For Bev McDole-Kruger and how I wish the upcoming episode Eyes Wide Open would go (but sadly know it won't, as the actor that plays Sean isn't listed a guest star)
Are you awake?
Sue looks at the text she just sent, hoping it doesn't look like a late-night hookup request. Not that she would mind if the recipient wanted to hookup but she doesn't think it's a good idea to hookup with someone she's been in love with since middle school- her phone buzzes with a response.
Can't sleep Suzy Q?
She types her response quickly. I accidentally watched Silence of the Lambs so no sleep for me.
Sue taps her fingers on the couch, his reply coming within seconds and causing her to smile; she was right in what she thought he would say: I'll be over in 20.
A sharp knock comes to her door exactly 20 minutes later, and Sue flings open the door, throwing herself into Sean's arms.
"I'm never sleeping again!"
Sean chuckles in her ear, his arms tight around her as he walks her backwards into the apartment, kicking the door closed with his foot. Her heart starts to calm down for the first time in the past six hours at his touch. "How exactly did you accidentally watch The Silence of the Lambs?"
"I uh," Sue stumbles her words into his shoulder, "I thought it was a movie about lambs?"
Sean laughs outright at that, releasing Sue to take a step back and remove his coat. He hangs it on the rack behind him before turning to her again. "Why didn't you read the movie summary?"
She takes a moment to hate him for making a Notre Dame sweatshirt and bright purple sweatpants look so good before responding. "I wanted to be surprised."
"Well at least you can't say that you weren't," Sean muses, taking a seat on the couch. "Terrible timing huh?"
"Horrible timing." She had told Sean this past Wednesday during their weekly Pizza Afternoon Extravaganza (Brad may have picked the name) that she finally had the apartment to herself as Lexie was going home for the weekend and Axl would be in Chicago visiting Hutch so he couldn't drop in unannounced and how excited she was.
Too bad it was 1:43am on Friday night and the excitement was gone.
"Did you try watching anything else to help calm you down?" Sean asks, leaning over the back of the couch to watch her flit around the kitchen. Sue holds up a water pitcher in offering and he nods, Sue taking two glasses out of the cabinet.
"I watched two romantic comedies, my favorites actually, and nothing!" Sue tells him, pouring out two glasses of water.
"Maybe you need to watch something mindless," Sean suggests. Sue puts the water pitcher back in the fridge, the hairs on her arm standing up as she is too aware of Sean's eyes on her. She's kind of annoyed with herself for not changing out of her lavender swirl-patterned leggings and oversized hoodless dark green East Indiana State sweatshirt; at the very least she wishes she took the yellow scrunchie out of her hair.
"Aren't romantic comedies mindless?" Sue asks, handing him a glass and sitting next to him on the sofa. "That's what Axl always tells me."
"Not for you," Sean smiles at her, taking a sip of water. "Romantic movies get you overly excited." Sue took a sip of water herself, silently agreeing with him. "I think we should watch an action movie to take the edge off."
"An action movie?" A slow smile crosses Sue's face as she thinks about it. "That's a great idea!"
"Do you want to pick one or do you want me to?"
"You can pick," Sue says quickly, both her and Sean leaning forward to put their glasses down at the same time.
"I say we go with Fast Five. It's one of the Fast and the Furious movies but also kind of like Ocean's Eleven, you'll love it," Sean grins at her, picking up the remote and setting up the movie.
The pair sits in silence for the first 15 minutes but Sean's eyes travel to her every time she jumps at something in the movie, waiting for someone to pop out unexpectedly. The tenth time she jumps (yes, she counts) Sean speaks up.
"Sue." Sue looks at him to see him turned towards her slightly with his arm resting on the top of the sofa and he nods his head in invitation.
"Oh that's okay-"
"You keep jumping," Sean cuts her off gently, his eyes boring into her. "Maybe being closer to someone else will help."
"I only jumped a few times," Sue lies.
"You've jumped ten times since the movie started." Damn, he was counting too. "Just come over here."
Sue sighs in defeat, knowing Sean will continue to persuade her and wear her down eventually and she's too tired to pretend she doesn't want the contact. She moves to sit with him and Sean smiles in triumph, putting a finger up before moving their water glasses to the end table and dragging the coffee table to meet the edge of the soda. Sean settles back into the sofa, resting his legs carefully on the glass top of the coffee table, holding him arm out to her again.
Sue moves slowly across the cushions, leaning in nearly immediately to Sean's body heat. Sue curls up against his side, trying to keep some space between them for her sanity. She rests her head on Sean's shoulder and rests her legs next to his on the coffee table.
She finally starts to relax but when Sean lowers his hand from the couch to her shoulder she jumps, sprawling further across his chest. Sue picks herself up in embarrassment but she's stopped from moving too far when Sean places his free hand just below his other hand that's already on her shoulder.
"It's only me," Sean says quietly, leading her back down to his chest. "I won't let anyone hurt you."
"I know," Sue confesses, her forehead now touching his neck while her arm is now resting against his ribcage. Sean shifts too, moving one of his hands to rest on his thigh, the other moving to her waist.
Sue looks towards the TV and smiles slightly at the sight of their now tangled legs. She should feel bad about being this close to her brother's best friend but his faster-than-normal heartbeat is doing things to her insides that she doesn't want to go away just yet.
"Better?" Sean whispers in her ear.
"Much."
Sue jolts awake a few hours later with wide eyes as it takes her a minute to figure out where she is.
She is only a little surprised to find nearly her entire torso across Sean's chest with one of his hands high on her thigh and the other around her waist. She shifts slightly to separate them, her movements waking up Sean. He looks as confused for a moment before smiling at her sleepily and pulling her back against him.
"Go back to sleep," he mumbles into her hair that somehow had come out of her ponytail, her scrunchie nowhere to be found.
"But-"
"We're fine, we're in your apartment and no one is trying to murder us," Sean cuts her off, his voice deep with sleep.
"Actually I was going to say this is an uncomfortable position," Sue shifts, wincing at the tightness of her back.
"I'm too big to share the couch with you." Sean doesn't open his eyes. "Unless you want to spoon but even that would be tight."
"No let's, uh, let's go sleep in my bed," Sue says uncertainly. She's nervous; the only guys she's ever shared a bed with were Axl and Brick and she isn't sure she should be considering her brothers guys in this scenario but Sean still doesn't open his eyes. "Sean?"
Sean cracks an eye to look at her. "We can sleep in your bed." Sue untangles herself from him, shivering with the loss of his body heat. He opens his other eye and she holds out her hand, which he takes as he too stands up.
Sean lets Sue lead him into her room, Sue silently thankful that a few days prior Axl had gotten angry with her and stolen all of her stuffed animals from her bed, save Woofy Dog, so Sean wouldn't see them.
They end up spooning anyway; Sue finds out a second after cracking open an eye the next morning to the early morning sunlight.
Sean is holding her flush against him, his head buried in her neck with their legs once again tangled. Sue isn't proud of it but she closes her eyes for a moment, enjoying the feeling of being nestled in Sean's broad arms. She allows herself only a few more minutes of his warmth before slowly and carefully sliding out from under his arms.
Sue makes her way into the kitchen, taking out a few pans as quietly as possible to not wake Sean. She starts to make breakfast as a thank you for him spending the night and as she turns to put the egg carton back in the fridge she nearly drops them in surprise.
Sean is leaning against the kitchen wall with his arms crossed, his eyes trained on her and an unreadable expression on his face.
"How long," Sue pauses, taking a deep breath to steady her heart rate with a hand to her chest," have you been standing there?"
"About two minutes after you left me in your bed cold and alone," he quips, causing the corners of her mouth to turn up.
"I wanted to make you breakfast," Sue bites her lip, his gaze unwavering but traveling to her mouth at the action. "As a thank you."
"You don't have to thank me," Sean pushes himself off the wall, taking the egg carton from her hands, "I would do anything for you Suzy Q."
"I know," Sue says, their eyes meeting while he puts the eggs away, "but that doesn't mean you don't deserve a thank you."
"I guess not," Sean relents, his eyes twinkling. "I guess it's also a good thing I like my bacon crispy."
Sue's eyes get comically wide as she moves hurriedly towards the stove and the smoking bacon resting in the pan. It's nearly burnt and she slumps her shoulders.
Sean comes to stand at the stove with her, picking up a spatula and moving the eggs around the pan just as they were starting to stick. Sue thanks him and removes all the bacon from the pan, letting Sean handle the eggs.
She sets the table for the two of them then makes both of them their shared favorite breakfast drink: chocolate milk. Sean puts the pan of eggs in front of their plates next to the plate of burnt bacon and the two eat in a comfortable silence.
"You know," Sean starts, "it was kind of nice watching a movie together."
"We watch movies all the time," Sue says obliviously. Sean chuckles.
"Yeah we do but we're not usually that close," Sean lays out for her exactly what he means and she laughs sheepishly.
"Right. That was really nice," Sue pauses, putting down her fork. "Really really nice." Sue wishes she stopped there but she wouldn't be Sue if she did. "Like, the most comfortable and warm and safe I've ever felt nice."
"Are you still dating the delivery guy?" Sean asks, Sue's eyes snapping to his in surprise. He still has the unreadable expression on his face but now it's mixed with, is that, hope?
"We went on a few dates but it didn't work out," Sue admits, deciding to, in the words of Swedish supergroup ABBA, take a chance, "because I like someone else."
"You do?" Sean looks at her like he's trying to figure her out and a wide smile crosses her face.
"Yeah and he's totally worth it because he loves crispy bacon but hates burnt bacon but will eat it just because I made it and he doesn't want me to feel bad." Sean returns her wide smile.
"Can I take you to dinner tonight?" Sean doesn't waste any time.
"Definitely."
