Natural Disaster

Chapter 44

Launa was woken up by quiet shuffling that echoed oddly around her head. She opened her eyes to find the inside of a room, and suddenly remembered the previous day's events: following a stranger and discovering it was Avi's sister, meeting Scott and Mitch, and having an immediate disagreement with Esther, which seemed to be resolved. For the time being, anyway. She sat up, groaning and rubbing her face. "Good morning," Avi's deep, hushed voice met her ears and, smiling sleepily, she slowly blinked her eyes open, only to jump upon finding him bare-chested and in the middle of swapping his shirt out.

Goddammit, girl, you have slept with this man, why are you reacting like that? Only a mental high-pitched whine answered the question, and she wasn't sure if it was a sound of uncertainty or of her brain fizzling out. "Hey," she replied, oh-so-intelligently, "What time is it?"

Avi glanced out the window, shrugging on the button-up shirt he seemed to favor and letting it hang open off his shoulders, much to her chagrin. "About 11 A.M.?" he guessed, readjusting the shirt and starting to button it up. Launa, as if posessed, hopped out of the bed and crossed the room to stand in front of him. "Hi, there," he said, grinning and pausing, "You're moving awfully quick, considering you just got up."

Launa opened and shut her mouth a couple of times, unsure of what to say, settling for brushing his hands away from his buttons, doing them up, herself. "Just shush," she finally said, slipping the buttons into the holes, her fingers brushing against his skin and taking in a deep breath, "This is all in reverse, but-"

"-yeah, I know," he cut her off, leaning his forehead against hers and inhaling deeply, his hands going to rest on her shoulders. He slid his hands into her loose hair and pressed a kiss to her forehead as she finished, leaving two unbuttoned as he usually did and letting her hands linger on his chest. Launa slipped her fingers up his exposed skin and over his collarbones, leaning in and kissing the hollow of his throat. Letting out a quiet sigh at the contact, warmth thrumming through the both of them, he moved his hands to cup her face and gently pressed his lips hers, his thumbs brushing along her cheekbones.

She let herself relax against him, her hands sliding around the back of his neck as they kissed languidly, lips soft and pliant and his tongue sweeping over hers, muffling sighs and quiet moans. Avi was the one to break off, smiling warmly and wrapping his arms tight around her, keeping her close and steadily swaying them in place. Her whole body tingled, buzzing happily under every point of contact, and she rested her head against his chest, contentedly picking up his heartbeat.

His sigh was loud in her ear and Launa pulled back a little to look up at him. "What's up?"

Avi screwed his face up, disappointment written into his features. "I just realized how little privacy we're going to have, from now on."

She blinked for a moment. "What, does Esther want to protect your virtue or something?"

He snorted hard, laughing. "No," he said, shaking his head, "I mean that Scott and Mitch are very much like younger siblings. Or children."

"Is that why Mitch calls you 'Daddy'?"

"No, I think Mitch just has a thing for Dads."

Launa grinned and shook her head. "So, little brothers. Lovely."

As if on cue, they heard thumping footsteps coming down the hall, and they all but jumped apart, she going for the bags as if that had been her intention all along as the door cracked open to reveal Mitch. "Good morning, lovelies," he greeted.

"Didn't your mother teach you to knock before coming in?" Avi scolded, stepping over to the door and pushing the younger man out and shutting the door. He leaned against the doorframe and Launa muffled her laughter behind her hand as a little knock sounded on the door a moment later. "Yes? Who is it?" Avi answered, smirking.