It's Just Coffee, Right? (IC, Closed)

[Heritage]

Monday, July 5th 2010. 1:58 pm

Sitting out on the tree-lined patio at Garibaldi’s, a lovely Italian café in Riverside, Estelle de Havilland nervously fiddled with the sugar dispenser for the hundredth time before finally throwing her napkin on the table.

“Oh, this is ridiculous.â€

She had put far too much thought into this ‘innocent’ cup of coffee with Moira; she’d gone through six different outfit selections before settling on one she more or less liked, which she hoped struck the proper tone for the afternoon, without having a firm grasp on what said tone in fact really was. Her hair was in a thick braid that lay coiled in her lap, where it twitched fitfully like a cat having bad dreams; from time to time, she idly stroked it.

Dear God, I’ve got butterflies in my stomach; it’s like my first school dance all over again!

[Moira Morley]

Riverside was a nice community. Moira loved the arts and crafts and quirky parts. Heck, she even had a friend who ran a tattoo parlor here. Though she could never bring herself to get one, she loved the designs. Though this was not about art today, it was about coffee with Dr Havilland. A couple of days ago, she had shown an interest in her. She could still remember the silky strands of hair around her lower body. Man did that feel good. They set up a meeting for coffee after everything was over, leaving Estelle with a light kiss. And here it was. They'd planned to meet at two o'clock. Being a few minutes early wouldn't hurt. Though it seemed Dr Havilland had the same idea. Moira ordered two Irish coffees as she walked back to the patio area, hoping to surprise Estelle. When Moira got there she was behind the chair the blonde beauty was sitting in. She bent down and spoke into her ear with a quiet tone, "[divine]I'm sure that coffee's met it's match, dear.[/divine]"

[Heritage]

"[divine]I'm sure that coffee's met it's match, dear.[/divine]"

Once again, that exquisite tingle all the way down her spine and out to the end of every hair; a ripple passed down the length of the braid, which happily squirmed this way and that as Estelle arched her back and sat up straight.

"You really need to be careful with that, Moira; not that I mind, but...sorry."

The blonde heroine rose gracefully, took both the goddess's hands in her own, and then gave her a brief hug; all her instincts told her to make it last just a little longer, if only to breathe in the sweet smell of her hair for a few seconds more, but today was just coffee, and she kept it short and friendly.

"I'm so glad you could come. You look magnificent, as always I'm sure." Noting the Irish coffee, she smiled and accepted the cup. "Oh, thank you! I honestly couldn't make up my mind." Returning to her seat, Gossamer crossed her long legs, took a sip and sighed contentedly. "Mmm, that's good." She closed her eyes and felt the warmth of the alcohol spread through her, as her hair uncoiled itself and draped majestically over the back of her chair.

[Moira Morley]

Moira leaned into the hug, taking in the violet smell of Estelle herself. Stepping back, she took her glass to and thanked the waiter, giving him a nice tip before he left. Sitting in a chair across from Estelle, she smiled as the hair came down. That was always a magnificent show. "[divine]I'm glad we could meet in a less crowded event,[/divine]" she chuckled before taking a sip of the coffee. Indeed it was nice and warm and freshly made. "[divine]It's nice when you can sit down and talk without nine other people staring at you, wondering what you're doing.[/divine]"

[Heritage]

"[divine]It's nice when you can sit down and talk without nine other people staring at you, wondering what you're doing.[/divine]"

Estelle laughed, a surprisingly deep laugh from her belly that almost sent coffee up her nose. "God, what a disaster that was! I mean, not a complete disaster, obviously; the music was astounding, plus amazing dancing and singing. I still can't believe I didn't have a video camera set up! So unprofessional..."

She shook her head and chuckled at the memory, but then she suddenly leaned forward, her tone slightly hushed.

"About the auditions, I...I do apologize for being so...forward. I'm sure a young woman as beautiful as yourself has had to suffer your share of indignities, but I didn't-"

Setting aside her coffee, the chemist took a deep breath and composed herself.

"You are clearly a very striking woman, and since the circumstances that changed me, I sometimes find that the hair...can be willful." But then she smiled a bit nervously. "Not that I didn't like it, of course; it was wonderful. Even with everyone gaping at us, if felt...private, like the rest of the room was just noise and thunder."

Estelle covered her face with her hands and groaned.

"God, I don't even know what I'm saying..."

[Moira Morley]

Moira sipped her coffee as Estelle spoke. When she started talking about her behavior at the auditions she put her coffee down, leaning back in the chair. She knew where this was going. As Estelle covered her face, Moira leaned forward and touched her arm softly. "[divine]Estelle, honey, it's perfectly fine.[/divine]" Taking the distressed woman's hand in hers, she stood up and moved her chair next to Estelle. "[divine]There is no reason to be ashamed, dear[/divine]" She looked into Estelle's eyes as she put her free hand on her cheek. "[divine]As long as you weren't hurting anyone, there was no harm done. It definitely didn't hurt me. Quite the opposite.[/divine]"

[Heritage]

"[divine]As long as you weren't hurting anyone, there was no harm done. It definitely didn't hurt me. Quite the opposite.[/divine]"

Estelle smiled at Moira's reassurances. "Well, I'm glad to hear that; while I don't think of myself as a prude by any means, I felt that I- damn it, there it goes again!" As she'd started talking, a ribbon of golden hair had surreptitiously twisted itself down the length of her arm and snaked up the redhead's, where it stopped to loop around her well-toned bicep. The blonde chemist got very red in the cheeks as she gently tried to disentangle the intertwined limbs, but to no effect.

"Um...I'm just going to leave that there then...for now..." :oops:

Estelle raised her free hand to block the left side of her face; a much more obliging tendril raised her cup to her lips, and she took a nice long sip of Irish coffee, meekly peering over the rim to see if any other patrons had noticed her predicament (apparently they had not).

[Moira Morley]

Moira chuckled as the snake-like tendril inched up her arm. When she saw Estelle blush and heard her apologize, she nodded appreciatively, "[divine]It's fine, dear.[/divine]" Taking her hand off of the blonde's cheek, she softly touched the snake-like tendril, petting it. "[divine]You don't really control them all the time do you? They respond to your urges and feelings?[/divine]" She leaned her head on Estelle's shoulder, "[divine]That's very interesting,[/divine]" she said as she continued to stroke the hair as if it were a pet. "[divine]I'm sure it keeps you busy.[/divine]"

[Heritage]

"[divine]You don't really control them all the time do you? They respond to your urges and feelings?[/divine]" She leaned her head on Estelle's shoulder, "[divine]That's very interesting,[/divine]" she said as she continued to stroke the hair as if it were a pet. "[divine]I'm sure it keeps you busy.[/divine]"

The sensation of Moira's soft skin on the ultra-sensitive fibers was nothing short of ecstasty, but Estelle did her best to compose herself; her hair, on the other hand, writhed happily at the goddess's touch, and in fact began to work its way into her red hair and trace the countours of her angelic face.

"It's, ah, never been a real problem before, but I think..it's...um...please...please stop that. It's extremely pleasant, but I can barely...uh...oh blast, I can't even talk!"

With tremendous effort, she reeled in all her hair, carefully disengaging it from Divine's enticing prescence and forcing in back into the braid. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Alright, I think it's fairly damn obvious I find you attractive. I've never been in any sort of relationship with another woman before, but I see nothing wrong with it. That being said, I...well, I feel a bit out of my depth, to be honest."

[Moira Morley]

Moira did her best to keep from tittering as the hair caressed her face. It tickled when it reached the soft part of her jawline and behind her ears and the back of her neck. She quickly withdrew her hand and sat up straight when Estelle reprimanded her. Leaning on the table with an elbow, she listened to her plight. Oh, now this was interesting. Moira had heard this before. It either lead to mixed feelings on her part or the other person's part. Other times it ended very beautifully. Though she was always very particular around her first timers. "[divine]Estelle, I understand,[/divine]" she said sitting up again. She reached for Estelle's hand again and held it with of hers. "[divine]This is some very hectic feelings for you. I know you're going through a lot of thoughts now. If you have any questions I am here for you. If you wish to go forward with this,[/divine]" she paused for a second to look passionately into Estelle's blue eyes, "[divine]I feel the same way about you too.[/divine]"

[Heritage]

"[divine]Estelle, I understand,[/divine]" she said sitting up again. She reached for Estelle's hand again and held it with of hers. "[divine]This is some very hectic feelings for you. I know you're going through a lot of thoughts now. If you have any questions I am here for you. If you wish to go forward with this,[/divine]" she paused for a second to look passionately into Estelle's blue eyes, "[divine]I feel the same way about you too.[/divine]"

The beautiful blonde raised her eyebrows and smiled. "Well...thank you." She idly scratched the side of her nose. "To be honest, I've actually gotten a little rusty. I've only had two real dates since my hair became animated; the first was a pleasant evening with Viktor Archeville before powersuited thugs kidnapped him, and the second...well, the less said about my date with Rudy Sivana, the better." :roll:

She sighed as a golden tendril floated up in front of her face.

"To be honest, I think the hair really, really frightens a lot of men. And the ones it doesn't frighten, frighten me."

She shuddered comically.

[Moira Morley]

Moira remembered the news about the good Doktor being abducted. She didn't want to harp on it too much, apparently it was not a good time for Estelle. She shook her head and laughed when Estelle shuddered. "[divine]You'd be surprised at what some people want to happen behind closed doors.[/divine]" Quickly dismissing the fact with a handwave, she ran her hand through her own hair to straighten it a bit. "[divine]Hm, you haven't been on only two dates in two years?[/divine]" Moira was taken aback mentally. How could someone not know love that long? Still she kept a straight face. She winked, "[divine]What says we're not on a date right now?[/divine]" She clasped her hand again with both of her hands, "[divine]If you wish this could be our first. Or we could be more formal and set one up. Whichever works for you, works for me.[/divine]"

[Heritage]

"[divine]What says we're not on a date right now?[/divine]" She clasped her hand again with both of her hands, "[divine]If you wish this could be our first. Or we could be more formal and set one up. Whichever works for you, works for me.[/divine]"

Estelle laughed as she raised the cup to her lips; she was still a little stiff, but seemed to be slowly thawing out.

"Well let's see how the afternoon goes first before we decide to give it a name and make commemorative plates, alright? Takes a bit of the pressure off."

Elegantly returning the cup to its saucer with a gentle clink, she leaned back and smiled.

"So, the fact of the matter is I know very little about you, other than the usual nonsense one reads in the papers. You run a West End bar that's been in your family for several years, don't you? I'm sad to say I've spent very little time in your neighborhood since moving here."

[Moira Morley]

Moira had all but forgotten about the coffee. She had her eyes set on Estelle, holding her hand. "[divine]Pub, dear,[/divine]" Moira chuckled, "[divine]We are much nicer than a bar.[/divine]" The answer was reflexive. The word bar conjured up images of hole in the wall dives. She was not about to have her family's establishment be associated with such! "[divine]Yes, it has been in the family for about three or four generations. As of now I own it and do a little to help out, but I actually don't work there. I'm an on call heroine. Plus I do the go out and look for trouble at night thing a few times a week.[/divine]" She snickered at her last statement. "[divine]I hear you're a busy woman yourself. What, with ASTRO Labs? You must be working day and night.[/divine]"

[Heritage]

"[divine]We are much nicer than a bar.[/divine]"

Estelle held up a finger and nodded.

"Ah, I stand corrected!"

"[divine]I hear you're a busy woman yourself. What, with ASTRO Labs? You must be working day and night.[/divine]"

The blonde chemist took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"This is true, and I only have myself to blame! Even though my father more or less disowned me and took me out of his will (or so he says), I still have money left to me from various other relatives, plus all the merchandising revenue from Japan and some other odd investments. No, it's pride in my work and an obsessive need to get to the bottom of things that keeps me under the fume hood until all hours of the night."

She rubbed her eyes at the thought of it.

"One of the other reasons my dance car has been so empty. That and the fact that I can't stand boring people! Of course, I'm always polite; maintain eye contact, smile and nod, that sort of thing, but after a while it's just too much work."

Then she smiled brightly at her companion for the afternoon.

"Still, not a concern today, eh?" She raised her coffee cup in salute. "To interesting company; long may it wave!"

:P