Okay this is just a little Naley one shot! Inspired and dreamed up by my favoritist Dawn, who also guided me with this fiction. I love you Q and I hope this makes you smile! Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy, please leave a review after reading, just to let us know if you liked it or not! Enjoy!
"…Nathan, stop laughing!!! I mean it! If she didn't stop snapping her fingers at me and calling me 'young lady' I was going to dump her coffee in her lap! Stop it!" Haley tries to pull away in a huff, but Nathan clings to her hand tighter; watching her in amusement as they walk along the docks on the slightly chilly evening. They'd just seen a movie and were wasting as much time as possible before they had to go home.
"I'm sorry Hales it's just, you say you would, but you wouldn't. You're all talk." He says, not even attempting to wipe the smirk off his face.
"All talk, huh?" Haley asks; a smirk of her own forming. "Well fine, consider these lips for talking purposes only."
"Huh? What do-what do you mean?" Nathan asks, eyebrows rising in question. Haley's smirk widens and is accompanied by a shrug as she pulls her hand out of his grasp and skips lightly ahead toward the familiar table, grinning smugly as she pulls herself on top of it; her feet swinging from side to side as she eyes her boyfriend.
Nathan walks up to Haley slowly, stilling her swinging feet with his hands as he nudges her legs apart to stand between them. She looks up, taking in the taunting look that crosses Nathan's features. Arching her eyebrows questioningly at him, she clutches the edge of the table, shifting her upper body back in an attempt to put distance between them.
"Haley, do you really think you can resist kissing me?" he prods, wrapping his arms around her waist, scooting her back into him.
"Look Nathan, you might be 'Mr. High and Mighty' in the halls of Tree Hill High, but those pretty, baby blues hold no power over me." She teases in a sweet tone.
"Really?" He asks, receiving a nod from the stubborn girl before him; smirking as he recognized a hint of her resolve begin to slip.
"You really think you can resist me?" he pushes again, bringing his face closer to hers; sweeping a piece of loose hair behind her ear, allowing his hand to linger upon her chin.
"I survived before without kissing you, what makes you think I can't now?" Haley asks, her eyes dancing in amusement as she fought to keep her tone serious.
"Because now you know what you'd be missing." Nathan breathes out, his lips reaching out to kiss her, only to be met with the soft skin of her cheek. As she opens her mouth to laugh in victory, a gasp of surprise crosses her lips as his continues from the side of her face, down her jaw line to the sensitive skin of her collar bone.
"Nathan…" she breathes out and, as if having a mind of their own, her arms snake around his neck, pulling him closer.
"You still think you can resist me Hales?" he asks huskily into her hair, laying a kiss to the side of her head. "You think you can resist kissing me here? At our table?"
Squeezing her eyes shut in effort to regain control, Haley once again nods her head, attempting to draw away from his strong grasp. Retracting her arms from around his neck, she pulls back bringing her eyes to meet his.
"You can't win that easily Scott." She whispers as the dark clouds above them open up to release a soft, slow drizzle. "Now, be a gentleman and take me home before it starts pouring."
Shaking his head in disappointed defeat, Nathan pulls back from Haley, taking her by surprise when he sits down on the bench, placing her down safely into his lap.
"I'll tell you what; I'll escort your cute little self home as soon as you kiss me." He says, pulling her closer to his chest as the slow drizzle increases into a steady rain.
"Nathan!" She whines with an eye roll, struggling to untwine his arms from around her waist. "Nathan, come on, the rain's picking up; we're already going to be soaked by the time we get back!"
"And I told you, we'll go as soon as you give in and kiss me." He says; his face set stubbornly, his darkening eyes pleading for her to accept his challenge.
"Nathan, I'm not going to sit out here in the rain, catching pneumonia, because your ego can't accept the fact that I don't need your kisses in order to survive." She quips, once again attempting to stand from his grasp, but he only pulls her closer; nuzzling his mouth next to her ear.
"Really? 'Cause I need yours..." He whispers huskily, nipping the lobe of her ear as he pulls away; gazing at her through the rain.
"Nathan…" she whines with less conviction, once again letting her arms come to wrap around his neck.
He shrugs, fighting the smirk that's tugging at his lips. "Just one kiss Hales, and then I'll take you home." She narrows her eyes at him, subconsciously weighing her options.
"I won't even judge you for giving in." He adds in, after recognizing the battle she's fighting within herself. "We can just chalk it up to my irresistible good looks."
Letting out an amused laugh, she raises one hand up to drag it through her now soaked hair. Nathan's eyes darken further as he takes in the sight she makes; her hair and clothes clinging to her body as the rain seeps into them. Forgetting about the teasing, he swoops his head down, capturing her lips between his.
Expecting her to pull away and put up another fight, he turns his body, lips never parting, trapping her between his chest and the table, his arms on either side of her petite frame in order to block her in.
Pulling the front of her torso flush against his, his tongue moves out, tracing the seam of her lips. Forgetting her supposed resistance, she eagerly grants him access; moaning quietly as she feels his tongue massaging hers. Oblivious to the ever increasing down pour, the two teens pull away breathlessly; resting their foreheads together as they lock eyes in a heated gaze.
As Haley leans in to recapture his lips, but Nathan pulls away; a shaky, yet satisfied smirk plastered firmly across his face. Pulling her off his lap and settling her feet on the ground, Nathan stands up and begins walking to his car.
"Come on Hales, let's get you home." He says with a grin, stopping to turn and face the now soaked and stupefied girl.
"Wha-Nathan!" she whines, her shoulders dropping in confused agitation.
"Haley, I'm not going to stand out here in the rain, catching pneumonia, because you can't accept the fact that I don't have to constantly kiss you in order to survive." He quips, turning her words around on her.
"You smug son of a-" she says with a halfhearted glare; pointing her finger at him accusingly before stomping her way up to mustang and plopping her drenched body down roughly onto the leather interior of the seat.
"Hales!" He exclaims, eyes widening in horror as the water from her clothing splatters across the seat and the dash. "That's leather interior!"
She shrugs, swinging her feet inside the car and shutting her door as he runs around to get in on his side. "You should've thought of that before you decided to keep me out in the rain Mister 'I'm not leaving until you kiss me and then I'm going to tease you and leave you hanging'!" she huffs out, running a hand through her dripping hair.
Despite his panic, he can't stop the grin that graces his lips as he takes in her flustered state. "Okay one, all you had to do was kiss me; you prolonged it by being hardheaded. And two, my dad is going to have a fit when he sees this –"
She arches an eyebrow at him curiously when she notices his eyes light up with a revelation. Smirking smugly to himself he starts the car and pulls away from the docks.
"Might I inquire as to why you've got such a proud smirk on your face?" she asks curiously, struggling to keep the agitation in her voice.
He shrugs, turning to her with a sly grin as he stops the car at a red light. "Because, my dad is going to have a fit when he sees the car all messed up like this."
Unable to hold back, Haley lets out a small laugh; rolling her eyes at her rebel boyfriend as the car once again accelerates. After sitting in comfortable silence for a few more minutes, Nathan pulls up to the curb in front of Haley's house; killing the engine and turning to face her.
"I had fun tonight Haley." He says with a sweet smile, grabbing her hand in his.
Thrown off by his sweetness, Haley let her resolve soften for a minute before remembering that she was 'annoyed' with him. Setting her face once again in feigned agitation, she turns to face him.
"Really? What was your favorite part? Laughing at me, or torturing me?" she asks; having to bite back the playful smile that dares to escape as she watches his sweet smile transform into that ever-popular, cocky smirk.
"Hmmm…" he drawls out, tapping the pointer finger of his free hand on his chin. "Well, I for one think that YOU were the one torturing ME; but I can't say that I didn't enjoy it."
"What? How was I possibly torturing you?" she asks in astonishment.
He lets out a chuckle, absent mindedly running his thumb across the back of her hand. "Hales, how were you NOT torturing me? First you said you wouldn't kiss me again, so I had to beg. And by the time you gave in, you were soaking wet and looking incredibly
hot in the rain. How is that fair?"
"You - that was not begging! That was you taking advantage of the fact I'm smaller and weaker than you are to get your way! Bully! And then, after preying on me, you kept me out in the rain whilst I was breaking my word!" she huffs out.
"We wouldn't have been in the rain if you would've just kissed me." Nathan states obviously. "But no, you had to stick to your word…not that you held onto that for long." He mumbles out; laughing when she turns around to smack him on the shoulder.
"Nathan! You said you wouldn't tease me!" she says with a pout, attempting to pull her hand from his.
"And you said you wouldn't kiss me again, and yet; here we are." He says with a smile, bringing her hand up to his lips. Unable to make herself pull her hand away, she sends a glare in his direction; hoping he doesn't see the adoration lying behind the playful frustration.
"Don't glare at me, you know you had fun too." He undoes her seat belt and pulls her into his lap before she can even protest.
"Oh yes, because I always have fun when losing my morals." She says with a roll of the eyes; crossing her arms obstinately in front of her.
"Well then," he says with a large grin. "Maybe we should work on stripping you of a few more of those virtues…along with other things." He hints; tugging at the hem of her shirt playfully.
She raises her eyebrow at him in playful warning.
"Because, I mean, really Haley, sitting around in those wet clothes; you're just going to get sick." He says, tightening his grip around her waist as she wraps her arms around his neck; playing with his hair.
"Hmm, you know what?" she whispers out huskily, leaning down to place her mouth next to his ear. "I think you're right."
"You do?" he asks, his voice laced with surprise and lust.
"Yeah." She drawls out, nodding softly before swinging open his door and hopping out of his lap. "So I guess I should go inside and change!" she says with a giggle, popping a kiss on his cheek before shutting his door and running up to the house; turning to wave at his shocked expression from the doorstep. "Call me!"
Bewildered, Nathan watches the house for a second; shaking his head to clear it as he sees her bedroom light flick on. Starting the engine, he drives off to get out of his own wet clothes…and maybe into a cold shower.
- - -
Throwing another glare across the tutoring center as someone once again scrapes their chair across the floor, Haley wrenches open the filing cabinet and starts leafing through the names. Her head is pounding and she keeps having to swallow to ease her scratchy throat. 'Where the hell is that bottle of water anyway?' she muses, closing the cabinet again; jumping a clear foot in the air when she turns directly into a pair of lips.
"I'm definately glad that it was me you turned around to!" Nathan laughs, placing another kiss upon her lips.
"HaHa." She says dryly, walking around him and plopping into a nearby chair. "Maybe we should use this period to teach you how to not be an idiot."
"Whoa." He raises his hands in defense. "What did I do?"
"I don't know." She shrugs, still not making eye contact. "But I'll tell you what you didn't do; you didn't call last night once you got in like I asked you too!"
Confusion settling across his face; Nathan takes a seat in the chair across from her, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.
"Hales, I'm sorry. It's just, by the time I got home and out of the shower it was late and I figured you were asleep, I didn't want to wake you." He says sincerely, tilting his head to the side to catch her eye.
Sighing, Haley props her elbow up on the table, pushing the palm of her hand to her forehead.
"I'm sorry." She says quietly, receiving a nod from the confused boy across from her. "And you're right, I was sleeping."
"Well from the looks of it, you didn't get enough." Nathan points out.
"Gee thanks Nathan. I love having my boyfriend tell me I look like crap!" Haley lets out sarcastically; standing up to walk away. Squeezing his eyes shut in regret, He stands up with her; placing a hand on either side of her hips.
"Hales, I'm sorry. You know I didn't mean it like that." I just meant, normally you're energetic and happy, so I just assumed that you didn't get enough sleep because now you're…not energetic and happy." He stumbles out, relieved when she doesn't pull from his touch.
"I know Nathan, I just-"she starts; wrapping her arms lightly around his waist, pulling him closer.
"And besides, you don't look like crap; you look gorgeous, as always." He says with a smirk of certainty that she can't help but smile at.
"Oh yeah – I'm good." He says as his grin widens, obviously proud of the reaction he's caused. Pulling her so that her face is resting snuggly against his chest; he places a sweet kiss to the top of her head.
"So what's going on with you Hales?" he asks, feeling her shrug heavily against his body.
"I don't know." She mumbles out, burying her face further into the warmth of his body. "I guess I'm just tired."
Releasing one arm from around her waist, he leans down to pick up their bags; earning another small smile from her when he places her bag on his shoulder next to his.
"Do you work today?" he asks as they head down the emptying hall ways.
"Yeah, that's where I'm headed right now actually." She says, putting her free hand up to her temple to massage it gently.
"If you're so tired can't you like, call in or something? I'm sure my mom wouldn't mind; it's not like you do it all the time." He offers.
"No, I'm fine." She says, laughing lightly as she takes in his unconvinced expression. "I'll be fine! Once I get there and start working around the customers I'll wake up a bit."
"Yeah, or one of them will say something you don't like and you'll pour coffee in their lap!" he teases with a laugh, holding the door open for her as they walk outside; pulling her closer as the cool breeze hits them.
"Hardy har har." She says sarcastically, unable to help the smile that pulls at her lips.
"Well since you're convinced you'll be fine, you want me to drive you to work?" he asks, offering her the opened passenger door of the mustang. "And then maybe you can swing by when you get off of work?"
Nodding, she leans up, placing a sweet kiss to his lips before settling into the seat of the car. As she watches him walk around to the driver's side, she leans back into the head rest, willing her headache to go away.
- - -
"Of all the days for us to be busy" Haley mumbles quietly as she wipes down a table for what seems to be the thousandth time that night.
"Excuse me." An older woman calls from the table in the corner. Thinking Deb or one of the other waiters will get it; Haley maintains her focus on the table before her.
"Excuse me young lady!" the woman shrills out once again, causing Haley's grip on the towel to tighten. Exhaling slowly, she turns around to find the woman in the corner, fingers poised to snap at her. Despite her aggravation, Haley laughs as she walks up the demanding woman's table, recalling her earlier conversations with Nathan.
"Can I help you?" she asks in a sickeningly sweet voice.
"Finally!" the woman huffs out. "Did you not hear me calling you?"
'Yes of course I did, I just chose to blatantly ignore you.' Haley thinks before sending the woman an apologetic smile.
"No I'm sorry, I didn't. What can I get you?"
Rolling her eyes, the woman shoves her now empty coffee cup in front of the tired young girl. Reaching out, Haley takes the mug, restraining herself from snatching it out of the woman's hand.
"I'll be right back." She smiles forcibly, going to the back; sighing as she realizes she has to put on a new pot of coffee. Looking back out to the front of the café, she sees that business has slowed down, so she plops down on the nearest stool, resting her head in her hands.
"Haley?" Deb questions softly, laying a hand to the young girl's back; causing her to once again jump in surprise.
"JESUS!" she screams in surprise, sending her into a fit of coughs.
"Oh! Haley! Are you okay sweetie?" The concerned woman asks; placing a hand on Haley's shaking shoulders.
Taking a deep breath to regain her composure, she nods. "Yeah I just, I –"she starts before placing her hands over her face and sneezing quietly.
"Are you sick?" Deb asks, glancing through the window in the wall to check on the quieting business of the café.
"No I don't think so. I mean I don't know how –"stopping, her eyes narrow in a glare as realization hits her. "Ohhh, Nathan is SO dead."
Brows' knitting in confusion, Deb leads the young girl back to the stool before reaching over to fill up the demanding woman's coffee cup.
"Okay sweetie, why don't you just stay back here while I take care of this last table of customers, then I'll take you home." Deb offers, patting her on the back.
"Oh no, it's okay. Let me help you close up. I'm fine." Haley says insistently, before sneezing once again.
Shaking her head at Haley lightly, Deb places a hand to her forehead. "Oh Haley, you've got a slight fever, wait back here and then I'll take you home."
"Well I was supposed to go see Nathan when I got off." Haley says quietly, reaching for a bottle of water.
"Oh okay, well give me fifteen minutes and we'll head over there, okay?" she asks before rounding the corner back into the dining area of the café.
Dropping her head into her hands, Haley closes her eyes; her attempt to rest disrupted as she breaks into another round of sneezes.
- - -
As she ascends further up the stair case, Haley recognizes the distinct sound of NBA Live coming from behind her boyfriend's door. Not bothering to knock, she walks in; only slightly put off by the fact that Tim is sitting in the chair next to Nathan's. Rolling her eyes at the boys as they maneuver their heads to see around her as she walks in front of the screen; Haley drops down onto Nathan's bed, curling up beneath the covers.
"Hey!" Tim calls out; pausing the game to look at the bed behind him. "How come she gets to sleep in your bed?!? You always tell me to get out!"
"Tim-"Nathan starts, narrowing his eyes and shaking his head. "Shut up."
Handing his controller to Tim, who resumes the game; Nathan crawls onto the bed, slowly pulling back the covers from Haley's face.
"Hey baby." He says gently, brushing her hair out of her eyes as they shift to look up at him. "What's wrong?"
Sending a glare in his direction, Haley swings the comforter back over her head.
"I hate you, you got me sick. Go away." She mumbles out in a tone very similar to that of a child.
Suppressing a chuckle at her behavior, Nathan once again pries the blanket back. "Okay one, I don't have to go away, this is my bed. And two, how did I get you sick?" He asks, laying his body down on top of the comforter.
"Because you-"she starts, pointing a finger in his face. "-kept me out in the rain last night!"
"Awww-" He lets out through a laugh, gathering her into his arms so that her back rests against his chest. "I'm sorry you're sick Hales, but it's not my fault."
"Is too!" she complains, burrowing her aching head further into the pillow.
"No, actually it's not." He says mischievously. "I told you to get out of those wet clothes last night; I even offered to help."
"Help?" Tim smirks eagerly in the pair's direction. "Help now; I'll supervise."
Shuddering in disgust, Haley turns her body around and snuggles her face into Nathan's chest; smiling softly when his arms automatically go around her waist.
"Tim," Nathan says, gesturing to the door with a nod of his head. "It's getting pretty late, why don't you head home and I'll see you tomorrow?"
Furrowing his brows in innocent confusion, Tim glances down at his watch. "But Nate, its only 7:30."
Unable to help herself, Haley laughs sarcastically. "Great, of all the times for him to figure out how to tell time…"
"Tim…" Nathan growls out, his eyes set on the door.
"Fine, fine…The Tim can take a hint." He says with a sigh, shutting the door behind him.
" 'The Tim' " Haley repeats. "Geez Nathan I know he's your friend but sometimes, I really don't understand why you hang out with him." She exclaims; earning a laugh from Nathan before the door once again creaks open.
"What Tim?" Nathan asks impatiently.
"Feel better Haley." He says sweetly, completely oblivious to Nathan's annoyance.
Turning her face, Haley smiles. "Thanks Tim." She says, her smile widening as he sends her a shrug and a dopey grin; once again shutting the door.
"Aw, see? And then he does things like that and I understand." She scoots back into his embrace, her eyes fluttering shut as he lays a kiss to her forehead.
"Jesus Haley! You're hot!" Nathan says, pulling back in order to look at her.
"Nathan, I'm tired and hungry, and I don't feel well –Which is your fault by the way! – I'm not in the mood to listen to you pathetically attempting to flirt with me!" Haley bites out, attempting to pull out of his embrace, but stops as she notices him shaking with laughter.
"What could possibly be funny?" she asks in a low, frustrated voice.
"Oh wow, Hales. You've officially been around me too long." He says, breathing heavily from the laughter. "I wasn't saying that you were hot like, sexy hot…which you are," he rushes out as her eyebrows rise in question. "I was saying you're hot like, you have a fever."
"Oh…I knew that." She says, drawing her face back into his chest in order to hide the blush settling across her face.
Letting out another chuckle, he smoothes down her hair; laying his hand gently upon the side of her face. "Yeah, sure you did. Okay, you said you were hungry; what do you want? Mac and cheese? I can have my mom whip some up."
"No." she mumbles out quietly, shaking her head.
"No? No?!?" he asks, raising the back of his hand to her head. "Is Haley James passing up mac and cheese?" he questions outrageously, receiving a playful shove from the girl.
"I want soup." She says before letting out a tiny sneeze; gazing up to find a pair of baby blues flooded with adoration and concern.
"Okay, I think that can be managed. What kind of soup?" he asks softly, running the back of his hand down her cheek.
"Chicken noodle…with extra noodle." She breathes out, reaching up to catch his large hand in her tiny one; interlacing their fingers.
"Okay." He smiles, placing a light kiss to her cheek before pulling away. As he reaches the door, he stops as he hears her quiet voice say his name.
"Thank you." She whispers softly, eyes heavy with fatigue.
"You're welcome." He whispers back with a caring smile. "I'll be right back."
- - -
"How's she feeling?" Deb asks as Nathan comes down the stairs.
He shrugs, walking into the kitchen and going through the cupboard. "Not good. She said she wants chicken noodle soup…with extra noodle." He smiles recalling the way Haley so cutely asked.
"Okay well, here. I'll get that started." Deb offers, pulling out the things necessary to make the soup.
Smiling thankfully, Nathan nodded; sitting down on the stool across the bar.
"So after she finishes this, we'll give her some cold medicine and then you can take her home, ok?" His Mom asks, stirring the soup.
"Can she stay here tonight?"
"Oh Nathan I don't know-" She starts, looking at him cautiously.
"Come on, Mom. Her parents are out of town again and she's sick. I'll worry about her all night if you make me take her home." He says, surprised at the emotion that laces his own voice.
Sighing with a soft smile, Deb nods. "Fine, she can stay. But I want her in the guest bedroom."
"Mom…" he begins to whine, causing the woman to laugh.
"Come on Nate; I know I don't do it very often, but sometimes you have to let me be motherly." She says good-naturedly, pouring the soup into the bowl. "Now, take this soup and a bottle of orange juice up to her."
Nodding with a smile, he takes the soup, grabs a bottle of juice, and heads up the stairs; taking them two at a time. Balancing the tray with the bowl and bottle in his hand; he slowly opens the door, peering in to see Haley's sleeping form in the middle of his bed.
Smiling as he quietly enters the room, he shuts the door; setting down the tray on the night stand. He softly lowers himself down on to the bed, watching her eyes flutter open as the bed dips from his weight.
"Hey you," He says quietly, placing his hand across her forehead to gauge her temperature. "You ready to eat?"
Rubbing her eyes sleepily, she nods with a small smile; pushing herself up to rest against the head board. He places the tray across her lap, twisting the lid of the juice bottle off for her.
"Thank you." She replies quietly, the scratchiness of her voice surprising both of them. His brow furrows in concern as he watches her wince to swallow the liquid.
"I'm sorry." He offers with a sympathetic smile after a few minutes of silence; picking at the imaginary lint on the bed.
Looking up at him quizzically, she placed her spoon down on the tray, reaching out for his hand. "For what?" she asks softly so as not to strain her voice.
He shrugs limply, his gaze focusing on their intertwined fingers. "For getting you sick."
"Nathan, you didn't get me sick." laughing when she sees him roll his eyes. "Okay well, maybe you assisted in me getting sick, but it's not totally your fault. And besides, if I'm sick then that means I get to order you around; I like the idea of that."
"Oh yeah? Does this ordering around come with you in a costume? 'Cause I can totally see you in leather Hales, mmm yeah, definitely leather…" she rolls her eyes and his easy going smile returns gracing his handsome face. "How was the soup?"
She smiles, nodding emphatically. "It's was so good. And the company's nice too."
"Yeah that dining experience was definitely better than the last one we shared." He laughs referring to the meal the family meal she'd attended when his grandparents were in town. Placing the tray on the night stand and shifting to pull her into his arms.
"Definitely." She laughs, snuggling further into him as she yawns. "I think you better take me home Nathan, I'm so tired."
Easing her out of his lap he sets her on the bed, walking over to his dresser. "Well since your parents are out of town, I asked my mom if you could stay here tonight…is that okay?"
Resisting the urge to flop back onto the soft bed, she nods, pulling her legs under her to sit cross-legged. "Yeah of course, thanks. But uh, is your Mom okay with me sleeping with you? I mean not with you, withyou, but like, with you in the same…general area, like-"
"Haley!" he manages to say through a laugh. "You're rambling."
Exhaling loudly, she offers him an apologetic smile. "Yeah, sorry."
Chuckling, he grabbed a shirt and a pair of shorts from his drawers, tossing them to her. "And to answer your question, my mom wants me to put you in the guest bedroom; which I personally think sucks, but whatever."
"Oh ok. Well then I'm just going to go change real quick then. How about you meet me in the guest bedroom and I'll let you tuck me in?" She says, leaning up to kiss his cheek on the way to the bedroom.
"What am I, your dad?" he asks, horror masking his face as he realizes what he said. "Oh, ew. Um never mind, go uh, go change and I'll meet you in the…yeah." He says, pointing to indicate where he'll be as she laughs.
- - -
"Damn Hales." Nathan breathes out as she walks into the guest bedroom that he's waiting in.
"What?" She asks, looking at him cutely in complete confusion, she stops and cocks her head to the side.
Shaking his head with a grin, he closes the distance between them, leaning down to kiss her. After a few seconds she pulls away, a slightly pinkish tint covering her face.
"What was that for?" she asks, shaking her head to clear it of the Nathan induced haze.
"Because you're you, and you're you in my clothes. And I? - I like that image…a lot." He answers breathlessly, earning a sweet giggle from the girl in front of him before she once again lets out a sleepy yawn. He chuckles, grabbing her hand and leading her towards the bed.
"Okay, let's get you to bed, baby." He says. Stopping as he feels a tug at his hand he turns to face the now brightly smiling girl. "What?"
She giggles quietly before answering. "You called me baby." She states simply.
"Okay…?" he says; unsure of what her point is.
"You've called me baby twice tonight." She replies, her smile ever brightening.
"Um, do you not want me to call you that or-" he starts.
"No! I mean, yes!" she replies before laughing. "I mean, I like that you call me baby, it's just that you never have before and I thought it was really sweet."
"Oh." He says quietly, lowering his reddening face.
"Did I just make you blush?" she asks incredulously; a proud smirk replacing the resilient smile.
"What? No, of course not! Come on, I don't blush." He says offended, grabbing her hand and once again pulling her towards the bed.
As she settles underneath the blankets, he sits down on the edge of the bed; running his fingers through her hair, watching as her eyes flutter shut.
"I so totally made you blush." She whispers, leaning into his touch as his free hand caresses her face.
"You so totally better not spread that around." He whispers back, causing her to emit a sleepy giggle. Forcing her brown eyes open, she peers up into his blue ones; letting herself get lost in them if only for a moment. Not able to stand it any more, he leans down with every intention of kissing her; only to see her cover her mouth with her hand.
"Hales!" he whines out, slightly sticking out his bottom lip in a pout.
"Nathan! You've already kissed me once, and I'm sick! You don't need to get sick too." She argues back tiredly, bringing his hand up to her lips.
He shrugs defiantly, lips still set in a pout. "I wouldn't mind being sick, 'cause then I would have you to nurse me back to health." He says with a wink. "Ooh and you could wear one of those hot nurse costumes! Yeah…" he exclaims as his eyes light up with excitement.
"Hey!" she laughs, playfully hitting his shoulder. "What's your deal with me being in costume?" She asks, receiving a cocky shrug from her boyfriend. "Anyways, you've got basketball to worry about; we don't need you getting sick. I really don't like the idea of being hunted down by an angry mob when we start losing games because you can't play." Sighing, he leans forward, leaving a lingering kiss on her forehead.
"Fine, fine…I guess if you want to be reasonable about it." He replies jokingly. Leaning back slightly, he takes in her sleepy, yet beautiful appearance; silently cursing his mother for making him sleep in the other room.
"What?" she asks, her eyes studying his handsome expression carefully; silently cursing his mother for making him sleep in the other room.
"Nothing, just thinking of how much I really want to stay in here with you tonight." He shrugs as he absent-mindedly twirls a tendril of her hair in his fingers.
She nods. "I know me too, but it's probably for the best. Its only 9 o'clock which I know is way earlier than you go to sleep, and I think if I get enough rest, I'll feel better in the morning." She says optimistically, tracing her finger down the contours of his face.
"Okay, well I'm going to hold you to that then." He gives her a promising smile as he bends down one more time; placing feather light kisses upon her forehead, eyes, nose and cheek; grinning brightly when she leans up and places a chaste peck to his lips.
"Goodnight Nathan." She says with a soft smile when he reaches the door; turning off the light.
"Good night Baby." He returns with the same endearing smile. "Sweet dreams."