[ WP ] Three friends . Four AM . No dialogue

If you ’ d see him right now, wrapped in a blanket in front of a barely lit fire, you ’ d think he was asleep. It ’ s quite on purpose. His breathing is steady but it ’ s deliberate; his lidded eyes see quite well, even in the dark. That ’ s why he sees her coming, and when she reaches for his arm to shake him awake, his hand closes on her wrist. 
 
 She blinks and a small gasp escapes her, her annoyed expression replaced by surprise. He can ’ t help but smirk with satisfaction at the rare sight. Then, with an annoyed huff and an amused grin, she punches him in the shoulder. It smarts; she is, after all, half a head taller than him, and better built. She opens her mouth to say something, pauses, then glances past him, at the faintly visible aura of a bigger fire. He nods and places a finger to his lips. The others are sleeping off a long day, and need their strength. 
 
 She seems to hesitate for a moment, then decide not to join them yet. She sits down, by the small fire, leaning her back against the stump of a tree, stretching her legs. They sit a while in silence, listening to the sounds of the night, the distant shuffle of branches in the wind, keeping watch together. 
 
 Something rustling off in the bushes catches his attention, but nothing comes forward. When he looks back at her, she ’ s pulled up her legs and wrapped her arms around them. For a moment, he hesitates. Then he makes a small sound to get her attention, and once he has it, unwraps himself out of the blanket enough to lift up one side invitingly. For a moment, she looks at him as if he ’ d gone mad, but he doesn ’ t lower with arm. Finally, with an eyeroll and an expression of great suffering, she shuffles closer, and wastes no time in cuddling closer to his warm side, pretending she doesn ’ t know he noticed. He chuckles quietly, falls silent with a mutter when she elbows him for it, and lets his arm rest around her. 
 
 Before long, he notices her shifting a bit closer, a bit more of her weight against him. She huffs, then her breathing becomes more even. He allows himself another chuckle, and when she doesn ’ t react to that, he finally believes she ’ s fallen asleep. He, himself, fights off sleep with practice and experience. It isn ’ t why he misses the girl ’ s approach. She just is that good. 
 
 He almost jumps when she slides up next to him without the barest sound. He realizes what happened and turns to scold her, but she interrupts him with a shameless, victorious smile and a quick kiss to silence him. He can ’ t find the words after, so he just huffs in resignation. That ’ s when he becomes aware of a tired, sleepy sound to the other side of him, and sees the newcomer wave cheerily. Not for the first time he wonders, where she finds the strength, especially at this hour. 
 
 But right now, he can ’ t be bothered. His watch is over, and he wants to get some sleep before morning comes properly. With a grunt, he hauls himself to his feet, helping the older woman, not missing the younger girl scooting into his warmed spot with a smug smile. He shakes his head, but smiles, reaching out to mess up her hair, and it does nothing to lessen her smile. 
 
 Frankly, he doesn ’ t remember reaching his cot and falling asleep, but he does doing it with a smile. 
 
 -002
