Aftercare First
Start with the part most nights save for the end.
Aftercare is the blankets, the water and the quiet talk after an intense night. This evening flips it: the care comes first, and anything else is extra.
The evening
Candlelit: Sweet and talkative.
Set out water, a snack and a heavy blanket. Take turns being looked after: one of you lies down and the other tucks them in, rubs their feet, and asks how they're really doing. Then swap.
Pick a pause word you'd never say by accident. Either of you can use it, or simply say stop, at any point and for any reason. Check in along the way, and treat a not yet as a perfectly good answer.
The setting
Warm bulbs in a few spots against the shadow, nothing overhead.
Dark electronic or trip-hop, a low pulse under the room.
Something with weight, to match steel and exposed brick.
Something with weight to it. Being tucked in is the point.
Positions it suits
From the position guide: frank, practical and comfort-aware, with the furniture that makes each one easier.
Both on your sides, one behind the other. Lazy in the best way.
Lying on your sides, turned toward each other. Eye contact and ease.
Both on your sides, one behind the other, with pillows doing the supporting.
Set it up
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