Eloise the Sea Bunny (mine) and Leo the Lionfish (@breadnabreadd)
They hadn't been together very long, barely made it public to the rest of the crew—though they didn't even need to do that since everyone had already seen it coming apparently—so they both felt more comfortable keeping intimate moments to themselves right now, no matter how innocent.
The lights are dim and Eloise is nestled against Leo's side, fiddling with the open vest jacket while his arm is wrapped around her waist. The clothes on her back being the only thing seperating the cool metal from her skin was a thought running rampant in her mind.
Out of her many… many past relationships, she has barely been with anyone who has cyberwares, let alone someone who is almost a full borg the same way Leo was. She had always heard that those who tend to adorn themselves with excessive cyberwares tend to go, well… insane, unstable, psychotic, whatever you want to call it. Point is, she and everyone else were told that they were dangerous beings who let the machines control them.
And most of the time, they were right… not with Leo, however.
When Eloise looks up, seeing the closed eyes of a man definitely not sleeping, she just sees a big old teddy bear that has only ever made her feel safe.
She also sees a face scrunching up, turning away just slightly as cheeks flush and he groans awkwardly under her attention. It makes her smile, giggle even, when Leo's eyes finally open to stare back at her.
"Uh," he starts quietly, trying not to disturb the peaceful air between them, "you're staring really hard… is something the matter…?" Leo always sounds nervous at even the slightest implication something might be wrong, especially when it comes to her.
She never expected to find someone who gets that way about her…
At the lack of answer, Leo sits up a bit, removing his hand from underneath his head and letting it rest beside it instead. Eloise shakes her head, trying to pacify his worry. "No, nothing's the matter, I was merely admiring…" the you hangs in the air, and it only makes Leo glance away. He gets far too shy when she pays any close attention to him that it just makes her want to stare at him more.
Although, her gaze drifts from his face—that is now trying to look away from her—and onto the metal hand that is now free from underneath him. She's never been with someone that has so much cyberware, and she really wants to try something…
Leo sighs, slowly laying back down and starting to close his eyes again. "You say things I'm never prepared for," he murmurs at a volume only they could hear and his hand slowly moves back to the spot behind his head.
She was about to do something that he isn't prepared for, either.
Eloise swiftly moves from her spot at his side, sliding one of her legs over his waist to look down at his reddening face. She was straddling him, and he was struggling to form the words to express whatever was going on in his head. Lucky for him, he didn't need to say anything yet.
"I apologize," Eloise whispers, leaning closer and pressing their bodies against each other, "I've just been wanting to do this for a bit now." Her hand goes from his chest up to the hand that is still right next to his head, the one she has been looking at for a bit. What she does next is easy, something they've done quite a few times by now, actually, so the movements are practiced and smooth.
Her hand touches the cool metal of his palm, gliding up until her fingers interlock with his and he does the same. It's a perfect fit, and she slightly wiggles her hand just to be sure and she hums contently at the confirmation. "Your hand… despite being behind your head this whole time, it's still so cool…" her thumb moves, brushing his index finger continuously. Eloise is aware that, despite there being metal over flesh, Leo can feel everything she is doing as if nothing was different… "you're incredible," she breathes out with a smile.
It's the truth. Everything about him is incredible and she just wants to appreciate all she can, and simply holding his hand is a good enough start.
With her eyes still on Leo's hand, her head rests on his chest, enjoying the way it rises with every deep breath. "Eloise…?" Leo's voice is shakey, nervous or flustered she can't tell. "You can't just—"
"Surprise you like that?" She finishes his sentence, sitting up just to look down at him with a smile. Despite sitting up, she doesn't release his hand, squeezing it slightly instead as if to emphasize the lack of distance between them. "Sorry," Eloise says softly as her other hand moves to cup his cheek, "can you blame me for wanting to admire you?" She presses her lips against his, a soft and gentle kiss that ends with a loving gaze while she pulls away. "It's just so hard to look away…." Honestly, she doesn't know how anyone could.
Eloise gives him another small kiss and when she pulls away, she presses her head against his chest. The metal against her cheek is cool, but she can feel it slowly warming up to match her own body temperature. It's not as uncomfortable as one would initially think, in fact, she quite enjoys resting on top of him like this.
She gives his hand another squeeze and she smiles because, in that moment, it felt just as natural as anything else. A heart beat in his chest, the rhythmic thump soothing to say the least, is enough proof that Leo is different from that nasty category people would throw him in just because of cyberwares he was forced to get to survive.
As if a heart beat wasn't enough, his hand squeezes hers back.
