Blue Eyes ~ Tays

~EPISODE FOUR - PART ONE~

Jade woke earlier than anyone else, the room still cloaked in the soft grey shadows of dawn. The faint hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen was the only sound breaking the silence. She was curled on the sofa, her body moulded perfectly into Tays' chest, his arms looped securely around her as though letting go wasn't an option. For a long moment, she just lay there listening to the steady rhythm of his breathing, warm and reassuring against the crown of her head. She felt better than she had the day before not completely, not like everything had suddenly been fixed, but there was a lightness inside her chest that hadn't been there in days.

Last night's conversation with Tays had chipped away at the heavy walls she'd been building, walls she hadn't even realised had started to suffocate her. Talking with him, being vulnerable in a way that terrified her, had left her feeling... freer. She still wasn't at a hundred percent, but at least she could breathe again. "Mikey," she whispered softly, giving him the gentlest shake.

His voice rumbled low, thick with sleep. "What?" His eyes stayed shut, his arms instinctively tightening around her as if his body was unwilling to let her slip away. "I need to get back to the 'jail' before everyone wakes up," Jade murmured, her tone light but her words carrying a quiet urgency. "Just stay here," Tays hummed lazily, half-asleep, his cheek still pressed into her hair.

Jade smiled despite herself, shaking her head at him. "Mikey." One of his eyes cracked open just slightly, his lips twitching into the ghost of a smirk. "What, trying to keep me a little secret, are you?" he teased, his voice low and rough with sleep. Jade's face scrunched up instantly, her hand flying to cover his mouth before he could say another word. "Your morning breath is still disgusting," she mumbled, her nose wrinkling in exaggerated disgust.

That woke him up properly. His eyes opened fully, gleaming with mock offence. "What... so you wouldn't want a kiss, then?"

"No." Jade's answer was flat, delivered with a deliberate blankness that only made her eyes sparkle more mischievously. "You hurt my feelings, Jadey," Tays said, putting on a dramatic pout, his lower lip sticking out as though he'd been personally betrayed. His tone was playful, but beneath it Jade could feel the warmth of something real... how comfortable they had grown, how safe it felt to bicker like this after last night's heavy honesty.

For a brief second, their eyes met... his still hazy with sleep, hers bright with the relief of feeling something close to normal again. And though the moment was playful, a quiet truth hung between them: she wasn't suffocating anymore, not with him here.

"Don't start with that nickname." Jade's laughter slipped out, soft but real, bubbling past the layers of fatigue. She gave his shoulder a playful shove, though her fingers lingered against him longer than she meant them to.

"Ahh!" Tays yelped suddenly as he rolled too far, tumbling off the edge of the sofa with an ungraceful thud. The sound made Jade jolt upright, her hands flying to her mouth as laughter bubbled up uncontrollably. She tried to stifle it, but her shoulders shook, and her wide blue eyes sparkled as she looked down at him sprawled on the floor.

"You..." Tays groaned, rubbing his side but already smiling at her amusement. He pointed up at her with a mock glare, his grin breaking through. "I'll get you back, you know."

"Not my fault you tried to be dramatic and fell off the side of the sofa," Jade teased, biting her lip to keep her laughter from spilling over again. She swung her legs off the sofa, her tone deliberately casual as if she wasn't still seconds away from giggling. "That one's on you."

"Either way," Tays said, nodding seriously though his eyes danced with humour, "I'll get you back." Jade extended a hand toward him, her delicate fingers stretching out against the dim light of the early morning. "Up you pop," she said softly, the corners of her lips tugging into a grin she couldn't quite contain. Tays slipped his larger hand into hers, the warmth of his skin grounding her. He didn't immediately pull himself up; instead, he lingered for a heartbeat, just smiling at her in a way that made her chest tighten faintly.