Christmas At Warrior's

[zinda-blackhawk.livejournal.com]

The remnants of the Christmas Eve party litter the bar in the form of empty bottles, paper plates, streamers, silly string, confetti and wrapping paper. It's the earliest hours of Christmas morning, and Zinda is still here -- she helped cook, after all, so she'll stick around to help Arisia clean up.

It could get interesting. She's had most of a bottle of Jack.

For once, she's not in her familiar Blackhawk uniform; shucking it in favor of a top that the other woman had given her a couple of years ago. It's a low-cut number -- in black with glittering accents, of course -- paired with comfortable black slacks. Snowflake earrings and her Blackhawk dog tags, which remain permanently around her neck, complete the outfit. Admittedly, it's a little rumpled after a full night of dancing and drinking.

Her hand goes back to her pocket for what must be the hundredth time, fingers curling around the small velvet box briefly. Then she pauses at the table to knock back the last of her latest shot, and sets about piling empty dishes up to take them to the kitchen.

Comments

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

"You should go sleep." Arisia is grinning as she's starting to clean up. It is a much easier thing to do with a power ring than not. The elfin woman is wearing the white dress with green trim that Travis gave her. It might have been a little dressed up for this party but she didn't really care.

"You look like you're going to fall over."

[zinda-blackhawk.livejournal.com]

A shake of her blonde head, as she moves cutlery into the topmost dish. "My momma taught me to help clean up the messes I make, sugar."

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

There is a soft laugh at that, "If you insist but really, it won't take me that long." In fact, there are ring constructs doing most of the work right now. There is a faint crease between Arisia's brows as she's keeping the multitasking going in the various rooms around the bar.

Arisia comes over to stand near Zinda.

[zinda-blackhawk.livejournal.com]

Okay, so perhaps part of it is -- well, who wants to go home on Christmas Day to an empty apartment? She pushes some of her hair out of her face, and flashes the other woman a tired smile. "I'm not gonna push my luck, trust me."

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

That's the thing. Arisia wasn't saying that Zinda should go home. She was saying that the other woman should go sleep. Big difference. The faint crease grows a little more.

"Push your luck?" Turning, she grins toward the other woman, questioning.

[zinda-blackhawk.livejournal.com]

The pile of dishes is relatively small. "I know my limits, sugar. Three quarters of a bottle of the ol' Jack'll do that to a gal." She picks up the stack of dishes and turns to head toward the kitchen. Slowly.

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

Arisia watches her for a few moments before following her into the kitchen with constructs full of dishes, putting them on the counter. There is a small pause before she speaks, a more obvious pause of begining to say something, stopping and then starting again.

"You can stay here." Put the dishes down. "If you want."

[zinda-blackhawk.livejournal.com]

She sets the dishes down on the counter, blowing errant bangs from her face as she turns to look at the other woman. "I appreciate it, but you and Hal need your quality time without folks crashin' your space."

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

"You aren't, Zinda."

Arisia takes a moment. "You aren't taking any time I don't want to give you. I ..." For a few moments, she realizes that she's been spending far too much time with humans if this is this hard - this awkward. Maybe she does need to go home for awhile. What is there to be awkward about?

"At home, for me, the present I gave you is a token of a relationship. I'd realized recently that I was thinking about you in certain ways that you probably weren't aware of. My people consider it unhealthy to be with one partner alone until you're raising children and even then, there are normally others around." It takes a village and all.

[zinda-blackhawk.livejournal.com]

She must be tired. She could swear she didn't hear that right; but automatically, her hand goes back to the box in her pocket as she looks queryingly at Arisia. She picks her words slowly, carefully. "I've always been honored to consider you my closest friend." Even when -- even when she'd come back to find her mutilated body in this same tavern. "I owe you more than I can ever repay."

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

"You don't owe me anything."

Arisia looks back at her, the smile on her face very soft.

[zinda-blackhawk.livejournal.com]

There's the twitch of a smile on the Blackhawk's face. "How about a hug, for starters?"

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

"That isn't owed, that's a pleasure." Arisia leans in and wraps her arms around the other woman.

"And I'll understand if you would rather not accept."

[zinda-blackhawk.livejournal.com]

She holds the elfin woman tightly for several moments before she pulls back, withdrawing the small box from her pocket to look at its contents again. A black opal in a platinum band flashes fire as it catches the light. She offers the lithe Lantern a mildly flustered grin, color brightening her face. "Y'mean it, huh?" Pause. "So is this kinda like an engagement? I'm ... " She fumbles for the words, hoping she's not offending her. " --I'm not real up on the etiquette of this. Does-- does Hal know?"

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

"I do mean it."

Arisia smiles at her a bit, "Hal does know and it isn't nearly so formal as an engagement. It is just a token of my esteem. If we were at my home, you would see many people wearing many tokens such as this. Hal has one."

She doesn't seem to be offended at all.

[zinda-blackhawk.livejournal.com]

"So I guess it's a li'l like a friendship ring?" She can't believe how beautiful the stone is. "Does it go on a specific finger?"

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

"A bit. It usually implies something a little more than friendship, less than engagement." There is a small twinkle in her eyes as Arisia speaks, reaching out to push some of Zinda's hair back over an ear.

"And you can put it on which ever finger it fits best."

[zinda-blackhawk.livejournal.com]

She looks back at Arisia. There are few places where she feels truly comfortable. In her presence is one of them. She lifts the box, presenting the ring to her with a smile. "Then you pick it for me, sugar."

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

Taking the box, Arisia pulls the ring out carefully. After a few moments, she slides it onto Zinda's ring finger on her right hand. "I must have gone through a million stones until I found the one I wanted. How does it feel there?"

[zinda-blackhawk.livejournal.com]

She looks down at it, turning her hand this way and that to elicit the same multicolored fire from the stone's complex depths as before. She can't remember the last time anyone did something like this for her. It was before she came here. A long time before she joined the Blackhawks. And it means so much more because she knows the sentiment behind it, behind Arisia's every gesture, is genuine.

Her voice, when it finally comes back to her, is a scant whisper. "It's beautiful."

Please to be ignoring her shaking.

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

There is a faint frown on Arisia's face as she wraps her arms around the other woman. Softly, she murmurs to Zinda in a melodic language, hoping to comfort the other woman.

[zinda-blackhawk.livejournal.com]

She shakes her head rapidly. "No, I'm fine ... I -- " She takes a deep breath as she pulls back. "I'm fine. I'm just a li'l flustered, is all," she smiles, sniffing. Another brief look down at the ring. "You've always gone out of your way to make me feel like I belong here."

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

"Because you do."

Arisia lifts her hand up, running her thumb along the lower edge of the other woman's eye carefully. "We both do."

[zinda-blackhawk.livejournal.com]

"I'll make my mascara run if I keep this up," she counters, as she casts a glance out of the kitchen back towards the wreckage of the party. "That offer to crash for a few hours still good?"

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

"Anytime you need it. As long as you don't mind my joining you for at least a little of it." While Arisia would like nothing more than to curl up with Zinda, there are two things stopping her.

One, she wants to finish cleaning this up before heading to bed and two, she doesn't want to pressure Zinda or make any assumptions at all about how the other woman is taking this. Carefully, she squeezes Zinda in another hug before she takes a step back.

[zinda-blackhawk.livejournal.com]

She plants a gentle kiss on Arisia's cheek, then sighs as she steps back. "I hate to leave this all to you, sugar." But she's beat, and the JD isn't helping. She offers a wan smile over her shoulder as she turns toward the kitchen door. "I'll try not to hog the covers."

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

"Don't worry yourself about it. I'm sure I can steal some back if I need them." Arisia grins toward the other woman as she walks out.

And the elfin woman sets about cleaning up the bar. In fact, she takes longer in doing it than she needs to take. The cleaning she gives is a bit more in depth than is strictly necessary.

After she's done, she makes her way toward her room, opening the door carefully, in an attempt to not wake Zinda up.

[zinda-blackhawk.livejournal.com]

The room is still dark, and Zinda's a heavy sleeper, even without the aid of alcohol. She stirs some under the mound of warm covers, but she doesn't wake. Her clothes, the light from the hall will reveal, are slung with carelessness over a chair.

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

After the door is closed, Arisia's ring illuminates the room ever so slightly as she slides her boots off and carefully takes the dress off and hangs it up in her closet. After a bit of contemplation, she slips into an over large t-shirt and then makes her way into the bed.

Slipping beneath the covers, she curls up with Zinda, letting her eyes close, relaxing into her pillows and the warmth of her bed.

Not to mention the closeness of the other woman.

[zinda-blackhawk.livejournal.com]

The Blackhawk shifts position, the cold air briefly hitting her skin as Arisia gets into bed; then she relaxes, turning towards the smaller woman's embrace. Sleepily, she murmurs, "'Bout time you showed up."

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

"I didn't know you were waiting for me." Arisia is always warm, her regnerative metabolism making certain of that. The tone in her voice is mostly amused as she wraps her arm around Zinda - getting comfortable.

[zinda-blackhawk.livejournal.com]

Blue eyes open to look at her in the bedroom's dim light. Zinda's always admired the small woman's boundless generosity and compassion. The hand that now bears a platinum ring comes up, fingers gently tracing the line of Arisia's delicate face in a decidely intimate gesture. "You're always worth waitin' for, sugar."

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

Arisia leans into the fingers against her face for a few moments, eyes still closed. "Thank you, Zinda." Her arm slips around Zinda's waist, pulling the other woman a little closer.

[zinda-blackhawk.livejournal.com]

In case she was in any doubt, the move is countered with the softest brush of lips over her own. Zinda has every intention of letting Arisia know just how much she's appreciated today, of all days.

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

Arisia is a little surprised by the kiss from Zinda but there is no indication that it is an unwanted surprise. In fact, Arisia responds happily in kind. Her own hands slide along the other woman's back into her hair.

The sentiment is most certainly shared.