Doug and Angie

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At the HeliX formal, Marie-Ange tweaks Doug's nose a little bit about the time he's been spending on his "project". They flirt a bit, and try not to have an argument about the way he's been spending his time (ie, ignoring his beautiful girlfriend...). After the formal, when Amanda heads to Manuel's room, Angie takes the opportunity to have some alone time with Doug. (Tasteful romantic sex scene tastefully omitted.) After sex, Doug is abnormally clingy, and Marie-Ange tries to ask him why, but he manages to deflect her questioning. She gets to sleep, and Doug tries to as well.

Marie-Ange watched Doug quietly for several minutes. Whatever that project he was working on was, it was certainly troublesome. It had to be, he had been staring off at the crowd for some time. Smiling just a bit impishly, she rested one hand on his shoulder. "Bonjour, M'sieu Ramsey. Perhaps you do not remember, I am Marie-Ange Colbert?

At Doug's curious look, she continued. "The band is playing a waltz. I have not danced in ages, it seems. Forgive me for being so forward, perhaps you would share it with me?"

Doug blinked at Marie-Ange's unexpected teasing. Her body language said that she was mostly teasing and impish, though just a touch perturbed at how much time Doug had been spending on his project. Not that he could tell her what the real project he was working on was.

"Quoi? You seemed so quiet, I thought a dance would be nice." Marie-Ange frowned, starting to get frustrated. "I do not understand why you look so lonely and out of place tonight. I thought you enjoyed dancing."

Doug shook his head. "I do, Angie. I just...well, the introducing yourself just kind of took me by surprise." He chuckled. "You're so silly, mon coeur." He indicated the dance floor. "Shall we?"

"I thought maybe you had forgotten that you had a girlfriend." Taking Doug's hand, Marie-Ange let him lead her out to the floor, where they moved easily into the steps of a simple waltz. "What is bothering you? Even here, you look so distracted."

Doug easily held Marie-Ange close, leading her through the waltz. He was reluctant to say his project was what had him distracted, knowing how cranky his lack of time outside his room had made Angie recently. So instead, he went for an attempt to change the subject. "You look amazing tonight, Angie. I like your dress a lot." He'd been admiring the way the blue fabric clung to her curves for most of the night, as if to imprint them on his brain.

The change of subject did not go unnoticed, though Marie-Ange was not in the mood to have an argument. Not here, and not now. "Flattery is only going to convince me to try to get Amanda to leave our room when we return." she said quietly. "Perhaps you need to get your mind off the project and onto other things?"

Doug easily noticed Marie-Ange noticing the change in subject, but he carefully avoided that discussion as well. He blushed slightly at Marie-Ange's offer. "That...sounds really nice, Angie. I'd...like that a lot," he said, trying to keep a strange catch out of his voice.

Keeping a frown from passing over her face was not easy. Marie-Ange couldn't help but wonder what had driven Doug to returning to the blushing shy behaviour of months prior. Where was the playful tease who had walked into her room and politely asked Amanda to go be very, very busy for several hours? Resisting the urge to let out a sigh, she squeezed his hand gently and smiled. "I am not sure. Maybe I like you in the tuxedo more than out of it.."

Doug smiled. "And I'm sure I like you more out of the dress than in it," he whispered in her ear. "But I don't fancy getting caught making out in one of the storerooms, so I suppose I'll have to save that thought for later."
---
On the way back into the school from the benefit, Marie-Ange saw Amanda following Manuel eagerly down the hallway. Smiling happily, though a bit sleepily, she tugged on Doug's hand. "That makes trying to convince her to leave much easier." she said, pulling him into her room.

Doug chuckled, as he had noticed Amanda following Manuel as well, and he allowed himself to be dragged into Marie-Ange's room without any resistance. "I do love it when a plan comes together," he joked.

Marie-Ange pushed the door closed, locked it and then turned to face Doug. "I think, perhaps you are wearing too much." she said quietly. "And that I have not had you to myself in days."

Moving closer to Marie-Ange, Doug took her in his arms and bent his head down to kiss her slowly. "I'm sorry, love," he replied. "I've just been so...I mean, I've gotten so wrapped up in..." He chuckled wryly. "Words." The chuckle grew into a quirky grin. "If I'm wearing too much, you're definitely wearing too much as well, mon coeur."
---
After a session of sex that had started out tender and ended with Doug nearly frantic for some unknown (at least to Angie) reason, he carefully rolled off to her side so as not to crush her with his weight, but very purposefully keeping contact with her body as much as possible. He settled his head into the crook of her shoulder and one arm around her waist, cuddling up close to her in almost a reverse of the position she normally took after sex.

While Doug had -never- been the 'roll over and fall asleep" type, at least not in the last month of them being this intimate, Marie-Ange was definitly puzzled by this degree of what almost felt like clinging. "Is it that bad, this project? You have been so ... full of stress and tension."

Doug shivered slightly and clung a little tighter to Marie-Ange. "Can...can we not talk about it, Angie?" he asked tentatively. "I'd honestly rather not think about it right now." He kept his eyes screwed shut tightly to avoid randomly bursting out into tears, which would be a surefire sign that something was seriously wrong. And if Angie kept asking, he wasn't sure if he could keep it from her.

"I .. suppose" Marie-Ange frowned a little, and pulled the comforter up from where it had been kicked to the side of the bed. "No projects, no stress right now. I think that is not such a bad thing, and maybe some sleep?" She was almost certain Doug hadn't been sleeping well, if at all lately. He did not quite seem tired, so much as drawn and weary, but it still showed.

Doug cuddled even closer to Marie-Ange as the comforter was pulled up over them. "Mmm. That sounds nice." He leaned up to press a soft kiss to her cheek, then returned his head to where it rested on her shoulder.

"You are going to sleep, and not get up in the middle of the night to go work on your computer?" Marie-Ange asked, a little cautiously.

"Cross my heart, love," Doug responded. "That would required getting out of bed and putting on clothes and all that." He grinned. "Too much effort, especially when I've got my beautiful girlfriend sleeping right next to me."

"Bien. Good.' Marie-Ange said, a touch sleepily. "I sleep better when you are here. Not as many nightmares." Though, telling Doug exactly what those nightmares were about, that she was not going to do. He had more than enough on his mind already.

Doug carefully kept a neutral expression. He knew all too well about those nightmares. He had an entire database of notes built up on his computer about those nightmares by now. And those nightmares were entirely the "more than enough" that was currently on his mind. But he merely made a satisfied humming noise and closed his eyes, curled up next to Marie-Ange.

A few moments later, Marie-Ange was asleep, half on her side, with one arm over Doug's waist. At least for one night, she would sleep reasonably well, unplagued by insomnia or nightmares.

Doug cracked open an eye and watched Marie-Ange sleeping for a while. He sighed softly so as not to wake her before closing his eyes again. He hoped he would be as lucky as her, but he rather doubted it.