I ... ( she hesitates for a moment, gaze flicking between the package in his fingertips and his own expression, before finally shrugging her shoulders. ) You know what, why not? What's the worst that can happen?
( after getting accustomed to the taste of blood, caroline's pretty sure a weird flavor of jerky won't be that strange in comparison. she can handle this. and, well, if she can't? she'll just have to rinse her mouth out. )
[ Derek can't help grinning at the moment of uncertainty before Caroline decides to throw caution to the wind to try a new type of jerky. He's glad he won't have to try it alone, in any case, because everything is better with someone else. Someone who's lived as lonely a life as Derek's last decade ought to know.
So he unwraps it and tears it in half, handing a piece to Caroline and keeping one for himself. ]
Worst that can happen is it's gross and we have to go get a drink to wash the taste away, right? Here goes nothing...
[ What he doesn't do is wait for Caroline to try hers before braving a bite of his own. ]
( but her complaint is minimal, just muttered under her breath as an aside, forgotten as soon as she bites into the stick. first impression? well, it's weird. it's not quite beef jerky, not quite the satisfying sensation of teeth digging in to flesh that she was expecting either; it's a strange feeling of almost sticky sinew dragging between her teeth and a flavor that's not really anything familiar. kind of like lamb, kind of like pork, but not. )
Um. ( a really concise opinion, clearly. but she's just not sure what to say, so taking another hesitant bite seems to be a better answer. ) I don't know whether this is good or bad or just too weird to be either, but I don't hate it?
You buy my gator jerky and I owe you a drink for letting you try some? I don't know about all that.
[ It's clear that he's joking, if not by the grin on his face, then by the fact that he's nodding; they've gone out for drinks before and he had a good time. There's no reason they can't do it again, as far as Derek is concerned.
The jerky is...actually not that bad. It isn't what he's expecting, but then again he's not really sure what he was expecting in the first place. It's not amazing; nothing to write home about, but he does sort of wish he'd left a little piece for Malia to try, now that he thinks about it. Oh well. There are plenty of others. ]
Yeah, that's kind of where I'm at, too, actually... Not bad, though. Not great, but not bad, either.
Maybe I just wanted an excuse to have another drink with you.
( that's true, at least. and they don't even have to go out for drinks, technically. caroline has a brand new bottle of bourbon for just this kind of occasion resting atop her dresser... which, if they were going to share, she'd probably move into the living room so as not to seem super weird. because, all said and done, it is pretty weird to keep your liquor in your bedroom. )
I think I'll skip another jerky sampling, though, if that's okay. I don't think it's my thing.
Well maybe I would rather we try something different this time.
[ Derek doesn't necessarily want to give Caroline the wrong idea, because he hasn't really decided how he feels about where they're going, but he also doesn't want to blow her off, because Derek thinks that the key to finding out how he feels about it is to get to know her some more. He can't do that if they're not hanging out. Realistically, he's probably just looking for a friendship out of all of this, but she's certainly attractive to him, so he's not ruling something else out. At least not now, if she's willing to give him more time to feel it out. ]
That's cool, I'll let you off the hook for it. My cousin will probably want to share these, so I'll save it for her.
[ He pauses a little before continuing. ]
So, what do you think? Dinner? Beach? Something a little more out of the box?
( she likes him. that much she knows. but knowing how she feels — even recognizing those feelings as just past the surface, still shallow, more of a crush than anything else at this point — doesn't quite absolve the lingering knowledge in the back of her mind that nothing, not even this place, will really last.
eternity is a long time, and considering even mortal marriages often take a stumble after a few dozen (or even just a few) years, caroline doesn't have much hope in the way of eternal love. or, for that matter, eternal liking. she can't even think up a single set of parents in mystic falls who managed to stay together completely. even the ones who were still married were apart emotionally.
so, here, in a place that's intended to be temporary, caroline's not sure how she feels about the idea of moving past anything but casual and contemporary. friends with benefits, casual hook-ups, mutually consenting rolls in the hay — she's here for it. and if derek just wants to be friends, she'll deal with it. she's learned to handle rejection a little better, after all, thanks to a certain salvatore brother back home.
her answer takes a moment, hands occupied with sweeping the detritus from her lap, but it comes out. eventually. )
I used to love going to Virginia Beach when I was a kid, but I haven't been in years. I didn't even pack a swim suit. Which I guess rules that idea out...
( her nose wrinkles for a moment, just briefly, before a bright laugh washes the expression away. )
[ In Derek's defense, he's at least aware of what's happening in the conversation this time. It's taken a turn and he's being invited to test the boundaries of the relationship between the two of them, moving the needle from friendship toward something a little less platonic.
He finds himself wondering when he'll stop feeling guilty for feeling more inclined to turning down that sort of invitation when it comes up. Today is apparently not that day. ]
We don't have to go swimming to enjoy the beach, you know. There's a lot to be said about the cliche walk on the beach at night. It's actually really peaceful...
[ It's a soft decline, because he does like the idea of going to the beach, but it feels uncomfortable to think about following up his date with Claire with the exact same activity with Caroline. Something tells him that if either of them found out about the other, at best, they'd think he was pretty tacky, even if he hadn't been the one to come up with the idea in either of the instances. ]
( don't worry, derek. she's not offended. in fact, caroline's pretty obviously relieved by the fact that he's not taking her up on the offer. she'd have done it if he'd have been gung ho about the idea, but it had mostly been a joke, a thought that had been blurted out before she'd had the chance to really think about it. )
A walk on the beach doesn't sound terrible. As long as you promise I won't wind up going home with sand everywhere.
( the last time she'd gone to the beach, she'd been unlucky enough to find it in her things for days and even weeks later. she'd like to avoid that, if at all possible. )
[ It's the relief he senses washing over her that ultimately relieves Derek himself of the guilty feeling enveloping him at the rejection to the offer. This? This is better.
A little laugh escapes him and he shrugs. ]
I can only promise that if you promise not to sit down to take a break.
[ Or take off her shoes or put down a bag or lean down to touch the wet sand because how can you not lean down to touch the wet sand when it looks so inviting, like it's begging for your handprint to interrupt the smooth surface? ]
So what you're telling me is you can't promise me I won't leave with sand everywhere.
( which means she's going to have to rinse it off somehow before actually going back inside her own apartment. or his, for that matter. maybe she could leave something here, and then use that as an excuse to track back to his apartment to shower after a beach outing. then all the sand would be in his apartment instead of hers. now that's a thought. )
How about this: you promise not to put sand in my hair, and I'll promise not to track too much of it through your place afterwards?
[ Again, Derek's initial response is a laugh and a shrug. ]
Yeah, sorry, that's pretty much what I'm saying. At least you won't get it anywhere too uncomfortable, though, right?
[ Because that is definitely a real risk while spending time at the beach, at least in bathing suits or naked, in his experience. ]
That is a promise I can keep, so yes. I promise not to put any sand in your hair and as long as you're not intentionally tracking in the entire beach, I'm pretty sure a broom will do the trick, so we're good, there.
[ Derek offers her a smile then and starts to re-wrap the jerky so that he can put it away. ]
So, we're cool? You're not still mad at me for having kids when I don't have kids, right?
( it seems like such a silly thing to say, but that doesn't make her answer any less genuine. if she had really been mad at him, she wouldn't have come by. she definitely wouldn't have gone to the trouble of making him a werewolf-friendly gift basket. )
It's kind of ridiculous to be mad at you, anyway, just because you're good with a baby. ( a self-deprecating little laugh, and caroline shakes her head. ) You know, I've been trying to keep it together, but I guess now you know the real Caroline Forbes... an insecure, neurotic, control freak who overreacts to everything.
( it wasn't that long ago that she panicked and shouted those words at stefan instead. it's easier to admit it, now, and easier to smile as she does. she can't even pretend to be anybody else, especially not with derek. he'd see right through it. )
[ Derek smiles a little at her response. Admittedly, he's relieved. He likes Caroline; she gets him, because she's kind of like him. It's nice to have a friend that is a little closer to his age and isn't from home who still understands what it's like to be him, at least to some degree. He'd honestly been put out rather a lot when he'd thought she was angry with him, so it's nice to know that she isn't, anymore. ]
I really like kids, that's all.
[ He hopes to have several of his own some day, but honestly, Derek's really not holding his breath for that one. If he can't even trust enough to sleep with someone here, he's certainly never going to trust someone enough to have children with them. Still, having Baby as a baby was a nice way to live vicariously through himself and it's nice to dream sometimes. He just...won't tell anyone.
Another smile crosses his expression and he shakes his head, as if to dismiss her summary of herself as unimportant. To him, it kind of is. ]
You're all right, Caroline. You might not be able to see it all the time, but the paranoid control freak that I am totally gets it. We're good, I promise.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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( after getting accustomed to the taste of blood, caroline's pretty sure a weird flavor of jerky won't be that strange in comparison. she can handle this. and, well, if she can't? she'll just have to rinse her mouth out. )
Hit me.
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So he unwraps it and tears it in half, handing a piece to Caroline and keeping one for himself. ]
Worst that can happen is it's gross and we have to go get a drink to wash the taste away, right? Here goes nothing...
[ What he doesn't do is wait for Caroline to try hers before braving a bite of his own. ]
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( but her complaint is minimal, just muttered under her breath as an aside, forgotten as soon as she bites into the stick. first impression? well, it's weird. it's not quite beef jerky, not quite the satisfying sensation of teeth digging in to flesh that she was expecting either; it's a strange feeling of almost sticky sinew dragging between her teeth and a flavor that's not really anything familiar. kind of like lamb, kind of like pork, but not. )
Um. ( a really concise opinion, clearly. but she's just not sure what to say, so taking another hesitant bite seems to be a better answer. ) I don't know whether this is good or bad or just too weird to be either, but I don't hate it?
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[ It's clear that he's joking, if not by the grin on his face, then by the fact that he's nodding; they've gone out for drinks before and he had a good time. There's no reason they can't do it again, as far as Derek is concerned.
The jerky is...actually not that bad. It isn't what he's expecting, but then again he's not really sure what he was expecting in the first place. It's not amazing; nothing to write home about, but he does sort of wish he'd left a little piece for Malia to try, now that he thinks about it. Oh well. There are plenty of others. ]
Yeah, that's kind of where I'm at, too, actually... Not bad, though. Not great, but not bad, either.
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( that's true, at least. and they don't even have to go out for drinks, technically. caroline has a brand new bottle of bourbon for just this kind of occasion resting atop her dresser... which, if they were going to share, she'd probably move into the living room so as not to seem super weird. because, all said and done, it is pretty weird to keep your liquor in your bedroom. )
I think I'll skip another jerky sampling, though, if that's okay. I don't think it's my thing.
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[ He grins a little and gives a facial shrug. ]
Well maybe I would rather we try something different this time.
[ Derek doesn't necessarily want to give Caroline the wrong idea, because he hasn't really decided how he feels about where they're going, but he also doesn't want to blow her off, because Derek thinks that the key to finding out how he feels about it is to get to know her some more. He can't do that if they're not hanging out. Realistically, he's probably just looking for a friendship out of all of this, but she's certainly attractive to him, so he's not ruling something else out. At least not now, if she's willing to give him more time to feel it out. ]
That's cool, I'll let you off the hook for it. My cousin will probably want to share these, so I'll save it for her.
[ He pauses a little before continuing. ]
So, what do you think? Dinner? Beach? Something a little more out of the box?
[ His eyebrows lift with question. ]
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eternity is a long time, and considering even mortal marriages often take a stumble after a few dozen (or even just a few) years, caroline doesn't have much hope in the way of eternal love. or, for that matter, eternal liking. she can't even think up a single set of parents in mystic falls who managed to stay together completely. even the ones who were still married were apart emotionally.
so, here, in a place that's intended to be temporary, caroline's not sure how she feels about the idea of moving past anything but casual and contemporary. friends with benefits, casual hook-ups, mutually consenting rolls in the hay — she's here for it. and if derek just wants to be friends, she'll deal with it. she's learned to handle rejection a little better, after all, thanks to a certain salvatore brother back home.
her answer takes a moment, hands occupied with sweeping the detritus from her lap, but it comes out. eventually. )
I used to love going to Virginia Beach when I was a kid, but I haven't been in years. I didn't even pack a swim suit. Which I guess rules that idea out...
( her nose wrinkles for a moment, just briefly, before a bright laugh washes the expression away. )
Well, unless you want to go skinny dipping.
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He finds himself wondering when he'll stop feeling guilty for feeling more inclined to turning down that sort of invitation when it comes up. Today is apparently not that day. ]
We don't have to go swimming to enjoy the beach, you know. There's a lot to be said about the cliche walk on the beach at night. It's actually really peaceful...
[ It's a soft decline, because he does like the idea of going to the beach, but it feels uncomfortable to think about following up his date with Claire with the exact same activity with Caroline. Something tells him that if either of them found out about the other, at best, they'd think he was pretty tacky, even if he hadn't been the one to come up with the idea in either of the instances. ]
Want to...?
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A walk on the beach doesn't sound terrible. As long as you promise I won't wind up going home with sand everywhere.
( the last time she'd gone to the beach, she'd been unlucky enough to find it in her things for days and even weeks later. she'd like to avoid that, if at all possible. )
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A little laugh escapes him and he shrugs. ]
I can only promise that if you promise not to sit down to take a break.
[ Or take off her shoes or put down a bag or lean down to touch the wet sand because how can you not lean down to touch the wet sand when it looks so inviting, like it's begging for your handprint to interrupt the smooth surface? ]
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( which means she's going to have to rinse it off somehow before actually going back inside her own apartment. or his, for that matter. maybe she could leave something here, and then use that as an excuse to track back to his apartment to shower after a beach outing. then all the sand would be in his apartment instead of hers. now that's a thought. )
How about this: you promise not to put sand in my hair, and I'll promise not to track too much of it through your place afterwards?
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Yeah, sorry, that's pretty much what I'm saying. At least you won't get it anywhere too uncomfortable, though, right?
[ Because that is definitely a real risk while spending time at the beach, at least in bathing suits or naked, in his experience. ]
That is a promise I can keep, so yes. I promise not to put any sand in your hair and as long as you're not intentionally tracking in the entire beach, I'm pretty sure a broom will do the trick, so we're good, there.
[ Derek offers her a smile then and starts to re-wrap the jerky so that he can put it away. ]
So, we're cool? You're not still mad at me for having kids when I don't have kids, right?
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( it seems like such a silly thing to say, but that doesn't make her answer any less genuine. if she had really been mad at him, she wouldn't have come by. she definitely wouldn't have gone to the trouble of making him a werewolf-friendly gift basket. )
It's kind of ridiculous to be mad at you, anyway, just because you're good with a baby. ( a self-deprecating little laugh, and caroline shakes her head. ) You know, I've been trying to keep it together, but I guess now you know the real Caroline Forbes... an insecure, neurotic, control freak who overreacts to everything.
( it wasn't that long ago that she panicked and shouted those words at stefan instead. it's easier to admit it, now, and easier to smile as she does. she can't even pretend to be anybody else, especially not with derek. he'd see right through it. )
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I really like kids, that's all.
[ He hopes to have several of his own some day, but honestly, Derek's really not holding his breath for that one. If he can't even trust enough to sleep with someone here, he's certainly never going to trust someone enough to have children with them. Still, having Baby as a baby was a nice way to live vicariously through himself and it's nice to dream sometimes. He just...won't tell anyone.
Another smile crosses his expression and he shakes his head, as if to dismiss her summary of herself as unimportant. To him, it kind of is. ]
You're all right, Caroline. You might not be able to see it all the time, but the paranoid control freak that I am totally gets it. We're good, I promise.