Obvious disclaimer: I don't own Even Stevens. Nope.

Louis opened his eyes in the middle of the night to find Tawny sleeping peacefully in front of him. The sight of her beautiful figure, the feeling of her love radiating to him even as her eyes were closed, wrested him away from the dream that he had just had and back into reality. A wondrous reality in which he was blessed with her and her love, a reality that was far better than anything in his dreams. A reality so wondrous that all that his dreams could do was to disturb its idyllic perfection, to take him away, if only for a night's sleep, from all that he held dear in it.

There used to be a time when it was the other way around, of course. He recalled how he used to dream of her back in the day, daydreams and night dreams, as he was discovering his feelings for her and had no idea what feelings she had for him. Dreams were the wondrous world where he liked to be, as the old song went. That is, until dreams became reality and reality eventually became better than the dreams – and the dreams, in turn, couldn't be anything but worse than the reality.

Louis kept staring fondly at Tawny. It wasn't the same looking at her with her eyes closed, those deep blue eyes that he would look into as if he was searching for stars in a night sky. Yet he could feel her loving presence all the same, every breath flowing out of her body merging into the air that he breathed in, the heart that was so full of love for him beating with precious life. He could feel a painfully acute need for her, a longing to immerse himself in the reality that she so magically embodied and that he had so badly missed for the last few hours.

"Tawny…" he let himself whisper without even realizing. He immediately hoped that it wouldn't wake her, that it wouldn't disturb the sleep of this most precious of souls. But Tawny opened her eyes, as if only the slightest pronouncement of her name from his lips was enough. There was an affectionate smile on her face, as if by default, as if by virtue of his gaze resting on her eyes even while they had been shut.

"What is it, my love?" she whispered. She didn't have to wait for an answer. She could see the need and longing in his eyes, telling her how much he had missed her for the few hours in which she couldn't be with him. Yet she had felt that he had been with her the whole time, the feeling of his loving gaze resting on her eyes even while they were shut, the feeling of his loving presence flowing out with every breath that he exhaled and merging into the air that she breathed in. If only she could make him feel her in the same way, she thought. If only she could step into his dreams, letting him know that she was there for him not just in reality, but also in dreams.

Tawny extended her arms and embraced Louis, who embraced her back vigorously, burying his head in her chest, covering every square inch of himself with her loving presence. She gently stroked his hair, letting him feel the tingling sensation of her fingers running through it. She closed her eyes, taking in the feeling of being at one with him, the fire in both their hearts merging into a unity that expanded to fill every part of their bodies.