I Didn't Think It Would Happen Like This

[Tree]

Ansel groaned a bit as she took his breath away.

/ Breathing...../

Didn't work like this. He did like kisses, though.

[Sushi]

Willow sucked in a little extra through her nose since he didn't have quite enough for her. Then, after a couple more kisses, she cupped his face and breathed it back into him.

/There./

Happy now?

[Tree]

/ ... that is really weird. /

Not happy. Not unhappy. Really perplexed by that sensation.

[Sushi]

Willow let go.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

Though her voice was small and submissive, she was privately quite irritated with him. She crawled back off and cocooned herself in a blanket, pulling it over her head and everything. Stupid husband being all fussy. Couldn't even get wake-up loves even after how hard she'd worked at this whole thing. She should steal all the blankets so his balls would shrivel up. Would serve him right.

[Tree]

In his defense, she had kind of thrown him off. He was nearly always down, but things were kinda confusing for him.... and suffocation was one of the few things he really, really disliked. He shifted to poke her a bit.

/ If my balls shriveled up we'd both be in significant pain. Why grumpy?/

He asked, catching only pieces surfacing here and there and it was mainly because he was trying to not actually dip straight into her head and snoop.... but the urge did present it's self sometimes the last few days. Like now, cause he didn't like her grumpy.

[Sushi]

Willow's hand shifted under the blankets, pushing the offending finger away. No poking.

/I'm not grumpy,/ she told him, even though a slight petulance crept into her tone.

[Tree]

/ You're acting grumptastic./

He argued.

[Sushi]

"sorry."

This time was genuine. It shouldn't have, but if for no other reason than the lingering sensitivity of sleepiness, his assertion hurt her feelings. Willow curled the blankets tighter around her body.

"I'll stop."

No more words.

[Tree]

Ansel pouted and tugged her into his arms.

"Telllll meeeee."

He pestered, a hint of tiredness starting to creep in.

[Sushi]

"I just wanted attention."

But she didn't want it anymore. Her logic brain was kicking back on as she continued to wake up. On the bright side, that meant her care needs got lower. The downside was that it made her baseline a lot lower.

"It's okay. I've had plenty."

[Tree]

Ansel looked at her now with a touch of sympathy, kissing her once.

"So I didn't get that from belly flop suffocation..... I'm sorry. "

[Sushi]

Willow shrugged.

"It's okay. You didn't need to. I shouldn't have thrown myself at you. I wasn't entirely awake."

She rolled back out of his lap and sat on the edge of the bed wrapped in the blanket.

"For what it's worth, I would have been fine. I wouldn't have hurt myself."

She was pretty thirsty and her tummy wanted a snack, and the floor was cold under her bare feet. She didn't want to talk anymore, though. A trickle of loneliness deepened as she internally chastised herself and invalidated the existence of the unsatisfied want, and now she just wanted to be left alone to nurse that loneliness.

[Tree]

Ansel groaned and rubbed his face as he fought the creeping sleepiness trying to convince him to leave her be and close his eyes. He crawled across the bed and tugged her right into his arms.

/ It's ok to be grumpy, you know that, right?/

He asked, snuggling her right into a little ball. He was taking special care to warm her feet while trying to decide if he should cook something for her or not.

[Sushi]

That didn't make her feel better. In fact, it made her feel worse. She'd been thinking more about the want and her actions about that, not the grumpiness he'd pointed out. And even if he was being nice about it right now, the fact was that the grumpy behavior was still bad behavior. It was not okay.

"You need to sleep," she told him instead of engaging his topic.

[Tree]

Ansel nuzzled into her.

/No. I wanna fix it. /

[Sushi]

Willow sighed and reached out from the little ball he'd put her in to rub his arm.

"You're not the problem. It's okay. You don't need to do anything else. You can rest."

[Tree]

"I am totally the prooooblem."

He whined to her softly, pout obvious.

[Sushi]

"it only seems that way because you're sleepy."

[Tree]

"No. It'll feel like that later, too .... if I was willing to sleep and ignore this. I'm not. Teeeeellll me, please? "

He was totally not going to sleep or stop any time soon. Full disclosure it was pure concern and affection that fueled this stubborn issue.

[Sushi]

Willow sighed.

"I don't know what you want me to tell you."

She thought she'd already answered the only question he asked

[Tree]

"But something is broken and I did it. Help me? "

He requested softly.

[Sushi]

"you didn't, though. I keep trying to tell you. Whatever is wrong with me is just because of my own inability to behave. Just because I do the wrong thing doesn't mean that I don't realize it was wrong afterwards and regret it."

[Tree]

/....behave?/

"What are you taaaalking aboooooout?"

He asked in confusion, kissing at her.

[Sushi]

Willow didn't turn her head away, but she didn't participate in the kiss either.

"Nothing. I just have to be better is all. Don't worry about it."

She gently pushed on him.

"You're sleep drunk. Lay down already."

[Tree]

"No. No drunk. Sad fuss cause I dunno why you're all....sad mad."

Poor guy was getting really tired.

[Sushi]

"I'm not mad at all," she told him quietly

She pushed with both hands now.

"You're not even talking straight anymore."

[Tree]

"Maybe it's cause I'm pasta and pasta gets wiggly when wet?"

He argued with a effort to try to focus better.

"Willow....."

[Sushi]

Willow covered his mouth as she pressed him the rest of the way down into the pillows.

"Shh. It's okay. It'll all be better in the morning."

[Tree]

/Nuh-uh. Not if we don't fiiiiix the thing. /

He pouted, pressing more little butterfly kisses all over her.

[Sushi]

Willow sighed and leaned down to kiss his forehead.

"There. All better."

[Tree]

/ I'm not a kid....../

He fussed, lip coming out in a pout as he looked down at her.

/ if you weren't trying to suffocate yourself, what were you trying to accomplish? /

[Sushi]

Willow shifted back to sit on her legs, watching him.

"To have you hold me and give me attention," she told him again.

"Sorry. Next time I'll try to make sure I'm completely awake before I do anything."

[Tree]

"I did hold you..... we were talking, too..."

He shared, opening an eye to look over her.

"What kind of attention?"

A wheel just clicked ss a vague memory of fixing her crankiness before with sex had worked..... maybe she was horny cranky?

[Sushi]

Willow shrugged a little.

"Not the constantly leaning away or insisting I'm breathing wrong kind of attention."

Her eyes drifted away.

"My mistake."

[Tree]

Ansel winced and poked her stomach.

/ Not mistake. Just a difference of understanding ./

He protested stubbornly. Not his wifey. She was not gonna be hard on herself over something they could straighten out.

[Sushi]

"if you say so."

Truthfully, willow's brain was entirely focused on just getting out of his way so he could have what he needed. He wouldn't get any real conversation out of her while she felt like she was imposing. It wasn't safe. Might as well take the nap.

[Tree]

Ansel was now the grumpy one, but he lacked enough willpower to fight much longer.

/ Not fair. /

He fussed to her as he conked out

[Sushi]

Willow tucked him in and slid out of bed. When she felt him starting to wake up, dread coiled in her middle. Was he still unhappy with her? How bad?

"Good morning."

She was sitting on the floor at the side of the bedroom, having cracked the window open the tiniest fraction and resting her face on the sill so she could smell the rain and fresh air.

[Tree]

Ansel made small grabby hands towards her.

"You're too far away. "

That was a no on the grump?

[Sushi]

Willow looked at his hand for a second before sliding the window that one notch shut. When she got up, she came over as bidden.

"Better?" She asked as she sat on the edge of the bed, wrapped in a towel.