Happy [very] early vacation, graduate school, and birthday, Ryuchu! I hope I do you proud!
Leia's shower was going great until she shut the water off.
Okay, that was a lie. Maybe her shower wasn't even really that awesome to begin with. She could have any temperature water she liked as long as it was freezing or scalding, and there was barely enough of that cheap shampoo to wash her hair, let alone enough bar soap to thoroughly scrub all the blood and sweat and dust off her body.
Come to think of it, Leia actually might have been more comfortable just standing outside in the pouring rain, risk of being struck by lightning aside.
Anyway, none of that mattered in the end, because Leia was just stepping out onto the already thoroughly soggy bathmat when she noticed that the towel rack bore no noticeable towel whatsoever. Not even a washcloth. It was bare, just like she was. Thoughts and heart both racing—she would never live this down—Leia thought frantically of possible solutions.
Aladhi Seahaven was stupid, she griped inwardly, when wishing with all her might failed to produce a towel. There was no reason why the six people who saved the freaking worlds should have to cram into a single hotel room (even though it was a pretty big one), especially one that could only provide five towels.
But this is what I get for letting everyone else go first, Leia reminded herself with a sigh, and—hiding on the other side of the door—opened it cautiously, just a crack, peeking around the corner and praying none of the rest of her showed. She may have been close to most of the rest of her group, but she drew the line at flashing them. Especially since the only people she could see from this angle were Jude and Alvin, conversing by the fireplace.
"Um, hey," squeaked Leia awkwardly, and both of them stopped mid-sentence and stared in her direction with undisguised surprise. "I don't suppose either of you would, you know, have something to dry off with?" she continued tentatively, feeling herself blush and shifting her position behind the door nervously. "Like… a spare towel, for instance?"
Leia bit her lip frustratedly as both of them shook their heads hesitantly. Jude couldn't even look in her direction—she thought he might have been blushing—and even Alvin looked a little apologetic. She heaved a sigh; clearly, they weren't going to be any help.
"She doesn't have a towel?" asked Elize's voice curiously as Leia shut the door, leaning against it and closing her eyes despairingly. She'd never get dry with all this steam—she'd have to spend the rest of her life locked in the bathroom!
"What's she going to do?" added Teepo, sounding worried.
"I'm not sure," sighed Rowen. "I'm sure we'll be able to think of something."
There was a pause, during which Leia tried to think of more solutions. She couldn't steal the bedsheets, since there were only three beds to begin with and the last thing she wanted was to render one unusable…
"Here's our food," announced Milla's voice, accompanied by the sound of a door opening and closing and dishes clattering as she set them down. "What's going on?" she added apprehensively, after a pause. "Did something happen while I was gone?"
"Leia doesn't have a towel," said Teepo, getting right to the point.
"Alvin!" exclaimed Elize, sounding as furious as her little voice ever did.
"What are you doing?" supplied Jude, his tone between wary and warning.
"Problem-solving," was Alvin's immediate response, and Leia jumped, heart pounding as though to burst out of her ribcage: his voice was approaching the door. "Anyone else got a better idea?"
Jude must have shaken his head, because Alvin just sighed, "Thought not," and knocked on the door. Shave-and-a-haircut. Every rap sent a fresh shock wave through her body—what did he want?
Leia stiffened her back against the door. "Wh-what is it?" she asked bravely.
"Relax," chuckled Alvin. "I'm giving you a solution. Open the door."
"No," replied Leia, scowling.
Alvin sighed, and from the sound of things, leaned his head against the doorway. "Look," he said, plainly exasperated. "I'll get Jude to come over and give it to you instead, if you like."
"…No," responded Leia. That really wasn't necessary. It might be marginally less awkward, given that she'd known Jude for longer—but in the end, she still wasn't wearing anything.
"No?" asked Alvin, somewhere between annoyed and amused.
"No," clarified Leia, and opened the door just a crack, carefully keeping herself out of sight. Almost immediately afterwards, Alvin's coat was thrust through, clutched in his gloved hand. She merely stood there behind the door, blinking; she hadn't anticipated such a chivalrous move, especially not from him.
"Go on, take it," encouraged Alvin after a moment, with the barest hint of a sigh. "And take good care of it, too," he added regretfully, letting go as Leia grasped it hesitantly; it was much heavier than she had anticipated. "I love that coat," he muttered, turning away, and Leia shut the door again with a snap.
This is a horrible towel, she decided disappointedly, examining it carefully. Heavy material like this wasn't particularly absorbent. But it was still a solution. She smiled to herself, an idea striking her like the lightning flashing outside: the next best option was to put it on, and then sit by the fireplace until she was dry.
Leia eyed the coat somewhat suspiciously before finally putting it on.
Predictably, it was way too big. It hung all the way to her knees, and her fingers barely extended past the cuff if she extended them as far as they could go. The collar stuck up halfway up her head, mussing her already mussed wet hair, so she folded it down angrily, showing it who was boss.
Taking a deep breath, Leia halted a moment before sniffing again, experimentally. It smelled like him. Though that coat had seen a great deal of battles with nary a proper wash in between, the scent of his vaguely expensive-smelling cologne gently overpowered whatever sweat or blood might have been there.
Leia sighed, shaking her head to draw her mind away from it. There was no reason in the known universe why this smell should be so comforting when he had—
"My coat didn't eat you or anything, did it? On a pipsqueak like you, I wouldn't be surprised if it did," called Alvin's voice from across the room, cutting off her train of thought.
"Nah, I'm just dandy in here," responded Leia, unable to suppress a laugh.
"That's good to hear," responded Alvin, a smile in his voice. "Now that I know you're alive and well, I think you should know there are other young ladies out here who would rather be in there."
Oh. She hadn't realized how long this whole fiasco was taking. "Be right out!" promised Leia, running her hands across the front of the coat to find some sort of a fastening mechanism. It had to have stayed on somehow, right? Clasp? Buttons? Zipper?
No—there was none. Clearly he had Milla keep it in place with spirit artes.
Elize needed the bathroom, Leia reminded herself, and that gave her the courage to wrap her arms tightly around herself to keep the coat in place, pick up her clothes on the ground (careful to wrap her underwear inside her outerwear for the sake of decency), and open the door.
"Huh," was Jude's only response as he looked her thoughtfully up and down, and all her inhibitions suddenly came back: she felt herself go red. "You look better in Alvin's coat than I thought you would."
"Thanks, I guess?" responded Leia, almost punching him lightly on the shoulder before remembering with a jolt that she needed both hands to keep her coat in place.
Ignoring the others' silent eyes on her back, she walked forward with as much dignity as possible—depositing her clothes by her pack as she went—and plopped herself down in the armchair by the fireplace. Now to wait for the flames to do their job…
Hurry up! she exclaimed, staring into their heart, as her stomach growled and thunder rumbled in harmony. Milla had brought their food, true—but to eat it required her to let go of her two fistfuls of coat, which she held onto for dear life.
"Are you okay?" asked Elize, emerging from the bathroom, soft green eyes on the arms Leia had wrapped around herself, and her posture as she leaned forward. "Do you have a stomachache?"
"Oh! No," exclaimed Leia awkwardly, straightening up and loosening her hold around herself to ease Elize's mind. She was such a caring girl; why should she worry when she didn't have to? "It's okay. I'm not hurt." She made an attempt to smile, but Elize frowned.
"Then why are you—" began Teepo confusedly, but Alvin made his way over to the fireplace and gently shook Teepo by the head in a way he obviously considered affectionate, cutting off the sentence.
"Hey!" exclaimed Elize and Teepo together, the girl clenching her fists as Alvin sat nonchalantly on the ground in front of the fireplace—but Leia's attention was on Alvin. He so rarely took his coat off; to see him without it was almost unreal, especially given that the shirt beneath seemed much too formal for his laid-back personality.
"Thanks, Alvin," said Leia eventually, but her uncertainty came out more coldly than she had intended, and he gave a barely noticeable wince before looking up.
"Ouch," he responded guardedly. "What did I do this time?"
Leia pursed her lips. "Nothing," she decided apologetically. "Sorry. But—" Now was the perfect time to ask, while everyone else was on the opposite side of the room. She didn't want more people knowing about her condition than necessary. "How, exactly, do you fasten your coat?"
Alvin blinked as though surprised by the question. "The buttons."
"What buttons?" asked Leia crossly, tightening her grip around herself again frustratedly. "Believe me, I checked everywhere on this stupid coat. There are no buttons."
"On the inside?" replied Alvin, as though it were obvious.
Leia scowled. How was she supposed to know that?! "What kind of a coat has buttons on the inside?" she asked, cautiously feeling along the hem.
"This one," he responded coolly, raising an eyebrow, and Leia rolled her eyes, removing her hand from the inside. No buttons. Alvin shifted in his seat, evaluating her expression, before he finally sighed. "I'm gonna take that death-glare as saying you couldn't find them," he remarked. "But I swear they're there."
"Swear all you like," glowered Leia. "They're not."
Alvin sighed. "I'd prove it, but I don't think that would be a good idea under the circumstances." He cast a glance over his shoulder at the others, and Leia followed his gaze; though they were all involved in a conversation of their own, it would be very, very easy to misinterpret whatever might be going on by the fireplace.
Now it was Leia's turn to sigh. "You're right," she muttered, desperately running her fingers down the inside of the coat once more in the hopes of finding the missing buttons—to no avail. "I'll just… stay like this all night, then."
"If I didn't know better, I'd say that disappointment means you wanted me to show you where they are," said Alvin; though his voice was perfectly even, his gaze (beneath the thick layer of surprise) was both cautious and curious.
Leia took a deep breath, turning her eyes back to the fire. "I need this coat to be fastened," she began, choosing her words very carefully. "If you think that doing it yourself is the best way for that to happen, then…" She trailed off, reluctant to give him the green light until all other suggestions had been tried.
Unfortunately, her brain staunchly refused to provide her with any more.
By the time she moved her eyes off the flames and back to Alvin, resigned to her fate, he had rearranged himself into a kneeling position, studying her face steadily with a serious expression in his sharp and sleepy eyes. His gloves lay on the ground next to him; it was one of the only times she had ever seen him without them covering his hands.
"Wh-what are you staring at?" asked Leia, pretending the fire was the source of the heat that now flooded her cheeks.
"You," responded Alvin, raising his eyebrows, unabashed, and the corner of his mouth tugged up as she waited in vain for an explanation. "May I?" he added, extending his bare hand gradually towards Leia, who automatically scooted back before holding herself still.
He's not going to try anything stupid with four other people in the room, she reminded herself as he straightened up on his knees, but her heartbeat would not be calmed. What if the coat slipped? What if the others saw? "Close your eyes," she said, the words tumbling out of her mouth somewhat indistinctly, and Alvin's eyes slid up from his hand to her face. "Just in case."
"Whatever you want," he said, and his eyes slipped shut slowly before he continued moving his hand forward tentatively. "But, I should warn you… Without my eyes, I won't be able to tell if I'm about to—" His bare fingers bumped against her sternum through the coat. "Sorry," he said, flinching as though expecting to be hit, and Leia knew he could feel the jump in her heartbeat.
"It's okay," said Leia, her voice a little more high-pitched even than usual, and he bit his lip in concentration, eyes still closed—but his face was relaxed; they were not squeezed shut. Leia found herself admiring his slow and careful movement, so different from the powerful blows he struck each battle. His fingers finally found the edge and clamped onto the side of his coat gently, running several times up and down the fabric Leia held some distance away from her body.
"Must be on the other side," murmured Alvin after a moment, clearly concentrating hard, and removed his hand as sedately as he had put it there. Leia heard his breath catch a little as she grasped his fingers and guided them carefully to the other hem. It would save time, and lessen the chances of an embarrassing mistake, for her to help him out a little.
"Give me a little warning next time," he complained as she released his fingers carefully, but there was a good-natured note in his voice as he slid his hand along the inside of his coat. "Ah," he added a moment later, his thumb tracing circles over a certain spot—illuminated by the flash of lightning more than the firelight. "There."
"Buttons?" asked Leia hopefully, wincing as thunder reverberated through the room. Please don't look towards the window, she begged the rest of the group silently. As they remained absorbed in their own conversation for the next several seconds, she allowed herself to relax again and look back down at Alvin.
"Yes, buttons," he responded, smiling and folding fabric back to reveal a shiny black one—staring at Leia as though mocking her for being unable to find it on her own. "A dream come true, right?" he continued, moving his other hand up; Leia caught it, relieved that he wouldn't see how broad her smile was, and helped it over to the adjacent buttonhole. It was a little low for her tastes—roughly level with her solar plexus—but it was still better than the jacket flapping loose.
As he fumbled with fastening it, three things happened in quick succession: the tips of Alvin's fingers grazed her chest, Leia shivered and gasped involuntarily as her ticklishness got the better of her, and Jude turned towards them to look out the window, only to lock eyes with her instead.
The world seemed to slow down. Leia was at least 101% sure that the expression she knew would seep into her eyes—a plea to get Jude to turn around and go back to talking—was going to give off the wrong impression. Especially since Alvin was still working with the button; his eyes were closed. How was he supposed to know they were being watched—that her jump in heart rate was not because of his touch this time?
"I'm sorry," muttered Alvin, teeth grit, as the button slid through its hole, moving his fingers to the next one down and making a special effort to keep them away from her skin. "I can't say it won't happen again, but I'll try n—"
"Alvin!" roared Jude, finding his voice at last, and suddenly three more pairs of eyes were on her: he froze. Leia glanced down at him, expecting the worst, to find that even when Jude's voice startled him, his eyes only fluttered beneath their lids.
"Off with his head!" shrieked Teepo, floating forward to yell at Alvin in person, and Elize nodded fervently in agreement, scowling; in the flare of lightning, she looked almost intimidating. "Creepy perverted liars like that should be shot!"
Alvin sighed, letting go of her coat, and Leia wrapped it around herself again (undoing the single button he had fastened as she went) before tapping its owner on the shoulder, politely letting him know he could open his eyes.
"You got me," he said, eyes fluttering open at her signal as he put his hands behind his head as though being arrested. "As Maxwell is my witness," he said, eyes sliding to Milla, "I'm guilty of the heinous crime of trying to help Leia button my coat." Thunder rumbled dramatically as he spoke, and she would have smiled if not for the awkwardness of the situation.
"Why couldn't she do it herself?" asked Milla, sounding more curious than anything else, and she crossed her arms. "Leia, you're a very capable member of our group. Are buttons too much for you to handle?"
"I—I couldn't find them," managed Leia sheepishly, blushing.
There was silence while the rest of the group digested this statement; Leia and Alvin exchanged a stony glance as the latter dropped his hands to his sides, though remained kneeling.
Rowen, meanwhile, stroked his beard thoughtfully. "But," he said eventually, "once Alvin showed you where they were, couldn't you simply fasten them on your own?"
Leia and Alvin both opened their mouths to retort, but both hesitated as they realized the truth of Rowen's words. Leia hadn't anticipated that it would be possible for her to get any redder, but was proven unpleasantly wrong as even more heat flooded her cheeks, heart pounding. She probably looked like a soggy stomato at this point. Why had she let herself forget?! It wasn't like she had been enjoying it!
"Well, I—" began Alvin at the same time as Leia said, "But we're—"
Jude shook his head. "Whatever," he muttered. "I don't really care what you're doing, or why, as long as—Leia, you're okay with this, right?" There was a dark edge to his voice, an unspoken threat to Alvin should she answer in the negative.
Leia felt herself smile; of the two of them, she'd been the tough one for so long that it was a refreshing change for him to be so protective of her. "Yes," she said, as emphatically as she could, though her eyes were on a still-appalled Elize as she replied in an effort to reassure her, with minimal success: she still looked sour as she turned sniffily away from the conversation, Teepo levitating back to her side in a huff.
Milla ran a hand through her hair agitatedly, as though trying to remember something. "I think I read something about this once," she began, narrowing her eyes in contemplation, and everyone glanced over at her apprehensively (Leia braced herself). Milla's choices of reading material were dubious at best, and generally tended towards the risqué. This probably wouldn't be any different.
She wasn't wrong. "Second base?"
Leia's eyes widened and Alvin opened his mouth furiously to say something, but before either of them could speak, Jude seized Milla's elbow and dragged her back to the other end of the room, casting a final glance over his shoulder at Alvin and Leia as lightning illuminated the room once more.
Letting out a long breath, Leia glanced down at Alvin, who avoided her eyes. "Okay," she said quietly, heart still fluttering annoyingly as thunder almost drowned out her words. "For the record, I was too busy making sure you didn't feel me up to think about doing the buttoning myself."
Alvin smiled slightly. "Sure. And I was too busy focusing on keeping my eyes shut." He flopped onto his back, using his arms for a pillow as he stared at the ceiling. "Now that we've made our respective excuses, you should button the rest of that coat."
Leia glanced down. "Yeah, about that…" she began, tracing her finger down her neck to where she knew the first no-longer-fastened button lay. She was used to short and sweet and sometimes strapless, but most definitely not low-cut, and this coat only came together halfway down her skinny little torso.
Alvin groaned, glancing over at her briefly as she dropped her hand again. "Don't tell me all that blame and humiliation was for nothing?"
"All that blame and humiliation was for nothing," responded Leia, and Alvin made a 'tch' sound in response that might have been either a laugh or a sound of irritation—she couldn't tell, since that smile could easily have been a grimace. "No, but seriously," she continued, "this isn't going to work. The buttons start too low."
"Well, what do you want me to do about it?" asked Alvin, still regarding the ceiling, and Leia sighed, about to suggest something else before she hesitated. There was another option, but that was even more personal than wearing his coat… Would he say yes?
"Judging by your open mouth, I'm gonna guess you have another plan," said Alvin apprehensively, glancing towards her, and Leia nodded before slipping to the ground, kneeling next to him and making damn sure his coat was going to cover everything. He eyed her warily, propping himself up on his elbows, but said nothing more.
"Give me your scarf," said Leia, as authoritatively as she possibly could, keeping her hands firmly on her knees so that he could see she wasn't about to take it by force. They could still resolve this peacefully.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," was Alvin's response as he held up a hand. "What do you want with my scarf?"
Leia rolled her eyes. "To shine my boots," she replied sarcastically, and Alvin hugged his scarf protectively as he sat up. "No, to keep the coat in place so I don't have to spend the rest of the night like this." She shifted to display her discomfort, if only to get a bit of sympathy. "Like… like a sash."
"You want to use my designer scarf as a sash," said Alvin disbelievingly, still clutching his scarf as though she meant to tear it away from him. "What do I get in return? The price is gonna be pretty steep, you know."
Leia was brought up short. "Uh," she responded, thinking carefully as the flames washed her back with comforting warmth. "Not having the rest of them hate you for withholding a solution to my problem?" she suggested eventually.
"Tempting offer," conceded Alvin, smiling at her as he tilted his head, "but this is a pretty special scarf. No one except me and its maker gets to touch it, much less wear it." He paused as though considering it, but almost immediately afterwards shook his head. "No deal."
She gave an exasperated sigh and pushed him onto his back again (he laughed)—but remembered not a second too soon that she should have been holding her coat closed, and fortunately caught it before it fell completely open. Alvin's eyes widened slightly at the close call and he stopped chuckling, but he said nothing.
"Are you some sort of a sadist?" hissed Leia, acting on her annoyance and his shock to spontaneously try a different tactic. With any luck, playing on his pride would work better than gentle persuasion. "Do you just like it when a girl begs for your help—hungry and wet and naked with only your coat to cover her?"
Alvin grimaced. "You make me sound so unsavory. And if you're so hungry," he added, gesturing towards her probably stone-cold soup, "then eat. What's stopping you?"
"You saw how well it went when I took my hands away to push you!" flared up Leia with the lightning. "Come on—just gimme your scarf! You already gave me your coat!"
"Yeah, and that was all I was planning on giving you!" retorted Alvin with the thunder, scooting away from her; she gave chase, walking forward on her knees—mockingly menacing—until he hit the wall, obscured from the others by the armchair. "Why don't you ask Rowen for his sash?" he suggested with joking desperation as she loomed over him.
"Do you have some horrible secret tattoo on your neck?" questioned Leia, extending one hand (keeping the other firmly tucked around her midriff) towards his scarf; Alvin squirmed exaggeratedly, backing up further against the wall as though terrified. "Is that why you won't take it off?"
"No," said Alvin vehemently, grasping her wrist as she gripped his scarf, but there was a playful sparkle in his eyes. "It's the first thing I bought with money I earned myself, okay? Let it go!"
"I don't care how special it is—you don't need it as much as I do right now!" exclaimed Leia, pulling as hard as she could with only the one hand to demonstrate her strength. But Alvin had clearly played quite a few games of tug-of-war in his youth, because he knew exactly how to execute the oldest trick in the book.
He let her struggle for a moment—and then, he let go.
For the second time that night, the world moved in slow motion. Leia's other hand automatically flew up to catch the part of his scarf wrapped around his neck, in an effort to keep herself from falling backwards; Alvin yelped. However, all that came of her valiant efforts to save herself was to drag him down with her.
As reality crashed down around her like the rain on the roof, Leia realized that she lay spread-eagled on the floor, coat exposing all, with Alvin on all fours over her.
Neither of them moved or even breathed for several seconds. Every muscle in their bodies was rigid. Only when her body urged her to inhale once more did Leia become aware that her fingers were still hooked in his scarf as he arched over her, and let them fall abruptly to the floor self-consciously.
The motion seemed to jolt Alvin to reality, though Leia remained frozen, feeling too weak to move—and not from the ever-strengthening hunger still clawing at her stomach. He sat back on his haunches, closing his eyes and unwinding his scarf so quickly that Leia thought he would break his own neck.
"Take it," he said almost huskily, dropping it onto her bare stomach; at the coil of its soft warmth, Leia remembered abruptly how to move, and breath finally shuddered back into her body as she covered herself up, turning her back on Alvin and wrapping his scarf around her waist twice before tying it in a bow in the back, fingers shaking.
It wasn't his fault. That much was for sure. No matter how traumatized she was that one of her teammates had seen her in the nude, or that this teammate was male, or that it was Alfred Vint Svent himself, he wasn't completely to blame. (Of course, by no means was he innocent; she'd seen where his eyes had gone—but if she hadn't gone after his scarf like that…)
"I-I'm sorry," mumbled Leia, turning around, and Alvin opened his eyes to look into hers; they were vaguely unfocused, but she saw surprise in their brown depths. "I shouldn't have—I mean, that was—" She sighed. "Sorry," she finished lamely, unable to articulate the specifics.
"You're sorry," repeated Alvin, the tiniest of tentative smiles touching his lips—but Leia's eyes slid to his throat, exposed for the first time. It wasn't anything to marvel at. Just an ordinary neck. No tattoos or anything. "I shouldn't have let you go like that," continued Alvin, bowing his head with uncharacteristic shame. "I don't know what I—if I," he amended, "was thinking."
"It's fine," said Leia, with a bit of her trademarked forced cheerfulness, and Alvin's eyes snapped back up to hers apologetically. "Just don't tell anyone, ever, and we'll be all good. Oh—and you owe me big." She paused. "Ten favors," she smiled, genuinely this time, and his eyes widened.
Now that she was covered up again, no matter whether they were Alvin's clothes that decorated her body or not, her confidence was slowly but surely returning. What was done was done; he hadn't taken advantage of the situation, or even taken in the sights for longer than it took for him to return to his senses. In a way, her exposure made her feel… freer around him. (Of course, she wasn't about to repeat the experience around Alvin or anyone else, but it did have its upsides.)
"What kind of favors?" asked Alvin apprehensively, and Leia found herself surprised that he had agreed so easily. She'd expected to have to haggle on the number.
"Any kind of favor I want," replied Leia simply, but he finally shook his head. Let the haggling begin, thought Leia ruefully.
"Five big or ten small," said Alvin, crossing his arms. "Pick one."
Leia pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Five big and ten small," she decided, raising her eyebrows as Alvin groaned. "Plus, you can't tell anyone about this deal either. You still owe me for shooting me in the back, you know," she reminded, when he opened his mouth to protest.
She couldn't have been imagining the catch in his breath before he closed it again. Did it really hurt more for him to think about it than for her, when she had been the one whom had almost died? When Alvin still said nothing, Leia rolled her eyes, prodding his shoulder. "So, are you gonna accept my terms, or what?"
After a slight hesitation, Alvin nodded wordlessly, evidently afraid to speak more on the subject, and got up, extending a courteous hand to her. Leia took it and was promptly pulled to her feet, perhaps a little more roughly than she would have liked—but at least she was up now, even if her footing was a little unsteady (Alvin tossed her a tentative, though encouraging, smile).
"What have you two been up to?" asked Milla curiously as they emerged from behind the armchair, Alvin stretching as he walked.
"We were just about to come get you," added Jude, frowning at Alvin's scarfless neck and Leia's new sash (the latter thanked the spirits that he had stayed on this side of the room). "Since there are only three beds, we're trying to figure out who's going to sleep in the third one."
"What about the other two?" frowned Alvin.
"Elize and Rowen have those," explained Jude. "They didn't want them, but we insisted. They're the youngest and oldest of us, anyhow. Besides, I'm okay with sleeping on the floor."
"Me too," agreed Milla, standing on one hip. "Do either of you have a preference?"
"I haven't slept in the Aladhi inn since—" began Alvin, eyeing the third bed longingly.
"I'll take it," volunteered Leia, looking up at him jubilantly, Jude and Milla exchanging a nonplussed glance. Aw yeah! Favor number one! "Where are Rowen and Elize, anyway?" she added, cutting across Alvin's indignant protests.
"Uh," said Jude, looking between Leia and Alvin curiously. "Out shopping."
"In this weather?" asked Leia, frowning.
"The thunder's letting up," explained Jude, echoing her expression, "but seriously, what is going on with you guys? You've both been acting weird ever since Leia got out of the shower!"
"And we'll keep right on acting weird till I finally dry off enough to put clothes on," said Leia sweetly, putting her hands behind her back. "So, yeah. Does anyone have any objections if I take the third bed?" she asked, eyes lingering on Alvin's in a direct challenge while Jude and Milla shook their heads. Would he uphold his bargain?
Swaying slightly in place, he moistened his lips and looked down at her with an expression like he either wanted to kill her or kiss her—but thankfully did neither, and instead made an irritated noise and broke eye contact. She took that as a 'no'.
"Big," he muttered, walking to the armchair and sitting down abruptly.
"Small," corrected Leia, scooping up her pack and clothes and plunking them on her new bed. Alvin may have seen her naked for a few seconds, but she had roped him into servitude for quite a while in return, and he was bound to secrecy about both. All was right with the world, in a wrong sort of way.
"What?" asked Milla and Jude together, as she picked up her bowl of creamy vegetable soup (now lukewarm) and sat down next to the fireplace by Alvin's feet. Leia, picking up her spoon, only smiled triumphantly up at her exasperated new slave.