Kas tilted his head to the side as Joanna pulled back, then acted without thinking again. He shifted his weight to his one hand as he lifted his other hand and cupped her cheek. His lips pressed against her forehead for a second, then he pulled away to move to the other side of the bed. "That's fine, just as long as you don't completely give up on attempting to," he said.
He flopped onto the bed with a sigh, rolling onto his side almost immediately. He was looking in the general direction of Joanna, though he wasn't really looking at her. He was just making sure she didn't slip away when he was getting tired and unable to stop her.
A smile formed on her lips, and she flopped back looking up to the ceiling mindlessly. "You know, I think I like this." Whispering, she turned her face to him. Her eyes were tired, but the rest of her looked happily awake. A second yawn slipped from her lips, and she stretched out on the bed. 'Man… this is comfortable…' She noted to herself, looking back up to the ceiling.
"The whole, becoming better friends I mean. It's nice. I like it." She whispered, knowing that wasn't exactly the right word to use. But what other word? Lovers was too… outlandish. She didn't like that word, as she didn't think it fit with what they were. But friends wasn't right either. "What's a better word for us? That isn't friends." She asked him, still looking upwards.
Kas flicked his eyes over to the pillow he was laying his head on, then scowled and reached up to grab it and toss it onto the floor. He had been planning on checking out once he got his stuff, but now that Joanna was here and the whole roller coaster of emotions that just happened, a nap sounded amazing right about now. Plus, he could show her that he was serious when he said he wasn't interested in taking her to bed while also staying near her. Just her presence was soothing.
"Hmm…" he hummed, curling an arm beneath his head and looking over at her. "I don't know. Friends doesn't seem to fit anymore, but I don't think…" 'I don't think we're quite at the dating stage.' He groaned childishly and rolled onto his back, rubbing his hands over his face. "Ugh, why does this have to be complicated?" he complained, though it was clear he wasn't completely serious with his complaints. It was better complicated than ruined.
"It doesn't have to be, we just made it that way." She laughed, scooting over closer to him. There was a gap between the two of them, but it wasn't as big as it had been. A soft smile was on her lips, as she lay there looking him over. "I don't even know what you would call us… I don't think there's been anyone as strange as the two of us."
Joanna scrolled through her mental vocabulary, trying to come up with a word. Though her brain came blank. Nothing came up, so she just sat there with a blank expression. Taking in a deep breath, she shut her eyes and relaxed. The bed was rather comfortable, and she was tired. Maybe she could fall asleep, but if she did, was that the best idea? It would mess up her already screwed over sleep schedule. "How expanded is your vocabulary?"
Kas looked over at her when she got closer, and didn't look away when she spoke. He briefly looked off to the side, however, when she asked him her question. "I speak two languages, but I don't think either one of them has a real word for this." He opened his mouth as his eyes fell back onto her face, then closed it and debated on his next words. "Do we have to put a label on it? At least right now?" he asked, then shrugged and said, "We could always say relationship. It's vague and can represent anything, really."
It's not that he was ashamed of his strange relationship with Joanna, but he didn't want to fuss over the details. He was more of a go-with-the-flow kind of guy, and apparently that applied to weird relationships. He rolled back onto his side, unintentionally closing the gap between the two by a little bit more.
She listened to his words carefully, watching him just the same. "I mean, that's true. There's no need to put specific labels. Other people might though, so I was trying to avoid that problem." She shrugged, spreading out on the sheets even more.
Joanna stretched, and began to hum softly. 'Sleep wouldn't be a bad thing… would it? What's the harm in a twenty minute nap?' She wondered to herself, feeling herself grow more and more tired. She was starting to slip off into a sleep, rolling over into a more comfortable position. Her face was inches from his now, but she didn't take much notice because of her closed eyes. Everything was starting to drone off, going hazy and foggy. Her thoughts were stopped, so everything was a mindless act from here.
"Though maybe one day… we'll have to…" She muttered, sliding her hand over to take his. "But not now."
He watched her with a soft smile, noticing how she seemed to be slipping into sleep faster than she was earlier. Maybe now she can get some rest and free from worry concerning whatever she likely had going through her head. "Maybe," he murmured, taking her hand in his and studying her face for some time. "Get some sleep, shortcake." He moved his head just enough to plant a tender kiss to her forehead. "You deserve it."
Despite his words, he remained awake for the time being, his eyes on Joanna's face. His fingers trailed up and down the back of her hand. Maybe sometime in the future, they'd be surer of where they stood in their relationship. Maybe sometime in the future, he wouldn't be so confused as to how he felt about Joanna. Maybe sometime in the future, he'd still be at her place, living life, finally free of his brother.
((yeah. To when they wake up? Or later?))
(Maybe wake up, because we can work off of that.)(I'll go ahead and type out a response if you're cool with that.)
Joanna blinked a few times, trying to wake herself from the hazy sleep she was in. Everything seemed… dark, and warm. Rolling over, she cringed as the setting sunlight hit her face. Immediately she turned her face away from the window, and only now realized how close she had been to Kasiya. His arms were slightly resting on her hips to hold her close, and he looked to have fallen asleep rather peacefully. Yawning, she rubbed her bright eyes, and looked down to the peaceful Kasiya. 'I should probably wake him up…'
With puckered lips, she decided to wait and carefully moved his arms from around her. Sitting up, she stretched before sliding off the bed. She was still tired, but not about to go back to sleep. She felt more rested than she had from the night before, and she wasn't exactly sure why. What was a short power nap to a full 8 hours of sleep? Walking into the living room, she saw the small kitten curled up on the floor outside of his bedroom asleep. Smiling, she bent down to pick him up, and carried Inigo into the room. "Hey Mr. let's go get Kasi up." She told the half asleep kitten, before turning back around and going over to the bed. Plopping the small thing down, she crawled on the bed over top of him, and hugged around his waist. "Come on, time to get up Kasi." She whispered, kissing his cheek.
Kas groaned sleepily in protest to being woken up, throwing an arm over his face as if that would do anything. He could feel Joanna's weight over him and her arms around his waist, but he decided that he didn't want to push her away. After a moment of the childish game of 'I'm still asleep', as well as throwing a mental hissy fit, he cracked open an eye and looked up at his assailant. "That's a new nickname," he said groggily, almost huskily, with the usual Arabic accent slipping through.
Waking up with Joanna clinging to him and kissing his cheek was different, and it took him a bit, initially, to remember what happened before his nap. But once he did, he was relaxed and happy. It was a good different, one that he wouldn't be opposed of should it ever happen sometime again. Though he doubted it would, at least in the near future.
She had begun to trace his back muscles, and wrinkles in his shirt. "I liked it, so I think it will stay." She hummed, burying her face into the fabric covering his back. He was warm, still, and calming in his sleepy state. She was still tracing his skin, but not as articulated as before. Now she was only swirling her finger, in a spiraling manner.
The whole scene would be rather odd to anyone who had known the two. Joanna holding him close, after years of just trying to get him away, and him always close but never this close. Truth was, anyone she had called her friend always told her to just tell him to get lost, but something always stopped her from telling him to book it. Something always tugging at her, making her not really wanting him to leave. And she thanked the heavens above she hadn't told him to leave. Otherwise she wouldn't have had someone to run to when she needed it.
"Mmm…" He smiled, hand finding hers around his waist and lacing his fingers with hers. "I'll allow it." But only for her, he decided. Only Joanna. He's never been one to be picky about his nicknames, but for some reason, the one that she came up with for him would be the exception. He sucked in a deep and tired breath, then slowly let it out as he felt the comfort of her willingly holding onto him and tracing his back.
His eyes sparkled some when a thought came to his head, and another smile bloomed over his lips. "So much for getting up," he murmured, "All that happened was that you came back." His other hand lightly slid up and down her arm.
A smile forced it's way upon her lips, and she laughed lightly. "But you're up, so that's the difference." She told him, just resting her hand that had been tracing his back. "I assumed you'd like this better than having pillows thrown at you." Referencing to that morning, she felt a smirk come to her lips.
She felt a slight weight on her back, and glanced back to see Inigo crawling along her back and curling up. "Oh come on you, not now. I'm trying to get him up, not snuggle more." She whined, with a heavy sigh. "I still have to go to the store, and make it back to my apartment before it gets too late!" Groaning again, she gave up when the little kitten didn't move.
"Ha." Kas looked up at her as best as he could, a small grin on his lips when he heard her complaints. He didn't feel like moving, so Inigo's little stunt was fine in his book. "Your own fault for snuggling," he reasoned, making a show of getting comfy once again. "And he's just a tiny kitten, you can move him."
Yes, this was much better than getting assaulted by pillows. He didn't care much for that method of waking him up in the moment of the assault, even though he wasn't truly upset by it. Kas just wasn't a morning person, so waking up to a pillow in his face wasn't exactly the way to improve his mood. But getting a hug of sorts from Joanna and her soft voice urging him to wake up? That he could live with.
"I know, but I can't really reach him from this angle." Joanna mumbled, nuzzling his back with her nose. "And I don't want to roll on top of him, I might crush the poor thing." She whispered now, yawning. "But I'll remember this for next time, pillows it is." A smirk made its way onto her lips, and she ever so gently rested her chin on his back.
"Bet you'd love that, now wouldn't you." Jo teased, her lips close to his ear. Her voice was low, but unable to be taken seriously as she had the slightest bit of a cute Canadian accent. Now she wouldn't call it that, but she had been told before. Though she ignored it, and tried to speak as 'normally' as she could. Though it never worked, and her true colors always slipped through.
He rolled his eyes and lightly pinched her arm, the one he was still running his fingers up and down. "I'm going to wake you up with an assault of pillows one of these days and see how you enjoy it," he grumbled, though he was still smiling. Without thinking about it, he took her hand and pressed his lips to the back of it, mumbling against her skin, "I don't want to move…"
Finally, he had some form of comfort where he wasn't wary of his surroundings or when he'd have to leave. Finally, he had a place to come back to that wasn't a hotel room, he had a friend—or whatever Joanna was to him—that wanted him to stay. He finally had some form of happiness, and it was almost concerning, with how this entire thing started.
"Ow," She mumbled when he pinched her arm, wanting to pull it away to rub it. "Why did you-" Before she could finish, she felt his lips against her skin, and her face flushed rather quickly. 'Never mind, he can keep holding my hand.' Her thoughts echoed, as she began to relax more into him. "You're really comfortable." She whispered, pressing a soft kiss to his back.
She really was comfortable here, but she knew she had to get up eventually. 'Why can't I just lay here and relax? Things would be so much easier if I could…' Everything was quiet, and soothing. The small kitten was purring on her back, and the steady breathing of the other underneath her was all relaxing. Just hearing his voice, calmed her nerves after her encounter with his brother.
He curled his fingers around hers and planted one last lingering kiss to, this time, the palm of her hand. "Not something I've heard before," he said with a chuckle, the sound resonating through his chest. He knew that he had to get her to get up so she could get back to whatever it was she did during the day, but he didn't particularly feel like doing that right about now, especially when he felt her relax even more into him and kiss his back.
Joanna's weight was almost reassuring in its solidness, like a reminder that she was there and not some sort of strange dream. He closed his eyes with a small smile and ran circles over her hand. 'Maybe just a few more minutes,' he told himself, getting comfortable.
"Well, have you ever had someone to snuggle with you? If not, of course I'd be the first one." She teased, her lips tracing up his back. When she spoke, she didn't bother to pull away, making her voice muffled. Tilting her head to the side, she rested it against his back. Her voice no longer muffled by the fabric of his shirt.
"Can I be bluntly honest with you?" She mumbled, tracing his back once more. "You're honestly really, really hot." She whispered, breathing gently against his skin. "And I would've told you from day one if you had asked my honest opinion."
"Oh? I'm flattered," he said with a smirk, then frowned questioningly. He carefully turned around to face Joanna, letting go of her hand to gently adjust her so he didn't disturb her position too much. "But, where's this coming from?" he asked, looking up at her, "Why tell me in the first place?" He appreciated the compliment, really, but it was so random.
There was also the matter of the attractive woman lying on him. He couldn't deny that she was good-looking, but it wasn't something he'd admit out loud to just anyone. His hand lifted and brushed some strands of hair out of her face, fingers brushing against her cheek with the action.
A slight smile fell upon her lips, and she mindlessly leaned into it. "It's more genuine if it's at random. Or that's what my uncle told me." She shrugged, trying to keep from yawning. If she yawned, he'd probably make her go back to sleep for a second nap. And she really didn't have the time to do that. "He told me, the more random it was, the more it felt real. If I waited to tell you when you were in a tux, and you were trying, it isn't the same."
And this was her telling him the truth. Her Uncle Tom had always told her this, whenever he ran into 'the lady of his dreams' while they were out together. It was clear he liked the lady, Penny Hart, but she always kept it a secret she knew.
"Mmm, sounds like a smart man," he murmured, fingers loosely tangling into her hair. Now that she mentioned it, it did make sense. Coming unprompted, any statement would feel more genuine than one conjured by a question. A question would make it seem less honest, like just a way to answer the question instead of true feelings. He could agree with this unknown uncle.
Kas sighed and dropped his hand, though it draped over Jo's back lazily. "You have things to do," he whispered dejectedly, "You should get going so you aren't late to your job, or whatever you have to do. I…kinda forgot your whole plan for today," he admitted sheepishly with a soft smile.
