Hayley

[thisismybar]

Ric was... happy. Being able to sleep with Hayley -and really just sleep, god knew the sex wasn't lacking- even with Damon acting as a guard dog, had been good for him. No new bodies turning up, not missing chunks of time, those were pretty good, too. They weren't quite enough for him to let his guard completely down, but he didn't think there was going to be a whole lot of sleeping going on tonight, anyway.

And if there was, well, tonight Hayley would be even more equipped to play guard dog and take care of him. Elijah's reassurance helped keep that one metaphorical and mildly amusing.

He dumped the last load of camping gear onto the ground, and looked up at the sky to check the weather. "I don't think we're going to have to worry about being rained on tonight, but we should probably set up the tent." Who knew what tomorrow would bring,and it would be easier to relax somewhere enclosed. And limit bugs.

Comments

[littlewolf_girl]

Denial was a really strong coping mechanism for her. Not the healthiest, maybe, but--it was easier to get through life if she didn't examine too closely things that she'd done. That always led back to the dead body of a friend and a wrecked living room, and then she'd spiral into a place she tried really hard to stay out of most of the time, usually by shrugging things off or making light of them. They were the facts. She couldn't change them. Why dwell?

Almost biting Damon was something she had been trying to file away there, so used to the compartmentalizing skill she honestly hadn't realized why he was upset, because it was easier to focus on the part where she and Damon kicked back with bourbon and popcorn and bad B movies about vampires and werewolves to mock on nights Elena or Jeremy needed Ric time. Now guilt was nagging at her, even if there'd been nothing she really could have done differently--she hadn't bitten him and...

She pushed it away, taking a breath and went ahead and just stripped out of her clothes when they got to the stream, figuring there'd be a lot of splashing to get washed up and not wanting to drench them.

[thisismybar]

Ric hung back a little, giving her some time and space. Then he started to take his clothes off, fold them neatly and set them aside. He wasn't doing it with the expectation of sex, just of getting cleaned up a little, himself, and staying with her. He realized he'd upset her, but that didn't mean he was going to dash off.

He got his clothes set aside, and then waded into the cold-ish, moving water.

[littlewolf_girl]

The cold water was invigorating, washing away the last of the fog from the transitions and shifting the residual aches with the slight shock of it. It wasn't that deep, not much higher than her thighs, but it was enough to make it easy enough to scoop up higher in a makeshift bath.

Taking a breath to clear away the mental cobwebs, or push them back, again, she glanced over at him and gave him a little smile. "It's not too cold for you?"

[thisismybar]

Ric followed her in to a similar depth, though a little lower on him. "As long as no one makes jokes about shrinkage...." It wasn't pleasant, his testicles might have to be coaxed back out of his abdomen, but the bracing cold wasn't all that bad. It was a good wake-up, at least. Though he was not eager to crouch in that water, he did it anyway, all at once and then went flat under it. All at once and over with, because it needed doing.

[littlewolf_girl]

She was about to say something about him not having to worry about shrinkage--even if it happened, he'd still be impressive--but then he was ducking under the water and she had to shiver a little. But he had a good idea about getting it over with and she suspected she had dirt in her hair that needed getting out, so she followed his lead, ducking under and coming up sputtering with a tiny yelp, even though she'd done it to herself.

"Oh dear god..."

[thisismybar]

Ric came up, gasped for air and then momentarily stopped breathing entirely, because holy shit cold really could steal your breath and it had. He gave her a sort of wide-eyed look, not shivering because his muscles had temporarily looked up, and since talking was out of the question nodded, instead. He looked ridiculous, he was pretty sure. He was also pretty sure he didn't care.

Talk about commitment to clean. On both their parts.

[littlewolf_girl]

She was really impressed at his commitment--he hadn't been running around with fur all night, didn't have a transformation to shake off. She bit her lip, though, in a kind of giggly amusement at the shock she was feeling and that on his face.

"You don't have to stay in..." She hadn't brought any soap, but she set to work scrubbing off with water and, with another duck down, a little sand. The more she moved the faster her body adapted, both human and with wolf reactions.

[thisismybar]

"I know," he said, voice strained, though he didn't get straight out. Instead he did a decent job of scrubbing his face off, rinsing out his mouth and ducking again to at least work his hands through his hair. Then he got out, and promptly shivered like hell.

[littlewolf_girl]

Hayley adjusted, though the cold still felt sharp. It probably just brought her body temperature down to a more human level. She didn't linger, but she did rinse out her hair one more time and the sand off of her and took a long drink from the water before moving to join him on shore.

She took in his shivering and moved to wrap her arms around his neck, pressing close. "Towels might've been a good idea..." she said with a laugh.

[thisismybar]

He slid both his hands down her back and over her ass and thighs, pushing water away as he went, but also pressing her in even closer and... shivering. "Never even occurred to me," he admitted. "Or clean clothes. Use my shirt, maybe?" For her. He had less hair to soak up water. Assuming he could convince himself to let her go anytime soon. Which was, quite frankly, a bit of a stretch.

[littlewolf_girl]

Hayley hummed a little at the touch, even though he was shivering, and tightened her arms around him, happily sharing the body heat she had left.

"I'd say we should add that to the list for next month...but it's going to just keep getting colder from now on..."

She wasn't sure how she felt about him being out all night as fall set in and winter came on.

[thisismybar]

He held her tightly and unapologetically leeched the body heat she had left right out of her. "We're probably going to need to skip the cleaning up. Or camp closer to the creek and have a good fire going before we start." It never even occurred to him that he should stay home when it was cold. That's what clothes were for. Right?

[littlewolf_girl]

She smiled a little that he immediately went for a solution that meant still coming out with her. "If we desperately need to clean up, we can always go the spongebath route with water heated over the fire, too."

Really, sometimes she came out of the whole thing a bit messier, especially if hunting got involved, though she is so not saying that, not after the negotiation back to okay they seem to have managed.

[thisismybar]

"Might be a better idea in the dead of winter.... Though until then, it was an awfully good way of waking up." Not pleasant, granted, but he was definitely not asleep anymore, and since the air was warming that was getting better. Enough for him to push a lock of wet hair behind her ear, and kiss her temple warmly. Admittedly still mostly emotionally warm, but he was getting there.

[littlewolf_girl]

"I'm certainly not sleepy anymore," she agreed, head tilting for his kiss, her eyes falling closed. She took the opportunity to press a kiss to his collarbone, lick off a droplet or two of water there. Not being completely sure how okay they were, it wasn't so much a move as a touch, but she needed little things like that to connect, so.

[thisismybar]

Ric rubbed her back lightly, head tilted just a bit to the side to make it easier for her, and just held her. He needed the connection, too and more than that- he wanted to offer it to her. "Not going to say it's better than coffee... but it's more effective."

[littlewolf_girl]

"Mmhmm...." She nipped and nibbled, since he was being so kind as to expose more of his skin. "Especially given how fast I metabolize caffeine..."

[thisismybar]

"I think I might cry if caffeine stopped working for me...." Less than he would cry if alcohol did, granted. He curled his fingers a little against her back and pressed lightly. Not really... trying anything so much as enjoying the physical closeness and reassurance that things were still at least mostly okay.

[littlewolf_girl]

"It just requires more copious amounts," she said with a chuckle of warm breath over his skin, letting her lips nibble their way down over his collarbone.

[thisismybar]

He shuddered and curled his fingers into her skin a bit, then slid his hands around to her hips to hold on there. "Mm. Cold water's a lot cheaper...." And a lot less pleasant, though it was proving very, very worth it.

[littlewolf_girl]

"It is," she agreed. "Which is important on my salary..." Which was mostly tips.

She slid her fingers slowly down his chest, ghosting over his skin, tracing the lines of his hipbones.

"Feeling warmer?"

[thisismybar]

"Does that mean you're going to start every day with a freezing shower now?" He nuzzled lightly behind her ear, huffed a warm breath then came back to nibble lightly along the curve of it. "Mhm."

[littlewolf_girl]

"Nope. Damon buys the coffee," she said with a grin. She shivered at the nibble along her ear, and pushed him lightly backward, moving with him toward a boulder on the edge of the stream. "So you don't need me to warm you up some more...?"

Her voice was laced with amusement, clearly teasing.

[thisismybar]

"Damon buys the everything, lately..." It was a little weird to see Damon so agreeable but it wasn't, somehow, shocking for him. Clearly Damon wanted to see him happy and, well, Damon seemed to be working toward happy himself. That made an enormous amount of difference for both of them. Maybe he really would relax and stop expecting it to blow up in their faces, soon. Maybe.

He moved back when she pushed, grinning a little at her. "Need might be a bit of a stretch.... Want?" Want, he definitely did.

[littlewolf_girl]

"I'm not complaining..." Mostly Hayley was really grateful--for the place to live, for being okay with her and Ric, for...whatever.

She smiled back at him and tilted her head, continuing to urge him back until the boulder hit his knees. "I can work with wan..."