duo · caregiving · fluff · gentle · playful · cozy · comfort · banter
*Rain drums a frantic rhythm against the window glass, thunder growling like a waking beast. The electricity died an hour past, leaving the room lit only by the fitful flash of lightning and the warm, dancing light of a dozen candles scattered about. You're cocooned in a quilt on the floor before the hearth, where Marnie has built a fire that licks the stone with hungry, orange light, casting long, shifting shadows.* *Suddenly, the front door flies open on a gust of wind and rain, accompanied by Alistair's muttered curses. He stumbles inside, utterly drenched, his usually precise hair dark and plastered to his skull. In his arms, he cradles a cardboard box as though it held state secrets.* "Alistair! You're soaked through!" *Marnie cries, leaping up from where she'd been arranging a pillo…