Isabel Lane Hemingway (isabellane) wrote in spinningcompass, @ 2018-10-24 12:58:00 |
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Isabel shifted a little in her sleep. The day before had been a good one. The grandkids insisted on a birthday party for him, or at least that's what their parents said. They had cake and presents and a lot of talking amongst the adults while the kids played. They didn't get home until well after their usual bedtime and she was sure they'd go straight to sleep but she was wrong. They made love before sleeping. It didn't happen often in their marriage which she didn't mind. It had been wonderful, though. She'd drifted off to sleep in his arms, but as often happened they separated at some point in the night. She rolled onto her side and put her arm around her husband, sighing a bit. It was very nice, snuggling up to him. It took a few seconds for her brain to register that there wasn't as much of him to snuggle as there had been when they went to sleep. She just lay there with her eyes closed trying to process everything. When she did finally open her eyes, she bit her lip so she wouldn't make any noise. He was there, but so much younger. The dark hair, the clean face, and a bit thinner. He really was handsome. She couldn't help herself, putting her left hand on his cheek and just watching him sleep. *** Ernest didn’t remember anyone being in bed with him when he’d fallen asleep, and considering that he wasn’t drinking anymore it seemed unlikely that he would have forgotten. But he could feel a hand on his cheek, and the weight and warmth of someone beside him - maybe Charlie was the proper age again and was being weirdly sentimental about it. Maybe Abi had suddenly remembered him and slipped into his apartment and…? All of those thoughts and more rushed through his mind in the seconds between his brain registering that someone was there and his eyes blinking open. Oh. He frowned a little in confusion, and just looked back at Isabel for a moment. Maybe he had slipped up and been drinking after all? Shit- maybe the memory problems were getting worse? He had to open his mouth. “Um… morning?” Smooth. *** Isabel smiled a little. Of course he was confused. They were years away from actually being together. It was easy enough to explain, though. “This might sound like a weird question but what year is it?” She cleared her throat. One of the disadvantages of not aging. If she looked older, maybe he wouldn't be as confused. *** Apparently Isabel wasn’t up for a little awkward pillow talk and wanted to get straight to the point. Ernest gave her a bit of a smile in return, and leaned up on one elbow to get a better look at her. Of course - she didn’t age. “Not that weird around here, Isa. It’s 2018,” he told her. “I guess that’s not what you were expecting?” *** She smiled a little bit more. “Not quite, no.” She chuckled and sat up a bit. “When I went to bed it was 2034.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “It was your birthday last night.” She didn't yet mention that it had been their anniversary a few days before. **** He was still around at seventy. That fact alone was more surprising to him than anything else. He’d googled himself. He knew he wasn’t meant to make it to seventy. “Right. So… is this a birthday thing, or an everyday thing?” he asked, gesturing between them and giving her a bit of a suggestive grin. Okay, there was no real evidence that they’d been sleeping together - hell, he was a very old man, after all - but he couldn’t quite resist a little teasing of his friend. *** Isabel laughed, not at all surprised by the teasing. She smirked at him. “The sex is pretty much just a birthday thing but sleeping in the same bed happens every night.” She took his hand in hers. “Tends to happen when you're married to someone.” **** “When I look seventy, and you look like this?” he smirked right back at her. “Damn. Happy birthday me,” he chuckled. Her next remark wiped the stupid smirk off his face though. He didn’t quite know how to react. They weren’t even dating, they weren’t even anything beyond friends who’d had a bit of a fling once. “Oh. Shit. Uh- when did we…?” *** “Not just your birthday. And you are still attractive.” She smiled. When his expression changed, so did hers. She cleared her throat. “About five years ago.” She bit her lip. He still had so long before they got there. **** |