room 227 ; sunday night

[necroslacker]

After his uncomfortable conversation with Natalie earlier, Sam had retreated to his room and he had showered. It'd felt good, something he'd definitely needed and it did help some tension dissolve. Some, not all.

He hadn't stayed in the room long before he'd left again to get some food. He'd completely bypassed the island's offerings and gone to the mainland to find something new and vegetarian. He'd come back with a few bags and was now eating a salad at his desk. It was late so he had a set of headphones on while he played a few records to give him something to do besides think.

Thinking was just...bad. And he was already brooding so he didn't need to add to it.

[Door closed, post open of course]

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[whenshewasnice]

Natalie didn't lean forward, either. Not yet. Not a lot, anyway. She was still close enough for him to feel her breath against the back of his neck.

She was just taking things slow.

[necroslacker]

And he did feel that. He didn't really react but he didn't tense up or flinch or move away either. It was safe to say he was letting her take things slow and he was waiting to see what she did.

[whenshewasnice]

She stayed still for a while, before finally giving in to the urge to shift closer and lean against his back.

And though she was slow and careful to do it, she did slide an arm over his side and around him as well.

[necroslacker]

By this point, Sam had figured she was leading up to that. He stayed still while she did it and closed his eyes once he felt her arm settle around him. It felt nice, of course, but he was still quiet.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie plastered herself against him, close and cozy and warm.

"If anyone can change my mind about anything, it's you," she told him after a moment, soft and quiet. "You've done it before."

[necroslacker]

"You shouldn't always assume the worst about things that I say," Sam said after a bit of quiet. "I shouldn't have to change your mind about simple statements that seem to get turned against me."

[whenshewasnice]

"That was me taking back what I said about you not being able to change my mind, by the way," Natalie replied, as mildly as was her way. "And I didn't assume the worst. You said it to be polite. I just told you what it sounded like."

One day she might realize most people found observations like that unwelcome.

[necroslacker]

"I know you were taking it back," Sam mumbled, sighing. "I got that. But, I'm telling you that it sounded like you were assuming the worst about a simple statement. It's not the first time you've done it either and it's not always great to hear you're thinking that I would even think to say that to you. It's not cool."

[whenshewasnice]

"Apologies." What more could she say, really? Everything was going to sound like an excuse. "I'll try not to do that."

That included.

[necroslacker]

"It's okay. I know you're not trying to be malicious," Sam said after some quiet. "So, it's fine. I just wanted to be honest with you."

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie sighed quietly. "I appreciate it." Because she valued honesty more than most people she knew.

She wound her arm a little tighter around him. "I do."

[necroslacker]

"Okay," he murmured, relaxing a little further now that some of his tension had gone away. He didn't know of anything else to say at the moment so he didn't try and force it. He was quiet.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie didn't really immediately find any other words, either. She rubbed her fingertips absently against his stomach, and just... breathed in his scent, wondering how things got out of hand so easily.

[necroslacker]

Sam was breathing quietly as well. Eventually, after some time just spent relaxing against her, he did cover her hand with one of his lightly. This wasn't a familiar position to be in for him since he tended to be the one doing the spooning but this wasn't bad at all.

[whenshewasnice]

And sometimes a change-up was necessary. Natalie didn't think it was bad, either, and for once she didn't feel like she was the one needing comfort and reassurance.

Much.

"This is nice."

[necroslacker]

"Yeah, this is pretty good," Sam agreed, sounding less broody for the first time in awhile. "No one's ever really done this to me before."

It felt good.

[whenshewasnice]

"I'm not an entirely bad girlfriend, then," Natalie replied, shifting a bit so she could press her lips against the back of his neck. "Open to new things and all."

[necroslacker]

"You've never been a bad girlfriend," he murmured, sighing and stretching out a little further against her now. "Never."

[whenshewasnice]

"Never?" she replied, against his skin. "That's a big word."

And she knew for a fact she'd been a horrible girlfriend. Just not necessarily in this particular relationship.

[necroslacker]

"Every relationship has its ups and downs," Sam replied quietly. "That doesn't make either person a horrible if they cause one of those downs, you know. Not you and not me. You've never been horrible."

[whenshewasnice]

"I've been plenty horrible," Natalie said. "Just not to you."

On the bright side, the boys she'd been particularly horrible to probably hadn't cared as much as he would have, either.

[necroslacker]

"Mmm. What's changed that you're not horrible to me?" Sam asked curiously.

[whenshewasnice]

"For one, you care about me."

She might not have chosen her boyfriend types so well in the past.

"And, probably more importantly, I care about you."

[necroslacker]

"Good reasons," Sam said, sighing and, even better, actually smiling. "I do care about you. I love you."

[whenshewasnice]

"So I've heard," Natalie murmured. "But you should say it again."