❝ Do you ever feel like your life and everything in it...❞

[unpreach]

Who: Kate Fuller & You (Yeah and maybe Richie Gecko okay. This could happen)
Where: Various Locations in Wonderland
When: Early to Mid January.
Rating: PG+ to NSFW.
Summary: Kate settles into Wonderland
The Story: ❝...is just slowly turning upside down, like a ship flipping over in the ocean?❞

ɴ.ʙ I welcome threadjacking from anyone (tagging into ongoing threads to have more than 2 characters in it). That said, if you'd prefer the thread to only be with Kate, just put [closed] in the subject line! Prose or Action is good with me, I'll match whatever I get.

[ Despite her appearance with Richie at the New Years Eve Ball, Kate's presence in the Mansion is not easily noticed as January rolls around. She keeps to her room on the tenth floor, getting out only when the walls feel like their closing in on her. If encountered during the day, you can be fairly certain that Kate will be alone but as the sun goes down, there's every chance you'll find any conversation you might have with her, interrupted by a tall man with glasses who if you think is sizing you up, undoubtedly is. ]

ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴇʟ

[ The house of God had once been a place where Kate felt welcomed with open arms, a sanctuary that wrapped her in peace and warmth in a way that even her home could not. It was one of the few places where she had the certainty of belonging that so few ever found in life and she'd thought it would always be that for her, no matter where her life took her. Now? She wasn't so sure.

It had been many months since Kate had stepped foot in a Chapel and though Richie had shown her the one here in Wonderland as a way of putting her at ease, she already wondered if it existed to torment her more than comfort her. Kate had never wavered in her beliefs, despite all she'd seen and experienced this last year. She'd held firm to the knowledge that God loved her because as far as she was concerned, God was love but having time to stop and think about every choice she'd made, Kate could feel the weight of every one of those decisions whenever she stepped foot inside the chapel.

While she doesn't spend hours on end here, Kate can still be found in the Chapel at various times throughout the day, usually when there doesn't appear to be anyone else around. Always tucked into one of the pews at the back, as if she weren't sure she should really be here at all. ]

ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪᴛᴄʜᴇɴ

[ While some people took to the magic of Wonderland; the ease and comfort it afforded those who lived here, Kate found it difficult to trust anything that could be achieved without effort. She'd tried eating in the dining room where most people took their meals but these attempts usually ended with her being more hungry than satisfied and she always ended up retreating to the kitchen where she could fix her own meal.

She was hardly what you'd call a gourmet cook, but Kate had always helped her mother in the kitchen and she'd in many ways taken on the role of caretaker in the time since her mother's death. It wasn't like her father had been in a state to do so and Scott? It was a miracle if Kate could get him to set the table.

Used to cooking for two or more, Kate will be prone to making too much and never one to see food go to waste, anyone who happens into the kitchen while she's here will be offered some of whatever she's making. Those who happen to frequent the kitchen might even realize that she's the one responsible for the plates of food that have handwritten notes beneath them, inviting anyone to take it for themselves. ]

ᴏᴜᴛsɪᴅᴇ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ sɴᴏᴡ

[ When you spend your whole life in the small town of Bethel, Texas, a place that despite the bitter cold that came during Winter, had never seen an inch of snow in the time Kate had lived there, the Winter Wonderland that existed beyond the Mansion walls had its own kind of appeal.

Some days, Kate would be content to sit by a window, a cup of hot chocolate warming her hands as she watched the flurries of snow, dance through the air. On days when the weather was mild enough to dare venture out, however, Kate would don multiple layers of clothing and would brave the biting cold just to experience what for her, was more magical than anything she'd seen inside the mansion.]

ᴘʟᴀʏᴇʀs ᴄʜᴏɪᴄᴇ

[ Set something up yourself! Kate will explore the various parts of the Mansion so it won't be inconceivable that you'd come across her almost anywhere. She will also be curious about the mirror side of Wonderland so Mirrors! are more than welcome to tag her as well. Alternatively, if you want to hash an idea out with me, you're welcome to PM her journal or hit me up on plurk: brooklyn2181]

Comments

[seeingthings]

[It's then he realizes that maybe he just....completely misunderstood the question in the first place.

One side of his mouth turns up at the sound of her laugh before he leans in to kiss her again, this time being the one to test the waters, to reach for her, to see how she responds. After a moment, he draws back again, one eyebrow cocked and a damnable smirk on his face.]

Could have fooled me.

[unpreach]

[And with one kiss, he banishes the nerves again, Kate slow at first, purely from the surprise of the kiss before her lips part against his. Fingertips and nails dance across his scalp, the hunger starting to build again before he breaks free, her lips chasing his, the look she fixes him with, a mixture of frustration, longing, and confusion.

His words clear her eyes, Kate shaking her head but the smile that plays across her lips shows the giddy pleasure she gets from hearing those words, Kate wiping that smirk away with yet another kiss; hard but brief as her hips press down on top of his.]

Then why are we stopping... [Yes, she knows. Her fault, but she's fixing that now by kissing him again.]

[seeingthings]

[She presses down on him again, causing him to release yet another stifled groan before he chuckles, and anything he might have said is stolen away by another kiss, his hands resuming their gentle exploration across her lower back and up her spine.

He speaks again, likely to her chagrin, but at least the words are punctuated by his mouth colliding against hers.]

What if we....took this somewhere...with more room?

[Couches were well and good, but he could think of better places if they were gonna do this awhile.]

[unpreach]

[There was something safe about a couch, perhaps because Kate could never picture losing her virginity on one.

Bedrooms, though? They conjured images of couples in bed together, of limbs tangled and people rolling around as the covers got messed up.

It's good in a way that he doesn't break the kiss off completely to suggest it then, the kisses keeping her focused on her wants and not on the myriad of what ifs that would have played through her mind.]

Hmmm? [Kate far more focused on the hand that dances along her spine.] Sure.

[seeingthings]

Alright. Hang onto me.

[It should be easy enough with her arms looped around his neck, and he waits for her grip to tighten before his hands move from her back to slide under her thighs as he stands up, guiding her to hook her ankles around his waist.

As he starts to walk, he leans into to kiss her again, unable to force himself to stop now that he knows it's okay, and he carries her across the living area to the door leading into his room, which he flicks open with a quick turn of the knob.

She's probably at least seen glimpses of his bedroom before, perhaps even been inside to ask him a question or something, but it feels a little different even to him carrying her like this, wrapped up in her as he moves to the foot of the bed and leans forward to lay her down on the soft comforter, his tall form briefly looming over her.]

[unpreach]

[There difference in size has never been more apparent than it was right now, Kate's grip on him bordering on suffocating as she allows him to guide her limbs.

Those kisses keep her happily distracted, Kate blocking out their surroundings and focusing purely on him but the moment she feels him lowering her down onto the bed, her heart starts hammering faster in her chest, her mind having to catch up to her physical response.

Her gaze darts around the room, Kate's grip on him tightening, almost as if not letting him go will be the one thing that stops this from becoming scary.]

This is your bedroom. [Stating the very obvious.] And your bed. [Forcing herself to unwrap from him yet still holding on. You couldn't say she looks terrified exactly but there's the definite look of a deer in headlights, frozen and uncertain of what to do now.]

[seeingthings]

Where I tend to sleep, yeah.

[The corner of his mouth twitches upward as he kicks off his shoes one at a time because he's a weirdo who has them on far too much. His hands slide up from her thighs to her waist before he gestures with an upward nod of his head.]

Scoot back a little.

[He catches her expression then, eyes searching hers while he thinks of what to say in order to navigate this situation.]

I hope this isn't too weird. I don't fit on the couch all that well. Too tall.

[unpreach]

[As he pulls back to remove his shoes, Kate props herself up onto her elbows, her gaze sweeping the room in a way that she never had before. She'd seen it, sure but it used to be just a room to her, like something you'd see in an old movie. It suited him, his personality but it was very different seeing it in passing and being on the bed.

The hand that shifts to her waist, draws Kate's focus back on him, her eyes widening with her continued uncertainty as she tries to figure out how to respond to his question. She could shrug it off, act like she's perfectly at ease right now but she suspected that Richie might see straight through any lies. He could read her fairly well most days and she was a terrible liar.]

No it - [Shifting a couple of inches.] Not, weird. Different.

[Different, fast becoming the word to describe anything she's never done before.

Scooting back another few inches, she stops only to offer some attempt at reassurance;] It's okay.

[seeingthings]

Different doesn't necessarily mean not bad.

[Trying to navigate this situation is like trying to sail a ship without a map or a compass, but at least they both seem to be patient enough to deal with the other's meandering uncertainty. They each have their own reservations and moments to trip over and yet none of it seems to matter.

When she tells him it's okay, he checks her eyes to weigh the truth of the statement, before he presses a knee and a palm into the mattress for leverage, the hand at her waist slipping under her lower back so he can pull her up towards the pillows, following her in one smooth motion.

Having the additional strength of a supernatural creature does have its perks at times.

He gestures with his head towards the pillows.]

They're 100% Egyptian cotton. The sheets, too. [A beat.] You're not allergic to down or anything, are you?

[unpreach]

Just new, not bad.

[It is the truth, though. He'd see that much as he weighs her words. There's a nervous energy about her, as if suddenly being in bed with him made this more real, not two teenagers making out on their parent's couch but a bedroom, with a bed, and nobody to stop things going further, but themselves. But she clearly wants to be here, no hint of her gaze darting towards the door, no suggestion at all that she's preparing to flee.

She even appears to relax a little as he guides her up the bed, his touch, the closeness acting like a balm to soothe her frazzled nerves.

And then he speaks, and there's just something about that, that makes her smile. Only Richie would think to tell her about the sheets, would make sure she's not allergic to down.]

Not as far as I know. [His own seemingly nervous babble, endearing him to her.] It's great, really. The sheets. The pillows.

[She pulls in a deep breath, exhaling more of those nerves with a shudder and lifts her hand to lay against his cheek, a tentative smile playing along her lips.]

You.

[seeingthings]

[Well, they were never two teenagers, though it could be said that Richie is sure acting like one. No matter how she looks at it, there was never anyone going to stop them, nor has a couch ever stopped anyone in the past when it came down to it.

But regardless of her seemingly initial reservations, Richie knows what a cornered and scared person looks like, and Kate is neither of those things, further evidenced when she finally smiles at him and lays her hand against his face. It lets him settle enough to lay his head again one of the pillows, looking at her with some kind of strange fascination.

Great. What a simple word, and yet he's never heard anyone describe him like that.]

You should try them out. They're really soft.

[A quiet suggestion to get her to lay down with him.]

[unpreach]

[He doesn't even need to encourage her, Kate not hesitating to lay down with him, their continued closeness the one thing that keeps her from feeling overexposed.

Rolling onto her side to face him, Kate closes the distance in the process, an arm tucked to her chest, the other propped beneath her head so that she can meet his gaze.

There are a hundred questions racing around in her head, none of which she can ask him and now more than ever, she longs for the girlfriends who she could talk to about everything and nothing. For months her life had been a sausage party spent in the company of men and there were just some conversations you could have with them, especially not with one she'd been making out with.]

This is going to sound weird... [Because it probably only made sense in the mind of a teenage girl.] But can we... get under the covers?

[seeingthings]

[He turns onto his side as she does, and possibly strangely enough to her, he's already tucking his legs up towards himself, an amused grin on his face.]

You beat me to it, actually.

[Indicating that he was...already gonna do that. He reaches for the comforter and the sheets, pulling them out from under them, assuming she follows his lead, and dragging the heavy fabric back over their bodies for additional weight and warmth.

He likes a heavy blanket when he sleeps.

He scoots a little closer to her beneath the sheets, his arm slipping around her waist.]

[unpreach]

[For her it's less about the cold and more about feeling exposed - on display; like somehow the concealment of a comforter would act more like a security blanket.

Her relief shows as he doesn't tease her or appear confused by the request, Kate only too happy to follow his lead and wriggle under the covers with him.

It makes him closing the distance and wrapping an arm around her waist, far less scary and he'd both see and feel her relax as she wriggles closer, her head now sharing his pillow.

Kate exhales a sigh that's mingled with relief and contentment, one leg carefully sliding between his as she runs her hand down the front of his suit, a smile that's half amused touching her lips as she reaches one of the buttons on his suit jacket.]

You don't... have to keep this on for me? [Half posed as a question, Kate wondering if he was trying to keep as many layers on as possible to stop her from getting spooked.]

[seeingthings]

[He lays there next to her, just watching her for awhile before she speaks, and he looks down briefly at her hands on the button of his suit coat before he looks back up at her with a slight shrug of his shoulders.]

I'd rather be too hot than too cold.

[Not just because of their experience in the caves. It's an issue of his anatomy these days.]

Probably a good idea for me to get rid of it, though. It's gonna end up getting pretty hot with both of us under here.

[So if she doesn't move to start undoing the buttons, he'll release her waist to do it himself and start shrugging it off.]

[unpreach]

[There are several ways for her to take what he's just said, and to Kate's credit, she manages to keep her eyes from widening as talk of things getting pretty hot, creates images in her head that warm her skin. At least in the darkness of his bedroom, it isn't quite as noticeable.

She doesn't hesitate exactly but is a little slow to respond, Kate realizing that this is the moment when she's supposed to act.

Her fingers fumble, the act of undoing buttons on another person clearly foreign to her but she manages it well enough, one after another, a shaky breath exhaled as he shrugs out of his jacket.

Kate resettles close to him once more, her thumb brushing against him as she lays her hand on his chest, her tongue snaking out to roll over lips that still feel raw from hungry kisses.]

Better. [Kate struggling with more than one word answers as she finds herself in territory that she's ill-equipped to navigate.]

[seeingthings]

[His eyes never leave her face as her fingers work at the several buttons holding his jacket together. He doesn't even remove his gaze as he manages to pull it off beneath the covers, tossing it aside once he's free of it.

As she settles against him, he moves to undo the buttons at his wrists as well as two at the top of his shirt, if only to give himself a little more room in the fitted piece of clothing.]

Better.

[He says the word in simple agreement, his eyes fixated on her tongue as it wets her lips, his own unconsciously doing the same as his hands return to her waist, brushing beneath her shirt and skimming the top of her jeans as he pulls her toward him, her hand trapped between their nearly flush bodies.]

[unpreach]

[She really shouldn't be all that nervous about the prospect of them taking off layers, not when you considered that Richie had seen her in something that offered even less coverage than her underwear but the intent was different now. The way he looked at her, even more so and she couldn't help but wonder if right now, she'd be as at ease in a bikini as she'd been the first time they'd met.

The way she looks at him has also changed, not just the starry eyes of somebody who found some pleasure at having the attention of an attractive man, but something much deeper than that; a hint of awe shining back at him now as he secures her in his arms and pulls her close.

Even in the dark she can see the brilliant blue of his eyes, Kate drinking in every minute detail of his face now she feels like she has some right to do so. She can't help but wonder if he has any idea how good-looking he is, if he had the slightest clue how many girls, women, must have looked at him in that way over the years.

Trapped between them, her fingers splay across his chest, fingertips kneading him through the thin material of his shirt and she leans in, not to kiss his mouth, but dips her her, lips pressing against the skin now exposed by the undoing of buttons.

She stays there like that for a moment or two, exhaling hot air against his skin then tilting her head, Kate begins to trail kisses along the exposed skin that's framed by line of his shirt, following it up towards his neck just as he had done when he'd bitten her.]

[seeingthings]

[There was that look in her eyes again, the one that he could never quite pinpoint the cause of, but wanted to see as much as he could. Richie had been needed for plenty of things over the course of his life and career. Maybe some people wanted to be needed, but for him it wasn't nearly as good as being wanted. Plenty of people had needed his mind to get what they wanted. But to be wanted without being needed for something?

It wasn't something he was really used to, but it felt like that's what he needed.

He can see the direction her mouth is headed and his head turns to the side before she even reaches his skin, opening up his throat to her in a way that's almost submissive, letting her do what she will and just soaking up the feel of her pressing kisses against his skin.

A contented sigh passes from between his lips, his eyes sliding shut as his hands tighten on her waist before the slide further up her back, fingers splayed wide until the tips brush against the closure of her bra.]

[unpreach]

[It's different for her, being the one in control and driving things but she can't bear the thought of just laying here and doing nothing, always having to react instead of act. Plus she wanted to hear, see, feel his responses. She wanted to know that despite his assurances that he didn't need more from her, that he wanted more - wanted her, too.

Kisses pepper his skin all the way up to the base of his neck, Kate pressing her lips against his pulse, feeling the soft beat of blood beneath the surface. The pain if his teeth sinking into her flesh might still be a memory but so was the pleasure that overcame her, the way it felt like this point was connected to every nerve in her body, how his mouth, tongue and teeth lit up the pleasure center in her brain.

She's tentative at first, lips parting against his skin, hot air fanning out across it but then her tongue slips out, rolls against him, the taste of salt dancing on her taste buds as she gently sucks and while she's aware of his fingers as they glide over her bare skin? It never once occurs to her that she should be nervous or want him to stop.]

[seeingthings]

[His fingers rub back and forth across her skin, kneading the muscles along her spine, which also serves to pull her against his body, an unavoidable instinct as she continues to press kisses below his jaw.

He's holding his breath when she pauses, exhaling hotly when her tongue drags across his skin over the heavy pulse of his veins, a seductive mirror of what he'd done to her not so long ago as he feels her mouth pull at his throat.

He groans, not bothering to stifle the noise this time before his head descends as well. With her gentle assault on his neck, hers is laid bare as well, which he proceeds to take advantage of, her mouth covering the relatively fresh wounds he's made, tongue rolling across them to taste the remnants of her blood.]

[unpreach]

[The pressure of his touch causes her to arch into Richie, her hip sliding higher, brushing against his groin and his response to her kisses only seems to embolden her, Kate's teeth gently scraping his skin in an experimental tease.

His mouth covers the still sensitive wound on her neck and she half expects to feel the piercing of flesh once again. Instead, the tantalizing drag of his tongue draws a moan from her in kind, one that vibrates against his skin as her fingers press into his chest.]

Richie - [She's said it before, let it spill out in moments of emotion and pleasure but there's something more desperate in the way she says it now, as if being in here with him has helped to lower her guard and she's less afraid of letting him see how she wants him.]

[seeingthings]

[His fingertips against her back turn into the press of nails instead as her hip presses against him and her teeth nip at his neck, and he has to fight back the urge to do the same, his lust briefly mingling with his bloodlust that coils in the pit of his gut.

He draws away from her wound, moving lower into the dip of her collarbone before teeth drag across her skin, though they're blunt instead of sharp.

He presses closer still as his name resonates in his ear, pressing her partially on her back, one hand slipping from under her shirt to press into the mattress over her shoulder.]

[unpreach]

[The bite of his nails elicits a soft gasp from Kate, Richie teasing at the line between pleasure and pain, one that until tonight, she'd never considered let alone explored. It wasn't something she could have understood, the very idea of it repulsing her but the way she'd felt when he'd taken her blood was enough to give her the taste for it, Kate welcoming anything that he might offer her next, especially because she trusted him more than anyone else in her life.

Richie dips lower and Kate's forced to pull her mouth free, head tipping back to allow his exploration and she moans, long and low at the tease of his teeth, Kate freeing the hand from between them so she can run her fingers through his hair.

The ache that had finally started to dissipate, is back with a vengeance, the shift of their bodies causing her to groan softly and she sucks in her lower lip; as if to try and stifle the little sounds of pleasure that continue to spill over, Kate moving beneath him in an attempt to recreate the friction from out on the couch as she exhales a stream of hot air against the top of his head.]

[seeingthings]

[It doesn't last long, the sting from his nails fleeting as he regains control of himself, however briefly, because the sounds she's making are not at all making it easy for him.

His mouth pulls away from her skin as her fingers finish their course through his hair, his teeth clenched together and his chin lifted as she moves against him again, his eyes half open as he peers down at the expression on her face, the way her teeth tug at her lip.

Seeing as that is the furthest thing from what he'd consider a protest, he shifts completely on top of her, one hand keeping his weight from completely covering her or making it hard for her to breathe. He leans in to capture her mouth with his as a knee parts her thighs so that the other can set itself beside it. That done, he settles himself gently between her legs, unable to hold back the craning of his hips against hers as a result of her own movements, his body instinctively seeking more of the friction she's already providing.]