( laura isn't really sure if she's pissed off or not when she drags herself into the up, carefully biting her tongue around comments and passing through without too much issue — despite appearances, she is actually trying to stay out of trouble.
she's no less sure of whether she's mad or not when she gets to his apartment, and she slips into the apartment quietly. sniffs out julian's precise location, and rests her hands on her hips as she approaches quietly, too. she's not trying to take him by surprise, so much as still undecided if she wants to leave before she actually says anything. )
( he's sitting on the sofa in the living room, waiting for laura, since julian knew she was coming. even if she was being difficult about it. she steps in, and his eyes flick over to watch her move closer. snorts when she talks about being unreasonable, but.
she's not wrong.
this place is fucked up. the mandatory fucking bit is still something he's getting used to, because it's--not shit he had time for back home. and despite julian's stupid big mouth, he's not one for being overly casual. )
I didn't say you were. But if you're down to one, why risk getting fucked over?
( he's not jealous someone else got to be with laura before he did. nope. )
( laura doesn't like explaining herself, that's hardly a secret. her mouth snaps shut and she stops in front of him, but she doesn't sit down. there's a lot of ways that sentence could end, but despite giving off every appearance that she's ready for a fight she doesn't actually want that.
it's not exactly a secret that laura is struggling here, either. adjusting to a city that seems practically designed to hit every one of her issues isn't going well, and julian is one of the few people she willingly trusts here. it's an extremely short list, and the risk of it getting shorter feels monumental. )
( steady, because he--kind of gets where she's getting at, here. julian remembers the last time they spent a significant time together, how goddamn hurt he'd been when they'd gone separate ways. but it was stupid.
it's still stupid. they all do stupid crap to avoid getting their feelings hurt, or to avoid letting others get too close to them. he gets it. he's done the same shit. he doesn't know if laura does actually like him or if she did decide she was fucking done with them and they're just--friends. mutants in arms. nothing more, nothing less. a weird ass boundary that'd definitely get pushed and tested by their time here, but hell. julian lives with josh now, and they're still doing fine. so he can't imagine anything with laura would get fucked up, if julian can manage around foley.
julian sits up. leans his weight on his elbows, leans in towards her but doesn't reach out for her yet. )
I promise this won't fuck anything up between us. At least this is on our terms, right? And hell--you know ( that julian has liked laura as way more than a friend for a long ass time. though really. maybe that's testing shit even more. ) that I trust you. If you need to call shit off, say the word. If it gets too weird, we'll dial it back.
( she knows— a lot. knows that she hurt him, deliberately, and she's not sure if that makes it better or worse. knows that it's always been more complicated than just deciding that she was done with him — and that she knows is worse, even if it had made it a hell of a lot easier to leave.
she knows that they'll need to talk about some of that eventually, but there's only so many complex issues that laura wants to unpack in a day and frankly, dragging up the past isn't the one she's willing to touch right now. )
I trust you.
( she wouldn't be here if she didn't, but she says it anyway. Laura doesn't smile, but she...softens. she watches him another quiet moment, before she reaches out and touches her palm carefully along the curve of his jaw. )
I know. ( it's false confidence, but laura doesn't have to know that. her hand presses against the side of his face, and one of his raises to wrap cold fingers delicately around her wrist. not a hold she couldn't break if she wanted to, julian definitely knows better than to hold laura too tight. but--contact. well. kind of, considering he doesn't fucking have hands. but it's the intent behind the touch that matters, right? )
So you should trust me to know that we're not going to screw this up. That this place sucks, but until we find an alternative that doesn't result in us getting drugged out of our minds, we've got each other.
( it's not like she doesn't know that julian can be just as careful with metal hands as he could be with his own, but it's a different kind of knowledge to feel it in the way he wraps his fingers around her wrist. it's hardly a touch at all, a palm against a face and another against a wrist, but it feels intimate in a way laura hasn't let anyone or anything be in a while.
that's something she's not ready to unpack right now either though, so she nods instead. )
Okay. Then we won't screw this up.
( laura sounds sure, and honestly she mostly feels it too. at least, for the moment. with that decision made, laura doesn't hesitate to tip his chin up a little. just enough that she can lean down and meet him halfway, pressing her lips to his. )
( it's perfect. soft, gentle, absolutely nothing like what he would have expected from laura, but julian loves it anyway. she presses a soft kiss to his lips, and he's--sliding a hand around to the back of her neck, releasing her wrist with the other to wrap it around her waist and tug, gently. tries to pull her down onto his lap as he shifts back a bit to accommodate her.
it's everything he's wanted, but absolutely nothing like he'd thought it would be which--the circumstances could be better, but julian will take it anyway. because it's laura. )
( she's not still considering leaving, but laura approaches almost as though she is. she's slow about tilting her head and kissing him deeper. they've come a long way since they were stupid teenagers, but if she thinks about that too much right now then laura probably will leave.
she's slow about moving into his lap too, resistant enough to his encouragement only to determine that she's the one deciding to do it. it's a little thing, but laura still waits a beat before she kneels over him. it's the principle of the matter, or something like that.
slow only works for so long though. by the time she settles across julian's lap, laura's pushing her fingers into his hair and tugging him into a harder kiss, the slide of her tongue against his making her sigh in a way she'll definitely deny later. )
( it's fine. julian likes it when laura does whatever the hell she wants regardless of what he wants. it's definitely a thing he's into: letting her shove him around, letting her lead, push and prod as she feels necessary. because he does trust laura, and that trust extends for more than just. life or death shit.
she decides where she goes, regardless of where julian tries to lead her to. and it's hot. he'd tell her as much, but his mouth is a little busy, and his hands are a little occupied, and julian isn't going to move away even if it is just long enough to tell her that laura kinney's need for control is definitely something that he finds appealing.
especially when she's pressed over him, fingers in his hair, pulling him along into a deeper kiss, pressing against him and he's--giving a low sound in his chest, a soft rumble, before julian does opt to pull out of the kiss--not to speak, but so he can trail his lips down. nip along the side of her jaw, press kisses along her neck, drag his tongue along the skin just below an ear. shudders, before he finally opens his mouth to murmur a soft, )
( this isn't exactly new, but it feels like it's been long enough that it might as well be. she doesn't touch people like this, doesn't let them touch her. julian isn't her first encounter in the city, but he's the first that's had a hand on her waist.
her head tilts in time with the mouth skimming along her neck, and the grip in his hair tightens to keep him there. that question feels loaded. laura wants, but 'everything' isn't the answer that julian is looking for and she's not sure that it's one she's ready to give, either. )
Take your clothes off.
( her breath hitches around the words, and laura doesn't make any effort to help, or move off of him. she raises up slightly on her knees, gives him a little space to work but not much. julian is still very much caged in. )
( it's fine. he prefers it this way. likes being caged in by laura, having her weight above him and her fingers gripping into his hair hard enough to sting. he smirks, but the effect of it doesn't quite get across as much as he'd like, because there's a flush that's spreading across his cheeks, the tips of his ears. he keeps a hand on laura's waist, the other--moves without the rest of his arm, grabs onto the bottom of his shirt to start lifting it off. once it's at his shoulders, he pulls both arms through while keeping the hand on laura's waist. leaves the shirt on over his neck because he can't quite pull it off all the way when his mouth is busy and when her fingers are in his hair.
it's fine. he doesn't mind it like this. julian leaves the shirt there, lowers his head to mouth along where laura's neck meets her shoulder. gently nips at the skin there, while he moves the hand off of his shirt to start pulling at his belt. )
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Fine
Do whatever you want
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she's no less sure of whether she's mad or not when she gets to his apartment, and she slips into the apartment quietly. sniffs out julian's precise location, and rests her hands on her hips as she approaches quietly, too. she's not trying to take him by surprise, so much as still undecided if she wants to leave before she actually says anything. )
Don't act like I'm being unreasonable.
( so. staying, then. )
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she's not wrong.
this place is fucked up. the mandatory fucking bit is still something he's getting used to, because it's--not shit he had time for back home. and despite julian's stupid big mouth, he's not one for being overly casual. )
I didn't say you were. But if you're down to one, why risk getting fucked over?
( he's not jealous someone else got to be with laura before he did. nope. )
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( laura doesn't like explaining herself, that's hardly a secret. her mouth snaps shut and she stops in front of him, but she doesn't sit down. there's a lot of ways that sentence could end, but despite giving off every appearance that she's ready for a fight she doesn't actually want that.
it's not exactly a secret that laura is struggling here, either. adjusting to a city that seems practically designed to hit every one of her issues isn't going well, and julian is one of the few people she willingly trusts here. it's an extremely short list, and the risk of it getting shorter feels monumental. )
Because...I can't afford to screw this up.
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( steady, because he--kind of gets where she's getting at, here. julian remembers the last time they spent a significant time together, how goddamn hurt he'd been when they'd gone separate ways. but it was stupid.
it's still stupid. they all do stupid crap to avoid getting their feelings hurt, or to avoid letting others get too close to them. he gets it. he's done the same shit. he doesn't know if laura does actually like him or if she did decide she was fucking done with them and they're just--friends. mutants in arms. nothing more, nothing less. a weird ass boundary that'd definitely get pushed and tested by their time here, but hell. julian lives with josh now, and they're still doing fine. so he can't imagine anything with laura would get fucked up, if julian can manage around foley.
julian sits up. leans his weight on his elbows, leans in towards her but doesn't reach out for her yet. )
I promise this won't fuck anything up between us. At least this is on our terms, right? And hell--you know ( that julian has liked laura as way more than a friend for a long ass time. though really. maybe that's testing shit even more. ) that I trust you. If you need to call shit off, say the word. If it gets too weird, we'll dial it back.
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she knows that they'll need to talk about some of that eventually, but there's only so many complex issues that laura wants to unpack in a day and frankly, dragging up the past isn't the one she's willing to touch right now. )
I trust you.
( she wouldn't be here if she didn't, but she says it anyway. Laura doesn't smile, but she...softens. she watches him another quiet moment, before she reaches out and touches her palm carefully along the curve of his jaw. )
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So you should trust me to know that we're not going to screw this up. That this place sucks, but until we find an alternative that doesn't result in us getting drugged out of our minds, we've got each other.
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that's something she's not ready to unpack right now either though, so she nods instead. )
Okay. Then we won't screw this up.
( laura sounds sure, and honestly she mostly feels it too. at least, for the moment. with that decision made, laura doesn't hesitate to tip his chin up a little. just enough that she can lean down and meet him halfway, pressing her lips to his. )
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it's everything he's wanted, but absolutely nothing like he'd thought it would be which--the circumstances could be better, but julian will take it anyway. because it's laura. )
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she's slow about moving into his lap too, resistant enough to his encouragement only to determine that she's the one deciding to do it. it's a little thing, but laura still waits a beat before she kneels over him. it's the principle of the matter, or something like that.
slow only works for so long though. by the time she settles across julian's lap, laura's pushing her fingers into his hair and tugging him into a harder kiss, the slide of her tongue against his making her sigh in a way she'll definitely deny later. )
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she decides where she goes, regardless of where julian tries to lead her to. and it's hot. he'd tell her as much, but his mouth is a little busy, and his hands are a little occupied, and julian isn't going to move away even if it is just long enough to tell her that laura kinney's need for control is definitely something that he finds appealing.
especially when she's pressed over him, fingers in his hair, pulling him along into a deeper kiss, pressing against him and he's--giving a low sound in his chest, a soft rumble, before julian does opt to pull out of the kiss--not to speak, but so he can trail his lips down. nip along the side of her jaw, press kisses along her neck, drag his tongue along the skin just below an ear. shudders, before he finally opens his mouth to murmur a soft, )
What do you want, Laura? Tell me. Anything.
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her head tilts in time with the mouth skimming along her neck, and the grip in his hair tightens to keep him there. that question feels loaded. laura wants, but 'everything' isn't the answer that julian is looking for and she's not sure that it's one she's ready to give, either. )
Take your clothes off.
( her breath hitches around the words, and laura doesn't make any effort to help, or move off of him. she raises up slightly on her knees, gives him a little space to work but not much. julian is still very much caged in. )
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it's fine. he doesn't mind it like this. julian leaves the shirt there, lowers his head to mouth along where laura's neck meets her shoulder. gently nips at the skin there, while he moves the hand off of his shirt to start pulling at his belt. )
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