In the Morning I'll Be With You Who: Charlie & Rylee What: Charlie wakes up... in Rylee’s bed... with Rylee... Where: Rylee’s apartment. When: October 1st; the morning after this. Warnings: Language, of course, and some brief snuggle times. Notes: FINALLY!!!!
Sunlight filtered into the bedroom, hitting Charlie’s closed eyes and pulling a frown from her lips. Her head throbbed; a hand moved to press her forehead, as though to stem the pain, but it didn’t ebb. Opening her eyes slowly, she didn’t recognize where she was - the bed wasn’t hers, and there was an arm around her middle. Inwardly she groaned, unbelieving that she’d managed to do this again, get drunk and go home with a complete stranger. Slowly she tried to scoot forward, moving in increments to keep her head from pounding.
She noted that she wasn’t completely naked, her bra and underwear intact, but that didn’t mean that nothing had happened. Sitting up slowly, she tried to search for her clothes, but curiosity won out and she glanced over at the other sleeping form. Her eyes went wide at the familiar blond hair sticking up wildly everywhere, turned on his side to spoon her.
Oh fuck, what the hell did I do, she panicked mentally, trying to further scoot to the other end of the bed to make a quick and painless escape.
Rylee felt the chill from Charlie pulling away and rolled closer to her, his arm stretching out to gather her back against him but finding her hard to reach. It woke him up, his eyes squinting from the morning light and a frown appearing on his face. He had forgotten to drop his drapes last night and hoped it wasn’t bothering Charlie.
Opening his eyes fully he began to sit up with intentions of closing the drapes until he realized Charlie was awake beside him and looking panicked. He sighed internally and rubbed at his eyes. Here we go. “Mornin’ Charlie.”
“Did we have sex last night?!” The words blurted out of her mouth without preempt, voice terrified, her legs bent as though she were about to run away from the bed at the first sign of trouble. Her eyes turned to him, staring and waiting for a response even as her vision swam and her head pounded. A grimace fought across her mouth, the only inkling of proof toward her hangover.
Rylee sighed and made a small, tight smile. “No, we didn’t have sex,” he said simply then looked at Charlie, sleep still clearly lingering in his eyes. “Believe me, I would know if we did.” He lifted a hand and rubbed the back of his neck, oblivious to his hair being wild as it often was in the morning before he had a chance to try and tame it. “Lay back down, I bet your head is pounding.”
“Why am I almost naked, then?!” Anger quickly became present, a hand sliding up to push hair away from her face and gently finger her pounding forehead. “What did I do last night?!”
Rylee scratched at his brow and took a moment to try and think of the easiest way to discuss this that would result in the smallest freak out. “You came by and wanted to apologize... we sort of made out... a lot. We almost had sex but we stopped before we got that far.” He squinted at Charlie, studying her face; might as well take half of the blame and not say that it was she who had taken off her clothes. Still, he smiled slightly that she hadn’t sprung from the bed yet to find her garments. Then the smile faltered and he looked at her more seriously, dread forming in his belly as he considered that maybe all that she had said the night before and all she had done were simply drunken whims.
Eyes screwed shut as she listened to his words through the pounding in her skull - pieces fit back together slowly, and her stomach dropped as she remembered in fits and starts all the things she’d said.
“Oh fuck,” was mumbled, her legs tucking underneath one another as she focused on struggling with her growing migraine.
“Look, I’m sorry, I get...I get really stupid when I drink too much, I shouldn’t...shouldn’t have come over here,” she explained in a quiet tone, wondering how much of what he was saying was him putting it nicely. “Jus’...gimme a second to get my head together an’ I’ll go.” Simply trying to focus on where her clothes were was too much, and her elbows came down to rest on her knees, face pressed into her hands.
Rylee’s frown grew and, as he sat up, slowly he reached out for Charlie. Gently, not wanting to scare his little bird, he brushed his hand through her hair. It didn’t have the same quality as it had the night before. He wasn’t doing it through joy and achievement of what he had finally received. He was slow, cautious, and the movements were heavy with fright that this wasn’t allowed. Still, he brushed back her hair, trying to slowly comfort her much as he had the night before. “Don’t be sorry,” he mumbled. “Please don’t. Don’t be sorry for what you did. You... you said that you wanted it. Wanted me.”
The more typical, less than confident Rylee was beginning to emerge. The excited and horny version from the night before was gone and his cheeks began to grow red. “You don’t have to go, Charlie, remember I said you could stay here. I want you to stay.”
Her eyes peeked out from her hands, studying him. Fears that she’d gone too far were being displaced, and the desire to just lay back down was so great that she was willing to believe what he said.
“Are yah sure?” She leaned her body away from him, wary even when she had no reason to be. Sighing, she continued in a low tone. “I didn’t lie, last night. I meant what I said, an’ I can’t believe I fuckin’ said that shit. Fuck, I am so stupid,” she finished, angrily slapping her forehead which exacerbated her headache and brought out a whimper of pain.
Rylee’s hand dropped and he hanged his head. “Charlie, you aren’t stupid, stop calling yourself that. I’m glad you said all of that. I’m glad you told me. It makes me happy.” He peeked up at her and smiled sheepishly. “I feel the same way, but you know that already... but... everything I said and everything I wanted to do last night I still do. Come on, Lee, lay back down. I’ll take care of you.” He patted the bed gently, looking at her still with a shyness that was a more prominent feature on his face when he was younger.
Charlie studied him for another moment, waiting for the other shoe to drop. But there wouldn’t be one - it was just Rylee, being as honest and caring as ever. She sighed, and scooted over to lay down next to him, cuddling into his form, relishing how warm he was and the way his chest felt pressed against her cheek. She closed her eyes, blocking the light that was worsening her pain, and just let go.
“Don’t yah have tah work in a few hours? I’m sorry if I’m fuckin’ up yer schedule.”
Rylee grinned and wrapped an arm around her. “Um,” the realization that he still had to deal with work hit him. He had signed up for a weekend shift to help train a new tour guide to the museum. Suddenly, he hated the new tour guide. “Yeah, I should get up and get ready in an hour at most. But that gives me an hour to stay here.” He smiled again and looked down at Charlie. Without thinking he kissed the top of her head again then paused, not sure if that was still allowed. “Uh... I’ll just... you just stay here.” He scooted away from Charlie and slipped off of the bed, circling it to get to Charlie’s side and opening the bottle of aspirin. “I don’t know if you remember I got this for you last night. It might help.”
The sudden loss of him made her frown, and she sat up, carefully, took the aspirin bottle with one hand while still holding his with the other and put it back on the night stand. Then she tugged him forward into the bed, one eye squinting in the morning light.
“It would help more if yah would jus’ lay with me fer a lil while. Yah said yah don’t have to be anywhere, an’ I’m sorry I was a bitch and skipped out on yah fer yer operation. Jus’ lay down with me? Please?” She kept pulling, trying to just bring him and his warmth and his smell back to bed with her. It was fine, everything was out in the open and she could deal with the repercussions as soon as her head stopped pounding.
“Wait, just wait,” Rylee replied softly with a smile appearing again. He pulled away from her hand and went to the drapes, pulling at them and darkening the room from the morning light. “Okay, that should be better, right?” He crossed the short space between his windows and the bed then climbed back in. It wasn’t that it was now awkward, just that Rylee had become nervous and shy. Without Charlie being as forceful and confident as she had been the night before, Rylee had lost the little confidence he himself had.
Still, he nestled himself into the blankets and pillows before reaching out to Charlie and collecting her once more. Holding her against his chest he dared to kiss the top of her head again, waiting to see her reaction. She snuggled into him, the darkness feeling especially welcoming for reasons other than the relief the lack of sunlight offered. It felt familiar and safe, something in her enjoying the shadows almost like...a crib. Charlie washed the thought from her mind, instead focusing on Rylee and his arms wrapped around her.
Lifting her face to look at him, as much as she could in the darkness, she gave a lazy smile and slid her hands up to cup his face, thumbs lingering along his cheekbones. Even though her head was pounding, this was much too comfortable a setting to be interrupted by such things - her mind was recalling him naming her sweetheart and kissing her head when she wanted him to be kissing her on the lips. So she gave an example, physically, pulling his face down so her mouth could reach his more easily.
Rylee readily accepted Charlie’s directional movements and kissed her lips. Somehow, with the new day and Charlie being sober, it made the kiss even better than the night before. Still he found it hard to believe that it was real. After imagining her kisses for years, it was strange to accept that this was now reality. But Rylee had no problem with it being real. “Feeling any better?” he whispered against her mouth after breaking away from the kiss. He couldn’t stop smiling, it seemed to be a permanent fixture on his face.
“Yeah,” she responded, her voice calm and quiet as though not to break whatever spell they were both laying under. Her thumbs drew cautious lines across his face, unsure, but her smile remained, pale in comparison to his.
“So what does this mean? Fer us.” Inevitably there would be questions, not that she cared about what others thought (a poor, delusional denial in itself). She wanted to be sure that they were OK, whatever was happening. Charlie just wanted to be sure the obvious changes that would occur were good.
“Uh... well, you could... we could be, like, in a relationship?” Rylee asked nervously. A look of terror crossed his face as soon as the words left his mouth. “Or we could date, I mean, like, we could go on a couple of dates like a normal couple would. I... I don’t want to rush you or anything but I like this. I like being able to hold you.” He frowned. “I don’t think I’m saying this right.”
The few times he had been in relationships, Rylee had just sort of fallen into them. He never had to really ‘ask a girl out’ and now he wasn’t sure if that was what he was supposed to be doing. As youthful an expectation as it was, Rylee just believed that since they had kissed and admitted their feelings they were automatically together.
She giggled, a small, short-lived sound; Charlie was fine with this, the holding, touching, kissing. It was stupid to have held back from such things for so long, even with her crazed reasoning.
“I...have no idea how this works,” she responded, her hands sliding down to his chest, skin sliding on skin. “I mean, I’m still yer best friend, right?” Her voice adopted a worried tone, her smile tempering.
A look of surprise quickly passed over Rylee’s face. “Of course you’re my best friend. You can still be my best friend and my girlfriend. It’s just that... I guess if we’re dating then you have a right to be pissed about me having pictures of my ex girlfriend. I’d be yours and you would be mine.” He gave a small shrug but a devilish smile appeared on his lips. “And we could do whatever we wanted together without worrying.” He bent his face to her neck, kissing the soft spot just below her ear and a roaming hand going down her side. “Stuff like this.”
Charlie shivered, her body squirming a little from Rylee’s touches. The pounding headache kept her from encouraging more of the same, but the smile came back full force.
“All right...so, what, we go out to the movies or somethin’ like we always do? Or is it different?” She felt completely naive and stupid asking these questions, and so glad that this conversation was happening with Rylee alone in his bedroom. Of course Charlie had watched too much television and had some concept of dating, but having never progressed beyond one night stands left her at a loss of what she was supposed to do as his girlfriend. “If yah think I’m gonna cook yah dinner, you’ve got another thing comin’...”
Rylee let out a laugh and squeezed his arms around Charlie, hugging her tightly and his cheeks beginning to hurt from smiling so much. “Believe me, I want to live to see thirty, I’m not expecting you to cook for me. If anyone is cooking, it will be me for you.” His hands loosened around her body and ran over her skin. He had so much to explore about her and felt he hadn’t the time. He felt like in a moment it could vanish and he wasn’t willing to let go.
“I want to take you on a date. I want to do this right,” Rylee commented, his blue eyes looking seriously at Charlie’s dark ones. “We could have dates, although I don’t think it would be any different than what we already do. Going to eat, going to dinner, nice things like that, it’s just when the dates are done we don’t have to go back to our own apartments. We can do this if we want.” He kissed her again as a hand slowly moved down her side and brushed over her underwear.
A short moan escaped from her mouth in his, her body reacting appropriately to his touches in sliding forward to his form; then the migraine stepped in, forcing itself between her desires and her. She gave another whimper of pain, not from him but from her hangover, pressing her face into his chest.
“Sorry,” was the whispered reply, her hands gripping his shoulders for stability as her head spun for a moment and then subsided. Once she felt like she had a better grip on her own head, she turned her head to the side to lay it just underneath his head.
“That sounds good. It all sounds good, Ryry. Can try a date - fuck, I won’t have anything to wear,” she commented, frowning at her mental recollection of her wardrobe. It seemed like women usually dressed up for such a thing, and Charlie had always spurned things like heels and skirts. Then she rolled her eyes at herself for being upset over such a petty thing. “Shit, I’m turnin’ inta a goddamn girl ‘cause’a you.”
Rylee couldn’t help but continue to smile. He nuzzled his nose against her cheek and into her neck, beginning to leave a trail of kisses much as he had the night before when she was upset. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a dress,” Rylee mumbled against her skin. “I’d love to see you in a dress... not that you have to do it all the time. Maybe just once.”
His fingers slipped along the edge of her underwear and just below the elastic band, feeling her smooth skin there and mouth beginning to bite gently at her neck. It was morning after all and she was sober, if a little hung over, but Rylee couldn’t help but do this. Charlie gave another little moan, wanting his touches and kisses, but her head was demanding more sleep.
“Ryry, I’m sorry but...can I jus’ go back to sleep now? Will yah jus’ hold me?” It was incredibly unfair of her, she felt, but she’d make it up to him; she swore it in her mind, trying to convey the message through hands pressed to his skin. Charlie pulled her face back to look at him, dreading that he’d have the sense to be angry for her leading him along yet again. The guilt that she was just a tease sank deeply into her stomach, worsening the throbbing in her brain.
A sigh escaped Rylee’s mouth and he tipped his head forward to rest against Charlie’s. He was hard and pressed against her leg, realizing this and feeling his cheeks grow hot as he inched his waist away from her, he took in a deep breath and tried to calm himself. “No, no, I’m sorry. I know you’re hung over.” He pulled back and sighed again, willing himself to stop being so turned on but failing miserably with Charlie nearly naked right in front of him. Looking at his alarm helped, seeing that he only had a short time longer with Charlie before he had to get ready for work made him frown.
Gathering Charlie he pulled her close, trying to ignore that he was still more than ready to go, but instead rolled to his back so that she could lean on him. Gently, he began to stroke her hair. “I have to get up for work soon...”
“Ugh,” she replied unhappily, not wanting him to leave. “Yah can’t call in sick? I want yah to stay with me, my head hurts so bad...” Charlie pressed her cheek into his chest, using him as a living pillow while one hand curved around his shoulder, leaving her upper half laying on top of his body. Suddenly not taking the advil or eating the crackers seemed like a really stupid idea, but moving away from him seemed just as dumb.
“No, I have to train someone,” Rylee said with a sigh. The last thing he wanted to do was work. He’d rather stay in, enjoy the day with Charlie and wait for her to sober up. Running a hand up and down her back he groaned. “I really don’t want to go in. I’d rather take care of you.” He shifted on the bed and stared at the ceiling. “Do you think some food would help? I could make you an omelet. Or if you’re really hungry I could try and make a breakfast like my mom used to make for us when you’d stay over.” He grinned at that, realizing she had stayed over but on a completely different level.
Her face turned into his chest, giving a small laugh and smiling into his skin. The memories of Mrs. Ekholm’s cooking were good, the mornings spent in their home always bright and wonderful. For Rylee to say something like that was just...perfect, as corny as it sounded. Charlie sighed, content, and pulled away from Rylee to sit up and grope in the darkness for the advil she’d previously set down on the nightstand. Popping a few pills from the bottle, she picked up the glass of water and drank a few sips, waiting for a moment to swallow carefully.
Then she laid back down, taking up her spot next to Rylee. “Lemme get ahold of this stupid headache, and that would be great. Though I dunno if yah can match yer momma’s cookin’, she’s amazin’.” Charlie stifled a yawn, feeling her eyes start to slide closed again. “Fuck, I should probably call her and apologize to her too, shouldn’t I?” She made a small, angry grunt, displeased by the notion of being on the receiving end of a lecture.
Hand returning to gently stroking at her bare back, Rylee mused for a moment and smiled. “I’m sure my mom would appreciate it,” he said with a slight laugh. “She has been pretty vocal that you and I should just ‘date already’ and that she didn’t know what you were waiting for.” He left out the multiple conversations he had with his mother while Charlie wasn’t speaking to him. The few fights that he and his mother ever had all seemed to circulate during that time when his mother decided to take her chances and be honest. Claiming that Charlie didn’t care for him and it was best that he let her go.
With a small sigh he closed his eyes for a moment. “Well, while you get a hold of your hangover, I should start making breakfast. You know, if we want to eat before I have to leave.” He hooked her chin with his finger and turned her face up to him, giving her a kiss before sitting up. “It might not be as good as my mom’s but I’ll try.” Kissing her again he smiled. “You want me to get you anything, Lee? Are you cold?”
She shook her head, inwardly groaning. Charlie tried to make a mental note to call Mrs. Ekholm later, hopefully sooner rather than eventually forgetting, and her hands clutched at Rylee’s form as she rolled onto her side, making it all too evident that she didn’t want him to go. Long brown hair pooled on the pillow behind her head, blankets falling back to expose her to the midriff.
“No, ‘m fine. If yah wanna cook I’m gonna jus’ rest my eyes fer a bit. But if I fall asleep, don’t jus’ leave, tell me, I don’t care if yah have to wake me up,” she added sternly, perhaps harping again on issues she’d brought up while inebriated but completely unaware of such a fact.
“Promise I will,” he replied with a kiss to her forehead and one hand coming to rest on her bare stomach. “I’ll be back sweetheart, you just close your eyes and try to take care of this headache. Okay?”
Rylee slid off of the bed, pausing at his dresser to pull out a t-shirt and slipping it on over his chest. Slipping out of the room he gave a final smile to her before closing the door a little. He went to the kitchen, discovering his gun sitting on the counter from last night and quickly placing it in his emergency drawer so as not to scare Charlie. Her clothes were scattered around the living room and he picked them up, folding them neatly before placing them on the arm of the couch, then returned to the kitchen.
After a moment of gathering his thoughts and trying to stop himself from smiling, he began to prepare breakfast. Scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon, and heating up biscuits that could be covered in butter. He made a mental note to buy breakfast gravy to add to future breakfasts and his grin broadened, to think that there could be future breakfasts was nearly too much.
Back in the bedroom, Charlie curled around a pillow, willing her hangover away and wallowing in the fact that she was in Rylee’s bed, surrounded by the smell of him. Her face pressed into the soft cushion, inhaling the scent greedily as though the man himself weren’t in the next room over. Things could have been planned so much better, but she was glad that everything between them was sorted, mostly. But she resolved to not worry about any further problems, not today, not that evening...just not now, because she wanted to bask in the feeling of not only the realization that she wanted something, but that she had gotten it.
As she slowly faded away into sleep, her mind lingering over her boyfriend (her boyfriend) in the next room, the smell of cooking food invaded and mingled with that of the bedroom, and she smiled. Everything felt like home.