Crow grinned when Penelope said it would be alright for her to lay down with him. He’d been slightly worried that she would say no out of fear that one of her comrades could walk in on them. While that was a real concern for them to worry about, he cared much more about taking advantage of the opportunity to do it while they still had it. After everything that had happened—from the night she’d caught him talking to Jaxon to his injury during the fight—it had been quite a while since the last time they had been able to be so close to each other. He was eager to have her by his side again, even if only for a little while.

He met her lips as she kissed him and shifted slightly to make more room for her on the edge of the bed. The motion caused a sharp twinge in his torso, but he ignored it, too excited by the prospect of laying next to Penelope again to dwell on the mild discomfort. Besides that, he didn’t want to show the pain on his face and make her think he was too unwell to manage it. He knew her well enough to know that she would just get overly protective if she thought he was in any pain, even if it was just something minor.

Once she had settled down beside him, Crow turned his head to meet her gaze. He wished he could have rolled onto his side to face her more easily, but even if he hadn’t been wounded, the chains around his wrist and ankle wouldn’t permit him to move that much. So instead, he contented himself with simply looking at her as he was now, lying flat on his back, and enjoying the fact that they even had this chance to be so close to each other again.

When Penelope asked him to make sure she would stay awake, he let out a soft whistle. “That’ll be tough,” he mused as if unsure he could do it. “You’re just so cute when you’re asleep.” Breaking his thoughtful façade, he casted her a playful smirk and leaned over to press a kiss to her nose, venturing with his free hand to intertwine his fingers with hers. It felt good to be laying next to her again, and he could almost forget about the troubles to come.

Crow’s expression softened as he held her gaze, “Gods, I love you, Penelope,” he breathed, giving her hand an affectionate squeeze. “I can’t wait until we can do this all the time… I don’t think I’ll ever leave my bed if you’re in it with me.”