Under Control.

chapter sixty four.

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When Julian and Nora wake again, this time to a sun slung low on the other end of the horizon, the world is quiet and the day is gone.

They lie like they are for a while — lazy and tangled together, unspeaking, and near to calm — and then Julian dares first to slip from the bed. He emerges from the cocoon of them and the blankets both, regrets it for all of a second, and then he leans down to kiss her, morning breath at night and all, before he disappears into the bathroom.

When he returns Nora has attempted uprightness and her hair's a mess, her eyes are bleary, but she looks beautiful, and Julian can't help but to smile. And then he says, 'Wanna try something with me?', and his voice is lilting and almost-happy and at the sound of it, it's Nora's turn to grin.

She doesn't say anything at first, just quirks an eyebrow and tilts her head. But then she grabs onto his outstretched hand and follows where he leads on, back into the land of steam and tiles.

Nora laughs when she realises exactly what Julian's mysterious plan entails, ensconced away from the world with him in this faraway bathroom like they are. The bath is running, and the air hints at geranium and citrus. There are bubbles threatening to spill over onto the floor, and he's looking at her with wide awake eyes and a soft look that he saves just for her.

Julian wants to wash it all away, and he wants to do it together. And it's silly, but it's not, and Nora likes the thought of it almost as much as he does, he can tell. So he tugs his shirt from her body with a chuckle and then drops it unceremoniously onto the floor behind them, and Nora does the same — bows him over to her so that she can reach all the bits of him she wants — and then she pulls his own tee over his scruffy bedhead.

She watches him as he finishes ridding himself of clothes and anything else that's left over from the nights before, and when he's done, Nora winks at him and then laughs again, and the room fills with the echo of her fragile relief.

Julian braves the sudsy waters first, gasps at the sudden heat of it and then sinks down beneath bubbles, settles, and holds out a steadying hand to Nora. And she takes it, dips a toe in, blushes, then the bareness of her disappears beneath the water, too.

She's between his legs, her own folded in front of her, and she's tiny, all the way up at the other end of the tub. There is something so intimate about this simple thing that they've never done together, before — bathing, in the most literal sense — and it flames a flush across each of their faces, and pours from them in shy smiles and nervous giggles.

'Come here,' Julian says after a while, the cool rush of his own breath skittering across damp skin. He wants her nearer, wants to feel her in his arms and everywhere. Nora tilts her head again, blinks slowly, then spins awkwardly in her spot, sending a wave cascading over the edge as she goes. And then she's right where he wants her, her back against his front with her head on his shoulder, his lips on her temple, and with their hearts aligned.

'You know,' Nora says, after a while. 'When I was a kid, I wasn't allowed to take baths without someone knowing. I'd fall asleep. Which is, you know, an ill-advised bath time activity, apparently.'

The first thing Julian does at Nora's confession is to let out a burst of laughter that he can't help, and it's contagious. The room is laden with steam and giggles, and for the first time in days, all there is between them, is joy.

There's something so personal about such a small confession. It's a tiny thing about her that he never knew, but it feels precious, in a way.

There were still so many things left to learn about how to be and each other, too. And Julian was hungry to do better and know more. Because when it came to Nora he was greedy, and he always had been — right from the very first moment he'd seen her all those years ago across the bar from the stage. He'd been in her thrall ever since then, wanting to make her want him right back, and even now and maybe forever, he still wants that.