Room 222 | Sunday Morning

[pursuedthestars]

Jim hadn't wasted any time in getting back to his room. Hey, he would almost welcome Jackson's presence after all that time without privacy. He didn't mind the bouncy castles but man, the novelty wore off quick and he didn't like rolling over in the middle of the night and ending up splayed against the side of a castle with plastic up his nose.

He'd brought Natalie the snake back first, setting her up on his bed so she could slither around and do her snake thing before going back and getting the rest of his stuff. He'd dropped all that on the floor beside his bed and stretched before flopping down beside Natalie.

Who was still a snake.

"You ever gonna change back?" he asked idly, not expecting a response. He got none. Jim sighed and tucked an arm under his head. Snakes were not great conversation partners.

[Door is open, post is open]

Comments

[pursuedthestars]

"Ooooh. Not good enough for your middle name, am I?" He shook his head and glanced down at her hands. "Bet I know who does get the privilege of your middle name."

[whenshewasnice]

"A few people," she replied lightly as she was undoing his pants. "Which one are you thinking of? No points if it's someone I dated for a year because that's just obvious."

[pursuedthestars]

"I bet the guy you're going to Haiti for knows," Jim said since he'd been thinking of her ex at first.

[whenshewasnice]

"My closest friend?" Natalie asked, a bit dismissively. "Also obvious. My little brother does too."

[pursuedthestars]

"Guess I'm just not as important as they are," he said with a sigh. "Oh well. It's something I'll get over."

[whenshewasnice]

"No, it's not." She tugged on his pants. "You won't get over it because it hasn't shaken you in the first place."

[pursuedthestars]

"Well, it shows me where I fall in your pantheon of important people," Jim told her, lifting his hips. "And that place is pretty much outside and in the forest."

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie shrugged. "I don't merit your middle name, either." And it said about as little about their relationship as the reverse, which was exactly nothing, as far as she was concerned.

She scooted backwards a little bit as she was pulling his pants off.

[pursuedthestars]

"But, that's not because I'm selective in telling people and not telling people," Jim told her easily. "I tell exactly no one. It's not a matter of being selective about who knows. No one knows. So, everyone is on the same level. Not so for you."

[whenshewasnice]

"Irrelevant since it's not even information you want," Natalie retorted. His pants ended up on the floor, and she took the moment to also pull the blanket off from around her hips, finally. "At least not before it started looking like a status symbol."

[pursuedthestars]

"How do you know it's not information I want?" Jim had to wonder. "I'd like to know your middle name."

[whenshewasnice]

"Well, you told me you didn't need to know it," she shrugged, before crawling back up his now slightly more naked body. "Which seemed like dismissal. Apologies for assuming."

[pursuedthestars]

"No, I don't need to know it but I'd like to know it," Jim told her, shrugging. "You immediately said I wouldn't get to know it because I won't tell you mine."

[whenshewasnice]

"Yes, and that still holds," Natalie replied, dropping a few idle kisses against his chest, hands planted against the bed on either side of him. "It's hard to get information out of you, and when I have something of equal worth, I won't give it up if you won't."

[pursuedthestars]

"Guess I'm not always easy then," he replied with a quiet exhale. "It's just a middle name anyway. But, I'm not telling you or anyone. It's just a choice I've made."

[whenshewasnice]

"It's a weird choice that makes you look like you have a weirder or more embarrassing or more interesting a middle name than is probable," she told him without any real judgment. "But suit yourself."

[pursuedthestars]

"Yes, but it's my choice and one I'm holding onto." He made no exceptions. "Apologies."

[whenshewasnice]

"Unnecessary." She pressed a few more kisses up along his chest. "I don't care."

She was curious, yes. But not that curious.

[pursuedthestars]

"Fine," he said because it was. He fell quiet without any other words to say since she was doing enough to distract him from wanting to talk for awhile.

[whenshewasnice]

Since she moved to lick over one nipple, it was safe to say he was going to continue being a bit distracted.

Except...

"But what's wrong with James?"

[pursuedthestars]

"Nothing," he mumbled, arching up a bit. "I just prefer Jim. James is my mother's father's name. I just have a preference for the shortened version."

[whenshewasnice]

"Okay." See, that was acceptable. He deserved a little bit of gentle teeth for that one. "Okay, Jim."

[pursuedthestars]

"You've got a thing for names," he stated, still mumbling and shifting a bit.

[whenshewasnice]

Well spotted, Jim. He should keep that in mind for when she changed hers.

"Names are important," she murmured, with another brief, gentle nip of her teeth. Then her tongue, to soothe.

[pursuedthestars]

"Why?" Well, she seemed to invest a lot in them and he was curious. "They're not our choice and sometimes they don't fit."