Darling just dive right in, follow my lead [tag; Piper]

Crack!

Came the sound of his arrival as the ground return to something more solid beneath his feet, hand clutched at his stomach as it turned over from the apparition. Yordan doubted he would ever get used to the feeling, the man had never liked having his body pushed, pulled and twisted. Alas, he had to be in London and doubted muggle transportation would be fit enough for any wizard. Maybe, just maybe, one day he would give it a try. That was a strong possibility even if he never made the time. His hand rose to run through his neatly combed hair before moving to run down the front of the crisp white shirt he wore. The Bulgarian gave a slight shiver as the wind picked up around him, causing his long legs to push him forward faster. He was nervous and it made for a very long walk.

He’d given an interview, despite his actual lack of words and neutral answers they had reached out for a follow up. As much as the swordsmith loved to talk about his work with weapons he still had problems listening to the deep sound of his voice.  Nevertheless he had an appointment and being late was not an option. Full lips pursed as he walked into the open door of the coffee shop as another man exited, blue eyes sweeping over the room quickly. Once more his hand moved along the front of his shirt before he moved to sit in a chair, long fingered hands resting on the tabletop as he gave a sigh. He felt oddly out of place, mixed amount the quickly moving and sharply dressed people exiting and entering. Suddenly he worried if his choice of attire was okay for a follow up interview. His black slacks were pristine as was his white collared shirt. His black dress boots finished off his look and the man’s hair wasn’t in it’s usually unruly state. Hopefully whomever the lady in charge sent his way wouldn’t judge him to harshly, even if he was used to it.

“Um, yes…” he watched the slight rise in brow as he spoke, as softly as his deep voice would allow, before continuing on, “Can I have a pot of tea?” he gave a smile the wrinkled the edges of his eyes, “As well as another place setting, someone will be joining me shortly.” The man gave a swallow and a nod before his long fingers drummed trimmed nails along the table, comforting him a bit in his anxiousness. He had never been recognized for something he had done. Compared, sure there was a hefty amount of that, but never much praise. Having been asked to do the interview at first had been hard for him to accept. What was he to speak of? What if what they had expected of him had fallen short? What if this was the meeting that said those things despite having read the nicely written article he was still afraid. Fear had been a new addition to his small range of emotions and if the man had to say anything about it, it would definitely be how uncomfortable he was. He didn’t l the fast beating of his heart or how he felt unusually warm. It was stressful. 

He gave a nod as his order was placed on the table, making himself a cup of tea but not taking a drink. He could do this, talk more – give more – and this wouldn’t ruin him. He would, he had to now that he’s traveled so far to do so. His gaze shifted and the corners of his mouth turned up into a smile that made his eyes sparkle. He stood, shifting to walk around and pull her chair of for her. “Hello.” As he moved to retake his own seat he took a deep breath, “I ordered a pot of tea…but if you would like coffee we can have some brought over.” The first interview had been better, at his home, in his workshop and familiar in a comforting way. He didn’t know the ups and downs of this day by he only hoped that he did nothing to alter the perception she may have had of him. “I was surprised that you want to see me again…” His gaze washed over Piper, the woman he'd met before his initial interview, pleased hit was her rather than someone new. “I do hope your day has started off nicely.” Maybe some small talk would ease the rapid bouncing of his knee, maybe.

@Piper Morel

Piper could not help but smirk when she saw the neatly written note left sticking a few pages into their recent issue. Written on it were vague details, a name, a location, and a time. She knew that Catherine had arranged this meeting and while she would never admit it outright, she appreciated her assistant’s care for detail and discretion. It was not in Piper’s nature to meet the guests of the articles outside of work, the last thing she needed was a scandal that assumed she was using her position of power to date celebrities. In this case she would make an exception. Piper would not bribe him with articles and promises of fame to ask him out on a date, but she wanted to take another look. She wanted to see if this was a connection worth pursuing, if the man she had interviewed the previous time was just as handsome and enticing as she had remembered or if her lack of sleep and lack of boyfriend was affecting her judgment. It was a little unprofessional but between meetings, interviews, and appearances, Piper had little to no time for anything else, much less meeting potential lovers.  Sure, as the junior editor of a very big magazine in London, those in the fashion business knew her name, many models wanted to make the cover, but very few people knew or cared much about her. She kept her personal life secret, at least as much of it as she could; the spotlight was not for her.

Yordan Kalishnikov was not the most famous celebrity she had met, but he was one of the very few that had managed to leave an impression on her. He was tall and handsome and had this sort of quiet mysteriousness surrounding him, the type that made Piper feel both nervous and excited about. As she walked to the elevator, issue tucked under her arm, she reminded herself that it was okay. She was not meeting him under completely false pretenses. She did want to talk to him again, about work, and if something came out of that, and then it would have been time well spent. She smoothed the wrinkles of her gray shift dress on the descent to the first floor, resting against the wall of the elevator as she rotated each ankle slowly, she had gone for the highest heels she could find in her closet, which were some awfully uncomfortable golden pumps she had worn once, a long time ago, then had taken off halfway through the event she had worn them to. Piper could deal for an hour or two, and most importantly, they looked good. Fashion was always worth the sacrifice.

It was a short walk to the café, Catherine had done well to choose a coffee shop, close enough to work should there be an emergency but far enough to give them a little privacy. She contemplated smoking a cigarette, she felt unusually nervous, but then decided against it.  Rather, she chose to slightly grip the pack hidden in the pocket of her black winter coat for comfort. "Stop acting like a little girl, Piper" she scolded herself in a low whisper, before pulling the door to the café. It was not difficult to spot him, in the corner sitting on his own. Piper could not help but smile to herself as she walked over, straightening her posture and reminding herself to act professional. She greeted him with a smile, “Hello again, thank you so much for meeting me here,” she said before taking a seat in the chair he had pulled out for her. “Tea is just fine, thank you,” she said and watched him with much curiosity as he sat back down. She thought about how to begin for a second but then he began talked to her, asking her about her day. It was a common, polite gesture but Piper also found it somewhat sweet of him to care enough to ask.  “Oh you know, it’s quite busy around this time of year,” she started, “but it’s still manageable, I hope your trip into London was not too much of a bother, I know how busy the tube can get around this time of day,” she continued as she pulled out her small notebook, removing her glove first and placing them on the table.

“I am happy that you made the time to meet with me, I wanted to talk to you about using your work in an upcoming issue, as part of a fashion layout. We have a few different ideas that you can look through, should you be interested. The review on your last article was quite favorable, and we received a lot of interest in your work from our investors so…” she started, and then suddenly stopped. There she went being boring old emotionless Piper Morel.

“There I go going off about work again,” she laughed it off, “before we get into the specifics, is this something you’d be interested in?  I am no artist but I do know the difficulty of being thrown into the spotlight due to the mainstream media. I heard from my assistant that you’ve gathered quite a following,” she said before lowering her voice, “you are quite handsome after all, it’s to be expected,” she trailed of. That much was true but she hoped she had not come off too forward. This was still work, after all.

"I must admit I was surprised to be contacted." He admitted, clearing his throat as he lifted his glass for a drink as he settled back into his chair. "There is never enough time, right?" He nodded as the glass was placed back on the table, "The trip over was fairly manageable I suppose. I don't much leave home...being that my workshop is just out back." His voice was still too loud in his own ears as he tried to speak in a softer tone. He watched as her gloves were removed and let his gaze lift to her face as her notebook came into view. She was stunning and the Bulgarian wondered if he had thought this during their first meeting. It had been quite some time since a woman had struck him, only once if he was being truly honest had it happened. Yet, here he sat forgetting his well-taught manners as she spoke and sat as still as a statue. "What?" He asked as he blinked a few times to clear his head, "Yes, of course." He said finally with a shake of his head and a nervous laugh.

"I didn't think the article would have much of a liking, but I'm glad to help in any way that I can." The deep rumbles of his voice caused him to clear his throat as he shifted in his seat and he chuckled, "Work takes up our lives, no apologies needed." He nodded to her words, "If it will help you, I will offer whatever help I can provide." His head inclined a bit from side to side "Being noticed on the street is taking some getting used to but for the most part, it's rather nice. Most people have questions when they approach." His lips curved at the edges as he smiled at her for a moment, "Yes, I've been told this often, but, thank you. I am sure you are often stopped on the street and men tell you often you are stunning." His brows rose, "Which you are." His glass rose to his lips as he took a sip, watching her over the edge of smooth ceramic before he took a deep breath. "I'm sure this is not a fact lost on you"

His gaze shifted to scan the room, giving himself a moment after his own words to regain himself. "I think this is the farthest I have traveled in a long time." He mused out loud without meaning to before his gaze drifted back to her, "Though I suppose it's not that far from your office." His hands rested on the tabletop as his framed leaned back more in the chair he occupied to become more comfortable, "Do you travel a lot for your work?" He asked and realized that this meeting was about the article she had coming up not a social call, but he found himself wanting to spend just a bit more time with her.  "I feel the need to say now that I have agreed to this article you will be rushing back off to the office, or, would you like to stay for lunch?" He figured if he was going to be bold in anything it should be his advances when the time allowed for such a thing that was. "But I understand if you have prior engagements to get to." He gave a polite smile as he watched her.

The man couldn't lie, he hoped beyond hope that he could stay even if only for a while.

If men were taken with the dark haired woman’s beauty, she’d be none the wise. In fact, she doubted that she would have noticed even if a man stopped her in the middle of the sidewalk on the way to work. Piper was so involved with her work that she rarely noticed anything outside of things directly related with her place of employment. Therefore, it was to no surprise that Piper laughed at his comment, his words falling on her ears the same way a joke would. “I’m surrounded by models that tower over me and celebrities, I doubt anyone ever notices me,” she comments, though it was not meant to come off as insecure. Piper Morel was a beautiful woman, she did not need a man to tell her so as her appearance was something she took great pride in. “But I appreciate the compliment, no need to flatter me you’ve got the job already, love,” she responded with a grin, leaning forward to take the teacup in her hand and bring it to her lips as he added to his words, there was something mysteriously lovely about him, something that made it difficult to pull her eyes away. Was it this that the other subscribers, the one that had written fanmail referred to? It was a sort of understated charm that dream the witch in.

“Is it? But I imagine with your line of work you must often work from home,” she commented in a matter of fact manner, she had seen the place herself, had walked in his shoes for a day sort of speak. It had been a far cry from the grand office that Piper had scored after a few years at Label Magazine but it seemed much more rewarding than what she was doing at her own job. “I do travel a lot, I spend about half of the week on assignments out of the office and the other half consumed by work politics,” she added, her back straightening a little as she explained. She rarely spoke of her work to others, even this much. It came with the territory she supposed, any sign of complaining was often used against her. However, the man in front of her made the witch feel relaxed, in a way she had not felt in a long time. “It keeps me busy but the work is rewarding.”

She blinked at his words for a moment, not particularly shocked by his comment but amused at his forwardness. It was somehow refreshing, his words nothing like those of the men that would sometimes ask her out for a drink. They sounded genuine, soft like her favorite blanket, and she could not help but feel soothed by his voice. He could have said the most terrible thing but Piper would not have blinked an eye. She looked down at her watch, not wanting to agree to his proposal so fast that he thought her desperate. Piper Morel was never desperate for male attention, she was much too busy for that. But, for him, she could spare a few more moments, “I am free for a quick lunch then I regrettably do have to get back to the office,” she explained, with a smile, raising her hand to call over the waiter who set down a couple of menus with a promise to return shortly.

“I am assuming that this has suddenly turned into a lunch date so for the sake of time,” she started, her eyes entertained by the menu in front of her, “Tell me your story then, Mr. Kalishnikov,” she looked up at him with a smile, “where do you come from, what are your secrets, how did you get involved in your line of work,” she teased, her smile turned into a grin, “who is the lucky girl that gets to call you her boyfriend, things like that.”

His brows lifted as his icy blue eyes seemed to sparkle with the hint of a smile that played on his lips. She was different in ways from the women he had run into during his life. Each had something that drew the man in but with her, it was more than him simply wanting something there. He wanted to hear her secrets and learn the things he enjoyed. “I would notice.” It was a simple statement but he felt his voice put more weight to it. His gaze dropped and suddenly he felt embarrassed. It had been a long time since he had found himself forward enough to make him take a moment to regather himself. “I am simply being honest.” His glass was lifted to take a sip and seemingly shield him from view as he looked at her once more.

“Yes.” He nodded with his answer, “I stopped traveling some time ago.” He couldn’t say he didn’t miss it. Immersing himself in the culture of the countries he had gone to. Seeing parts of the world had been eye-opening for him. Briefly, he wondered if he should travel for a bit just for old times sake. “Busy can be good. I like having a busy day so that I can relax that night peacefully.” His lips pursed, it was strange to hear himself speak so much. He had always been a man of few words but somehow he found himself saying more and more the longer he sat in her presence. “So, you always saw yourself in this type of work?”

He toyed with the cup in his hand, spinning it on the tabletop slowly, his cool gaze watching as she eyed her watch and for a second he was disappointed. He would be understanding of course but he had hoped she could stay. Yordan lifted his brows and his smile showed just after, “Yes, of course.” He took a menu as it was brought to them, sliding the glass off to the side as he did.  He didn’t lift his gaze as she spoke, unsure if he could talk so openly about his past. About his feelings of never enough and the shadow cast so heavily by his brother. Should he speak of such intense things as never gaining his parent’s approval? “I come from a small family, only two siblings.” He shrugged, “Secrets? Is it not better to learn such things over time?” He leaned forward as his gaze finally rose to her, “I don’t believe I have any worth knowing.”

“A book. I found my passion in a book. I traveled after school, learning from some of the greatest minds.” He looked down at the menu once more, “I had never found something that had given me such peace. My first sword...crafted in Japan was my greatest achievement.” His eyes drifted back up to her as his forehead wrinkled with his chuckle, “Sadly there is no one. I would love for there to be.What about you?” His head tilted and a few pieces of his hair did with it, he secretly hoped the answer to be no. “If there is no one, I would love to take you to dinner.” Once more his gaze dropped, “If you find yourself free, of course. I don’t wish to impede upon your schedule.”

Piper found herself inevitably softening under the studious gaze of the man before her, his demeanor a stark contrast to what she had expected from such an attractive man. The two of them had met once before due to work in which he communicated with her in a polite, reserved manner but here she was complementing his good looks and agreeing to lunch like some of her more eager coworkers. It was very unlike Piper Morel but it was a welcomed change. The brunette felt more relaxed in his presence, even his words of reassurance in which he noted that he would notice her had made her melt just slightly. The comment had not been missed but rather, Piper had chosen to ignore it. If something was to happen here, she would be in control from the beginning.

Flirting was not something that Piper was incapable of but rather, something that she did not do often. After all, the editor was often so flooded with work that she rarely had time to see anyone outside of the people at her work. Piper had a very strict rule about dating coworkers, in that she refused to do it. But she was interested now, and as he continued to speak about himself, she found herself regarding him less as a worker and more as someone she was genuinely interested in. “Two siblings? Hm, I haven’t any,” she commented softly, it felt odd sharing anything about her personal life.

Even though he had not asked her, she felt compelled to reply in kind. This way it felt more like a conversation and less like an interview. When he leaned forward, his stunning blue eyes settling on her dark brown orbs, she leaned back just slightly. The word handsome did him no justice. “You don’t have to share personal things if you don’t want to,” she reassured him, “Sorry, I’m literally forever in work mode, I’ve forgotten my manners and go straight into the tough questions,” she continued with a reserved laugh.

Piper could only hope that his straightforwardness had not offended him. “It’s an interesting occupation you have,” she started, considering his story about how he acquired his passion. “Not rare in the slightest I’m sure but still, I don’t meet many people who choose to work with their hands. You have the power and dedication to mold something to your pleasure,” she smirked a little as she crossed her legs to make herself more comfortable, “It’s quite sexy if I may say so myself,” she added slowly for good measure.

She paused for several moments when the spotlight was on her in regards to her relationship status. While she had asked him nonchalantly as if it were simply a matter of giving him examples on things she wanted to know, Piper had to admit that she was hoping he would answer it. Then again, as a reporter, maybe he would not tell her the truth right away. “Oh come off it, Mr. Kalishnikov,” she said, smiling, again. Her mouth was starting to hurt, she wasn’t used to all this smiling. “You’ll have me believe that you haven’t any girl pining for your attention back home or…in Britain? I could get you about fifty dates by this afternoon, find you a proper girl,” she continued playfully, choosing to ignore the end of his statement with some silly statement to think about it. Buy herself more time.

“Unfortunately, and quite sadly, I haven’t gone out on a date in ages, I don’t even know if I’d be pleasant company, apparently I drone on and on about,” she continued, “I can allot you a couple hours after eight if it pleases you, preferably something light, I have meetings until about midnight,” she continued, dropping her gaze to the menu before immediately lifting her hand up to call over the waiter. “You’ve decided, yes?” she asked, mentally reminding herself to stop being such a bossy person. It was too late, the man was already on his way over.