Chris
Human
LAPD Sergeant: Narcotics
And I won't let you drown when the water's pulling you in; I'll keep fighting, I'll keep fighting.
Posts: 407
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Post by Chris on Nov 29, 2012 23:29:14 GMT
It was only now that they were actually kissing that Chris realised he had been wanting to. For some time as well, possibly, if the depth of his relief at her response was any indication. When had that happened? When exactly had the desire sparked into being inside of him and why hadn't he noticed it before? Until now Elle had just been one of his closest friends, someone with whom he trusted a great many things. He could be himself with her -- as she could with him -- and he would go to great lengths to ensure her safety and happiness. But here they were, essentially arm in arm, two people who had potentially just taken that step from one kind of relationship to another.
Instead of thinking or worrying about it then, whether or not that was something Elle might want, Chris slid his hand a little higher, feeling the curve of her back as she leaned into him like that, able to taste the sweetness of the drink she'd had at the restaurant as they kissed. Just because he hadn't expected this, hadn't seen it coming, that didn't mean he wasn't pleasantly surprised and to say anything else would have been an outright lie.
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Elle
Human
Architect, Author & Presenter
Suddenly my eyes are open, everything comes into focus.
Posts: 119
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Post by Elle on Nov 30, 2012 0:27:44 GMT
There hadn't been anyone significant for Elle for a long time. At first she worked to hard for anything but casual dating, set ups from her girl friends who insisted she go to dinner with this guy they knew, or went to a museum or a gallery opening with that one, but especially since the accident she had kept any thought of a romantic life out of her head. It was hard to think of anything remotely like that when you felt you were living on borrowed time, stolen time even, and none of that was to mention her anxiety ridden nights, the time spent looking over her shoulder for the man who had attacked her, that same man who had recently entered her home to taunt her with his freedom. Elle felt, in some ways, irreparably damaged by what had happened to her. Of course she forged on, worked hard, lived her life, but some things didn't come quite so easily. That was where Chris made all the difference.
A friend, a close one now, he had been with her in one capacity or another through most of what had happened, the aftermath of it at least and while he might not know the intimate ins and outs of those first few months out of the hospital the way a set of headlights swinging across the windows could give her a full blown panic attack, how nervous she had been just climbing into her own car to go to work in the morning, he knew a hell of a lot more about her than anyone else. So she trusted him. So kissing him came easily and so naturally and openly. Elle's fingers brushed his neck softly, and then to hell with it, she buried them up into his hairline behind his ear, her other arm still around his shoulders.
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Chris
Human
LAPD Sergeant: Narcotics
And I won't let you drown when the water's pulling you in; I'll keep fighting, I'll keep fighting.
Posts: 407
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Post by Chris on Nov 30, 2012 1:25:22 GMT
Mark and the others were forever trying to set him up on dates, and before his last partner had left her friends had been terrible for it as well. Chris had never gone for it, had never been interested in any of the people they tried to present him with, not because he thought they weren't good enough but because he was so focused on his work, he buried himself in it, immersed himself in that world so completely that it just wouldn't be fair to anyone he tried to date. Elle understood the world he lived in because she had been dragged into it, she was strong enough not to be thoroughly put off and discouraged by it.
Not that he had any intention of pulling her even further into that world, she'd been too involved in it already, and there was always that fear that getting involved with anyone would put them at risk but with Elle the risks didn't seem so great, at the very least they couldn't outweigh how right it felt to kiss her and have his hand on her, holding her close to him as her fingers slid up into his hair. Against all that the doubts and the reservations seemed so small and so meaningless, almost silly. He let go of the hard hat, barely even hearing it land by his feet and roll a little away from his shoe to rest against what had once been part of the wall through which they could now see the city of Los Angeles. That left his hand free to stroke up her side and come to rest at the back of one of her shoulder blades, holding her to him even more. Suddenly it seemed strange that they hadn't done this sooner.
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Elle
Human
Architect, Author & Presenter
Suddenly my eyes are open, everything comes into focus.
Posts: 119
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Post by Elle on Dec 1, 2012 21:23:53 GMT
Why hadn't they done this sooner? Elle was at something of a loss for a reason, actually she was at a loss for a lot of things as he let go of the hard hat and it thumped away, rolling across the ruined carpet and thick floorboards under their feet. Things like clear and linear thoughts or air in her lungs seemed absent; as they kissed she became breathless and a touch light-headed but she pressed herself against him anyway as his hand came up to her back. That, more than anything, caused a fizzing sort of sensation in her chest. That Chris was holding her closer. That they were here at all. It gave the building new life, she thought for a wild moment. How long had it been since anyone had kissed in these rooms? How long since anything had happened here besides disintegration and erosion?
Her hand slid down his jaw from where it had been in his hair a moment before, very aware of everywhere they met, hands, lips, fingertips and the way he kissed her.
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Chris
Human
LAPD Sergeant: Narcotics
And I won't let you drown when the water's pulling you in; I'll keep fighting, I'll keep fighting.
Posts: 407
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Post by Chris on Dec 1, 2012 21:34:36 GMT
If anyone had told him at the start of the evening that this was where it would lead he wouldn't have believed it. Why it would be so hard to believe he wouldn't even be able to say, not even when his mind was clear again, a point that felt far away in the future right at that moment. He'd caught himself off guard and her too but now that they were here it just felt so natural, like they had been building to this all along. Perhaps they had, without even noticing it they had stepped together onto a path leading to this point and now here they were at their destination. The journey had passed them by without either of them really noticing but none of that mattered now. Chris was just happy to be here.
As her hand slid down one of his own went higher, the one at her shoulder found its way up to the back of her head, fingers gently slipping through her hair, it felt like such a natural hold that it seemed strange they hadn't been doing this all along, that they hadn't been here before. It felt familiar in a way he couldn't even describe or understand, like they had been here before. All that confusion could wait for later, when he was alone and he could spill his thoughts and put them in an order that made sense. Now really wasn't the time.
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Elle
Human
Architect, Author & Presenter
Suddenly my eyes are open, everything comes into focus.
Posts: 119
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Post by Elle on Dec 1, 2012 22:45:04 GMT
Élodie wouldn't have believed it either, though what would make it such a strange or outlandish thing to happen she couldn't have said. Perhaps that they were such good friends, or perhaps that it had never really been like that between them. Elle was by no means oblivious to the fact that Chris was handsome, and his seriousness endeared him to her no end, she might have always been attracted to him really, underneath it all. And there was a lot of All for it to be buried under. In a relatively short space of time they had been through a lot individually and he had been there to support her trough most of it. A voice of reason.
It was a shame, a real shame, that the kiss ended when his fingers were combing her hair that way. It was a natural end, a gentle one, and Elle needed to breathe. She smiled, even laughed a little with happy elation.
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Chris
Human
LAPD Sergeant: Narcotics
And I won't let you drown when the water's pulling you in; I'll keep fighting, I'll keep fighting.
Posts: 407
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Post by Chris on Dec 2, 2012 0:03:35 GMT
They got along so well, they had become such good friends, was it really so strange that they had ended up here? It really shouldn't have been. They had never really flirted with one another or made any kind of attempt to take their relationship further, those things were true, but that just meant that this had progressed and happened naturally and hadn't overpowered anything else about their friendship and wasn't that better? There was no denying that Élodie was a beautiful woman, no man in their right mind would say otherwise, and Chris had always been able to see and appreciate that beauty for himself but had never thought to act on it. It was more than that anyway, it wasn't as simple as that and never could be. Elle was someone he enjoyed spending time with, someone he felt he could keep with and who could keep up with him, and she was a beautiful person in more than just the physical sense.
Even when the kiss ended and they parted enough to catch their breath Chris kept his fingers in her hair at the back of her head like that, smiling and laughing gently in response to Elle's smile and laughter. It was a good sound, a nice one that he didn't hear too often and it just convinced him even more than he'd made the right decision. To be fair it was Elle who had initiated the second kiss but Chris had stepped in first, made the first move in a manner of speaking. "What were we talking about?" he asked, his voice low, at least for the moment genuinely unable to remember what had led them to this point.
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Elle
Human
Architect, Author & Presenter
Suddenly my eyes are open, everything comes into focus.
Posts: 119
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Post by Elle on Dec 2, 2012 0:29:57 GMT
Given their lives and given their particular issues with intimacy when it came to other people perhaps it was better that they had gotten to know one another first. There was trust there, there was knowing that the other person would and could be around if needed, they could talk to one another, there was a basis that was strong and had longevity. Maybe that was the key here, and would be in the long run. If there was a long run.
"I don't remember," Elle responded, smiling. Genuinely she couldn't think what they had been talking about a few minutes ago, almost as though her memories stopped at the moment that Chris had leaned in to kiss her. "I can't really think."
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Chris
Human
LAPD Sergeant: Narcotics
And I won't let you drown when the water's pulling you in; I'll keep fighting, I'll keep fighting.
Posts: 407
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Post by Chris on Dec 2, 2012 0:43:31 GMT
It wasn't always easy for Chris to trust people and he had always wondered if that had played a big part in his social life, if it was a big factor in just how small his circle of friends was, never mind the number of women he had been on dates with. Something about going out and spending time with a perfect stranger just made him uncomfortable, he couldn't relax. This was much better. It suited him, just as he suspected it suited Elle as well. The fact that they trusted one another so much must have played a part in this change, there was no way it couldn't have.
Chris chuckled then. "I can't either," he admitted. "It must have been good though," he added with a smile. Something to do with the hotel in which they stood, perhaps, he was having trouble recalling back that far given what had just happened. His mind wouldn't trace any further back than those steps he'd taken and where they'd led.
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Elle
Human
Architect, Author & Presenter
Suddenly my eyes are open, everything comes into focus.
Posts: 119
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Post by Elle on Jan 19, 2013 1:00:14 GMT
There weren't so many surprises with someone who was already a part of your life, not so many nasty surprises at the very least. Elle was sure she didn't know every single in and out of Chris Tyler's mind or soul, but she knew enough of him to be comfortable, to feel safe in the knowledge that there couldn't be anything too worrying lurking below the surface. Details weren't important anyway, Élodie knew him, who he was, not what he was and that was the important thing; he was a good, honest man with integrity.
"You must have said something very charming," she told him, smiling, even lifting a hand to brush back errant locks of dark hair from his brow in the darkness.
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Chris
Human
LAPD Sergeant: Narcotics
And I won't let you drown when the water's pulling you in; I'll keep fighting, I'll keep fighting.
Posts: 407
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Post by Chris on Jan 19, 2013 1:12:57 GMT
That was probably for the best, that Elle didn't know all those ins and outs, Chris didn't like some corners of his mind, how dark they had become over the years dealing with so many terrible people. It was a popular assumption that Homicide was the worst field in which to work but Chris knew better, that that was a misconception, because as awful as that department was Narcotics was just as dark and damaging, sometimes worse. Seeing what drugs could do to people was terrifying, it stayed with you, and there was a part of Chris that was sorry for that, that he'd led himself get so tainted by it all.
That was why spending time with Elle was so good for him, he could forget all about that darkness and what it was doing to him, he could almost pretend his life was ordinary and he didn't track down addicts and dealers on a daily basis. He smiled at her and said with amusement in his voice, "I must have." With a chuckle he added, "Don't get used to it though." Chris had been told he wasn't the most charming of people and he didn't doubt that for a second.
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Elle
Human
Architect, Author & Presenter
Suddenly my eyes are open, everything comes into focus.
Posts: 119
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Post by Elle on Jan 19, 2013 1:25:44 GMT
"Oh?" Élodie laughed lightly. "I was just thinking that I could," she said softly. "Get used to this," as if to demonstrate what she meant by this exactly, she drew a hand from his shoulder to his chest where she was sure she could feel the thud of his heart beneath cloth and bone.
"That didn't feel like a mistake to me," she added, titling her head to the side before she looked up at his face again, taking in the shadows cast against his throat, the shape of his mouth, his arresting eyes. Her gaze held there, questioning him but sure of herself, sure of her desire to let this moment develop into something more than a kiss between friends.
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Chris
Human
LAPD Sergeant: Narcotics
And I won't let you drown when the water's pulling you in; I'll keep fighting, I'll keep fighting.
Posts: 407
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Post by Chris on Jan 19, 2013 1:40:28 GMT
His head barely moved but his gaze dropped to where her hand lay over his heart, he could feel its beat against her palm and he decided very quickly that he liked it, this closeness, this warm and comfortable intimacy that they had discovered quite by accident. Chris found himself wondering how he'd gone so long without it when it felt so natural, so right, it felt like something they should have been doing all along, something they should have had from the start. Chris didn't believe in destiny, in fate, but he believed that this was how things were meant to be. It wasn't often that he felt so sure about things. That had to mean something.
At the sound of her voice his eyes came back up to meet hers and he smiled softly, as soft as someone who had seen so much devastation was capable of. "No," he agreed quietly with a small shake of his head. "It wasn't." He heard the certainty in his own voice, felt it with every fibre of his being, and his smile grew then. It was nice, being so certain of something, trusting something so deeply. "Sorry it took so long," he found himself saying quite without warning, just a touch of regret in his voice but not enough to take the smile from his face.
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Elle
Human
Architect, Author & Presenter
Suddenly my eyes are open, everything comes into focus.
Posts: 119
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Post by Elle on Jan 19, 2013 1:50:46 GMT
Destiny and fate were dangerous words to throw around people who had seen so much misery and destruction, the decimation of their families, personal tragedies. To think that all that could have been preordained was frightening to Élodie, but even she would have to admit that there seemed to be a certain serendipity to the way things had come about tonight, in all the nights leading up too this from the first time they had met; her a scared, sickly woman in a hospital bed hooked up to machines and IVs and doped to her eyeballs for shock and trauma, him a sergeant looking into the crime that had put her there. What a long way they had come.
"I don't know if you should be sorry for that," Elle told him, looking out through the ragged hole in the wall that showed the bay lit by the ambience of Los Angeles, a striking sight, a private view no one else was privy to. "This seems like the perfect time to me."
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Chris
Human
LAPD Sergeant: Narcotics
And I won't let you drown when the water's pulling you in; I'll keep fighting, I'll keep fighting.
Posts: 407
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Post by Chris on Jan 19, 2013 1:57:09 GMT
Chris didn't like the idea of everything being pre-written, not having any control over what his life would be like in the future, that some unseen and unknown force had already made all his choices for him and there was no real chance for him to alter the course he was already on. This was something they had made for themselves, not something that had been handed to them. It was a gift in a way, Chris wouldn't say otherwise, but they had made the decision to come here, to discuss the things they had, and he had consciously -- at least on some level -- leaned in to kiss her, just as she had made a choice to return that kiss. That was all them, they had made their own way here. No one had put them here.
As she looked out of that gaping hole in the wall he watched her face in profile, one hand coming up to tuck an errant strand of hair back behind her ear before returning to her hip where it had come to rest comfortably. "I guess I have good timing then," he said warmly, "accidental or otherwise." He followed her gaze out of that hole but he wasn't really taking in the view, he found himself thinking ahead to what might lay in the future for them. Chris didn't let himself get far with that, it wasn't good to get ahead of himself.
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