Candy Apple Flavor Binge: Affection
Title: Affection
Main Story: In the Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Candy apple flavor binge, malt (BTS challenge 9 : Gail, Felipe, Yvonne : I am the heart that you call home ), rainbow sprinkles (a good chunk of these), pocky chain, hot fudge (Yvonne), caramel (OT3), fresh pineapple (Make You Feel My Love, Adele).
Word Count: 1500
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Romantic touches are not always about sex.
Notes: Soapboxing via story? Moi? NEVER. Christine is Lars's sister; I think everyone else is pretty well known by now.
1. eyes
Susanna and Robert Caravecchio don't touch very often. Not in public, anyway. They're polite people, and polite people keep the physical displays behind closed doors. That's just how they were raised.
People seem to think that means they don't care much for each other. Just because they're not all over each other like kids these days.
But there are other ways to connect. Eye contact is their favorite; a visual caress. The way Susanna looks demurely through her eyelashes, the way Robert can smile without moving his face at all.
They say so much to each other with their eyes.
2. ears
Penny and Jay make music for each other.
Well, okay, they are part of a band. But really they're playing for each other, and anyone who bothered to pay attention would know it. There's Jay, feathering his fingers over his guitar's strings, going slower and faster in time with Penny's tapping foot. There's Penny, playing the violin or the cowbell or whatever the hell random instrument Lars has decided today's song can't do without, faking it with style or doing quite well, depending, but always, always watching Jay's face.
They play for each other. It's all the better for that.
3. nose
"I'm going to ask you probably the weirdest question you've ever been asked," Christine says, on their third date.
Alan cocks an eyebrow at his girlfriend. "Okay," he says. "Shoot. I warn you though, my threshold for weird is pretty high."
She giggles. "You haven't met my family yet," she says, and then, "Okay. Okay. Can I beep your nose?"
He blinks. "Can you... what? Uh, I guess. Sure. Why not."
Christine extends an elegant finger and beeps his nose. "Just as I thought," she says, nodding. "Very beepable."
Alan decides right there that he is going to marry her.
4. mouth/lips
Sometimes, Joanna just likes to kiss her husband.
She thinks this may be part of why she fell in love with Hugh, although of course she didn't start kissing him until long after that occurred. Still, she loves that he will just let her kiss him, his mouth, his cheek, his brow, and expect nothing further, except perhaps that she allow him to kiss her back.
They have spent whole evenings this way, sitting next to each other, absorbed in their own pastimes but for the occasional kiss.
She loves him so much she thinks her heart will burst, sometimes.
5. hand(s)
Olivia has musician's hands, narrow, thin, with long and elegant fingers. Her nails spoil the picture a little, since she's usually chewed them half off, but that's hardly enough to ruin their beauty.
Jake is oddly fascinated by her hands. They're so deft, so capable of everything she demands of them; playing instruments, shuffling cards, twining with his as they walk down the street. He especially likes the last, because it's the one thing they can do equally well.
He may play badly, might send cards flying across the room, but the spaces between his fingers were made for hers.
6. foot/feet
It starts with a friendly argument over whose feet hurt more-- hers, from standing all day in heels, or his, from trekking for hours over hill and dale, wondering why the hell anyone wants to build something way out here.
Gail laughs at the last, then says, "I often wonder why anyone wants to do my job either."
"They both have their pitfalls," Nathan agrees, then props a foot up next to her thigh, patting his lap at the same time. "Tell you what, I'll swap you."
"Compromised like a teacher," she says, putting her own foot on his leg.
7. shoulder(s)
Henrik is silent for a long, long moment after she tells him, and Thea hides her face in his shoulder. She doesn't want to see his expression. She's scared enough as it is.
"Lung cancer," he says, finally.
"Yes," she says, and shivers. "I don't know where it came from."
"Doesn't matter," Henrik says, practically. "What's the prognosis?"
She wonders what to tell him, but chooses the truth. "Survivable. But not good."
He considers this, expression unreadable, then sighs, and squeezes her shoulder. "We'll get through it together."
A fear she didn't even know she felt eases, and she relaxes.
8. knee(s)
"PT sucks," Lars says.
"Baby," Danny says, without sympathy. "Extend your leg."
Lars obeys, and winces when the knee screams. "I hate this part."
"Extension is harder to get back than flexion," she says. "Look, you know you're lucky, right? You landed on your leg weird. Most guys I know with this kind of injury got it in combat, and they don't get full motion back. Push harder."
He does so. "I know I'm lucky. PT still sucks."
"Never said it didn't, babe." She pats the side of his knee that doesn't have stitches in it. "That'll do for now."
9. hair/fur
Joy is tugging a comb through her hair and wincing when Michael comes in.
He stops, then keeps going, cane tapping along the floor. "Something the matter?"
"My hair's full of knots," she replies. "Hard to-- ouch!-- untangle."
"That's it?"
Joy gives him an evil look. "You wouldn't say that if it was your hair."
It just doesn't seem that bad to him. Not that he's going to say that. He sits down next to her, instead. "Give me the comb, I'll do it."
She gives him another look, of pure gratitude this time, which alone makes it worth it.
10. nails
"You do realize this is just going to get chipped off by the end of the day?" Ivy asks, peering down at her hands, splayed on the table.
Gina uncapped the nail polish and shook her head about her. "It's not about permanence. It's about looking nice for the moment, and being able to change."
"That seems kind of shallow," Ivy says. Although, to be fair to Gina, she's chosen this really sparkly green that appeals to the magpie in Ivy.
"Don't say shallow," Gina says. "Say rather, flexible."
"Hmm." Ivy says nothing more, as Gina bends to her task.
11. skin
Sometimes Aaron and Clara just like to be skin to skin.
There's nothing sexual about it. It bothers Clara when people assume there is, like nudity must be sexual. She doesn't tell those people about lying with her babies stretched out on her naked torso. Nor does she mention curling up with her husband, his breath stirring her hair, hands linked, legs twined, skin warm and soft on skin.
There's something comforting about being able to do that. She loves him enough, trusts him enough, to touch him and be touched like that.
If they don't understand that, screw them.
12. finger(s)/toe(s)
Lynne is using him as a footrest again.
Gary doesn't mind. Usually she's writing on her lapdesk or something, while he props a book against her feet. But tonight, for some reason, he's paying more attention to her feet. One of them is bouncing a little, in time to some song only she can hear, her toes wriggling.
It occurs to him that he doesn't know if her feet are ticklish. They've been married a year and he doesn't know this?
When she yelps a second later and yanks her feet off his lap, it seems clear that she is.
13. heart/lungs
They find the third victim on a freezing afternoon in January. This time, it is a child.
Somehow the others know by the time he gets home. It isn't that surprising; after all, Zack is in public relations and Summer works in the morgue. One of them probably found out through the grapevine. It doesn't matter. He takes off his coat and they're just there, both of them, arms around him, a well of comfort he can never exhaust.
It's there, with Summer's heart beating under his ear and Zack breathing steadily behind him, that Felipe finally lets himself cry.
14. belly/belly button
Ben is peering and poking at her stomach, which, Melanie has to admit, is not where she thought he'd be looking when she's only wearing a bikini. "What are you looking at?" she asks, craning her neck, arms akimbo.
He doesn't answer directly, only says, "The surgeon did a very neat job on your c-section. I can hardly see the scar."
She raises her eyebrows. "Why were you looking for it?"
"Curiosity," he says, and grins at her. "I want to know everything about you. Including your scars."
"You're lucky I love you," Melanie says, rolls her eyes, and laughs.
15. tail/horn/tentacle(s)/etc.
Yvonne doesn't understand.
There are couples walking in the park where she sits, cooing and fawning over each other. They're making her sick with envy and rage, because she's ten times more beautiful than any of these women. She should have that. She should have a man who can't stop touching her.
Instead they look at her like she's got horns. They look at her like she's ugly.
A tiny voice inside her tells her that she did have a man like that once, before she threw him away.
She ignores the voice. It's not her fault.
It can't be.
Main Story: In the Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Candy apple flavor binge, malt (BTS challenge 9 : Gail, Felipe, Yvonne : I am the heart that you call home ), rainbow sprinkles (a good chunk of these), pocky chain, hot fudge (Yvonne), caramel (OT3), fresh pineapple (Make You Feel My Love, Adele).
Word Count: 1500
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Romantic touches are not always about sex.
Notes: Soapboxing via story? Moi? NEVER. Christine is Lars's sister; I think everyone else is pretty well known by now.
1. eyes
Susanna and Robert Caravecchio don't touch very often. Not in public, anyway. They're polite people, and polite people keep the physical displays behind closed doors. That's just how they were raised.
People seem to think that means they don't care much for each other. Just because they're not all over each other like kids these days.
But there are other ways to connect. Eye contact is their favorite; a visual caress. The way Susanna looks demurely through her eyelashes, the way Robert can smile without moving his face at all.
They say so much to each other with their eyes.
2. ears
Penny and Jay make music for each other.
Well, okay, they are part of a band. But really they're playing for each other, and anyone who bothered to pay attention would know it. There's Jay, feathering his fingers over his guitar's strings, going slower and faster in time with Penny's tapping foot. There's Penny, playing the violin or the cowbell or whatever the hell random instrument Lars has decided today's song can't do without, faking it with style or doing quite well, depending, but always, always watching Jay's face.
They play for each other. It's all the better for that.
3. nose
"I'm going to ask you probably the weirdest question you've ever been asked," Christine says, on their third date.
Alan cocks an eyebrow at his girlfriend. "Okay," he says. "Shoot. I warn you though, my threshold for weird is pretty high."
She giggles. "You haven't met my family yet," she says, and then, "Okay. Okay. Can I beep your nose?"
He blinks. "Can you... what? Uh, I guess. Sure. Why not."
Christine extends an elegant finger and beeps his nose. "Just as I thought," she says, nodding. "Very beepable."
Alan decides right there that he is going to marry her.
4. mouth/lips
Sometimes, Joanna just likes to kiss her husband.
She thinks this may be part of why she fell in love with Hugh, although of course she didn't start kissing him until long after that occurred. Still, she loves that he will just let her kiss him, his mouth, his cheek, his brow, and expect nothing further, except perhaps that she allow him to kiss her back.
They have spent whole evenings this way, sitting next to each other, absorbed in their own pastimes but for the occasional kiss.
She loves him so much she thinks her heart will burst, sometimes.
5. hand(s)
Olivia has musician's hands, narrow, thin, with long and elegant fingers. Her nails spoil the picture a little, since she's usually chewed them half off, but that's hardly enough to ruin their beauty.
Jake is oddly fascinated by her hands. They're so deft, so capable of everything she demands of them; playing instruments, shuffling cards, twining with his as they walk down the street. He especially likes the last, because it's the one thing they can do equally well.
He may play badly, might send cards flying across the room, but the spaces between his fingers were made for hers.
6. foot/feet
It starts with a friendly argument over whose feet hurt more-- hers, from standing all day in heels, or his, from trekking for hours over hill and dale, wondering why the hell anyone wants to build something way out here.
Gail laughs at the last, then says, "I often wonder why anyone wants to do my job either."
"They both have their pitfalls," Nathan agrees, then props a foot up next to her thigh, patting his lap at the same time. "Tell you what, I'll swap you."
"Compromised like a teacher," she says, putting her own foot on his leg.
7. shoulder(s)
Henrik is silent for a long, long moment after she tells him, and Thea hides her face in his shoulder. She doesn't want to see his expression. She's scared enough as it is.
"Lung cancer," he says, finally.
"Yes," she says, and shivers. "I don't know where it came from."
"Doesn't matter," Henrik says, practically. "What's the prognosis?"
She wonders what to tell him, but chooses the truth. "Survivable. But not good."
He considers this, expression unreadable, then sighs, and squeezes her shoulder. "We'll get through it together."
A fear she didn't even know she felt eases, and she relaxes.
8. knee(s)
"PT sucks," Lars says.
"Baby," Danny says, without sympathy. "Extend your leg."
Lars obeys, and winces when the knee screams. "I hate this part."
"Extension is harder to get back than flexion," she says. "Look, you know you're lucky, right? You landed on your leg weird. Most guys I know with this kind of injury got it in combat, and they don't get full motion back. Push harder."
He does so. "I know I'm lucky. PT still sucks."
"Never said it didn't, babe." She pats the side of his knee that doesn't have stitches in it. "That'll do for now."
9. hair/fur
Joy is tugging a comb through her hair and wincing when Michael comes in.
He stops, then keeps going, cane tapping along the floor. "Something the matter?"
"My hair's full of knots," she replies. "Hard to-- ouch!-- untangle."
"That's it?"
Joy gives him an evil look. "You wouldn't say that if it was your hair."
It just doesn't seem that bad to him. Not that he's going to say that. He sits down next to her, instead. "Give me the comb, I'll do it."
She gives him another look, of pure gratitude this time, which alone makes it worth it.
10. nails
"You do realize this is just going to get chipped off by the end of the day?" Ivy asks, peering down at her hands, splayed on the table.
Gina uncapped the nail polish and shook her head about her. "It's not about permanence. It's about looking nice for the moment, and being able to change."
"That seems kind of shallow," Ivy says. Although, to be fair to Gina, she's chosen this really sparkly green that appeals to the magpie in Ivy.
"Don't say shallow," Gina says. "Say rather, flexible."
"Hmm." Ivy says nothing more, as Gina bends to her task.
11. skin
Sometimes Aaron and Clara just like to be skin to skin.
There's nothing sexual about it. It bothers Clara when people assume there is, like nudity must be sexual. She doesn't tell those people about lying with her babies stretched out on her naked torso. Nor does she mention curling up with her husband, his breath stirring her hair, hands linked, legs twined, skin warm and soft on skin.
There's something comforting about being able to do that. She loves him enough, trusts him enough, to touch him and be touched like that.
If they don't understand that, screw them.
12. finger(s)/toe(s)
Lynne is using him as a footrest again.
Gary doesn't mind. Usually she's writing on her lapdesk or something, while he props a book against her feet. But tonight, for some reason, he's paying more attention to her feet. One of them is bouncing a little, in time to some song only she can hear, her toes wriggling.
It occurs to him that he doesn't know if her feet are ticklish. They've been married a year and he doesn't know this?
When she yelps a second later and yanks her feet off his lap, it seems clear that she is.
13. heart/lungs
They find the third victim on a freezing afternoon in January. This time, it is a child.
Somehow the others know by the time he gets home. It isn't that surprising; after all, Zack is in public relations and Summer works in the morgue. One of them probably found out through the grapevine. It doesn't matter. He takes off his coat and they're just there, both of them, arms around him, a well of comfort he can never exhaust.
It's there, with Summer's heart beating under his ear and Zack breathing steadily behind him, that Felipe finally lets himself cry.
14. belly/belly button
Ben is peering and poking at her stomach, which, Melanie has to admit, is not where she thought he'd be looking when she's only wearing a bikini. "What are you looking at?" she asks, craning her neck, arms akimbo.
He doesn't answer directly, only says, "The surgeon did a very neat job on your c-section. I can hardly see the scar."
She raises her eyebrows. "Why were you looking for it?"
"Curiosity," he says, and grins at her. "I want to know everything about you. Including your scars."
"You're lucky I love you," Melanie says, rolls her eyes, and laughs.
15. tail/horn/tentacle(s)/etc.
Yvonne doesn't understand.
There are couples walking in the park where she sits, cooing and fawning over each other. They're making her sick with envy and rage, because she's ten times more beautiful than any of these women. She should have that. She should have a man who can't stop touching her.
Instead they look at her like she's got horns. They look at her like she's ugly.
A tiny voice inside her tells her that she did have a man like that once, before she threw him away.
She ignores the voice. It's not her fault.
It can't be.