Blue looked up from the collection of maps she had spread on the kitchen table as Gansey trudged in. His hair was mused adorably, brown spikes with sun bleached blonde like a scruffy halo around his head. Mauve circles hung below his eyes and he rubbed them with a closed fist, jaw unhinged as he attempted to stifle a yawn.
"Aren't you a hot mess?" Blue teased. His shirt wasn't even buttoned right! A triangle of strong collarbone was exposed, tanned skin marred with a spattering of star-like freckles. His rumpled look shot a spike of something deep into her stomach and she tapped the lid of the pen in her hand against her lip, attempting to hide how flustered she felt. "I'm guessing Adam stayed over last night?" she queried. She was rewarded with a guttural moan as he plonked down in the chair beside her, crossing his arms on the table and dropping his head to rest against the paper strewn surface.
"It's like a zoo," his muffled reply had her smiling and she brushed her fingers through his hair gently, unable to restrict herself from touching him. "I'm happy that they're happy, but geez…" he trailed off and she tweaked one of his spikes before turning her attention back to the maps, passing one of the many half-finished yoghurt pots to him. Sighing dramatically, he took the offered pot and began the tedious task of clearing them of the remaining fruit.
"You haven't walked in on them again, have you?" Blue asked innocently, lifting a map to cover the smirk on her face. Gansey paused mid-chew, shooting her a scathing look which warned her to keep silent. "Or is it seared in your memory?" she asked with a laugh, unable to hold her amusement in check. Gansey flicked the spoon at her, spattering her face with jelly triumphantly. "Gansey!" she exclaimed in annoyance.
"Shut up," His face broke into a grin and he stood, leaning over and grasping her face. Squealing she fought to get away from him as he licked the jelly from her cheek.
"Asshole!" she accused with a giggle.
"You, my dear lady, have been spending entirely too much time around Ronan." Gansey warned, settling himself back down and reaching for another yoghurt. "Is it true you asked him to teach you how to fight?" he queried and she nodded, rubbing her assaulted cheek against the shoulder of her teal cardigan.
"Considering the year we've had, I just thought, why not?" she explained and Gansey gave a solemn nod. "And also I hear assassins get paid pretty well, and with Ronan and Mr Grey as my teachers, how could I go wrong?"
"Agreed," Gansey grinned, popping the pots one inside the other, before rising to wash the spoon and graciously tackling the pile of plates teetering beside the sink.
"Nice to see you have other uses Richey-Rich," Calla approved as she stormed into the room. It wasn't that she was in a foul mood, but everywhere Calla went she intended to get there with purpose. Gansey acknowledged her with a nod, and she paused to observe his bedraggled form. "Insomnia?" she prompted.
"And his boyfriend," Gansey sighed and she nodded cordially.
"Blue, there's a spare duvet in the attic. You'll have to sacrifice one of your pillows however, Gwenllian is making some horrendous contraption with the spares." Calla warned. There was a pause when Blue and Gansey both frowned deeply at her. "Your boyfriend is sleeping on the couch, or you can bear the wrath of Maura." And with that she stormed from the room. Gansey stared after her form until they heard the front door slam closed and they caught each other's eyes.
"Was that an invite or an order?" he asked curiously.
"It's always an order," Blue grinned, excitement coursing through her body at the prospect of having Gansey with her all day and now all night. "Now that you're staying, you can help me figure out this blasted route! Santa Barbra or Barcelona?"
Something about the image before her sent a feeling of peace through Blue's sizzling veins. Gansey lay stretched out on the duvet of her bed, his head hanging off the edge and one hand tracing the arch of her ankle, his other hand pressed to the flat of his stomach.
"I think I'm starting to win her over again. She's just so disappointed, I've tried to explain the situation but I'm starting to think that she might send me to a psychiatric ward. As much as my parents trust me and believe in what I'm doing, sometimes I feel like they must think the majority of it is happening in my head." He sighed wearily, tapping his fingers to some unheard rhythm.
"I'm sure she is disappointed. But Gansey, there is nothing you can do about it now. And there was nothing else you could have done then, or we might all be dead. If you just keep being yourself, I think she'll get over it. Or at least, not be so upset by the situation." Blue reasoned, flicking through the National Geographic magazine and marking off pages for later observation. Gansey nodded silently, brows creased in thought, eyes flicking with indecision and hurt. Finally he closed his eyes and let out a sigh, sounding more like he was exhaling a whole lung as opposed to just a breath.
"It's late, I suppose I better vacate to the couch." He murmured, sitting up and tucking one of the many wayward strands of dark hair behind her ear. It was a fruitless task, her hair was untameable, and she was glad for it.
"Don't let them scare you off," she smiled, leaning closer until their noses brushed. "My mum would never hurt you, and Orla's all talk no action."
"That I believe. However, your mother is also dating a hit man and Calla could take Ronan on in an Irish bare-boxing championship…. With one hand tied behind her back. So excuse me if I don't want to push my luck," he admitted, running a finger over her bottom lip as she pouted her protest.
"Wise words," Calla called as she passed by Blue's open door.
"I swear, privacy doesn't exist in this house." Blue grumbled and Gansey smiled endearingly, tucking his head against her neck and inhaling her sweet scent. With a groan, he pulled back and brushed his lips against her forehead, before hauling himself off her bed and out the door, biding her a goodnight.
Sighing wearily, Blue flopped back on her bed, the Nat Geo magazine folded against her chest, a stupid smile working its way onto her face. She could hear Gwenllian tormenting Gansey on the staircase, and shouted for the witch to leave her poor exhausted boyfriend alone.
"Why is he not staying here with you, blue lily lily blue?" she asked, suddenly appearing beside the head of Blue's bed.
"Because its frowned upon." Blue grumbled. Gwenllian opened her mouth, looking as if she were about to comment, but seemed to change her mind and instead burst into song about kings and fair maidens and forbidden gatherings, before swooshing in her three dresses up to the attic.
The door to Blue's room creaked open, and she grumbled a protest as she twisted onto her side, squinting at the figure in her doorway. Leaning over, she flicked on her bedside lamp, expecting to see the crazy witch who lived in their attic. It wasn't unusual to have her sleep interrupted and forced to entertain her. But when the warm orange glow of her lamp swept the room, she instead found Gansey in her doorway, an uncertain expression on his face.
She was wide awake.
"Is everything okay?" she whispered and he crept into her room, shutting the door quietly behind him and cautiously settling himself on the edge of her bed. "Can you still not sleep?" she asked softly and he huffed out a breath.
"How could I sleep knowing you were up here?" he admitted gently and a hot flush swept across her body. "I'm such a rotten human." He berated himself, a frown marring his handsome features.
"Gansey-" she started and he shook his head ruefully.
"I should leave. I don't want to seem like I'm taking advantage of you- not that that's why I came up here! I'm not here to… well, do that! I just…" he trailed off, ears tinged pink and a flush creeping up his neck as a muscle popped in his jaw.
Blue traced her fingers across the curve of his jaw and turned his face to her, smiling softly before boldly lifting the duvet covers of her bed and inviting him in next to her. Gansey's face froze for a second, shock chasing the redness from his face, if only for a moment.
"I'm not offering anything other than sleep." Blue teased and he clambered in beside her in an attempt to cover his thundering heart and crimson face. "Don't worry, I won't make any untoward advances on your person." She giggled and he shook his head, turning to face her. There was hardly a centimetre of space between them. Blue moved to settle a bit easier and their knees knocked together. The temperature raked up a couple of degrees and she regretfully leapt from the bed to open her window, not realising just how much heat another human body would throw off under the duvet covers. Gansey's eyes widened at the sight of her in only an oversized shirt and his gaze trailed the length of her legs rather obsessively. When she returned to the bed, he was on his back and beckoned for her to curl against his side. Smiling, she done just that, throwing a leg over his and curling one of her hands over his heart, feeling his pulse leap and bound alongside hers.
Gradually their breath evened out, tension leaking from bodies and Gansey rested his chin atop her head. She felt his few whiskers of stubble catching in the finer strands of her hair and she snugged closer, revelling in the feel of being snuggled so tightly against him. Her leg crept over his waist and he made a small noise of surprise, one hand reaching down and curving over her bare thigh, his hand cold where it had been resting atop the covers, now warring with the clammy heat of her skin.
Sighing a breath he tipped his head, pressing his lips to her forehead and then reaching over to turn the lamp off, casting the room into shadows, the sparse silver light of the moon illuminating the edges of the curtains.
It was early morning when Blue felt Gansey stir. Still half-asleep she couldn't quite comprehend the sudden tension in his body and made a sleepy noise of protest, curling herself tighter against him, spread over his body like an over-friendly octopus. Gansey whispered her name in protest and then she felt it. Something hard pressing against her leg. Frowning, it took a second too long to figure out what she was feeling. And then she got it. Oh, boy, did she know. Heat swept through her body and she froze, body going tense and heart pummelling her rib cage.
"Blue, I-" Gansey froze mid-sentence and she squeezed her eyes shut against the urge to cringe away from him. "I'm sorry, it's not- I didn't- I mean it always, well not always, but its-" he stammered uselessly, shifting away from her. She could only imagine how much he was going to suffer over this. Taking a deep breath and holding it for a moment to long, she opened her eyes and exhaled, tipping her head up and rolling further on top of him, watching his eyes widen in shock as she rested her chin on his chest, feeling his heart thumping heavily.
"It's okay. I love you," she promised. And just like that it was okay. It was natural, every boy got morning wood, right? Blue didn't know the facts and she wasn't sure she really wanted to, but she didn't mind. Her hormones kicked into overdrive though, and she was finding it hard to concentrate even as Gansey's face relaxed and he wrapped an arm around her waist, brushing his lips between her eyebrows and breathing an unsteady release of air in relief.
And then she was on her back and he was above her, leaning an elbow beside her head and ducking down to brush his lips against hers. Smiling into the kiss, she pressed her hands to his shoulders and then further onto his back, feeling the muscles flex under her palms. Gansey trailed kisses made of fire down her cheek, over her jaw, and made a sloppy line down her neck which set her body alight. A breathy moan escaped her throat and Gansey made a male noise of appreciation which curled her toes. And then he was unbuttoning her sleep shirt. First one button to expose her collarbone, then another to show the first few indents of her ribs. And then another. His lips brushed the swell of her breast and she slipped her fingers through his silky, mussed up hair. Breathing his name, she closed her eyes and dwelled in the sensations of Gansey's lips brushing across the curve of her skin, his cool minty breath sending goose bumps along her body even as her temperature rocketed into uncharted territories. And when his lips slipped over a peachy tip, she bit back a gasp. Nobody had ever touched her before Gansey. And this was so new and exquisite, she wasn't sure how to handle her body's reaction.
And when she felt his hardness pressing against her thigh again she fought she would break apart. One of his hands slid up the dip of her stomach and then nudged her shirt open, fingers slipping over her skin and his thumb brushing across one pert nipple as his lips took every care and attention to her other. Her fingers dug into his skull and she moaned his name as he nuzzled her skin, and then he started moving back up towards her lips, redoing her buttons and pressing a sweet kiss to her lips.
She pressed for him to open his mouth, whispering against his lips, and he relented. The kiss was soul-consuming and reached the tip of her toes. His tongue brushed hers and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Pulling back with a pained expression Gansey rested his forehead against hers, breathing raggedly.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have- I don't seem to have a lot of control." He admitted sheepishly. Despite the hormones firing through her body and neurons in her brain imitating fireworks, Blue smiled. She cupped his cheeks and stared into his eyes lovingly.
"Stop apologising. I like it when you lose control," she admitted, pressing feather-light kisses across the arch of his cheeks and over his closed eyelids. "You didn't do anything I wasn't wanting you to do." She murmured and he smiled, tucking his head against her neck. They stayed that way for several more minutes, murmuring to each other gently before Gansey pulled away with a pained expression.
"I better head back to the sofa before we get caught. I don't know about you, but I have a feeling your mother would do a few things to me if she found me in here with you. All of which would be detrimental to my future hopes of being a father." He sighed and Blue smiled, kissing him one more time before he slid out of the room and back down the creaky stairs, wincing at the noise of each step.
Rolling onto her side, she fought the stupid grin on her face but found it was impossible to keep the radiance off her face. Oh God was she in love with him!