December 31st, 2016
She looked pretty banged up.
It had taken Adelaide a long time to fall asleep there in his bed, but when she did it seemed to come to her like an exhausted defeat, mindless of his lap as he pillow and the precarious position it left Romeo in all night. Maybe he didn't mind. It allowed him to while away the hours with her pressed against him, fingers combing through her hair and feathering strokes along her temple, cheek, and neck. She slept and he talked, nearly silent at first, telling her about home and the fiery Hell that had scarred his back, shoulders, and the backs of his thighs so badly. He painted a portrait of an adolescence and eventual trek into adulthood as an unfortunate transplant to the meaner streets of Rhy'din, one that lacked all of the charity of the mainstream parts of the city. She'd heard the stories before but never so candid, so unfiltered. It was raw. Unpleasantly real. The atrocities and victims had names.
Then he told her about the Hollows.
His haven. His home. His responsibility. His pain. He spoke of it with equal parts pride and reservation. Determination and fatigue. To her, he bared his heart and his soul. He told her everything. Or almost. He promised to tell her more. And as the morning sun dragged across the sky, deepening towards a cold afternoon, Ro peppered her slim back with gentle kisses and told her he was going to make coffee. And maybe breakfast, but that perhaps the latter could wait until after they cleaned up.
He abandoned her then with a reluctant drag of fingers over bare flesh and disappeared from the room.
The bruises were bad but none were as ugly as the wounds her pride had taken. Three challenges, three miserable failures. She hadn't wanted Ro there to see it for that very reason because if she failed in front of him, she didn't know what she would do. To him she wanted to be more, to be as close to the ideal that he had in his head (or perhaps in her head) as possible. For all that he had claimed Addie was his break from the bad, Ro was much the same for her even if she seldom had the words to admit it. The aches waxed and waned and sleep came under his watch, likely complete with drool on his thigh due to the swelling in her stitched bottom lip.
Lost to the land of dreams, his stories fell on deaf ears, exacting their subtle influence on the dreamscape she wandered in her sleep. It was vaguely reminiscent of that which had plagued her for so long prior to Nikolai's death but it held none of the danger, not with Ro there. Then just as quickly as he had slipped into her subconscious, he was gone. Morning was dying but the cold that came with his disappearance roused her from the depths of sleep. Her skin was still warm where he had been pressed against her and she wrapped herself up in the sheets that smelled of him, yawning and stretching until his lacking presence stretched just a little bit longer than she would have liked. Securing her sheet-dress with the tuck of an edge against her chest, the white clad specter slipped from his room as well, decorated in black and blue and a spill of tangled purple-black hair as she trailed through the little apartment in search of Ro.
"Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?"
It never got old.
"Shall I hear more or shall I speak at this?" It was a little dry for the delivery but when she found him in the kitchen, the platinum haired youth was giving her a lopsided smile. Coffee was fresh and black in the glass pot next to him and while he had yet to start cooking, everything that would go into the endeavor was laid out across the counter.
She was greeted with warm hands and thick arms enveloping her, drawing her in against his bare chest so that he could dip his chin and find an unbruised spot on her neck to kiss. "You could've stayed in bed, mo chroi," he told her. "I was comin' back."
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet. So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called, retain that dear perfection which he owes without that title." There was a lilting sing song to her delivery, a passage long since committed to memory as if the words were her own. Still wrapped in his sheet in the event his roommate was out and about, she took a lean in the kitchen doorway, a hip cocked to the frame and one hand holding fast to the thin material. It didn't last long, not when her alternative was his careful grasp around her sore body.
"I totally passed out on your lap last night... I didn't seriously make you stay that way for long, right?" Her free hand swept her messy hair away for his incoming mouth, a tired but fond smile living on her lips. "I mean, I can go back just so you can watch me walk away. Or I can hang with you til you're ready to come back. S'up to you."
"I stayed like that for a while." It was the truth, mostly. "If it makes you feel guilty, you can make it up to me later." He kissed her neck again and then her shoulder, before one arm settled around her slim waist, atop the feminine shelf of her hips. "Do you wanna get cleaned up before or after you eat? Wasn't sure if you'd gotten to stand under some nice hot water before coming here last night or not."
"You know me, always guilty." She snickered, teeth raking at her sore lip as his mouth continued its path along her skin. It was a nice feeling, one she didn't want to give up, but his question posed a fair point. Addie groaned, a soft sigh slipping free.
"Probably before. I likely smell like sweat and failure." The Outback's facilities left a bit to be desired and Ro's shower was calling. Carefully she extracted herself from the loop of his arm for a shuffle of a step back. "You gonna join me or is it a solo adventure while you're barefoot in the kitchen?"
"I love you, mo chroi, but you don't look like you're gonna do much in the way of stretchin' when trying to get at those hard to reach places." He wasn't even trying to be cheeky. "Plus I've got some liniment that I want to put on you once you're clean. It'll help with the swelling and pain. I can feed you after, if you'd like. X is gone for a show, so we've got the run of the place today. We can curl up on the couch and watch movies or just go back to sleep."
A kiss landed closer to her mouth this time, without hurting it, before Ro's hands on her hips were steering her back towards the bathroom. "I have all day to be barefoot in the kitchen."
"All day?" She had been trying to be cheeky but his frankness set warmth in her cheeks and odd sort of flutters in her stomach. Turning her head just slightly to catch the kiss on her lips, she shuffled so that she didn't trip over the sheet's edge as he adjusted her course.
"I'll be fine, you know. Just need a little time." The girl had carried worse pain than the physical before. Bumps and bruises and cuts were nothing in the grand scope of things. But if he wanted to dote on her, who was she to say no? "Did you wanna do anything tonight for New Year's?"
"You're the outgoing one," he dropped another kiss to her shoulder, loosening his grip on her to strip her out of the bed sheet, which he balled up and tossed back through his doorway as they passed it. With X gone, modesty was unnecessary. "Is there some hot party we should be going to tonight? Should I worry about findin' something fancy on short notice?"
Into the bathroom and closing the door behind them, Ro sat her on the counter and reached past the shower curtain to turn the hot water on. "What do you want? I'm easy. Give me an arcade, a quiet diner or a bar, or even an archery range. If it's just me I don't care. If not, I wanna be wherever you are."
"I think Misery is having a party at Dockside. Mostly because that lame new club opening up down there doesn't allow under twenty-ones." Addie rolled her eyes. Considering Rhydin had exactly zero drinking laws, such an arbitrary age requirement seemed positively asinine. Spinning a sluggish circle to unwrap from the sheet, she did little to cover up once it was tugged free. After all, the only reason for doing so was off jamming with Gay Queen or something.
"Lemme text them and see? If so would you come hang with us? I've got this cute dress I've been saving for somethin' like that... and you'll obviously have to be my New Year's kiss at midnight." Rambling as steam billowed and rolled from the shower, her heels bounced off the front of the vanity upon which he had deposited her. "It'll be low key, promise."
"I don't mind goin' to these things, so no worries. We can go. It ain't like we don't always find our own fun, right?" He leaned forward and kissed her chin as he slipped out of his sleep pants, letting them pool on the floor before the heavy curtain was pulled aside. He gestured for her to go ahead first. "We'll go and support Miz. And fuck that swanky new club."
"Exactly right." The kiss wasn't meant to linger, not when the hot water was running. She dragged a few fingers along his jaw before letting him go to gingerly slide off the counter and climb in to the shower. Every muscle seemed to voice its protest but the moment the heat needled her skin, relief washed over her.
"Oh fuck me, that's nice..." Groaning, she bowed her head to let the water beat against her neck and back, soaking her hair until it slid in ink like tendrils over her shoulders. Instantly she was glad she had opted for a shower before eating. "Why didn't I do this earlier?"
"You were unconscious." He joined her beneath the hot cascading water, his broader body pressed to hers in the small(er) confines of the shower. His fingers fell to her hips in a gentle claim, his body molding to hers as she soaked up the moment. "We got a bigger water heater last week so this will last for almost as long as you want it to."
"Hey, I was mostly conscious when I got over here." It was a half hearted protest, one that fell to the wayside as he climbed in. Always a tight squeeze, she didn't mind the proximity and the stability that his hands provided. Her chin lifted so she could look up at him, her smile soft and appreciative.
"Finally got something to outlast you so we don't get doused with ice cold water, huh?" The grope was brief, meant more for punctuating her tease than to genuinely start something.
"Mm, right?" His chuckle was smothered against her neck when he ducked his head, fingertips tracing little patterns on her wet skin. "You had a rough night. You needed rest. I wasn't gonna rob you of that."
"Aren't you a gentleman." She mused. His touch was light enough that it didn't hurt, a fact she was grateful for. It had her reaching for his chin to draw him away from her neck for the sake of a chaste kiss to his lip. Less need and more gratitude, it lingered for a few moments before she sank back into the shower's stream. "I may very well stay here until it goes cold, feel like I got hit by a truck or something. Maybe this shit isn't for me after all."
"Does it make you happy?" He asked her after the kiss, gentle hands turning her around. Soap was liberally applied to his hands and Ro began to slowly work it over her shoulders, half a lathering and half gentle massage. "Is it something you really want? For you?"
"Sometimes?" She answered honestly, careful in how she stepped since slipping would be disastrous in such close quarters. It kept her against him the whole time even as she melted under his touch, the gentle working of his fingers pairing well with the water's heat. A stretch of her arm made her wince but allowed her to turn the temperature up just a little bit more until the spray reddened her flesh with its warmth.
"It's a nice outlet and I worked really hard to get to where I am. I just can't seem to get to the next level. Like... all my life I was surrounded by hyper-accomplished fighters and there was me... just Addie. Couldn't fight, had to have someone protect me all the time because they wouldn't let me learn either." She exhaled, inhaled, then continued. "Then I came here and I had to learn, fast. And I did. But when the moment really matters, it doesn't do me any good. So it's like... what's the point, you know?"
"Bein' accomplished in the ring isn't exactly a qualifier for survivability, mo chroi." Fingertips worked steadily down her spine back back up, clumsy but determined. When they fell again, they were kneading at her hips. "A lotta that shit they do in regulation wouldn't get most of those folks anywhere in a real fight. I mean, I get what you're saying. About self-esteem. I do. But I've noticed that your talent has a lot more to do with makin' things than breakin' them. You're an architect of the heart."
"I know that..." Defiance touched her tone but she didn't have it in her to tense up. Her muscles told her that was a big fat nope in the making. Wincing softly as his touch worked over a tender spot, she eased away as much as she could in the tight confines to turn again, letting the water wash away the suds that had been dripping down her body. "Making things like... cookies and music? It's practice. So if it's practice shouldn't I be able to practice at dueling and get better?"
Adelaide sighed and gave her head a soft shake. "I don't wanna argue it though. It's just annoying, like I should have a more definitive course instead of just drifting through this and that until I find something that clicks. Ya know... at one point all I wanted to do was have my own pizza place? Sling pies, make enough to get by. Simple. Uncomplicated. Buuuuut, here I am. Whomp, whomp."
"What would make you the happiest?" With an arch of his back, he leaned away from her to settled against the back wall of the small shower. He was able to do so with their hips still touching. Keen eyes studied her. "What is it that you do that's the most fulfilling for you? What do you look forward to do more than anything else? What drives you? Maybe considering that is a good place to start."
"Do you count?" She snickered, cutting into the heaviness of the conversation with a bit of teasing levity. Her fingers traced whorls and lines into his chest, smearing remnants of the soapy lather he had worked up for her across his skin. "I dunno. I know I should probably have this figured out by now. Like... I like playing with the band, it's a lot of fun but I think Michi takes it a lot more seriously than I ever could. It's just supposed to be for fun, right?"
Shrugging, she chewed at her aching bottom lip for a moment before continuing. "I like baking... and I'm good at it. It's relaxing and I could do it all day if I could. Bakers are just a dime a dozen around here, you know?"
"I could do you all day," he teased back. "But then neither one of us could pay rent." A gentle touch to her chin tipped it upwards so he could kiss her lightly. "What if you didn't restrict yourself to bakin'? You could open your own restaurant or caterin' business, and it would still let you bake like crazy. But a different spin on an old vocation, you know? You're certainly creative enough."
"Bills are overrated." She flapped a hand, her smile unable to be dimmed even by the touch of his mouth. There she lingered for a few beats longer than necessary, one hand slipping behind her to increase the heat one more time just to keep it even. "Pizza and cookies, totally a thing. Pies and pies. Would that be pies squared?"
Addie was a closet nerd, that moment proved it.
"I'd work for you. You already know I can cook, Pizza Girl." He raked his teeth lightly across her jaw, just below her ear. "And it would mean more time with you."
It was vaguely reminiscent of a moment she had long since forgotten about. Mirrored perhaps but she was still on the receiving end of the inquiry. It dimmed her smile but didn't lessen the affection in the kiss she touched to his cheek with a turn of her head.
"Shouldn't mix business and pleasure, muja. We can figure it out later, yeah?" Sure that the soap had been washed away, she reached back and twisted the taps to kill the shower stream, leaving them with only steam and closeness for warmth.
"We've got time. I just want you to be happy, mo chroi." He turned her around again, pressing his chest into her back and slinging both arms low around her hips. A light caress of his fingertips worked over her hipbones and lower. "No need to rush anything so long as I can still make you smile."
"You do that plenty." She mumbled, her smile returning anew. Chin tipped, she turned just so to peck another kiss to his cheek before relaxing against him. "Now how about breakfast?"
((All of my <3 and thanks to Ro for writing this with me.))
She looked pretty banged up.
It had taken Adelaide a long time to fall asleep there in his bed, but when she did it seemed to come to her like an exhausted defeat, mindless of his lap as he pillow and the precarious position it left Romeo in all night. Maybe he didn't mind. It allowed him to while away the hours with her pressed against him, fingers combing through her hair and feathering strokes along her temple, cheek, and neck. She slept and he talked, nearly silent at first, telling her about home and the fiery Hell that had scarred his back, shoulders, and the backs of his thighs so badly. He painted a portrait of an adolescence and eventual trek into adulthood as an unfortunate transplant to the meaner streets of Rhy'din, one that lacked all of the charity of the mainstream parts of the city. She'd heard the stories before but never so candid, so unfiltered. It was raw. Unpleasantly real. The atrocities and victims had names.
Then he told her about the Hollows.
His haven. His home. His responsibility. His pain. He spoke of it with equal parts pride and reservation. Determination and fatigue. To her, he bared his heart and his soul. He told her everything. Or almost. He promised to tell her more. And as the morning sun dragged across the sky, deepening towards a cold afternoon, Ro peppered her slim back with gentle kisses and told her he was going to make coffee. And maybe breakfast, but that perhaps the latter could wait until after they cleaned up.
He abandoned her then with a reluctant drag of fingers over bare flesh and disappeared from the room.
The bruises were bad but none were as ugly as the wounds her pride had taken. Three challenges, three miserable failures. She hadn't wanted Ro there to see it for that very reason because if she failed in front of him, she didn't know what she would do. To him she wanted to be more, to be as close to the ideal that he had in his head (or perhaps in her head) as possible. For all that he had claimed Addie was his break from the bad, Ro was much the same for her even if she seldom had the words to admit it. The aches waxed and waned and sleep came under his watch, likely complete with drool on his thigh due to the swelling in her stitched bottom lip.
Lost to the land of dreams, his stories fell on deaf ears, exacting their subtle influence on the dreamscape she wandered in her sleep. It was vaguely reminiscent of that which had plagued her for so long prior to Nikolai's death but it held none of the danger, not with Ro there. Then just as quickly as he had slipped into her subconscious, he was gone. Morning was dying but the cold that came with his disappearance roused her from the depths of sleep. Her skin was still warm where he had been pressed against her and she wrapped herself up in the sheets that smelled of him, yawning and stretching until his lacking presence stretched just a little bit longer than she would have liked. Securing her sheet-dress with the tuck of an edge against her chest, the white clad specter slipped from his room as well, decorated in black and blue and a spill of tangled purple-black hair as she trailed through the little apartment in search of Ro.
"Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?"
It never got old.
"Shall I hear more or shall I speak at this?" It was a little dry for the delivery but when she found him in the kitchen, the platinum haired youth was giving her a lopsided smile. Coffee was fresh and black in the glass pot next to him and while he had yet to start cooking, everything that would go into the endeavor was laid out across the counter.
She was greeted with warm hands and thick arms enveloping her, drawing her in against his bare chest so that he could dip his chin and find an unbruised spot on her neck to kiss. "You could've stayed in bed, mo chroi," he told her. "I was comin' back."
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet. So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called, retain that dear perfection which he owes without that title." There was a lilting sing song to her delivery, a passage long since committed to memory as if the words were her own. Still wrapped in his sheet in the event his roommate was out and about, she took a lean in the kitchen doorway, a hip cocked to the frame and one hand holding fast to the thin material. It didn't last long, not when her alternative was his careful grasp around her sore body.
"I totally passed out on your lap last night... I didn't seriously make you stay that way for long, right?" Her free hand swept her messy hair away for his incoming mouth, a tired but fond smile living on her lips. "I mean, I can go back just so you can watch me walk away. Or I can hang with you til you're ready to come back. S'up to you."
"I stayed like that for a while." It was the truth, mostly. "If it makes you feel guilty, you can make it up to me later." He kissed her neck again and then her shoulder, before one arm settled around her slim waist, atop the feminine shelf of her hips. "Do you wanna get cleaned up before or after you eat? Wasn't sure if you'd gotten to stand under some nice hot water before coming here last night or not."
"You know me, always guilty." She snickered, teeth raking at her sore lip as his mouth continued its path along her skin. It was a nice feeling, one she didn't want to give up, but his question posed a fair point. Addie groaned, a soft sigh slipping free.
"Probably before. I likely smell like sweat and failure." The Outback's facilities left a bit to be desired and Ro's shower was calling. Carefully she extracted herself from the loop of his arm for a shuffle of a step back. "You gonna join me or is it a solo adventure while you're barefoot in the kitchen?"
"I love you, mo chroi, but you don't look like you're gonna do much in the way of stretchin' when trying to get at those hard to reach places." He wasn't even trying to be cheeky. "Plus I've got some liniment that I want to put on you once you're clean. It'll help with the swelling and pain. I can feed you after, if you'd like. X is gone for a show, so we've got the run of the place today. We can curl up on the couch and watch movies or just go back to sleep."
A kiss landed closer to her mouth this time, without hurting it, before Ro's hands on her hips were steering her back towards the bathroom. "I have all day to be barefoot in the kitchen."
"All day?" She had been trying to be cheeky but his frankness set warmth in her cheeks and odd sort of flutters in her stomach. Turning her head just slightly to catch the kiss on her lips, she shuffled so that she didn't trip over the sheet's edge as he adjusted her course.
"I'll be fine, you know. Just need a little time." The girl had carried worse pain than the physical before. Bumps and bruises and cuts were nothing in the grand scope of things. But if he wanted to dote on her, who was she to say no? "Did you wanna do anything tonight for New Year's?"
"You're the outgoing one," he dropped another kiss to her shoulder, loosening his grip on her to strip her out of the bed sheet, which he balled up and tossed back through his doorway as they passed it. With X gone, modesty was unnecessary. "Is there some hot party we should be going to tonight? Should I worry about findin' something fancy on short notice?"
Into the bathroom and closing the door behind them, Ro sat her on the counter and reached past the shower curtain to turn the hot water on. "What do you want? I'm easy. Give me an arcade, a quiet diner or a bar, or even an archery range. If it's just me I don't care. If not, I wanna be wherever you are."
"I think Misery is having a party at Dockside. Mostly because that lame new club opening up down there doesn't allow under twenty-ones." Addie rolled her eyes. Considering Rhydin had exactly zero drinking laws, such an arbitrary age requirement seemed positively asinine. Spinning a sluggish circle to unwrap from the sheet, she did little to cover up once it was tugged free. After all, the only reason for doing so was off jamming with Gay Queen or something.
"Lemme text them and see? If so would you come hang with us? I've got this cute dress I've been saving for somethin' like that... and you'll obviously have to be my New Year's kiss at midnight." Rambling as steam billowed and rolled from the shower, her heels bounced off the front of the vanity upon which he had deposited her. "It'll be low key, promise."
"I don't mind goin' to these things, so no worries. We can go. It ain't like we don't always find our own fun, right?" He leaned forward and kissed her chin as he slipped out of his sleep pants, letting them pool on the floor before the heavy curtain was pulled aside. He gestured for her to go ahead first. "We'll go and support Miz. And fuck that swanky new club."
"Exactly right." The kiss wasn't meant to linger, not when the hot water was running. She dragged a few fingers along his jaw before letting him go to gingerly slide off the counter and climb in to the shower. Every muscle seemed to voice its protest but the moment the heat needled her skin, relief washed over her.
"Oh fuck me, that's nice..." Groaning, she bowed her head to let the water beat against her neck and back, soaking her hair until it slid in ink like tendrils over her shoulders. Instantly she was glad she had opted for a shower before eating. "Why didn't I do this earlier?"
"You were unconscious." He joined her beneath the hot cascading water, his broader body pressed to hers in the small(er) confines of the shower. His fingers fell to her hips in a gentle claim, his body molding to hers as she soaked up the moment. "We got a bigger water heater last week so this will last for almost as long as you want it to."
"Hey, I was mostly conscious when I got over here." It was a half hearted protest, one that fell to the wayside as he climbed in. Always a tight squeeze, she didn't mind the proximity and the stability that his hands provided. Her chin lifted so she could look up at him, her smile soft and appreciative.
"Finally got something to outlast you so we don't get doused with ice cold water, huh?" The grope was brief, meant more for punctuating her tease than to genuinely start something.
"Mm, right?" His chuckle was smothered against her neck when he ducked his head, fingertips tracing little patterns on her wet skin. "You had a rough night. You needed rest. I wasn't gonna rob you of that."
"Aren't you a gentleman." She mused. His touch was light enough that it didn't hurt, a fact she was grateful for. It had her reaching for his chin to draw him away from her neck for the sake of a chaste kiss to his lip. Less need and more gratitude, it lingered for a few moments before she sank back into the shower's stream. "I may very well stay here until it goes cold, feel like I got hit by a truck or something. Maybe this shit isn't for me after all."
"Does it make you happy?" He asked her after the kiss, gentle hands turning her around. Soap was liberally applied to his hands and Ro began to slowly work it over her shoulders, half a lathering and half gentle massage. "Is it something you really want? For you?"
"Sometimes?" She answered honestly, careful in how she stepped since slipping would be disastrous in such close quarters. It kept her against him the whole time even as she melted under his touch, the gentle working of his fingers pairing well with the water's heat. A stretch of her arm made her wince but allowed her to turn the temperature up just a little bit more until the spray reddened her flesh with its warmth.
"It's a nice outlet and I worked really hard to get to where I am. I just can't seem to get to the next level. Like... all my life I was surrounded by hyper-accomplished fighters and there was me... just Addie. Couldn't fight, had to have someone protect me all the time because they wouldn't let me learn either." She exhaled, inhaled, then continued. "Then I came here and I had to learn, fast. And I did. But when the moment really matters, it doesn't do me any good. So it's like... what's the point, you know?"
"Bein' accomplished in the ring isn't exactly a qualifier for survivability, mo chroi." Fingertips worked steadily down her spine back back up, clumsy but determined. When they fell again, they were kneading at her hips. "A lotta that shit they do in regulation wouldn't get most of those folks anywhere in a real fight. I mean, I get what you're saying. About self-esteem. I do. But I've noticed that your talent has a lot more to do with makin' things than breakin' them. You're an architect of the heart."
"I know that..." Defiance touched her tone but she didn't have it in her to tense up. Her muscles told her that was a big fat nope in the making. Wincing softly as his touch worked over a tender spot, she eased away as much as she could in the tight confines to turn again, letting the water wash away the suds that had been dripping down her body. "Making things like... cookies and music? It's practice. So if it's practice shouldn't I be able to practice at dueling and get better?"
Adelaide sighed and gave her head a soft shake. "I don't wanna argue it though. It's just annoying, like I should have a more definitive course instead of just drifting through this and that until I find something that clicks. Ya know... at one point all I wanted to do was have my own pizza place? Sling pies, make enough to get by. Simple. Uncomplicated. Buuuuut, here I am. Whomp, whomp."
"What would make you the happiest?" With an arch of his back, he leaned away from her to settled against the back wall of the small shower. He was able to do so with their hips still touching. Keen eyes studied her. "What is it that you do that's the most fulfilling for you? What do you look forward to do more than anything else? What drives you? Maybe considering that is a good place to start."
"Do you count?" She snickered, cutting into the heaviness of the conversation with a bit of teasing levity. Her fingers traced whorls and lines into his chest, smearing remnants of the soapy lather he had worked up for her across his skin. "I dunno. I know I should probably have this figured out by now. Like... I like playing with the band, it's a lot of fun but I think Michi takes it a lot more seriously than I ever could. It's just supposed to be for fun, right?"
Shrugging, she chewed at her aching bottom lip for a moment before continuing. "I like baking... and I'm good at it. It's relaxing and I could do it all day if I could. Bakers are just a dime a dozen around here, you know?"
"I could do you all day," he teased back. "But then neither one of us could pay rent." A gentle touch to her chin tipped it upwards so he could kiss her lightly. "What if you didn't restrict yourself to bakin'? You could open your own restaurant or caterin' business, and it would still let you bake like crazy. But a different spin on an old vocation, you know? You're certainly creative enough."
"Bills are overrated." She flapped a hand, her smile unable to be dimmed even by the touch of his mouth. There she lingered for a few beats longer than necessary, one hand slipping behind her to increase the heat one more time just to keep it even. "Pizza and cookies, totally a thing. Pies and pies. Would that be pies squared?"
Addie was a closet nerd, that moment proved it.
"I'd work for you. You already know I can cook, Pizza Girl." He raked his teeth lightly across her jaw, just below her ear. "And it would mean more time with you."
It was vaguely reminiscent of a moment she had long since forgotten about. Mirrored perhaps but she was still on the receiving end of the inquiry. It dimmed her smile but didn't lessen the affection in the kiss she touched to his cheek with a turn of her head.
"Shouldn't mix business and pleasure, muja. We can figure it out later, yeah?" Sure that the soap had been washed away, she reached back and twisted the taps to kill the shower stream, leaving them with only steam and closeness for warmth.
"We've got time. I just want you to be happy, mo chroi." He turned her around again, pressing his chest into her back and slinging both arms low around her hips. A light caress of his fingertips worked over her hipbones and lower. "No need to rush anything so long as I can still make you smile."
"You do that plenty." She mumbled, her smile returning anew. Chin tipped, she turned just so to peck another kiss to his cheek before relaxing against him. "Now how about breakfast?"
((All of my <3 and thanks to Ro for writing this with me.))