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Who: Asbjørn & Ruby.
What: Moonpool hunting.
Where: Sobek Croix.
When: A week or so after Bad Blood.
Notes: Glow in the dark shenanigans!
Warnings: Partial nudity because swimming in moonpools.

Prior to the bad blood business, Asbjørn had learnt that there was something in the forest surrounding Sobek Croix, in that roundabout 'I heard it from a guy in a pub, who heard it from his sister's hairdresser' sort of way. The locals were wary. A few magic users he'd encountered, who had lived in the city for several years, had nudged each other and shared knowing looks. And thanks to being cooped up in his flat with nothing better to do than lick his wounds and read, a few books on local history and landmarks had hinted at interesting things.

...what's telling is that he took that information and decided a place widely rumoured to be haunted was best explored after dark. At some point during the day, Ruby would have gotten a text that read:

up for a late night forest adventure in sobek croix? i can promise food, good company and supernatural goings on. and only one of the last two things is me.

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"Mmm." That was intended to sound like more of a vague agreement, but instead it tails off into a small chuffing noise.

Either way, Ruby's movements distract him from whatever he was trying to say. If he were inclined to think more coherantly, he would be aptly reminded of Leonard Cohen lyrics: her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you.

Instead he has a sudden desire to be as near to her as she'll let him. A jar rolls off his lap as he crawls over to the edge of the pool, stretching over as far as possible.

She quiets when he does, moving closer, toward the edge. Ruby tilts her head up to meet Asbjørn's eyes, with a little smile. Moonlight spills over her hand and down to the glowing surface of the pool when she lifts it, just barely touching the collar of his shirt.

She wants to say something, but she's afraid of ruining the stillness, somehow. Like if she does say what's on her mind, the spell--the moonlight's, maybe--will change.

A little unknown fact for most people is that wild polar bears have a sense of courtesy. One of the ways they interact, especially when it comes to asking for permission, is meekly touching noses.

Which is what Asbjørn does as he bends down towards Ruby. It might look like he's about to kiss her; instead he's quite content to give her the slightest of nuzzles.

There's a half-dreamy expression on his face despite the little hint of wildness in his eyes. And a low sounding purr makes itself heard from the back of his throat.

That's something she wasn't expecting--of course, she's not surprised, in a way, it's natural because it's who he is. Her eyes widen a little.

"You're..." She doesn't finish the thought. Instead her fingertips travel to barely drift over his throat, as though she can feel the vibration there.

It's a word that breaks the spell after all. Asbjørn blinks, suddenly self-aware of his actions. The pull of the moonlight is still very strong, tugging at him, and for a moment everything is a mix of human butterfly stomach embarassment and bear desire to court and protect.

He pulls away slightly, one hand coming up to rub at his forehead. "I, uh. I feel kind of strange."

"...bad strange?" Ruby drifts back in the moonlight a little, though not more than a few inches. She can't help wishing he hadn't pulled away. Ruby doesn't know where that was heading, but the moment was intimate enough that she can't pretend they're just platonic friends in her head right now, not any more.

She doesn't know what to do with that. It's so soon after Orion, but she can't hang her whole life on one failed relationship, either.

"N-no. I--"

Definitely not bad strange, Ruby. Not with the way he's looking at you right now.

"--I just, ngh." One arm reaches out to where she was a moment ago.

Before he knows what he's doing, his boots are getting kicked off, his hoodie and t-shirt tossed aside as he slips into the pool beside her (...jeans and socks still on, yes, this is such a rational idea). Something in him feels satisfied again. Almost. A hand goes out to touch Ruby's shoulder, if she'll let him.

The opposite of minding, in fact--Ruby draws a little closer. In the back of her mind she is aware that he's probably not going to be too comfortable in those jeans shortly, but the rest of her is far and away from caring. Her heart feels very like it might be beating approximately ten thousand miles an hour, and that alone is enough to distract from practicalities.

She doesn't know what to say, so she doesn't say anything, just strays nearer to him. Her eyes are very dark in the set of her pale face and the glow of the moonlight-water surrounding them, but she's looking at Asbjøorn so intently.

Then one hand rests on Ruby's shoulder; the other reaches up to touch her cheek. Asbjørn resumes his attentions from a moment ago, eyes half-closed as the blissed out part of him washes over skittish human emotions.

Until his lips drift closer to Ruby's, where he hesitates. It's almost as if he's forgotten what to do for a moment. Kisses are a very human gesture, after all.

Ruby, however, is mostly human. And although she knows she shouldn't, that she is still so damaged and freshly wounded from everything that has happened to her in the past year--she just knows she likes him in a true, almost innocent way that she hasn't had for a long time. Moreover, she's comfortable with him. And moments like this, where the air in her lungs seems like it carries with it a rush of energy, where she forgets everything else around and only focuses on one person...she knows that those are rare enough to not let go of them easily.

So in a rush of moonlight spilling off her shoulders, she moves the rest of the necessary few inches the water. Ruby kisses Asbjørn first, sweet and quick and more than a little bit desperately impulsive.

If Asbjørn blinks repeatedly once they break away, it's only because he's wondering whether this is truly happening or not.

But for once every interal force inside him aligns. And despite the doubt, and the fear, and the downright terror that he could ruin everything, he is completely certain that right now, in this strange enchanted place, this is what he wants.

When he kisses Ruby again, it's longer and much more sure. Something between a soft sigh and another purr also makes itself heard.

This is the last thing Ruby expected to be doing out here, and she's reasonably certain the same is true for Asbjørn. When they separate for a second time, she's a little bit out of breath, and struck with uncertainty just as he seems more certain.

She doesn't want him to think less of her. Or that she's been gaming him since the start.

"Is this okay?" Her voice is hushed, in accordance with their circumstances, but audible.

Well, now that Ruby sounds uncertain. Then again, while he takes stock of the situation, they are experiencing their first kiss half-naked in a pool of magic whatever while Asbjørn's more animal instincts make an unexpected appearance.

"That depends." he says, a little slowly as he deliberates on his thoughts. "How completely insane do you think I am right now?"

It's not completely rhetorical.

"I don't think you're insane." That much is true, and she says it with sincerity.

"I think...I don't know what we're doing. It's not the first time I've thought about this, but..." She tips her head back, moonlight glimmer touching her hair. "I don't want to leave Sobek Croix and feel like we can't be normal together anymore."

Asbjørn nods in agreement, even though the little sinking feeling inside him is starting to gather momentum.

"Yeah, I uh--" A stressed chuffing noise escapes him and his hand quickly clasps over his mouth.

Between fingers, he manages to say. "--I seriously need to get the fuck out and away from this stuff."

"Wait--"

She reaches for him, impulsively, and there's a split second where she doesn't know if that request is because she doesn't want to go or if she really wants to ask this question. Ruby hesitates one troubled moment longer, and forces up her bravery.

"Just-- tell me it's not the moonlight that made you want to kiss me."

Unless, of course, that's what it was, she tells herself, and if it was, she can take that, too.

"No." It comes out a little more forcefully than he intended. "God, no --look it's...a bear thing, okay? I promise. But, I--"

He sighs, pressing the heel of one palm to his closed eyes. "I've had...feelings for you for a while now. But I haven't wanted to act on it. For my own reasons."

This is all sounding so much more horrible than it did in his head a minute ago. "God, that sounds shady. Look, I swear on my mother's life I'm not some kind of guy who likes a girl and pretends to be her friend only because he wants to date her. I think you're amazing, it's me that's the problem."

It's not you, it's me is one of those relationship lines she's never actually heard before (because Steven was pretty comfortable saying "it's you"), but she's said it to other people. It doesn't feel good to be on the other side, but she has faith enough in Asbjørn that she believes it's true, rather than a line.

If she can't have faith enough in herself, that's something.

"Okay," she says, after a treading-moonlight silence. "I don't think you're that kind of guy. I know you aren't. Let's--here, let's get on the edge."

Near the moonlight, but not actively in it, at least. Ruby pushes herself up onto the edges, her whole body tinted with the traces of that iridescent glow, gauzy underwear sticking to her a little strangely from the texture.

"Tell me." She doesn't say 'please', but she might as well have, from the softness of her tone.

Asbjørn hauls himself out and sits there for a minute gathering his thoughts. His body language makes it look like he's already bracing himself for something: shoulders hunched, head lowered, arms taught by his side.

"You have to understand, I can't be honest with other people like I am with you. It means, when I try to live life completely human, I always come off as a bit weird or eccentric. ...more than usual, anyway. And especially when it comes to love."

He pauses for a bit. "I loved my last girlfriend. I really believed I could tell her one day, I just wasn't ready. It's not something you can drop on people, you know? So I... Anyway, we were together for ten months, which is the longest I've ever been with someone. How sad is that? And she really wanted to take things to the next level and move in together but I just... I knew it would get harder to keep things a secret. She was fine at first, but she kept pushing it. And I kept saying no. And one day we had this massive fight about it--"

"But it was just a fight, so I went around to her place the next day to apologise and I. I caught her in bed with someone else. That's not the worst part. Because it made me angry and anger acts as a trigger for-- but he must have thought I was going to do something, because he got up and was in my face, which made things so much worse." His fingers dig into the soil at the memory. "I can honestly not describe how much I wanted to tear his fucking throat out, Ruby. There was this moment where I grabbed his fist only my hands were changing into paws and I couldn't stop crushing him. And then I saw Mia's face."

"I have never once felt ashamed of what I am. Not until then."

While he talks, she is focused enough on him that her shivering (involuntary, tracing up her spine and jolting her shoulders on occasion with its force) doesn't stop her from hearing what he's saying. There's a weight to this story, a could-have, might-have weight that is significant to her, too, though not in the same way as Asbjørn. Her bare feet skim the edge of the moonpool, and she tucks her arms around herself.

"That's scary," she says, simply, just at first. She knows he knows that, but she wants to affirm that part of it for him, to show him she understands. "And I am really glad you were able to stop it there. For him, for her, and for you, too."

She imagines the scene in her head, and with a vivid imagination like hers, it's not hard to do. If Ruby were Mia, presuming Mia doesn't have what Ruby thinks of as her 'baggage', she doesn't know how she'd react. How frightened she'd be. It's not the same motivation as her father had, and certainly he would never have stopped, but men and violence will always invoke certain thoughts in her head, be a certain kind of reminder.

It's also a reminder not everyone is that man.

"I won't pretend to know what it's like to have those instincts, but I never, ever want you to feel ashamed of who you are, period, but especially with me, okay? Because it's just as telling that you did stop."

"Like I said, it's a bear thing." He finally makes eye contact, then frowns when he notices Ruby is shivering. Before they continue talking, he leans over to reach for his bag. There's a blanket packed tight in the bottom that he unrolls and offers to her.

"It's different depending on what kind of bear you are. For polar bears, we rarely get aggressive unless it comes to cubs, mates or personal attacks. Female bears are less available because they take so long to birth and raise cubs. You would not believe the length males go to. Mating rites are fierce as anything, then there's courtship where males follow them across the ice for miles just to be near them," and here he averts his eyes to the side, a little embarassed on top of all the stirred up raw emotions. "It doesn't cross over that well."

"But it's up to me to make myself safe for other people to be around. It's been...seven months since then. I still question myself."

Ruby murmurs her thanks while she tucks the blanket around herself, and once situated, notices the way he's carefully not looking at her. She moves closer--not close enough that they're touching, as she is mildly concerned that might only make matters worse, but so she can dip her head down to look at him, a little searchingly.

"And you've been keeping your distance since then, haven't you? From people."

Edited 2011-11-04 10:55 (UTC)

"More than usual." Asbjørn's head turns a little to look at her. "I'm independent by nature. I need space just to be. I come with a lot of extras --weird noises, protectiveness, some...other things." At least he feels there are a lot of extras.

"People deserve better than that." Although he's not really referring to 'people' in as much as 'potential love interests,' which more specifically means Ruby.

She frowns a little, though it's as thoughtful as it is disagreement. She folds her hands in her lap, the blanket tucked in her fists to keep it securely over her shoulders. Ruby still feels cold, even with it, but--that can wait, and it does help.

"Well...I think people might disagree with that all being bad. I know what it's like, to have...baggage." There's a quiet twist to how Ruby says the word, but it's entirely self-directed. "I just--you can't convince me all those things are all bad. And for the record, I like you. All of you."

She sort of feels like she's overplayed her hand once she says that, as though she's pushed too far, but at least she's wholly sincere.

Asbjørn smiles a little, despite himself. "Sure about that? I haven't even mentioned most of the weirder stuff." And then his shoulder softly bumps against hers. "For what it's worth, I like you, too. Like cross the Arctic like you. Where no bear has gone before."

It's only a half-joke; he's kept his guard up for so long and this entire conversation has been so terrifying on an emotional level because he really does care for Ruby. Humour seems to be the easiest way to deal with what he feels right now. Which is why he finishes with, "But I'd understand if you only wanted to be friends. I would."