The L Word (ask for invite)

[Felicity Mason]

The Magrath estate was beautiful. Felicity stayed in her room most days, homesick, shy. Now though, she was starting to feel comfortable coming out of her shell somewhat. She was even more comfortable with Owain at her side. It wasn't often that the two of them could slip away together, and even less often was the occasion that the two of them could slip away alone. With everyone else enjoying the Gala, this was the exact opportunity she'd been looking for.

She clutched Owains hand as they walked down the halls, following the directions given by their hostess. She was smiling, glancing at his face every now and again, blushing when he caught her staring. This was young love. Clumsy, stupid, secret, but all hers. She could keep it close to her heart, hidden away, locked up tight, protected, or she could let it go if she wanted. Not that she did. Until she was forced to say goodbye, she'd be happy enough sneaking away with him when ever she could.

"So... You really think I'm beautiful?" The girl smiled, staring at him sideways through her eyelashes.

[member="Owain"]

 

[Owain]

The whole building was quite fancy - it reminded Owain more of the Theed Palace on Naboo than of Dis on Immeria. He could respect that, but the whole place was tainted in his mind - it belonged to Duchess Magrath, a politician who was involved with Feena Mason, both of which loathed him and had their expectations of Felicity. Truth be told, maybe they wanted what was best for the blonde princess, but the notion that they dictated her life for her irked him. Even more so since he cared for the girl. Maybe even lo...lo...l...urgh, LIKED her.

Her question reminded him of his earlier misstep, and he half turned his head and coughed to give himself some time to think of an explanation. "Well...yes. I mean, you take good care of yourself, so it would only make sense," he offered lamely. He had never really been good at compliments. Hard to do so when you're as blunt as a hammer most of the time.

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

"Oh."
The Princess looked away, disappointed. He was difficult sometimes. Why she lo... felt that way about him, she'd never know. But it was there and it grew by the day. Who could honestly blame her? She was 16 and sheltered and he was her first... well, everything. She was blushing again at the memories that popped up involuntarily.

"Well... Thanks, I guess." she shrugged, clearing her throat to dismiss the awkwardness between them. He thought she was... something at least. That was enough. Felicity didn't think she was beautiful. Not anymore. She had to resist the urge to reach up and run her fingers along the scar on what was left of her earlobe. Didn't he ever notice that? How could he notice it and not be bothered by it?

[member="Owain"]

 

[Owain]

She sounded somewhat hurt as they walked, so the boy mustered his lacking conversational skills to try to reassure her. "Well, I mean...you are quite attractive - I mean, I noticed that even before we...you know...liked each other," he admitted. Huh, it wasn't as hard to reveal that as he had thought. Curious. "Then you came back from Naboo, and that whole transmission...that showed the kind of person you really were on the inside. Strong, determined. Not the spoilt brat I had expected," the raven haired teen continued, shrugging a bit. "That's why I didn't just leave my uncle or your sister to look after you. THat's why I stayed. Becuase I saw something that..." He wanted to say something he loved, but the words were wrong. "...that I liked," he settled on eventually.

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

He was struggling. She was smiling. Listening to him stumble through an explanation, knowing that he really cared how she felt, it was enough for her. The mention of the transmission from Naboo made her cheeks deepen to a very unattractive shade of scarlet. Not a good look when her freckles looked lighter than her cheeks. She looked away, remembering how she must have looked and sounded during her transmission. Covered in dirt, dust, blood (only some of it being her own) and who knew what else. She'd been scared, weak, tired, angry. How could anybody like that?
When the heat in her face died down somewhat, she looked back to him.

"Is that why you agreed to come back to Naboo with me?" she asked, "because you... liked me?"

She could see the library doors near the end of the hall now, tall and heavy. She missed her fathers library in Dis. She missed the way she could disappear in there for hours, hiding behind shelves until someone finally tracked her down or until she'd finally gotten her fill of reading. She missed being able to sneak off and steal a kiss from Owain behind a stack of books. She missed her room. She missed her sister. She missed Uncle B. She really missed Daddy.
She was feeling home sick again.

[member="Owain"]

 

[Owain]

He felt like a fool when he talked, but the sight of her glowing red made it worth it. He couldn't help but smile and glance around, confirming they were alone, before quickly embracing her and planting a kiss on her lips. "Why else would I have gone?" he asked her, stepping back in case a servant suddenly materialised. Taking her hand in his again, they continued on their way, approaching the imposing entrance into the library. "You were...different from anyone I had met before. A noble, and yet so...normal. Sure you were haughty, but you didn't hide behind a facade of culture. You hitting me took something. Most children of the rich and powerful would have simply used words or underhanded means to make their displeasure known...but you were so...direct," Owain explained, grinning at the girl next to him.

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

His kiss shot through her like lightning though every nerve. And then it was over and he was stepping away from her like it never even happened. She walked hand in hand with him, fingers tracing her lips, trying to feel his kiss again.

The memory of the first time she'd met him made her smile. She'd made him bleed. She was such a bully back then. He was hardly the first boy she'd hit, and he likely would not be the last. He was right. She was very direct when she was displeased.

They reached the doors and Felicity pulled one open, peaking inside to make sure they were very much alone. Silence. She giggled and pulled him in with her.

"I'm still very direct, you know," she giggled, closing the distance between them, moving to wrap her arms around him.

[member="Owain"]

 

[Owain]

She pulled him in, and his eyebrows rose in surprise as she embraced him. It was silent in the library, but that meant little. It was supposed ot be silent in a library afterall. Still, he wasn't going to squander this precious moment. "Oh, I certainly know that, Songbird," he teased, his own arms going to hold her close as he moved to kiss her again. Yes, these moments were precious indeed...

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

She touched his forehead with hers, touched her nose to his, smiled, then they kissed again. She didn't sense anybody nearby, but then again, her ability with the force was... less than steller. Cyril insisted she was powerful, gifted. She didn't see it. The only 'gift' she had were getting brief nonsensical glimpses at events that may happen, may have already happened, or may not even happen at all. Then she'd have a head ache for about seven hours after. Some gift.

Didn't matter now. Their lips met again and it was magic. Who knew how many kisses they had left until-
She didn't like to think about that. She pressed her body closer to him, as close as her fluffy gold dress would let her. They couldn't do more than that, unfortunately. When it came to matters of... intimacy, Felicity was still shy. She couldn't handle the idea of someone walking in on them.

She pulled away after a moment to rest her head on his shoulder. She'd missed this so much, just being able to hold him like this. Back home at Dis, it was easy enough sneaking him into her room, or vice versa late at night. She knew her way around security at home. Here though, this was still a mystery, so just to be safe, she'd kept a polite distance. Now they were alone, or at least, she was fairly sure.

[member="Owain"]

 

[Owain]

Every kiss was a treasure. He still couldn't quite figure out when he had come to value them so, but it had happened. Of course, kisses was all they could get away with whilst here. And Owain somehow suspected that the Baroness knew about their little tryst's. Somehow. But she had made no move to separate them...what was she playing at?

Pah, it didn't matter. He had the girl he lov- LIKED in his arms, enjoying herself. He wanted to kiss her more, to make her breath hitch and eyes flutter. But if he kissed her neck again...well, they certainly wouldn't be discrete anymore. She had gotten into enough trouble with her mother the last time he had done that. And she couldn't wear her choker all the time. A pity. Eventually he disengaged from Felicity, smiling. "Well...shall we explore a bit?" he suggested, waving at their surroundings. It would be a good way to make sure they were alone...

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

They pulled apart at last. These moments were too few. She knew she probably should have ended this a while ago, for her own sake. This was going to hurt someday. She was not her own girl anymore. She might have been if Cyril had continued to train her. She might have been knighted and been allowed to go off and live her own life. She might have been able to fall in love as she wished and love them openly. Here though, she was still under her Mother thumb because she had no other options. She had no other skills to run away and survive.

Someday, she'd be forced to let him go or else lose everything. When the time came, she thought she'd be able to do it. Some nights when she was alone, she still thought she might be able to manage it. But every time she saw Owain, her heart fluttered and her mind fought sense. She could never. It was becoming more clear by the day that if he asked her, she'd leave with him without a second thought. He was... dangerous.

The girl nodded and took his hand to follow his lead. The library was huge, tall. The shelves went almost up to the ceiling. She walked through the rows, hand in hand with him.

"Owain, have you ever thought about what you want to do with your life?"

[member="Owain"]

 

[Owain]

"Hm?" he asked, turning to face her as they walked between rows and rows of books. It was deathly silent, with long shadows being cast between the bookcases. It was quite an atmospheric library, he had to admit. He should probably find some books for himself. "I...hadn't really thought about it," Owain admitted, mulling over the question in his mind. "I just want a comfortable home, really. Anything else is a bonus," he shrugged eventually, smiling at Felicity. "Sorry if that isn't particularly ambitious, but I'll leave stuff like ensuring galactic peace to you," he teased.

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

The girl's smile dropped at once.
"My father had a similar attitude. Said he'd leave saving the Galaxy to my Mother. You've seen how she is..."

Cold, stressed and always far too busy for her. It wasn't that she blamed her Father. Knowing Mother, she would have found some other way to work herself to death, but part of her was afraid she might grow up to be just like her. She did not want to live that life.

"N-not that we'll get married or anything," she explained quickly,, cheeks glowing red "I just don't want to have to do it alone, if I have to do it at all,"

[member="Owain"]

 

[Owain]

"Well I'm sure you won't," Owain said, letting his gaze sweep the rows of books. There was something about books that you didn't get from files on consoles. Something more...material. Permanent. A symbol of knowledge rather than just a data packet. "And hey, we're young. Things change," he commented offhandedly, reaching up and pulling free a book. It seemed to deal with herbology. Curious. He wasn't one for plants but such knowledge might help. It also distracted him from thinking about being alone with Felicity, and how this was a good (albeit risky) chance for some fun.

"Has your mother ever just...you know, asked your father to help?" he suddenly asked.

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

His comment about them being young made her freeze midstep. Did he just suggest...? No. She had to have misheard him. She watched him pull a book down and flip through it. He couldn't just make a comment like that and pretend like nothing happened!

"Oh, well, I don't know, honestly," she answered, pulling a book out herself, "I never asked. But knowing mom, unlikely. She doesn't ask anyone for help. She thinks she can do everything herself. If they let her, she probably would have tried to rebuild the wall around Theed herself too. She'd still be out there, going brick by brick."

She flipped through the pages, but caught nothing about it's content. She was too busy thinking. Mom was stubborn. If she just asked for help, daddy would probably be there in a heart beat. Why didn't she just ask?

[member="Owain"]

 

[Owain]

"So she's in denial? A pity. I'm sure she'd be more laid back if she just accepted that she can't do everything on her own. It's not like your dad does anything after all," Owain pointed out, memories of his birthday floating across his thoughts. He grimaced and tucked the book under his arm. "Maybe you need to help her realize that? Or not...it's your family," the boy shrugged. "Anyway, let's grab some chairs. No point wandering around lost between there bookshelves...unless you have something else in mind?"

It was strange - they had first...ah...bonded? in a library. Back on Dis. Kind of.

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

Help her? Help mom? Had he even met her? She never listened. She was stubborn. Smart, but stubborn. What could she possibly hope to do?
She closed the book with a little snap and put it back. Library's made great hiding spots. At this point, she was fairly sure they were alone. His suggestion to sit down did not interest her.

"I didn't come to the library to read."

She moved across the aisle, pushing the book he held away so she could wrap her arms around him again. They could study together when they were stuck with being watched by other people. Time was limited for them. She didn't want to waste a second.

[member="Owain"]

 

[Owain]

A wise-ass quip made to mind about not coming to a library to read of all things, but the raven haired youth knew better than push his luck with the fierce girl. He put the book down on a shelf and embraced Felicity back, lowering his head to kiss her on the lips, deeply this time. Well, he had an inkling of what she wanted, and he was more than happy to provide.

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

Even if all they did was kiss, she would be happy for it. She'd missed his lips, his touch. Careful, polite nudges here and there really was not enough. She wanted all of him. A difficult thing to ask, she realized. He knew it too, but that didn't mean he didn't want her as well. She pressed herself against him as he deepened the kiss.
She felt so confident now. He made her feel beautiful, important. Her hands traced along his jaw. She could kiss him just like this, nothing more, until the sun came up and people started to look for her.

[member="Owain"]

 

[Owain]

Another kiss. He could feel himself responding to their playing, and with how close Felicity was pressed up against him, he figured she knew too. Probably why she did it. To get a response from him. She had come far from their earliest encounters, when she was so nervous and unsure of herself. Now she was a bold young woman. The change was staggering, and he couldn't help but feel some pride in having played a part in that. There was a spark of independence in her that would not be smothered.

He nearly smiled as they kept kissing, holding her close. Someone could come along and find them, but at that moment he didn't care.

[member="Felicity Mason"]