Broken Arrow

I woke alone this time, to the blinding sunlight behind my eyelids again; something I was getting rather accustomed to in the warmer climate. I sat up slowly, pushing my long, tousled red hair out of my face and rubbing sleep out of my eyes. I yawned and stretched, wincing when I felt the tension in my neck and shoulders.

I might have overdone it with the dancing last night...

I slid out of bed, running my fingers through my hair in a pitiful attempt to detangle it, knowing my hairbrush would be much more effective, but having little to no motivation to grab it and make the effort this morning.

The house was quiet as I made my way downstairs, the only noise coming from the gentle plucking of a guitar. Brian sat on the couch; his signature Schecter in his lap and a content look on his face as he played. I sat in the single-seater to his left and watched him quietly. It wasn't often that one got to see Synyster Gates in this relaxed state; Simply enjoying doing something he loved, without the onstage antics.

He finished playing and set the guitar down. "Morning." He smiled a genuine, warm smile; rare for him.
"Morning."
"Sleep well?"
"Sort of." I murmured, tilting my head from side to side, trying to relieve the tension in my neck, wincing at the pain again.
"You okay?" He asked.
"My neck hurts, and my shoulders." I groaned.
"You let loose dancing last night, probably strained your muscles." He stated. "Come here." He patted the seat beside him.

I got up and sat beside him, and he turned me around so my back was facing him. I sat crossed legged as he massaged my neck in an attempt to relieve the tension. I smiled contently; I'd missed Brian's massages. His strong hands kneaded my neck and shoulders with expertise, and I closed my eyes. I bit my lip as a moan tried to escape, trying hard to ignore the stirring in my loins and exhaled slowly, in one long, drawn-out breath, feeling myself relax.

"Better?" He asked as he stopped.
"Yes." I breathed, turning around to face him. "Thank you."
"Anytime." He smiled. His phone buzzed on the coffee table, and he leant over to grab it. "Fuck." He cursed.
"What?"
"I was meant to book my flight for Vegas today, I totally forgot." He scowled. "And I really have no motivation to do fucking anything today." He chuckled.
"Amen to that." I laughed.
"I can always do it online I suppose, and print the ticket out." He sighed.
"You want me to grab my laptop then?" I asked.
"Yeah, that'd be great actually." He grinned.
I got up.
"Oh, and Ruby?"
"Yeah?"
"Nice sleepwear." He smirked, biting his lip.
I actually had to look down to see what I was wearing. "Fuck." I'd totally forgotten I was wearing nothing but my underwear and a matching black teddy gown.
"Since when do you wear lingerie?" He asked.
"A lot's changed in two years." I smirked, repeating his line.
"I see that." He said, scanning me up and down. "You have tits now."
"Shut up!" I scoffed. "I had tits before!"
"You were a walking ironing board a couple of years ago." He teased.
"I had boobs!" I exclaimed. "You just never noticed because I wore a sports bra and a lot of t-shirts back then!"
"And you were a Virgin." He added. "Jack must've woken up your hormones when he had you in full Nympho-mode. You've filled out."
"Just stop." I cringed.
"So I can't tell you that you've become a sexy little thing?" He teased.
"Brian!"
"What?" He chuckled. "I'm just complimenting you."
"It's weird though!"
"Why?"
"Because you're... well you!" I laughed.
"Still not catching on."
"You're Synyster Gates..." I mumbled. "You might be Brian Haner to me, but you're still Synyster Gates too." I felt myself go red in the face as I cast my eyes downward in shyness.
"Well, you can tell your friends that Synyster Gates thinks you're sexy." He smirked, licking over his lip and biting it as he scanned me again.
"Jesus Christ, Haner." I scoffed. "I'm gonna go upstairs and change before you pop a boner."
"You do that." He laughed.

I hurried upstairs and went to my room, immediately tugging a black pair of loose Yoga pants and a matching long sleeve pyjama top out of my drawer and changing into them. I snatched up my laptop and it's charger and went back downstairs, resuming my place beside Brian on the couch.

He mouthed a thanks as I passed my laptop to him and opened it up to book his flight. I leant against his side, resting my chin on his shoulder as I watched him, he turned to me briefly and smiled, before looking back at the screen. I'd missed our closeness; We'd had to strip it right back when I was with Jack because it made him paranoid.

"Why're you booking two tickets?" I asked.
"Because you're coming too, Dipstick." He snorted. "You think I'm gonna leave you alone to burn the house down while I'm gone? No thanks."
"Fuck you." I scowled.
He turned his head and smirked at me. "Oh, you'd love that, wouldn't you?"
I rolled my eyes. "Can it, Shithead."
"You didn't deny it." He teased. "Cuntbag."
"Keep dreaming." I confirmed.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night." He laughed, finalizing the ticket purchase.

I punched his side. He turned to me, his mouth open in mock-shock, and slapped the lid of my laptop shut, before pushing me over on the couch. I landed on my back and he straddled me, tickling the crap out of me. I giggled and laughed, writhing around underneath him in a futile attempt to get away.

He pinned me down by my wrists and smirked down at me - I stopped moving and looked up at him, my breaths heavy. Warmth pooled somewhere below my waist and I swallowed hard, trying to ignore it. His smirk grew, and I turned my head sideways, breaking eye contact. He released me and I sat up. An awkward silence filled the air until he spoke again;

"Wanna watch a movie?"
"I guess." I shrugged.
"You pick." He smiled.
"American Psycho."
"This is why you're such a cool chick." He grinned, getting up and walking over to the DVD cabinet, pulling the movie off the shelf.

He popped the DVD into the player and laid back on the couch, shifting so there was enough room for me to lay in front of him. I smiled, settling myself down in front of him. That was one of the many qualities Brian had that Jack lacked; Every time he and I would watch a movie together, Jack would lay in front of me, knowing full well he was twice my size and I couldn't see over him, it would seriously annoy me.

One of Brian's strong arms snaked around my waist and I settled myself against him. It'd been far too long since he and I just casually cuddled while watching a movie together; We used to spend entire days like this before Jack came along. He drew his legs up under mine, cocooning me into his body; Being tiny had it's perks. We remained that way for a good majority of the morning, and somewhere along the lines, I fell asleep again, bathed in his warmth...

Notes