Nic's expression didn't change, and he didn't appear to have any physical response to Laurel's change in demeanor.

Laurel continued to approach and when she reached him she maneuvered just as skillfully down onto his lap, straddling Nic and the chair he was sitting on. She placed her arms on his shoulders lightly as she tilted her head and laughed lightly. "See? I'm not half-bad, right?" she teased him, the show seemingly over. Then she suddenly leaned in to give him a quick peck on the lips as she did to Raven. But... when her lips touched Nic's, she didn't pull away. She found she didn't want to and without fully realizing what she was doing she leaned into Nic instead, hands wrapping around the back of Nic's head as she continued to kiss him. She felt a yearning for more and a deep warmth as she touched Nic, she didn't want to stop.

Overall, it wasn't much fun to tease Nic. Nothing Laurel did appeared to effect him as he sat there expressionless. But when she kissed him and leaned in, a little of the ice seemed to melt away. His body quickly became relaxed. After a short moment, he started kissing her back lightly. He took it very slow, trying not to scare her away. For now, his hands remained at his sides, seeing if she was comfortable with this first.

Laurel seemed more than comfortable as she remained wrapped up and captivated by the warmth which seemed to double as Nic returned her kisses. She hadn't realized how much she'd been craving his affection.

So Nic slowly kept going a little further to try and determine where her comfort level rested. His patience with her was quite remarkable. Almost to the point where he had removed his own desires from the equation.

Laurel remained completely content even as he eventually brought his arms up and touched her. But it was soon after this touch that Nic felt a bit of wetness on his cheek and it became apparent that she was silently crying.

When he felt the tear, Nic started to back off and pulled away a little so he could see her face.

Laurel let Nic pull away as the tears started to be accompanied by quiet sobs. She swallowed, eyes meeting Nic's and staying there. Her gaze was a little hard to read but it was clear she was not scared or hurt.

So after a moment or two, Nic reached out and put Laurel's head on his chest.

"I-It's..." Laurel murmured in a quiet, shaking voice, "so warm... s-so warm." There was a bit of awe in her voice.

After a moment Nic asked a little awkwardly, "Do you want an cold drink or something?"

Laurel let out a breathy laugh as she tilted her head upwards and kissed his neck, then she pushed herself off of his chest and looked back into his eyes. "I... love you, Dominic." she stated quietly, eyes dropping a few more tears as she smiled at him, "I think I've loved you for a long time." She felt herself finally understand...

Nic blinked and tilted his head a bit, still a little confused. But he got over it. "... I love you too," he replied as he reached up and gently wiped the tears off her face.

Laurel was clearly blushing as he wiped the tears away. But then she paused, "Not... like a brother." she suddenly felt the need to clarify.

Nic frowned and slowly took his hand away. "... What... do you mean?" he asked quietly, sounding almost hurt.

Laurel began to look a little flustered, "Well, I..." she paused, "I wouldn't... kiss my brother, right?" she finally said quietly, looking rather embarrassed.

"Why not?" Nic suddenly demanded.

Laurel blinked, clearly surprised. She looked into Nic's eyes silently for a long moment before she replied. "Because I want to be more than a sister to you." she decided quietly, "You love your siblings differently. It's love but in a different form." she smiled slightly, eyes thinking of something past. "I... don't love you like a sibling, Nic. I love you like... I want you. All of you. I don't know how to explain it. You're even more precious to me than a sibling."

Nic looked confused, but after a few more moments it seemed to start sinking in. After a minute he seemed to be relaxed again and gave Laurel one of those rare small smiles. "... Right," he replied quietly with a nod. "I'm sorry for asking that... I was... confused. I didn't mean..." he struggled for a few moments. "To... make your warm-ness cold..." His face distorted a little, clearly he didn't like that explanation, but he moved on. "But when I say 'I love you,' I mean it the same way you do."

Laurel smiled back, the blush returning as she relaxed along with Nic. "It's alright." she reassured him quietly as she leaned in and kissed his cheek, her arms going back around his neck and pulling him into a tight hug. "Sorry it took me so long to figure it out." she whispered near his ear, "But I understand now. There are different kinds of love... some are to be trusted and others are not. Some are corrupted and some are lost. But the love I feel for you is completely true and you... are a person I trust completely with my heart. Or whatever's left of it." she added with a small sigh.

"... It... makes me happy to hear that," he told Laurel quietly before kissing her cheek. "But I'm not sure what's left of me either. That's why I left - the key to the future is hidden somewhere in the dark past. I can't run anymore. I can't lose you."

Laurel hugged him a little tighter, "You won't lose me." she murmured back, "And if I can help you... find this key, I will." she promised. "I've found mine or more like... broken free of mine. You can too."

Nic sighed a little, hugging Laurel back. "... I wish it was that simple."

Laurel ran her hand along the back of his neck and was silent for a long moment. "Crust..." she suddenly muttered, "I really love you one terra of a lot." she whispered helplessly, sounded more than a little overwhelmed.

That made Nic smirk a little more than usual. "... I should get back to work," he told her gently after a moment. "I have a lot to get done before everyone else gets here."

Nic could feel Laurel nod, but not without a sigh. Reluctantly, she pulled away enough to look into his eyes once more. "It's perfectly simple, you know." she stated matter-of-factly, "I love you and you love me." and with that she leaned in and kissed him deeply once more. She didn't let loose like before though, he had work to do. So after a moment she reigned herself in, ignoring the protests of her heart, and started climbing off of his lap.

Nic nodded a little. He also seemed a little reluctant, but he turned back to his computer.

So Laurel took a seat on the couch, staring at Nic silently. She brought her legs up onto the couch in front of her, hugging them tightly. She continued to stare for a long time which would have seemed awkward to anyone but Nic. As her emotions started to settle down, her mind got to work and the overwhelmed look came back.

After about a half-an-hour of silence, a very soft sound could be hear from Laurel's direction. She had buried her face into her knees and seemed to be doing her best to muffle the sound.

And so Nic went back to work. For the first few minutes, he seemed a little distracted. But eventually that emotionless look came over his face, and he started working like normal.

Nic didn't notice Laurel at first, very absorbed in what he was working on. But after a few minutes it managed to catch his attention. And so he finished what he was working on and set the computer to run diagnostics by itself for awhile before getting up and walking over to her.

Laurel didn't seem to notice Nic's approach. As he got closer it became clearer that she was shaking slightly in her effort to keep quiet.

"... Laurel?" he asked quietly.

Laurel started, head shooting up and staring at him. Tear trails were evident down her cheeks but they were slow tears, one at a time. Her eyes were wide and very overwhelmed as she swallowed, "N-No... it's alright." she croaked quietly, shaking her head, "Don't l-let me dis... distract you."

Nic blinked, a little confused. He was already distracted. He stood there for a few moments before shrugging it off. "... Is... there anything I can do for you?" he asked, seeming a little helpless.

Laurel shook her head again out of habit before pausing, "Some water?" she asked quietly.

Nic nodded a little before pulling a water bottle out of the cupboard and bringing it to Laurel.

Laurel took a sip before sighing, "I'm fine." she reassured Nic quietly, "It's all... just overwhelming. This morning I thought I didn't believe in love anymore and then without warning... I've fallen head-over-heels." She leaned back on the couch, wiping the remaining tears off her face as she took another sip. "It's like I've had blinders on... for a really long time. And suddenly they were ripped off." she tried to explain, "I guess... I just need time to adjust." and she rubbed her eyes, trying to stop the tears.

Nic nodded a little. He rummaged around the room a little before he found some tissues and silently offered them to Laurel.

Laurel took them and managed a smile. "Alright... get back to work." she said with a small snort as she curled up on the couch and resumed watching him.

Nic hesitated a moment, but then he tried to get back to work. It took a little longer for him to focus on what he was doing this time.

Laurel noticed fairly quickly, "... Should I leave?" she offered quietly though she didn't really want to.