#cuddlefluff

"So I've got refresher duty, and I'm in there mopping... and she's in the stall, I guess. All of a sudden she calls my name. From the stall. Okay... so I answer, and she asks me if I can give her a big wad of wet paper towels as well as some dry ones," you say, reveling in the adorable wrinkle of his nose as he listened with delight.

"Who asks that?!" he laughed, and you sat up straighter, crossing your legs so you could face him more fully to finish your story with increasingly theatrical arm motions.

"I have no idea... But I have to admit... my response wasn't the nicest. I was kind of an idiot as a kid," you confessed, the glimmer in his eyes hinting that he probably wasn't the most innocent angel either.

"Uh oh."

"Yeah... So I got this HUGE wad of paper towels, like... I'm holding it with two hands, and absolutely SOAKED it under the sink. Then I rushed over to the bathroom... and..." you were dissolving into guilty giggles, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. But you were too far to stop now. "I threw the entire sopping thing over the top of the stall door... and it landed on something with a massive SPLAT... and then I ran away."

"Oh my gosh," Howzer laughed, palming his face. "Was she screaming at you?"

"No!" you said between chortles, "That was the weirdest part -- she was totally silent!"

"Probably rethinking every choice she made in her life that got her to that point," he observed, and you laughed, relaxing into the couch next to him. The recline of his seat tilted the cushions toward him, and you found yourself leaning on him slightly more than before. It gave you tingles, and he didn't seem to mind. Grateful that he wasn't abhorred by your childhood weaselry, you continued with other, more flattering stories in between the ones he was sharing about his own shenanigans as a cadet.

Hours passed in the blink of an eye. You were absolutely in awe of his simultaneous sweetness and mischievousness, his cleverness and integrity. The room was so warm and cozy, with a fire flickering in the hearth and the steady sound of rain tapping against the roof and windows. The rumbling sound his smooth voice made in his chest was lulling you to sleep, and as he talked about the regimented training schedule of his adolescence, your eyelids slowly fluttered closed.

Howzer noticed when your head slowly tilted to the side, the weight of him beside you pulling you toward him, and he carefully pulled his arm out from beneath you, allowing you to slump into his side, face resting on his perfectly broad chest. His own heart was thumping in his chest as he tentatively stretched his arm around you, tucking it snugly along your back as he relaxed his own head back onto the cushion. With a deep, contented sigh, he gazed at the ceiling for a while, lost in thought as he watched the shadows dance gracefully.

You woke a few hours later, coming to with a blissful awareness of being insanely warm and comfortable. As you took in your surroundings, you felt fireworks in your chest at the sight and feeling of Howzer peacefully sleeping next to you, one strong arm holding you gently against him. You didn't know how you'd gotten there, but you weren't about to start asking.