For Rachel 8-15

[likesthestooges]

Aidan wasn't having the easiest time of things with Rachel. On one hand, Rachel was great. She was smart, funny, sexy, and kind. She also had a ton of issues, which Aidan considered as a plus since he had a ton of his own and didn't feel guilty bringing that into a relationship with her.

On the other hand, Rachel didn't want a relationship. Rachel wanted to be good friends who slept together but weren't in a relationship. Most guys would kill for that sort of thing, but Aidan wasn't most guys. He'd come to realize that his time as a human was short and he wanted to make the most of it. Sex without feelings or a meaningful relationship was something he could easily do as a vampire. Having a real relationship was something more suited for being a human.

That wasn't something Rachel wanted though, and he was accepting of that. The problem was all too often he had trouble distinguishing the line between "friends with benefits" and "pushing for a relationship".

Case it point, Rachel had had a rough day. He wasn't even sure exactly why, but he could tell that it hadn't gone well. To help out, he'd come over that evening and cooked dinner for both of them and brought over a bottle of wine so she could just relax and unwind. No sex, no talking about feelings, just helping a friend get over a tough time while talking late into the night.

Maybe helping get her into bed and essentially tucking her in was a bit much, but he didn't think she would even remember that in the morning. He also thought he'd leave her something nice to wake up to, so before he went home he'd got a small bouquet of flowers together and left them in a vase on her table.

Several hours later he was still lying in bed awake, over-thinking those flowers. Too much? They were just flowers. Flowers didn't mean much, did they? Friends got flowers for each other, right?

Aidan sighed and rolled out of bed. That was stupid, friends didn't get each other flowers. It wasn't too long of a walk to Rachel's hut, even in the dark. He could go there, get the flowers, and be back before he lost too much sleep.

Once at Rachel's hut, he listened quietly at the door to see if she was up and moving around for some reason. Everything sounded dead quiet though so he cracked the door open and slipped inside, carefully feeling his way toward the table where he had left the flowers.

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[likesthestooges]

"Alright, but don't go changing your mind and thinking you're going to get some. This is snuggling only."

Not that Aidan could really resist if she decided otherwise, but he was pretty sure she was not in the mood for that. He figured he was lucky that she wasn't kicking him out after how upset she was.

[starchilde_lost]

Putting up a hand, she tried to put a grave expression on her face. The giggles ruined the effect, but she did try. "I solemnly swear that I won't try to seduce you tonight." After all of that, she really wasn't sure if she'd be in the mood for it. She still felt a little tremble-y.

Christ, she could have shot him. Since when did other peoples' paranoia go to her head?

Pouring out the rest of her water into the sink, she pulled away from him, heading to retrieve the discarded weapon. "I'll put this away and we can strip you down in a completely non-sexual way and go back to sleep, okay?"

[likesthestooges]

"I'm not sure I believe you, but alright. I'll trust myself with you tonight."

Rachel may have had the giggles, but Aidan could pull a poker face with the best of them. That didn't mean he couldn't smile if he wanted to though, and Rachel definitely made him want to grin.

"Okay, that sounds like a plan to me."

[starchilde_lost]

Heading back to the bedroom, she knelt down and started to re-secure the shotgun before changing her mind and moving to put it in the wardrobe. She could manage without it for a little while at least. At least on the nights when she wasn't alone. Not that she hadn't been alone when she pulled it out, but...

God, she probably just needed to sleep. And re-evaluate that whole therapy thing again.

[likesthestooges]

"You're over thinking something," he said, reaching out to slide his hands along her shoulders and gently rub them. He felt guilty about this, knowing that whatever bothered her wouldn't be something she was thinking about if he hadn't shown up.

[starchilde_lost]

"Me? A Summers? Over-think things? Heaven forbid." Rachel smiled and closed her eyes, letting his hands ease the rest of the stress from her shoulders. He was good at that, making her relax, making her feel safe.

"I didn't thank you for dinner, I should have. Thanks."

[likesthestooges]

Aidan kneaded her muscles a bit harder now that she was relaxing, moving along her shoulders and back, up along her neck and then down again. She had been so relaxed and in a good mood when he tucked her in he felt bad for ruining that.

"You're welcome, I was glad to do it."

[starchilde_lost]

"God, your hands are magic, you know that?" Groaning, she relaxed even further into the gently touch. He was either going to put her to sleep or turn her on, and frankly, at the moment, she didn't have a preference. Either meant she'd be able to relax, stop thinking about what had just almost happened.

[likesthestooges]

"I just like making you feel good," he assured her.

Aidan liked how relaxed she was getting. If nothing else it meant that he was somewhat out of the doghouse after sneaking into her place in the middle of the night. Besides, she needed a good night's sleep.

[starchilde_lost]

"And you do that very, very well." After another moment she turned enough to give him a kiss. She was still a little shocked, but Aidan was far from in the doghouse.

"C'mon, let's hit the hay, I want to forget all about this crazy whatever-it-was."

[likesthestooges]

"Sounds great," he said, kissing her back and smiling down at her. It probably wouldn't be the last time they had this sort of argument, but he was glad they had gotten through this one.