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[ Midnight Tremors ]

Every so often, Otto would awake between a sleep cycle and the next. Cami, nuzzled closely beside him, trembled and whined in her sleep. Another nightmare. Rather than wake her, he chose instead to rub the small of her back. "Sssh...." He whispered, hoping the slow massage would ease the tension of her dream. Maybe, like a dream catcher, it would filter away all that scared her while she lay trapped in slumber.

Slowly the whining ceased, and the trembling all but stilled. He hoped she'd found a place to hide from that nightmare for now.

Otto was blissfully unaware of impending danger. His attention drawn in to the disaster movie playing in front of him, the fluffy blow to the back of his head came as a shock.

Otto turned sharply, looking up at the opposing figure of Cami armed with her pillow.

Oops. Was this his fault?

"What?" He furrowed his brows, grimacing uncertain. "But I never said we slept together. I said we kissed.... I thought it was only right that she know." Was he wrong?

[ Telling ]

Usually Cami would have flipped over the back of the couch so that she was lying on her neck and shoulders in a way that would have made a doctor grimace to see. Considering there was still a bit of a healing wound in her back she went legs-first this time. Clambering over until she was cuddled up against Otto, pillow on the floor in front of them, her head rested on his shoulder. "No, she had to know because it's important to tell but...I had a plan. I probably should have told you." Only mildly put-out there was just a small sigh as she cuddled closer.

For a moment she wanted to lecture Otto about how he had the worst timing, that he should have consulted her as Cami had planned to when Maebe was out of the infirmary and could be approached about the paradigm shift. But why bother? Then Otto would try to change and it wasn't something that needed changing. She loved him for the way he was, not the way he could be if he were perfect, and most of his flaws were endearing.

Grumbling beneath her breath she let out a long sigh. "I think that's the first time I've been called a slut and not deserved it. It's weird." And, because she could, the redhead snuggled in to lightly kiss a spot on Otto's jaw. "But I'll endure it. For you."

[ Telling ]

"We ought to learn how to communicate more effectively but I'm much happier with cuddling." Alas, that was not the sort of uncomplicated relationship they had any longer. Both of them were romantically (at least sexually) involved with the same woman. Whatever was springing up between her and Otto was going to likely be slow as a three-legged turtle through mud and it made her happy they were so tentative. So hesitant, new and special because of it.

Cami was quite used to being called a slut and, for the most part, she took it as a compliment even when it wasn't intended as such. Slut was something leveraged at an attractive woman who was in control of her own sexuality, her own life, and those were things that Cami very much enjoyed being. So being a slut with Otto? That was alright. "Well, you said it yourself, who cares what anyone else thinks? It's just us and that just means Maebe's jealous you kissed me. Cuz, yanno, I'm special." Her grin was unashamed at the implication that it was because of her that Maebe was jealous, not him, the tease.

"But you? Goodness Otto, I thought you realized, you're so charming you can get away with anything you damn near want."

[ Summer Nights ]

Whatever had taken all of the glass out of the windows of Deus Ex deserved to be destroyed. Destroyed very much in the way that Cami's idea of propriety and effort to be respectful of not shoving those parts of her that were especially feminine in front of Otto's line of sight without asking or preparing him. The moment she was forced to sleep in muggy 23+ degrees Celsius weather was the moment she stopped caring about whether or not Otto's delicate sensibilities were offended.

Even her tiniest cotton shorts were too thick to sleep in, leaving her in nothing but a well-structured sports bra (bless the makers of such a product) and honestly her most modest pair of underwear. There were a few pairs that would have perhaps made the blond go white as a ghost as all the blood left his face to travel south but her cheekies covered everything relevant with utterly opaque fabric. A little lace but that wouldn't kill the poor man.

It was becoming amazing, more and more so, how they seemed to be literal magnets for each other. No matter what happened Cami woke up curled around Otto, or with Otto curled around her. Maebe often ended up entangled in both their limbs when they pushed her between them on nights she could be talked into staying with them.

The way they clicked had always been extraordinary. People called Cami the sun, sunshine, and maybe it was true. Otto, then, would have been the clouds from a rainy day that hid something lovely inside and could help shield everyone from Cami's more violent emotions.

Laying in the sticky darkness, watching his eyes skim over her curves in the darkness, she smiled and felt flutters again in her stomach. She didn't know if he knew she was awake, if she saw him, and didn't care. It was a quiet, private moment and it soothed her heart. Perhaps, tonight, she could sleep without nightmares.

[Lunch Dates]

Otto did read the note, and spent a fair amount of time re-reading it and rolling around in bed gleeing over it.

He intercepted Cami on her way back from a shift, dragging her off to a corner of the main building to share a lunch he'd made. Though to be fair, it was more a lunch Kostya made that Otto simple bagged up into a picnic for the pair.

He'd greeted her with a smile. He was taking the lead the whole way.

Otto was filled with pride and confidence, that which he'd never seen.