With his desire written on his face, he places a hand on her cheek and leans in toward her lips...
Seconds pass. The room is standstill and the world in Idris's apartment is frozen stiff with tension. The only sounds are that of the cityscape below them, bristling with the life of traffic and drunken antics, not unlike their own. Marya holds her breath and keeps her eyes closed in anticipation of Idris's next action.
When the silence passes too long for Marya's taste, she peeks through one eye to see her boss, who has shown many emotions this night, showing a brand new emotion. Sadness. She sees that it slowly wells within his eyes as he has now glanced to the side with a shadow of remorse strewn across his nearly flawless facial features. She wonders for a moment if she ruined this carefully sculpted scenario between the two.
Idris stands her upright and whispers "Please help me back to the sofa, Marya. Moved to fast-" he inhales deeply through his nose "-and now the rest of this evening's alcohol has moved with me." He stumbles backward, nearly tripping.
She catches him and wraps his arm around her neck and helps him struggle back toward the previous seating area. She chuckles and says under her breath "Alcohol makes people do unreasonable things at unreasonable hours." When she sits Idris down, she places her hands on her hips and begins to lay into him. "Idris." she started "As grateful as I am to you for saving me from a serious cases of head trauma, a simple yelp would have sufficed. You've had more to drink in one night than most can stand to have in a week." She starts toward the kitchen as she continues. "If it makes you feel better, I'll try some of this mixture you mentioned at a somewhat smaller dose. That way I can show you how unbecoming you are acting. Is such a notion acceptable in your book?"
He lifts and arm and manages a thumbs up motion. "Good. I'll set several alarms to allow us enough time to collect ourselves properly in the morning."
Idris spoke well enough that she could hear him in the kitchen. "You truly plan to stay and make sure I don't swallow my tongue."
She chuckles and responds "With the way this evening has been so far, I have to make sure you don't swallow your toes, with that foot in your mouth and all." Idris falls silent at this remark and Marya assumes it is from embarrassment.
In this silence she pours her self a 3/4 full glass of the sweet tea from the fridge. She then tops the glass off with a 1/4 of Everdear. She sniffs at the concoction, only detecting the tea. After a small sip her, eyes burst open and she thinks to her self 'this fucking amazing! One more glass wouldn't hurt...' After she downs a second mix, half and half this time, she washes the dishes and puts everything in its respective place.
She then finds her place back on the couch with Idris and double checks her alarms. She glances at Idris to see him peacefully sleeping on his back, with his head nestled in the corner of the couch. He murmurs under his breath, in a form of sleep talking mmm "She invoked Old Law" mmm. Not long after stealing a glance, she briefly feels the warmth of the alcohol in her chest and moves into her own corner on the couch. She then succumbs to her drowsiness from babysitting her boss.
Idris awakens with a light pressure at the front of his skull. He opens his eyes and takes in the room before him. His living room is dimly lit by the moonlight, and he is unreasonably warm. He quickly sits up and sheds the blanket he was sleeping under. He moves for his phone on the nearby coffee table and checks the time. 3:17 He looks to the opposite end of the couch and takes note of Marya. She made sure I stayed alive. He notices her usual graceful frame curled into the fetal position. Idris gathers up the blanket and lays it neatly around her body.
As he starts to move for the kitchen, he feels a slight tug on his pantleg. Looking down at his leg he sees Marya's hand holding onto him gingerly. She whispers "Thank you for the warmth." She releases her tender grip and as Idris continues to watch, she motions him to come closer and lightly places her hand along his jaw. She then does the unthinkable.
She pulls him in and places a deep kiss on his lips.
Idris is startled and taken aback by this motion but for some reason, cannot seem to pull himself away. When she parts from his lips, she whispers "Was that too forward of me?"
Idris, as if driven by a sense of unrefined instinct, he quickly plants a follow-up kiss on his attacker's lips and second on her forehead. "Alcohol makes people do unreasonable things at unreasonable hours, right?"
She begins to sit up, grabbing her head as it begins to pulse and throb with the echoes of bad decisions. As she positions herself upright she whispers to him "You were right about that Everdear. I won't be making that decision again anytime soon." Idris takes his seat next to her, looking away to the side. "Somethings troubles you, Idris. If I have been far too assuming then I-"
He holds up a hand to stop her in protest. "You have done nothing wrong, it was I who acted improperly even though you have shown me great care. I apologize for offending you Miss Marya."
She sighs aloud "Before you enact judgement upon yourself like some child who is used to being punished for the smallest of mistakes, let's speak amicably. In no way shape or form do I feel offended, pressured, or repulsed by you. I have grown rather fond of your presence and I would like to believe you think the same of me. Otherwise, why would we still be doing this social experiment of yours."
He turns his head back to her in awe and embarrassment painted on his face. "You knew about that?"
She nods. "I've known for a while now. Let's be honest. A CEO of a prominent company with hands in multiple societal pots just happens to take interest in an intern, who, may I remind you, holds no power or pull within said company. Idris I've seen the way you act on a now regular basis. You are not one to take risks unless calculating them carefully. Something like our situation was meant to fill a vacuum somewhere in your life. Am I wrong?"
He sits for a moment, thinking of a carefully crafted response. He then inhales sharply and states with conviction "You are absolutely correct. I did seek to bring a bit of 'spice'-" he uses air quotations. "in my life. However, as time went on and you continued to surprise me with knowledge, I began to develop an affinity for your company. There are very few people whose company I tend to enjoy." His mind flashes briefly from Garrick, to Regina, and finally Marya. "I not only enjoy you putting up with my antics, but I am also grateful to you for such."
She nudges closer to him and rests her head on his shoulder. "Don't be so hard on your self. We all have our reasons to do things. Yours was a vacuum. Mine was curiosity. With neither of the two being a driving force anymore, we are free to continue as we are without great remorse." She places a hand oon her head again. "But if we speak of great remorse, that Everdear comes to mind." She lifts his head from his shoulder. "Would you please grab me a glass of water?"
He obliges, walking into the kitchen to fetch her a glass. She calls from the couch "Do you normally talk in your sleep?" He chuckles. "Talk in my sleep? What do you mean?" Marya explained further as well as she could with her developing hangover. "When I came back from downing two glasses of that Everdear mix you mentioned, you were mumbling about the someone invoking Old Law."
Idris holds his composure. "That's a bit strange sounding, but it doesn't faze me. He opens the refrigerator, obscuring himself from Marya.
'Old Law'
The words echo in his mind. He thinks to himself as he puts the water pitcher back in its rightful place. I have royally fucked up. Damage control comes first. I'll need to contact Regina first thing tomorrow evening. He brings her a glass and tells her. "We'll need our rest if we are to make it to the office without issue tomorrow."
"Of course. I'm still drowsy after all." she assures him. 'He's hiding something. His demeanor shifted after I asked him about it.' Marya thinks to herself. "I don't think I'll have an issue sleeping with you here."
He smiles, fighting back the urge to show worry on his face. "And neither shall I..."