Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
────024, rock bottom.
FOR ONCE IN HER LIFE SINCE HER MOTHER PASSED, Cleo Bennett feels like a normal person━━whatever that means.
She knows there's no "normal," especially now after the course of the last two years, and made even more apparent with her dysfunctional family and group of friends which she thought was as mundane as it got at some point in time (aside from the blatantly obvious exception of her and her friends' wild treasure hunt), but the way she feels now is all that she can imagine is some sort of semblance to whatever "normal" is. Because then there's JJ, and even though he's just as much of a mess as Cleo with his own trials and tribulations that make him, there's an ironic twist of fate that has him grounding her, roping her back to reality while still having her head in the clouds. JJ feels it all the same.
After unravelling themselves from Cleo's bed, they now found themselves embraced in a balmy bath JJ had drawn mostly for Cleo but had taken the liberty of joining only upon the girl's request. Their morning thus far had been filled with nothing but soft touches and giggly comments, a tranquil and quiet way to start their day after their suffering the night before. Eventually, the pair had stopped talking, though Cleo was still nestled between his legs with her back to his chest in the now lukewarm water, their hands entwined and resting on the edge of the porcelain tub as JJ runs his thumb across her knuckles rhythmically. Her heart hasn't stopped thundering against her chest since she had woken up, nor has the butterflies in her stomach ceased, and she wonders if JJ can notice how she's left in such a besotted trance, and all because of him.
"Not falling asleep on me now, are you?" JJ hums, his free hand poking gingerly at her sides.
"No," Cleo lies. She knows she's been caught red-handed, considering her eyes had long since fluttered shut and her head had been leaning against his shoulder, nose tucked into the underside of his jaw. His hand that isn't holding hers moves now, raking through her soft tresses as he cradles her head softly closer.
"Mhm, sure," JJ muses, though he's more amused than anything. He sighs next, a contented noise as he settles further back against the tub. "I wish I could stay here forever with you, like this. I've never been more comfortable."
Cleo hums in a dazed response, her lashes fluttering shut as her consciousness dances close to sleep once again. She can't help it, she thinks sheepishly. JJ is right; she's never been more comfortable either. And maybe it had something to do with all their fighting being put to rest, all the heartache and missing one another for an entire year. The seemingly unrequited longing and yearning to be near each other, to talk to each other, to hear the other laugh, and see their smile, all without a care in the world. Near death experiences aside, this, right now, makes it all worth it in the end. "Bet the guys are wondering where we are."
