Childish Behaviour

Clarisse slammed the bedroom door and instantly regretted it, knowing the sound would more than likely have reverberated down the hallway. She stalked across to the bed and picked up her pillows from the left hand side, fluffing them would have been an understatement – in fact battering them with her fists seemed the best description.

"Bloody man!" She cursed uncharacteristically throwing her pillows onto the bed.

She heard a fussing at the door but chose to ignore it. "No Maurice, I'm sleeping alone tonight." She threw her dressing gown onto a nearby chair and climbed beneath the warmed bed sheets.

For a minute or two she simply sat and gazed at the far wall, knitting her fingers together and chewing on her bottom lip.

"Oh to hell with him!" Finally she switched the lamp off and lay down closing her eyes, forcing her mind to settle down and sleep. She'd spent far too long analysing their conversation.

Less than two hours later a man silently crept into the darkened bedroom, removed his clothes and left them in a pile by the bed and lifted the sheets to climb in next to the former Queen.

Clarisse felt the cold air hit her skin and groaned complaining at the intrusion to her sleep. She tugged on the sheets to bring them closer to her body and buried her face into the pillow. It wasn't until a few minutes later that her eyes opened and she realised she was no longer alone in bed. She shifted her leg slightly and encountered a foot with hers, it was instantly moved out of the way and the feeling of being completely uncomfortable surrounded her.

She should really speak, she wanted to speak, sleep wasn't going to come now – they needed to fix this before her mind would rest. She lifted her head on the pillow and gazed into the darkness, the only problem with having her bedchamber tucked away was the lack of a window and so the lack of moonlight. Her mouth suddenly felt dry and her tongue heavy and incapable of forming words. She slipped a hand beneath her cheek to prop her head up and rearranged the sheets that had gathered at her throat, neatly on her shoulder.

"Can we talk sensibly now?" She said into the darkness, her words seemed to cut through the air as sharp as ice.

She waited for a response, none came and she wondered if he slept, either that or he was doing a damned fine job of ignoring her. Finally he spoke.

"I don't know can we." It was more of a statement than a question.

She shook her head ignoring the indignation in his voice and plunged on. "Where have you been?"

"Walking."

"All this time?"

"Yes."

"Am I going to get an explanation?"

"Why should I give you one… oh I see all of a sudden it's entirely my fault right."

She heard him flattening his pillow and turning onto his side.

"Are we to sleep back to back now?" She said.

"It seems I'm to get no sleep at all."

She jerked up and looked over her shoulder at him. "Well you're certainly welcome to sleep some where else, there are plenty of spare bedrooms in the palace." She barked.

"Fine!" He argued jumping up from the bed and throwing the sheets back exposing her to the cool air.

She watched him stalk across the bedroom towards the door, he left and she closed her eyes. Infuriating man! In a second he was back, she stared at him standing there in his boxer shorts.

"People might talk if I walk the Palace dressed like this." He collected his earlier discarded clothes from the bedroom floor.

"Oh Joseph don't be so childish, it's foolish of us to squabble." She said with as much patience as she could muster.

"Squabble! This isn't some damned silly childish argument. I'm not a child."

"Stop acting like one then." She was fuming, her hands slammed down on the bed.

"You speak to me like some fool, some lower…"

"No I don't."

"You did, this afternoon."

"We were arguing, what do you expect?"

"A little respect. The way I do for you."

"You know you have it. This isn't about respect."

"Of course it is."

"No it isn't."

"It is."

"Isn't."

"Stop arguing with me."

"You stop arguing with me!"

Silence followed. Joseph shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, shivering as he stood almost naked waiting for her next move.

"Oh get in bed, this is ridiculous, we're both acting like children."

She pulled the covers aside for him then lay down, turning onto her side away from him.

"Don't worry we don't have to touch." She murmured closing her eyes.

"A fine start to the year this is." He replied getting in next to her. She could be the most annoying woman, always right, always so damned self assure.

He lay back and folded his hands on top of the bed sheets, he sighed deeply and flicked his eyes to the side gazing at her back.

Clarisse felt a tickling sensation on her foot; she shifted it annoyed but a few seconds later it was back again. This time she reached down and scratched encountering Joseph's foot with her nails.

"Oh sorry." She stated as he flinched.

"Nevermind."

She closed her eyes and settled down again then felt his toes sliding down the sole of her foot, she couldn't help but smile.

She shifted back slightly until she came into contact with his body and his hand slid along her side and rested on her hip. He smoothed the silky material of her nightdress with his fingers. Argument over, she thought wryly to herself once again marvelling at the physical power she could hold over him.

She felt his breath on her neck, his hand sliding down across her stomach and squeezing. She wiggled against him mischievously and was rewarded with a stifled groan. His hand tugged on the material in his way and drew it up her body getting annoyed as it gathered and stuck at her hips.

She giggled and pulled herself loose from his arms, sitting up and taking off the offending article and throwing it across the room. Placing her palms on his chest she rested over him, pressing her warm breasts against him. She could make out his eyes twinkling and his mouth slightly open as he felt her body, his breathing deep and uneven.

"Is this our first argument?" She whispered touching his face gently with her fingertips.

"I believe so."

"What was it about?"

"I'm struggling to remember."

"Is this your way of saying sorry?"

"Is it working?"

She nodded and smiled.

"How do you say sorry?"

"I'll show you."

Finally she kissed him.