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Eleanor slowly opened her eyes, the orangish morning light reflected onto the wall she was facing. She figured it was still early, as she could still feel a dip in the mattress. Tahani was still next to her.
The weight next to her shifted, until something soft and delicate found its way against her from behind. It covered her shoulderblades, nearly reaching the back of her knee. Eleanor tried to be indifferent, but couldn't help her body responding to the physical affection. Her muscles twitched due to the sudden contact.
Tahani let out a chuckle, seemingly noticing her inability to act nonchalant. A second kiss followed to the same spot, a little longer than the first. It sent a shiver down her spine. Too much affection before coffee, jeez.
"You aren't exactly subtle....", she mumbled, but loud enough for Tahani to hear.
“Good morning to you too, darling.” Tahani’s voice wasn’t hoarse like hers. Eleanor already suspected that she'd been awake for a while. The woman had the insane habit of waking up at the forking crack of dawn, which Eleanor doesn’t see any point in.
“You keep that good morning to yourself, lady. It’s like what? 7 AM in the morning or something. That’s way too early.” Eleanor basically retorted back.
“It’s 8, actually.”
“Hmmm, whatever.” She said, waving her off without turning around. “You can wait for as long as you want, I’m not coming.” She scooted further away, wrapping the sheets tighter around herself.
Her soulmate took a deep breath, and she didn't even have to look at her to know what kind of face she was pulling right now. The classic Tahani Al-Jamil eye roll. It really used to piss her off. It still does, occasionally. But by now it was something that Eleanor expected of her. As she herself likes to say, no one chooses the starring role of a drama queen, it chooses you instead.
It stayed silent after that. The extra sleep she had wanted to get before Tahani tried coaxing her awake, was back on her to do list. Her eyes, still heavy and unfocused, closed again. One thing about growing up as an Arizona trashbag, she was all too familiar with lounging. She could sleep absolutely anywhere, and at any time.
Her victory didn’t last long however, right as she was falling into complete unconsciousness, their kingsized bed shook slightly from movement. Despite the obvious distance she had put between them, and the hints she was deliberately dropping, it didn’t stop Tahani from seeking closeness yet again. Soon enough, the mattress dipped once more, and her pillow with it.
Tahani’s face was only a few inches away from her now, she could practically feel the warmth that radiated off of her. The familiar scent of fresh roses, vanilla and tropical fruits becoming even stronger, like a fog clouding the sky.
“Eleanor.” Tahani drawled, still trying to get a reaction out of her.
“Could you at least consider facing my way?” Tahani spoke.
Eleanor didn’t bother answering that.
And you know what? It's fine. She could handle her childish, impatient attitude whenever things didn’t go the way she wanted. And sure, ignoring it instead of giving in makes going back to sleep way harder than it needs to be, but Tahani’s patience is not infinite.
She would give up sooner or later.
It wasn’t as if Eleanor kept her here as a hostage either. She was completely free to get a move on it. Eleanor has seen and experienced her agenda first hand. Tahani runs a tight program, and she would be lying that she wouldn’t be relieved if she missed a couple tasks on the list today. Besides, what’s a five inches tall woman gotta do outside, when she’s supposed to be hiding it from the other residents?
Exactly.
An undignified huff escaped the brunette, ruffling Eleanor’s blonde bedhair. Now she was really starting to lose her patience. She was going to give ‘telling Tahani somewhat nicely she can fork off’ one last attempt, before she’s really letting her have it.
And if Tahani can read minds, her large index finger reached for Eleanor’s arm underneath the blanket, barely brushing against it, she made up her mind. She bumped her arm against the digit, and it retracted instantly.
"Seriously! Are you planning to drag me out? Eleanor exclaimed with a loud sigh. "Let a woman be. There’s still enough hours in the day to flaunt those award-winning legs across town later."
"I cannot deny that the thought has crossed my mind, seeing as you are unwilling to get up. But perhaps we can both get what we desire.” Her voice had risen slightly higher, it sounded somewhat mischievous.
Before Eleanor could question her any further, fingers almost as long as she is, dug underneath her and started lifting her up, blanket and all. Her eyes got wider, and she watched the warm pillow getting away from her. Or rather, she was taken away from it.
“Tahani…..” she muttered, as she was now held above her head. One of her arms hung beside her, while the other clung to the woman’s thumb. Only for good measure of course, she definitely wasn’t afraid of plummeting down.
As she shifted her attention back to the tall hottie laying beneath her, she was met with the visualisation of a Disney princess. Her hair was fawned across both pillows, voluminous and wavy as always. Before they started sharing a bed, she was certain that Tahani couldn’t possibly look this good after a night’s rest. She was proven wrong, of course.
“Ah, there she is, my adorably pocket-sized soulmate.” Tahani said, with a smirk on her lips. She seemed very pleased with her own actions. The blanket that Eleanor was huddled in, was dropped somewhere on the bed. “You won’t be needing that any longer.”
“Real funny babe.” Eleanor fake-laughed, before continuing her glaring stare. “Now stop annoying me and let me get back to sleep.” She said, tossing in Tahani’s hand. It was useless.
“As you wish, my dear.”
Eleanor hoped that she was serious this time, but the hand that held her didn't lower her back down onto the pillow. Instead, the chest she was held above, kept coming closer and closer, until she could feel more than just Tahani’s fingers underneath her.
Her soulmate wore a silky dark blue nightgown that highlighted her brown skin beautifully. Not that she looked anything but annoyingly hot all the time, but that's beside the point.
Eleanor was placed on the smooth material. Even though Tahani was gentle with her, she slid to the left, gripping the blue fabric so she wouldn’t make a detour. Luckily or unluckily, she wasn’t sure yet, she felt the same palm rest over her to keep her in place.
“This isn’t what I meant when I said that I need more forking sleep, dude. You can’t just whisk me away like that!” Eleanor had to crane her neck to look her in the eyes.
“If I had simply asked you instead of taking matters into my own hands, quite literally, then you would have said no.”
“Pfff.”
“Well, am I wrong?” Tahani questioned, while draping the sheets back over them both.
“Yes-” Eleanor started, but Tahani’s eyebrow raise made her pause. “Maybe not, because I was barely awake… But I would’ve hugged you if you asked me. I do it all the time! And by the way, I’ve done it so many times, all on my own. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t like them or anything, you’re a great hugger.” Even though you almost suffocated me a couple of times because of your obsession with physical affection…. But she decided to keep that one to herself.
“Oh, I simply cannot help myself sometimes. You are just so….”
“Let me guess, short?”
“I was going to say endearingly beautiful, but yes, that too.” Tahani hummed, before slipping one finger through her blonde hair, repeating the motion. “You are the first person in my life, the first woman in my life, for which I’ve allowed myself to open up for. I want to be near you, hold you, love you. It must sound terribly cheesy, but I stand by it.”
The look Tahani was giving her, so impossibly loving and soft, melted any irritation she felt before. Eleanor made herself comfortable underneath her soulmate’s hand, burying her cheek deeper into the silk. She indulged herself into the soft touches that went over her scalp.
It was genuinely unfair how comfortable she was right now. Maybe Tahani was right, she did need this. Eleanor’s eyelashes fluttered, before her eyes closed, in pure relaxation.
As Eleanor felt two eyes still on her, even though she wasn’t looking, she reached for the closest finger of Tahani she could find, and squeezed it with her own hand.
“Ditto, hot stuff.”
“Still time for flirting, I see?” Tahani said with amusement.
“You know me.” Eleanor said, stretching her legs.
“That I do, indeed.” Tahani agreed, as she drew circles on Eleanor’s back instead. “But, this little flirt has been kept awake for long enough. And as my dear friend Benedict Cumberbatch taught me back on earth, a course of uninterrupted slumber is most important. And what’s better than getting more rest, while I can snuggle you in the meantime?”
“Hmm, sure.” Eleanor mumbled sleepily, already halfway pulled back into unconsciousness.