Pillow Talk
by Meimi

Satiation was a wonderful state of being. A sense of bonelessness permeated the body while certain areas ached in just the right way. The fact that the person who made him feel this way preferred to cuddle afterwards was merely the quintessential cherry on top of his luscious cake. Couldn't really argue with such stellar results. Repeated stellar results.

"Hope?" A kiss on the back of his shoulder. It didn't seem like a precursor, but there really was no telling with Noel. His stamina was rather remarkable.

"Hmm?" If Noel thought they were going another round, he was going to be sorely mistaken. Some people had to work in the morning.

"We really need to talk about this streak of masochism you have." ...What? Oh god, what kind of lunacy had he come up with this time. One of these days Hope was going to put Serah on speed dial and let her deal with Noel's after sex stupidity. After that, she would never ever accuse him of being too sensitive about the crap Noel kept pulling.

"I'm going to regret this, and I will probably hit you at one point or another, but what are you blathering on about now?" Hope groused in as put upon a manner as he could manage at this time of night. Why couldn't Noel ever just go for something sane with his post-coital musings?

"I know you always end up with a backache after a really good night. You really need to tell me when I'm going too far with the gymnastics, I don't want you to get hurt." It sounded reasonable. Then again, it always sounded reasonable in the beginning. It was when he made the mistake of going along with it that it ballooned into some ridiculous farce about his safety and Noel just being a complete overbearing moron. He didn't need a mother and he didn't want Noel to get turned into paste when Lightning discovered someone was moving in on her territory in that regard. Why did he know so many crazy people?

Hoping that he could manage to get everything out in one go so that he could go to sleep already, Hope took a huge breath and just let it all out, "It's not an issue, Noel. And I don't really care about it either way. There's absolutely nothing masochistic about enjoying incredible sex. And really, if I had a problem with your exuberant performance, the pain you are constantly being in my ass would be a higher priority than a simple backache."

He could feel the lips still resting against the back of his shoulder curl up in what could only be a devilish grin. Noel did appreciate compliments in that particular area, and they were usually a good way to get the ball rolling. Unfortunately for Noel, the ball was staying right where it was for the rest of the night. It was a tempting idea, to be sure, but he still had the issue of work in the morning. Noel was just going to have to live without. "Before you even get all hot and bothered, know that I will kick you out of the bed if you try anything. Some of us have to be cognizant in the morning. If you can't control yourself, then use your damn hand."

Noel was laughing against his back now, full on guffaws. Maybe Hope should just go ahead and kick him out. At this rate, it would be dawn before he finally had the chance to get any shut eye. He had meetings. They were important. He needed to be conscious and firing on all cylinders. Noel wasn't helping with any that in the slightest.

"I'm sorry." More kisses against his back, interspersed with chuckles. Why did he have to be the only adult in this relationship? Just because he was the best at getting things done didn't mean he wanted to be the one in charge all the time. And certainly not with this idiot. Noel was very good at what he did. Too bad he was also really good at being an idiot. "Go to sleep, I won't bother you anymore."

"Hmmph, you'd better not or it'll be the floor for you," Hope warned dangerously. He had zero qualms with following it through. Sleep was important.

Another chuckle. "I love you."

"Yes yes, I love you too," Hope sighed, then added, "And so does the floor."