Fingers brushed along her cheek in a steady rhythm, as if to soothe her in order to keep her from waking up. Yet she was wide awake; alert to every small movement the hand had made along her face for the last couple of minutes. Their touch left a sensation that felt like cold fresh water running down the girl’s warm skin, sending shivers that cascaded down her spine followed by a final wave of calm that flooded her whole body. She was facing the opposite direction from the person whose hand was now trailing down her jawline, down her neck, and tracing the dip in her collarbone and along her shoulder before finally going down her back. The hand retraced the shivers she had felt earlier in a slow and steady pace. Up and down was the pattern they held for a while in order to soothe her from the nightmare she’d been having a short while ago.

A few nights ago she had started to wake up from her night terrors because she sensed and felt someone comforting her. At first, their touches were quick and hesitant and never lasted more than a minute, but they recently started to become more sure, gentler, and longer. Probably because they now had a sense of when she would stir from her restless sleep, and this gave them a chance to stop and distance themselves before she woke up completely. They were careful not to apply too much pressure for fear that she would discover them sitting on her bed without consent.

The girl’s heartbeat eventually returned to its normal rhythm, the gentle touches helping her calm down along the way. She sensed the owner of the hands that were comforting her were getting ready to stop and place some distance between them. She could have fallen back asleep and once again risked seeing those grotesque images that flooded her mind every night, but she decided to break the cycle tonight.

A hand traced her slim back one last time before pulling away. He stared at her backside for a moment before looking down at his hand, which still felt the phantom warmth of her skin as it slowly faded away. He let his mind wander for a bit, wondering why he kept coming to her side in the middle of the night to comfort her when he had no obligation to do so. He went to look at her one last time before climbing out of her bed, but his breath caught in his throat when a pair of dark blue eyes met his own instead of the slim backside he was expecting to see.

“I’m sorry,” he began to sputter before quickly being caught off guard by the sound of a gentler voice.

“Thank you,” she said softly to him.

He stared at her in surprise, unsure of what to say, or if he should say anything at all. Her soft features showed no signs of anger or distrust towards him, especially not compared to a couple weeks ago when they had first met under unusual circumstances. Granted she had every right for her hostility towards him back then, just like she did at this very moment as well. Yet she didn’t feel angry; she continued to look at him with no disgust lining her features. Instead, all he could see was gentleness.

“Can I ask why?” She asked him.

“I don’t know.” He started to say, but then he thought better of it and reworded his thoughts. “I don’t like hearing you whimper in your sleep. I don’t know what it is that you see and go through every night but if it’s horrible enough that it makes you cry then I don’t mind helping you sleep.”

The guy laying down across from her was hesitant and closed off, but his words were sincere enough for her to know he wasn’t lying. She stayed quiet while looking at him, studying his features closely. It was night time but her eyes could still see all his features as clear as if it was daytime. The small amount of moonlight in the room created a beautiful halo around his red hair. Her eyes then met his once again. They were bright iridescent turquoise eyes that glowed through the dark, which was an unusual color if he was a human.

“I’m sorry I woke you up, please go back to sleep,” he said as he propped an arm on his side so he could sit up and leave. He stopped when he felt the girl’s hand grab his own.

“Wait.” She pleaded in a low voice that barely managed to slip through her lips. He was shocked to see her vulnerable side when she was nothing but stern and distant towards him the whole time they’d known each other. At least when she was awake; when she was asleep it was a whole other story.

“Don’t go. Please stay.” She felt her cheeks flush from embarrassment at hearing herself plead. Her blush was prominent against her pale complexion.

“Are you sure?” he asked. He wanted to be sure he heard her right and he wanted confirmation and clear consent from her.

She nodded her head slightly in affirmation.

Even if it was a nonverbal answer, it was enough for him. He lowered himself next to her. She didn’t let go of his hand; instead her grip was firm, as if he might leave if she didn’t hold onto him. Unless she changed her mind and told him to go away, he would stay next to her as long as she needed.

A strand of her silky black hair fell onto her face. He wanted to move it out of her face and behind her ear, but before he could do so she let go of his hand. Her hand lifted up but instead of brushing the strand out of her face like he thought she would, she reached out towards him and hovered her hand over the side of his face.

His breath hitched for a split second while waiting for her to continue. Her hand was merely inches away from his ear but the anticipation of her touch was already sending shivers along his neck.

“Can I?” she asked.

He could only manage a small nod before her hand touched his left earlobe, her thumb tracing his earrings a couple of times. The sensation made his face tingle and he prayed she wasn’t able to see that his face had turned a couple of shades redder. His ears were one of the most sensitive body parts that his kind had, especially the upper portions.

Her fingers slowly made their way up towards the helix part of his right ear, giving him plenty of time to stop her if he wanted, but he made no movement to do so. He tried his best to control his breathing as her fingers caressed his ear and he even started to bite the inner part of his cheek so he wouldn’t give away how much her touch was affecting him. Unfortunately, his tail started to wag slightly behind him. He hoped she couldn’t hear the way it thumped and swayed against the sheets.

“You’re a strange one, you know that right? You trust me enough to touch your ears but not enough to tell me exactly what you are.”

“Is it really necessary for you to know?” He raised an eyebrow at her.

“I suppose not. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I’m not sure why you’re so hesitant to do so. Not telling me your name I understand but,” she trailed off as she let out a small yawn. This was a sign that she was struggling to stay awake. “I’ll eventually figure out what type of demon you are, even if you refuse to tell me.”

Her eyes began to droop until they finally stayed closed. Her breathing became soft and shallow, signaling that she had instantly drifted off to sleep. Her hand slowly dropped from the side of his face but he caught it and kept it close to him. He wanted to feel her warmth against his skin for a bit longer before eventually placing it by her side.

This time, he did reach out and finally managed to brush the stray strands of hair behind her ear. His hand trailed down her jawline until he could graze his thumb briefly against her soft lower lip.

The amount of trust she had developed over the short period of time that they had spent together was astounding, yet confusing at the same time. It was enough that she freely let herself fall back asleep with him laying right next to her, leaving herself vulnerable. That alone required trust that he wouldn’t have ever imagined could be given to him by anyone, let alone from the girl he thought would only cause a single tiny drop of disturbance in his insignificant life. Instead, that drop had turned into a constant ripple.

He checked himself and pulled his hand away from her sleeping face. His hand was aching to feel her again but he restrained himself and let out a heavy sigh.

“I hope that you never do.” This was the last thing he whispered to her before he also drifted off to sleep.