Prologue: Part 23 of 23

Silly Dante! Astrid would have to be crazy not to like you! She glanced up from her work, finishing -- the bottles put in the fridge and slipped her hand into his, letting him lead her to the couch. As they sat down, she watched him from the corner of her eye: noting how he seemed to relax slightly, which in turn, comforted her.

At least she wasn't screwing anything up.

When he turned to look at her, she grinned at him, reaching out to poke him back. "Excited for the New Year?" Lame, yeah. But hey, he had to be excited about something!

Taking a swig from the bottle, comfortingly cold in his hand, he turned to look at her. "Nah. Not really. It's just another day, really, plus an excuse to drink."

The tv was on but he could have cared less. As lame as he felt, he couldn't take his eyes off her. He was perfectly aware of how careless he was being, just letting himself go like this. But.. she was different. She was just.. It was inexplainable, really. She was just Astrid.

She laughed, taking a swig off her own drink. When she had swallowed, she nodded. "Yeah, you're right. But back in Japan, the Japanese call New Years 'Shogatsu'. They take it much more seriously than us Americans, but they try to erase all debt, burn old bridges, and so on before the new years starts. You know, like starting off the new year with a clean slate."

She looked to the teevee. Some crappy band was playing, and she was glad that the volume was on low. Another sip of the rum and coke, before she nudged him. "Still .. it is a good excuse to be here getting drunk with you." A wink.

He watched as a perfectly slanted eye winked at him, feeling delirious with every possible emotion all at once; pain, fear, love?, enthusiasm.. The list went on. He felt a shiver run down his spine, and it was all he could do not to jump up.

Control. He had to contain himself.

"Were you born in Japan?" The question was random, out of nowhere, but it had suddenly occurred to him that he knew nearly nothing about her.

"Mmn." She nodded as lips pursed, drops of alcohol licked from them, curling her legs up and tucking them under herself. Turning slightly sideways, half-facing him and leaning on the back of the couch. "I was born in Tokyo. Lived there for the first four years of my life, then came here. I've been back several times since then, but."

A shoulder raised and rolled back in a small shrug as she nursed her drink. The question had caught her off-guard, yes, but it made her feel pleasantly surprised.

He nodded, thinking. "Sorry so random. It's just..." He shrugged, and attended to his own drink. The beer was smooth and cold, and slid down his throat, caressing it and then landing in his stomach.

"I just realized, I know next to nothing about you," he admitted softly, eyes lowered but glancing up at her momentarily to see her response.

Her response was just a small smile, leaning her head back on the edge of the couch. "It's nice to know you're interested, though." Her own voice had dropped to nearly a whisper, and she looked into her half-empty glass, as if searching for something.

Those almond eyes blinked, and she glanced back to him, smiling again. "But, yeah, don't be afraid to ask me anything you want. I, unlike most girls, am pretty open about things." She chuckled, bringing her knees up to her chest.

"Hope so," he said, returning the smile. "Need a refill?"

He looked wistfully into his own nearly empty bottle, swirling the last mouthful around before bringing it to his lips and letting it slide down his throat. He looked at her over the bottle as he did so.

She looked to her glass again, and blinked - as if only now realizing that it was nearly empty. "Oh .. yeah, hold on." Head tipped back to swallow the remains of her drink, that pale throat exposed, neck craning slightly.

"Mn." Reaching up to wipe her mouth just incase, a sheepish smile aimed his way as she swallowed and handed him her now-empty glass. "Pardon me." Typical Japanese mannerisms shining through. Of course.

He smiled softly, not taking his eyes off her. It was hard to understand, how quickly he had come to adore her. When he thought about it, it scared him. A lot. But when he was with her...

He thought of this as he made her a new drink and grabbed two beers for himself. He planned to make it through them pretty quickly.

As he came back into the living room, seeing her sitting on the couch in his apartment made him smile. The thought of it being like that, forever... Of course, he knew it was child's play to think of forever, but he couldn't help himself. Could she see the way he looked at her? Was it obvious?

He handed her the drink, once again sitting next to her and opening one of the bottles. "You don't have to be home any certain time, do you?"

As Dante walked away, she turned her head slightly to watch him leave, before exhaling quietly, and turning back to the teevee, arms wrapping around her shins. Little did he know that her thoughts closely echoed his own -- and she was just as scared as he was.

Lids drooped down, eyeballs moving under the paper-thin skin: not tired, but restless, trying to compose herself. 'Calm down, this is nothing. Just a silly infatuation'. So she told herself.

But then .. what was this feeling that welled up within her? This fleeting hope that this time, everything would work out .. -- Her eyes opened as he rejoined her, smiling gratefully and accepting the drink. "Oh, thank you."

She took a sip, and shook her head. "Nope. No curfew."

He nodded, thinking of possible plans for tomorrow. Once they got over their hangovers. Oh. Wait. Right.

"Are you doing anything tomorrow?" He swallowed a good portion of the beer. Shouldn't assume things like that, he thought, watching her once again but trying to make it as less obvious as possible.

She stretched out her legs, and shook her head again, swallowing a mouthful of her drink. "Mn. Nope. I have the day off tomorrow, fortunately." Finally. It felt like she hadn't had a day off in forever.

A sidelong glance to him. "Why?" Cocking her head, an impish grin curling her lips. "Got something up your sleeve, Mister Dante?"

"Mm, perhaps." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "You'll just have to wait and see."

In reality, he had no idea what he had in mind. Yet. But there was plenty of time for that. Providing he would be able to think straight much longer.

A snicker from her, leaning in to accept the kiss before planting one of her own on his cheek. "Oh, alright. This'll be interesting." Moving closer to him, getting comfortable, drink in hand.

"Look." She pointed to the television with her free hand. The clock in the corner said 11:59:28. "Only thirty more seconds until '06!" Reaching out to take his hand, squeezing slightly -- excited, in spite of herself. She had high hopes for this year.

"Dammit," he said, remembering the champagne he had run out for at the last minute. Well.. it was worth a shot.

He ran into the kitchen, grabbing two glasses and the bottle. He could hear the tv, the announcer saying that it was getting close, only 25 seconds. He made it back to the living room in time to pop the cork....

and make a mess.

Shirt soaked, he set the bottle down, laughing. The time on the clock read 11:59:55. "Well, shit." He kissed her, careful to keep his chest away from hers. He certainly didn't want to get her all messy too.

Oh, he was quick! She blinked after him, and turned to peer over the couch. "Hurry, Dante!" Giggling as she encouraged him -- then shirked back as he popped the cork, getting champagne all over! She burst into a fit of giggles and grinned widely, reaching up and pulling him down against her for a kiss - mess be damned!

She didn't let him go until after the ball had dropped: when she did, she opened her eyelids to half-mast, gazing up at him adoringly. "Happy New Year." Her voice back down to a husky whisper.

He inhaled deeply, savoring her scent and the sensation of his chest pressed against hers. "You too." His own voice was low.

He had been surprised when she had pulled him close to her, but at the same time delighted. He extracted himself only to pull his shirt off; the sticky champagne was beginning to annoy him.

"I'll be right back. I'm gunna see if I've got anything clean..." It was just his luck, really; this had been the only clean shirt. He ran a hand through his hair. So clumsy..

Fortunately, she escaped the champagne attack relatively unscathed, and there was no immediate need for her to change. She released him, still grinning and shifted. "It doesn't matter." What the hell was that supposed to mean? Who knows ..

In any event, she leaned forwards to wipe off the bottle, and pour them both glasses of champagne. It'd be a shame to let it go to waste at this rate.

He glanced down at the carpet, which had collected a nice portion of the bottle. Thankfully the carpet was a dark green.

He took the shirt and laid it over the puddle. "Beat that, Bounty." He turned back to her, his bare chest glistening with the champagne. Should probably wash that up. He handed her a glass and kissed her, full on the lips, eyes thin slits. "A toast."

"Hah! Take that!" Crowing gleefully -- someone was just a bit tipsy!

She turned to him with a grin, accepting the glass of champagne - leaning in to return the kiss. Murmuring against his lips: "A toast? .."

"Yes. To.. A new year, and.... whatever comes with it."

He raised his glass, returning the returned kiss (yes, he was certainly thinking buzzed thoughts; it was more an effect of her presence than the effect of the beer).

Alcohol and being in the presence of someone you particularly like often have that affect on people, it seems!

"Kampai!" Her own glass raised, tilting slightly so that the rim gently tapped against his, tipping it back to her lips and taking a sip. Oh dear .. drunk Astrid. This'll be interesting.
delirious 19th: He smiled, his cheeks coloring slightly. He adored her.

"Kampai," he said softly, then proceeded to drink his glass as quickly as possible. It wouldn't be fair for her to be more drunk than he was.

And he'd better believe that it was more than mutual!

Her own cheeks tingeing slightly as he repeated the Japanese word; a pleased grin stretching across her face. He really was incredible. It amazed her, his ability to take her breath away so easily.

He kissed her again, neglecting the glass of champage, the bottle of wine, and the shirt on the floor. He even forgot the tv was on.

More kisses. He thought that was all he ever needed.

Her own glass was held as she moved to wrap her arms around his neck, joints hanging loose -- but not dropping the champagne!

Body moving closer to his, the heat radiating off of him onto her, in such close proximity .. The kisses were met, held, returned; each one a little more eager, deeper than the last.