The way Jaron moved his head caused the kiss that had been meant for his cheek to end up at the corner of his mouth instead. The expression on his face when he looked at her after made her want to disappear altogether and her face began to flush with a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance (at herself). She wasn't going to apologize for it, though.

Sol was sinking faster and faster toward the horizon, so they really needed to get going before it was pitch dark. Zee looked in the direction that Jaron had motioned, and a second later she heard him say 'c'mon'. Without hesitation she grasped the hand that he extended toward her, ignoring the way her heart felt like it fluttered in her chest. She told herself that he had only offered his hand so they wouldn't get separated in the coming darkness. Or maybe it was because she'd just fallen out of a tree and he wanted to make sure she didn't hurt herself again. That was probably it (but it still felt nice). She was quiet as they walked, taking heed of every low hanging branch that he moved out of her way and every root and log that he pointed out. The gesture was endearing and she found herself smiling contentedly as they slowly made their way through the forest.

Once they finally reached the cabin her eyebrows lifted in genuine surprise. It really wasn't huge, but it had four walls and a roof that looked really stable .... really a lot better than what some of Petra Exterior's new inhabitants were living in. Her own 'home' was little more than a hut that she'd pieced together with the help of a cultivator whose name she couldn't remember. "You built this, too?" She asked as she looked at it. The only thing missing was a door, but, well, doors were hard to come by on foreign planets.

She released Jaron's hand and slipped past him into the cabin. In the dim light that the planet's three moons offered she could make out the shape of a makeshift bed on one end, but not much else. "Are you sure you were just an entertainer on Earth and not a woodworker or a carpenter or something? The guitar, this cabin...? Seriously, how much talent can one person have?" As she spoke she had wandered over to the window on the far side of the cabin and she looked out into the darkness. "I hate night on this planet." she murmured. It was far, far too dark for her liking.

The adrenaline rush that came with falling out of a tree had worn off and Zee was beginning to feel the soreness in her muscles. She absent-mindedly massaged her neck as she turned to face Jaron. "So, uh." Well this was the awkward part, wasn't it? "Where am I sleeping?" Because she wasn't just going to assume that they would share the bed (not that she'd mind). It was safer to assume that she'd be camping out on the floor, he just needed to point out where.

notes:
Jaron Namir

Zee wondered if Jaron's downplay of his own hand in building his cabin was because he was being humble or if it was for another reason altogether. "Don't worry." She said as she rested her hand against the wall. It had been a very long time since she'd been in a place that had sturdy walls. Her own little hut was a joke compared to the cabin that Jaron had, but they had to use what resources were around them. Hopefully the architects would be able to build them all actual houses that afforded some of the comforts of home. Like actual doors that closed and blocked animals from wandering in and rummaging through their things. "Your secret's safe with me. I won't tell anyone that you can build houses." She grinned then looked out of the window.

It was a combination of things that made Zee dislike night time on Petra Exterior. It wasn't just that it seemed to be so much darker thare than on Earth - probably because there was no light pollution - but it was also the fact that there were things they didn't know anything about lurking in the darkness. She'd never been one to be scared of the dark, not even when she was a child, but being on a new planet with a whole laundry list of unknowns had awakened a new fear. She sighed, frowning when Jaron said that she'd get used to it. Maybe, maybe not, only time would tell. When he said that he hoped she'd sleep okay she turned around and gave a little smile, despite her discomfort at the growing darkness. "You might have to sing me a liullaby." She teased.

As they broached the subject of sleep she finally asked where he wanted her to sleep and the look he gave her had her tilting her head slightly. The girl laughed as he claimed to have manners, which she was inclined to agree wtih, and shook her head. "It would be rude of me to assume that I would get the bed." She pointed out. "I have manners, too, y'know." So that took care of the matter of where she was going to sleep, and she assumed that Jaron would take up residence on the floor for the night, which wouldn't have been so bad if a single night on PE wasn't seventy-two hours long. That was a long time to lay on a floor ... if he even slept for the whole time, which she thought it was physically impossible to sleep for that long. Their bodies weren't meant for that.

She watched as he sank down into a corner on the opposite side of the room and she didn't bother to hide the frown on his face -- he probbaly wouldn't even be able to see it that well with how dark it had gotten. The only light in the cabin was the moonlight that streamed in through the window and while that was good enough for seeing silhouettes, the finer details were lost at a distance.

Zee sat down and began to untie her boots, glancing every now and again in the corner that Jaron had sat in. "that corner can't be very comfortable." She said knowingly as she pulled her boots off and set them to the side. "...I don't mind sharing." She was suddenly very glad that it was as dark as it was because Jaron likely wouldn't be able to see that she was blushing because she knew sleeping in the same bed with him was dangerous territory, but she didn't think it was fair to stick him in a corner and expect him to sleep comfortably. "I'm not that big, I don't take up much room at all." She joked, because that felt like it was safe territory. But Zee shrugged and crawled into the bed and settled down. It was his choice as to whether or not he wanted to share, she wasn't going to push him. She was far too tired.

notes: loveyouuuu <3
Jaron Namir

Zee's grin grew just a little bit wider and she shook her head when Jaron said that he didn't have an excuse not to sing anymore. "Not anymore." came her reply. Eventually people would find out that the only entertainer on the planet - only one that she knew of, at least - had an instrument and they would start demanding concerts. After spending so much time working they would be looking for a way to relax and there was little that was more relaxing than listening to music.

Her offer at sharing the bed with Jaron was denied rather quickly and at first Zee didn't know if she should be insulted by it or grateful. She sighed as she settled down, but Jaron's next remark elicited a laugh from her. "Danger Will Robinson?" She asked, somewhat surprised that that was the totally accurate phrase he'd chosen. "What's wrong? Scared that I won't be able to control myself?" There was a bit a truth there, however. For whatever reason, around Jaron, her sense of self control always came up lacking. Maybe it was a good thing that he'd chosen to stay in his corner instead of sharing the bed with her. Chances were, that if he were there with her, she wouldn't get much sleeping done because a) she would snuggle up against him and drift off to sleep -- which sounded like a wonderful option -- or b) she would quietly freak out while he slept or c) she really wouldn't be able to control herself.

Yeah, him staying in his corner was definitely a good thing, but that didn't change the fact that she still wanted to be snuggled up against him while she slept.

The song that Jaron chose to sing as a lullaby was one that made Zee, again, glad that it was dark inside of the small cabin. It was something that felt romantic and she wanted to interrupt him and tell him to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, or Baa Baa Black Sheep instead because there was nothing even remotely romantic about those. If he sang nursery rhymes to her she wouldn't be tempted to lay there and pretend that he was singing about her when he wasn't and probably never would and ugh...

Maybe listening to the animals outside until she fell asleep would have been the better option because there was no reading into that. A roar in the dark meant there was a giant creature out there hunting. Roars couldn't be manipulated into I like yous or I love yous or anything of that nature.

Zee sighed again and closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep, but it didn't work. She listened to the song until it was over. "...I like that song." She murmured quietly. Despite herself and the fact that she knew the smartest thing would be for Jaron to stay where he was she still couldn't seem to keep her mouth shut. "When you get uncomfortable just tell me to scoot over." She said, her voice hushed as she rolled over to try and sleep.

notes: ---
Jaron Namir

Of course Zee knew what Jaron had meant, but joking about it made it seem far less ... she didn't know ... more like a joke than something that had a distinct possibility of happening. "Goodnight, Jaron." She said, yawning, as she rolled over and made herself comfortable. Within minutes she had drifted off to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night she was roused to a state of semi-consciousness when she felt something moving next to her. Wait. Something moving next to her, She started to panic because she lived alone so there shouldn't anyone or anything in bed with her. It took her a solid ten seconds (if not longer) for her to calm down enough for her sleep-fogged brain to remember that she wasn't in her own home. She was in Jaron's cabin... so it had to be him that was next to her. This realization was something that she could accept, along with the fact that she hadn't been eaten, because if it was a carnivorous wild animal she would have been. It was just Jaron. Nothing to worry about. She sighed and a few minutes later she was asleep again.

The next time Zee woke up she was nestled quite comfortably against Jaron's chest. His arm was draped over her side, effectively pulling her tightly to him -- not that she was compleining. Her own arm mimicked his and she was sure that one of her legs was tangled up with his, making it nearly impossinble for her to either get up or put any kind of distance between them. So she resigned herself, willingly, to stay exactly where she was - snuggled against Jaron's chest.

When he woke up she could tell. His body was more tense -- she guessed he realized where he was and that he was holding on to her. His breathing wasn't the same deep, even breathing that he had when he was asleep. She could imagine that he was panicking because he'd been so hell-bent on not sharing the bed with her and yet there they were. He was probably looking for some kind of an escape route and even though she enjoyed the snuggling she wasn't going to keep Jaron where she assumed he didn't want to be. "Morning." She murmured, her head tilting enough so she could look toward where she assumed Jaron's face would be. She was trying to make out what kind of expression he had, but in the darkness she really couldn't tell, so she lifted her arm up to allow him to move over.

notes: ---
Jaron Namir

A small part of Zee hoped that Jaron would take the invitation that she'd given with lifting her arm and get up. A larger part of her -- one that she didn't want to acknowledge -- hoped that he would ignore it and stay right where he was because she was selfish and a glutton for the torture that having him so close brought.

Her arm dropped down onto the bed next to her after Jaron pulled away and she stared at His silhouette, wondering what he was thinking and how he was feeling. Was he confused? Upset? Frustrated? Mad? Regretting that he'd said she could stay the night? She resigned herself to the fact that she wouldn't know -- and she wasn't going to ask -- what he was thinking about. She figured that he'd only get defensive if she did, anyway.

Zee rolled over onto her back and stared up at the dark ceiling, frowning to herself when Jaron said that this was a bad idea. At least he hadn't said this was a mistake because that would have hurt a whole hell of a lot. She sighed and rolled onto her side with her back to Jaron and looked out of the window. "The worst," She agreed quietly.

"I dunno." Zee said, shrugging her shoulder when Jaron asked how long he'd been there. She hadn't been fully awaks when he'd climbed into the bed with her and it was damn near impossible to tell time on PE anyway. "A couple hours, I guess." Her head turned enough so that she could look in his direction. "Sorry, I should've woke you up." Because he'd made it perfectly clear when he was sitting in his corner that he didn't want to share the bed with her.

The girl huffed as she thought about it and pushed herself up, her legs swinging over so that she was sitting on the opposite side of the bed, her back still to Jaron. What was wrong with her that he didn't want to be near her? She stomped that thought down as soon as it surfaced, her face twisting into a scowl. She sat there for a minute before getting up and walking over to the window. "How long do you think it'll be until sunrise?"

notes:
Jaron Namir

Why didn't she wake him up?

That was teh million dollar question, wasn't it? There were several answers to that question, one being that she'd actually liked how it felt having Jaron someone hold her, but there was no way that she was going to admit that to him. Not when he was so obviously upset about their screwed up situation. "I figured if you were tired enough to lay down next to me you needed to sleep." She said instead. "I mean, you made it pretty obvious that you didn't want to be near me when you were fully conscious." She cast a glance in Jaron's direction before averting her gaze back to the world outside of the cabin.

Maybe it would have been a better idea for her to just walk home in the dark. Getting mauled to death by a wild animal would probably be just as painful as her current situation, but with the added benefit of not having to suffer through it again.

Zee's blood felt like it turned to ice in her veins when Jaron voiced his next question. "Because..." I'm a fucking idiot. Because it's for the best. Because anything serious with you could only end in disaster. Because you're not a one-woman man and I don't want to get hurt. She shrugged, her head dropping as she looked down at the dirt floor. "I don't know." She mumbled, because it was so much easier to say than all the other reasons that held so much truth. And yet, even with the truth behind those reasons, she still found herself inexplicably drawn to him like a moth to a flame.

"If it's easier for you not to be friends at all, then ... fine." She tried not to sound distant, but likely failed. "The last thing we need is life being any harder on this planet than it already is, right?" She could hear Jaron moving behind her and his I'll be right back made her bite her lower lip to keep it from trembling. Yeah, she definitely should have turned down Jaron's offer and just made the trip back home in the dark even though she hated it.

She stood for a few minutes staring out into the darkness trying to figure out the best course of action. It didn't take her long to decide that it was probably best if she just ... left. Jaron could be comfortable in his own home without her there and she could probably make it home by the time Sol started to rise then she could spend a majority of the day sleeping. And she was probably just paranoid about things lurking in the dark, right? There was nothing to be scared of. And Jaron would probably be happy to be rid of her, anyway.

Zee sighed and turned away from the window, her mind made up. She quickly pulled her boots on then slipped past the curtain that was supposed to be a door. As she walked away from the cabin she hoped that, for a change, her luck would be good and she wouldn't find Jaron instead of the path back to Exurbia.


"."

notes:
Jaron Namir