who ? xavier ansari and aisling astor when ? thursday night, 4th august where ? aisling’s hotel room, saint tropez what ? the french escape status ? complete
Aisling was glad Xavier had written to her. Well. That was partially true. She was glad he had, she just rather he hadn’t struggled to sleep at all. Of course, it was redundant to wish for that as it simply was not the situation they were in. Truth be told, Aisling too had struggled to sleep. Perhaps not to the same extent as Xavier did, since Aisling had actually gotten sleep, it just hadn’t come easily. The thing was, Aisling hadn’t actually thought about missing Xavier until she had already left. Which, in retrospect, was a bit stupid. As much as things were nice and easy and simple between them, they also saw each other every single day. They lived together, worked together, played together. Apart from going away for brief visits at home, Aisling didn’t think she’d actually spent much time apart from the band in the last two years. It felt... odd.
Despite staying in a Muggle hotel, acquiring a portkey to it had been oddly easy. And okay, so sure, Aisling had got it days ago just in case, but evidently her preparedness paid off. She’d owled it to Xavier (and Aisling really had no idea how the owls got back and forth so quickly), and leaned against the sofa in the living room waiting for him to arrive. Ashleigh was already in bed, otherwise Aisling would have told her friend that Xavier was coming, but as it was she really now was sneaking him in. Which in its own right amused her quite a lot.
When she finally heard the sound of the portkey, Aisling smiled. “Hi,” she greeted Xavier softly, taking a step forward so she could pull him into a hug, almost surprised by just how much relief spread through her body at the physical contact.
--
Not being able to sleep… well, it sucked, for lack of a better word. Xavier hadn't realized how much it was still a problem for him until Aisling wasn't there. Apparently his ability to go to sleep in a somewhat reasonable fashion was directly tied to her being there with him. That probably shouldn't have been much a surprise, since he hadn't known anything different for a good while. So he'd begrudgingly admitted his lack of sleep, been sent a portkey, and found himself sneaking off to France. There were worse things in the world.
His gaze flitted around the room when he arrived, getting his bearings but also landing on Aisling, an easy smile spreading across his features. “Hi,” he echoed, his arms wrapping around her and pulling her in close against him. Even that was enough to make his body feel more at ease, though he hadn't consciously realized he wasn't before. “Ashleigh asleep?”
--
It seemed like it should probably be quite silly, just how much more relaxed Aisling felt through one hug, but because she really did, Aisling felt no real need to question. Instead, she smiled softly, arms holding onto Xavier tightly like it had been more than half a week since she’d last touched him. “I think so,” she replied softly. Ashleigh was hopefully asleep, she, too, suffered sleeping troubles, but perhaps for different reasons. Still, it had been a busy day, so Aisling hoped her friend had exhausted herself enough to sleep well. Aisling certainly hoped it wouldn’t be one of the nights Ashleigh wanted to crawl in bed with Aisling for comfort, because that could really go terribly.
Letting one of her hands drop down, Aisling linked her fingers with Xavier’s, giving his hand a small tug as she took a small step back. “Come,” Aisling said with a small grin. “Let me sneak you into my bedroom like we’re teenagers,” she told him teasingly, walking towards the room that was hers for the week. Once inside, Aisling shut the door carefully, her back pressing against it as she smiled at Xavier, her hand still clutching his.
--
Xavier turned his head to nuzzle against her hair a little, breathing in the familiar scent of her shampoo but it was mixed with sea air and salt - still her, though. He reluctantly loosened his hold to let her take his hand, and grinned softly at what she said. “Should I have had to climb in the window?” he asked as he followed her back, letting her lead him inside but not letting go of her hand, turning back to face her as the door latched shut.
Stepping closer into her space, he brought his free hand up to cup her jaw, tilting her head back to make her easier to kiss, which he gladly then did. It only lasted a few moments before he pulled back and rest his forehead against hers, smiling softly. “Hi.”
-
The portkey was probably more practical than any attempts to get in through the window seeing how they were on the sixteenth floor, but then Xavier’s hand was on her jaw and his lips were on hers and Aisling forgot all of her intention to point that out. The kiss was soft and she made a small noise that sounded terribly a lot like contentment. When he pulled back, Aisling sucked her lower lip between her teeth, giving a small laugh. “Hi,” she offered back, before pushing herself off of the door, reaching out with her free hand to run fingers softly against the space where Xavier’s shirt met his trousers.
Aisling moved closer, pressing her body against Xavier’s, before brushing her lips against his for another kiss. The hand that was still holding Xavier’s gave a squeeze that Aisling was only half conscious of. After a moment, Aisling pulled back, but barely enough for their faces still not to be close enough to kiss. “I feel that when I snuck people in my bedroom as a teenager, there was more giggling and hasty removal of clothing,” she told far softer than the sentence really deserved, but there was also amusement in her words.
-
Once Aisling moved closer, Xavier let his hand drop down to her waist, sliding to the small of her back and resting there as he welcomed another kiss from her. His thumb rubbed gently against the fabric of her shirt as she spoke, a good natured grin turning up the corners of his mouth.
“Oh right, I forgot,” he said in an almost mumble, brushing another kiss against her lips and letting out a soft chuckle against them. “You only missed my body…”
--
Aisling did laugh at Xavier’s words. “Yes,” she nodded. “It’s a very nice body, after all,” she told him, turning her head slightly so she could bite his jaw ever so lightly. It was mostly for show, though, since her hand was still softly brushing against his skin, where her finger tips had slid just under the hem of the shirt. The other hand still holding Xavier’s. Maybe, Aisling thought, if they had met under different circumstances, her missing just his body wouldn’t even be a lie.
Not really moving away at all, Aisling pushed Xavier backwards, until his legs hit the bed. Only then did Aisling take step back and that was just so she could give his body a small push, leading Xavier down onto the bed. Moving slower than actually necessary, Aisling crawled on top of him, finally letting go of his hand, so she could run both of her now free hands up his arms. “You going to tell me you didn’t miss my body?” She asked him playfully, but with plenty of softness still in her voice.
--
Xavier gave a soft little hum when she bit his jaw, grinning a bit more. He gave her hand a light squeeze as she pushed him back toward the bed, his hand sliding around to hook into the waistband of her pants to tug her along with him. The mattress he landed on when she pushed him back onto it was soft, nice, and what he would have expected for a hotel where Aisling was staying on holiday.
“No, I'm not really much for lying,” Xavier replied quietly, his hands drifting along her sides and giving a little tug to her shirt as he looked up at her with a smile. “Kinda missed all of you.”
--
The words were sweet. So sweet they made Aisling still for a moment as she smiled down at Xavier. She shifted slightly, to make herself more comfortable, before leaning down to kiss him softly. “Coming here with your romantic words,” Aisling said after pulling back. “And soft touches,” she added, running one of her hands up to his neck, fingers light against the skin there. “You make a rubbish holiday fling, Xavier Ansari,” Aisling told him but the smile on her lips went a long way to indicate quite the opposite.
There was another kiss, one that was slightly longer but about as tender as the previous had been. “I kind of missed all of you, too,” Aisling told him, breath catching against Xavier’s lips. And wasn’t that the truth, because Aisling couldn’t really think of anything about him she hadn’t missed in her four days of absence.
--
“I know, I'm horrible,” Xavier murmured, one of his hands slipping under the back of her shirt to run his fingertips along her spine, tracing up along it before back down again. “That's what you get for importing me here, I guess.”
This was what he'd missed as much as anything else. The ease of being with Aisling. Words came easily around her, he didn't have to second guess himself, he could simply be. And she liked him just being. He kissed her again, smiling against her lips as he let his own linger there, gently nipping at her lower lip when he pulled back. “You did look incredible in those pictures, though. Not just because… bikini, but you looked happy. Calm and happy.”
--
“Well, you know what they say,” Aisling replied amusedly. “When none of the local flings will do...” She said drifting off in favour of leaning into Xavier’s touch, her hand that wasn’t currently softly stroking its way into Xavier’s hair, moving down to slip under his shirt, but only barely. Aisling really had absolutely no interest in local flings. Not when the imports were so much nicer.
Aisling was about to comment how she wasn’t surprised he had liked pictures of her in a bikini, but then Xavier said it wasn’t just that. That she looked happy. And that odd. It was an odd thing to say, wasn’t it? Didn’t she always look calm and happy? Questioning it would probably be drawing attention to it, so instead, Aisling gave a small shake of her head and another smile. “It’s been a very nice holiday,” she told him. It had been too, even if Aisling had missed Xavier, and maybe perhaps also worried about him a little. “Even if Ashleigh’s dislike of doing nothing is marginally annoying,” Aisling added. “Don’t tell her I said that, though.”
--
Xavier couldn't help the way his eyes drifted closed for a moment with how her hand was moving in his hair. That he'd missed too, just the way she touched him in little ways that weren't meant to go anywhere - not that he minded the ones that were. He gave a quiet hum, looking up at her and rubbing his thumb against where it was resting on her back.
“I won't say a word,” he agreed, chuckling softly. “Did she bring a book or anything to read?” That was what people did on the beach sometimes, right? “I'm glad it's been nice, though. I can't remember the last time I went on one.”
--
“She did bring a book,” Aisling confirmed with a nod. Her hand was slowly creeping up Xavier’s side, just under his shirt, as her other carried on running through his hair. There was such ease in her actions, that Aisling didn’t even think to pay half a mind to them, instead opting to lean in so she could run her lips across Xavier’s.
When he said that he hadn’t been on a holiday in a while, Aisling gave a small smile. “You could stay?” She offered. “Not like forever, but maybe for half a day tomorrow? Ashleigh likes going to museums, so you could just spend time with me on the beach?” Aisling offered. She didn’t think her best friend would object terribly for Aisling opting to spend half a day in the sun, whilst Ashleigh went off to look at things. Xavier’s company would be very welcomed since it was hardly going to be impinging on Aisling’s holiday with her best friend.
--
Xavier quirked an eyebrow at the offer. He hadn't been fishing for an invitation, and really was quite insistent she enjoy her trip since she'd already offered to come back home already which he certainly didn't want her to do. But he was already there, and would be until morning at least, so what was a few more hours after that?
“You just want me on the beach so all this is out where you can see,” he teased, his free hand gesturing to himself. “I would love to,” he added, much more sincerely, drawing her down to him so he could kiss her again. “So long as Ashleigh won't mind.”
--
Aisling kissed back happily when Xavier said he’d love to stay. She presumed Ashleigh wouldn’t object. It was hardly as if it would make a great deal of difference to her holiday, especially not when the two of them weren’t spending all of their time together. “I’m sure she’ll be fine with it,” Aisling told him, before giving a small laugh. “Though, you shouldn’t tell Axel. I’m not sure he’d be very impressed with my boyfriend being here and not Ashleigh’s,” she added teasingly. Aisling didn’t actually know whether Axel would want to be there (she assumed he probably would), but she also wasn’t sure whether Ashleigh would want Axel to be there. Aisling, though, definitely wanted Xavier to stay for a bit.
“But,” Aisling continued sitting up a bit, pulling her hand back from Xavier’s hair so it could join her other one under his shirt. “She did ask me if she gets to meet you,” she informed Xavier. “Despite the fact that she has met you,” Aisling added, since she knew for a fact that Ashleigh was around the Panquake house enough and had been since they had lived there. But of course, Ashleigh had meant if she got to meet Xavier as Aisling’s boyfriend. “I told her ‘no’,” Aisling noted, before pushing Xavier’s shirt up.
--
“I won't say a word to him,” Xavier promised, grinning a little. It wasn't like he planned to go back home and announce to everyone where he'd been, but he'd be sure not to let it accidentally slip in any conversations he might have with Axel. Or anyone who might mention it to him.
His hand slid around to her hip as she sat up, still comfortably under her shirt, fingers curled gently around it, and he let his other hand mirror it on the other side. He quirked an eyebrow at Ashleigh asking to meet him because yes, he'd known her plenty already and that was a bit odd. Xavier went to say ‘okay’ but didn't have the chance before Aisling saying she'd said no. “Oh?” He pulled his hands back from her long enough to be able to tug his shirt off over his head, then slipped them up under hers to rest on her waist.
--
“Uh huh,” Aisling nodded, only a little distracted by the shirt coming off. She run her hands down from Xavier’s shoulders, across his chest, thumbs scraping over his ribs. There were many things about Xavier Aisling had missed, but his body really was one of them. “She means well, but I imagine there might be questions of your good intentions,” Aisling told him. That was somewhat of a lie, Aisling didn’t actually think that Ashleigh would ask such things, not when she trusted Aisling’s ability to make reasonable choices all by herself. It wasn’t as if Aisling had anything against Xavier and Ashleigh meeting and spending time together, she just didn’t particularly care for it to be an event.
Aisling hummed happily as Xavier’s hands returned to her waist, leaning forward slightly to allow for easier access. “Do you want to move so we’re actually in the bed rather than on the edges of it?” She asked. “It’s very comfy,” Aisling added smiling. It really was comfy. It would definitely be improved by Xavier in it, though. After a short moment, Aisling tilted her head. “Are you tired?” She asked softly, seriously. As much as all the touching and slow-stripping was fun, Aisling wasn’t really aiming for it to go anywhere particular, she was just glad Xavier was there.
--
Xavier closed his eyes for a moment as Aisling's hands moved over him, blinking slowly as he opened them again to look up at her. “I mean, I don't have… bad intentions?” He tilted his head as he considered her, his brow furrowing. “I don't have a problem talking to her? But I don't think… I've done anything to make her question my intentions.”
His hands drifted idly on her sides, fingertips tracing up along her ribs and then down to her hips. “Probably,” he agreed, because being all the way on the bed would be better than his legs dangling from the end. Her second question made him pause, not because he didn't know the answer but because he didn't necessarily want that to be the focus when he was just happy to get to see her. “Yeah,” he admitted quietly after a moment, half shrugging a shoulder.
--
“Despite my best efforts,” Aisling teased. “You’re always on your best behaviour,” she finished grinning. It wasn’t like she made a great deal of effort to obtain anything than best behaviour, that and Aisling honestly wasn’t convinced Xavier would ever have intentions that were anything but good.
When he confirmed that her suggestion was most likely a good one, Aisling moved so she could get off of him, crawling up to the head of the bed, pulling the duvet down as she went so she could settle in the gap between it and the pillows. “Best take those trousers off, then,” she told him. “I hear it’s easier to sleep with only a limited amount of clothes on,” Aisling said. She, herself, wasn’t wearing a great deal, having mostly been ready for bed before Xavier had come over. “Or no clothes at all,” she added before pulling her own shirt off.
--
Xavier waited for her to move off him before sitting up, kicking off his shoes and toeing off his socks before getting up to be able to undo his jeans. Much easier to do that standing than lying, despite the many times they'd done it otherwise. He offered her a good natured grin, stripping down to nothing before climbing back onto the bed and pulling her in for a kiss.
“You know, you can just ask me to take my clothes off,” he murmured teasingly, nipping at her lower lip. “You don't have to make up stories about what aides in sleep.”
--
“Now where would be the fun in that,” Aisling said, reaching out to return her hand to where it had been on his ribs, stroking over the skin softly. Moving so she could push her legs under the duvet, Aisling leaned back into the bed, pillows comfortably folding under her head as she lifted her other hand to cup Xavier’s jaw, pulling him in closer for another kiss.
It was easy (and honestly, very well practiced) to shift closer, her bare chest pressed against his as she kissed him. “I’m glad you came,” she told him gently. It was true. “Not just for your body,” Aisling added slightly more jokingly. “It’s been weird to sleep without you,” she admitted. It had been a lot of other things, too. Uncomfortable. Lonely. “You know we haven’t actually spent more than two nights apart since Easter?” Aisling said softly. She had been in New York with Andrew for two nights, but apart from that, Aisling really didn’t think they’d had any other nights apart until she had departed for France on Monday.
--
“I don't know, I do like hearing all the excuses you come up with to get my clothes off,” he said playfully, settling in with his legs under the covers and easily letting himself get pulled in for a kiss. His arm curled around her waist, hand flat against her back with fingers splayed as it slid up her spine and came to rest between her shoulder blades.
Xavier gave a soft hum that melted into a chuckle at what she said. He was also glad - that she'd invited him to, and been shockingly prepared for it already. “But mostly for my body,” he amended, grinning as he kissed the corner of her mouth. “It's been weird, yeah. I've missed you, not just for trying to sleep but it's been extra noticeable then.” He rest his forehead against hers, thinking for a moment. “I hadn't realized… that's not… it's not a bad thing, right? I don't think it is, at least.”
--
Aisling was perfectly happy to come up with many more excuses if it meant that Xavier would carry on removing his clothes in her near proximity. It was an excellent reward, she thought. “But mostly for your body,” Aisling murmured against his skin, hand brushing over the body in question. It didn’t sound particularly sincere even to her, but then she also clearly didn’t mean it to.
At the question of whether it was a bad thing, Aisling shrugged slightly. “Eh,” she sighed. Was it a bad thing? Well, perhaps depending on what they defined as bad. Was sleeping badly without each other bad? Inconvenient, perhaps, but most likely not bad. “I like spending time with you,” she told him honestly. “It makes me happy,” that was said much more quietly but seeing how close their bodies were to each other right now, it was hardly as if Xavier wasn’t going to hear it. “So, no, I don’t think it’s a bad thing,” she concluded. Whilst Aisling was hardly someone who believed that just because something made you feel good it was necessarily good in its own right, this? She did not find problematic. That was kind of the beauty of this whole relationship, she thought.
--
Xavier smiled softly as he listened to her, his thumb rubbing gently against where it was resting on her back. “I like spending time with you, too,” he agreed quietly, tilting his head to be able to kiss the top of her nose. “And it makes me happy, you make me happy.” Perhaps it would be good to be able to sleep well without her, but he hadn't been doing that before anyway. “I don't think it's bad, either.”
He shifted slightly, his legs tangling with hers as he settled in closer, kissing her tenderly. “I don't know what it is,” he murmured when he pulled back, just enough to not be kissing her still. “You make me feel… better. That's not the right word, but… it's like as soon as you touch me, any worries go quiet and stress turns down. And then on top of that you make me happy, and spending time with you is my favorite no matter what we’re doing.”
--
Aisling didn’t think she had ever made anyone happy before. That wasn’t to say that she in any way doubted that she did make Xavier happy, it was just... nice. He made her happy, too. Other people had made Aisling happy before. Plenty of people made her happy now. Like Ashleigh. And Andrew. And the rest of the band. But it wasn’t the same, she realised. Xavier made her happy to just be. She wondered if that was similar to how she made him happy. Aisling hoped so.
Unlike Xavier, Aisling didn’t necessarily think that she felt better when around him. His touch didn’t make her worries or stresses disappear but that wasn’t saying very much, because Aisling didn’t have worries and stresses. Not ones she paid a great deal of attention to, anyway. She had worried about Xavier’s sleeping. She worried about the band. She worried about Ken even if she was still upset with him. She worried about how sad Andrew got when he visited home. She worried about Ashleigh’s anxiety attacks. But Aisling didn’t worry about herself.
And yet, he did make her feel more content and happy. There was just such ease at being around Xavier that Aisling didn’t even think to worry. “I’ll keep that in mind next time I want to go shopping,” she told him with a grin and almost instantly felt bad for it. Xavier’s words had been nice and honest and Aisling’s first response was to undermine them by teasing him. So she sighed softly, feeling unfair. “It makes me happy that I can do that,” she said softly. “I don’t know how or why either, but I’m still glad,” Aisling noted. She did, of course, always try to be nice and helpful, but it hardly felt like any effort at all most of the time when it came to Xavier. And perhaps also other people, but Aisling didn’t think she made anyone else feel like that. And no one else made her feel as content.
--
Xavier let his hand move off of her back and to her hair, twisting the ends around his fingers and absently playing with it. Everything with Aisling was so easy that sometimes he felt like maybe he shouldn't say things, like it was putting pressure where there hadn't been any before. Their relationship had just sort of… happened, and the ease of it was what made it comfortable, perfect. Sort of like how they hadn't exactly told anyone - though that was also because it wasn't anyone's business? But there wasn't some need to make an announcement, shout it from the rooftop - not because it wasn't worth doing so, but because that wasn't them. Still, he thought it important to let her know how he felt, and how she made him feel.
“So you're sure Ashleigh won't mind me being here and going to the beach with you tomorrow?” he asked softly after a moment. “If she demands to know my intentions, it's a price I'm willing to pay for lounging about with you in the sun.”
--
Aisling didn’t think it bad or difficult. She wasn’t even sure what the ‘it’ she was thinking of was, but nothing involving Xavier felt bad or difficult. It was simple and easy and just there. It was lovely. However accidentally they may have stumbled upon it, it felt completely worth it. And rewarding. Which was silly since nothing had been done to deserve any rewards. Him playing with her hair made Aisling smile and lean in to brush the tip of her nose against his. “Ashleigh won’t mind,” she said with confidence. Aisling knew her best friend enough to say that her main concern was Aisling’s happiness. And she had that aplenty.
“Going to make everyone very jealous,” Aisling told Xavier with amusement. “Such pretty people, having a lovely time in the sun,” because they were and they would. “Though, people might actually understand when we speak French to each other,” she said giving a small laugh.
--
“Okay, good.” Xavier would have gone home if she thought it would be a problem, but he also doubted Aisling would have offered in the first place if it would have been. He brushed a kiss against her lips and gave a content little hum. “I didn't bring anything to wear to the beach, but I'll go to a shop or something in the morning.”
He chuckled softly, biting the inside of his lip. “Oh no, people will know what we’re saying.” At least for him, speaking French was more for ease than to be secretive, but it was still strange to think of being out where it was common. “That's alright. And they should be jealous. We’re pretty great.”
--
“Could always go to a nudist beach,” Aisling laughed. If there was any way to ensure Ashleigh would leave them alone, it was probably to go to a nudist beach. Then again, Aisling wasn’t sure where there even was one near by, so perhaps going to a shop might be easier.
Leaning in to press a rather lingering kiss against Xavier’s lips, Aisling nodded as she finally pulled back. “We are pretty great,” she confirmed softly. Moving her hand up, so she could run her fingers gently against Xavier’s cheek, Aisling gave another small smile. “Sleep now?” She offered before yawning as if to illustrate the point.
--
Xavier huffed out a laugh and rolled his eyes. He knew she was only joking, but his level of comfort in undress was pretty much limited to those in Quake, because they'd been around each other so much and so long. He'd find something to wear, and they'd have a great time.
He smiled against her kiss, fingers playing in her hair even as she pulled away. They were pretty great, both there and in general. “Sleep,” he agreed, waiting for her to finish yawning so he could kiss her again, barely pulling back as it ended, his eyes staying closed as he let out a slow breath. “Sleep now.”