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Two knocks came at the blonde's door, fumbling with her phone as she pulled herself together and scrambled up from the couch. She tucked her phone into her back pocket for the time being, following it up with a short "Coming!" Natalie quickly checked herself in the mirror, a very faint blush on her face from texting the raven-haired woman. She giggled to herself prior to rushing back toward the door, opening it to reveal the familiar woman. There was a split second where everything seemed to freeze in time when Renee caught her gaze.
She wore clean, black cargo pants that hung tight around her waist and loose around her ankles. Alongside an off-white, cotton turtleneck that was covered with a black jacket which hung from the middle of her arm. A studded belt wrapped around her pants to keep them from slipping. She noticed the few additional piercings in her ears as well, but had to snap herself out of it to finally greet her. "Bonjour! Come in, come in!" She spoke excitedly, stepping aside so she could come in.
Natalie closed the door shut behind them when Renee spoke up, "Your apartment is always so clean, Nat." She complimented, eyes traveling around the well-kept living room, to the kitchen beside it.
"Ah, merci! I do try to make it look nice." Her hands clasped together in front of her. "Would you like anything to drink?" Natalie asked, focusing her bright blue eyes on the woman, who turned to her friend with a smile.
Renee seemed to think for a moment. "Water would be okay, thank you." Natalie nodded and made her way to the silver fridge, opening and pulling a clear water bottle from one of the bottom layers with a grin. The older woman appeared to not know what to do while waiting and started to just wander around the living room. A nessie or two could be spotted next to the couch, as well as one up on her T.V. stand. She could only assume Nat had a few more in her bedroom, maybe even the bathroom.
The soft pad of her shoes against the wooden floor alerted Renee to her approach, turning to see Natalie offering the water to her with a smile filled with a kindness that seemed contagious. She couldn't help but allow her lips to curl upward. "Here! I already brought all the stuff I will need and set it on the coffee table, if you want to pick out what you would like." Natalie pointed at the palette, a lit candle next to a plethora of colors and makeup she wouldn't be able to name to save her life. Renee took a sip of her water, approaching the table and giving the display a thoughtful look.
Natalie set her phone on the table and took a seat on the couch, watching with curiosity until the woman pointed out the colors she'd like to try out. "Mm. Maybe this navy blue and black?" Her own eyes lingered on the colors, a lot of them of which she had already seen the blonde use before.
"D'accord, of course! I will try not to make you look too silly." Natalie smiled widely, pulling the items she had picked out from the array and patting the spot on the couch beside her for Renee to join her. Renee made her way around and sat beside the blonde, unzipping the little bit of the jacket she wore so she could take it off, leaving her with just the turtleneck. As she turned to face her friend, Natalie was dumb-founded, staring at the woman's face. It was only when Renee's leg had been settled on the couch did she snap out of her trance. "Désolé, désolé, I was just mapping out what I wanted to do."
"You're okay, thought you short-circuited for a moment there." The older woman said with a grin, relishing in the adorable and genuine giggles that came from the blonde, her hand waving.
She adjusted her sitting position to also face the skirmisher, "Tu es insensée, Renee... I cannot make jokes, but you can, huh?" Natalie covered her mouth with one of her hands and finally sighed, almost dreamily, and picked up the navy blue eye shadow she had chosen. "Okay. Can you look down for me, s'il vous plait?" Renee followed, looking at her palms that now rested in her lap.
Nearly silent, the engineer hummed softly, almost as if she were preparing herself when she leaned in closer to get a better look at her face. It was quiet aside from that and the occasional gusts of wind that brushed up against her apartment window. The brush came in contact with her eyelid, causing Renee to flinch a bit, but she quickly relaxed when the strokes were soft and gentle. On the other half, Natalie hadn't even noticed she had started holding her breath as soon as she had gotten closer to the woman. Natalie could feel her own heartbeat in her chest after a while, doing her best to not mess up all while struggling to comprehend the fact she was inches from Renee's face.
It felt as if everything was going in slow motion, but simultaneously she had finished too quickly for her own liking, wishing she had stalled a bit longer as she set the brush down. "Hmmm... okay! It is looking good so far, you said you wanted black eyeliner too, oui?" Renee nodded, looking up at the blonde who had to quickly turn to pick up the item. As she pulled herself back to facing the woman, she looked down once more. Natalie waved her hands, "Ah, you do not need to look down for this one."
A part of her little heart wanted Renee to keep her eyes on her, and the other part, which was much bigger, would simply explode if she was making eye contact that close to her face. She could see every little detail on her skin as she came closer, a click from her opening the eyeliner sounding louder than it should've been in her hands. Natalie sighed internally and lifted her hand back up to Renee's face, steadying herself. The older woman seemed so calm and collected as she sat there, for a good bit she couldn't pull her own eyes away from Natalie's.
The silence fell over them once again, Natalie finishing her left eye and moving to work on her right. As soon as she did, the skirmisher across from her immediately appeared to become uneasy as she shifted in her spot. Natalie was going to brush it off at first considering Renee wasn't usually one to mess with makeup until she finally said, "Nat..." The blonde blinked, tilting her head back and pausing her hand.
"Oui? Is something the matter?"
"Nat." She said it with more emphasis this time, prompting the engineer to finally meet her gaze.
Unbeknownst to Natalie, her other hand had a mind of its own and was now resting on Renee's cheek. She could feel her own cheeks heat up in just those few seconds, her thumb rested not far from the corner of her lip. "I- um..." Natalie stumbled over her words, beginning to pull her hand away when she felt another hold it in place. She looked at the raven-haired woman with confusion until she gently leaned into her touch, her usual small grin or smirk had become a full smile. The blonde was at a loss for words, simply just staring at her for almost the tenth time that night.
"Well, are you going to finish?" She was jerked from her thoughts, picking her jaw up off the floor and only being able to respond with a surprised 'mhm!' as she rolled her wrist, exhaling softly. Natalie was hesitant at first, but now she actively used her hand to give herself a good angle of Renee's eyelid. For the eyeliner, of course. Not to glance at her nose piercing or notice the tiny, faint scars on her bottom lip. She felt the butterflies flutter in her stomach, their presence refusing to die down even after she finished with a clap of her hands.
She smiled, the blush from before still fairly visible, "Tu as l'air parfait! You look so pretty, Ren!"
"Thank you Nat..." She spoke quietly. "Can I see now?"
"Non, non. Idiote, I still have to do your.." Something brought her sentence to an abrupt halt, almost as if something clicked in her brain. Which, it did, sort of. If applying the makeup to Renee's eyes was what nearly made her lose it all... needless to say, she was in for a ride. "..lipstick." Her mouth suddenly felt dry and the world slowed down significantly when she reached for the black, slim container. The blonde took in another deep breath and turned once more toward Renee.
A pause before Renee offered her a gentle smile. Natalie could feel the blush on her face deepen but she brushed it off. Her hand hovered in front of her friend, "C-can you, uh..." She followed up with a wave of her hand, which was clearly not helping by the way Renee furrowed her eyebrows together. "Ah. Can you.. open your mouth? J-just a little- that's all!" Her eyes couldn't pull themselves from her lips as she opened them slightly, "Yes, like that." She quickly assured her followed up by a small clicking sound of her opening the stick.
Resting her other hand on her own knee, Natalie could very clearly feel Renee's eyes looking at her. Pulling herself from her head, she tried her best to ignore it and finally brought the tip to her friend's lip. Slowly and gently she traced it along her bottom lip and circled back up to the top. It was a dark black, opposite of her own peachy pink, she almost forgot to go over her bottom lip another time. "There we g-"
Right as the blonde had clipped the cap back on it, she felt two coarse palms take a hold to either side of her face. Her bright blue eyes were clear as day when they widened in total shock, pausing all her movements. Renee's mouth still hung slightly open while her fingers ran through the blonde strands of her hair, softly pulling through them. Natalie had completely ceased her breathing altogether, tracing the brunette's gaze to her own lips, she unfroze herself and slowly set the lipstick down next to her. Her fingers were cold, whether it be because her face was boiling or it was natural for her, Renee's touch was searing into her skin.
She could feel the older woman's thumb trace a line down to her chin before she spoke in a hushed whisper, a nervous tone lacing her voice that Natalie had never heard before.
"Can I...?" Renee couldn't even end her own sentence, the pressure from the blonde's gaze stopping her. Luckily Natalie's brain wasn't too far fried yet and she was able to take a wild guess as to what the woman across from her meant. She nodded, one of her own hands reaching up to hover over Renee's. "But, um... I've never kissed before." She paused, "A girl! I've never kissed a g-girl before... I don't know h-"
Natalie was cut off from her rambling by Renee leaning in, a soft pressure coming from her hands onto the back of the engineer's neck. "That's okay, Nat." She whispered again, ever so ghostly before eventually connecting their lips. It took Natalie a moment until she closed her eyes and everything seemed to relax in that moment, the tension, her body. She traced her hand up Renee's arm to cup her cheek and deepen the kiss, wanting it to never come to an end. Natalie was on cloud nine with Renee's palm falling down to her shoulder with a gentle squeeze. Another second passed before Natalie had to reluctantly pull away from the brunette to catch a breather, afraid to open her eyes and find that none of it was real.
Her fear was settled when a soft laugh came from the other woman, retracting her hands from her face to hold Natalie's, thumb rubbing circles on her palm. "You can open your eyes, silly." Natalie quickly pulled her hands away and covered her eyes with them both, her face burning as she struggled to get her words out.
She shook her head, "It might be a dream- I do not want it to end!" Renee couldn't stifle the giggle that bubbled up in her throat. Nonetheless she took one of Natalie's hands again and pulled it up to her lips, giving her knuckles a quick peck. "Is that enough proof?" A small squeak came from the engineer at the contact, lifting her remaining hand to peek at the woman through her fingers. "...Non," She trailed off. "Do it again."
Renee raised a brow at the request, having a moment's hesitation while she gathered herself together, a clear blush across her cheeks. The brunette exhaled softly, close enough to Natalie's hand for it to send a small shiver down her spine until her lips connected with her knuckles once more. A second passed, followed by another kiss, and more as the skirmisher gradually made her way up the scarred arm. Renee made it up to her elbow and had to cut herself off there, deep blue eyes making their way up to the engineer to find her face cherry red and looking off to the side.
She stayed quiet. Renee felt the anxiety in her chest rise, worried she had overstepped Nat's boundaries. "Is this okay, Nat?" Renee wanted to be sure, the last thing she would want was for Natalie to be uncomfortable. "You can say no. I don't-"
The woman was abruptly cut off with a gasp when Natalie pulled her into another kiss, but she had no objections. The second was longer and less messy, prompting the blonde to gently coax Renee onto her back on the couch, crawling on top of her and straddling her hips. Natalie softly hummed into the kiss.
Renee had to recuperate and cup the blonde's face in order to take a breath. The gears in her mind were already going from the mere sight of the black lipstick she had just put on being smudged on Natalie's lips. Renee softly smiled up at her and Natalie's world seemed to flip. The two had meant to attend what Pathfinder called his birthday now, with the engineer simply just having to do a bit of her friend's makeup beforehand. Her gaze stared down at the skirmisher, starry eyed and all; this was the last thing she expected to happen. Maybe embarrass herself, slip up, who knew- but right now, when she had just kissed the woman she fell head over heels for, she couldn't really complain.
"Oui." She finally spoke, breathless, in the heat of the moment she couldn't stop herself from giggling lightly. "I have liked you for a while now, Renee, I just was not sure about how you felt." Natalie's smile held on her lips, brushing Renee's bangs from her face with one of her hands. "I think I may be able to take my chances now." Renee's face flushed as the blonde began peppering light kisses all across her face, brushing over even the tiniest of scars as she went. "Natalie.." She squirmed under the defender's hold and eventually had to push her up by her shoulders in order for her to speak without fumbling with her words.
There was a short pause before Renee pulled the blonde in for a hug, chin rested in the nook of her neck. She held her there for a few moments, simply trying to take all of it in and process it. Natalie's hold on her was just as tight and filled with love, only loosening when the skirmisher started to pull away. The blonde could feel her calloused palms rest in the crook of her shoulder and neck on either side, a clear blush painting her cheeks.
Her smile, from Natalie's perspective, lit up her entire apartment like sunshine.