[attr="class","giada"]

[attr="class","giada b"]

[attr="class","giada i"]she's comfy and content and warm by the time he settles in beside her. the clicking of keys fades into white noise, mingling with the far-away sound of the next rerun on the tv. and while she'd like to say that she's simply laying there to let him finish writing, she's slipping between sleep and awake with each passing minute.

at one point, she drifts off into a mild nap, head sinking a little further into pillows. body curling a little tighter, knees tucking into a chest. her back is to him when she falls asleep but when she wakes up to the sound of his voice, she's facing him and there's a barely there smile completely covered in sleep.

"hmm," she mumbles, words not yet coming out just yet. sleep still clogs her eyes, her body, her mind. but the information he murmurs does the trick of waking her up a little faster. she yawns, unable to hold it back, and stretches while he continues. only when she settles back into the pillows does she respond, does she offer him the raising of an eyebrow and a curious look. "is that so?"

she's always tried to be the distraction. it's her role in most things. the siren, the bloody creature hidden behind pretty makeup and nice clothes meant to be nothing more than something to pass the time. and yet, she's curious about this moment. "can i ask why?"

Finley Black

[attr="class","giada"]

[attr="class","giada b"]

[attr="class","giada i"]her mouth pops open into a little o shape. the comment catches her completely off guard. she hadn't exactly been expecting something along those lines, really. normally she's used to the usual comments about her appearance or her body, the mentions that make her into an object. and maybe she's always intended to be an object because it comes with less expectations and even less attachments. but that comment? that single sentence leaves her speechless.

and that, in itself, never really happens.

she falls into silence for a moment, simply doing nothing more than watching him. the smile he flashes her is about as warm as the covers she's snuggled under and it makes her face flare with heat. uncomfortable, if she dwells too much on it. embarrassment doesn't suit her and neither does fluster.

perhaps that's why she tries to ignore it with questions, firing off the first thing that comes to mind because the silence is now uncomfortable for her to exist in much longer and the tapping of keys isn't white noise anymore. "why captivate?" she murmurs. there's a shift and she curls a little deeper into herself before asking more. he's expecting questions and she'll give him some. "what does that even mean? to captivate?" her head tilts into pillows and she's genuinely curious. "and why me?" the last question is softer, almost laughed out as if it's in disbelief.

Finley Black

[attr="class","giada"]

[attr="class","giada b"]

[attr="class","giada i"]the answer he gives her sounds like something straight out of a dictionary. or, better yet, the first result of a google search. it earns a soft laugh from her, as if she's amused by the textbook answer. to be expected, she supposes. he is a writer, after all.

it's not exactly what she was fishing for but she doesn't want to wrap her mind around what she really was searching for. instead, she'll lean toward banter because it's easy, simple, natural. "thanks, dictionary." it's light and probably teasing but she offers a slight grin to solidify that intention.

the next answer is cryptic and she scrunches her nose at the thought. someday. why not now? why not today? unknowns aren't her favorite thing. they leave too much room for uncertainty and there's little space for that in her line of work. unknowns mean danger and danger means handcuffs or worse. gross.

"are you always that mysterious?" comes out without warning and yet, she doesn't bother to take it back. instead she fixes him with another curious look, as if he's going to give her something like a hint or a clue into what he really means.

Finley Black

[attr="class","giada"]

[attr="class","giada b"]

[attr="class","giada i"]the faint grin lingers, even as she meets his banter with more of her own. "who says i'm interested?" clearly a lie and clearly meant to prod at whatever it can but she's always been a little flippant in regards to, well, everything. she expects him to understand it anyway.

giada stifles another yawn, shifting until she's sitting up by the time he turns to her. wow, finally done! only took... however long it did. really, she's lost track of time. the nap didn't help but it's fine.

"sure," she murmurs. it'd be rude to turn down the offer and she's curious to see what kind of article it is. will it paint the situation in a certain light? or paint them in a different light? realistically she isn't too concerned about the public's opinion of her. she's here for a good time, not whatever the fuck people expect from her.

she leans into his space to read through the article, lips curling at the edges as she goes. it's good, really good if she's being honest. most of it focuses on her and the ranger--lance, remember?--and not much of the attacker himself. what gets her is the way they're portrayed. heroes, forces of good. funny, she's never come close to good before. it's never even been in the same realm as her.

"it's good," she finally offers, leaning away to look at him instead of written lines on a lit screen. "you're good." there's no angle to it, nothing but a genuine compliment.

Finley Black

[attr="class","giada"]

[attr="class","giada b"]

[attr="class","giada i"]she hums acknowledgement to the gratitude, the meaning going over her head. it both does and doesn't make sense to thank her but hey, who is she to judge? if that's what makes him happy then so be it. maybe it's just because she's never had any of her own work to show off so the concept just falls flat. either way, she flashes a small, sleepy smile when the laptop is finally removed from the bed.

and then, he's settling beside her and getting comfy and she's shifting to make more room. is she a bed hog? probably. it's fine.

"maybe," she murmurs, even though it comes out a little more sleepy than she intends. damn, that nap really put her in the sleep now, fuck everything else mood. she tries to stay awake, though, if only because she's curious as to what'll happen if she does. probably nothing but conversation but that's not necessarily a bad thing. "i'll think about it." she settles on maybes instead and follows his eyes to the tv.

it's still some talk show rerun that she has no idea about but it's distracting for a moment.

Finley Black

[attr="class","giada"]

[attr="class","giada b"]

[attr="class","giada i"]at first, she's accepting of the closeness, of the arm reaching for her body. she doesn't pull away, doesn't even consider it. and at first it's warm and comforting and she feels herself relaxing a little further into sleep.

but something keeps her awake. the startling realization that this is intimate and not what she does almost has her jostling in her spot. she stills, almost on instinct, and a soft sigh escapes a moment later.

"okay," she whispers. if only because she can't run right now. she doesn't want to but it's scary and she's never been a girl that spends a night just to actually sleep. his arm keeps her in place with the comfort of warmth and her eyes are too heavy to fight off sleep any longer.

eventually, she'll wake up before the sun rises and escape without remorse but for now? sleep is okay, sleep is good.

Finley Black