The Language of Love

by TheOriginalDash

Kissing in Cars

By the time I was driving Octavia home from the hospital, it was well past midnight. I was exhausted, and I could really use a whole lot of sleep. I had been right in my initial diagnosis, and she had fractured two of the bones in her right hand. She was sporting a rather fetching black cast right now, and I couldn’t help but giggle every time I caught sight of it as I drove her home.

“Oh my goodness! What do you want? You’ve been laughing like a maniac every five seconds since we got in the car! What?” Octavia glared fiercely at me from the passenger seat. Her outburst unfortunately only caused me to snort and laugh harder.

“I’m sorry, it’s just… Your hand. It’s broken. You’re so stupid!” I began cackling, and Octavia aimed a swift jab to my upper right arm. Okay, so that one is not broken, and she can definitely still land a blow. I’m starting to feel sympathy for the wall. I softly massaged the sore area, and shot a quick glare at her before returning my eyes to the road.

“You’re not amusing, Madame Staccato. In fact, for provoking an injured and clearly angry woman, you must not have very much intelligence at all. I’m surely not the moron in this vehicle.” I rolled my eyes and smirked at her, and I sincerely hoped she could see it. She definitely saw it, because she huffed angrily and crossed her arms as she began gazing out the window.

“Hey, look, all I’m saying is, I wouldn’t have punched a wall if I was frustrated. Not over anything. That was not a smart move, Octy.” I heard the rustle of her clothing as she turned in her seat to face me. I could feel her eyes boring a hole into the side of my head, and my face flushed in response.

“You don’t seem to understand the amount of emotional and intellectual stress I have been under recently. Not only have I realize that I have developed and attraction to one of my co-workers, said co-worker happens to be female. And just as I am starting to reconcile that fact and potentially see where it might lead me, our director has seen fit to draw in talent scouts and discuss moving me to another production; a larger and more successful one. I apologize if my actions seemed a tad rash, but I have been incredibly frustrated for the last several hours as I have tried to sort out exactly what I wanted to do, because I have been torn between a desire to further my career, and to pursue your ungrateful, sarcastic, snide, downright rude, beautiful, intelligent, caring, passionate ass!” I kept my eyes firmly attached to the road as I tried to process what Octavia had just revealed, and gave her a chance to compose herself.

Oh, wow. Okay, so I’ve probably been an ass. I had no idea she was dealing with this much. She just never let on to any of this. Not that I’ve ever asked, but I doubt that she would open up to me, anyway. She tends to be pretty reclusive and private.

Also, she honestly had feelings for me? Well, shit. That complicated things a bit. I’d spent so long resigned to the fact that it would be an eternal chase that I wasn’t quite sure how to handle this revelation. I was incredibly flattered, but also terrified. So, as usual, I let my mouth do the talking.

“Octy, I’m sorry that I’ve been kind of inconsiderate. Honestly, I agree that all of that stuff is a lot to handle. I don’t blame you for being stressed, and I’m sorry that I haven’t been making this any easier on you… Also, you think all those wonderful things about my ass? Quite frankly, I’m flattered that you’ve paid so much attention to my butt.” Great, real smooth, Vinyl. Real sharp wit. A butt joke. But something about that must have been hilarious, because suddenly Octy was showering the inside of my Jeep with her infectious laughter, and soon enough, I joined in. A few minutes later, we had finally calmed, and were just quietly catching our breath.

“No, you idiot. That was not directed at your posterior. I meant all of those words about you, as a whole, but I was so irritated with you that I lost my usual eloquence for a brief period. I do accept your apology, though, and perhaps I shouldn’t have snapped at you like I did. That was rather rude.”

“Well, I’m still flattered. You have quite the way with words, Octy. That’s very sweet. But who says I return these feelings?”

“Oh, come off it, Vinyl. The way you responded to that kiss earlier was evidence enough. The whole staff knows you do. It’s hardly been a secret that you constantly moon after me and follow me like a little lovesick kitten. It’s honestly really cute, though. I always have adored you and the little things you do to make me feel special and cared for. It’s something I don’t receive very often. So I never minded your little affections. It just wasn’t until recently that I realized the depth and breadth of my own affection for you. I can’t say when it started, or even how, but somewhere along the line, I do believe I have developed quite a hefty set of feelings for you. You’re surely something special, and I apologize for how long it has taken me to realize it.”

I blushed scarlet when Octavia mentioned the kiss from earlier, and was downright puce by the time she revealed that everyone I knew was aware that I was drowning in the feels. But her surprisingly sentimental declaration of affection was something new. Octavia was never one to show real emotion. She always kept everything bottled up under her calm, collected, and poised demeanor. She was just raised that way, by her father.

“I.. I really don’t know what to say to that. At all.” Octavia leaned closer, brushing against the soft leather of my jacket and whispered softly into my ear.

“Then don’t say anything.” Without warning, she grasped my chin softly and brushed her lips against my own in a feathery kiss. I nearly crashed the car. Luckily, we were on a quiet side street, a few blocks from her apartment. I managed to jerk the wheel to the left and swerve up to the curb without causing any harm. Octavia knew exactly what she was doing, even though I felt my heart racing, because it was a very dangerous idea to remove any driver’s attention from the road.

Octavia smiled, and I heard a low chuckle emitted from her throat. She closed the distance for another kiss, and another, and another. Finally, I recovered my senses enough to start kissing back. It was like nothing I had ever experienced; her somewhat thin lips were soft, warm, inviting. I could smell her lilac shampoo, and that distinctly human smell that was unique to her. She ran her hands through my hair, tugging softly, and just trying to pull me as close to her as physically possible. I’d almost say she was trying to crush our atoms together as hard as she was pressing her lips to mine.

And then, the inevitable sound of cars honking and yelled curses in downtown Manhattan brought back the reality of our situation. We were idling on a street in a somewhat quiet little housing development, making out in the front seat of my car. I felt a laugh bubble up in my chest at the ridiculousness of our situation, and pulled away from Octavia. Immediately, she flew into a blind panic.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! Was that too presumptuous? I should’ve known better. I’m terribly sorry.” I laughed at her reaction, and just shook my head, smiling all the while.

“Chill, you’re fine. I’m just laughing because we’re literally just making out in my car where anyone could walk past and see us. Trust me, nothing is wrong with that, it’s cool and all. But maybe we should take this somewhere a little more private, before one of these lovely residents decides to call the cops on us.” She looked mortified at the thought, and I chuckled again, before softly stretching my hand out to caress her cheek. Smiling quietly at her, I began driving again, and soon enough, we were parked outside her apartment building.

“Well, Vinyl, you did suggest somewhere more private. Why don’t we head on up and continue our discussion from earlier?” I blinked slowly, still trying to process what exactly had just happened. We had just discussed our feelings, check. We kissed, definitely check. And now she was inviting me inside, check. Okay. I think I have this. I slowly uncoupled my seatbelt, turned off the car, and then I jogged around to the other side of the Jeep to open Octy’s door and let her out, before she could open the door herself. Gentlemanly, right?

Octavia stepped down gracefully, and accepted my offered hand. With a quick, nervous and happy glance at each other, we sprinted for the stairs, and climbed our way up to Octy’s apartment as fast as we could. I couldn’t ever explain the giddy feeling that bubbled up in my chest as we raced each other up the long flights, but it was a wonderful thing.

When we finally reached the top, Octy fumbled around awkwardly in her purse with her left hand, unused to using her non-dominant hand to grab things. Eventually, she located her keys, and after watching her grapple with the lock for a few minutes, I laughed and took the key from her to unlock the door myself. She gave me a grateful look, and then unceremoniously dragged me inside after her. As I turned to shut and lock the door, Octy stepped closer and pressed a gentle kiss to my cheek, and I flushed scarlet as we made our way to her couch. Settling in, with Octy snuggling into my chest, I prepared for what would surely be a deep discussion about who we are and what we’re going to do now. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Author's Note:

I apologize for the long wait, guys. I started this draft in October, but things have been so hectic in my life. I've been busy with responsibilities, and a whole lot of personal stuff. But you guys do really mean so much to me. Thank you for reading, and thank you for sticking with me, even through my inconsistent updates and sorry apologies.

Comments

[Buon_Luna]

Great job on the new chapter the long wait is of no concern as long as it gets here at some point.

[Elysium]

Don't worry about the wait. The truly faithful are the ones with patience. Take your time with the updates and the suspense will keep building; so when you do update, it feels all the better.

[TheOriginalDash]

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You guys are honestly fantastic. Seriously, to think that people even read my work is an incredible thought, let alone that they're patient enough to wait for me to finish writing a chapter months after I promised it. I am so impressed with the good feelings that exist in this fandom, and I'm especially grateful for people like you. Lots of love sent your way, and I promise that the next chapter will be out sooner, since I have free time now.

[Frantic Starz]

Not only have I realize that I have developed and attraction to one of my co-workers, said co-worker happens to be female.

Not only have I realized that I have developed an attraction to one of my co-workers, said co-worker happens to be female.

[Carbon Shield]

I must know what happens next!