scurlock | oom: room 25

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oom: room 25

[after this]

Bar takes care of the pile of wet clothes (his duster, jacket, hat, and gloves) for him with a note saying she'd have them laundered, but Doc slings his scarf over his shoulder before he and Miss Katherine head for the stairwell.

He's more focused on not tripping his way up the stairs, even with her arm around his middle, to try and talk much. Thankfully, his door's unlocked, and since he was going away for a spell (even with Bar saying it would be quick) his room is spotless. The desk is neat and organized, the bed made, his laundry done and in the drawers, and the shades half-shut.

"I appreciate this," he says, needlessly.

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It wins him a surprised little moan, before she kisses him back, her other hand trailing up to touch his cheek.

...Okay. Maybe she was wrong about his condition.

She breaks from his mouth with a smile, licking her lips before shyly dipping her head away.

"...Could you give me a moment?" she asks softly.

"Course."

He inclines his head to the bed.

"I can go start pullin' all those layers back, probably take me five moments," he quips, eying the stack of blankets on the bed. Unless she'd rather he stay...

She smirks.

"Go on and get settled in; I'm just gonna head to my room and get some things."

She pats his leg gently before rising from the couch and making for the door. She isn't out long, since her room is only a floor away, but when she gets back she smiles to see him crawling between the flannel sheets, and heads straight for the bathroom.

She exits, teeth brushed and hair let down, barefoot in a simple white chemise. She keeps one arm crossed over her middle nervously as she slowly moves to the bed.

Doc's already snuggled into the flannel sheets and under the blankets when he hears her walk out of the bathroom, and he lifts his eyes...

(He looks her over, once, because he's a man and he can't help it since she's absolutely beautiful with her hair down and her feet bare, moving towards him.)

"You...are so beautiful," he says quietly, before he pulls the sheets back after blinking a few times once she walks closer, to the bedside. "C'mere, though, I know that floor ain't all that warm, your toes must be freezin'," he tells her, patting the space beside him on the mattress.

Her cheeks redden with the compliment, and she nods, a shy little smile on her face as she sits on the edge of the bed and easily swings her legs up and under the covers.

She settles herself next to him, not quite close enough to touch just yet, as she adjusts to the warmth of the flannel sheets and the way her heart is absolutely pounding against her ribcage just from being so close to him like this.

"Thank you."

Doc shifts (it's difficult to not make this awkward but he's going to try his damn hardest to make her comfortable) on the bed until he's settled on back, blankets tucked in close around him.

The arm closest to her is stretched out, offering her a place to curl into his side if she wants to.

"You're very welcome."

Her eyes flick from his open embrace, up to meet his eyes. She holds his gaze for a brief moment before shifting, slowly, slowly, moving her body against his.

Her little fists are curled into his side, legs bent and knees at his thigh, her head cradled in the nook of his arm.

"How's that?" she whispers, smile only mildly devious behind the nervousness still lingering on her features. "Warmer?"

"Much warmer."

Doc runs a hand over her hair, gently, before he leans down and kisses her forehead, as he adjusts the blankets up around them both. "Thank you."

If he was being completely honest, he'd tell her that the fact that he's been alone for the last week on the trail is half of the reason he's asking her to stay, in addition to still being cold. Something in his chest can't vocalize that, however, so he'll have to settle for just being cold.

He idly traces his thumb over her shoulderblade in a random pattern for a moment, before he shifts against and gets comfortable with a small sigh, closing his eyes and nuzzling his head back into the pillow beneath it. Since he's actually tired, it won't be too long until he falls asleep.

But before he does:

"I normally don't snore, but if I start, cause m'cold, y'go ahead and wake my ass up and tell me t'knock it off, y'hear?"

Edited 2008-12-11 09:36 (UTC)

She starts to laugh, quietly at first, but it grows a little until her shoulders are shaking somewhat and she has to bury her face into his shoulder to quiet her laughter.

Her arm curls around his middle in an embrace, fingertips at his spine when all is said and done.

"Snoring? You're worried about snoring?"

Of all the ridiculous, out-of-the-blue, random things to say right here, right now...

"Well, s'true, ain't fair for be t'be goin' on while you're tryin' to get your sleep," he says simply. "So hush."

Doc settles his the side of his face lightly on her hair, and smiles to himself.

"'sides I'm tired. Don't make much since when m'tired."

"Do forgive me," she murmurs, not sounding terribly apologetic. "You are tired, an' I think maybe your noggin got a little frostbit."

She is still chuckling under her breath, tilting her face up to kiss the corner of his mouth innocently, in a gesture that she's only teasing him.

That makes him smile wider.

"Was wearin' m'hat, have you know."

"You was also soaked to the bone."

Her voice manages a little more quiet concern, and a little less amusement.

He's still shivering a little, and she concentrates on the tremor of his skin under her flattened palm. Her eyes are trained on his face, even though he's not looking back at her. She is examining him for signs of discomfort or illness.

"Mmm."

It's a 'yeah' sort of sound, as he shifts a little and burrows beneath the blankets a bit more, tugging them up around his shoulder on the far side. He's quite for a long few minutes, and with the way his breathing evens out she might even think he's asleep.

Then he speaks again.

"Missed y'while I was gone."

She had begun to wonder if he might have dropped off, though she was nowhere near sleep herself. Her woman's instincts had kicked in to the point where she felt strangely protective of him, as if she was going to have to stand guard over him while he sleeps.

Never mind the clammy feel of his skin when her fingers graze his neck, and that tremble that just will not stop...

She blinks in surprise when he speaks, a smile molding her features.

"Weren't too busy makin' friends with famous lawmen?"

He'd laugh, if he had the energy, but settles for a sharp exhalation though his nose, and his lips twitch into a smirk.

"Wouldn't say we was makin' friends, but we wasn't makin' enemies."

Doc shudders and tugs the blankets closer, again, until they're as close as they can be.

And that's the last straw.

Katherine shifts her body under those blankets, sliding up closer to his form as her arms loop around him. Almost every inch of her front is touching him, down to her very toes as her legs curl against his own.

It certainly isn't proper, as evidenced by the thrill that rips through her stomach and the heat in her face, but it's necessary. That makes it okay.

She buries her face in his neck, head tucked under his chin.

"S'one step up from your last little foray outside."

Doc can't help the shudder that runs down his spine, but it's not from the cold. It is certainly not from the cold. This is certainly not proper.

But that's alright. It's necessary.

He's quiet another few minutes, calming his heartrate down to 'normal' again, before he trails his thumb over her shoulderblade in those slow, easy circles.

"S'true."

The shudder she notices, but has the innocence to not think anything of it other than to attribute it, too, to the cold.

"You okay, baby? Y'need more blankets, or maybe something else hot to drink?"

She shifts her arms around him more tightly, nuzzling against his throat.

"M'fine," he whispers, voice thick, like gritty sandpaper.

Doc swallows calmly as she nuzzles into his throat. Calm is good. Deep breath in, slow exhale out. Later, rinse, repeat.

He seems to tense a little bit, and she notices the steady, controlled pull of his breathing.

"M'sorry," she murmurs, not entirely sure what she's apologizing for.

She shifts away from him a little, on instinct.

He sighs, quietly, mentally kicking himself.

"S'not your fault," he says quietly. "S'just...well...I like you. A lot. An...s'not your fault, when we're together like this, I just can't help but think 'bout...well think 'bout us..."

His voice goes a little bit sheepish.

"...together."

It's almost like she knew what he was going to say before he ever said it. She doesn't flinch away, or blush, or act awkward at the words. She simply soaks them in, quietly.

She is picking absently at the sleeve of his thermal, eyes on her fingers as they move across the fabric restlessly.

She can't get her voice to work. There are too many thoughts in her head.

She remembers Lady Dem's encouragement not to wait too long, if she truly loves Doc.

She remembers Ben's words, to take things slow and not rush into another mistake.

There are catches of conversations with Fira in her head, things Will's Kate has told her, those secret smiles and the glint in his eyes whenever Will was near her, and beyond it all, above it all, louder than it all

is the beat of her heart. It's not fast, or uneven, or threatening to burst its way out of her chest. It's steady, deep. It's even. It's focused.

When it comes down to it, she just can't say anything to him, because ultimately...

She thinks about it too.

His thumb is still tracing patterns on her shoulder blade, as his breathing calms and his heart rate settles. They're adults. And for all the awkward conversations he's had with women (which when he counts, there really haven't been that many, as most of them were already used to the idea of sex) they're never easy but...they're part of the relationship process.

Doc bites his lip and then opens his eyes, and looks at the ceiling, the patterns the moonlight is casting across the room.

Her fingers are brushing along his sleeve and he can feel every tiny motion of her delicate fingertips, and his mind can't help but think...

He pulls in another deep before he sighs, before he presses his lips to the top of her head and kisses her hair.

"I love you. But I'll never rush y'into anything."

She knows. She isn't scared, or upset, or nervous. She isn't worried.

"I know."

There's a beat between them.

She shifts her body slowly, rolling onto her back. Her face stays tilted towards his, and her right hand stays curled against the fabric of his shirt.

She's looking at him, and she's tugging gently.

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