bathysphere

He isn't used to this sort of contact, and he smiles softly and sheepishly at the question. He doesn't feel like he needs to lie. "Actually, no." His hands drift up her back.

Her tone is playful and her touch is light. "Should I be scared?" He pulls her closer, bows his head to kiss her.

@umi

Her lips are soft and warm - his are probably rough, but he kisses with something of a hesitance, straightening with hands still on Umi's hips when they pull apart. He laughs lightly, because she's small and soft and she feels breakable, though there's something tough about her conviction, there's something sweet in the way she's still not afraid. It's all what he isn't used to, and he wants to dive into this unfamiliar territory. He wants a night with these things.

Santiago looks down at Umi, a bit of hair out of place that he tucks behind her ear. He sighs, but it's contented. "Dangerous, huh?"

@umi

She's warm, flush against him, and he feels the shape of her hands and the rise and fall of his own chest. Some part of him feels like an awkward teenage boy, though his heart pounds steady and slow. The light is dim and the shadows are warm as the feel of her voice when it seems to nestle in his chest.

He wraps his arms around her. They both know why he's here, but Santiago sees enough of fast and rough at work; now he has nowhere to be, nothing he wants but to stay here. The coffee is brewed, he can smell it, but it seems centuries away. "Is that a threat?"

@umi

He doesn't do dating - his only commitment is his daughter. He doesn't do one night stands either, but he'd followed her up knowing what she'd invited him for was more than coffee.

Santiago feels an odd sort of guilt, though he knows he shouldn't. Guilt that this is not Briella's mother, and he feels adulterous even though he isn't. This guilt always rears its head when he finds himself with another woman as if he owes her anything.

But Umi kisses him again, then. It feels natural and easy to kiss back, and then to lift her right off the ground and level her to his height. She's light in his arms and her hands are steady on his shoulders. He doesn't know where the bedroom is but they find their way there eventually.

--

He wakes up in her bed, in the moment just before sunrise. Santiago can feel the fresh wound sting and Umi's warmth against his. He looks over at her in the dim light of morning, sleeping. Nothing had happened that night, but at the same time, very many things had happened.

Santiago looks over at the clock - his first waking thought is usually Briella, but this morning she has taken a close second to an affectionate thought of Umi, one laced with mourning. He has to go - Briella will worry if he isn't asleep in his bed when she wakes up, she'll notice.

He tries to slip out of bed quietly, not to wake Umi, but grace and stealth are not his strong points - the mattress creaks beneath his weight.

@umi

He isn't trying to sneak away - he just doesn't want to disturb her. That's what he tells himself when she speaks up and he turns to look at her, towering over her when he stands. He nods.

"Yeah, I have... to be somewhere." He says quietly, smoothing down his shirt. He's still fully dressed, and the sun is beginning to rise, casting its warmth over the cool morning. There was a chill in the room.

@umi