Desperation's Summit

4: Charming

When Rakash awoke the next morning, the first odd thing he noticed was how he felt. He sat up and stretched, rolling his head from side to side while rotating his shoulders. For the first time in months - maybe longer - he felt like he'd gotten a decent amount of sleep. He wasn't thrumming with vigor, but at least the desire for sleep wasn't constantly tugging at his eyelids nor were there aches from sleep-deprivation in his muscles.

Then, his eyes landed on the kitchen and his eyebrows furrowed. There were used bottles near the cleaning trough. While Rakash did leave dirty bottles for "morning him," he couldn't recall feeding all of his children last night.

He remembered getting a bottle together for Kazri and then-

A start as he awoke. Something soft and warm against the back of his palm. Cordelia staring up at him from a kneeling position at his knee.

Kazri's rejection of his offer to continue feeding, choosing Cordelia over their own father.

Being forced to rest, watching Cordelia hold Kazri while humming and then...

Well, Rakash supposed he actually slept through the rest of the night.

Which didn't make sense. Zalmir and Ebra still needed to be fed last night. That was one thing Rakash took solace in as he grudgingly laid down on his cot at Cordelia's insistence.

But he hadn't. And there were three dirty bottles waiting to be washed.

Could Cordelia have taken over last night? Fed his other two children while he slept? The thought sent conflicting feelings through his head and an itch down his spine. Rakash wasn't sure what to make of that possibility.

From the corner of his eye, he caught movement in front of the fireplace. Cordelia shifted from under the blankets he'd given her, arching her back as she gave the most sinful waking up groans Rakash had heard in a long time. He watched as she pushed herself into a sitting position, rolling her neck from side to side. Rakash's gaze couldn't help but watch the slope of her neck stretch, first one side then the next.

When she yawned, her knuckles pressed to her lips, half-hiding her open mouth. Once more, he recalled Cordelia's soft touch. His other hand grazed fingertips against his knuckles, gauging how soft her touch was compared to his. Quite a lot, he determined with an awful weight in his stomach. He scratched hard at his skin, trying to remove the memory from his flesh, as he suddenly stood.

"Alright, it's morning. Time for you to go."

"What?" Cordelia squinted at him, appearing to not comprehend his words. But then her eyes widened and Rakash braced himself as she bolted to her feet. Her fists were balled at her sides as she cast a fiery gaze on him. Briefly, her mouth opened and seemed about ready to loudly snarl, before her eyes flicked to the trio of cribs. Her lips snapped shut, eyes narrowing.

He almost stumbled back when the woman forcefully closed the distance between them. It must have been the vestiges of sleep that blunted his reaction as she grabbed at the front of his shirt. Cordelia beckoned him closer with a single finger.

Rakash leaned down, only because his triplets were sleeping. That was the only reason. At least, that's what he told himself.

"You claim you didn't mean to kidnap me," Cordelia started, her voice low and her grip on his tunic unwavering.

"Yes." Rakash mildly glared down at Cordelia, his gaze briefly falling to her hand still clutching his tunic before returning to her eyes.

If she noticed the look, she didn't make any acknowledgement. Nor did she release the poor, strained fabric. In fact, Rakash thought her hold got even tighter, the cloth digging harder at the back of his neck as if she were minutely pulling him toward her. "And I was nice enough to help with your kids yesterday and this morning."