The temperature was a bit cooler than last night, and the cold air caused Kathrine Ann's bare legs to be covered in goosebumps as she quickly hurried from the tent flap towards the blazing fire. Choosing a spot as close as possible to the warm flames without risking catching on fire, she pulled the blanket tight over her freezing legs.

"Cold?" Lucifer asked, handing her a plate of what looked like a vegetable stir fry.

"You know I can cook too, right?" She asked, ignoring his question but taking the plate.

Lucifer brushed off the comment, "You can cook for me some other time." Then, with a playful wink, he added, "In fact, I'll make sure that you do." They ate mostly in silence, with occasional questions or comments here and there. Once Kathrine Ann finished her dinner, she scurried to the bucket and dunked her plate before using the sponge to scrub the dish clean. After rinsing it in another bucket of clean water, she repeated the process on the bowls from breakfast before returning to the fire and her blanket. Her eyes wandered as Lucifer continued to eat. Drifting her gaze up toward the sky, she could see the star-speckled blanket peeking through the leaves, and a chill ran down her spine, causing her whole body to shiver.

"What is it, Baby Girl?" Lucifer asked, looking up alert.

"Nothing really," She answered, still staring upwards, "It's just one of those moments where I remember this isn't Earth. Those stars are not the ones I know. These trees, those plants, that hot spring, this life. It's not the same life I once had, but I'm the same person. It's just weird." She explained, hoping he would understand

"Can you accept that?" He questioned after a long pause.

She smiled, finally bringing her eyes back to meet his, "Don't have much of a choice, do I?" She replied, tracing her thumb along the cold metal of her wedding band, then she laughed a little, "Pardon my existential crisis. How about a drink?" She suggested with a soft smile.

"Wine or whiskey?" He smirked.

"Wine." She answered as he got up and dropped his bowl into the soapy bucket before disappearing into the tent.

Kathrine Ann sat silently, waiting for Lucifer's return. As she lifted her hands to warm them by the fire, she noticed the dirty and stained bandages wrapped around her left hand. It was then that she remembered the wound she had received the other day, which she had completely forgotten about. She stared at her hand, a bit anxious about its condition since she hadn't taken proper care of it.

"Go on, unwrap it." Lucifer insisted, walking back towards the fire, a drink in each hand.

With a sigh, she began undoing the bandages, and when the last bit fell to the ground, she gasped, "No way!" She couldn't believe what she was seeing. The freshly stitched wound that should be red and healing was nothing more than a slightly pink raised line. "This isn't possible." She mumbled, staring at her hand as Lucifer bent forward to look.

"You're welcome." He smirked, "But we should probably remove those stitches before they get stuck. Here take this. You should probably take a couple of hearty sips." He suggested handing her the glass of wine and walking back to the tent. She quickly drank half the glass as he instructed before he returned with a tiny pair of surgical scissors, "Jeeze, Baby Girl, I was only joking. You shouldn't feel more than just a bit of pulling." He chuckled.

"Why'd you make me so nervous then?" She fussed, not amused by his joke.

"Nervous? You had a back full of stitches removed not long ago." He replied, sitting next to her and holding out his hand for hers.

"Well, I've never had or seen a wound heal this quick! You said they could get stuck." She defended in a whisper as she refused to look at him but gave him her hand regardless.

"Apologies, my naive Little Doll, I just assumed with your medical background," He began, the amusement still evident in his voice as he lightly clutched her hand, and she felt the cold metal of the scissors on her skin.

"My medical background never covered demonic saliva that heals deep wounds in a couple of days." She snapped as Lucifer began clipping the stitches.

She felt him tug on the first stitch, and she tensed up, "Cute," he remarked as the first stitch came out with a slight tingling sensation. "Not too bad, right?"

She let out a frustrated sigh before saying, No."

"Oh, come on, are you seriously that mad at me?" He asked as he continued to pull out stitch after stitch making quick work of her hand.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"It depends." She replied, taking her hand back and testing its flexibility.

"On what?" He asked.

"How long it takes that half a glass of wine I chugged to kick in."

~~~

After a couple of drinks, Kathrine Ann yawned and rubbed her drooping eyes,

"I think I'm going to call it a night." She said, finishing the last sip of her wine.

Luce nodded, "I'll put out the fire, be in a few."

Kathrine Ann stepped into the tent and dropped the blanket on the bed before quickly stripping her clothes. The cold air bit into her bare skin as she pulled on one of his oversized shirts. As she went to pick up the sleep pants he had given her, she found them cold and damp from her dip earlier in the day. Disappointed, Kathrine Ann discarded them and climbed into the cot, wrapping herself tightly in the blanket. Just as she was drifting off, Lucifer entered the tent. She had already been asleep the night before when he came to bed, but this time she lay with her back to him, listening to his movements and wondering if he was grabbing another drink. Her question was answered as Lucifer extinguished his lantern and climbed into the cot while Kathryn Ann became acutely aware of the small space between them. Not wanting to make things awkward, she lay as still as possible, reminding herself that they slept in the same bed every night. Suddenly he felt a soft tug on her hair and heard him chuckle, making her drowsiness evaporate.

"Baby Girl?" He hummed.

"Yes?" She asked cautiously as his fingers lightly combed through the ends of her hair.

"You owe me, right?" He asked.

"Owe you?" She questioned suspiciously.

"Umhum, remember how you hurt my feelings this morning?" He reminded.

"I do." She answered, swallowing nervously.

"And didn't you promise to make it up to me for hurting my feelings?"

"Vaguely,"

"I'd like to hold you again tonight." He informed.

"What!" She exclaimed, rolling to face him and pushing his arm aside.

"I slept so well with you in my arms last night. Will you let me hold you again, just for tonight?" He requested, his deep blue eyes staring straight into her eyes with an innocent pleading look.

"I'm sorry, Luce. No." She answered, blushing as she moved away from him to the edge of the cot, "I'll make it up another way." She reassured, "Promise."

"Right. I understand." He sighed, turning his back to her, "Good night, then."

She lay silently as the guilt picked at her. She had unintentionally insulted and upset Lucifer this morning by making it seem like she didn't want him touching her, and she had done it again. She had promised to make it up to him, and their hike had been beautiful. But what was his real intention? Was he truly only interested in cuddling, or would he try for more? While he had promised to respect her boundaries, she couldn't help but worry that he would push them. She went back and forth for a few minutes, but she finally caved,

"Just tonight, okay?" She sighed as he rolled back towards her, "And nothing more than holding!" She added, "One hand strays a bit too far, and I swear,"

"Deal! Best behavior, you have my word.' He promised as he wrapped his arms around her and drew her near while a smile spread across his face. "Thank you, Baby Girl." He hummed, nuzzling his face into her hair.

Kathryn Ann lay with her back pressed against Lucifer, his arm wrapped around her waist, and as much as she tried to settle and drift off to sleep, she couldn't; her body was tense and rigid.

"You should relax." He chuckled, "Last night, when you curled into me, you were much cozier."

Kathrine Ann defended herself, saying, "That was different. I wasn't aware of what I was doing."

"I'm not going to do anything but sleep next to you, Kathrine Ann. I just really enjoy having you close to me, so please try to relax. Besides, I can keep you warm this way, and I know you prefer to be warm while you sleep." He assured.

"How do you know that?" She asked curiously.

"Because you have a habit of stealing the blankets." He replied, and she was glad it was dark because her face lit up with embarrassment, and he laughed, "I don't mind. If I'm being honest, It's quite cute how you roll yourself up in them."

"Stop." She mumbled.

"It's like a little human burrito," He continued causing her to bury her face in her pillow.

"Please, Luce!"

"Why, it's just us?" He reminded her, and she could feel his warm breath on her neck, which was surprisingly soothing, "I want you to be comfortable around me, Baby Girl. I mean that."

With a sigh, she allowed herself to relax and even find comfort in the extra warmth. Also, his light breath on her cheek was nice, and the rhythm of his breathing calming. She was beginning to doze off when he spoke to her again,

"I like the way you smell." He hummed as she felt the movement of his jaw on her temple.

"I can't imagine I smell all that great right now." She replied with a small yawn, "All day in the woods."

"I like the way you smell. You smell like you always do, but I can smell it better with you so close. Sweet but not too sweet, like butter...no cream. Like a sweet cream with a bit of vanilla." He described, and his attention to detail made her smile.

"Please promise you won't start calling me your sweet cream doll." She chuckled,

"That's too shameful even for me." He laughed, and she felt his chest vibrate, "Though I'm sure your cream is very sweet."

"Lucifer!" She squealed, shoving him away but unable to get too far as his arm held snugly around her waist. He laughed wholeheartedly, and as appalled as she was, she couldn't help but roll her eyes and laugh a bit too. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Are you looking for suggestions because I have a few?" He smirked, brushing the hair that had fallen in her eyes back behind her ears.

She rolled her eyes once more before settling into a more relaxed position. The arms loosely wrapped around her waist no longer bothered her as much as they had a few moments ago. However, she couldn't shake off the thought that kept popping into her mind.

"Lucifer?" She asked, breaking the silence this time.

"Hum?"

"Why are you doing this?" She whispered, "What do you want from me?"

"I thought that was obvious." He replied with a yawn.

"Right, good night Lucifer." She mumbled.

He let out a small laugh and clarified, "What I meant was that earlier, I mentioned how peaceful I felt sleeping while holding you last night, and I'm curious to see if I can sleep just as soundly tonight."