Strangers in the night

27

The first thought that ran through Derek's head as he woke up on Christmas morning was why the hell he wasn't in his bed, the second was why his nose was buried in a flower. And then another thought hit him. He was warm. He was warm and completely comfortable, his arms wrapped tightly around his best friend's tiny body, his nose buried in her long hair.

It was Christmas. He hadn't meant to fall asleep like this. He had meant to watch her fall asleep and then go to his own bed and somehow that hadn't happened. He was here, entirely tangled up in his best friend and wondering when the last time was that he had felt anything close to this good, this comfortable and relaxed and content. He felt content.

The TV was still on, casting a soft glow over the small room, along with the rainbow of colors from the Christmas tree and he looked down at her, at the way her head was buried against his chest, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. Content. Safe. Comfortable. He hadn't felt this way in years. He hadn't felt this relaxed in over a decade.

His head was humming quietly and he had a feeling if he tried to move the hum would turn into screaming that but that was okay. He didn't want to move. Not in the way he hadn't wanted to move yesterday but in a completely different way. He just wanted to stay here, her clinging softly to him in her sleep and him not being able to ignore the fact that everything for once felt okay.

It had to be the first Christmas morning since he was old enough to understand what was going on that he wasn't rushing to get out of bed. Or off the couch in this instance. But he really had no desire to move, to disrupt this. The couch was cramped and his back was probably going to protest as loudly as his head later, but he wanted to stay like this for a little while longer.

She looked beautiful in her sleep. He hadn't taken the time to notice that in Greece when she had spent the night. It had been all about jumping her and getting on with his day. But she looked beautiful and peaceful and happy in a way he wasn't sure if he had ever witnessed when she was awake. Moving definitely wasn't an option right now, just till she woke up.

He smiled as she shifted slightly and he pulled her closer, trying to keep her from falling off the edge of the couch. Her arms wrapped tighter around his waist before relaxing again, the softest of snores interrupting her quiet sleep. It took everything he had not to laugh at that, not to laugh at the fact his best friend snored, and then he wondered why he had never noticed it before.

They had slept like this before, when she had simply been Meredith, the gorgeous blonde he had met in a bar and had somehow ended up in a summer affair with. But it hadn't been like this. It hadn't felt like this. He hadn't noticed the snoring or the tiny freckles along her nose that weren't even noticeable from a distance. Or how good it just felt to be holding her.

He hadn't noticed the way her arms felt around his waist, or the way she buried her face in his chest, her entire body moving closer as she frowned in her sleep and then relaxed again. There hadn't been any reason to notice any of it before. She was the girl he was screwing to get over being screwed. Except now he was noticing. Now he couldn't help but notice how good this felt.

She was Meredith. She was his best friend. They were basically attached at the hip and he could only figure that one day they'd probably start finishing each other's sentences. He had never even had anything like this before, with anyone. He had never felt this comfortable just laying there and clinging to someone else. Just with his Meredith.

She moved again, and his hands moved down to her hips to stabilize her as she turned, her back facing him, her arms moving to support her head. He wrapped his arms around her again, holding her close as his own eyes drifted shut again. He didn't want to move. Jake and Pip were asleep on his bed, and they would probably want to go out soon, but he couldn't move.