Bennett/Melanie, Rated T
The thing about Melanie was that she stubbornly refused to sleep-and yet, when she did, she stubbornly refused to wake up. Bennett had discovered this contradiction early on, finding it amusing and endearing. Intriguing even, though he supposed it made sense-she slept so little that when she finally allowed herself to get a decent night’s sleep, her body crashed. He was always loath to wake her, but he knew she’d be pissed off if he didn’t, and that their duties to the train came first-even if all he wanted was to let her keep sleeping until she was ready to get up on her own.
“Mel,” he murmured, tracing a finger up and down her spine as gently as possible. She twitched in response but did not wake.
She was on her stomach next to him, pressed against his side but not on top of him. He used this to his advantage, brushing her hair back from her neck so that he could place a kiss on her nape-a spot he knew was particularly sensitive.
“Ben,” she whined as she finally stirred, “Not fair.”
“If it were up to me I’d let you keep sleeping,” Bennett’s voice was affectionate and soft, “But it’s slightly after 5:30 and I’d rather not die today.”
She snorted, and then groaned as she buried her face farther into the pillow. He ran his hand up and down her spine in an effort to soothe her.
“Give me a minute or an hour,” she grumbled, voice muffled.
“Can’t do that,” he said apologetically, tugging at her until she rolled on her back-even closer to him now.
She narrowed her eyes, glaring at him, “You shouldn’t listen to me, you know.”
Bennett chuckled, “You say that now, but we both know that if I’d let you sleep until you were ready to get up you’d stick my head out of a port.”
Melanie’s face sobered, “I would never. I need you.”
He raised his eyebrows at that, “Come on, Mel.”
She huffed, blowing hair out of her face in the process, “Fine.”
He leaned down to kiss her slowly first, pulling away before she could deepen it to kiss her forehead. She sighed, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, she gave him a tired smile.
“I’m proud of you, you know,” he told her, giving her vulnerability in turn.
“Okay,” Melanie pushed him off of her, “If you don’t shut up, neither of us will leave this bed for a while, and then I might actually have to strangle you for making me late.”
Bennett chuckled again as she climbed out of bed and began trying to find her clothes. She leaned down to kiss him again once she was finally dressed, smiling sweetly at him.
“Good luck,” he breathed, inches from her mouth.
Melanie snorted again, “Thanks. I’ll need it.”
He waited until she’d left to get ready for the day himself.