A/N: Ok, I'm not sure why, but this season 5 Samcedes stuff is truly causing my muse to return. And I'm not saying I don't find some of their new plotlines problematic, but I think I kinda love this ship again.

What is my life?

Anyway, I guess this whole series is just me, taking their canon shit and fixing it in a way that appeals to me more. I like to watch the spoilers and then write the stories sometime before the new episode airs. That's why they bumped uglies in my last one. This one is set sometime after "Tested," and I'm running with the "Mercedes is waiting until marriage" storyline. But there's obviously gonna be a twist…

Oh, and in my head, Sam's fascination with the Facts of Life caused Mercedes to re-embrace some of the old TV shows her parents enjoyed at home growing up. So she marathon-watched all the seasons of A Different World and got hooked.


Pillow Talk

{{ALARM RINGS}}

It was 6am on a beautiful Sunday morning, and just as she had every other morning over the last ten weeks, Mercedes Jones awoke hastily to the piercing wail of the alarm on her cell phone. Wrapped tightly in her favorite squashy comforter as well Sam Evans' strong arms, she took a deep breath and silently appreciated her surroundings.

Sam and Mercedes' sleeping positions never changed…as a matter of fact, the way they slept had become an important routine for the couple. Sam preferred the left side of the bed and slept primarily on his right side; Mercedes preferred the right, and thoroughly enjoyed being his little spoon. Sam was hot-natured and rarely slept in a shirt or under the covers… never minding it if she managed to steal them all during the night; Mercedes routinely hogged all the bedclothes, happy to have Sam pressed against her back while ensconced in her bedtime cocoon. Both cell phones lay charging on her bedside table, owing to the fact that there was no outlet near his...however; again, this benefited everyone, due to Sam's penchant for sleeping through alarms and Mercedes' tendency to wake up immediately. Although sleeping in the same bed was something they had started purely by happenstance -Mercedes and Sam having accidentally fallen asleep watching movies while Blaine entertained Kurt in the second bedroom- the couple quickly realized that they slept together very peacefully. Both Mercedes and Sam often wondered how they'd ever managed to sleep before then.

Just like every morning, Mercedes pictured briefly the episode of A Different World in which a newly married Whitley Gilbert Wayne awoke before her husband, snuck out of bed, ran to the bathroom, primped, and returned in the stealthiest manner possible…all in the interest of keeping said husband attracted to her. As usual, Mercedes giggled at the thought, her laughter causing Sam to stir. She then disengaged the alarm, executed a perfect 180 degree rotation under the covers, waited patiently for Sam to situate himself on his back, then drew the covers over both their bodies in the air conditioned room. After Sam placed a customary light kiss on her forehead, muttering "just five more minutes, Baby…" Mercedes finally cuddled into the crook of his arm, plastered her body fully into his side, and draped an arm across his midsection. As Sam's hold on Mercedes tightened slightly, she rested her head against his bicep…all the better to enjoy their early morning cuddle.

As they embraced, Mercedes' mind wandered over everything in she and Sam's past that had brought them, finally, to this place. The fact is, that their relationship had never been easy or drama-free. Teenage angst had always been a huge factor when they struggled to be together in the early days…and it was pretty likely that new, more grown-up issues would arise the longer they were paired. But the one thing that remained consistent, throughout all the couple's struggles, was the sense of contentment they both found in one another's arms. Comfort was something they'd always managed to share…a burning instinct to take care of each other. In a lot of ways, Mercedes mused, she'd missed Sam's hugs more than she had his kisses every time they'd parted over the years. And she was confident that he'd agree. Not that his kisses didn't make her dizzy…

Wide awake, Mercedes raised her head slightly to look at her boyfriend more closely. The young woman rarely allowed herself the luxury of openly staring at the man, despite the way he'd gawked at her constantly from across the choir room back when they were in high school. But today, Mercedes decided to treat herself…and she wasn't disappointed in the least by what she saw. She suppressed a giggle at the atrocious bedhead he sported, rolling her eyes because she knew the silk scarf she wore -and satin pillowcase she slept on- protected her own flawless mane from the same fate. Her eyes traveled lower, taking in Sam's closed eyes…disappointed that she couldn't see his beautiful green orbs, but smiling in appreciation of the long pale eyelashes fluttering slightly as she watched. Mercedes' gaze focused on Sam's scruffy blond beard growing thick on his cheeks, which did nothing to hide his handsome chiseled jaw and strong chin. He'd gone without shaving for several days, at her own request, because she loved the way it felt against her collarbone and lips. Unable to resist stroking it, Mercedes reached up and ran her fingertips lightly over the adorable stubble, causing her man to finally wake up fully. His eyes opened, meeting her own brown orbs directly, as a wide grin settled on his lips.

"Mornin'…"

Mercedes smiled back, tickled on the inside by Sam's early morning drawl. Most of the time he kept his Southern accent pretty much at bay, but when relaxed or sleepy, Sam's country roots took over.

"Good morning," she replied softly as Sam lifted his head to kiss her on the lips briefly…morning breath be damned. As he settled back on the pillow drowsily, Mercedes returned to her quiet inspection of his lovely features…still using her small brown digits to tiptoe lightly over his face.

"What's on your mind, darlin'?" Sam asked, knowing that his girlfriend usually enjoyed engaging him in hushed pillow talk whenever they woke up way too early to get ready for work or church. It was something he'd had to get used to, obviously…Sam was a notorious nightbird. But he also loved knowing that his lady shared her first thoughts of every day with him and him alone. And he ached to know what she was considering so thoughtfully.

"I don't know…you, I guess," Mercedes shrugged. "Sometimes I forget how beautiful you are." She bit her lip shyly and threaded her fingers through the freshly trimmed locks that stuck out in disarray. "Just reminding myself. I know it's creepy…" she scrunched her nose at him playfully.

"Not creepy," Sam laughed. "It's cute. But I ain't got nothin' on you…" he flirted as he swooped in for another kiss, this one much deeper than the last.

The couple shared a series of sweet pecks, which became slow lingering smooches…finally culminating in a fevered lip-lock that left each of them breathless. As they kissed, Mercedes slowly let go of Sam's hair…using it to wind a meandering path down his neck, over his shoulder, along his bicep, and across his chest…settling there to rest where she could feel the rapid beating of his heart just underneath. Sam used his arms to wrap more securely around his girlfriend, hands clasped in the small of her back and pulling her more firmly against his body under the covers. Relishing in the warmth of his embrace, Mercedes shifted slightly, aligning herself more fully along his tall body and draping one of her thighs over his leg. Then she allowed her hands to continue their journey, running her long nails lightly over his ribcage. As she began to investigate the solid musculature of his abdomen, Sam allowed his own hands to slip over the curve of her bottom, appreciating the softness of the skin underneath her pajama shorts. The kiss continued -tongues clashing, lips wrestling- until they finally pulled apart, gazing wordlessly into each other's eyes.

Sam knew already that Mercedes' desire to marry before making love was an important part of what made her Mercedes. He also understood that her decision wasn't about him…understood that it was a deeply personal thing that had no bearing whatsoever on whether or not she loved him. So ever since the day he'd promised to respect her wishes completely, the young man worked hard to make sure she'd trust him to always do so. He never became "handsy" anymore, never attempted to push the boundaries of their physical life further. He never made mention of getting "a little something, something," the way he had with Quinn years ago -and even though it was hard for him- he had never regretted it.

There was a time when Sam had been convinced that being in a relationship this way, was pretty much tantamount to being friends who occasionally held hands and kissed….that the romantic aspect of their partnership relied almost solely on physical closeness. But he was learning that friction had never dictated how he felt for Mercedes. And he realized that they'd managed to become closer, even more comfortable together without the sex issue constantly rearing its ugly head. So even though he was thoroughly enjoying the feel of her body on top of his, the way the globe of her butt filled the palm of his hand…he knew now would be a good time to put a stop to what they were doing...

Pecking her lips once more, Sam shifted his weight, gently disentangling himself from his girlfriend's embrace, and prepared to climb out of bed. Playfully, he teased, "Much as I'm enjoyin' wakin' up like this, I think I better pump the brakes a little. There's a cold shower callin' my name…"

As she watched Sam attempt to roll towards the edge of the king-sized and head for the ensuite bathroom, Mercedes made up her mind to finally speak on something she'd been anxious to bring up the past few weeks. In order to stop him from moving any further away, Mercedes reached over and placed a timid hand on his thigh…which surprised Sam so much he stilled -long enough for her to quickly straddle his body. It was literally the first time Sam had ever been allowed between Mercedes' spread legs.

Smirking a little at the shocked expression that had taken over Sam's features, Mercedes felt any residual timidity and nervous energy leave her body. She opened her mouth to speak, because she had something very important to say.

"Sam," she started. "I want you to know that ever since that day when you lit up candles all over the apartment like Boyz II Men in the "I'll Make Love To You" video -not to seduce me, but to tell me you understood that we don't need sex to be romantic with each other- I've been watching you."

"Umm…" Sam stammered. "You have?"

She nodded. "Yes. I think a small part of me -despite what you said- was worried that maybe we couldn't be happy with this sex thing between us. Maybe I expected for you to try and sneak your way into my panties on the sly with that 'rounding the bases' stuff while we were in bed some night, or maybe I thought one day you'd sit me down and try and change my mind again…" she shrugged. "…whatever the reason, I've been paying really close attention to you."

Sam immediately worried that, despite how closely he'd guarded himself and tried to be a perfect gentleman, he'd somehow crossed a line. "Mercedes, I never meant to…"

She raised a finger to his lips, "I know. You haven't done any of that. And I appreciate it. But these past weeks have taught me something."

"What?" Sam asked, still confused.

Mercedes took a deep breath. "I realized that, even though you said it out of frustration the night I told you I couldn't make love until I got married, you had a point when you said what you said about our relationship. The fact is, that if we weren't living together and cooking together and sleeping in the same bed, this…" she gestured between the two of them. "…would be pretty much no different than my friendship with Santana." Taking a moment to think about her words, Mercedes amended, "outside of the kissing."

"Mercedes…no…" Sam started to apologize and take those words back. He'd only said them out of frustration, after all, and regretted ever letting them leave his mouth. "…I…"

"No," Mercedes shushed him once again. "Don't apologize or try to take it back…you were absolutely right."

She shifted slightly and Sam fought to listen carefully, despite that his girlfriend was perched and moving against his groin.

"You know," Mercedes continued "in the back of my mind, when I said what I said about finding other things to enjoy as a couple, I figured we could do silly stuff like we did when we first got together…"

Sam grinned as she went on.

"Like go to carnivals, and sightsee, laugh at people on the subway, and play video games…" Mercedes continued. "…things we can do with any of our friends or in a group. I remembered how much fun we used to have back in the day just acting goofy, and thought it would be enough for our relationship to grow on while we waited." She took a deep breath. "Even though doing all of that together here in New York has been a lot of fun..."

Sam nodded in agreement.

Mercedes shook her head a little. "...Recently, I've come to realize that all of those things have nothing to do with why we're so close right now."

"They don't?" Sam asked, warily.

"Not at all," she replied. "I know this. Because you and I -even though we aren't fooling around- have become really intimate." Mercedes began to tick off examples using her fingers. "You see me in my head scarf, and I do all your laundry. We make out with morning breath…" Mercedes averted her eyes bashfully, "…and I'm pretty sure I accidentally used your toothbrush last week…"

Sam shrugged, not caring in the least.

"…and what I'm learning is," she continued, "that we express our love through those things. Because we don't share them with anybody but each other."

Sam nodded, agreeing completely. "Yeah, we're like a retired married couple."

"Minus the sex," Mercedes reminded him.

He shrugged, "They don't have sex, either…"

Laughingly slapping his arm, Mercedes went on. "Anyway, even though I try really hard not to be one of the many people in your life who only value you for your body…" She placed her hands on his stomach, gliding them slowly towards his chest. "…or your studly super-model good looks…" she trailed her hands over his shoulders, finally crossing them behind his head and reclining body-to-body so that their faces were just centimeters apart. Instinctively, Sam wrapped his own arms back around his girlfriend and squeezed her closer. "…I think we could probably stand to push back all the rules I set back when you said I could call the shots."

Sam wondered briefly whether he was in the middle of a really vivid dream.

"And I'm not saying that I'm gonna be your personal stripper or anything…and to be honest, you're still probably gonna have plenty of frustration in your life…"

Sam had no words, they'd all left his body when she mentioned strippers. So he nodded dumbly.

"…but you love me enough to take turns cleaning the bathroom…" Mercedes pecked the left corner of his slightly agape mouth. "…and make me breakfast in bed on Saturdays…" kiss to the right corner, "…and pretend to hail cabs, then hand them over to me, cuz you KNOW how hard it is for a sistah in this town…"

After sharing a chuckle, Mercedes picked up right where she left off. "Well, the fact is that I love you and trust you enough to stop worrying so much about all those rules. Do you understand?" She took a moment to search his face, wondering how specific she needed to be before Sam got the picture.

Her boyfriend –who incidentally, was even prettier than he'd been as a boy- was now a man. And still no dummy. He locked his legs around his girlfriend's legs and swiftly rolled them over so that she was beneath him. "So…you're pretty much saying I can touch you under your clothes now…and that I might make it to second base sometime soon?"

Mercedes giggled once more at the hopeful expression on Sam's face, before shrugging playfully. "You never know…I'm mean, I make no promises…"

He nodded happily.

"…but I'm guessing that the next time you need one-a those cold-ass showers…"

Sam raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"…I may just need to hop in there with you!"

By the time those Mercedes uttered those words, the couple –both laughing and kissing at this point- had plainly forgotten all about getting up in order to dress for church.


A/N: I don't know how people are reacting to these, since a lot of lapsed Samcedians are wary of any and all things related to S5. I myself may not watch S6. But I hope somebody likes it!