All year, I've been thinking about their first kiss, and how that happens in my novel. I've always wanted to draw it out, but as I've played around with their uni au, it just felt natural to have their first kiss happen in a photobooth.
Helios is a total badass in this au, motorcyclist, super cool, kind of closed off except for with her own circle. And yet, she meets this sweet foreign student who completely undoes her.
She's never wanted to impress someone more than she's wanted to impress Aether who is already totally into her.
This is very likely Aether's first proper relationship, while Helios has quite a bit of romantic and sexual experiences. And so, she completely slows down and goes at Aether's pace.
Aether is from a pretty town in France called Colmar. And here she is, now living in NYC as a transfer student. Who would have thought she'd find her person by chance one day. All she did was sit next to Helios in class, and it was kismet.
Helios is a fun one. Even in my book, she doesn't feel that she deserves love because of a traumatic upbringing. And perhaps that's not how it goes for the uni au, but even still, she's not the "relationship type". That is, until she met Aether, until Aether smiled at her and spoke Helios' name.
I don't think Helios ever imagined herself here, in this very moment, feeling something so warm and profound. The look in Aether's eyes, the parting of her lips, the touch to Helios' cheek. It's almost too much for her to handle.
Aether, also completely out of her element, has never had any sort of romantic inclination towards anyone, and has often turned people down when they've asked her out on a date.
Yet here they both are, nervous and shy, curious and full of desire.
blakekathryn
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