warriorborn | (no subject)

[ why did she do that? she's not sure, not even now after the fact. she supposes she was curious — to see how he'd take it, to see if he'd let it slide — but she can't say for sure yet if that curiosity has been sated at all. the way he watches her, she can tell he's confused. but benny's always been too polite to properly rebuff someone anyway. ]

Said no man, ever.

[ haha they have fun here.

but she does finally give him back his space, sliding off the vanity stool to slip back into the bathroom to brush her teeth and finally finish getting ready for bed.

when she finishes, she pads back over to the bed, looking it over. ]

Do you have a preference for a side?

[ because obviously they're sharing. ]

[ It should come as a surprise to nobody that Benedict has never been to any sort of gentleman's club where the ladies in attendance lose their clothes for tips, so he's unable to come up with a suitably snappy response to her little quip quickly enough for it to be anything but awkward, so he just quirks his eyebrow at her and lets it slide.

She knows. It's fine.

Idly flexing his wrists again when she finally lets him go and slips off into the bathroom, he wastes another few seconds going over that not-quite-kiss — was it an accident? did she do it on purpose? — before putting it out of his mind and focusing on getting undressed.

Even having grown up with a fleet of staff who comes in and tidies up after him, Benedict is the type of person to carefully hang his dirty clothes so they don't wrinkle, which is why when Kate emerges from the bathroom, Benedict is still getting dressed in his pajamas, having just shrugged into his shirt but not yet having tackled its buttons.

Glancing over his shoulder at her, he considers the bed before shrugging. ]

Right. [ If she's not going to press the issue, neither will he. The chaise is comfortable enough for a nap, but that doesn't mean he wants to spend the whole night on it. ]

[ if anyone were to take that chaise, it would be the one of them that isn't over 6 feet. that's just being practical. but seeing as how there's no way in hell benedict would ever allow that (unless he somehow took the floor in turn), it's just safe to assume they'll be sharing the bed. like totally platonic friends do.

it's fine. it's king size, she's tiny, there'll be plenty of room. they both deserve the comfort of the bed after a long day like they've had, and kate is sure their friendship can survive something so banal.

what's not banal, though, is walking in on benedict's bare chest, flanked by the softest looking pajama top imaginable. it's almost infuriating how good-looking he is, but probably not as infuriating as the apparent fact he doesn't even realize.

she purses her lips together after realizing she'd been staring, and demurely looks away back towards the bed. ]

Cool, left works for me.

[ a-hem. but that requires her to walk over to the other side where benedict currently is. and if she happens to brush against him in the process? mind your business. ]

[ It would sound egotistical in the extreme to say that Benedict is used to being stared at like that by pretty girls, but it's not exactly uncommon. Most of the time he attributes it to being warriorborn, though, not to anything else. Kate doesn't seem to care about his genetics, thankfully, which leaves no real explanation for the way her eyes catch on him as he's getting dressed, at least, no explanation he can readily come up with.

Doing up the buttons from them hem up, he frowns a little bit at her, but doesn't say anything even when she looks away. It's probably nothing. ]

There should be a cord for your phone in the bedside drawer. Everything was updated relatively recently to include all the newest modcons, but if you need something else just let me know. I'll talk to Mrs Goodman about sourcing it for you.

[ Fighting down the urge to shiver when she brushes past him takes real effort, but the moment passes so quickly he tries to just put it out of his mind instead of commenting on it. It seems safer, in the long run.

Nipping into the bathroom to take care of his nightly ablutions, he tries very hard not to think about the fact that, in just a few minutes, he's going to be sharing a bed with the girl he's tricking his family into thinking he's dating. It's a weird situation for anybody to be in. What's weirder, though, is how it doesn't really feel that weird at all.

Running his tongue over his teeth to make sure he didn't miss any spots while brushing, he shrugs at himself in the mirror. No point obsessing over it.

Turning off all the lights, he returns to the bedroom and does the same there, before padding over to the bed and slipping beneath the covers beside her. ]

[ after the customary goodnights are shared, it isn't long at all before kate finds herself drifting to sleep. that's how it always goes, doesn't it? after a long day, all the day's adrenaline fades the instant one's head hits the pillow. it would have been such a good, long sleep too...

were it not for kate suddenly stirring in the middle of the night. the room is still shrouded in shadows, nearly pitch black were it not for the sliver of a blue moon filtering in through the curtains. kate rolls over to her other side, crosses the non-existent distance between herself and the other body in the bed— ]

Benny. Ben. Did you hear that?

[ she's gripping his shoulder, impossibly close to him. of course, of course a house as old as this was haunted. oh my god. ]

[ Unused to sleeping next to another person after all this time living alone — not that Benedict ever slept in the same bed as anyone since he was a very small child, but his time at the Temple and his military service had included barracks-style living, which meant sleeping a stone's throw away from others — it takes Benedict a while to fall asleep, but he forces himself to stop focusing on the girl only a few feet away from him with some determined meditation, and it doesn't take that much longer for him to drift off as well.

Only to be woken not by whatever noise spooked Kate, but by Kate herself, scooting closer across the sheets and grabbing at his shoulder.

With his instincts and combat training both ingrained deep into him, one would think Benedict would react to being shaken awake with violence. Instead, all he does is rumble sleepily, letting Kate tug at his shoulder until he's flat on his back, peering at her through half-lidded eyes. ]

Was'sit?

It's—

[ a ghost, she almost says, but fortunately stops herself before it actually slips out. how embarrassing. he's half-awake right now but she's pretty sure he'd jolt right out of it just to laugh at her.

she grits her teeth, unconsciously curling her hand into a little fist around the fabric at his shoulder. ]

—not sure... But I definitely heard something outside.

[ she's close enough he'd be able to see it (though not like he needs the help, given his nightvision), how big and imploring her eyes get. they say, without saying anything, aren't you going to go check it out? ]

[ He might not have woken up fully just to laugh at her, but he equally might have just woken up fully so he could raise his eyebrows incredulously at her, so which is worse?

The way she's yanking at his pajamas makes him reach out and clumsily pat at her, his hand landing on her bare thigh, warm from being cocooned beneath the covers. ]

'S probably just the foxes, [ he assures her, like listening to foxes do anything isn't absolutely blood-curdling.

Still, the longer he stays awake trying to comfort her, the more awake he feels, and he'd probably be able to tell how spooked she is even without his superior senses. Suppressing a sigh, not wanting to make her feel bad even though he's pretty sure she's being totally ridiculous, he shifts enough so he can roll onto his other side to face her, letting go of her leg so he can wrap both hands around hers. ]

Do you want me to go make sure? [ Gods, he's a sucker. ]

[ at his touch, she shifts closer still, as if it were some unspoken permission. she's got both hands gripping his shirt now, body tense underneath the thick covers resting over them. benedict has always run a little hotter than most; turns out sharing a blanket with him is like having your own little space heater. even still, she shivers from the touch. ]

If you want. [ yes, please. ]

I'll come with you. [ let's do it now. ]

[ What Benedict really wants to do is to roll back over and go back to sleep. If the noise wasn't enough to wake him, someone who grew up in this house and therefore is familiar with what is and isn't a noise that's supposed to happen, then it's not worth worrying over.

But Kate is clearly worried. Maybe irrationally, but that's not for him to decide.

Yawning, showing off his teeth, he shifts back and sits up with a grunt. ]

Alright. Come on, then.

[ seeing that flash of teeth so clearly, even in the dark, has a strangely calming effect on kate. somehow she feels that much more comforted, that much safer. she still wants to get up and check out that noise for her own peace of mind, sure, but somehow it isn't quite so daunting a task.

she slips out of bed the moment he sits up, turning back around to urge him on faster, but falls silent when she notices that somewhere along the way in his sleep, a few of the buttons of his pajama top have come undone. she's quiet, taking far too long to decide if she should say something about it, before finally gesturing to her own chest. ]

Your shirt — um.

[ Idly scratching his chest between the plackets of his shirt — how did those buttons come undone? — as he swings his legs off the side of the bed and stands up, bare toes curling in the plush carpet underfoot. ]

Hm? [ He's distracted, reaching for one of the drawers in the bedside table, rummaging around until he finds a small, unobtrusive flashlight that he hands out to her.

Just because he can see in the dark doesn't mean she can. ]

Oh. [ He looks down at himself before humming and shifting to do them back up. Strange, how that happened. ] There. All better.

[ kate hums in response, carefully noncommittal as she drops her eyes to the flashlight in her hand — but only after he'd gone and finished buttoning up. in this case, "better" is definitely subjective. ]

You'd tell me, right? [ she pushes some of her hair out of her face, whatever had come loose from her bun in her sleep. ] If someone once died in this house. It wasn't built over some ancestral burying ground or anything?

[ Why else would she bring his attention to it if she didn't want him to rectify the situation? It hardly makes sense, otherwise. No matter.

Satisfied that she's got the flashlight and can therefore illuminate her path, Benedict steps around her, absently reaching down to curl his hand around hers. That's what you do in the dark when you're scared, right? Hold hands? ]

Of course people died in this house, [ he says, like that's comforting at all. ] It's been in the family for centuries. No burial grounds that I know of, though.

[ said hand flexes in concern at his all-too-casual answer, but fortunately he's too busy leading them out to see the sudden grimace on her face. she sticks close, closer even when she'd been pretending to be his paramour earlier that evening, flicking the flashlight on. ]

That you know of, [ she repeats gravely, as if his words had just sealed their fate. ]

I'm fairly certain there's no burial grounds under the house.

[ Is that better?

He very kindly doesn't point out that ghosts aren't real, or that if she did hear a noise it was probably either another guest battling their own jet-lag or one of the staff moving about the corridors, or, worst case scenario, a mouse.

Still, irrational or not, your fears are your fears, and having someone step in and tell you you're being stupid doesn't help. What does, he hopes, is stepping out into the corridor and looking left and right. ]

[ don't tell her ghosts aren't real, benedict, she's met aliens and gods and mutants who can control minds ok anything is possible.

she presses up against his back, trying and failing to look over his shoulder. she helpfully (?) flashes the light down the hall for him. ]

Well? What do you see?

[ Aliens, gods, and mutants are totally different. Benedict is a mutant, basically, but that doesn't mean a thing in the face of the fact that ghosts aren't real.

She's a warm little limpet pressing up along his spine, and he's still sleepy enough to not overthink why that's such a comfortable feeling, just quietly lets himself enjoy it while he scans the darkened hallway. Truthfully, the flashlight doesn't help all that much, but he does still peer carefully each direction to see what might be there. ]

Nothing.

[ okay non-believer, don't come crying to kate when one decides to haunt you for your arrogance!

anyway. ]

Are you sure?

[ oh good now she's stage-whispering. she presses the flat of her hand against his spine, right on his lower back, coaxing him out. clearly they have to investigate further. ]

[ He's dealt with worse. ]

There's nothing there, Katie.

[ Still, he lets her push him into the hallway, his steps soundless against the thick carpet underfoot, and he holds out his hand to her again so they can go look down the corridor even more if that's what she wants.

Everything is where it should be, where it was the last time he was home. He's not worried. ]

[ they get a few steps down the corridor, hand in hand, kate's light sweeping left and right, up down. they get all the way to the end before it forks, and kate's bare feet pause on the carpet, a frown on her face. ]

I guess you're right...

[ what's this, is she actually admitting— ]

Whatever it was is probably long gone.

[ —ah.

she gives his hand a squeeze, turning to walk them back to the room. ]

Sorry I interrupted your beauty sleep.

Edited 2021-10-24 22:52 (UTC)

[ For a moment, he debates turning around to stare at her incredulously, but then she corrects herself and he finds himself huffing a quiet laugh through his nose instead.

Maybe she's right. Maybe there was some noise or other that spooked her, or maybe it's just the stress of the situation coupled with trying to sleep in an unfamiliar location that's making her hyper-aware of her surroundings. If something breaks into their room to try and kill them in their sleep, she can say I told you so to him, but until then, he's going to turn and gently herd her back towards their bedroom. ]

Let's just go back to bed, hm? I'll give you a proper tour of the estate in the morning.

[ So she won't worry so much about things that go bump in the night. ]

[ it's quite intimate, that phrase. let's just go back to bed. how it flows from his mouth so naturally too. ]

You're just trying to avoid letting me drive your fancy car.

[ as her mind quickly switches up from being too wired to suddenly reminded of its grogginess. she yawns loudly, rubbing at her eyes. she lets benedict pull her back along, feeling her eyelids grow heavy. she doesn't even open her eyes again until they're back in their room and she's climbing back into the plush bed.

once her head hits the pillow again her body feels like lead, definitely ready for sleep again. ]

Mm, yes that's exactly it, [ he agrees affably, squeezing her hand warmly as he guides her back into their powder-blue room.

Watching her clamber back into the bed they're sharing is weirdly more intimate than it was earlier in the night, perhaps because she's so obviously tired and so is he.

He shuts the door behind them carefully, making sure the latch takes, and then climbs into bed after her, only barely resisting the urge to tuck her in like he's putting her to bed and not just going back to sleep himself. ]

'Night, then.

[ his voice helps draw her back from the sleep quickly claiming her, just enough that she becomes vaguely aware of a new source of heat in the bed. she hums, rolls over until she's facing him. her eyes are already shut and her hair is all but spilled out of that bun by now but there is a warm, sleepy smile on her lips. ]

'Night...

[ she doesn't realize in her rolling over, she'd crossed that invisible line that splits the bed up evenly between them. it'd be a shame, though, to wake her now, wouldn't it? ]

Edited 2021-10-25 00:16 (UTC)