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Still groggy from the previous night’s sleep, he rubbed his eyes and blinked a couple of times. His gaze caught and followed the trail of morning sunlight as it gently streamed through the space in the curtains. It landed on the sleeping form of the girl curled up comfortably under his arm, as if she was made to fit there. Carefully, he smoothed away the drape of dark hair currently covering her face and admired how peaceful she looked; not the slightest hint of worry on her features.
It was moments like these that made him realize that he was finally grasping the concept of moving on - to finally break free of the self loathe he had been living in for the past decade.
A soft smile graced his lips as he lay there and listened to her steady breathing, and the thumpity-thump of her heartbeat. She often mumbled in her sleep; most times it was a jumble of incoherence, but sometimes he could make words out. Derek. He pulled her in a little closer, so that she was draped across his chest. Their combined warmth sent a feeling of peace and contentment throughout his body, relaxing him; lulling him back to sleep. It had been a long time since he’d felt this way.
She shifted a little, her face nuzzling into the crevice of his neck, right above his collarbone. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, slowly closing his eyes. Derek. The sound of his name escaping from her lips filled his heart with an almost foreign sense of belonging.
Derek.
And suddenly it wasn't foreign any more.