"Don't forget who gave you that banana," he says. "...Actually Sherlock brought it, so never mind," he adds with a bright grin.
"I can reheat some of the leftovers from last night, and we can get some proper breakfast," he suggests. He doesn't want to run the blender while Sherlock is asleep. Though he makes no move to get up yet, instead just nuzzling at her neck. He's very cuddly right now apparently.
"I've got half a cup of cold coffee if you get desperate," he offers, waggling his eyebrows as if it's an enticing offer. He's perfectly happy to just stay here for a little while. Just the two of them, no thinking about the outside world.
It's so good to see her laughing. It just fills his soul with joy.
Ted grabs a few pillows to put behind Joan, so they can comfortably lounge together here, just relax together.
He continues kissing her, her mouth and occasionally her neck, nuzzling behind her ear, cuddling up close. Not with any purpose or urgency, just enjoying showering her with affection.
And Joan is absolutely loving it, drinking in that affection and giving back in kind, kissing and nuzzling and cuddling, touching his hair, his neck, his shoulders, rubbing his back, brushing her fingertips down his side.
"You know..." he says, pulling back a little to look at her, a little bit of pink in his cheeks. "The kids are asleep," he says, nodding towards the door. "If you still wanted to..." He trails off, but the meaning should be obvious.
Joan's smile widens in amusement at Ted referring to Sherlock as "the kids." God knows it's not far off the mark at times. His meaning is obvious, plain as the pink in Joan's cheeks and the dilation of her pupils. She smiles and nods.
Ted's smile widens, and he gives her another kiss, a bit briefer, before pulling back and getting to his feet. He carefully hops over to the door, and hangs a sock on the outside door handle, just in case Sherlock ends up waking up, before closing it.
He crawls back into bed, settling down next to her and pulling her closer, and resumes what they were doing.
He's still not rushing it, but there might be more of a purpose in mind now. Hands wandering a bit more than they would otherwise. Kisses on her neck and behind her ear meant to be exciting rather than just affectionate.
Joan can't help but laugh a little at the sock. She hasn't used that particular signal since she was in college, and it amuses her to think of her and Ted as two college kids having sex in the dorm and warning the roommate not to enter.
When he comes back, she sinks right back into their cuddling and nuzzling and kissing. She isn't rushing either, but there is definitely an extra sense of tension, the feel that they are slowly building up to something, kissing and touching each other not only to show affection but also to arouse. She gives a soft moan as his lips find a sensitive spot behind her ear, and she slips her hand under his shirt to caress his bare skin.
The sock is silly, but it's also effective. Well, for Sherlock, not for actual children. Besides, the options otherwise is that Sherlock knows what they're doing either because he sees them, or because he hears them. Neither is remotely appealing to Ted, who would rather not do it while anyone is in the house at all, but is being lenient out of necessity.
In the grand scheme of thing, it hasn't been that long since they've done this. About two weeks. But when you consider what's happened in that time, it might as well be an eternity, and it feels so nice to be touching each other like this again. Ted absolutely savors it.
He takes the soft moan as a cue to spend some extra time there, smiling against her skin. His hand slides down her side and her leg, then up the inside of her thigh. Not moving all the way up just yet, but just close enough to be suggestive.
It hasn't been long at all while at the same time being absolutely forever. Touching each other like this is a little bit of normalcy, a little bit of life in what has been a dark time for them both.
The feeling of his hand sliding up the inside of her thigh makes Joan shiver with delight. It stops short, and Joan can't help but whimper softly, the teasing further intensifying the tingling heat between her legs. She answers by sliding her hand lightly down his back, then slipping it underneath the waistband of his sweatpants and his boxers, to lightly caress the bare skin of his ass.
Ted gives a playful "Oooh, cheeky," as she slips her hand inside his boxers. It's a joke on multiple levels. It's definitely working to get him excited, but that doesn't mean he can't also be silly.
He kisses her happily, sliding his hand up inside her shirt, wanting to touch her skin as well, gliding his palm across her stomach and her side.
He pulls back a little bit a moment later though, to look at her. "You just tell me if you need a break or need to slow down," he says, wanting to make sure she doesn't exhaust herself completely. Although so far she seems to be doing alright, thankfully. "Or if you would like me to take the wheel," he adds with a smile.
She giggles at his silliness, enjoying it greatly. Joan can often be a cynical, sarcastic person, and that sort of banter is how she communicates with Sherlock, and with many other people as well. But the kindness and silliness and gentleness of this man taps into the kindness and tenderness Joan has in her heart that she's learned over the years to shield with a hard exterior. Ted doesn't break her walls down. He draws out the gentle and loving healer at Joan's core. In a very odd but very real way he allows Joan to be herself. And this kind and gentle Joan is amused by Ted's silliness in a way cynical Joan might not be.
She hums in appreciation as Ted's hand caresses her stomach, kissing him back. When he pulls back she listens and gives Ted a nod. "I will," she promises. "This might not be the best of times for me to be on top," she says with a smile. "But I'm doing okay so far."
And it was very easy for Ted to see that gentleness inside Joan, even from the beginning. She's not kind in the same way Ted is kind, all effusive and friendly and joking. She doesn't need to be seen as kind. But it was still there in her choices, in the way she treated people. It's the thing that drew him to her in the first place.
"Good," he answers softly, looking at her fondly. "I'm doing pretty good too," he adds, playfully. Relatively speaking, he's doing pretty fantastic, actually.
He sits back a little and gently takes her hands, moving them to have her grasp at the hem of his shirt. Then, still holding his hands over hers, he pulls his shirt off over his head, letting her help. He knows he could just do it himself, and he knows she would probably manage it on her own too, at this point. But he kind of likes that it's a collaboration.
She likes it too. It's quietly intimate, undressing him together. He's inviting her in, sharing the moment, the action. Once his shirt is off, Joan responds in kind, taking his hands and drawing them to the hem of her shirt as well, guiding his hands so together they remove the jersey. They're both topless now, Joan's nipples hard with arousal. She reaches out to draw his face to hers to kiss him again.
As they remove Joan's jersey, Ted takes a moment to just look at her, quietly a little bit floored just at the sight. It's not that he's forgotten how beautiful and attractive she is - they showered together just yesterday. There's just something about the context, and the way she's looking at him, that makes it infinitely more, well, sexy. A word he might not use out loud, but he can't find a better one to replace it.
And then she's pulling him into a kiss, and he obliges immediately. She doesn't need to use any strength to draw him in - he's following at the lightest touch.
He hums softly into her mouth, a sound both of happiness and of longing, as he deepens the kiss. He shifts a bit so he can wrap his arms around her, pulling her close and pressing their bodies together.
How he's looking at her, with equal parts arousal and adoration, is beautiful, and extremely sexy. She feels not only seen but admired, cherished, and it makes her heart flutter and her nethers tingle. He pulls her in as they kiss more deeply, and Joan moans softly into his mouth in return. She draws up one leg to half hook it over his, gently pressing their pelvises together as well.
Ted gasps softly and has to bite his lip for a moment to suppress a moan, not wanting to be too loud. Her pressing against him like that feels extremely good, and fills him with a bit more urgency. She can probably feel his arousal through his soft sweatpants as well.
He slides one hand down, cupping her ass and pulling her closer, grinding their hips together slowly, he as he quietly moans against her.
Now it's Joan's turn to bite her lip and try to stifle a moan. She can feel his arousal quite clearly as he slowly grinds against her, and with her leg hooked around his opening up her thighs, the grinding is hitting the exact right spot. Her panties are soaked right through with arousal, and the sensation is only heightening her desire.
"I need you," she whispers, her breath holding a hint of a growing desperation.
Ted nods in understanding, feeling much the same. The sound of her voice seems to go straight to his erection.
Reluctantly he pulls apart, so they can deal with the rest of their clothes and get a comfortable position.
It occurs to him that getting to the bathroom might still be a bit of an ordeal, which they might not want to bother with afterwards, so it would probably be a good idea to make it as easy to clean up as possible.
So he goes to check the bedside table, hoping for some tissues maybe. He finds more than that.
"You gotta be kidding me.." he murmurs quietly. He could've maybe dealt with the knowledge that Sherlock had condoms prepared for them, but there are even a couole bottles of lube in there. The red in Ted's cheeks is definitely not just arousal now.
Joan definitely didn't expect anything in the drawers to garner that kind of reaction. She frowns, looking at his face, and turns her head, trying to see what he's looking at.
Without turning around, Ted picks up one of the bottles of lube and holds it up to show Joan, covering his face with his other hand. He's kind of embarrassed, but also just very baffled and taken aback. He's not sure what to do with this information.
Joan sees that and sighs, rolling her eyes, throwing up her hand in exasperation. "Sherlock," she mutters.
To be fair, the drawer would have been stocked before they made their agreement, and Sherlock was being considerate, albeit inappropriate. But still.
"Hey..." she says, touching his hand. "Come back to me." She knows he's embarrassed, and she wants to keep him grounded, reiterate that they are safe and alone here, that their union is solid regardless of Sherlock's misguided attempt to be helpful.
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