Unexpected Awakenings

Connor yelped and got away from Mark as quickly as he could.  He glared as Mark looked at him in surprise.

“Connor…?”

He pointed an accusing finger at his Top.  “Don’t you ‘Connor’ me…acting all innocent.  That was just cruel!”

“I didn’t…”

“You did!”  Connor rubbed the spot on his leg that had last been touched by his partner.  “I’ve told you before…if your feet are going to be that cold, wear some socks to bed!  Do you know how shocking it is to wake up when ice touches your thigh?!”

Mark pursed his lips in the attempt not to laugh seeing as his husband was honestly ticked.  Yes, Connor had made that request of him many times.  No, he didn’t know what it was like to have cold feet wake you up because his younger partner was a human heater.  And yes, he still wanted to laugh despite Connor’s ongoing glare.

“I swear you do it on purpose!” Connor accused.  “Do you do it on purpose?  Have you got some passive aggressive thing going on with it?  Because if you do, it’s cruel and unusual punishment!”

Connor’s upset had more to do with being tired since he’d been woken at two in the morning—and in the manner in which he was woken—than having any honest anger at Mark.  Mark knew it, but his own tiredness made him quicker to laugh than yell.  Connor’s accusation made him lose his restraint, and he laughed much harder than the situation called for.

“Mark!” Connor said angrily.

The older man desperately tried to get himself under control.  “Oh, Connor-baby.  I’m sorry.”  The apology was hard to believe around the chuckles, but Mark meant it.  “I promise I’m not punishing or taking anything out on you.  I didn’t even know my feet had touched you till you…”  A fit of giggles took over for several seconds.  “Till you screamed,” he barely got out.

“It’s not funny!”

Mark lost it all over again.  “Yes, it is!” he guffawed.

Connor, his upset mounting, grabbed his pillow and started to stalk to the door.  “Some caring Top you are!  Laugh all you want.  I’m sleeping on the couch away from your icicle-toes!”

That sobered Mark up much faster than anything else.  He was quickly off the bed and catching his Brat before Connor could leave.  His hands grasped Connor’s shoulders and he offered a loving look despite the younger man’s glare.

“Don’t go, baby.  I’m sorry.  I wasn’t laughing at you.  Things just feel a bit…silly…at two in the morning.  Come back to bed.”

Connor’s glare softened a little, but he still shook his head.  “No,” he said stubbornly.

Mark deliberately let his fingers tickle along Connor’s arms.  “Please, honey.”  His lips dropped to Connor’s mouth and the smaller man let him give a gentle kiss.  Mark offered a few more kisses along Connor’s cheek, neck and throat.  His voice whispered in Connor’s ear, sounding seductive.  “I’ll put some socks on.”

Connor broke out in a laugh.  He threw his pillow to bed and put his arms around the taller man, offering a kiss of his own.  “Oh, fine then, but those socks better be thick!”

“The thickest I have!” Mark vowed, his hand rising in a promise.  “Of course, you could just help me warm up yourself.”

Connor let his hands slip under the waistband of his Top’s pajama pants.  “Socks first, Lover, then I’ll make you as hot as you want.”

“Promise?” Mark asked with a roguish grin.

“Promise,” Connor swore.