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"Wait! Shade-" He called after her, but then shut himself up and let her go. She needed to think. She needed to cool down. They both did. This was for the better.

Why was that so hard to make himself believe?

Allen wandered around, trying to keep himself busy and not think about the hole that seemed to be growing in his stomach. He'd done the right thing, for crying out loud! Telling her no had only been to protect her - and himself. She had to believe that. Eventually he wandered into the Bed, Bath, and Beyond, relieved to see that she was already asleep. Wow, this had been a long day. He sighed and unbuttoned his shirt, kicking his shoes off. He gasped softly, startled at how cold the floor was against his bare feet. He froze, afraid he'd woken her. He listened for sounds that she was awake, and that's when he finally heard her crying in her sleep. He couldn't get the image of her emotion-filled eyes out of his mind. Her blanket had slid off. She seemed to be cold, or maybe she was just shivering because she was crying.

Because he'd broken her heart.

Oh, great, so now this was all his fault. He slid the overshirt off, leaving himself in the form-fitting black muscle shirt he wore beneath. Man, it was cold. There must be a vent in here, allowing the cold in.

He dropped the overshirt to the floor and made his way across the room to the bed she lay in, looking pitiful, helpless, and heartbroken. How could she ever have felt safe and protected around him? He picked up her blanket and put it over her, talking soothingly to her sleeping form. "Shhh. It's alright, Shade. Don't cry." He tucked the blanket around her, forcing himself to ignore how nice it felt to follow the curves of her body with his hands, and moved a hand to wipe the tears gently from her cheeks, leaning over her with a concerned expression. She seemed like the kind of person who was used to crying herself to sleep...

She was finally calming down, and then suddenly burst into tears again. Allen's heart nearly broke. He knew no other way to comfort her but to hold her. Pushing the voice of reason out of his mind he climbed up onto the bed beside her. He sat cross-legged on the bed and gently shook her awake. "Shade," He murmurred, "It's alright. Shhh, stop crying now. I'm right here." He slid his hands under her arms like she was a baby and pulled her into his lap, wrapping his bare arms around her and letting her bury her face in his chest.

'I'm right here?' How was that supposed to be comforting? She probably hated him! He pushed that thought from his mind, his only concern for the moment calming her down and cheering her up. And boy it felt nice to hold her in his lap, even if she was crying all over his shirt.

"I'm sorry, Shade." He said softly, thinking she was still asleep. He gently rubbed her back as he held her, massaging the stress out of her muscles. "I...I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you. It seems I did anyway, though, doesn't it?" He sighed hopelessly. "I should never have let this happen. I should never have let it get this far. I should have kept to myself. Now I've dragged you into this and...I'm so sorry, Shade. Please don't hate me."

He flinched in surprise to find that she was awake. Suddenly he didn't know what to do with himself. It was easy to shower affection on someone when they were asleep, but now that she was conscious, it was different.

She finally fell asleep in his arms, her own arms wrapped around his waist. He smiled softly down at her. She looked so cute and vulnerable when she was asleep. He gently pulled himself out of her arms, readjusting her so her head was laying on the pillow, tucked her in again, and then, feeling brave, leaned in close and kissed her sweetly on the lips, the most honest, sweetest apology he'd ever made in his life.

He pulled away from the kiss almost disappointed, which amused him since he was the one trying to set things straight, not the other way around. Still, he lingered a moment to brush the last of the tear stains off of her cheeks before returning to his own bed across the room, taking off the tear-damp muscle shirt and laying it out to dry, climbing into bed bare-chested.

Allen was sleeping fine, until someone started screaming bloody murder. No one can sleep through that. He practically fell out of his bed in confusion, but managed to land lithely on his feet on the freezing cold floor. He was alert in an instant from the cold. There was only one person who could possibly be screaming. Shade. He moved toward her in the pitch dark, following the sound of her voice. They'd retired earlier the previous night, before the darkness had settled in. Now he regretted not knowing where the flashlight was.

"Shade?" He asked, his voice soft. He stumbled in the darkness and caught himself on the side of her bed. "Are you alright?" He asked, a little breathless. He couldn't see a thing. His eyes hadn't adjusted yet to the darkness.