{M} People Like Us {Numbers & Natora}

[Natora]

The teasing at the beginning of the ride only served to make her hold onto him tighter. What was he thinking? This was terrible. She was just about to tell him that she was going to get off and go in her car when he finally pulled away from the curb and they were off. The way that he drove, drove her insane. She had never broken rules before. This was ridiculous! How did he intend to keep his license if he was going to keep pulling stunts like this? Many times she found herself burying her head in the helmet into his back to make sure that she didn't have to watch the close proximity that he was putting them in among the other things.

As they pulled into his garage, she found herself unable to move at first. She continued holding onto him just as tightly as she had been when he was pulling crap on the road and had to force herself to slow down her breathing rate. She let her head fall against his shoulder and continued to work on slowing her breathing. It felt like it took forever for her to slow her breathing. Finally, though, she loosened her grip around him and let her feet go down to the floor. She took the helmet off of her head and gave it back to him. "I think I'll take a taxi home," she said honestly. Her heart rate still had to slow despite her breathing returning to normal.

[Numbers]

He walked over to her, grabbing her hands in his and looked into her eyes with a smile on his face. "You weren't actually in danger. I mean it certainly was some dangerous dying, but if something actually dangerous where to come up I would have made sure that we were safer and out of serious dangers way." He said with a tone of reassurance in his voice. "On the way home, I'll make sure to drive safely and within the limits of the law." He said as he let go of her hands, blushing slightly now.

He went to the door that led into his house and he opened it. He hit a switch and all the lights in the house turned on. As the lights came on they were greeted by the living room. It was simple, had a couch, a few chairs, a tv and some bookcases that were filled with books on varying scientific topics. He walked into the kitchen and it was pretty kitted out with many different cooking supplies.

As he opened up the fridge, he did indeed see what he thought he had. He had some small choice meet, some different kinds of vegetables in the fridge and he started to grab the stuff from the fridge. He placed it all on a chopping board and started to get some water to boil while he worked on chopping and mincing the different meats and vegetables.

[Natora]

Kelly looked up to him in surprise when he took her hands. She hadn't noticed that the adrenaline hadn't worked its way out of her body yet and when he had her hands in his, she finally was able to calm even more. His words did manage to convince her that she might be okay with getting a ride home from him. It would be interesting to see if doing everything within the law would make a difference on her new opinion on motorcycles.

When he turned and led her into the house she was able to smile slightly at his back. If nothing else, he was able to act like a gentleman outside of work. Or it seemed so anyways. He was always kind enough to hold doors for her and helped whenever needed. She followed him in and smiled to his house. It had been made to be quite welcoming, she thought, despite the fact that only he lived here.

She followed him to the kitchen and leaned on the doorjam as she watched him move about his kitchen comfortably. It was interesting to watch him cook. She hadn't done something like watching others before. It was interesting to see the way that he was doing things. "Can I help?" she offered from where she was. "Of course, it is really nice just watching you," she said with a slight smirk. It was never a terrible thing to watch a good looking man be confident.

[Numbers]

He smiled at her and pulled out from more stuff to chop before holding the knife out for her. "Of course, just don't hurt yourself. Tonight we'll be having cheese pasta with minced meat and vegetables mixed into it. To drink, I think I have a few beers or some water if you would prefer that instead." He said in a sort of amused tone at her, giving her the knife once she took it.

He proceeded to chop up and then grate some cheese in order to get it nice and fine before putting the noodles in to cook them. While he stirred them in the water, he would occasionally add varying herbs and spices, some of which he collected outside on prior days, into the water. Allowing the variety of flavors to be boiled into the water and as such, into the noodles. After a moment, he then started to add the cheese into it, effectively turning the noodles to being cooked inside of the seasoned cheese sauce. "If you think it's nice watching me here, you should try watching me at work. I move with the same time of fluidity there as I do here."

[Natora]

'Don't hurt yourself.' Really? A scientist at heart could never graduate university without using a scalpel once or twice. Who did he think she was? With only slightly less enthusiasm and grace did she finish the task set to her. She would have to remedy this situation quickly. He thought she couldn't cook! What a disgrace she would be to her mother if she couldn't make a decent spaghetti at the very least. Tomorrow she would cook and have it ready before they went to the dog park. Maybe she could take Daphne at a different time to make sure that she got a good enough run in.

When she was done, she leaned back against the wall again to watch him. His comment about watching him made her smirk. "Oh no. You are much less inflated here," she said to him almost teasingly. But it was true! At work all he did was try and move up and show that he was worth more. "I mean, after telling me about your family it makes sense but really, here you seem more... not like a rude know it all," she said to him rather bluntly. It was how she had seen him since the beginning when he immediately started asking for a higher position. Of course, now that they were at least friends, she could tell him how she really felt.

[Numbers]

"Yes well, you now know why it is I wish to get promoted so quickly. People liking me is not a requirement to do experiments that will change the world. If people can't understand the importance of the work I'm doing, of the life-changing discoveries, then I don't need to worry about them liking me. I only care that you like m..." He stopped midsentence instead of finishing what he was saying.

He took the stuff that he chopped up and threw it into the pot as well before letting it cook some more in silence. Finally, it was done and he grabbed two plates before dishing it onto the two hot plates nice and fresh. He carried them into the dining room which had a nice wooden table and wooden chairs. He set hers down at one chair and set his own down at one chair before going back into the kitchen to grab two beers. He brought them out and set the beers down next to the food.

[Natora]

Kelly paused too when he continued to almost say that he cared really only if she liked him. Did he stop himself? What was this? Finally a thing he was unsure about? And it was a romantic thing? She had asked him a week ago if he liked being the alpha male and he had ignored her question. Well it was time to see if that was something about him. Maybe he refused to be the alpha in a relationship.

It didn't have to be serious, in her mind. Something to get her back in the game and if it did turn out that he continued to be as good as he seemed to be, then it could continue. Well, time to test the waters. As he walked past her with the plates of food, she pushed off the wall and followed him. "I'm sorry. I missed that last part," she said to him almost in a challenge. "Were you about to say you only cared if I liked you?" she asked him curiously, standing close to him before he walked off and grabbed the beers. She stayed standing next to the table, leaning on it with one hand, the other placed perfectly on her popped hip.

If she had to play the alpha male to get this started she could. It would only make this better if it made him squirm just a little.

[Numbers]

((Sorry if something seems weird about this post. For some reason, RPA is appearing very weirdly for my screen. Very much in a basic HTML format instead of how it should appear so I have lots of boxes everywhere and not a lot of text on screen telling me what I am typing into xD Anyways times for the post!))

"Does it matter what I was going to say? It won't change anything. You'll become more homely now that you have a dog. Fewer nights staying at work to push forward. Meanwhile, I'll continue to push ever forward. Breaking the limits that work and life has set to push our understanding even farther, achieving the goal I set myself even if I have to sacrifice that which is most important." He knew he couldn't lie very well about wanting to increase the understanding on how to defeat the marked, his people. However, he knew that if he spoke about it as a more broad goal, then he could make it sound realistic since he would sacrifice anything to achieve his goal.

He looked at her though on thought on his mission. Again, he couldn't help feel sorry. Many of the unmarked were being brainwashed by the leaders of their own cities. Being made to believe that the marked were dangerous monsters who simply wanted to see the world destroyed. If her DNA did, in fact, help him to find her father, he couldn't help but wonder if it meant she would really switch sides.

As he thought about, something inside of him ached for such a thought. He should have gone to sit down but as he continued to look at her, his body started to move on its own. He walked over to her and grabbed her hands in his. As he got closer to her, his body continued to act on its nose. Her smell filled his nose and it smelled sweet, pleasing to his nose and mind. His face was close to hers as he was now looking into her eyes. He knew how to faked falling for someone so that other people would believe it. Yet something about what he was doing felt real to himself as well. If the DNA couldn't find her father would she always stay loyal? That same ache returned but it was hurting at such a thought. Could he turn her himself? If he could, when would be the time to tell her the truth about himself. All of these thoughts were going a million miles through his mind as he stayed close in front of her, with his hands in hers and his eyes locked with her own. He thought of her as an enemy, but she didn't necessarily see the marked as monsters. She wasn't seeking to destroy them. She was seeking to understand them in order to understand what happened to her father. He thought of a new way he could help her and himself at the same time. He moved his face close to hers, getting his mouth near her ear as he took in another whiff of her scent, enjoying it before whispering into her ear. "My people. At Bristol. We have vast computer servers of information that agents of the security divisions have been collecting. Our research is more advanced and much farther along than the one here. With the right parts, I could send a message to some people who are still loyal to me without it being intercepted. A string of ones and zeros containing the pattern of a strand of identifiable DNA. It could be sent through their system to see if any matches come upon people that we have come across in the time of information collecting. Someone who is related to you." He was hoping that she would get what he was hinting at.

[Natora]

More homely? He was making her sound like some old woman. He had joined the conversation about the dog, mind he had never really encouraged it, but he hadn't said she shouldn't get her and now he was helping with Daphne. The words he was saying were not encouraging her in many ways. "So you care if I like you strictly in a work related way?" she asked, confused as he approached her quickly.

She had to straighten her posture when he took her hands from her leaning state. But his closeness, his eyes, they were in direct contradiction to how she had felt he had just responded. What was he doing? Then he got closer. Her heart started pounding harder, loud enough she knew he would hear it. His hands on hers started to tingle slightly and she felt warmer somehow. As he leaned in towards her, she could smell his cologne, all of her senses going on high alert with her racing heart. Her lips parted in anticipation of what she thought was going to come.

Then he moved to the side. Her breath that she had been holding came out between her slightly parted lips as if that had been the purpose all along. His warm breath on her ear was little consolation for the miss of what she had been expecting. Her mind was in such a tizzy that she missed half of what he had said. By the time he finished, she had gotten the gist though. Why was he speaking quietly about this? Her hope of romance died and was replaced by a strange feeling of the loss she had experienced years ago.

She paused for a moment and then pulled away slowly, a look of concern replacing the one that had been almost teasing moments ago. She couldn't believe he would even suggest such a thing! After what she had told him, the sadness it brought up each time, and now for him to even mention the possibility that her father had existed elsewhere than here was preposterous. He had been taken by the marked. Taken and never heard from or seen again. The way her mother had reacted made it feel more like a death than a disappearance and she had never again thought of her father as living. Shaking her head again, looking to the table she said, "We should eat before it gets cold."

With some amount of grace she moved to sit where the table was set for her and planted a trained smile on her face though the furrow in her brow was still there. She took a bit of the pasta and then gave him a more genuine smile. "This is really good," she complimented.

[Numbers]

He smiled at her as she complimented his skills in the cooking but he knew that he had hit a miss with his offer earlier. He would have to use the DNA that she left from eating in order to find her father to possibly convert her. Now though, he had a new plan as well. He would make her fall for him and use that kind of affection to turn him over to his side. As he thought about it though and watched the smile on her face he couldn't help but smile and feel happier about it. Was he really doing all of this just to make her come to the different side? He didn't know anymore.

"So every day I've come over, had dinner at your place and now you have had dinner at my place. Next time we might have to try going out to eat somewhere else. Though, don't get me wrong, I'll be happy to flex my culinary skills for you any time. Being a Chemical Engineer means I just so happen to know what to mix together to bring about the best smells, the best flavors. Though it is nice not cooking alone, having someone to help cook with me, and cooking in general for another person to enjoy." He said with a smile as he took a drink from his beer and continued to eat his food with a smile as he watched her.