While John had been talking, Elena had looked at him with an interested expression on her face. Usually, it is common knowledge women like man who listen while they are talking about themselves, but in this situation, she couldn't have been happier to remain silent for a short while, enjoying the moment and carefully listening to his words and his calm voice, and slowly emptying her glass.
As John stopped talking, she went on again. Just like a game of ping pong. "I'm a rebel, you say? Mh, maybe it's true, I don't know really. But yeah, you're probably right, I could work a bit on my self-control. I just have some problems with keeping my mouth shut at times, and when I'm furious, you know I can't control myself at all anymore. I guess I'm not the born diplomat." Making a small pause, Elena began to laugh slightly. "I haven't seen anything anti-social in you so far to be honest. Some mistakes can always happen I guess, but that's why we're human. Frankly, I wasn't really socializing in school, too. Most girls were just unbelievably dumb, and most boys some random idiots, or nerds."
As she laughed again, she went on. "Which reminds me - believe it or not, I've actually been a nerd myself. Maybe I still am. In my youth, I've admired the Rheinland Military pretty hard. That has kinda changed over the years, but I still got this huge model of a Wraith decorating my appartment. Otherwise, about my hobbies, when I feel like getting dirty, I love to work on my ships, repair them, change stuff, personalize them, all of it. You could say I'm a hobby-mechanic in my freetime. Also, I like dancing and singing, but I'm pretty horrible at the latter. But I can dance quite well, if I may say so, although I might have become a bit rosty."
For a moment, her sight moved away from John, as she had another look at the scenery. The sun had nearly vanished by now, and it slowly got darker. The birds had already stopped singing, but the rustling of the leaves was still noticable, as a slight wind appeared.
With a grin, she looked into John's eyes again, who hadn't stopped brushing along her hand. It was nice, and for the first time since hslf an eternity, Elena felt like a usual girl again. "I'm glad I've met you too. Even though I never aimed for this. The reason I joined you on your patrol back then was actually just out of boredom first. This boredom soon vanished, though, and I'm happy about it. I still remember that day as it was yesterday. Anyways, what about some wine?"
John listened carefully to Elena's words, his eyes looking deeply into hers, the gaze ever resting upon her, as his full attention was hers. A quick nod, a brief quirk a of a brow, a frown and eyes widening were all the reactions he only responded upon the content of her words. The one hand still holding her, the thumb gently brushing along her hand, he smiled, as she asked for the wine.
"Sure thing, good idea."Answering quickly, his hand slowly let go of hers, to reach for the lighter, lightening the candle to match with the slowly approaching darkness of the evening, creating an even more cozy, romantic atmosphere . After this, he put the lighter back into the basket but reached for the corkscrew and the bottle of red wine still resting within the basket. Pulling both out, he guided and pointed the corkscrew at the cork embed within the the bottle-mouth, turning the tool to drill a hole into the cork, to finally pull it out and open the bottle. He set the cork aside, then his hand reached for one of the two wine glass, grabbing it carefully, to lift and tilt it only slighty towards the bottle, while his other hand titled the bottle further, until the rich red coloured wine poured into the glass. Setting aside the one filled glass, he then repeated same with the other glass, before he took the cork, turned it around pushed it again half way into the bottle's mouth.
"A nerd you say?"One of his brows quirked with this question, as he then quickly continued."Well...I wouldn't have noticed."He shook his head briefly."Having a model of a ship is actually pretty cool, you know?"He smiled softly. "Well I would lie if I said I didn't expect you to be actually able to take care of your own ship. Not many women would do that though, atleast I haven't met many."A grin appeared on his lips."Haven't heard you singing, nor seen you dancing, but I really like your voice and sometimes our own impression isn't always enough, you may wanna let me hear you singing one day."The grin turned into a warm smile."As for the dancing? We could actually go to a club to check that out. I believe I'm actually decent enough at dancing, atleast I hope."Chuckling slightly, John shrugged his shoulders."That would demand your judging."
"And yes, you are a rebel, but not the kind of -causing trouble and chaos for the sake of it- rebel."Slowly he shook his head once again, as he continued to explain."You're more the -fight for the right cause- rebel, you know? A good heart, but sometimes not the best way or timing to express your feelings and to fight for what is right."Then he smiled softly."That definitely doesn't make a diplomat, for those sometimes have to make compromises with ethically shady things. My parents always wanted me to become a diplomat, and see? I am supporting my diplomacy with convincing tools. Law and guns."Laughing heartly, soon his expression turned a bit more serious."I suppose the people I fight or put into prison might call me anti-social, as I ignore their explaination and tries to bribe and convince me, why they needed to haul contraband. Law does not make excuses."Once a gain, this shoulders shrugged slightly.
"Anyways!"Carefully, he took and offered her the glass of wine, lifting his in a toast. "To us, this evening and hopefully more time to spend together, in future."With that, he guided his glass of wine towards his lips, placing the glass' rim upon his bottom lip, as he opened his mouth and tilted the glass, to pour some of the wine into his mouth, allowing the flavor of the rich red, delicious wine to spread over his tongue. Then he sighed in content about the taste.
With a grin on her face, Elena gladly accepted the glass of wine John offered to her with one hand, while the other one still rested on the picnic blanket. Slightly nodding, she rose her glass to her lips as well, closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment, as the wine slowly made its way through her mouth. It was definitely a good one John had decided on here, and judging from how it tasted, it probably wasn't just from a mass production line on Manhattan. Slowly, she lowered the glass again, but still hold it in her hand.
Grinning again, she slightly switched her body position to a more comfortable one, as she started talking. "Usually women don't work on their own ships, huh?" She began to chuckle. "Well, it demands your judging, but I personally doubt I'm the stereotypical woman. You know, I ain't so much about shopping and stuff like that. Also, another funny thing, I don't have a shoe craze like nearly every other woman, instead I'm much more about my ships. But I already told you about that. My friends even attested me a Borderworld Series fetish, just 'cause I love the design, its ships look so appealing to me. But, as you can already imagine, the thing I'd love to fly once in my life is a Wraith."
Elena paused quickly, as she laughed about what she just said. "And that's what happens when you date me, John. Suddenly, we talk about space ships. See, I'm a nerd? Anyways, about the other stuff. I doubt you wanna hear me sing, really, my voice literally cracks up every time I try. I'm still doing it at times, though, hoping to improve over time. It's cool to have a good singing voice, at least in my opinion." She took another sip from her glass before she continued again. "With dancing, sure, let's try it out anytime soon. Some fast dancing tracks in a disco could really be a lot of fun. As long as you don't step on my feet, that is." Giggling, she took a deep breath. Just now she realized it was actually getting quite dark already, the sun had already vanished from the horizon, and she felt like it slowly became colder.
Without saying anything, she grabbed for the lighter in the basket and lighted the candle John had brought with him. The light the candle gave flickeringly shone onto the two of them, especially their faces. "A lot better now, don't you think, John?" She chuckled slightly. " 'Into something romantic', I guess."
As she had decided to make another small pause to shortly enjoy the moment, her glimpse remained on John. "So yeah, I'm a rebel. And yes, I might got some problems with my impulse control. The thing is ... when I see something happen I can't stand, I literally feel unable to just stay at the side and do nothing about it. It ... feels wrong to me, I always think like - 'I gotta do something about this!', if you understand what I mean. I know it can be bad, and I'm already trying to get rid of it, but in the end, that's just me. One would call it dumb, another one honorable maybe. For me, it's just me, I don't think about what it actually is." She sighed. "And I see, I'm already talking much. Good job, John. You know what that means."
With a smile on her face, she once again took a sip from the glass.
With his attention focused on her words, gestures and moves, he watched her lightening the candle, an amused, yet playful smirk appeared on his lips as she mentioned a well known quote.
"Usually women don't, atleast not the majority of women, I think."His shoulders shrugged slighty."However, I can perform the judging as you wish, and the final conclusion is....that you are not the stereotypical woman, no."A grin replaced the earlier smirk on his lips. "Borderworld fetish?"Laughing slightly, he shook his head."Well these ships are actually fast, agile and their design makes them harder to hit. Not a bad choice at all."With a quick nod he continued speaking."As for the Wraith... who knows? Maybe someone might offer it as a gift to you, one day?"Smiling softly. he then raised the glass in his hand, guiding it to his lips, to take another sip from the delicious wine.
Gazing at the starset at the sky, covered in the darkness of the night, the smile would continue to rest on his lips."What happens when I date you? Well, a beautiful, young woman talking about her hobbies, her true self, not something she has to act as, to disguise or hide."As he spoke these words, his gaze slowly sank down, away from the sky, towards her face, while his green eyes focused hers then."In these times, space ships are important. We use them to travel, to explore, to fight, to get in contact. How else would we have met? On a planet with millions of people? Unlikely, but not impossible."Chuckling slightly, he shook his head."Doesn't make you a nerd at all, in my opinion at least."Shrugging his shoulders slightly, he would soon reach for the glass again, to take a longer sip."I do believe you have a lovely singing voice. Even if it may crack up sometimes, if you keep singing and trying to improve, you can sure change that. It's the technique that has to be mastered, like many other things." Smiling reasuringly, he would add."Well..believe it or not... even I tend to sing sometimes. Alone, in a room, where nobody can hear me."Blushing slightly, seemingly slightly uncomfortable in revealing this, he'd cough slight, soon speaking again to change the topic.
"Impulse control problems?"His brow quirked sightly."Well, good you have met me then, if I see you caught up in a bad moment, I will try to hold you back."A grin appeared on his lips."Actually, I am alike, also feeling the need to do something, to help, to defend someone, to fight someone, to interfer and prevent bad situations. That is one of the reasons why I joined the Navy, you know?"The grin soon turned into a soft smile."I just learned, that sometimes we have to hold back, wait in patience, observe and wait what is happening. Also sometimes we couldn't have changed things, even if we tried to."Slowly, his hand holding the glass, sank down to the blanket to set it down carefully."Talking too much? I know a good way to change that."The playful smirk appeared on his lips, but also varying between an amused grin as well.
Leaning back, John reached for his leather jacket's collar, pulling it off swiftly, yet carefully enough to avoid hitting the glass of wine. Once the jacket was in his hands, he moved closer towards Elena, right behind her. Carefully, he pulled the jacket over her, wrapping her in the stylish leather, which did have some weight and felt thick enough to fight off the slowly uprising cold air. While fulfilling this chivalrous gesture, he couldn't help but place his lips gently upon her neck, for a soft peck.
As John pulled his jacket over her shoulders, Elena suddenly felt a pair of lips gently touching her neck. She couldn't help but jerk slightly, briefly tensing her body as this took her by surprise, though she quickly began relaxing again. After quickly slipping into the jacket with her arms, feeling the heavy weight of it on her shoulders, but also the emerging warmth, she turned her head around to face John once again, who was sitting behind her.
Only the contours of his face were still visible as the candle, which was flickering in the breeze that had appeared, lightened both their faces slightly. The reddish light was giving his face a new touch, a somewhat mysterious one, as parts of his face were already put into darkness, making her unable to fully read his expressions. Was he waiting for her to make a move, or would he take the business in his own hands?
As Elena changed her body position once more, feeling uncomfortable with having only her head turned around. Maybe coincidentally, maybe not - it's anyone's guess - she suddenly found herself closer to John than she had planned, her nose slightly touching his and her nearly feeling his calm breath on her face. The chuckle of hers quickly transformed into a playful and cheeky grin, as her brown eyes started glowing.
"So, you think you know about a way to shut me up, huh?", she whispered slowly while still grinning slightly, so he could understand every single of her words. Moving her lips closer to his right ear, nearly touching it, she continued. "Care to explain what exactly you mean with that? Preferably in every ... single ... detail..."
Moving her head back in front of his, her look wandered John's eyes and lips, wondering what he would do next, and also how his lips could taste.
An amused smirk formed on his lips, as he heard her words. It felt like the time stood still, frozen in this moment, yet John was too focused upon Elena's to actually notice anything around him anways. His green eyes were locked with hers, as he kept regarding her facial expressions briefly, likely to determine her intentions. Yet, it didn't take an other second, he already found a fitting answer upon her daring request.
" I am afraid, words won't suffice to explain, what exactly my plan is.... and how it is going to work. So I'd better show you..."he said with a gentle tone, before he slowly closed in, slowly shutting his eyes, while his lips touched hers softy,
Meanwhile his arms slowly embraced her in a hug, his left hand roaming along her back, while the right hand wandered along her cheek, affectionately brushing and caressing, before he moved his right hand to the back a little bit lower, along her cheek and jawline, until only his thumb brushed the velvety skin of her cheek, and the rest of his fingers rested close to the back of her head, yet almost on her neck, with an only loose hold.
John intended to keep his lips locked on hers, for a long lasting kiss aslong as she decided to draw back eventually.
With a playful, yet excited smile on her face, Elena didn't resist in any way and chose to reply his kiss. She closed her eyes as well, about to focus her full attention on the taste of it, while she felt her heart beginning beating faster and faster. Very likewise, the time seemed to stand still, a fact that did indeed appeal to her very much, as she wished this moment would never end.
While their tongues would begin dancing with each other, she'd slowly move her hands to his neck, slightly caressing him there, enjoying his soft skin, and of course his soft, lovely lips touching hers. As Elena had already seen this coming before the date - in fact, she had actually planned with it -, she had put on some cherry-red lipstick on, knowing and now being proven right it would be useful.
She wasn't quite sure how much time had past, as the one minute had felt like an eternity, but in the end, she decided to let their lips part slightly again, touching his jaw with her left hand.
"This was ... lovely", she said, having a slight, but still playful grin on her face, as she looked straight into his green eyes.
John's eyes slowly opened, as the kiss slowly came to an end, when Elena parted their lips. The seemingly frozen time around them seemed to begin moving as slowly as well. He enjoyed her gentle touch, her delicate hand upon his jaw, softly brushing along his skin, while his lips were craving to feel hers again, in another gentle or more affectionate kiss. With his eyes locked at hers, a grin alike hers formed upon his lips, while his eyebrow quirked slightly in surprise.
"Only lovely, huh?"His teeth pulled along his bottomlip , the playful grin soon turned into an amused smirk."That's not enough."
The date had been changed directions in several ways, offering a wide range of emotions and topics, from joyful to serious, sad and in the end even romantic. Romantic, that is what a date should guide towards. The very final destination of every date should yet initate desire. Desire for more intimacy, desire to meet again, to get to know each other, to learn more about each other. This was exactly happening right now, granting the chance for more dates in future.
A mischievous gleam appeared in his eyes."Well, I clearly can do better, let me try again!"Leaning in a little closer, was enough to lock his lips upon her cherry red lips again, to initiate a, this time more passionate kiss. This time, he also initiated the dance of tongues, sliding his slowly between her lips, to add this sensation, playfully exploring her mouth.
Fully descending in this lovely, passionate moment again, this was how the date went on, until the sunlight vanished completely and the night's darkness was left. This day was the very foundation for a freshly starting relationship, including many more dates and special events.