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MHA #8, Sunday
The subject of dates, specifically dates with Faye, had come up in multiple conversations for Stark this week. He’d spent a bit of time considering ideas for future excursions as a result. He wouldn’t mind another space trip, certainly. The mainland was an option. Something here on the island. There were restaurants neither one of them had ever been to here. There were plenty of things they could do.
For the moment though, Stark was content for the two of them to be here in his apartment. Going out could be wonderful but staying in made him just as happy. Having food delivered was sometimes preferable to eating somewhere else and that was his plan for today. It wasn't much of a plan, really, but that was fine.
Sometimes it was better not to have any sort of audience. Faye was much cuddlier in private. They both were. Sitting on his couch without anyone else around made it easier to be as affectionate as Stark wanted to be.
[For the favorite neighbor. No, not you, Liam.]
For the moment though, Stark was content for the two of them to be here in his apartment. Going out could be wonderful but staying in made him just as happy. Having food delivered was sometimes preferable to eating somewhere else and that was his plan for today. It wasn't much of a plan, really, but that was fine.
Sometimes it was better not to have any sort of audience. Faye was much cuddlier in private. They both were. Sitting on his couch without anyone else around made it easier to be as affectionate as Stark wanted to be.
[For the favorite neighbor. No, not you, Liam.]
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Someone was downright affectionate in private, it seemed, given that she wasn't content to just snuggle against him and instead kept finding little idle ways to touch him.
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"Habit, I think. I got used to it. I could." He would absolutely grow it out if requested. The closest he'd come recently would have been letting it alone while stuck in the hole. "If you wanted to see it?"
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"It's easier not to shave it than it is to shave it," he pointed out. "But you're right. For the winter would be good. I'd rather not be cold. I don't like being cold."
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"Especially if it does what it did last year, with the blizzarding." Faye blinked a little, frowning. She'd been here nearly a year, now.
That didn't make her feel anything, don't worry. Nothing at all!
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That sounded very appealing, actually.
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"That's what I did last time, but without any company," Faye replied, tilting her head to press a kiss to his cheek. "So it'll be fine if it happens again."
All she'd had was a comforting gun and bottles of booze, last time. And now an irrational fear of candy canes.
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"I didn't have any company either." He'd been lonely for so long before this.
"It will be much better with company," Stark said seriously. "You are very good company. My favorite company." Cheek kisses were lovely but that statement required turning for a proper kiss to follow it up.
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It had been a long time since it had felt like anyone thought she was special, and for someone who thrived on attention like Faye did, it was nice. And as long as it stayed here in this lovely, vaguely superficial, sexy place, she could just keep ignoring things like how long she'd stayed on this silly little island.
"And if anything comes with a blizzard again -- " Like terrifying candy canes, for example, "-- I'll protect you."
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"I'll try not to need protecting," Stark said. It was always better not to need that. But if he had to be protected he could do much worse.
"I'm glad you'll be there if I need you," he added, looking at her very seriously now. "I do appreciate that. Always. Very much."
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(But yes.)
But whoa, that was a serious look, and Faye wasn't entirely sure she was comfortable with where this was going. "Sometimes people can't help it, the needing protection thing." Sometimes you just fell into a hole or whatever. "But...yeah. I don't want anything bad to happen to you."
That, right there, was what Faye would consider an admission of feelings. She did not actively want bad things to happen to you, Stark, what more could a guy want?
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"Still, I'll try." Because he didn't want anything to happen as a result of Faye thinking he needed protection, or him actually needing protection.
"I don't want anything to happen to you either. I love you."
Oh.
Well.
That was out there in the universe now, wasn't it?
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And at first, all Faye could do was kind of stare at him in what might have been a natural reaction to being told such information, or it might have been obvious panic.
One of the two.
It wasn't like she hadn't, you know, suspected that there might be deeper feelings at work here. She did so much work ignoring those feelings all the time! But now that he'd said that, she couldn't just pretend anymore.
Goddammit, Stark, way to ruin everything.
She knew she couldn't just stare at him, though, and even though part of her wanted to just run away fast enough to leave a cloud of Faye-shaped dust in her wake, she also didn't really want to hurt him. So she would stall.
Stall with kissing. Kissing seemed like an incredibly appropriate response (right? Faye had no idea) and it would keep him from saying anything else that might inspire a panic attack.
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Right now being thoroughly kissed did seem like an appropriate response to what he'd just said. Much more appropriate than running away!
He'd meant it, and he wanted her to know it, and he was trying to convey that by enthusiastically returning her kiss and tightening a hand in her hair.
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(Thoughts like 'props to Faye' were way easier to handle than even beginning to process what he'd said beyond panicking.)
Once she was settled, one hand came up to cup his cheek. All the affectionate, distracting touching right now, yes.
(Not because Faye felt the same way at all, of course.)
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He was going to settle his right hand at her waist and reach up to cover her hand on his cheek with his left and eventually manage to get out a breathless "Faye, I..."
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And hooking her arm around his neck to lean in for more kissing -- maybe a little more aggressive about it just now -- was a good way to accomplish that.
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This wasn't why he'd said what he did! But this was very good.
Maybe he just needed to enjoy the moment. Enjoy the moment, pull her closer, slide the hand at her waist up her side.
They could talk later. There would be plenty of time later.