[Event] Relighting The Flame [ Jacob X Lenn ]

RE: Relighting The Flame [ Jacob X Lenn ]

For some reason, Jacob never had held the expectation that Lenn was going to move out of his place after they returned from their trip. Perhaps it was because Jacob felt that Lenn was strong enough to believe in their shared ability to stay together through thick and thin, or that he himself believed he had made a truly uplifting speech about that very same thing. Whatever the case, he was happy to be home with Lenn, and wake up next to her in the mornings. After everything they had been through, returning to a place of comfort was heaven.

However, he also felt the tension between them in the days that followed. Even he was not fool enough to believe that they could return to normal after all of the stuff in New York. For one, they were both still sore and injured from everything, especially Jacob. He lacked Lenn's healing, and had to make do with normal healing time. For two, there was no way that the memories of what had happened were just going to disappear, even though they had both seemingly made some peace with them. The last ingredient to their healing would simply be time, and they both needed that. At least they would be doing it together.

As for Jacob, he was able to distract himself with his work most of the time. The kids needed his tutelage and he was not going to deprive them of that. But at home, he gave Lenn her space. He still gave her hugs and kisses and spent time with her, for sure, but his libido was temporarily shot. Not that Lenn seemed to mind for the time being. It would come back in due time, and after awhile he could already feel himself warming up to her again.

When the Academy made the announcement of the Snow Ball, Jacob immediately through about taking Lenn to it. It seemed like the perfect outing to reignite the ember at the heart of their relationship. The Snow Ball was a safe and innocuous little gala in a place far removed from their troubles that would allow them to get close again. He correctly guessed Lenn's hesitance when he brought it up, but he insisted with a smile.

For the first time since they had returned, Jacob was feeling excited and energetic. Coming back home, he seemed sunnier and more full of life than the previous days.

"So... Have you made up your mind, hon? I think it'll be really fun~ and a great way to get out of the house. Give it a chance."

RE: Relighting The Flame [ Jacob X Lenn ]

Jacob was well aware of Lenn's extended stays in the house. He was not even entirely sure that she left to go to her modeling work. It concerned him even though he could also understand why. She was living a new life away from the mercenary world, and it was probably a huge shift from what she was used to. She needed time to acclimate and find new things to do with her freedom. Not to mention that she was also getting over all the trauma and emotions from the trip, just like he was. Still, he knew that she needed to get out and about if she wanted to fully get away from the bad feelings.

Sitting down next to her, he kissed her on the cheek and slowly pushed the frame of her gun back onto the table. Cleaning her weapons may have been her relaxing habit, but she needed other things too.

"We'll find you something nice. We'll make a date of it. Hell, if you want help shopping, we could get help. I think that one guy from your work--the one who likes my butt--knows a thing or two, cause god knows I don't. Other than you looking good."

His sense of humor was coming back with time as well. Putting an arm around her shoulders softly, he pulled her into a hug and tried to shake away some of her worries.

"I can sense that you're wary, hon. I know you're a little on the paranoid side, and that's okay. But you can feel safe at the Academy. We won't be alone and security will be tight. I mean, Lelei, the chief of security, is a giant shark man. On the slim chance that something goes wrong, we'll have him AND every laser-shootin' student and teacher on our side. Plus, whatever magical wards they've probably set up too."

If there was anything that drained motivation more than seeing a smile that was not genuine, Jacob had yet to encounter it. Lenn's beautiful smile had raised his hopes slightly. He would have been more than willing to follow up his joke with more if it kept her happy. Then he saw her eyes, and the lack of happiness within them. It almost made him want to stop and try again later. But he had to remind himself that Lenn was probably not doing that on purpose, and that she was actually trying as hard as he was. Still, it did a number on his enthusiasm.

He had to keep up appearance for Lenn though. Not to say that he was completely drained, Jacob still had enough energy and confidence left to keep pushing for a date with Lenn. But he knew that if he let on how her reaction affected him, it would only bring her down even more, and then it would be a downward spiral. One of them had to be a stable figure of positive emotion, and he was willing to be that person.

When she finally agreed to the date, Jacob was genuinely ecstatic. Whether she was simply giving-in or actually enthused by the prospect, it meant she was willing to go out and try and have a good time. He smiled brightly and kissed her cheek again.

"Wonderful! It's be great. We'll just need to get you a nice dress. Do you want to try and stick with the theme of the Ball? White? Blue-ish? That kind of thing?"

If he could get her mind off the bad stuff and onto anything else, it was a good thing.

"And do you want to bring anything along with us?"

Jacob was practically bouncing in his seat as Lenn agreed more and more to the idea of going out shopping and going to the Snow Ball. Going to the Snow Ball made him excited for any number of reasons, but shopping may have seemed a slightly odd thing for him to get excited about. However unmanly it seemed to be giddy about picking out a dress, Jacob was happy to see Lenn willing to get out of the house to spend her time doing something else, with him no less. In his mind, it was nothing short of an entirely good thing. Getting a dress and having a date might just be the first big step towards repairing their relationship.

He removed his hands quickly enough to not get caught in her whirlwind of reassembling her gun. Her whole fascination with guns had lost its novelty for Jacob awhile ago. As long as she kept the things safe and did not hide anymore in surprising places, he was fine with their presence in the apartment. Plus, he saw just how much it relaxed her.

"Awesome~ This'll be fun."

Living in the metro area of the city meant that they were never more than a few minutes away from the best shopping and entertainment on the island, or at least in the city. No more than twenty minutes later, Jacob and Lenn were standing in an upscale boutique and Jacob, while still excited, was also feeling a little out of his element. It had been forever since he went shopping for lady's fashions, and that was when he went with his daughter to find a prom dress.

"So, uh, I think the first step is determining how much skin you wanna show. At least that's how it was when Chiru got her prom dress..."

The explosion of smart device usage around the world made an age-old and cliched situation so much easier. Waiting for Lenn to pick out what dress she wanted was not unexpected by Jacob. He knew from the start that the process would take awhile. The only question was how long exactly was that while going to be. When it all began, he just hoped it did not last longer than his battery would hold out.

But Lenn, being the beautiful yet unusual woman she was, made the process more involving for Jacob. Where he thought he would be waiting around and simply giving his yay or nay on dresses, he was more actively engaged. It turned out that Jacob's little experience in the matter was better than Lenn's complete lack thereof. Time seemed to move much quicker as he offered his opinion on dresses before, during, and after she had tried them on. The more dresses he saw her in, the more he honed-in on what exactly worked with Lenn.

In the end, he was in total agreement with the boutique girls as to the final dress. It was simple and elegant, letting Lenn's natural curves enhance the dress from underneath. The slit of the leg hinted at a more dangerous and wild side, but in a classy manner. The sash accessory seemed a bit much, but he could not argue with how it complemented the dress. It was worth the time and money to see her in it.

Back at home, Jacob was doing fine dressing himself up while Lenn bashfully figured out her dress. He had his own store of formal clothes, and was well-versed in how to get into them. The core of the outfit would be familiar to Lenn or anyone else: formal pants, shirt, and vest. He chose to go with "southern gentleman" colors, consisting mostly of whites and cream colors. But this time he actually filled out the rest of the outfit as it should be. He had a tie, an overcoat, and even cuff links. He never got to use cuff links!

He finished a little faster than Lenn, and wait for her outside the bedroom. Chuckling at her reddened face, he took her hand like a classical gentleman and kissed it.

"I'm ready for a wonderful evening with a beautiful woman. You think you'll be alright? I half-expect to find a pistol strapped onto your thigh."