Professor Viper's Personal Chambers (Located Nearby Slytherin Common Rooms)

Sevastyan chortled in response to Viper's soft laugh. No, he supposed he couldn't have expected anything less from being raised by Professor DeLanquar. But this was not a bad thing, either. It was better than letting the child roam and rule: precisely what had been done with Boris. Vaguely he wondered if Boris would have been like Edwin had his parents reigned in the leash on the Russian boy. Sevastyan had his doubts.

He couldn't really tell if she truly believed him, but was thankful that she seemed to let the topic drop. Perhaps at some point he'd tell her about it, but he didn't really treasure the thought of regaling her with it now. It wasn't his fault that Kazimir thought him a traitor for some trumped-up offense. Sevastyan didn't want to give the Durmstrang Headmaster the satisfaction of assuming he'd gotten to him. That probably made little sense to the logical thinker, but it made perfect sense to Sevastyan at this moment in time. He noticed she had acquired another potion and deliberately left it there, assuming that she thought maybe he'd change his mind. At the moment, though, he wouldn't give in to the irritation of cloth upon the mark or the excessive heat he could still feel radiating from it.

"Injury is a poor excuse for refusing to observe courtesy," he answered a little gruffly. "And I've had a lot vorse done and attempted to be done to me before." Despite the gravity of the topic, Sevastyan allowed a small smile to grace his lips.

"Vot happened to the old goat after you and the Headmistress arrived? It sounded like he got a part of vot he deserved for attacking me vhile my back vos turned..."

Viper matched his small smile with one of her own, knowing what he said was true, considering his past. Still, she didn't think Sevastyan should still have to deal with such things.

She looked down shyly at his question, unsure of how he would react to her using an unforgivable, considering he was the Defense Professor and truth be told there were other spells she could have used if she could control her temper... She contemplated brushing off his question but decided it wouldn't be right. After all he had been quite honest with her so it wouldn't be fair for her not to return the favor.

The witch sighed. "I used the cruciatus curse on him." she admitted quietly, bracing herself for Sevastyan's reaction.

"The Cruciatus?" Sevastyan repeated thoughtfully, and nodded. "I had been about to use that vone myself, had he gotten any closer." Then, probably rather unexpectedly, he laughed - not sinisterly, but... happily? Cheerfully? Yes: according to him, this was probably what the 'child caught with their hand in the cookie jar' looked like. Sevastyan found it somewhat amusing: not because she felt how she did but rather how she made it look.

"I vould be the vorst kind of hypocrite if I decided not to be anything less than understanding... Kazimir needed a bit of his own medicine, I'm sure," Sevastyan explained away the laugh and closed some but not all of the gap between them, about one and a half arm's length. "At least you did not kill him, like I had to do vith Lestrange..." It was his turn to lower his gaze, for he wasn't exactly proud to have done what he did.

Viper moved a bit closer, sealing more of the gap between them. Placing her hand under his chin, she lifted his head gently, forcing him to meet her gaze.

"I almost did." Viper admitted in a whisper. "If it weren't for the fact you were right there bleeding, I probably would have given him a shove off the tower. I suppose it's human nature to want to annihilate anyone who threatens those you care about." she concluded in regards to their fierce reactions. Although she dearly hoped what Sevastyan felt for Kiara when he saved her from Lestrange was different from what Viper felt for Sevastyan when she cast the crucio against Kazimir.

The corners of his mouth twitched upward at the admission despite how grave - pun intended - such a confession was. "And yet here you are vorried about my reaction to the use of a curse? Vone even I myself have used several times in my past?" he asked wryly, the smirk indicating he really didn't care what happened to Kazimir. Sevastyan may have cared if the man had declared a proper duel instead of while his back was turned, but that had been far too much to ask for apparently.

Even though there was no one here but them, it seemed, Sevastyan leaned forward to whisper in the approximate area where her ear should be, "A shove off the towver vould have been too nice of a gesture, in my opinion." There was a slight darkness briefly encompassing his gray eyes as he straightened to search her face for a reaction. It had vanished after a few moments.

"And I suppose that is the vay ve humans deal vith such threats. I vould certainly go to extreme measures to protect my sister, for example. Kiara reminds me a lot of Sveta, actually: they both vould do anything to protect people... to the point of self-sacrifice. I believe that is vy, aside from my anger vith the situation, that I killed Lestrange," he agreed, going so far to even provide an example. It had been this, in addition to Viper's counsel the first night he'd had the recurrence that made the nightmares a little less worrisome when he'd wake up repeatedly drenched in a cold sweat.

Viper shrugged. "I suppose it's the first time I've met someone who's opinion of me is important to me." she replied honestly.

Viper couldn't help but agree with Sevastyan's whispered statement, noticing the flicker of darkness that came over his grey orbs. Despite all that, her reaction still remained one of complete non-judgemental understanding. Leaning forward to continue their little whispering game, she replied, "Very well, a shove off the tower, into the bottom of a liquid-fire filled pool, down into an inescapable tea party with Rita Skeeter, Dolores Umbridge, and Gilderoy Lockhart for all eternity?" the witch inquired with a smile.

She let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding in when he mentioned Kiara reminding him of his sister and graced the wizard with a brighter smile, nodding in comprehension.

"My opinion of you vill not change over vone 'little' curse... or thirty. Just as long as I'm not on the receiving end for no reason," Sevastyan reassured her, just enough humor in his voice to keep the tone light without making it sound completely like fun and games. "I must admit that it is... refreshing... to speak vith somevone about my dark past that does not judge me for either being involved in it or breaking avay from it."

Sevastyan nodded at the proposal with a grin. "I've no idea who you're talking about, vith the exception of Skeeter, but I trust your judgment," he whispered back.

((lol - Viper's proposal was hilarious! xD))

He hadn't noticed she'd been holding her breath, but he did notice the increased radiance of her smile. Immediately he committed this expression to memory: Sevastyan wanted to remember that smile, for it shone brighter than all the others he'd seen to date. "Vot vos it I said? To persuade such a magnificent countenance from its hiding place?" he inquired as he brought his left hand up to hover just beneath her chin.

((lol, I'm glad! It took me a moment to think of the most annoying characters in the HP series xD))

Viper nodded, her mind put at ease by Sevastyan's reassurance. "Likewise." she stated, pointing out the feeling was mutual.

At his inquiry, Viper promptly blushed lightly and attempted to look down, only to have Sevastyan's hand on her chin preventing her from doing so. She took an awkward moment to ponder how to respond. She had never been in a situation where she admitted she was jealous. In fact, she had never even been in a situation where she felt jealous in the first place.

Finally, she sighed. "Your reassuring words." she offered shyly, brushing a stray lock of raven hair away from Sevastyan's face.

Sevastyan had no idea what to say in reply to her one-word statement. It just seemed to him as though words would get in the way. Instead, he smiled pleasantly.

He couldn't help but notice the blush and shy demeanor - he was standing right in front of her and it wasn't exactly dark. Thinking he may have overstepped his place, Sevastyan removed his hand from its position and gently tucked some of her hair behind her ear, the tip of his finger lightly brushing against her skin as he did so. He knew that was an acceptable interaction. Sevastyan decided he rather liked the way her hair looked like that: one side of her face un-curtained and open to the world... and the other lightly shadowed by the cascade of raven hair. There seemed to be a symbology in that assessment, though Sevastyan couldn't quite put his finger on it. Once the task was completed, the Russian returned the hand to its proper position: at his side, where it belonged.

The moment of silence was rather awkward, and for a bit there he thought perhaps he'd said what he wanted to convey entirely the wrong way. The tension he could feel building in his shoulders relaxed the moment she replied. Sevastyan blinked at the gesture, his smile small but charming. "I suppose then I should reassure you more often..." he commented offhandedly, letting a feeling as though he were about to say more hang in midair.

Not certain at what else to do or say, Sevastyan scanned her face through half-open eyes. "Ve've both had a rather... eventful evening. You're probably tired and don't necessarily vant to spend all this time standing around talking..." he offered, taking a hesitantly stiff step in the direction of the door as if to suggest they find somewhere to sit down. Sure, the bed was right there, or they could be seated at the vanity he supposed, but... Sevastyan would have felt as though he were intruding upon her far too much to take up seating at either area. This was Viper's private space: he was personally surprised she hadn' t left him to change out in the living room-type space instead.

Green eyes fluttered once more as Sevastyan brought his hand and mirrored her previous movement, brushing a strand of hair away, though she was quite disheartened when he felt his hand was better off at his side.

Although she nodded in agreement, Viper couldn't help but feel that he wanted to say more but let the rest die on his lips, leaving her filled with curiousity.

Slightly confused at the slight change in Sevastyan's demeanor, having noticed a slight nervousness in his actions, Viper opened her mouth, stammering for a moment before finding her voice once more. "I-I'm fine, actually," she replied as she sat down on the bed. "Unless, you'd...prefer to head off in another location..." she offered cautiously, wondering if she'd done done something to offend the wizard.

"If not, well," she glanced to the spot next to her on the bed, gesturing to it with her eyes rather shyly with a small nervous smile, before adding quickly. "But if you're tired I would completely understand. I mean, after all, given tonight, I, I'm sorry...here you are injured and tired and I'm just here, keeping you awake."

((lol - they're so awkward right now... xD))

"Oh, very vell then," Sevastyan replied hastily as Viper sat, and elaborated in the next breath, "I just didn't vant to make you uncomfortable... in your own qvarters no less." A nervous laugh escaped him, to his disguised dismay.

The fact that he had just come from a duel, but had his more serious wounds tended to with what was surely one of the school's best sources of medicinal potions - supplied by one of the best hands at potion making on campus - had nothing to do with the fact that his sense of observation was still sharp as the tip of a blade. He noticed the place beside her was shyly and nervously offered, but it was an invitation nonetheless.

At her words, Sevastyan's gray eyes filled with a mixture of emotions, none of which were inherently negative. Apparently his attempt to give her some space had failed and gave her the wrong impression of his good intentions. Either that or she didn't want space... preferring company instead. He couldn't tell for certain, and didn't want to assume. Merlin knows he assumed far too much with the last woman he.... No, Sevastyan scolded himself mentally. This was entirely different. Viper is a colleague and a friend... he reminded himself.

A very close friend... vouldn't you say? his own voice shot back at him, memories of the morning of his nightmare, the thestral ride, and their interactions after the duel being brought to mind. Even a parallel of how both Roxane and Viper both combed out their hair swam before his eyes. Sevastyan took a few seconds to argue silently with himself that he was not looking for a woman that matched Roxane's description. Viper was different: Viper completely understood a lot of things that had taken Roxane weeks to comprehend... Roxane's father was part of the French Ministry of Magic, which had caused her to make certain she kept her nose clean, so to speak.

"No, I'm fine - the potions you gave me vork very vell. Just a few muscular aches is about all I'm dealing vith at the moment, I think," he explained and tentatively approached. Sevastyan carefully skirted around the burn mark by including it as an 'ache' - that was about all it was at the moment, the actual marking aside. Surely, given time, no one would notice it there... not even him.

Taking the offered seat next to her, Sevastyan hoped that the fact that he took hold of her hand and squeezed gently would make her less nervous about whatever it was that was bothering her. "I vill... I vill stay vith you as long as and vherever I am velcome to," the Russian stammered slightly, meaning every word. Sevastyan smiled tentatively, unable to avoid the fact that he was keenly aware of where and how close they were.

"And... vell..." he began again awkwardly, taking a moment to glance down and off to the side in an effort to compose his thoughts. Gray eyes locked onto green ones once he was ready to continue, sincere yet uncertain as to how she would take what he was about to say. "If it is not too forvard of me... I vould rather be avake right now, here, vith you....... than off by myself, in there, asleep," he finished in a tone barely above a whisper, gesturing to the other aforementioned room with a slight head movement.

((lol, I know right! Its sweet though.))

“For Merlin’s sake, Viper, get a bloody grip on yourself! He’s your colleague! A friend! Isn’t he?” Viper thought to herself as she struggled to calm the whirling maelstrom of rambling musings storming inside her head. “If he’s just a friend then why I am I so nervous? I’m never nervous! Or hesitant! That’s what makes me Viper! Isn’t it? Why is his opinion of me so important to me? I never care what people think of me. They could curse me under their breath, wishing I would drop dead and I’d just walk on happily. What’s different now? And why the hell did I get so jealous over his and Kiara’s relationship? I never get jealous! Never! Why did I sigh in relief when he said she reminded him of his sister? What difference would it have made to me? We’re friends and colleagues. Nothing more….Right?

But…if he is just that, why do I feel so safe around him? Why do I trust him so much? I don’t normally care this much about colleagues, or friends even! What is it about him that feels so different?”

But the moment Sevastyan started to speak, time seemed to stand still for Viper. Words passed on by with Viper only catching a few of them until he came closer…

As he sat down next to her on the bed and grasped her hand, Viper had to remind herself to breath, smiling softly and slowly at first at his words, almost painfully aware of how close he was to her. “Then you may be here forever then.” She whispered in a light playful tone, although the lightheartedness did nothing to conceal the sincerity and emotion woven into her reply.

As their eyes locked, Viper slowly reached for Sevastyan’s hand, resting her’s on top. She smiled gently at his confession, her heart beating at an unstoppable rate, although from nervousness, excitement, or an unidentifiable emotion, Viper did not know. “It’s not too forward at all. In fact…the feeling is mutual.” She replied, her tone matching his.

Sevastyan was personally trying to ignore how close they were sitting to one another, not because he didn't want to be near but because the Professor portion of his mind would clearly kick and scream bloody murder if it caught wind of this. What if she didn't feel the same way? What if he was too forward? And what part of his past was making him so blasted shy? Sevastyan Kaminski the teenager certainly wasn't this painfully bashful, not to mention barely understood the word 'gentle'. Even when he was with Roxane he wasn't this damn nervous, or skittish about close-quarters contact; though he had learned the meaning of tenderness. Why now the sudden change?

......... Perhaps it wasn't quite as sudden as he realized. After all, he hadn't felt this way in a good few years...

She is vy ve're shy.... I think the voice in the back of his mind answered, a different one from before. Immediately afterward it seemed to conjure up an image of a beautiful blonde-haired witch: Roxane. It was as if he were being shown a photograph of the pair of them. As soon as he recognized where the "picture" had been "taken" any part of him was skillfully removed, and that other ....... man, Sevastyan begrudgingly termed him, was put in his place. It had angered and hurt him when he'd found out by way of wedding invitation not more than six months after they'd called off their own wedding....

Shaking these thoughts from his mind, Sevastyan instead focused all of his energies on the woman next to him. He couldn't help but mimic her smiling face, though his gaunt and somewhat angular features weren't exactly fitted to make soft possible, or so Sevastyan would claim if he could see what he looked like right about now. But the expression was pleasant and charming all the same. He lightly flexed the muscles of the hand that was entwined with Viper's at her whispered, playful comment. However, it was not an indication that he wanted to let go: the grip had actually tightened just a fraction though he was hardly aware of it. There were more important things on his mind than what the rest of him was doing, minor actions as they were. Breathing and the increased tempo of his heartbeat were perhaps the only things he was acutely aware of.

"Vould Nissy be able to handle the shock if I moved in?" he replied, just as quietly, playfully, and hesitantly sincere as she had made her comment. The fact that he would say such a thing, jokingly or not, indicated he could have an open mind about such things. Amaranth's sincerity was not lost on him, though he really didn't know what to make of the emotion. A somewhat unfamiliar heat that crossed his face when Kiara had asked of him and Amaranth had returned, creeping up his neck and to his cheeks and caused the olive skin darkening a shade or three. No, it wasn't exactly a blush. It was just... coloring. Yes, that was it: coloring.

Oh all right, all right: he, Sevastyan Kaminski, was blushing.


Sevastyan felt her hand rest atop his, though did not break away from the emerald pools that held his complete visual attention. A look of mild surprise, relief, and happiness crossed his face at her statement. Slowly he reached with his free hand to seemingly repeat the gesture of brushing hair out of her face. However, it soon became clear that hair had nothing to do with it: a gentle, tentative caress of the backs of his fingers swept from temple to jaw, and traced said jaw to the very tip of Viper's chin. Or, at least, that was the trajectory Sevastyan had planned.

"Even though I've only been here for a short time... I must confess that I already care very much for you," he said as he did this, not even realizing he had leaned forward and was now merely inches of being nose-to-nose. Sevastyan cared quite a bit about the others as well, but he was certain Amaranth knew this. And besides... somehow, the way he cared for the Head of Slytherin House seemed markedly different than how he felt about his other friends and colleagues: Kiara was like a sister, he was a friend of Eglantine DeLanquar and Horatio McKevin, and an acquaintance of Juria's. There was something... more... in his step and upon his face, when he so much as thought of the name Amaranth Viper.


((Cue any song the reader thinks is appropriate.... they need a song, I think. lol))

((lol, they do need a song. Which one though…the one that comes to my mind at first is “Are You the One” which Sharon from Within Temptation sings with this other guy. Have you heard it?))


Raven eyebrows rose at his question, a small smile playing across Viper’s features. “I would think she would handle the shock much better than I would at any rate. Not many people would willingly live with me.” Her tone carried on, light and playful, encouraged by Sevastyan’s facial reaction and color change. Yet if one had a keen sense of observation; they would detect the subtle hint of truth in the reply.

As Sevastyan gently caressed her, Viper’s orbs fluttered once more, burning the feel of his skin on her’s into her memory forever.

At his confession, she breathed in shakily before making a confession of her own. “I’m not a people person. You know this as well as I do. I’m not like Kiara, Eglantine, or Juria. I don’t go out of my way to help people, assuming I’m ever even at a point where I’d care that much about a person in the first place. And yet…for you, it’s all different…” Viper was an independent person, constantly bottling all thoughts and emotions to herself. But now… it seemed she was unable to stop herself from opening up and reaching out to someone. Why, it seemed as though she didn’t even want to stop herself.

((I'm listening to it now as I post, though I can only find the version with just Sharon. It rocks, though!))

Sevastyan did have good observational skills. And excellent hearing. He honestly wished he knew what she was thinking, for then he could respond accordingly. But yet, it would be unnerving to anticipate her every move in this situation. Did this mean that, though he was welcome indefinitely, that he had made a jest about it entirely the wrong way? "I am not like many people," he offered in a neutral, truthful tone. However there was a smile, more like a smirk, upon his face at the words.

The digits belonging to Sevastyan that still hovered next to Viper's chin lowered as she began her own statements and eventually dropped back down to his lap. He nodded in confirmation that he knew she was not exactly an extrovert. Realizing just how close their noses were he backed up slightly, though not very far. The last time he'd backed away seemed to have made her on edge or upset; he couldn't tell which. "I am avare of this - you told me before that not many vould consider you approachable," Sevastyan began with a kind of sigh. Her confession had been a jumble of mixed signals for him, and he wasn't certain on how to proceed.

"I vos not exactly a 'people person' at vone point, either, if you vould believe. I suppose that time, the death of a relation I vos closest to, and an ex-fiancee have since changed my demeanor," he remarked vaguely and backed off another inch or so. Sevastyan had deliberately not said anything about Roxane to Viper because the blonde woman of his past was irrelevant in his mind. Perhaps now was the time to mention her? He decided to risk it, though kept his comments brief.

Was this difference she stated a good thing or a bad one, he wondered to himself. No, he wasn't looking at it morally for that was too subjective to one's opinions. Instead, he was attempting to observe how Viper felt about it personally. "It is a... good difference, to you, I hope?" Sevastyan asked, the uncertainty plain in his voice. Gray irises, while slightly guarded as they usually were, reflected the feeling.

"I noticed. That's one of the things I love about you." she replied with a smile as she grasped the hand that had previously been at her chin with her free hand so that both their hands were entwined.

At the mention of his fiancee, Viper's face fell, as her first thought was that it was Sevastyan's way of telling her that he still had feelings for his fiancee and therefore, wasn't quite interested in Viper. Forcing herself to get a grip, Viper inquired curiously. "Why did she become your ex-fiancee? If you don't mind me asking?"

Noticing the uncertainty in Sevastyan's voice and eyes, Viper immediately sought to annihilate it. She nodded with a small smile and light blush. "A very good difference. Just...not one I thought I would ever feel..." she replied honestly, recalling a past conversation with Eglantine in the third floor corridor.

Sevastyan was greatly reassured at her statements, and couldn't help but chortle softly at the fact that both pairs of hands were now occupied. The smirk finished the other half of its journey to become a full-fledged smile. She loved something about him? Sevastyan was pleasantly surprised to hear such a thing from her.


A raven brow furrowed with concern at the falling expression on her face. That hadn't been his intention in the least, to make her feel as though there was someone else in his life. "I have been over that voman for a good eight years, so I do not mind at all," Sevastyan began, doing his best to keep a hardened tightness out of his voice. "Ve... had a disagreement, on several topics. Our relationship had become rather strained ven the school years started, because she vanted to travel the vorld for veeks at a time at the drop of a hat. I'm sure you know how... trying... that can become to an employer, and how irksome a partner can get over the other's not being able to acqvire the time off. I did not vant to leave my post to an incompetent substitute, and there vere many of them about the school I taught at before here," he explained. "Plus, traveling got kind of aggravating: I never felt like I could truly relax my guard."

"As the... date of previous importance... approached, ve vere talking of family. She didn't vant children, but I did, and again ve argued rather passionately about our reasons. ...Those vere the two major issues, anyvay - trivial as they likely sound - and so ve decided then vosn't the right time.

"Not even six months after ve called off our vedding day, she married some vizard from Czech Republic and had the audacity to send me an invitation! Needless to say, I didn't go. I vos, and have been, done vith her since." The tone of grave finality in his voice proved the statement beyond a doubt. He might have talked with Roxane on other occasions, but they were for his part rather strained.

"Ve vere both too young, I think. And incredibly foolish. I'd like to think I've gotten viser since then," Sevastyan added, lifting his left hand which was holding Viper's right to his lips. He softly placed a kiss upon the back of her hand, and returned the hands to their previous spot.

Sevastyan once again smiled, taking notice of Amaranth's countenance including the blush. He found it rather cute, and wondered if she blushed so openly around others despite the apparently venomous attitude she professed to posses. "How I feel about you is very different from how I feel about the others, as vell... distinctly different. A likevise very good difference," Sevastyan admitted.

At the end of Sevastyan's tale, Viper was put at a certain ease. From what she gathered, the break up hadn't been a result of a certain vice on either end, merely differences. However, she had noted the slight tightness in his throat which still kept her a bit nervous.

But the nervousness evaporated greatly as Sevastyan brought her hand to his lips. She smiled and squeezed his hand gently in return. She could still feel tingling sensations from where his lips had made contact.

Feeling a rush of boldness, she leaned closer to the point where their forheads were touching ever so slightly and asked in a whispered tone. "What do you feel then? If not the urge to wring my neck in an effort to keep me quiet?" she asked in a light joking tone, yet the sincerity in her first question remained.

Sevastyan couldn’t help but laugh quietly in response to the inflection of lightheartedness, though hardly anticipated such a bold response from Amaranth. “I vos going to ask you the same thing,” he whispered in reply.

“But if you vould rather I go first...” The Russian paused, though whether for suspense, drama, or to build up his own boldness, Sevastyan wasn’t telling.

“This is vot I feel,” he began, loosening the restraints he’d had on the courage to risk his unique friendship with Viper for something a bit more between them. Without so much as a warning, Sevastyan leaned forward the rest of the way to gather Amaranth’s lips with his, kissing her full on the mouth; a firm but tender display of affection that only lasted a number of tentative seconds before he pulled back slightly.

It was in that moment Sevastyan decided that if Amaranth did not mind the kiss, and welcomed the affection freely, that he would have to make the gesture a common occurrence during their ‘encounters’.

“Vot is it that you feel?” he whispered, a great amount of emotion packed into the barely-audible method of communication.

The kiss ended far too soon for Viper's liking, yet despite the short amount of time, Viper would always remember the feel of their first kiss. She smirked inside knowing it certainly wouldn't be their last...

Feeling that words were unnecessary for her reply, Viper released one of Sevastyan's hands to bring her's along his face, mirroring his earlier caress. She ran her thumb against his lips for a moment before replacing her thumb with her lips, kissing him deeper than he had kissed her, matching all his emotions.

The Professor mentality within Sevastyan’s mind was bound, gagged, blindfolded, and locked within its own little room; the party-pooper unable to resurface until the morning’s first light or, more probably, when he left the chambers. He hadn’t felt like this in the longest time. The sensation was exhilarating.

Had Sevastyan realized he had a bit more leeway in just how passionate to have made their first kiss, he would have done so certainly. The consolation? Well, let’s just say that this wasn’t going to be their only time: he’d make it up to her. But first he practically seared the memories of their caresses, the smell of her skin when he kissed her hand, and of course this deeper kiss into his mind. So help him, this had best not be a dream!

Words of any kind between them would only get in the way, so Sevastyan matched the depth with which Viper had given. Realizing he now had a hand free the Russian immediately ran his fingers through her raven hair, successfully doing so somewhat blindly as the action hardly required they separate. When the hand had finished it journey it contented itself with cupping the back of Amaranth’s head as Sevastyan took their kiss soundly further down the path of passion.

Despite the earlier duel he’d been through nothing hurt or ached. So far as he was concerned there was no black or green within this room - no extra furniture, doors, or mirrors. All that existed in this moment was Amaranth Viper, and whatever the hell they were sitting on. Oh... that’s right.

Viper sighed as she felt Sevastyan's fingers run through her hair and goosebumps form on her skin. Breaking apart for a moment so both could catch their breath, Viper gazed into Sevastyan's storm-colored orbs, her chest heaving as she struggled to catch her breath, before making a decision.

Leaning closer, Viper kissed Sevastyan once more, only this time she laid back into the bed, pulling Sevastyan with her. "Stay with me..." she whispered in between kisses, running her hands through his hair, lightly scratching her nails down his back.

When she pulled back Sevastyan hesitated for the briefest of instances before allowing the kiss to break. Realizing the purpose for the pause he blindly pulled his hair out of its ponytail and cast the crimson hair tie, which was annoying him for an unidentifiable reason, aside. He had done so without looking because he was too engrossed with staring into Viper's pools of emerald. Sevastyan was searching her eyes, wondering where they were to go from here. He barely felt that his raven locks had tumbled down to neck level and curtained either side of his gaunt face. The touch wasn't Amaranth's touch, and thus the contact went ignored.

Perceiving the closeness returning Sevastyan met her halfway in the kiss, though hadn't been expecting any form of further locomotion. He covered his surprise well and allowed her to pull him in the direction she led. What Sevastyan didn't realize was that the movement caused the loose knot of his bathrobe to falter.

One arm snaked around her waist while the hand of the other once again went to caress her cheek. However, instead of traversing once again through her hair the digits gently slid their way down her neck and to her shoulder. It halted when it reached cloth as if finding the material had confused it.

"Stay with me..."

Amaranth's whispered request was what had made his hand pause. She had said this up on the tower... Sevastyan wasn't going to deliberate the various meanings of this right now: he was, for all intents and purposes, busy.

"Конечно," he replied quickly from somewhere deep within his throat, feeling he owed her some form of verbal acknowledgment. The word might have been stated in Russian, but it conveyed all the emotion he could cram into it during the space of time when their lips weren't passionately locked together. He wasn't moving from this spot unless she did or asked him otherwise.


((I g2g... but you can post the first "morning" scene. ^_^))

The Morning After...

As the sun's rays kissed the lake, filling Viper's chambers with a bright green glow, the Potions Mistress awoke from a suprisingly restful sleep, feeling more content and happy than she could ever remember being.

Still in a sleep-induced haze, Viper momentarily wondered why she was not shivering. The dungeons were a frightfully frigid place to be early in the morning and despite the fires and charms Viper kept going, her chambers were still quite chilly. But this morning...well, they, or she rather, was quite warm indeed.

It was then that Viper realized that a pair of arms were wrapped lovingly around her. Tilting her head slightly, she was a bit alarmed to see none other than Sevastyan Kaminski right beside her under the emerald covers. Once she overcame her shook, it took Viper a few seconds to recall all the events that had taken place the night before. But when she did she could not stop the soft smile spreading across her face.

Slowly and carefully, she leaned closer to the wizard's sleeping form, brushing a stray lock of hair out of his face before tenderly pressing her lips against his.

Sevastyan slept on peacefully, marginally aware of the greenish glow from behind closed eyelids. He was having the most blissful dream. The Russian couldn't really identify much about the dream that made it such a pleasant one, other than the fact that Amaranth Viper was playing the leading role. He found it odd, in a way, that he could still detect her scent nearby. Probably just a pillow from her bed she let me use, he mused, mind trying to pull out of the state of sleep. Sevastyan wanted to be awake before she woke up so he could cover up the most recent wounds from his duel with Kazimir.

How did I even get back to the sofa? Sevastyan asked himself. That had been his initial plan, after all: to go with her to her quarters, but sleep somewhere other than her bed because they weren't lovers, just friends. Or, at least, that was how it had been before the kissing... his feelings for Viper had intensified the night previous. Sevastyan wasn't so sure that 'friends' really cut it anymore. It was such an umbrella term... and his feelings for her were much more than a simple 'friendship'. Had they crossed that line last night?

Coaxing his mind into awareness but preferring as little light as possible, Sevastyan's eyes remained closed as he attempted to recall the chain of events. A pair of emerald eyes - Amaranth's eyes - was rather prominent. Some of the events came to mind, though the most prominent at the moment was when the robe he wore to cover the burnt П symbol into his right pectoral muscle had fallen from his shoulders and exposed to Viper that he had a rather hairy chest and abdomen, the latter having a thicker trail of hair at the approximate center in a "southbound" trail. He recalled the feel of feminine hands going through his hair and gently creating long scratches down his back...

A shiver that had nothing to do with cold ran down Sevastyan's spine as he relived the sensation, just as he felt soft lips upon his. Immediately he started, having been under the assumption that he was alone and merely embracing a pillow as his Amaranth substitute. The fingers of his left hand twitched; the signals to his brain confirmed that the texture was flesh, not cloth, though he had no idea what exactly he was touching. Seconds after likely scaring the wits out of Viper, Sevastyan tenderly kissed her in return as he opened his eyes.

Sure enough, she was right there. He was not dreaming this. Vot did ve do? he asked himself, demanding that his partially-awake mind supply the answers. In no time at all he got his answer. Or answers, rather, as the events played over in his head. As if the fact of how close they were from shoulder to foot and the fact that his arms were not just recently wrapped around her weren't two already very good clues.

Breaking the kiss, Sevastyan gazed upon her face fondly. A thousand questions ran through his mind as to how she felt about it all. “Sleep vell?” he asked, quirking a seductive brow at her and offering a kind of half-smirk, half-smile. Between implication and metaphor, Sevastyan decided this concisely summed up all he wanted to ask without being explicit. While waiting for an answer the Russian began a trail of slow, soft kisses at her collarbone that crept upwards... for the moment.