Serena couldn't actually think of a time that she'd ever flirted openly with someone... She was usually the awkward blushing type, but it seemed that the events in her life in the last couple years had matured her more as a person than she thought, at least in some areas. She giggled heartily. "My goodness, not only are you absolutely gorgeous, and have an extremely attractive accent, you're also silver tongued I see~"

Serena smirked and gave off a little snort. "I'm very familiar with that, if my Brother was around he'd be lecturing me every other day about my work load, I think there was a couple of weeks in December that I didn't do anything but work, drink tea and sleep in. Oh! There was a small pause on my 21st, a friend dragged me out clubbing, she seemed to think that if we went out she could find me a nice girl to uhm- get to know." She blushed at that.

"Of course, I'm not the type to go for that sort of thing on a whim, but clubs and music can be a great deal of fun~" She added.

She giggled once more. "Oh, Um. Well I suppose I am fairly accomplished with my school work, but my real passion lies in the writing, I guess you could say I'm already entertaining my dream job." She added with a slightly musical flourish on her sentence.

How long had it been since she'd been hanging out with someone new (Even if she'd met Rebecca once a long long time ago) and gotten on with them this well right out of the gates.

It was starting to feel like the longer their conversation went on, the more flirtatious Rebecca and Serena were becoming. There was an energy the girl had that brought out a playful side of Rebecca—or maybe being back in New York was just good for her. Regardless of the reason, Serena was right: there was some silver to her tongue today. ”If tha’s true, Ah’m definitely in guid company.” She was not the only lovely lady with an alluring accent and a way with words on that bench.

Serena was also no stranger to burying herself in her work, which was a common theme amongst Graduate students. Volunteering to stay in school and basically go through the New Game Plus version of college took a certain kind of person wholly dedicated to their studies. Sometimes that meant becoming a social hermit. Other times it meant walking away from a relationship to go overseas.

Aaand she would put that thought away delicately and return her full focus to Serena, who was not only empathizing… she was subtly outing herself. Well, “subtly” was too strong a word; she was clearly and definitively pointing it out. Knowing for sure Serena was gay certainly put their certainly put their flirting in a different light. Straight girls often liked to flirt, but that was all harmless fun. Was this harmless fun? Or...

Rebecca shuddered as a tingle ran up her spine and she realized her cheeks were heating up. ”Ah’ll admit, Ah’ve ne’er bin th’ party gal type,” she admitted with a weak laugh, trying to get her mind back on track.

Despite a promising Masters in Bio-Chem, Serena’s passion was writing. It was starting to feel like this girl was too good to be real. ”Weel, Ah loove meetin' other passionate writers. Ah wooldnae min' takin' a peek at yer writin' sometime,” she admitted with a smile. There was so much to learn about an author by reading her words; something deeper than just talking to them.

Serena giggled and grinned playfully, she leaned in a little closer to Rebecca, getting more involved in the conversation her sky blue eyes glittered in the low light of the grounds. "Well that was very very nice of you to say~" She giggled again. "I don't often get credited for being terribly good with words, not around stunning girls at any rate, my best friend would tease me if he saw me around most of them." She admitted.

The blonde's grin took on another mischievous note as Rebecca blushed and awkwardly responded. "Of course, the idea isn't entirely un-appealing, I mean there were some people there that night that were into my group that were nearly as gorgeous as yourself~" She winked at Rebecca. Idly she wandered how Rebecca would deal with alcohol. Not being a party girl didn't necessarily mean that she wasn't into drinking.

Serena's cheeks coloured ever so slightly, she still wasn't entirely good at talking about the topic of her writing with people face to face. "Well I've got a few spares lying around my apartment if you're really interested... But it's not really anything that special." She responded, smiling nervously and glancing down at her jeans for a moment.

Serena inched a little closer, and Rebecca was acutely aware as the blonde leaned in. It was ironic for Serena to be claiming a shyness around pretty girls, because she was suddenly making Rebecca more nervous through no fault of her own. Was she looking for her friend to get a little closer? When they first met, these thoughts never had the chance to cross her mind; she was taken and mentally recovering, and Serena was still a teenager. Now they were both in their early twenties, and those eyes were far bluer than she remembered…

On the topic of clubbing, neither girl was exactly the type, but Serena did make the revision that heavily implied the night out would be more enjoyable with “people like her,” which was starting to feel more like code for “her.” Rebecca smirked in reply to the wink, happy to play along. ”Weel. if ye waur lookin' tae gie ‘someain loch me’ it fur th' nicht, ye micht hae some luck if ye swap th' clubs an' big groops fur somethin' a wee mair intimate,” she hinted, before realizing the implications associated with the word. ”Ye knae, a nicht it fur drinks somewhaur whaur ye can still hear yerself hink,” she amended. Wine bars, jazz clubs, even a local pub. She wanted to make it clear intimate did not just mean “drinks in a candlelit living room on the way to the bedroom.” (Not that the idea sounded terrible, of course, but why was she thinking about this?)

Looking to bring the topic back to Serena, she focused on the spare literature in her apartment. ”Anyway, spares ye say? Spaur whit? Ah dornt hink Ah caught whit ye write. Poems? Stories?”

She looked at Serena, who was at least an inch or two closer than she started when Rebecca sat down. Maybe that was not the worst idea… it was chilly out, right? Rebecca shivered and mentioned, ”Ah forgot hoo cold it gits in New York.” She shuffled a little to move herself closer, so she was shoulder to shoulder with Serena and could feel her warmth through her coat. ”Tha’s better,” she said, smiling as she bit her lip. Harmless proximity, right?

Serena was definitely going to have to invite Rebecca next time she went out or decided that they were going to have a tabletop night, she had a feeling the adorable redhead would go down quite excellently with her other friends. Besides that, she kind of just wanted to spend a little more time with the other woman. And as if aligning with the blonde's thoughts, Rebecca made a comment that amused Serena, her response was a quirked eyebrow and a sly smirk.

"Mhmm, I'm sure that's what you meant~" Her voice dripping with sarcasm. She let that set in the air for a few moments before she let out a hearty giggle, showing that she was obviously teasing. She pulled a stray hair behind her ear, an involuntary habit, she turned back to Rebecca, a large smile feeling permanently plastered across her lips.

Rebecca was asking about her writing again... A little colour returned to her cheeks once more. "Oh... Um, well I'm a novelist." She admitted. Serena wasn't entirely sure why she was still quite so timid about her writing, it wasn't as if she hadn't recieved recognition for it. Maybe some people's reactions just made her feel a little uncomfortable. She loved being around people, but she'd never liked feeling like a centre of attention.

A shiver that had absolutely nothing to do with the cold rang through the blonde, and her smirk returned, washing away the blush quite quickly. "Mmmm. It's always nice to have friends you can snuggle with to keep yourself warm."

Serena had no problem teasing Rebecca over her slip of a comment. It was all in jest, but jest was enough for the redness to spread from her cheeks to her ears. ”It's truuuuue,” she replied, fighting through her own laughter. Not wanting to give up her end of the flirting, she added, ”Thocht who knaes? Mah inhibitions are harder tae fin' aroond gorgeoos blue eyes.” Already grinning, she winked playfully to make it clear that she was definitely not actually inviting Serena to a night of intimate drinks. Or she was giving her a challenge. Honestly, Rebecca was not sure what her goal was with that comment, but she was being honest: she had a history of being vulnerable to blue eyed girls.

It was fun getting to know someone who enjoyed writing. Not that Rebecca could not connect with someone who did not share her passion, but it was pleasant to have someone around who would relate to how she got when a muse struck her. Or on the opposite end of the spectrum, who could empathize with writer’s block. The idea of reading Serena’s writing was exciting, and it turned out there would be no quick reads to be had. ”A novel, eh? Looks loch Ah hae some readin' tae gie tae.” Luckily, for as much of a writer as she fancied herself, Rebecca was just as much an avid reader.

The benefit of being in contact with Serena was, when she shivered, Rebecca could feel the tremor. She was not expecting the move from her. ”Weel, lucky fur ye, Ah’m a professional snuggler.” Rebecca, looking to back up her words, wrapped her left arm around Serena’s right and pulled it in toward her body to share some warmth. ”Got glowin’ references an' everythin'.”

Rebecca watched the young woman brush stray strands of hair behind her ear, letting her see the girl’s cheeks painted red by the cold. Something about seeing that pale complexion turning rosy encouraged her free right hand to reach over instinctually and rest a palm on Serena’s cheek. ”Oy, really, hoo lang hae ye bin it haur? Yoo're near frizzen,” she scolded, her brow furrowing for a moment before she realized where they were now thanks to her. They were close to one another, with Rebecca’s hand guiding Serena’s face to face her. Now they were looking right at each other, and Rebecca was getting a straight-on look into those troublesome eyes.

She really had a weakness for blue.

Realizing how forward her instinct had made her, she slowly pulled her hand away from Serena’s cheek, but maintained eye contact. ”Sorry. Bad habits,” she said softly. She did not move away.

Teasing the other girl was a great deal of fun the the blonde. She enjoyed the reactions that it seemed to draw out of the redhead, and the fact that even though she was clearly slightly embarrassed, but carried on with the flirtation only served to further heighten her interest in the girl. "Hmmm, I was just thinking the same of your eyes~" She replied with another quick wink.

Serena giggled. "Well, I'm not sure how much you'd like it as I can't attest to your tastes, but I'd be very happy to pass you a copy, as I said."

She hadn't realised quite how cold it had been outside until she was in very close proximity with Rebecca's body heat. And while Serena was fairly confident with the conversation part of all of this, the actual physical part of interaction with someone she was attracted to was a little harder, to say the least. Her cheeks flushed a little, but she still kept her smile as she leaned into the redhead a little.

She smiled a bit more at the girl's concern over her, it was kind of cute, only when she realised how close they were did her blush deepen somewhat, she was looking straight into the other girl's eyes, and even though she'd spend the entire interaction thus far admiring Rebecca's beauty, she'd somehow not clocked on to quite how wide or beautiful her Scottish friend's eyes were, she could both hear and feel the other girl's breath on her face at this proximity.

She shoke her head ever so slightly at the apology and tried to respond and put to rest any worry over it. "It's..." She never quite finished the sentence.

They were close; too close for Rebecca to pretend they were dealing with “harmless proximity.” This was risky proximity. Dangerous proximity. This was a hand on a cheek and eyes locked and breath intermingling. This was the rush of her heart racing and her lip trembling that she had forgotten over the years. It was terrifying, but it was hard to remember that as long as she was watching Serena’s eyes.

She might have been the one to lean in, or maybe Serena made the move, or they met somewhere in the middle. All Rebecca knew was her lips were met with the softness of Serena’s kiss. The first kiss was slow and long, like their lips were hesitant to let go. When that kiss finally broke, they quickly found their way back for a series of shorter kisses, each growing faster with a little more energy behind them.

Rebecca’s hand drifted from Serena’s cheek to the nape of her neck, her fingers running themselves through her long blonde waves of hair. Her heart was trying to pound its way out of her chest, and each time she came up for air, her breath was shaky.

Her eyes were closed as the kissing grew in intensity, until they fluttered open for a moment, giving her a small moment to catch the blue eyes opposite her as they peeked open.

Rebecca’s heart skipped. That close, she did not notice the blonde hair or the obvious traits only Serena had. For a moment, all she saw were vivid blue eyes against a backdrop of pale skin, and for a moment, her mind forgot where she was or when she was. She went back to the last time this happened to her, and the intrusion of that ghost from her past spooked her enough to pull away from the kiss, her face betraying her shock.

Her body was still trembling, but Rebecca looked down at the ground. ”Ah’m sorry,” she apologized in a quiet, weak voice. ”Ah… didn’t…” It had been years; she should have been ready to move forward, and she clearly was not. She should have known better.

Damn blue eyed girls…

Needless to say with her disposition and usual time constraints Serena did not find herself in situations like these very often, and as a result wasn't completely smooth in them, staring into a beautiful pair of eyes and not knowing how to respond the seconds that they spent gazing into each other began to drag out as if the time around them was frozen, and they were secluded in their own little bubble.

Serena didn't actually get any nearer as Rebecca leaned in, she was still frozen in place not sure of what was about to happen, and she was about to open her mouth in protest and back away a little bit, but any protest she might have been about to voice was quickly muffled by their lips meeting, and melted away as they two of them entwined in the embrace, she didn't lean into it at first, but after a second or two she started reciprocating.

As they broke the kiss, Serena's eyes sparkled once more and she leaned in for another, engaging it this time, though hers was shorter, and she was certainly less... experienced than Rebecca, but she was enthusiastic about it. As the redhead's hands trailed along the back of her neck her body let out another shiver that had absolutely nothing to do with the temperature, her hand drifted up and gently gripped Rebecca's free hand.

As they finally broke apart, Serena's mind was aflutter with a great many thoughts, her cheeks were now a bright shade of crimson as she fixed her gaze on the ground beneath her feet, she'd barely registered Rebecca's own hesitance, nor the fact that her fingers were still very gently twined over some of the Scottish girl's.

At first sight, no one would have guessed the two girls from Britain had just been sharing an affectionate, intimate moment. All the confidence they were wielding a minute prior had melted away and left them shy and awkward, looking away from one another.

Rebecca felt responsible. They were flirting, and she made a decision to go in for the kiss and she made the hurried decision to stop the kiss. They were enjoying the moment, with their hands intertwined, and Rebecca could not cope because evidently, two years was not enough time to learn how to be single.

Looking out of the corner of her eye, Rebecca snuck a glance at her kissing partner. Serena was charming and fun and did not deserve to be the victim of her indecision. ”Yoo're sae sweit, Serena. Ah didne mean tae flinch,” she apologized, ”Ah’m... new tae th' whole single life hin'.” Sure, “new” was subjective, but the two years she spent overseas, she did not date. Serena was her first chance to dip her toes back in the water.

The first time she tested those waters when Rebecca and Agnes split up, she had two flings and made out with a stranger. She had a track record of compensated for emotional struggles by rushing into physical endeavors. ”Mebbe Ah got a wee carried awa',” she admitted, realizing she was having so much fun flirting, but the last time she was really flirting, it was with her girlfriend. In that situation, flirting always led to kissing.

But she had literally just started flirting with Serena. She needed to learn how to be single without rushing like she was not. ”Probably smart tae real it in a bit.”

They were having a fun before things took that next step, and Rebecca wanted to bring a little levity back to the situation. ”If it's onie consolation... yoo're a stoatin snogger.”

((Miss Grey's Translation Corner: stoatin=great))

Serena's deep blush was such that she kept staring at what was a relatively fixed spot on the ground and did her absolute best not to meet Rebecca's eyes again, at the very least until her heartbeat had calmed down considerably and she trusted herself not to get lost into those beautiful eyes. Her fingers remained intertwined with the stunning redhead's as they sat, both trying to gather their thoughts.

Serena tried to word a response to Rebecca's compliment but it sort of came out as more of a "Huhhhh" sort of a stereotypical thoughtful sigh, that a female character in a show or cartoon might give while examining a particularly muscular male specimen. Serena forced her thoughts together and cleared her throat, she wasn't some giddy blonde stereotype dammit. "Um, thank you Rebecca. You're...." Dammit her brain wasn't working as it should.

"Something special." She finished, cheeks not quite as crimson as they had been. "And it's quite alright." She paused and smirked playfully once again. "I have a lot of practice at being single." She admitted.

Serena nodded, trying to hide the slight disappointment that was spreading across her face. That had been nice. Really, really nice.

The blonde's cheeks coloured again and she leaned her head against the Scottish lass' shoulder partially for warmth, but mostly to hide her blush from the other girl as she didn't think she'd do terribly well with the teasing in this state. She turned her arm over the other girls and held her hand gently, okay with this level of contact.

Rebecca felt awful for creating an emotionally charged moment with Serena and then ruining said moment, but she was glad her friend was willing to move forward. They were both dealing with the deflating feeling of coming down from the enjoyable kiss, but Serena was not shying further away from her. She called Rebecca “something special,” and the way she looked at her, the redhead felt special. Without knowing to what extent at that point, she was convinced she wanted Serena to be a part of her new life in New York.

Their hands were still joined together with interlaced fingers, and Rebecca was comfortable enough not to end that. She welcomed Serena’s head as it rested on her shoulder; they were close, and the contact was affectionate, but it was nothing deeply intimate. They were just… there for each other. It was nice. Really nice.

The hand not held in Serena’s possession was wrapped around her back, so Rebecca was in the perfect position to run her fingers gently through Serena’s blonde hair. There would be no more kissing for the day, and they were both still sporting red cheeks, but that did not mean Rebecca was going anywhere. Taking issue with Serena’s apparent lengthy experience with singledom, she sighed and mused aloud, ”Ah still hae a hard time believin' hoo 'at is a hin'. Bonnie, clever, an' ye hae an accent. We baith knae Yanks loove a guid accent.” Even when most Americans would struggle to understand her words, they often found her unique accent charming.

”Is thaur pure nae one in yer life? Mebbe a cute lassie yoo're keen oan?” Rebecca doubted they would be in their position if Serena had a girlfriend, but she was curious if there was anyone the younger woman had her eye on. Rebecca knew what it was like to bury herself in school and work, shelving her love life, and she did not want a sweetheart like Serena doing the same.

Serena hadn't made anything resembling a new friend at the mansion in quite some time, so it was nice to have gotten a chance to catch up with Rebecca. And funnily enough when she wasn't in a child-like state the redhead was quite well spoken, even if it was in quite a thick Scottish accent. Though in Serena's personal-unvoiced opinion that just made the redhead sexier.

She hummed a song she enjoyed while she nestled against her new friend, a good cuddle was really a thing of wonder. She sighed contently. And chuckled at the Scot's comment. "Well that's very sweet of you Rebecca, but generally speaking I don't go actively looking for romance. Oh, and I'm a very busy person. With all the writing and school I barely get time to socialise as it is."

She giggled lightly at the girl. "Well yes, there have been crushes I'll admit, but generally I'm pretty shy when it comes to approaching other people. Most people don't generally give a vibe off that says 'Hey, look at me I like women.'" She teased.

If Rebecca was ever going to right her ship and return to a place of normalcy in her life, she needed people who could bring her some positivity. Serena was already showing she had a knack for bringing Rebecca’s confidence back out of hiding, and she gave the struggling poet someone to be comfortable with at a time when it was becoming easier to isolate herself.

Even the cold was less noticeable when Serena’s warm body was nested against hers. Rebecca was enjoying the thoughtless, habitual behavior of playing with Serena’s blonde locks as the novelist explained her shyness when it came to putting herself in romantic situations. Despite being beautiful and smart, she was busy and bashful around girls she developed crushes on.

Rebecca was unsure if she qualified as one of the girls Serena felt a crush on, though if she did, maybe it was a mutual feeling. It was too soon to think about that, but that did not mean they could not be a good presence in one another’s lives. ”Weel, if ye want tae gie aff 'at vibe, mebbe try bein' bauld. Ah can say firsthand: bauld is a very nice look fur ye, Serena.” If Serena approached one of her crushes and let her confidence do the talking, Rebecca was certain they would like what they saw.

The crisp winter wind filtered through the trees again, causing another involuntary shudder. Serena giggled and hopped up from her sitting position, spinning around to offer the gorgeous redhead her hand and helped her up. Now that she thought about it, maybe she was still a little to shy around certain people, she should try and be more forthcoming with things. It couldn't really hurt.

She leaned forwards and gave the other girl a kiss on the cheek. And smiled brightly at her. "Thank you, I think I'll take your advice." She looped her arm through her friends and started walking towards the front of the mansion. "You should probably get back inside, and try to read something new, or do some exercise. That helps when I need some inspiration." She added with a playful nudge.

"And I think I need to get back to my apartment and soak in the tub with a new book." She mused aloud as they left the area they had been seated at together.