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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 15, 2009 15:06:37 GMT -5
He didn't realize right away that she had fallen asleep. His eyes were closed, too, but he was awake, his mind still working. It was strange, he felt relaxed and comfortable around her now, which he wouldn't have expected from earlier in the evening.
On the verge of sleep himself, he shifted in position just slightly. "Remember when I said I wouldn't kiss you again?" he mumbled sleepily. "I lied."
As those words died on his lips, he finally surrendered to sleep. He had no idea that she'd never heard them.
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 15, 2009 15:13:55 GMT -5
Who knew what her reaction would have been if she had heard him? She might have kissed him right there, so it was a good thing she didn't hear him. Or maybe she would have just quietly left... but she did promise to stay while he needed her.
The thoughts in her sleep were less complicated, but more terrifying. It was a sure sign, when the nightmare started, that she was stressed, and probably had a little too much on her plate. This was the way that stress manifested itself, and her brows creased.
In her sleep, quietly, she called out for the man on the other end of the couch.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 15, 2009 16:25:12 GMT -5
In his own dreams, he heard her calling his name, but under much more pleasant circumstances. Maybe it was the closeness between them now, or just residual frustration from their heated kiss earlier that evening, but he was dreaming that she was in his bed.
As she called his name, he didn't react right away, still lost inside the dream. But the reality of her voice and presence shook him out of it, leaving him dazed and empty. It didn't last long, however. He looked over at Riley and saw that she was tossing around fitfully as she called out to him.
Immediately, he got up and knelt down on the floor, wrapping his arms around her. "Shhhh.... it's OK. I'm here. It's OK." His lips brushed gently against her temple.
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 15, 2009 17:54:24 GMT -5
The light sleeper that Riley was took a moment to wake up. She could normally wake up at the drop of a pin, but nightmares took a moment longer to break away from. Ultimately, it was the sound of Roland's voice and his soft assurances that quietted her, and her eyes opened as she took a couple of quick breaths.
She looked around the room before she was even fully aware of Roland holding her, and she pressed a little closer to him.
"I'm sorry," she said when things fell into place, but surprisingly, she didn't move away from him.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 15, 2009 19:08:14 GMT -5
He liked the way she felt in his arms. For a minute, that was all he could think about. His strong protective instinct kicked in at the sight of her in distress and now he felt a profound need to shelter her from whatever demons haunted her sleep.
"It's OK," he said. "Don't apologize. You haven't done anything to apologize for."
He reached up and pushed her hair out of her face. Her face was damp with sweat. "What were you dreaming about?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 15, 2009 19:45:02 GMT -5
Riley moved just a little to run a hand through her hair, which was slightly damp near the roots. She took a long, deep breath which shuddered a little. How embarrassing, she thought, to not only have fallen asleep on Roland's couch, but the to have to have him wake her up from a nightmare... she wondered if he'd let her live it down anytime soon.
"Death Eaters," she answered him, surprised that she even gave an honest answer, and her eyes turned to meet his, half expecting amusement or some kind of judgement from him.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 15, 2009 21:03:29 GMT -5
If she thought he'd tease her for any of it, she didn't know him that well. Maybe before he would have, but not now. Not the way he was starting to feel about her.
He was still holding her, and he made no move to let her go. He just gave her a gentle smile. "You know, I've had a few scary dreams ever since the attack on Hogsmeade."
He probably would have had another tonight, about his uncle Blake, if thoughts of her hadn't taken over his mind. He should have been embarrassed, looking into her eyes with his dream still fresh on his mind. But he wasn't.
"Are you OK? Can I get you anything?" He still made no move to let go of her.
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 15, 2009 21:11:33 GMT -5
"It's not because of the attack," Riley said, and the words were almost automatic. She shook her head. "Maybe it is, I don't know. I've been dreaming a lot about Katie's killer, too." She probably shouldn't have admitted to that one, but she was too tired a bit too disoriented still to care.
"No, I'm okay," she said. "I should probably go home and let you get some sleep. Again, I'm sorry for this," she added, forgetting that he told her not to apologize, and she waited a moment for him to let her go.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 15, 2009 21:24:19 GMT -5
"It's really OK. I don't know if I'll get much sleep tonight, anyway," Roland said. "I'm pretty keyed up about this whole thing with my uncle."
He still didn't let her go. He wasn't going to let go of her until she told him to. She had stayed to comfort him, and now it was his turn. He wanted to be there for her, to return the favor.
"Do you want to talk about it? Do you have these kinds of dreams often?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 15, 2009 21:47:18 GMT -5
He still wanted her to stay. Or not to feel bad for waking him up (did he even fall asleep?) or making him deal with her after having a nightmare. Whatever the reason, he wasn't forcing her out, and that meant a lot.
"Sometimes," she said, answering his second question, but was then surprised by her honesty still and shook her head. "No. I just..."
She trailed off. She just what? She didn't know. "I'm kind of cold."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 15, 2009 22:00:10 GMT -5
"I have a blanket around here somewhere," he said. "I tend to fall asleep on the couch pretty often."
Still he didn't let go of her. Instead, he shifted slightly so that he was holding her closer to him. Whatever had haunted her dreams, he wanted to kiss her and chase the terrible thoughts from her mind. He couldn't do that; he knew that, but Merlin, how he wanted to.
After another minute, he pulled back and held out just one hand, while he continued holding her with the other. "Accio Blanket," he said.
A plaid blanket of soft flannel flew threw the air and into his outstretched hand. He immediately draped it over her. "Here you go."
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 15, 2009 22:07:17 GMT -5
She let him hold her. Merlin, she let him, and finally relaxed in his arms.
"Thanks," she said, and she wanted to get off the topic quickly. She wanted to talk about something else, anything else, so she focused on the one thing he had given her to work with.
"You live alone in your apartment, with a bed, and you fall asleep on the couch? No wonder you don't sleep well."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 15, 2009 22:22:47 GMT -5
"I have a lot of bad habits," he admitted. "I don't eat right, I drink too much, and I fall asleep on the couch. It's usually because I sit up reading until I fall asleep. If I wake up in the middle of the night, I'll get up and go to bed, otherwise, I wake up with a crick in my neck."
It was alarmingly easy to spill his secrets to her. She didn't even have to ask for them. He just opened his mouth and the secrets just poured out. "Am I shattering your illusions of me again?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 15, 2009 22:30:36 GMT -5
"Yeah, but I like it," Riley said, finally affording him a small smile. "You can't try to intimidate me anymore because I know your secrets. I know you're not perfect. Me, on the other hand..."
She finally moved her body so that he had to let go of her, and motioned him back up on the couch. "Get comfortable, Roland. It can't be comfortable sitting on the floor like that."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 15, 2009 22:51:52 GMT -5
When she moved out of his arms, he felt a tiny spark of disappointment, but he wasn't surprised. The surprise was that she'd let him hold her that long. But at her insistence, he shifted so that he was sitting next to her on the couch.
"No, I'm not perfect," he answered. "But you already knew that."
He could have teased her about the nightmares proving that she wasn't perfect, either, but he didn't think now was the time. Instead, he kept her distracted with light conversation. "So, you haven't made any comments on my apartment. What do you think? Is it what you expected?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 15, 2009 23:18:27 GMT -5
Riley seemed to consider this question, and she looked around the living room, as if seeing it for the first time.
"It's kind of exactly like I thought it would be," She said, then glanced at him. "That's not a bad thing," she added. "It suits you very well. And have you noticed... it's similar to mine. That's strange, isn't it? Maybe we aren't so different."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 15, 2009 23:32:49 GMT -5
"Maybe that's the real reason we fight," he remarked. "Because we're too much alike. We both like to have things our own way, and we dig in our heels. And I know... I'm probably the worst out of the two of us. I'm moody... I kind of go all over the place. Ever ride on one of those things that muggles call roller coasters? Someone once told me that was what I was like."
He remembered the comparison with a soft smile. The woman who had said that to him, of course, meant it in a slightly different way, and had described it in more... graphic terms. But he still felt that the description applied.
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 16, 2009 1:44:04 GMT -5
Riley rubbed her eyes, still tired. She had no desire to go back to sleep though, not with the chance that she'd have another dream.
If Roland knew the kind of nightmares she had, he might think differently of her. She had terrible dreams, violent and sad. They scared her sometimes, but at least they were just dreams.
"Yeah, I've been on a rollercoaster," Riley said, thinking that perhaps that comparison did suit him. Had she known the circumstances it had been said in, she would have clammed up and probably left. "I can see it. But you're really not that bad. Everyone else gets along with you great, Roland. It's just me."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 16, 2009 6:20:17 GMT -5
Roland shook his head. "That's not exactly true," he said. "You've only seen me getting along with other people, but the people who know me best have seen all of my moods. My mother and I get into it pretty badly sometimes. Whenever she pushes too hard or digs too deep... we actually argued tonight. In the kitchen, when she made me help her with the dishes. She was asking too many questions, and I snapped at her. And then there's Cyrus. He was pretty quiet tonight after his argument with Mum, but he and I have been known to get into some pretty bad arguments. I'm also not particularly good at talking to new people... I have to be in the right frame of mind."
He sighed softly and looked down at her. She looked so fragile, lying there, trying not to fall asleep. It made his heart ache. "I don't know why you and I clash so much. But I actually think it says something about you that you are able to bring out so much of my moods. And no, it's not a bad thing. I think it means that I'm comfortable with you; I don't feel the need to put on a face for you."
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 16, 2009 13:56:49 GMT -5
"That explains things a little," she said. "Your poor mother had a rough night. Not that I'm telling you you shouldn't have snapped at her... I don't know what the argument was about and I won't presume that. But no one really seemed to get along with her tonight. I can't imagine it was the Christmas dinner she was hoping for."
She just nodded to the rest of it. "Fights are good, Roland. Sometimes. They mean you've stood up for something. You and I just need to learn to give a little. We'll be all right."
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