Within the Script (A Stanathan Fanfiction)

Chapter Twenty-Three: Playing Fate

A few weeks later after a similar session at Nathan's apartment, Stana had fallen asleep in Nathan's arms, her head resting softly against his chest. There, as he laid in the bed, Nathan stared up at the ceiling, his thumb massaging a small circle in her arm as lightly as he could. He couldn't sleep. There wasn't a specific reason he could identify, but he couldn't bring himself to even rest his eyes. Instead, he just thought the world. Stana didn't sleep for long, either. She wound up waking up around midnight, looking up to his eyes and questioning, "Are you awake?"

Nathan adjusted, looking back down at her softly. "Yeah, I thought you were asleep."

Stana answered, "I was."

"What's wrong," Nathan asked.

She sighed, "I don't know, I just- feel strange."

"Are you alright," Nate asked, adjusting to sit up against the bed frame.

She rose with him, pulling away a bit just to face him. "Yeah, I just- I don't know, I just feel... odd." Nathan apologized to her, lightly stroking her shoulder. She then noticed the lack of typical sleepy haze in his eyes. "What about you? Are you alright?"

He shrugged. "I'm fine. Just not tired."

"Well," Stana started, her hand grazing his thigh, "You know, there is something we could do to get our minds off of it."

His smile widened. "Hmm, I thought you would be sick of that by now."

"Oh, I could never get sick of that," she said, leaning toward him. His brow lifted as he watched her get closer and closer until her skin was lightly electrifying his own.

She then passed by his cheek to let out a hushed, "If you get it started, I'll go find something scrumptious for us."

His eyes brightened. "Deal." She then pulled back and instantly rose from the bed, her royal blue boy shorts and mint V-neck teeshirt covering no more that what was necessary. He crawled out behind her, jogging toward the television, flipping on the Xbox and pulling out his wireless controls. As she joined him, she walked up from behind as he stood, choosing a character for the Mario Kart Grand Prix. Her free hand which wasn't clinging to a small assortment of grapes in purple and green found itself coming around to give his ass a pinch. He flinched a bit at her hold and his eyes widened, but both could only laugh as she placed the bowl before them. With her remote in her hands and their characters set (Nathan as Luigi, Stana as Bowser), the battle began.

Some time around two A.M, Stana declared, "So that's five for you, four for me, putting the grand total at 21-19 me. Looks like someone is going down."

"Oh, please! You had your stroke of beginners luck. Now, you will see what a true gaming master can do."

Stana's brow raised. "Gaming master, huh?"

He held out his hands, "Of course! I am the Great One_in_a_Fillion! Bow before me!"

"One_in_a_Fillion," Stana questioned.

He replied, "You better believe it, sweetheart," winking at her with a cocky grin.

All she could say in reply was, "You're an idiot."

He smiled more thoroughly, putting his arms around her waist, and saying, "I know." She smiled back, helplessly drawn to the man as she came to rest her lips on his and fell into his boyish plot. The longer they kissed, the more deeply their adoration for one another grew. Then, they hit a snag.

In an instant, Stana felt herself becoming instantaneously nauseous. She flew to the bathroom and was retching into the toilet before Nathan could even wrap his head around what was going on. He followed her the moment his senses came back to him, and at that point, all he could do for her was hold her in the aftermath of the incident. By the time he got to her, stroking her hair back, cradling her in his arms, Nathan and Stana were stuck on the same frightening idea. They just prayed to themselves it wasn't what they thought it was, and neither chose to say a word. Instead, all they did was think about it until they both wound up in the same bed they'd left, holding each other in the same position, neither of them sleeping, both of them more deeply meditative than they had been earlier that evening when life seemed good and more than anything, they were just restless and energetic, not ready for bed. Now, both would give anything to be so blissfully unaware, but they couldn't turn back the hands of time.