When Iris admitted that she had experience with nightmares, Cas frowned. The way she spoke made it seem like it had been a common occurrence for her. He’d only had one bad dream, and he didn’t want to go through it again, so he couldn’t imagine what it would be like to suffer from them regularly. If she did, he wondered if there was a way to treat it. He didn’t want her to be plagued with nightmares regularly if they could avoid it. If they did end up going to the capital, he made a mental note to look into possible therapists that might be able to help her with the issue, so she wouldn’t have to suffer unnecessarily for years.

[color=#b97703]“I guess,”[/color] he acknowledged, leaning back on one hand while he left the other resting on her leg. [color=#b97703]“I just realized I’d rather fight for us, so we have a chance rather than give up without even trying.”[/color] As the saying went, it was better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. However, it was definitely too soon to drop the “L” word when they had just gotten back together about an hour ago, so he kept that part to himself. While his feelings for her were stronger than anything he’d felt for another woman, he wanted time to thoroughly sort out what they were before he threw out any labels. Besides, he had no idea if she felt connected to him the same way he did to her. He didn’t want to catch her off guard. They already had enough to worry about without any rifts forming between each other.

As she joked about his arms being comfortable, he returned her bright smile with one of his own. [color=#b97703]“To be honest, it’s surprising to me just how comfortable I am with you,”[/color] he confessed, idly trailing his fingers down her thigh. [color=#b97703]“We barely know anything about each other, but I feel like I’ve known you for years. I don’t know; I guess you just have a way of making me feel relaxed whenever we’re together. It’s something I’ve liked about you since the day we met.”[/color] It was also one of the reasons why he didn’t want to let her go. The ease with which they got along wasn’t easily recreated, and he couldn’t picture himself doing it again with any other person. Although he would never admit it out loud—his friends would have never let him hear the end of it—there had always been a part of him that had wondered if he had a soulmate. If he did, Iris was the closest match he’d found so far.

At her question, he shook his head, [color=#b97703]“I don’t think I’ll be sleeping again for a while. You should go ahead. I’ll stay up so you can get some rest this time.”[/color] If her fever broke while she did, it would be all the better. He wasn’t in a rush to get home anymore, but he still hoped her sickness was just a twenty-four-hour thing that would pass soon. Since they didn’t have any medicine to dull the symptoms, he was sure she was probably uncomfortable.

Her mention of [i]a[/i] bed, singular, didn’t slip past him either, and he reddened slightly as he imagined sharing one with her. [i]That[/i] was something he’d never done before. His past relationships hadn’t lasted long enough, and he’d never had the privacy to get away with it at the mansion. However, although the thought made his heart race, he couldn’t deny that it was something he wanted to do. He may have been inexperienced in the realm of romance, but he was still a red-blooded male. If the opportunity came up, he wouldn’t turn it down.

[color=#b97703]“R-Right,”[/color] he stammered, unable to hide the effect that her insinuation had on him. Awkwardly, he coughed into his elbow and smiled at her again, trying to recover from the initial shock. [color=#b97703]“Well, if your fever does break, by all means, we can look for a better place to spend the night. Either way though, I think a nap will be good for you.”[/color]