room 216 ; saturday afternoon

[necroslacker]

Sam's week hadn't really improved after Brannoc's phone call. It hadn't gotten worse but he'd hoped for good news. Brid had called him last night and hadn't given him that. The conversation hadn't been terse, thankfully, but he could tell she was worried which worried him. Something supernatural was attacking locals in Seattle and she hated that she couldn't figure it out. He'd tried to remind her that she wasn't a superhero but she'd said she was and Sam had laughed because he kind of figured she'd say that.

No one had died though and Brid had promised to keep looking. Sam had hung up with her promising to call if things got worse. And he'd actually admitted a fear that maybe Douglas had somehow escaped which she'd tried to reassure him was false.

Currently, Sam was trying to shove dirty laundry into a too small basket and getting more and more frustrated with it as minutes passed. He knew it wasn't the laundry that was causing his stress and frustration but a build up of a few things and his poor clothes were just in the way. He felt like he just kept hitting brick walls in every area of his life. He'd manage to climb over one and hit another and it was just an unending process.

Sam was getting a headache from all the brick walls. And his laundry was just not fitting in the freaking hamper. That was the story of his life, right there.

[Door & post are open, sure]

Comments

[necroslacker]

"Like I said, it's not that big a deal," he answered, pushing that topic aside as best he could. "Thanks, though. I'll be fine. I'll work it out."

[whenshewasnice]

"Or take it out on your laundry," she drawled. "Whatever works for you."

[necroslacker]

"Yeah, that too," he said, pressing the heel of his hand against one of his eyes. "I'm sure if anyone can take it, my clothes can. They're resilient."

That just sounded stupid so he made a sound of displeasure and bowed his head so he could stretch his neck and shoulders.

[whenshewasnice]

"Well it's good to see you're as lame as ever," Natalie noted, sounding just faintly, wryly amused. "Otherwise I might have worried."

But maybe she worried anyway.

[necroslacker]

"Yep, still lame," Sam said, looking back up at her. He didn't sound amused but he'd really had a bad week and couldn't find that in him. "If things change, I'm sure you'll be one of the first to know."

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie watched him silence for a moment or two, head just slightly tilted, like she was thinking.

She was. "You look like you need a hug."

[necroslacker]

"Do I?" Sam asked, actually sounding surprised about that observation and that observation coming from her.

[whenshewasnice]

Well, she stating it as a fact. "Yeah," she said. "Why are you surprised?"

[necroslacker]

"I don't know," he answered, shrugging. "I was just surprised to here you come to that conclusion, I guess."

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie rolled her eyes. It was better than to consider the implications in a statement like that. "Do you want a hug or not?"

[necroslacker]

"Yeah," he admitted, shrugging. "Yeah, maybe I do."

[whenshewasnice]

"So, get up," Natalie replied, gesturing for him. "Get up and you'll get one."

[necroslacker]

Sam wanted to make a remark on her bossiness but he held his tongue and got to his feet. His hands hung loosely at his hands and his shoulders slouched just under the stress of the week.

[whenshewasnice]

And Natalie's bossiness was even nowhere near the epic levels it would one day reach. For now, she just thought of herself as efficient.

In silence, she moved closer to him and went to put her arms around his shoulders.

[necroslacker]

Sam slid his own arms around her waist, keeping them loose until he knew what kind of hug this was going to be. Mostly, he was letting her take the lead here.

[whenshewasnice]

She was going to linger, for one. Her arms were snug around his shoulders, and the way she leaned into him a little bit suggested that she wasn't intending to pull back immediately.

And she kept on saying nothing. Maybe she needed a hug too.

[necroslacker]

It was good to feel that she wasn't just standing still while hugging him, actually. That made gave him the encouragement to tighten his arms around her and squeeze a little tighter.

It was a pretty good hug and finally, some of the tension bled out of his shoulders and neck.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie wouldn't have termed it a bad hug in any way, either. When he tightened his arms around her, she closed her eyes and, after a moment, rested her head lightly against his shoulder.

Lest they forget why they were bothering with all the tension in the first place.

[necroslacker]

Sam stayed still for a second or two longer before he tilted his head and rested his cheek against her hair. It was soft against his skin and he had to suppress a quiet sigh at that.

He could still feel some lingering tension but it was nice to sort something out and get it straight. It meant one less thing to worry about.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie just enjoyed the closeness more than she would like to admit. Avoiding him hadn't been that fun for her, not that she'd admit that either.

"I like you," she said, quietly.

[necroslacker]

"I like you too," he mumbled, nodding slightly against her cheek. Hopefully that would, at least, assure he wasn't giving up on her or anything like that.

[whenshewasnice]

It did. Or it would have, had she acknowledged she was worried. She sighed, but it was soft. "Good."

[necroslacker]

"Yeah," he agreed because he had nothing else in mind to say right now. He was out of lectures and witty statements for the second. He still had a headache and he was still tired.

[whenshewasnice]

Words weren't always necessary. Natalie was of that mind quite a lot of the time, and this moment was no different. She gave him another little squeeze and let that speak for itself for the moment.

[necroslacker]

Sam could understand language like that. Her squeeze made him smile even if she couldn't see it. All of this made him feel better about things with her. He'd been worried about broaching his frustration but it had gone well and she was in his arms after the fact.

He dropped a light kiss against her hair.