Annie pulled back from him a few inches to look more fully at him. "I can't take your bed."

Auggie's lips tilted up in a half-smile. "Please, let me be a gentleman about this."

Remembering her previous image of Auggie as her favorite superhero, Annie smiled, "Like Clark Kent."

"Clark Kent?"

Annie nodded, "With your glasses, you remind me of Clark Kent. And with your body, I mean, hello, Superman."

Auggie chuckled as his ego got a much-needed boost. "Really?"

"Mm-hmm," Annie murmured, her eyes glancing down swiftly, then back up again. "In fact –"

As she reached up and pulled off his glasses, Auggie knew he should stop her, but she was like his Kryptonite, and he was unable to resist.

"Is this okay?" Annie asked. "I mean, can you see well enough like this?"

Auggie raised a hand and smoothed his fingers around her hairline and down her jaw. "Actually, this close, I can see you perfectly."

His touch, the rumble of his voice as it got low like it was now, and the obvious loosening of well-placed inhibitions made Annie's base desires flare up. "Well, then." With a minimum of effort, she pushed against his shoulders until his head hit the armrest. She followed him down, mainly because his arm was still wrapped tightly around her back.

The new position – half on her side on the couch and half on him – threw Auggie a bit off balance, and he pulled his legs up on the couch to keep himself from falling off. He couldn't lie to himself that he didn't mind this new position, but didn't they just silently agree to take things slow?

"Annie," he said in a half-warning, half-wondering tone.

"Shh," Annie said. "Just relax."

Auggie did, shifting slightly until he was more comfortable in the new position. When he settled, Annie did, as well, laying her head against his chest and placing her arm around his middle. After a few minutes, he peered down to see Annie's eyes have now closed, and a look of contentment was on her face.

He raised his hand to pull a few strands of hair off of her face and tuck them behind her ear. A purr of satisfaction emits from her, and he continued until her breath evened out, and he knew she was asleep.

Annie woke to find herself alone on the couch. Still half-inebriated, a feeling of confusion washed over her until the memory of falling asleep in Auggie's arms came back to her. A look at the time showed only an hour had passed since the movie ended.

But where was Auggie? He was no longer on the couch with her, and his bed looked exactly as it did before. The bathroom door suddenly opened, and Auggie walked out, wearing nothing but a pair of black sleep pants that hung low on his hips.

"Auggie."

The sound was something of a strangulated whisper, and Auggie turned on his way to his bed to see he'd gotten caught. Coming back to her on the couch, he said, "I was hoping I wouldn't wake you up."

Remembering her previous near-attack on the man by pushing him down on the couch and wrapping her arms around him to force him to say, Annie felt a slight wave of embarrassment come over her. "Oh, sorry."

"Hey, no," Auggie said, crouching down beside her. "It's just – I needed to brush my teeth before I went to sleep."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I've got an extra one – brand new, of course – if you want to."

Annie nodded, as she realized she should probably wash her face, as well, and use the facilities, as the half-bottle of wine she imbibed was making itself known.

Auggie held out his hand to her and led her to the bathroom, pointing out the toothbrush and toothpaste. Annie soon got her ablutions finished, and as she was rinsing out her mouth, a knock sounded at the door.

She opened it to find Auggie standing there, a t-shirt and sleep pants that matched his in his hands. "I didn't know if you wanted to change or –"

"Thanks," Annie said, taking the bundle from him. A few minutes later, she opened the door and stepped out. The place had changed a bit. Auggie had obviously used the time she was in the bathroom to straighten up, as the empty wine bottle and glasses were gone, the tv was off, and, she could see, the bed had been turned down.

He was nowhere near it, though, and she turned to see him sitting on the couch. Annie took a minute to think. She didn't want to push this – whatever this was that was building between them – too fast, but she also knew that falling asleep in his arms made her feel more relaxed and cared for than she ever felt in her whole life. With more bravado than she thought she had, she took a couple of steps toward Auggie, her hand extended.

Maybe it was the fact that her hair now fell upon her shoulders, or that her skin glowed where she'd washed it, or maybe even that she looked very hot and desirable in his clothes. It could have been all of those reasons, or another, more deeper one, but all Auggie knew at that moment was that he was standing up and crossing the room to take her offered hand.

They parted to climb in on opposite sides of the bed, each settling into their respective favorite positions – Auggie on his left side and Annie on her right. When their eyes met not a foot from the other, they both smiled.

Annie opened her palm as it lay between them, and Auggie slid his hand into it, curling her forearms together as they closed their eyes and fell asleep.