Silent Afflictions

Silent Sneaking

Rose lay in the comfy bed. Really it was far too comfortable. She didn't know how long it had been since they'd stopped, both spent completely, simply too worn out to continue.

Barely moving, she looked at the clock that lay on the bedside table.

01:28 AM

Seeing the time, she mentally swore; she'd been out far later than she should have been, lost in the moment with the man she now shared a bed with.

Mycroft himself was still awake, not saying anything, just enjoying the feeling of having her in his arms as she lay across his chest, ear over his heart. She could hear the steady rhythm of his life pounding out a soothing rhythm and could happily just go to sleep, warm and completely satisfied with the night's activities.

She knew she couldn't though; it wasn't her first one-night stand and knew what happened next by now. Because that's all it was - a one-night stand, a bit of comfort after a bad day. If it happened again, then it happened, but she wasn't counting on it. She knew where they stood now and had set her mind on that; she couldn't afford to think anything else.

She took a deep breath - breathing him in - letting every bit of tension that was left in her go, relaxing her entire self. Controlling her breathing, she took deep breaths, heart rate dropping a fair bit in response.

Usually, she wouldn't bother, but the thumb that was slowly stroking her shoulder lazily told her that he was still awake - and she couldn't leave while he was awake, it would only make things awkward.

Mycroft felt her relax, hearing the slightly heavier breathing. Looking down at her, he felt a small smile creep onto his features. It was strange, he really was growing attached to the woman; and more than just the sex, which was everything he thought it would be and more. It had been a while since he'd been with a woman, choosing to focus more on his work, but god was it worth the wait for her.

Sweeping a single fingertip across her forehead, he pushed back the few stray hairs that had fallen across her face and tucking them gently behind her ear. Looking at her as she slept, Mycroft felt unusual; like he was completely happy and content, but didn't know he wasn't until now.

Frowning slightly, he just lay back once more, closing his eyes as he tried to fight off both the sleepiness and the troubling thoughts. It was a few minutes later that he found that he lost both battles.

Rose waited patiently, her biggest problem being tiredness; she was exhausted. Between her parents visit, her long walk, and the activities of the night, she was dropping. So, trying to pretend to be asleep well enough to fool the highly attentive genius she was with, while trying not to actually fall asleep was not an easy task for the young woman.

Eventually she felt his breathing even out, heart beat slowing, the thumb on her shoulder coming to a rest finally. Waiting a little longer she made sure he was in fact asleep and wouldn't be woken by her movements.

Slipping out of his arms, Rose went over to the bathroom, picking up her discarded underwear along the way. Getting dressed as quietly as she could, she poked her head out the bathroom once more, this time fully dressed in mostly dry clothes.

Mycroft was still fast asleep. She held back a sigh thinking that it was definitely time to leave. Creeping through the bedroom silently, she took one last lingering look at the slumbering man before closing the door.

Turning away, she saw the dressing gown on the floor, the dying light of the fire the only illumination of the room. Hearing the soft pour of rain against the windows, she picked up the borrowed garment, draping it over the back of the sofa, fingertips lingering on the silky fabric.

She didn't want to leave the warm cosy apartment, the man sleeping in the next room or the bubble that seemed to form around them throughout the evening. As soon as she walked out that door, she was going home, to flatmates who had probably wondered why she hadn't gone for dinner - since she hadn't told them of her plans for a walk - and the possibility of her parents turning up for another round the next day.

Taking a deep breath, she let her hand drop from the dressing gown, turning her back on the sleeping man as she decided to go home and sleep off the day's events. She had to face up to reality sometime.