In Which Rona Wakes on the Other Side

Nudity! Nothing too graphic, but still--probably NSFW.

September 13, 1181

As the morning light leaked through Rona's lashes, it occurred to her that Ashe might have wanted his space after a month of bunking with tall (and, according to Asalaye, restless-sleeping) Lonriad, and that only the barest inner sliver of her own side of the bed was occupied. Then again, the arm around her was an argument to the contrary. "Morning."

"Morning." He pinched a lock of her hair between his thumb and finger, then dropped it to the groove of her neck. "I, uh... wasn't expecting last night."

"Neither." And not just for the happy shock of finally having him back! The night had been... well. Either her senses were running on the physical high, or an imprint of that glorious sensation still lingered between her thighs. Their unease about each other had held them back in the past, but now that they'd finally put that behind them... well, it wasn't such a mystery any more, Asalaye's laments about a lack of sex in the middle of the day. She hoped Ashe had been similarly impressed with her. "That was the best we've ever done."

"It was. But, uh..." She craned her head, chin toward his, catching his concerned glance blanket-ward. "I think I forgot to..."

"Oh." If she remembered correctly, then yes, he had. In the heat of the moment, though, she hadn't considered it either. Nor had she minded; tracking down rags to wipe off her stomach hardly sounded like a hallmark of an impassioned reunion. Still. "It's all right. My courses haven't been back long, and Darry's still nursing. We should be all right for one time in any case." She hoped so, at least.

Or did she? She certainly hadn't planned on getting pregnant again less than half a year after Darry's birth, but if she thought about it, she liked the idea of a child who she could tell herself was conceived on one of the best nights of her life.

"I guess so. I'm sorry, though."

"Don't be." After a quick kiss to his cheek, she slipped out from under his arm and made a slow slide back to her own domain, the sheets left a startling cool in her absence. "We should probably get up, though. The children will want to see you."

"Will Darry even remember me?"

"Of course he will. He might be a little shy at first, and I don't know how he'll react to your haircut, but just be patient with him and he'll know who his papa is." Even if she had to baby-talk it into his head all week! "But start with Yvanette. Poor thing waited for you at the door every day since you left."

"Did she?" True to form, he was more alarmed than flattered, feet hitting the floor with the solid thud of tensed muscles. "Oh, God. Do you think she's hurt?"

"If she is, it's my fault, isn't it? For chasing you away." Not that Yvanette had been at resentful with her as far as she could tell--if she could even sense it--but nonetheless the guilt had remained. "She just wants you home. She'll stop hurting when she sees you."

"I hope you're right. It's not your fault, though."

"Ashe?" Rona slipped out of bed and climbed back atop the covers, meeting the floor again on the other side.

"Mmm?"

She kissed him--not long, not hard, but sufficiently. Or maybe a little more than so. "Let's just forget about fault, all right? What matters is that you're back now."

Her heels rose, his embrace tightening in the stead of verbal agreement. He'd keep blaming himself, and she'd keep blaming herself, because that was what they did. It was something, however, that they could work on later--now that the main hurdle had been cleared.

Besides, that main hurdle hadn't been cleared without leaving a few loose ends and unanswered questions. "Can I ask you something?"

"You can ask me anything."

"It's kind of awkward."

"That's fine."

Was it? Then again, 'awkward' might have already betrayed that it had something to do with that. "Do you prefer... you know..." She'd expected him to follow, but he'd been left with only a blank stare. Her wording may not have been choice. "I mean... what's more comfortable for you? Physically?" A hint of white above the green eyes. That may have done it. "And mentally too, I guess.

"If that's not, uh... out of line."

"I don't mind. I just... I haven't really thought about it much, to be honest. Or not without making it more about your comfort, at least." He grinned, sheepish, and she tried to return it, but the twinge of guilt made that difficult. Why should her comfort have been more important than his own? It wasn't her body. "I don't know. I'm not even sure I care, really. If I get to see you every day, it doesn't matter what sort of body lets me do that, does it?"

Didn't it? But she supposed it wasn't her place to answer that. "I'd still love you if you were a garden slug."

"I'd be the luckiest garden slug alive."

"And I'd have to learn how to garden, so it's a good thing you're human." He laughed. It might as well have been years since she'd last heard such a thing. She hoped news of the upcoming plans wouldn't suck the laughter right back to the void. "And speaking of activities I don't enjoy, we're having a party in two days. I'm sorry, I know you don't like them either, but I needed something to do and I had to remind myself that you would be back soon and..."

"That's all right. I think I can get through one party." Good. She should have known he'd come through for her there. "Besides, if things get unbearable, we'll just get everyone else drunk and sneak off somewhere on our own."

Yes--she definitely got what the fuss was about now. "With any luck, it'll be the worst party ever."

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