Warm

In one swift motion he embraced her in a tight warm hug and shut the door behind them.

"Little," Ava muffled, looking up at him from his chest.

He loosened his hold on her slightly and quickly took the stockings out from his fake bosom, worried the fabric had been suffocating her.

Bringing her closer again, he put a hand on her head and began to stroke her hair gently. "It's alright, Ava. It's alright," his words hit her ears with a tender warmth.

Ava allowed herself to relax into his arms and rested her head on his firm chest. The tears she had just stopped, started flowing out again. All her barriers came down as she wrapped her arms around his waist and embraced the safe feeling in front of her.

They stood there for a while by the door, locked in a comforting embrace. Little kept repeating the words "It's alright" in a soothing spell until Ava's cries slowly faded away into exhaustion.

With an unspoken word, they both made their way to sit on the bed, still locked in a tender embrace. They just sat there for a while in silence, enjoying the feeling of each other's presence. The moon drifted across the sky until it was about midnight, the reflection of it's light shimmering on the dark river below.

Little noticed Ava's breathe soften as she drifted off in his arms. Carefully, he laid her in the bed and covered her with a blanket. He affectionately moved her hair away from her face, taking in one last look before getting up to return to his room for the night.

Ava's hand moved out from the bed and grabbed his, turning him around in shock. She looked up at him with sleepy eyes and said something he didn't understand. He waited a moment and began to move way again when her grip tightened.

"Don't go," she murmured, her heavy eyelids trying to drag her off back to sleep.

Little froze. 'What should I do in this situation? It won't be good if others found out I stayed the night.' He looked down at the sleeping woman beside him, some redness still remained around her eyes and dry tears on her cheek.

She shifted her body a little and tugged down on his hand. She mumbled a few more words with his name mixed in, causing him to wonder what it is she could have said.

After much deliberation, he decided to keep her company for the night to make sure she was okay. He quietly managed to remove the outer layer of his dress without disturbing the grip on his hand. He then folded back the covers and slipped into bed next to her, holding her hand close as he soon drifted off into a deep sleep.

---

Sing song birds awoke Ava early the next morning. A few hatchlings in a nest were lively chirping from the tree just outside the window, begging their mother for a morning meal.

Still tired from the night before, she rolled over hoping to get some more shut eye when she hit a firm back. She looked up and saw the defined muscles of Little's upper back, and immediately rolled away onto her side of the bed.

Anxiously, she peaked over to observe the fine lines of his back showing through the thin chemise he'd been wearing under the dress the day before. A soft smile crossed her face as she remembered the night before. Ever since Alex had died, an unseen hole of loneliness had been burying itself deep into her heart. She tried her best to mask her feelings day to day, afraid to show too much weakness to others around her. It was expected of her to mourn, but she could not feel too much as it could effect how others viewed her handling of provincial affairs.

Helena, her sweet mother in law, tried her best to comfort Ava whilst she was struggling as well, but there was always an invisible line she wouldn't cross. As Duchess, she was lucky to have many she was close to, but aside from Alex, no one else in Behrllan was of the same status, placing a bridge of respect and fear between her and everyone else.

Propping herself up, she peered over at the beautiful profile of the sleeping man. His presence slowly began healing her lonely heart, unabashedly showing her the closeness she longed for. Her gaze fell upon his long eyelashes, admiring the features of his face, when the sleeping man suddenly rolled over and pulled Ava into his arms.

Ava's face blushed red to her ears as she lay there still and unmoving, frozen solid by unexpected embrace. Tilting her neck up, she noticed the man was still asleep, soft air breathing out from his parted lips. Determined to get some more sleep as well, she burrowed deep into his chest, when something brushed against her thigh.

'Hm, what's that?' Ava moved her leg a little bit to investigate further. Still unsure, she looked down beneath the blankets, but the light did not reach that far. With an undying curiosity, she poked at it with her finger. Little's body twitched in response. Without any hesitation she grasped the hard object in front of her and tugged causing a soft groan to come out of Little's mouth. Ava's eyes widened in embarassment, realizing what she'd just touched. She immediately rolled herself out of his warm embrace, taking all the covers with her and fell off the bed.

The loud thud from her fall woke up the sleeping man. Ava rushed to gather herself and slowly stood up, wrapped in a messy pile of blankets. Little's sleepy eyes met hers, causing her to blush hard yet again.

"G-good morning," she stuttered out in a low voice.

Little looked back at her, stretching his arms and blinking himself awake, until he too felt a blush across his face. He peaked down at the familiar sight between his legs and turned away quickly.

Ava watched as he silently got up and attempted to put on the dress from the day prior. He struggled with the top few strings for a moment, before Ava mustered the courage to help him out in this embarrassing situation. He hastily bowed his head multiple times in an embarrassed apology and made his way to the door, when he heard sounds from outside. A moment later a knock hit the door, and the both of them froze.

"Just a moment," Ava hurriedly replied, looking around the room for a place for Little to hide. 'Ah, maybe he could fit in the wardrobe,' she thought to herself, but before she had the chance to move - she saw Little open the window and jump out onto the tree then down to the ground below.

She rushed over to see if he was alright. Though when she looked out the window he was nowhere to be found. She scanned the grounds of the estate below for any signs of him, when another knock came at the door.

"Your grace, the water will get cold."

"You may come in now." She shut the window after one more quick scan of the estate and made her way over to the bed.

'I can't believe he jumped down from that height!' She thought to herself as the maids served her her morning tea.