"Ha! You are ticklish! I knew it all along." She sat back after getting him once or twice, satisfied with her work.
"Maybe. May...be." Jared said, putting his hands on his hips. He took a breath. "So... You hungry? I can whip us something up if you want." He offered.
He sat back, breathing heavily. "I was right to be afraid of you." * * * Ellia crossed her arms and considered him. "Hm. Yes. I'll take you up on that."
"Yeah. Whatever." She jokingly rolled her eyes, and scooted closer to this. This time, she wasn't going to attack him.
They sat comfortably for a moment, their shoulders touching as they looked out to the busy crew. Jack frowned, and then finally turned to her. "What's going to happen... you know... with us when this is all over?" He flushed but persevered. "I mean, if you're thinking of going to the countryside, but I'm planning on staying on the ship... well, that creates quite a dilemma, right?"
She looked at him with a reassuring expression. "I would rather be on the ship than the countryside for now, so you shouldn't worry," she said calmly, then yawned.
He looked at her with a cocked head, his eyes gentle. "Are you sure you're not tired? You should try to sleep a little."
She shook her head. "I'll be fine. I think you should try to sleep," she countered, using puppy eyes.
"I have a proposition to make," he said, raising one finger. He pointed to where she sat. "You stay there," he said, and then pointed to where he sat. "I'll stay here. I will try to sleep, as will you. Does that work?"
Avice nodded. "I accept this," she said, leaning her head on his shoulder. After a moment she spoke up. "But I don't want to sleep?"
He laughed, and his shoulders shook with the motion, shaking her head. "If you don't sleep, I don't either. So it appears that we're at an impasse."
"Well, I am worried about you not getting enough sleep," he said into her hair. "This is what the compromise is for."
He smiled down at the top of her head, her hair tickling his lips. "Thank you. I do appreciate the sacrifice."
"Shhhh. I'm sleeping, and so are you." She reached her hand up and blindly touched his face, trying to close his eyes. "See?"
She would feel his smile on her fingertips, as he nodded. "Okay." He rested his head on top of hers, his jaw strong and set. His breathing deepened as he relaxed, and within minutes, it seemed, he was on the precipice of sleep.
She had kept her eyes shut, but stayed awake, mostly to make sure he fell asleep. Once she sensed he nearly was, she let herself relax. It didn't take long for her breathing to become slow and steady, and her to drift off into a doze.
