A Marvellous Christmas | mcu actors

December 4ᵗʰ

When she opened her eyes again, it was 10pm. She had napped for seven hours straight and she felt groggy like a fog had spread in her brain. Struggling to get up, she stumbled clumsily in her living room, only to find Iain sitting on her couch, his head tilted to the side, with the TV faintly glowing and giving his face a blue glow, making him look like a sick (but friendly) ghost. A small smile creeped its way on her face and she gently shook her head, trying to chase it away. When it felt impossible to, she turned around to another cute surprise: Iain had cooked dinner and it was waiting for her on her kitchen counter, under a plastic bell. It really wasn’t much, some roasted potatoes and a sausage but she liked the fact that he cared enough to cook for her, even though he wasn’t sure she’d wake up. Putting the plate in the micro-wave, she was extra careful not to let the device bip and prefered to end it a couple of seconds before. She ate in silence, holding back a moan when she realised Iain was extremely good at cooking potatoes and when she was done, she put her plate and cutlery in her sink to wash it later. He had washed his stuff. What a blessing of a man.

Viola sat there, on a chair, watching Iain sleep. His light stubble had grown quite a bit and she liked this new rough look for him. Of course, she found Iain cute back when she met him in season one, with his cardigans and his light coloured jeans but as he got older, he wore hoodies and patterned shirts with skinnier, darker jeans. And his beard.. She could have rambled about it for hours. Even his shorter hair were such a good fit for him. There was no denying that Iain got even more attractive with time. From the nerdy guy she met back when she started working on S.H.I.E.L.D. to the scruffy guy lightly snoring on her couch, she’d take the sleeping beauty in a heartbeat. She had watched him grow up so much, become so open and getting more self-confidence, it truly was amazing to see. She wasn’t sure how long she stayed there, watching him sleep, watching his chest heave and depress, watching his eyelashes rest on top of his cheeks and hearing the sound of his breathing fill the silence of the appartment. For the first time ever, Viola felt herself at awe, watching Iain just be himself. She had already been amazed by his acting skills, he was phenomenal and brought her imagination to life like no other could, but she had never felt so attracted to him, just being himself. Until then, she thought she was stupidly mixing him and Fitz up, Fitz being a fragment of her imagination, something she had created and maybe that was why she couldn’t stop looking at him whenever she was on set. But right now? Iain was nothing but himself and she couldn’t lift her butt from her chair, too enticed in him and his sleepy ways. When his breathing suddenly stopped and he gasped for air, she jumped and put her hand on her chest, finding her heart thumping wildly. She hadn’t realised it was already beating that fast before he scared her a little.

“Hey”, he mumbled, closing back his eyes and crossing his arms on his chest.

“Hey”, she replied, as lowly.

“How long have you been watching me sleep?”

“I just finished my dinner”, she blushed, knowing perfectly well she was lying. “Thanks for cooking for me. Again.”

“No problem. You said I could make myself at home so I opened your cupboards”, he croaked out.

“You were right to, thanks.”

“Don’t be silly, come sitting on the sofa, it’ll be more comfortable than this chair.”

Viola blushed again, mentally thanking the odds that her appartment was so dark at such a late hour. The sun had set down on San Francisco a long time ago and apart from the TV and a lamp, emaning a soft golden glow, there was no light in the living room. Crashing on the couch next to Iain, she sighed at the comfort of the warm cushions and grabbed the comforter she kept on the end of the sofa. She unfolded it, spreading it on them both and let Iain’s head roll on her shoulder.