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[cafeultra]

Meow-meow, motherfuckers.

Comments

[soicantlose]

Not for a little while. It's still pretty early here. But you should get some rest.

[cafeultra]

And you're also working, I should let you focus on that. Fuuuuck I miss you. I'll try to sleep tho. Text you in the morning. <3

[soicantlose]

I wouldn't have texted you if I was busy right this moment, I promise. But go to sleep. Love you. Talk to you tomorrow.

[cafeultra]

[ She'll just pout herself to sleep. Okay, not exactly, but she's still a little bummed. The cats keep excellent company, though, and Lizzie curls up right next to her once she puts her phone down. Not long after that, she's out.

The bed is empty when she wakes, but she doesn't text Nate right away. He wouldn't say which time zone, but she guesses he's at least a couple hours behind. So she waits a while, going through her morning routine and getting some writing done first. ]

Good morning handsome. <3

[soicantlose]

[ He didn't want to tell Becca too much about it over text -- maybe not at all, Nate still isn't sure just how open he should be about his work with her, even though she largely hasn't seemed bothered yet -- but it's a late night for him. He gets back in the middle of the night to get some sleep, but it's restless, between still being in the mindset for the job and how used to having Becca there he's gotten.

So it doesn't take much more than his phone chiming to pull him all the way to awake, and she'll get a relatively quick response. ]

Hey babe. having a good morning?

[cafeultra]

[ As insanely curious as she might be about what he actually does on his jobs, she's been good about not asking. If he wants to tell her, he can. But there's no sense in prying. He might not want to tell her, after everything, and she doesn't blame him.

Not that she'd talk even if she knew. No matter how much they hurt her.

The quick response is a little surprising, though she's not complaining. She'll respond in between emails with her publisher. ]

It's going okay. Just working on writing stuff. Getting ready to count down the minutes until you're home. Did I wake you?

[soicantlose]

[ He's less worried about Becca telling anyone, and more worried that the detail will start freaking her out. It's less vivid after the break-in, but it's still there -- watching him attack someone who was an active threat to them both is one thing. Hearing about him killing random people might turn out to be another. ]

Kinda. I need to get up anyway though. Got something to take care of soon and then I can get on the road. The writing going good?

[cafeultra]

[ She's in so deep at this point, that wouldn't be a deal-breaker. Maybe she's horrible for it, but she's too in love to care. It's the kind of love she never thought she'd have, that she was too afraid to hope for. Nothing in the world can make her let this go. ]

Your Becca alarm clock. :P The writing's going alright enough. Got some things finished to send to my editor, and now I think I'll take a break to eat. Long drive ahead?

[soicantlose]

Best way to wake up. <3 Yeah. I'm gonna be on the road most of the day. I can text you when I take breaks, give you an update on when I might get there, but it's still looking like the middle of the night right now.

[cafeultra]

I love updates, you know I worry. I'll probably be hanging around here. Might go for a walk? Regardless, I'll def be keeping the bed warm for you tonight. <3

[soicantlose]

I'll keep you posted once I'm on my way, promise. Right now I'm just trying to get something decent out of the room's coffee maker. You should let me know if anything interesting happens, if you do go out. <3

[cafeultra]

[ Pardon her while she's making the most unhappy face at her phone. As if missing her boyfriend isn't bad enough, now this news? Nate, please. ]

Hotel room coffee?! My poor baby. :(

Not gonna lie, a boring day doesn't sound so bad. But also I could probably use some fresh air.

[soicantlose]

It's terrible, I know. Definitely not as good as yours. But nothing really is.

Well, maybe you'll get lucky and the walk will be boring. Good boring. Not climbing the walls looking for something to do boring.

[cafeultra]

Tomorrow morning when you wake up with me I'm gonna make you a good cup.

If I got that bored I'd probably just take a nap. I'm not planning to take a nap, but they do sometimes sneak up on me.

[soicantlose]

You are the best, have I mentioned that recently?

Naps are a good plan, though. I might be in favor of it right now because it means I feel less guilty waking you up, but still.

[cafeultra]

You may have hinted as much, I'm not sure. :P

Okay, now a nap sounds like a fantastic idea. Just a little one so I'm not too sleepy to welcome you home.

[soicantlose]

Hinting isn't good enough, you might miss it. I've gotta make sure I tell you often enough.

If you don't manage one, no big deal. We can always just go back to sleep when I get there.

[cafeultra]

Babyyyy. You tell me all the time.

I'll sleep better with you anyway. But I'd really, really like some kisses first. :-*

[soicantlose]

Exactly. Often enough. <3

You can have all the kisses you want first.

[cafeultra]

You make sure I never forget. Or doubt. I appreciate you. <3

I'm definitely too distracted to work now. But it's OK, I got brunch.

[soicantlose]

Well, don't let me distract you from brunch, too.

Actually I do have to go take care of something. I'll let you know when I'm on the way, okay? <3

[cafeultra]

You're my favorite distraction.

You do your thing babe, I'll be here. <3 Be safe. Love you.

[ And here's the part where she wonders what he's doing and tries not to worry. Times like this, she's not sure if it would make her worry any less to know exactly what's going on when he leaves. The mystery leaves some possibility that maybe it's not as dangerous as she's fearing, but knowing... that leaves too much opportunity for her imagination to go wild, if she has an idea of what he's doing and all the ways it could go wrong.

Becca lets herself focus on brunch, and on texting the girls for a while. And eventually, as she's reading a book on the couch, that nap does sneak up on her, so she might miss a text or two. ]

[soicantlose]

[ It's nothing that takes much time left to do, mostly just getting paid. After about forty minutes, Becca will get a quick text that he's getting on the road. It's a long drive, but she'll get the occasional check in whenever he stops for gas or to stretch: a little bit of affection, or a little, non-specific note about what he's seen on the way. Commentary on gas station sandwiches and side-of-the-road oddities. It's never too much dialogue, because he's always trying to get going again quickly, trying to get back as soon as possible.

Around midnight, she'll get one last text: ]

Home stretch
I'm a little more than two hours out
I'll see you soon <3

[cafeultra]

[ She keeps her replies brief once he's on the road. As much as her mystery-solving mind wants to piece together the clues of where he's driving and stick pins in a map or whatever... she doesn't. But she does kind of want to see some of those side-of-the-road tourist traps.

The text at midnight is what she's been waiting for, really. She's just getting into bed by then, not in one of his shirts but instead a frilly little nightgown. After replying (a reply that's mostly hearts and exclamation points, honestly), she sets her phone aside to wait out the last stretch. Despite the nap, though, Becca falls asleep, curled around a pillow. ]

[soicantlose]

[ It's almost a surprise how strong the relief is, getting to just pull up to Becca's. He doesn't want to go back to his place first, to have to wait to see her until the morning. Part of him's a little bit nervous about something going wrong, but he had a lot more time to spot anyone following him this time, and nobody he knew was involved. And he'll be there, if anything happens, doesn't plan on leaving for a little while. That also helps. Seems like the only time he isn't a little bit worried about her at this point is when he's there to take care of her.

Besides, it makes a much prettier picture to come back to than his empty apartment. Nate just leans into the doorway for a minute, watching her sleep. It feels like everything finally settling in his brain, seeing Becca there.

Fuck, but he really is so gone on her he doesn't know what to do with it.

He moves to the side of the bed as softly as he can manage, crouching down a little so he can reach across and stroke at her hair. Seeing if that little touch is enough to wake her up or not. ]