This Means War

Pursuit

Sometimes, Sebastian wondered if Ellie had short term memory loss, or if she was just incredibly reckless.  Both would make sense, to be completely honest. Why else would she have failed to confiscate the spare key from him? Especially after his little organizational spree a few weeks ago.

So now, here he was at four in the morning, creeping into her bedroom as she slept. Ellie had mentioned wanting to start going for runs in the morning. He was just trying to be a good friend and help motivate her.

Was it necessary to have a bucket of water and a whistle? Probably not. Was he going to use both anyway? Duh.

He first threw the water on her, rudely pulling her from a peaceful slumber with a start. While she was sputtering and trying to get hair and water out of her eyes, he blew the whistle in her face. That made her scramble out of her bed, her legs getting tangled in the sheets and sending her crashing to the floor.

After she was on the ground and he was laughing too hard to breathe correctly, she finally began to realize what was going on. She untangled herself from the sheets, shoving her soaked hair away from her face again as she stared at him.

"Stan? That was the line."

"Am I in trouble now?"

"You're fucking dead."

"Hey, you said you wanted to start going for runs in the morning."

"The hell I did! If I'm running, something is chasing me!"

"Running is good for you." Sebastian laughed, grabbing her wrist and dragging her through her own house.

"I'm allergic to exercise."

"I'll keep you safe."

"I am not running! What time is it?"

"Time to start sweating!" He declared, pushing her down onto the couch and shoving her sneakers on her feet.

"What are you doing?" Ellie squealed, squirming when he tossed her onto his shoulder and carried her outside. "Ok, it's cold! Not funny anymore!"

"Oh it's hilarious!" Sebastian laughed, setting her down. "Start running!" He cheered, blowing the whistle again. She took a few paces away from him, covering her ears in annoyance. He pursued her. She retreated further. Before long she was running down the street trying to get away from the shrill scream of the whistle, Sebastian hot on her heels, still giving an occasional sharp blow when she would slow her pace.

"Fucking hell!" She gasped. "Would you stop? I am not dressed for running dipshit!"

"Not my problem." Sebastian pointed out, blowing the whistle again to urge her on. So she ran, arms firmly crossed over her chest, rage burning through her veins, she ran. Thankfully she only had to go around the block once before making it back home, her out of shape lungs begging her for a break long before then.

"Fuck. You. Stan." She panted, flopping down just inside her front door.

"Aww, poor baby tired?"

"Oh fuck off."

"It was one block. You can't run around the block one time?"

"Not at four am with no bra on fuck face!"

"Not going to lie, I did not think about that."

"I almost knocked myself out with my own tits."

"But you didn't. Don't you feel good now?"

"The left one almost escaped twice."

"Now I'm regretting being behind you."

"The right one took a short cut home. I think it's making breakfast right now."

"How are we still talking about your tits?"

"They're going to take me into a back alley and shoot me."

"Ok, I guess this is just going to be the topic of discussion for the day, then."

"You are a horrible human being." Ellie groaned, hugging her chest pitifully.

"Want me to kiss it better?"

"Why do you have to make it weird?"

"You're the one who won't stop talking about her tits."

"You try running around the block with fifteen extra pounds bouncing around on your chest!"

"Well maybe you should have dressed for the occasion."

"I didn't get the chance! Someone went all drill sergeant on me and drug me out of my bed to chase me around the block at four in the morning! At what point was I supposed to contain my tits?"

"Prepare better." Sebastian shrugged, offering her a hand and hauling her to her feet. "Go shower, you're really sweaty for someone who only ran for one block."

"Did you forget the part of the morning where you threw a bucket of water on me?" Ellie sassed, heading down the hall to her bathroom anyway.

Ten minutes into her shower, her hair had been washed, her face had been scrubbed, and she was working on shaving her legs when she heard the doorbell going off. Hopefully her moronic friend could answer it for her.

Five minutes after that, now freshly shaven and exfoliated, there was a knock on the bathroom door, followed by the cool breeze of the steam escaping the room.

"Hey, small problem." Sebastian hissed from just outside the curtain.

"What?" Ellie asked slowly, turning the water off and reaching a blind hand out to grab at her towel.

"So, the police are here."

"What?!"

"Someone called when we were out for our run. They need to see you."

"Great. What did you tell them?" Ellie sighed, wrapping the towel tightly around herself.

"Ok, so I'm your boyfriend, you're training for a half marathon, I'm not a serial killer." Sebastian quickly explained, stepping back when she pulled the curtain open.

"Oh, you're my boyfriend now?"

"If it means not getting arrested, I'll be your goddamn husband."

"Good to know the threat of getting arrested is all it takes to win your affection."

"Every time." Sebastian confirmed, wrapping an arm around her still bare shoulders as he led her back to the door to confirm his story.