Chapter Text
As the rarely seen sun poured in through the windows of Necropolis on Sea, it bathed the bed Merilwen was sleeping in with an array of colours through one of the many stained glass windows that had been added to the bedrooms of the house. Waking up slowly, she tilted her head back to feel the warmth of the sun on her face, and moved unconsciously back into the warmth that was coming from behind her. Stretching leisurely to avoid disturbing said warmth, she started her morning ritual of ‘what form am I in this time?’
Two arms. Two legs. No fur. With a sigh, she snuggled back into the bed. Elf it was.
Elf it was.
Jerking up suddenly and feeling her eyes widen, Merilwen let the blankets fall from her as she turned as quickly as she could and looked down at the bed next to her, feeling the arm that had been around her waist move to her hip. With a sinking feeling in her heart, she observed the occupant-- tall, dark hair, slightly pointed ears-- it was Dob.
Frantically racking her brain, Merilwen desperately tried to figure out how she had wound up in this situation, especially when she’d been trying so hard to avoid it.
Let’s see-- they had arrived at the mansion late the night before, after a storm and Corazón’s overconfidence had delayed them. It had still been raining when they had arrived, and Corazón had insisted on making sure that everyone had partaken of a hot meal and drink before going to bed. By that point, Merilwen had turned into a cat, as it would be quicker for her to dry off if she was smaller. After she and Dob had dried off and the other had gone to bed, they had started a game of tag, which had ended up with Dob lying in his bed while she had curled up against him as a cat. With the warmth from the fire, and with Dob as a comfortable pillow, it had been inevitable that the two eventually fell asleep.
It wasn’t the first time she and Dob had fallen asleep snuggling-- it was a common trend for her to curl up on him as a cat only for one or both of them to doze off. And as Merilwen had discovered how comfortable it was, the occurrences had only increased throughout their friendship. But Merilwen had always woken up as a cat before--they had never snuggled with her in her elf form. And as her eyes trailed over his face and her heart raced, Merilwen was all too aware of the reason for that.
Unable to help herself, she let her eyes run over him as he slept. His face was soft and peaceful and his hair hung loosely around his eyes. It was weird to see him look so still- usually Dob was full of energy, plans, and a love for life that couldn’t be contained. Unconsciously, Merilwen reached out to brush his hair from his forehead, but froze just before she made contact. If she did that, he might wake up. And she didn’t want that to happen-- in fact, she needed to get out before it did. Before he looked at her with sleep softened eyes and pulled her close before realizing that it was her in the bed with him, and not somebody who he actually wanted . . .
With deep breaths and a shaky hand, Merilwen gently took Dob’s hand and lifted it off her hip. This gave her just enough room to start shifting up out of his grip, which she did slowly and carefully. Once she was able to move away from his grasp, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and went to stand up.
Maybe it was the motion of her legs swinging, or maybe it was the fact that she was no longer pressed against him, but it seemed that her luck had finally run out, because as she went to get up, she was stopped by a hand grabbing her wrist.
“Whereryou going?” came the sleep-roughed voice from behind her as the hand on her wrist gave a tug.
Merilwen froze. Sitting stiffly on the bed, she closed her eyes tightly and waited for Dob to realize whose wrist he was holding.
“‘S not time to get up yet,” Dob said. He sounded more aware, but he hadn’t let go.
Still refusing to look at him, Merilwen tried to pull her wrist from his grasp, but only succeeded in moving so that their hands were tangled together. “Dob, it’s Merilwen,” she whispered, the words sounding harsh to her own ears.
“I know who you are,” Dob’s voice came out clearer and more awake. “I’m tired, not delusional.” He pulled on her hand again. When she didn’t move, he spoke again. “Can you at least look at me?”
“I need to be going,” she told him, still looking at the door. “If the others realize we spent the night together, we’ll never hear the end of it.”
“I don’t care what the others think,” Dob was now fully awake. “And I highly doubt any of them are awake except Egbert, who is probably making himself a sandwich.”
"Speaking of which, I should go make breakfast," she went to stand up, but his grip on her arm stopped her. "Dob, I need to go."
"You and I both know Corazón will be upset if he doesn't get the chance to make us a 5 star meal." He pulled on her hand again, but she refused to move. After a moment, his grip loosened. “Did I do something wrong?”
Shaking her head, Merilwen closed her eyes. “No.”
“Then why are you running away from me?” He had removed his hand from her fully now, which gave her the opportunity to grip the covers of the bed in her hands.
“We were just cuddling,” she told him, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks.
“You . . . you never had a problem with it before,” he responded.
“We’ve never cuddled with me as an elf before.”
“Yeah, but there’s no real difference,” He told her, “Either way, it’s still you.”
“Dob, most friends don’t cuddle like that.”
“Yeah, but we’re best friends.” After a few moments of silence, she felt his hand on her wrist again. “Are you sure I didn't do anything wrong?"
Merilwen shook her head.
There was a moment of silence, and she felt his grip on her wrist tighten. "You know, I was half asleep when you sat up-- can you remind me how we were snuggling again?” he asked softly.
She turned around to face him, feeling her face heat up. “You cannot be serious.”
However, his face was very serious. “I think it’s very unfair that you got to enjoy cuddling me but I didn’t get to enjoy cuddling you.”
After a moment’s pause, Merilwen started giggling. “You’re ridiculous.”
“You’re ridiculous if you don’t see the inherent imbalance in this transaction,” he told her, before grabbing her hand and looking seriously into her eyes. “Please, Merilwen? For me?”
Curse those eyes. Feeling her face flush, Merilwen reluctantly nodded. “Um, you were lying on the bed.”
Immediately, Dob dropped onto the bed on his back. “Like this?” he asked.
“No, you were on your side.” she watched as he rolled over, facing her. “And then, um, I . . .” trailing off and taking a deep breath, she turned away from him again.
Immediately, his hand reached out to grab her wrist. “Please don’t leave,” his voice came out softly.
Turning to look over her shoulder at him, Merilwen froze for a second. His eyes were wide and imploring, yet somehow softer than she’d ever seen. “No, I’m just getting into position,” she told him.
As his grip on her relaxed, she took a deep breath and held his wrist in her hand, lifting his arm before shifting back into position so she was lying with her back against him and his arm over her.
“So this is what we were doing,” she somehow managed to get out with her heart in her throat.
“Hmmm,” she felt his response rumble through her. “I see what you mean, this is different from cuddling as friends.” Before she could react, he let his top hand brush up and down her arm before pulling her closer to him. “I like it, though,” he murmured into her ear.
Shivering for a second, she pulled herself together. “You do?” She squeaked.
“Mmhmm,” he made a sound of affirmation, “I like having you this close to me.”
“Dob,” she sighed, “You can’t just say stuff like that.”
"Why not?"
"Cause I might start to believe it."
“‘S true, though,” he said, and her eyes opened in shock as she felt his breathing grow deeper.
Pushing up on her hands, she turned to look down at him. His eyes were closed peacefully, but he wore an expression that showed he knew all too well what he had just done to her heart.
"Go to bed, Merilwen," he told her, keeping his eyes closed.
"What does that even mean?"
"I'm cozy. We'll talk later," she let him pull her back down with the hand on her waist.
Realizing that he was, in fact, going back to sleep, Merilwen gave into the inevitable and snuggled back into his warmth. "I'm holding you to that," she told him, closing her own eyes and trying to calm her racing heart.
Chapter 2: Dob's POV
Summary:
Dob wouldn't shut up, so now he gets his own POV.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
When Dob woke up, he was aware of two things. The first was the warmth of the sun on the side of his face and neck. The second was the warmth of a very familiar elf next to him in the bed. And she was actually an elf, not just a cat! He felt his smile spread unconsciously across his face as he prepared to pull her closer and enjoy the moment.
That smile quickly left his face as there was a flurry of motion and the warmth beside him shifted weight to the side of the bed as if she was about to leave.
He didn’t think he could handle it if she left.
Acting on instinct, he reached out to loosely grab her wrist. “Whereryou going?” He asked, keeping his eyes closed and tugging on her wrist. If she would just lay down, he could pull her close and they could go back to sleep.
Suddenly the wrist in his hand slipped out. Well, if that’s the way she was going to be . . . he used her momentum to tangle their hands together and grip tighter, before slowly opening his eyes. As he adjusted to the light of the morning, he saw her sitting with her back to him, her legs hanging over the side of the bed.
She tugged on their hands before slumping into the bed. “Dob, it’s me,” she whispered.
He opened his eyes wider, looking at her in confusion. Did she honestly not realize that he would know it was her even if he was blindfolded in a dark room? “I’m tired, not delusional,” he told her, pulling on her hand in a bid to get her to come back to him. When she didn’t move, he felt his heart sink in his chest. Sure, there had been moments of awkwardness between them (especially since the almost-marriage) but she had never flat out ignored him. “Can you at least look at me?” he asked, feeling desperation build in his stomach.
“I need to be going,” she said, making no move to turn back to him. “If the others realize we spent the night together, we’ll never hear the end of it.”
“I don’t care what the others think,” he said, frustration and desperation getting the best of him as he pulled on her hand again. “And I highly doubt any of them are awake except Egbert, who is probably making himself a sandwich.” If he could just get her to relax, maybe he could convince her to come back to him.
“Speaking of which, I should go make breakfast,” suddenly beneath his hand there was a tug as she went to stand up. He tightened his grip gently, trying to keep her with him as long as possible. “Dob, I need to go.”
He shook his head even though he knew she couldn’t see it. “You and I both know Corazón will be upset if he doesn't get the chance to make us a 5 star meal." Feeling the hope he’d woken up with starting to fade, he pulled on her hand again. If he could just get her to look at him, to see how happy he was in this bed with her, he might have a chance at convincing her not to leave him. But after a moment, it became clear that she wasn’t going to. Not wanting to force or trap her, he loosened his grip. Clearly there was something more going on here, and he started to get the sinking suspicion that he was the reason she didn’t want to stay. “Did I do something wrong?”
Still not looking at him, Merilwen shook her head. “No.”
Dob let out a deep breath and let go of her hand. He wasn’t going to force her to stay when she so clearly wanted to leave. “Then why are you running away from me?” He closed his eyes so he didn’t have to watch her leave.
“We were just cuddling,” she told him, and he opened his eyes in surprised confusion.
“You . . . you never had a problem with it before,” he said, frantically running through all of the times they’d ended up in this position (especially the last few months) and what if she had hated it the entire time . . .
“We’ve never cuddled with me as an elf before.”
His brain stopped. Yes, this was true, but it’s not like it changed anything, except now he had the chance to hold her in his arms, not just a cat. “Yeah, but there’s no real difference,” his mouth said without his permission, “either way, it’s still you.”
“Dob, most friends don’t cuddle like that,” and her voice was starting to sound more sure.
“Yeah, but we’re best friends,” he said, still confused as to why her being an elf would make her want to leave him. There was silence, and he took the moment to really look at her. Her back, which had once been tense, had relaxed back towards him. She had let go of the sheets she had been holding tightly to. And she was no longer trying to leave. Hoping against hope and deciding to give it one last shot, he reached out to hold her wrist again. “Are you sure I didn’t do anything wrong?” he asked, holding his breath as he waited for her answer.
After what felt like an eternity, Merilwen shook her head.
Letting out his breath, Dob started to feel dizzy. It seemed like she didn’t want to leave anymore. Hoping against hope, he tightened his grip on her arm. He had to give her one more shot. “You know,” he said, watching as her back straightened with his voice, “I was half asleep when you sat up-- can you remind me how we were snuggling again?”
As suddenly as she had tried to leave him, she turned back towards him, and he finally got to see the look on her face. She was blushing . . .
Oh.
OH!
“You cannot be serious,” she told him, and as he met her eyes, he saw something in them he hadn’t noticed before.
“I think it’s very unfair that you got to enjoy cuddling me but I didn’t get to enjoy cuddling you,” he told her, because it was becoming increasingly obvious that she had enjoyed it, and the fact that she had made him go without was just the opposite of cool.
After a moment’s pause, Merilwen started giggling, and his heart became even lighter. “You’re ridiculous.”
“You’re ridiculous if you don’t see the inherent imbalance in this transaction,” he told her. When it became clear that she wasn’t going to make any further move, he grabbed her hand and raised it to his chest. “Please, Merilwen? For me?”
There was a pause, and he stared into her eyes, trying to figure out what she was thinking. Hopefully she’d lay back down, and he could hold her, and all would be right with the world because she was there.
He watched her cheeks grow even brighter before she nodded and he had to stop himself from cheering. “Um, you were lying on the bed,” she told him softly.
Eagerly, Dob lay on the bed sinking into the soft mattress with his back and already reaching for her. “Like this?” he asked.
“No, you were on your side.” He let himself roll over to face her, studying her profile from this angle. Beautiful. “And then, um, I . . .” trailing off and taking a deep breath, she turned away from him again.
On instinct, he reached out to grab her hand again. Please no. Not now. He didn’t think he’d bear it if she left him. “Please don’t leave,” his voice came out softly, but he managed to hide the tears that were forming.
Merilwen turned around to look at him. Her eyes were gentle and open, and she lifted one hand to brush his hair back from his forehead. “No, I’m just getting into position,” she told him, and he forced himself to relax.
As his grip on her relaxed, she took a deep breath and held his wrist in her hand, lifting his arm before shifting back into position so she was lying with her back against him and his arm over her. As she turned, Dob smiled and got ready to relax, but as her body fit in next to his, he froze.
Oh.
Oh.
This was much different. And much better.
“So this is what we were doing,” Merilwen’s voice cut through the fog that had enveloped his brain.
“Hmmm,” he said, considering his next course of action. “I see what you mean, this is different from cuddling as friends.” He slowly ran his top hand up and down her arm, appreciating the feel of skin, not fur, against his hand before pulling her close to him and curling himself around her even more. “I like it, though,” he murmured into her ear.
He felt her reaction to that, and oh, it was nice. “You do?” She squeaked.
“Mmhmm,” he moved his face until he was talking right into her ear, cupping his chin over her shoulder, “I like having you this close to me,” he told her, allowing himself to relax into the moment and closing his eyes.
“Dob,” she sighed, “You can’t just say stuff like that.”
He didn’t want to disturb the fragile peace, so he didn’t show his confusion with his body. However, it didn’t stop him from asking "Why not?"
"Cause I might start to believe it."
Well that was a ridiculous thing to say about the truth. “‘S true, though,” he said, keeping his eyes closed as sleep started to overtake him.
His peace was disturbed by Merilwen suddenly pushing up to look down on him. He kept his eyes closed but couldn’t help but let a small smile brush across his face as she stared at him.
"Go to bed, Merilwen," he told her, keeping his eyes closed.
"What does that even mean?" She sounded breathless and he couldn’t help but let the smugness in his chest grow.
"I'm cozy. We'll talk later," using the hand that he was keeping firmly wrapped around her waist, he pulled her down on top of him.
Merilwen had been right. This was different. He could feel her breath against his neck and her hands gripped his shirt. It was definitely something he could get used to.
“I’m holding you to that.”
Notes:
A few hours later, they wake up. Merilwen desperately tries to get Dob to talk but he keeps trying to kiss her. Finally, he tells her that he just wants her, forever, and she finally lets him lay one on her.
They are interrupted a few minutes later by an irate pirate who is upset because they didn’t eat his food.
SaneCharlie on Chapter 2 Fri 26 Nov 2021 08:29AM UTC
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