Author’s Note: Sometimes (read: most of the time) I have grand headcanons for characters and pairings but they don’t transfer well to fics. This crossover pairing of Matt Rodriguez and Marlow (my AME MC) is one of them. But on the request of my friend L, I tried writing them using the prompt “There’s only one bed and we sleep as far apart from each other but wake up cuddling”.
Summary: Marlow wakes up to discover she’s far closer with Matt than she should be comfortable with.
Aside from a few rogue rays of sunshine peeking through the curtains, the room is blanketed in darkness when she rouses from her deep slumber. For several moments Marlow can’t quite remember where she is or how she got here.
And then, it all hits her- the photoshoot at Joshua Tree National Park, her assistant being sick with the flu, Matt kindly offering to fill in, the torrential rain, the mudslide, and the single room with one bed at the otherwise full hotel.
There is one detail, however, her mind can’t seem to grasp. Why is she using a well sculpted chest- Matt’s, she assumes- as a pillow?
Initially, when they checked in and learned of their situation, Matt -always the chivalrous one- offered to sleep on the floor or in the lounge chair. It took Marlow all of three seconds to point out the many sketchy looking stains on the carpeting and convince him that even her 3 year old son wouldn’t be comfortable sleeping in the cushy, but overly small, chair.
They were two grown ass adults and were friends, she argued, they could totally share a king-sized bed without it being awkward. With such a big bed they probably wouldn’t even known the other was there, she insisted.
Now, as she inhales the sweetly clean scent of hotel shampoo mixed with the faintly rugged odor she only associates with Matt, Marlow is pretty sure she was full of shit.
Despite starting out so far to either side of the bed they needed separate postal codes, at some point during the night they apparently both migrated towards the center and she decided to wrap around him like a koala clinging to a Eucalyptus tree.
A very smart and cozy koala, Marlow thinks, then immediately chastises her traitorous thoughts.
Matt is her friend and only her friend. Over the past several months she’s come to rely on and relish his friendship with not only her, but with her son, MJ. Sure, she’s caught him eyeing her like he either wants to kiss her or completely devour her- either of which she’s not sure she would mind.
Which is entirely the problem.
It would be far too easy to fall back into old habits, sleeping with someone only until she finds a shiny new conquest and breaking their heart in the process. Because that’s all she’s capable of now. Ever since him, since he unceremoniously shattered her heart into a million pieces. At least, through everything, the asshole had the decency to give her a parting gift, even if it was unintentional- her sweet and wild little boy.
A soft grunt fills the otherwise quiet room, wrenching Marlow from the downward spiral in her mind. The fact that there’s an arm wrapped around her back doesn’t fully register until it tightens around her, pulling her in closer. Matt’s heart thumps steadily in her ear, a naturally soothing rhythm which seeps into her entire being.
She should try to wriggle free, try to extricate herself from his embrace before he wakes up. The last thing she needs is for him to read anything into this. She needs him, needs the relationship she’s so carefully built with him. Nothing about their situation can ever change, no matter how much he- or if she’s truly honest, she- may want it to. She can’t and won’t risk hurting Matt or her son by entering into something that can only lead to disaster.
And yet, she can’t seem to pull herself away. Between the steady drumbeat of his heart, the comforting warmth of his touch, and the gentle rocking of her head on his chest as he breaths, she finds herself in a position she never thought she’d feel with another person ever again- cared for, safe…and home.
The jolt of fear which strikes her heart lasts only a brief moment, pure exhaustion combined with comfort extinguishing any attempts by her brain to induce panic.
This won’t last, it can’t, Marlow thinks as she fights a losing battle with drowsiness. There’s no way something between them could ever work, that she could ever manage to make a true relationship work with anyone.
But… but right now, she’s here, with him, and she feels wanted. Feels safe. Maybe, just this once, she can give in and simply enjoy the moment. With any luck he might end up waking up before her and she can brush the whole thing off.
Maybe, she ponders as she slips into unconsciousness once more, just this once, she can pretend moments like this with Matt could be the norm, that he could love her the way she’s always dreamed of…and she could love him back.
– The End
