It was about a week later when the third incident occurred, and, if she was being honest, this time was completely on her own accord. (Again.)
Normally power outages in Centium City were fantastic, but it just so happened that the Elite Force had some guests to keep them company in the penthouse. Kaz made the fireplace work while she and Bree flitted around the living room, lighting tiny candles to concentrate more brightness where the group would be seated. The Davenport brothers were setting up some ridiculous, undoubtedly expensive card game they had dug out of a secret compartment for occasions just like this. Oliver went to break out the chips and sodas, while Chase checked all phones to assure everyone had a sufficient battery percentage.
By the time they actually settled onto the floor and began the game, she was snuggled back into the couch cushions, and he was as well, Bree in between them. Barbeque, sour cream and onion, and—Chase's personal favorite, which Bree dubbed "bland"—cheddar cheese chips were passed around religiously throughout the entirety of the game, accompanied by Cokes and Pepsis and one lone orange Sunkist belonging to none other than her room-sharing buddy.
She found her focus drifting away from the game rather quickly as her eyes wandered around the barely-lit room. This was such a cozy enclosure, even with as many people they had crammed into it. After awhile, the card game was switched out for a board game, Douglas and Oliver ending up at the top of the scoreboard. Donald was not taking too lightly to being on the bottom consistently, and Bree soon piped in, voicing her agreement only after Chase made fun of her for lacking enthusiasm. To be fair, her mood did leave something to be desired.
Skylar was only decent at the game and so was he, something she attributed to them playfully calling out lies that the other cheated off them despite Bree sitting between them. Chips were thrown, cards flicked, and blankets flung around with only small, controlled fires extinguished soon after due to the surrounding candles still lit. She had been semi-subconsciously trying not to look at Oliver's expression in fear of seeing skeptical jealousy, but when she caught a glimpse, all there was to behold was laughing eyes directed at the amused Bree. She almost let out a relieved sigh, but her thoughts changed course when a pillow hit her square in the face. Then she was up and crawling over her pseudo-sister, legs tangling with the female's while her arms twined with the male's whom she was retaliating against.
She imagined this was what regular families did in their free time, maybe every Friday for a "game night" at home. When she wasn't harassing Kaz/being harassed by Kaz, she took in the smiling faces and equally grumpy ones, the smell of several chip bags' scents intermingling, the laughter bouncing off the walls, and she felt herself smile behind the blanket she kept close to her chin. Their family was not normal, not even close, but these simple things made her love and feel loved so fiercely that it didn't matter.
The moment was only broken when someone's ringer went off, soon discovered to be Perry calling Chase's phone. All the Davenports sighed collectively, but when they still answered the call, Skylar accidentally caught Oliver's eye. She hadn't meant to, but she was glad to see a mutual understanding in their gaze: Perry might have been strange and loud and very obnoxious, but she was part of the Davenports' family just as much as the superheroes were. Her good mood could have also been from Oliver not staring at her longingly.
She felt a sick kind of calm running through her veins. She loved Oliver; truly, she did, just not how he would have preferred. Some part of her mind was reveling in his normal attitude tonight, allowing her to hope that this was his feelings' disappearing act in motion. Another part of her mind wondered just how rude it was to get so excited over her best friend giving up on her ever reciprocating his feelings. Maybe it wasn't the nicest emotion to be experiencing, but it was better for everyone this way, wasn't it?
Douglas clambering to his feet and telling everyone goodbye snapped her out of her thoughts. The only explanation she could come to was that Perry had probably offered to come over to see him or something; he did leave rather hastily, and Perry had always made him nervous (and rightfully so). Skylar turned to her right, and it wasn't until Kaz mouthed 'you okay?' at her did she realize the only reason she glanced that way was because she felt his eyes on her.
She crinkled her eyebrows, thoughts drifting back to Oliver. She nodded anyway and, upon glancing at her glowing phone that read 1:00, silently got to her feet and excused herself upstairs for bed. She was tired, that was true, but really she just wanted her mind to quiet down.
~ . ~
He managed to hold out ten minutes before heading upstairs himself.
It wasn't that she seemed off, exactly, but she had appeared more carefree throughout the night. Like she was indulging in herself, letting herself enjoy the events. Not that teasing and throwing around food and blankets with him was supposed to be some big prize to her, obviously. Of course not. It wasn't like it was a reward to him, either.
No one had batted an eye when he announced he wanted to sleep, which he reminded himself of as he came to a stop outside her bedroom door. He had absolutely no reason to feel like a—a stalker or anything. He was just curious about her behavior, and if his family downstairs didn't act like it was odd he only wanted to sleep once she disappeared then, well, how weird could it actually be?
He received no response to his single knock on her door. She was probably already asleep—or, actually, almost asleep. There weren't any snores yet. He was expecting there to be snores.
What he wasn't expecting when he went back to his room was to find the Calderan snuggled up under the bed's covers. His covers. His covers, his bed, his heart panging involuntarily against his ribcage at the sight.
He sighed almost inaudibly, shutting the door behind him and stumbling through the dark. Skylar's breathing was even and light and he realized she was close to sleeping before he even got to the bed's side. One look at her face in the low light and he couldn't help but smile.
He loomed over her a moment, about to touch her shoulder to wake her up, but apparently she sensed him.
"I like the stars," she murmured drowsily, eyes closed and voice quiet.
His expression changed from what he suspected to be puppy-like adoration into a regular grin as he glanced aside. "Thanks," he whispered, keeping the same volume. A beat passed before he couldn't resist adding, "You didn't have to hassle me about it when you first saw them though."
Skylar's eyes still didn't open but her mouth formed a soft, genuine smile. "Yes I did."
His face felt like it would break if he grinned any wider. "Are you just gonna stay in my bed?"
"Well you can get in too."
She must have sensed the facial expression he was going to send her way, as one eyelid lifted and she squinted at him in the dark room. "And don't give me that look."
He put his hands up, feet beginning to move around the bed to the other side. "What look? I didn't look at you in any way that I haven't before."
She made a disgruntled noise and moved underneath her part of the covers as he lifted his side up. "Yeah, you've definitely looked at me like a dork before."
"Hey!" he said indignantly, slipping under the covers and silently cursing himself when his leg brushed against hers. He hadn't meant to make any physical contact, but now that he had his skin felt like it was on fire.
As he was settling into a comfortable position, he assumed she would adjust herself accordingly to leave some space between them. She didn't. Their arms were touching and he wondered if she'd notice if he were to—hypothetically—get goose bumps.
Her breathing had begun to slow once again when he broke the silence, although it wasn't the awkward kind. With them, it never was. "Why are you in here anyway?"
Her closed eyes scrunched up. "I don't know. Why?"
He glanced over at her, eyes shifting carefully. "I mean, I wasn't even here. Why'd you come into my room?"
"No reason," she mumbled, and he felt her arm twitch.
"Skylar."
"Kaz."
They were both facing the ceiling and hadn't even turned to each other. It was like they couldn't, unless they wanted the playful conversation to get a lot more intense.
Maybe he shouldn't have been intentionally pushing her buttons, but this was a question he wanted an answer to–especially if any of the others came in and saw them in the same bed for no other reason except I don't know.
"Come on," he urged, turning his head and focusing on her face.
A moment passed before she huffed and shuffled around in the bed, ultimately dropping back down so she was facing him more head-on. Her eyes opened and she said, with full clarity, "Maybe I feel safe in your room."
There were plenty of inappropriate ways to respond to that, many being stupid innuendos that somehow didn't spring to his mind in that instant, but he only ended up doing one rather reasonable reply. He blinked and parted his lips, head still turned. "Okay," he finally said, the only loud statement spoken in his room that night.
She looked at him hard, no clear emotion discernible in her expression. "Okay then," she answered, falling back into her previous position in the bed, eyes fluttering shut and breathing attempting to slow a few seconds after.
It was probably around five minutes later, when he was still awake, somewhere between confused and impressed at her honesty, when he said it. Honestly, it felt like a much longer gap, a much safer gap for what he was about to say. But he said it anyway; he was fairly certain she was asleep by that point.
"I feel safe with you here, too," he muttered, practically throwing caution to the wind. A sentence like that could easily have been used for blackmail, ammunition, embarrassing confirmation that something had changed in his behavior toward her. But he believed her to be unconscious, and so he didn't allow himself to worry.
He didn't know she was wide awake, hyperaware of every inch of her skin that was touching his.