#this'll probably be my last twc fic for a good while

[queerbrujas]

my nights taste like gold

the wayhaven chronicles pairing: morgan x eva navarro word count: 940 rating: T for mentions of sex and some swearing

read on ao3

a belated entry for the cuddling prompt for @wayhavensummer. also, a note: this week was the one-year anniversary of the first twc fic i posted to ao3. a lot has happened in a year, but that pushed me to actually want to write this, because a) i wanted to celebrate the amazing work the mods for this event have done in making this fandom feel like a community during these weeks, and b) i just wanted to... finish eva and morgan’s arc with something sweet?

thanks to @feralrosie for providing the idea that indirectly inspired this. and a shout out to the lovely people i’ve met in this fandom <3

just... don’t perceive it too hard, i wrote it on my phone in a feverish rush and i’m rusty.

—

“You're still here.”

It's not a surprise (it shouldn't be a surprise). Their relationship (is that the word for it?) isn't (hasn't been) just about sex, and it's not the first time Morgan has stayed over at Eva's apartment since this (whatever this is, there's no rush to name it, not when it feels good) started between them.

But Eva is still surprised. She's surprised because, well, they didn't even have sex last night, for one. She was too tired, too tired after an endless day at the station and the warehouse and dealing with Rebecca and a million other things, but Morgan had walked her home and offered to stay anyway, offered to stay even when Eva had told her she was only going to sleep.

She's surprised because Morgan is lying there awake, next to her in bed, looking up at the ceiling. Eva has just woken up and she has no idea what time it is (if she had to guess, if she absolutely had to guess, she would say 3am) and it's clear Morgan hasn't slept at all (she never does) and there's something uniquely beautiful about the way the moonlight outlines her features, cool silver light like her eyes.

Eva's hand rests on the bare skin of Morgan's stomach and it's warm, warm, warm.

A hum of assent is the only answer, not that Eva had been expecting a different one. It hadn't been a question, just an observation. But there's still something nagging at her mind because it's, just, well—

“Aren't you bored like this?” A pause. “You didn't have to stay.”

Because yeah, it all might not just be about sex but surely, surely lying awake all night staring at the ceiling with nothing but a sleeping woman for company can't be too enthusing.

Morgan takes so long to answer that Eva is almost sure she won't say anything at all, and she's almost lulled back to sleep by Morgan's rhythmic breathing and the pulse of her steady heartbeat under her hand.

“It's all so loud,” Morgan finally says, eyes still fixed on the ceiling—almost purposefully, one would say. “Everything, all the fucking time. But you're—” She shakes her head, sighs in frustration. “With you, it's quiet. Even when you're sleeping. It doesn't… hurt, or bother me.”

Another sigh, and she runs a hand through her hair: a common gesture (one Eva has found herself replicating more and more) and Eva knows what it means: how the fuck do I say this? 

“You just calm me,” she finishes.

Eva blinks. And then she blinks again. And there's something caught in her throat, there must be, because she's sure she can't breathe. The thoughts whirling in her mind are impossible to grasp; she just stares blankly at Morgan, breathing growing heavier, until she finally turns her gaze away from the ceiling. When she does, when Morgan's eyes meet hers, Eva sees them widen and that's the same moment she realizes there are tears in her own. 

“Shit,” Morgan says, quickly shifting, lifting herself up on an elbow. “Shit, did I say something wrong? Did I—” 

It's not the nicest thing to do, but Eva laughs then—and even if the sound is half a sob, Morgan relaxes at it. Even more so when Eva shakes her head.

“You didn't. It's just…” It's Eva's turn to look away now, gaze fixed on a corner of the bed and decidedly not on Morgan. The words feel like syrup on her tongue and she won't be able to get them out if she's looking at her. She forces a laugh. “You have to be the first person who's ever thought that about me. You know I'm not… I'm not like that. You said it yourself, I'm only a people person if it's about dissecting them.” Another little laugh. “Making people feel at ease isn't really my thing.”

But you, you, you—

God, she'd known. She'd known the effect she had on Morgan before this, of course, but she'd had no idea hearing her say it like this would have this effect on her.

“Sweetheart.” Morgan's voice cutting through her thoughts, firm and unwavering. The warmth of her palm on her cheek (her cheek that is wet with tears now), and then she's bringing her in for a kiss. A kiss that is soft and loving and needy and warm and has anyone, anyone ever kissed her like this? Like she's something soft, like she's something precious?

Has she ever wanted to be soft for anyone?

And none of that matters because all that matters is that she's crying and Morgan is kissing her and she's warm, warm, warm.

When they part, her cheeks are still wet and she buries her face against Morgan's neck, the woodsmoke scent in her hair comforting and overwhelming and the way their limbs wrap around each other almost like a blanket of soothing, warm darkness. It's raw and unsettling but for a while, there's only the sound of their breathing, and nothing else is needed. 

Later, later, much later (or perhaps barely a few seconds later)—

“Morgan?” Eva murmurs, and what she's going to say is terrifying, and she doesn't want to say it, but everything in her is going to burst if she doesn't. Morgan hums in question, and that's the only push she needs. “I think I'm in love with you.”

Silence. Not oppressive: understanding.

A kiss to her temple, a whisper at her ear. “So that's what this is.”

A laugh that is half a sob: a held breath released. “Yeah, I suppose so. Is that okay?” 

“Sweetheart, it's more than okay.”

#the wayhaven chronicles #agent m #qbwrites #qbwritestwc #don't perceive this it's bad #but really thank you #this'll probably be my last twc fic for a good while #oc: eva