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Post by vampyremelayah on Mar 6, 2008 19:04:01 GMT -5
Hank coughed, awkwardly straightening his cravat for the third time. The sleeves of his tuxedo felt constraining; then again, he so rarely wore clothes as it was difficult to find ones that fit. In his left hand he held a bouquet of white lilies, wrapped in lavender cellophane. Tentatively, he brought his fist towards Terry's bedroom door, giving it a quick, soft rap.
Unsure of whether or not she might have heard it, he took in a deep, shaking breath, and knocked again. "Terry? It's me, Hank. Are you there?"
There was no way to belie the tremble in his voice, although he held himself straighter. In his left breast-pocket, behind the nicely folded ivory handkerchief, there lay two tickets to the latest musical that had hit the Broadway stage: The Phantom of the Opera. From what he remembered, Hank was sure that Terry was quite fond of Broadway.
Not only was he nervous because he was essentially asking Terry out on a date, but he had barely been out of the Institute since he had arrived. He had begged Professor X for the image-inducer he had once promised, receiving it in earnest. He could feel the "watch" on his wrist, fully intending to use it once they got out into public. There was no way he would be able to hide his furry appearance, but he could easily pass for a normal human. He might not even be recognized, now that his hair was long; it was currently pulled back in a low-set pony tail.
"Terry," he asked again, waiting for the door to open, his heart thumping in his throat.
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Post by Lee on Mar 7, 2008 19:36:47 GMT -5
Terry had just left her office and was midway through changing into pajamas when a knocking came upon the door. She quickly pulled on her spaghetti strap top and was about to open the door when she heard Hanks voice. "Terry? It's me, Hank. Are you there?" Terry froze, quickly looking over what she was wearing. Short shorts and a less than revealing top. She quickly turned around, rummaging through her dresser, looking for something a bit more decent.
"Terry," Hank said again, sounding a bit nervous, only adding to Terrys' search. Apparently, she had forgotten to do laundry the day before and only had a pair of loose fitting hip huggers to spare. She quickly pulled them on and answered the door. "Yes Hank?" she asked, opening the door feeling even more under dressed as she looked Hank up and down. "Um....gee, What's the occasion?" she asked, trying to pull her pants up slightly without Hank noticing. Terry had never seen Hank dressed up, not like this at least. They hadn't been seeing each other for that long, but she had been working with him for at least a year before they even spoke with each other about something other than the kids or institute. There wasn't much Terry could think to do other than just looking at him while smiling.
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Post by vampyremelayah on Mar 7, 2008 20:55:56 GMT -5
Hank's breath caught in his throat as he caught sight of Terry's clothing. It was the most of her creamy skin that he had ever seen and it took a great deal of his willpower not to moan at the sight of her. He closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the mental image that was left. He opened them slowly, drawing in a ragged breath. "These are for you. I was wondering if you might be so disposed as to join me tonight."
Reaching into his breast pocket, he drew forth the two tickets and presented them to her. He did his best to smile, though in all his nervousness, it was quite difficult to keep from looking shy. This was his colleague, a fellow professor. His peer even. Why was it that, just because she was highly attractive and intelligent and just.. wonderful, that he was afraid?
He thought back to his high school days, to that one incident on Prom night. He had gotten his hopes up, dared to think that someone might like him, and he had been pelted with eggs for his troubles. Terry wouldn't do something that physical to him, but she could reject him. Would she?
Hank looked away, unable to watch the rejection that would surely come. She had run away from him thus far, she probably would again. Then again, hadn't he run too? Locking himself up in his lab for days on end. Bah, it didn't matter now. All that mattered was whether or not she would accept... The world was spinning.
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Post by Lee on Mar 7, 2008 22:42:05 GMT -5
"These are for you. I was wondering if you might be so disposed as to join me tonight." With that he presented her with two tickets. Terry took them, quizzically examining them. She had seen many tickets like this, but not in at least 2 years. After leaving Manhattan for the institute, she hadn't been back for a show in ages. When she saw the title, her eyes opened wide as a beaming smile fell across her face. "Oh My God! Phantom of the Opera?!" she exclaimed, much like a child might when they got exactly what they wished for on Christmas. It took everything within her to keep from jumping up and down, screaming for joy. Without knowing, Terry had thrown her arms around Hank in a hug, still laughing loudly from excitement.
"How did you....why....holy Jesus, you got tickets to THE Phantom of the Opera! Malachi is in it!" she exclaimed while letting go of him and referring to her friend whom played the role of Raoul last she had spoken with him. She may have not been active in the theater, but she kept those connections tight. When she finally got a hold of herself, she realized that Hank was asking her on a date. On the outside, she was blushing, mostly from a reflex of talking to Hank and from being ask on a date, inside, she was like her younger self again, giddy to see her father performing something new. "Oh my god, I have to get ready!" she said, opening her door and basically pulling Hank in. "Wait here." she said, quickly going to her closet and pulling a dress out that was still in the plastic bag that it was purchased in. "I'll be right back." she added, rushing into her bathroom with the dress and closing the door quickly behind her.
Within 15 minutes she opened the door in her full gown red dress, which much to her surprise, she still fit in after 2 years. The strapless gown was accompanied with a low lying red pendant and matching earrings. Her hair was down in full, thick curls, draping slightly over her shoulders. Whilst pulling the last curler from her hair, she giggled nervously, saying "Now I don't feel so under dressed." It was at this moment it occurred to Terry; Hank was about to go out in public and her smile faded ever so slightly. While he was actually in clothes, his blue fur would stand out anywhere. Terry almost didn't want to ask, but it seemed out of character for him to even want to leave the mansion, let alone go somewhere he was definently going to be seen. Terry cleared her throat, her mind telling her to ask him about his new found confidence in himself, but she pushed it aside. If he was courageous enough to go out in public suddenly, then she was courageous enough to hold his hand out there.
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Post by vampyremelayah on Mar 8, 2008 12:30:25 GMT -5
Hank grinned at Terry's expression, chuckling as she reached out and took both the tickets and the lilies from him. He was proud of himself, and rightly so, for eliciting the excited giggles from the woman in front of him; however, he was not prepared for her to clasp him around then neck. He felt her soft skin brush against his fur momentarily, languishing in its caress before being roughly dragged into her room.
"Wait here, I'll be right back."
Hank smiled and nodded, straightening out his jacket. She accepted! His legs felt like gelatin from the adrenaline rush and he found a chair to seat himself so that he wouldn't topple over. He hadn't really ever been inside Terry's room before, but he managed to prevent his eyes from roaming. He didn't want to disturb her privacy. The minutes seemed to drag on into hours, and Hank toyed with his fingers as he listened to Terry bustle about within her bathroom. Finally the door opened.
Hank drew his breath in sharply, straightening his posture immediately. Terry was gorgeous, a vision in red. "Now I don't feel so under dressed."
Hank let a gentle smile cross his lips, standing and moving over to her. Gingerly, he took one of her small hands in his large, furred mitt, and brought it up toward his lips. Just above a whisper, he murmured: "Your eyes are lode-stars; and your tongue's sweet air More tuneable than lark to shepherd's ear, When wheat is green, when hawthorn buds appear."
His aquamarine eyes ventured up towards her bright green orbs and paused. Hank's smile faded somewhat. "What's wrong," he asked, his brow furrowing. She had been perfectly happy a moment ago, what could be bothering her now?
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Post by Lee on Mar 8, 2008 21:40:36 GMT -5
"What's wrong," "Nothing." Terry said, quickly regaining her smile. "Just kinda zoned for a moment there." she added. She didn't want to ask, it seemed rude. But in her mind, it made no sense for someone with so much fear to suddenly lose it all. Her training told her that the question needed to be asked, but she pushed it aside again. "Shall we?" she asked, hooking her arm in his. "So how'd you come across these anyway?" she asked, placing the tickets back in his pocket for safe keeping and still holding his arm in hers.
"I mean, they aren't the easiest to come by, especially orchestra side seats." she stated. It hadn't really occurred to her that not only was Hank a well known and well paid scientist possibly, but the professor was a never ending fountain of money and resources. The mansion was unusually empty as they made their way to the main corridor, the students for one reason or another weren't around for the most part, save a few random ones. All the while they were walking, Terry had the question eating away at her mind. "Hank...." she began "Why...I mean how..." Terry struggled to find the proper wording for her question. "How are you...eh...where's the sudden courage to go in public coming from?" she asked, looking up while they were still walking.
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Post by vampyremelayah on Mar 9, 2008 0:34:18 GMT -5
"Nothing." Terry said, quickly regaining her smile. "Just kinda zoned for a moment there."
Hank nodded, accepting her arm in his and walking with her down the hallway. It felt good to have Terry this close to him, so at ease with touching him. His reverie was broken by the soft sound of her voice.
"So how'd you come across these anyway? I mean, they aren't the easiest to come by, especially orchestra side seats."
He chuckled, a hearty sound. She was right, they were rather hard to get, especially as close to the end as he had purchased them. "I pulled some strings." He rolled his eyes sheepishly and added, "And so did the Professor." There really wasn't too much to say on that. A favor here, another there... All he had to do was ask the right question.
The stillness of the institute became apparent about the same time that Hank once again noticed the concerned look on Terry's face again.
"Hank...." she began "Why...I mean how..." Terry struggled to find the proper wording for her question. "How are you...eh...where's the sudden courage to go in public coming from?"
Hank sighed, the sound almost guilty. "I'm afraid it's not courage at all, Terry." With his free hand, Hank reached over to his wrist, activating the image-inducer. All at once his fur became skin, just as it had been. The sudden shock at seeing himself normal - or at least, what he could see of himself - was almost too much. It had been nearly two years since he had transformed; two painful years, nowhere closer to that reversing-agent than he had been. He balked, staring at his hands for a moment. His eyes threatened to fill with tears, but he blinked them back. He couldn't let Terry see him like this, what would she think of him.
Clearing his throat, Hank forced a smile and looked down at her. "But this does help do the trick." He reached up, straightening his glasses before getting the door for her. "Shall we be off?"
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Post by Lee on Mar 9, 2008 17:00:41 GMT -5
"I'm afraid it's not courage at all, Terry." Terry looked worried at his words as she watched him reach for the watch on his wrist. Suddenly his appearance changed, from the blue fur covered mutant she had grown so close to, to what resembled Hank, just covered in skin rather than fur. She looked up at him, confused and in an odd way, repulsed. This wasn't the Hank she knew, he was a stranger to her. Her fingers ran over his hand, still able to feel the fur. When she finally looked at his face, she could see his sheepish smile showing through.
Terry smiled, her eyes glistening. "Well, that's new." she sighed, still smiling back at him. Hank seemed stunned by his own appearance as well, but he shook that off quickly. "Shall we be off?" "But of course." Terry said as he opened the door, her arm hooked in his and their fingers intertwining.
[continued in Elsewhere]
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