A/N: This is something I wrote quickly while I've been away. I thought it would be fun to do Aspen's POV, and then Cas's, when the other is asleep. Both are set in a hotel room, although they aren't any time in particular. Enjoy!

Aspen wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep, before the soft morning light caressed his face, drawing him from his confusing dreams.

Opening his eyes, he wondered where he was for the briefest of moments, before he quickly identified the features of a familiar hotel room, which he sometimes frequented. He shifted, looking over to see Caspian still asleep beside him, on the bed. His blonde hair was nearly golden when the light touched it, and it fell messily over his face, rumpled adorably in his sleep. Feeling tempted to reach over and fix it, he stopped himself, deciding he shouldn't disturb him. Aspen smiled slightly, glad to see Cas looking a little more relaxed than usual, while he slept. At least it didn't seem like he was having a nightmare, at that moment.

Glancing out the window, he propped himself up against the headboard carefully, not wanting to wake him. Especially not when he got such little sleep as it was. Content in the silence, Aspen's thoughts drifted to the last time he'd been to the hotel. His companion had been a faerie girl with long, dark hair. Her nails had been sharp when they'd dug into his skin, leaving small, crescent marks. She'd tugged at his hair and called him all sorts of names, teasing him as she'd pressed her sharp teeth under his jaw, where his pulse was.

Cas would never do that.

He ran a hand over one of his wrists, where a faint red mark remained. He never complained, even if it hurt. Inhaling, he returned his gaze to the window.

People often eyed him in the Towns like he was food. Either that, or a toy to play with, for their amusement. Their words though, drew him in. Both their compliments, and their admiration. But he had to eventually discard of them, before they did it to him.

Cas never looked at him like that, either.

This visit in itself was a rarity for Aspen, as he never usually hung around the hotel rooms for very long. Once he was done with people - or they were done with him - he would leave, having no reason to stay any longer. He definitely wouldn't sleep in front of them, or stay until morning. With Caspian though, there was a trust that allowed him to do things he wouldn't usually do.

His thoughts were interrupted when a voice muttered his name softly, and he replied with a quick, 'Yes?'

When there was no reply, he whispered, 'Cas?' and turned quickly to look at him. He relaxed though when he realised Caspian was still asleep. He must have said it in his sleep, and Aspen decided not to wake him, as he didn't appear to be in any distress. He wondered why he was in Cas's dream. Why it had been his name that he'd muttered.

Aspen decided to make the most of the opportunity to study him, since Caspian normally hated it when he stared. He was pretty, even if he always denied it. Long eyelashes were paired with the fine, elegant and sharp-boned features of the fae. There was often a regal air to how he tilted his chin up, and he'd aways watched the mundane world cautiously, a flicker of mistrust and suspicion in his multi-coloured eyes. After such betrayals in the past, Aspen didn't blame him.

There was a rustle of sheets as Caspian shifted, and he flinched back from the light as it fell over his eyes. He opened them quickly, and they flickered over to Aspen. Sitting up, he ran a hand through his hair to straighten it, looking a little embarrassed to be caught sleeping. "... How long have you been awake?" he asked, and Aspen delighted in the sleepy lilt to his voice that still remained.

"Not too long," he murmured, having not minded waiting for him to wake. "But it doesn't matter… Tell me, how did you sleep? Did you have any nightmares?"

Caspian shook his head, and there was a hint of concealed relief in his eyes.

"Good," he smiled, and he leaned forward, brushing some blonde strands of hair away from his silver eye.

Caspian watched him silently, and he couldn't help but tease. "You said my name," he said, staring at him. "I was in your dream?"

"Did I?" Caspian asked, and he flushed, looking a little horrified that he'd talked in his sleep. "It must have been an accident," he said vaguely, avoiding the question.

Aspen laughed, and he rested his head against Caspian's shoulder, content to pry the answer out of him later.

"You'll just have to tell me."

Drawing himself from the nightmare was what he imagined drowning would feel like.

Caspian choked, gasping for air and he sat up quickly. Disorientated, he blinked, his hand reaching for a staff that wasn't there. Instead, he found his fingers grasping soft, mundane sheets instead. Glancing around in the dim lighting, the memories came back to him, and he remembered the mundane hotel they had stayed in, noticing that Aspen was still asleep beside him.

His tense posture relaxed slightly, and he lowered himself back to the bed on his side, facing Aspen. Listening to Aspen's steady breathing, his thoughts calmed, the nightmare suddenly seeming far away.

Caspian was glad he hadn't woken him, for he knew it was rare for him to be able to slow down his thoughts long enough to be able to sleep. It was good, he thought, for Aspen to get some rest, because he was always working at the Hunt or thinking, or doing things with different people.

Aspen looked even younger in his sleep, and his hand rested against his cheek delicately, his legs drawn into himself. Caspian's eyes traced the silvery-gold flecks around his eyes and neck, which were like delicate brush strokes dancing across his skin. He'd always thought that, but he'd never say it in such terms.

Looks had never fazed him much in the past, as all faeries had an undeniable level of beauty that far surpassed mundanes. Beauty, he thought, was not skill or talent, but merely inherited. It showed nothing of the person themselves. He had grown used to Aspen's familiar features now though, and the thought was enough to heat his cheeks, so he quickly shifted his gaze to the ceiling, instead.

How strange that Aspen had the looks of a pure faerie from the Courts, and seemingly a fitting ancestry to go with it, and yet he'd lived chained to the mundane world, where his status meant nothing. He knew not the faerie manners, gestures or customs, and yet Caspian was drawn to him, regardless. As if all those things that mattered so much in the past, no longer mattered.

He'd never imagined that someone would be able to understand him, or even try to, and everything was new and unexpected. Sometimes - although he tried not to - he wondered what the other people Aspen frequented his time with were like. If he ever met anyone he liked just as much. The thought was chilling, and he ignored it rather than giving power to it, trusting Aspen to keep his word.

He'd grown much too soft, so much so that Aspen was now a weakness of his that could be exploited. Nyx had certainly tried enough times. Caspian had never liked having weaknesses, something that had been ingrained in him from the Unseelie Court. However, he'd decided that this weakness was worth it. While it was risky in many ways, living without would be much, much worse.

Gazing at Aspen fondly, his eyes were clear and awake, finding he didn't need to seek out his staff. If anyone hurt Aspen, he swore silently to himself that they would pay a thousand fold, if necessary. He was much too important, and Caspian couldn't stand the thought of anything bad happening.

Inhaling, a phrase came to mind, and he whispered it in an ancient faerie dialect, which only a select number of faeries at the Courts would know.

"We are tied, you and I."