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She found herself far more disappointed he'd decided to go ahead and sit in the chair again than she would have imagined. There was relief, it meant she didn't have to worry about signals going to far down one particular path, but it still left her... wanting something. Of course, this was Jake, and despite the fact they'd embraced a moment ago, she knew he wasn't too keen on physical contact. Maybe she should--

Her thoughts focused again when he stated speaking. A sad smile on her face as he told her about Chester. "You will have to tell me right away what you find out," she said. "I like Chester." She... didn't know what else to say, really.

So she felt a tiny bit saved when Jake started talking again. For a moment. What? No. He wasn't pushing anything too far. She was the one sitting on the bed, for goodness sake. ........ OH. She was pushing things too far, clearly. Her mind was the one straying down that path, clearly, and he could see it was agitating her. Which was entirely silly and not his fault.

"Jake," she sighed. "You don't have to leave. You can if you want, of course, but you don't have to." She stayed where she was, though by now she'd pulled her knees up to chest. "You're not rushing anything, and you're not making me uncomfortable." It was all her, in her head. Jake wasn't like that, she didn't think. "I... think I'd like you stay, but I don't want to imply... things. I would like your company for a while longer. That...wasn't a very long chat, you know." She gave him a small smile. "But if you're not comfortable, or you have things to do... don't feel like you have to stay." Way to be selfish, Sherry. He has a life too.

Sherry registered the chuckle that rolled through her mind. Armagnac, nearly silent for weeks now, somehow found this amusing.

Sherry didn't. She heard his words and she understood them. He wanted to be patient, to give her time to think. He wanted her to talk to Chester and make sure she knew what she wanted.

Except she already knew what she wanted. She was selfish and terrible, but she knew. Heck, she was pretty sure she knew what she wanted from him right at that moment, too.

"Jake," she said as he was opening the door, "You know my answer won't change, right? It hasn't for ages." She sighed, sliding off the bed again. And so help her if he walked out that door while she was talking, she'd skin him. "Even when I walked away from you, it was because that's what you'd asked for."

"But," she continued, reaching for his arm again. "Here is what you need to know about me. I am incredibly selfish. Armagnac level selfish."

The chuckles still rolling in her brain only deepened.

"And I don't want you to leave yet. I want to sit and hold your hand, and maybe talk a little." Nothing more, nothing less. "I know it's an odd request, so I don't know how to ask for it-" (She just did.) "-and I know you don't like touching and so you can leave if you really want, but I don't want you to."

Armagnac went quiet again, but something in that silence was less angry.

She shook her head. "You really don't get it. Think about it. After everything. Everything, and I'm still standing here telling you that I like you." She took his hand in both of hers again. "And if you start trying to tell me about danger again, I'll have Armagnac open up a new hole in your hide." Whether she meant by glaive or by claw, well, that was for her to know. "Because the danger doesn't matter. I have as much chance of dying in this room as anywhere else, honestly." Being a hunter was not safe, ok.

She bit her lip, looking him in the eye and pausing for a moment. She hoped she didn't sound angry. She was a tiny bit grumpy, but more with herself than him. She was the one confused with herself, the one being selfish, and yet she was pressing right on forward. He might as well hear all of it, all at once.

"I like you, I have since I don't know when, and I will continue until who knows when. I'm silly and a hardcore romantic even if no one but Armagnac knows it. I wear that bracelet you got me whenever I can and I haven't taken the necklace off since the ship." Her left hand let go of his, showing him the bracelet under her sleeve as she pulled on her scarf, untying it to show him.

"I don't need to think about it because I already have. Even when you didn't want me, I wanted you, and that's how things are." She was a bit surprised by the fact that she wasn't about to cry. Usually she cried.

"I want you to stay. The hopeless romantic in me wants to sit and cuddle with you all night. I know that's silly because you just told me how you feel. You want to be patient about it. I'm only giving you a choice because," she paused for an intake of breath, "you spent so long telling me you hated me I want you to be sure this is what you want. I also hesitate because I don't want to make you uncomfortable or ask too much of you, and I don't want you to think I want sex because I don't but it's all so fuzzy with implied things, so I want to be clear and comfortable... but I've been messing that up."

Her eyes went to the door, still hanging open, then back to him. "So yes. I want you to stay. I want to sit and hold your hand and lean on you and talk about silly things." It was possible she'd been more candid than intended.

The feeling Armagnac responded with confirmed Jake's suspicion. Sherry kept that to herself.

She did a much poorer job of keeping her own feelings to herself. "I know," she said, pretty sure that she looked like she was about to cry. "I know you didn't hate me." She smiled as she said it. She'd been told by Chester and by Jake, more than once even. She knew it and believed it. He'd just tried so hard to push her away that... she was waiting for him to push again. Any second. Was that why she was so reluctant to let him leave? Probably. They'd kissed. The next time she saw him...he'd be telling her to go away again. No, no, no. Not after everything else he'd just admitted to her.

Of course, if she kept letting her words run away with her, or let her actions make him uncomfortable again, he might just change his mind.

"I...didn't mean to infer that you had thought about..." She was blushing rather nicely. She'd gone and said too much and clearly thought too much and embarrassed him in the process. Oh, heavens. What would he think of her now? Childish, selfish, and this. She couldn't even meet his eye. "I wasn't thinking about... I just didn't want any misinterpretations. I know sometimes asking someone to stay might mean... but that's not what I mean. I just want you to stay."

She squeezed his hand, her gaze rising to look at his face again. "I know I want you to stay. Stay with me?"

The hug made her happier than he could know. "I don't only cry when I'm upset, you know. I cry when I'm happy, too." Right then, she didn't need to cry. She was warm and safe and life was good.

But heavens did she blush at his comment about what kind of girl she was. "Of course I'm not. That's why..." That's why she was trying to make sure things were clear. She didn't think Jake was the type to try anything but signals. She was fail at sending them. Any of them.

Though he did seem to pick up on one. "Yes--" She would have said more, but his kiss interrupted her. Not that she'd complain.

They were going to have to discuss him whispering in her ear at some point, however. Not tonight....she'd already embarrassed herself once. He didn't need to know it sent shivers down her spine.

"I was thinking," no, she really hadn't been thinking...if she had she might not kept sending signals all over the place, "the bed would be just fine." She wanted to be close, ok. Maybe she should invest in a teddy bear? Jake made a good argument, though. "I suppose, if that's not good... we could sleep on the floor?" It would be like camping. Only not at all. "Oh, dear." She flustered, making sure the door was shut for something to do while she tried to think of a good solution to this problem. She might have been bright red at this point.

"That would work," she admitted about sleeping arrangements. It was also probably the most reasonable course of action. "But I--"

She froze when she felt his arms around her; when she felt his hands at her stomach. "Rules?" she repeated. Her hands moved to cover his, and she relaxed a bit, leaning into him. "This... this is fine. Sleeping next to you is fine. Being next to you is fine." She squeezed his arms too her. "This is fine. But I don't think I want a whole lot more... touchy than this. Not... until we've talked some."

She hoped like hell he couldn't feel the shiver that ran down her back at that faint whisper of a touch on her cheek. She didn't want to push things, or have him think less of her for anything. Still, she answered him truthfully. "That's allowed," she responded, a bit quieter than she would have liked.

She found her voice in time for her next response, however. "Are they? Really all that different, I mean? To me they seem very similar, though... I do see how they might not be." She was doing it again. She didn't seem to think there should be much of difference, but that was because she was silly and selfish, and she told herself as much. Though as his words sank in she went a deeper shade of red. "Fidget?" The question was more an automatic response as her brain searched for time. "I don't sleep much." It was a lame counter, but she used it anyway, like it somehow mattered.

"Do..." She sighed, leaning against him and conceding defeat. She thought she knew what she wanted, but she wasn't sure, not entirely. Maybe this was a bad idea, but maybe she didn't care. "Do we really need rules? Can't we just agree not to make the other uncomfortable? Take it slow? I just want to be close to you, Jake. That's all I really want right now. And to talk and maybe have a kiss or two, but beyond that, I'm not sure. Other than what I said no to earlier." She could be clear about that much.

"You," she paused for the briefest moment, "can sleep where you want, you know. It's your choice. If you think it would be a problem, then I won't push it."

Oh, dear. She couldn't help but think she was making it worse. She was constantly contradicting herself. No wonder Jake was confused.