Body Guard

Cody:

Her yell came right as I was getting up from my wheelchair. I almost fell back down in surprise from the suddenness of it. Staring wide eyed at the door I had no response to her outburst, not even reassurances that I was just wanting to check somethings out.

When my heart calmed down I sighed and shook my head. It made sense, her panic. There wasn't anything wrong with it, she had a traumatic event happen. It was with a slight frown that I undressed for my own shower. I tried to be quick, but with a good shower, a shave, using a touch of my cologne, adding a watch, and putting on my suit and tie, I took far longer than I had intended.

Looking at my appearance in the dresser mirror I steadied my nerves. I was going to dance tonight with Jules. I was to be her date tonight. I didn't know if it was going to be a real date, but that was okay. It wasn't the point of this for me, I wanted Jules to feel alright going out again. This was a big step for her. That it was something perhaps a bit...more was just extra.

Settling back into my wheelchair I made for the door. Even if Jules had already left with Greg, I could catch a ride I was sure.

((Julie is so dramatic))

Julie:
Greg was waiting for me downstairs but when he saw my frown and my lack of date, he gave me a confused look. To his credit, he didn't say anything.

The drive to the manor was quiet and quick but when we got there, I didn't want to get out of the car. Greg had to all by climb in the backseat and lift me out before I budged.

It was still light outside by sunset was fast approached and I stayed right next to Greg the entire walk to the door. He looked calm and I tried to let that relax me. If there was a problem, surely he wouldn't let me inside. I remembered events with Cody very clearly. If something even went slightly off, his hands would clench and his shoulders went stiff. I had a feeling Greg wouldn't show so outwardly.

As soon as the doors opened, the sounds of music took over everything else. Greg let his hands rest confidently in front of his and kept close to the wall, which basically meant I was now on my own.

A waiter passed me and I grabbed a glass of something off his tray. I didn't car what it was, as long as it kept my hands from shaking.

(( She is! ))

I scored a ride with some of the security guys. As Jules's father was planning on stopping by they wanted to make sure to already have a presence in attendance. I joked and laughed with them like old times, bearing their teasing remarks and comments about my attire and my date with Jules.

After arriving to the manor I got out with the rest of them and hustled through my checks. I was late already, the last thing I wanted to do was take forever while Jules was trapped alone. Once I did finish I went to the main hall and tried to spot her among the crowd, failing that I did however locate Greg and wheeled over to him.

"Hey, where's Jules?" I asked him over the music. He nodded his head towards her and I smiled simply by the sight of her. She wasn't facing us and yet she already looked amazing to me.

"Mind doing me a favor Greg?" I looked up at him while asking. "I want to surprise her."

"What is it? She was rather upset about having to come here alone like that."

"I know...look could you watch my wheelchair for me? Or get one of the waitstaff to look after it for me?"

"Can you walk?" The surprise was faint but there as he looked me over.

Nodding I stood up with a wince and took a few steps for demonstration. "Feels a bit painful, and I can't do it for long periods but..."

With a knowing smile he nodded, "Go to her. I'll take care of it."

I flashed him a grin and made my way over to Jules. I tried to think of something witty to say, something even cheesy. But when I stopped behind her that all went out of my head. "Think I could have your first dance Jules?"

Julie:
I almost rolled my eyes at the sound of his voice. He was already late, he was here to work, and he knew we couldn't dance with his wheelchair. I turned around to make some snark comment to show my anger at the turn of events, even thought I knew deep down I was just trying to disguise my fear.

Only, his eyes weren't as low as I expected them to be. Confused, I looked up. He wasn't in his wheelchair. "W-what..." I breathed, taking in his suit and his fully standing figure. I had seen him stand long enough to move from the couch to his wheelchair, but that was the extent of it.

I set my empty glass down on the closet table and brought my hands to my mouth as my eyes filled with tears. "You're standing...you're walking..." I shook my head. "You can walk?" I asked, in awe. This was a huge deal. I remembered in the hospital room when he felt so hopeless, the first time he told me he couldn't feel his legs.

I felt a tear slip of out, but I just let it, not able to take my eyes off him.

(( Aw, her reaction is cute! ))

It was both sweet and amusing to watch her transform before me. I could see the annoyance drain out of her, replaced by confusion then by tears. It brought a soft smile to my face as I just let her process. When the tear leaked out I gently reached to brush it away.

"It's not...comfortable yet but I can walk." I affirmed. "You know when you sit on your foot and it falls asleep and when you stop sitting on it, it ends up with that pins and needles feeling? That's what my legs feel like. They are supposed to improve in time and use though."

Spreading my hands in a small shrug I couldn't help but smile again, "I told you I had a surprise for you didn't I?"

((I wonder what happens when she notices the tieee))

Julie:
My face broke out in a smile and I quickly took the few steps to wrap my arms around his waist. I was gentle, as I wasn't sure how sturdy he was on his feet yet, but I couldn't not hug him.

"I'm so happy for you," I told him softly. "I don't usually like surprises, but I can make an exception for this one," I joked.

(( Heh, I can only imagine ))

Gathering her in my arms I hugged her tighter than she held me. My balance wasn't the best, but I honestly suddenly felt far sturdier standing there in each others arms than even when my legs had worked.

Chuckling softly I shook my head, "It was a nice one for me as well. Got approval to start walking last Tuesday. Little things. Been showering upright since then."

Julie:
I smiled with my cheek pressed against his chest and for a second, I realized that I wasn't afraid anymore. From the second I heard his voice, my hands had stopped shaking and my fear was gone.

I pulled away enough to look at him and glanced over his shoulder at the dance floor. The party was in full swing by this point and there were plenty of people dancing. "Did you actually want to dance?" I asked, biting my lip a little shyly. When I had asked him to come with me, I had pictured us sitting off in a corner, watching from the sidelines. But this new development changed the entire night.

For the first time, it actually kind of felt like a real date.

"I don't know how good I'd be, but...I'd like to give it a try. Dancing wasn't my strongest point even when I could use my legs properly..." I trailed off as the music shifted into something slower, the energetic upbeat dancers beginning to pair up in more intimate slower dances. It looked more manageable from here, the slow movements.

"If you would be willing to dance with me, I'd go." I held out one hand towards her and gestured towards the dance floor with the other.

Julie:
I smiled and grabbed his hand and walked a little closer to the dance floor. I stopped when we were on the edge, not needing to be in the center of the room. I wasn't a big dancer either, but luckily I didn't actually care so much about the dancing part.

I kept his hand in mind and lifted the other to rest on the back of shoulders. "Just let me know when you've had enough standing," I told him him, looking down at my feet to make sure I wouldn't trip over my dress.

With her leading the way I was forced to deal with the sudden increase of my heart rate. A few steadying breaths after we stopped at the edge of the dance floor. Placing my free hand at her hip I followed her gaze and realized all my effort had been for nothing. I took a good look at her dress, her face, just every bit of her. "You look beautiful." I murmured softly.

Julie:
I looked back up at his face and smiled as a blush spread across my cheeks. I gently swayed to the slow music and just let everything and everyone around us disappear. "Thank you," I told him, sincerely. They way he was looking at me made me feel beautiful, which wasn't something I was used to. Sure, I had been to my fair share of fancy events, but for the most part, he just saw me in sweats.

The dance floor was getting more crowded as the song progressed and I moved closer to Cody to avoid getting jostled.

"Do you still have to do something for my dad?" I asked. Wasn't that what he had said? I couldn't even remember why I was mad at him anymore.

I laughed softly, "No. I finished that. I thought there were some weak positions in the security detail and figured I'd take a look to check them out. He turned it into an order. Seeing the actual layout in person instead of just pictures and blueprints helped me understand the information better. It was all fine. Took me about ten minutes to look at in person."

"If it wasn't so easy to check out it would have taken longer but...even then I wasn't going to take a while on it. My place was here, with you." A smile slid across my face as we danced.

Julie
I smiled wider at his answer and turned my face into his shoulder to hide how pleased I was. "You know you don't actually work for him anymore right?" I asked, swaying. "You can tell him no if he asks for too much," I told him.

If this conversation happened to remind him that he no longer had such a strict contract in all areas of his life....well then so be it.

"I know. I am still employed as a consult though. So I get to look at the plans, go over the details but I don't have to do most of the protecting. It's...rather nice. Haven't really been asked to do much, this was maybe my third time since coming back." I shrugged. I was trying to get all the paperwork done for college courses, the amount of work I was doing was perfect for that little amount of work.

Julie:
The song came to a gradual end and the crowd broke up a little bit. Others stayed on the floor while the next song started. I took a step back and looked up at him. "As long as you're not feeling overworked," I said with a shrug. That was the whole point of him coming back here.

"Why don't we take a little break? I don't wanna wear you out with one dance," I smiled and let my hand drop from his shoulder, but kept my fingers laced with his. "If you're hungry, I have an inn with the cook here and we can probably sneak a tray of mini quiches," I whispered, with a smirk .

"Pfft, I can keep going." Even with the show of bravado I was glad for the chance for a break. With her leading the way, hand in hand I took the time to look around the party. Turning my head back to her I smiled at her expression. "An in huh? What'd you bribe them with? But some food sounds amazing right now."

Julie:
I smirked again and shook my head as I led the way to the back wall of the massive room and slipped through the door. "Wouldn't you like to know," I joked.

They hosted this party once a year and I had been coming since I was little. Occasionally, a child got bored and wandered. If Cody had stepped out of his body guard headspace all those years ago, he would probably remember the familiar little hallway. He had followed me back here once or twice to drag me back to the main party and keep me out of trouble.

Not that there was any trouble. The hallway led to the kitchen, which was empty because all the servers were currently out doing their job of serving the guests.

I stopped a tray full of appetizers waiting to go out. "Ah, a successful mission," I breathed and reached for a puffy pastry.

I cast a curious glance around as she led us into the hallway. I vaguely recognized the route she led, but mostly decided to just let her lead the way. As much as I took in the surroundings, years of training still lingering around, my gaze returned again and again to Jules beside me.

When we stopped beside a tray I raised an eyebrow, "Doesn't seem like much of a mission, and I thought you had an in with the Chef." My eyes danced as I reached for my own. "I think you are more thief than diplomat here."

Taking a bite I took one last look around the hallway. I really only noticed it then, as I shifted my stance and my shoulder brushed against hers. We were completely alone right now.

Julie:
"Ah, but if we got caught, I could talk my way out of it," I told him with another smirk and a glance in his direction.

I narrowed my eyes at him as I did a double take and dropped my stolen treat on a napkin. I reached for his tie and stepped closer to him. "How the hell..." I mumbled, looking down again at my dress to compare. It was like they were cut from the same cloth.

"How did you have time to get this in one day?" I asked, looking up at him, confused. I had only asked him yesterday to come with me and he only saw me try on the dress last night. There was no way he went out this morning and found this perfect of a match.

"What? Is there something wro-oh." I trailed off with a soft laugh. Looking from my tie to her dress I smiled, "I didn't get this in one day." I took a moment to consider telling her the full truth. It was difficult to know how she might react to that day. It hadn't ended well and was the start to all of her current hermit tendancies.

"When you got your dress I found the tie in the same store. I paid for it while you were changing back out of it. Sorry for lying about it then." A rueful smile crossed my lips as I looked up at her.

Julie:
"So you've had this for months?" I asked, thinking back to that day, my confusion melting into understanding. When I had bought the dress, I knew he would never be going anywhere with me as my date. And yet, he still got a matching tie. Maybe it meant nothing, sometimes I nagged him about his bland tie choices. He could have just gotten it to shut me up. But he hadn't told me he had it...that had to mean something. But what?

I looked back at his face and took in his smile and was overcome with one specific impulse. With my hand already on his tie, I softly pulled him down by the fabric, being careful not to choke him and pressed my lips against his for the second time.

"Yeah. It was a surprise for whenever you decided to wear this dress." I murmured softly. At the time it had just seemed perfect, a fun little surprise that I'd hoped would be touching and make her smile. I liked seeing her smile. Feelings aside, job aside. I liked seeing her face light up when she was truly delighted.

I searched her face, my smile remaining. I could see her trying to puzzle it all out, and I saw when the indecision faded. My lips parted and I started to explain further when she pulled me down. My breath caught when her lips touched mine. I had no excuse this time. No alcohol, no rules, nothing was in the way anymore. I hesitated as my brain tried to find something only to be shut up by my heart as I returned her kiss and let my eyes drift shut.

Julie:
When his lips started moving against mine, I could have melted right there in the kitchen. I moved my hands from his tie to wrap my arms around his neck and tilted my head to get closer.

I was struck for the second time with a feeling of how right this was, how good it felt. I didn’t want to stop and I had to remind myself why it wasn’t a good idea to make out in the kitchen of the fancy party we were attending.

I pulled away with a longing sigh and opened my eyes to search his face. That was the second time I had kissed him now and I was all too aware that the last time ended with him practically running from me.

With her arms around my neck it felt only natural to wind my arms around her waist and pull her closer. I felt my heart hammering in my chest, it felt so loud I wondered if it was actually just hers instead of mine.

This time felt even better than the first. While just as unplanned it felt all the more real and warm than the first time. Though when she pulled away I realized I felt as dizzy now as I had then with all that alcohol in me.

My eyes were slow to open and I let out a slow breath as I searched hers in return. "Maybe I need to buy matching ties more often..." I tried to joke. A brief grin crossed my face before my expression grew serious.

I had so many questions, some I knew were redundant, some pointless. And I couldn't help but be stuck between just smiling like a fool and frowning. I didn't know what to feel, what to think, and only one thing felt really certain out of it all. I wanted to kiss her again. And I would have had it not been for for the question that escaped my mouth first. "Why?"