Kinesthetic Learning

Tonight at 8:00. My bed. Bring a friend, and I'll show you how to make a Snuggle Sandwich. - Jarod Kintz

The small village of Hamil was, without a doubt, picturesque. A wide vista of the lowlands to one side competed fiercely to draw gazes with the massive orchard of napple trees to the other. Even the homes of the villagers were charmingly quaint: designed, built, and maintained by loving hands. It reminded Jude Mathis so much of his hometown of Leronde that he ached with homesickness, as if all his other aches weren't enough.

He'd never imagined himself in any country besides Rashugal, had always thought his life would be a simple circle from Leronde to school in Fennmont and back to Leronde to help at and eventually take over the family practice. And then a simple errand to find his professor had turned his entire world upside down with the entrance of one Milla Maxwell, apparent Lord of the Spirits. Now he was a fugitive on the run, accompanied by both the incredibly beautiful Lord of Spirits and an equally attractive and equally enigmatic mercenary called Alvin.

It could be worse. He'd told himself that several times each day since they'd rather swiftly and ignobly departed Fennmont. But 'it could be worse' didn't stop his belly from churning nonstop with anxiety, didn't stop his mind from turning over and over fruitlessly with his ever shrinking options, and certainly didn't stop his feet and body from complaining over this new traveling and battling lifestyle. He felt as if he'd been falling down some unfathomable pit, and had yet to hit the bottom as everything he knew to be his life disappeared. These last few days on the road had been understandably difficult, but a nagging fear lingered: would he fall forever, drifting and aimless? At least he was looking forward to the room the mayor had offered them for the night; hopefully, he would be able to sleep.

When was the last time he had felt comfortable, or relaxed? Not since Fennmont, certainly. Not since that fateful day when he discovered Professor Haus floating in a tube in that laboratory, hooked up to a machine. The only thing remotely reassuring about that day had been the mysterious Milla, utterly confident and capable. She'd taken him along, even taken him into her arms at one point in a move that had utterly shocked him. Cuddling him, she'd called it. It had been nice, but now he wished he'd reacted better, encouraged her to do that more. It wasn't just that she was lovely; he was lonely. He missed the casual, playful punches and congratulatory back slaps between his friends in Fennmont, craved the familiar hug of his mother in Leronde. Stuck between two practical strangers, stranded in a new country, cut off from all that was familiar in his life, Jude just wanted someone to hold him.

After the sun went down, he decided it was time to head in and at least try to rest. The steps in the mayor's home creaked as he took them slowly, one at a time. He tapped politely at the door to the room they'd been given, and receiving no word, turned the knob and pushed it open slowly just in case.

Assessing the room with a quick glance, he noticed that the room was sparsely furnished: two beds, a table by the window, a single chair, a nightstand, and a dresser. As if he needed more anxiety, his brain chose at that moment to wonder how they'd sort out sleeping arrangements here. Milla was already there, sitting on one of the beds, eyes closed and legs crossed in what appeared to be a meditation pose. Jude paused, wondering if she would be offended if he interrupted her. He was about to turn back when, without opening her eyes, she said, "Come in, Jude."

Shaking his head ruefully, he crossed the threshold and closed the door behind him with a quiet click. Milla opened her ruby red eyes at last and smiled up at him, patting the bed beside her in a silent invitation. The thought of refusing never crossed his mind. Jude stumbled in his haste to make it across the space that divided them, collapsing awkwardly onto the bed. Off his feet, his body made all of its complaints known at once, and he groaned.

"Some rest will do you good," Milla noted. "This journey has been difficult for you… and it was never one you were meant to be on," she finished, sotto voce.

"I want to be here," Jude told her firmly, unsure if he meant to convince her or the quiet voice of his own mind that said the same thing. "I'm just tense. That's all."

"What do you typically do to relieve stress?" she asked him, then factually added, "One would expect a medical student to know the consequences of long-term tension on the body."

Jude shot her a flat look. "I do know that," he informed her. "I just, I usually…" he paused. Here was his chance. "I was hoping I could ask you about that, actually."

"Oh?" Milla turned to look him head on, eyebrows raised slightly. "I don't believe anyone has ever asked me to help them relieve stress before. I understand a shoulder massage is usually considered a fine way to manage tension and alleviate headaches, but—"

"No, no," he cut her off, unable to even look her in the eye. "No, I was just hoping… I was thinking…" Jude licked his lips. "Remember in the research facility, how you cuddled me? I wanted to… cuddle." He could hear his voice attempt to crack on the last word and was horribly grateful that Milla seemed to neither notice nor care.

"I didn't think you were particularly aided by that comforting technique," she replied thoughtfully.

"Well, I'd like to try again," Jude managed. He chanced a look at her face, only to see that same expression of concern cross her face. She wasn't offended, he realized, and felt the air rush out of his lungs in a sigh of relief.

"Cuddling on a bed is a rather different activity," she began. "According to another of my books…" Suddenly, Milla was a whirlwind of movement and explanation, getting up from the bed to better gesture at him and mimic poses. Jude lost track of what she was explaining swiftly. Some brilliant student he was, he chastised himself, as he tried to focus on Milla's bizarrely technical explanations. How anyone managed to cuddle at all, he couldn't begin to fathom as she started to pontificate on the advantages and disadvantages of a certain positioning of the arms. Maybe he needed to start reading books besides his medical texts.

She paused, either because she was done with her explanation of cuddling theory or because she'd once again forgotten that she actually had to breathe without the greater spirit Sylph around. Jude took the provided opportunity to interject. "But how do you begin?" he began, and Milla was off into an explanation of the fascinating psychology humans had regarding close interaction and touch.

He couldn't help but be simultaneously impressed and slightly frustrated by her depth and breadth of knowledge. It was like asking for the best way to approach healing an injured muscle, and to instead receive a dissertation on the evolutionary process that had led to that muscle's existence: fascinating yet completely impractical. He was about to try to redirect her back to the actual topic at hand when a light tap at the door startled them both into silence.

"Hey," Alvin said, poking his head through the door. "You know, when you stop talking the minute someone else enters the room, it kind of seems suspicious."

"We were just about to get ready for bed!" Jude said swiftly, praying Milla would not tell Alvin, of all people about his sudden need to be cuddled. He'd surely never hear the end of it from the man.

"Early night, huh? Sounds good to me," he replied reasonably, wandering over to his traveling pack to haul out his bathroom kit and sleep shirt and trousers. "Come on, Jude. Let's give the lady some privacy."

In truth, Milla cared not a lick for privacy. She simply saw no purpose for it. It was more for their peace of mind that the two men headed down to the kitchen, where a basin of water awaited them. They took turns cleaning their teeth and washing their faces, both Jude and Alvin changing out of their travel clothes and into their night clothes. Jude tried to look away from the mercenary as he changed, but found himself staring, toothbrush hanging out of his mouth for a moment as Alvin pulled his white shirt over his head. Thankfully he recalled himself in time to look away before Alvin freed his head.

When they returned to the room, Jude made sure to knock loudly before opening the door. Thankfully Milla was clothed, although in a pair of Jude's sleeping trousers and one of Alvin's nightshirts, she was a sight that was difficult to look away from. For all that he'd offered to buy her a set of pajamas while they were in Aladhi Seahaven, at the same time he purchased his own pairs, she'd refused. Privately, Jude had no regrets, and thought he might even like these clothes on her better than her other outfit.

Milla went downstairs to handle her own ablutions, and Jude retook the bed as Alvin went to sit at the small table near the room's window. He appeared to be working on some correspondence, quill in hand as he looked over several pages full of loopy handwriting. Jude watched for a moment as Alvin brushed his face idly with the feather quill, then bit his lip and looked away.

There was a creak on the staircase, which was good because Milla often forgot that she ought to knock at closed doors before opening them. "All right," she announced as she reentered the room. "It's time to practice what you've learned, Jude."

Bringing his arms up in front of him as if to ward her off, Jude shook his head in silent warning, but it was far too late. "Practice?" Alvin asked quizzically, swiveling in his seat. Upon setting his eyes on Jude's wide eyes and reddening cheeks, his intrigued look became downright devilish. "What have you been learning?"

"No, that's all right, really," Jude protested feebly, but Milla overrode him easily, marching up to the bed in her adorably just-slightly-too-long pajama bottoms and crossed her arms, hands nearly covered by the long sleeves of Alvin's shirt. "We can do it some other night…"

"You need to practice, Jude. Besides, you're clearly tense, and cuddling will be good for you."

Across the small room, Jude could easily see Alvin bite his lip hard, choking back a laugh. "Yes, Jude," he agreed mirthfully. "You're clearly tense."

"I'm fine," Jude attempted once more.

"Oh, don't mind me," Alvin said with a huge grin. "Please, practice away."

Milla moved to join him on the bed and Jude surrendered to the inevitable, lifting his arm to accommodate her and hoping he'd managed to somehow take in her lecture via osmosis or something. She paused before the bed, frowning down at him, and he wondered how he'd already managed to mess things up. "You're supposed to be lying down," she told him, and he quickly slid downward on the pillows. Before he could adjust them properly for his neck, Milla sank down on the bed beside him and he froze, again awaiting instruction.

She turned to face him, stretching out on her side, her long legs straightening out stiffly for a moment before she sighed and relaxed. She scooted closer to him and Jude rolled over on his side to face her, only to be immediately met with a stern gaze.

"Jude, this position is too advanced for you," she explained. Both of them ignored the choked off laugh that arose from the man at the table, although Jude felt himself flush slightly. "Turn over onto your back."

He obliged, and Milla moved closer, lifting his arm and tucking herself into his side. She rested her head in the dip between his shoulder and chest, arm curled up against his ribs and a piece of his shirt held between her elegant fingers. Unbidden his mind produced the medical terms proudly, as if he stood for a class recitation: she lay on his pectoralis major, near the start of his deltoid, the back of her skull cradled by his bicep, her shoulder fitting into the gap of the axilla. She felt good and warm there, a weight on his chest he welcomed.

"Now put your arm around me," she instructed, and Jude half-turned once again to wrap his free arm around her. "No," she stopped him, "The arm under my neck. This cuddle position works best if you stay on your back."

He pulled his other arm upward and out from under her neck and tried to move it down to wrap around her, only to accidentally bump her head with his elbow as she started to sit up in confusion. Jude began to apologize as Milla simultaneously began re-explaining the technique she'd meant for him to use when a deeper voice cut over them both.

"All right, Milla, as entertaining as this has been, hold on. Look, kid," Alvin finally interrupted. He stood, pushing himself up from the hard chair with his hands on his knees, and then crossed over to the bed, lazily waving for them to make room. Milla moved away from Jude, shifting down to sit at the foot of the bed. "All the technique in the world isn't gonna do a thing for you if you can't relax."

"But there's so much to remember," Jude protested, only to shut his mouth with an audible click of his teeth when Alvin's hands landed on his waist and easily rolled him to his side.

"There isn't going to be an exam," Alvin told him with a laugh. "Well, not unless you're into that, anyway."

Jude felt his face heat uncontrollably, the blush crawling up his neck and not halting until it reached the tips of his ears. "I'm not worried about an exam—" he began hotly, not even sure how he would begin to respond to that second part. He paused when Alvin's arm slipped under the crook of his neck and shoulder, and forgot what he'd meant to say entirely when Alvin's other hand brushed his waist and slid onto his abdomen, pulling him inexorably back until he was pressed firmly into the taller man's chest. His brain helpfully contributed the names of the bones of that large hand: pisiform, triquetrum, lunate, scaphoid, phalanxes and metacarpals… His eyes darted down to stare directly at Milla, who watched with the fascinated yet clinical air of one of his professors.

"Now, to get the most out of such a position, Cuddle Kamasutra suggests you bend your left elbow as to hold Jude closer," Milla instructed Alvin. "Jude, interlace your fingers with Alvin's and lay your right arm over his. You can pull him in for a snugger grasp or keep the hold loose this way."

Jude knew his face was bright red, and was suddenly incredibly thankful that Alvin couldn't see it. As it was, he was everywhere else, breath tickling the nape of Jude's neck, palm pressed flat against Jude's belly, knees curling up behind Jude's so he could feel him against his entire body…

"Ah, yes, Alvin has now moved into what is colloquially known as 'spooning,'" Milla's eternally reasonable and factual voice continued. Jude opened his eyes again, not realizing he'd closed them to better catalogue all the sensations of his body. Her eyes met his in an assessing glance before he closed his again out of embarrassment. So what if he was enjoying this? Alvin was warm, and surprisingly comfortable.

Without him even willing it, he was beginning to relax. He could feel his stomach, churning with anxiety these past few days, finally start to settle. Even the knots in his trapezius muscles were starting to ache less. The reaction of the body to stress, Jude was learning from firsthand experience, was incredibly intense, but so too was the power of simple touch.

When Alvin spoke up, Jude was so focused on the fact that he could feel the man's chest rumbling with his voice that he missed the first few words. "—don't you join us?" he was asking, lifting his hand from Jude's waist to make a 'come hither' gesture. "Nothing like hands-on learning to teach you about touch."

Milla tilted her head to one side, raising her hand to her chin as she considered them both. "I suppose it would make sense to learn this sort of thing kinesthetically," she mused. "But should I position myself as the 'big spoon' or 'little spoon?'"

"I'm definitely the big spoon," Alvin told her. "Better to go based on height."

"Then I should be in the middle."

"Ah, but you don't want to disrupt what's already going on. Just get in front. Jude, wait until Milla lies down to sort out where your arms are going."

The blush only brightened his cheeks this time as Alvin pulled Jude back tightly to make space on the bed for Milla. He had wondered if this sort of thing would happen again, given Milla's penchant for new human experiences. He hadn't been able to fully enjoy her comfort cuddling in the Fennmont laboratory due to the situation, but he'd idly hoped she might try again. She had been surprisingly soft and warm then for what seemed to be such a sharp and cold woman.

"Come on, Milla," Jude issued his own invitation, smiling when she crawled onto the bed and settled herself under his arm. Her height left his forehead pressed into the back of her neck. Raising himself up on one elbow, he helped her sweep her hair out from beneath her and fan it onto the pillow above her head. It haloed her face as she turned to look up at him where he hovered there above her. If it weren't for Alvin's grinning, smug face watching him from the corner of his eye, Jude might have stayed still a moment longer to look at her. Instead, he rolled his eyes at Alvin and shifted back into the middle.

Jude was cuddling with the Lord of Spirits, but she was also a woman, he realized as she tucked his arm around her and twined her fingers with his. With her companion spirits gone, Milla probably ached for contact and touch as well. He rubbed his thumb over one of her knuckles comfortingly. He both heard and felt her sigh as she, too, finally relaxed.

"Now isn't this nice," Alvin said conversationally, index and middle fingers tickling idly at Jude's belly for a moment. "We should do this more often."

"We should," Jude agreed. He hadn't felt so warm, so safe, since…well, before he left Leronde at least. Maybe he'd never felt so warm and safe. There was a gentle swooping sensation in his stomach as Alvin ran his hand up and down Jude's side, but it didn't carry the edge of anxiety he'd felt previously. He was no longer falling, but flying. He settled into Alvin's arms and felt his tension ebb with every exhalation.

As it turned out, sleeping arrangements that night were easily sorted.

Notes

This fic was commissioned by the wonderful Amavi, who requested 3000 words of Alvin + Jude fluff with Milla in the mix. Hope you enjoyed it!