A/N: Post Wild Cards, Pre-Starcrossed.

John would have never guessed that Shayera was a cuddler. It struck John that this should not have been a surprise. It did fit in with the secretive sweetness of her personality that emerged on those occasions when she didn't feel the need to put on the as tough as nails act. Normally that only surfaced when they were alone. Still it had been a bit of a surprise to wake up with the Thanagarian wrapped around him the first time they had ever slept together.

It wasn't as if any of John's daydreams about what Shayera would be like as a girlfriend had been entirely incorrect. Just the mere idea that the fearsome Thanagarian who went around beating criminals with an Nth metal mace, had anger issues, and probably destroyed more things than necessary along the way would want to cuddle was, quite frankly, humorously unexpected.

He felt Shayera lightly stretch and tighten her arms around him. She somehow managed to find a way to cuddle deeper against him. He knew she wasn't going to let him go nor would he be able to pry her off of him without waking her. John had quickly learned that Shayera was a light sleeper and it didn't take much to wake her. Not that John wanted to move the Thanagarian off of him or wake her to begin with. He preferred for her to be here with him than not. Even if he would find it difficult to fall back asleep with how tight she was holding him.

He felt the coolness of her skin against his. From what Shayera had told him, Thanagar didn't have cold weather at all like Earth did. Over centuries, Thanagarians had adapted to the humid and hot climate of their planet. Thus Shayera's body temperature was naturally lower than a human's. This was also why Shayera typically did not go on missions that took the Justice League to artic climates. Her body did not handle cold weather well and putting on layers to bundle up was rather cumbersome with a pair of wings to work around. He also figured this was one of the reasons why she liked to cuddle. It kept her body warm as she slept. That and, compared to when they first got together, Shayera had steadily become hands-on over the past few months. Whether it be handholding, cuddling, or hugging, she seemed to be constantly touching him whenever she had the opportunity. Not that John minded at all. He found it to be rather enjoyable now that Shayera had finally let her walls down and let him in fully.

John sighed as he twirled a lock of her hair around his finger. Shayera was certainly more domestic than what he had expected her to be. Previous to her own admission, John wouldn't have figured her to be the type to want to settle down. Her want for eventual marriage and children did give John some thoughts on how far their relationship could go but the Green Lantern had to remind himself that she could have been referring to when she ever returned back to Thanagar. Even if she never stated it herself, John knew humans were physically inferior to Thanagarians from just being around her over the years. John wasn't sure if Shayera would be satisfied with being with a human in the long term. It also wasn't a conversation he was ready to have with her yet.

At the same time, it still wasn't like dating an average human woman. Shayera was still, well, Shayera. Humorously, the Thanagarian hadn't understood date nights at first, thinking fighting was an acceptable activity. Now she understood the concept and knew what to expect from a date night at this point. He found it rather endearing that, even though she found most of his ideas to be a bit too mundane for her taste, she still agreed to do whatever he suggested.

How she acted when they were with each other was also a stark contrast to how she was in front of others. She was normally brash and abrasive with people. With him she was tender and compassionate. The way she spoke was even different. The ever threatening tone and aggression in her voice was gone. Her voice was gentle and soft when alone with him.

Then there were the little things about her that he learned. Not surprising for a warrior, and much to his chagrin, she had hardly any etiquette. She would drink directly out of containers rather than drink out of a glass. She had no qualms with blenching in public. She would also bite right off of his food, one of his biggest pet peeves, without a second thought. She also had no problem with leaving things a mess and not pick up after herself. Despite her loving disposition, those traits reminded John to the fact that he was in fact dating a fierce, Thanagarian warrior.

"What are you thinking about?" he abruptly heard her ask softly and looked down to see her smiling gently at him. To John she was the most beautiful when she smiled like that. Her face was relaxed; her eyes open and unguarded for once.

"If I say you will that give me brownie points?" He heard her softly chuckle.

"That depends Lantern. What exactly were you thinking about me?"

"Just taking some mental stock. You know, reflecting on things, making comparisons," he lightly shrugged and wrapped his arms around her.

Shayera contently sighed as she snuggled herself against him even more, "Comparing me to what?"

"To how I thought dating you would have been like to what it really is like."

He felt her smirk against his skin, "So how do I measure up?"

"Honestly? It's a lot more fun and thrilling than I expected. You're more affectionate than I would have guessed. You're also very gentle and remarkably sweet for being a warrior."

He heard her softly yawn, "I'm glad I've been able to surpass your expectations so far."

John kissed the top of her head, "It shouldn't be surprising that you would."

He then felt her shift and move so that the top half of her body was laid on top of his chest. She then wrapped her arms around him and he felt the top of her head press against his left cheek.

"Babe this isn't exactly comfortable. I'm not going to be able to fall asleep like this," he quietly complained.

"It's comfy for me," she quietly murmured as she managed to snuggle against him even more.

John let out a sigh; if she was comfortable then he wasn't going to argue. Her comfort and contentment came before his own.

"I'll get off if you're really not that comfortable," she mumbled, a bit of disappointment evident in her tone.

John smirked as he wrapped his arms around her before she even had a chance to move, "Not in a million years."