The Case Of The Terrible Snuggler

Writers: Bree, Dana
Date Posted: 15th December 2006

Characters: Abrei, Ar'lis
Description: Abrei fails to escape from Ar'lis on account of his terrible snuggling habit.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 1, day 7 of Turn 4

Abrei

Abrei had planned her escape from Ar'lis with a good be more care than her disastrous attempt to slip out of R'yin's weyr at Turn's End. Having learned her lesson, she thought she'd have more success with Ar'lis.
There was just one thing she hadn't counted on.

Ar'lis was a snuggler.

Snuggling was the kindest description she'd come up with for the way the man had wrapped himself practically around her, with his legs tangled with hers and one arm keeping her pinned snugly against his chest. Her first few half-hearted attempts at squirming away had only resulted in the tightening of that arm and a sleepy murmur before her rolled half on top of her and buried his face in her neck.

Extricating herself from the situation without waking him seemed impossible. She wasn't even sure she could if she didn't worry about waking him up--she wasn't exactly a small woman, but Ar'lis had lots and lots of muscle that had seemed entrancing a few candlemarks ago but now just seemed terribly... heavy.

She'd held still long enough for him to relax a little, and was concentrating on sliding her leg out from under his. Even reclaiming one limb would seem like a victory at this point!

"Quit moving so much, darling." His voice suddenly broke the heavy silence, still slurred with sleep and muffled by her skin. The bronzerider really wasn't aware of what was going on--only that her twisting and turning and sliding was waking him up, and he sharding wanted to sleep. And shards, did he need it, too. The woman wore him out!

"Sorry," Abrei replied in a subdued voice. Still, she snuck her leg the rest of the way out from under his, hoping she could maybe salvage an arm once he drifted back to sleep.

Ar'lis shifted a little to compensate for the loss of her, running a hand lightly up her side to rest in the thick wealth of her hair. If Abrei kept on moving, he'd never get back to sleep...not with her skin brushing across the more intimate parts of his body that way. But maybe that wasn't such a bad thing...not if she was willing. He was often very amorous when he first woke up.

Abrei sighed and gave up her attempt to move. Not only did his fingers feel very nice sliding through her hair, but she wasn't going to escape with him holding onto a fistful of it. Not and get very far, in any case.

Resigned to spending the night in Ar'lis' weyr, she shifted again, this time trying to get comfortable enough to sleep. She wasn't sure how well it would work, considering how few men she'd tried to sleep next to in her life. The sleeping part didn't scare her nearly as much as the waking up part, though, and she shifted again as she tried to put it out of her mind.

"You aren't much of the cuddling type, are you?" he asked quietly once she had twisted and turned yet _again_. The bronzerider loosened his hold just a little, but didn't fully let her go. No, not even close. She felt much too nice against him. He rubbed his cheek against her shoulder before glancing up at her with a sleepy expression.

Abrei stiffened under his arm, feeling foolish suddenly. "I'm out of practice," she said sullenly, The bronzerider shut his mouth. If she wasn't going to mention R'han's name, he certainly wouldn't. Instead he kept on running his fingers through her hair, letting the silence stretch between them.

She sighed finally and met his eyes. "I'm like a teenager sometimes, Ar'lis," she said quietly. "I skipped all the turns where you're supposed to grow up and learn how to act like an adult in situations like this.
And it's not like I had to learn it with R'han... he was a worse child than I was."

Looking down at her, he brushed strands of hair from her cheek. "So instead of trying, you run away?"

"Usually," she admitted lightly, closing her eyes again. The feeling of his fingers along her cheek was soothing. "It's not exactly an easy habit to break."

He was silent for a moment, watching her, his hold on her slowly loosening. "Abrei...do you want to leave?"

It was a lot harder to admit to when she had to actually face him, instead of slipping out unnoticed. Guilt sliced through her, guilt that she'd come here, disturbed his sleep, used him for distraction and now was upsetting him. He deserved better. He deserved the truth. "I don't know. I like sleeping next to you, but I'm scared of what happens when we wake up."

He frowned a little. "I wouldn't push you into sex, Abrei. You know that."

That earned him a confused blink. "I think I could stop you if you tried," she said rather tartly. Shards, what _was_ it with men? They all seemed to be convinced that she would be overcome by their manliness and give in to them against her will. "If I wanted to, that is. Which I wouldn't. Sex isn't the problem."

"Then what is?"

She almost told him that she didn't know, but that wasn't the truth. "I think I might be a little... tender still." She wasn't going to use the words 'broken hearted' because it was too embarrassing. "Waking up with someone is a very different thing than having sex with them, you know."

No, he didn't know. Sometimes women were confusing...and this was one of those times. But he was trying to understand. "Does it make you feel vulnerable?"

"No, it's not that..." She hesitated and then shook her head. "Maybe it's just that way for me because I've only really woken up next to one person."

Gently he smoothed his fingers over her bare shoulders. "R'han."

"I'm not ready to do that again," she said quietly. "It scares me."

Tenderly he wrapped his arms around her and held her against his chest.
He couldn't tell it was all right, because it wasn't. He couldn't tell her everything would be all right, because how could he be sure? "I know, darling....I know."

Taking a deep breath, Abrei forced herself to relax and turned a little to snuggle into his arms. "You could just wake up early enough that we can have sex and then you can sneak out on me. Skip all the confusing morning stuff altogether."

"Me sneak out of my own weyr?" He grinned, pressing his lips to her temple. "If you still want to leave by the time we're finished, Abrei, you can just walk out." He wished she wouldn't, but... Gently he traced her cheek. "You don't have to sneak with me."

She chuckled and closed her eyes. "I was mostly thinking that you could let me go back to sleep, now that I'm a lazy woman who isn't allowed anywhere near the infirmary."

"My bed is yours, darling," he told her, brown eyes gleaming with humor as he reached over, pulling the light sheet over them.

"Then I'll see you in the morning," she replied sleepily. "Wake me up somehow nice, hmmm?"

He smiled as he closed his eyes. "Mmmhmm."

Last updated on the December 16th 2006

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The Case Of The Terrible Snuggler