That Kind of Beautiful

[Bridget Cameron Delaynee]

Bridget woke that morning feeling like it was going to be a good day. Heathcliff and Catherine had actually stayed in their own beds the entire night; such good doggies. Well, maybe not their own beds since, when Bee rolled out of her own queen sized sleigh bed, she found Catherine draped across Heathcliff like a little scarf. She managed to grab a shower and get ready for the day without waking them, it was nice. Once she was dressed, she hit the kitchen and the coffee pot and poured herself a travel mug. Then she let out a shrill whistle to get her darling puppies in gear. They didn't have time for their usual super run through Central Park so a trip around the block would just have to do until she finished all her classes or had enough time between classes to race back home to take them for a jog and race back to class. That wouldn't be done since today was her busiest of the week. With leashes on, and a coat for herself, she stuffed her pockets with her cell phone and keys then grabbed her travel mug and left, locking the door behind her.

Twenty minutes later, her animals were back in her apartment and she was on her way to the University and her first class of the day. She also had three student meetings and an interview with a new teaching assistant, she thought running through her schedule for the dat. The air was crisp and fresh and it reminded Bee of her family vacations to New York. They'd gone in the winter once, when she was about 12. It was a Christmas time, and they had come because her father had a seminar to attend and thought, why not bring the family along? They skated at Rockefeller Center, and they saw the Nutcracker at Radio City Music Hall. Bee and her mother went to all the tourist attractions while her father attended the seminar. She loved it. So much so that she had wanted to move that at the first chance. And this job was it. She planned on doing the best job she could, so they had no reason to fire her.

She enjoyed her classes. She didn't teach like other professors did around the school. She had an open welcoming class. Everyone was equal and everyone had a voice. She listened to her students read their stories out loud- one of the only ways she can sit through a scary story. When her class was over, she collected the stories to grade them and waited until her room was empty before moving down the hall with her arms full to her office. Bee managed to unlock the door and drop everything onto the corner of her desk. She'd been told during class that a few of her students had emailed their short stories to her. She'd get to those later, when she was home; as long as they weren't scary. Then she'd have to call Koda and use him as a body guard from the big scary monsters of her and her student's creativity. It was almost comical. She knew it was all fake. Characters made up of figments of peoples imaginations. There was nothing to be afraid of and yet, Bee's mind worked over time and made it seem like the monsters and killers in the story were about to come face to face with her as soon as she opened the bedroom door, or the washroom door or something.

Bridget fell into her big leather chair and spun it around to stare out the window as she laughed at herself. She had quite the imagination. She sat in her office for some time, with her back to the door. It was a small space but it had a view and enough room for her to dance around if she were in the mood, or pace or whatever came to mind. She had papers that needed grades and stories to read over and mark as well, but for the moment, she was just going to sit there and take out the view. The blanket of snow she saw every morning still made her so happy; like some giddy little girl who knew she didn't have school so she could spend the entire day outside frollicking. Bee tilted her head to the side with a devilish smile spreading across her lightly glossed lips. She did have to take Heathcliff and Catherine out to the park...

_{· TAG · Open
· WORDS · 756
· LOCATION · Bee's Office
· CLOTHES · Why is Everybody so Obsessed
· LYRICS · Hypnotize the Moon//Clay Walker
· NOTES · <3}[/SIZE]

[SGT. KODA ALEXANDER EVANS]

Sometimes he wondered why he had an alarm clock in the first place – resting idly at the corner of his mahogany dresser; the blue letters growing higher and higher as the time passed by. The alarm button was on, out of obsessive compulsive, but always before it went off, Koda manually turned off the alarm and slipped out of bed. His body alarm clock seemed to work efficiently and never once let him down. The early bird got the worm as some might say, and if that was the case, Koda would bet getting a lot of worms. Though that didn’t sound too appetizing. Reaching up and hearing a few cracks form his back and shoulders, even his knees, Koda yawned and waddled off to the bathroom. Slipping out of his pajama bottoms and grabbing a towel; Koda got everything ready for when he got back from his jog. It didn’t make sense to take a shower then jog – you’d smell like you just ran. But having a shower afterwards, you smelled fresh and clean. Getting dressed in a few layers of clothes, Koda walked down the stairs and let Nevermore, his wolf-German Shepherd hybrid canine, outside to do his business. Walking to the kitchen, Koda started to brew himself some hot cocoa – and yes, the kind with the little marshmallows in them. Koda would not have it any other way. Leaning against the counter and sipping his hot goodness, Koda glanced over at the colanders. Eh, it was a school day, Bridget was probably at the University teaching. Koda was so tempted to maybe teach German there, as fluent as he was, but no – he couldn’t, he needed four years of college for that, and personally; Koda didn’t have time for that. Even though he didn’t do much on the job, he was like a Firefighter – had to always be prepared and on his toes. It was a bad idea anyways. In the middle of German class he might get a call and immediately leave. Yeah, not a good idea.

Putting the empty cup in the sink, Koda went to let Nevermore in, “Nein! Paws!” Being assertive and pointing at the mat by the door, Nevermore backed up a bit and rubbed his paws on the mat like a good dog. “Good boy.” Hearing that, Nevermore rushed off into the living room, jumping on one of the rope toys he had and started playing with it. Returning to the sink, Koda washed out the cup and put it away. Well, now was the time for his jog. Five? Ten miles? It just depended on how he felt halfway through. Even in winter time, Koda had that obsessive compulsive thing – he just ‘had’ to run. It was great exercise and it kept him in decent shape. Though in winter time he didn’t run much because of the ice, but he was going to be careful and maybe switch his course and run around the park. Shrugging and snatching his keys, Koda walked outside, slipping a hat on before jogging off. Nevermore played a little bit more before stopping and doing what dogs did best – being bored and guarding the house. Some hours later… Two, three, roughly… Koda came back, closing the door behind him. Patting Nevermore, Koda took off his jacket and the gloves; hanging up the jacket and tossing the gloves on the floor. Unwrapping the scarf and taking off the hat, Koda tossed them in the corner of the closet as well before making his way upstairs and to his master bedroom. Undressing and slipping inside, Koda scrubbed himself before slipping out and drying off. There… He had his run and felt fresh and restored. Getting some dry clothes on, Koda once again walked downstairs and returned to the kitchen to get some food. Once again, those eyes of his glanced over at the calendar – seeing it was a school day.

As he warmed up some leftover Rindsrouladen from yesterday for breakfast, Koda pondered for a moment. Should he see Bridget today, or was it a bad time? He didn’t have to go to work today – it was one of those days. As the food warmed up in the microwave, Koda’s fingers tapped on the counter, contemplating on if he should visit her or not. He didn’t want to be a pain if she was busy. When his ears picked up the ring of the food, he also made his answer. He’d check up on her. And if she was busy, another time was in order. Showing up meant he cared, right? Gave the impression that he did. Gulping down his homemade food, Koda snatched his keys and headed on over to the University. Nevermore, once again, guarded the house. Arriving at the University, Koda put on that care-free grin of his and waltzed around like he was a student. Usually he’d have to have some escort thing, right? Like in high school? He didn’t know. Nonetheless, he made his way to the staff faculty building. Walking inside, he decided not to ask the person up front and just head to the map located on the wall that had the names of the teachers down. Finding her last name, Koda made his way down the hall and stopped at her door. Clearing his throat, Koda tried to sound younger via voice – pretend he was a student seeing Bridget about something, “M-miss Delaney? I was wondering—” He said as he opened the door, but when he saw her eyes looking at him, his grin widened and his voice returned to normal, “I was wondering if you were free this afternoon, m’lady?” He said, his eyes removing themselves form her and glancing around her office. Well, no one else was here. Closing the door behind him, Koda walked forward a bit; leaning on her desk and folding his arms across his chest, “For today is just beautiful. And I thought you might want something delicious to snack on?” Well, you know, if she wasn’t busy that is. He could always come back another time or maybe just call her later when she was out of this situation.

[Bridget Cameron Delaynee]

The view was nice, but that pile of short stories wasn't going to read or grade themselves. She sighed, spinning her chair around. She changed her position around in her big chair to get comfortable. She was now sitting with one foot tucked underneather her and the other bent up. She asked her students to write the genre on their title pages, so she could avoid those horror ones when she was alone or had no music on. It never failed to amuse her friends that she couldn't read horrors and yet taught English Lit. with that ever present creative writing aspect to it. She grabbed the first story, checked the genre and- pleased it wasn't one she'd have to put aside until later, opened the first page. It was a delightful mystery novel with a few twists and turns. Some were good- she never suspected the sister-in-law, and some her terribly cliched- it was expected of a Freshman. Overall it was a good read and she only wrote down a couple of notes before circling the grade in red in the top right corner. Bee set the graded story on the filing cabinet next to her before picking up the next and doing the same routine. She'd gotten through the next and another before she decided on a quick break. She reached to grab her water bottle only to find it empty; she'd have to go refill it. Slowly, she untwisted herself to stand next to the chair and took a moment to stretch; arms into the air then down to touch her toes then back up to standing. She grabbed her bottle off the corner of her desk and made her way down the hall to the main office and the water fountain hidden inside.

She stayed to speak with the administrative ladies after she filled her bottle, get up to date with the latest gossip then said her see you later's and started back to her office. She was stopped only once on account of a student running late. He wanted to hand in his assignment and she gladly accepted it. She had due dates and deadlines, but even she rarely stuck to them; horrible teaching habits. She normally had students handing in their assignments three days later. But that was her unofficial cutoff. She let them slide until then, and afterwards, well, there was no chance. But her students knew that, and handed everything in on time. With this lastest addition to her ever growing pile, Bee went back to her office where she shut the door. If her student's needed to speak to her for whatever reason all they had to do was knock. Bridget would gladly take in homework, or speak to them or anything else they had in mind. Then she pretzeled herself back up to sit in her chair and dive into the pile on her desk once again. She had her water bottle on her desk, just above her keyboard and she was comfortable. Only thing left to do was read, give criticism or encouragement where needed and grade.

She was into the fifth story when she heard the door open. She finished the line she was reading, hating when she lost her place as the voice spoke, and a smirk spread across her glossed lips. There was no way that voice, even with practice, could sound younger than it was; not when she knew it so well. Her stomach filled with butterflies, and surprise coursed through her veins. It was so odd to see Koda here, while she was at work but she liked it. SHe could even get used to him surprising her; after all, she did love surprises. She lifted her eyes up and waited to meet Koda's with laughter in her eyes. When those ocean blue pool's met hers, she couldn't quite hold it in any longer and just let her laughter pour from those full, glossed lips. "I just have some reading to do. Nothing I can't do later," she said, with a raised brow. And that smirk on her face spread into a devilish smile as she leaned back in her chair when Koda shut the door and leaned against her desk. At his words, the smirk sparked in her eyes and she visibly bit her lip to hold back what she was going to say. They hadn't been seeing each other long. Surely it was still too early in the relationship. Instead, she looked up at him through her lashes, "What's on the menu?" she asked, leaning forward and tilting her head upwards. It was an invitation. One he could accept now or later, it didn't matter too much to Bee; she'd get her way eventually.

_{· TAG · Koda <3
· WORDS · 793
· LOCATION · Bee's Office
· CLOTHES · Why is Everybody so Obsessed
· LYRICS · Hypnotize the Moon//Clay Walker
· NOTES · <3}[/SIZE]

[SGT. KODA ALEXANDER EVANS]

Poor little Bridgette. She was in the middle of working when Koda intervened. To him it didn’t look too exciting. There were papers on her desk and it seemed like it involved too much writing and reading of a lesser learning level than he was comfortable. But… She at least worked with kids. Koda wouldn’t admit it, but that was something he envied. Kids… Something he always wanted to have of his own, but, he chose work of the law instead of everything else. It wasn’t important nor on the top of his list anymore. He wish it was but… The man was a dedicated soul when it came to his authority. It was more than his job, it was what he was; a protector, a hero; though most didn’t see him as such, he didn’t mind nor cared. He was one in his mindset and that was priority number one… Along with Bridgette. He couldn’t place her in slot number two, right? Or well he could. Maybe she was second on his list. Maybe not. All in all, he at least showed his love and care for her. That was what mattered right? If he didn’t love nor cared for her, he wouldn’t be by the door, pretending to be a student. He wouldn’t be trying to invite her out to eat and make her day.

Even if he hid it, he always seemed to fail. Guess it was that masculine voice still surfacing or maybe she just knew his tone too well. Whatever it was, she at least laughed. “Reading? What are you reading?” Nah, he wasn’t being nosy, just wondering, nothing more than that. He suspected homework… After all, she was a teacher and she dealt with all those troublesome kids. Koda rarely dealt with kids. He didn’t have to read anything either, just write reports with the best grammar he could. Being bilingual kind of messed it up, but he managed. “Well, anything that you’re in the mood for.” Koda said, leaning on the wall and grinning, “Can be a cheap little snack like White Castle or maybe the madam wishes to dine out at some fancy restaurant?” She had the option, but Koda here was leaning more towards the latter. Who would rescue a damsel in distress at work for some cheap fast-food? “Tilapia and barbeque shrimp, shimmering in signature sauce sounds really delicious. So does the triple-cheese deluxe burger with steak-fries…” With a cheesy grin, he added on, “Well, you can do this later, right?” He didn’t want her to be behind, so he’d understand if maybe now was a bad time, but nonetheless, he added on, “If so… Let’s go.”

OOC: I suck…

[Bridget Cameron Delaynee]

Bridget had plenty to do to keep herself busy but there was a good space of time between her morning and afternoon classes where she was alone with her thoughts. Her day was a late one, and her only late one of the week. It was when she taught that seven o’clock class that didn’t get out until near to ten and then there was standing around and talking to her students. She would be up late anyway, so an extra hour or so away from her plush bed wouldn’t do much harm, and it would get most of the stories finished. At that moment, she didn’t know how many of which she’d need that body guard for, but that was easily remedied with a quick count; something else she would do much later.

Bee smiled, enjoying that Koda took an interest in her work. It wasn’t anything so exciting as his profession could be, but it kept her busy, made her happy so she enjoyed it. “They’re just some short stories my student’s wrote. Some of them are horrors so I may need your assistance getting through them,” she said, shaking her head at her own silly fear. Bridge scrunched up her face, laughing. She wasn’t a huge fan of meat in general. She ate chicken, but only because she really couldn’t give up chicken nuggets. Yes, she was twenty-six years old and still had the appetite of a six year old; sort of. “I have a couple hours I can spare for a nice little place,” she said, grinning.

“Of course I can,” she agreed. She stood her to her full stature, however slight it may be, before slipping her bare feet into the high heeled pumps she’d been wearing that she hid under her desk when she twisted herself up like a pretzel. Shoes on, she reached behind her for the bag she was never far from. Her coat was to the other side of the door, on the stand she kept. She set her bag down before slipping her arms into the sleeves of the coat. She couldn’t really say no. They didn’t see each other as often as Bee had liked but when their work schedules differed so much, especially on days like these, a surprise lunch date was more than welcome.

And it sure as hell beat the pizza slices she was going to run off campus for eventually. Bridge picked up her bag again and slung it over her shoulder. If it didn’t have things she needed, she would have left it behind but as it were, it held her ID, wallet and phone. “Après vous,” she said, slipping into her mother’s native tongue as easily as Koda switched to German. She never quite understood what he was saying, but it was always interesting listening to him talk. “Lead the way,” she said, switching between the different languages with ease.

· TAG · Koda <3
· WORDS · 486
· LOCATION · Bee's Office
· CLOTHES · Why is Everybody so Obsessed
· LYRICS · Hypnotize the Moon//Clay Walker
· NOTES · <3

[SGT. KODA ALEXANDER EVANS]

(( OOC: Post in the making. ))