What If....Nina Had Stayed?

[Nina Madaraki]

((October 30th))

Nina walks across the hall and knocks on Ryan's door, holding a flier in her hand.

[Ryan Gabriel]

Ryan opened the door a moment later, peeked out, then smiled when he saw Nina. "Hey, Nina. What's going on?"

[Nina Madaraki]

"Oh, not much," Nina says, "...Can I come in? I need a favor."

[Ryan Gabriel]

"Of course," Ryan said, holding the door open and standing aside for her to enter. "What do you need?"

[Nina Madaraki]

Nina walks in, "I know it's short notice, but would you go out on a date with me?"

"There's this movie playing at the independent theater...It's a director's cut of one of my favorites and I don't want to go alone. But Jess is busy and I think Rachel is working."

"So, I thought..." Nina blushes a little, "We could go. If that's alright."

[Ryan Gabriel]

Ryan couldn't help smiling at her blushing. Bear was overloaded with reports for the night, and he didn't have anything that couldn't wait until tomorrow... "I'd love to," he said. "Just give me a minute to get changed, ok?"

[Nina Madaraki]

Nina nods enthusiastically, "Thanks!"

[Ryan Gabriel]

Evidently, Ryan hadn't meant that as a request for privacy, because he headed into his side of the room and started digging into his closet. "So how long do we have before the showing? Long enough to go eat first, or do we need to wait until after to eat?"

[Nina Madaraki]

"It doesn't start until midnight, so we could go get something to eat," Nina says, watching Ryan.

[Ryan Gabriel]

"Great. Anything in particular you're hungry for? Sky's the limit," he said as he pulled off the t-shirt he was wearing, picking another from his closet and starting the usual job of wrestling it over his wings.

[Nina Madaraki]

"Anything would be fine," Nina says, "I'm not picky."

[Ryan Gabriel]

"All right," Ryan said as he pulled out a pair of pants to wear, heading over to where she stood for a moment to look at the flier she had. "Hmmm... I think I know of a good place a little ways away from there," he said as he headed back over by his bed to finish changing. "Want to catch a cab there? Or do you want me to drive?"

[Nina Madaraki]

"You can drive?" Nina says, looking impressed, "That'd be great. If you don't mind."

[Ryan Gabriel]

Ryan smirked. "Thought you knew. It's not exactly... hairdo-friendly," he said, indicating one of the helmets on a table near the door. "You won't need it, but grab one if it'll make you feel safer."

[Nina Madaraki]

"Oh. Neat," Nina says, "....Wait. Is it a motorcycle or a cannon?"

[Ryan Gabriel]

"Motorcycle," Ryan said, smirking. "Well, almost. It's a Spyder. But definitely not a cannon," he said as he finished getting ready. "Shall we, then?" he asked, pocketing his phone and picking up his keys.

[Nina Madaraki]

"Sure," Nina says brightly.

[Nina Madaraki]

((Late night, after the movie))

Nina walked with Ryan back to his dorm room, enthusiastically talking about the movie. It had been one of her favorites and she seemed really happy to have gone to seen it. As they reached his door, Nina paused for an awkward moment just smiling at him.

"Ummm...so..." Nina says.

[Ryan Gabriel]

Ryan quirked an eyebrow at her, smiling a little. "Are you waiting for the part where I ask if you want to come back to my room with me, apparently to spare you the grueling long walk back to your own room but with alterior motives in mind?" he asked, a little tease to his voice.

[Nina Madaraki]

"Maybe..." Nina blushes but quickly recovers, forcing herself to act a bit more sultry.

Just think of how Rachel would act.

"Unless you'd rather take care of those 'ulterior motives' right out here in the hallway."

[Ryan Gabriel]

Ryan grinned at her. He checked the time on his phone as he unlocked the door. "No... the room would probably be a better place for ulterior motives," he answered, holding the door open for her.

[Nina Madaraki]

Nina smiles at Ryan as she walks in, heading straight for his bed to sit on the edge. She smiles innocently at him.

[Ryan Gabriel]

She looked innocent, but Ryan knew better. He set his keys on the table, along with his phone, before walking over and joining her. Playing along with the innocent routine (for now), he sat down on the bed next to her, turning her head toward him and kissing her.

[Nina Madaraki]

Nina kissed back, one hand reaching out and gently stroking one of his wings.

[Ryan Gabriel]

There was, Ryan reflected, something to be said for a girl who had, out of complete curiosity, mapped out where the nerve clusters in human-mounted wings lay. He kissed his way down her jaw, making little appreciative sounds at what she was doing as he started removing her shirt.

[Nina Madaraki]

Nina slid into his lap, her hands running over his shoulders as he unbuttoned her shirt.

"I have a secret," Nina says quietly with a small grin. Leaning over she whispered something into Ryan's ear.

[Ryan Gabriel]

Ryan's grin slowly grew as he listened to her whispering. "You know just what I like, don't you," he mused, finishing unbuttoning her shirt to reveal what she wasn't wearing beneath it. He kissed her again as his hand slid up her leg under her skirt, confirming that yes, her secret really had been true.

[Nina Madaraki]

"I have certain theories by now," Nina says with a pleasant sigh, arching a little at Ryan's touch.

[Ryan Gabriel]

Ryan chuckled, recalling how Nina liked to be teased as he pulled her shirt fully open, not bothering to remove it or her skirt. "Well, we have all night to test your theories, if you want," he mused.

[Nina Madaraki]

"Good," Nina says, letting her shirt drop to the floor, "Thorough experimentation is the linchpin of scientific progress."

[Ryan Gabriel]

"And I would never want to stand in the way of scientific progress," Ryan agreed solemnly as he shrugged out of his shirt, pulling his wings apart in a practiced move that popped it off somewhere by his dresser.

[Nina Madaraki]

Nina nods, her eyes on Ryan's muscular body. Gently she slides her hands along his chest before moving in close to kiss him.

[Ryan Gabriel]

Ryan kissed her, his hand pressed against her slender back as he pulled her down onto the bed with him.

((ftb?))

[Nina Madaraki]

Nina moved down onto the bed, holding Ryan close.

((FTB))

[Ryan Gabriel]

((A while later))

Finally thoroughly satisfied, and satisfied that Nina was satisfied, Ryan lay back on the bed, sighing happily and more than a little out of breath.

[Nina Madaraki]

Nina breathes heavily, quite a bit sweaty after all the activity as she relaxes next to Ryan trying to catch her breath.

"I love you."

[Ryan Gabriel]

It was quite possible that, if Nina were laying her head on his chest, she would have heard his heard stop for a few seconds. It started up again very shortly, when he realized that he couldn't have heard her right. "What was that?" he asked, glancing down at her.

[Nina Madaraki]

Nina sits up, her face very red.

"Sorry. That was a mistake," Nina says quietly, starting to stand up, "I...I need to go."

[Ryan Gabriel]

Ryan's heart seemed to stop for a moment again when he realized that no, he hadn't misheard her. "You don't have to go," he said quietly, feeling rather stupid and at a loss for words.

[Nina Madaraki]

Nina shakes her head, "I really do."

"I'm sorry."

Grabbing her clothes off the floor, Nina heads for the door, doing her best not to look at Ryan.

But when she got to the door she stopped. She leaned her head against the frame and started crying.