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“Jay! Jay, c’mon, are you up?” Chip was kneeled in front of Jay’s sleeping form, shaking her gently as he tried to get her to peel herself off the floor of the deck. Strewn around her were various mechanical and metal screws and pieces, one big paper with a design that had notes he couldn’t begin to decipher all over the edges under the metal scraps.
Jay frequently came up to the deck to work on her creations, she said she liked the sun on her arms and the breeze in her hair while she worked. She was clearly passed out cold, and it didn’t look like she was gonna get up by herself. Chip hesitated but wrapped one arm under her back and another under her legs to support her, picking her up bridal style. If Jay was awake to see how hard he was blushing she’d surely tease him. He didn’t get a lot of affection as a kid; hugs from Arlin and the occasional hug from Lizzie but other then that all the touch he experienced was getting stabbed or suplexed by enemies and he rather didn’t enjoy that.
He figured it somehow stemmed back to his lack of affection from frankly anyone as a child, but every time his hands grazed Jay’s shoulders or Gillion put his hands on his hips he felt fiery warmth, and he craved it so bad. What he thought was weird was that kissing didn’t do the same thing to him–don’t get him wrong, he adored smothering his partner's faces and shoulders in kisses but that didn’t feel like an intimate act but rather an expression of joy. Kissing was a very regular part of his life, whether that was showing affection to his girlfriends or giving Ollie a kiss on the forehead before tucking him into bed.
Being touched however, no matter how innocent, always took his breath away completely. Jay had come up to him before they attended the party at Grimm’s, unbuttoning and rebuttoning his shirt for him and mentioning that he had done it wrong and missed one. He was rendered speechless though by such a small act, Jay’s nimble fingers grazing his collarbones stayed on his mind well past that night.
The same thing applied to Gillion and if anything the triton was the most physically affectionate out of the three. Gillion loved to come up and grab Chip by the waist, pulling him close and when Gill took his arms away an immediate coldness set in his body, a yearning to feel protected and safe by his arms again.
He physically shook the thoughts from his head, pushing them away as he readjusted her in his arms. Jay was quite light, they both were, but between the straps of the tank top she was wearing he could feel her relaxed back muscles. Working out with Gillion must be going well for her, he smiled.
Just as he felt his face return back to its normal not-so-red colour and he had reached the stairs down to the captain’s quarters he felt her begin to stir, slowly shifting her back and moving her legs. “Hey, hey…” he whispered softly, trying to make sure she didn’t fully wake up. She grumbled a bit, mumbling what sounded like his name before splaying her arm out and tilting him off balance. He tried not to yelp to wake her up despite almost falling down the stairs, quickly steadying himself on the wall.
Jay’s arms moved from their position folded against his midriff, shifting with her as she extended them and wrapped them around his shoulders. He moved her weight around so she wouldn’t fall and wake up and it somehow ended with her face pressed into the crook of her neck and her legs clinging around his abdomen. She was pressed completely flush to his chest, sound asleep as he made a strangled flustered noise from his throat and his heart raced a mile per minute. When he was sure she was done wiggling around in her dreams he put one arm around her back and one under one of her legs and carried on.
He didn’t know who he was trying to play it cool for considering it was almost midnight and everyone was sound asleep (which he was thankful for) but he took a deep breath, reminding himself that it was just because he was warm and Jay was sleepy and that someone as elegant and courageous as his partners would never indulge in his stupid need for perpetual physical comfort. The thought made him sad, it made his body ache to be spooned or his hair to be played with and it was such a strong feeling that washed over him that it was almost physically painful.
Finally, he opened the door to the captain’s quarters looking around for Gill when he remembered that the triton was having his monthly sleepover with Caspian tonight. He carried her over to her bed and laid her down gently, admiring for a moment how her fiery hair framed her features and freckles painted the entirety of her face, shoulders, and chest. She protested weakly to losing her current source of warmth, pawing at Chip as he helped her under the blanket and pulled it over her. He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, straightening out and getting ready to walk back to his hammock across the room.
Before he could though he felt a hand catch on his pant leg, and he looked down at Jay in surprise who he thought was still fully asleep. “Chip?” She blinked at him slowly a couple of times, still holding on to his pants.
“You fell asleep on the deck so I brought you back to your bed, I just didn’t want your back to hurt or anything.” He moved to take her hand off of his pant leg but instead she held it.
“Y’know, you’re quite pretty when you’re bein’ all thoughtful.” she sleepily mumbled, blinking slowly at him.
Chip’s face burned, and his words almost caught in his throat. “You should go back to bed Jay, you need your sleep.” He squeezed her hand and went to drop it but she grabbed his wrist and in one swift motion threw him off balance and tugged him on top of her.
For the second time he tried not to yelp, very surprised by the sudden force and awkward positioning of his limbs which made a futile attempt to catch him. It was her turn to pull him against her chest and roll onto her side so that she was facing him directly. One hand stayed on his waist and the other held his shoulder lightly as she scooted as close as possible and nuzzled his chest. “Goo’nigh Chip,” she mumbled and closed her eyes again and within seconds was out.
Chip immediately relaxed, letting his hands entangle in her hair and wind shapes and patterns over her arms and back while they cuddled. Soon his own eyes grew heavy and he let the stress melt from his body, safe in his bed in the arms of one of his lovers.