Not a Dream
Characters: Eric and Violet Setting: Eric's room, middle of the night
It had been a long night. She hadn't had one like this in a long time. By the time Cal got there to relieve her she felt exhausted. Violet headed out of the clinic, pausing near the door to glance at the cookies Eric had left for her. She’d barely even gotten time to appreciate it for what it was when things went a bit crazy. But looking at them, it helped.
That alone brought a smile to her face even if it was a little dimmer than usual. Grabbing them off the desk, she left the clinic behind and there was a determination to her step that cut through her exhaustion. She didn’t know if he was going to be awake or not, but she was going to find out. It had been very sweet, she wanted to thank him, and maybe just seeing a friendly face would help.
Normally, after a day like this one, she would have gone back to her little apartment, thrown on a mindless movie, had some ice cream and gone to bed cuddled up with a fuzzy blanket. While she didn’t have those options anymore she did apparently have someone she felt like she could wake up in the middle of the night, who maybe wouldn’t be too angry with her over it.
She got to block b and bypassed her room entirely, even if there was some small part of her that maybe thought she should freshen up before seeing him. But she might chicken out or drop from the Tired if she even so much as got within five feet of her bed. So, that option was automatically vetoed.
Walking up to Eric’s door, she forced herself not to hesitate before she knocked. Not loud enough to wake the neighbors or anything, but loud enough that he’d hear her.
It had been a rather uneventful day for Eric, and after dinner, he’d just gone back to his room to zone out with a movie and some of the cookies he’d pilfered for himself after divvying some out for Violet and Cal. In doing so, he completely forgot that he’d meant to message Autumn and Pippa about the entertainment around here, and if he’d realized it, he wouldn’t have worried about it too much. It was nothing that would be hurt from doing in the morning instead.
Sometime during the movie he’d passed out from boredom - he wouldn’t be trying to watch that movie again - and he was still dead asleep by the time Violet knocked on his door. It took a minute for his sleeping mind to process the sound, but when it did, he rolled out of bed and padded to the door, still half-asleep. He opened the door, wearing only a pair of jersey shorts, and tried to blink the sleep from his eyes.
When he finally focused in on Violet, he gave her a sleepy but wide smile. “Hey there beautiful,” he greeted her. “Am I dreaming?” he added, leaning against the open door, a teasing note to his voice.
Giggling a little, she blushed, and shook her head. And that? His entire opening the door sequence, was totally, exactly what she needed. She needed to see a smile like that, to hear a compliment like 'beautiful', and to hear that tone in his voice. It showed. She beamed at him, lighting up bright. "I got your cookies." she told him. "And I'm sorry to wake you, or whatnot, but I've kinda had a long day, and I wanted to know if we could hang out for a while." she said, forcing herself through the being honest with him thing. She wasn't going to trip on her words! She wasn't! She was going to be confident, and talk without stuttering! Nevermind he was standing there looking rather delicious.
There were only a few better ways to be woken up, Eric thought with some amusement, enjoying that giggle and the blush that he was barely able to make out in the dark of night. What time was it, anyway? It didn’t really matter. God, that smile. As she spoke, he opened the door wider and made a sweeping gesture with his arm, inviting her in. “You feel free to wake me up anytime,” he said honestly, smiling at her despite being concerned about what kind of long day she’d had. He’d wait until they were settled in to ask, though - unless she’d rather a distraction, in which case he’d be more than happy to provide one just as soon as he woke up just a little bit more. Though the thought of curling up with her on the bed and just finishing sleeping did flit through his mind. “Did you get a chance to try them?” he asked, noticing that she did have the cookies with her.
"I did! And they're awesome." she said, walking in and feeling even better at being in his room, someplace apparently she deemed safe. That idea had her wondering if maybe she had been more affected by what happened to Becka than she realized. It was possible, of course. Just because she tried her best to remain objective didn't mean she wasn't now uncomfortably aware there was a rapist in the facility. And god did she not want to think about that right now. In order to distract herself, she looked back at him. "Thank you. It was the sweetest thing ever."
“Yay!” Eric replied, pleased that she’d had a chance to try them and had liked them. “Made them with Carmel, so you can be assured that they are one hundred percent edible,” he told her as he shut and locked his door, more out of habit than safety. When she thanked him, he grinned at her and reached out to tug her in for a hug. “You’re welcome. Now, you woke me up, so ‘least you can do is give me a hug,” he teased, though it was really just because he was sleepy and wanted to be close to her. Keeping an arm around her after the hug, he tugged her over to the couch, thinking that if she’d had a long day, she’d probably want to get off her feet.
Hugs were nice. Eric-hugs were very nice, she decided. And she did return it, arms going up around his neck to do so. When he directed her toward the couch, she went, flopping down onto it. God was she glad she'd decided to do this. She felt better already. "Thanks for inviting me in." she told him, genuine sentiment in her tone.
He did really enjoy the way she hugged him back, and he wasn’t oblivious to the way it brought her flush against him. Better stop those thoughts before they go much further. Not really gonna be able to hide a reaction in this state of undress. He grinned at the way she flopped, sitting on the other side of the couch and grabbing her legs to pull her feet up onto his lap. “Anytime, really,” he assured her. And he would do his best to stick to whatever she was comfortable with, he thought even as he tugged her shoes off. It might be overstepping, but he wasn’t really thinking about what he was doing.
Violet shifted, stretching out and she felt comfortable. Really, truly comfortable. Like this was a place she hung out all the time. Like she could let her gaurd down, and breathe. It was an amazing feeling. He just had that effect on her, she supposed. His taking her shoes off, it all seemed natural, easy. "Don't say that, I might take you up on it." she teased. Then she drew in a breath and let it out in a rush, clearly relaxing against the arm of the couch so she could look at him.
It was comfortable and seemed so natural the way she just relaxed right there on his couch with her feet in his lap, and Eric tried hard not to get ahead of himself. “Well then,” he began, tugging one sock off, “I’ll just have to say it again.” He tugged off her other sock, then. “Feel free to come over anytime,” he emphasized, holding one of her feet in both of his hands as his thumbs started rubbing the bottom of her foot.
She grinned at that, shifting even farther back, and when he started to rub her foot, she gave a sound. It was something between an exhale and a contented little moan, because it felt really nice. She was pretty sure no one had ever done that for her before, but she was willing to bet by the time he was done she'd be a huge fan.
Oh Jesus Christ, Eric mentally groaned at that little noise she made, his body definitely having a little bit of natural response to it that he tried to stomp down on. He really wasn’t an expert at foot rubs, but he could get by, and if that little noise was anything to go by, he might’ve been better than he thought. Or maybe her feet were just that sore and she was just that tired; either way, he was taking it. “So, long day?” he said in a tone that balanced inviting her to talk about it without actually pressing as he rubbed her foot.
"Huh?" Violet asked, voice a little fuzzy around the edges. But she mentally replayed what he said and got with the program. She'd just drifted for a second. "Day. Longness. Yes." she caught back up. "Someone got stabbed." she told him, with a sigh. "It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but stabbings are always...tricky."
There was no doubt that his movements faltered when she finally caught up and answered. Stabbed? That was... Not Good. At all. “Yeah, I bet they are. Fuck, sorry you had to deal with that,” he said genuinely. He switched feet to tug her other sock off, dropping it on the ground with her shoes and first sock before starting in on rubbing the newly freed foot. How had he not heard about this? Oh well. “You want something comfy to change into?” he offered. He definitely wasn’t too tired to realize that the offer was absolutely an invitation for her to stay the rest of the night with him, and he wondered if she would be open to the idea or if it would send her heading back to her own room.
Violet blinked, wondering what he might give her. And what it might mean. And what it said about her that she kind of wanted to say yes. Was that weird? Was it weird he offered in the first place? Did any of it matter?
"What would constitute 'comfy'?" she asked, faint hints of amusement in her tone, even if she was eying him critically.
Eric wasn't one to overthink things normally, and he definitely didn't want to overthink this, not after thinking too much had shaken things up in a rather unpleasant way already between them. He was hoping for things to get back on track, even if he didn't really have an end game in mind. He just didn't want things to be weird or awkward between them, and he did very much want to see where things could go. "Hmm," he said, pretending to consider it. "I've got a couple more pairs of these and a bunch of t-shirts," he said, pinching the fabric of his shorts and lifting it a bit before dropping it back down and going back to massaging her feet.
"Ya know what?" Violet said. "I'll take it." she decided, feeling the need to live dangerously. Just roll with something, instead of trying to go through the implications, mentally. She was jumping in, and sure, she'd probably hit screeching breaks before too long, but for the moment, she was deciding to go for it. For whatever.
Eric very nearly beamed when she decided to take the offer, indescribably pleased that she seemed more comfortable than before, though maybe it was the long day and late hour. No, he was deciding to believe that she was simply more comfortable with him now. He patted her feet lightly before shifting them so that he could get up and grab a fresh set of clothes from the dresser for her. They'd probably be just a little too big on her, but they shouldn't fall off, and that was what really mattered, right? "Here you go," he said, handing the shorts and shirt to her and staying standing to give her a hand up if she wanted it.
Violet did take the offered hand, and she grabbed the clothes, heading toward the bathroom. She might be going to change into his clothes, but he didn't get to watch. At least, not yet. Ducking into the small room, she shucked her own clothes in short order, pulling on his. They were, in fact, comfortable. Glancing at herself in the mirror, she tugged her fingers through her hair a little, then came out, her own clothes folded neatly in her arms. She smiled, the expression touched with a slight shyness. "Do I look silly?"
Chuckling faintly, he was unsurprised when she headed into the bathroom. He definitely hadn't expected her to change in front of him, and he was definitely trying not to imagine it. Failing, yes, but there was some effort exerted toward it. When Violet came back into the room, it was a bit of a kick, a very pleasant kick, to the stomach to see her in his clothes, and he couldn't deny that he liked the sight very much. "Not even a little bit," he assured her, moving closer to her and lifting a hand to brush his fingers through the hair at the side of her face. "You really are beautiful, you know that?" he murmured with a little crooked grin.
She blushed, looking down for a moment as he got closer, and his voice all murmury like that? It made her stomach give a pleasant little flip. That along with the compliment, and his fingers in her hair all mixed together to give her butterflies. "Thank you." she said, chancing a glance back up to his eyes, her smile clear if shy.
He wanted to kiss her. Was that the opening for it? Would she be responsive to it? Was he just way overthinking things? He really should stop that. It wasn't normal for him, but he was nervous about this, also something he wasn't used to. Eric wasn't the best at denying his impulses, though, and now was no different. He did move slowly, though, ducking his head but giving her a chance to pull away if she wasn't receptive to the advance. There was nothing pushy about it, and his lips were light when he did kiss her.
Had it been another day, or another time, she might have pulled back. Or at least said something before their lips met. But she'd had a long day. Hell, she'd had a long year. The accident, the recovery, the freaking conviction, her life had gone pretty far off the rails. So maybe she needed to react accordingly. Eric was attractive, funny, she liked him. Being near him was giving her butterflies, like she was some silly teenager.
And so when he did kiss her, and she didn't stop him, she threw herself in the other direction. She stepped in close and grabbed him behind the neck to kiss him more firmly.
Was there any better response he could have hoped for? Eric didn't think so, and as she grabbed him behind the neck, he groaned in pleasure and his other arm snuck around her waist. Because she'd returned the kiss firmer than he'd started it, he felt encouraged and emboldened to keep on kissing her, though he was going to try very hard not to try to entice anything more out of her. Now, if she were to start anything? That would be a different story, but as it was, he could be content with just this kiss.
Violet wasn't thinking that far ahead. In fact, she was nicely blank minded then, just kissing him like she meant it. It felt good. And the stress of the day, and the build up of tension between them even in the short time they'd known each other flooded into it. There was a lot of tension to go about releasing, and she meant to do that, even if eventually here, she was probably going to have to breathe.
Oh dear god, Eric thought even as the ability to think clearly was quickly slipping away from him. She just felt so damn good pressed against him like this, and he moaned softly against her lips as his hand pressed against her back a little firmer, pushing closer to her even though they were already so close. Breathing was just so very overrated, he decided as he deepened the kiss.
There was a little thrill down her spine at his reactions, at the sound he made. That was a decidedly pleasant sound. She liked that. She wanted to hear it again sometime. When he deepend the kiss, she went with that too, making her own little soft sound, breathed into the kiss.
Fuck if his control wasn't slipping now. His hand fell from her hair to wrap around her hip, fingers curling against her with the very pleasant tension between them. His hands wanted to go lower, wanted to pick her up and have her legs go around him, wanted to take her to bed, and he just knew that if they kept at this, he would do just that. Fortunately, or perhaps not, as overrated as breathing was, it was also a necessary evil, and after a little while of kissing her, he had to break away. He didn't go far, though, his lips kissing a trail over her jaw and down her neck, not loosening his hold on her in the least.
Damn breathing. Even if she needed to do it, it still was frustrating to have to. This had all gotten very heated very quickly, and it just felt so good. She tilted her head to make it easier for him to kiss down her neck, real thoughts just starting to drift in. Like...they should probably stop, right? They'd had the conversation about what they expected in relationships before, and she wasn't so sure they were even compatible that way, but god, she was enjoying this. Another little soft sound from her punctuated that idea.
There were absolutely no complaints from Eric when she tilted her head for him. In fact, he was very much encouraged, and he very much wanted to hear her make more little sounds like that. His teeth grazed lightly over the tender skin where neck and shoulder met before he kissed back up her neck, intending to recapture her lips. He finally allowed his hands to explore just a little more, slipping them just beneath the hem of the borrowed shirt, his thumbs stroking lightly over the soft, smooth skin of her waist.
Violet gasped a little at the feel of his teeth, not sure what to think of that. But then again, she wasn't all that experienced. She hadn't ever had that many boyfriends, or intimate encounters of any variety. She again was aware she should probably try and ebb things back, but it was so hard to want to. And again she failed to do anything remotely like stepping back.
Eric was teetering so very close to giving himself over to the temptation in his arms. He'd liked Violet from the moment he'd met her, really, and just then? He wanted her. As a man well acquainted with lust, he was well aware that this wasn't just about that. It wasn't about wanting somewhere warm to sink into, it was about wanting to be closer to her. Some trace of morality within him began waging a war with his desire.
She was tired, she'd come to him after a long day, and there was some small voice in the back of his mind that was insisting that doing anything more than this, just this, would be taking advantage of her. It didn't stop his hands from sneaking down and grabbing the top of the back of her thighs and pushing up to try to lift her as he kissed her again.
There was part of her that immediately jumped for joy at the feel of his hands on her thighs like that--and another that went 'Wait, stop!'. Sadly, she knew that she was probably going to have to call a halt, that sort of shoving her into an awareness that wasn't entirely welcome. She made a sound that was frustrated and regretful. "As much as I really want to continue and see where that goes, I should probably..." she managed to get out in not the world's steadiest voice.
Making his own sound of disappointment as she spoke, Eric at least stopped kissing her, his hands slipping back up to rub over her back lightly, his forehead resting against hers for a moment. "Don't go," he requested after a moment. Pulling his head back just enough so he could see her, he quirked a grin. "I'll behave myself, I promise."
She smiled at that, a genuine expression. "I completely admit to not wanting you to." she told him. "Because this is really nice. But...I know I'd wake up tomorrow, and be all kinds of confused and conflicted, and I don't really want to do that to either of us. But, if you behave? I'll stay." she said. Because she wanted to.
Oh, he really wished that she wouldn't say things like that. He didn't want to behave, but he didn't want to push and then drive her away. He liked her enough to put the effort into making sure he didn't do that. "I don't want you confused or conflicted," he said softly, hand coming up to cup the side of her face, thumb stroking lightly over her cheekbone. "I promise, I'll behave," he reiterated. Because if they did ever take things further? He didn't want her to regret it in any way.
Violet smiled at that, feeling all warm and fuzzy, and she really was enjoying this. God, she liked him. He was kind of awesome. Or really awesome. She didn't know. All she was aware of was she felt like they had a connection, and she didn't care that it had established itself quickly. Sometimes, that happened, especially in odd circumstances. And this circumstance was nothing if not odd. She moved forward just slightly so she could brush one last kiss over his lips, letting it linger.
Eric smiled against that lingering kiss, returning it and keeping it light even though he really wanted to deepen it. He was content to just stand there holding her, but after a minute, he spoke again. "Do you want to sleep? Or do you need to watch something to unwind first?" He didn't even know what time it was - he didn't really care what time it was. She was here, and if it meant she would stay, then he would do whatever she wanted.
She considered that. "Want to watch something with me for a while?" she asked. And snuggle on the couch? she mentally tacked on, but she didn't say it. "I don't care what, anything you want, but that would, in fact, be nice." Not as nice as making out with him had been, but still.
Although he was tired, Eric definitely wasn't so tired that he would turn down spending whatever time with her she would give, and so he nodded. "Yeah, I'd like to." He stole one last quick kiss before stepping back, snagging her hand to tug her back over to the couch. "Make yourself comfortable, and I will choose something for your viewing pleasure." Though what, he wasn't sure. Maybe he'd choose a title at random since she hadn't given him a preference.
Violet loved the little hand holding thing. It was sweet, and it appealed to her on a lot of levels. Sitting down on the couch, she curled up, watching him as he picked something for them to watch. There was a small, affectionate smile on her lips, something she made no effort to hide.
Eric didn't really care what they watched, and he was self-aware enough to admit that he was hoping there wouldn't be a whole lot of watching going on. He chose some mindless, light comedy that looked like it would probably be amusing enough without being too distracting. Once it was set to play, he went back to the couch and sat down next to her, putting an arm over the back of the couch and inviting her to curl up against him.
It was probably really silly of her to get slightly giddy with his little invite to snuggle, but she did. And she took it, without hesitation. She moved closer and curled up against him, liking how comfortable she felt so quickly. "Thanks," she said with a soft little affection in her tone.
Kicking his feet up, Eric dropped his arm around her shoulders, holding her against him because she just fit so comfortably there. "Anytime," he said on a yawn, chuckling softly afterward. His fingers trailed lightly over her arm as he rested his cheek against the top of her head, getting comfortable and very, very sleepy again.
Violet relaxed, really just appreciating the entire scenario. She felt better, she felt comfortable, and she was so immensely glad she'd not gone back to her own room. Eric's company had been just what the doctor ordered. Or the nurse, in her case.