Who

Xanthee, Malosim

What

Xanthee prepares yet another sweet surprise for her Malosim. This time to mark the one Turn since they first met.

Backdated
Sexual overtones
Lots of making out and a fade to black ending.

When

It is evening of the 19th day of the 1st month of the 13th Turn of the 12th Pass.

Where

The Tea Room, Igen Weyr

OOC Date 04 Feb 2018 05:00

 

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"You are my only, Xan,"



The Tea Room

This shop is easy to miss from the street. It bears the same striped awning that most shops have, this one in shades of lilac and sand, but it has no sign save for a plaque of sandstone hung beside the door, on which a teacup has been carved. When open, the heavy curtain that covers the doorway is pulled aside to allow entry. After stepping through, one will find themselves in a tiny space decorated with classic desert touches.

The walls are whitewashed to increase the sense of light within but the floor is tiled in hues of blue and green, with each tile bearing in its center a brilliant red lotus. There are only five small tables, all of them of dark, heavily carved wood set low to the ground. To sit at one requires reclining on the plethora of pillows and cushions and layered rugs provided for that purpose; each seat is provided with a carved wooden back-prop to rest the pillows against, for those who want spinal support. Tea is served from the service at the rear of the room, where a tiny smokeless hearth keeps water heated, and a row of trays are kept loaded with teapots, tiny cups, and containers for sweetener. There is a small selection of fruits, breads and cheeses also available for those looking for a snack but this is not a place for heavy meals.


A crisp cool night has fallen over the Bazaar and though it is almost a candlemark after closing time, there is still a faint glow coming from behind the curtain to the Tea Room, although the CLOSED sign is out. Inside, Xanthee is busy preparing for a very special surprise she has for Mal. She's wearing a rather simple, for her anyway, black velvet dress. With a modest neckline, fitted bodice and sleeves just past her elbow, with only the slightest A-line skirt flaring out at her waist. Her raven black hair cascades over her shoulders and down her back in tousled waves, perfectly styled, but tucked back behind her ears to reveal the drop shaped emerald earrings there. The Tea Room itself is lit by dimmed glows on all the tables save for one, which has a couple of candlesticks with long candles just waiting to be lit. The Specials slate by the door reads "Special: Mulled Orange Tea - 1/32 mark" and there is a sharply spicy sweet scent coming from a small kettle being kept on the small hearth there. Xanthee is busy bustling about, double checking that everything is in place as she had planned, running her hands down her dress, making sure that it is sitting just right. She had sent a note to Malosim and let him know she had some extra work to do after closing, but would he mind meeting her there a candlemark or so after to escort her home? She's actually been asking that a lot of him lately, not yet a month passed since the fight at her Turnday Party, and although the physical evidence is gone from her cheek, she is still quite anxious. As she makes sure everything is just right, Xan finally uses a taper to light the two candles on that one table. Taking a step back, she gives one final satisfied nod at the preparations in place. Now just to wait.

Malosim doesn't mind such requests in the least; it satisfies the protective facet of him as well as the part that wants to be around Xanthee whenever he possibly can. He only thinks it's a bit of a downer that she's having to work late on the night of a Turn since their meeting, having been hoping to steal her away as he was…but there's nothing ruined, really. He's still showing up to meet her tonight dressed sharply, his usual dark trousers and boots and tailored white tunic accented with a black vest embroidered in a darkly shimmering red, a thick cloak draping his shoulders against the cold. And he still has something in his pocket for her. The rest…can be left to spontaneity. Little does he know the tables are about to get a bit turned! He raps at the threshold to announce his arrival and slips into the Tea Room amidst the soft tinkle of the entry bell, blinking to adjust his eyes in the low lighting. Spotting Xanthee immediately, he takes her in with a warm smile…and then starts to register little things around them - the candles on the table, the sign, the spicy scent in the air. And it's pretty clear she doesn't mean to leave right away. "I haven't seen you wear that one in a long time," Mal notes as he crosses to Xanthee with a deliberate gait, reaching for her hands. "But I remember it." Not as much as he remembers other things, but it has stuck.

Jumping only slightly at the rap on the threshold, Xanthee takes one steadying breath as she turns her gaze to the curtain just as he's coming in. Her eyebrows raise in appreciative surprise when she sees how sharply he's dressed. Maybe she isn't the only one who remembered the anniversary of their first meeting, because she certainly didn't mention it was coming up as she finds it thrilling to surprise him after his Turnday was such a success. When he joins her though, her smile openly warm and adoring, as she catches Mal's outstretched hands in her own and tilts her head to the side slightly to look up at him. "Do you remember when you first saw me wear it?" She asks in a lightly teasing tone as she entwines his fingers in her own.

For that, Mal has a broad grin and a nod as he pulls gently at Xanthee's hands, bringing them toe to toe and touching so that he can look down at her. "I don't think I ever gonna forget my first time walking in here. My first time seeing you." A roundabout way of saying "yes" but he's certain she'll take his meaning. "Those gorgeous eyes of yours catching me…and never letting go." One of several factors in why he'd always kept a lookout for her thereafter.

Xanthee sighs happily as she will gladly be pulled closer to him, those emerald eyes of her not leaving his dark ones as his romantic words stirs her stretch up on her tiptoes and plant a softly lingering kiss there before she pulls back. "I was determined to throw myself at my work after returning from Southern in disgrace and boys be damned, dressing all in black to match my mood." pause for a soft chuckle, "And who should walk in, but this amazingly handsome Miner to tempt me." Her eyes dance mirthfully as she pulls him gently towards the table on which the candles are lit, the table he sat at on that day. Reluctantly extracting her fingers from his, she indicates he should sit down before she turns back to the tea service and a tray that is already prepared there with napkin covering something on a plate. Two tea cups and saucers are placed there, and she carefully removes the kettle from the hearth to pour out the orange caramel colored steaming liquid into the cups. It only takes a few moments for her to return with the tray in hand and place the various elements on the table, the plate still covered until she places it on the table and sweeps away the napkin with a little flourish to reveal a simple pastry with berry filling. "On the house, to make your first visit at the Tea Room a memorable one." She says, paraphrasing a line she had spoken on the day they first met.

Malosim is now thinking Xanthee's little surprise is outdoing any ideas he might have had! He sighs softly into their kiss, his smile gentle at her words afterward. "I remember thinking you had such a pretty smile…but it wasn't getting up to your eyes, like you were sad about something," he recalls as he lets her lead him to the table. "I wondered what it was…and I'd kinda wished there was something I could've done to help." But it all worked out in the end! He sits and watches as she tends to the tea, then turns back and sets it before him. He can't help but grin as she reveals the pastry, a laugh bubbling up as she revisits her words. "And I was confused that you might've meant the tea, too. But I was perfectly happy with a free pastry." He reaches up for her hand again, a light pull inviting her down to the cushions with him. "But that wasn't what made it memorable, in the end."

Xanthee lets herself be pulled down to the cushions readily, curling up into his side, head resting on his shoulder as she tucks up her legs underneath her a contented sigh escaping her lips as she feels the warmth of his strong body against her. "Well it was less than two sevens since I had returned from Southern, I was still entertaining quite dark thoughts about the whole ordeal. And It may have taken us a while to find each other again, but you definitely helped lift the cloud I had been living under." She says softly as she captures his far hand in hers, intertwining her fingers in his as her thumb trails idly over the back of his hand. At his mention of being confused, she laughs lightly, "I remember that! And you still left me a generous tip that easily covered the cost anyway, my sneaky Miner,"

Mal nods along with Xan's explanation, his arm circling around her and holding her snugly against him, squeezing when she mentions him having helped her escape the darker place she'd been. "That's me," he grins at her last as he tilts his head closer. "Always looking for an angle of surprise. Though you're givin' me a run for my marks." He fits his lips to hers, soft and full, kissing her slowly and deeply as he soaks in the feel of her against him and the scent of her skin and hair mingling with the spice of the tea nearby. "I love you," he whispers, the words still feeling as warm and true leaving his lips as they had when he'd first spoken them to her. "You were so, so worth the wait, Xan. You still are. And you always will be."

With his arm wrapped around her, Xanthee makes a happy little sound in the back of her throat, half sigh, half-purr. as she snuggles in closer when he gives her a squeeze. At his next words though she has to giggle triumphantly, "Well we're at two surprises each if I'm counting correctly, so it's anyone's game really…and I'm very competitive." As his lips finds hers though, she is lost in the moment of that sweetly slow deep kiss, a soft moan vibrating between them. Then those words, those delicious words warm her from the inside better than any hot drink. "I love you too." she replies as simply but full of the emotion. When he says that she's worth the wait though, her eyes brighten slightly and she says softly, "I am so glad you think so." Then she looks down slightly, blinking them to clear the wetness there until she looks back up at him, clear eyed again, "So tell the truth now…Did you remember what today was?"

"Oh, so that's how it is, huh?" Malosim teases in the wake of Xanthee's assertion about competitiveness, fingers tickling at her hip in punctuation. "Good thing I like a challenge." At her last, he nods decisively. "I did! I even had a little surprise of my own lined up, but then you said you had to work late, so I adjusted." He grins again and pulls her more firmly against him. "I'm not the only one good at bein' sneaky."

Xanthee can't help but giggle and squirm to get away from his tickling fingers. "Nooo!" she protests weakly as she bats at his hand playfully. But when he confirms he had his own surprise plan, her eyes grow wide. "Oh, what did you have planned?" She asks curiously. "I've been thinking about this for a while myself. I wanted all the details to be perfect. Well, minus Daenerys sneaking up and almost scaring me between that is. I figured I could leave that part out." She says with another giggle.

The squirming just makes Mal pull Xanthee even closer, of course. Maybe if he keeps it up he'll get her into his lap. For the moment, however, he actually sips the tea…and forgets the sweetener first. Even that is fitting throwback! He picks up the pastry and takes a bit to counteract the unsweetened drink he just took. "Yeah, let's leave Daen out of it this time," he agrees, nuzzling at her cheek. "Will you let me keep it a surprise til tomorrow night? I brought part of it with me; that, I don't mind giving you now."

As Mal keeps pulling her closer, Xanthee finally gets the hint. Without breaking too much contact, shifts in the cushions so that she ends up sitting in his lap, where she cuddles in, throwing her hands around his neck and pulling him close to her, "Better?" she asks in a sultry tone as she pulls him close for a kiss that aims to leave him breathless. After several minutes, she pulls back from him to muse "So we're going to have two seperate surprises to celebrate the day we met?" Xan only has to think about this proposal for a moment before shrugging with a grin, "I think I can live with that." Then when he mentions he has part of the surprise on him though, this makes one of her eyebrows shoot up with curiosity as she tries to act nonchalant. "Well…you could give it to me now if you wanted. I don't mind." But the twinkle in her eye clearly states she would very much like part of her surprise right now please.

Malosim chuckles, not having meant for Xanthee to end up in his lap right then necessarily…but it's not as though he's going to complain. He's left much more than breathless by the time their lips part, his hands beginning to venture places that make the fact that the Tea Room is closed a very good thing. The darkening of desire rendering his eyes nearly ebony is unmistakable in the low light, and he has to concentrate to keep his breathing under control. Faranth, but she can set him on fire so effortlessly! He laughs at the eagerness he sees in her eyes, reluctantly dropping his hands so that he can get at his cloak. "I do want," he murmurs, producing a book-sized rectangular parcel in a drawstring bag of deep green cloth. He opens it to produce a journal, the cover made of tooled leather in a rich, deep mahogany. In the center of the cover is a single oval stone the size of a mark, deep green marbled with black. Bag and all, he presents it to her, eyes glinting even more with anticipation over how she'll receive it.

When Mal shifts to retrieve the package from his cloak, Xanthee can't help but follow his movements closely with her sharp emerald eyes, she can't help but look absolutely awed when the journal is revealed from inside the green bag, her hands slip from around his neck and clasp themselves over her mouth as she gasps in surprise at this beyond thoughtful gift. "Oh Mal!" she breathes as she reaches out to carefully take the book in her hands, running her fingers over the tooled leather and that beautiful green and black stone, flipping through the blank pages idly, handling it as if it were a great treasure, because it is. "I don't even know what to say. I didn't even get you anything." Then while she hugs the journal to her chest with one hand, the other reaches up to cup his cheek as she pulls him closer, "Come here you." she says with a sudden surge of warm adoration for this wonderful man as she plants a hard kiss on his lips, her mouth hungry for his as she plunders its depths with everything she has.

"You got me tea," Malosim points out with an easy grin, clearly not at all put out. Her surprise evening is quite enough for him! Then Xanthee is kissing him with such undeniable adoration and hunger that his head swims almost immediately. Caught up in the fire of it, he wraps his arms around her tightly, one hand rising to sink into her hair as the other spreads over and travels her back. Aroused beyond any doubt now, he groans with surging need as he tastes her in turn, though he does try to keep much in reserve given where they are. It isn't that he's worried about an intrusion, just that it might not be the best idea to ravish his girlfriend in her own workplace, regardless of what time it is and how romantic the atmosphere may be. Not that he won't be happy to put that concern aside if she indicates otherwise! "Glad you like it," he manages to chuckle in a break for breath, taking smaller, softer samplings of her lips afterward.

Feeling her own ardor rising to feverish levels, Xanthee relishes the response her kiss is eliciting in Mal and melts further into his lap with a little wriggle of her hips. When they break for a breath, she manages a giggle to accompany his chuckle. "I love it. It's perfect." she manages between his softer samplings of her lips. Feeling though that they seriously risk defiling her place of work if they get any more worked up, she pulls back reluctantly with one final firm press of her lips. "I don't think the Steens would be happy if we were caught in a compromising position here." she says looking over at the heavy curtain that serves at the door. "I mean, I got permission to have someone here after hours, but this place certainly doesn't offer much privacy." she says with a suggestive waggle of her eyebrows as she sits up slightly and reaches for her own drink to which she adds sweetener before takes a long sip, the once hot liquid cooled enough not to burn her mouth.

For the confirmation of what had been concerning him, Malosim laughs and shakes his head. "Yeah, probably not," he agrees, and reaches past Xanthee to go after the sweetener himself. "At least somewhere that does offer privacy isn't too far away." Even if it is rather uphill from where they are. He stirs his tea with a delicate clinking of metal against porcelain and sips as well, settling back as he works to get his body calmed back down but keeping Xan in place with an arm around her waist. "This is also perfect though, love," he informs her, and finishes off half his tea in the next pull.

A little giggle slips out as Xanthee raises the tea cup up to her lips again for another sip, "I'm so glad you think so, I love doing things like this for you. You are always so…appreciative." She says in a suggestive tone as she sips again, her eyes dancing mirthfully over the edge of her teacup as she wiggles her bottom gently in his lap to emphasize her point.

Mal ends up swallowing his next bit of tea hard as Xanthee makes that wriggle, effectively causing him to have to reset his efforts to calm himself. His breath hitches and his head falls back a bit, his eyes hooding heavily and nearly falling shut for a moment. "I can tell," he says of her like for doing such things for him, his head lifting again and the arm around her waist loosening so that his hand can traverse her back. "And considering how appreciative you are of my appreciation, I'm not likely to hold back anytime soon." Or ever.

After dawdling in the Tea Room for some time, acting the pair of love avians, a one point the two decided to race all the way back to the Crafter's Quarters and Mal's room there, where they disappeared inside. And during the soft afterglow of their youthful lovemaking, the following conversation.

"Shells, Xan…" Dark though they are, Malosim's eyes glow when they gaze down into hers, a hand sliding back from her cheek into her hair. "I am so wholly yours. You do the most amazing things to me…"

"Oh Mal, you are the one who brings the best out of me. You complete me so wholly, the missing part of my heart and soul. I want to be with you and only you always." Xanthee's words are fierce in their conviction, but just in case he needs a demonstration, she presses her lips hard against his for a kiss that immolates with the bright flame of her love for him.

"You are my only, Xan," Mal whispers in his breaks for breath, content to be caught in her wildfire. "You always will be."

"You're so much more than a mere boyfriend Mal, you are my beloved. And on this day, a Turn since we met, I am promising myself to you, my soulmate, a promise I plan to make official once I am free to do so." Xan's emerald eyes bore into him with such intensity, wanting to make him most certain that she is deeply serious in what she just proposed.

"And I'm promising myself to you in turn, Xan," Mal tells her, his tone husky and thick with emotion. "I'm not whole without you, and…shells, I can't wait for the day when we get to show the world." Officially, that is. Right now, he'd go hollering it from the rooftops if he weren't so contentedly tangled up with her…in so many ways.

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