Room 222 | Saturday Night

[pursuedthestars]

Jim was flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling. It was as exciting as it sounded. He figured he should stay in this weekend since he was still healing up from his adventures last weekend. His face was still bruised but it looked much better than it had. He didn't look like a stupid raccoon anymore.

His torso and neck were still marked with fading yellow bruises but he could deal. He'd had worse. Despite all that, he still wasn't going to be moving much. It was a night for quiet contemplation and introspection.

...

Goddamn, Jim was bored.

[Open door/post, sure]

Comments

[pursuedthestars]

"Would you rather I have gone back home, never to hear from me again?" Jim asked her.

[whenshewasnice]

"No. I didn't go back home."

So clearly that was not the only option.

[pursuedthestars]

"Yeah, but I eventually want to go back to my time," Jim told her, shrugging. "I miss the future sometimes."

[whenshewasnice]

"The future is pretty okay." Well, she lived there now. And she was homesick for the past sometimes, when she had the time. So she knew how it worked. "Selfishly I'd probably prefer it if you stayed bored in Fandom for a while still."

[pursuedthestars]

"Fortunately for you, I don't think I'm going anywhere for at least a few months," Jim told her. "So, I think you're going to get your wish."

[whenshewasnice]

"Good," she replied lightly, maybe even more so than she actually felt about things, "because finding replacement deals is just way too much work for my busy schedule."

[pursuedthestars]

"You could just go without," he pointed out. "Become celibate."

[whenshewasnice]

"I think that was the plan at one point," Natalie replied, looking up at the ceiling. "Or at least the expectation."

[pursuedthestars]

"Something change your mind?" he asked quietly.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie sighed. That was quiet too. "Maybe I got a little stuck on you." That wasn't how she'd always put it, though. "Also I don't think I do too well in those kinds of situations."

It wasn't really even the sex that she'd miss, but the physical affection and intimacy.

[pursuedthestars]

"You got more than stuck on me," he teased, smiling. "And you'd miss sex? Whaddya know, so would I!"

He'd probably miss the sex more than the physical affection and intimacy but they were a little different.

[whenshewasnice]

Yeah, he didn't live his life borderline obsessed with romance and unattainable ideals.

"I'd miss trusting someone."

[pursuedthestars]

"You can still trust people you're not sleeping with," Jim pointed out. "I can, at least."

[whenshewasnice]

"And I trust people like that," Natalie pointed out in return. "But it's a different kind of trust."

[pursuedthestars]

"I know it is," Jim said after a moment of quiet. "You'd find someone but until then, you can have me."

[whenshewasnice]

"How very kind of you," Natalie drawled, though it was still pretty light. "But good, I don't feel like looking for someone else. I'm not done trusting you."

[pursuedthestars]

"Aww. You speak such sweetly to me," Jim quipped with a snicker. "I'm touched."

[whenshewasnice]

"Oh, I could speak sweetly to you," she retorted. "But it would freak you out because you can just barely handle non-dirty affection."

[pursuedthestars]

"Oh, speak sweetly to me, babe," he said, laughing.

[whenshewasnice]

"I miss you, baby." Okay, she couldn't speak sweetly on command without it turning into an act. But that just meant her future Envy voice got some practice in. "My bed's so lonely and cold without you, I just wish you were here holding me tight and kissing the top of my head, and I could just curl up against your chest so you could make me feel safe."

[pursuedthestars]

"Very impressive," he said, laughing a little louder. "Now, how much of that was truth and how much was just for show?"

[whenshewasnice]

"Most of it was true." She was a sentimental fool, this wasn't news. "Although my bed's not cold or particularly lonely."

[pursuedthestars]

"I can come visit when you've got some free time," Jim offered.

[whenshewasnice]

"Well, my Sundays tend to be pretty quiet."

Said someone who didn't want to seem overly eager.

[pursuedthestars]

"You asking me to come tomorrow?" he wondered, trying to make her say it.