Running on Empty [rp for lapseddaint]

[aesthetic_mojo]

Charlotte never wanted to spend another minute in a hospital. She'd had the good sense to bring a book when she took John to his battery of tests in Harlem, but even during those few times she was alone, she did no more than stare at the title page. The cards they brought got more use, including a three handed game of rummy with one of the nurses. By the end of the day John had been scanned, probed and poked.

Rather than taking him upstairs, Charlotte left him sleeping in the car while she went to the apartment to pack. Not that she told him that, she only told him to wait, that they would get dinner out and that she wouldn't be long. He was half asleep, anyway. Upstairs she got two bags packed, then chucked the kittens into a third. Before they figured out what was up, she warded the bag so they couldn't get out.

Only when she had everything secure in the car and the car on the road did she tell him where they were going. She told him it was to be safely way while they waited for the test results, but there was more to it. When he was rested she'd explain how much more there was to it, what she hoped to find, but for the drive he might as well sleep. He wasn't going to like it anyway.

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[lapsedsaint]

He glared at her for a little bit after she told him, then he heard the monsters in a bag in the back seat. He glanced at her, then reached back and pulled the bag into his lap.

Before he opened the bag, he rested his hands on it, warning the monsters. Then he opened the bag and got them both on his lap. Once they settled, he closed his eyes and dozed off again.

[aesthetic_mojo]

One of the nicest thing about her power was that she could caress him and the kittens without ever taking her hands off the wheel. She touched his cheek as he slept and rubbed behind Viv's ears.

She wasn't used to being this impulsive. The plan had come to her when she realized how long it would be before they got answers from that day's tests. They couldn't sit around and wait. It would drive her crazy, for one thing, but it would also put them both in danger.

She sighed deeply and wished for the bed in his house.

[lapsedsaint]

Her touch kept him from going too deeply to sleep, which was actually a good thing. If he had, he'd have woken up with a headache and confused. One was fine, both were not.

So as she touched him, he pet the monsters. He could tell she was doing it, too. There was a time, recently, when it had unnerved him, her touching things without touching them. Now, though, he'd come to accept and appreciate it, but that he could tell her that.

[aesthetic_mojo]

Because she didn't want to stop if they didn't have to, she took them through a drive through, getting coffee for herself and chicken bits for the cats, in addition to what he wanted. She was on edge just from slowing, constantly looking in her mirrors to see if they were being followed.

She didn't think there really was anyone, or not anyone more than had been, but she couldn't shake the feeling. It had been years since she felt the need to check a rear view mirror that way. She didn't like the feeling at all.

[lapsedsaint]

One of the times he opened his eyes, he caught her checking the mirror. He gave a low sigh, then reached over to touch her hand. "You wouldn't see them. We're too good for that."

He sighed some and looked at her. "And they wouldn't make a scene of it, either. We aren't the FBI. We have more class."

[aesthetic_mojo]

She didn't quite jump. Quite. "Classy? Lovely." She turned her hand to hold his for a moment. "I'm not sure how much class my father's goons would have."

She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I'm sorry. I'm probably transferring one set of fears for another. Not that I can do anything about any of it." She rolled her shoulders. "When we get there, I want to check every inch of you."

[lapsedsaint]

He gave her a soft smile and nodded. "Every inch? Really? Why?" Not that the why mattered, but he was still curious.

[aesthetic_mojo]

The slight encouragement was enough to make her moan. Viv looked over at her and mewed softly. She soothed the kitten, who had by then curled up against her hip. "Every inch. And I'll do what I have to to get all of them." As she spoke she wrapped her fingers back around the wheel and stroked it for a moment. The gesture was unmistakable.

"I want to know it all still works after all the tests." With him so tired from the doctors it had been a while and she missed really touching him. "You never know."

[lapsedsaint]

The laugh he gave her was soft and low. As long as she didn't mind him not helping a lot, he would not say no to her examination. "If it doesn't all still work, I am going to be very upset."

He squeezed her hand on the steering wheel, then settled back in his seat to look outside. "Where are we, anyway?"

[aesthetic_mojo]

"I'll be furious." She licked her lips, already thinking how she'd test his inches. "Someone would pay."

She looked around for a mile marker before answering him. "We're about an hour out. At least at this hour we won't hit any traffic when we get close." She groaned. "You'll have to direct me, though. I don't think I can find the house."

[lapsedsaint]

He put his hand on her thigh and squeezed, nodding. "Wake me up when we get closer and I will, Charlie." He squeezed her thigh again, then settled back into a light doze.

[aesthetic_mojo]

She ended up letting him sleep until they were only a few blocks away, remembering the route much better than she expected. Waking him with a gentle touch, she followed his directions to the house. She let him manage the kittens while she carried the heavier luggage, grinning when she realized she had the easier task.

When they were inside, she took the time to erect the same wards on the house that kept the kittens safely in their apartment. Then she took another moment to strengthen the ones she'd put up when they were in the house before.

[lapsedsaint]

The house had never seen kittens and the kittens had clearly never had this much new space to explore. They had both disappeared as soon as John had showed them food and water. They would turn up, eventually.

He went to her and kissed her cheek. Then his arms went around her and he laid his head on her shoulder.

[aesthetic_mojo]

She put her hands lightly on his hips and nuzzled his temple. Standing straight was much harder than it should have been. After the day at the hospital, the drive and the wards, she was exhausted. That didn't stop her wanting him, it just meant he wasn't going to get her best.

"If you don't get me to bed, darling, I'm going to end up sleeping on your couch. That doesn't seem right."

[lapsedsaint]

He gave a soft laugh. "Honey, I think we are going to have to take each other to bed. But it is ready for us." He pulled away a little, urging her to come with him.

[aesthetic_mojo]

She shifted around until she was behind him with her hands back on his hips and her head on his back. That way she could pretend she was pushing him forward rather than tagging miserably behind him. She could also watch his ass, something that made her smile broadly. "Can we do this again later. Naked."

[lapsedsaint]

He looked over his shoulder at her and grinned. "I hope you mean walking to the bedroom and not driving cross country."

He pulled her into the bedroom, then urged her to sit on the bed. He stripped himself, then knelt down to help her with her clothes.

[aesthetic_mojo]

Even with the distraction of his undressing, she managed to do most of the work of getting her own clothes off. That let her enjoy his help so much more. "No, I meant the drive. I want you naked next to me and stroking yourself. I won't be able to look much, but you'd make such wonderful noises."

[lapsedsaint]

He climbed up on the bed with her and laid down next with her, pulling the covers up over them. "That seems a little dangerous, you know."

[aesthetic_mojo]

She curled around him, using her leg to pull him closer. "I have excellent concentration. I'd manage just fine."

She left her hand spread flat on his chest and used an invisible hand to caress down his belly to his hip. "I might have to pull over, though, so I could really see. You know how much I'd like to see that."

[lapsedsaint]

He smiled and turned to kiss her lightly. "I think I know, yes. But why don't you tell me?"

[aesthetic_mojo]

The invisible hand moved down to his thigh, where she squeezed gently. Her voice went rough with more than weariness. "I love looking at you. When you're excited and when you are simply moving around the apartment." She licked her lips. "Watching you please yourself that way would turn me to jelly."

[lapsedsaint]

He shifted a little next to her, rolling more onto his back. He closed his eyes and groaned happily, letting her touch as she wanted. He'd warned her that he was mostly not going to be much help, so he just closed his eyes. "Maybe, if you ask very nicely I will."

[aesthetic_mojo]

She slid the invisible touch over until she lightly caressed his balls. She rarely touched him so directly with her ability, usually using it more as an additional tease. This time she thoroughly explored him.

"My sweet darling, would you let me see you stroke that magnificent cock of yours?"

[lapsedsaint]

He instinctively spread his legs and rumbled low. "Gosh, I don't know. I'm not sure I'm convinced."