bakerstreet | Slow down

little steps

No matter how much they care for the other person and want to be with them, some people simply can't dive head first into relationships. Little things that form intimacy and romance, little acts we take for granted - being close, holding hands, kissing, showing affection in public - they won't or can't do...at least not right off the bat. Something in their past, their experiences, their trauma, or even their personality holds them back. For both them and the person they're "dating," as it were, this can lead to a frustrating experience.

Still, steps can be taken towards letting the walls fall down. Little, tiny steps, but those can mean the world all the same.

The People
One With the help of a partner, one person warms up.
Two Both sides of this couple are learning how to be in a relationship and to be open.

The Actions
Talking → A relationship can't exist if there's not some communication, so either learn to use your words or become so close you can speak without them.
Spending Time → Even such mundane occurrences as watching TV or cooking together is new ground.
Touching → You might just find you enjoy reaching out and touching them.
Kissing → Another kind of touch, when you think about it.
Cuddling → ...at least they're warm and, hopefully, soft.
Sleeping → You're at your absolute weakest when you're asleep. It shows trust to doze off around this person.
Public Display → It's one thing to be in love in private, but showing you care in public is a different story.
Kind Words → Three little words (more or less) are all it takes. Why, then, are they so hard to get out?
Sex The ultimate stumbling block to some. To be laid blissfully bare is to truly let your guard down.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I'm evaluating the situation," he corrected, though nothing had shifted in the past 48 hours, and truthfully, it was a bold-faced lie. He'd already assessed the risks and concluded that the situation was a mess—mostly a disaster. Moreover, he was actually staring.

"Sleep?" he gently teased, a warm affection in his deep voice despite the persistent crease in his brow since they'd been stuck in this situation. "No thanks, I'd prefer to keep staring."

After a beat he added, "Just to make sure you don't take a nip at me." And of course it sounded light and non-plussed but there was an unspoken question there that he wasn't ready to ask.

She made a vague noise in the back of her throat as he, essentially, tried to bullshit a bullshitter.

"Sleep, yes. I assume you 'ave heard of it. Or maybe y'hibernate. Get it all over with in one go..." Sounds like the sort of thing he might try, at least once. In the name of efficiency.

A flash of golden-yellow in the dark, as her eyes slitted open to look at him. "You should be so lucky," she breathed, a smirk implicit in her tone. But buried beneath that tease is the unspoken answer to his unspoken question. Not yet. Not yet.

They still had time. How much time, or what difference it would make in the end was anyone's guess. Time enough for a miracle, perhaps.

The only thing asleep were his legs. But even then, he could still feel the hard metal against his hip. With some luck, all of him would go numb so that he didn't have to feel a thing. That might be an improvement on the current situation.

"The night's still young." He teases with the same daring he might use to repel off a skyscraper. But jumping off the the roof is easy. This? This was..

hard somehow.

It would be easier just to continue to talk around the situation. That way whatever happened, it'd just be a mission gone awry between professionals. No blame. They both knew the risks of working together.

He lightly clears his throat. That's a shit way of thinking about it, no? After all, she deserves more.

After a few moments, he says, "We've been through worse. Remember?" He frowns as he summons one of his favorite memories and then breaks into a grin. "After all, you were married to me for 48 hours. You survived that. We'll get through this too."

"Now y'know if there's one thing I can't stand, it's a challenge," she murmured, pressing her temple against their cold metal enclosure. At least it wasn't a sweat box, or she'd really be whining.

"We have," she agreed too readily, because it was true. Once she realized where exactly he was headed with that, her shoulders shook with silent laughter. "Was it that bad? Jesus,"

"I'll admit th'honeymoon was... Unconventional," she grinned, "But soul-sucking Kuei-jin aside, I thought th'marriage was a good one."

She fell quiet then, having come too close to something honest when she's deliberately and staunchly avoided the question of why it was so easy for her to pretend he was her husband. "Just be grateful it was only 48 hours. I'm an actual nightmare t'stay married to."

Slow down

!!!

♥️

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