"Come baby, I think we've both had enough tonight."
--
She could tell it had been a hard day for him. His new position at the engineering firm had been kicking his ass. Having recently graduated, it was taking longer than he anticipated to show his chops. Still, he had been pushing himself all month to deliver on the quarterly schedule.
She, on the other hand, had had a relaxed week with her design work. It had taken all her courage to start her own company after graduating, but days like this made her thankful for her decision. It was hard work being solely responsible for the success of her own vision; earlier this month she barely even noticed the long days they had been spending apart. This past week, as her schedule relaxed, she saw how their time apart had worn them both down.
Usually, he pampered her. Sweet kisses every time he walked by her home office, hot tea when he saw her mug was empty, warm embraces while they cooked food together, cute little butt grabs whenever she was in reach. He never quite tired of showing her that she was always on his mind. The past few weeks, it donned on her, had been quite different. He tossed and turned all night, his hugs felt weary and his naturally intimate and passion-igniting kisses had grown weak and tired. She knew he loved her, and she missed the closeness and warmth between them.
Some time ago, he'd shared a side of him that had surprised her greatly. She still remembered the day he'd stuttered through his confession, bearing his conflicted thoughts and feelings to her. His face had looked so worried, as if anything he could have said would stop her loving him. He couldn't look her in the eyes while he told her about his sense of comfort with his feminine side. He'd shown her the things he sometimes wore; the soft, cute, comfortable clothes he hid away in a corner of his project room. She'd held them daintily in her hand, unable to wrap her head so quickly around something so new to her coming from the man she thought she knew inside out.
It took weeks of consoling and reassuring after that day to convince him she still saw him the same way; as her loving, caring, competent man. It took much longer to come to terms with this new (to her) side of him. She had spent many nights asking herself questions of his sexuality, her incompetency, their fit for each other, and countless other things she had never considered. But as the tension of their temporary discomfort wore off, she saw him return to the same man who wanted nothing else but to be happy with her.
With slow gentle probing on both of their parts, they explored this side of his personality. He was still her man, and still loved and wanted only her; he just liked to feel feminine in his cute things sometimes. The more they both them cautiously exposed this side of him in the comfort of their own home, the more she realized this. It took patience, time, hours of talking and not just doing. More than a year later, they both felt a little more at home with this side of him, and she sometimes found him wearing short shorts, comfy crop tops, or a cute bralette in the evening when they settled onto the couch or into bed. It flattered her a little bit to see the things he liked to wear were the things she liked to wear as well. Though they didn't share any clothes per se, it made her smile to think he wanted to feel as good as he thought she looked.
That night, she realized he also hadn't dressed cute in around a month; hindsight making it clear that his work stress and her own had kept them from sharing carnal nights together as well. His libido usually probed her for mutual satisfaction and pleasure a few times a week, often more. When she'd seen him close his laptop and put his head down on his laptop, defeated for the day, her girlfriend instincts kicked in. She had an idea of what he needed, and perhaps what she needed too.
--
Stroking his back, she felt him inhale deeply. Time stood still for what felt like eternity, her hand running softly through his hair, trying to coax him from his ball of tension. He looked as if he had nothing left to give.
"Hun, please, come upstairs. Your eyes are probably burning, and your back must be so sore."
He slowly shook his head no, his hand reaching over his head to rest on hers, still in his hair. The usual, confident hold he took of her, even when just holding hands, was nowhere to be felt. She could barely sense his touch as his held breath slowly left his lungs.
She remembered all those days she'd felt like this and how he'd taken care of her. He'd fed her when she wouldn't eat, carried her to bed when she couldn't move, and brought her out of her misery and emptiness. If she liked being taken care of, she could imagine he would as well. His powerful, constantly working mind would step in as soon as he relaxed, she knew, but perhaps she could coax out his other, hidden sweetness to be cared for and pampered.
Slowly she slid her arms around him, bending over the back of the chair so that her chest laid against his back and her hands cupped his chest. She pulled upwards, trying to get him to even sit up for her. Ever so slowly, she felt his resistance recede, his back cracking loudly as he sat up.
"No talking. Just come with me hun. Work had you all day, you're mine tonight."