5055034455 | [exsilium] contact

[That makes her laugh, a quiet chuckle as she considers punching him again, but that might be a bit much.]

Just 'cause you can lift up something else really heavy - [excuse her while she mocks his tiredness a little] - doesn't make you a vigilante.

[Really Saul.]

If Booster Gold ever shows up here, remind me to introduce you. You'd either hate each other or get on like a house on fire.

[Actually maybe she shouldn't, Saul and Booster might be a terrible combination.]

But I totally could be.

[He totally could be!]

Like you haven't thought about me in one of those uniforms? Please, Steph.

[And now he's just straight-up nuzzling her arm and kissing it every so often.]

So who's Booster Gold?

[Oh god she chokes on her laughter and has to bury her face in the pillow because she feels mean about how hard that's making her laugh.

Saul no.

She hasn't ever thought about him in one of those uniforms.

It takes about a minute before she can actually form a coherent sentence again, and she decides to just ignore that part of the conversation for her own sanity.]

He's a superhero back home, does the whole media circuit thing. [He's a media whore, is what she's saying.] Even has his own cologne.

[It smells awful, but you know.]

[It's difficult, trying to pout when her laughter is so contagious.

Damn it, Batgirl.]

He sounds like an asshole.

[And he's joking about that, too, because Saul can see very clearly why Steph might think he and this Booster guy would want to set houses on fire together.

...wait. That's not what she said, is it?]

Batman - the second one - likes him, so he can't be that bad.

[She sounds kind of skeptical, but that's because she's only ever seen the showman side of Booster, but if Dick works with him there must be a competent hero underneath all the flash.

Kind of like how there's a competent lawyer and a decent person underneath Saul's flashy persona.]

Then I'll reserve my judgment until I can smell him myself.

[No, he's not really sure what he's talking about anymore.]

[Another laugh, and she pats the back of his hand a little condescendingly.

And then proceeds to leave her hand over his, so maybe he'll forgive her.]

Go to sleep, Saul, before you say something even more stupid.

[Climbing into his bed and bossing him around. She's a good friend.]

[Saul?

Say something stupid?

Whaaaa?]

You're not gonna leave again, are you?

[Like she did the other night. Because he fell asleep with her there and when he woke up, she was gone. It's not an accusatory question; he just sounds a little concerned, that's all.

See? He never says anything stupid. Ever.]

[She sighs, quiet and soft, because that's exactly what she meant about saying something stupid.]

I'm not gonna leave.

[Even if she'd been considering it before, she can't do it now, not when he sounds like that.

It wasn't fair of her to come here.]

[No, it wasn't. But they're not really ever fair to each other, are they? He probably shouldn't have told her he loves her, for one thing.

And then there's the ever-growing pile of other things he shouldn't have done, to which he adds: kissing her shoulder because he's too worried that trying to find her mouth in the dark will result in one or both of them hurting their noses.]

Okay.

[He really shouldn't do that, but she feels like telling him not to would just draw more attention to... everything.

Instead, she just settles a little more comfortably and tries to ignore how guilty she feels.]

Thanks.

[For letting her stay.]

[The trick to dealing with guilt is learning how to ignore it.

Or something. Maybe. He doesn't know; it's been way too long since his last psychology class. Anyway, she's comfy, he's comfy, he kisses her shoulder again in acknowledgment of that thanks, and then it's off to sleep before she decides this is a super bad idea or he decides this is a super bad idea or Mike starts meowing or who knows what else might happen.

He mumbles one more thing before his breathing slows — it's a goodnight, but it sounds more like a mmphm.]

[She murmurs a night in return, and doesn't fall asleep nearly as quickly. But it's easier, being here with Saul even if she should be with Ellie, and she tries to rationalize it by reminding herself that it's because this whole mess of the last week is centered around Saul. It only makes sense, right, that she needed to see Saul and make sure all this was sorted out, instead of being some tangled up, destructive thing?

It doesn't make her feel less guilty, but eventually she just gives up on that, resigns herself to it, and curls closer to Saul before finally succumbing to sleep.

She wasn't lying about having barely slept for a week, and now that she's finally managed it, she won't stir until long after the sun comes up.]

[Saul's morning is hilariously routine, considering the circumstances. He wakes with dawn, just in time to catch Mike pawing at the door, then carefully disentangles himself from Steph and disappears into the kitchen to make coffee, showers, stretches in the living room because there's no way he's going to training today, entertains Mike for a little while as she tosses furtive glances toward the bedroom like I know you're hiding something from me, then looks at the clock.

It's barely 8:30.

He sighs.

In the end, he decides to go back to bed. He figures Steph will bolt as soon as she wakes up and never do this again, so he might as well treasure the moment or whatever while it's still happening — this is why he climbs back into bed with Mike in tow. He swears he can see the pissed off look on his kitten's face when she hops onto the bed and discovers another person sprawled in her spot, but she's quick to take up residence on Steph's stomach.

This is how Steph will wake up: with a twice-her-age lawyer and a kitten snuggled up to her, asleep.]

[One of these things is not like the other.

If she's startled, she can be up and ready to punch something in .2 seconds, but when she has a chance to wake up like a normal person, it can be a bit of a process. For a little while, she just lets herself drift in that halfway spot between awake and asleep, too bleary to feel guilty so she can just enjoy the warmth of Saul curled up next to her. It's nice, and it's nice to have actually slept instead of spending the night tossing and turning.

She doesn't notice Mike until she goes to roll onto her side, nearly displacing said kitten and earning a set of claws against her skin as Mike tries not to fall. She hisses in a breath, more surprised than actually hurt.]

Dammit, Mike.

[It's just a whisper, as she carefully plucks the kitten off her, setting her down on the mattress instead and scratching behind that half-ear in apology.

Also chuckling to herself, now she knows the story behind the name.

She'll deal with the Saul-shaped issue on the other side of the bed in a moment.]

[Saul is a light sleeper, generally, and an even lighter napper. This totally counts as a nap, right? So when Steph starts moving, so does Saul, and what he does is rearrange himself onto his stomach so he can press his face into the pillow. A groan follows.

Going back to sleep was a bad idea because now he doesn't want to move at all. Mike doesn't seem to want to, either. Steph is paying attention to her!

This is so great!]

[Steph, ever the helper, picks Mike back up and sets her on Saul's back. At least now she's facing him, though.]

Sorry, didn't mean to wake you.

[She still sounds a bit bleary.

Maybe she should just go back to sleep.]

[That's actually the opposite of helping.

Mike whaps him in the head; Saul grumbles again.

Why this.]

[Will he stop grumbling if Steph nudges his shoulder with her nose, then wriggles a little closer and closes her eyes again?

Sleeping forever seems like a good plan.]

[...actually, yes.

He's pretty sure he had something to do today. Maybe he can push it back to tonight, whatever it is. He probably can. If he doesn't remember what it was, it's not that important.

What he probably shouldn't do above all else is fall asleep with his face in the pillow like this. It'd be hella awkward if he suffocated, huh? So he pushes himself up onto his elbows without disturbing Mike and looks over at Steph.

And boy, is he smiling.]

Hey.

[She feels him moving and hears that hey, so she decides she should probably open her eyes, making a bit of a face at him, because she thought he wanted to sleep more!

Rude.]

Mornin'. [a beat] It's still morning, right?

[She wishes he wouldn't smile at her like that, but she can't exactly tell him to stop, so she just pretends it doesn't make her chest feel all twisted up.]

...it might be?

[He peers past her to check the clock, which reports 11:28. Close enough.]

Yeah, still morning for a little while.

[Should he kiss her? He wants to. But maybe she has terrible morning breath.

The thought makes him laugh, and he settles for leaning over to bump noses with her instead. Mike mews. This is when Saul wonders when he missed the invasion of the body snatchers, because there's no way this is actually his life.]

'kay.

[So very eloquent, and she considers saying something else, but that thought completely flies out the window when he moves closer.

For a second, she thinks he's going to kiss her, and she goes still, because she's... here, and she's curled up with him, but these are things she can justify to herself as acceptable. She'd do this with Babs, or Kara, and it wouldn't feel like betraying Ellie. Kissing is another thing entirely.

It's a relief when he doesn't, but that easy sleepy mood she had going on is gone, and now she just looks a little awkward, unsure if she should leave or just bury under the covers like that might solve this problem.]

Steph.

[He's quiet, and he tilts his head a little.]

It's okay.

[Maybe it's not. Maybe he'll think about this later and see it as the huge mistake it is, but for right now, all he wants is for her to feel comfortable. Safe. Like everything didn't almost go up in gasoline-fueled flames.]

Okay.

[She doesn't know if that's true, but she doesn't want to argue about it. It's easier to just believe it, to settle back into the pillows and try to stop worrying about everything so much.]

Can I ask you something?

[She does that a lot.]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject