Penguin was clinging to my shirt, chittering anxiously.
Llewellyn looked down at him, then at me again.
"What's going on?"
I rubbed my eyes and tried to get out from under him but he held me in place.
We were touching everywhere, chest, legs, hips—
…The online pile-on was forgotten all of a sudden.
Some kind of notification must have popped up in front of Llewellyn, because he frowned and said, "Why did I just get a System notification about needing to stabilize you?"
I sighed.
"How am I spending more time here than at my flat, lately?"
Llewellyn snorted and—uh. Shifted.
I swallowed.
His throat still had my mark, too, which made this doubly distracting.
"So. Did the System tell you how to stabilize me?"
"You can't guess?"
Damn it.
"Is it physical contact again?"
Llewellyn looked amused, which meant—yes.
He seemed to have received another notification then, because he started reading through something, his expression getting darker and darker.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
Huh?
"About what's happening online."
"It literally just started. I had only been on shift for about an hour."
His phone rang then and he picked up. He was still on top of me, and apparently not inclined to move.
"Emma. Yes, he's here."
I couldn't hear what Emma was saying, but she went on for a bit.
"Alright," Llewellyn said after a while. "Get some rest."
I rubbed my eyes. "All good?"
"Yeah, she just said not to worry."
Easier said than done.
"You can't be comfortable like this," I said after a moment.
"Mmh," Llewellyn said. "Is that your way of suggesting the bed?"
"…"
I mean, it hadn't been. But.
Now I was thinking about it.
Besides, it was at least 1 AM by now, probably?
"Were you about to go to bed?"
"What do you think?"
Well, in that case…
"Alright," I said.
Llewellyn's body relaxed, melting somewhat onto mine. Which… uh. Felt. Very good. I hadn't even noticed he'd been that tense.
Penguin jumped off me, noticing Lumos circling the sofa and apparently deciding I was in good enough hands.
Llewellyn looked down at where Penguin had been, refocused on my shirt, and snorted.
"You don't like my Donald Duck sweater?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's a very nice sweater," Llewellyn said, amused. "I'm also noticing the resemblance."
"Ahah," I said.
Llewellyn grinned and got off me.
"Come on," he said.
I got up, trying to feel normal again and not whiplashed from one shock to the next, but. Uh. Well. The prospect of bed sharing, while not new, was still making my head spin.
I watched Penguin and Lumos huddle in Lumos' bed in a corner of the living room and followed Llewellyn.
I stopped when we reached the guest room's door, but Llewellyn just ushered me forward.
"Since you need physical contact, there's no reason to use the guest room," he said.
"…"
Wait, were we going to sleep in his bed this time?! I mean, I suppose it wasn't any different than sharing the guest room's bed, all considered, but—
"I'm… fine, though?" I tried.
The System chimed immediately.
[System Notification: User's distress exceeds safe threshold! Physical contact is highly recommended!]
Llewellyn snorted and I sighed. Honestly.
"Fine," I said. "Lead the way."
***
Llewellyn's bedroom was much larger than the guest room, but overall similar in layout.
However, unlike the other room, it had a fancy gaming setup in a corner, shelves full of fantasy and sci-fi books, and three different VR headsets.
This was such a change of pace from the pottery and art collection in the rest of the house that I had to do a double take and immediately go and check.
"I didn't know you were into gacha games," I said, grinning at the full-size fictional swords on his wall.
Llewellyn raised an eyebrow. "I'm into a lot of things," he said, clearly unbothered.
He went to rummage into a drawer and threw a clean pajama set at me.
"Bathroom's over there," he said, though I'd already guessed. "I'll grab your toothbrush from the other room."
...Well. It was already weird enough that I had a toothbrush here. It was best not to think about it too hard.
He returned quickly and I headed into the bathroom to change.
When I came back, I found that Llewellyn had changed into his pajama bottoms and was putting the top on.
The view was… uh. Very good.
"Get into bed," Llewellyn said, catching me staring. "I'll be back in a moment," and disappeared into the bathroom.
Huh. Should I just—? I was hoping for his cue! Which side did he sleep on?
Ah well. It probably would've been more awkward if I just stood here, I supposed.
I ended up choosing the side closer to the window, hoping I wasn't accidentally taking his usual spot.
The bathroom door opened and Llewellyn walked out.
He raised an eyebrow at me. "Comfortable?"
"Yep," I said.
Llewellyn turned off the main lights and slid into bed beside me. He barely had time to settle, that—
[System Notification: Physical proximity required for stabilization! Recommended: maintain contact for optimal recovery.]
...Well.
I wasn't sure if I felt like cursing or thanking the System. I mean, this development was to be expected, but still.
Llewellyn shifted behind me and his arm came around my waist.
The mint from his toothpaste made me swallow.
"Okay?" he asked, fitting us properly.
Um.
It was… very okay.
"Yeah," I said.
It was just that, uh. My breath was uneven.
I supposed this served the System's purposes—though for my tastes this was… how do they say? Too much romance, not enough action.
Wait, no. Romance probably wasn't the right word here.
...Damn it. I just wanted to tackle him down and kiss him.
We lay there for a few moments before Llewellyn's nose brushed the back of my neck.
My breath caught very dramatically.
Then, instead of his nose, it was his mouth.
"Would this help?" he asked. "With your distress. Or should I stop?"
Stop? I didn't want him to stop!
"Who said anything about stopping?"
Llewellyn's lips quirked up.
Looked like that was permission enough. His mouth pressed to the side of my neck, hot, then, after a moment, he kissed the same spot again.
I shuddered. Llewellyn made a pleased sound and trailed kisses down my throat, arm tightening.