necroslacker | seattle ; tuesday morning

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seattle ; tuesday morning

Sam was actually sleeping this morning. There had been a nightmare or two but nothing he couldn't get past and he'd settled into a fairly restful sleep sometime around two in the morning. He was going to guess the addition of the other person in the bed with him might have had something to do with it.

He was still on his side, still fully clothed, and she was still there behind him. He hoped she was sleeping too because her staying up all night just would have been exhausting.

And that's what this morning was going to be: exhausting. So, they both needed some rest now.

[NFB but for the girl in the bed and then someone else a wee bit later]

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Natalie was still asleep, yeah. She'd stayed awake for a little longer than he had, mostly to watch over him for a bit, but also just because she'd actually gotten a decent bit of sleep at home the past few nights.

But she'd fallen prey to peaceful slumber eventually, and there she was still. Her arm still around him, and her face half smushed against the general area of his upper back and the back of his neck.

They'd get a chance at the peaceful slumber for a few more moments. It wasn't going to last unfortunately but it was still nice for right now, wasn't it?"

Sam sighed and didn't move at all. He was out.

Natalie shifted in her sleep, but it was just that. Shifting in her sleep. She sighed too, against the back of his neck, then breathed in. Another lungful of his familiar scent.

Nothing this peaceful and harmonious could last for long.

And that peace was going to be interrupted right about....now.

Someone was knocking on the door and a few seconds later, someone was calling out, "Sam! Get up! You can't sleep all day. Ramon called me!"

Brid was going to give him a few seconds before she just came in.

Natalie's eyed blinked open. She was used to sleeping in pretty quiet environments, so any sudden unfamiliar noises were going to jostle her awake.

"Hm?"

Well, awake-ish. Her vision was blurry and she was mostly just confused about where she even was.

"Sam!"

Brid was still knocking on the door and she had her hand on the knob now.

"Open the door now or I'm coming in and we're gonna have a serious conversation."

Sam, for his part, was trying to hang onto sleep for as long as he could. He clenched his eyes shut and squirmed underneath his blankets.

Natalie knew that voice. Sure, she hadn't quite gotten so far as to slap a name on it yet, but she knew that voice. And even though she couldn't pin down why, that voice meant trouble and an oncoming headache.

She blinked a couple of times, and gave Sam a light shove. And a quiet hiss. "Sam."

"Please let me sleep a little longer," he mumbled, sounding small and vulnerable. "Please."

He hadn't quite gotten to the awake phase of the morning yet. He was just really comfortable and warm right now.

The knocking continued but it wasn't going to continue for much longer.

Natalie made a face at how he sounded. Or more specifically, at how it made her feel. She wanted to let him sleep longer, she really did. But that was not an option.

Because now she was awake enough to know who was at the door.

"Sam," she said. "It's Brid. And she's going to be in here in about five seconds."

Yep, Brid had stopped knocking and had actually opened the door.

"Sam, get your lazy ass out of be -- " Okay, it had taken Brid a moment to process what she was seeing but she knew there was someone else in Sam's bed and she knew who it was.

Sam was rubbing his eyes quickly, trying to get awake so he could deal with this.

"What in the hell is going on here?" Brid snapped, eyes narrowing.

Natalie pulled away from Sam to push herself into a more upright position, casting a glance Brid's way as she pushed her hair away from her face.

"Good morning to you too, Brid," she said, dryly.

"I didn't tell you that you could come in," Sam said, voice still thick with sleep. "I was asleep."

"Yeah, I could see that," Brid said snippily. "Sleeping with someone you supposedly don't like? You're such a humanitarian."

"I never said I didn't like her," Sam retorted, still trying to wake up. "Don't talk about stuff you don't know about."

"Sam, you're an idiot," Brid snapped. "I've had to deal with you moping about this girl for months!"

Natalie rubbed the bridge of her nose before settling down into minimal body lanaguage mode. Yeah, it was a conscious thing, sometimes. "I hate to be a cliché, but can you not talk about me like I'm not here?"

That meant you, Brid.

"Well, I wish you weren't here," Brid said, directing her ire towards Natalie now. "Why are you here? You dumped him. Is there something else you're hoping to do to him by clinging?"

Natalie gave her a steady look back. Not about to get drawn into anger this time.

"Sam's right," she said. "You shouldn't talk about things you know little about."

"So, maybe leave Sam alone?" Brid suggested, eyebrows going up. "It'd be great if he could get past you and leave you behind since you made it clear that you don't want him."

"Brid," Sam said sharply. He was awake now. "This isn't your business."

"Not my business?" Brid asked in a sharp rebuke. "I get a call from Frank about you not sleeping and you having nightmares and they ask me to come over so I do and I find you in bed with someone that's caused you to go off the rails for awhile? How is this not my business?"

"Because he's an adult and he gets to make his own choices, no matter how much you might dislike them?" Natalie offered, keeping her tone a flat neutral. "I didn't force myself on him. And since you're so concerned: he slept fine."

"Yeah, I kind of wish I was still sleeping," Sam said, rubbing his forehead and trying to climb out of bed to get between Brid and Natalie just in case.

"Sam, Ramon and Frank are worried," she said, ignoring Natalie for the moment. "They say you're not sleeping and barely eating. And that you disappear for hours at time. Tell me what's going on."

Sam stared at her steadily. "Nothing."

Brid's jaw tightened.

Natalie let them talk without interjecting, for the moment. And kind of wondered why nothing could just be one simple mess at a time, instead of having layers upon layers of different messes happening at once.

Yeah, she was with Brid on how bad Sam's general state of being sounded like. But she didn't need to say that at this particular second.

"Oh, did you tell her?" Brid asked, pointing at Natalie. "Did you let her in on your little secrets despite the fact that I've had to hold you and stay up nights with you just because she hurt you so badly?"

Sam sighed and shook his head. "Brid..." It was a warning.

"Sam, no, this is ridiculous," she exclaimed. "You're only doing more damage to yourself! And you're letting her keep this hold she has over you so you'll never move on."

Okay, getting a little annoying now. Not that you could really tell from Natalie's tone. "Brid, shut up," she said, in that perfect, practised neutral. "It's not a 'hold' over anyone. And your jealousy is your own problem."

"I'm not jealous," Brid said even though she was. "He's kissed me, you know. After you broke up with him, a few months after, he did kiss me. So, you're not the only one who gets this personal time."

"Brid!" Sam said, actually looking a little scary now. That was a tone he didn't tend to use and an expression he didn't tend to wear. "Stop."

"Sam...?" Even Brid was a little taken aback.

Okay, Natalie didn't like the sound of that. Not what Brid had said. That... She wouldn't have said that stung. Because she'd been expecting that. Sam's tone, though?

"Sam?"

Yeah, she was side-eyeing him with a frown, now.

Sam wasn't sure what had come over him with that tone and expression but it hadn't gone away. His hands were clenching into fists at his sides.

"You need to leave Brid."

"Sam -- " Brid started talking again, even reaching out to touch Sam's shoulder. He swatted her hand away. "Sam, this is ridiculous. You need to see a doctor. I can take you to my family."

"Brid." He breathed and stared a hole into her. "Leave. Now."

And Brid seemed to look confused for a second, like she didn't know what was happening before she said, "I need to leave," and turned to leave.

Yep.

Yeah.

Sorry, but Natalie was staring at him now.

She knew what he'd just done. She'd seen that confusion on Brid's face, and she'd recognized it. She knew she'd felt it too, once, even if it was almost a year ago, and neither of them had been exactly themselves. Even if the memory was fading, just like she hadn't forgotten beating the crap out of Alec, she also hadn't forgotten what it was like to have Sam's will overpowering hers.

She knew what he'd just done. So... She was staring. Unsure how to even react.

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