who: Alex Reagan and Open what: May normal stuff, plus mingle stuff and possibly sickness plotting stuff. when: Month of May! where: All over Riverview. warnings: Possible illness stuff, shippy stuff.
[If Alex wasn't sandwiched between his body and his hand she definitely would have moved into that touch again. Instead she just gave him a lazy smile, and her fingers absently moved across his chest below them in small, slow circles. Earlier alex had described this to herself as annoyingly perfect, but now she was finding it just perfect instead. Maybe calling herself a delicate flower was making Alex lose her edge a bit.
She didn't particularly mind. After all, Richard had edge enough for the both of them honestly and someone needed to make sure that he didn't get punched even if he was on his best behavior at the moment.
She knew him and knew the best behavior wouldn't last.
Her eyes sparkled and she looked more than a little amused before she asked simply:]
[For a moment, he looked down, watching her hand as it moved against his chest. That was, different. Certainly not something he was used to or expecting. He probably should have. Alex was the sort of person who thrived on touch, and, while he wasn't, he'd grown used to her taking his hand and staying close. Even to the point of reaching for her hand by himself now. Still, the touch, the intimacy of it was surprising.
Then she mentions her friendr, and he was confused even more. She knew well that he didn't pay attention to that stupid thing. In fact, he wouldn't even have one if it weren't for her standing over his shoulder and forcing him to have one. If he hadn't made it, he knew that she would have, and it would have been horrifying in the fact that she would be trying to force him into having friends. Something he was just fine with not having.
[Alex definitely grinned up at him with a look that was half-flirting and more than a little bit of a dare for him to take a glance at it sometime even if she coupled it with a little bit of a shrug of one shoulder. She'd done it after she'd made him set his up because it was only fair, and because she'd thought that he'd laugh at it more than anything else. After all, he was the one who had put that he had an Alex on his first. Turn about was only fair play.
Well, in this case not so much as fair play as taking it up five notches because that was Alex did with her legendary lack of chill. But she was trying to play it cool, and she just snuggled against him and rested her cheek on his chest once more with a satisfied smirk.]
You should take a look at it at some point, Richard.
[Richard frowned at the thought. Even the idea of having to look at that stupid thing again was distasteful. He had set his own up because of her insistence, but his plan had never been to follow through with the thing. In fact, Richard had planned to never look at his friendr again, to never answer a comment (should he ever get one). The fact that she was trying to get him to use the damned thing was vaguely annoying. Especially when she dangled mysteries in front of his face, and she knew it.]
I never wanted to go back on that ridiculous thing.
[It was a bait that she knew he would take, so he let go of her to lean over and grab his phone, quickly making his way to her friendr. The status caused him to raise a brow and smirk slightly. Strandsexual, was it?]
You realize there is more than one Strand, right?
[Technically that would include Charlie as well, which was a bit disturbing, all things considered.]
[Alex looked rather amused when he finally gave in and did it, and then when he smirked in response. Of course, the amusement faded a bit and she gave him a huffy sigh in response to that comment about being more than one Strand, and Alex just detangled from him enough to reach over and grasp her own phone from the nightstand on her side and start to type on it.]
You do realize when I say Strand, I actually only do mean you, right? I mean that's what I call you officially when I'm talking about you on the show or to people or whatever when I'm in a professional context.
[When he's just supposed to be the subject of her podcast and not you know, the man she loves and all of that. But she still does finish editing and then just says quickly:]
[He smirked slightly. Richard knew exactly what Alex meant, but tormenting her was far more enjoyable than telling her how endearing it was. In fact, he would go to lengths to make sure that she didn't know just how charming he actually thought it was.
He doubted Coralee would have done something so silly, she was, without a doubt, a far more logical woman than Alex. One who could apparently easily leave her family without looking back. The fact of it would never cease to sting him to the core, but he didn't want to think about Coralee right now. Not when he had Alex in his arms. Even if not doing so would always be a struggle. Coralee had been a part of his life, his soul, for over twenty years after her disappearance. She was a large part of the reason he was the man he'd become.
He flicked back to her friendr profile and smirked.]
[Alex was silly, and she was impulsive, and she was the sort of woman who did this sort of thing without any sort of thought beyond it and whether or not someone she loved would be amused by it. After all, it would take someone all of three seconds to read Strand's profile and realize that she was the annoyingly persistent woman who was forcing him to do it, so, she thought it would make him feel slightly better about the whole thing.
Besides, Alex had gotten a fairly good bead on when he was doing something to drive her mental after so long, and she knew that this was just one of those things that he would do. If nothing else, there was the smirk that was mirrored back at him quickly. Coralee would never wear her heart so openly on her sleeve, and Alex carried it around with practically a giant sign pointing to it. She couldn't help it, it was just who she was and she didn't want to change it.
She was fairly certain he wouldn't change it either, which was why she bumped him with her elbow a bit.]
Come on, it's at least worth a full on smile, Richard.
[Richard resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her prodding, at least until the second elbow to the ribs. then he rolled his eyes. Alex was, beyond a doubt, the most insistent and irritating woman he had ever met. That was including his Charlie, up to the point where she decided it was better not to have him in her life.
Even so, he knew he was more stubborn than her - most of the time. There was a battle of wills that worked between them that was tantamount to flirting for them, and, if he were frank, he relished it with a joy he hadn't felt in years. Her faces and tone was always a joy to watch come from her. The look of frustration was always just the beginning before it slowly dawned on her what he was doing. Then came the smirk that matched his own and, soon after, the battle of wills.
Fighting with Alex was, for Richard, almost like foreplay.
So he sighed lightly and looked over the friendr again before shaking his head and hooking it back over her shoulder.]
[Alex would argue with that most of the time he was thinking that he was more stubborn than she was. At the most, it was maybe sixty percent of the time, but she was thinking that it was somewhere more akin to fifty/fifty. Besides, someone need to keep his ego in check, and considering the amount of time that she spent building it up, she needed to at least need to help bring it down into some sort of manageable level for her.
Even if her manageable level tended to still be a far bit higher than everyone else's.
But she knew how much he liked fighting her, at least when it wasn't over things that were important. But for things like where to get fast food on the road, or who to drive or stupid things like this one right here, those were fights that she actually liked as much as he did. Which is why with his head hooked over her shoulder she just smirked at him for a long moment.]
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She didn't particularly mind. After all, Richard had edge enough for the both of them honestly and someone needed to make sure that he didn't get punched even if he was on his best behavior at the moment.
She knew him and knew the best behavior wouldn't last.
Her eyes sparkled and she looked more than a little amused before she asked simply:]
Have you looked at my friendr lately, Richard?
[Don't believe that tone, Richard. It's a trap.]
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Then she mentions her friendr, and he was confused even more. She knew well that he didn't pay attention to that stupid thing. In fact, he wouldn't even have one if it weren't for her standing over his shoulder and forcing him to have one. If he hadn't made it, he knew that she would have, and it would have been horrifying in the fact that she would be trying to force him into having friends. Something he was just fine with not having.
Should I have?
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Well, in this case not so much as fair play as taking it up five notches because that was Alex did with her legendary lack of chill. But she was trying to play it cool, and she just snuggled against him and rested her cheek on his chest once more with a satisfied smirk.]
You should take a look at it at some point, Richard.
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I never wanted to go back on that ridiculous thing.
[It was a bait that she knew he would take, so he let go of her to lean over and grab his phone, quickly making his way to her friendr. The status caused him to raise a brow and smirk slightly. Strandsexual, was it?]
You realize there is more than one Strand, right?
[Technically that would include Charlie as well, which was a bit disturbing, all things considered.]
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You do realize when I say Strand, I actually only do mean you, right? I mean that's what I call you officially when I'm talking about you on the show or to people or whatever when I'm in a professional context.
[When he's just supposed to be the subject of her podcast and not you know, the man she loves and all of that. But she still does finish editing and then just says quickly:]
Okay, reload the page now, Dr. Strand.
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He doubted Coralee would have done something so silly, she was, without a doubt, a far more logical woman than Alex. One who could apparently easily leave her family without looking back. The fact of it would never cease to sting him to the core, but he didn't want to think about Coralee right now. Not when he had Alex in his arms. Even if not doing so would always be a struggle. Coralee had been a part of his life, his soul, for over twenty years after her disappearance. She was a large part of the reason he was the man he'd become.
He flicked back to her friendr profile and smirked.]
Very clear of you.
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Besides, Alex had gotten a fairly good bead on when he was doing something to drive her mental after so long, and she knew that this was just one of those things that he would do. If nothing else, there was the smirk that was mirrored back at him quickly. Coralee would never wear her heart so openly on her sleeve, and Alex carried it around with practically a giant sign pointing to it. She couldn't help it, it was just who she was and she didn't want to change it.
She was fairly certain he wouldn't change it either, which was why she bumped him with her elbow a bit.]
Come on, it's at least worth a full on smile, Richard.
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Even so, he knew he was more stubborn than her - most of the time. There was a battle of wills that worked between them that was tantamount to flirting for them, and, if he were frank, he relished it with a joy he hadn't felt in years. Her faces and tone was always a joy to watch come from her. The look of frustration was always just the beginning before it slowly dawned on her what he was doing. Then came the smirk that matched his own and, soon after, the battle of wills.
Fighting with Alex was, for Richard, almost like foreplay.
So he sighed lightly and looked over the friendr again before shaking his head and hooking it back over her shoulder.]
It's concise, at least.
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Even if her manageable level tended to still be a far bit higher than everyone else's.
But she knew how much he liked fighting her, at least when it wasn't over things that were important. But for things like where to get fast food on the road, or who to drive or stupid things like this one right here, those were fights that she actually liked as much as he did. Which is why with his head hooked over her shoulder she just smirked at him for a long moment.]
I suppose it's passable.