13Leagues

Sneak Peek: Winter in Rivali (1)

Added 2021-11-23 14:59:00 +0000 UTC

You stand, grabbing ahold of his hand and pulling him towards the bed.

“No,” he tells you, bringing his hand back, “we can sleep later. I still have things to take care of.”

“And that won’t be there for you later?”

“Oh, it will, and that’s the problem.” He gazes towards his study, and you can practically see the drowsiness and the weeks of hardly any sleep right there on his face. He did an excellent job of hiding it; you’ll give him that much.

You move so that you are standing in front of Ruben and become his primary focus, “do it for me?”

“Don’t do that,” he growls, glancing away from you, “I don’t have the energy to fight you.”

“Then don’t,” you laugh, once again trying to drag him towards the bed, and this time he obeys. He doesn’t seem happy about it, but you ignore his pouting and wrap your legs around him, running your hands through his hair as he snuggles closer to you and buries his face onto your stomach. You unbraid all of his braids and comb your fingers through his hair. Once it is free of tangles, you start to re-braid portions of it. Focusing on the task and then placing most of his hair into a bun that he usually wears it up in, a few strands remaining free.

“Done!” you say happily but receive no reply. “Ruben?” You wiggle slightly, but he doesn’t move or respond, and upon further investigation, you realize he’s asleep. Moving becomes a crime, and you even try to calm your breathing as you move just a little to make sure you aren’t uncomfortable. You fight your smile for a minute before not caring about it showing. At least you got him asleep.