to make smalltalk, because that's totally a platonic thing. ]

How'd you sleep last night?

Fine, thanks.

[ A white lie, but Peter is prone to lying. ]

What about you? Current hangover aside.

[ she does her best "everything is ok" chuckle and she continues on with the pancake preparation ]

I slept like a baby for once.

[ she hums a little to avoid any chances of awkward silences until she turns to look at him, playful look on her face. ]

Wanna put on some music?

Edited (it's not like I thought about this thread while going home...) 2015-03-24 23:28 (UTC)

[ ... Peter isn't quite sure what to do with this. He's finding it hard to get a read on her, to figure out if she actually remembers the shit that happened last night. (And if she doesn't, then he won't bring it up -- he doesn't want it be uncomfortable between them.)

So he just-- nods a little, going for a smile. ]

Yeah, sure. But do you need any help with anything? I've got a pair of perfectly good hands, after all.

I'll bet you do.

[ --that honestly just slips out, because even though they were very decidedly "friends" (or, come to think of it, maybe somewhat decidedly), they were never shy about flirting with each other. But given that something beyond flirting actually happened between them now, the comment comes off--differently. She can't quite place it, but it's not like any of the other times she's flirted with him, back when wasn't really expecting anything to happen, when she was perfectly fine with the way things were.

Now when she's said it, she visibly pauses, because she remembers how he held her the night before. She remembers herself in his arms, his "perfectly good hands" on the small of her back from having caught her fall, and their bodies pressed close--

Holy shit, Kasumi. What the hell is wrong with you? Get a hold of yourself. ]

Um. I actually--I'm fine. [ She clears her throat. ] My phone's docked at my speakers, DJ, so pick a song?

[ ... That pause is telling. Very telling, in fact, so much so that Peter's hands clench on the table.

He was prepared to let that comment slide -- they flirted all the time, after all, and he figured that this was just more of the same. But the way she just stops, something flicking across her face, tells him all he needs to know.

So Peter pushes away from the table slowly, stands, and moves to the kitchen. It's his turn to hesitate, though. He chews on his lower lip, trying to strings words together, before sighing. He leans against the counter and crosses his arm, trying to catch her eye. ]

I think you and I need to talk, first.

[ --Well, here it is. Maybe the thing to do here would be to respond with, "About what?" but judging from what just happened, pretending nothing happened? That's a facade Kasumi probably couldn't keep up.

Unless she gave herself some time and distanced herself for a while, which is a little difficult considering the fact that they're neighbors, and--running away was what she did when she lost Keiji. She hid herself away and shut down, letting her world go dark, and while the gravity of this situation wasn't quite that dire, she's trying to face her problems head-on, now.

That's what moving on was all about, right? Letting yourself feel again, and even if they decide to stay purely platonic, somehow, at least she won't regret not ever having tried.

So she lets her gaze meet his, and although there's hesitation in her expression, she responds, ]

I think so, too.

[ He takes a deep breath, and-- another, chewing on his lip again. Eventually he looks over at her, expression worried. ]

Look, I'm sorry about-- kissing you. I crossed a line, there. I shouldn't have-- done that. Not while you were drunk.

So if-- if I can make it up to you, just say the word, and I'll do it.

[ If chewing on the inside of his lower lip is Peter's nervous habit, biting down on the outside of hers is Kasumi's--and that's exactly what she's doing as she listens. When he's done, she takes a moment to try and figure out what to say. ]

I asked you to kiss me, so I'm pretty sure I share the blame on this one. [ She half-smiles. ] You're right. We shouldn't have done that while I was drunk.

But I'm not drunk anymore, and--I sort of... [ And here she draws in another sharp breath, and the way she looks at him is sort of--cautious, like she's searching for the answer in his eyes. ] I honestly wouldn't mind giving it another try.

[ uh.

Did she--

What? ]

You're-- gonna have to run that by me again. I'm not sure if I heard you right.

I said--

[ She steps in closer, and--she gently grabs onto the fabric of his shirt, much like she did the night before, looks up at him, and says, much like the night before: ]

Peter.

[ Fuck it. ]

Kiss me.

[ ... okay well that's a little harder to ignore.

On the bright side, Peter's pretty good at taking direction, so he hesitantly closes the gap. It's chaste and soft, like he's testing the waters. ]

[ Okay, well, the fact that he didn't say "Kasumi, you're still drunk," is good, right? And the fact that he does kiss her is even better.

So while the kiss is indeed chaste and soft, because she's testing the waters too, whenever they eventually pull away, the look in her eyes spells, "more."

Apparently this is what happens when neighbors who are attracted to each other and become really good friends let their sexual tension build up over the span of months. ]

[ He licks his lips when he pulls back, notes the look in her eyes, and he moves forward again--

-- and he suddenly wonders if she's just looking to-- blow off steam with him, or something. Given his reputation and what she must think of him (especially since their first main occasion to speak had been him hiding out from a one-night stand), that wouldn't be surprising.

So he hesitates. Because if this is just a one-off, then-- that's not what he wants. ]

What are we doing here? [ He asks it slowly, not quite looking her in the eye. ]

[ She'd braced for another kiss when he moved forward again, but when he stops, her brows knit together in slight confusion, and--oh. There it goes, the "what are we doing?" question.

Kasumi herself doesn't even know the answer to this question. There's a part of her that would totally be fine if this ended up just being another one of Peter's one... morning stands, and one of hers, too, but--she knows that if they did that, they may as well say goodbye to being friends. Because she's not sure that she could keep seeing Peter bring other people home if that happened, not sure she could do something like let him hide from whomever the next morning.

(And there was one time that she actually had to talk to one of his conquests from the night before, the next morning--before she and Peter became friends. Kasumi herself had just been returning from a night out, and happened upon the girl in the hallway right as she was stumbling out from Peter's apartment, this glazed look of euphoria on her face, and she must have been slightly drunk, still, because she smiled at Kasumi and said, "He said he's gonna call me!"

Little did she know. In any case, Kasumi would definitely not be able to do something like what she'd done, which was smile courteously and say, "That's nice.")

There's a part of her that wouldn't mind being friends with benefits, either. In fact, that may even be preferable, since she's not sure she could slap a "girlfriend" label on herself at the moment--but then there's a part of her, too, that thinks that maybe that wouldn't actually be so bad? Being Peter's girlfriend? They have a great dynamic, after all. But she's never seen him bring back the same person more than a few times, so she has to wonder if he even does relationships.

What she does know is that she likes Peter. Really, really likes him. As more than just a friend. And she's not sure when that happened. ]

I don't know, Peter. What do want us to be doing here?

[ Woops. She'd gotten accustomed to deflecting this type of question with more flirting--to distract from the matter at hand--with other people. But Peter isn't other people. He's... He's really important to her. ]

That came out wrong--I just. I really don't know. I just know that I'm really into you. And... not really platonically.

[ There it goes. ]

❖
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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