milliways_bar | (no subject)

"It must be, then," Caspian says, before his thoughts go fuzzy.

It's still sort of unbelievable, to have her here. To love her. And to have her love him.

He murmurs something along those lines into her ear, when he has regained some semblance of thought.

"I think it was a good thing that you talked to Adam and Susan and Alanna," he adds, a little absently.

"...I think I don't actually want to think about my sister or ex-boyfriend right now, Caspian," a little pained, a little teasing.

"But I think it was too." Kissing under his ear again, "A very good thing."

"Best not to think," he agrees, and slides his other hand down her side to her waist, and under the cloth of her shirt to wrap his arms around her.

And makes a gasping sort of sound that turns into a slight groan, deep in his throat, at her kiss.

"You're getting very good at this."

"I have a good teacher to show me," against his skin, before pulling away.

It's a long moment as she looks at him and then very, very carefully unbuttons her blouse and slides it off.

She's not blushing, but she's terrified all over again.

He pulls back, and watches her fingers at the buttons in silence, his hands warm at her waist, and when the material slides over her shoulders and pools on the cover of his bed, he leans forward to kiss her lightly, before pulling back and running the back of one hand up soft skin, up to trace her collarbone gently.

"Beautiful," he says, with a small smile, and dips his head to trace the lovely curve of collarbone with his lips.

And the only thing she can do at first is pull him closer, arms tight around him, and gasp.

"Thank you," shakily.

"Lu," he says, softly, with his arms around her tightly, "don't you know how lovely you are?"

And then, more softly still, "are you all right, still?"

"I don't know what I am right now," she says when she has her breath back and ignores the first bit.

Gently, "do you want me to stop?"

He hopes not, but his arms go around her a little more securely.

"Oh please don't," earnestly, eyes serious.

"Good," he says, with a smile that hides most of the relief.

He can't seem to stop running his hands over the soft skin of her stomach, over the smooth plane of back, but she's uncomfortable still, so he says, "let me--" and then doesn't finish the sentence but instead takes a hand back to unbutton his own shirt, but when it's hanging open he raises his eyes to Lucy's

is this all right?

before sliding it off his shoulders.

Lucy's seen him without his shirt, on the Dawn Treader, but it's very different now.

Very different.

She just looks for a moment before gently putting her hand on his chest, careful, and leaning over to just as carefully kiss it.

His hands come up to her shoulders, gentle and warm, and he drops a kiss onto her hair, gleaming gold.

"Better?" he asks, and there's nervousness in his voice, too. It is one thing to go about on a ship and have to change a shirt or take it off, in deference to the hot sun, but this is something else entirely, and his heart thuds crazily in his chest.

"Better," she answers, pressing a kiss to his shoulder and letting her hand drift, curious and exploring as much as anything.

"Wonderful," she amends after a moment.

He laughs, slightly, and shivers at her hands on his skin while his own run smoothly over her back, to her shoulders.

"Good, then," he says, and his voice grows a little hoarser when she slides her hand over his side, and he shifts beneath her. Staying sitting up like this is getting harder to do, so he says "Can we?" and leans to the side, pushing her back gently.

She nods and lets herself be pushed, until she's stretching out on her back.

"You're warm," more an observement than anything else, and sounding a little delighted to discover it.

"Yes," he agrees, stretching out alongside her, and sliding a hand over her stomach and up to the curve of ribcage.

"So are you." With a little bit of a laugh in his voice, and delight in his eyes too. He looks at her, then, all pale glowing skin and curves and plane, and there's wonder in his expression.

"Incredible," he says, and shifts down on the bed to kiss the dip of rib cage to stomach.

"S'just me," softly, reaching out and stroking his hair with one hand as she watches him.

And Lucy sighs, a little, at the kiss to her stomach, and thinks she must be warmer now.

"That's why," Caspian says, lifting himself up on an elbow, his other arm laying across Lucy, his hand smoothing over her side.

And he just looks at her, smiling.

That gets a slow smile, and she relaxes a little more than she had been.

"I love you." Looking up at him, hand still in his hair.

"I love you, too," he says, and though there's a small smile curving his lips, his voice is low and intent.

And he says, "thank you for choosing me."

"No one else would be right," softly, honestly, before propping herself up enough with one hand to kiss him and unclasping her bra with the other before laying back down, still looking at him.

"Not anyone I can think of."

"Not for me, either," he says, and leans forward, over her, to kiss her while he runs his hand up over her stomach and over the swell of ribcage and breast and to her throat. Each touch is gentle, is this alright?, ad he runs his finger tips just under the edge of the loose bra, kissing down her neck.

She didn't know she could make the sort of noise she just did, at that touch. She didn't know, she thinks hazedly, that anything could feel quite like this, either.

"And this," voice breaking a little, "is where I stop knowing what to do."

"Let me help," he says, and slides his hand under the material, gentle and warm and presses kisses to her throat while his other hand goes to her hair, stroking it gently.

Lying this close to her, his heart thuds into his ribs, and he wonders, dizzily, whether she can feel it too.