In the burning heart

Of course, it sounded familiar, it had been them. But probably for far longer than it would take Nathaniel and Iris to figure things out, or, they would have to see. Jury was still out on that one, if he had to be honest. It was always incredible to dance with someone to love, because you could see it in the way you moved. How you found it so natural to move your body, so it matched theirs. He would never grow tired of it, and somehow down the line it was so easy for him to picture it. How they would dance when they grow old. He could picture his entire life with her, how they would marry and get kids, have their own family and how they would grow old together. Even if it was a scary thought for many, it didn’t scare him the slightest even though he knew that he wasn’t ready for all of that right now. He knew that he would be one day, and when he was, he wanted it with her.

She could hear how his heart started beating while their eyes locked. She would be lying if she said she didn’t feel it too. Because she did. The tingle in her fingers, almost like a buzzing. If her electricity couldn’t really keep itself at bay. For a moment she was nervous that he would get zapped because she couldn’t get it under control.
Iris was never really nervous, not in the sense she was right now. She took things she wanted, she left things she was done with. Of course, it had some root in her having a big fear of abandonment and would rather just leave people before they could leave her. That constant need for approval, and that someone told her that they loved her. She wanted that, but it also made her wonder if what she even had with Oscar was real. When she had never really felt it the way that she felt right now.
“You’re quite incredible too” she whispered back, in the same low tone that would just be heard by him because of how close they were standing at this point. It was like two magnets that tried to pull away from each other, but no matter how hard they tried they kept being pulled back in. Just as she was about to lean towards him to kiss him, she turned her head. Leaning her chin against his. He didn’t deserve to be kissed by someone, that might not be available. She couldn’t do that to him.

It still sometimes surprised her just how lucky she had gotten the last year, how she had gotten everything she had ever dreamed about. How life had turned out from being some of the darkest days to the most brightest. To only thinking about the day ahead, to actually being able to look with excitement and hope to the future she could have, they could have together. Because she had never thought she had one, never thought she deserved it. And now here she was, not running away from what she wanted, not ever again. Maya was ready to take the wheel for a change and she was so thankful for everyone she had by her side doing so. People around them clapped like crazy after they seemed to have done their little routine, Maya did a little bow just chuckling looking over at Howie before her arms found their way around him again, looking shortly towards Nathaniel and Iris that moved in their own pace to the music that weren't really for slow dancing, but she also knew not to interrupt them. "Should we get something to drink?" She asked Howie nodding towards their booth, then at least they could also just sit the two of them, get some fuel before they should get back to the dance floor.

It was an almost. A close almost for their lips to meet before she leaned her cheek against his, making him close his eyes for a moment. Just moving with her not to the beats of the music, but perhaps more to the beat of his own heart and to hers. Just the two of them in the world, it felt like that. He barely noticed the room around them, the clapping, the people, he only noticed her. Which was odd given he was a telepath, it was always so easy to just tab into everyone's mind and have it loud and noisy, but it was so peacefully quiet right now. "You know, I'm extremely fond of you," he confessed knowing this could blow back at him, but he didn't care. She deserved to know. "You don't have to say anything, I just wanted you to know," he whispered opening his eyes and took a slightly deeper breath in. Nathaniel understood the important aspect of letting people know how they meant to him, when it regarded emotions like this. And if he wanted anything, even a slight chance he needed to express it. And some people were worth waiting for.

Howie turned to some of the clapping people, seeing how they were filming. This was going to blow up on social media. A soft chuckle left him, as he folded his arms around his girlfriend and pulled her close to place a kiss on her lips, after she had asked if they should get something to drink. “Let’s do that, leave the two lovebirds to figure out what they want to do” he hummed, letting her go. But as he stepped away, he took her hand, pulling her a little close again as he walked towards where they had been sitting before. Almost jumping up the steps of the stairs, before he pirouetted her quite skilfully into the booth that Iris had made sure was theirs for the night. Ordering two colourful drinks, to match up with their first date experience he let out a small breath. Feeling that he had still gotten a workout, but before they had done it for fun, he hadn’t even thought about how it had looked. He looked towards her with a soft smile. Moving some of her hair behind her ear. “I’ve missed this” he mumbled, looking into her beautiful bright blue eyes.

She couldn’t help it, her heart start picking up speed as he told her that he was fond of her. No, not only fond of her, extremely fond of her. She blinked a couple of times. Not noticing what was happening around them. The only thing she heard, was his quiet voice telling her that she didn’t need to say anything, that he had just wanted her to know. There was no pressure, she knew that he meant it. Which also made the whole thing so unfair. Because she was fond of him too, but could she give her heart to him fully?
She pulled away, just a little, so her eyes once again could look into his. Her breath coming out in small swallow breaths. She closed her eyes for a moment, just to compose herself once more. What else could she do? Her lips parted as if she was about to say something, but there came no words, not at first. “I’m extremely fond of you too” she whispered, finally, and opened her eyes yet again. A small smile formed on her lips, as she felt how her chest rose and sank as she exhaled. “I just, I need some time, to, figure things out” she spoke softly “Not that I expect you to wait, and I’m okay just being friends, and –“ she folded her lips together, to prevent herself from speaking anymore nonsense. He really did have a way to twist her around and make her completely fall over her own tongue. Never really knowing how to behave or what to do. Mostly because she wanted to do everything to make him happy.
That was, that was love, right?

Maya smiled as he pulled her closer, returning the kiss placed on her lips with a soft smile folding over them, as she let out a soft hum to the acknowledgment of letting Iris and Nathaniel figure out amongst themselves what they wanted. She followed him up the steps, letting out a laugh as he pirouetted her into the booth. Sitting down breathing out for a second, before looking towards Howie again, a soft smile formed on her lips while looking into his eyes. "I've missed this too," Maya replied with a tender voice, letting her hand rest against his cheek. "Just few more days, then its you and me carpool karaoke back home," she reminded him before leaning in to kiss him once again. After the holiday hustle, no matter how amazing it had been to actually have a family spent Christmas with and the following days, Maya looked very much forward to go back with Howie just being the two of them again.

His eyes looked into hers, as she moved away just a few inches. Watching her compose herself like she tried to figure out how to respond or what to say. Nathaniel however couldn't help but let his smile pull up a bit further as she mentioned she was extremely fond of him too, looking into his eyes again. He had told her that she hadn't needed to say anything, yet he also knew it was the fewest who actually could keep quiet after having been told such thing. "In my experience sometimes the wait is worth it," he replied to her rumble of words, slowly taking her hand and lifted it up towards his lips and placed a kiss on the knuckles. "And I happen to believe you are worth waiting for," he whispered softly placing another kiss on her hand looking at her before letting it  go slowly again.

He nodded when she told him, that it would only be a few more days and they would carpool karaoke back home. She was right, only a few more days. But was he ready to say goodbye? He looked towards the dancefloor, almost as if he was expecting it to tell him the answers on questions that was floating in his mind. Funnily enough, he already knew the answers himself, he didn’t need someone to tell him what he truly wanted. But it was still a big step, he had gone to London in the pursuit for something, a dream that he had from a very young age. Since he could remember. But what was a dream, if you had no one to share it with? And even though he knew that Maya didn’t mind being with him in London, and when it came down to it, she could easily find a job there. Being who she was. But it all came down to, was it still his dream? Or was he living on his six-year-old mindset, of what he saw the world to be? Sometimes you just had to realize that the things you wanted at the age, changed when the person that you wanted to spend the rest of your life with, stepped into your life. She kissed him, and he was pulled back into this reality. He gave her a soft smile and pushed some of her hair back her ear. “What would you say, if we came back, a little earlier than expected?” he asked, raising a brow, knowing it was incredibly vague to ask that way.

It was like someone pulled out the air in her lungs. A soft pressure in her heart, and the feeling of her stomach that dropped. It wasn’t even because he was saying anything. It was just how he looked at her. And for a moment she was sure, that it was how love looked. How love should look like. Not tormented by other transactions or soiled by something that was no longer pure. She wasn’t saying that Oscar didn’t love her, but she suddenly understood that what they had. It would never be pure; it would never be something that was truly love. Because he was a man that had done things, unspeakable things. Some where she was sure he wouldn’t even apologize for them, nor should he if he felt like it was who he was. But could she accept that? She wasn’t sure she could. A small smile formed on her lips as he told her that she was worth the wait. Did he truly believe that? She closed her eyes, as he placed his lips against her knuckles another time. She could feel how warmth spread through her hand into her heart. She slowly opened her eyes again, and with a movement, slower but faster than she could stop. She leaned in and placed a soft kiss against his lips.

His question made her press her brows a little together, just a little, coming back earlier. See, that could mean a lot of things, and he knew her mind would be racing by now trying to figure out to solve the puzzle he placed for her. Came back earlier than expected. If he meant their apartment in London, wouldn't he have said going home earlier? Come back earlier. "I would most likely be all in, but what do you mean by coming back earlier?" Maya asked, the question still roared in her mind as it tried to solve it. Of course they missed being here. Even if it had been nice for some weeks to be out seeing the world outside the supernatural, there was the thing about not being able to just swing by her parents or the rest of the family. Funny she had lived so long without them, that she had thought it would be easier on her not to see them almost everyday - turned out she had at least called both her parents every single day just to hear what they were up to. But they had friends here in Athena, family and she knew he missed his friends and family just as much as she missed hers, if not more given he had been away from them longer than she had in total."You know wherever you go I go, right?" She wasn't kidding, there was no one else Maya would rather stay beside than Howie, so even if he had asked her to move to the edge of Earth, she would most likely had followed.

Nathaniel just observed her carefully, looking into her eyes. But it was like his heart and body knew before the mind did, closing his eyes and met her lips as they touched his so softly. Nathaniel returned the kiss tenderly, taking the moment in. His hand that had let go of her hand seconds ago moved to he cheek. It was magnetic, he couldn't even put words into what he was feeling right now. And he had felt like before that they were the only two people left in the world, but right in this second they wee alone in the universe. And he wished the moment didn't have to end. He wished for it to be like this forever, yet he knew, oh he knew that reality would kick in within seconds as their lips parted again and he leaned his forehead against hers, keeping his eyes closed.

One side of his lip curled into a small smile, of course he had been rather vague about what he meant about coming back earlier. He could have just asked, if she wanted to move back Athena. But somehow, it was also a big thing to ask. Maybe not in the sense that he thought she would be mad, but it was also him acknowledging that his dream had changed. For him, it had been a lifelong dream, and he was now thinking about quitting a once in a lifetime opportunity. If he went back, there wouldn’t be a change to come back again. People thought for the spots in the school every year, and here he was thinking about dropping out. But the more he thought about it the more he knew it was the right thing to do. He looked down at his drink with a chuckle, when she told him that wherever he goes, she would go. He looked towards her, tilting his head a little with a soft smile on his lips. “These past days might have shown me that my heart isn’t really in London, even though it goes without saying that you have quickly become my home” he held a breath for a moment, thinking about how he wanted to phrase himself. Closing his eyes for a moment and letting his hand glide over his jaw as he looked towards Nathaniel and Iris kissing on the dance floor. A brighter smile formed over his lips. “But all our friends are here, and your family” he looked back at her “so, I was actually thinking about moving back, here” he added looking at how she was going to react to his words. Not that he thought she would be mad, but it was a big change of heart, when he hadn’t talked about anything for over a year, that he was going to London and dance.

It was like one of those scenes from a movie. Where they quiet down the music, then everything goes still, and the surroundings of the two kissing people disappeared. That was how it felt like. As if nothing else mattered than this very moment. How his lips felt against hers. Then she knew just how hard she had fallen for him. How she might have been drawn to him the very first moment she had laid her eyes on him. Standing there in the door at the Radclyffee mansion. Funny, how you could think someone was your soulmate, until you actually meant the person that was for you. It only proved the point further. That Oscar and she wasn’t going to work in this time of life. They had their memories, but that was all there would ever be. She let out a soft sigh when their lips parted. A small chuckle left her, as she opened her eyes. “I like how you kiss” she teased, easing the tension a little. Knowing that there were still a lot of resolved things that needed to be taken care off, just not right now.

Maya raised her brow a little bit as he said his heart wasn't really in London - well then also adding that she was becoming his home, making her lips curl up in a bigger smile. Hopes and dreams had always been very different for the two of them where Howie had followed his dreams since as long as he could remembered, Maya had first been allowed to even let some dreams in now, finding out that is was okay going after the things she wanted in life, that it was okay to hope and have these dreams. Which meant she also knew it was allowed to change ones mind. It was okay to change your path. She for sure had changed the path, even if her past sometimes did catch up with her - sometimes it was hard not to get triggered by sudden events and happenings. Like Maggie trying to get a hold of her, Violet and Katelyn again. Not that she had gotten that close to Maya as she had the others. Maya listened to his reason for getting back here, following his gaze to the dancefloor to Nathaniel and Iris kissing before looking back at him again. It was true their friends were here, her family. Then he mentioned them moving back here. Which had her lift her brows a little surprised at first, not that she hadn't thought about it since he had said the first sentence. But it wasn't a terrible idea. "Are you sure? I mean, you've worked so hard for this?" Regardless, he had her full support no matter what he chose to do, but she remembered it like Yesterday when he had found out he had gotten in and everything. But coming back here was also something she wouldn't mind. Then her father wasn't forced trying to figure out how facetime worked, there was however nothing more entertaining than trying to get Irina's phone to actually unlock and for the camera to work - the many curse words. It would also mean that perhaps she could learn from some of their new found wolf buddies to actually get a better understanding on her wolf side rather than just learning to adapt to it like she usually did. "But if you are sure, and that is what you want to do, I'm totally in," she confirmed with a softer smile.

Her soft little chuckle made him, made a smile pull further up his lips. "Really? You should do it more then," Nathaniel mumbled a little opening his eyes as well letting his meet with hers. She had told him that there was things she needed to figure out, so he knew that. But right now, it was just them and this party on the dance floor, the rest of the world could wait for a while now, couldn't it? Just for a moment at least as the back of his hand traced over her cheek and his eyes kept themselves locked with hers.

He looked at her when she asked if, he was sure. He nodded slowly, almost showing that he wasn’t really sure. But the more he thought about it, the more he knew it was what he wanted. “Yeah, to be fair, I’ve seen just how far away I’ve drifted from my friends here, and I don’t really like it” he said, looking down at his drink before taking a sip from it. Letting the bitter notes expand on his tongue as he swallowed. “I rather teach kids to dance, than fighting against people to be the next hit for five minutes” he said with a rather sad smile, because even though he had his aura, and it was easy for him to get picked out from a dozen of people. He still didn’t feel right about it, maybe that was the reason why it wasn’t really his dream anymore. Because he was sacrificing to much of himself, and he didn’t feel like doing that. “Cool” he laughed looking towards her again with a bright smile on his lips. “Maybe in a month or so, I just need to finish up, so I can at least get that experience under my belt, and then we can use that time to look for a place here” he said with a smile “preferable a little bigger, I’m going crazy with all your computer stuff all over the place” he joked, nudging his shoulder against hers.

“I should” she confirmed, letting her eyes drift towards his lips before looking back towards his eyes. A small smile formed over her lips, before she let out a soft breath of air. “Maybe we should get back to the others?” she asked, not that she moved or made any indication that she actually wanted to go back. Because going back, meant that they needed to stay a little apart, at least until she had figured out what she wanted. Even though Nathaniel had told her, that she was worth waiting for. Just how long would he wait? She couldn’t expect him to wait for ever. No, someday a great girl would come by, and she would take him. Because who wouldn’t? Everything about him. A small smile formed on her lips, and she didn’t finish the thought. It wasn’t like he was perfect, because no one ever was, but he came pretty damn close.

It was true, he had drifted away from people here, having to swing by whenever he could just to see a glimpse of what they were up to. Missing out on so much, good as bad. There was the whole Southside thing even if it wasn't as big now, it had still left its marks on most people that Maya knew. In one way or the other. But she listened to him explain, even if she believed he had thought everything out rather well before talking to her. But she understood, it had sucked a little to get Violet back in her life and then having to leave, having been so far away when the whole Maggie episode had went on and she couldn't be there for either Katelyn or Violet. "Of course -" she nodded a little, well that also meant a few more months trying out this whole 'normal' girl in a 'normal' world thing, even if it sometimes came down very challenging to her, not using her powers or say something without sounding completely insane, it was using her brain in a very different way - and sometimes down tracks she didn't like the pattern off. "Oh please," she chuckled, "don't come here and discriminate my gear like that" she lifted a finger at him while cracking a smile trying to prevent herself from laughing yet, "my painting stuff takes up equally the space, don't forget that," Maya pointed out very fairly, taking a sip of her drink. Well, he was also used to having his space, where Maya always had just taken what ever she had and dealt with that, even if it had been a simple bed to sleep on being the only thing that was hers. "But agreed," she lifted her hand and poked his nose softly with her index finger, before letting  soft laugh escape her.

"Maybe we should," he mumbled a little, not really wanting to move. It was almost torture really, knowing what you should do but at the same time you felt stuck because you liked being in the situation you were in so badly. "But," he looked shortly up at Maya and Howie talking, "it looks like they are in a very deep conversation, would be a shame to interrupt," he excused with a soft chuckle, still keeping her close. Because no, he wasn't really ready to let go either.

He couldn’t help but laugh when she told him not to go after her gear. Or as she had said, discriminate it. “Are we making this a discrimination issue? Really, have you seen my skin colour?” he asked, raising a brow before he laughed again. Nodding, when she told him that her painting stuff took up just as much space, as all of her computers and gadgets. “Fine, we’ll get a place where you can have your own room, for whatever you please” he said with a soft smile, scrunching his nose when she poked his nose. With a quick grab he caught her wrist and pulled her into a soft kiss.

She looked over her shoulder and saw that they were sitting there and talking, even though it seemed like they were doing talking without using words now. A small chuckle left her, and then she turned back to look into Nathaniel’s eyes. “Seems like you’re right, we should give them a minute” she said, nodding. Almost as if they were doing them a favour by staying here. But when it came down to it, then it was probably more for themselves, at they found a reason to stay on the dancefloor. Swaying out of tone with the music, and not really caring about other people around them. “So, are you looking forward at starting at the academy?” she asked licking her lip before she pulled her bottom lip back with her teeth.

She shook her head at him while laughing. Then raising her brow a little bit when he said they would get a place where she could get a room to use for whatever she wanted, making her blink a little bit. It wasn't like she didn't know that the last thing Howie needed was money, but she still sometimes just got surprised of everything that was offered to her, what people provided for her compared to what she was used to. But before she could say more to it he pulled her into a soft kiss, Maya chuckled a little bit before then kissing him back.

Nathaniel knew it was a bit selfish of him, keeping her all to himself while she was thinking things out, yet, he also didn't feel the slightest guilt about it. Because he knew what he wanted, and he wasn't just going to run away from it. "Well, you'll be there, but other than that factor to look forward to. Yes," he chuckled a little as he kept dancing with her. Just letting the night begin to unfold, later joining Howie and Maya again in the booth. Just dancing, chatting and drinking - having the time of their lives, and Nathaniel was excited to see where this would go. What did this year have to offer him?
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out