Jaime woke up slowly. When he realized that there was a weight on top of him, he had a moment of confusion, but then he remembered last night:
The sugar crash had been epic, and a lack of naps all weekend had helped make it happen fairly early. Momoko had fallen asleep almost as soon as she had climbed into bed. It wasn't long, though, before a nightmare woke her up and she sat in bed crying for a few minutes. When she still didn't feel better, she grabbed the stuffed zebra Jaime had won her and climbed outta the bed, dragging her blanket with her. She walked into the room where Jaime said he'd be sleeping. "Jaime? Can I sleeps with you? I had a bad dre... uhm. I mean my tummy hurts." She didn't want to admit she was scared. She was supposed to be a big hero!And, apparently even tiny little Momoko somehow did that one thing that made it impossible to refuse her: she pretended to be okay. He could see that 'be brave' smile that he knew so well in the expression of a little kid, and his heart had twisted. So he'd said yes, of course
( ... )
"You totally fell asleep on me last night while you were all little!" You know, in case she had forgotten and thought something else might have happened!
Momoko fiddled with the end of the blanket, her memories coming back now that she was waking up. "Ah. I had a nightmare." She was still red, though she was trying to convince herself this was just like when they would fall asleep to movie marathons in the old days.
It wasn't working. She let go of the blanket with one hand to facepalm. "Sorry, Jaime."
"Well, when you're five, a hero's not supposed to ever be scared, especially of a nightmare. She totally didn't want to admit it. Especially to you." Momoko's shrug was small and obviously an attempt to minimize that.
"Sorry for ruining your weekend? After you found me, you didn't have much time on your own." If any. Had she let him out of her sight for more than a few minutes? "You came back for Homecoming, not to spend all your time watching me."
"I'd totally admit to having a nightmare! Though probably not when it was that one. I don't know if anyone else would think it was scary." Momoko rolled her eyes, her fading blush renewed by his 'cute' comment, which she was totally trying to not believe meant more than he intended. Being in bed together totally didn't help that.
"But I did have fun. Even if you didn't let me eat my fill of everything." She chuckled, pulling the blanket a bit higher. "I totally needed that, too, after Friday."
Well, she was actually trying to avoid leaving too... for a different reason.
"Uhm. I was alone. Everyone was gone. No, not just gone, they'd left me, run off. I was looking in stores and restaurants and houses just trying to find people. Anyone."
She gave him a wry smile. "Told you it wasn't scary."
Now the adult version of that dream? Totally scary!
Jaime's arms tightened around her as she spoke, and he shook his head, his chin pressing against her head with the gesture. "Sounds pretty scary to me," he said quietly.
"But I promised you," he paused, then corrected himself, "her. I promised her I wouldn't leave her."
Momoko had to work really hard to not just relax into him and pretend he hadn't corrected himself.
"You really were awesome. She wasn't afraid, being here; she never is? But you being here made her feel safe and taken care of." She really really hoped Jaime didn't remember all of the feelings for him she'd expressed over the weekend. Or that he put them down to her being five.
She really needed a muzzle for when weekends like that happened.
It had been hard to make that correction, actually. Painful, even. But in some sense, Jaime's sense of honesty compelled him to. After all, he had left Momoko, hadn't he?
And now wasn't the time to dwell on regrets.
"I'm glad she did." Jaime's lip curled slightly. "She's you, after all, and I like thinking that you feel safe and taken care of, too." That curl became a grin. "Even if you don't really need much taking care of."
"It doesn't happen often," Momoko agreed, purposely leaving it vague if she meant needing taken care of or feeling safe.
"She's totally me, you know. I mean, she acts just like I did when I was little, except she has some strange combination of my current memories, thoughts and feelings and my old ones." She gave a small chuckle. "I guess any kids I have will be just like that, huh?"
The sugar crash had been epic, and a lack of naps all weekend had helped make it happen fairly early. Momoko had fallen asleep almost as soon as she had climbed into bed. It wasn't long, though, before a nightmare woke her up and she sat in bed crying for a few minutes. When she still didn't feel better, she grabbed the stuffed zebra Jaime had won her and climbed outta the bed, dragging her blanket with her. She walked into the room where Jaime said he'd be sleeping. "Jaime? Can I sleeps with you? I had a bad dre... uhm. I mean my tummy hurts." She didn't want to admit she was scared. She was supposed to be a big hero!And, apparently even tiny little Momoko somehow did that one thing that made it impossible to refuse her: she pretended to be okay. He could see that 'be brave' smile that he knew so well in the expression of a little kid, and his heart had twisted. So he'd said yes, of course ( ... )
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"You totally fell asleep on me last night while you were all little!" You know, in case she had forgotten and thought something else might have happened!
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It wasn't working. She let go of the blanket with one hand to facepalm. "Sorry, Jaime."
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Then he frowned, leaning down slightly so that he could look at her face. "Sorry? What for?" He didn't remember her doing anything wrong.
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"Sorry for ruining your weekend? After you found me, you didn't have much time on your own." If any. Had she let him out of her sight for more than a few minutes? "You came back for Homecoming, not to spend all your time watching me."
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He smiled slightly. "And you didn't ruin my weekend. I mean, you may be an exhausting little kid, but you're thoroughly cute, which helps."
Note that he didn't say she was a thoroughly cute little kid.
"Did you have fun, at least?"
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"But I did have fun. Even if you didn't let me eat my fill of everything." She chuckled, pulling the blanket a bit higher. "I totally needed that, too, after Friday."
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"What was the nightmare, anyway?" he asked, not wanting her to go quite yet, and half-worried that if he didn't keep her distracted, she would.
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"Uhm. I was alone. Everyone was gone. No, not just gone, they'd left me, run off. I was looking in stores and restaurants and houses just trying to find people. Anyone."
She gave him a wry smile. "Told you it wasn't scary."
Now the adult version of that dream? Totally scary!
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"But I promised you," he paused, then corrected himself, "her. I promised her I wouldn't leave her."
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"You really were awesome. She wasn't afraid, being here; she never is? But you being here made her feel safe and taken care of." She really really hoped Jaime didn't remember all of the feelings for him she'd expressed over the weekend. Or that he put them down to her being five.
She really needed a muzzle for when weekends like that happened.
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And now wasn't the time to dwell on regrets.
"I'm glad she did." Jaime's lip curled slightly. "She's you, after all, and I like thinking that you feel safe and taken care of, too." That curl became a grin. "Even if you don't really need much taking care of."
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"She's totally me, you know. I mean, she acts just like I did when I was little, except she has some strange combination of my current memories, thoughts and feelings and my old ones." She gave a small chuckle. "I guess any kids I have will be just like that, huh?"
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