Wake Up

[vanya-a.livejournal.com]

Something roused Vanya from sleep, and her eyes slid open.  She felt weird, as though she had been dreaming a hyperrealistic dream and hadn't quite woken up.  What had happened the previous night was still on her mind, and she spent a few moments convincing herself that it wasn't part of her dream.

When she finally became conscious she was aware that Atin was with her, arm draped over her stomach lazily as though to hold her safe.  She smiled to herself.

Things were definitely becoming more interesting as time went on.  She wondered if he would wake up feeling as contented as she had.

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[random_xtras]

He woke with a quizzical, slightly dozy frown that changed to wonder and then to a tight hug as he tried to get his brain into gear.

[vanya-a.livejournal.com]

She smiled a soft smile and simply lay there for a moment, wondering what she should say.

Various statements of various levels of appropriateness went through her mind before she settled on the good old standby:

"Hello."

[random_xtras]

Sleepy sigh. "(Hello.)"

-Whoops. English, @#$%&$# head.-

"Hi."

[vanya-a.livejournal.com]

She smiled wider and rolled over slightly, propping herself up on one elbow so she could look at him.

"There's no need to berate yourself," she said. "I can understand you perfectly fine."

[random_xtras]

"Yeah." He blushed, then looked toward the door as Albus called through it and asked if he didn't want lunch.

[vanya-a.livejournal.com]

She froze.

"Should I..."

Hide? Put on something other than a ratty shirt and underwear? She wasn't sure what to do.

[random_xtras]

Atin blinked and looked at her sideways, then turned his head to look at her full-on as he called back, "We're coming."

There was a wondering silence on the other side of the door, broken only by Fawkes' crooning.

[random_xtras]

He blanched as he finished with the socks and put his foot down, his mind suddenly full of images of his scars as he reached for his boots. "Um... okay."

[vanya-a.livejournal.com]

She picked up on his alarmed thought process and smiled. "Don't worry about that," she said softly, hugging her arms closer to her chest and frowning slightly.

Her eyes didn't meet his as she spoke to herself, hoping beyond hope he'd pick it up.

-Please. I don't care what you look like; I love you because you're you.-

[random_xtras]

The thought hit him with the force of a blaster bolt and he gasped, then squeezed his face up and turned it away as the tears finally got away from him.

[random_xtras]

He got the mud-soaked laces tied, then straightened and wiped his hand on his jeans before offering it to her and leading her downstairs to investigate the silence and the smell of fried pork.

[vanya-a.livejournal.com]

Another smile, and she took the offered hand.

Judging by what she'd seen of the inhabitants of this house and how she knew they operated, they were probably all waiting with baited breath to see the two of them together.

And despite what Atin said to her, she still worried that she would be perceived as someone with less-than-ideal morals. Living in a preacher's wife's house.

But she figured it was high time she got over herself.

[random_xtras]

Atin was rather surprised to find only Rob and Vic in the living room.

"Where did everyone go?" He looked around.

Rob opened one eye from where he was stretched on the coffee table. "The Council wanted to talk to Albus and Jav, Grandpa's up on the roof having a smoke, and I don't know where Grandma is."

[random_xtras]

Atin shrugged as he resumed his meal. "It tastes good."

"Beats sleeping sometimes." Rob scowled absently and returned to the coffee table, giving Vic a pat on the arm before he lay down.

[vanya-a.livejournal.com]

She smirked. "I'll take your word for it."

[i_salted_dean]

"Note to self." Sam stumbled in soaking wet, a bleary scowl on her face. "The beach is not a good place to fall asleep."

Atin blinked, his fork arrested halfway to his mouth.

And Rob fell off the coffee table laughing.

[random_xtras]

"She's my wife," he repeated firmly, his jaw squaring as he unconsciously prepared for a fight.

Sam blinked. "Easy, dude. The Mandalorian thing?"

He nodded.

The hunter looked at him in silence for a moment, reading what his body was saying and pushing back the urge to go punch somebody. -No one deserves that, Lord.-

The answer came to her heart, clear though wordless. He's here now.

-Yeah.- She reached over and gave the scarred clone a smack on the shoulder, then turned and took her coffee outside with intentions of joining her husband and Hunter on the roof.

[vanya-a.livejournal.com]

Vanya watched the entire exchange with mild amusement. It wasn't that she found the treatment of marriage as a serious thing funny.

Rather, the fact that everyone else but the two of them seemed to be making a huge deal out of this. She knew what Atin knew: this was a contract between the two of them. The details and legality were nobody else's business.

"Are you okay?" she asked Atin once Sam had left.

[random_xtras]

He nodded and returned to his meal, causing the last of it to disappear and then stacking his plate and cup in the heaped sink.

[random_xtras]

He staggered mentally, his hand falling from her neck to her shoulder as the fear for her turned to a low thrill of horror.

[vanya-a.livejournal.com]

"Please don't," she whispered, her voice low. "Please."

Don't leave now.

[random_xtras]

He looked at her- so vibrant and lively... how could she not be alive?

"No," he whispered without realizing it, his hand going up to cup her cheek as he swallowed a lump at the unrightness of it.

For some reason it grieved him deeply and caused a nearly paranoid protectiveness to rise up in him.

[random_xtras]

"I didn't say that I drank too much." Humor showed for a moment in his eyes as he walked back inside and made for the stairs from the deck. "Just that I was drunker than I thought."

[vanya-a.livejournal.com]

She rolled her eyes at him. "It's all variations on the same theme."

[random_xtras]

((and I see I still slubbed that up. OH WELL, we know what I'm saying, don't we?))

"Oh." He paused on the steps to see if she was coming. "Okay."