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All it took was the hint of a first connection, and Natalie could already feel the way it was reciprocated. In an instance like that, one kiss seemed hardly like enough. Already, she felt overwhelmed by the lawyer's presence - how her hands felt against her form after what felt like too long, despite only having been a couple days.
Her head tilted down, the corner of her mouth turning up to a shy smile at the thought of saying something sooner. Would it really have been so easy? Somehow, she absolutely believed Teddy when she offered those words. "Next time I will." She promised, hand drawing up into her hair.
"You have perfect timing; I was just wrapping up."
Met halfway and although her hands remained in her pockets, Natalie was quick to reach out with her own. A palm pressed to the side of Teddy's face, thumb brushing along her cheek. It didn't take acute sight to catch the way she looked back at her - those bright eyes looked at her like they had missed her, a sense her animals were quick to point out as well. Her other hand found Teddy's side, slipping beneath her jacket and around her waist, because she had missed her dearly, too.
Who knew only a handful of days would be so hard? It must have reflected her her own expression as she looked back at the lawyer. A small breath managed to escape her lungs at the clever reply Teddy offered. It was so like her to say just seeing her was excuse enough to drive herself out to the academy.
Natalie leaned closer, lips pressing graciously against the lawyer's. "I've missed you."
A hand reached forward, giving the student a small pat on the shoulder before she went off. Though it had been a harder day than usual, the trainer could help the way she smiled, eyes dropping down to the dog she still latched herself to. Her hand returned to Oz, giving the smaller dog a scratch on the chin like she could really distract her from any ideas of chasing bunnies. "I know you want to play, but you'll scare him." She whispered down at them, focus so intently on Oz that she hadn't picked up on Jodie's excitement over a familiar face.
It wasn't until that familiar name formed in her mind like a sort of greeting from the German Shepard did Natalie's head quickly snap up, gaze turning to the direction the larger dog had already moved to. Surprise filled her features, but with genuine happiness as she stood upright - even Oz briefly forgot about the rabbit she wanted to chase as they both were making quick footing towards the lawyer.
"Hey." Natalie tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she neared her. As usual, Teddy looked perfect, even after what Natalie imagined was a very full day of work. The trainer felt herself lose her breath as she neared. "What brings you here?"
Wednesdays were her longest days at Bellefonte; to work around classes often coincided with strange training times every now and then. In this instance, Natalie's student was only available in the late afternoon, bordering early evening. That wasn't a bother though. She doubted she could consider her job a bother at all.
Even if it meant she had to herd dozens of rabbits that managed to find their way into her training room.
It took far longer than expected to get the situation under control, and worse was that it put a dent in her student's self confidence. With the few minutes that were left of their session, Natalie was determined to get the poor girl to leave in high spirits. "Did I tell you about the time I had accidentally made a horse come into the middle of my statistics class?" Both her arms were wrapped around Oz as she bent down, because all the convincing in the world wasn't enough to stop the dog's curiosity in chasing the rabbits outside. "I was just sitting at my desk and daydreaming - I hadn't even realized that I was talking to a horse. It had broken out of its stable and suddenly trying to get in the classroom. I'm dead serious."
At least the girl laughed, for which Natalie was thankful for. She even laughed at herself thinking back on the story. "That was in my last year of training. Sometimes it just happens, so don't worry about this, okay Ellen? You're doing great." It seemed to work, and the girl gave a nod as she headed for the door. "I'll see you next week."
Natalie knew better than to try and change her wording, or to at least offer something a little more significant than two little words that hardly made sense on their own. Yet there she stood, completely consumed by the British woman and lost for words, and even asked for clarification.
Her head tilted up a fraction again, catching the lawyer's eyes before she kissed her lightly, like it would be enough to offer in response to silence.
As Natalie felt the material around her form tighten, she sucked in a short breath, realizing it offered a form.of stabilization on its own. But the air in her lungs was quickly lost yo the words that came out of her counterpart's mouth. The hint of a shy smile pulled at her lips, only because it seemed so like her to pull out such an intense descriptor.
Dark eyes glanced down, her head gently shaking like it would be enough to argue against the lawyer. "Not at all." Because such words were impossible to accept. "But if anyone was to believe it, I'm glad it's you."
And with her own gaze shifted, she thought she found some.sort of strength herself. "I-" And already, she swallowed them and tried to start over, though she barely got anywhere on a new path. "You."
A set of bright eyes opened to meet her own, and Natalie knew they could catch the finite details in her expression. At least Teddy could see the honesty in which Natalie spoke. How her words carried conviction, even with the gentle tone she was known for. More than anything, she wanted the lawyer to believe her. To see herself the way Natalie did. She was far too perfect to feel anything hint if doubt in herself.
When she was pulled closer, she immediately tightened her hold on the lawyer, keeping her close like she could somehow protect someone who was already so strong.
"You deserve all the kindness in the world," she breathed in response, filtering a hand up to press against the back of Teddy's neck.
Though Natalie didn't know if Teddy would take the offer she made, at the very least she wanted to make sure the lawyer knew it was available to her. And that little smile was enough of a give that she realized that although logic might have deemed this as an inappropriate subject to bring up to one of the two people Teddy was seeing, she needed it, and Natalie was happy to offer any sort of listening ear that she could make available.
She couldn't catch her eyes, and maybe that was easier for Teddy, but Natalie still watched - picking up on anything she was offered. Those details were truly surprising to her - for all she had assumed about the pair, she had been entirely wrong. It was probably better that she hadn't caught her face when the lawyer continued though, because immediate confusion hit her features. Like she couldn't grasp the idea that Teddy could be unapproachable. How anyone could think of her like that was beyond her.
"You're not unapproachable." She replied quickly, because it was the first and most honest thing that immediately came to her mind. "You are wonderful, and caring, and beautiful - and anyone that thinks otherwise is..." there was a pause, eyebrows furrowing as she felt a sting in her chest with the desire to find the right words - "wrong."
At the very least, Natalie could see the small amount of relief that such contact brought, and the animals surrounding them could sense it. It was the least she could try to do, given that she had brought up the topic that caused any sort of discomfort in the first place. But here they were, continuing to talk about it - even threatening the idea of doing so further. Before Natalie could even think to reply, the notion was practically removed from the table all together.
She couldn't help but to lean in again, this time pressing a thoughtful second kiss to her forehead with the advantage of her height.
"You know, I'm a friend, too." She offered with gentle reassurance. She had offered a listening ear in a time of distress for the trainer; there wasn't a reason why Natalie couldn't be so as well. More, was that she wanted to offer that comfort.
Her attention so easily turned to Teddy without a moment's hesitation; hands around the lawyer's form were light but had no intention of moving, and the hand that found its way to her chest hadn't applied any pressure that indicated she should shift away. She even dared to lean in a little closer, eyebrows raising with the sympathy that she said she shouldn't have but couldn't help but to. The corner of her mouth drew up into a small smile, like it could melt away any tension her counterpart might have.
More, she brushed her lips against the lawyer's cheek. When she eased herself away, dark eyes were heavy on the Brit. "So there is something wrong?" Perhaps Teddy was rubbing off on her as she pushed a little on the subject.
Natalie really knew so little about Teddy's relationship with the paralegal, and admittedly, she was content with the ignorance of it. It was healthier not to know too many details, and she supposed it was her own fault for bringing Olivia up in the first place. Even so, she couldn't help the curiosity that burned within her the moment a statement like that passed Teddy's lips. She could have only assumed that the lawyer was regularly seeing her on the days that she wasn't frequenting her home.
"What?" She hadn't the willpower to stop herself from asking for clarification. Especially since she knew they worked together, and from how Olivia spoke, it had sounded like they were seeing each other more. Though with the help of the multiple felines in the kitchen, Natalie was slow to pick up other hints of the conversation. And before she could think to put another dish down for her other animals, she was moving back towards the lawyer, hands wrapping around her waist, even while Teddy had her phone out.
At the very least, a physical connection might bring some sort of ease.
Having someone over for the evening was starting to become a regular occurrence these days; evenings without the lawyer were more of a rarity than anything else. So when Clarke messaged her on an evening she didn't actually have plans, she happily accepted the idea of a movie night. And as usual, it involved making dinner as well, because the trainer couldn't pass up an opportunity to cook for someone who ate out as much as she knew Clarke did. She couldn't blame the busy woman though, so instead she just prepared a meal.
As usual, it was coming together in time for there to be a knock at the door. The two dogs were excited for the company as usual, and even they were surprised to know that it wasn't the person who had been frequenting their home. Tails were wagging as they waited excitedly for the door to open, only then moving to greet her.
"Hey!" Natalie called out from over her shoulder, corking a bottle of red before reaching for a beer and cracking it open. Clarke was the only reason she ever had it in her home. Turning, she stepped closer, extending out the beverage and wrapping an arm around the DJ to pull her in for a short hug. "I'm so glad you thought to do this tonight."
Teddy was quick to snap back, and Natalie couldn't help the way she stared with a little bit of concern. Like she might have crossed a line by bringing the paralegal up. The corner of her mouth threatened a frown as she held onto another dish of food, much to the dismay of a torti cat at her feet.
Even when it was dismissed, Natalie was slow to move again. Though the eventual comment Teddy offered pulled a little humor out of her. "An Amazon goddess though?" Natalie would take a compliment, but even that was a little much for her. "She said it twice, too."
The distress her dogs had felt in Olivia was paramount, and for which Natalie was sure it was why the paralegal had been so open to talking. She must have let it built up and needed to get it off her chest, and Natalie happened to be the person around. The hand at the small of her back kept her tone light, as she turned the the counter and set the containers down, starting to sort them out. "She sounded better by the end of it, though." Natalie thought to add, recalling the way she had lightened up a little by the time they reached the student lounge.
By then, two of her three cats had made their way into the kitchen, circling their feet. The Persian even daring to rub up against Teddy's shins as he waited. "It was nice to see her visiting her niece. Not too many people get to see family very often when they come to Bellefonte."
Bending down, started to set the dishes down before looking back up at Teddy. It was hard not to see the change in her expression. Her eyebrows rocked upwards in a shot of concern. "What is it?"
Natalie meant no harm by bringing up the paralegal, and as awkward as it had the potential to be, she hadn't treated it as such. The hand within her own still held a purposeful connection as she gently pulled the lawyer towards the kitchen. Now that they were up and awake, every animal inside her home wanted to eat. The multiple thoughts in her head were impossible to ignore. And only then did she draw her hand away, though not before setting hers on her hip instead, like it would be a just replacement as she opened up the refrigerator.
"It was... interesting." Natalie replied with a little laugh in reflection. "She was a little distressed because she was lost, so I walked her to where she was supposed to meet her niece." Stacking tupperware containers on top of each other, she pulled six distinct containers out of the fridge, all labeled with names and dates. "I think she was just having a hard day or something, because she started talking about you. How she was so new to dating, and she even called me an Amazonian goddess." Again, Natalie laughed, because she'd never think to label herself as such. "I hope she's feeling better."
