Mind, Body and Soul

Elijah had always had an impulsive streak in him. The way his eyes lit up reinforced the childlike manner about him. He continued to smile at Mira, coaxing her silently as he took her hands with his own. A smile took her face and Elijah chuckled, knowing that he had her. Elijah stepped up and away when she rose from her seat. He looked at her curiously and watched as her hands went to her robes. She shrugged them off and Elijah gasped. He whirled around and bit his lip. He closed his eyes and turned his mind away from her in an attempt to distract himself. He found his mind turning back to her though, even if his body refused. It produced hundreds of possible pieces of underwear and soon it filled in the blanks. He knew her body inside out it seemed and his mind had no problem with putting Mira in different types of underwear.

He felt his wand hand twitch and his toes curled, clicking once they reached a certain angle. He so badly wanted to turn but he wanted to give her some privacy. He heard the last piece of clothing fall to the floor and Elijah bit his lip. He slowly turned and found Mira staring at him. His eyes slipped down to her bra and in that instant he wanted to fall into a hole. He dropped his eyes and shifted the weight on his feet. He didn’t know why he’d chosen jeans now. Mira was gorgeous, that couldn’t be denied. His mind had tormented his body with visions of her for nights now; it knew what it wanted and Elijah was reluctant to give in; for fear of embarrassing both Mira and himself.

Elijah blinked when she spoke, shaking him from his thoughts. He stared at her back for a few moments before stepping forward and lifting his wand. With a few whispered words, the script began to appear on Mira’s back. It showed just how long Elijah had spent in the country when he was a child. He’d learned much more than conventional subjects while in Sofia. He’d trawled all through Bulgaria with his tutor and with his nanny. He was a learner primarily but he’d always been good with his hands. He had enjoyed those summers up in the mountains running with the sheepdogs as they herded the sheep. That was before Alice had died; afterwards, Elijah hadn’t wanted to do much of anything.

Mira’s scene was intoxicating. Elijah couldn’t stop himself from leaning down to kiss her neck. He gently nipped the skin with his teeth and kissed the spot over her pulse point before throwing his wand onto one of the beds. He ran his hands down her smooth, creamy arms and laced their fingers together. Elijah took a step towards Mira, so his chest was flush with her back, and he leaned over her shoulder, bringing his head to rest just above her right breast.

“I’ve missed you...” He whispered as he began to rub circles into the palms of her hands. He whispered sweet nothings to her in a blurred mix of Bulgarian and French. Elijah still couldn’t quite figure out why he knew French so well but the year he spent in Paris was slowly unfolding in his mind, lending to the idea that he’d picked it up while he’d been there. Now, all of the languages he knew had a blur of each other in them.

“So much...” his words came back to English, picking up where he’d left off. He wasn’t trying to seduce her, not intentionally so. He just needed to feel her skin beneath his fingertips. He needed to feel her body move over his as his chest rose and fell. She was still here for him, even after everything and he couldn’t have been more thankful. “I’m so sorry...” He murmured. “I hurt you and I know I shouldn’t have. I should have respected and cared for you but I didn’t and I want you to know that I am sorry. I know they’re just words but I do care about you Mira, more than I think I even realise. I want to make it up to you.” Elijah kissed her jaw and skimmed his nose across her neck.

“Have dinner with me.” He suggested with the same husky tone. “Anywhere...you choose. I’ll take you to China and we can sample their best dishes, or to Italy where we can watch them make the pizza. Or maybe,” at this thought Elijah smirked. “Down to that chippy in the next street over from the Leaky Cauldron.” And perhaps with that said he lowered the tone of the whole request. He was after a smile though; as well as a 'yes'.

With every move that suggested Elijah was insecure about her being nearly naked Mira seemed to become more confident in herself. She knew she was very attractive, gorgeous even, but only truly felt that way when Elijah was around. He turned back around to face her and for once she didn't feel any desire to blush. Mira heard him whisper the spell and after a moment of anticipation she felt it. The feeling was almost indescribable. Partly felt like water, partly tingling. It didn't hurt or anything - it was actually pleasant. Then it ended.

Mira turned and looked down towards her back and saw the black ink lines of the poem. Her breath caught in awe. Where she had almost expected the black ageist white to look really bad but it actually looked quite dramatic and striking.

Suddenly a thought popped into her head. Slowly she set into panic mode. Vivian Anderson, over-protective mother. It was almost summer vacation and there was no way Mira would be able to hide this giant tattoo from her. Mira was not the type to disappoint any adult, much less her mother. There would probably be a lot a yelling involved when she found out. Another thought hit her. Rafael. Oh god, oh god, oh god. The boy had completely slipped her mind in these last minutes of pure bliss. There was no way he would not see the tattoo on her. Mira's heart sunk. It wasn't broken, just sad. Mira knew for sure that Rafael was not her true love. She knew that was Elijah. Standing in front of him there was no question in her mind.

Mira felt frozen in place, luckily Elijah was pressed up to her back, making it seem natural for her to stand so still. She could barely feel his hands wrapped in hers. Slowly she was brought back into the moment. Her chest rose and fell in a constant pattern. Elijahs words made a small smile creep on to her face. She had missed him too. So much more than he knew. But then he started in again, on how he had hurt her. Though it felt good to know he felt remorse and cared so didn't want to think of those times. All she wanted was to focus on their future.. together.

His next comments were much more pleasing. Mira laughed, feeling fully revived from her momentary panic. His lips were drawn across her jaw and they left a trail of fire wherever they brushed. "Dinner? Isn't that a little traditional for us?" Actually Mira liked the idea. It was romantic for Elijah and was like a step in the right direction to the type of relationship she wanted with him. But she also wanted to stay here. She was already mostly undressed and her body wanted him so badly. "But let's mix it up. We don't need to leave London. But dinner sounds nice"

Mira turned around so she was facing Elijah. Pushing up on her tiptoes she brought her lips to meet his.

Elijah didn’t think that dinner was that traditional. Sure it was a little old fashioned but they needed that kind of stability. Their relationship had been like an aeroplane hitting turbulence so far and their success rate hadn’t been the best. Dinner was something his father would approve of. Dinner was something that Elijah would take part in and enjoy – it meant food. Plus, he’d have wonderful company and it meant discussion. Mira was the only one that seemingly knew everything. He had nothing to hide from her really. She knew the gist of how Alice died – just like the rest of them – but that was all she needed to know for Elijah to feel as if he could share the world and beyond with her. He’d never forget that night for as long as he lived. He remembered it as if it were yesterday; with great clarity. It still hurt the same. The wound was red and raw as if it would never heal. Elijah didn’t think it would ever. Chase had begun to fill the whole Alice had left but when she’d been ripped out, she’d left a bigger gap than before.

“Maybe just into Hogsmeade...a picnic or something,” Elijah offered with a gentle smile. “There’s this beautiful little pond that is visited by the most beautiful of creatures. I’m sure you’ll adore it as much as I.”

Elijah’s thoughts turned to his father at that moment, knowing that he would approve of this. Elijah wasn’t doing this because of Viktor though; he was doing it because it felt right. Mira was his safety net – she always had been – and now he needed to sit in it for a while to recuperate. Perhaps he’d never even leave. But his father was doing the same as he. He was finding himself someone and settling himself. Elijah had renewed feelings of grief for his mother but he daren’t let them show. He had yet to visit her grave. He would eventually – when he went home for the summer. He’d have to visit her for closure and to, y’know, say ‘hello.’

When Mira’s lips met his, Elijah immediately responded. His arms wound around her waist and his eyes fell shut. He let his hands slip to her bum and he lifted her gently, his hands sliding down to her calves to encourage her to wrap her legs around his middle. Elijah stepped towards the bed and laid her down gently. He broke the kiss as he did so and found himself straddling her waist. Elijah flushed pink and removed his hands, averting his eyes with embarrassment. He mumbled “Sorry” but did not move – why though he did not know.

Mira didn't have time to respond and say what a great idea she thought a picnic was before her mind was cleared of all thoughts by Elijah's kiss. It was so different then the ones they had just shared. More like the ones she had grown to expect from the Bulgarian over the years. So just like she was used to Mira responded in reflex. She wrapped her legs around Elijah without thought and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him to her to kiss. There were no thoughts in her mind, but she knew this was what she had been longing and searching for. Every second he was so close to her felt like weight was being lifted off of her shoulders. She felt more and more free.

Mira registered her back hitting the sheets of the bed. She somehow knew this was farther than new-Elijah would go and sure enough the kiss was broken only a second later. The world snapped back in around her, and she looked up at Elijah over her. He murmured sorry and Mira was disappointed that the end of the moment had come. She had been close though, and now she knew that he wanted her too. It was almost enough for her, but not quite. "Sorry?" she asked, her tinkling voice lingering in the air. "I'm not sorry". Mira smiled up at him lifted her hands to link her fingers around his neck. She gently pulled him down on top of her again, bringing his lips to hers.

Mira could see a future now more than ever before in her life. She could see little mini-Mira's and mini-Elijah's running around on the Anderson Manor lawn. It was all so clear. But the forever rational part of her brain told her what she had always thought to know 'he won't settle down, he'll leave in the morning'. She hoped that this was a lie. He was known for leaving, but maybe she could make him stay.

But he wouldn't stay if this happened. So for the first time ever Mira put her hands in between them put light pressure signaling him to get up. After he sat up Mira did too. "A picnic? It's nice out. Lets go now" Her body screamed to pull him back, to get what she wanted, but the rational part of her brain stopped her. If she could get him to fall as hard for her as she had for him that many years ago all would fall into place behind it.

"I'll get some clothes on" Mira said with the happiest smile she could manage. It wasn't very happy.

Magic was in the air; and Elijah could feel it within every cell his body possessed. It crackled against his fingers like little electric shocks as his hands glided down the curvaceous, if not slightly on the slim side, body that Mira possessed. The kiss they shared was more familiar though he couldn’t shake off the feeling of wrongness – the feeling that he’d overstepped the mark somehow. This was seemingly something she expected and wanted from him if the way she returned the kiss was any indication as to her desires. He didn’t know whether what he was doing was right, though. His tongue mingled and battled with hers without his direction. It knew what needed to be done so his mind could comfortably whirl while his body responded to her and prompted hers to respond to him. He didn’t have to try hard and neither did she. Soon he was acutely aware of the discomfort jeans created for him. He continued, however, to mentally sort through the pros and cons of sex; and more specifically, sex with Mira in his dorm room.

Something told him it was a bad idea and he couldn’t help but agree.

The sheets were soft and smooth; silky, like Mira’s skin. His hands were wandering and his fingers were desperate to pop open the back of her bra. His mind was pulling on the reigns though and telling him to hold his figurative horses. He couldn’t do this now – what would it achieve? Merlin knew Elijah wanted this, his body’s reaction was enough confirmation of that, but he wanted to go on and prove that he was better than his pre-oblivative counterpart. He’d apologized – no doubt a first for him. Elijah hadn’t known what he was supposed to do. With his mind whirling he’d only had so much control over his body and he’d been quick to stop things before they got beyond his own comprehension. As much as he wanted to lose himself in the throes of passion, Elijah was consciously aware of his awkwardness sexually. He didn’t know. Well, he did but he was too embarrassed to really do anything about his blatant curiosity. Elijah was glad Mira hadn’t given him a chance.

She left the bed and Elijah fell against the bed, his breathing laboured as he clawed back some control over his body. He covered his face with his hand and felt the cool metal of his rings break the heat that rumbled across his body. His chest was heaving and his heart was hammering against his ribcage as if it were trying to break free from its fleshy prison. Elijah needed to calm down. His blood was thundering through his veins and he felt like he was ready to explode – either that or implode.

Elijah swung his legs over the side of the bed and got up. He mumbled something about getting another shower and opened up his trunk. He grabbed another pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a pair of checked boxers before slamming it shut and retreating to the bathroom. He tossed the clothes away once the door was shut. He sank down onto the toilet and dropped his head into his hands. His fingers threaded through his hair and he looked up to view his pale reflection in the mirror above the white marble sink. Elijah swallowed and pressed his fingers against his cheek curiously. He then narrowed his eyes, bringing his eyebrows together. He shifted his body weight a little and he gave a cry as the denim moved painfully across his skin.

Elijah jumped to his feet, giving another poorly-stifled cry of pain, and turned on the shower. He tore his jeans off and jumped under the spray. He closed the shower doors and leaned his head against the silver tiles. Elijah gasped as he felt the water heat his back and he closed his eyes, allowing the liquid to run into every cavity his body had. He felt himself begin too cool down and relax. Elijah exhaled a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding in and looked up at the shower head. The water ran over his face and dipped down his neck. His hair was once again laden with water but Elijah didn’t care. Under the spray he was safe. Under the head of water he could pretend that beyond the door there wasn’t a woman waiting expectantly for him. He could believe otherwise – for now.

OOC:This could be a good point to stop this thread and start up the other one at the picnic. Just to save all that awkward in-between stuff. Plus I've never actually completed a thread before. They all just ramble on forever.

Mira frowned at Elijahs quick departure. She wasn't sure how she felt about the whole thing. Obviously he had changed. Saying sorry, taking no as an answer. It was different.. to say the least. But on reflection it was nice. Mira might finally have some say in this relationship. Oh god, it could be a relationship. Suddenly Mira's face got really red and she was glad Eli was in the bathroom. In all of this time she had never considered what they had to be a relationship. She might call it that, but it just was.. there.. in her mind.

Mira was very glad that she had the excuse to head back to her dorm room and change. She grabbed the robe that had fallen at the floor and tugged it quickly on. Grabbing the other clothes she quickly walked out the of the room, breathing quickly. It was all so scary and new. Now that there was actually a change of together she wasn't so sure how that would feel. To be able to say 'Sorry I can't go to Hogsmede with you, I'm with Elijah Krum'. To really, truly, honestly, Elijah's would be both amazing and horrifying. Judging by his quick departure he was also having second thoughts. With no sex (too strange for both - clearly) their relationship would be completely changed. Mira just didn't know if that would be good or not.

Luckily she didn't encounter anyone in the hallway to the girls dorm and the dorm itself was deserted. Making no move to change Mira fell on to the bed, face in the sheets. This was one crazy day.