Author's notes: From a prompt I received on Tumblr: "Is there a reason you're naked in my bed?"

Alex isn't quite sure what drags her out of sleep. The creak of a floorboard. The whisper of a dress shirt's sleeves. Or maybe the slow exhalation of a man who's come home after a long day of running jobs around the city.

No matter the reason, she opens her eyes to find Nicolas standing in front of her, in front of the chair where she's curled under a light sheet. It takes a moment for his expression to register, drowsiness—her afternoon nap had last longer than she'd intended, hadn't it?—making her thoughts sluggish.

Oh.

Oh.

She's in his chair. The one he uses to do his sit-ups. The one he sleeps in at night.

Embarrassed heat rushes through her. Alex opens her mouth to say something, anything, to explain but his sharp gestures cuts her off: "Why are you naked?"

That's not fair. She's not naked. Not exactly. She's covered by a sheet.

The excuse sounds ridiculous, even in her head. Out loud, Alex says, "I washed my clothes earlier." Considering how limited her wardrobe is, she has to launder them more often than she'd like. They'll wear out and become threadbare at this rate. "They're drying now." They might even be done, given how hot it's been lately. Combined with the strong, bright sun of the day, it's certainly not a stretch.

Nicolas signs again. "That doesn't answer my question."

Alex bites her bottom her lip. It had made perfect sense this morning, after Worick and Nicolas had left for another Handyman job. They'd be gone for almost the entire day. Plenty of time to wash her laundry—all of her laundry—before they came back. Nothing had seemed wrong with the plan earlier.

She just hadn't meant for her nap to last so long.

Alex clears her throat and wraps the sheet more tightly around her body, tucking the ends securely to make sure nothing's exposed. She rises from the chair but ends up having to shuffle around him. It's strange how he doesn't budge. Normally Nicolas keeps his distance from her. It's not like he's afraid of her or anything. It's not even dislike or distrust. Not really. It's closer to something like unease.

Which is silly. Why would she make Nicolas uneasy?

The maneuvering is a little trickier than she expected. Why isn't he moving? It'd be so much easier if he did. Her foot catches on the trailing end of the sheet and she stumbles, almost falls.

So many things happen at once. A clatter. The sound of a sheathed sword hitting the floor. Arms curling around her waist and hauling her upright.

Alex stiffens. Nicolas has never willingly touched her before, and she's almost as startled by the contact as he is. Despite the proximity, their bodies aren't actually touching. There's space between her back and his front, but...but…

But.

Those scant inches between their bodies feel alive, electric. What? What is happening? But she knows. The truth is hovering there on the edges of her mind and she shies away from it. No. No. Something inside her quails and Alex has to fight every instinct not to wrench her body away. She wants to, though. She wants to.

Not looking back at him, Alex carefully, deliberately, tugs the sheet more securely over her breasts and slowly, gingerly, untangles her feet from the fabric. When she's done, she stands there like a stiff, wooden doll.

She knows the moment Nicolas senses the change in her, feels it in the way his big hands slowly lift away from her waist as deliberately as she'd been moving only moments before.

Alex turns her head slightly, just enough for him to see her lips. She doesn't dare use her hands to sign. She's exposed herself enough already. There's no need to offer more. "Thank you," she whispers.

Then, then, Nicolas steps back and that odd tension between them snaps, vanishes. The breath she'd been holding eases out of her lungs. Yes. It's fine. Everything's fine.

"I'll—I'll go check the laundry." She needs to put on clothes now.

But as she picks her way up the stairs, careful not to move too fast, careful not to give Nicolas any indication of how rattled she is, Alex knows it's not her naked body she needs to hide.