I could make a million excuses as to why this took so long but in all sincerity, I was stuck. :U So this is a rather short chapter but hopefully still enjoyable. I think James is a big RF:ToD favourite so I thought I should put him in there. I appreciate every review and fav and follow and I love hearing what you guys have to say so please, keep it coming! If you ever really want to see a story take a certain direction I definitely want to hear it. I have everything in my head but hey, you never know, your influence might change that. :P

Warmth. Senses slowly started to awaken one by one as Sonja began to stir. Her eyes were not yet ready to open, but she could feel a blanket pulled up around her shoulders as she laid on her side. She considered the blanket's odd distribution of weight as she felt it concentrated around her middle and back. In a sleepy effort, she slowly moved to tug the blanket higher and readjust it, but the faint tickling of warm air hitting her ear made her realize the weight wasn't the blanket.

Sonja blinked her eyes open partway and pulled a hand out from underneath the sheets to rub at her face. She looked out towards the room she faced, starting to remember that she had joined James at some point during the night. While she expected to see his desk, bookshelf, and different trinkets from his travels, she hadn't expected to see Elena standing a few steps before the bed with her arms crossed and a scolding but playful smirk plastered onto her face.

All at once Sonja realized how shameful her sleeping in James' bed must have looked. Instead of finding something to say, she slowly looked over her shoulder to find the source of the added weight. Her face immediately flushed as she noticed the weight near her back was James' sleeping form, his arm wrapped tightly about her middle, and his breath had been tickling her during her sleep.

"He normally hugs a pillow when he sleeps," Elena broke the silence in a soft whisper, "But I guess you were more comfy, huh?"

"This-this isn't anything!" Sonja whispered back more harshly. She made an effort to sit up, but the sleeping James noticed his 'pillow' was trying to leave and pulled her back down, hugging her tighter and nuzzling his nose into the crook of her neck. Sonja's face flushed further as she looked towards Elena with pleading eyes, only to see the blacksmith stifling a laugh.

"He's normally a very light sleeper, too. Weird, huh? How you show up in his bed and he suddenly can't sleep any heavier."

The scandalous undertone to Elena's voice made Sonja quickly shake her head, her messy pink hair gaining static from the friction against her pillow, "It's not like that! I…had another nightmare."

"Oh." Elena's smirk dropped from her face, "I guess a location change didn't help much then, huh?"

"Guess not." Sonja said with a sigh. "Thank you again for letting me take your bed." She gingerly glanced over to her current bed buddy, "For, uh, a little while anyways."

Elena snickered and unfolded her arms, "No problem. Let me know if you need anything, alright? We're all here for each other."

Sonja smiled warmly towards Elena, her words sinking deeper than the blacksmith could ever know. "Thank you."

With a tired yawn, Elena dismissed herself to her own room where she would soon fall asleep while the rest of the town rises.

With Elena gone, Sonja craned her head towards her current bed-buddy. With lips slightly parted and hot breath softly pooling onto her neck and ear, Sonja both didn't want to move from the affectionate comfort he had on her but at the same moment, felt awkward and out of place. She decided to focus on the awkward and began to slowly turn herself around to face him, hoping the movement would gently rouse him from his slumber and her efforts proved fruitful.

James closed his lips and readjusted himself, eyes not yet opening but conscious thought crossing his face. After pausing a moment to process what exactly he was holding onto, his eyes fluttered open and Sonya thought her heart would stop at the beautiful sight before her. Even upon the first blink of the day, James was without the puffy eyes she was accustom too, his hair still appeared silky and clean, and his skin held not a single shine from overnight build-up of oil or dirt.

Upon realization that he was cuddling Sonja, James blinked his eyes wider and a blush began to tint his alabaster cheeks. He pulled his arm away from Sonja's middle and slid himself towards the wall a few inches.

"Ah, good morning." James greeted with a twinge of anxiousness in his otherwise calm voice. "I apologize…I didn't mean to invade your space."

"It's okay. I was trying not to wake you." Sonja lied, knowing fully well that her intent was to wake him up to relieve her of the situation. She watched as James slowly sat himself up, the blanket pooling around his hips and exposing his barren torso, clean and softly defined. He sleepily pulled his hair about his shoulder and silently looked towards Sonja just as she did to him. With his beauty, she was starting to feel insecure about herself and her hands came up to cover her cheeks.

"I must be a complete mess." Sonja said with a soft laugh, feeling embarrassment rise to her cheeks. Her fingers slid up higher and rubbed at the inner corners of her eyes, attempting to rid herself of the sleep and puffiness that rose through the night.

"Nonsense. You're always lovely. The morning is no different." James said with a soft smile. When Sonja opened her round eyes and looked over at James, bringing a silence between them, his smile began to crack. "I mean that as a compliment from a friend. I hope I didn't offend."

"Of course not. That was very sweet." Sonja began to lower her hands from her cheeks, exposing her curling smile. Her mind began to wander to the thought of waking up to a sight like James every morning and receive his lovely words, but she ran out of that terrain just as quick as she entered it.

There were other things that needed tending to and if she didn't tackle it, she might not be able to have these thoughts anymore or worse, the people around that are in them. That mask was surely still sitting on her bed if Quinn and Kelsey hadn't entered her room or gotten into mischief. The thought of those two young children suddenly meeting their end sent a frigid chill up her spine.

"Is something wrong?"

Sonja blinked, snapping from the thoughts she became enveloped in and brought herself back to the moment at hand. James looked at her with a bit of concern, and she realized she had sat herself up in that short amount of time and her face had contorted to a look of concern.

She dismissively waved a hand before her face and forced a small smile. "I'm alright. Just…thinking about the tasks of the day. Speaking of which," Sonja slid her bare legs over the side of the bed, "I should probably get started."

"A good idea." James agreed with a nod. Like the respectful gentleman he was raised to be, when he noticed Sonja's lack of pants and her behind just covered by the hem of his shirt, he looked away until she dismissed herself from the room. While she changed into the clothes she came in yesterday, James put on his usual garb and was in the middle of brushing out his blonde locks when Sonja returned.

James smiled when she lightly stepped into his room. His eyes drifted from her smiling yet tired face and towards the mess of short, pink hair atop of her head. He chuckled at her dishevelment.

Sonja placed her hands on her hips and puffed her cheeks. "What's so funny?"

"Here." James gestured her forward with a finger and they met each other halfway. He raised his hand and brushed the soft bristles of his brush through her pink hair, releasing it of the static and tangles it had accumulated over the night. Sonja smiled and looked towards her toes, enjoying the nice feeling of having her hair brushed and, as much as she didn't want to admit it, the proximity between her and James was nothing to shake a stick at. She sighed and closed her eyes, breathing in deeply and catching the faint scent of lye soap from his clothes. Part of her wanted to lean in closer and inhale closer to his hair and skin, to see if his natural smell was as alluring as the rest of him or if it was of the vanilla and lavender she imagined it to be. She felt herself softly rocking on her heels, as if silently battling her wants and her wills.

James dragged the brush across her strands, carefully lifting each section with his free hand. He smiled as she watched her close her eyes, as if drifting back into a peaceful slumber. He wished he could sit her back down on his bed and brush her hair, even hold her until she fell back asleep. He always knew he wanted a girl in his life – hell, not long ago he had one until she left him for not spending enough time with her – and Sonja now being a physical presence in his world was starting to open up options in his mind that he didn't know he had. He had come to appreciate her as a good friend when she was merely a sweet voice echoing from a boy's body, and perhaps that sweetness echoed further into his dreams, but the face to match pulled his thoughts further.

After he finished brushing her hair, he set it down and Sonja flickered her eyes back open and looked up at the blonde. He tenderly curled the ends of her hair towards her chin with his fingers and smiled. "There. All better."

Sonja smiled brightly back as she was pulled out of her dream world. "Thanks, James. I owe you one, for everything."

"Think nothing of it." James gave Sonja a small pat atop of her head. "I'll see you later?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll see you later."