Arriving in Maldonia || Tiana and Naveen
Tiana didn’t know what was happening to them, but it was a relief when she met Naveen’s eyes as he sat back on the bed. He must have some tension.. rivalry(?) with his brother or something to cause so much emotion to come over him. “Don’t be sorry,” she said softly, reaching out and giving his hand a gentle squeeze. “It’s fine.” It was more than fine really, but she didn’t want to make a big thing out of it.
“Freshening up sounds like just the ticket.” She gave him a smile, and testing her legs to make sure she wouldn’t fall over herself, stood up and headed to the door. Tiana pressed an ear to the wood and listened hard. “I think the coast is clear,” she whispered to Naveen.
Crossing to the door once more, He pressed an ear to the wood next to Tiana and listened hard. It sounded as if no one was out there and her room was just down the hall a bit, so Naveen figured now was as good a time as any. Picking the bag up again, he opened the door and grabbed Tiana’s hand to lead her down the hall quickly to a large white door. Pushing it open, he allowed her into her room after him and quickly closed the door behind them. “Phewf! We made it.” After they were safe inside, Naveen felt a bit better. Placing her bag down on the big white bed, he sat next to it with a wide smile. “Well…here you are!”
Arriving in Maldonia || Tiana and Naveen
Once more Tiana’s heart was pounding wildly in her chest as Naveen’s lips met hers. All rational and reality had fled her mind, and all she could focus on was him. Well, that and the repeating ‘ohmygodohmygodohmygod’ in her mind, as shivers ran up and down her spine while they kissed. This wasn’t like the spontaneous kiss at the airport, brought on by the emotions of seeing each other again for the first time in so long. It was something completely different. What that difference was, Tiana had no idea, but she liked it. God he was such a good kisser.
The kiss was such a surprise to her that she didn’t even have the ability to react before he pulled away. Her eyes were wide and her mouth gapped as he explained who it was that was outside the door. It wasn’t until Naveen left her side that her lungs began to work again. Breathing in the deliciously cool air, Tiana was thankful she was sitting down, as she was sure she might have collapsed otherwise. “Oh,” was all she could think so say. She placed her left hand over her heart, willing it to slow down its relentless beatings, though it didn’t seem like that would happen anytime soon. Especially when she licked her lips and could still taste him there.
Naveen took a moment to fume in the corner before taking a deep breath and allowing himself to calm down. Sure his brother was probably going to come onto Tiana. A lot. But there was nothing he could do about it. Only time would tell if Tiana actually liked him. Though…the fact that she didn’t hit him when she kissed him was a good sign. Shaking his head softly, Naveen turned back around and faced Tiana again, suddenly embarrassed at how he just kissed her. Did he really seriously just do that….? “I’m sorry….about that.” Crossing the room, he sat down on the bed and looked up at her with apologetic, soft eyes. A direct contrast to the dark cloudy eyes he just had when he let his emotions get the better of him. The stress had been too much. “Shall we get you freshened up?”
"I’m booking myself a one way flight, I gotta see the color in your eyes."
-Hunter Hayes, “Crazy”Arriving in Maldonia || Tiana and Naveen
Tiana held onto his hand tight as they tiptoed around the house. She felt like she was a spy, or in a movie; anything but trying to avoid the family of the people who lived here. It seemed surreal and a little foolish the more she thought about it. But then again, she wasn’t thinking about it too much. For the most part she was just going along with the plan, and also trying to remember her way around, but she quickly gave up. She had a week to learn it, no reason to worry about that when there were more pressing matters at hand.
She tensed as she and Naveen passed a doorway, and then felt herself herself panic when it opened with a voice attached. Luckily Naveen seemed to know what he was doing, and Tiana soon found herself inside an empty bedroom. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest, but then Naveen seemed to relax and everything was okay. Attempting to calm herself down, Tiana sat down on the bed and took a deep breath, which turned into soft laughter. This whole thing was pretty ridiculous, but it was kind of fun. “Who was that?” she asked softly, incase the person was still nearby.
Now that her heart rate was back to normal, Tiana took a look around the room. It was messy, but it looked like whoever slept in here had made a quick attempt at cleaning it up. Clothes were piled up in a corner instead of all on the floor, and while all the sheets and pillows were on the bed, the bedclothes were nowhere near made. Tiana smiled softly at the record collection with a lot of titles she recognized as jazz staples. A soft rustle in the other corner made her turn her head, and then she knew for sure who’s room she was in right now. “This is your room, isn’t it?” His frogs were minding their own business as they sat in their little aquarium. It had been a long time since she’d seen them, and Tiana suddenly found herself ever wondering how she could have been afraid of them.
Being in Naveen’s room was making a memorable impression on her. It was a feeling she knew for sure she’d be having this whole trip. Tiana knew Naveen so well, but now she was seeing this whole other side of him, and it was really making her understand exactly what made Naveen the person he was.
Looking towards Tiana when she asked who was in the hall, Naveen froze while considering the answer. His brother. He was like a younger Naveen in almost every way. He was crude. He flirted a lot. And he was very very attractive (It ran in the family). The thought of Tiana meeting him terrified Naveen. Before he could think about it, Naveen placed a hand at the back of Tiana’s neck and pulled her lips hard against his own. For a brief moment, he allowed himself to be lost in the passion of their kiss because it was the only thing that could keep him from considering how he could possibly lose her. Especially to his brother. Hell she wasn’t even his! Pulling away just as suddenly as he kissed her, Naveen met her eyes and responded in a quiet voice. “That was my brother.” Standing up from the bed, he crossed the room towards the corner where his frogs were. He needed a moment to relax. It seemed all the sneaking around and the pressure of his family meeting Tiana was beginning to get to him. He needed to take a moment before he continued to act to irrationally.
Arriving in Maldonia || Tiana and Naveen
Tiana let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding once Naveen reassured her that she could at least change before she met his family. It was also relieving to know she wasn’t the only one who was nervous about it. Only slightly, though. The way Naveen acted when he was nervous more than made up for it, though. He sure was cute when he acted like that.
She smiled her thanks once he opened the door for her and took the opportunity to stretch and a great length. Hopefully wherever they were going to go later was walkable, as Tiana wasn’t keen on sitting down again for awhile. “No, I’ll only need one bag,” she told him and took a peek in the back of the car to look at her bags, trying to remember which one had what in it. She supposed she could open them up and see but she had some surprises for Naveen that she wasn’t ready to show him yet. Plus he might sneak a peek at her underwear. “I’ll just take this one for now.” Tiana grabbed one of her bags and set it on the floor of the garage. “Lead the way,” she said with a little uncertainty. It felt a little funny knowing they would sneak around the house, but she trusted Naveen knew what he was doing.
Picking up her bag, Naveen took Tiana’s hand and began to lead her towards the house. Slipping the door open, he peeked in and when he found the coast was clear, he led her inside the large hallway. Closing the door quietly behind them, Naveen began to head down the hall while simultaneously thinking of the best route to take. Their soft foot steps echoed in the hall causing Naveen to grow more nervous with every passing second. Pausing a moment, he considered their route and led her to the left when they reached the end of that hallway. This way they would have to pass his brother’s room, but it was further away from the kitchen and the living room where people were sure to be.
Walking down the hall cautiously, he held his breath as they passed his brothers room. Once they were past it, they kept inching closer and closer to his own door; Which helped him relax. However, suddenly he heard his brothers voice as he opened his bedroom door a crack. Acting in response, Naveen opened the door to his room and rushed Tiana inside. Once he closed the door behind them quietly, he froze against the wood and held his breath, waiting to hear his brothers reaction to everything that just happened. When none came, he finally led out the breath he had been holding and collapsed onto his bed next to Tiana with a deep breath. “That was a close one, princess.”
Arriving in Maldonia || Tiana and Naveen
After the initial shock of seeing the house wore off, Tiana felt her nerves come back, full force. Was Naveen reading her mind when he reached out and grabbed her hand? Whatever the reason, she found it comforting and reassuring that he would be by her side through the whole thing. “Naveen?” Tiana gulped, all thoughts of hunger were gone the closer they got to the house. “Do you think your family will like me?” Her hold on Naveen’s hand grew stronger as the car drove the last few feet to the house. Would they be waiting for them inside? Oh god she hoped not. She wasn’t ready! How were you supposed to act around these powerful people?? Plus she looked like garbage. No matter what Naveen said about her appearance she would like to shower and change before she met them. She was wearing sweat pants for crying out loud!!
Tiana gave his hand a squeeze as they pulled into a structure that took her a few minutes to register as a garage, if only because it was so big. “Oh my Lord,” she whispered, feeling more out of her element than she had ever felt before. “This garage is bigger than my whole house back in New Orleans!” Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, but only slightly. Her whole apartment could easily fit in here if you took out the.. Tiana counted how many other cars… four!! Four other cars, plus this one and it looked like there was space for another one. Oh dear.
Naveen chuckled nervously at her comment about his garage. I guess it is pretty large… Stopping the car, he turned to Tiana next to him and smiled encouragingly. Or at least tried to; his insides were a whirlwind. “They will love you Tiana. But we do not have to meet them yet. We will let you get freshened up. So I think our best bet is to sneak into the house so I can get you to your room. My mother and my brother are very nosey so I do not want them to know we have arrived.” Naveen explained, talking a bit fast due to his nerves. “Are you ok with that? I think we both need time to prepare for this meeting. Or at least…I do..” Naveen chuckled nervously again and looking down at their hands. Pulling his hand away suddenly, he chuckled nervously once more. For some reason he had become a complete mess. He needed to act before his nerves froze him right where he was.
Taking his keys out of the ignition, he stepped out of the car and headed to Tiana’s door to open it for her. “Will you need all of your bags now? Or can we only bring the necessary one for now? It is best for sneaking that we leave behind any huge bags…”
