"Good morning… yeah. I might go up and get the pickles." He sat up slowly, with her still nestled in his arms. And he kept her like that, leaning his head into hers. "Once we become un-hungover we should go back to sleep. This is too comfortable." He forgot what it was like to snuggle with an actual human being. It was so nice.
“The pickles? Do I even want to know?” The thought of eating pickles this early in the day is enough to make her feel nauseous. If it’s a hangover cure then it better be a damn good one. She’s forced to sit up when he does but she doesn’t protest. “This is definitely comfortable.” Snuggling with Kreja just isn’t the same as snuggling with a real human.
"Yeah. I heard the juice is sharp enough and somehow better with handling your body than alcohol. And it works for me, and I'm a giant ass guy. So, it works." He chuckled and leaned his head down on hers again with a sigh. "So comfy. Alright… I'm gonna get up. Stay down here, I'll bring some dill for you." He slowly laid her back down and stood, rubbing his head as he ducked out of the tent.
“I can’t believe that you’re actually suggesting that we drink pickle juice.” Her nose wrinkles up at the thought of that. “That’s worse than grape kool aid.” This she mutters under her breath. For a second, she considers trying to make him stay down here and cuddle with her but she knows that they’ll both be better off once they’re less miserable. “Good luck,” She calls out after him before flopping back down and burying her face in one of the pillows.
Cameron just rolled his eyes and made his way upstairs, running his hand tiredly through his hair. He grabbed the pickles from the refrigerator, uncapped it, and held his nose before downing some. The sour taste tingled on his tongue and he swallowed it begrudgingly, though as he emerged from the battle of agony of moving, he felt a little less than alright. Hell, his headache went away, and his footsteps stopped hurting as he made his way downstairs.
"Alright, Ava, I discovered holding your nose as you drink it and swallowing quickly helps a lot." He ducked back into the tent and sat her up, handing her the jar of dill pickles.
Ava passed out again in the time that he was gone. It takes her several long moments to wake up again when he reenters the tent. She grumbles a few things under her breath before rolling over and sitting up. With a cautious glare at the jar, she takes it from him. “Here goes nothing,” She mutters before pinching her nose and taking a few swallows of the liquid. It takes all of her will power not to gag or spit the juice out. Once down, she hands the jar back to him. “That was not pleasant.”
"It helps, though, doesn't it?" By the time she stopped complaining, it helped irradiate her headache. He screwed the lid back on and slid the jar back onto the TV stand in case they needed more. He sighed and handed her a water bottle he picked up. "But more water helps more. Just drink this and we'll go back to bed, okay?" Cameron grabbed his own and slugged it down quickly, sighing softly. "Alright… I'm gonna go up and feed the dogs and let out Lily. I'll be back down, okay?" He awkwardly pressed a kiss to her head, grabbed his empty bottle, the pickles, and left the tent.
“Yeah, it does help.” She reluctantly admits. The pickle juice tastes like shit but her headache is going away which is nice. She takes the water bottle and thanks him. Now this she can handle. She unscrews the cap and takes a few sips. It tastes much better than the pickle juice. “Do you want me to help you with the dogs?” She asks, more willing to get up now. The kiss to her head is surprising and she’s not sure what to think about it.
"Nah, I'm okay. Just stay down here and drink the water," He hummed in response, grabbing the alcohol and going upstairs with it, too. Once everything was set away, he made his way upstairs to the dogs. Lily was still sleeping away, and Cameron had to gently nudge the dogs awake before uncurling the blanket from around them and slowly lifting up Lily.
"Oooh… Kreja are you hungry?" He asked the dog gently.
Kreja’s head snaps up when Cameron takes Lily away from him. He’s certainly not happy about that. With a yawn and a grumble, he climbs to his feet and stretches out. The very second food is mentioned, he perks up. Leaping off of the bed, he circles the human a few times, barking excitedly.
"Awww Kreja. I'm sorry, Lily girl can't walk on her own anymore. I've got her safe and sound, though." Lily made a grumbling noise to Kreja, perhaps a sleepy 'please be quiet'. He turned and carried Lily downstairs, getting out Kreja's old bowl to feed him, too. He put them outside and supervised Lily to make sure she used the bathroom and laid down to eat before going back inside and downstairs to Ava again to sleep more.
Kreja smacks Cameron’s leg with his nose in protest. However, the second he hears Lily he calms down and shuts up. With a huff, he trots downstairs and waits for his meal. He starts to devour his food the instant his bowl is placed down in front of him.
Ava lays on her stomach on a small mountain of pillows and blankets. Her eyes are closed but she’s still awake. An empty water bottle has been discarded to the side.
Cameron rolled his eyes at the pup and stopped on his way to the laundry room to change out of his jeans, then joined her in the fort again, settling down next to her. He nabbed his pillows and blanket, opening his arms for her again after poking her a couple times.
"I'm back. Wanna snuggle again?"
Ava halfheartedly swats at his arm when he pokes her. At the mention of snuggling, she does perk up a little. She rolls over into her side and adjusts herself so that she’s once more partially laying on top of him. “You are the best cuddle partner ever,” She informs him, as happy as a clam now. “Just don’t tell Kreja that I said that.”
Cameron rolled his eyes and moved into her place, taking her into his arms and relaxing with a soft sigh. He threw the blankets he brought down over them, glancing at her with a chuckle.
"Right. I won't. Don't tell Lily we're snuggling. She'll get jealous. But… do you want to stay here until you go back home? Maybe we can visit each other more often?"
Ava looks up to him, trying not to look too hopeful. “Yeah, I would like that. I’d have to get my suitcase from the hotel though.” She won’t check out so that her family still thinks that she’s staying there. “Are you sure that it’s okay that I stay here?” It would be great but she doesn’t want to push her luck.
"Of course. Then we can do all kinds of stuff." He smiled warmly at her. "Of course it's okay, Ava. I did offer. I bet it'll be fun. We can put this fort into good use," He hummed, yawning before relaxing again. "Anyway, didn't I tell you it'd feel so much better? Now we can sleep comfortably."
She presses lightly up against him, holding onto him just a little tighter than before. Having him as a friend and….maybe more means the world to her. “If we keep this fort up, there’s a chance that I’ll never leave it.” It’s comfortable but it’s really the cuddling that she’s enjoying so much. “Yeah, yeah, you were right as always.” She laughs quietly.
Cameron chuckled softly, holding her close to his chest. "Well, I think I'll keep it up for as long as you want it, Ava. Never leaving it is perfectly fine." He laughed and slowly shut his eyes. "Well, when we wake up again we can get something to eat, okay? I can make you some eggs or something and we'll be more or less recovered from last night."
“Careful, I might never let you take it down if it’s up to me,” Ava warns lightly, having thoroughly enjoyed being in the fort. “I’d offer to make you breakfast but my cooking skills haven’t improved very much.” Even after three years, she’s a hazard in the kitchen. “Oh! I did manage to make a batch of cookies last year without burning the house down.”
Cameron chuckled and rolled his eyes. "I have to eventually. But I can keep it up for the couple of months you're here with me, how about that? Then we can remake it." He snuggled her closer. "Hey, don't worry about it, Ava. I don't mind cooking for more than one person than just me. And good job. Apparently you're really good at baking, so that's good."
Ava rests her head on his shoulder, her face hiding in the curve on his neck. “Fair enough. When you come to visit me then we’ll have to make one as well. I don’t have a movie theater room but I have a good sized guest bedroom.” It won’t be nearly as great as this one but it’ll be better than nothing. “No, I definitely suck at baking. The cookies were inedible.”
Cameron gently rubbed her back as he dozed, her breath on his neck making him shiver just a small bit. This felt good, to be with someone like this.
"Absolutely. And I'll bring some good cookies and cake, too, how about that?" He asked her gently, smiling a little as he got pulled away slowly.
Ava relaxes completely at Cameron rubs her back. It feels amazing. She bites back a groan when he hits the knot on the small of her back. That stupid thing has been bothering her for weeks.
“That would be perfect,” She agrees, her eyes fluttering open as she looks at him. While she may not admit it out long, she is disappointed when he starts to pull away.
He nodded at her answer and shifted slightly with her in his arms, finally finding a comfortable spot. His hand relaxed on the small of her back and he gave a tiny grin before he slipped off into sleep. He snored very softly.
With a yawn, she snuggles up against him and gets herself situated. She's so comfortable right now. At this rate, she may never actually go back home. Only a few moments after he's fallen asleep, she's drifted off as well.
(Should we skip to a later date?)
(Yep! Any ideas?)
(Hm maybe the next time she comes around? Or maybe that idea I saw on Pinterest? Like, maybe Ava's fleeing from the police and Cameron stops her and tugs her away?)
(Could we do the Pinterest idea?)