Original (Other): The Lull
Title: The Lull
Series: Original (Other: Unfamiliar)
Characters/Pairings: Eriana/Callan
Rating: G
Warnings: More past tense.
Summary: There is never a bad time for shark kisses.
Eriana was obviously having a bad day.
Generally she liked to have her space when that happened because it more often than not meant she turned into a seething ball of profanity, and she didn't want to misdirect it at her boyfriend. (Her brother, maybe, but definitely not Callan.) As a result, Callan spent most of the morning lying flat on the livingroom floor like a starfish, watching TV upside-down and listening to Eriana crash around their shared dwelling, cursing indistinctly.
There was very little in terms of specific incidents until after lunch, and while she was probably attempting dishes there came the unmistakable sound of dropped glassware from the kitchen. Callan propped himself up on one arm. "You okay, babe?" he called.
"I'm fine!" Eriana shouted back in a voice that clearly indicated she was unscathed but probably more annoyed than before. "And by fine I mean a total fuck up. I hate this day!! God."
"C'mere for a minute."
She appeared in the doorway with a handful of the shards of what was once a glass. Her expression was stormy. She had also evidently put very little effort into coordinating her clothes that morning, which was at least a little unusual. "Can this wait? I'm kind of busy."
"Nope. Put that down for a second. Come on."
Callan waited as she disappeared again and apparently just thunked the glass shards down on the nearest available surface. Eriana returned to him, arms crossed, looking no less displeased than before. From her position standing over him, she loomed for a change. He tried not to smile at this.
"What." It wasn't even a question.
Callan got to his feet in front of her, his vantage point changing considerably. She was so little. What was still strange to him was the fact that she wasn't actually remarkably small from the perspective of other humans. That had to look straight down to see her was only indicative of the general size differences between people and non-humans. But it was cute, and he liked it.
"You're having a bad day," Callan said.
"No shit, what was your first cl--" Eriana was cut off by her own shriek as Callan easily scooped her up off the ground in a princess-carry and flopped backwards onto the couch in the least majestic way possible. The cushions bounced up slightly upon his impact, and he sat for a moment with her shoulder pressed against his broad chest before she began attempting to climb off.
"Hey, hey, hey, where are you going?"
"I have junk to do," she said irritably, but she was starting to sound more tired than frustrated. "Let go."
"It's not important junk. I'll do it for you myself later, okay?"
She paused for a beat, and Callan took this opportunity to gather her up again. She didn't resist this time, instead letting her head fall despondently against him as he set her down across his lap.
"Sorry," she murmured, keeping her eyes on the cross pattern of her black leggings. "I've been kind of a bitch all day. It's not your fault, though."
Callan carefully ran a hand back through her hair and kissed the top of her head. "Don't worry about it. Take a break for a couple of minutes or something."
"Yeah..." She tried to look up at his face without actually lifting her head, but all that ended up in her line of vision is the brick-red of his t-shirt. Eriana shifted a little. "Hey, Callan?"
"Mmm?"
Callan could hear her struggle to keep her tone indifferent, but suspected she was blushing a bit. "...I think maybe a kiss would cheer me up a little."
She often tried to pretend she didn't get embarrassed at all, mostly by blocking it out with efforts to be bossy, so he assumed it was probably better not to say anything. Instead, he let her get silently up on her knees and slowly slide her arms up around his neck. She was a nice change of pace. Everything about her felt small but stable, and even if he sometimes felt like he was cradling a large animate doll or something, he never really felt that she was fragile. Her cheek brushed up against his for a moment, and then she pulled back from him slowly, letting her lips draw a soft line across his face.
Eriana stopped when she came to his mouth, her face perfectly centered in front of his and very, very close. "Why do you put up with me?" she murmured. Her eyes looked vaguely disappointed, like she expected a bad answer in advance. "You always go along with whatever I want. I feel really gross and selfish."
Callan smiled and gave her a peck on the lips, complete with a 'mwah'. "Seriously, Eriana? You think you could trap all this shark bulk in here if I didn't wanna stick around? Well." His voice dropped to a whisper. "You're wrong. Now where's that kiss, huh?" He closed his eyes and puckered up. Eriana stifled a giggle and gave him a soft play-smack on the cheek.
"You're a big doof."
"Compliment accepted, but I'm still waiting for that kiss."
She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling a little anyway. He closed his eyes and felt her forehead bump affectionately against his for just a second. "You're not getting just one, okay?"
"I think I can deal."
"Good," she breathed and pressed her lips against his. She had originally expected him to be some kind of cold-blooded fish monster, but had discovered she was pleasantly misinformed the first time she'd awkwardly tried to kiss him all those months ago. He was warm and strong and durable, and yet so relaxed at the same time. She kissed him again, more firmly. The way he let her do what she needed to always made her feel better, empowered, good. She paused and Callan put in an additional kiss himself.
"I think maybe I'm starting to feel better," Eriana said, smiling just faintly.
"You're still missing one thing, right here, that I think'll make your day better," Callan replied, prodding her chest with one massive finger. "I'm pretty sure I can give it to you, though."
And he smooshed her gently into a hug.