Karen Page takes (nobullshit) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2019-12-27 14:02:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed, !log, ~2019 december, ~25 points, ~~karen page (notbullshit), ~~shawn hunter (mistercory) |
Who: Karen Page + Shawn Hunter
Where: Shawn’s place
When: Backdated to the weekend, laaaaate at night
Warnings: Nah
Status: Complete | Closed
Karen knew that it was sometime after midnight but not yet five am, and she was debating leaving and heading back to her own apartment. It seemed as though Shawn was asleep, and after a minute, she quietly and carefully untangled herself from his arms, though a part of her didn’t really want to. Moving slowly, she slid out from under the sheet and reached down blindly for her clothes. She couldn’t find her underwear, but caught hold of her skirt and a shirt and that was enough to start with so she grabbed them both and stood, walking over to the bathroom and stepping in. Shutting the door before she turned on the light, she glanced at herself in the mirror, then started to pull on the clothes. The shirt was actually one of Shawn’s, but she didn’t think he’d mind, considering the situation, so she shrugged and pulled it on anyway.
After tugging her hair out from under the collar, she turned out the light and stepped back out so she could head for the living room for the rest of her things.
***
Feeling the bed shift roused Shawn out of sleep. He’d grown used to sleeping alone in the past six months and, for a brief moment, had a flare of hope that Liz had returned. A few seconds later, his brain woke up and he remembered running into Karen last night and bringing her home. Again.
They were both consenting adults and they were friends, so there was no need for this to be awkward. By the time she emerged from the bathroom, Shawn was sitting on the edge of the bed in a pair of boxer shorts. He recognized the shirt she was wearing as one of his own and couldn’t help thinking about how sexy that made Karen look.
“You don’t have to run off,” he said, his voice still rough from sleep. “Want some coffee or something?”
***
Karen stopped short when she saw him, then gave a smile of apology. There wasn’t too much awkwardness overall, but that didn’t mean that she wanted to push him or make this all something that it wasn’t. Just a couple of friends enjoying time with one another, and that was okay.
“Hey, I didn’t want to wake you. It’s late.” But the offer was too good to pass up - plus, he looked sexy himself, all sleepy and rumpled and shirtless. “Coffee would be great, though.”
***
“Or early,” Shawn said. He hadn’t looked at the time, but obviously the sun wasn’t up yet. “Either way…” he shrugged, not wanting her to feel like she needed to sneak out or anything. It was unlikely that Riley would be up anytime soon and even if she did, she was old enough that Shawn didn’t feel like he needed to hide anything from her.
He stood up and walked over to his dresser to grab a t-shirt, tugging it over his head before they headed down to the kitchen. “I think we even have some donuts leftover from yesterday.”
***
“Yeah, or early.” Back when she had been seeing Gibbs, she had often stayed the night but usually left before Emily would see her in the mornings, and she’d sort of been going with that here, because she didn’t want Riley to be uncomfortable about any of this, either.
Karen didn’t hide the fact that she was watching him as he got dressed - though she was a little disappointed about the shirt going on. When he opened the door, she spotted her underwear finally on the floor, and paused to pick it up before she followed him out of the room.
“Donuts sound great,” she said softly as she hunted down her purse and stuffed the underwear inside. She glanced briefly at her phone just to make sure no emergencies had popped up from anywhere, then walked over to the kitchen, smiling a little as she watched him make the coffee.
“You could’ve just stayed in bed, you know.”
***
Shawn shrugged again. Ten years ago, he probably would have done just that. He was a lot more mature now though and while he wasn’t opposed to casual hookups, he’d left the anonymous one night stands behind him long ago. “It’s fine,” he said, flashing a quick grin over his shoulder as he set up the coffee pot. That was something he usually did at night before going to bed so he didn’t have to fuss with it in the morning. Last night he’d been a little distracted though.
As soon as the coffee was brewing, he opened a cabinet and found half a box of donuts. “It’s a little too early to actually make breakfast,” he said. Plus that might make this seem like more than it was.
***
Karen returned the grin with a smile of her own, absently running her hand through her hair as she leaned against the counter. When he pulled out the donuts, she stepped over to pluck one out. “A bit,” she agreed - and she also knew what might come of that.
Biting into the donut, she chewed slowly before swallowing and looking over at him again. “Any big plans today?”
***
“Nah, just finishing up some last minute shopping, I think,” Shawn said. He didn’t have as many people he needed to buy for this year, so that made it a little easier, though he wanted to appropriately spoil Riley. She’d had as tough a year as he had, if not tougher.
He leaned against the counter. “How about you?”
***
“The same,” she replied, though she too didn’t have as many people to shop for now. “Actually, maybe you can help me come up with an idea for someone. Foggy’s girlfriend, Sif? She’s from Asgard and I have no idea what to get her for Christmas. Any suggestions?” Karen took another bite from the donut as she studied him.
***
That was a tough one and Shawn’s mouth twisted in thought. “Hmm, I want to say something that is very uniquely Earth, but I have no idea what that would be.” Since it was the only planet he was familiar with, he couldn’t say what would be different here than Asgard.
“Maybe ask someone else who’s from another planet?” he suggested. “There are plenty of them around.”
***
“Me either,” Karen said with a small laugh. “Unless I go with something handmade...by someone who isn’t me.” Most of the crafty skills had skipped her generation.
“That’s a good idea. I’ll ask around and see what I can find out or who I can talk to. Thanks.”
***
“Now, you can help me,” Shawn said. “Because I need some stocking stuffers for a teenage girl.” Given that Karen had been one, he hoped that she would have some good suggestions that Riley would actually appreciate.
***
Karen grinned at that. “It just so happens that I have a lot of suggestions on that,” she told him as she lightly toasted him with the last bite of her donut before popping it into her mouth.
After swallowing, she walked over closer since the coffee was nearly ready and met his eyes. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.”
***
Shawn grinned. “Excellent. But first, coffee,” he said, tempted to kiss her and then deciding against it. That would also be too much like a relationship and that wasn’t what this was.