David Xanatos (selfmade_man) wrote in pathways_log, @ 2021-06-15 11:01:00 |
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Entry tags: | gargoyles: david xanatos, tvd: caroline forbes |
Who: Xanatos and Caroline
What: Caroline goes to rescue Xanatos, discovers she has super strength
When: Two days after this log, May 14th
Where: A warehouse, then Caroline's apartment
Rating/Warning: Relatively low, some mild violence
Status: Complete
The past forty-eight hours had probably been the worst and most stressful of Caroline’s life. David had been taken. Right in front of her eyes. And she couldn’t tell anyone about it. She didn’t dare go to the police, she wasn’t going to put David’s life at risk like that. Hell she hadn’t even contacted Owen at first. Though she debated it, numerous times, eventually deciding that she would give it a day and if she didn’t hear anything she would reach out to him.
But then she heard from the kidnapper. Why he was contacting her she wasn’t entirely sure. But she had to admit she was relieved. Especially when she demanded to know if David was okay and he was put on the phone for a brief moment. All she heard was her name, before David’s voice was gone and the kidnapper’s was back.
They demanded $200 million that Caroline did not have. Again, it made no sense why she was contacted and why the ransom was on her. But she knew she had to take care of it. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if anything happened to David.
Caroline considered just showing up at the location without any money. She had her speed. That had to be enough to get David back, right? But then what if he wasn’t at the same location the kidnapper had asked to meet? Again, she couldn’t risk it. It was just a matter of where the hell she was going to get that kind of money.
That was when she contacted Owen. The time between her initial phone call to him, and when he called her back reminding her of the expense account had been torture. What if he couldn’t get the money together? What would happen to David?
But now here she was, outside some shady ass warehouse. She stopped, listening for heartbeats. Caroline could hear four of them, two were farther away and faint, but she was pretty sure she recognized one of the farther off ones as David’s. Or that could just be her imagination and wishful thinking.
She took a breath, reminding herself of her speed. She could do this. She could get David back. Hello?” she called out as she made her inside.
Xanatos had woken up two days before with a pounding headache, his thinking clouded and muddied, and - he’d worried, for a moment - struck blind. The last, at least, had not troubled him for long. It hadn’t taken him long for him to realize that he’d been blindfolded. The rest though worried him. Did he have a concussion? It seemed likely, given the fact that he was fairly certain he’d been struck in the head.
He’d wiggled his fingers and his toes and nothing had seemed broken, but it was enough for him to realize that he was bound, hand and foot, and bound uncomfortably tight. He’d hoped he hadn’t been bound too long - if he lost a limb over this, there would be hell to pay. But he’d managed to convince his kidnappers to loosen the binding somewhat - their employer, he told them (he’d no doubt that they had an employer somewhere. There was no way any of the idiots there with him had been smart enough to pull off kidnapping him from his home without someone telling them how to do it), would probably be upset if he’d ended up maimed, and that probably included him losing a limb to a lack of circulation. That wound up being the magic word - their employer had specifically warned them against maiming.
The next two days proved to be hell. He’d tried, the first day, his tongue thick with what he was now certain was a concussion, to speak with his kidnappers. Get some banter going. But even with his head injury, they’d proven to be too stupid for him to manage anything even resembling a satisfying conversation.
He should have vetted them properly.
Finally, the day when Caroline was supposed to come and free him arrived, and when she walked through the door, he let out a sigh of relief. They’d kept him at the far end of the warehouse, away from the door, but her voice still carried back to him.
“Caroline, thank god,” he said. “Finally I’ll be able to have some sort of intelligent conversation again. Hurry up and get me out of here.”
“Not so fast,” the man that was apparently the leader of this trio of idiots said, holding up his phone. “We’re not letting him go until I see you’ve made the transfer.”
Caroline let out her own sigh of relief at his voice. And she could see him too. Apparently her eyesight was also enhanced, even in the dark warehouse. It was all she could do not to run over to him. The only thing stopping her was the fact that she wasn’t sure she could get him out. She was fast, sure. But he wasn’t. And it wasn’t like she could carry him.
“David!” she just said instead, making her way further inside. There were two men walking towards her, one still back at David’s side. Caroline held up her own phone, showing the money was ready to be transferred, but she didn’t do anything else just yet. While she was sure David could afford the $200 million, that didn’t mean he wanted to lose it. And more importantly it didn’t guarantee they would let him go once she gave up her leverage.
“Untie him first,” Caroline ordered.
It wasn't until the apparent ringleader nodded at the man standing beside Xanatos that he untied the ropes at Xanatos’ wrists. As the man bent down to untie his feet, Xanatos rubbed his wrists, looking, displeased, at the red, angry ropeburn that circled them.
He felt his ankles come free. Ordinarily, this might have been the point where Xanatos delivered a swift blow to the man’s face, stole the firearm he had so carelessly poking out from his pants, and fought his way out. But this was Caroline’s plan. He didn’t know what her plan was - he hoped it was more than just handing over the money, because that would be disappointingly anticlimactic - but he wanted to see how it would unfurl.
Caroline watched as they began to untie David. Satisfied that they would fully let him go she ran to one of the other men in a blur. Still using her speed Caroline grabbed his wrist and pulled him with her. It was surprisingly easy, the guy was lighter than she thought. It was like she didn’t even feel him at all.
Her intention had been to drag him far away from David, but with how light he was she ended up flinging him across the warehouse. He hit the wall with a loud thud. Caroline returned to normal speed shocked by what she had just done. But then other man was coming towards her. She pushed him away. Once again the man went flying, farther this time, he landed all the way in the opposite corner of the warehouse.
Caroline finally made her way to David, still using her speed but there wasn’t much need. The man that had untied him was backing away, hands up in defeat. Caroline wasn’t trying to hurt anyone even if they deserved it for kidnapping David. She just wanted to get David back.
Once she reached him she picked him up, again shocked by how easy it was but she didn’t have time to react or process it. She just ran out with him in another blur all the way back to her apartment. It wasn’t until she was outside her apartment door, in a matter of minutes, that she set him down, using both hands to unlock the door.
“Are you okay?” She asked opening the door and gently pulling him inside. “Are you hurt? Do we need to go to the hospital?”
Xanatos, first, wasn’t sure what he was witnessing. One moment, Caroline was standing, and the next she’d disappeared. His eye caught motion, and he followed it, only to see her flinging the first man into the wall. The second man met a similar fate shortly after, and by the time that the smile finished forming on his face, Caroline was already in front of him, scooping him into her arms, and dashing away.
He looped an arm around the back of her neck, and stared, admiringly as she ran. There was something unbelievably sexy about a girl who could do what she’d just done, who could rescue him from a kidnapping without handing over a single cent, and it took a surprising amount of self control to not reach up and kiss her right then.
And then they were at her apartment, far sooner than he could have possibly imagined.
He stood up when she let him down, straightening his clothes, and set to absent-mindedly rubbing his wrists. “I’m fine,” he assured her. “A concussion, I think, but nothing to worry about. You’ve been holding out on me, Caroline.”
Caroline frowned, as she noticed him rubbing his wrist. It only deepened when he mentioned the concussion.
“I’ll get you some ice,” Caroline said, immediately going into problem solving mode. “And something for your wrists,” she had a first aid kit in her bathroom. Caroline led him inside, shutting the door behind him. However before moving to do any of the things she had just listed, she stopped, wrapping her arms around him in a hug.
“I was so worried about you,” Caroline muttered into his chest. “Don’t do that again,” she added, like it was his fault. Which she knew it wasn’t.
Reluctantly she pulled away, but remained in front of him. “You sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?”
Xanatos returned the hug, pulling Caroline against him in a tight embrace, burying his face in her hair, somehow managing to prevent himself from pulling her face up for a kiss or letting his hands roam all over her. “Forget the ice,” he said, his voice thick. It was probably best that she pulled away when she did. He’d always been confident in his self-control, but he wasn’t so sure of it now.
“I promise it won’t happen again,” Xanatos said, his voice still thick, his eyes on Caroline’s lips. He licked his own, and then cleared his throat, forcing himself back to the topic at hand.
“I’m sure that I don’t want to go to the hospital,” he said. “It’s nothing a little rest won’t cure, and it would look bad to the investors.” He frowned thoughtfully. “Assuming, of course, that they haven’t already heard of the kidnapping?”
He hoped not. It would certainly impact Caroline’s final grade on the rescuing front.
There was something different about the tone of David’s voice, and the way he was looking at her. If Caroline hadn’t been so concerned about his well being she probably would have caught on to what David was thinking, and hell she might have even kissed him herself. She’d definitely been thinking about it more lately. But that was honestly one of the last things on her mind right now.
“It better not,” Caroline stated boldly. “I can’t lose you,” she added, her tone softening just a bit. Her eyes locked onto David’s more a moment longer than was probably necessary.
“I don’t think so,” she replied. “Unless Owen told them.” Caroline knew enough about Owen to know he wouldn’t do anything David wouldn’t have wanted. So she had a feeling he would have known not to contact the investors or whatever. “I’m guessing that means you don’t want to call the police either?”
“You won’t,” Xanatos assured her. Her eyes were so blue. This wasn’t the time though. He needed to be honest with Caroline before he could progress their relationship, and this wasn’t the time to tell her.
“Owen wouldn’t have said anything,” Xanatos said with utmost confidence, almost dismissively. There was no question about that, he was sure.
He turned from Caroline, walking deeper into her apartment. “I think this is the first time I’ve actually been in your apartment. Properly, I mean,” he said. He’d stopped by on the way to his birthday dinner, but he actually hadn’t come in further than the doorway.
Caroline was guessing that was a no on the police then. She followed him further into her apartment, not wanting to be more than a few inches from him. Hell she was tempted to reach out and just hold on to him and never let go. But that was silly. If anyone tried to take him from her here, she was fast enough to stop them… and apparently strong enough too.
He was currently in the living area, which consisted of a couch, two comfy chairs, a coffee table and a TV, the kitchen was off to the side. “I can give you a tour,” she offered, grinning at the reference. “Though it’ll be quick.” There were only three rooms he couldn’t see from where he was standing, her bedroom, office/closet, and the bathroom. Which reminded her.
“But first, do you need anything? A shower? Food? I can cook you something.” Who knew what they fed him. If they even fed him at all. “Or order take out,” she added not really sure what ingredients she had at the moment.
“I would love a tour,” he said. “I can take a shower after.” He paused. “Unless you’d rather I take one beforehand. I can’t imagine that I smell like roses.” He could probably do with a change of clothes as well, though he suspected that Caroline didn’t have anything he’d be able to wear.
He was correct that Caroline had no clothes for him. She didn’t have anything laying around from the last time she had gotten laid. Cause well she wasn’t really doing that at the moment. There was only one person she was interested in sleeping with and that wasn’t exactly an option.
“Not so much, no,” Caroline teased, wrinkling her nose and laughing. “Maybe you could have Tom bring some clothes over? Or something?” Because she wasn’t planning on letting him out of her sight (except when he showered of course) and she wasn’t sure how safe his mansion was.
But right, on with the tour. “As you can see this is the living area,” Caroline said gesturing to the couch. “And the kitchen,” she added nodding to the side. The kitchen was in clear view. It was tucked off to the side, complete with a counter and stools that separated it from the living room. There was a table with two chairs in the corner.
It was then that she reached out for his hand, needing to be in contact with him again. She led him to her office opening the door. “My office,” she explained. There was a corner desk set up with a mac and a few notebooks sitting out on top. There were a few bookcases full of binders with different event themes, all properly labeled and color coordinated of course. The rest of the room was full of clothing racks and shelving full of clothes, shoes and purses.
“That might not be the worst idea. Can I borrow your phone?” He didn’t have his on him. He was, somehow, surprisingly okay with that. There’d been a time not that long ago that he couldn’t exactly picture leaving his home without his cellphone. But then, he didn’t have a smartphone in the other world he was remembering. His cellphone in the mid-nineties had been of the highest caliber, but it still hadn’t done much more than phone and text, with very limited internet options.
Xanatos laced his fingers with Caroline’s, brushing his thumb against the back of her hand as she led him to her office. “You really should have a separate room for your office,” he said. “Less distractions means a more streamlined focus. But then, I suppose for the space you have, you’ve done the best you can.”
If things worked out the way he planned - and they usually did - then she’d have her own large office someday; something with a view, decorated how she wanted. Another room for her impressive shoe collection, one for all her clothing.
“Well we can’t all be billionaires with a million rooms,” Caroline reminded him, her cheeks slightly flush just from the way his thumb moved over her skin. “Besides, I get my work done just fine.” She had an actual office too, in an office building. But when she worked from home there was this room. And she needed a place for all her clothes. They did not fit in her closet. Which she supposed he would be seeing next, her room that was. The thought made her cheeks slightly redder. She needed to get ahold of herself. Plenty of people, friends saw her room.
But first, she grabbed her phone from her pocket, so David could contact Tom, or whoever he needed to for fresh clothes. The banking app was still open, ready to transfer $200 million. “You know,” Caroline said as she handed it over. “You could probably close my expense account now.”
“Yes, I suppose so. I’ll call Owen and get him to do it. I suppose I should let him know I’m okay too; he’s probably worried sick.” Not that anyone would ever know it, with the stoic way that Owen carried himself. He wasn’t even sure if all of Owen’s worry would be feigned. He knew that Owen had some reservations about this plan from the beginning.
He closed the banking app, texted Tom to bring him some clothes - he had his phone number memorized but he saw that Caroline already had him as one of her contacts, probably from planning his birthday - texted his butler, who was not saved in his phone to prepare n outfit for Mr. Fairchild to collect, and then dialed Owen’s phone number. The conversation was quick (“It’s me. I’m okay. I’ll phone you later.”), and then he handed the phone back to Caroline.
He indicated that he was ready to continue the tour, and then said, “I can’t believe we forgot to close the account in the first place. You could have used it for anything and we probably would have never known.” He studied her face as he spoke, looking for any sign of realization or regret that she hadn’t used it to her advantage.
Caroline stepped back, giving David some space while he made his phone calls and texts. Once he was done she put the phone back in the back pocket of her jeans. Her brow furrowed at his comment. Like she would have actually taken advantage of David like that. But she was sure he already knew that, no need to argue the point. Instead she just grinned at him. “Damn,” she joked. “Really missed an opportunity there. Oh well.”
She turned to lead him out of her office/closet and through the rest of her apartment. The door to the bathroom was open, Caroline gave a nod at it. “That’s the bathroom,” obviously. It wasn’t as luxurious as David’s and she didn’t actually bring him inside it, he’d see it soon enough when he showered. It basically consisted of a counter, sink (with a mirrored cabinet above it)a shower/tub and of course a toilet.
“And this,” she said, opening the last door. “Is my room.” Even though Caroline had been distracted and all over the place the last few days, her room was still tidy. The bed was against the back wall in the center of the room. Of course it was made, with a bright, floral, comforter. There were bedside tables on both sides of the bed, one had a lamp the other had her laptop. Against the opposite wall was a white dresser (which only had pajamas, socks and lingerie in it, everything else was in the office), and her vanity. There was a door on one of the sidewalls which led to her closet which was full of more dresses.
Xanatos’ face softened a touch when she joked about missing her opportunity. He’d never suspected that she would want to be with him just because of his money, but any confirmation to that fact was a welcome one.
“It’s no wonder I’ve never seen you in the same dress twice,” Xanatos said, grinning at her over his shoulder as he stepped into her room. It was tidy too, which was always nice. Xanatos had never been one for messes. Even if he didn’t pay people to make sure that his home was always tidy, he’d still make sure that it was. “This is a nice apartment you’ve got here.”
“It’s no mansion,” Caroline said grinning as she turned to face him. She ignored the flip her stomach did when she realized he noticed she never repeated outfits. “But it works.” If anything all Caroline really needed was a bigger closet so she wouldn’t have to keep clothes in her office, as David had pointed out.
“Sooo feel free to make yourself at home. Shower, eat whatever. I’m not sure what I have in the fridge but I could order us a meal if you want?”
“I’m sure you could afford nicer if you wanted to,” Xanatos said, “but if you’re satisfied then I’m sure there’s no reason.”
Xanatos nearly offered to cook something - he was sure he’d be able to come up with something with whatever Caroline had lying around - except for the fact that his head was pounding and he didn’t especially want to.
“I’m sure Tom will be on his way soon,” Xanatos said. He imagined that much of his staff had been keeping a close eye on their phones after not seeing or hearing from him for the last couple of days. He liked to think that he was well-liked among most, if not all his staff - he treated them fairly and paid them well - but even if they weren’t necessarily worried about him, they’d certainly be worried about their paycheques after his sudden disappearance. So if Tom hadn’t texted back saying he was on his way, or if his butler hadn’t texted to let him know the outfit had been arranged, then they surely would soon.
“I should jump in the shower so that I’ll be ready when my clothes get here. After that,” he tucked a strand of hair behind Caroline’s ear. “Then we can discuss what to do about dinner.”
Honestly, he was feeling a little nauseated - head injuries were not fun - and he was unlikely to eat much in the first place.
Caroline’s breath caught in her throat at David’s touch, her heart constricting in her chest. She gave a small nod, her usual smile forming on her face. “Sounds good,” she said, once she was sure she could speak again. “The fresh towels are hanging on the rack on the wall,” she added leading him back to the bathroom. “I’ll put your clothes outside the door when Tom gets here.”
Once she heard the shower going, Caroline made her way into her room. She didn’t exactly want to be in the clothes she saved him in anymore. Taking her phone out of her pocket she saw that Tom had indeed texted that he would be there in twenty minutes, that was about five minutes ago. Caroline set her phone down on top of her desk before changing out of her clothes and into a fresh pair of jeans and a light blue, v-neck t-shirt. She debated putting on one of her casual dresses, but she didn’t plan on going out. There was no reason to dress up for David… other than that she wanted to look good for him, which was ridiculous. They were just friends.
Once she was changed Caroline went back into her room and grabbed her laptop, sitting on the couch in the front room to catch up on emails. She was not about to have her back to the door of her apartment just to be safe. Besides, Tom was bringing David’s clothes anyway.
Sure enough at exactly twenty minutes there was a knock on the door. Caroline accepted the clothes, assuring Tom that David was okay and she was taking care of him. Once Tom left she put the clothes right outside the bathroom door as promised, then she was back to work on the couch.
Getting out of the clothes he’d worn for the last two days and climbing into the shower was a welcome relief, and he was a little surprised at just how good the warm water felt washing over him.
He was less happy to feel just how painful to the touch the side of his head was, and he had no doubt in his mind that hidden under his hair would be a nasty looking bruise. He was just glad that, aside from a touch of the purple creeping out near his hairline, it wasn’t visible, and even that was only noticeable if one were looking for it. He washed his hair gingerly - he thought Caroline would have no conniption with him using her hair products - and at one point he needed to sit down in the bottom of the tub until the wave of dizziness that washed over him passed, but other than that it was one of the better showers he’d had in his life. It was the kind of satisfying that was only possible once he’d been deprived of it for some time. He’d gone longer than two days without a shower before, but not while tied to a chair and with no change of clothes.
His suit, of course, he’d throw out.
He was in the shower for quite a while, and when he finally emerged, he towel dried his hair, then the rest of him, and reached outside the bathroom for his clothes.
He decided to forgo the suit jacket, and rolled the sleeves to his dark dress shirt up to his elbows. And then he emerged from the bathroom, his long brown hair hanging, damp but not dripping, nearly to the bottom of his shoulder blades. Some of it fell over the front of his shoulders down his chest.
“That was one of the best showers I’ve had in a long time. Thank you, Caroline,” he said, adjusting the sleeves at his elbow so they sat more comfortably. “I trust that you don’t mind that I used your shampoo and conditioner.”
When Caroline heard the bathroom door open the first time she kept her eyes glued to her computer, even if she was tempted to turn her head and sneak a peek. But that would be beyond inappropriate. However, the second time she shut her laptop, setting it on the coffee table, she stood turning to face David.
He looked a lot better now that he was fresh and clean. And his hair. Wow.
Ugh, why did he have to be so damn sexy?
“Of course,” Caroline replied. “I told you to make yourself at home,” she reminded him. “So dinner? You must be starving.”
“Not especially,” Xanatos said, a little dismissively, as he sank down on the couch next to Caroline. He leaned his head back so that it was resting on the back of the couch, and then turned his head so he was facing her. “Though, I imagine you must be starving. That was quite the rescue you performed, Caroline Forbes. How long have you been able to do that?”
“Do what?” Caroline asked, unconsciously inching closer to David. “Rescue you from a kidnapping? Because that was a first for me,” she joked. She shifted on the couch so she could face him better, not realizing just how close his face was to hers. She bit down on her lower lip to prevent herself from doing anything stupid.
Xanatos’ eyes drifted down to her lips, and how she worried her lower lip between her teeth. It was, for a moment, about all he could think of. He wondered what it would be like, to kiss a woman who could probably toss him across the room without a second thought.
He wondered who was stronger: Caroline or Goliath. Caroline, he thought. Goliath seemed to exert more effort when he threw people across the room. That thought, at least, was enough to draw Xanatos back to the present.
“I mean with that speed, and with that strength,” Xanatos said, though he knew that Caroline had known full well what he’d been talking about. “It was magnificent.”
Caroline clenched her fist, resisting the urge to reach out and tuck David’s hair behind his ear as he had done to her moments ago. She really just wanted to run her fingers through it, preferably while her lips were on his.
No.
She shoved that thought out of her mind. She reached up with both her hands and adjusted her own hair instead, pulling it over to one shoulder. “The speed about a month now,” Caroline replied. She didn’t want to lie or hide things from David. She hadn’t purposefully been keeping it from him, it just hadn’t come up before. “The strength, um just now? I don’t know really,” she was starting to ramble. “I didn’t know I had it until about an hour ago,” she paused, absently fiddling with the ring on her pointer finger. “I can kind of hear things like super well now too. And smell.”
Had she told anyone else? Was he the only one she’d kept in the dark, and if so, why? There was a small part of Xanatos, somewhere deep in his chest, that twinged a little when she mentioned she’d had the speed for close to a month and hadn’t told him. He couldn’t tell if the twing was hurt or annoyance, and he shoved it aside. She undoubtedly had her reasons, and it wasn’t as if he came running to her any time he’d had a new revelation, like his memories of Goliath and the rest of the Manhattan Clan.
Like the fact that he was fairly certain he had a wife and a son in this other life that he could remember.
Besides, it wasn’t bad news. Instead of being upset about it, he should be overjoyed at the idea that Caroline had these new abilities in the first place. The idea that it was even possible. Xanatos had never been especially concerned about developing superpowers - he could build anything he needed to give himself a leg up. All he was interested in was immortality. But the idea that it was even possible. Well, that was a revelation. No, if he was upset about it, then that must have been a side-effect of the head injury.
He took her hand in his, if only to still her fingers. He could tell that she was nervous, and her fidging was distracting. “Caroline, this is magnificent,” he breathed. “Is it related to your mark, do you think?” He thought it must be.
Caroline’s breath caught at his touch. Which was ridiculous considering how often she found herself with her hand in his. But then just a few hours ago she had been worried she would never see him again.
“Yeah,” Caroline confirmed her voice soft. “I think so.” She paused, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. She couldn’t help but be relieved that he wasn’t scared of her. That he found her new abilities.. Magnificent.
“How are you feeling?” she asked changing the subject. Because well he had just been kidnapped after all.
Xanatos’ head hurt, and he felt nauseated. The light in Caroline’s living room hurt his eyes. He was exhausted, and every muscle in his body hurt - probably from not being allowed to move around over the last few days.
But Xanatos had never been one to show weakness, not even in front of someone he trusted. And besides, he didn’t want to make Caroline fuss.
“I’ve been better,” he said airly. “But it’s not so bad. Nothing a good night’s sleep won’t fix, at least.”
Caroline frowned. She didn’t particularly like his answer. Of course she should have expected it. He had been kidnapped for two days. Honestly she was just glad he was okay for the most part. But still she hated thinking of him in any sort of pain.
“I’m guessing you want to sleep in your own bed tonight?”
“My bed is definitely the more comfortable out of ours,” Xanatos said. At least, he assumed so. He’d never actually laid down in Caroline’s bed, but he’d spent a lot of money to make sure that his bed was insanely comfortable. “But honestly, I don’t know if I’m up for the drive home. Besides, I think Tom’s already left.” Not that Xanatos would have any problem calling him back. Tom got paid a lot of money to be sure to always be ready to pick up Xanatos when Xanatos required it.
“David Xanatos,” Caroline replied, with a fake gasp. “Are you trying to get me to invite you into my bed?” she teased. She had no problem with it. In fact she would prefer it. There was no way she was letting David out of her sight anytime soon. She wasn’t going to risk anything happening to him. And apparently she was both fast and strong enough to keep him safe.
“Is it working?” he teased back. Even if he’d wanted to do more than just get invited into her bed, he wasn’t sure if he could manage it.
Caroline pretended to consider it for a moment. “I guess you can stay here tonight,” she replied dramatically, grinning at him. “But I am not sleeping on the couch. You sure you can handle sharing a bed?” More teasing.
“It’s been a while, but I think I’ll manage,” he said. He leaned his head back on the couch, lacing his fingers with Caroline’s. “It’s still early though. I don’t need to turn in just yet, if you wanted to watch TV or eat something.” It was still important for Xanatos to at least appear as though he wasn’t too badly hurt, both so that Caroline wouldn’t worry too much and so that he didn’t show any more weakness than was necessary.
Caroline definitely picked up on the fact that David mentioned it had been awhile. Did that mean he hadn’t had sex in awhile? Or he just didn’t let whoever he slept with stay over after? She didn’t ask though. Now was definitely not the time for those questions. Not that she would even ask on a regular day.
“Sure,” Caroline replied, leaning forward to grab the remote off the coffee table, though she kept her other hand in David’s. “How do you feel about Bring It On?” she asked, sitting back, leaning against him slightly, and turning on the TV.
“The cheerleading movie?” Xanatos asked, raising an eyebrow. He was pretty sure he didn’t feel anything for Bring It On; he’d never watched it, and he never intended to. He tried not to waste any energy thinking about movies like Bring It On. But… well, he doubted he’d be paying much attention to the movie in the first place. It was hard enough to focus on Caroline, and he was pretty sure the light from the TV screen would do nothing but make his headache worse. If it kept Caroline entertained though, it was good enough for him. “I’ve never seen it. Is it any good?”
“You’ve never seen Bring It On?” Caroline asked, unable to hide her surprise. Though she supposed it wasn’t really a guy movie. Still it seemed like everyone she grew up with had seen it and referenced it in some way or another. “The original is good. The sequels not so much.” But she supposed that could be true for most sequels. “It may have been part of what inspired me to get into cheer.”
“That’s probably true for most sequels,” Xanatos said, unaware that he was echoing her own thoughts. “But if it means that much to you, then I’ll look forward to watching it.” Or at least, half-listening to it. He could do that much, at least.
“Bring It On it is,” Caroline said with a smile as she flipped through her streaming services to find whichever one had Bring It On. Once it started she let go of David’s hand, instead she twisted her body slightly so she could settle in against him.
Xanatos rested his arm over Caroline’s shoulders, pulling her a little closer in, pleased at how well she fit against his side. He leaned his head against the back of the couch, closed his eyes, and without even realizing he’d done it, fell asleep.
Caroline glanced up at David after the opening sequence to see how he was enjoying the movie. Only to see that he was asleep. She turned the volume down on the TV not wanting to disturb him or wake him up. The exhaustion from the past forty-eight hours was beginning to weigh on her as well. She hadn’t slept much since David had been kidnapped and the rescue was more draining than she realized. Before she knew it she was using David’s shoulder as a pillow and falling asleep herself.