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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2014 3:19:19 GMT -5
"Actually..." Iris says, now that he's asked the question reaching across the table to run her fingers through some of his hair, "I love the hair! But I also love the face. And too much hair and it hides your face. So that really is a hard one..." She pauses and her hand moves down to hold his chin. "Now the beard - that's easy. I like the beard, and I like the face, so this scruffy stubble one is pretty much perfect - I get both," she says, giving him an approving smile before she lets him go. Of course what he chooses to do with his hair is his decision, but... she has preferences. And she knows that explaining her preferences may influence his.
Unable to suppress her grin, she takes his offered hand and lets him help her up. "Of course!" she replies as she stands, and when she's on her feet she immediately takes advantage of how close they are to kiss his cheek. Because she's been wanting to do that pretty much the entire time they were eating but the table was in the way.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2014 2:12:35 GMT -5
He allows the inspection at times laughing or grinning at her declarations. It’s true he loves his hair at the length it is, though has a habit of letting it grow out when he’s preoccupied with something. He admits he can fall into his obsessions just as much as his father, but his facial hair? He likes the way it is. It’s another similarity he shares with his father. It makes Nathaniel look nice in his opinion, though, so he keeps it. “Well, you don’t have to worry. I think I’m keeping myself this way for a good, long while.” He runs his own hand through his hair. “The long mop you saw me with when we first met was fall back from my days in Cali.”
When they’re standing he smiles at Iris again and pulls her closer as she kisses his cheek. He takes advantage of the situation as well and places a peck on her own cheek too before leading her back to the front. A short chat and soon he’s paid for their meal and they’re outside in the Gotham night.
“Let’s cut through Robinson Park,” he says.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2014 17:37:54 GMT -5
Making Nathaniel laugh and grin may or may not have been one of Iris's ulterior motives for the manner in which she commented on his appearance. Both of those expressions are very adorable on him, after all. Of course, all of his expressions are very adorable - he's definitely a handsome man. Enough so that she wonders why he looks at her twice, though that's simply because she's not fussy about her appearance and assumes that she's average-looking in spite of Nathaniel's reassurances otherwise.
She can't help but grin when he exchanges her kiss for one of his own, and she follows him as he pays for their meal and then leads the way out. "Alright," she agrees, taking his hand. Not only would that save a bit of time, it would also be nice to enjoy nature - or at least the city's closest equivalent to nature. The evening has advanced while they were eating, and while she's normally a bit nervous when she's walking alone starting at around this hour, having Nathaniel with her changes that completely.
There's a pleasant pause before she returns to almost their previous topic and comments, "I've been known to get my hair cut short from time to time, though only for a change - I like it long enough to throw back into a ponytail." Which she probably does far too frequently, given the sheer number of other styles she could choose from. But then, she's a busy woman and it's fast. Of course, she's seen plenty of women with just as much time as her sporting much more time intensive hairstyles, so perhaps that's not the best excuse.
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2014 17:42:56 GMT -5
Nathaniel finds all of Iris’s expressions all fascinating. He finds her laughter infectious, her smiles beautiful and contagious. He loves to follow the furrow of her brow when she’s in deep thought or troubled. He also then wants to ask what is troubling her or on her mind, but the fact is he finds her expressions and the outward appearance of her personality so unique to watch. Iris is never boring to him and despite her thoughts, he finds she outshines all other women around her and him.
Outside in the Gotham night he can see that the sun has completely disappeared during their dinner. He’s not usually out on foot this time of night, but he’s not concerned as they both walk towards Robison Park. This part of Gotham is usually very populated at night with it being so close to the college and it feels warm and pleasant. It doesn’t feel like danger and thus Nathaniel doesn’t feel worried. Instead he listens to Iris and smiles.
“Well, I’ll be honest…I love your hair long. I like getting to run fingers through it. You’d look nice with shorter hair too.” Nathaniel doesn’t really notice that she likes to put her hair up. He’s business oriented and so is she. There’s no need to take extensive time to style her hair. He believes her clothing and other such care makes her hair perfect just the way it is. Their profession is people-oriented and not about them. He doesn’t take that long to get dressed in the morning. He spends more time going over who his patients for the day are.
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2014 2:15:00 GMT -5
His words cause Iris's smile to grow - she's quite happy with what she does already with her hair, though if Nathaniel's opinion happened to be different than hers she'd probably be all too happy to make the change if it wasn't really drastic. After all, she only sees her hair whenever a mirror is around and she likes to please Nathaniel, so in the end she would probably go with Nathaniel's preference over her own for that particular detail. In fact, if it pleased Nathaniel, then it's highly likely that his preference would become hers as well. But the fact that he likes it as she has it is a double bonus: she's pleasing him and she didn't have to adjust anything in order to do so.
Though the sidewalks are quite crowded with people heading home from work or enjoying that part of the evening after work but before bedtime, it thins out quite a bit as they enter the park. There's still a lot of people making use of the main paths through it, but there's actually fewer people anywhere else now that the sun has set than there were during the daytime as most activities one does in a park are generally those improved by daylight. And while there's many very legal activities one can do in a park at night, many of those that are actually improved by darkness certainly aren't - this is Gotham, after all. But she can feel more secure simply knowing that a couple like them is a much more intimidating target than she would be alone.
It's enough to cause her to shift her attention to something else as they walk: the sky. Robinson park isn't exactly ideal for stargazing, as they're surrounded by city lights whose presence makes seeing the stars more difficult with their glow and tall buildings that get in the way of a full view of the sky. Still, they don't have to get too far into the park before the trees are blocking most of the lights at the street level, at least, and the park itself doesn't have any tall buildings in it so that helps with the other problem. She's not exactly much into astronomy, so she can't say that she's very good at constellations and such. But after a few moments, she points to a spot in the sky, "Big dipper!" That's the easy one, after all.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2014 19:23:37 GMT -5
Nathaniel finds that, though crowded, they are able to move easily enough through the crowd and enter the park. He’s glad for it actually. He’d wanted to be away from all the noise of the main sidewalks and at this time in the evening the park is much quieter. Some would venture to say much more dangerous as well. Is he aware of that? Of course, he’d grown up in Gotham, but with there being two of them, they make a more risky target and in the shadows are more petty crimes anyway. Teenagers getting drunk, drug selling, and usage, but he’s minding his own business. The only thing that matters to him is Iris. He’s too many to even give a thought to what crimes could be happening. Not with Iris’s hand in his.
Eyes find the sky as she talks and he smiles. His own hand comes up and he nods. “I see it and there,” he pointed just a little away, “there’s Orion. See his belt?” He looked to her. “Someday I should take you out of the city, maybe rent a cabin for a holiday. We could stargaze all we like and I do love s’mores,” he teased before lowering his hand. “I like the outdoors, actually. I mean I guess that’s obvious with the fact I like hiking.”
Gotham just isn’t good for stargazing, it’s true. It is filled with light and industrial gases. Haze blocks most constellations. Still even as they continue walking with Nathaniel looking every so often to sky, it’s fine enough if he’s with Iris.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2014 2:31:44 GMT -5
Following his finger, Iris spots the bright line of stars that makes up Orion's belt and nods, though the rest of the constellation is harder to make out. She's always loved the stars, but also always lived where they're hard to see - Phoenix wasn't much better than Gotham when it came to lights. So Nathaniel's words get a smile as she says, "Oh, I'd love that! It's been a long time since I took a break like that and you had me at s'mores."
After being cooped up in the city as much as she has, a cabin somewhere remote - somewhere where it can literally just be Nathaniel and her for awhile - sounds completely refreshing. Smiling, she comments, "I like the outdoors - some of the time. I like hiking when the weather is good, but I like the comforts of the indoors when it isn't. But a forest right after it stops raining... is there anything in the world more perfect?" Especially if she were to walk through one with Nathaniel...
Oh yes, the more that she ponders the idea of being away from the city in a cabin with him, the better the idea sounds! In fact, after letting silence take over for a moment she feels the need to better ensure that the idea won't be forgotten by adding, "Perhaps sometime during the summer? You'll have your doctorate by then, and I'll probably have my license - a present to ourselves for achieving official professional expertise."
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2014 20:32:16 GMT -5
Nathaniel still has a hold of her hand as he playfully pulls her along. “Well, I am very good at making s’mores,” he puffs out his chest in a show mock masculinity before it deflates as he laughs. He continues to lead her through Robinson Park, knowing the exit is close, but he’s not in a hurry, not yet at least. There’s no need.
“Which is why I said cabin. I like the outdoors, but I’m not a mountain man. I like living indoor with all its nice things way too much,” but he sighs in content, “but no…nothing sounds more perfect that a forest right after rain with the smell and crispness in the air. No there’s nothing more refreshing.” And the idea for him of spending time away from the city with her becomes louder and louder. He too finds it more amazing by the minute so by the time she’s voiced suggestion, they’ve walked out of Robinson Park and he’s pulling her into his arms.
“You have the best ideas. That sounds amazing…we could find a place with a private lake.” He grins. “All the things we could do, just the two of us…alone,” he is absolutely being suggestive, but right now he's just paying attention to her and only her. He leans down gives her a deep, long kiss.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2014 17:58:32 GMT -5
One of the things that Iris is constantly teaching her clients is that one can remove themselves from their present surroundings by imagining themselves in another. This has natural benefits to those experiencing emotional difficulties because it allows them to escape from an unfavorable situation and at least temporarily place themselves in a better one so that they're able think clearly and cope with the situation that they're in. Of course Iris's present surroundings are far from unpleasant, but picturing herself next to a fire enjoying s'mores with Nathaniel or a walk through the forest after the rain is still significantly more pleasant. She can't help but be perfectly content with such thoughts in her head.
Though they're disturbed somewhat by the suggestiveness of his words as they reach the other end of the park, though not in a bad way. It turns her thoughts into picturing something else entirely - and that brings an amused but also highly nervous smile to her face. Perhaps after this evening the thought of being all alone with Nathaniel in a cabin in the forest will be somewhat less nerve-wracking, but right now she can't help the embarrassed blush that takes over. Still, when he kisses her, she can't help but forget that feeling, their surroundings, or anything else but Nathaniel. Her arms wrap around him of their own accord and pulls him a little closer as she loses herself in the passion of this kiss from the man she loves so dearly - for a moment it's as if they're the only two people on earth.
"Hey! Get a room!" a disgusted voice yells at them, abruptly reminding Iris that they're not alone but on a city sidewalk - teeming with far more pedestrians than there had been in the park.
The interruption is enough to cause Iris to break their kiss, but not enough for her to lose her sense of humor because she yells back, "We're working on it!" Turning back to Nathaniel, she gives him a crooked smile as she grabs his hand again and uses it to encourage him to go a bit faster toward her apartment. "I promise I'll be quick," she says somewhat distractedly, as she finds herself now having second thoughts about the need to stop by her apartment instead of going directly to his. She doesn't need anything there to spend the night elsewhere, does she? ...Well, yes, if she wants to avoid either rushing off to her place first thing in the morning or showing up at work conspicuously disheveled. So the delay will be worth it. Or at least it had better!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2014 18:24:52 GMT -5
There was no mistaking where they were. Nathaniel knew exactly how crowded the street was, knew that now they were in view of pedestrians who numbered more than there would have been had he pulled this in Robinson Park, but he didn’t mind. He was all about treating Iris and if that equaled a kiss that offended someone else on the sidewalk, then so be it. He was lost in the passion of the liplock and the warmth of the woman in his arms and even when it was broken he was still lost before she yelled.
Then he was laughing. It was deep, rich sound affected by the endorphins now rushing through his veins warming them. He looked up to spot their interruptor, but he didn’t care that they were lost in the crowd. He was being led away.
He smiled at Iris and squeezed her hand. “If you’re not…I’ll have to come up there,” he winked at her, but they made it to her apartment without another incident and Nathaniel let her hand go only to nod. “Be quick,” he teased her.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2014 3:59:58 GMT -5
The slight threat causes Iris to laugh and say, "Oh, don't tempt me..." Because she's quite sure that it wouldn't take much convincing to get Nathaniel to stay the night at her place instead if he came after her. But that would not be ideal for two reasons: while her place is currently not messy enough to stop her from inviting Nathaniel to spend the night, it is messy enough for her to be a little bit embarrassed about it. And, even more importantly, that would put Nathaniel in the same spot that she's trying to avoid with her pit stop at her place - putting him in the position of worrying about the next morning. And she doesn't want to do that to him. Still, the idea is very tempting though...
By the time they reach her apartment, she needs no more motivation to hurry but Nathaniel decides to do so anyway. "I will!" she promises as she unlocks all the locks on her door. And she's true to her word - she heads right to her bedroom, where she scoops up a small gym bag and starts to fill it with... let's see, something to sleep in (assuming she ends up bothering with that), change of clothes for tomorrow complete with the proper underthings and shoes, charger for her cellphone... Moving into her bathroom she quickly selects the most critical of her hair implements, makeup, shower supplies, toothbrush... She can assume that Nathaniel would happily lend her what he has if she forgets anything, but some things you just plain want your own. But she's not especially fussy or high-maintenance about her appearance anyway, so she doesn't have that many supplies to begin with and after sorting through it she doesn't have that much that she really needs to take.
In fact, it's less than five minutes before she's satisfied and rejoining Nathaniel, her small duffelbag clearly bugling with far more things than he can probably imagine that she'd need just for overnight, but that's just a part of being a woman. At least she's not the type that would need to bring several shoe options due to an inability to decide today which she'd prefer tomorrow. "Was that quick enough?" she asks, greeting him with a quick peck after their short separation.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2014 20:06:18 GMT -5
Was that quick enough? It was certainly faster than he’d expected and though she carries more than what he’d require for an overnight stay, he knows not to question it. He’d had partners that’d brought more and he understands that society stresses women to put more work into their appearance than men, not that Nathaniel doesn’t appreciate it. Instead he politely takes Iris’s bag and leads her from her building and back to the streets. His own building isn’t that far and besides, why ruin such a nice night by driving?
Walking would be quicker anyway.
Along the way, he offered no play for the people around him like he had outside the park. Instead he teased with brushes of his hand, kisses to space right behind Iris’s ear. He spoke in soft, promises and compliments to her. He was nervous, she was nervous, but along with it came a sort of excitement; moreso for him he knew. He relished in the anxiety that gnawed at his gut because it made him more bold. Of course it didn’t make him overly brazen. He did have manners after all. Manners that had him holding open the door for Iris at his apartment building, allowing her first entrance into his elevator, and then of course into his own apartment.
It was neat, decorated subtly. It was a bachelor pad and for all its elegance it did need a woman’s touch just they all did.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2014 1:57:24 GMT -5
To say that Iris is nervous would be putting it mildly. She's been to Nathaniel's apartment before, but only as a part of one of their more casual dates - a movie, a homemade meal - but never to spend the night and all that that implies. And while she's not an inexperienced woman, there is much for her to worry over because Nathaniel is not just some man to her - she cares about him. She's quite deeply in love with him, in fact, and she knows it too. So of course, even though she recognizes that much of her worries are based on fears that aren't completely logical, she's nervous.
But it's not the nervousness that's most prominent in her mind, but the care and the love that she feels for him. He's not only won her love, but the equally priceless jewel of her trust. She can't predict the future and know how their relationship will turn out in the months and years ahead, but she trusts both him and herself not to throw it away over nothing and that they would be fair to each other if things don't work out. Which is why she can say with some confidence that she won't regret the rest of her evening, no matter how it goes.
So though he can no doubt see the hint of nerves in her eyes and expressions, she's quick to claim his other hand with her own after he offers to carry her bag and there's no hesitation in her steps as they walk. In fact if anything her nerves are a bonus - that extra bit of alertness they bring with them makes her that much more keenly aware of his presence above anything else, and also that much quicker to laugh and blush at his compliments and teasing gestures.
It seems like no time at all or an eternity - one or the other, she's not sure which - before he's holding the door open for her while she steps into his apartment. And, noting that, her nerves promptly quadruple. But, mentally reminding herself of just how confident she is in her choice to come, she takes a small breath and asks, "Do you have something to drink?" Because, well, that'll help right now.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2014 12:41:16 GMT -5
His heart isn’t racing when he watches Iris walk in. It’s playing a solo against his ribs, vying for escape. Of course they’d been to each other’s apartments for their less dressy dates. Honestly for Nathaniel those were always his favorites because in the end, spending time with that special someone was the most important to him. But now in his apartment it’s different. They’re not on a casual date any longer and the reason for them being here is as far from casual as one can get. This is a big step for both of them, and Nathaniel is aware of that. He’d been a man before who only cared about notches on his posts. He’d been that vain and experience had been a hard teacher. He’d gained Iris’s faith and he wasn’t going to let that down if he could help it. The future was indeed unknown, but for now this is what they had and Nathaniel knew better now than to take it for granted. He loves Iris and in return his heart and its trust is hers.
He won’t regret this.
He places her bag down by the door as he steps in and locks it. He can sense her trepidation, had sensed and seen it from the moment they’d begun their actual walk here and now he plans to do something about it. He walks up behind her and wraps his arms around her. He presses his front to her back and pushes her hair out of the way. He kisses the soft skin of her neck gently even as he speaks. “I do.” He leans over her shoulder and gives her a smile.
“White wine,” he asks as he slowly lets her go with a chaste kiss to her cheek and enters the kitchen to grab the glasses first of all before opening the refrigerator for the wine.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2014 18:10:57 GMT -5
When his arms go around her, it seems rather sudden to Iris. Whether he actually moved that fast or whether she was simply too distracted by her nerves to see it coming, she's not sure. Either way, though, it only takes a moment before she finds his embrace calming her. She loves the man, after all, and it's hard to find a place that feels safer to her than in his arms. A part of it too is that she can somewhat feel his own heart against her back - he must be nervous too. And knowing that somehow makes it better. No doubt he can actually feel her letting go of the tension on her body as she leans into him a little, especially when he kisses her neck - the man sure knows how to make her melt!
When he leans over, the smile she gives him is both grateful and amused - the former because she needed that and the latter at her own physical reaction. She really does have nothing to worry about here, does she? Her heart rate disagrees somewhat, but then again she's sure a lot of that is excitement too. "Perfect! A glass of that would be wonderful!" she replies, though a part of her regrets that he'll have to let her go to get it and that it will take time to consume it. But with the way her thoughts and emotions are bouncing around right now, she's quite sure she's better off having a little something to take the edge off. But not too much, of course - she's sure that she'll want to remember all the gory details of this evening with complete clarity later...
When he lets her go, she follows close behind him to the kitchen, standing just far enough away to not be a hindrance as he retrieves the glasses and wine. With an amused exhale she says, "Sorry I'm so nervous. You'd think it was my first time." But she knows that trying to suppress those feelings is worse than simply recognizing that they're there. And she has no qualms about admitting them out loud to Nathaniel, especially since she's sure that he knows she feels that way already. And if anything, they should be flattering.
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