( private log | oxford&cambridge | surprising gifts from space )

[romanticism]

[ There is a dark intimacy to Oxford's bedroom. It's one of the smaller rooms in the house, with just enough room for his ridiculously large bed, a wardrobe and his writing desk. The curtains are heavy and dark, never closed fully so that just a little morning light can fill the room in the mornings. The bed is perhaps the most striking feature, though, with its sheer size and rich, mahogany frame. Oxford has always believed that whether you are alone in a bed or sharing it, space is a sure necessity, and there is more than enough available amongst his thick, soft duvet. Though it might seem an odd choice, his walls are a dark navy - in part to honour his university, and inadvertantly his job - unlike the cream corridors and other rooms of his house. He has always preferred the twilight to the dawn, and the colour reminds him of it, the way it creeps over the sky towards the horizon after the sun has set. His Chelsea townhouse is decorated properly, politely and neatly, but the bedroom, he has always thought, need not conform to the requirements of elegant styling. It is his own, the place he ultimately returns to, and he will have it as he likes. There's nothing like waking up knowing you're exactly where you want to be. Oxford stirs, blinking away the sleep from his eyes, uttering a soft noise under his breath as he stretches out his arms and legs, fingers curling in the (always) white sheets. After taking a few minutes to collect himself and his thoughts, he gives the man next to him a pointed little nudge with his foot, quite oblivious to the fact that there is in fact a rather specific looking tattoo now present on his chest, over his heart. The writing beneath it very much looks like the legible version of Oxford's own handwriting. Their presence, on the other hand, would be something of a surprise. ]

Comments

[sexting]

[ There's nothing like waking up knowing you're exactly where you want to be and in the right dimension.

The 'right dimension' being the one with this Cambridge inside of it.

Just like old times.

At the moment of waking Cambridge knows precisely what it is he's been dreaming about and even goes so far as to make a mental note to remember it for later. But as he shifts against the sheets and winces as the sleep-stiffened muscles protest in reply all memories of the dream begin to fade. Moving his arms - one curled up beneath the pillow, the other strewn above his head - is painful after the night's rest and he makes a point of moving oh-so-slowly, groaning inch-by-inch, as he turns towards Oxford. He has slept naked - unsurprisingly; Cambridge has never been one for nightwear - and as he realises that it's Oxford's movement that's awaken him he offers a lazy smile with half-lidded eyes. He rolls a little closer, body inching across cool sheets, towards the radiant warmth of the other man's body and presses his hip against Oxford's. ]

Good morning...

[ He trails off and stares at the blurry splotch of black against Oxford's chest.

...Dirt, maybe?

Cambridge makes a small noise of protest - his eyes are clearly still sleep-ridden - and scrunches up his eyes briefly. ]

Ugh, good God. My eyes...

[romanticism]

[ As if these two tend to need nightwear when together; it tends to get in the way of their preferred activities. Oxford too is unclothed, as usual, and the feel of skin on skin brings a smile to his lips. He has since closed his eyes once again, and turns his head blindly in Cambridge's direction, wanting to nose lazily at his hair or his face, whichever was closest. It's the kind of sleep followed by the kind of day where all he wants to do is lounge between the sheets. No jogging, no office, just a comfortable bed and charming company, perhaps with bonus arguments regarding the benefits of kindles over books. ]

A very good morning indeed.

[ His voice is a little rough with sleep, and he shifts slightly to snake his arm around Cambridge, his general intent as clear as ever. He wonders sometimes how they spend any time together clothed when awake, given how loath they often are to remove themselves from bed. Oxford loves the slow, sleepy aspect of sex in the morning, the stiff limbs uncurling and explorative, the gentle shift from awake to aroused. He turns his body more so that they are touching in more places, half lidded eyes open so that Oxford can press a light kiss to Cambridge's jaw with more accuracy, with just a suggestive scrape of teeth.

Little does he know that something on his chest is bound to halt these proceedings before they even have a chance to truly begin. ]

[sexting]

[ He struggles to free his hands from the tangle of sheets and bodies but eventually gains enough control of them to press his fingers briefly against his eyes - as if that would alleviate whatever it was that was messing up his vision. Oxford's gentle ministrations along his jaw elicits a lazy sound of approval from the other man which gradually devolves in to a sleepy laugh. ]

I do hope you haven't got anywhere you need to be this morning... [ Cambridge peels his hands away from his eyes and winces briefly against the brightness of the half-lit room. Oxford is warm, so very warm and tender and pliant and all the lovely aspects of lazy morning sex that seems very attractive right now... but as Cambridge turns his gaze back to the man beside him his eyes are yet again drawn to the dark marking on his chest.

And this time he knows it's not a trick of his sleep-addled mind.

With a sudden frown he quickly braces one arm across Oxford chest to push him away a little, backwards towards the morning sunlight streaming from the window at Oxford's back. ]

What in God's name--?

[ He trails off speechless and deftly runs his other hand across the smooth mark ingrained in Oxford's flesh. It's certainly not an old tattoo. ]

When did you get that?