"Whatever will we do?" Andi asked, leaning into Hector with a content inhale. Hands still on his chest over the steady,
reassuring beat of his heart. The obvious answer was 'put away the food' of course. But she thought it could wait a bit
longer for that. Slow, she smoothed her hands along the lapels of his jacket before raising her face to look up at him
with a soft smile.
"Have I mentioned how handsome you look tonight?" She asked.
"I'm sure we can find something." Hector said with a chuckle. He actually thought he was pretty goofy looking when it
came right down to it, but he wouldn't argue with her. He knew better than to try over the little things like a matter of
opinion.
"I think you mentioned it before."
"Mm." Andi hummed. Rubbing the tip of her nose lightly against his with a soft smile. "Good. I wouldn't want to forget
to repeat myself just because you go through different stages of it." Her slim hand curved against the lapels of his
jacket lightly and she stepped forward into the warm, encompassing feel of him. How he could make her feel safe and
shivery at the same time, she'd never understand. But she very much didn't want to be anywhere else in the room but
in his arms at the moment. Resting her forehead against his she murmured: "We forgot to give Tommy his dessert."
"He'll be back tomorrow, they refrigerate well." Hector said. Whether or not Tommy remembered his dessert wasn't
tantamount to his own night so far. He chuckled and shrugged his jacket off carefully. "Come on, I promised Jo I'd at
least attempt to show you a movie, right? That way I can cover all my date bases at once!"
Andi chuckled quietly against him.
"In some countries, it’s dinner and dancing." She teased softly. Pleased he'd managed to shed his jacket while
making it a point to stay close to her. Gentle, she pressed a light kiss to the underside of his jaw line. Gave him a
smile.
"I'll go put the food in the icebox." She offered.
He made a face at the dancing. "I really don't dance all that well, so I tend to, well, not do it." He said with a chuckle.
But a quiet evening with no one to entertain certainly sounded like a good idea. "Okay, go plop it all in the fridge, I'm
going to go change." Lounging was the order of the day. "And see if I can find a movie my nephews haven't scratched
beyond watching."
"Dancing with someone you love is easy." She protested with a smile. "You just hug them and sway. Sometimes, if
you're not too distracted, you even move your feet from time to time. I'm quite experienced about it really. Of course
since it generally leads to snogging, I usually had to leave the room my parents were 'dancing' in and go play outside
as a child. Da swears by it whenever Mum's steamed at him." Her laughing eyes met his. "Maybe that can be
something I can teach you one day." She slid her hands across his chest and played absently with the first fastened
button on his shirt. He looked good in dress clothes. Honestly, Hector always looked good but she had enjoyed a
chance to see yet another side of it tonight. And she was probably being silly the way she kept sighing inside each
time she saw another 'version' of him. Mentally rolling her eyes at herself, she raised her face and gave him a quick
kiss before pulling away.
"I'll go take care of this." She agreed, leaning down to scoop up the leftovers and then heading smoothly for the
kitchen.
“I can do that without the pretense of pretending I can dance.” He called out with a chuckle as he headed upstairs
while she was in the kitchen, shedding his clothes once he hit the bedroom and putting them in the hamper, pulling on
a t shirt and a pair of shorts and then heading back down stairs to go through his DVD collection. “Feel like anything
specific? Between my sister and I, this is pretty well stocked.”
Andi put the food away and took her time heading back, smiling as she heard Hector's voice from the den.
"Not a clue." She answered unhelpfully but when was the last time she'd seen a movie? It wasn't that they didn't show
them at the Red Cross camp it was just that she usually had to be dragged there and half the time the plots were so
bad she spent the sitting thinking about the work she could have been doing instead.
Her eyebrows came down and she chuckled to herself as she went into the bathroom. Thinking... how very much like
a 'workaholic' she sounded with that thought. But they *were* generally fluffy movies...
She changed into some shorts and a soft tee before washing her face. Looking up from drying it with a towel she
recognized the woman in the mirror. Yes, whoever she'd been tonight was gone and she was back to simple Andi.
She rubbed absently at her cheekbone. She had enjoyed 'dress up' tonight. Enjoyed pretending to be someone else.
Certainly someone a great deal braver and flirtier, she thought with a wry twist of her lips. That had been fun.
Shaking her head at herself, she went back into the bedroom and hung up the dress with a sigh. At least Suz would
have been very pleased with its first use, she thought with a silent chuckle before she headed back downstairs.
Hector was sitting on the floor browsing through his DVD collection. The one genre he didn't have was war movies. He
saw enough in real life and they weren't appropriate for children (his sister's contribution). "Ooh, got it." He said.
"You'll get a kick out of this, and it just proves my memory isn't all that foggy when I'm all drugged up." He looked at
her as she came into the living room and he grabbed the remotes and adjusted the volume.
"Sorry, don't have Narnia. Do have Lord of the Rings though."
Then again... she liked him in easy going clothes too, she thought as she gave him a smile. Looking at the TV screen
than as music started and she laughed softly.
"Sam." She murmured with a smile and shot Hector a look as she slipped over the back of the couch and settled down
on the cushions, tucking her legs up. Offering her hand to draw Hector over to join her. Voice lowering automatically.
"I'd ask for popcorn if I wasn't so full." She gave him a smile and then turned her attention back to the screen.
"I'd offer popcorn if I had any." He said with a chuckle. "We forgot to get any." Basically because she had done the
minimal amount of shopping done so far, and popcorn wasn't in the fresh fruits and vegetable aisle! "We'll see how
long it plays until we encounter a scratch."
His sister didn't supervise her kids as much as she could when here, so he was never surprised that CDs and DVDs
were scratched the next time he got to see them. It wasn't a big deal, he could always replace them.
She chuckled quietly over that, shifting to snuggle against him before shifting again to lift his legs up onto the couch
and settle in against him with her back against his chest. With a pleased exhale, she snuggled in again and settled
her head on his shoulder as the 'last alliance of elves and men fell before the Dark Lord'. After all, if they were going
to stay up until blue o'clock, she'd be comfortable as well as satiated. And that was nice. Not having to be anywhere
at the crack of dawn tomorrow. Not having to sacrifice sleep for being with Hector because there wasn't enough time.
Because there was now. Enough time for everything...
Hector laughed at being positioned so he was turned into a body pillow of sorts as the movie started. "Well now Jo
can't tell me I've never watched a movie with you." He said with a chuckle. Sure, he could attempt a movie theater, but
he was still far too aware of other people, their danger and their approximate danger. And she was just too hyper
aware of everything.
Besides this was better. Movie theater chairs could be uncomfortable (never mind the possible surprise of gum or
sticky candy on the arm rest...), and it couldn't be paused or rewound. And though the airline company hadn't
contacted him yet on the armrest, he wasn't about to try his luck and break another.
She liked the feel of his laughter. It made her chest feel as if it were opening up and she turned her head to brush a
kiss against his jaw before settling back in.
"Well," she teased, lacing her hand over his as she shifted to enjoy the weight of his arm across her, "as long as
we're keeping Jo happy I suppose that's everything important."
The truth was she was enjoying the way his body felt against hers. She'd never snuggled up with anyone like this.
Except him... Parents didn't count after all. Nor the casual lounging with female friends for that matter either.
Stretched out with the feel of him surrounding her... she exhaled softly, content, and her lips curved slightly,
unconsciously. It was such a casual thing. And yet so personal and intimate. To simply be able to - be. Feeling as if
she belonged here perfectly. In this moment, in this place. With him.
She wasn't paying the movie the attention she should. And he'd been thoughtful in choosing this one too. His heart
looking for something they already had laughed about together, that would be familiar and nonthreatening for her.
Her fingers moved softly along the back of his hand, tracing absent patterns. She focused on the movie - which was a
very good movie and relaxed into him.
Even in the silly little things he was spoiling her. And she couldn't imagine what she was going to do when he stopped
doing it because she was afraid she was already starting to hope for it from him.
He'd already seen it many times. He was lucky enough to be back in the states when it opened, and the military
provided screenings in the mess hall for the rest. Entertainment of the troops when possible was always preferred, for
morale's sake. And usually he'd take a movie over whoever the USO was sending that month (he'd had enough of
insipid pop stars to last a lifetime and a half!).
It was just the sort of nerdy fan boy think completely not expected of him (he supposed he was supposed to be drawn
to mindless action flicks, like he didn't see enough real action in his professional life or something) but he knew the
trilogy pretty well.
So instead, he watched her reaction to it, knowing the movie well enough to not have to look at the screen. She was
much more interesting to watch at any rate.
She'd read the books often enough. She'd done a great deal of reading growing up and so she knew the basic path
of the movie. Of course, like any good movie it took its own way getting there. And it pulled you in and brought you
along too...
Andi had a doctor's face. It only showed what it was supposed to show and usually, when she was resting and not
thinking of anything, it was an automatic, casual blank. But it wasn't her real face. Around Hector it hardly ever came
up at all in fact. And certainly not now. Not held safe and comfortable, watching childhood dreams given life and
voice, all the blurred edges of imagination given distinct borders and new definitions. In a way it was meeting old
friends and familiar places given new forms and her heart reacted to that. Knowing all the emotions on the screen
were safe for her to experience because they would end or change exactly as they were supposed to without any
surprises. So she felt the joy when the characters were happy and hurt when they were hurt and the fear was a safe
fear because, for now at least, it would end.
They'd all, Andi included, safely reached Rivendell, when she turned her face slightly and caught Hector watching
her. Melted at the look in his dark eyes. One edge of her lips twitched upward in vague embarrassment and her
eyebrows shifted. Abandoning, for the moment, a discussion about what needed to be done with the Ring, she turned
her face to look up at him.
"What?" She asked softly, voice quietly laughing.
"Nothing." He said with a shake of his head and a smile. He pressed a kiss to her temple. "I just like watching you." He
was a watcher anyway by habit. Observing before going into any situation to know how to handle it when he finally
threw himself in. That had been more of a childhood lesson than one the Army had to teach him.
But now he was watching for the pure enjoyment of watching, as opposed to planning and formulating. It was...nice to
say the least.