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Chapter 2: Just Ask, You'll Find Out

Y/N POV

I'm stirred awake by the sudden lurching of my stomach into my throat. My initial confusion is quelled quickly, as soon as I catch the telltale whiff of Florence's perfume.

Oh right....we're flying. Fucking turbulence....

I raise my head from where it rests against her midsection and retract the arm I had wrapped around her. I guess I had no issues making myself comfortable while I was sleeping.

"Welcome back to the land of the conscious." Florence says quietly when my eyes land on hers. By the look of it, she either hasn't been asleep at all or she's been awake for a while.

I wipe the sleep from my eyes and pull my AirPods out of my ears, the playlist I had been listening to having ended at some point durning my slumber. "How long was I out?" I ask.

"Eh, just a few hours. There's still plenty of time left to go, feel free to go back to sleep." She says with a soft smile as she readjusts her position in her seat, no doubt doing what she can to make herself more comfortable for the inevitability that she once again becomes my human pillow.

As badly as I want to take advantage of opportunity, I decide against it. "Like you said, there's plenty of flight left. I'll sleep later. I'd rather talk to you now. Unless you wanted to get some sleep, that is." I reply with a shake of my head.

Florence smiles softly at me and shakes her own head. "If your wish is to talk to me, then sleep can wait indefinitely. Besides, I fell asleep shortly after you did. I woke up when you shifted and decided to tackle my stomach." She laughs.

I feel my face redden in embarrassment. "Sorry about that. I kinda tend to cling to people when I sleep...I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable...or wake you up...or...."

Florence shuts me up with a single finger placed over my lips. She shakes her head adamantly before waving me off with her free hand. "It's fine, darling. I'm well aware of how you sleep and what your tendencies are. And I happen to find it adorable." She finishes with a reassuring smile.

"You're the best." I return her smile. Before I can say much else, I feel a tickle in the back of my throat. Remembering the water Florence bought back at the airport, I reach down and grab her bag from underneath the seat in front of her. When I spot the bottle, I grab it.

"Yea sure, you can have some of my water." Florence feigns annoyance. After taking several swigs, I offer her the bottle with a playful and entirely unapologetic grin. She rolls her eyes playfully, but takes the bottle and the cap from my hand, taking a drink for herself before spinning the top back on and stowing it back away.

When she raises back up and leans back, I notice one of the magazines she bought peaking out of the pouch of the seatback in front of her. "And did you learn anything fun or otherwise interesting about any of us?" I ask, pointing towards the offensive publication.

Florence's eyes light up with excitement at my question. "I only read through two of the three that I got. I figured I'd save the last one in hopes that maybe I could convince you to read along with me and we could roll our eyes together." She says, wiggling her brows at me.

"Not a chance." I say flatly.

"Dammit. Worth a shot, I suppose." She replies, deflating a bit.

"Anyways. Back to the original question. Learn anything?" I restate. Florence takes a moment and eyes me carefully. What she's checking me for, I'm not entirely sure. "You sure you wanna know?" She asks, and I know that it's an entirely serious question. If she so much as thinks that whatever she says will knock me back down any of the pegs we've worked so hard on climbing up, she'll drop it instantly.