Borrowed Time

Chapter 181

TW: This chapter deals with discussions of  grooming and CSA and things surrounding it.  Read with caution

Juliette hadn't remembered falling asleep, she hadn't even remembered lying down... All she'd meant to do was make the bed so that Esme didn't even have to think about it when they came home from work... 

But judging from the bedroom door creaking open and the disorientingly dry feeling inside of her mouth, she'd been out for a moment.  She opened her eyes, seeing Esme walking into the bedroom, undoing their tie with one hand while shutting the door with the other before unbuttoning their pants to push them down their hips.

Hello.

"You're home, hi." She mumbled, stretching until she felt a pleasant pop in her back before falling back against the bed.  Esme turned to look at her, seeming far more apologetic than they needed to be.

She was bound to wake up when they got home, that was what she wanted.  She didn't want to miss a chance to catch up with them after work, she liked being able to be there for them.

"Shit, were you sleeping?"  Juliette yawned, nodding as stretched again, smiling over at Esme as she watched them unbutton their work shirt and shrug it off their shoulders, leaving them in their tank top and boxers... beauty.  Beauty. "I'm sorry." She waved them off, turning on her side so that she could look at them more clearly.

"S'okay... Dozed off waiting for you." She explained, seeing a large grin spread across Esme's face, one that lit up their face in a way that practically shattered Juliette's whole reality in order to create a new one. 

"Can I join you?" They asked, which made her chuckle and roll her eyes as she shook her head.

"No, sleep on the floor." Her deadpan tone thankfully read to Esme, who laughed with her, scooting a little closer to the edge of the bed. "Obviously you can join me." She said, reaching her hand out to them.

"Okay, I just wanted to check." Esme took her hand, letting themself be pulled down onto the bed on top of her.  Better. "Hi."  Hi.

"Hi."  She ruffled her fingers through their hair, pressing soft kisses across the top of their head before speaking, hearing them let out a content sigh as they burrowed deeper against her, like there was no way that they could be close enough to each other. "How was work?"  She asked, hearing Esme let out a grunt of frustration... Yeah, that was about what she'd been expecting.

Rare was the day that Esme came home and said 'yeah, it was amazing.'  Normally it was just horror stories.

"Awful, but I'm home now so it's okay." Something about that statement was so achingly sweet that it knocked the wind out of Juliette.

"Yeah?"

"Mhm." They held her closer, their arms slipping under her. "God, you're so warm, it's freezing out."

"Well, hold onto me as much as you want." She offered, turning her back to Esme so that they could slip their cold hands against her warm skin, making her grimace for a moment before they warmed up a bit.

A little discomfort was always worth it in the long run - they were always worth it in the long run.  She'd fall on a thousand knives and suffer the fate of a thousand cold hands if it meant that Esme would touch her.

"Oh, I'm gonna." Cute.

They traced up and down her stomach, over her faded stretch marks and loose skin, and Juliette shifted around... Her skin was always more sensitive right when she woke up, and she was very aware of herself.