AN - Yeah, I really took a leap with this fic. Never before in a fanfic have I ventured so close to including sex, but I don't know; the idea occurred to me and it felt right. For some reason, I find it easy to imagine Sue and Reed in a scene like this, which is probably a testament to how much I love the pairing. It's not overtly juicy (I'll probably never write NC-17), but the implications are there. Feel free to use your imagination. ;-) Anyway, I hope you like this one. The story itself fits into my S/R timeline nicely, taking place right inbetween "Security" and "Mrs. & Mr. Fantastic". And I hope you're in a really fluffy, sugary mood - you'll probably need to be for this fic. ;-)
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Sunrise
-dutchtulips-
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"Sunrise, sunrise... Looks like mornin' in your eyes..."
She wasn't sure what had caused her to awake so early, or so widely, but the only thing she knew was that she now was. Her surroundings appeared normal; no foreign sounds had seemed to jar her from sleep, nor from being too hot or too cold. Everything was calm and peaceful.
She had begun to raise her head from the pillow, to glance at the clock on the bedside table, but some form of weight obstructed her, not heavily, but enough for her to take notice. Turning her gaze to her side - it took a moment for her eyes to adjust - Sue Storm realized what it was.
Her fiancé, Reed Richards, was still asleep next to her in the bed, and he had his left arm draped across Sue's stomach. She smiled at the feeling, and instinctively moved closer to him, leaning against his chest. In his slumber, Reed shifted, and his arm slid off of her. Sue didn't mind, though; it was amusing to her to again watch him move around in his sleep. It had been years since they'd last shared a bed together.
Still curious though, as to what time it was, she turned her head again to glance across the room. The gray, predawn light filtering in through her bedroom window told her that it had to be at least 6 AM.
Sue carefully inched up in bed, into a half-sitting position, reclining against her pillows. As she leaned back, the events from the night before suddenly rushed back into her, entangling in her mind. Reed had taken her out to dinner at the 21 Club, they had come home to an empty house - Ben and Johnny were still out - and one thing had inevitably led to another. She invited Reed into her bedroom, and...
She allowed herself a dreamy smile as the thoughts drifted through her mind, and it grew wider as she glanced around the room, at the evidence of what had transpired. Sue's pink silk blouse lay on the floor near the foot of the bed and, not far from it, Reed's long-sleeved, button-down shirt. The room was cluttered with various articles of clothing, but it was the type of clutter that, right now, Sue didn't particularly mind.
The quiet of the room, the house, was deafening, however. True, Sue had often been an early riser, but one thing she wasn't used to was being awake before Reed. He was always out of bed before anyone else in the house, and by the time Sue was up for the day, she could always count on finding him in his lab, working on a project, or in the kitchen, sitting over coffee and a file folder packed with research papers. The Baxter Building was usually humming with life every morning when Sue awoke, but this time was as dark and as quiet as a tomb.
Almost methodically, Sue stretched her arm over to her nightstand, picking up the small remote control that was resting there. Pointing it to the stereo on the other side of the room, she pressed a button on it, and the next moment, soft, gentle music began to flow into the room. A sweet melody started to play, and Sue sat up straighter to listen.
"Come away with me in the night, come away with me, and I will write you a song..."
Pulling the blankets up higher, wrapping them around her chest, Sue drew her knees up and rested her hands on them, and then her chin atop her fingers. Every time she listened to this music, it made her feel so soothed and relaxed.
Ironically, though, the next moment, she was jolted with a pang of fear, sharp enough that it caused her to shimmer into invisibility. Something had unexpectedly touched her, and it had startled her. Glancing behind herself, Sue saw immediately what it was - Reed's hand on her shoulder. Only she was still invisible, so it looked as if his hand was floating in midair.
A sheepish look filled his tired eyes as he realized Sue had disappeared. "Sorry," he mumbled, smiling as he withdrew his hand. "Are you OK?"
"I'm fine," she replied, glimmering back into sight as she returned the grin. Sue unbent her knees and laid back again, leaning against the mattress. "I just didn't know you were awake."
Reed turned on his side to face her, pulling the bed sheet taut over his hip. "This is about the time I usually get up every morning."
"Yeah, I figured," she replied. Sounding slightly crestfallen, she asked tentatively, "Does that mean you're going to go off to the lab, soon?"
"Well, I don't have to, not right away," Reed said emphatically. Then, in a gentler voice, "Not if you don't want me to."
Sue smiled. "No," she agreed. "Not right now."
He grinned back in reply, and as Sue inched closer to him, he slid his arms tenderly around her. She pillowed her head against his bare chest, sighing contentedly, and as she did so, Reed felt a glowing sensation ripple throughout him. It was almost as if the warmth of her body was radiating into his.
They fell silent after that, the only sound now in the room was Norah Jones, still playing softly from Sue's stereo. She couldn't remember feeling so comfortable and serene, especially as she was, nestled against Reed's body. It was peaceful enough in the room that Sue could actually hear him breathing. For several minutes, she didn't move or do anything else except listen to him draw breath as he lay there, holding her. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. It was so rhythmic and soothing, it was like the sound of a lullaby, seeming to intermingle with the tranquil music in the room.
"My hi-fi is waiting for a new tune, my glass is waiting for some fresh ice cubes, I'm just sitting here waiting for you, to come on home and turn me on..."
"I can feel your heart beating," Sue whispered.
Reed tightened his grip around her, pulling his fiancée's slender form even closer to himself. He didn't know how to reply to what she'd said, at least, not in words. He reached over and touched the nape of her neck, his fingers becoming lost in the tresses of her blond hair. Feeling his hand, she looked up at him, and when she did, Reed craned his neck, stretching it a bit as he pressed his lips against hers.
Sue returned the kiss ardently, eagerly, resting against him as she did so. They stayed that way, kissing deeply for several minutes, before their lips finally broke apart slowly. When Reed opened his eyes, she, of course, was staring right back at him, her hands on his chest propping up her chin. The morning was growing later now, as the outdoor light had turned from gray to yellow, and the rich sunrays were cascading into the room in bars. They had reached all the way over to the bed, and as they lit up Sue's face, he saw that there was a playful sparkle in her eyes.
"I had a good time last night," Sue told him. "Oh... and dinner was nice, too."
Reed laughed softly. "Yeah. Me too."
"Johnny and Ben were still out when we... we got home. I wonder when they came in, I don't remember hearing them," Sue said thoughtfully. "You don't suppose..." She looked up at her fiancé in alarm, thinking about her implication.
Reed shook his head, and opened his mouth to reassure her, but before he could, a series of loud noises interrupted him. "What is that?"
Sue sat up quickly. "I think someone's coming down the hall," she told him, and the next moment there was a tap on her bedroom door, proving her right.
"Hey, Sis? You awake?"
Without a word, Sue snatched up one of the bed sheets and wrapped it around her body, hopped out of bed, and shuffled over to her door. "Johnny?" She inquired, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. "It's barely seven AM! What are you doing up?"
"I'm, uh, kind of... uh, well... my head really hurts, and I..."
She sighed, glancing over at Reed. To Johnny, impatiently, "You're hung over, aren't you?"
From the other side of the door, he admitted, flippantly, "Okay, you caught me. Ground me for a week. I don't care, I just need some Advil. You got any?"
The doorknob began to turn; Johnny was seemingly going to just walk right in. Before he could open the door, however, Sue frantically grabbed the knob and stopped it from turning.
"No, you can't come in!" She said quickly. "I, uh, I'm not dressed!"
"Gee, thanks for the visual," Johnny's voice replied sarcastically. "Advil or no?"
"I, uh, I don't know, I'll, uh, I'll have to look," Sue told him, glancing anxiously over at Reed, who was rapidly fishing through her nightstand drawer, looking for the bottle of pain relievers.
"Are you OK, Sue? You sound kinda funny," Johnny asked as he waited, still standing on the opposite side of the door. "You know, anxious."
"I'm fine, Johnny," she replied hastily, as Reed found the Advil and tossed it to her. "Just, er, drowsy."
"You sure?" He asked skeptically. "You don't sound tired. What time did you and Reed get in last night? You know, he's not in his..."
Johnny's voice drifted off as his brain put the pieces together, realizing the obvious. But before her brother could finish his sentence, Sue cracked open her bedroom door, just enough to extend the Advil bottle. As he took the pills, she caught a glimpse of his expression - his mouth was hanging open - but then she abruptly shut the door again, tightly, cutting off the sight.
Halfway back to the bed, Sue heard Johnny shout out horrifyingly, his words directed at Reed, "Dude, that's still my sister...!"
Reed's face had turned slightly pink at the exclamation, but Sue chuckled as she flopped back down in her bed next to him. "What are you laughing at?" He asked as he leaned back against the headboard. "You looked like you were going to have a heart attack when Johnny knocked!"
"Well, it is kind of funny," Sue smiled. "We live together, we're engaged to be married, and we act like two teenagers who just caught in the act the moment someone comes knocking at the door."
"Actually, you were the one acting so guilty," Reed said facetiously. "I just sat here and I didn't say anything."
"Oh yeah? You scrambled for that Advil pretty fast, Mr. Fantastic!" She joked back, spreading the sheet back over the bed.
He shook his head sheepishly and grinned, and as Sue laid back again and pulled the bedclothes around herself, he slid back down next to her, wrapping his arm around her waist. She turned her head and looked him, mildly astounded.
"What?" He inquired.
"It's just... it is almost seven. Normally I'm awake around eight, and the first thing I hear is you in the lab," Sue told him. "I can't say I'm not surprised that you're still in here with me."
For a moment she thought her comment would chagrin Reed, but she was nonplussed to see that his smile hadn't even faltered. "What, you'd rather me leave? I mean, I love biophysics," he embraced her a bit closer, "but not this much."
Sue blinked and arched an eyebrow, as a slow smile started to spread across her face. "Reed... you made a joke!"
He started laughing, and a moment later she began to as well, amused by the sheer fact that he was. Sue rested her head against his shoulder, letting out another sigh. "I love you."
Reed gave her a kiss on the forehead, and then rested his head against Sue's. "I love you, too," he replied, and smiled contentedly.
"I need no soft lights to enchant me, if you'll only grant me, the right to hold you ever so tight, and to feel in the night... the nearness of you..."
Back in the hallway, Johnny was approaching, yet again, Sue's bedroom, in an extremely agitated way. He paused at the door, contemplating whether or not to return the Advil bottle right away. He seemed to be having an internal argument with himself, inbetween his inevitable mutterings of, "It's my sister... man, it's still my sister... and he's in there, with my sister... no way, no freaking way..."
From the doorway of a room a little further up the hallway, Ben peeked out, his rocky face creased with a scolding expression. "Johnny, step away from the door and leave them alone," he reprimanded, the sound of his deep voice filling the corridor.
"I was just going to give Sue her Advil back!" Johnny said defensively.
With his thundering steps, Ben came out into the hallway. "No you weren't! You were going to barge right in and drag Sue right out of her own room. And probably clobber Reed while you're at it!" He shouted back, starting up another one of he and Johnny's infamous arguments.
Inside Sue's bedroom, she and Reed - obviously unbeknownst to Ben and Johnny - could hear every word of their bickering. Mortified over the subject of their argument, Sue buried her face in Reed's shoulder, who was actually managing a chuckle over what was going on.
"I can't believe this..." Sue murmured, abashed. Looking back up at him finally, she said, "Reed... when we get married, let's honeymoon on Easter Island."
She let out a sheepish titter, and Reed grinned amusedly. Mornings in the Baxter Building were definitely quite an occasion to be had.
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el fin
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(Italicized lyrics taken from the Norah Jones songs, "Sunrise", "Come Away With Me", "Turn Me On", and "The Nearness of You", respectively.)