Misery Loves Company

[Existentially Odd]

"And you\'re planning to work when was that?" he asked her quizzically, following the question with a laugh and a shrug.  "Ah well, your decision.  Of course you can help, if you want to.  There\'s plenty of work to be done and keep my mind off things even with another pair of hands at it," he murmured, rolling so that he was on his back again, his arms no longer wrapped around her but his side pressed more closely to her front.

He was amazed by how comfortable he felt with her, really, and how much he liked the warmth of her.  He didn\'t really miss such a thing until he was reminded how nice it was - and even then it was simply something nice to luxuriate in for a while.  He preferred the permanency of an immortal in his life but since that wasn\'t possible right now, warmth was a convenient substitute and he founds the points where they contacted each other cosy.

[Mandy]

Mandy smiled, once again satisfied with Kerr`s response. She`d make her job and sleep needs work around his schedule, of this she was sure. Besides, with the way her rotation fell, she only worked three days a week, and that was full time. Twelve hour shifts. That left four days more to catch up on sleep and prepare for evenings spent with Kerr.

She cuddled in at the vampire’s side, resting her head atop his chest – her fingers toying at the fabric of his rumpled top. She drew slow, methodical circles along it, inwardly marveling at how firm the man beneath the martial felt at her touch. It was really such a pity he`d had to leave to purchase foodstuffs for her tonight. She`d rather enjoyed the vision of his naked torso, despite Ben`s name plastered across his skin like a bulletin board.

As they lay side by side, her thoughts drifted toward a variety of ineffectual things; the decision to become kindred lingering ever closer to the surface of these musings. Kerr had never actually tried to breech the matter with her since his return, obviously seeing by her lack of action that Mandy had somehow been deterred, or was perhaps, reconsidering (that, and he had problems of his own to certainly sort out). Fact of the matter was, the longer she stayed with him, like this – the more she wanted it for herself. She veiled these thoughts however, hoping to spare the moment excessive debate or concern. Not that she really need worry anyway...

Kerr was more polite than that. She was sure he wouldn`t delve into her mind without expressed permission first.

Glancing over what Mandy could only assume was a nipple, she continued her tender ministrations with aimless intent, absorbing every moment Kerr permitted her to be at his side before eventually suggesting a time for her to leave.

[Existentially Odd]

For his part, Kerr was content to simply lay there and accept her company, not moving too much - bar a shiver that ran through him whenever she grazed his nipple or her circling fingers were too light and tickled his sensitive flesh.  He still thought about Ben but the pain seemed easier to bear with her beside him; he had no idea why.

Eventually the distant pull of dawn began to yammer at him and he knew it was time to be heading into his casket - after he took Mandy home and then locked up the house, of course.  For the first time in quite a while, he spoke, believing Mandy to be asleep, judging by her breathing.  He rolled to face her and shook her gently via his right hand upon her hip.

"Mandy?  Mandy!  It\'s time to go home," he crooned, trying to be as soothing as possible.  If they went right then, he\'d have time to drive her home and come back, he believed.  It would be a cab or she\'d simply be left to her own devices on this bed, otherwise.  He didn\'t have oodles of time to have this decision made and rather regretted getting caught up thinking about the way Ben had folded even his dirty clothes and the clothes he liked to wear most often.  What did any of that have to do with him getting Mandy home and being safe, anyway?

[Mandy]

“Mmm?” She softly groaned as Kerr endeavored to wake her from what was (without a doubt) the most peaceful sleep she`d had in months. Mandy stirred at the sound of his voice, stretching her arms lazily above her head as awareness began to little by little return. She was still at his house. At Kerr`s house.

The realization was a difficult one to believe.

"Mandy? Mandy! It\'s time to go home,"

“Home?” The female repeated with a lethargic sigh, not entirely grasping the full meaning of her companion’s words. Perhaps she was more exhausted from their previous exchange than initially supposed? That, or the mere concept of home, had become something of a foreign concept to her. After all, Mandy no longer had a ‘home’ to return to. Straining to focus her gaze, she peered up at the familiar form above her. If only this moment could last. She hated to go back to back to Barry`s, only to feel as though she were imposing. “W – what time is it?” She murmured; her voice sweet in the wake of post-slumber bliss.

[Existentially Odd]

"Almost four," he answered quietly, "but if you want me to drive you, we\'ll need to leave now.  If you want to just sleep here and find your own way home in the daylight, you\'re welcome to do that too, I just need to know what you want to do... sorry," he apologised, unable to resist smiling at her bewilderment.

[Mandy]

It was all that Mandy could do not to blurt that she would stay.

“Stay!” She declared, her semi-sleepy state making the announcement seem somewhat comical rather than a firm resolution. She simply couldn`t believe he would give her the option of remaining through the day (or at least, until she`d recovered enough to wander back to Barry`s). It showed the weary mortal just how much trust Kerr actually placed in her.

Looked as though she were going to break the bed in for him after all.

“Tuck me in?” Oh my God. How old was she again?

[Existentially Odd]

"Alright," he chuckled and got up off the bed.  Without further ado, he worked the blankets down beneath her back, so that he could cover her with them - he took the time to remove her shoes, too.

While Mandy grew comfortable on the bed, he walked through the house to lock everything up and shut everything down.  In recent nights, he\'d performed this task much like a zombie would, not really attending to what was locked and what was open, just doing a haphazard security check.

Tonight, he was far more motivated to do it thoroughly because he wasn\'t attempting to protect only himself, he had Mandy to think of.  Mostly, that\'s where his thoughts did lie until he got back to the bedroom.  Once he was there, he returned to the bed and knelt upon it, giving Mandy\'s forehead a kiss that he more or less wiped off straight away with a gentle thumb (the rest of his left hand was curved atop her head intimately).

"Goodnight.  Sleep tight," he bade, preparing to back off the bed and onto his feet on the floor.

[Mandy]

She settled in easily enough; the new sheets feeling good against her body (even when filtered through the material of her clothes). Strange, to think they might have never been slept in at all were it not for an unexpected turn of providence. Or maybe her immortal love-interest would have napped in them eventually?

 Did vampires ever need the benefit of a quick power snooze in order to recharge and recover during the night?

The mattress shifted when Kerr finally returned from his dutiful rounds; his lips pressing against Mandy’s forehead, succeeded immediately by a gentle hand to her brow. She smiled idly at the touch, loving the personal contact while inwardly aching for so much more. His kiss was wonderful against her skin, but she longed to feel it sweep her blushing petals as well. Dare she try? To over step boundaries now, may very well see him retracting his offer to have her visit at any time. And this would be heart-breaking.

In the end however, Mandy was simply unable to contain the depth of her inclinations…

Catching Kerr`s jaw in her palm, she craned her neck upward and sought the vampires mouth with her own - eyes drifting close in anticipation of the eventual contact. Her movements were fluent and almost certainly caught Kerr off his guard, but this was Mandy`s intent. The shock of it all might prevent him from simply pushing her away. As for the kiss itself – it was brief (more a friendly peck really), but a little went a long, long way when someone hungered for another’s touch. No doubt, the intensity would be enitrely one sided.

It concluded quickly enough; ending with a gentle tug and subtle suction sound as their lips parted ways. Soft and warm… slightly wet. Perfect. She`d take it gratefully and resign to bed without further ado. Not that she longed to prolong things any further for Kerr anyway. He needed to get into the safety of his coffin before the sun had opportunity to rise and do it`s worst.

“Goodnight.” She sighed with a final smile and released his cheek, tucking her hand obediently beneath the sheets. “See you in the morning.” Even though morning for him, was really more her night.

[Existentially Odd]

With his arms on either side of her on the bed as his lower half began moving first, Kerr was pretty helpless to resist her kiss.  The fact that he froze the instant she touched his lips also contributed to that happening.

WRONG

He swallowed as she pulled away and happily snuggled into the bed, seeming as pleased as punch with herself.  He was uncertain what to do.  His mind yammered about how nice it had been to have some friendly contact when he\'d felt so numb and senseless for the past few nights, but his every instinct screamed about how wrong it was.

She wasn\'t Ben.  He didn\'t want to be kissed by her or anyone that wasn\'t Ben.  Not even Ben.

Conflicted as he was, it felt like the moment had already passed by when she closed her eyes and began heading for sleep again.  How could he shake her awake only to ask her to never do that again?  That would be stupid - especially since she likely hadn\'t meant it the way he\'d thought.

Like a robot, Kerr finished getting off the bed then.  He walked around the edge of the room on legs that felt like they were creaking, and closed every glass door before ensuring the thick curtains were pulled.  The room would be slightly less than ure black when Mandy awoke, but it would still be very dark; he hoped she\'d be okay but didn\'t bother leaving a light on for her.  Instead, he walked over to the coffin and stripped down to his underwear before opening the lid and climbing in (somehow, he didn\'t feel it was appropriate to be naked... and the thought of it happening with her so close was unsettling, too).

It wasn\'t until he could hear the dawn birds chorusing and feel that the sun was fully released into the daylit sky that he closed his eyes and fell fitfully into yet another disturbed sleep.