Xander's POV:

I awoke to the realization that with everything that happened last night, I forgot to close the blinds.

Which allowed the blinding morning sunlight to already be flooding into the room.

The fresh snow that must have fallen overnight sat in a small pile on the other side of the window, adding another thing for the sun to reflect off of and succeed even more in troubling my tired eyes.

Even the dove's nest that sat out there was completely buried under it all.

I closed my eyes again, preparing myself to turn over so that I could just avoid the issue for now.

I wasn't totally committed to being awake yet, and didn't feel like getting up to fix it completely.

My movements came to a halt, though, as soon as I had rolled onto my back.

A feeling that was foreign to me this early in the morning caused my eyes to open again to confirm what was now touching my upper arm.

As if that warmth came from anything else.

Doe, well, her hand at least brushed against me, her arm completely outstretched.

Just a glance was all it took for me to figure out her admittedly absurd position.

This bed was stupidly large, and yet, somehow she was taking up all of it.

Lying on her stomach, her head ended up right in the middle of the bed, limbs spread in every direction.

Like a starfish.

I guess she wasn't used to this much space and was trying to take advantage of it now that she could.

Not that I minded.

Not one bit.

Especially since her head was turned towards me, and I could see the fully relaxed look on her face.

She's become a lot more... expressive as of late.

Whether it was in those wide eyes in excited surprise, her sharp look when she's focussing or determined, even the annoyance that's mostly just for show.

They were all intriguing to see, even as much as this one.

This look was just peaceful. It was relaxing for me and I was just looking at it.

My smile was a drowsy one, but filled with fondness nevertheless.

Perhaps I can keep my eyes open for a little longer.

I continued my objective in turning over, more carefully now and extra wary of her hand there.

It ended up being just mere inches from where I ended up, opting to leave the pillow I usually held on the other side.

She was so close, and her scent was oddly intoxicating now that it was all over my bed.

Quite literally.

It stirred something unfamiliar in me to life.

A curiosity almost, mixed with that odd momentary sensation from last night.

Strange.

A part of me was itching just to touch her, to intentionally feel that warmth she radiated.

But I didn't want to attempt anything I wasn't absolutely sure that she would be okay with.

I've only recently been able to get away with touching her and her discomfort being nowhere to be seen.

Every time I managed that, I'd cherish it, so the absolute last thing I wanted was to push it too far and watch her pull away or flinch in the way she's done so many times before.

I knew that kind of reaction wasn't something that went away so easily.

Not when I knew where it had come from.

I ended up settling my laying my hand a mere centimeter from where her's was.

Patience...

My eyelids began to feel heavy again, causing me to let them drop just far enough to where I could barely see the sight in front of me.

I focused in on her heartbeat, her breathing, the steady and rhythmic sound of each nearly lulling me fully back to sleep.

I few more seconds and it may have succeeded, but the rhythm faltered, followed soon by a quiet groan and a small shift in her body before she stretched.

Which, in turn, closed the small space I put between her hand and mine.

My eyes rounded again, both at the contact and at the sight of her softly rubbing her face against the pillow as her stretch came to an end.

Which caused my rhythmic heartbeat to falter.

I couldn't look away as her body relaxed back into the bed, her eyelids twitching before eventually peeking open.

She blinked slowly through the grogginess, lifting her head just an inch to gain her bearings.

Once she spotted me, or I guess our proximity, those eyes opened all the way.

"G'morning, dove." I cooed.

Her brows furrowed as soon as I spoke, realizing that I was awake.

"I thought you promised to stay on your side," She muttered, clearing her throat.

"I don't think I could possibly be any more on my side," I simply responded.

That hard look fell at my words, especially when she deliberately looked at where I was laying compared to her. And then even more as she pushed herself up and checked the amount of space on the other side.

"Oh," Was her wide-eyed reaction, I think finally realizing how much of the bed she was taking up with the position she was in.

My thought was further proven as she drew her knees up under her, leaning back to sit on them.

"My bad," She admitted with a sheepishness to it that surprised me.

I just shrugged.

"I really don't mind. If you wanted to cuddle though, you could have just asked."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes at my repartee.

"You wis-" She cut her own words off, a sudden look of confused surprise taking over her features, "Did you just call me dove?"

My mouth was already open, ready to dish out another teasing reply, but her latter question threw me off.

My brows pressed together, mouth lips pressing tightly together.

"Did I?"

"I'm pretty sure you did," her voice bubbled with a hint of laughter.

I know I had that dove's nest in the back of my mind but...

"I guess I did," I confessed to both of us.

Dove... It kind of fits too.

Small, cute, feisty when they need to be.

Well, she wasn't that small. She stood at about five and a half feet.

Still smaller than me, though and that's what mattered.

"What's up with you and giving me animal names?" she chaffed, turning herself around under the blanket and leaning back against the headboard.

"Are you saying that you don't like 'Doe'?" I shot back, "I can call you something else if you want."

"That's not what I said," She spoke with a defensive glare, protecting the name I knew that she grew fond of.

I nodded in surrender to that, pushing myself up onto my elbow, "Good because I think it fits you. They both do."

I was expecting her to defer it disagree to my statement, but instead, she just tilted her head in thought.

"Maybe I'll start calling you mosquito then. Or leach. Bedbug even."

Her eyes turned up to the ceiling, a finger tapping against her chin as she faked a deep thought.

"I dunno I kind of like leach," She decided to settle on, "It's short and sweet. What are your thoughts?"

I just blinked at her little show, eyes narrow.

"I didn't realize drinking blood was a personality trait instead of something I need to do to survive," I spoke flatly.

Giving her the reaction she wanted if her grin told me anything.

"I'll take that as a no then?"

"Definite no to leach, but" I smirked as an idea finally came to mind, speaking my next words a bit lower, "Bedbug I could work with, especially if you're going to be sleeping here now."

She gasped after deciphering the innuendo.

"Just for that, I will only be referring to you as leach," she finalized, crossing her arms.

I pouted, shoulders sagging.

"Oh come on, at least yours are cute," I protested.

"That's because I deserve them," She oh-so humbly replied, "Work on earning it, and maybe you'll get one that we can both agree on."

Whether she knew it or not, such a challenge can tend to play with the greed ingrained in us.

Not that anything bad could come out of it for her, but I was taking it in full stride.

She wanted me to earn it? Fine.

"Challenge accepted."