A/N: Thank you SO much to everyone who pointed out the tech issues with this chapter. That's what I get for posting right before I leave work, huh?

Sunday, November 28th

4:05 AM

Jade squinted at the brightness on her phone, barely making out the numbers before tossing it to the side of the bed. The empty side. She'd barely gotten three hours of sleep, and now she was awake again.

She'd splurged on a nicer hotel room. No dusty motel with creaking floors, questionable sheets and walls that gave nothing more than an illusion of privacy; no, not this time. Jade's legs were entangled in the finest sheets Paris could offer, and the musky scent of potpourri lingered from the bathroom. She had a menu of French delicacies at her mercy, and every beauty product she would need, just waiting in the bathroom.

And yet. The bed was empty.

Jade kept her ears cocked, trained and waiting to see if he was awake. Sure enough, within moments she heard the faint clicking of a keyboard, followed by a few rough jabs on a mouse-pad. She furrowed her brow, trying to remember the last time he'd slept. Nothing came to mind.

She pushed herself off the bed, slowly catching her bearings. Outside of the blanket, the room was cold. Why hadn't he turned the heat on? Jade plucked a robe hanging from the door, slinking into it before exiting the bedroom. They'd arrived at the hotel a little past one, and he was still in the same spot she'd left him.

Jade's footsteps were light, but not inaudible. She had no desire to startle him tonight. If he noticed her presence, he didn't let on. Her arms snaked around his shoulders, lips starting to nibble at his neck. Without delay, his breath hitched; it always did.

"Not now, Jade."

A chuckle escaped her throat, low and amused. "He speaks." Roy had barely said ten words to her on the travel to the hotel. It was refreshing to hear his voice again.

"I'm not in the mood."

"A shame, really." She ignored his protests and trailed a fingernail down his shoulder. The muscles looked smaller than before. "Let's order dinner."

"It's past midnight."

"Four, actually. But who's counting?" Jade tilted her chin, pecking his ear. "Room service is twenty four hours a day."

Roy swerved his head away from her, shaking his head before continuing his rampant typing. She shouldn't have been surprised; lately, it was getting harder to pull him back to the land of the living. Harder, but not impossible.

Her fingers moved to his hair, stroking the shaggy locks. The gentleness of the action didn't escape her, nor him. His hair was dirty, but hers wasn't pristine either. Travel wasn't exactly kind to either of them.

"How about a break?" she asked, only once he'd stopped typing.

Roy's shoulder's sagged. "I can't. I have to find–"

"A short one," Jade cut in, pecking his cheek. "Thirty minutes, tops." If she could manage to pull him away, it would only be that much easier to make sure he ate, and maybe even slept.

Roy mulled it over before he finally nodded, closing the laptop shut. "A short one," he agreed, allowing Jade to pull him in the direction of the bathroom. She wasted no time in closing the door and turning the shower on, hot as it would go. His skin had been cold underneath her fingers, and it scared her.

When it was at a decent temperature, Jade peeled off the robe and climbed in, holding the shower door open so he could follow her. Luckily, it was spacious enough for the two of them. She went about her business, lathering her hair and giving him the space he needed to wash up.

"Some honeymoon, huh?" he asked, breaking the silence. Jade thought she'd imagined it, at first. She finished rinsing the suds out of her hair, taking a half-step closer to her husband.

"Best I've ever been on."

Roy snorted, and almost smiled. He rested a hand on her neck, caressing the wet hair on top of it. Jade did her best to keep from holding her breath. "Did you sleep?"

"I took a cat nap." He nodded, eyes never leaving her face. His other hand, however, started to find its way to her breast. "Hungry?" she purred, craning ever closer to him.

"A little. We could go out," he suggested. "Salvage what's left of this honeymoon."

"Pass." Jade grabbed his chin, pulling him in for the quick kiss. "The city of love never really did anything for me."

Later, when he was finally asleep, she'd run down to the bakery and grab a bag of warm croissants for breakfast. She'd buy fruit and coffee, and a newspaper so they could stay up to date on the happenings of the world. But the food would go untouched, the newspaper unread. She'd return to an empty bed, and the sound of the keyboard clicking on and on.