Topic: Learning To Fly

OH Granger

Date: 2011-05-07 23:46 EST
Once they were free of the craziness of the Glen, with its fire and crowds and revellers, and settled in the cozy comfort of Teas n' Tomes, Ollie relaxed slightly. He took a deep breath and said, "I suppose I owe you a whole heap of explanations, don't I?"

"Not so many," she smiled faintly, shaking her head. "I really would rather not be responsible for destroying a good friendship, if that is what you are sure you have with Cally." She glanced up at him uncertainly. "I know how it feels."

"I honestly don't have any clue what there is...was...between Cally and I." He frowned slightly, glanced down at this unexpected, beautiful girl who had caused such upheaval in his life. He found he didn't mind it so much...well, he could say that now, but tomorrow" When the expected flurry of phone calls and visits from the rest of the family came, he might feel differently. "Cally is a long-time family friend. She and me sister, Lola, were roomies at Uni."

Piper nodded slowly, taking this in, attempting to suppress the admiring thoughts trying to make themselves known concerning his face and features, especially those pale, pale eyes looking down at her. "You have known her for a long time, then," she said quietly. "And liked her for all that time?"

"Very nearly, yes." He fell silent for a moment. "I'm not....I've never been very good with women, Piper. I had a fiance, once upon a time. Lily, her name was. We were together for three, four years before she decided that I was too meek for her tastes and moved on."

"There is a difference between meek and shy," she said thoughtfully. "I know I have very little to base this on, but I would say you are shy rather than meek. Uncertain, when you don't need to be. You are handsome, and clearly very intelligent, and you have an honourable streak a mile wide. I think I am very lucky to have met you, even if all we become from this is friends."

"I think husband and wife should be friends, " he said with a tiny smile. "But yes. Meek, I am not. Ask Correy. Ask my other cousin, Gigi. They will tell you of ...brawls. Bare-knuckle fights." He held his hands up for her, displaying the battered hands of a boxer. "I am very, very shy. Quiet. Reserved. I had to be. Growing up in my house, with my father. I had to be very careful not to speak out of turn."

"My parents didn't meet each other until their wedding day, and they become good friends," she offered, unable to keep from smiling in amusement at the thought of this urbane gentleman bare-knuckle fighting, despite the evidence. "I was always encouraged to speak my mind. It doesn't always work out very well." She laughed at her own memories then, looking up at him. "I'd rather you were honest with me, than reserved. Resentment does more harm than anger."

He nodded. "Honesty is what I strive for, Piper." Then her first statement caught up with him. "Your parents didn't know each other until their wedding day' It was arranged?"

"Very arranged," she chuckled fondly. "My mother's family was old money, my father's has a title; they both went to private school and were kept away from the opposite sex as much as they could. It was a very ....Victorian ....way of doing things. They got married when they were twenty."

His brow arched. Well, at least he was assured of one thing now - she was no gold digger. "And they're still together?" Of course, they were, you dolt. Divorce was a no-no, right"

"Oh, yes." Piper's smile was wide and soft as she spoke of her parents; it was clear that she had been lucky enough to be raised in a very loving home. "They argue, of course, but they never go to bed without resolving their argument, and my father insists that my mother go on her holidays and spend time with her friends while he works on the estate ....it's all very, well, I suppose you'd call it familial. They don't love each other with a passion, but they do love each other." She looked up at Ollie. "I'm sorry, I'm rambling on about my family and it's so unlikely that you'll ever meet them."

OH Granger

Date: 2011-05-07 23:47 EST
"No, it's...nice. To know that there are families like that, where the husband respects the wife, cares for her, dare I say, loves her even." He cleared his throat then. "Cally and I never went out on a date. I kissed her once. There was a time when I would have given my left hand to be with her. But....I don't know. She needs someone more...lively, I guess. Someone more outgoing. It would never have worked, I don't think."

"Is it her, or the idea of her, that you wanted?" Piper asked as gently as she could, not wanting to make him angry by questioning the obviously tender feelings he held for the redhead.

"At first, her. Then later, the idea of her." She'd wanted honesty, and what the lady wants, the lady gets. He shrugged awkwardly. "I'm not....I'm not a great catch, Piper. I'm a painter, so there's likely no steady income there. I'm far too honourable for my own good. I'm far too quiet for my own good. I've been asking myself over and over since I showed up at your room just what the hell I think I'm doing here. And the only thing I can come up with is...well, it's not romantic, but it's the truth. You need me. And I need that." He shrugged again, falling silent, his cheeks tinged with an arresting colour. Ollie Granger - definitely not suave.

Piper was silent for a long moment, slightly lost for words. He'd hit the nail right on the head there; she did need him, and she could see that, in a way, he needed her. "You're too hard on yourself," she said finally, pausing to make sure he saw the sincerity in her eyes as she spoke. "Ollie, I don't care about your income, or whatever character flaws you seem to think you have. I walked into this thinking I would probably end up linking myself with someone who wouldn't even look at me twice after the wedding. I never dreamed I'd be lucky enough to catch the interest of someone like you. I meant what I wrote in the letter. I'd be honoured to be your wife, in more than name if that is what you want. I, uhm ..." She cleared her throat, her cheeks now matching his for brightness. "I, I, I wouldn't be averse to it. But that's getting a little far afield, and babbling again." She covered her mouth with her hand, embarrassed by her nervous habit.

He grinned, ridiculously touched by her babbling and obvious embarrassment. He reached out boldly with his free hand, caught her chin between long, dextrous fingers, and darted a quick kiss to those incredibly wonderful lips. Then he looked mortified that he'd been so forward, so brazen. "Oh, God. Piper, I'm sorry."

It was so quick, she didn't have time to do more than pout and blink before he was gone again, apologising for a kiss she hadn't expected and certainly didn't mind. Her lips curved in a delighted smile as she blinked up at him. "Don't be," she told him softly. "Because then I'd have to be sorry for liking it."

He grinned, a stupidly ridiculous expression, nine-tenths goofy, one-tenth shocked. He shoved a hand through his hair self-consciously. "You must have questions. I'm much better at answering questions than I am at offering."

She ducked her head, her own smile a shade sillier than his for a moment before she lifted her eyes again. "To be honest, I hadn't really thought about what questions I should be asking," she admitted with an almost shy shrug. A thought occurred to her, and a teasing light sparkled into her eyes. "Although maybe I should just talk to Correy and your other cousin who lives with you. Then you wouldn't have to worry about what not to tell me at all, would you?"

"Oh, God," he groaned and closed his eyes for a moment. "Yes, you could certainly get all sorts of juicy gossip out of them. They're siblings, by the way. I used to call them the Terror Twins when they were younger, though they're not. I still think of them like that on occasion." A thought occurred to him then. "You fully realise that the instant Correy was out of earshot, he'd phoned Kay and was telling her everything, right?"

She bit her lip for a moment, before letting her smile reappear. "I'd expect nothing less," she confessed. "I used to be just like that with my sister. It's not going to make things too uncomfortable for you, though, is it?" Concern flickered over her face, turning the corners of her full mouth downward as she frowned worriedly. "You mentioned you had a large family; they won't all react badly, will they?"

He was silent for a while, trying to order his thoughts about his family. "Though I have at least a thousand cousins, there are only really four I'm close with, plus my sister. And I think so long as the five of them aren't too upset or utterly freaked out by all of this, it'll be okay." He squeezed her hand. "We'll be okay, I mean." He had to get used to thinking in those terms - we vs. me.

Again, that small, soft smile made its appearance on her face, wiping away the lines of concern as he referred to them as 'we'. "You should be careful, Mr Granger," she warned him impishly, flickering a decidedly teasing glance his way. "Your charm is doing warm and fuzzy things to my insides."

He blushed deeply, a startling shade of red and cleared his throat awkwardly. Quick, Ollie! Think of something to talk about! "Wedding" What sort would you like?" Yes! A full, complete sentence with no hesitations or babbling!

OH Granger

Date: 2011-05-07 23:47 EST
"Oh, goodness, I have no idea," she laughed, shaking her head. Turning forward once again, she resumed walking, her hands slipping back to curl into the crook of his elbow as she spoke. "My mother would insist on a church, a meringue for a dress, the full works. It's a fairytale day, but I've already been there and ended up as the wicked witch in white, so I really don't know." She shrugged lightly. "What would you like" You're the groom, it's at least forty percent your wedding day too."

"Forty percent, huh' That's awfully generous of you. I had been expecting twenty-five." He chuckled softly. "Outside, I think. Under some trees. In a garden or something like that."

"That sounds lovely," she agreed, nodding her head. "Not too formal, either. I don't know about you, but personally I despise the current fad for tuxedos at every event. A well-tailored lounge suit is far superior." Oops, she might be revealing a little too much about her shopping problem.

He laughed outright at that one and gestured to his carefully mussed clothing. "Do you see what I'm wearing tonight?"

Tilting her head, she looked him up and down with a lopsided quirk of a smile. "I do," she nodded, eventually raising her eyes to his face. "I take it Correy is responsible for the wrinkles?"

"And for the lack of a tie and a jacket, too." He still felt naked, truth be told.

"I see." Her smile straightened out as she considered this. "I'd agree with avoiding the tie, if you're aiming for smart casual, but a jacket over jeans is really rather sexy on the right man." It would appear that confidence was not lacking in Piper at all this evening; her almost innocent gaze suggesting that Ollie was the right man for that look.

Cue the blush. "I'll....I'll be sure to tell Correy you said so." He chuckled softly. "I think I'll trust you to dress me appropriately. What about family' Will yours be coming?"

She looked almost sad for a moment, before wiping the expression away. "I would hope they'd come," she told him softly. "My parents wouldn't miss it for the world, I'm sure. But I doubt my sister could be prevailed upon to tear herself away from her very important work."

His heart clenched seeing that sadness on her face and he instantly berated himself for being the cause of it. "Oh?" he tried for light, casual. "What does she do?"

She sighed, rolling her eyes. "She married Screaming Lord Such three years ago and got politics." Piper's voice was heavy with disapproving sarcasm as she spoke. "She lost interest in everything except obscure causes and how to make her husband seem even more insane than he's perceived already."

He blinked. "I see. So she's a professional wife, then." He frowned. "You'll not want to be one of those" I haven't much in the way of politics or causes. Um....Unless you count trying to get paint prices lowered, that is."

She chuckled, shaking her head. "I was reaching the end of my degree before I had to come here," she told him. "Not entirely sure what I'm supposed to do with it, but I'm sure I'll find something to do here. Unless you can think of a career that makes use of a degree in Art History?"

"Art. History. You're not serious?" It was the one subject in school that he'd long to study but had been absolutely forbidden by Junior.

"Very," she laughed, surprised by his reaction. "Two years of an Art Foundation course at the local tech, then four years at Cambridge for the degree. I think I'd have noticed if I wasn't serious about it. Why do you ask?"

"I always wanted to study that," he said softly, with no small amount of sadness colouring his voice. "Well, there's a lot of galleries in Rhy'Din. Perhaps you could work at one of them?"

"Perhaps I could, at that," she agreed. "Or I could spend the next few years taking you through all my course work and thesis?" Her smile was gently understanding as she squeezed his arm. "Please don't worry about regular income or trying to support me," she added. "Strange as it may seem, I have a lifetime guaranteed allowance of what amounts to four hundred gold a month."

"Well," he said, finding he really had no further answer for her than that. "Um....I'd like that, actually. To read your thesis, I mean." He dropped his glance to her still-flat belly and then looked away hastily. "The baby' Um....When are you due" Where is the father?"

She blushed, still very ashamed of herself for being stupid enough to get into this situation in the first place. Clearing her throat, she paused a moment before answering him. "I'm told that I should expect to give birth near the beginning of October," she told him awkwardly. "As to the father ....I truly don't know. It's humiliating to admit it, but I don't know his name, or anything about him, except that he must be some form of magical being. As I said before, I took a very stupid risk."

"Magical being," he repeated. "And the baby will be at least partially...um...magical, then?" Wow. What the hell are you getting into here, Ollie"

OH Granger

Date: 2011-05-07 23:48 EST
"Apparently, yes." Piper didn't sound too confident herself at the thought of having a baby who may or may not have weird and wonderful powers from the womb. "I really don't know. And ....well, I'm scared."

She'd said the magic words. Out popped knight errant Oliver in slightly tarnished armour. He took her hands in his, gripped them tightly and said in a firm voice, "I will take care of you, Piper. You and your...our...the baby, too. I swear it."

The gaze she lifted to him was very vulnerable, but equally trusting, as her fingers curled into his. "Thank you, Ollie," she said quietly. "I really don't have words to say how much that means to me."

"Can I walk you back to your room' You need your rest and I've got to prepare the battlements to be scaled and work on my defences." He flashed her a smirk.

The gentle moment over, she giggled at his description, not envying him the endless round of questions he was going to have to fight through when his family got hold of the information no doubt already disseminated by Correy and his sister after tonight. "Thank you, I'd like that," she nodded to him. "I should probably start informing my own family, too, but I think I'll wait and see whether being under siege changes your mind." She sounded teasing, but Piper was keeping that option open for him nonetheless.

"Thanks," he replied dryly. "Uhm....You needn't stay at the Inn, you now. You could...um...well, you could come live with me and Kaylee."

Smiling, Piper squeezed his arm gently. "I think it might be a little crowded," she said softly. "But we can talk about it another time."

He nodded and once they were standing in front of 112a, he leaned down and brushed a tentative kiss against her cheek. "Good night, Piper. It was...well, it was wonderful to see you. Sleep well."

The kiss to her cheek brought forth another light blush, twinned with a sweet smile. "Despite everything, I've really enjoyed your company tonight," she said gently. "Good night, Ollie." She somehow resisted the urge to kiss him in return, slow to unlock her door and step inside, but the smile she left him with was warm and friendly. However unorthodox this beginning was, it was promising.

He waited until he heard the lock slide home and then set off for his own bed. If Kay was still up when he got home, she was going to feel the rough side of his tongue...before he enlisted her help in finding Piper a ring.