The soft gasp made his heart pound, hands trembling ever so slightly. He almost dropped the necklace, and in the process of catching it, his one hand landed squarely on the back of Devon’s neck. “Crap— I’m sorry—“ Sebastian swallowed, tearing the hand away and resuming his battle with the clasp. “Clumsy fingers.”
Devon bit her lip — hard — to keep from flinching at the touch. But it seemed an unnecessary action, as it didn’t hurt, but simply sent fire through her. What was happening to her? This… This was not normal for her…
“It’s fine,” she assured him a small whisper, her eyes clamped shut. And it was fine. She wasn’t hurt, just… confused…
Crap. He'd done something wrong– Sebastian was sure of it. Guilt twisting his stomach, he finally, finally managed to fasten the clasp and stepped away, fumbling to find the right words. "I'm sorry– Sorry–"
Devon shook her head a bit and turned to face him, giving him a small smile. “It’s fine. Really. I just… I have weird things that are sort of… triggers, I guess? I don’t know… It’s stupid…”
"It's not stupid at all– I'm the idiot for not being more careful. I already knew you didn't like physical contact much." He bit his lip, eyes flickering away.
“Well… Thank you, Sebastian… Both for the necklace and being so careful. I appreciate the effort,” Devon said softly, wrapping one arm around herself and reaching up to finger her new necklace with the other. She blinked as if something had just crossed her mind before grinning slightly. “Okay, now it’s your turn to open mine.”
Sebastian trained his eyes on the gift he'd set down, picking it up and turning it over in his hands. He hesitated a second before beginning to undo the wrapping, moving with care as if he wasn't used to the particular movement.
Devon chewed on her lip a bit as she watched him open it. She hadn’t really been sure if he would like it, but she thought it might be useful.
Beneath the wrapping paper was a small, simple wooden box. Inside that box was the gift: a black, three-inch pocket knife with a clasp to hook onto his pants or wherever he wanted to put it.
Sebastian lifted the pocket knife out of the box, holding it gingerly as if it was about to crumble to dust. "Devon…" His voice was laced with something akin to awe. "Thank you.."
Devon blushed a little at his thanks, ducking her head as she shrugged. “I thought you might be able to use it… Like, in self defense…”
"Thank you so much–" Words weren't enough to explain how Sebastian was feeling right then. He had just received a gift. The first gift since.. he was eight? Seven?
"You're very welcome," Devon said softly, finally daring to look back up at him. She was so glad he liked the gift… And she really hoped he would never have to use it for the reason she had given it to him, but she hoped that it would help if he did.
Sebastian’s eyes met Devon’s crystal-blue ones, and for a second, an electric shock passed through his body. He swallowed, a ridiculously large grin on display as he replaced the knife into its box and tucked it into his small bag.
(Oof I forgot to mention, he’s wearing a white button down tucked into black jeans, the only nice clothes he owns)
(Lol. Okay, thanks for the info.)
Devon blinked in shock as his eyes met hers, giving her the strangest feeling. It was like she had suddenly forgotten how to breathe…
Remembering she was still wearing her apron, she cringed and reached back to untie it. "I totally forgot I was wearing this," she muttered under her breath as she tried to undo the ties.
(Lol np)
Sebastian offered a slightly tense shrug. “I don’t really mind, don’t worry about it.” Suddenly, a thought struck him. “Where’s Layla?”
Devon looked up at him wide-eyes. Her hands froze in place as she stared at him.
"I am an idiot. I am an absolute idiot…" she murmured to herself as she frantically tried to undo the apron ties. "What kind of mother forgets her own daughter? Gosh, how could I forget about Layla?!"
“What?” Sebastian blinked, confusion clouding his features. “What happened?”
"I left her in her roo–" Devon froze again and sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. When she started speaking again, it was quieter and much less frantic. "No… I did not leave her in her room… She's with my parents. Gosh, where is my head today…?"
Sebastian let out a soft laugh, far from unkind. “Christmas must just have you frazzled, the dinner will help loosen your nerves.”
Devon nodded slowly. "Right… Christmas, of course. Yeah, that must be it," she sighed, knowing that was only part of the reason. The other, though she wouldn't admit it, possibly had something to do with a certain mysterious man that just so happened to be standing right in front of her.
"Why will this not come undone?" she muttered after another minute of being unable to untie herself.
Sebastian opened his mouth, about to suggest that he give it a go, but the events of roughly five minutes ago caused the words to die on the tip of his tongue. The last The last he wanted to do now was make her uncomfortable, and undoing that knot would definitely do that.”
Devon sighed as she tugged at the knot again. Just when she was about to go grab a pair of scissors from the kitchen, the knot came undone.
"Finally…" she breathed as she pulled the apron over her head. She ran her fingers though her short hair to put it back where it belonged. Just for today, she had managed to add a bit of a wave to it, which she loved.
Temporarily mesmerized, Sebastian stared at Devon’s wavy hair, mouth going dry. Crap. Snap out of it you idiot! It was easier said than done, but be eventually managed to tear his eyes away, pulse fluttering.
(Ahehehe… I love this RP. Gosh… Sorry, Sebs, you'll get the girl eventually.)
Devon glanced over at him with a small smile. "Would you like some coffee or tea or something while we wait for everyone else to arrive?" she asked over her shoulder as she started making her way toward the kitchen.
(Akskj I love it to
Lol)
“Uh, sure,” he replied softly, trailing after her like a lost dog.
(Ok, now all I can think of is a puppy version of Bucky because Sebastian… Seb Stan… Ya know?)
"What would you like? I've got a few kinds of teas in the cupboard somewhere, possibly some hot cocoa… The wine is for the party, so that's off limits. But you can have whatever else you find," Devon offered, turning to smile at him.
(I am still getting into the whole marvel/dc thing I’d he’s from there so I don’t know him yet, sorry ):
“Uh, cocoa sounds nice,” he said, returning her smile, only shyer.
(Oof. Okay. Well, there's some fan art of Bucky as a puppy on Pinterest and such. It's really cute.)
Devon nodded and turned back to her cupboards. "Cocoa… Okay, that should be with the teas… Which should be… Right here," she grunted, leaning against the counter to reach a higher shelf. Snatching the little plastic box quickly, she made sure that she wouldn't spill anything and pulled a packet of hot cocoa out. "There you go!"
Yes, she was being rather perky at the moment… And yes, she knew it was rather strange… She just had no idea how to deal with the feelings and emotions flitting through her when she was around him, so she was trying to cover it up. And it was not working well…
(Lol)
Sebastian thanked her, but frowned slightly. Something was definitely off about the way she was acting… “Devon?” he asked, “Are you sure you’re okay? You seem a little off.”
"Hm? Oh, no, I'm fine. Sorry… I think I'm just having an off day today," Devon explained with a shrug, holding in a sigh. She grabbed a second packet of hot cocoa for herself. "Do you like your hot cocoa made with milk or water?"