When The Moon Hits Your Eye (IC)

[Lone Star]

Greg opened his eyes wide and immediately reached out to hold her, his strong arms wrapping around her shoulders. He held his head there for a moment, relaxing her. Then he looked deep into her eyes and gave her a kiss. "Don't worry, Estelle. I love you."

[Heritage]

"Don't worry, Estelle. I love you."

Estelle smiled and patted his hand affectionatley. "I know, Greg, and I...love you, too. It's just...I know it's already been a few months, but it still feels so fast! I haven't always allowed myself the time to pursue relationships, a very serious oversight, of course, but it isn't always so easy for me..."

While Estelle kept rattling on nervously, occasionally wringing her hands, her damp hair very deliberatly crept around the back of the sofa, inching across the fabric until it circled both their shoulders like a contented pet python.

"...And sometimes I don't even know what I want to do; perhaps that's the curse of having an active mind, since you can't just turn it off whenever you want."

Suddenly she stopped talking and took a deep breath, which seemed to send a ripple all the way down her locks from the roots to the ends, and she rested her head in the crook of Greg's neck.

"I think I think too much sometimes..."

[Lone Star]

Gregory held her close, his big arms wrapping around her. "To be fair, you do, Estelle. But that's not a bad thing!" Greg said defensively, realizing what he had told her. "I really do like that about you. You're so smart, and so beautiful. I really think you drive me crazy, sometimes. But you're my girlfriend and you're a good friend, and also..." He took a brief pause. "Don't worry." :D

[Heritage]

"To be fair, you do, Estelle. But that's not a bad thing!"

"I really do like that about you. You're so smart, and so beautiful. I really think you drive me crazy, sometimes. But you're my girlfriend and you're a good friend, and also..."

"Don't worry."

"But that's what I do best," Estelle protested in jest. She raised a hand to her eyes and laughed. "Oh dear me; I suppose this is the price I must pay for not being a blonde bimbo."

She turned her head and kissed Greg gently on the lips.

"Thank you for putting up with my occasional insanity; I can't turn my brain off, which is both a good and a bad thing, I suppose." She kissed him again and smiled like a little girl. "So, pizza?"

[Lone Star]

"But that's what I do best," Estelle protested in jest. She raised a hand to her eyes and laughed. "Oh dear me; I suppose this is the price I must pay for not being a blonde bimbo."

She turned her head and kissed Greg gently on the lips.

"Thank you for putting up with my occasional insanity; I can't turn my brain off, which is both a good and a bad thing, I suppose." She kissed him again and smiled like a little girl. "So, pizza?"

Greg gave her a quick kiss, smiling. "That sounds pretty excellent right now." Gregory stood up and stretched, his muscles flexing. "All that sexy, sexy kissing has made me pretty hungry." He slowly padded to the kitchen, his bare feet tapping against the floor. He wielded the pizza cutter with surgical accuracy and quickly sliced the pizza into eighths. "How are things at the Lab?" Gregory asked as he brought the pizza towards Estelle, along with two plates. Gregory set the pizza down, and quickly spun around, grabbing the bottle of wine. He grinned sheepishly as he poured them both a little more.

[Heritage]

"All that sexy, sexy kissing has made me pretty hungry."

Estelle snorted. "Sexy, sexy kissing makes everybody hungry; it's all part of the wonderful world of biology." She eagerly picked up a slice and curled it New York style, gently blowing on it a few times just in case the cheese was still molten lava.

"How are things at the Lab?"

The blonde chemist shrugged. "Well, so far so good, I suppose; I am starting to wonder if I should just make an amicable break with ASTRO and move into the Lab full-time; there are pluses and minuses to both facilities, to be honest." She took a big bite of her homemade pie, which produced a greasy smile and a happy little dance. "Mmm, it's so good!"

[Lone Star]

Gregory took a big bite, and his eyes rolled back. "Mm mah gah thaz good." he said through a mouthful of cheese. Gregory chewed and swallowed, quickly taking another bite. "I mean, wow. That's fantastic." He kissed her on the cheek. "So who else is in the Lab? I've only heard a little bit of information about it. I don't know if I've met any of them...I don't know very many superheroes yet."

[Heritage]

"So who else is in the Lab? I've only heard a little bit of information about it. I don't know if I've met any of them...I don't know very many superheroes yet."

Estelle took another bite of gooey spicy delight, then waggled her hand in the air. "Well, most of the partners are of a more engineering bent than I am, which leads to a rather interesting 'hard vs. soft' dialectic. It also means I rarely know what they're talking about; of course, most of them are vastly more intelligent than I'll ever be, which can be a bit sobering."

She set aside her plate of pizza and wiped her face and hands with a napkin idly fetched from across the kitchen (she deposited a few in front of Greg as well), and she looked off into space as she tried to summarize her fellow researchers.

"Miss Americana...is somewhat hard to get a read on; she's delightful and clearly brilliant, but she keeps her cards close to her very ample chest." She grinned in mild embarrassment at her own cheap gag. "I haven't fought at her side or gone on any sort of mission with her, but her work on prosthetic limbs is top notch, and seems to be a bit of a passion for her." Estelle shrugged. "Perhaps she has a family member who suffered a loss; I'm not sure."

"Supercape is 'veddy' English; growing up, I was surrounded by English nannies, and some of that air seems to have rubbed off on me, but next to Cape I sound like I'm from 'da Bronx'." She stroked her chin thoughtfully. "To be honest, I have no idea what Cape is working on; how embarrassing! I think he's into physics? He certainly talks like a physics professor, at the very least."

"Ironclad is very hard tech; built her own powersuit, uses it very well, and is always tinkering on it or some other project. Again, very smart, but also very sweet."

And here Estelle smiled as she considered her last 'coworker'. "And Dragonfly...is adorable. Brain this big-" She held up her hands to indicate an imaginary object the size of a watermelon. "Very serious, but also very funny; bends more physical laws before breakfast than I have shoes. She'd be terrifying if she wasn't such a dear."

With a shrug, she reclaimed her dinner. "And that's all of them, really; Viktor Archeville stops by from time to time, to chat and be dazzling, but he's just a very welcome guest."

[Lone Star]

Gregory nodded thoughtfully as he took another bite. "Damn, that's good. Mmm." he said, blushing slightly as he pulled a string of cheese off of his mouth. "Sounds like quite a fascinating bunch. I couldn't keep up with any of that. I just have my modest vet's office, and I save little kitties and puppies. In the end, isn't that what everyone wants?" He grinned. "...amiright?"

He took the pizza and his slice back to the couch, where he popped in the DVD, his shirtless still evident. "Movie?"

[Heritage]

"Sounds like quite a fascinating bunch. I couldn't keep up with any of that. I just have my modest vet's office, and I save little kitties and puppies. In the end, isn't that what everyone wants?" He grinned. "...amiright?"

"Yes indeed." Estelle planted a greasy kiss on the tip of his nose, and then followed him to the couch.

"Movie?"

"Movie!" She flopped down next to him, head tucked into the crook of his shoulder, and sighed, blissfully content.

[Lone Star]

Gregory smiled and wrapped a muscular arm around her shoulder. He was happy with Estelle- even more than that. He was content with his life so far. He had a good job, a nice apartment, and a beautiful girlfriend. What more could a man want? As they watched Airplane!, Gregory flirted with her incessantly.

He kissed her neck without warning during the film, and slid both of his hands behind her neck, inside her golden-blonde hair. "Mmm...so what should we do for our next day, sexy lady?"

[Heritage]

"Mmm...so what should we do for our next day, sexy lady?"

"Eeep!"

Many women are ticklish on the back of their necks, but Gossamer was doubly so; with so many sensitive fibers on the back of her head, even the slightest touch back there sent tingles through her whole body. When Greg's muscular hands found this special spot, all of Estelle's hair went curly from the roots out in a bizzare insta-perm of delight. Instinctively she grabbed his wrists, but then she slowly let them go.

"No, it's okay, don't...don't stop..."

Apparently there was something that shut her brain off, at least for a few seconds at a time; the blonde heroine closed her eyes and murmured incoherently.

[Lone Star]

Gregory grinned. He finally found her weak spot. Awesome. "Oh, okay. How about this?" Gregory said as he tilted her neck to the side, and moved his head behind hers. He gingerly kissed the sensitive spot, closing his eyes. "Like that, honey?" It could be relatively assured that Gregory was loving this.

[Heritage]

"Oh, okay. How about this?"

"K...k..." Estelle's back arched as the curls went out of her hair, the entire shimmering surface rippling like the ocean, followed by a sort of spasm. The blonde chemist closed her eyes and flexed her toes, at the same time gripping the love seat with countless tendrils that thoughtfully avoided pinching Greg in anyway, yet squeezed the small sofa so tightly that the handsome vet felt it creak beneath them.

"Like that, honey?"

"Hmmm? I can't...what?" Try as she might, Estelle couldn't manage to open her eyelids; the sensation was that overpowering.

[Lone Star]

Gregory knew he shouldn't. He had to, anyway. "So, Estelle, now that I have you in a moment of weakness, I have a secret for you..."

He grinned like a madman and said with melodramatic flair. "I am really a supervillain! The Seducer!" Gregory kissed the spot gently again and licked it tenderly with his tongue.

[Heritage]

"I am really a supervillain! The Seducer!"

At the touch of his tongue, Gossamer finally had enough, though not in a bad way; she squealed and kicked her legs, then slid of the love seat to the floor, aided by a strong push by her animated fibers. Rising to her feet, her face flush from excitement, she waved her hands as she attempted to catch her breath.

"Okay, time for a break! I can only do pins and needles for so long before I burst!" Gingerly stoking the back of her neck, she climbed back onto the sofa and met Gregory's gaze.

"You come on very stong, Greg, which isn't necessarily bad; I admire your passion and enjoy it, but sometimes we need to break it into smaller increments." With a firm yet warm smile, she took a handful of her hair and placed it into his hand. "Think of each of these fine strands as a nerve, an exposed nerve that stretches five feet beyond the rest of my body." She took his fingers and used them to gently stroke the fibers. "Do you know how sensitive they are? I can feel your fingerprints, Greg."

With a sigh, she wrapped her hair around his shoulders like a scarf, then curled up on his chest. "Sometimes I think you draw the spirits of the animals you love and nurture into yourself, almost like small domesticated totems." She reached up and laid soft fingers on the side of his neck. "I can feel them coursing through you, in your blood and sweat." The lovely chemist was not usually known for her poetic analogies, but she was clearly inspired by this man; she tilted her head back to gaze at him sidelong, a playful smile on her lips. "Rest now, He Who Runs With Kittens! Rest and be at peace; there will be time for us later."

[Lone Star]

Gregory smiled and stroked her hair gently. He coughed once and pulled his muscle shirt down over the front of his jeans as best he could. "I think that'll involve a cold shower real quick. I'll be right back down." With that, he stripped off his shirt again, and walked towards her bathroom. He made sure to show off his muscular posterior as he climbed the ladder up to her shower. He blew her a quick kiss as he disappeared into the shower to cool himself off.

[Heritage]

"I think that'll involve a cold shower real quick. I'll be right back down."

"Wait, honey!" Estelle didn't realize poor Greg was so far along; she chased after him, shaking her head. "You know what, I could actually use another shower, a nice hot one..."

- - - - - - -

Sometime later, the downstairs bathroom door opened and steam poured out into the apartment; Gossamer emerged, her robe now damp with condensation and her hair once again dark with water.

"At this rate, we're going to have to wash a whole load of towels..." Finding the DVD still paused on Leslie Nielsen's face, she lassoed the remote off of the couch and powered down the flatscreen before padding into the kitchen for a bottle of cold water and a lukewarm slice of pizza.

"Mmm, just as good!"

[Lone Star]

Gregory emerged from the shower wearing a towel covering his lower half. "Seems like it! I guess we're just two...very passionate people. He joined her in the kitchen, his hair slicked back. He had a broad smile on his face, and he hungrily bit into a slice. "So are we ever going to watch that movie, or will we have to hold off to another night?" His muscular arms wrapped around her waist, not caring about the state of the towel around his.

[Heritage]

"So are we ever going to watch that movie, or will we have to hold off to another night?"

Estelle leaned her head back against his shoulder, closed her eyes and sighed contentedly.

"Dear sweet naked man, I don't think it's in the cards tonight; how about we just move upstairs to the fireplace and feed each other pizza until we fall asleep, in a tangle of drowsy satiated limbs?" She opened her eyes once again and smiled, looking at Greg upside down and slightly cross-eyed. "That might be as much as I can handle now."

She took another bite of pizza and chewed it with exaggerated relish.

"Mmmmmm...."

[Lone Star]

Gregory grinned and kissed her forehead. "You're so beautiful, Estelle." He kissed the bridge of her nose, and smiled back at her. "That sounds like an excellent idea. Good thing I brought my toothbrush." His strong arms suddenly lifted her into the air, and he easily carried her upstairs. In his other hand, he carried the pizza, his brief training with Crane Style Kung Fu finally coming in handy. He let her down on the bed, a broad grin across his face.

[Heritage]

"That sounds like an excellent idea. Good thing I brought my toothbrush."

As soon as Greg put her down, she scooted off the bed and over to curl up on the rug in front of the fireplace, which indeed had a roaring blaze going inside.

"Ah ah ah, not so fast, lover boy! First we snuggle, then we consider our options." Though her tone was mildly chiding, her eyes were clearly smiling. "Oops, forgot the wine!" With but a though, she sent her hair down to fetch it and both their glasses, as well as a fresh bottle and the opener in case that polished the first one off. As she filled up her glass, she realized with a start that she'd never been happier.

"Life is good, isn't it?"

[Lone Star]

"Fair enough, I suppose." Gregory said as he cuddle up next to her, putting a muscular arm around her waist. He looked into her eyes, and kissed her gingerly on the nose.

"You know, life is good. It's wonderful being with your special someone...cuddling up next to a fireplace, with wine and pizza." Gregory kissed her on the cheek and smiled. "We've got a good life. I'd be tempted to say we're pretty fortunate. I'm glad I found you, Estelle."

[Heritage]

"We've got a good life. I'd be tempted to say we're pretty fortunate. I'm glad I found you, Estelle."

"Mmm, me too. Here-" She tore off a piece of pizza and fed it to him, allowing her fingers to linger upon his lips. After a few moments, she turned thoughtful. "Would you ever...well, um, move..." Her swirling emotions temporarily robbed her of her usual eloquence.

[Lone Star]

Gregory smiled and put his arms around her waist, moving her on top of him. "Move in? Well, I had been thinking about it, but I figured it would be more polite for the lady to ask first. But yes, Estelle, needless to say, I'd love to." He put his hands in her flowing hair and kissed her lovingly. Life was good, indeed.