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Keeping herself wrapped around the lawyer was completely counterproductive, but the hand that took her own was encouragement that she'd made the right decision. Fingers intertwined easily as she pulled herself even closer, form pressing against Teddy's as she let out a long breath.
Okay. Right. They could do this.
Tired as she was, and as she imagined her counterpart to be too, Natalie wouldn't let herself be the reason Teddy didn't make it into the office, even if every muscle in her body protested the idea of moving. The animals weren't even stirring yet.
Her lips pressed against soft skin again, drawing out the contact with lazy gentleness.
Despite the agreement - both from last night and this morning - there wasn't an ounce of positive movement from her. Teddy knew she was no better, but the initial jump was always the most difficult part. She didn't want to be that person either.
Gentle lips against her skin immediately made her breathless. It was odd to be so overpowered by something so small, and it did nothing to help her leave. She hummed for a verbal response as she pulled the arm around herself a little tighter, pressed perfectly against her form with little to no intention of moving away.
The comfort of her bed with a familiar form pressed up against her own made the agreement made feel impossible. Worse, was the way Teddy seemed so content laying there - like she had yet to consider the idea of actually getting up at all. Her mere presence made this difficult, but she had no reason to complain. Her eyes had yet to open, and it was part of her downfall. She had to at least try.
"I can make you coffee," Natalie offered lightly, her mouth dragging up against the lawyer's ear.
Those words almost sounded like she was willing to get up. But she didn't move. At least, not in a way that would help them at all. Teddy squeezed her hand instinctively, mouth dragging to a fast grin.
"So you should." She replied in a low, barely amused voice. Despite how tired she was she could find some humour in the offer Natalie proposed, "It's fine. I don't want you to have to get up." After all, she could have just stayed there if she wanted to.
The offer was supposed to help one or both of them find motivation, but it hardly seemed like it was working. She squeezed the lawyer a little tighter letting her cheek settle against her shoulder blade as she smiled. If she let the silence settle, she would have surely fallen asleep again. It was a tempting thought.
"If you have to get up, I might as well." It was a lazy argument to match her tiredness. Really, she'd prefer it if both of them remained where they were, but she doubted her bed would feel as comfortable once it had one less occupant.
The comfort shared was as perfect as it was troubling. Teddy never really struggled with a lack of sleep backing onto a work day, but this instance was different.
"No." She argued, but it was a weak one, especially considering her obvious profession. Drawing her own hand away finally, she pushed a hand into the mattress to ease herself up. Twisting her form, she dragged a hand through her hair and finally opened her eyes to glance down at her.
"You can go back to sleep." Teddy added finally, feeling the weight that coincided with being able to look at her.
When she finally moved, there was a small groan of protest that came unwillingly from the base of her throat, eyes finally opening to catch sight of the one threatening to leave her bed. Logic offered sound reason, but the desire to keep her there was hard to hide. By losing her hand, her own reached up, dancing lightly across her leg before settling at her hip. She was beautiful, even so early in the morning and lacking in sleep. It drew a tired smile out of Natalie as she propped herself up onto her opposite elbow.
It took a moment to reach her eyes, but when she finally had, she held them. "You'll need the caffeine if you plan to make it into work." She pointed out, the corner of her mouth hinting at amusement. "Given how late you stayed up."
Fingertips tracked across her body like Teddy needed reminding that it was difficult to leave. Natalie was so quick to retain any kind of connection, and it worked to stall her movements. So did her eyes, when she finally managed to catch them from their shameless staring.
Teddy pressed a hand against her chest to stop her from moving any further. Narrowed eyes betrayed the grin she wore at the reminder of what little sleep she got. She leaned in close, the tip of her nose brushing against hers as she refused to close the distance to kiss her.
"I can pick that up on the way in." She said instead, voice dropped a little low, but that didn't shield the way she found the whole encounter funny.
A hand on her chest prevented her from moving any closer, but she didn't have to when Teddy closed the distance between them. It wasn't enough to catch her lips, and the lawyer must have known how much of a tease that was. If not, then the way she glanced down at hers might have given it away.
Picking up her own coffee was an argument Natalie couldn't quite argue. Her lips pursed as she thought to think of something, like Teddy's desire to win had caught on with the trainer. The thought brought a little laugh out of her. "If you insist." She gave in with the rise of her eyebrows, hand drawing around her waist to press to her back, pressure begging for her to dare and come closer.
There was no argument back, and she must have known that Teddy would call that a win. At the end of it all, she didn't like the thought of burdening the trainer with having to get up at all. If she had the choice, she wouldn't have moved in the slightest.
Like winning a battle but losing a war, Teddy felt unmistakably drawn in by the hand at her waist and the inarguably perfect pressure. She breached the remaining distance without a second thought, thinking to give a short kiss that didn't break away as quickly as she should have.
The surrender to leaving bed was well worth the gain she received from it. Briefly, she thought she'd find resistance in her counterpart, but was pleasantly surprised to feel how easily Teddy moved. Pressure against her lips was hardly short, and Natalie was thankful for that. Her eyes fluttered closed, quickly realizing this was a dangerous line to walk on. Because any thought that she had about wishing the lawyer would stay was surely heightened by the way she kissed her.
Her hand kept firm pressure at the small of Teddy's back, like it was really okay if she just held her for a few minutes longer.
Hands at her back kept her from moving, and st the same time Teddy gave no effort to get away from her. Moving at all had been a surprise, but she had tried, and clearly this was the reward for such effort.
"I have to get home." She reminded her, but she kissed her shortly after. "I have to get ready; I have to shower." The list might have sounded short, but time was something she didn't have to squander. But then, she was tracking fingertips down the length of her form to wrap a hand around her waist.
"And pick up coffee on the way." Yet she still practically melted against her in another kiss.
There was a list, and as much as Natalie wished to ignore it, she found it impossible to push it out of her mind. Though the hands that traversed around her form did well to offer a distraction, as was every kiss that she graciously offered. Each one made the thought of letting go that much more of a task. The push and pull contrast had her head spinning, or maybe it was just the way her heart rate elevated from familiar hands at her waist.
It hadn't mattered if she was tired, she was very much awake now.
Slowly, she let her elbow lose the pressure that was keeping them somewhat upright, and as her back hit the bed, she was sure to keep Teddy close. "You do." She still tried to agree, but her voice felt weak compared to the conviction of her hands.
They lost the little effort Natalie had put in to getting up, and while that was good, it was also a heavy distraction from the point at hand. Teddy followed her without thought to the obvious way time dragged on between them.
That agreement was so weak. Agreeing with her coupled with the way her hands refused to let go and the hypocrisy was astounding. But it was so good. "I'm never doing this again." She swore then, but she had to laugh at the fact.
The laugh Teddy offered brought out a grin from Natalie, her nose crinkling a little at what sounded a possible threat, but she'd have to wait to see if it really held out for what it was. "It wouldn't be so hard if you already had clothes here." Natalie pointed out easily, not one to forget their prior conversation on the matter.
She tilted her head up, kissing her again. And again, she was drawn in by the magnetic pull of the lawyer, unable to pull away nearly as soon as she should have. Even the sound of her alarm going off again had barely pulled her away, only enough where she hauled her hand off of her to blindly try and turn it off.
