A hotel as a place to hide

[Gambit]

"No you're not," Gambit objected and raised his hand back to switch the lights off.

[Shade]

"Damn." Shade said. "You looked right through me there."
When Gambit switched off the light, she lay down again an arm draped across his chest, curling up slightly as she did most of the time when she attempted to fall asleep.

[Gambit]

Gambit put his arm around her back, drawing her closer. He had missed falling asleep with her. "I don' see why someone wit' your mutation would complain," he remarked.

[Shade]

Shade smiled into the darkness. "Right." she said. "I could´ve used some synonym with a similiar meaning. But I couldn´t think of one. My brain´s on cozy mode."

[Gambit]

Gambit stroked her hair gently. "C'est bon," he said, "de best mode for sleepin'."

[Shade]

"Hm..." Shade murmured, closing her eyes. Maybe he was right and she would sleep in a few moments. She was tired enough for it. "I´m glad you´re back."

[Gambit]

"Me, too," Gambit said. "If nothin' else, at least you're here."

[Shade]

His words made her feel affectionate once more but also told her, Gambit´s troubles were still there. Shade shifted slighty to kiss his shoulder without a reply before she nestled her head against his neck.

[Gambit]

Her soft breathing against his neck had a calming effect; he was holding his woman safe and secure in his arms, and nothing bad would befall them as long as they were like this. Smiling a little into the orangeish twilight of the room, he closed his eyes and tried to shut off all of his other thoughts, as he had been trained to do to fall asleep faster, even when he had still been a kid.

[Shade]

Shade was feeling sleepy. There was nothing but comfort and closeness, filling the by far largest part of her drowsy self and still there was a tiny bit of anxiety that did not allow her mind to relax completely. She drifted off into the blurry state between wake and sleep where the borders between dream and reality mingled, her mind sending faint images of calmness interrupted with occasional interludes of uneasyness, caused by her unconscious struggle against drifting off completely.

[Gambit]

His small 'meditation' helped; Gambit fell asleep almost immediately, but his protective hold around Shade's back didn't slacken.

[Shade]

From the rhythm of Gambit´s breathing she could tell he fell asleep soon. Shade had always envied that ability. She was hardly someone who would toss around at night because things kept her awake, but sometimes it was difficult to fall asleep.
She did not know how late it was and she did not know how long she had been in bed, drowsing in a semi conscious state that got annoying after a time. She felt reluctant to get up, but thought that maybe a brief sniff of air might help to clear her head from the remains of last night´s dark thoughts so she would finally be able to sleep.

Slowly and careful not to wake Gambit, Shade shifted and left the bed, moving silently in the dim light that filtered in from the street lamps. She grabbed for the towel Gamit had dropped after shower, because she had dried her hair with hers and his was therefore less damp, and walked towards the other end of the room, opening the door towards the balcony and stepped out. She inhaled a few times, leaning against the side with her back, closing her eyes. Just a few brief moments, she thought looking down at the traffic, just a few minutes to chase away her restlessness.

[Gambit]

Gambit was a light sleeper; a skill that he had acquired not by birth but by way of life. He woke up when Shade got up from the bed, but said nothing until she went to the balcony. Since he was fairly sure she wouldn't go there to smoke, he decided something was the matter. Maybe she couldn't sleep or maybe she wasn't feeling well and needed some fresh air...

Either way, he wanted to make sure. He dragged his jeans on and, walking to the balcony, carefully opened the door so as not to scare her.

[Shade]

Shade´s thoughts were heading nowhere in particular, partly because she somehow avoided them to head directly into her memories. That might upset her even more and cause her to be completely unable to sleep for the night. She didn´t notice that facing those thoughts headfirst might have been the better solution, facing them to have them lose their tension.

She had left the balcony door ajar so Gambit maybe wouldn´t wake up but that had not worked it seemed. Shade turned her head slightly when he opened the door and gave him a faint smile. "I just needed some air." she said, but for any half way good observer it was obvious that her words were a disguise for ´I couldn´t sleep.´

[Gambit]

"Right," Gambit said, getting out to the balcony and leaning against the railing to face her. "You okay, p'tite?"