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Maryse Lightwood/Cleophas Garroway, Rated T, And There Was Only One Bed

For the Shadowhunters WLW Bingo, Team Red, Prompt:

“And There Was Only One Bed”

Read it on AO3

Maryse Lightwood sighed as she walked up to the stairs of the small motel. It was one of those definitely shady highway-side motels, but both her and her partner were armed and there would be no problem in the security department.

They both looked somewhat slight, but they were both tough and strong. They were also both cops.

Cleophas was getting her own bag out of the car while Maryse was supposed to open the room and see if they could make it a little nicer. They weren’t asking for much, but they already knew that they wouldn’t be having that clean sheets.

The two of them were relatively used to this kind of ordeal. They were often called across the state to inspect certain reports and files. The motel scene was somewhat theirs. They did always somehow manage never to be in the same motel.

Maryse grabbed the key. The keychain was bright orange and plastic, with the logo of the motel in white letters over the garish color. She pushed the key in the keyhole and opened the door.

“Fuck.”

There was only one bed.

That was unfortunate, not because she and Cleophas had a specific issue with how the other slept, but because Maryse was… attracted to her co-worker. She hadn’t felt this magnetized by someone in years, or maybe ever. She’d loved her ex-husband, sure, but this…

Cleophas was attractive. The kind of attractive that made Maryse feel like a bashful, horny teenager. She had dark hair and dark eyes, strong muscles underneath black skin, and she could wolf down an entire plate of buffalo wings without really blinking.

That last part seemed quite trivial, but Maryse liked food. She’d always liked food, greasy comfort food like wings or ribs and things that left your hands sticky and that made you feel full and gross and happy. Robert had liked his wife to go to the gym. Maryse felt like Cleophas wouldn’t care if she ordered mac and cheese.

She sighed softly, and put her bag on the chair. She went to check the bathroom. You never knew what could await you there.

Cleophas was relatively fast to follow Maryse towards the room after grabbing her things and locking the car. It was always a bit strange to be so close to Maryse in motels, yet so far. Cleophas could feel something between them, something that made her want to take care of Maryse in every sense of the term.

Maryse wasn’t very tall, and she wasn’t very skinny, and Cleophas liked women that were exactly that. Women she could share a beer with, and women she could feel comfortable with. And Maryse was smart. She was maybe one of the smartest people Cleophas had ever met, and that was a deadly trap for Cleophas.

Watching Maryse go through files and point out little flaws in procedure was incredibly satisfying, and Cleophas felt like she could watch that spectacle forever. It was almost like a painting, a beautiful woman with dark hair and dark eyes, tan fingers brushing over papers with an attention to detail that made Cleophas shiver.

Cleophas pushed the door open. The room was, as usual, quite Spartan, but they weren’t paying for expenses. They were paying for a bed and a shower, one night, and nothing else.

Speaking of bed, Cleophas’ eyes stopped onto the bed. The only bed. It was a double, maybe, but they had asked for two singles. Now, they had to share a bed. And Cleophas didn’t know if that was going to end okay.

Maryse’s actual sexuality was still unknown, and there was the entire parameter of the fact Maryse had gotten a divorce relatively recently, and was maybe still heartbroken about it. She had exclaimed that she was glad it was over, but Cleophas wanted to make sure that it wasn’t just words.

Maryse walked out of the bathroom and smiled. “We have clean everything and hot water.”

“Great,” Cleophas sighed.

They both looked at the bed and looked away again in silence.

“We can share. We’re two 40 year old women, we’re adults.” Cleophas chuckled.

Maryse nodded. She licked her lips.

They went out to a small diner for dinner and completely avoided talking about the bed or anything else. They showered and got ready and planned their trip for the next day and looked up online which motel they would stop at next.

Maryse slipped on some comfortable pjs and Cleophas put on sweatpants and they settled awkwardly into the bed. They weren't used to this, to sharing a bed and being this close to each other.They turned off the lights and shifted.

Maryse sighed softly and closed her eyes. She hadn’t shared a bed with someone since the last night she’d spent in Robert’s bed. It felt strange to hear someone existing by her side, in her bed. Cleophas was on her left, where Robert would have been usually.

“So… Are you okay?” Cleophas’ voice resounded in the silence of the room.

Maryse had a little bit of a chuckle. She shifted, turning around so she could face the other woman, even if they couldn't really see each other.

“Do you mean, am I over my ex-husband?”

Cleophas was silent for a moment before she explained herself. “You talk very loudly about how you’re glad it’s over. Sometimes, that behavior can hide heartbreak.”

Maryse slid her hand under the pillow and caressed her fingers over the sheet. She closed her eyes for a second.

“It’s not the case,” she said softly. “I’m truly glad it’s over. I fell out of love for him decades ago. I only stayed because of the children. And because I didn’t think I could have something else than him. Something better.”

“You can, and you deserve better. You’re beautiful.”

Maryse had a small laugh. That was a lot. “I don’t know. I’ve been through a lot. It hasn’t aged me well. And I’m not exactly… I’m thick. But not in the right places. Robert obviously had a type that I wasn’t a part of.”

“Are you kidding? Your body is gorgeous.”

Cleophas’ voice sounded genuine but Maryse didn't know how to accept it all. “I had three children.”

“I know. And I love that.”

Maryse huffed. “Right.”

Cleophas sighed. “Can I cuddle you?”

Maryse opened wide eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Can I cuddle you?” Cleophas repeated. “It doesn’t have to mean anything. I just like to hold people, when I sleep.”

Maryse hummed. She hadn’t been held in so long. She shifted again, turning away.

“I’m a little spoon,” she whispered.