Night Watch I: Eliza, Ward of Andrew

*Andy’s POV*

I shut the door to the shelter and all I could think about was how badly I wanted to get in between Eliza’s supple, alabaster thighs without traumatizing her. She was uncharacteristically silent too, I wondered if she was maybe too tired? Had I done something stupid? Gods, I hoped not!

I made a quick mental list of things to accomplish before an attempt at seduction: disarm, clean weapons, feed cats, eat, and bathe. I was really glad we had brought food back from Commons yesterday!

I disarmed myself and got a cloth to clean Snakebite and my dagger from the weapons rack. Eliza watched me quietly, then I offered it to her. She shook her head. “Your blade saw no use in my hands, Andy, thanks.”

I looked over Snakebite, and decided that she’d be all right without a sharpening, Odhran’s side alone hadn’t really dulled her. My dagger, however, needed attention after the mess I’d made out of the cù sìth’s larynx. I’d missed a few times before finding the places where the bones joined.

I went to the weapons rack and found my smaller whetstone, rubbing some oil from the small jar onto both sides, only to turn and see Eliza grinning widely at me. It instantly made me smile too. “What?” I asked her as she put Little Johnny Rickfield and her giant, showy daggers away on the rack.

She looked excited. “You have a whetstone, Andy! My mother used to make me use the bottom of her mugs!”

I finished with the rough side, then flipped the stone. I hadn’t thought about it, I had assumed Eliza lived on her own in Merry Willows. But, maybe she wasn’t able to? I decided, given my intentions, perhaps now wasn’t the best time to ask, unless she indicated further that she wanted to talk about her past. “Would you like your own, when we go to pick up your things from the smithy?”

Eliza just rolled her eyes. “You spend too much money, Andy!”

I wiped my dagger off, satisfied, and put it away. “I also like my mugs the way they are!” I turned to see Eliza just looking at me. Erm… “I’ll feed the cats, do you want to grab something to eat?” Eliza just stood there, considering me. She looked slightly annoyed. Oh hells, had I done something, she had been really quiet? I was so terrible with people now, but it seemed women in particular! I tried to speak gently, let her know I was concerned. “Is everything ok? Did I-“

Eliza crossed her arms under her breasts, pushing them up and really getting my attention. If that was on purpose, it had worked. I hadn’t really thought of myself as a classic ‘boob man,’ but to say Eliza’s chest was formidable was an understatement. “I was planning on eating your cock, Andy.” She tilted her head at an angle and tried for a serious look, but a smirk made its way through.

I forgot whatever I was doing as my focus rapidly narrowed. Eliza. Boobs. Sex. “I see.” I raised an eyebrow, prepared with an incredible line to sweep Eliza off her feet, despite still being covered in gore. We’d just have to be together on the floor instead of the bed, I didn’t give two sh-

At that rather key moment, Crow swatted my boot, hard, reminding me that even love for a beautiful, lusty woman (who was apparently ready and waiting to provide oral indulgences), was no match for a hungry, sassy cat, much less two of them. I saw Femme a short distance away, tail twitching, ready to launch her own attack. “Er, hold that thought. Definitely! Most, most definitely!”

I fed the cats, giving them a little extra to stave them off. I supposed I should be grateful- it was probably for the best that Eliza and I clean up and actually be able to, er, sleep on the bed and not the floor, or have to separate and sleep in our hammocks. We’d be less sore come Dusk, and I had plans for tonight!

I went looking for Eliza, and found her in the back room. I saw she had gotten out a bit of fruit and cheese for me as well as herself. She’d even poured me out a mug of water. She’d set my things out for me on a plate and everything, on a chair by her own.

I felt a funny feeling in my chest, a constricting feeling that was both happy and sad, as I glanced through the door frame at Jules’ things. It had been so damned long since I’d lived with another person, shared basic tasks. I had known I’d missed Juliet, of course, but I hadn’t known I’d missed company, that I’d missed people in my life so much.

All these years, if I ate in my shelter at all, I ate standing up, in my hammock, or on the floor. I hadn’t gone in the back room almost ever. It had been too painful; the memories with Juliet there were overwhelming. But when I had wanted to be with Eliza, she had deserved much better than the damned floor, I hadn’t even hesitated, I hadn’t really thought about it. I guess it was time to make new memories, but still cherish the old ones.

I sat down next to Eliza and smiled. This was nice. “Thanks.”

“You’re blushing.” I’m sure that made my face even redder.

I gave her a saucy look. “Don’t you mean, ‘you’re welcome?’” Eliza snorted through a bite of apple. “I was just thinking how glad I am to be your warden. If you were someone else’s ward, they’d probably be getting pretty tired of having me follow you both around, pursuing you fanatically, by now. As it is, I have an excuse to be around you all the time.”

Eliza gave me a dubious look after she finished her apple. “I somehow doubt that. I gather you were quite purposefully self-insulated until I was forcibly inserted into your routine, Andy. I imagine you would just have viewed me as an asset to the Night Watch, and assessed me for any potential risk, just as the First Officer has done.”

I shook my head. “Maybe for a while, but I’m not blind.” I scooted my chair a little closer, accidentally knocking a crust of bread off my plate. Oops. I saw Femme head for it, and bat it into the other room.

“You reached me because of who you are, Eliza.” I took her hand, liking the way the rough callouses felt against my palm, it was so different. I wondered how she had such thick wear on her fingers, like a hard-working farmer, or how I imagined a miner or maybe a sailor? I’d met very few sailors… I ran my thumb over her fingers, absently smiling, before realizing we were both still kind of gross. “Do you want to bathe with me? Wash off all the carnage?”

Eliza stood up, taking her plate. When I rose to follow her, she gently pushed me back down. “I think that sounds like a great idea. Why don’t you finish your food, slender-young-officer-recovering-from-a-concussion-and-dual-wrist-injury, while I get started, since I’m such a mess? See you in a bit!” I mournfully watched her bum as she turned the corner and out of sight.

Faced with the food on my plate as the sole obstacle between myself and a nude Eliza, I ate what was left as quickly as I could. I decided that all those hours spent digging that damned drainage pipe for the bathtub, so many years ago, had been so worth it!

Notes

note: one of my leopard geckos is gravelly ill, it's why i'm not updating all my stories as often. i don't normally ask for comments and such, i really don't like it when people do that. but i am having a really rough time right now, she's my granddaughter, hatched her myself nine years ago, and any encouragement or positive words (that are genuine) on any of my stories would be really welcome right now. it's really hard to be a veterinarian and watch your little baby be ill when you're unemployed and looking for work, to have to take your kid to one of your mentors to provide care, and not be able to do anything yourself.