Chapter Text
There was a man she barely knew inside her apartment. In her bed. Sniffing her pillows. Burrowing into her sheets. Ignoring every single one of her complaints and pointed requests to just leave already.
“Like I said, I won't touch you. I'm just here to sleep.” His lips quirk up in a sharp grin, revealing the points of his teeth as he makes himself comfortable, arms crossing behind his head. “I don't know if you noticed, but there's no way in hell I’m fitting on your couch.”
She can feel the heat in her cheeks, even as she shoves her hand against his chest once more, just to make the point. “You can take the floor.”
He snorts out a laugh. “So generous. But this’ll do nicely.”
He settles in, carving out room for himself, scuffing up her sheets while remaining on top of the covers - but at least his boots were off. Small mercies.
She twists onto her side, keeping a pillow between them, not quite prepared to show him her back. He wasn’t an ally, not really, and she isn’t taking any chances.
Even at this distance, she can feel the heat of him, radiating across the short distance. His skin had been hot to the touch, although it'd eased the longer he had been in his human form. She was curious about that, and so much more - about him and his kind, and what it meant in light of everything that was happening.
EVER. The fountain of Atei. The collapse of their world. He knew more than he’d shared, and he’d promised to answer her questions.
But not tonight.
And that left them here.
He’s too big for her bed. He was too big for the sofa, barely able to fit sideways without tipping off the cushion, but even here, he seems to dominate the space. His weight tilts the mattress, forcing her to shift back across the sheets to stop from rolling into him.
It’s not just his height, but his bulk, his strength evident in the corded muscle of his bicep, the swell of his thighs, the broad expanse of his chest, stretching the tight fabric of his athleisure wear.
He’d had blood on him earlier, as if he’d been in a fight, although it’d healed by the time she’d gotten the first aid kit out. Strong and hard to kill. That made him dangerous.
But all she can focus on is the way he takes up the space, his presence, even beyond the physical. His scent, deep and earthy, with a metallic edge that comes from his Evol, strange and somehow familiar all at once. The draw that came with it, the attraction, bone deep and inescapable.
“Do you feel it?” His voice is a low rumble in the quiet that’s fallen between them, the harsh edges softened with the beginnings of sleep.
She glances up to find his eyes already on hers, focused with an intensity that sends a shiver down her spine. His pupils are blown wide in the shadows of the room, swallowing the iris, reflecting the pale light of the full moon through the curtains.
He looks like a predator, and it makes the tension that's been curling inside her chest all night tighten as he inhales, long and slow. Breathing her in. But there’s a heat there too, curling inside her gut, warm and familiar.
Do you feel it?
It’s irrational. Stupid even, to be reacting this way to a man she barely knows, a man who’d crashed into her apartment - her bedroom - uninvited, but something inside her just… knows. Trusts, inherently.
She swallows, trying and failing to ignore the way his eyes follow the movement. “I don't know what you mean.”
His lips quirk into that half smile again, and he shifts on top of the sheets, leaning closer until there’s barely an inch between them, holding her gaze. He’s not touching her, but it’s a close thing, and she can feel the heat that radiates from his skin, pick out the glints of burnt amber and gold in the thin circle of his iris.
“I think you do.”
She can feel the rush of his breath against her cheek, the rapid beat of her heart inside her ribcage, and she can't help the way her eyes drop to his mouth before she looks away.
Too much. Too close. She brings the pillow back up between them and shoves, pushing back against his chest until he takes the hint, falling back onto the pillows with a huff that sounds suspiciously like a laugh.
“It's okay. You don't have to acknowledge it.” There’s a self-satisfied smirk curling up his lips, and she resists the urge to whack him with the pillow and wipe the look right off his face. She doesn’t want the pillow shredded in the ensuing fight. “Doesn’t mean I won’t.”
Her cheeks are burning. Irrational. Stupid. “Keep dreaming.”
He laughs again, not even trying to hide it this time, sharp teeth gleaming in the light as she shimmies back, restoring the distance between them and closes her eyes pointedly.
“Alright, alright. I got the picture. We’ll sleep.” The bed creaks under him as he shifts his weight, making himself comfortable on top of her sheets, a long breath escaping him as he settles. “I’ll even make you pancakes in the morning, as a thank you.”
It’s a concession, albeit a small one, but she’ll take it.
–
When she wakes up, the other side of the bed is empty, but there’s a plate of freshly made pancakes on her bedside table.
At least he knew how to keep a promise.