Silver and Cold |h.s.|

20. A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Dawn. A beautiful time of day in your humble opinion, especially on this side of the mountain.

Mount Rainier rose in all of it's might in the distance as the sun crested it's peak turning the undersides of the clouds a fiery shade of orange. The farther the clouds floated away, the more purple and pink they became, while an ominous overhanging of darker clouds rolled in from the West.

The morning air was crisp but the sun's glow was warm as it tried to spread it's rays across the great landscape before the impending storm could drown it out for the remainder of the day.

You sat on the back porch, a cup of hot tea in hand as you watched the brilliant display out over the horizon. The steam swirled and twirled as you brought the mug to your lips and breathed in the scent of Earl Grey, your mind oddly at peace that morning but you still felt like something was amiss. Something was about to change.

It had been a few days since you had forgotten yourself and Harry's gentle coaxing pulled you back from the great abyss of your mind. Every moment since then had been spent trying to find your home.

Harry had offered you a map of the state of Washington that next day after your nightmare and your heart had stirred. He was desperate to keep you safe, mentally present, and it hadn't gone unnoticed. He always kept a close proximity while still trying to give you your independence and space.

It started out as little looks to check the color of your eyes, to make sure that they were still golden and not a dull shade of brown. Then it was a slight brush of the hand or arm, like he couldn't help but feel your skin to make sure that you were still there, still very real.

You'd caught him staring at your lips yesterday as you sat on the couch reading one of his many books lying around. You had felt his attention on you, goosebumps covering your flesh wherever his eyes roamed and then you'd snapped yours up to his where he sat in his armchair and sure enough...those magnificent green eyes of his had been trained on your mouth.

It had taken him only a moment to notice that you had become aware of his staring and then he was all of the shades of red combined. He'd bristled in his chair, giving an apologetic look, pink lips set in a straight line, as he turned his attention back to the map where you'd marked various locations of where you thought home might be.

You hadn't known what to make of that particular stare...but it had stroked your insides enough to make you smile and blush in return.

The lingering stares had grown in abundance upon your staying in his bed each and every night. You'd wake up to find his lean, tattooed arm strung over your waist or your head tucked into the crook of his neck. You were incapable of staying apart, even though you each began your night tucked into your respective sides, you'd awake in each other's arms regardless.

And so the attentive looks grew and grew and you certainly weren't complaining.

Yesterday, you and Harry had narrowed the map down to three locations on the opposite side of Mt. Rainier. The plan for today was to drive out to the first location, because it was almost four hours away, and survey the land.

Harry had purchased you some hiking boots. You'd initially just stared at the olive colored boots and their thick soles with curiosity and Harry had stood there with them in hand in silent offering.

"All you have are sandals...I couldn't very well let you go tracking through rough terrain in those things." He'd said, another flush of pink on his cheeks as he handed them over to you.