"Can I..." I hesitated. "Can I ask for a hug?"
He said nothing for a moment, and I worried I shouldn't have said anything. In the dark, I couldn't see how he reacted and what if... but he only reached out and pulled me close to him. "Yeah, Natalia. What else are friends for?"
I giggled, and snuggled into his arms. "Thank you. I really need a friend right now."
"I know," he murmured, "Get some sleep, friend. We've got another long day tomorrow."
I drifted off like that, and didn't even notice when Leyla came in.
----
Got about 1000 words done on L3 sequel today. So that's good.
I'm going to work late tonight, since I took a nap earlier and missed and hour of work. Grabbing some dinner and then we'll see what I can do with Meadowsweet.