A hearty laugh escaped Wes as Ava sarcastically "admitted" to giving herself a truly luxurious penthouse suite, complete with a "vintage" television and charming little mini fridge that rested next to the off colored night stand. Meanwhile poor Wes may as well have slept out on the porch, he was truly grateful she'd invited him inside, especially as the light rumble from the nearby storms made their way closer.<i>"Hey, far be it from me to question your tastes. . .does hold it's own little charm though doesn't it?" </i>He grinned at her, shaking his head as she came down to rest with him. Wes adjusted himself, allowing her more room to move and get herself comfortable as he breathed in a content sigh, eyes closing and continuing to let his hand idlely run itself through her hair before resting upon her shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze as he found himself nuzzling into the top of her head as it rested against his chest. It was a strange sensation, one he hadn't realized he'd gone so long without, the feeling of another resting against himself.<br/><br/>Between the gentle warmth of her body and the relaxing sounds of the passing storm, Wes couldn't remember the last time he felt truly "at peace" as he did in that moment. The strange normality of sharing embrace and comfort as the world around them began to fade and he found himself beginning to fall into the welcome embrace of sleep as well. Before he fell completely, The Hunter forced himself to wake just enough to glance over to the light that shone brilliantly next to them. Wes was careful with his movements, doing his best not to disturb The Angel that lay at his side, finding the string on the old lamp that decorated the nightstand and allowing the darkness of the room to swallow the two. The Hunter allowed himself to rest his head back a bit deeper into the surprisingly comfortable pillow, adjusting one last time as he placed a final kiss on Ava's forehead and finally allowed himself to drift off. It was the first time in what must have been ages his dreams weren't plagued with disturbing imagery, his body wasn't forcefully jerking itself back awake as if there was a nearby threat that demanded his attention. While he did awake occasionally, he did his best not to wake her as well, at one point even gently beginning to pull up the covers to lightly rest over her, making sure she was warm and snug against him, arm protectively staying wrapped around her before he'd drift back off.<br/><br/>As morning came, and The Cannibals had missed their opportunity to make a move The Hunter lay there peacefully, arm still resting around her before all Hell broke loose and Ava awoke with a jolt. Muscle memory and instinct dictated his movements, as she sat up, he came with her, his arm immediately wrapped around her chest and pulled her in protectively as his free hand found whatever was closest, in this case the lamp that decorated the night stand, eyes darting around the room attempting to find the threat and subdue it. That look in his eyes told the entire story, the lamp ready to fly with as much velocity as he could muster and his fist balled tightly as his arm held her close, not this time. No they weren't going to take her, they weren't going to hurt her,<b>he </b>wasn't going to hurt her, take him by surprise just as they did that night in the quiet little two story home. Wes was ready for War at a moments notice, even as the seconds passed and he slowly began to realize that nobody was coming for them, he remained in that position for a few moments more. His mind raced, it could have been that blooded vampire, tracking them down and thirsty for revenge, another one of Dresden's little hit squads, or even The Man himself. Shifters, it could have been Shifters, just as upset that the two had thinned a good amount of their numbers. However, none of these threats ever came, and he slowly began to lower the lamp back to it's proper resting place as he eased his hold on her, brought back to earth by the sound of her gasping, trying to regain her breath.<br/><br/><i>"Hey, Hey. It's okay Ava. It's okay." </i>Wes spoke as gently as he could manage, his hand finding her shoulder and turning her to him, giving gentle nods of encouragement as his eyes found hers and he did his best to begin calming her.<i>"I'm here. You're okay. Slow and steady, in and out. . ." </i>he began to slowly breathe with her, encouraging her to mimic his movements as his hand moved from her shoulder to her cheek, thumb gently moving itself across soft skin, his other arm bringing itself back around her to slowly begin to pull her in, encouraging her to rest against the safety of his chest, allow her to hear the steady breathing of his lungs and calm heart beat.<i>"Shhh..." </i>Wes let himself sit there with her, giving her as much time as she needed to bring herself back down to earth, gentle humming and rocking back and forth softly as he attempted to soothe her worries and fears away, kisses being given to the top of her head as he held her close.<i>"I'm sorry. Sorry for whatever you saw in your dreams, but I'm here now. . .let me help you, Ava." </i>He pulled himself back only a little, the same hand that rested on her cheek moving down to find hers, giving a squeeze and encouraging her fingers to interlace with his own. His movements were slow and steady, trying not to do anything that might serve to startle her even more, the concern clear in his eyes and tone of voice as he continued to observe her, his eyes scanning for some unseen injury that wasn't there.