To say Fletcher was spent was perhaps the understatement of the century. His focus of going slow and gentle had exhausted him more than he thought possible. But it was worth it. Merlin was it worth it.

As she took her own steadying breaths, he shifted to the side of her so as to not crush her under his weight as he worked to steady his own heavy breathing. The feel of her fingers in his hair helped to calm him almost instantly, perhaps too much so. His eyelids felt heavy but he forced himself to meet her gaze all over again and just in time. His lips curled into a smile at her words and he pushed himself up to kiss her gently and tenderly before settled his head against her shoulder and wrapping his arms gently around her and pulled her into a cuddling position.

"I love you, too," he murmured against her temple. With a small sigh, he moved away just enough to pull a blanket over their naked bodies and then curled up against her once more. "You should stay through the night," he said softly despite knowing the likelihood of such was unlikely.

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