Ivory flicked listlessly through the pages of her sketchbook, unable to sit still. It was almost one in the morning and Grace was still sat in the lab examining her latest plant samples.
"Are you almost done?" Ivory yawned, shutting her sketch pad and turning upside down in her chair so that the ends of her plaits brushed the floor.
Grace didn't answer, merely pausing to scribble a few more notes on an already crowded piece of paper.
The dark haired woman groaned and righted herself, getting up and leaving the lab. She crept quietly down the gloomy corridors and went into the kitchen.
"Where's the bread?" Ivory muttered to herself, digging through the cupboard.
"Is there any chocolate spread left?" Trudy asked, appearing in the doorway.
Ivory opened the door of the small fridge and passed it to Trudy, taking the peanut butter out for herself. "Here."
"So. You and Augustine." Trudy gave the older woman a lopsided grin. "When did that start?"
"A while back. But it's just casual." Ivory shook some slices of bread out of the packet and covered them thickly with peanut butter.
"It doesn't look casual to me." Trudy grabbed the bag for herself.
The dark haired woman put her knife down and sighed. "Grace said she doesn't want it to go beyond sex."
"But you want it to?"
"Of course I want it to." Ivory reached into the cupboard and found a mug, starting to make cocoa. "But I'm not going to tell her that."
"Why? There's no point in hiding it, you get this mushy look on your face every time you're speaking to her." Trudy pulled a hideous face, widening her mouth into a ridiculously large grin.
"Please never make that face again."
"Did you ever think that she might feel the same about you?"
"She doesn't, she's the one who made the decision to keep things as friends with benefits."
"She looks at you too. Don't waste your opportunity."
Ivory shrugged her shoulders. "One of us might be dead before it matters." She picked up the plate of sandwiches and the mug, disappearing from the kitchen.
"Do you want to play poker with me and Jake tomorrow?" Trudy called.
"Sure, bring your a game."
"Face it Ivy, I'm going to win."
"Like hell you are." Ivory pushed open the door of the lab with her foot.
"What are you shouting about?" Grace asked, looking up from her notes.
"Poker." Ivory set the plate and mug down beside Grace. "Here."
"Thanks."
"Hi."
Ivory looked up from her phone and saw Grace standing in the doorway of the sleeping quarters with her hands on her waist, one hip cocked to the side. There was an amused smile on her face but her stance made her look tough and aggressive. It was one hell of an image. "Hey."
"I brought you something." Grace closed her bedroom door behind her.
Ivy put her phone down on the bedside table.
Grace reached into the pocket of her cargo trousers and lifted up a pair of RDA handcuffs.
"I got Trudy to steal these from one of the grunts." She said smugly.
Ivory swallowed hard, getting up. "You kinky motherfucker." She breathed.
"I don't hear you complaining."
"Isn't the whole point of temptation to succumb?"
Grace grinned and pulled Ivory in by her belt loops, pressing a kiss against the side of her neck. She let her hands drop to the hem of the shorter woman's T-shirt and pulled it off, chucking it onto the top of her desk. "Turn around and put your arms behind your back."
Heat flared in Ivory's cheeks as she moved to face the wall.
Grace fumbled for a moment, snapping the handcuffs on. "Comfortable?" She asked, her voice low.
"No."
"Good. Now get on the bed."
"Make me."
Ivory was snuggled into the crook of Grace's arm, half asleep. "Grace?" She whispered into the darkness.
"Mhm?" The redhead asked, tearing her gaze away from the dark forest that lay just outside of her bedroom window.
"I know this isn't really your thing but..." Ivory sat up and leaned in, kissing Grace slowly. She pulled away, the love in her eyes even more evident than the exhaustion.
Grace awoke in the middle of the night to find herself laying with her legs tangled in Ivory's. She shifted slightly, doing her best not to wake the other woman up. The redhead reached out, experimentally draping an arm across Ivory.
Ivory opened her eyes momentarily, still mostly asleep. "That's my Gracie." She mumbled, curling closer, lifting her head so that it was resting on Grace's chest.
"What?"
The girl didn't answer, already asleep.
Grace brushed Ivory's hair away from her face. "You're not making just keeping things physical easy for me." She said softly.