Derrick and Kaleigh's Bedroom

[Derrick]

As he pulled the towel off his head, he wondered if he had managed to go through the entire process of getting out of bed and showering without waking up the female werewolf who was still in the next room. He could detect her scent through the ones that lingered in the adjoined bathroom, as he gave his head a shake to dislodge any clinging beads of moisture from his messy hair, and glanced towards the door. He could only assume she was still asleep; he would have seen her poke her head around the door had she woken up, if only so she could check he was close by and safe. It was habit for the both of them to assure themselves that their respective other was healthy and in the vicinity… not that they were joined at the hip, but a habit was a habit.

Derrick Goodwin wiped a hand over the mirror, shifting the condensation that the steam from his morning shower had created. Running the same hand through his brown hair to shift it back off his brow where the shake had left it hanging, he looked over the reflection the streak revealed, and sighed quietly. He told himself every day that the scars and marks didn’t bother him, but the conviction in the inner assurances was lacking. The male werewolf knew that on some level, they would always bother him, even if they didn’t bother anyone else.

His gaze locked on the most obvious reminder of the past, the ‘tattoo’ on his chest that almost seemed to stare back at him in its simplicity, and his head cocked to one side slightly, before he shook it again, turning his back on the mirror. Tossing the small towel into the basket at the side of the room, he ran his hands over his face and headed for the door that led back into the main bedroom.

[Kaleigh]

Coming awake slowly, Kaleigh Liaden gave a soft frown and turned over and reached out for her mate, her frown deepening when she couldn’t find him next to her. Opening her eyes, she rubbed at them groggily before pushing hair away from her face. Stifling a yawn, she gave her head a little shake, sniffing the air lightly. She could smell Derrick and the strong scent of soap and shampoo, which told her that he had been taking a shower, which, since she didn’t hear the water running, she knew had ended now. She knew that she didn’t need to check on Derrick, but she wanted to. It was simply how things worked with them, not to mention that she sincerely hated waking up alone and had for well over two hundred years now. Ever since that night…

Throwing off the blankets, she climbed out of bed and stretched slightly before moving towards the bathroom. While she would occasionally awaken and go out into the courtyard in the morning on nice nights, Kaleigh always got nervous when she woke up and Derrick wasn’t right there next to her. Her wolf gave a soft whine in the back of her mind, signaling that Kaleigh’s human half wasn’t the only one who got jittery. Kaleigh tried to hide her nervousness about it from Derrick; while he was her mate and she most certainly had absolutely every right in the world to worry about him, she was slightly afraid that such a thing would come off as too possessive and silly. She knew that Derrick wouldn’t actually say such a thing to her, but it, like despising waking up without Derrick next to her, was something that she couldn’t seem to help.

She reached the bathroom door and peered in, unable to help the smile that came to her face when she saw him heading her way. There was nothing like actually seeing Derrick doing well that comforted her more. She leaned lightly against the doorframe, tilting her head slightly as she continued to smile. “Morning.”

[Derrick]

Derrick had, for a long time now, hated waking up alone as well. It simply felt wrong to him, and not only that, if he didn’t know where Kaleigh was shortly after waking — if he couldn’t see, hear or smell her close by — then it usually unsettled him, and quite deeply. They may have been in a pack, and he always considered his mate the more sensible out of the two of them considering their pasts and what had happened to them both, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t still a danger… as much as he tried to tell himself that they were perfectly safe and nothing bad could ever happen again, he just couldn’t shake the worry about something, well, happening.

He came out of his reverie as a figure entered the bathroom, leaning through the doorway to look around, and before his eyes had even landed on her, he had known it was Kaleigh, and almost immediately, a soft smile manifested. He closed the distance that still separated them, and bowed his head to kiss her; Kaleigh was considerably shorter than him, but that didn’t bother him in the least, and simple though it was, he always made sure to lean down to meet her, rather than vice versa. It was one of the little things that just seemed so natural for him, when it came to his mate.

“Morning,” he returned after pulling back, lightly running his fingers through her blonde hair. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

[Kaleigh]

Kaleigh greatly appreciated the fact that Derrick bent down to her level; as much of a height difference as there was between them, it was easier for him to do that than for her to attempt to bring herself up closer to his height. It wasn’t that she wouldn’t attempt stretching herself up enough to meet him at his level, it was just that even if she stretched up as much as she could she was likely to still come up short. Her height was rather annoying to her- it was why she preferred shoes with heels, the higher the better- but while she always felt like a shrimp next to just about everyone else, it never seemed nearly as bad when she was next to Derrick.

“No, I ended up waking up on my own just a couple of minutes ago. How long have you been up?” She couldn’t help but be curious as to whether or not he had slept well during the night- she had been out like a light, more tired that she had thought she was- and his answer to the question would help her figure that out. She knew perfectly well that she could just ask him, but usually switched the questions up. It didn’t matter which she actually chose to ask, she was always able to figure out what she needed to know.

[Derrick]

Keeping Kaleigh comfortable, and making her life easier… well, that was one of Derrick’s main priorities in his day-to-day life, and if he could make anything simpler for her, than he considered that a success, no matter how small or short-lived. The height difference had never bothered him; he was tall, and he always had been, even in wolf form — when he transformed, he knew he was rather sizeable, and had always been rather proud of that fact, no doubt having inherited it, in both forms, from his father who had been much the same. Many years ago, not long after their ‘marriage’, Derrick had teased Kaleigh occasionally, by leaning back as she’d tried to reach his level, but after the vampires… he had completely stopped doing it. Not once since then had he partaken in the simple, playful tease. It was just one of those things that had… changed.

Derrick smiled gently, hearing the question within the question, and he nodded a little, glancing beyond her to the bed that showed the obvious signs of being inhabited recently; the sheets and blankets were still crumpled and tossed in random directions, and the pillows were somewhat askew. “I woke up about half an hour ago,” he told her. “Slept through most of the night, save for an odd spell here and there.” It wasn’t anything major that had awoken him during the night; just a simple stirring wherein he had lain there, letting the quiet filter through him, disturbed only by the soft, rhythmic sound of his mate’s breathing beside him.

Kissing the top of her head, he moved past her and back into the bedroom so he could actually dress himself instead of standing around with a towel about his waist.

[Kaleigh]

Kaleigh missed that particular tease sometimes. Certainly, him coming to her level was easiest, but she had always gotten a little laugh out of him teasing her, giving him a playful little shove afterwards and acting like she was pouting. It had been a silly little game, but she understood the change and had never once complained about it. It didn’t matter. What did was the fact that she had found and they were together, safe and happy. Nothing could compare to that. Unless, of course, there was some way of traveling back in time and making sure the whole vampire thing never happened. It had shaped who they were now and how they lived- they had gotten used to things and made the best of them- but if she had the chance to spare him from those two weeks in the grasp of the vampires, she wouldn’t think twice about it, even if it would completely change their future.

She felt herself relax slightly when he mentioned that he had slept through most of the night and hadn’t woken up that long ago. She worried about him sometimes, fearing that he wasn’t getting nearly enough sleep when he woke up too early or woke up too many times. She knew that he could catch up on his rest, but it was part of who she was to worry about such things where Derrick was concerned.

Giving a soft smile at the kiss, she turned and moved back into the bedroom herself, going to the closet first and pulling out a neat, beige ankle length shirt and a tidy, short sleeved white blouse after deciding that it seemed like a skirt day. Gathering up what she would need for a quick shower of her own, she moved over to Derrick and kissed his arm lightly since that was easily reached. “Time for a shower of my own, I think.” With that, she headed back for the bathroom, thinking that she was going to curl her hair for the day.

[Derrick]

Kaleigh wasn’t the only one who missed the teasing sometimes; occasionally, Derrick would think about it, letting memories play through his mind about those times when he and his mate were younger… generally more carefree, when they hadn’t been through what had truly changed their lives. And often, he would wish they could go back to that state, when everything was still easy and free from threat or danger. Did he wish he could change the past? Absolutely. But he knew he couldn’t, and he would take what he could get, and so long as he was with Kaleigh, then he didn’t have any complaints, really. If she was safe and happy, then so was he, basically.

He had smiled softly as Kaleigh headed for the closet, digging through one of the drawers in the dresser for a t-shirt he could wear. Before he could really respond to her comment about taking a shower of her own, she had headed for the bathroom, and he chuckled quietly, shaking his head. He would be dressed and ready for another day of simply lazing around The Four Seasons in one way or another by the time she emerged from the bathroom again, and as the blonde female disappeared around the doorway, he pulled out a black shirt and tossed it somewhat indifferently onto the foot of the bed.

The first order of the day would obviously be breakfast now that they were both up. As he dug out a pair of jeans, he found himself wondering how many of the pack would already be on the move, and whether or not their hyper resident would be loitering in the vicinity of the kitchen. It didn’t matter. So long as he and Kaleigh could get what they needed without being pestered too much, then that was enough for Derrick.

[Kaleigh]

Kaleigh got her things settled in the bathroom, hanging her clothes on the towel rack in order to prevent them from getting wrinkled. She hated it when she managed to get her clothes wrinkled before she even put them on; once she was wearing them, she didn’t care if they got wrinkled immediately after getting dressed, but there was just something about them getting wrinkled before that drove her insane. She supposed that it was just a weird quirk- a really weird one, but oh well.

She was quick with her shower, filling the bathroom with the scent of her vanilla body wash and shampoo; she adored vanilla as both a flavor and a scent. As soon as the water was off, she wrapped herself in one of their thick, soft towels and got a second in order to wrap around her hair while she took out her hair dryer and curling iron. She knew that she really didn’t need to spend the time it would take to curl her hair- it was perfectly fine straight- but she just felt like it. Like it did for a skirt, the day seemed perfect for bouncy curls. Plugging in both of her needed tools, she allowed the curling iron to start heating up while she toweled off her hair a bit before starting on it with the blow dryer, brushing out tangles as she went.

[Derrick]

Derrick didn’t take long to change into the jeans and shirt he had pulled out, listening subconsciously to the sounds from the adjacent bathroom as he went about pulling on a pair of socks, seated on the foot of the bed while he did so. Other than the sound of the dryer, their shared space was quiet; no tick of a clock hanging on a wall, the window only open a fraction so they wouldn’t get too warm during the night — he couldn’t hear anything in the way of birds or other wildlife that might have been inhabiting the courtyard outside, and frankly, that didn’t bother him.

When he had finished with the simple task, he stood again, raking his hands back through his hair to ‘set’ it, as it were; he wasn’t one to really take the time to style his hair, which balanced him against his mate nicely, he supposed. He simply let it do as it wished, which generally worked in his favour. The rough, feral style suited him, after all.

Moving around the bed while Kaleigh inhabited the bathroom, going about a morning routine of her own, Derrick endeavoured to make the bed; it wasn’t what most would presume a male in any pair would do, but it had become something of a habit if Kaleigh hadn’t done it herself by the time he thought about it. It didn’t take long after all, and after tossing the last pillow back into place, he subconsciously twisted his Claddagh ring on his finger to ensure the heart, hands and crown were facing forward, the metal momentarily catching the light from the window.

[Kaleigh]

Once her hair was dried and neatly curled, Kaleigh got dressed, tossing her towels in the basket and smoothing her skirt. Tucking a couple of curls behind her ears, Kaleigh left the bathroom and went to the closet, looking over her shoes and picking out a pair of strappy white sandals with three inch heels. Noticing that the bed was made and giving a little smile about it, she settled herself into the desk chair to put on her shoes.

“What do you want breakfast?” she asked, slipping on her right shoe first and tightening and buckling the strap carefully around her ankle. “I think a nice omelet sounds good. Oh, maybe a southern omelet with spicy sausage, cheese and some peppers.” That really did sound good and now she was determined to have just that, though with extra cheese- she preferred all of her omelets with a good deal of cheese- and maybe a bit of salsa over it.

She put on her right shoe, strapping it snuggly before getting up and moving to her beside table, where she picked up her necklace, turning it so that the turquoise pendant was facing the proper way before putting it on. Now that she had brought up the subject of food, she realized that she was really pretty hungry.

[Derrick]

After tidying the bed, Derrick had pulled on his ‘trademark’ scuffed boots, and had been finishing off tying the laces when Kaleigh re-emerged. Lifting his head a fraction to watch her move to the closet, he had smiled to himself, reassured by the sight of her instead of simply the sound or scent. He always felt most at ease when he could see her, regardless of the information his other senses were giving him.

Rising from the bed after his mate fixed her necklace, he kissed the top of her head again, lightly bouncing one of her fresh curls with another soft smile. “I think an omelette sounds good,” he agreed. Derrick wasn’t overly fussy about his food, so long as it wasn’t too spicy or too bland; he liked a happy medium between the two, and not extremes.

“I just hope Samson hasn’t used up all the coffee,” he added, stroking a hand down her back. “I actually wouldn’t put it past him to eat it from the bag with a spoon.”

[Kaleigh]

“Then why don’t I make us both and omelet or two apiece?” she suggested. Naturally, she knew that Derrick liked something between spicy and bland, just as he knew her motto: The spicier the better. She wasn’t really sure what it was about spicy food that she loved so much, but she supposed that she really didn’t need to come up with an explanation. Things were simply the way they were and they could both accept and accommodate that.

Kaleigh made a disgusted face at the thought of someone eating coffee like that. Certainly, it was Samson, but still. That was rather disgusting, though the feeling of Derrick’s hand traveling down her back like that was more than enough to make her relax against him a bit. “I’m sure that there’s plenty of coffee to be found in the kitchen. Maybe even some of the really good kind. You know how things go. All of the good stuff is hidden up on the very top shelf in hopes that no one else will get into it.”

[Derrick]

“That sounds like a plan.” Derrick had long ago realised he and Kaleigh balanced one another in a fair number of ways, and personally, he liked that. It was little things, like how she would take her time with her hair and appearance and he wouldn’t even think about either; her love of spicy food and his indifference for it, bordering on flat-out dislike. But then, it was the little things that all counted towards the big picture, he supposed, and there was obviously no changing the fact that he loved Kaleigh, for all her quirks and habits.

“Aha,” he mumbled, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, bowing to kiss the side of her neck. “Then it’s a good thing I’m tall, hmm?” He smiled against the skin of her neck, and then rested his chin atop her head, as he was occasionally prone to doing. Of course, if it came right down to it, he would just climb on a chair, but he doubted that would be necessary; he could reach the tops of the cabinets without trouble, after all.

[Kaleigh]

“It does, doesn’t it?” Kaleigh was rather looking forward to cooking for the both of them, mainly because she enjoyed it. She was no where near being the best cook in the pack, but when she had the chance, she loved to cook, especially for Derrick. She’d certainly cook for others- it wasn’t like she minded- but Derrick was always first and foremost in her mind, so he was always served first, no matter who else was there or how long they had been waiting.

When he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck, Kaleigh gave a soft smile, which was added to by looking up when her mate rested his chin atop her head. Even with the few inches that her shoes added, she was still short enough for him to do that and she didn’t mind that at all. Certainly, her short stature could be a hindrance sometimes, but she knew that Derrick would always help her out when she needed it. “It really is a good thing,” she agreed. “Then I don’t have to climb up on the countertop to get to what I want.” Then, she added, lightly teasing, “All I have to do is bat my eyelashes to get you to use your height in my favor.” She knew that Derrick would always help her out when she needed it, but every now and again, she simply felt the need to say something like that.

[Derrick]

Derrick didn’t enjoy anyone’s cooking as much as he enjoyed Kaleigh’s, perhaps partly because he was biased in just about everything regarding his mate. Her cooking, her singing… anything and everything was better when it involved her, and he wasn’t really at all ashamed about admitting to his feelings about such things. He knew he wasn’t alone in being biased about his mate, and really, who could blame him? After everything that had happened… well, he owed Kaleigh more than his love and devotion; he owed her his life, and he would never stop trying to repay that debt, even if only a little at a time, each day.

He knew she didn’t particularly care about her height, or the fact that he was so much taller, but he did know that he hated anyone else taking advantage of it; had anyone else done something akin to what he himself was currently doing, he would simply give them a meaningful shove and glare; he wouldn’t necessarily say anything to them, but there were limits to his patience, and, well, no one else was really permitted to be so ‘close’ with Kaleigh anyway. He wasn’t exactly overly-possessive, but he did allow himself a degree of it, at least. It was his place, after all.

“Ah, but you don’t even have to do that, and you know it.” He lifted his chin from her head as he spoke so he wouldn’t make her uncomfortable at all. “No climbing on countertops for you,” he added, as if he expected she might hurt herself if she endeavoured to do something of the sort.