#bedtime snuggles

"Glad it went better today," the Vestige responded, stirring the pot in front of her. "New recruits do well?"

"The first group of recruits is doing very well. They'll be ready for the field in no time. The more recent group, however, is not." Darien rolled his eyes at the thought. "Pretty sure they wouldn't know their asses from a hole in the ground."

The Vestige threw her head back laughing. "If you, of all people, are saying that then there must be no hope for them."

Darien shook his head, "Probably not. However if you were there, it would be different."

"Who? Me? Nooooo," she replied with bemused sarcasm. "They would never respond to me."

He gave her a level look, "Some of our equals are terrified of you."

"Then they are intelligent individuals."

A wry chuckle came from Darien as he turned to start taking his armor off. As he worked at the fasteners, he asked "By the way, what's that you're making? It smells amazing."

When they had moved in together, they agreed to share the cooking duties, and tonight it was her turn. And he had been looking forward to it all day.

"Oh just something simple, stew and bread."

Darien's head whipped around. "Fresh bread?"

"Yes." There was a chuckle and the thud of a baking tray. "Fresh bread."

~*~

The rest of the evening was spent in well-deserved leisure. Darien and the Vestige, wrapped in each other's arms, feeling the overall closeness of each other's bodies, and their selves. The warmth of the fireplace brought a gentle calm to the cozy house.

The bed was extra comfortable tonight, with both soldiers home. The Vestige leaned back against the pillows as she softly ran her hand through Darien's hair. His arms snaked around her torso, holding her in place as he rested his head against her collarbone. He was so close he could smell the afterscent of her baking, and she could smell the sweat and rust of his armor.

They lay there in silence, breathing in each other's scents, with the occasional light forehead and cheek kiss here and there. As sleep started to take and they snuggled into the blankets, Darien couldn't help but think how lucky he was. The two had literally been to Oblivion and back, fighting tooth and nail. And now he was laying in her arms, listening to her heartbeat.