|
<<joint post but darned if I remember how ya label
it so... joint post with the characters in this thing ;)>>
Julia:
Julia came back to the house and shrugged out of her jacket, Jonathan having answered the door and now fighting a grin as he took the jacket and hung it up "Professor Rayne is upstairs with Katherine is in his office watching her usual fare in television programs and the Chinese restaurant called and verified the time of delivery for a dinner ordered." Julia rubbed her nose and looked at her finger, giving the butler a humorous look when she realized what it was he was grinning at. She obviously had dust and soot on her nose and probably all over her face.. "A street urchin comes to mind." Jonathan offered, deliberately bland before he winked and motioned her toward the stairs and headed off toward the kitchen to finish the last of his duties "But welcome home. When you're ready there's some coffee brewing for you." "Thanks." She grinned before heading upstairs, figuring since she was dusty already she might as well go digging around in the attic for the albums and violin now. Once she reached the third floor she turned toward the attic door/ladder and reached up on the tip of her toes and grasped the rope before pulling it down. "Oh my." Ingrid looked up at her from the second floor, having caught a glimpse of the woman's face and now grinning as she remembered a time or two her brother had come back from digs just as mussed "Julia's home." Julia dusted her hands on her jeans and looked around, wondering where to start. She should have asked where things had been placed before she came up but since she was here...... She went toward the back and looked up at a high stack of boxes and such and then around, spotting a stool. She was standing on it and reaching up to get the top box, unable to read the label when she heard someone come up. Derek: Derek had been in his study doing some work, while keeping Kat company, when he heard Julia com in. He headed up to the attic and noticed her up on a stool. "You find anything you're looking for up there, not even my baby pictures." Julia: Julia started and looked back before grinning, still on the stool "Baby pictures? Really?" Derek: "they're in Amsterdam," he lied. Well not a complete lie, some of them were, some were here. The way of the things when you keep two separate house holds. "But you're things are here." He indicated several trunks in the corner. "Now get down from there before you start an avalanche." Julia: Julia hopped down and looked him in the eye, raising an eyebrow without commenting before going to the trunks he indicated and kneeling before the first one and opening it. If he didn't want to share the pictures she wasn't going to push him about it. She just didn't like to be lied to. And she could tell he was too. She sighed low and put her elbow on the edge of the first trunk, propping her chin in hand and flicking at items without really looking at them. Derek: "Well, the good ones are," Derek qualified, as he knelt down beside her. He'd seen the look in her eyes and that actually hurt him, to see that expression there. "What exactly are we looking for?" Julia: She looked at him and decided not to hold it against him this time. It was obvious he wasn't comfortable with it so she wouldn't push him about it. She even nudged him in the shoulder a little with her own and offered a crooked smile to show it was okay before she lifted up a small photo album and opened it, chuckling when she came across one that had some odds and ends in it from different times. She opened it and pointed at an especially horrendous picture of herself - the day of her parents' 10th wedding anniversary and she and her mother having just come out of her mom's dressing room and both of the with matching rollers in their hair. Both had been trying to sneak to the kitchen to get her mom some more coffee and had been caught by her brother "You tell anyone and I'll never let you rest a moment." She grinned again and half rolled her eyes, making fun of herself as she remembered what she looked like now - with her hair piled up on her head and Jonathan's comment at the door "All I'm missing now is a cleaner face and rollers. God I must look a sight!" Derek: Derek found himself smiling at the picture, he didn't think it was all the bad. Kind of cute actually. Just a little girl playing, like Kat. He turned his dark eyes towards her and gently brushed at smudge on her check. "The Mary Poppins up the chimney look is a classic. You look fine." And he genuinely meant that. She looked perfect to him, smudges and all. Julia: Her smile softened as she met his gaze and her voice dropped to an almost whisper "Liar, I think I resemble a banshee we took care of ..." Derek: Derek gazed down at her, "No," he said his throat suddenly feeling very hoarse. "You don't. You never could look like that." What happened, was something he was totally unprepared for, yet he couldn't stop it. Something about the combination of their physical closeness and the the way the dim light fell on her face, made him lose all sense of his logic and perspective. Without thinking, he leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. Once what he was doing hit him, he back away, feeling rather old and embarrassed. "I'm sorry," he said the hoarseness he felt earlier coming through in his voice now. "I shouldn't have done that." "I'm not." she murmured in return, raising her hand to touch his cheek and gently urged him to look her in the eyes. Please let it be knee jerk reaction, she thought, and not that he really was sorry. She let the question reflect in her gaze instead of hiding it before touching her forehead against his and sighing a little, voice still low "Don't start closing down, Derek.... I want... I want to enjoy the moment, keep looking through the trunks with you and.... just see." "But," she lowered her gaze before raising it slightly again to his, wondering if he really was sorry and not sure she could face him if he was "If you really are.. sorry.... I'll.. I'll accept that too." Derek: It took every ounce of courage he had to meet her gaze. He was surprised by her reaction, pleased but surprised nonetheless. And he didn't know quite how to take it. Most of the reservations he'd been having still plagued him. He cleared his throat, not knowing what to say or do. He knew the best thing would be to just get up leave. It would be the best thing for her at any rate. However, he couldn't bring himself to do it. "All right," he finally managed to get out, allowing his gaze to linger with hers for another moment before turning it back to the trunk, where he spotted something. "I think I've found you're violin," he said clearing his throat again. Julia: Her lips curved at his answer and she returned his gaze before they parted and he looked at the trunk and spotted the black case inside, or at least part of it. She regarded his profile for a moment and then reached in to pull it out, turning the case each way before laying it in her lap and unfastening the latches. "Could you dig around in there and see if there's a small black velvet pouch? It should have the rosin and extra strings in there." She raised the top of the case and carefully lifted the instrument out. He hadn't ran, she thought, her lips quirking more at that than at finding the instrument. She couldn't begin to describe the level of relief and.... reaction she had had to the kiss and after. She put the violin on her shoulder and tested the strings, then fine tuned it by ear. Geesh it had been a while since she'd played but darned if the notes and sound of them didn't come right back to her. She hummed the note she needed to tune with and soon had all four strings in tuned and grinned "Any luck?" Derek: Derek had managed to dig up the small bag, in fact having something to do was helping matters. At least he was busy, which was usually good anyway, even if the task was menial he could let it absorb a large part of his consciences mind. He held the small bag out to her and settled down on the floor bending his knees in front of him and resting his elbows on them. He watched Julia closely. Julia: She accepted the small bag and took out the flat, oval container inside before, and holding the violin with her chin and shoulder, Julia took the cap off of it and ran the horse hairs of the bow over the somewhat hard and yet soft golden amber block inside. Then she put the container and the cap inside the violin case and ran put her left hand at the neck of the violin and set the bow across the strings with her right, gently running it across each to test it's tune. The D string was a smidgen off and she fine tuned it with the small dial a the bridge of the instrument, giving Derek a little grin and "Remember, I warned you." A song came to her and, even though she'd still play in a little while for both Ingrid and Derek, she went ahead and played now, closing her eyes as the notes played out. It was a piece by Niccol� Paganini, slow and a mixture of soulful and seductive notes that told of something lost and found again, and how much more enriched the something was the second time.... more alive, more depth, more..... rich. She had always liked listening to his music and she was surprised she was able to play it without a single mistake. Playing Paganini's music was difficult to master in the first place. For someone to pick up the instrument after so long of not playing and then play it again was very very nice indeed. Of course it also spoke of just how much and how intense her periods of practices had been too, that she would remember and be able to produce the same effects and quality as she was then. The melody seemed to fill the attic and wrap around her and she opened her eyes to look at Derek, smiling softly as the tune drew to an end. She lowered the violin to her lap and held the bow in her hand and swallowed the temptation to duck her head as she felt her cheeks grow warm and wondered what he thought about it. Personally.. the tune had, but not surprisingly, reminded her of him and a moment ago. But she wasn't going to tell him that. Not yet anyway. "Okay," she admitted with the same low tone as earlier and a little shyly "So you now know I'm not the rock and roller most people think I am. Think you can keep my secret?" Derek: Derek had to admit he was very impressed. He enjoyed watching her play, especially since her eyes were closed and he could do it without her seeing. The music was beautiful, though not as much so as she when she finished with the pink tinge on her smudged cheeks. He smiled and shook his head at her slightly, "I don't know if I can do that," he told her. "The Luna Foundation could always use the money generated from concerts." He was of course only teasing, but she was good enough to play with the symphony if she wanted to do so. Julia grinned crookedly and set the instrument and the bow
gently back into it's case before closing the clasps "Oh yeah? Well I'm sure
people would pay to listen to you on the piano too. But if you don't
mind.. I'd rather keep the playing audience to private concerts. That is
if you think my luck will hold out in not hurting your ears."
She put the violin case to the side and nodded at the trunk, hands on her legs as she moved to a kneeling position and peeking into the trunk "I think Kat would have a blast going through all of this. I just have to find one more photo album... if you're not busy." She turned enough to gaze at his profile, tracing his features and then smiled quietly when he turned to her, turning her gaze back toward the trunk and reaching in to move things around curiously. The only thing she could see that wasn't in the trunks were her clothes. Whoever had packed these had put everything in, none of her personal effects having been given away at all. She blew at her bangs without thinking about it and continued to move things around carefully before her eyes lit up "Found it." She blew at her bangs again, opening the album that held odds and ends and more pictures. It was more a scrap book than a photo album but it was the one Julia had promised to show Ingrid. Derek: "If you can stand to listen to my playing, I'm certain I can handle yours," he told her, hesitantly moving her bangs out of face with his left hand. "Is this everything you want to bring down for now? We can just have the trunks brought down if you want to unpack them in your room." Julia:
She looked over at him and started rolling her eyes at the description of his playing, only to still and her lip curve softly at his touch, her movements slow as she lifted her right hand to trace the back of her forefinger against the right side of his jaw, her gaze following the small path before meeting his. Was it possible to feel like you were holding your breath and yet be breathing? she wondered, only to know it was possible - because that was the way she felt right now. That and...... desire. "I'd like that." Ingrid/Kat: Ingrid had offered to watch Kat while her brother helped Julia and had left the sliding doors open to his office as she watched the girl's newest artwork. The girl was more gifted than she at that age with a set of crayons. Just then she heard the faintest of melodies and looked up and smiled quietly, knowing where it came from. She seriously doubted anyone else would have heard it considering how close the office was to the attic and the rest of the office type rooms being a floor down. Beautiful piece and she recalled the composer and the intended emotion behind the song - and felt her smile grow as the one playing the song captured it. You better remember that promise, Brother, she thought to herself as she waited a few minutes before standing and offering Kat her hand "I believe Julia is home. Would you like to go see her? I know she peeked in on you before leaving but didn't want to wake you." "Oh," Kat said nodding. It would be good to see Julia. Not that she disliked Derek or his sister, but she was growing very weary of adult companionship and she didn't really think of Julia in those terms so much. She hopped up and took Ingrid's hand eagerly. She didn't really understand why the grownups where holding her captive all of a sudden, but that's what it was beginning to feel like. Julia/Derek: She moved her finger to cover his lips and moved slightly, replacing her finger with her lips and kissing him ever so softly before slowly drawing back and admitting quietly "That's what.... I wanted to do yesterday. Why... I thought I made an ass of myself." She stood slowly, the ghost of a smile she wore sheepish and turned more toward making fun of herself as she continued than anything else "I.. thought.." she had picked up the violin and now held it to her by the neck, almost hugging it to her as she admitted to what she had thought was a foul up "that you knew and didn't want to... embarrass me with the fact you knew I reacted the way I did." "All the while thinking," she looked up and met his gaze again, her own expression open and in a way, vulnerable because of how much she was admitting to him "that you were having to deal with one of those.. student types that kept throwing themselves at you...." Her lips twitched then. She hadn't thrown herself at him per say.... she had fallen on top of him. Derek: Derek stared at her completely caught off guard by this confession. He stood up and gathered her other items, feeling somewhat overwhelmed and a bit unsteady. Though this did not show in his body, but he could feel it inside. It had started when she kissed him. He had been too flustered after kissing her to notice much other than that nervousness then. He straightened up his gaze stopping on her face. "No, Julia, it wasn't that at all," he said. He wasn't about to explain what he had been embarrassed about. Just the thought of such a thing....no absolutely not! "I was feeling....something similar," he admitted rather shyly. Similar, but definitely not the same and definitely not something you spoke about in mixed company, no matter how you felt about the person in question. Julia:
To say she was feeling weak-kneed would have been an
understatement. What she was feeling she couldn't even put into words and
seriously doubted Derek could either. She felt that quiet half smile
coming back as she returned his gaze and just experienced their new
closeness. It took her a moment to realize that she heard voices approach
and that they were headed up to the attic.
She wasn't going to jump or react like they had been
caught doing something and so held Derek's gaze a moment longer and then turned
slowly when the tops of Ingrid's and Kat's head appeared on the ladder stair
well and greeted them both "Well hello there. We beat you to the search
and found the goods."
She looked at Kat and grinned "Hey kiddo, how'd your day
go?"
Ingrid/Kat:
Ingrid looked at her brother, her gaze flowing from Julia
as she lowered herself to Kat's height to listen to the girl's response to her
brother's own gaze.
|
