he's not as in tune with the dual sides of her yet so he doesn't quite recognize what she's dubbed as the switch. all he knows is that something is off and she's tired and hopefully, just hopefully, this will help.

"oh?" he says, "coulda fooled me. thought i'd carry ya just to be safe."

his joking tone lapses into something more serious as he walks them through the reception area. the receptionist on duty doesn't seem to think their manner of entry is out of the norm. she gives them directions to their room and hands them their key card. 

his chin rests on the top of eden's head as he opens the door. the walls are a sage green. a king-sized bed with a canopy and linen curtains sits at their left. the restroom is to their right. plush robes hang from wooden posts just by their door. 

babbling water pleasantly fills the room from a water feature just across the bed, but the simmering sounds of the main feature wait behind the shoji screen adjacent to them. 

august sets her down and takes her hand, leading her to the screen. he slides it to the side and reveals a short stone pathway leading to their own personal hot spring. gray stones ring the spring; steam curls above it. bamboo wood fencing, adorned with a myriad of live plants, separates them from the world.

he kisses her knuckles and asks, "do you like it?"

@eden

HEAT POINTS: 1000

☉

"'course i did," he says as though her disbelief is the most asinine thing in the world. and then, plainly, he adds, "you deserve it." he leaves her standing by the open screens and plops himself down on the bed, stretching his bones before sighing. he turns his head to the side and looks at her, smiling mischievously. 

"we can get in the springs tomorrow. you must be exhausted. let's just catch up on our sleep." 

his body, here with here in this not-yet-broken-in-room-and-bed, is the opposite of exhausted, and he's sure her power nap on the way here puts her in the same boat, but why not tease her a bit? 

he sighs and pretends to fall asleep.

@eden

HEAT POINTS: 1000

☉

mm, he has her now. she'll come straight to him and beg for his attention in that sweet way of hers, and all he has to do is lay there and listen, and pretend the world is passing him by. but he stiffens when he hears her clothing rustle, and when she pads over to him, and crawls on top of him. 

he lets her poke and prod him and then he opens his eyes with a smirk. but his lips fall flat at the annoyed furrow of her brows, the slope of her bare shoulders, her chest - he cranes his neck out of curiosity - and then groans. 

he catches her wrist when she goes to jab him again and he tsk-tsk-tsks. 

"you need rest," he urges. and then adds, "doctor's orders," to the doctor herself.

@eden

HEAT POINTS: 1000

☉

i can rest and still have attention. that's true. he sighs at her gentle kiss and allows her to curl away from him. and so they enter a classic stalemate, but he finds himself content. the sound of the water across from them and the bubbling hot springs outside really does put him in a sleepy trance. unlike her, he hadn't gotten that power nap in. 

so while this is all fun and games, he doesn't really mean to rest his head on the crook of his arm, to get lulled into a doze watching the rise and fall of her sides. he thinks, i want to kiss away all those bruises on her back. and make them go away, but he can't move. 

and before he knows it, he has fallen asleep.

@eden

HEAT POINTS: 1000

☉

with the screen left open, the room grows humid. it doesn't bother him, as evident by the fact that he wraps his arm around the body beside him and pulls her closer. he sighs into her and they sleep - the sun rises and he's only given a few hours reprieve before habits kick him awake. 

but he's rested, for the most part. he yawns and blinks open his eyes, and his early morning state has all the more reason to manifest when he realizes his chin is tucked into eden's chest. 

he kisses her there, with a soft sigh, coaxing her awake.

@eden

HEAT POINTS: 1000

☉

"didn't mean to," he mumbles and then he stretches. he also takes a quick sniff of his pits and makes a face. it's not like him to fall asleep without at least showering. and when he looks down at his hands, the one that eden hadn't wiped is still crusted with blood. he scratches at it, and rolls onto his back so he and his lower half can breathe a little bit.

and i slept in my jeans. jesus. he doesn't plan on crawling out of bed, but the knock at their door makes him stand. he pulls off his shirt and tosses it onto eden before getting to his feet and opening the door just a crack.

"ah, yes, okay. i'll take that," he says to the person on the other side of the door. and then he hoists a tray and turns, thanking the room service while nudging the door closed with his foot. 

the room smells immediately. plates of bacon and eggs, of pancakes and syrup, fresh fruit, biscuits and jam, and some type of oatmeal all balance on the tray. he sets it on the bed and grins.

"eat up, princess. we've got a long day of just the two of us," he says. the implication is emphasized with a wink. he sits on the opposite side of the tray and grabs a piece of bacon to munch on.

@eden

HEAT POINTS: 1000

☉