Gentlest

Without any time to respond before Nikki returns for another kiss, Pete lets her as his arms slide around her gently. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he remembers telling someone something once about not kissing on first dates, and this hadn't even been a date... not really anyway. So where on earth had this even come from and why on earth was he enjoying it so?

He grips Nikki a little tighter as the kiss grows with passion. All the memories from the past were flooding Pete's mind, yet at the same time, all he could see was who Nikki was today... a beautiful young woman with a heart just as warm and bright as it had been when she'd been younger. He could remember her love for life and the way her faith shone through everything she always did, all through school and beyond. And she still had that quality about here. There was still that joy... that peace. Despite any hard times she'd gone through or was going through now, it still shone.

And in this moment, Pete felt the most privileged man alive - to be holding that light in his arms right now, receiving the affection from her, when it was she who shone the brightest.

"Mmm," he murmurs, pulling back a little and finally breaking the kiss. Breathing heavily, he can't help the silly grin. "I gotta breathe."

Chuckling softly, he pushes aside Nikki's hair from her face before his thumb trails down her cheek. "Am I dreaming? Or is this really us? And if it's really us... will this feeling be here tomorrow?"


Standing with Cassy, Leo winces a little as the cold cloth touches his lip, but he lets her clean it and try to stop the slow bleeding.

"I'd... I'd come today but... I probably shouldn't when I look like this. They might think you're one tough teacher."

He laughs at his own joke but winds up cringing at the pain, which made him feel even sillier, making him laugh all the more and then hurt all the more.

Holding his sore ribs, he gives Cassy a wry grin. "I'll do lunch though. I can pick you up if you want."

Searching her eyes, he takes her hand with the cloth for a moment, lowering it from his face and just holding her hand tenderly. He didn't care if his lip hurt. "Thank you... for believing in me when even I don't."

Bending sightly and cocking his head, Leo ignores the pain he's in for just a moment as his lips lightly brush hers for the gentlest kiss, meant only for someone as important as she'd become in his life. "I won't walk away again," he promises quietly.