Search for the Soul Gem

Chapter Thirty-One

When I drifted awake, the first thing I noticed was how warm I was. I wasn't overly hot where I was sweating but the extremely content warm where it feels like you could melt into the matress. All I wanted to do was lay exactly where I was for the rest of my life. I stretched out the stiffness in my limbs and opened my eyes carefully. The room was washed in the bright morning sun. I took a deep breath and pushed myself over to my other side. Tony was still sleeping next to me. He slept on his stomach with his left arm stretched out toward me. His curly hair fell into his face as his back rose and fell with every deep, even breath. The blanket was collected around his waist in a loose knot. He was soft with sleep and all I wanted to do was snuggle up to him, but I didn't want to risk waking him up. He didn't seem to get many good nights of sleep so I didn't want to bother him when he finally was getting a decent nights sleep. I pushed myself up from the bed slowly and leaned over Tony. I pressed my lips to his cheek lightly before pushing myself off the bed. I searched around the floor until I found a discarded sweater that Tony had thrown on the floor at some point yesterday. I slipped it over my head and padded across the room quietly to the stairs. The stairs squeaked sleepily as I descended the stairs to the second floor. All the doors were still shut tight but that didn't mean anything. I took the stairs down to the first level, trying my best to be quiet so I didn't wake up Sam or Clint.

"Good morning doctor!" Sam called up from the couch he was sitting on. Clint was lounging on the other couch with a book in his hands. He looked over at me when Sam called out and smiled at me.

"Good morning guys. How did you sleep?" I asked as I reached the ground floor.

"Pretty good actually. These couches are really comfortable," Sam shrugged. I walked over to the back of the couch and leaned against it. Sam looked back over at me with a smile.

"You guys want some breakfast?" I asked, leaning my chin on my arms. Clint dropped his book to his chest and looked over at Sam.

"You don't have to keep cooking for us, you know that right?" Sam said, turning to look at me. I shrugged.

"What else am I gonna do?" I asked, cocking my head to the side. Sam laughed.

"If you are insistant on cooking, darling, I'll eat it," Clint said returning to his book. Sam shot me another skeptical look.

"Don't worry, it'll be quick," I assured, placing my hand on his shoulder. He rolled his eyes but gave me a smile anyway.

"I'm not trying to get fat from your cooking babe," Sam said.

"Well that's not my fault. That sounds like a job for your trainer," I said and pushed myself back from the couch. Sam laughed. I walked back to the kitchen and pulled out a skillet from the cabinet where I'd found them yesterday. I put it on the stove and walked to the fridge. I opened the fridge and rumaged through it until I found an egg carton.

"Does anyone know what 'pølse' means?" I asked out to the room.

"It's Danish for sausage doll," James said from the counter. I turned around to find him sitting at the counter with his chin resting in his hand. He was smiling over at me that dazzling smile that made my knees weak.

"You speak Danish?" I asked as I pulled the wrapped sausage and cheese out of the fridge and turned back around to see him. He was smiling at me again, a look of mischief in his eyes.

"I speak lots of languages doll," he said.

"Really? Which ones?" I asked, opening the carten of eggs and opening them into a bowl carefully.

"English, Russian, German, Japanese, and French, to name a few," he said. I looked up at him with a small smile.

"Tu parle français?" I asked with a small smile. His face lit up at the question. The French felt familiar and happy in my mouth. It made me feel like part of me was home. James' smile widened at me.