Aqua Springs ~ ART GALLERY OPEN! ~ Geezerville

[Kits Rose]

Good night, Rod. *after a couple of tries, catches Cecil by his tail*

Kyaa! *immediately stops, hanging limply from his tail and looking up at Kits* whee

stressed You know, one of these days, you're going to break something and I'm going to get really mad.  

[FireSpark]

From his crouched position at the edge of the building's roof, Daniel watches as the snowball fight between Jessi and Amy suddenly explodes in a flurry of snowy missiles. He grins slightly as people on both sides immediately begin taking hits, most of them laughing as they do. Stroking his chin slowly, Daniel feels somethign familiar about the scene but can't quite place. Assuming it to merely be a memorythat hasn't fully surfaced yet, he dismissed the feeling for the moment. After a while, Daniel began noticing patterns in people's targets, the method in how they threw, or ducked and spun. Almost instinctively, Daniel began plotting directions in his head, picking out who would be best paired against who. Frowning to hiimself at the sudden thoughts, Daniel pushed them away. There was no need for such things with a simple game. And the thoughts themselves unsettled him slightly. Continuing to watch the game unfold, Daniel started to get an idea, and a smirky grin grew.  

[Jessi_Deramis]

Jessi was covered in snow but wasn't freezing as much as she would have been with real snow. She threw herself back on the ground and suddenly started making a snow angel.  

[Kits Rose]

*stares at Cecil* You're not as irresistable as you think you are. *puts him down on her desk*

*rolls over on his back, looking up at her with round, shiny eyes*

Not going to work.

Hmph. *sits up and turns away from her, looking back at her occasionally*

*ignores Cecil and works on straightening up the papers that flew around while he was bouncing*  

[FireSpark]

With a few last looks at the field before him, Daniel stood and dashed for the roof door. If he was going to execute this properly, he would need every advantage, and that included clothing. And he already knew what to grab. As he reached the door, he suddenly disappeared, and after a minute, returned just as suddenly. Gone was his uniform to be replaced by an outfit that better allowed him to move about comfortably. Not to mention that he had noticed the shirt tended to put Jessi off, one way or the other. Running forward, Daniel gave a mighty leap of the roof and landed well away from the revellers, but close enough to close the distance quickly at a jog.

As he came to within just a few dozen feet, he began his plan. Bending to scoop up two fistfuls of snow, he turned the motion into a roll. As he came up to his feet again, both snowballs flew at different people. He didn't wait to see if they hit or not as he ducked to one side and dashed forward to avoid sudden snowballs coming at him. A sideways roll to his right and he came to a knee and scooped and loosed three more snowballs, causing his targets to either be hit and move off, or dodge away in the pattern he predicted. A sudden flicker from his left and he hurled a snowball that intercepted an incoming snowball coming in a high arc. He quickly launched another which drove the thrower back.

Pushing to his feet with a few small snowballs in hand, he slung the lot of them at the last large group who mostly scattered, though some returned fire. In response, Daniel dropped to one leg, sliding the last few feet, slightly turning as he did. As he stopped, two more snowballs flew, both pelting their targets who both fell back laughing. With the last of the people near him off chasing easier and slower moving targets, Daniel slowly rose to his feet and turned to the last person who lay a few feet off, swishing in snow. Daniel stood there and waited for her to finish her fun.  

[Cuwen]

Amy had been throwing snowballs at some other people while Jessi had fun making snow angels. When people around her started to get hit rapidly, though, she turned around a number of times until she saw a quickly-moving figure dashing and moving about. When he stilled, she finally got a good look at him and grinned when she realized who it was.

"Daniel!! Good to see you!"  

[Jessi_Deramis]

Jessi heard Amy and gasped. She quickly sat up and instantly saw Daniel just a few feet in front of her. A huge smile appeared on her face and her eyes started sparkling.

"Daniel! You're here!! I'm so gl..."

Then, she noticed the snow in his hands. She arched an eyebrow curiously and then began to smirk at Daniel.

"Oh I see... Alright, Daniel.. you're on!"

She picked up some snow and went to stand, but her foot slipped on some snow and she went falling right back down into the indent she had made in the snow. The snow fell right on top of her, which caused her to start laughing loudly.  

[Kits Rose]

*finishing with the papers, stands up and stretches* Ready to go home, Cecil?

*pretends to ignore Kits*

All right, well, I'm leaving. *heads toward the door*

gonk *mews and jumps up to hover near her head*

That's what I thought. *reaches up to tickle Cecil's belly, then the two of them head out of Aqua Springs*  

[FireSpark]

Daniel made a smirking face as he dropped the last of his snow and dusted his hands off. He strolled over to where Jessi had fallen back and held out a hand for her to take.

"It would appear that you are needing assistance in standing."  

[Jessi_Deramis]

Jessi smirked up at him. "It would appear that way..."

She quickly grabbed his hand, used her other hand to grab his arm, and pulled him down into the snow next to her. She grinned brightly, quite proud of herself.

In the background, unbeknown to her, Amy started ushering people away, saying it was getting too late and too dark outside to continue with the game. That was her excuse...

She smiled over at the pair one last time before she headed inside as well. She was glad they couldn't see her. She headed home for the night.  

[FireSpark]

As he lay there with his head half imbedded in the snow, Daniel chided himself for letting himself be that off balance. Of course, he hadn't expected Jessi to muster that much force either. Turning to sit up, he dusted the snow off his head and arms, making sure to get as much of it as possible to fly over to Jessi. Finally he pulled his legs up enough so that he could lean forward and rest his arms on his knees. He looked around and noted that Amy was shooing people off for the night, inadverdently aiding in his own idea of diversion. Turning his head back to Jessi he gave a faint smile before turning back again to watch the last of the people head off. When he spoke he did so without looking at her.

"So. Get a chance to read anything lately?"  

[Jessi_Deramis]

Jessi giggled softly when Daniel flicked some of the snow onto her. She did so likewise. It was fun just being able to hang out with Daniel like this. Just hanging out, having fun, being casual.

And then he brought up the letter. Surprisingly, it didn't bother her at all like she thought it might. It didn't make her feel weird or nervous. Maybe it was all due to the lack of sleep... but she didn't think so.

She smiled and made a little design in the snow with one of her index fingers. She nodded. "I did. Something very interesting, and something I quite concur with. Something I could have very well written myself..."  

[FireSpark]

Daniel thought for a moment, trying to fit what he knew of Jessi into the words he had chosen for the note. Some of it didn't seem to fit as he knew her, but others did. Of course, it did tend to make things appear to go in circles, much as had felt with all the literature he had been reading.

"So, you enjoy our friendship? That is good. I am very appreciative of your help. And presence."

Daniel swallowed. He had brought himself to this point almost without thinking. As if something in him had kept him dstracted until it was too late for him to back out.

"So. I, uh. That is, I was wondering, so that I am not misunderstanding, what it is you feel towards our, friendship."  

[Jessi_Deramis]

Now Jessi was a little confused. Surely Daniel remembered what he wrote in that note. Had she read it correctly? Hadn't he said that he had feelings for her when you put everything he had said together? She thought she was saying that, too, but saying she agreed with everything he said.

"Well, uh, like I said, I agree with everything you said in your letter. And... well, yeah, it sounded like you possibly had feelingsformeotherthanfriendship..."

She said the last part really quickly, a lot faster than she meant to. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. And I agree with what you said.... I... I do, too, Daniel. I thought I had been saying that for awhile now, especially when we were walking back from Kits' reception, but I understand now how you might not have been sure. I should have just come out and said it..."

She took a deep breath again, opened her eyes, and looked at Daniel. "But I also meant what I said that night about not wanting to lose our friendship if having something more with you fails... I read that part in your note, too. You're worried about losing our friendship just like I am."

Maybe it was due to the lack of sleep that she was being so honest and forthcoming, but she didn't think so. She didn't like being completely evasive when it came to romance. Once she built up enough courage, she liked to state her mind. She didn't like games.  

[FireSpark]

Daniel pivoted to better face Jessi, one of his knees dropping to the ground and out of the way. His other arm stayed up on the other knee, causing Daniel to lean slightly towards Jessi.

"It's not just the loss of friendship that worried me. It's losing you. You've drawn more out of me in a month than I had done on my own in four. You see right through me, and yet accept me. You offer so much, and yet have asked little."

Daniel didn't realize it, but he was getting onto a roll. Words and thoughts that had been building and swirling in his mind for days were suddenly spilling out, and yet he was only dimly aware of it.

"And now you're starting to pervade my every thought. I want to be close at hand for you, despite how often it tends to end with me fumbling with my own tongue. I want to help you as much as you've helped me, and continue to help me."

Finally, Daniel spun himself around so that he was kneeling next to Jessi, looking at her almost desperately. He was beginning to register in his mind what he was saying out loud. Nervously, and with a little more speed than before he rushed on, wanting to get the rest out before he could stop himself.

"I've decided that there is enough out there that I can't do anything about. And even so, no, especially because of that, I have to stop fearing the little things that I can do something about. Instead I should just do something about them. About this. Us."

Daniel's jaw tightened, and his throat squeezed. His momentum froze even as he tried to work his mouth a little further. His eyes flickered over Jessi's, and his voice came out hoarsely.

"Jessi, you....I mean, I think, I...I..."