*That being said, enjoy it all the same, I know I did
*Toby turned his head on the pillow, blinking sleep out of his eyes... then smiled as he saw her. Caroline was lying, half curled on one side, head buried in the pillow, long red hair falling over her milk-pale skin, long lashes lying on her cheeks, her face so serene and peaceful. One of her long legs was hooked over his under the duvet, her arm under the pillow and both of their heads, and her left hand was resting on his chest, a warm star over his heart.
And the familiar shock hit him like a sucker punch. She was so beautiful. And she was his girlfriend. It seemed so... impossible.
He gazed at her for a few moments, then tried to sidle away, carefully extracting his arm from where it was wrapped loosely around her waist, turning over to get out of bed... Then felt her arms and legs wrap around him, clamping onto him tightly as she nestled into his shoulder. He ran a hand over her bare leg... then frowned, feeling material move against his bare back, and felt up higher.
“Are you wearing one of my t-shirts again?” He asked, amused.
“You weren’t wearing it,” She pointed out with a yawn that made her jaw crack. “You know,” She mumbled sleepily. “It’s not your turn to do breakfast.”
“I was going to treat you,” He replied. “It was going to a cute surprise.”
She kissed him on that sensitive spot on his neck, the corner of his jaw, and felt him shudder despite himself.
“You are a cute surprise,” She told him softly.
“And you are a total distraction,” He told her then grinned... and kissed the inside of her elbow.
She gave a sudden ‘squee’ and jumped.
“Revenge,” he told her, grinning. “Now let me up.”
Her legs tightened around his waist.
“Nope, mine now.”
“Caro...” He protested, laughing slightly. “I’ll bring you coffee?”
“Don’t want coffee, want you,” She said petulantly, but he could hear her weakening.
“I’ll be back,” he persisted. “Then you can have me and coffee.”
He could almost feel her debating that... then the legs and arms loosened and she rolled back over, burying her head in the pillow again. He got up, pulling the duvet back over her and looked down at her, smiling slightly. She was there in his Mass Effect t-shirt, pillow in a headlock, hair a fiery cascade over the green coverlet...
He stood there for a few moments, smiling, then pottered off into the kitchen. By the time he got back, with 2 mugs of steaming coffee and a plate full of toasted and buttered bagels, she was sat up against the headrest, yawning and rubbing her face with her fingertips, her copper-painted nails flashing in the morning light.
She looked up at him, green eyes muzzy... and her sleepy smile made his heart leap.
“What?” She demanded.
“You’re beautiful,” he told her.
And she only got more beautiful as her pale cheeks tinted a delicate rose as she blushed.
“And you’re adorable,” She told him. “Aaaaaaaaaand you have cinnamon bagels. Get the hell in here!”
He chuckled, passing her the plate of bagels, then a mug of coffee. She took the mug and set it on her bedside table, shaking her head.
“You’re just not normal,” She told him. “Normal people can’t carry 2 mugs in one hand.”
“Face it darling, if I was normal, you’d be bored.”
She thought about that, and then leant over as he got into bed, catching him by the corner of his jaw and kissing him straight on the lips, a long sensuous kiss.
“Thank you,” She murmured, then pulled away and kissed his nose gently. “Good morning.”
“It certainly is now,” He remarked, grinning.
She laughed and scooched over so he could get in properly.
“So, what do you want?”
He gazed at her. The mist in her eyes had dissipated, leaving sharp emeralds, which were very wry all of a sudden. He pulled an innocent face, then relented at her raised eyebrow.
“Can’t a guy make his girl a cup of coffee and bagels in the morning when it’s not his turn?”
“Yes,” She said. “But usually you don’t do it of your own volition.”
He stuck his tongue out at her.
“One day I’ll do it without an ulterior motive,” He promised her.
“And roll on that day,” She bit into the bagel with a small sigh of bliss. “Om nom nom.”
“There’s a Cyberpunk convention coming up soon,” He said after a moment.
She looked at him, eyebrows shooting up.
“You don’t need my permission to go sweetheart,” She told him.
“I know,” He said with a smile. “I want you to come with me.”
She sat up, gazing at him in surprise.
“A steampunk at a cyberpunk convention?” She demanded with a small snort. “Because this would really go well.”
“I... uh... Want you to go as a cyberpunk with me,” At her long look, he grinned. “Hence the bribe.”
She sipped her coffee thoughtfully, and he watched her, twisting the duvet-cover fabric between his fingers, trying to work out what she was thinking.
“You want me to dress up as a cyberpunk with you,” She repeated.
“Yeah.”
She finished her bagel.
“Please tell me I don’t have to dress up as EDI,” she requested, then her eyes narrowed at his silence. “Toby.”
“Well, not exactly EDI,” he said. “But ah... an android, yeah.”
She put a hand to her forehead.
“Let’s guess, in a skin-tight body suit?” She groaned.
“Ah... yeah,” He admitted.
She properly faceplanted now.
“I really want you to go with me,” He said quietly. “I know you’re self-conscious and it’s not exactly your scene, but...”
“You really want to go,” She finished, and looked up. “Toby, you know I’d do anything for you, but...”
“I’ll let you mummify me.”
Caroline gave a slight start, sitting up ever so slightly more, eyes wide.
“Say what?”
He grinned.
“I’ve seen your Deviantart page, you’re really into mummification, and yet you’ve never pulled it with me, not even when I didn’t have much say in the matter,” he pointed out.
She shifted.
“It seemed a bit extreme,” She admitted.
“And so is me asking you to dress up in a skin-tight costume,” he pointed out. “It seems a fair swap, right?”
She nibbled her lip, and he could see her reticence.
“Are you scared of going, or scared of it being too much for me?” He asked her quietly.
“Both,” She admitted.
He reached over, stroking her cheek.
“Caroline, you are perfect,” He told her softly, and kissed her lightly on the lips. “You want to mummify me. I’m offering.”
She tapped her bagel against the plate, then grinned.
“Oh Godsdamnit!” she burst out. “You’re incorrigible!”
Toby winked. She turned to him.
“Just for the record,” Caroline said firmly. “I’d’ve gone with you anyway, despite the coffee, despite the bagels, despite the offer of mummifying you. It would have taken me a while, but I would have done it. Because I love you.”
And again, that sucker-punch straight to the heart. He caressed her cheek, trailing his fingertips down over her long neck, then cupping it gently.
“I love you too,” He murmured. “That’s why I didn’t want to browbeat you into going.”
She set the plate to one side, then wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I’m not perfect,” She told him quietly. “But God knows Toby, you are.”
And then her eyes sparked, and a wicked grin flashed across her face. He winked back at her, his left hand playing with the bottom of the t-shirt, before sliding underneath to rest on the smooth skin of her hip.
“I want my t-shirt back,” He told her.
She grinned, eyes flashing with a familiar challenge.
“Well then, come get it.”