You sigh, tossing and turning for what feels like the hundredth time tonight. You can't sleep; each time you doze off, a loud grumble of thunder shocks you awake again, and if it's not the thunder, it's your own mind, trying to solve the newest murder case. You suppose it doesn't help that you're trapped in the house with the killer.
Finally, you decide to stop trying and instead kick the covers off you and begin to wander the house. It isn't long before you reach a room with someone else in it. A dim orange light seeps through the crack in the door, and it doesn't take you long to figure out who might be behind it. Humphrey Goodman.
Your suspicions are proven to be correct as you push the door open as quietly as possible and find the detective hunched over his notes at a desk. He looks up as you enter.
"Shouldn't you be asleep?" He questions immediately.
You sit in the armchair across from him before you reply. "Shouldn't you?" You raise an eyebrow, watching as he throws his pen down and looks at you curiously.
"I'd rather not whilst there's a killer in the house."
"Exactly."
You try your best to stifle a yawn and curl up in your chair, ignoring his eyes on you.
"You know, there are many beds in this house," he points out when your eyes begin to close involuntarily.
"Is that an offer?" You tease. "You could at least buy me a drink first, Detective Goodman."
He rolls his eyes, a slight smirk on his lips. "You know what I mean. You should go back to bed...to sleep."
"I can't." You huff and rub your eyes, wishing for a moment that you were back in your own bed. "The storm keeps waking me up, and I can't stop thinking about who the killer could be."
He watches you, at how you flinch slightly when lightening flashes through the room and the way your hands tremble ever so slightly. "You're not frightened, are you?"
"Aren't you?" You blush in embarrassment.
He shrugs and paces through the room before perching on his bed. "No. Whoever it was had a motive for killing."
"And that makes it better?"
"It makes it safer...for us. You. They wouldn't kill again, not without reason." You know from his soft voice and the way he looks at you that he's trying to comfort you, in his own way. He seems to deliberate something for a moment before he begins to stutter out his next question. "If it makes you feel safer, I suppose you could sleep in here...with me. Y'know, while I do...other stuff...at my desk. As long as you don't snore."
You roll your eyes and smile in amusement. "If you want to pick up girls, you really should learn how to flirt properly." Nevertheless, you cross the room and crawl under the duvet as he holds it back for you. Already, you feel much more at ease as you turn onto your side and close your eyes. A moment later, you exhale and open them again, feeling his eyes on you before you see them. "Some people consider that weird."
"Sorry," he blushes and looks away, but it isn't long before your eyes meet again. This time, you don't tell him to look away. "Are you still afraid?" He whispers, tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear gently.
You shake your head. "No. Thank you, Humphrey."
He makes a move to get up, but you grab the sleeve of his jacket to keep him from leaving. "Can't you just stay here a little bit longer? Until I fall asleep?" By now you're too exhausted to feel shy or embarrassed. Your lids are heavy and your voice thick with sleep.
"Okay," he agrees, and you shuffle across the bed so that there's more room for him to sit beside you, his back propped against the headboard and his legs crossed. You can tell by the distant look in his eye that he's still trying to figure out who the killer is, but he strokes your hair and gazes at you nevertheless.
"Goodnight," you mumble before you finally drift off to sleep, not knowing that Humphrey stays with you a lot longer than promised; you might make him feel safe, too.
It is hours before he leaves you and gets back to work again.
thanks for being the first to request VettelFerrari :) I hope you enjoyed it!