Mia was lying on Ellie’s side of the bed, and Ellie wasn’t sure if she cared enough she to ask Mia to move over.

She decided not. It would be petty to ask, and she didn’t really care. She was just glad Mia was here. She went around to the other side and pulled back the covers. She didn’t think she’d been obvious, but Mia must have noticed her hesitate.

“Shit,” Mia said. “I should move.”

“You’re fine.”

“I will. I don’t mind.”

Ellie shook her head, and got in quickly, before Mia could start sliding over.

“That was rude,” Mia said. “Sorry, just at home…”

“I don’t care,” Ellie said, and leaned over and kissed Mia. “I want you here, wherever you’re lying.”

Mia smiled. “Good,” she said, quietly.

Ellie smiled back.

They had been talking louder, Ellie realized. Once they weren’t thinking about being quiet while they had sex, they’d gone back to talking in normal voices. Now, in bed, they were being quieter, and whispering again.

Ellie liked the whispering. It made everything seem secret and private.

She sat for a moment, thinking. Her hand cream was on the other beside table, over beyond Mia. Ellie pointed. “Could you pass that?”

Mia rolled, and looked backwards, and then reached out and did. Ellie squirted some into her hand, and held it out towards Mia. “Want some?”

Mia nodded, and Ellie squeezed out a gob for her too too. She put the tube on the nearer beside table, and rubbed cream into her hands. Mia did the same. It was nice, Ellie thought. Both of them moisturising together.

Ellie was still sitting up, mostly out the covers. She finished off her hands by wiping the last of the cream onto her neck and shoulders. Mia watched.

Mia was watching Ellie’s bare chest, Ellie realized.

“That’s all you’re wearing?” Mia said, sounding amused. Almost as if she understood why Ellie was like that.

Ellie grinned. She didn’t care that much. It was still fun, even if they both knew why. She shrugged. Purposely hard, so she moved. “I usually just sleep like this,” she said.

“Oh,” Mia said, grinning. Grinning like she knew it was a lie.

It was a lie. A complete lie. Ellie usually wore an old tee shirt, but she liked the idea that Mia might think otherwise. It wasn’t a lie if they both knew without saying, Ellie thought. It was sarcasm.

“That isn’t true,” Ellie said suddenly, because she didn’t want to lie to Mia about anything.

“Yep,” Mia said. “I got that.”

Ellie smiled, and Mia smiled back.

Ellie looked past Mia at the lamp. She needed to reach past Mia to turn it off. She thought about just asking Mia to, then leaned over anyway.

Mia seemed to realize why. “Want me to?” she said

Ellie shook her head, and reached over, stretching. She hadn’t really planned it that way, but she ended up half on Mia as she did, her breast sliding over Mia’s chest. Mia lay there, seeming not to mind. She probably didn’t, since she was interested in chests.

Ellie reached the light, and switched it off. The room was suddenly dark. Dark, and strangely intimate as well. Ellie felt closer to Mia in the darkness. She stayed where she was for a moment, lying on top of Mia, feeling Mia’s warmth. Then she slid back to where she’d been. She didn’t want to squash Mia. She didn’t want to be a nuisance if Mia was actually going to sleep.

She kissed Mia as she slid, though, kissed for a slow moment, then moved back over and lay beside her. After a moment she turned onto her side, and pressed herself sideways, so her knees and face and hands were touching Mia’s side.

Lying like that was nice.

Ellie wanted to be hugged, but she wasn’t quite ready to ask. She worried Mia would say no. Mia didn’t seem like someone who liked holding people as she slept. Ellie would touch her a little, as unobtrusively as she could, and make do with that.

They lay for a moment, quietly.

“Turn over if you want,” Mia said.

Ellie didn’t move. She wasn’t quite sure what that meant.

“Lie with your back to me,” Mia said. “If you like. I’ll hug you.”

“Oh,” Ellie said, surprised. Then, “Thank you.”

Ellie turned over, and Mia rolled on her side too, fitting her knees and hips into the back of Ellie’s, pressing forward tightly, so Ellie felt Mia’s bare nipples against her bare back. Mia put her arm around Ellie’s middle, and they lay in the darkness, quietly. Mia was warm behind Ellie, and Mia’s slow breathing was relaxing. Ellie felt Mia’s arm heavy over her hip, and was happy.

She liked this. She was very pleased Mia was here.

She was drifting off to sleep already.

She suddenly thought about bathrooms, and didn’t quite know why. Mostly hoping Mia didn’t need to go, she supposed.

“Sorry you can’t get to the bathroom,” Ellie said quietly.

“Doesn’t matter.”

“I’m not because you can’t. Just so you know.”

“Which I appreciate, I guess.” Mia sounded like she was smiling.

“I’ve still got makeup on too,” Ellie said. “Just so you know the sacrifice I’m making.”

“That too.”

“My pillowcases are as well. Making a sacrifice.”

“Yep.”

“And I haven’t put any moisturiser on my face.”

Mia sighed.

“I’m just saying,” Ellie whispered.

“So go and do it.”

“Nah, it’s in the bathroom.”

“So go. It’s fine.”

“Nope,” Ellie said. “Because you can’t. And you might think I’m sneaking off to pee.”

“I won’t.”

“You might.”

“I really wouldn’t,” Mia said, sounding a bit surprised. “I promise.”

“It’s fine,” Ellie said. “I’m not that good about it anyway. The face routine thing.”

Mia moved slightly, as if she was nodding, and then said, “Okay.”

They lay a little longer. Mia seemed uncomfortable. She was shifting fairly often, and her breathing wasn’t relaxed, like someone going to sleep. Her body felt tense against Ellie’s, and her arm on Ellie was slightly stiff.

Ellie thought she knew what was wrong. “Do you want something to wear?” she said.

“No,” Mia said. “Um, maybe.”

“Do you?”

Mia didn’t answer.

“You said no before,” Ellie said, for no real reason. She was half asleep and just talking.

“Yeah I did,” Mia said.

“But now you want something?”

Mia didn’t answer for a moment. “Yeah I do.”

“You’re indecisive.”

“Maybe,” Mia said. “It’s just I don’t think I’ll sleep if I don’t have something on me, is all. I’m sorry.”

 “You’ve got blankets on you,” Ellie said, feeling lazy. Almost teasing. Not quite, but almost.

“Which you might kick off.”

“I might?” Ellie said, grinning in the darkness.

“Or me.”

“Or you. So something to wear… is that yes?”

“Yep. Please.”

Ellie lifted her hips and slid the shorts down. She took them off, kicking slightly to get them past her feet, moving as little as possible so she didn’t mess up the bed. She hooked them up with her toes, caught them, reached back, and pushed them back behind herself, looking for Mia’s hand. She couldn’t find it, so she just pushed them into Mia’s tummy, and Mia seemed to understand.

“What about you?” Mia said.

“I’m fine.”

“I can’t…”

“Just do. Don’t make me get up again.”

Mia wriggled for a while. She was probably pulling them on.

“Want a top?” Ellie said, taking pity.

“I’m fine.”

Ellie could feel Mia all nervous and tense. “Except you do, don’t you?”

“I don’t usually…”

“But right now you’re going to lie there thinking Mark’ll fling the door open…”

“I don’t think that.”

“Yeah you do. And also, apparently him seeing your tits is way worse than you being here in the first place.”

Mia didn’t answer.

“I’m just saying,” Ellie said. “So. Want a top?”

“If there is one.”

Ellie reached back, under her pillow, under Mia’s head, and pulled out the old tee shirt she wore when she got cold. She held that out behind herself too.

There was more wriggling.

Ellie liked the wriggling. She liked feeling Mia there, moving around under the blankets. She liked Mia’s smell, and the warmth of Mia’s body. She especially liked knowing Mia was wearing the shorts that Ellie had been wearing herself a moment ago. That Mia was feeling cloth warm from Ellie’s skin, from Ellie’s pussy, against the same parts of herself.

It was quite a sexy thought. It was intimate, like the darkness.

Ellie thought about touching Mia, and how they could probably use their hands on each other without moving the bed enough to make noise. They couldn’t fuck, she thought, but they could touch, if Mia wanted to again.

Ellie wondered if Mia did. She wondered if Mia would rather sleep.

Mia seemed to want to sleep, Ellie thought. She hadn’t made a fuss about the light switching off, or hugging Ellie, or lying down quietly like they were about to. She probably wanted to sleep, Ellie thought, and Ellie wasn’t going to keep her up if she did.

“Is that okay?” Ellie said. “The shirt?”

“Thank you.”

“So hug me,” Ellie said, tempted to say something else instead, but making herself not.

Mia kissed Ellie’s shoulder, and hugged Ellie again. Pressing herself against Ellie from behind, her arm again around Ellie’s middle, breathing gently on Ellie’s neck, her legs and arms warm against Ellie’s bare skin. Ellie lay there, happy. Thinking about Mia, and about Mia being here, and how nice it felt that she was. Ellie was glad, just glad, and was trying not to think.

Ellie was lying with one hand up on the pillow, beside her face, as she often did. She was breathing slowly, breathing in the smell of Mia from her skin.

It took her a moment to realize.

When she did, she moved her hand closer. She put her fingers right beside her nose so she could smell Mia more.

It was nice to sleep like that. It was sexy too. She started getting turned on again but made herself stop. Mia was tired. Ellie wanted to leave her alone.

Fairly soon, Mia seemed to relax. Her breathing slowed down, and her arm went limp over Ellie. Ellie lay for a moment, happy Mia was there, then slowly went to sleep too.