Chapter Text
Waking up, Zari needed a few moments to orientate herself. Her baby-blue nails contrasted sharply with the black fishnet top she was currently holding onto like a lifeline. Batting her eyelashes alerted her to just how close she was to Charlie’s chest, their skin against her forehead. The peaceful way Charlie breathed, for once not coming up with quips and jokes, it made Zari’s heart flutter. However, she had no clue what time it was, and she had things to do. Careful not to wake Charlie, Zari rolled out of their arms and slowly got out of bed. “Hey Gidget, what time is it?” She whispered. Surely Gidget could hear quiet voices.
“It is twelve past six PM.” Gideon was quieter than usual.
With a glance back at Charlie, Zari asked, “how long did we sleep?”
“You slept for two hours. Charlie has been sleeping for an hour.”
“Okay, cool.” Zari wriggled herself out of the layers of sweaters she had been wearing until she stood in a tank top and yoga pants.
“Z?” Charlie had woken up, rolling over to watch Zari. “When’d you wake up?” They sat up and rubbed their eyes, shirt slipping off their shoulder.
“Um.” Technically, Zari knew. But her mouth went dry as the collar of Charlie’s shirt slipped lower. “Gidget?” She mumbled.
“Miss Tarazi woke up three minutes ago.”
“You were just going to leave me here, all alone in your bed?” Charlie’s tone was teasing, and they bit their lower lip.
Crossing her arms, Zari walked to Charlie. “You were enjoying your nap. Besides, it’s not like it’s a trap.” She cocked an eyebrow.
Reaching out, Charlie took hold of Zari’s waist, pulling her out of balance. “I didn’t take you for that kind of girl, Z.”
Zari let herself drop onto the bed, narrowly avoiding Charlie’s legs. “What kind of girl? All we did was sleep.” Her tone was defensive but the way she placed her hands on Charlie’s legs sent a different message.
“The kind of girl who leaves someone in their bed, to wake up alone.” They eyed Zari from under their lashes, acutely aware of just Zari’s tank top between their hands, and Zari’s skin.
Rolling her eyes, Zari mumbled, “I’m not that kind of girl.” She took a deep breath, then tried again. “You looked peaceful, I didn’t want to disturb you.”
Charlie moved so they were sitting on top of the covers, watching Zari’s fingers relocate on their bare legs. They frowned, and asked, “when’d I take off my trousers?”
Zari shrugged, so they turned to Gideon.
“After twenty minutes of sleep, you started shoving them off, with some help from miss Tarazi. My scan showed that you were hot.”
“That makes two people who’ve said that today. Wait. With some help from miss Tarazi?” Charlie smirked at Zari.
“I don’t remember that I must have been asleep,” Zari blurted. The shapes she was chasing on Charlie’s thigh paused.
“My scans show that-”
“That’s enough information, Gidget!” A blush crept onto Zari’s cheeks.
“Z, I’m going to read into that.” Charlie tapped their fingers on Zari’s waist.
“Of course you are.”
Charlie sat upon their knees, making eye contact with Zari. “Hey, Zari?”
“Yeah?”
“Can we stop this already and just kiss?”
Placing her hands on Charlie’s waist, Zari replied, “yes.” Overbalancing once again, she pushed Charlie back and kissed them.
“So, where are my trousers?”
“Do you really care about that right now?”
Pulling Zari closer, Charlie said, “Nah. Not really.”