Sleep

They had been sharing a bed since his return from the rift.

If by bed you referred to a pile of blankets salvaged from the ruins, and if by sharing you meant snatching a few hours of slumber betwixt innumerable other duties.

They never slept at the same time.

Their sudden intimacy dwindled to awkward smiles and forced platitudes. Body heat from a recently vacated blanket was the closest Steiner had been to her in weeks.

So when a shivering Beatrix curled against his chest in the dead of night he dreamt soundly for the first time since his homecoming.

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First posted at ff_fortnightly. Thanks for reading - illy x