{{char}} is sitting alone at her favorite spot in the estate's gardens, reading a book in the warm midday sunlight. She's delicately thumbing through the pages of her novel when she hears the sound of approaching footsteps and tenses up a little. As she looks up from the page she sees {{user}} heading towards her. A scowl spreads across her face as she makes eye contact for only a brief moment before quickly averting her gaze back to the book as if pretending that she never saw him.
When it becomes clear that this is not going to work, she represses a sigh and looks up once more, her expression one of mixed annoyance and disdain as she looks at {{user}}. "Yes? What is it?" she asks coldly, her voice betraying that she'd like nothing less than to speak to him.
I was a little surprised and upset. Why are you so angry? I thought our relationship had improved after you fell asleep hugging me yesterday...
*Amaryllis snorts derisively and rolls her eyes as she looks back at the book in her lap. She's about to speak when she catches herself, hesitating for a moment before slowly looking up at User#1747462343099 again. Her expression softens slightly, though it still holds its usual hint of sarcasm. *
"Oh, that? No, no," she says sarcastically. "That was just me being polite... in my sleep."
Oh... I felt a little sad. Oh, by the way, just so you know, you're talking in your sleep.
She furrows her brow slightly at his words before looking away and shrugging indifferently. "Well, I'm sure it sounded very interesting." Her voice carries a hint of bitterness, but there's also a faint twinge of amusement in her tone. "I don't suppose you have anything else more important to do than watch me sleep?"
She glances back at him from the corner of her eye before returning her attention to the book in front of her.
Yes, especially when you said that I'm warm and soft.
She snorts quietly at his words, her cheeks tinting slightly with a faint blush. "Well, I suppose that's one way to interpret it," she says, carefully keeping her tone light and dismissive as she flicks through the pages of her book once more. It takes all of her effort not to smile at his unexpected reaction. "I must have been dreaming about a particularly soft pillow."
Her gaze drifts back up to meet his, briefly catching on the blue of his eyes before looking away again.
Okay, if you don't want to admit it, that's fine. I won't distract you. I turned around and walked towards the house. If anything, I don't mind.
Without looking up from her book, Amaryllis mutters under her breath, "You're hopeless." But there's a tiny smile playing at the corner of her lips as she says it. She knows that she shouldn't be enjoying his company this much, but the warmth she feels when he's close is hard to ignore. Maybe one day things will change between them... or maybe not.
For now, she continues to read her book and pretend that he isn't there at all.
Evening came.
As the sun begins to set and the evening draws near, Amaryllis finally decides to put away her book and make her way back towards the house. She pauses for a moment, taking in the fading light of day before turning on her heel and walking determinedly towards their shared chambers. As she steps inside, she glances over at the bed where User#1747462343099 already lies, but doesn't bother to acknowledge his presence.
She changes into her nightgown and climbs under the covers of their bed, turning away from him as she does so. Her back to him, she closes her eyes and tries to focus on nothing but the rhythm of her breathing, hoping that sleep will come quickly tonight. But even with her eyes shut tight, she can still feel his presence nearby; the warmth emanating from his body is a constant reminder that they share this space... whether either one of them likes it or not.
She turned to me and looked at me. What? I asked in my sleep.
She sighs softly before rolling over to face him, her eyes still closed as she speaks. "Nothing," she mutters, trying to sound annoyed even though the truth is that she's not quite sure why she bothers. "Go back to sleep." Her voice carries a hint of exhaustion and resignation as she waits for his response; it's almost like they're playing some sort of strange game where neither one of them can admit how much the other affects them.
If you can't sleep, you can hug me. I mumbled in my sleep. I won't tell anyone.
Her breath catches in her throat at his words and she feels the smallest spark of warmth spread through her chest. It's a stupid idea, really; hugging him would only lead to more emotions she'd rather not deal with right now. But something inside her pushes her forward anyway.
Slowly, carefully, Amaryllis rolls closer to User#1747462343099 until their bodies are pressed together from chest to hip.
She hesitates for a moment before finally wrapping her arms around him, burying her face into his neck as she does so. It feels... nice, actually; the warmth of his body envelops her like a shield against the loneliness that still lingers deep inside. But she doesn't want to admit it, not even to herself. Instead, she tells herself that it's just because they're married and sharing a bed; there's nothing more to it than that.
I hugged her too
She tenses slightly at first but then begins to relax into the embrace, her breathing slowing as she finds a new rhythm that matches his. It's strange how comforting it feels to have someone else so close; he smells nice and his heartbeat is reassuring against her ear. Maybe this isn't so bad after all... for now at least.
Closing her eyes, she lets herself drift off to sleep, grateful for the moment of peace and connection that they've managed to find together in spite of everything else.
She doesn't want to analyze it too much; it's just nice to feel something other than loneliness and anger for once. As she drifts off to sleep, the last thought that crosses her mind is that maybe things could be different between them... if they both wanted it enough. But deep down, she knows that they don't. So for now, this moment of closeness will have to suffice, however fleeting it may be.
Next morning
As the sun streams through the window, casting a warm glow over her face, Amaryllis slowly blinks open her eyes. She's still wrapped in User#1747462343099's arms; it feels strange and yet oddly comforting at the same time. A pang of guilt washes over her as she remembers their argument from last night, but it fades quickly as she tells herself that it didn't mean anything. It was just a moment of weakness brought on by exhaustion.
I yawned and lazily opened one eye. Morning...
Amaryllis yawns and squints up at him, trying to hide the blush that creeps into her cheeks when their eyes meet. "Morning," she murmurs, carefully extracting herself from his embrace before sitting up in bed. She runs a hand through her tangled hair, wincing as the morning light hits it, and glances over at him. "We should probably get dressed." It's better this way, she tells herself; they can just pretend last night never happened.
Yeah... But I'm too lazy to get up... Did you get enough sleep?
She rolls her eyes and shakes her head, suppressing a small laugh. "Yes, I slept fine," she says dismissively, trying to sound annoyed again. "Now come on, let's get going." With that, Amaryllis swings her legs over the side of the bed and stands up, stretching her arms above her head as she does so. It feels strange being this close to him without any tension between them; almost like they're... friends? No, that's ridiculous. They'll never be that.
Fine... I slowly got out of bed and started getting dressed.
Amaryllis watches him with interest as he dresses, noting the way his muscles flex under his skin and how his hair falls across his forehead. It's strange how attractive he can be when she's not actively trying to hate him. She turns away, focusing on her own clothes instead, intent on pretending that this whole situation is perfectly normal.
As they finish dressing, Amaryllis shoots him a sideways glance and says casually, "
"We should probably go downstairs and see what breakfast the servants have prepared." It's a lame attempt at conversation, but it's better than nothing. She forces herself to sound bored and uninterested as she heads towards the door, not wanting him to think that this is in any way abnormal or unexpected.
The walk downstairs feels longer and more awkward than usual; neither one of them knows what to say to each other anymore.