By your window

14.

Waking up from slumber to an armful of sleeping Five became in a single instant Marben's favorite thing in the whole world: half sprawled on her, his uncharacteristically tousled head resting on her shoulder and breathing through his mouth (lightly drooling on her pajamas), he couldn't have looked more different from his usual composed self, and yet Marben felt herself fall in love with this vulnerable side of him with the same force of the first time around. He looked relaxed and adorable, in the timidly pinkish light of dawn.Kissing his fringe - and gained herself an incoherent mumble in the process - Marben began to caress his back, hoping he would wake up by himself, sparing her the unpleasantness of shaking him and rendering him grumpy. To ruin such a sweet moment would have been a shame...

"Dimple...hey, Dimple!". The boy grimaced in annoyance and turned his head to the other side, without caring at all about getting up. Marben smiled indulgently at his nape. "Come on, love, your family's gonna notice your absence at breakfast...and what about my teachers? What if one of them comes up here and finds us like this?".
"Shhhh".
"Huh? What was that?".
"I said SHHHH!" replied Five, groggily, testily, above all unaware of Marben's bulging eyes.
"Five Hargreeves. Don't you dare to shush me while slumbering on me and grinding your boner on my hip!".

With a high pitched squawk Five jumped out of the bed, frantically pulling at the hem of the oversized, ratty t-shirt Marben had lent him for the night.
"I'M SORRY! Fuck...I MEAN, I HAVE ZERO CONTROL OVER IT! REALLY, I'M SORRY!" he blabbered flushing bright red; Marben looked at him just for a moment, savoring the exquisite mess of socks, disheveled hair and a shapeless t-shirt somewhat not ample enough to conceal a pair of white, tented cotton briefs that her Five was. He was so adorable in so many ways (some more illicit than others) that she wanted to keep him all to herself and never let him step out of her dorm room again.
"Relax, babe. I know" she said smiling kindly. "And I actually think it's sweet". Five looked relieved for half a second, then started fretting all over again.
"Okay, can we...can we please stop talking about it, now?".

Marben flipped over on the mattress, laughing joyously; she gave her back to Five (who hastily took his chance to get dressed and hide his morning wood as best as he could), and thought that she wanted him to be part of her life forever. To not live even another day without him.

A warm lump of fabric hit her on the head, at some point: it was the worn t-shirt, Five's impromptu pajamas.
"Didn't cross my mind to ask you, last night, but...how comes you've got a man's t-shirt in your closet?". Looking back at the boy she found him putting on his usual, even if a bit rumpled, short-sleeved white shirt.
"It's my Dad's".
"Your dad's?".
"Yes. I easily get homesick, so he lent me his favorite old t-shirt to...snuggle with when I feel like hugging him, I guess". She shrugged, but her eyes were soft. Five didn't miss it, and felt strangely jealous of the faceless, nameless man who'd had the blatant luck to know Marben all her life.
"He's been...very thoughtful" he cautiously offered; Marben's eyes lit up and she looked on the verge of saying something, but then she locked gazes with him and immediately sobered up, just nodding.
"Good. If it's your dad's then it's...good". She leaned her head to the side and looked at him in a puzzled way.
"Are you jealous, babe?". Five felt ashamed of his own obviousness.
"WHAT? No".
The boy immediately turned to face the window, forcefully opening the curtains and then going straight for the handle; outside Marben's dorm, the world was still slowly awakening and pink-tinged.
"YES! You are! You thought this was some ex boyfriend's keepsake and got all territorial!".
"I'm not, I said!". With the window finally open, Five breathed a lungful of freezing mid-autumn air, which didn't make the jealousy go away, but at least helped him with the scorching sensation of his flushed cheeks. Even if it didn't last for long, because Marben threw herself at him, hugging him tightly from behind.
"Don't be" she whispered against his shoulder "Even if I like it, when you are a little jealous, I've got eyes only for you".
"Mmmh. As it should be, with your boyfriend" he then conceded, with a false supercilious air. He turned around, and found Marben watching him with a mix of awe and shyness.
"Are...are we, then? Together" she asked, and Five almost had a heart attack.
"Of cou...wait, don't you wanna?".
"You impossible dumbass, try to ask nicely and maybe I'll see!". All the insecurity in Marben's attitude was gone, now she looked at him daringly and jokingly.
"Oh. So, you want me to ask you out before...". The girl snorted.
"Five. I love you and I'd love to be your girlfriend too. Last time we were about to label our relationship, however, things went spectacularly pear-shaped...so, I'll ask again, hoping this time we'll still love each other when I'll be done". With a deliberate deep breath, Marben gathered her courage. "Are we together?". Five gifted her with his most triumphant and self-assured lopsided smirk.
"Obviously". And with a brief but searing kiss, he blinked away from her dorm.

A/N: Thank you very much for your precious attention, it warms my heart. Wish you all a nice weekend!