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Slipknot was in a hotel for the night, something that didn't really happen all that often back in the earlier days. Harlow had somehow lucked into getting her own room, which definitely never really happened. She usually ended up bunking with Mick or Corey, but that night she had a sneaking suspicion that both of them had plans that didn't involve their little sister (biological or otherwise) cockblocking either of them.
She'd literally just finished absently wondering where Jim was, if he was also otherwise occupied somehow, when he knocked on her door. She let him in, smirking and watching as he stepped past her into the room. Somehow, he hadn't really gotten any less awkward around her.
They spoke now; in fact, they'd become closer than she ever would've expected. She'd confided things in him that she'd never told anyone else, things she was embarrassed of, and he'd done the same. They'd become sort of a safe zone for one another, a calm place amongst all the chaos, and Harlow was ridiculously thankful for him.
They'd spent countless nights in her bunk wrapped around each other, staring at the ceiling while they talked about anything and everything that popped into their heads. Somehow, though, he was still just as adorably awkward while initiating things. He warmed up fast, relaxing and letting his personality shine thorough, but he always tripped over himself at first.
"Hi. I hope this isn't overstepping or anything, I just thought you might like some company," he mumbled, quiet like he was sure she was about to tell him to get lost. She smiled.
"Of course I want your company, Peachy," she said, using the variant of his nickname she'd adopted. She only used it when no one else was around, knowing the other guys would give them both shit endlessly for it, but she couldn't resist the way Jim's cheeks flushed pink every time she used it.
"Oh. Good," he said, smiling widely himself.
"You know you don't have to be nervous around me, right? I'm not nervous around you," she informed him, even though it was a lie.
She was falling for him, and hard. Harder than she ever would've expected, and that fact made her ridiculously nervous. She'd never been so connected with someone that wasn't her brother or the other guys that she considered brothers. She'd never felt so connected with someone's very soul, and it was weird. She'd been kind of convinced she wasn't capable of it before Jim, and the things she felt for him absolutely scared the shit out of her. He didn't need to know that, though.
"I'm not nervous around you," he tried, but she laughed at how unsure his voice sounded.
"Why are you nervous around me, Peachy?" she asked him, wondering if he could see through her like she could see through him. She hoped he couldn't. Not that she was proud of it, but she tended to be a decent liar and pretty good at bluffing, so she hoped she wasn't as obvious to him as he was to her.
He closed his eyes, thinking. They were still standing just inside the door of the room and she, without letting herself think about it too much, pushed his shoulders so that he stumbled backwards against the door. His eyes flew open and he looked at her, an odd mixture of fear and excitement on his face.
She stood on her tiptoes, leaning forward into his chest to steady herself. Even as tall as she could get, he was still taller and she angled her head upwards. She could just reach his lips and pressed her own to them cautiously, hoping she wasn't wrong, hoping he wasn't about to throw her off of him in disgust.
She let out a small squeak of surprise when he did the complete opposite. He kissed her back passionately at once, his arms wrapping around her and holding her tightly. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he lifted her easily, evening the angle between them even more.
She'd never met this version of him, this fervent and sure-of-himself version that held her to him and kissed her like she'd never been kissed in her life. She pulled away from the kiss a few minutes later, all but panting. She kept her legs firmly wrapped around him and he kept his grip on her as well, watching her as she pulled away just enough to clearly look him in he eye. His lips were irresistibly swollen from the kiss and his green eyes were wild, different than she'd ever seen them.
"I would've done that a long time ago if I knew it was going to make you turn fucking feral," she joked, laughing as he licked his lips and eased her back down onto the floor.
Their height difference hung between them once more, but the moment hadn't passed. Jim took her hand and led her to the couch on the other side of the room, sitting down and motioning for her to do the same. She did, nestling herself into his side and looking up at him.
"I've wanted to do that for so fucking long," he said quietly, his voice thoughtful. She smiled.
"Me too."
"I'm going to do it again," he told her, and she laughed quietly.
"I'd be pissed if you didn't."
They spent the rest of the night like that, just sitting on that couch kissing and touching and enjoying each other's company. They didn't have sex, didn't even really get close, but they didn't have to. She could feel the affection radiating off of him in a way she never had before from anyone else. It was the first time in her life that she didn't feel the need for sex, didn't even really feel the absence of it. Until 'Knot's bus call at six the next morning (which they almost missed because they ended up falling asleep at approximately five), nothing else existed. Just them, the way they felt about each other, and the way those feelings filled both of their hearts to the brim.
