Chapter 4: Ratio

Cole had fallen asleep quickly, still with that little incredulous, mocking smile on his face. Paige watching over him, that'd be right. She was more likely trying some new form of vanquishing on him while he was asleep that she had never thought about before, but why, she didn't need to hide it from him, he had no intentions of going on living without Phoebe, without anyone recognizing his efforts of controlling all those powers. After he had given up everything on one side, his efforts had to be acknowledged, otherwise he had no way of belonging either to the evil, nor the good.

The amusement coming in the form of Paige's behavior lulled him into a peaceful sleep, but it only lasted for a few minutes. Soon, his eyelids came to flutter as he dreamed and Paige got startled out by her own thoughts, sitting in the corner, by his flailing arms and legs as he turned around in his sleep. And then there he was, one hand hanging lifelessly off the bed, head half dropped off the pillow, breathing coming in some quiet moans through his slightly parted lips so that it was hard to determine if they were the result of suffering or perchance erotic dreams. His shirt was also scrunched up and most of one side of his muscular stomach became visible, his breathing bringing it up and down, yet irregularly. He tossed one leg wide to the side and from that angle, something rather round and bulgy came into the middle of her vision. It wasn't completely light anymore, but the dimness and the shadows only accentuated the shape.

I shouldn't be marveling at those...fine assets, Paige flinched. He couldn't deny that it never escaped her how handsome Phoebe's boyfriend was, she remembered very well how it was to touch those bunching muscles of his chest, down in the basement when she switched bodies with her sister, savor those honey lips that conveyed half of his energy emanating from him at all times, even when he'd just fought off a dozen demons all by himself. That trademark energy that somehow now in his sleep, seemed to have been missing. He looked simply innocent and vulnerable, and most remarkably delectable, the changing lights had taken nothing away from that. If anything, the moon seemed to have made his skin shine so that it accentuated that mysticism that always came with the concept of Cole Turner.

She was again shaken out from her dream by his intensified movements. It was warm, but Paige was quite sure it wasn't that making Cole's body covered with a thin layer of sweat. His fists were clenching and as his hands moved in her direction. Paige ducked out the way and squatted down by the bed, not questioning for one moment that the most powerful demon there was, lying there on the bed, would be capable of magic even in his sleep. She didn't trust Cole's nightmares. Maybe he wouldn't hurt her deliberately, but who knew what he could do in his sleep with some random, unintentional hand gestures?

She was ducking down for a while, but since nothing seemed to have been blown up, she chanced a peek at him, this time, from closer, right from next to the edge of the bed, where she ended up crawling to.

Cole's head was moving a little from side to side. Paige paused, horrified by the his facial expression that spoke of torment, but she still jumped when Cole cried out.

"No, Phoebe!...Please, help me..." He looked outright scared. The rest were some mutterings that the young witch couldn't make out, but from the tone of his voice, none of it sounded like a pleasant little dream.

Paige became more and more concerned, and it wasn't about what evil magic he could unleash on the world in his sleep. She carefully eased herself on the bed sitting next to him, wondering what she should do. Waking him up could've been dangerous at this stage, besides, he obviously needed the sleep after her fiasco with the potions. Instead, driven by instinct, she reached out a hand and enclosed it around his fingers before any conscious thought could lead to a decision. If she was honest with herself she could admit that it had nothing to do with stopping him conjuring up fire balls. She rubbed her fingers against his, her expression telling of her plead for it to work in calming him. What she was feeling under her fingertips surprised her. That hand, delivering death by energy and fire balls, how could it feel like some delicate velvet?

Satisfied by the results of her own warm and reassuring gesture on his trashing head she curiously started to reach toward his face. She drew her fingers over his short hair, a little as if she was patting a dog.

He took a deep breath and leaned into her touch, making her freeze in realization as to how close she was to an uncomfortable situation. What if he opened his eyes right now with her fingers trapped under his chin? Should she move and risk waking him?

So she just watched him sleep peacefully for a few moments, but she didn't have to wait long to free her hand. Cole jerked sharply, swinging himself to the other side, then his body started trembling and the moans came back.

"This could go on like this the whole night!" Paige grunted, realizing how heavy her own eyelids were. These last few days were very taxing. How could she stay close to him to keep calming him and sleep at the same time? There was one easy answer to that.

She climbed up the bed next to him and almost too groggy to keep herself upright, she leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She was well and truly in deep sleep by the time he shifted his hand to her back and pulled her close to himself, all his nightmares held at standstill by the little while orbs inside her essence. Something inherently good he'd always felt the pull of, something he unconsciously wasn't willing to let go.

Tbc