Work Text:
At this point, they were accustomed to each other’s movements, anticipating when the other reached out a hand to be held or angling a forehead or cheek upward, ready to receive a kiss. They could, at a glance, or even just by being in the same room, tell if the other person needed to be held or if they needed to be kissed. They could tell what kind of touch the other needed.
But many things were left unexplored, and therefore, unknown. Bare skin, for example, had not come up between the two of them. Certainly, the thought of what her bare skin might look like had crossed Callum’s mind, particularly when he felt the warmth of her skin through her clothes as they kissed, but he’d not dared to even sneak a hand near the hem of her shirt.
He even apologized whenever he’d had the pleasure of skirting a hand over her bare stomach when they woke up next to each other. Usually she’d sneak into his room whenever she couldn’t sleep, which was more than fine by him. Inevitably, she slept restlessly those nights, tossing and turning, her pajamas rumpled and pushed up, uncovering her stomach by the morning. When he awoke, an arm thrown over her side, more than once he’d found his hand against bare flesh. If Rayla was awake, he’d mutter an apology and she’d retort, “who cares?” or “so?” He’d move his hand, and that would be the end of it.
Sometimes, he thought about answering back, “I do!” But he didn’t. It wasn’t quite that he felt shy about being more physical with her. It was more that he enjoyed the anticipation. Of course, he would love to see her, touch her, but the romance of keeping from taking the next steps in their relationship was unmatched. He knew that if they wanted to, they could really do whatever they pleased with each other, but he enjoyed saving new things and keeping them special.
Rayla, not so much. She capitalized on every accidental touch, not quite purposely pushing their relationship further, but encouraging him to let their relationship take its natural course when opportunities arose. Sometimes he did take the encouragement and the opportunity. After all, what was the point of saving all the newness for some distant future?
And that was the impasse they found themselves at. Despite their practiced anticipation of each other’s needs, Callum, unfortunately, was not a mind-reader. So, he hadn’t expected to find her changing in the middle of the day when he’d waltzed into her room this afternoon.
He stood frozen in the doorway, the door slamming shut behind him. She had turned around sharply when he’d entered, clutching the top she’d been about to put on to her bare chest, which he had, undeniably, seen. He was also, undeniably, looking at her bare legs and the light piece of fabric that covered her behind.
”Maybe you should start knocking,” she said, barely serious. Her words had the rhythm of a nervous chuckle. She hadn’t yet moved to put the shirt on. She peered over her shoulder to see him still frozen, eyes wide. “Well, are you staying or going?”
She sighed and pulled the shirt over her head, still facing away from him. He gulped, as his eyes took in a side view of her breasts, as she shrugged the shirt over her head. If he was so interested in saving things for later, why couldn’t he just turn around and leave with an apology?
She turned to look at him, now at least partially clothed. His eyes wandered down to skim over the bit of her stomach that was not covered by her shirt or underwear and to look at her bare legs. She sighed and shrugged, then walked over and sat at the end of her bed. “Are you going to say anything or just stand there?” She asked.
”S-sorry,” he stammered, face finally turning colors.
“Don’t be,” she said, matter-of-fact. “I don’t care if you see me, Callum.”
“I know. It’s just that I never have before and I wasn’t expecting to and—“ He started to ramble.
”Is this about your ‘specialness’ thing?” She tried not to roll her eyes. She understood the idea, but she thought Callum took it a little too seriously. They were so in tune with one another in every way. What could it hurt to move faster than a snail’s pace as far as their physical relationship went?
”Yeah,” he paused. “But I also just feel bad for walking in on you like that.”
Just when she had been prepared to be annoyed, he said something like that. “Callum, it’s really ok.” She crossed her arms. “Do you want to just leave and pretend this never happened?” She asked.
”Well...not really, no.” He shrugged.
”Come here.” She beckoned him to sit beside her. “You know...this can be special.” She put a hand on his knee as he sat.
“You’re right,” he said and smiled at her. “Everything is special with you.”
She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Oh, that was bad, even for you,” she teased. He blushed a little at this, but continued to smile back at her. “Lay down and take a nap with me,” she suggested.
She began to scoot back on her bed so that she was laying on her side, a pillow under her head. He followed suit and they laid facing each other. Tentatively, he put a hand on the strip of bare skin that was exposed above her hips, and let his finger graze over her stomach from waist to hip. Then he let his hand continue down to trace the curve of her legs, running his hand across her underwear on his way from hip to thigh. She wanted to laugh at his serious expression.
“Callum, they’re legs. You’ve got them too.”
He brought his eyes back to her face and scooted closer to her, moving to rest his forehead against hers. His hand looped over her hip, and he placed it on the small of her back, also bare flesh. “This is nice.”
”See? Special and no big deal,” she smiled and angled to kiss him. She yawned. “Now shush. I need a nap.” She turned over and fit her body against his. He wrapped his warm around her bare stomach and placed a kiss against her shoulder, before yawning himself and letting himself drift off to sleep.