irresistible, irreplaceable
"Well, it's about time to turn in, isn't it?"
He made it sound like such a quaint thing, fit for old folks who hadn't stayed up past midnight in ages. It was adorable, and she could see him trying to fight it as he glanced back and forth between the threshold to the hallway and the table from which he'd just removed the plates and rubbish from their impulsive not-yet-late-night snack.
(There was a particular brand of crackers that went wonderfully with a certain vinegar they sold in Auresco, and even the piddlingest tomatoes she'd gotten growing in the front garden, just outside the entrance to the manor, did their due diligence alongside such nice things. It was extravagance for no reason, but it was nice, every once in a while, and they made sure not to indulge more than once a week. For discipline's sake.)
Eventually, though, there came a definite contented sag in Addam's shoulders, and as he passed by Flora to resume his seat across from her, she leaned closer to him, up, up, up...
And he smiled at her, almost surprised at their situation afresh, and she had to blink back her consternation.
"Addam!"
So much for that...whatever it was.
"What?! Did you want something?"
So he had, in fact, caught her warning tone. She shouldn't have let it slip, honestly.
"No, Addam. Nothing at all..."
If Flora pouted, she'd be pouting right now. But Flora never pouted. Not ever. Not once.
(It wasn't good form, not an upright example for the children. And it was also like her mother. So she didn't do it.)
Instead, she rolled her eyes and began idly brushing two fingers through her bangs, sweeping them left, right, left, right, as if new tangles were appearing every time and she'd be there doing it for another half an hour before she was through and satisfied.
The repetitive, almost meditative motion was so distracting in and of itself that she very nearly forgot why she'd started. But, before long, the center spot her fingers swept past on each stroke began to feel very cold indeed. Only one cure for that, particularly with the seemingly perpetual resting state of all her extremities as more vaguely purplish than pink.
How could he be so endlessly oblivious? And why?
She peeked over, beneath the petting hand, and caught a glimpse of Addam staring at her, golden eyes soulful, head tilted slightly to one side.
Oh, go on, not the puppy-dog look...
That's what it would be, if he were even conscious of what he was doing. But he wasn't. He never was. Not at all.
"Do you notice what I'm doing, here?" she commented idly, slowly curtailing her pattern and then flopping her wrists over each other on the table. Now that she'd stopped, it didn't make it very easy, but Addam wasn't stupid, even though he was silly.
She flicked blue eyes over at him, taking in the handsome angle of his nose - it looked best from the side, but she took what she could get, usually.
"Combing your bangs, I suppose." He'd learned by now that her hair was the kind you couldn't brush, not after it had dried, or else it'd go all to frizz and fall everywhere, all over the floor.
"And when a person has bangs, where are they?"
It was poor wording. It was a poor joke. But now that she'd started, she couldn't break down.
Addam squinted. "I didn't know bangs were...regional..."
Oh, she loved him. She loved him so much.
"OH!"
And repeat that, but now with lips pursed so tight they felt like they'd burst. Flora's embarrassment at being caught out was quickly shadowed, literally, by Addam standing from his seat and leaning across the table to kiss her forehead, right on target.
"I knew you couldn't resist, once you'd realized."
Sighing, Addam returned to his seat, but his hand remained cupped over hers. "You may be right, but still, you made an awful game out of it."
"Awful? You didn't have fun?"
"Don't be coy, Flora!"
"I will if I like. And I do, because I know you like it."
"Will you let me kiss you again?"
"Oh, now I'm in for it..."
But she couldn't resist, with the point of his cheeky little birdie nose staring her down like that. Of course she couldn't.