Camelot CDXIII

Victoria's fingers hover over Judas's shoulder for a fleeting second before her hand curls into a fist and she backs away. She can't help but wonder what's going on inside his head. After all, she never really knows even on a day-to-day basis. Her steps backwards lead her to a bench not far away. She spends only a few moments more watching her teacher. Of course not. She shakes her head at herself. I only drew him because I was bored. That's all. That's all there is to it. And he only took me in because he felt sorry for me. That's all there is. I can't let myself get caught up in this sort of thing. We simply work together. He's my teacher. Just my teacher. He's hot-headed and impatient and bossy, and a caring, genuine, intelligent stick in the mud. Victoria sighs, feeling sick to her stomach by now, but risks another glance up at Judas. She can't help it.

She looks away quickly and stands, knowing he probably thought she'd been staring. "Y-yeah, of course," she replies, adding quietly, "Sweet dreams, then."

The words had come out of her mouth automatically, and Victoria blushes when she realizes she'd said something that she used to reserve only for her father. I need to distance myself. It's the only way I can escape. Of course, that's the last thing she wants to do, but she silently insists, repeating to herself that it's the only way. She grabs the oil can from the table and drifts towards the automatons resting in the back of the laboratory, dripping oil onto their joints and along the edges of a few plates of metal. From where she is, she can't see much of Judas's mattress on the floor. Only the edge of it, but that's enough. Part of her almost wishes she could be sitting there with him. They could argue over something petty, like they used to. Yell about stupid things and get in each other's faces, like they used to...

When a few minutes have passed, Victoria peeks around the corner. The sight of Judas asleep leaves her with mixed feelings. Maybe when he wakes up, he'll think the whole thing had been a dream. It would be better that way. She walks to his mattress quietly, standing there for a few moments. Letting out a soft sigh, she crouches down to pull the blanket up over the Brazilian until the edge rests just below his chin. Victoria doesn't want to admit it to herself, but Judas looks rather cute, curled up like that. He always does. He tucks his hands next to his head and his face takes on a different look: serene and gentle, instead of always frustrated and tired. Victoria finds herself wishing she could see this face more often. It's a good look for him.

(Yes)

Judas opened his eyes slowly, the tinny, dim light of the lab too bright for his eyes. Rubbing at them, he sat up, wondering what time it was. The blanket slipped off of the bed, and he frowned. I don't remember putting on the blanket...

Judas yawned, struggling to a stand before walking over to the workbench. His eyes softened as he noticed Victoria, asleep. When she's like this, she looks so calm. No smirk, no anger. It's surreal, almost. His hand reached over to brush some hair from her face, before he stopped himself, jaw tightening. Instead, he picked her up, moving past the scattered machine parts to her small room. "Let's get you in a real bed, yeah?"

Judas felt himself blush at her touch on his neck, but continued, gently depositing her on the mattress. He fumbled around for a blanket, placing it over her limp body and tucking it to her chin.

He stepped back from her bedside quickly, eyes widening. "Oh. Uh... good morning. You fell asleep at the workbench and I thought..."

"Y-yes. I'll open up shop," Judas said quickly. Standing in her room suddenly felt wrong, indecent; a perfect reflection of the feelings that he had felt the night before with his own thoughts. He turned and left, anxiously picking at the corner of his shirt. This is so awkward. What if it stays like this for very long?