#messy as hell bc i just wanted to get the idea out before it evaporated

[tezzaa]

my prediction for the series

[ayatosmlktea]

Is it possible for you to do a royal au? Where king Levi is in love with one of his servants (reader) but she keeps on pushing it away bc she knows itll taint his name and doesnt want to cause him any trouble even if she does love him in return. But u know Levi, he dont care about anything and tries to tell her that it doesnt matter what everyone else thinks and she agrees to be his ❤

A/N: I love this idea so much!!!!!!

𝑺𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕 𝑨𝒇𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒔 ❤️

“Y/N wait up!” She turns around to findJean running after her his arms carrying what looked like clothes.

“His royal crankiness asked me to tell you to bring him his evening tea.”

“Jean don’t call him that! Someone could hear you.” Y/N scolds but can’t help chuckling at the blond’s nickname for Levi. Rolling his eyes he shoves the clothes into her hands.

“Yeah yeah, weird how he’s always asking for your though. Something going on between you two?” She feels her cheeks heat up as he wiggles his eyebrows micheivously at her.

“O-Of course not! He’s the King, Jean. I’m just a servant, besides it’s not my fault if I do your job better than you.” He rolls his eyes playfully shoving her shoulder.

“Whatever Y/N, you’d better hurry up he seemed pretty impatient. See you later!” Jean waves his goodbyes, disappearing around the corner as she makes her way to Levi’s room, knowing she could bring him the tea later. Their secret relationship was thrilling, albeit risky at times sometimes she couldn’t believe that someone as powerful as him could want to be with her but Levi always reminded her of how special she was to him.  She felt butterflies fluttering around her stomach, they hadn’t had a chance to see each other privately for a few days and she missed his presence.

“Tch, took you long enough.” Locking the door behind her she feels her mouth water as she takes in his appearance. He’d obviously just gotten out of the bath, his hair still damp water droplets running down his bare chest and his towel hanging dangerously low. Smirking at her expression he strides over cradling her face in his hands as he leans down.

“God I missed you.” His lips capture hers, her fingers immediately tangling themselves in his hair as the forgotten clothes drop to the floor.

Humming softly to herself, Y/N adjusts her dress and makes her way to her quarters for the night. She smiles softly, biting her lip as she recalls their…passionate evening together.

“I think it’s time he finally finds a wife. The kingdom needs a queen.” One of Levi’s advisors complains, instantly Y/N feels her heart drop into her stomach.

“I agree. He needs someone of noble reputation, not some air headed servant girl.” Well so much for it being a secret. Their words twist in her gut like a knife, she loved Levi but knew that they could never actually become a public item because of his status. Making up her mind she trudges back to her room feeling her heart breaking.

Y/N tries to hide her blush as she sets Levi’s dinner in front of him,  his fingers brushing along the length of her inner arm. She pulls back quickly before any of the other servants see their King affectionately stroking her arm knowing their gossip would spread to others in town. Clicking his tongue in annoyance he leans back in his chair, his expressionless eyes narrowing into slits.

“Y/N what is this shit table setting? I thought you were taught better than that.” His sudden voice startles her and she instinctively moves away from him hanging her head in embarrassment. Swiping his finger under the edge of the table he brings it closer to his face.

“And what is this? Dust?” The other servants in the room turn to stare at her in shock. Each one of them knew how picky Levi was about keeping the castle clean, especially the dining room. Her palms start to sweat as she finds herself unable to respond or look up at him.

“Tch, everyone out. Except you.” He orders cooly, getting up he bars the door and loosens the first few buttons of his dress shirt. Y/N can’t help but gulp in anticipation, she knew what was coming. For the last few weeks she had started distancing herself from Levi, not wanting to ruin his reputation with her own. He was the King and she was just a poor servant girl. What would the people say if it was made public that he was involved with someone who had nothing and who had come from nothing. His eyes are predatory as he backs her up against the edge of the table his arms on either side preventing her from escaping.

“You’ve been avoiding me Y/N, why?” He asks leaving a trail of kisses up her neck. She bites her lip to stifle a moan, out of habit she moves her head to the side giving him more room but stops herself quickly as his advisors words float around her mind.  

“I’ve been busy Sir, I apologize the table setting was messy.” She gulps refusing to meet his prying eyes.

“There’s nothing wrong with the damn table setting brat. I miss you.” His hands grip her waist bringing her body flush against his. She leans into the warmth radiating from his body inhaling the smell of his cologne, it had been a while since they had been this close and while her mind was screaming at her to pull away her body wanted him more. Bracing her hands against his shoulders she tries to collect her thoughts and ignore the hand snaking its way up the front of her dress to cup her face.

“I think it’s best if we stop seeing each Sir.” Her words make him freeze, his eyes narrowing as he grabs her chin and forces her to look at him.

“Didn’t I tell you to drop the ‘sir’ shit when we’re alone?” His face is dangerously closer to hers, she wants nothing more than to close the gap between them and kiss him but she can’t.

“You have a reputation to maintain Levi. You can’t just keep screwing around with some stupid servant. There’s no future for you there.” She forces herself to be harsh, to harden her heart against the feelings of love that had wormed their way in.

“Bullshit. I don’t give a fuck about my reputation and you know that! I love you Y/N and if you can’t see it yet then you’re just as blind as you are beautiful.” Typical of Levi to insult her while complimenting her and damn her traitor heart for beating faster.

“Levi, please! Think about it rationally. You have a kingdom to run, a bloodline to continue. I can’t offer you anything!” Batting away the hand on her chin she tries to put distance between them, which was challenging as he effortlessly shoved her back against the table, his body towering over hers. She feels her eyes start to well up with angry tears, why was he making this so hard? Why couldn’t he just accept that they weren’t meant to be together and go find some rich princess to marry?

“I am thinking rationally, idiot! You’re the one whose brains have gone to shit. When have I ever cared about your background?” No longer wanting to play this dragged out game of cat and mouse Levi beings to lose his temper, like hell he was going to let her go because of something so trivial as where she came from.

“When have I ever made you feel like I don’t love you? My future means shit if you’re not in it. You’re the only one I want and I know you want me too so stop trying to convince yourself that you’re doing this for me. It’s fine if you’re scared, but if you’re going to let everything we have together go because you think I care about the opinion of my shitty advisors then you obviously don’t know me very well.”

Y/N feels her self control evaporate and she lunges forward. Her hands balling up the material of his shirt, mashing their lips together in a hard kiss. Levi groans into her mouth his hand coming back up to cradle the back of her head, their noses brushing against each other. His tongue swipes along her bottom lip and she complies parting her lips as he maps out her mouth like he’d done many times before. Her teeth pull on his bottom lip making him growl and grab her hip roughly. His lips were fire against her skin, igniting an insatiable need to have him closer to her. Levi moves down to her neck sucking harshly on her soft skin, her hands move up to grab fistfuls of his hair as she gasps loudly.

“Levi don’t, people will see.” She pants as his teeth graze over her sensitive skin the mixture of pain and pleasure was intoxicating as he continues to mark her neck. Pulling back to admire his work he places a soft kiss against the large red hickey.

“I’m sure they already know Y/N, you’re not exactly quiet.” He chuckles placing another gentle kiss on her lips.

“Are you sure you want to be with me? People talk you know.” Her voice is quiet not wanting to ruin the mood.

“I don’t care. I want you, all of you. Forever.” Y/N buries her face into the crook of his neck smiling so hard her cheeks hurt. How could she ever doubt his feelings for her?

“Oh! Your dinner is cold now!” She exclaims pulling back to find him smirking playfully.

“I guess you’re just going to have to bring me some more later then.” Batting her eyelashes lustfully she leans forward to whisper in his ear.

“I think I can do that.”

Part 2

Masterlist

[uldren-sov]

normal

Anyways I’ve had this for a while and just cleaned it up a bit to finally post bc why not be a bit self-indulgent

and bc I have a lot of ideas and feelings as to how the transition from professional acquaintances to partners came about. so just an idea about what happens

Karo Caya is @damarlegacy​ ‘s and thanks as always for letting me use him <3 Elora is mine

A droid darted back and forth between counterspaces, furiously cleaning amidst two other figures in a sleek Kaasian penthouse. Elora perched atop her kitchen counter, hiding a smile behind her fist, as she watched Karo furtively. He stood next to her, holding a plate, setting his fork down, and working through what was in his mouth with a fair amount of difficulty.

“So, what do you think?” She said, wiping away the smile as she crossed her arms, putting on her best neutral expression; she didn't want to give anything away even in the face of his grimace.

“Fine,” he managed with a clear of his throat. When he made cooking seem like it was the simplest life skill to learn, she obviously had to try. She had … mixed results with the fruits of her labor. Even though it was apparently “only” pasta. He looked pained for a second and it took all she had to keep a straight face.

Oh, he does like me, doesn’t he?

“Do you want to have the rest, then?” She motioned with her chin to the plate he held. There was an immediacy to the silence that hung between them. She dared him with a stare to do it, or to lie to her.

Another beat and then he unceremoniously tossed the whole plate in the sink.

She couldn't stop from bursting out laughing at that. Folding at the waist she almost had trouble breathing as she laughed and felt hands on her shoulders. Karo pulled her up with a half cocked smile in the face of her laughter as she reached up to wipe a tear from her eye.

“Do me a favor,” he started gravely, smile evaporating, “and never do that again.” And she had to laugh all over again, using his shoulder as a support. She's never failed quite as spectacularly as this before but she's also never felt quite as good about it before either. It was strange, normally failure of any kind was untenable, she didn't quite know what to make of it.

“You're so terribly mean to me,” she finally managed as she wiped her eyes anew. Her laughter tapered off and was met with an affectionately narrowed look.

“Well what you had me eat was pretty damn cruel and unusual punishment for somethin’ that I sure as hell ain't done,” he started and she quickly kissed him.

“Shut up,” she groused. He caught her chin and kissed her properly until she got her hands on his chest and pulled him closer by his black, collared, shirt.

“Hey. C'mon. Let's go,” he said suddenly and pulled back. He pulled her down to her feet with the lingering grip he still had on her waist.

“Where are we going?” She said as she finally let go of his shirt and straightened it out.

“This was a bust-”

“Hey!”

“- and I'm not dealing with another day of shitty takeout in this city. Not for a while. So I'm stealing you. Get dressed,” he said as he tucked a hand in his dark denim pant’s pocket. The initiative was - given their positions - not taken often by him. So this idea? Count her intrigued.

“Kind of my kidnapper to tell me their intentions of such. Dare I ask where to?” She played along with a barely subdued smirk.

“Nar Shaddaa. Quicker we get there the better.”

“Does this mean I get to finally see your ship?”

A pause where they regarded each other once more - something was left unsaid, some line was about to be crossed, perhaps even a small leap of faith taken - before he shrugged a shoulder.

“Sure. Now c’mon,” he said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Where does the name Andora come from anyway?” She said over her shoulder as she swept by him and towards her bedroom.

“A woman,” was the only thing he answered with. Cagey as always when it came to things that weren't in his file.

“She must be special,” she called from her bedroom simply. As much as she wanted to find out more about him, as was her nature, she had to hold herself back. She respected the man, even happened to like him, and personal secrets like that had could be respected … so long as they didn't affect her or their work.

Nar Shaddaa was it? She found something in the back of her closet from what felt like a previous life and put it on. She watched him look her over from top to toe when she returned and despite the fair amount of appreciation she saw a furrow of his brow. Some confusion, maybe. Sith didn’t normally do “casual” and this was her best attempt at it.

“Spaceport?” She asked to snap him out of it. In these shoes she was eye level with him and wasn’t shy to lock eyes with him to show it. It also gave her an excuse to appreciate how the dark tattoos really brought out his baby-blues.

“Dock 18-I,” he answered, taking a step into her space. A little dare, a little way of testing her back. She stepped forward to with a decisive click of her heels on the polished, metallic, blaster-gray floor. Quick as she pleased she stole her hand into his pants pocket and pulled out a small, flimsy, card from it. She presented it between their faces though not before spying a quick lift of a smile on those damn perfect lips of his.

“I drive,” and with that she moved past him. A soft scoff from him followed after her.

“Sure. But with how you drive? At least we'll get there faster,” he said as he fell into step behind her.

“Do you have an issue with how I drive?” She asked playfully. She leaned against the back of the lift and he walked right up against her, holding her solidly by her hips to keep them flush.

“Nah. Happen to be a fan of how fast and hard you drive your ride,” he said. She squeezed her eyes closed and let her head fall back with a pained groan at his euphemism as he dragged his hands back and grabbed her ass. He leaned in to kiss her cheek, her jaw, her neck and she rolled her eyes.

“You could afford some tact and charm, you know.”

“Yeah, I absolutely can. Doesn't mean it's gonna happen.”

A desperate and messy yet comparatively chaste lift ride, a fast and aggressive speeder drive, and a thorough and appreciative look over the Andora and they were nearly set to leave Kaas City. For the number of years Karo had the ship, it was more than cared for. Minimal wear and tear even despite the decade or so that he's had it. There was a lot of attention to detail here and a lot of work to keep it this well maintained. Was he a bit of a mechanic too?

“Are you looking for something?” He asked, interrupting her inventory of the ship. She took it as a hint to stop; even if there was something else in the heavy weight of his stare.

“Yeah,” she mentioned offhandedly, “sturdy surfaces.” She looked over her shoulder and smirked his way. It was strange that she felt the need to have skirted whatever that was yet she couldn't deny enjoying the results of her tease as he showed her.

It must have at least been a day in travel but it was still a welcome feeling be there on the surface of the smuggler's moon. The bright neon, cheap gold plating, and even cheaper ostensity of the Promenade just all seemed to fit. The dyn of a thousand different voices, pounding music, and speeder traffic clashed in a medley altogether unique to Nar Shaddaa. They wound up walking maybe twenty minutes outside the Promenade, to some back alley, hole-in-the-wall, bar with takeout from some street cart.

“What even is in this?” Was the one question she gave.

“Don't worry it's good,” he answered smoothly. Too smoothly, but then that was probably on purpose. She hadn’t missed a step yet, maybe that was to see if she would now.

True to form he was right even if she hesitated at first; everything actually tasted fresh, complex, and delicious. The two sticks used as utensils took an embarrassing minute to get used to - once they got to sit at a table near the pool tables in the back - and for that minute his teasing was relentless but it quieted once some beers were bought for Karo by some Gamorrean at the far side of the bar.

“Worked a lot here, huh?” She said more rhetorically than not as an intense scan of the Gammorean from him turned into a quick, cocked, smile.

“Doesn't everyone at some point? C’mere let's play,” he said as he drew her up and led her over to the pool tables. She took his bottle as he went to get two pool cues and watched him curiously. While taking a swig of her beer - terrible, really but just in the first taste - he started to set up wordlessly. They both took another cursory glance around the place as a habit before she offered his bottle back to him.

“Trade you,” she said with a smile and did switch out his bottle for a pool cue he got for her. He gave a soft thanks and a smile as well which sent some warm fluttering through her chest that she quickly stamped down.

“Want to break?” He asked and she shrugged, more focused on quickly getting over that bit of affection than anything else. She didn't miss the way he gave her a double take as he lined up behind the cue ball and shot. The balls scattered with a solid crack and he was close to sinking the red striped one, but not quite.  That 11 was nearly in the far pocket and as she surveyed the table she set her bottle down beside his.

“Need a hand?” He asked from behind her as his tattooed hand covered her free one. She hid a smile from him. He wasn't going to, was he? Oh, she hoped he was feeling it enough to do so. Though she caught him glance back to the bar he still sidled up behind her.

“Yeah, can you help?” She played it up a little, her tone turning coy. A quick look over to him and a grin when she felt his other hand settle on her hip to angle her right against him. She nearly lost it right there, a snicker escaping with a shake of her shoulders. He leaned in and she felt his face tuck into her hair for a moment.

“Well it starts with your stance-”

“Right, of course.”

“-then you gotta set up this shot and your next one, too. Most important thing,” he spoke low, right into her ear. That? Was nice. The feel of his fingers setting hers up on the table? Also nice. But as he led her to bend over and set up the cue he tried sneaking something else as she felt his grip over the curve of her hip but she quickly blew her bangs into his face. It got him to back off and chuckle low.

“Okay, okay. You do have to make sure you hit that sweet spot and follow through to really sink it into that hole,” he said without any sort of waver or hesitation. She snorted about as inelegantly as she ever had and hung her head.

“Stars, do you really have to be like this?” She straightened. He relented a little to lean back and look her dead in the eyes.

“I only use sex analogies when it comes to shit that's incredibly important,” he said in his most serious and most solemn tone. She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut, fighting a smile.

“Can we get back to you being incredibly cheesy-”

“Instructional.”

“-with this before I change my mind?” She arched an eyebrow and he took another quick look around before nodding.

“Game’s fun anyways, you should actually learn,” he stated and tucked her back into him. “I was being serious though. Look, line it up and if it stops soon enough you're set for the next shot. C'mon.” He let go of the hand she steepled to rest the end of the cue stick and the hand on her hip went to her other hand on the stick

“1, 2,” he counted it down but on three she corrected his angle just enough to angle the shot low on the ball to make sure it stopped or maybe even rolled back a little when it connected to the other ball. Which it did after the collision sent that 11 ball into the corner pocket. It only took that to have him pull back and lean his hip against the pool table as he crossed his arms. He settled a hard look her way.

“When were you going to share you knew how to play?” He asked with a wryness to his tone.

“Some time after your lesson?” She smiled lightly and walked around to set up her next shot. She paused then, letting her cue hang in her hands. “You wanted to teach me and I was enjoying your hands-on approach to your tutelage.” She offered as sincerely as she could. He just shook his head slightly before taking a sip from his beer and she lined up her next shot.

“When’d you learn?” He asked, already over it.

“Must have been close to a decade ago, now. It is as you said. Everyone works here at some point,” she rejoined and earned her a small smile.

“So what'd you do? Can't be a lot of work for a Sith here,” he said, now just watching her from his post, posed like a gargoyle at the corner of the table.

“Hunting SIS and assuring the POW trade,” she said frankly. She set up on her own this time and sunk another. “First real assignment out of Korriban.” She moved over to set up for her third shot by him as she leaned in to simply snatch a kiss from him. With a second thought she wondered just when this became second nature to do this, but as she pulled away she couldn't deny how natural this felt.

“Must have been a shock,” he said without missing a beat; even as his hand found her waist again.

“Culture shock? Of course, immeasurably so. Yet I needed to survive regardless,” she explained. He took another sip and took another look around the bar as his fingertips searched and found the skin of her hip. “I adapted quick.”

“So you were…”

“Around 20.”

“Explains a lot,” he said with a smirk.

“You?”

“Same as I what I'm doing now. Less money, shitty crew, started out on my own about then,” he went on casually.

“A young entrepreneur,” she said with a smile. She angled and covered his hand with hers to just take a sip from his bottle. He made no reaction to it as he gave an appraising frown, a thoughtful side-to-side of his head.

“Bored more like,” he admitted gruffly, a soft snort. “Didn't fit with a regular job, scratched some bad habit itches, and wanted to do something that I actually liked,” he explained cooly. He looked back to the pool table and just got more comfortable, separating his legs so she could just stand between them.

“And that got you rich,” she added and he broke a grin.

“Most important thing,” he narrowed his eyes. She didn't know what it was but it tasted like a lie. She knew it wasn't this whatever-this-was that he was lying about, but there was something in his eyes or expression that was him trying too hard.

He started to lean in before freezing and looking past her. She turned slightly and immediately looked for the Gamorrean. They were no longer there.

“Trouble?” She murmured.

“Looks that way,” he said and gently eased her aside. “Raincheck?” And with that he walked around the pool table and started directing the bartender to the back of the bar with an ease despite the upcoming violence. When he returned she was sitting on the lip of the table, legs crossed.

“You know, I have never understood that expression,” she mentioned idly as he pulled a blaster from his pant’s backside waistband.

“It's just something to say,” he explained as he checked over his pistol, loading it, and turning the safety off. “Pick this up some other time.”

“You really want to?” She piped up with suddenly. Nothing more than to throw him off and while she didn't think it had worked, he did stop to look her over with a heavier look than she expected.

But then the door burst open and the hale of blaster fire rained down upon them.

He was more accurate with his shots than she had given him credit for. And when the Gamorrean showed their face at the front she caught that the shot that ended their life struck right in the throat - the species weak point. Three others were similarly dispatched with a skilled ease before she had to get involved. Her hand to hand paired well with his shots; she distracted and disabled the thugs while he shot past her - killing them. Only using her lightsaber to deflect the lucky blaster fire, he seemed to be dispatching them without any else from her. It was very nearly fun once she realized just what he was capable of. It got the better of her. A one-two punch-shot and the last thug fell. But not before one pulled a knife and caught Karo in the shoulder. It wasn’t fun anymore. With a flick of her hand she nearly snapped the thugs head clean off.

No doubt he could shrug it off, he did and had handily before, yet with her insistence they returned to his ship. Dinner finished, yet still on the galley counter as they settled on a sofa on the main deck. She pulled back the bandage carefully and set it aside as she pulled her legs underneath her. He had instructed her on how to first just clean and bandage it. Since it was nearly on his back, he couldn't easily get to it. So she pulled out the curved, hook-like, needle and nearly metal wire. She handed both to him.

“I admit even if I was a little caught up in everything, I should have stopped this regardless,” she commented softly. Her jacket and his shirt were discarded near them, forgotten as they started this procedure.

“It was a stupid mistake. All it was,” he said easily, a small absolution from both of their missteps. Without missing a beat he cut a piece of the wire, thread it through the offered needle, tied it off, and handed it to her. She closed her fingertips around the needle and lightning sprang forth, crackling along the needle white hot. It glowed slightly once it was done.

“You know there's probably a lighter around here,” he said dryly, watching over her shoulder. “You could use that instead.”

“I like my way better.”

“ ‘Course you do.”

“Do you want to be doing this as I'm about to stitch you up?” And a low rumbling chuckle under his breath was his only reply to her question.

She couldn't remember the last time she was so careful. With anything. By the time she was done it … seemed all right? She couldn't say much. But when she fetched a mirror and showed it, well, he was hard to read at any time but he seemed to sincerely approve. She set the needle aside and tied it off before putting a fresh bandage over it.

“Thanks,” he spoke low. It was late and with the last vestiges of the fight done a calm and stillness settled. No patter of rain, no hum of the engine, no dyn of a million voices outside; just them, at the end of a long day.

As he turned to her she rested on her side on the back of the sofa, allowing him to take her legs and pull them into his lap. She tucked her hand into her hair and rested her head against her arm.

“You are most welcome,” she replied in kind. The quiet moments stretched on around them. He rested back, avoiding that shoulder, as he seemed to subconsciously mimic her pose; the only addition was his thumb passing back and forth over her calf. She closed her eyes, savoring the remaining hum of aggression and violence yet feeling it drain off both of them was uniquely calming. If it didn't feel so nice she'd mark it as strange.

She opened her eyes to watch him, if only for a second. This was ... Unique, to have these moments, especially around another person. She didn’t want to damn the sentiment with thinking it was “special.” Yet it felt like the most natural thing she's ever done. And in all the while she's known him, he's never acted like this with anyone else.

That she saw.

Which was a huge factor, she had to admit. Though not that it mattered either. This alone was nice. It was enough.

Perhaps.

She opened her eyes to that sudden thought and went about stomping it down as she pulled her legs back slowly.

“Get some rest and heal,” she offered so softly she surprised herself. His eyes opened at that, like he witnessed her sentiment - or she was just jumping to conclusions. She had to stop coloring her interpretations with personal anecdotes. She leaned in to kiss him, to hide some tell she didn’t think she gave, but instead … found his cheek. She lingered slightly and felt his fingers dance along her arm, grip her there. The barest of stubble pricked her lips as she lingered, slow to kiss him, slower still to pull away.

But pull away she did, looked him over one more time, and then got off the couch. She made her way up the steep, narrow, stairway up to the bridge and more importantly, his room.

“Where are you going?” He said and his tone alone made her want to stay. But she meant what she said. She wanted him to heal quickly which meant not putting undue … stress on it. And no matter what they did there would invariably be stress upon it.

“To sleep. If you think I'm sleeping on some sofa, even yours, when there's a perfectly good bed available, you're woefully mistaken,” she said and he scoffed with an eventual smile. Maybe there was even a muttered “unbelievable” as she climbed the stairs.

“ ‘Night, Elora,” he called out. He already was getting comfortable and when she looked he made it a point to make a pillow out of his shirt cover himself with her jacket.

“Good night,” she said eventually, lingering for only a second to watch him before pulling herself away.

It was one thing to be in his ship and start to have some sort of personal knowledge of it, it was another to use his things, wear his clothes, sleep in his bed. Alone. Without him. She fell asleep surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, soundly. At least until she felt his weight shift the bed with a murmured “my tip is freezing off its so fucking cold.”

She laughed softly but after some back and forth about making sure his shoulder stayed safe, he would his arm around her.

“Still cold,” he whispered in her ear.

“Sure. But now I'm not,” and with that she got squeezed tightly, squeezing out a chuckle from her. “Oh, just give it a bit.”

A murmured warning and after a minute, nothing more. It was a bit of a return to normal, from whatever that quietness was. Yet “normal”, slowly, subtly, kept seeming to change.