Doe's POV:

Xander threw back the blankets after we rounded our way over to his side of the bed.

After getting them to his liking, and tossing that pillow he liked to hug out of the way, he stepped back.

"Do you wanna get in first or..." his sentence faded into nothing.

At the moment I loathed his ability to see well in the dark so I could get a better read on as to why he spoke like that.

He seemed... tense.

So, I just agreed with a nod, stepping forward to hoist myself up onto this awkwardly tall bed.

I scooched myself over to the middle, my limbs sinking comfortably into the mattress with each movement.

Which took no time at all in making the memory of how quickly I fell asleep the one time I allowed myself to sleep here return.

I sat in front of the pillows once I had reached my destination, watching as he got in after me.

Or I guess, just watching the slight silhouette I could make out, and the glow of his eyes.

I didn't quite know what I was supposed to be doing, so I was just hoping I'd pick up the context clues as they came.

He got into the part of the bed he usually kept to, lowering his head onto the pillow and lying straight on his back.

The glow focused on me, the arm closest to me outstretching in invitation while he laid on the other one to prop his head up.

My brows rose, the positioning of how this was going to work finally clicking.

Oh... I see.

I maneuvered myself closer, trying to ignore the peculiar reaction that realization had in my chest.

"So I just," I pointed, the edge of my finger poking the center of his chest, "Here?"

"Mhm," he replied with a nod.

Just in that response alone, I heard less of that tension and more amusement.

Well... okay.

I continued my movement, closing the space between us.

Yet once it came down to me having to lower myself, I was caught.

There was a hesitation in me, but not in the same way that there usually was when it came to people touching me.

This one wasn't born out of fear, and I was finding it annoying in a different way.

Despite what it was or where it came from, it was being a hindrance that I wasn't appreciating.

My annoyance got cut short the second I felt gentle fingertips press against my lower back.

I somehow managed to catch my startled gasp, my focus being pulled back to him.

Right...

That hesitation vanished as the touch snapped me out of my head, allowing me to finish the movement that I had started.

There was a light pressure from the hand on my back as if guiding me into the position I needed to be in.

I let it, which left me laying partially on my side with my head on his chest, nestled under his chin.

My arm laid on top of him with me, shifting a bit to find a comfortable position.

After a few seconds, I ended up with my hand up near his shoulder fingers curling with it and brushing against his hair.

This felt different than the previous times I've been against his chest.

Probably because this time it was calm. Neither of us were bawling our eyes out or getting dragged in from a window...

It was nice.

I lightly rubbed the pads of my fingers against the skin of his shoulder, feeling the cooler temperature of his skin there.

With a little more investigation, I soon realized that my ear was right above where his heart was.

"Why is your heart beating so fast?" I queried, momentarily comparing it to my own to check the difference.

The fingers that still lingered on my back stiffened.

"I uh..." That last word drawled out for a few seconds before he blew out a deep exhale, "You make me nervous." he admitted

He didn't even say it in a way that lead me to believe that he was embarrassed by it, more just matter-of-factly.

I tilted my head up to face him to the best of my ability.

"I make you nervous?" I repeated flatly, adding my own special enunciation to show how ridiculous I found that statement.

There was a short silence from him.

"Well... Yeah. In a way. You've never been very open about letting me touch you until just recently, and now that you're easing into it, I'm nervous about accidentally pushing it and making you uncomfortable."

My lips parted at his... genuine explanation, feeling a bit guilty now as to how I reacted to it.

I was glad that he couldn't get a good look at my face from this position.

"You don't have to worry so much. It's... different when it's coming from you." I decided to disclose.

I figured that if he was worried about it, then there was no hurt in him knowing.

"It is?"

I nodded against him, unconsciously brushing my thumb against the cool skin of his shoulder.

"Yeah. I think I accidentally conditioned myself not to react so much when it's you."

The fingers on my back finally relaxed, his entire hand setting itself there for the time being.

"How?"

I drew in an inhale, catching the culprit of this whole thing immediately.

"That specific smell you have."

It was all over him. His hair, his clothes, even this entire bed.

"I guess after a while I learned that if Layla was nowhere to be seen, and that smell was nearby, that I had nothing to worry about since you," I paused.

No, just tell him.

"Always respected my boundaries when you were able."

The bloodmoons didn't count.

And I didn't want him worrying about the things he's never directly caused a problem for.

A yawn escaped from me.

"If you're worried about crossing a line, I doubt you will, but if you somehow do, I'll let you know," I pushed myself up just enough to where I could face him properly, "And I'll chew your ear off about it for days," I finished casually with a very non-casual grin.

Stop with the worrying. Give me my Xander back.

I internally cherished the accepting smile I could just barely see.

"Sounds like a plan," He said.

Content with that, I collapsed back into my prior position.

I could tell that his heartbeat had slowed before the hand on my back finally began to move.

It was slow at first, languidly trailing up my spine.

I felt my shoulders tense on an instinct at the new sensation but forced them to relax as it drew down that same path.

He repeated that pattern, the steady rise and fall of his chest working simultaneously with it to lull me into relaxing.

Okay, I could see why people enjoyed this.

Little by little, it was like I could feel myself falling fully against him, and the stress from my nightmare being pushed rightfully to the back of my mind.

It was peaceful in a way I'd never before gotten to experience, and I wanted to do nothing more than just enjoy it while it lasted

That is until he used the tips of his nails.

My back just suddenly arched without my permission before the skin on my arms began to feel all prickly, a chill running through my entire body.

It didn't take much more than just a look to see that my skin had actually grown bumpy.

"What the hell is this?" I nearly yelped

I felt his chuckle, his hand ceasing for a moment.

"You've never had goosebumps before?"

Goose... wha?

"No. Or at least not like this."

I was sure that I'd experienced something similar when I got cold but this still felt different.

"It's an involuntary response from you're nerves. Nothing to worry about. It happens to me too." he eased.

I watched closely at the skin on my arm as the little bumps lowered.

A weird function for bodies to have but... okay.

"Would you rather I not do it with my nails then?" He asked, flattening his fingers against my back to help prove his point.

I shook my head.

"No. It felt nice, I just got surprised."

"Oh?" there was a hint of roguery in that single word, causing my eyes to narrow in preparation, "Can I try something else then?"

I thought for a moment.

He may be planning some sort of mischief, but he'd know better than to do anything that I wouldn't like.

"Sure." Was my simple response, now extra aware of where his hand was.

He brought it up between my shoulder blades, going even further by trailing up up the back of my neck and into my hair.

I gasped embarrassingly loud at the feeling of his nails against my scalp, those weird little bumps spreading over me much faster than before.

Shaking his hand from my head from embarrassment alone, I pushed myself up against his chest with my arms so I could face him through the laughter he was failing miserably in hiding.

"You did that on purpose!" I accused.

"Yeah. Maybe." was his oh-so convincing reply.

I feigned a glare, debating between keeping this up and enjoying the sound of his laugh again.

"And here I thought this was supposed to be relaxing," I huffed, deciding to be petty.

"Alright, alright," He soothed, his hand coming around my lower back again, hooking around it near my hip to help coerce me back into position, "I'll stop for now. Getting you to relax was my goal after all."

"Uh-hu," Was all I replied as I did what he wanted, and his actions continued.

It took a few minutes, but the temporarily hectic atmosphere did die back down with the feeling of his nails tracing up and down.

He was thorough yet gentle, taking some time to focus on my upper back, over my shoulders, and the base of my neck before doing the same with the lower.

He never missed a spot between the lines it felt like he had set for himself.

Everything between the top of my hips to my neck he had completely covered.

I couldn't tell you how long we laid like that

It was almost like I had just drifted off with the feeling of it all.

With the care of it all and the sensation that I almost didn't want to admit to myself that I enjoyed.

That as well as everything else I guess...

The only time I remember focusing back in on it was when I'd realized that our breaths had somehow synced

Not only that, but as more minutes passed, he synced his movements with our slow breaths as well

Up with the inhale and down with the exhale

The rhythmic nature of it was soothing in a way that pulled exhaustion out of me in no time.

My face rubbed itself against his shirt as if trying to solidify to myself that I was there.

And in response, his head turned in such a way to where I could feel his nose near the top of my head.

Yeah, this felt... Nice.

Had I actually been awake enough to think about it properly, then maybe I would have had something more than just that.

My eyelids grew heavy enough to where I couldn't keep them open anymore.

It was a dangerous game to play, but I didn't want this to end yet.

I was fighting between keeping myself awake and letting this feeling actually do its job.

Yet once I started to feel myself begin to nod off, I had to put my foot down.

Opening my eyes, I forced my limbs to move against my entire body's tired protest.

Xander's arm paused as soon as I started to move, and opened once I lifted myself away from him to allow me to escape.

I squinted at the sight of his wide, questioning eyes, even the subtle glow being too much for me.

"I'm about to fall asleep on you," Were the only words I could think to say.

He relaxed at that with a bit of a smile.

"You can if you want."

I groggily shook my head.

No. Not yet.

I didn't want to fall too deep into this yet.

It already dragged me deep enough to where dragging myself back to the cage didn't feel worth it.

"And let you steal all of my warm human body heat? Not today." I quipped, scooting back over to the other side of the bed.

"Thank you though," My words were nearly silent, "That did help a lot."

"If you ever want it again, just say the word."

I smiled with a silent nod, tugging up the blankets that he had tossed back before collapsing into the pillow.

"Goodnight Xander."

I don't remember hearing him say it back, although that may have just been because I was out like a light the moment the words left my mouth.

Definitely not how I expected this night to go.