The days had rolled lazily into nights before their eyes, giving them a heavy dose of calm that they all had been missing - a stillness that hadn't resided within the town for how long now, Lydia couldn't keep track. It was a long time coming, to have even a single nights worth of rest without the interruption of a night terror jolting through her system. Without forcing herself awake with the constant exhaustion that tip toed around them, leaving them all on edge, peering glances every step they took. And even now, a month shy of half a year having passed without any attacks - any fighting, any more rivalries or for god's sake sacrifices, she knew better than to be foolish enough to think it was all over. 

          { Breathe i n, Breathe o u t. The fluttering of eyelids. }

      Lydia's thoughts slowly pulled her to consciousness, blinking sleepily, her room still covered with the night, dark with the moonlight shining through. It's glow highlighted the figure of the back just beside her, a sleeping Aiden faithfully lying there. She had gotten so used to his weight beside her own in the bed, the intense warmth he radiated that sometimes left them on opposites sides of the bed just to breathe properly. And yet, with his back turned to her, her hand was still slid beneath his body, their fingers interlaced on his opposite side. For the first time in awhile, she felt genuinely happy, safe, loved, even. It all overwhelmed her. That there was someone that actually cared about her, that she was able to piece herself together with fragments of him holding her in place. But she was still scared. No, terrified, that he might be able to walk away from her so easily the way Jackson did. Her chest tightened at the thought, flexing her fingers tangled within his own as she slowly leaned into him, leaving a few gentle kisses up along the center of his spine.