[for Chase] vegas valentine

[learnfromthem]

“Mrr.”

I don’t want to wake up. My head’s still fuzzy from last night, all stuffed full of cotton balls. My breath tastes like island booze and morning. I drape the back of my hand over still-closed eyes, appreciating that extra bit of darkness before I move to shift closer to the warm body next to me. It’s colder in the room than it should be, which is my first clue that Something Is Not Right, but just a little more sleep sounds a lot more awesome than getting up to turn down the A/C.

Nuzzling at Chase’s chest, I tuck freezing toes under his legs, sleepily tugging at the sheet to pull it up over my shoulders. Only the sheet’s all wrong, too, and I reluctantly crack open an eye.

“When’d you get Egyptian cotton?”

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[apoorupbringing]

Chase hisses softly to greet the morning because oh those toes are cold. Still, he tucks an arm around the beautiful archer who's taken to, occasionally, sleeping over.

"Mnh. Hmnm," he answers, groping for a plush comforter that isn't his and tugging it up over them both before sighing and sinking back down toward sleep.

Island has clearly transformed into something weird again. Whatever.

"Is that like a super power rich people have?" he murmurs, voice low and dragging with sleep, hand warm and dragging slowly up her back.

"Can you tell the thread count just from feeling it, too?"

[learnfromthem]

"Only if I focus."

He's not worried, so I keep my panicking to a bare minimum. His hand leaves me shivering despite its warmth and I press a slow, unhurried kiss to his collarbone, letting my eyes flutter open once I think they can handle the light. The curtains, thankfully, are drawn.

"Any ideas about where we are?"

[apoorupbringing]

"Nope," Chase murmurs, flattening his hand over her spine and leaving it there to rest, smiling minutely in his half-sleep at the brush of her mouth.

It's nice, mornings she hangs around.

"'s long as it's not th'Titanic'r some weird, doomsday histor'c'l shit, don't really care."

[learnfromthem]

I stifle a laugh against his neck, grinning into his skin. Whatever plans I had for the day are effectively cancelled, so staying in bed a little longer isn't gonna hurt anyone. I breathe him in and sigh a little. He still smells like the island -- surf and sand and sun.

"Mmnisn't it the 14th?" I remember, like that's really important without a Hallmark around to shove the holiday down everyone's throat. We're not dating, not really. This -- whatever this is -- probably works best without a label. It's nice and he makes me feel good. That's all that matters.

[apoorupbringing]

"Mayb- I- is it?" Chase asks, yawning and bringing his free hand up from under the covers to scrub over his face.

"I would totally have gotten you mediocre chocolate and a cheapo singing bear but, you know. Island. Guess that excuse's shot to hell." He flexes and stretches as much as possible while moving as little as possible, then forces his eyes open and glances around the room.

There's a nightstand beside the huge, plush bed they're in. It has a lamp on it, and a phone that looks sleek and expensive, and has what is clearly a hotel directory built into it.

"...well, okay," he mumbles and reaches out, leaning across the bed and sneaking it closer with his fingertips until he can lift the receiver and, craning his neck to peer at the symbols on the the molded plastic grid, punch the one that looks like it's a person with a tray.

He does all of this without pulling his arm from around Kate and then happily sinks back down next to her, eyes closed, receiver tucked against his ear and jaw.

"Yeah, hi- Yeah, morning, hi. Wait, say that again? Okay, cool. Can we get some breakfast? Sent up?" He cracks an eye open and grins at Kate.

"Fantastic, yeah, can we get scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon. Extra bacon. What- do you have any like, house specials, things you guys are- Oh, yeah? No shit, we'll definitely get that. Do you have grits? I know that's weird, do you-?"

Both eyes open wide and he shifts to turn toward Kate a little, grinning brightly.

"No. Kidding. Great. Okay, yeah, please, and hold on-"

He tucks the mouth of the receiver against his neck.

"Apparently we're in the high roller suite, if you could have any breakfast food your heart desired, what would it be?"

[learnfromthem]

"That was all for you?"

I'm laughing, if trying to keep it down so he can talk to whoever it is on the other end of the line. It's the first time I can remember seeing a real phone and not one of those emergency call box things in over a year. Strange, the things you miss.

"Pancakes. With real maple syrup. Just... Carbs. All the breakfast carbs. And extra, extra bacon." I stifle a yawn, and think to add, "And coffee."

[apoorupbringing]

"Right. So- hi again," Chase says, turning his mouth against the receiver again.

"Double the maple chicken and waffles, can we get some kind of scramble? Like some kind of chorizo avocado scramble? Great, and like as far as benedicts, which is your most- Yes. Yes. Yes, and that. And pancakes? ....Really? Okay, all of those. Yeah, like two of all of those. And biscuits. Okay. And coffee."

He glances at Kate.

"A lot of coffee. Yup. Yeah, absolutely. Yes, great Great. Hell yeah, that too. Okay, thanks, man." He stretches his hand out to hand the phone up and then turns fully into Kate, draping an arm over her waist and shifting their bodies closer together.

"We're in Vegas."

[learnfromthem]

"Vegas Vegas or Island Vegas?"

I want to sit up and go open the curtains, take a look around, but there's bigger incentive to stay right here. Besides, Vegas isn't much to look at in the daytime. It's at night where everything comes alive.

"I don't have money for Vegas Vegas, so... Prepare to make a run for it." I didn't exactly show up on the Island with my credit cards.

[apoorupbringing]

"They don't know we don't have money," Chase points out.

"They won't have any idea we don't have money until we check out, aka ditch, aka the island reverts back. No worries." He stretches again, settling more flush against her and winding his arms around her lower back, smiling lazily.

[learnfromthem]

He makes it hard to think sometimes. I worry my lower lip between my teeth, trying to see the sense in what he's saying until I just decide to trust his judgment. He's been through this brand of weirdness a lot more times than I have, and besides: it's nice to believe that everything will work out okay, if just for a morning.

I'm dimly aware of the fact that I'm still naked, by bare chest pressed against his. I sneak my leg between his and drape an arm over his waist, lightly dragging my nails over his spine. I quirk an eyebrow.

"You've got this all figured out, don't you?"

[apoorupbringing]

"No, but I'm good at winging it," Chase says, shifting at the slide of her thigh.

"Mmn," he intones, and ducks his head to nose at the hair just behind her ear, then jolts upright a little, ungracefully jostling them both, and says loudly, "Shit! Lace?!"

There's no dinosaur in the room. He would notice the dinosaur in the room. Where is his dinosaur.

[learnfromthem]

I frown a little.

"And we're getting up."

I sit up, dragging the sheet with me to cover up the goods. It'd be pretty hard to miss a dinosaur in the room, and since Old Lace is nowhere to be found, I'm guessing bedtime is over. Slipping from the bed -- and taking the sheet with me -- I look around for my clothes. They're not on the floor where I left them.

Great.

I march towards the closet and sigh a little once I spy the rack of men's clothes, but no friendly dino. I grab the longest dress shirt I can find and slip it on, dropping the sheet as I go. I cinch it with a black leather belt.

"Maybe she's in the bathroom?"