It's all about connection

[narsiserious]

"Ah, now I understand," Garret nodded.


Though Catherine was also aromatic, she was not asexual, and was not seemingly as sex repulsed as Juliet was. Garret assumed that aromatics and asexual just did not particularly care for romance and sex, to see Juliet behave so grossed out by their affections opened his eyes a little more. He would have to do some studying.


"I suppose holding hands isn't too much for her?" he smiled, bringing their linked hands up so he could kiss the back of Lauren's.

 

[FloatingAroundSpace]

Lauren felt a laugh slip from her lips. "I'm sure she can handle it," she said, shaking her head. "She over-exaggerates a lot."


The house neared and Lauren slowed down slightly, wanting more time away from that chaos with Garret.

 

[narsiserious]

Garret chuckled. "I hope so because I don't think I can stop any time soon," he said, squeezing Lauren's hand.


Now that they were back at the house he would have to try and act as normal as he could. He didn't want to give the wrong impression when even he did not know the status of their relationship. However, he still wanted to be as affectionate as he was now. Maybe hey won't notice if he was just casual about it.

 

[FloatingAroundSpace]

Lauren smiled back. "Good," she told him as she lead him across the threshold of the house. It seemed that everyone was yelling at one another about something or another. She could see her aunts baking something and her uncles cooking something and Henrik was out by the grill while Sylvia and Juliet argued over measurements by the stove top. Chellsea was very quietly chopping up vegetables while Cyril lounged around, sipping on a beer.

 

[narsiserious]

Garret grinned at the lively atmosphere. There was no silence, no awkward small talk, no violent arguments. He would take this over all of the times he had to suffer through his father's drunken rants about how Garret wasn't going to accomplish anything in his life. This made him feel more alive. Though they weren't his family, he felt welcomed, and his nervousness about meeting them before had already dissipated.


"I'll go see if Henrik needs help," he said, leaning down to peck Lauren lightly on the cheek before letting go of her hand.


Catherine watched them from the other side of the room where she was making the drinks, and smiled to herself. She wasn't sure about the status of their relationship, but they looked happier and that was good enough for her.

 

[FloatingAroundSpace]

"Ok," Lauren said quietly, going over to Juliet to aid her in making some mashed potatoes.


Henrik was outside, roasting various pieces of meat and allowed Garret to help him place them on and monitor which ones needed flipping.


By the evening, most of the food was done and the adults dragged out a table and chairs, covering the table in a cloth and lighting various candles and turning on the lamp by the balcony to keep the bugs away before setting it out.


There was a centerpiece of a roasted turkey and various other foods around as well, including burgers, hot dogs, and roasted corn. Juliet brought out the mashed potatoes, which had bacon bits in it, and Sylvia begrudgingly took out the various drinks that Catherine had made. There were sauteed vegetables and Cyril brought out a pot of soup that turned out to be really good.


The family sat around and talked, laughing at the antics of Juliet and Chellsea while Sylvia would interrupt with a point or two about legality.


By the time night came around, they had talked and ate for hours on end and quickly cleaned up before leaving for bed.


Lauren sighed as she made her way back to her room. It had been so long since she had been around family and it had been nice.


Remembering Garret falling off of the futon the other night, she turned to him after her shower.


"So... do you want to switch beds so you don't fall off?" she asked.

 

[narsiserious]

The time Garret spent with Lauren and her family felt like a dream somehow, and he hoped to never wake up from it. When he thought of the word 'family', he pictured this exact scene; people enjoying each other's company, laughing, smiling, discussing anything and everything. There were no arguments, no spite, no hatred exchanged between family members. It took him until bedtime to actually realise that he just had a normal family dinner. Almost everyone had gatherings on a regular basis. It was nothing special to them, yet to Garret, it felt completely incredible.


As he got ready for his shower after a long hour of cleaning up, he was just about ready to collapse. He didn't even care if his futon was too small, he would sleep on the floor he was that exhausted.


"Hm?" he turned his head towards Lauren. "Do you want to fall off the futon too?" he chuckled as he gathered his pajamas into his arms.


Suggesting that they sleep in the same bed would be too bold of him, so Garret bit his tongue. They hadn't determined what they were yet, so sleeping together was out of the question, and he would never let Lauren sleep on the futon in her own room. He was only the guest.


"I'm fine. I just have to stop myself from rolling over. I'll get used to it soon, I promise," he said with a weary smile. "Anyway, I can't make you sleep on the floor."

 

[FloatingAroundSpace]

"I would take the futon instead," Lauren said rolling her eyes. "And I'm fairly sure you can't make someone stop rolling off without some physical force. An object in motion likes to stay in motion, or something like that."


She pointed at the bed, "I mean come on, it's fairly large. It could fit you. I don't mind; you're the guest this week and ought to be comfortable."

 

[narsiserious]

Garret smiled softly and shook his head, staying firm on his decision. "Sleep in your own bed, Lauren. I'll grab some pillows to stop myself from rolling off completely, it'll be fine," he waved his hand dismissively.


He walked towards the door but stopped to cup Lauren's face and kiss the tip of her nose. "Thank you for caring though," he grinned down at her. "I'm the guest, sure, but the purpose of this trip was about you. You sleep in the bed."

 

[FloatingAroundSpace]

Lauren felt herself flush slightly when he kissed her nose, though she took the moment to seize the sides of his shirt. "I'm not having you fall off that again," she sniffed and shoved him towards the bed. She flopped down beside him and rolled over to look at him.


"Besides, if you're not squeamish, we can share."


She had done it plenty of times with her cousins during storms and with some of her old friends when they had sleepovers. So long as people didn't read too much into it, sleeping in the same bed meant nothing more than comfort.

 

[narsiserious]

One moment, he felt her fingers curl against his sides, then the next, he was falling onto the mattress of the bed. He was taken aback by how little force it had taken to get him down. Perhaps he should have worked out more. He felt very weak all of a sudden.


"Yeah? You're willing to share a bed with the man that has no shame in hiding his love for you? My, aren't you brave!" Garret laughed, turning his head to look at her while still remaining flat on his back. "Aren't you afraid of someone coming in and getting the wrong idea?"


Honestly, he had absolutely no problem with sharing a bed with Lauren, however, if Henrik or even Catherine were to barge into the room, he didn't know what he was going to say to them. Catherine would tease them for sure, but he didn't know Henrik too well to guess how he would react. Then again, he didn't think the man would enter the room without knocking first.


He was thinking too much.

 

[FloatingAroundSpace]

Lauren reached out to trace his jawline. "And you know where I stand on this all." She moved closer to him, remembering the time that they had been curled up in Sylvia's apartment, holding each other in the quiet away from the party.


"I trust you not to get too many ideas in your head," she added playfully, shoving at him slightly. "Come on. It'll make the most sense. You don't want me sleeping on the futon and I don't want you rolling off of it. The bed is large enough and we're both grown adults and know how to deal with awkward situations. It's what I did as a kid with my friends during sleepovers. I'm sure you can handle it."

 

[narsiserious]

Garret's whole body was singing. He felt content, nervous, and giddy all at once. Trust Lauren to make him feel so anxious yet happy at the same time. Everything that she was doing, from just laying beside him to touching his jaw was enough to drive him completely crazy. She told him not to get too many ideas into his head, it was a little too late for that unfortunately.


"Hm...You do make a compelling argument," he nodded in agreement, closing his eyes briefly. "So, should we call this a sleepover? Are we going to paint each other's nails?" he smiled, reopening his eyes.

 

[FloatingAroundSpace]

"I don't wear nail polish," Lauren said, raising her hand to show him. "Gets in the way of labs."


She sat up and crawled under the covers, kicking at him playfully. "Come on, get under here so we can actually sleep."

 

[narsiserious]

"Ah, what a shame. You know I can paint nails pretty well," Garret got off the bed and stretched his arms. "I have to go take a shower first. Seeing as you're so eager to sleep beside me, I'll try not to take too long," he smirked.


He made a quick escape out of the room after that and went off to take his shower, a happy smile on his face the whole time.

 

[FloatingAroundSpace]

Lauren stuck her tongue out at Garret. "Like I said, don't get any ideas," she sniffed, curling up under the sheets.


She was far too awake for this.


She had wanted to make him comfortable, ensure that he felt nice in her house. She had not meant to insulate anything. And yet here she was, welcoming him into his bed, literally shoving him into it.


Deep breathes. Don't think too much about it.





He was someone who wore his heart on his sleeve. And she was someone who buried it in the ground.

 

[narsiserious]

As he had said he wouldn't, Garret didn't take too long with his shower. He soon returned to the room with his hair still slightly wet, now looking more refreshed.


Seeing Lauren still awake, he walked to his side of the bed and sat down on the edge to dry his hair with his towel. "You can sleep," he said, smiling down at her. "Or are you not tired enough yet?"


He felt like he was dreaming once again. To see Lauren there with him, fully awake and waiting for him to get into bed was surreal. It was peculiar. Fantasies were fantasies, but this was real, and he felt like he could soar over the sky.

 

[FloatingAroundSpace]

"I studied well into the morning," Lauren explained, "so I'm not used to going to be early anymore."


She shifted so she could prop herself up with one elbow. "Are you a roller? Because if you are, we're doing the pillow line thing."

 

[narsiserious]

Garret nodded and finally threw his towel into the hamper before getting into bed.


He knew Lauren worked herself until late into the night, but he didn't know she would stay up until morning. It made him worry even more.


"No, I'm not too much of a roller. If I was I'd be called...Gar-roll..." he said, then snickered to himself. "It's just I turn sometimes to get more comfortable but with the futon, I just end up rolling off," he said, running his fingers through the front of his hair to make sure it was dry.

 

[FloatingAroundSpace]

Lauren rolled her eyes at his joke. "Alright," she said before rolling over onto her side. "Goodnight, Garret."

 

[narsiserious]

Garret leaned over Lauren and switched off the lamps, then settled into his spot. "Goodnight, Lauren," he said, giving her a clumsy kiss on the head.


It didn't take long for him to fall asleep, with more space provided for him he didn't roll over his bed-mate, but instead got a little too close for comfort. During the night, Garret had managed to throw one arm around Lauren, pulling her closer unconsciously so that they could share the warmth. He was used to hugging his pillows back at home, now he had something warmer.

 

[FloatingAroundSpace]

Lauren blinked awake blearily around six in the morning, finding herself pressed up against Garret. He had somehow managed to fling his arm over her waist and she had drifted closer to him as he pulled at her during the night. As a result, their chests were pressed together and her head was tucked under his chin. Her own arm and itched across Garret's and she had one lazily draped over his mid-section.


It was quiet the awkward position to be caught in.

 

[narsiserious]

Undisturbed by Lauren's movements, Garret tightened the arm that he had around her waist, tugging her even closer until she was flushed against his chest. Even in his state of unconsciousness, he could still sense that something wasn't right. His pillows weren't this warm, nor did they smell as good as what he was holding. He didn't care however. He could sleep for days like this.

 

[FloatingAroundSpace]

Lauren groaned, moving her arm to smack Garret on the shoulder. She didn't want this. She needed space from him, not everything at once.

 

[narsiserious]

Garret's eyebrows twitched as he felt a hit to his shoulder. His arm loosened instinctively, releasing her from his grip. He then rolled onto his back and continued sleeping, completely unaware of Lauren's discomfort around him. If he had been awake, he would have shaken his head at himself for being so...clingy.