TW: Slight Angst

There was almost nothing in the world, thought Rythian, better than a person in your bed to keep you warm.

Sometimes, when the night had been rough and the whispers louder than usual, he'd sit up in his and Zoey's bed and realize this. He'd watch her turn and twist, watch her throw the blankets into an almost artfully chaotic mess, watch her reach for his hand when she had a bad dream, and he'd think to himself, "This is the girl I've fallen in love with. This is the girl with which I'd be perfectly content to spend the rest of my life."

And right then and there, in those wee hours of the morning where nothing was awake and it felt like they were the only two beings in the world, he'd fall head over heels for her again.

That was the way their relationship was, small moments in the dark when the other couldn't see. They'd both tried, of course, to tell their feelings, but fate always intervened. And at this point, Rythian took what he could get.

But for him, a monster who had expected nothing for himself in the way of relationships, these quiet times were fine. It was enough for him just to see her like this, resting and away from the troubles of the world he so desperately wanted to save her from.

And the more he watched, the deeper he fell. She filled him up with a light he didn't know existed, the kind that poured out from your soul and saturated your very skin. He loved everything about her in a way he hadn't thought possible.

He wanted so very badly to tell her how much she meant to him, he really did. He tried once and he would try again.

But for now? He was content just being graced with her company.

And if that meant just having her there, just being able to appreciate her very presence in his life, then so be it. He didn't need the romance as long as he had her. She was all he wanted, in the end, as selfish as it sounded. He craved her warmth, and her happiness, and her talent for making him feel like he was worth something.

So he took those small times, those fleeting moments in the dark when he could pretend they both didn't have to get up to violence and war and the real world; that they didn't have responsibilities and adult issues to take care of. He took those times and he wrapped himself up in them and wished futilely that he could keep the world at bay.

And when she woke up in the night and smiled at him, when she pulled him down and snuggled him close, he wondered if maybe, one day, it might all work out for them.

For now, he'd make it through by remembering moments like these.

Credit to onlyshipleftstanding on tumblr