Darcy/Steve 15
Darcy knocked again on the door to what was quite possibly the tiniest cabin she’d ever seen in person. She was pretty sure she could put it in the back of the SUV and take it home to be a kitty condo for her cat.
Footfalls sounded against the floor, and then the dark wooden door swung inward to reveal Steve. He looked… Adorable. Rumpled. Like she’d just woken him up from sleep, and now she kinda wanted to use him as a teddy bear. “Trick or treat!” she exclaimed brightly.
Steve stared down at her for a moment. “Let me get my stuff.”
“No!” Darcy shook her head, arms folded tightly across her front against the cold night air. “No can do. I’ve got about a half an hour left in me before I fall asleep, and you look like you’d just drive the SUV right off the road. We’re leaving in the morning.”
It looked like it took a second for her words to pierce the tired fog around his brain, and then he stepped back out of the way, flattening himself against the outside of the door to admit Darcy past him into what was undeniably a tiny cabin. There was… One bed. Okay. There was a tiny kitchen area that didn’t even have a full stove, an open closet on one wall with a door beside it that probably led into an equally proportionate bathroom, and a desk and a chair. “How do you even fit in here?” She set her backpack down on top of the desk, careful to miss Steve’s tablet.
The door closed. “It’s cozy.” He was sounding a little more awake now, although he stayed standing awkwardly by the door.
“You know, I’m just gonna grab my coffee out of the car and sit outside and drink it if you wanna get back to bed.” There was wooden deck furniture on the dirt in front of the cabin outside. She could bundle up in an extra sweater and hang out out there for a bit.
“You know that has caffeine in it.” Steve arched an eyebrow as he looked at her.
“Wait, what? Coffee has caffeine in it? Since when?” He gave her a look, and she grinned at him. “Yeah. Just don’t lock me out when you go back to bed.” Maybe if he could get back to sleep, she could just slip in without disturbing him so he wouldn’t have to do the whole falling asleep with someone new in the bed. “And then I’ll come back in. I have my blanket, so don’t worry about blanket-hogging. Although, bed-hogging… I will cuddle you.”
His eyebrow arched again, but he nodded. Satisfied with that, Darcy went back outside, closing the door behind her but not locking it. She grabbed her coffee out of the cupholder in the front of the SUV, leaving her comforter sitting on the passenger seat for the time being, and went and settled herself on one of the wooden chairs. It was still warm, and she wrapped both hands around it.
The front door opened, and Darcy looked over, eyebrows up in surprise. Steve was there, all bundled up in his own sweater, coming outside. “Sleep?”
He shrugged as he walked outside, closing the door quietly behind him. “You’ll wake me up when you come to bed anyway.”
She winced. “Sorry. I can…” He was… Building up a fire? There was a firepit between the deckchairs, and he started making a fire like it was something he knew how to do. “That’s very efficient of you, Steve.”
He just gave her another look.
Pretty soon the fire was going, and Steve settled himself into the other deck chair. She watched him stretch his long legs out towards the fire, crossed at the ankles. “You know, now all we need is some beer and marshmallows and this night would be perfect.” She shivered as a chill crept up her spine. “And a blanket, maybe.” Darcy briefly debated the merits of getting her own blanket, but then it would get all dirty, and then she’d have to sleep under it…
Steve looked at her for a second, then got up and pushed his chair over to her. In just a second, his arm dropped over her shoulder. It helped a little, thanks to his super awesome metabolism he was a little warmer than the average person. But… “Thanks, but the armrest is making my ribs hurt.”
He looked at her for a second, and he gave her a small smile that could only be called adorable. “You could come over here. It is warmer.”
Her eyes widened as she looked at him. Did he just… She stood and shifted over, then lowered herself directly on his lap. His arms came around her almost immediately, wrapping her in warmth. “Better?”
“Much, thank you.”