will-never-be-a-swan:

wrapped-in-shadows:

*handsome? she called him handsome. that does funny things to his heart and stomach as he stares down at the camera she’s showing him, and he looks at himself. his expression really is one of slightly deep thought, not his normal, fake, awkward smile he uses for photos*

o-oh… th-thank you that looks lovely…

*Roxy pointedly barked*

y-you’ll have to take one of Roxy too…

Giggling, she bends down a moment. “Of course I’ll take one of you sweetie! You’re too cute that you should have lots of pictures taken!” She snaps a few of Roxy, trying to get different angles. “Work that tail girl!”

Her giggling increases but she fails to see a pit of ice sticking out from under some snow near a stoop and slides against it, wobbling until her leg hits the stool. She steadies herself against it. “Ow.. S-Sorry. Didn’t see whatever I slipped on.” Looks around for it, blushing at making a fool of herself.

roxy look what you did…! *he goes to katelynn, gently taking her arm to help steady her and maybe draw her a little closer to him but hey she almost fell over, smiling with some concern* a-are you all right?

*roxy, obvious to the trouble, sniffs at the ice before she begins to trot around katelynn’s legs, and then jack’s, getting her leash wrapped around them*

will-never-be-a-swan:

wrapped-in-shadows:

*he? he. of course he. of course she has guy friends, why wouldn’t she? she’s nice, polite, pretty, fun to be around. god. what was he thinking? but he smiles at her, before blinking in surprise when she takes his photo and he turns purple, and tugs his blue scarf around his neck a bit*

y-you think so?

Smiling brightly, she nods and goes through the little photo album in her camera to show him. “Natural poses are the best kind of photos. See? You look really handsome in this picture.”

She handed the camera to him so he could see; a picture of him holding the leash with a slightly contemplative look on his face, the lights of Christmas luminescent behind him like little balls of light.

*handsome? she called him handsome. that does funny things to his heart and stomach as he stares down at the camera she’s showing him, and he looks at himself. his expression really is one of slightly deep thought, not his normal, fake, awkward smile he uses for photos*

o-oh… th-thank you that looks lovely…

*Roxy pointedly barked*

y-you’ll have to take one of Roxy too…

will-never-be-a-swan:

wrapped-in-shadows:

…y-yes, that works..! *oh god don’t show any anxiety or fear at the idea of watching people through glass or the threat of them looking back. already he’d seen people glancing his way as he walks with her, but he focuses on Roxy, brave for him, strutting out in front of them as if the street were hers and hers alone*

sounds good… w-who was the friend who took you…?

“Oh his name is Gustave Myros. Sweet guy. He told me it was his birthday so I suggested to celebrate it and he told me where.” She smiled. “It was pretty fun, though slightly awkward because he kept thanking me every little while.”

She brought out her camera and sprinted ahead a little, walking backwards and taking a picture of Jack as he walked. “That was a good shot!”

*he? he. of course he. of course she has guy friends, why wouldn’t she? she’s nice, polite, pretty, fun to be around. god. what was he thinking? but he smiles at her, before blinking in surprise when she takes his photo and he turns purple, and tugs his blue scarf around his neck a bit*

y-you think so?

will-never-be-a-swan:

wrapped-in-shadows:

um. i don’t go out a lot so… no… i mean about cafes. cake, though? i love devils food cake. *he has to lick his mouth at the thought of it as Roxy continues to sniff ahead of them, sticking her face here and there to get a good whiff of things*

She squeals a bit, hands cupped together. “Oh I love that flavor! I’m a sucker for chocolate!” She walks carefully, making sure not to hit any sidewalk ice as they walk. “Well..then we can go to this cafe I know. A friend took me there for his birthday recently. It was really cute in there and the entire front of the store is a window with counters and little stools so you can look out at the scenery.”

Thinking back on that day made her smile. “Granted the scenery was just a bunch of people walking back and forth and other store fronts but we’re supposed to be making up stories about people’s lives, right?”

…y-yes, that works..! *oh god don’t show any anxiety or fear at the idea of watching people through glass or the threat of them looking back. already he’d seen people glancing his way as he walks with her, but he focuses on Roxy, brave for him, strutting out in front of them as if the street were hers and hers alone*

sounds good… w-who was the friend who took you…?

will-never-be-a-swan:

wrapped-in-shadows:

oh, i missed it? *he looks disappointed by this, but opens the door for them. the little pug is out the door first and the two follow suite, and he locks the door after him* have to make up for it next year then…!

and y-yeah. cake. i haven’t had cake on my birthday in a while…

She follows after him, adjusting her scarf. “Make up for it? It’s fine. I haven’t celebrated my birthday in years!” responds casually, as if it were no big deal. She looked up at the sky, hoping it wouldn’t snow and ruin their day but the snow that was already on the ground painted the city in a lovely white color, save a few piles of dirty snow here and there.

“Do you have a favorite cafe for cake?”

um. i don’t go out a lot so… no… i mean about cafes. cake, though? i love devils food cake. *he has to lick his mouth at the thought of it as Roxy continues to sniff ahead of them, sticking her face here and there to get a good whiff of things*

will-never-be-a-swan:

wrapped-in-shadows:

*Roxy’s brown eyes lit up and she slobbered over the treat hungrily, smacking her chops together as she did*

r-really? when, when’s your birthday, katelynn?

Straightening up, she walked over to him, carrying the treat bag in case Roxy wanted more. “October 8th. Celebrated by moving to Metro City and living here is turning out to be a wonderful present.”

Smiling faintly, she walked over to the door, looking back at him. “So let’s go get you some cake first and you can blow out the candles, hm?”

oh, i missed it? *he looks disappointed by this, but opens the door for them. the little pug is out the door first and the two follow suite, and he locks the door after him* have to make up for it next year then…!

and y-yeah. cake. i haven’t had cake on my birthday in a while…

will-never-be-a-swan:

wrapped-in-shadows:

oh, oh no it’s okay to ask that… *he makes his way to a hat rack by the door and pulls down a purple leash. Roxy races up to him and does an odd little skittery dance in joy as he kneels down to connect it to her collar* i’m only 29. n-next year is the big 30…

*collar on, Roxy begins to pull him towards the door, tiny tail wagging*

“Oh wow, you’re my age now,” she responded, bending near Roxy to offer her a treat. “Guess we’ll sort of be celebrating the 30 milestone together somewhat.” She giggled, wagging the treat to Roxy. “Here you go sweetie. I got this for you. I hope you like it.”

*Roxy’s brown eyes lit up and she slobbered over the treat hungrily, smacking her chops together as she did*

r-really? when, when’s your birthday, katelynn?

will-never-be-a-swan:

wrapped-in-shadows:

*he tilts his head, smiling faintly. wow, she had planned a lot… he sets Roxy down, and the little black pug begins running around her daddy excitedly at the prospect of going out, even in this cold weather*

maybe… maybe we can go for a walk… *hard to believe he’s saying this, he HATES going outside but… she’s giving him some kind of courage. he’s thankful for that* and work it out from there?

“Sounds good!” she cheers, taking the dog treats out of the bag and setting the rest down, intent on throwing it out. She sets his present against a wall making sure to be careful not to damage it. “Um..is it okay if I ask how old you turned?”

I wonder if he’s younger or older than I am.

oh, oh no it’s okay to ask that… *he makes his way to a hat rack by the door and pulls down a purple leash. Roxy races up to him and does an odd little skittery dance in joy as he kneels down to connect it to her collar* i’m only 29. n-next year is the big 30…

*collar on, Roxy begins to pull him towards the door, tiny tail wagging*

will-never-be-a-swan:

wrapped-in-shadows:

*he blushes and kneels down quickly to scoop Roxy up into his arms, the little black pug wriggling and wruffling at the indecency of it all before going floppy in his arms as he walks up to her*

well you’re talented with a camera, that’s something…!

uh, do you want a drink? are you hungry? or, or do you want to go out and just. just walk a bit before doing anything…?

*Roxy’s eyes widen at the word ‘outside’ and begins wriggling again*

She turns to him, smiling and bringing the bag up to her eye level. “W-Well I brought some ingredients to make a cake…” She trailed off, groaning a bit. What had she been thinking? She didn’t even know how to cook. “A-Actually..no..I brought Roxy some treats. And your present. And we can go out for cake later? To a little bakery and take some photos and sketch?”

She was blushing deeply, her eyes lowering a bit. She was screwing up the plans even though she had tried to plan it out in her head. Man I must seem pretty lame right now.

*he tilts his head, smiling faintly. wow, she had planned a lot… he sets Roxy down, and the little black pug begins running around her daddy excitedly at the prospect of going out, even in this cold weather*

maybe… maybe we can go for a walk… *hard to believe he’s saying this, he HATES going outside but… she’s giving him some kind of courage. he’s thankful for that* and work it out from there?

will-never-be-a-swan:

Katelynn stood, walking further into the apartment and eyes roaming over every painting. “Wow..!” she exclaimed, smile curving into a smile. “This is so cool!” It definitely looked better than her apartment. There was so much color versus the white and navy colors of her apartment.

She walked in a little further, wanting to see the paintings up close. “I wish I had the talent to draw even 10% of this…”

*he blushes and kneels down quickly to scoop Roxy up into his arms, the little black pug wriggling and wruffling at the indecency of it all before going floppy in his arms as he walks up to her*

well you’re talented with a camera, that’s something…!

uh, do you want a drink? are you hungry? or, or do you want to go out and just. just walk a bit before doing anything…?

*Roxy’s eyes widen at the word ‘outside’ and begins wriggling again*