If you're brave enough to stray...
Love grows in me like a tumor... - "Fuck Was I", Jenny Owen Youngs
Written for yetregressing.
At one PM on a Tuesday, Nathan woke up to a god sitting at the foot of his bed, staring at him. He jumped, and just managed to catch himself with one flailing arm on the nightstand before he falls out of bed. Waking up to Coyote staring at you was a lot like waking up to the unwavering attention of some half-wild dog, impossible to tell if he planned to lick your face or tear your throat out... metaphorically speaking.
This time, it seemed, all he wanted was to freak Nathan out - he snorted a little, grinning in amusement while Nathan tried to straighten himself out again and recover some measure of dignity.
"Hi," Coyote said mildly, like none of that was his fault.
Nathan glared sleepily and considered kicking him off the bed. He decided against it - he'd seen how well that sort of thing worked out for Mat, when he'd tried it. "How did you..." He frowned and shook his head before the question was even out. He knew by now how this conversation went. "The door happened to be open." Even though he was sure he'd locked it last night.
"As a matter of fact..." Coyote said slowly, not quite a confirmation, but more than enough for Nathan to be sure. Of course.
Nathan growled a little and flopped backwards onto the bed. If he stared at the ceiling hard enough, he could almost ignore Coyote's smirk. "I was sleeping."
"You couldn't sleep."
Nathan grimaced, pulled the pillow out from under his head, and chucked it at Coyote's. It missed by at least a couple feet. "That's cheating. The freaky knowing everything and the... other thing." Nathan never knew what to call the other thing - he wasn't actually sure Coyote arranged for things to always go his way, they just did, like Coyote coming out on top was some immutable law of the universe.
"It's not cheating. It's what I do. As long as you're not sleeping, though..." Coyote nudged Nathan with his toe, smudging red dirt on his bare leg. "Wanna take a road trip?"
Nathan lifted his head and raised an eyebrow. "A roadtrip... to...?"
Coyote shrugged, and a grin flashed across his face. It was one of those teeth-baring grins - not entirely predatory, like some Nathan had seen, but not the most comforting thing either. "Dunno. Place I gotta be, and you need something to do with yourself."
"I got... three hours of sleep..."
"You'll be fine!"
"And you don't even know where we're going..."
"Details!" Coyote responded brightly. He tilted his head to the side, still grinning. "Coming or not?"
Nathan closed his eyes for a second. An unexpected roadtrip on three hours of sleep - where he knew he'd be driving, because Coyote hated to focus for that long - to God knew where, to do God knew what, and favors for Coyote always ended in someone trying to kill him one way or another...
Then again, things going Coyote's way was one of those immutable laws of the universe. Annoying as hell... but also strangely comforting, as long as Nathan was on his side. He rolled over towards the nightstand, and reached for his keys.
Muse: Nathan Wallace
Word Count: 548
Written for yetregressing.
At one PM on a Tuesday, Nathan woke up to a god sitting at the foot of his bed, staring at him. He jumped, and just managed to catch himself with one flailing arm on the nightstand before he falls out of bed. Waking up to Coyote staring at you was a lot like waking up to the unwavering attention of some half-wild dog, impossible to tell if he planned to lick your face or tear your throat out... metaphorically speaking.
This time, it seemed, all he wanted was to freak Nathan out - he snorted a little, grinning in amusement while Nathan tried to straighten himself out again and recover some measure of dignity.
"Hi," Coyote said mildly, like none of that was his fault.
Nathan glared sleepily and considered kicking him off the bed. He decided against it - he'd seen how well that sort of thing worked out for Mat, when he'd tried it. "How did you..." He frowned and shook his head before the question was even out. He knew by now how this conversation went. "The door happened to be open." Even though he was sure he'd locked it last night.
"As a matter of fact..." Coyote said slowly, not quite a confirmation, but more than enough for Nathan to be sure. Of course.
Nathan growled a little and flopped backwards onto the bed. If he stared at the ceiling hard enough, he could almost ignore Coyote's smirk. "I was sleeping."
"You couldn't sleep."
Nathan grimaced, pulled the pillow out from under his head, and chucked it at Coyote's. It missed by at least a couple feet. "That's cheating. The freaky knowing everything and the... other thing." Nathan never knew what to call the other thing - he wasn't actually sure Coyote arranged for things to always go his way, they just did, like Coyote coming out on top was some immutable law of the universe.
"It's not cheating. It's what I do. As long as you're not sleeping, though..." Coyote nudged Nathan with his toe, smudging red dirt on his bare leg. "Wanna take a road trip?"
Nathan lifted his head and raised an eyebrow. "A roadtrip... to...?"
Coyote shrugged, and a grin flashed across his face. It was one of those teeth-baring grins - not entirely predatory, like some Nathan had seen, but not the most comforting thing either. "Dunno. Place I gotta be, and you need something to do with yourself."
"I got... three hours of sleep..."
"You'll be fine!"
"And you don't even know where we're going..."
"Details!" Coyote responded brightly. He tilted his head to the side, still grinning. "Coming or not?"
Nathan closed his eyes for a second. An unexpected roadtrip on three hours of sleep - where he knew he'd be driving, because Coyote hated to focus for that long - to God knew where, to do God knew what, and favors for Coyote always ended in someone trying to kill him one way or another...
Then again, things going Coyote's way was one of those immutable laws of the universe. Annoying as hell... but also strangely comforting, as long as Nathan was on his side. He rolled over towards the nightstand, and reached for his keys.
Muse: Nathan Wallace
Word Count: 548