Beg Off [Closed] - Printable Version
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RE: Beg Off [Closed] - SolitareLee - 12-01-2019
Ren laughed. It was really more of a giggle, and hoarse at that, but it felt good. He'd surprised her, joking like that. He rarely ever joked with her, and when he did, she felt it was mostly at her expense. Like the King had said, he was too focused on being responsible all the time. Seeing him last night had been the first time she'd seen him carefree. She liked the idea that he could joke with her, even after what had just happened. "I guess I've got no choice," she replied somberly, though still grinning. "Gotta save our lives and all that."
He was a joy to kiss. Why hadn't she spent more of her life kissing, anyway? Whatever reasons she'd had seemed dumb, now, although mostly she'd just never found anyone worth wasting her time on. His mouth was warm--hot actually--and larger than hers, like how every part of him was larger than her, his hand on her face dwarfing her.
When she pulled back to breathe, though, he said that, and her heart clenched in her chest. "Y'... missed me?" she repeated, trying not to sound dumbstruck and failing. How could he have possibly missed her? He'd been on the coolest vacation day ever. Hadn't the whole point been to get away from work? To get away from her? She made his life a hell. She had made a point of making his life a hell from the minute she'd met him. She'd only calmed down marginally, in that she'd do work at all. Had the few weeks in which she'd been too busy to cause trouble been that nice? How much was she allowed to read into this?
Not as much as she wanted to and more than she was going to allow herself. She was glad he was glad she was okay, but she had complicated feelings about it. If she'd died, it would have served the King right. And then she would have at least been free of the burden of choice, of knowing that if she gave up she would be losing, a bitter blow to her pride she couldn't overcome long enough to surrender either to the King's Guard's domination or to death.
She still couldn't actually remember drinking the poison, but she was going to keep on believing it had been an accident. The next time, though...
Oh, the next time! The hidden compartment under the bed! They would be looking now, though, to try and figure out where she'd gotten the poison. Mmm... Better have some rats dig through there now, then, and rescue what they could. The lead coins, at least, since their presence would lead to questions that Ren didn't want to answer. They could stash them in her room, for now.
She reached out for a handful of rats almost without thinking about it; it was as second nature to her as turning a doorknob to someone else. However, she was hit with a sudden wave of vertigo, the world twisting and inverting before snapping back into place, leaving her nauseous and dizzy. She lowered her head against Gareth's chest, feeling sick.
"Am I okay?" she asked the room at large. Well, obviously not, in that she was hospitalized, but... She breathed against his chest, trying to ground herself. Was this what being okay felt like? Being trapped but caring less because you liked who you were trapped with? Nothing made sense anymore.
"Yer not allowed to leave," she informed him, tightening her grip against his shirt. "Y'have to stay here with me. Pretend it's yer job today."
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - Tindome - 12-01-2019
"I missed you," he repeated softly as confirmation, just as soon as she didn't recoil or protest. He wished he were better at making her laugh. He kept hoping for the day that she'd adjust, that she'd get comfortable around him and with her work and maybe start making friends that weren't rats. That day didn't seem to have gotten any closer, but when she laughed he could pretend.
He held her shoulders and rubbed her back when she seemed to have a dizzy spell. The rats on the bedside table started fussing. He braced himself for the possibility that she was going to vomit on him. "You'll be okay," he said. "That's an order," he attempted to joke. "Not as your boss. Just as… a guy who likes to give orders."
"I don't crawl into bed with people for work," he teased, a curve to his lips. "But I'll stay. As long as you need me." It actually was his job to make sure she was taken care of, but he didn't think he'd be reminding her of that. "Rest. Try to relax. Your job is to get better."
He held her shoulders and rubbed her back when she seemed to have a dizzy spell. The rats on the bedside table started fussing. He braced himself for the possibility that she was going to vomit on him. "You'll be okay," he said. "That's an order," he attempted to joke. "Not as your boss. Just as… a guy who likes to give orders."
"I don't crawl into bed with people for work," he teased, a curve to his lips. "But I'll stay. As long as you need me." It actually was his job to make sure she was taken care of, but he didn't think he'd be reminding her of that. "Rest. Try to relax. Your job is to get better."
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - SolitareLee - 12-01-2019
Her head was spinning, and not just because of the vertigo reaching for her rats had caused, or the panic that chased after it, only soothed by the fact she could feel them, just not reach, and that Phoebe and Timothy were right here and she could hear them. What he was saying... She buried her face against his neck, searching for the skin beyond a starched collar. Both because she was dizzy and because she was deeply embarrassed. But she couldn't stop the hopeful pounding of her sore heart.
"At least yer finally admittin' yer just bossy," she muttered against his neck, face heating up faster than the rest of her. Something about him as 'a guy who likes to give orders' was much more appealing than 'her boss,' and she wasn't even going to touch 'just a guy' because that was dangerous, dangerous territory. He wasn't just a guy, she reminded herself. He was in charge of making sure she stayed here.
She reached out a hand towards Phoebe and gave a single-fingered 'come here' gesture, more for Gareth's sake than hers. She thought he might be more comfortable with little rat feet on him if he had a fair warning. She lept onto the bed and scurried up Gareth's shoulder like he was a mountain.
She'd have to do it. Ren couldn't give orders right now, but that's what Phoebe and Timothy were for... and Byron, if he'd been here. Ren planted a little kiss on her head, affectionately. She'd really have to make this all up to them somehow. She could go, get the other rats to start moving things--carefully, avoiding being seen at all costs, she emphasized--from the new room to the hidden compartment in her old one. They wouldn't be able to take it all... the books could be left behind, no matter how interesting the book on arcana had looked, but the herbs, the knife, the needle and string, and any remaining bottles of poisoned liquor, as well as the coin purse full of lead coins. All those things needed to be moved to her room and hidden. If they couldn't get all the way there, they could hide them in the walls and fetch them after night fell.
Phoebe didn't want to leave Ren's side, but Ren insisted. This was important. With a complaining squeak, she turned and scurried off of Gareth, off of the bed, and out of the room. Ren settled in again against Gareth's chest. It was unreasonably comfortable, curled up on top of him like this. She could feel him breathing, and the steady heat was making her sleepy.
"Thanks, Gareth," she said. His name sounded odd on her tongue. She never really used it. "If I go to sleep now, am I gonna wake up?"
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - Tindome - 12-01-2019
Gareth was, out of necessity, getting used to tiny rat feet climbing on him. If it made her feel better, he wasn't going to complain. And anyway, they were cute sometimes. Mostly when they got up on their back feet to look around and used their little hands to manipulate objects.
He wondered, as the rat left the room, if he ought to be suspicious. He kept it to himself, and opted to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she was too tired to keep the troops in order and needed to send in backup.
Whatever. It was probably fine. She… probably wasn't sending rats into other people's rooms to steal their things. Probably. Whatever Colin might have to say about it.
His name on her tongue did something to him. He didn't know what. Did it feel more intimate, or more formal? The question did something entirely else. "You're going to be okay," he said, stroking her back. She'd been sleeping when he got here, and it was fine. This was fine. It wasn't that kind of problem, he thought. He hoped.
"I'll be here when you wake up," he promised.
He wondered, as the rat left the room, if he ought to be suspicious. He kept it to himself, and opted to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she was too tired to keep the troops in order and needed to send in backup.
Whatever. It was probably fine. She… probably wasn't sending rats into other people's rooms to steal their things. Probably. Whatever Colin might have to say about it.
His name on her tongue did something to him. He didn't know what. Did it feel more intimate, or more formal? The question did something entirely else. "You're going to be okay," he said, stroking her back. She'd been sleeping when he got here, and it was fine. This was fine. It wasn't that kind of problem, he thought. He hoped.
"I'll be here when you wake up," he promised.
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - SolitareLee - 12-01-2019
Ren nodded tiredly. She'd had a rough twelve hours or so, and was more than willing to take him at his word if it meant she could rest. It would be fine if he was here. He'd wake her up if she had a nightmare or started crashing. One day off of work wouldn't kill her, wouldn't kill either of them. As long as he was here with her, it would be fine. She would deal with the rest tomorrow. The reality of her situation, her new plan moving forward, and what in the hell she was going to do about her feelings for Gareth, which were clearly not going anywhere and probably only going to get worse. He would be worried for her health, and treat her gently and kindly, and her fool's heart would eat it up like a starving dog.
That was all tomorrow's problem. Today was a break from reality, where she and Gareth could lay together in a bed and pretend like neither of their circumstances mattered and tomorrow, when reality closed back in, they would simply never discuss it again.
She curled up against him, halfway onto her stomach, her face under his chin, nose pressing against his jawline. She made sure none of her joints were poking him too much; she might have been light but she was bony. Unthinkingly, one of her hands traced up against the other side of his face. He was warm, and because of it, so was she. Closing her eyes, she drifted off to sleep almost instantly.