Day 2 Prompt - Tumblr Posts
A Thief In The Night
Happy Halloween! (Or maybe not if you're in a different timezone) Sadly I wasn't able to finish a fic I liked for Day 1 of KisameWeen! But the prompt 'Bump in the Night" inspired me so much this was written no problem!
Summary: A bump in the night wakes the couple, but what could be the cause?
KisameWeen! Day 2 Prompt: Bump in the Night!
Kisame, for as long as he could remember, had been a light sleeper. So when he felt the light shaking of his shoulder, he awoke easily. Eyes still bleary with sleep he squinted into the dark of their bedroom, focusing on the agitated woman sitting up in bed beside him, trying to get his attention. “Whaddya need, Sweetheart?” He rasped out, voice heavier than normal from use so shortly after waking.Instead of giving him an answer, she shushed him, watching their bedroom door, breath held in anticipation. Not quite knowing what she was so bothered by, Kisame obeyed, listening for anything out of place. It didn’t take long till he heard it. A faint scratching outside the door. Shifting out from under the covers, he went to investigate.Despite all of the fixing up the two of them had managed to do on his old house, it was still quite drafty, and the slightly water warped floors were cold on his bare feet. With careful precision, he avoided the squeaking planks that were sure to protest and alert whoever, or whatever was intruding upon his home. Making his way to the door, he soundlessly wrapped his hand around the doorknob. He waited, just a moment, listening for any more sounds that would hint as to where the source of the noise currently was. A faint rustling was his only clue. Not enough to suss out any more information. Stealing his resolve, he turned the handle and swung open the door. The hinges were as unforgiving as the floorboards, and rang out in shrill protest, scaring the little thief that had been plopped a foot away from their room, torn open bag of crackers forgotten, as the animal scurried down the hallway.Kisame sighed, at least he didn’t have to worry about an ambush from some enemy shinobi in the dead of night. “What the heck was that?” Came the cautiously quiet voice of his lover, who still sat in bed, wringing the bed sheets tightly in her anxiousness. Turning to look over his shoulder calmly, he watched as she visibly relaxed, mimicking him.“We have a raccoon,” he said, his voice sounding more awake. Kisame was thankful for his exceptional night-vision when he could see the small details of her expression even with the dim lighting that filtered in through the gap in their curtained windows. Her excitement was almost infectious, but he couldn’t help but dread the task of tracking a raccoon from hiding and wrangling it back outdoors where it belonged when it was still clearly late at night. Leaving the room, he followed after the thing. He had been caught off guard by the lack of an actual threat and lost sight of it, but he could still hear the not-so-subtle scuttling of its nails against the floor. Cornering the poor thing in the living room took little time, and with little hesitation, he had the bugger by the scruff. Protesting the whole way to the front door, it wriggled and writhed with determination, but was tossed outside without managing to break the skin on Kisame’s hand.Watching from a safe distance away, she voiced her worries for the small animal. “Be gentle! It’s so small!” She scolded, scandalized by his rough treatment.“It’s fine, Babe, lil’ guy’s tough enough to break into the house, I’m sure it can handle getting kicked out,” he reasoned, watching as the raccoon hissed at them and scurried back into the bush, “see? It’s fine.” Arms crossed and face doubtful, she looked away from the last spot it had been and turned her expression on him. Too tired to try and convince her further, he spun her by the shoulders and guided her back to their bed. One thing was still bugging him. “How did it get in?” Kisame grumbled to himself, and if he wasn’t paying attention, he would have toppled the both of them over when she suddenly jolted to a stop. Still recovering, his gentle hold on her was shaken off when she bolted away from him. Kisame watched with growing realization as she ran to the kitchen and closed a window that he hadn’t realized was open. At least she had the sense to look guilty when she turned around to face him. “Seriously?” He deadpanned, glaring down at her. Shrinking under his
gaze, she fidgeted, stuttering out her excuse. Kisame sighed, it was too late for this.Approaching her, she seemed just the slightest bit wary, and he could see her flinch when he reached for her, but when his touch was nothing but a reprise of its earlier role, leading her back to their room, she forced away her worries and allowed him to bring her to bed. Kisame eyed the mess of crumbs and ripped plastic as they passed and silently decided that her punishment would be cleaning the mess in the morning. Crossing the floor again the realization of why it had been so cold struck him. Shaking his head, he climbed back into bed, sinking under the covers and soaking up the residual body heat still left. On the opposite of the bed, she did the same, but she kept her distance. With a huff, he wrapped a strong arm around her, pulling her to his chest, curling around her, and leeching off of her warmth.“You forgot to close a window, it's not that big a deal, I’m not gonna bite yer head off,” he grumbled into the quiet of the room. He felt the relieved puff of air she let out against his chest, as she deflated into his hold.“You’re really not mad about all of this? I let in a raccoon…” She mumbled into his skin, her hands clenching at the fabric of her pajama top. Kisame chuckled quietly. “I hope it doesn't happen again, and you’re gonna be the one to clean up the mess tomorrow, but it’s dealt with. The only casualties were the crackers and our sleep schedules,” he said, feeling the weight of his eyelids grow heavier as he warmed up and the energy he had faded with the need for sleep.She groaned at that but promised she would, shifting to press a kiss to his throat and mutter one last apology before they both fell back asleep.
Crash
It was a different sort of tired than the yawning screaming crushing exhaustion that had plagued her when he was a newborn. That exhaustion had been fraught with fear, snatches of slumber that was never deep enough or long enough to actually revitalize her in any way that counted. This exhaustion is filled with frustration instead. Endless hours on loop chasing an inexhaustible toddler up and down stairs repetitively (the pride in watching him conquer climbing had been likewise replaced with a sort of regret that he was suddenly so mobile) and her muscles ached in protest.
Normally she had some support. Ed was always delighted with careening around the ship, crashing into objects to make Lupin squeal with joy over the resulting destruction, and both of them often teaming up on poor Ein who certainly enjoyed a game of chase for a bit but whose stubby little legs got worn out long before the teen or toddler were ready to stop. And Spike adored treating it like a bounty gone sideways - he'd always thrived on the chance to dash after criminals so it was no surprise that he had so much fun with scrambling after the wee child. Even Jet at least served as a bouncer from time to time, reaching down to snatch the baby up whenever he'd rush into the living room or out onto the deck of the ship. Jet wasn't much for the actual legwork of chasing Lupin down, much like Faye herself who preferred cuddling and reading books and other sedentary activities that Lupin tended to disregard in favor of movement.
But Ed was off training for her next big race. Jet had taken Ein on a walk. Spike was after a bounty.
It was just Faye... all on her own... one beleaguered adult versus the indomitable spirit and never-ending energy of her toddler son.
She just wanted to curl into a ball on the floor. Or, preferably, snuggling into the comforter on the bed and passing the fuck out. Her patience had been spread thin and she could tell she was about to snap and that's the last thing she wanted to do.
Vague memories of a stern father glaring down at his discouraged daughter floated through her mind. A sharp-voiced mother halting the wild rampage of her crestfallen child.
What Faye remembered better than their disappointed and irritable expressions was the hurt that had spread through her young body. Chastisement made her flush and put a stutter in her joy that always derailed whatever adventure she'd been set on.
And Faye absolutely did not want to be that person with her own kid. She didn't want to make his lower lip pout... didn't want to see confused tears well up in those beautiful eyes...
She was a shit disciplinarian and honestly didn't want to change that. Her baby would be brought down enough in life - it was inevitable, that's just how living worked. But if she could at all avoid being the person to dim that light... well...
Peals of laughter drifted back to her from the rotating hallway and she smirked. Lupin always struggled to get out of that section of the ship. The chase was about to end... not with a whimper, not with a shout... but with Faye sitting herself down on the outside so he could see she was near and wear himself out with running on what was more or less just a giant hamster wheel. If she fell asleep out here then he'd wake her with a shriek when he wanted to escape into her loving arms. And in the meantime he'd rejoice over being able to dash endlessly while his mama was nearby.