Why are you here?

Goodnight

Shida stayed for another couple of days before returning to the fort onion. Though neither Radley nor Radlynn would say it, the house felt quieter now that it was just the two of them again. Not that that was a bad thing, of course. Life was peaceful, almost. Living together could nearly feel normal.

Radlynn was curled up on the couch, resting next to Radley as they watched a movie he'd already seen a few times before. Radlynn watched with interest, however, having never seen it. She shifted and pressed herself closer against him. She tugged his arm, silently asking for him to wrap it around her. He hesitated, then obliged. His fingers brushed against the back of her hand. Radlynn rested her face against his chest and sighed out.

"...something wrong?" He asked quietly. She shrugged.

"Just cold." She murmured. Radley looked down at her. Her pyjamas consisted of an old t-shirt of his that went halfway down her thighs and sweatpants that had to be cuffed twice to fit her. He reached over and rubbed her arm slowly to try and warm up the exposed skin. She hummed happily at the touch.

"Yeah, the caves can get chilly at night..." He mumbled absently. "Her skin is so soft," he thought without meaning to. His fingers trailed up her arm, under the sleeve of her shirt, and over her shoulders. Her skin broke out in goosebumps under his touch, but she didn't complain or object to his touching. "Is this okay? Is this weird? Should I stop? Proba-" Radley's thoughts were cut short by Radlynn yawning. He looked down at her. "...do you want to sleep?" He asked. She shrugged.

"Don't know if I could with how cold it is..." She murmured back. "I think your heating is broken or something." Radley glanced at his bedroom door, then at her.

"You could take my bed if you want- it'd be a lot warmer." He suggested shyly. Radlynn looked up at him in surprise.

"I couldn't do that- it's your house." She sat up, moving away from his grasp. Radley drew his arm away from her, slightly disappointed at the lack of touch.

"I don't mind if it's only for a night..." He murmured. He looked away from her.

"We could share the bed." Radlynn suggested. Radley froze and stared at her. He opened his mouth to say something, then shut it. "Only if you're comfortable! I just- thought it'd be a good compromise."

"Oh-! Well I guess it is but..." He wrung his hands together nervously. "I-I wouldn't want to invade your privacy like that I mean sleeping together is very i-intimate and- sleeping in the same bed! Not sleeping together tha- that's completely different a-and you'd probably never think of doing that and-" his anxious rambling was cut off by Radlynn grabbing his hand and squeezing it.

"If you're not comfortable I'll just sleep on the couch. I don't mind." She smiled at him.

"No no-! You can take the bed just for tonight I don't mind, honestly."

"Then I'd feel guilty." Radlynn responded. Radley opened his mouth to reply, then shut it.

"I mean I-"

"We should just share," she cut in. "otherwise we're just gonna go around in circles."

Radley opened his mouth, then closed it. "uh-" he tried to come up with a reply and failed. "A-Alright then..."

Radlynn leaned back on the couch and smiled in satisfaction. "Good." She turned her attention back to the tv. Radley looked back at the tv too, though he wasn't concentrating on the movie now. He was too busy freaking out internally.

He stood up as the credits began to roll and glanced at Radlynn. "I'll uh- put my pyjamas on then you can get into bed alright?" He mumbled nervously. Radlynn looked up and smiled at him reassuringly. He nodded and moved quickly over to his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. He sighed out and bit his lip. "This is bad this is bad this is bad-" he thought as he paced around the room. What was he supposed to do?! Make her sleep on the couch and go cold?!

He continued his pacing, chewing on his fingers to try and use the pain to distract him from his anxiety. It didn't work, of course. A knock on the door made him jolt and turn around. "You almost done in there?" Radlynn's voice called out.

"U-Um yes al- almost! Give me a moment u-uh-" Radley snapped out of his worrying and glanced around the room in panic. His room was a mess, as were his pyjamas. He grabbed them from the bed and tossed them into his laundry hamper, then moved to his wardrobe to get a fresh set. He glanced around one more time and winced. Maybe she wouldn't notice how messy his room was. "C-Come in." He called out weakly.

He watched Radlynn walk in and close the door behind her. She leaned against it and looked at him. "...are you sure you're okay with this?" She asked. Radley stiffened.

"I- I'm okay with it if- if you are." He mumbled. Radlynn watched him for a few moments, then moved off of the door. She walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it. She yawned and stretched. Radley hesitated, then climbed into the bed while she was looking away from him. He lay on his side, his back to her.

He listened to her shifting behind him, then her sighing out tiredly. The room fell into silence then, save for her light breathing. Radley closed his eyes and relaxed. This wasn't so bad, she didn't seem to think it was weir-

"Goodnight, Radley." Her mumbling interrupted his thoughts. He tensed in surprise, not expecting her voice. She shifted again, closer to him this time. She moved up and placed a light kiss on the back of his neck. Radlynn smiled to herself and moved back to her side of the bed.

Radley lay there, completely frozen in surprise. Sure that was definitely a platonic kiss but it was still a kiss! From her! His face and neck felt red hot, goosebumps covering his skin. He swallowed slowly and gripped the blanket close to him.

"...Night." He finally managed to mumble out.