The One With Whisky Eyes

Sanctuary Walls; Welcome Me Home

BT reacted very similar to Barry when they reached her apartment, taking in the tiny space before he commented on the 'ungodly' number of teas she had stacked on the shelf. Placing his half-finished hot chocolate on the counter, he looked over the way she had organized her kitchen, leading into the bedroom area of the studio apartment. A small shelf of books—mostly textbooks—occupied its own little corner, along with her laptop and all appropriate charging cords.

Iris hung up her coat in the closet as he looked around—not that there was much to inspect—and repeated the action with the one he had draped across her bed. He was occupied reading the textbooks she had acquired, so Iris turned and flopped herself backward onto her bed. The rush of air huffed from her lungs, blankets fluffing up around her and the whisps of freed hair tickling around her face.

BT turned at the sound, a subdued smile touching his lips as he took in his emotionally exhausted soulmate.

Moving to perch himself at the foot of the bed, he took one of her hands gently and cradled it as she turned her head to look at him with tired eyes. "Do you want to come to our place tonight? Or I could stay here with you?"

"I can't ask you to do that," she replied quietly, blinking slowly against the urge to sleep. Or pass out.

Smiling and moving to lie on the bed next to her, he kept his legs draped off of the side. "Good thing I'm offering, instead."

Turning her hand over to return his grip, she closed her eyes with a soft sigh. Did she want to run away again? Although, she could suppose it didn't count as running away. Her time spent with her soulmates had resulted in some of the best sleep she'd had in months. Without having to worry about her, there was little doubt that the others had felt the same.

Patricia had first made the offer to her in order to give her the peace of mind that she could come to them, be safe with them. And BT had taken her earlier words to heart, giving her the choice rather than telling her that she was going to be staying with them. Even providing the option to stay at her own apartment left her breathing a bit easier—there was nothing constricting about his offer.

BT gave her all the time she needed to think. Making himself more comfortable on the bed, he rolled slightly to face her better as he brought her hand up to kiss her knuckles.

The longer she stayed lying on her back, the familiar comfort of her bed beneath her and her soulmate crowded into her side, the more fatigue pressed down on her. Iris opened her eyes again just to make sure she didn't start to doze off on him. The fact that she was already so tired answered her debate on whether she wanted to leave or not, but the decision remained regarding BT's offer to stay.

"What do you work tomorrow?"

"Barry's got a half day tomorrow, starts at 4 if I remember correctly. You're off tomorrow?"

Nodding her head, she found her eyes drifting closed without realizing and quickly blinked to wake herself up. BT smiled softly at her, reaching forward to smooth her loosened hair back from her face. "Would you like to stay?" she finally offered, rolling over until they were facing one another. She was short enough that tucking her legs up meant they weren't hanging off the edge of the bed anymore.

They were left nearly chest to chest. BT could smell the peppermint hot chocolate on her breath.

"I'd love to," he assured.

Already she was drifting again, leaning into his hand. "Don't have any clothes for you," she mumbled in warning. BT repressed the urge to laugh at her slurring speech—and the continued concern she had for the comfort of others, even while falling sleep.