This earned a genuine laugh from him. He wasn't sure he'd been expecting her to be so playfully self-aware. He took a drink, then took a few steps towards her. "They're all hopeless, in the end," he teased. The steps he had taken were enough to bring them close; he could have touched her. He was meeting her eyes, and looking at her as though he might. Instead he veered off at the last minute, around the desk in the center of the room and over towards the armchair he'd been perched in while he waited for her. There were a pair of chairs in a windowed alcove, probably intended to provide good light for reading during the day.
"The grounds look better in the moonlight," he pronounced, pulling up to the central window between the two chairs. He swirled his wine again. He had his back to her now but felt her presence in the room behind him. He'd know when she moved, he thought; the air between them was too thick for subtlety.
"The grounds look better in the moonlight," he pronounced, pulling up to the central window between the two chairs. He swirled his wine again. He had his back to her now but felt her presence in the room behind him. He'd know when she moved, he thought; the air between them was too thick for subtlety.
![[Image: 0hYxCaj.png]](https://i.imgur.com/0hYxCaj.png)
MJ made this <3