She was due to be released today. Other than some slight abnormalities with her heart rate when she had first been brought in, there hadn't been much to worry about other than blood loss and her physical wounds. After a few days of constant check in's and various tests, she was eventually cleared. It was awkward being doted on by nurses and doctors she worked with on a regular basis, and even more awkward keeping her lips sealed on why it seemed like she was healing a bit faster than a normal person would have.

It helped that since she had woken up Erik hadn't left her side. He had been the first thing she saw. There weren't words for what that had done to ease the stress of what she had been through.

Police reports, which she couldn't avoid, were a thing that was no so comfortable. Having to dig for any details she could remember so soon after it had happened was less than pleasant. She soldiered on through and was rewarded for her efforts with information that Zaid had been found, and was alive. That took a weight off of her shoulders that she had been afraid to touch since waking up.

All in all, other than the missing snake and a bandaged hand and a cut just below one eyebrow that had already closed up, she had made it out alright. The collar that had been used on her hadn't left any lasting affects aside from making her voice hoarse for a few days. Physically she was fine.

Mentally, she was not.

She discovered that the abduction and the... attack (she refused to think of it as any kind of legitimate procedure).. things from her past she had worked hard to get over came crawling back to the surface. While awake and with her love by her side it was easy to ignore them. But at night, when her subconscious was in control, all of her personal demons came out to play.

She would wake multiple times during the night with her pulse leaping. The heart monitor beeping erratically being the only visible sign anything was off. It was at least easier to chase away images of lion fangs and pink axes with someone to focus on. Andrea from the past was honestly jealous of it.

The morning she was able to leave saw her dressed in her own clothes for the first time in a week. A loose, comfortable sweater and leggings, which Erik had been kind enough to bring her at some point. Papers were signed, she endured a little more lighthearted teasing from co-workers who had honestly been worried, and then she was free.

It was funny, she'd been trapped in a bed for days, and yet all she was looking forward to was her own bed and cuddling with her person.

"I told you the food in hospitals was bad." An attempt at a joke. She was clinging a little to him for multiple reasons, and still hadn't figured out how to get past the awkwardness of the whole situation.

Erik had squeezed in as much time as he could with Andrea. Taking only the bare minimum of time required for his transformations the abduction hadn't even giving him time to explain to her about. It was more then he probably should have if how he felt was any indication. Now for the first time in.. forever he simply felt tired. The cops hadn't asked him too many questions, thankfully so he hadn't needed to lie too much. Despite his upbringing that always made him feel guilty. They were just doing their jobs after all.

Her nightmares hadn't been unexpected and he had supported her the only way he knew how. Holding her hand gently and reassuring her once he noticed she was awake being little else he could do. Knowing she was as healthy as she was going to be had been an enormous amount of tension lifted from his body. Some of which he had been apparently feeding off of to keep himself going. Now he just wanted to find somewhere comfortable and quiet to collapse until whenever the lingering malaise that was leeching away his energy subsided. Erik hoped there weren't huge bags under his eyes or something else equally unsightly.  

At her joke he chuckled and gave her back a gentle rub. "I could have endured the food if the beds were wide enough for two." He joked back and equally teased. Pulling her into a warm hug now that he couldn't embarrass her too much and simply the face he could get a full bodied one. It was a selfish desire sure, but one he was sure she shared. 

"Let us get you somewhere more comfortable shall we?" Taking her home in his van and stopping somewhere for some very non hospital like food to enjoy on the ride home.

--

It probably wasn't strictly a requirement to hold her to his side with one arm wrapped around her, but he wasn't going to stop until she mentioned it. He took the liberty of letting them in. "Here we are love." He had tidied up what had needed tiding on his run to get her own clothing. Gently helping her to the bedroom with a completely uncharacteristic yawn that made him blink. Blushing gently at its unexpected arrival and his attempt to be strong for her foiled somewhat. Easing her to take a seat on the edge of the bed with her. "Did you want to cuddle?" it felt weird asking, but with the week she had just endured he wasn't about to take anything for face value. A hand idly reaching up to rub at an eye. Body posture well enough destroyed to be considered sagging and exhausted. A stiff breeze looking like it could knock him over.

She wasn't going to mention it. She was going to remain glued to his side until he wanted to stop, or something physically prided them apart. It was too tempting being that warm and feeling so secure.

She hadn't even really had the energy to blush like she normally would have, considering their closeness. It was funny how resting in a bed for so long would also be so exhausting. She tried really hard not to be clingy, not wanting to dissolve into a mess with Erik around after everything he'd done for her already. She could tell just by looking at him that spending all his time by her side had taken a toll on him, in ways she had never seen before. He actually looked tired! It was a little worrying.

But, worry gave her something else to focus on, just like hearing him call her 'love' gave her something else to focus on. Lord, she had missed him so much.

Andrea let out a weak chuckle when she saw the state of her home. "You didn't have to clean this place up, you know... Though I appreciate the sentiment." She snaked her arms around his waist in a gentle hug, careful of her sore hand injury, and laid her cheek against his chest.

She didn't comment on the yawn, but she did sneak a suspicious glance at him. That was another thing she had never seen him do before. He wasn't supposed to get tired.

After sitting carefully on the edge of her bed, she looked up to him while he was rubbing at his eyes and quirked her head. "I have been waiting an eternity to cuddle with you again."

The Greek curled her fingers in his shirt and attempted to pull him onto the blankets beside her, grinning impishly for the first time in what felt like forever. She edged a little bit away, tossing her glasses without a care in the direction of her nightstand, and kicked at her blankets to get under them. She happy to be in a familiar setting with someone she loved. She made room for him to join her, intent on curling in as close as she could for yet another well deserved nap.

"It is no big thing. It is not like you could have done it. I just figured it would be nice to come home to a clean place." The hug was reciprocated with a soft hum of pure bliss and a gentle pat on her back. 

Relief flooded through him that she hadn't been so damaged as to want to disregard physical affection. Hugs were one thing, but cuddling was far more commitment and intimate then a hug. Even if some of their hugs had been pretty fluster inducing in the past. He couldn't find appropriate words that echoed how much her own meant to him and simply let them ring through to his soul.

With a childlike amount of effort he flopped back into the bed and by some force of will manage to crawl so he wasn't hanging off it like some sort of sleep deprived lunatic. Burrowing his legs under the blankets after hers had forged a path and mad it easier. Why was everything so heavy and difficult? A familiar warmth pressed against him and he desperately moved to cling to it. An arm eking out drowsily to wrap around her body in a soft but definitive manner, claiming her place at his side and pulling her in tight. A leg snaking out passively to wrap around one of hers. Emotionally and physically satisfied he lasted another half second before oblivion took him.

A few hours would pass before his own mutation and the notion of oblivion and darkness rattled him awake with a start. Eyes darting about to try and souse out what happened before a shaky breath calmed his nerves. Wincing as he felt the pain in his joints begin to take place. A few uncomfortable internal spasms attempting to urge him along. Sheer willpower forced them to the back of his mind and he regarded the lovely form of his heart made manifest practically on top of him. Unable to help himself he pushed through the impending melancholy of the ending moment by caressing her back tenderly, stealing a few more precious moments of normalcy. Given the tangle of their limbs it would be nearly impossible to get untangled without waking her even if she was a deep sleeper.

"Mechta dearest, my change is upon me." Not that he had explained the full depth of it. The abduction had stolen that opportunity to do so in a more refined way from them. Limbs disentangling from hers with a frown even as red spots started to appear randomly on his skin not unlike blood vessels rupturing and spreading under the strain. He could feel them even if they were not quite visible yet. Willpower kept his joints operating normally despite their throbbing ache as he slid out of bed and started to undress. Some of his control slipped and more ruinous red splotches of burst to the surface of his body. Clothes barely making it to the floor as he stumbled for the door to her patio. A leg seemingly locking itself as he fell to the floor with a Russian swear. It was starting without his consent. He had exhausted himself far too much in the past few days to maintain any sort of willful control. Cold sweat a dull sheen on his body. 

"Love I would suggest closing your eyes and holding your hands to your ears for this next part."

The Greek was gently jostled from a deep sleep that thankfully involved no dreams. Her forehead had been pressed into his chest, so she was able to blink a few times and gather her thoughts enough to keep her eyes closed so she didn´t inadvertently get him with her power. Sleepily, she tried to understand what he was saying as he disentangled himself from her and climbed out of bed.

Change? What Change?

...Oh wait... he had mentioned that before, hadn´t he?

A brief memory of him standing on her balcony in his underwear flew through her mind as she sat up and rubbed at her eyes. She had the decency to blush, then. Especially since he was already in the process of undressing again. She politely turned around so that she wasn´t flat out ogling him. She was pretty curious about it, if she were honest with herself. Just... maybe not enough to sneak a peek.

The sound of him falling and saying something in Russian had her turning though, instincts on high alert. "Are you okay?!"

She... was not at all prepared for what she saw when she turned.

"Erik?"

She slipped off the bed in a hurry, pausing only when he warned her to close her eyes and not listen.

What? Why would she--?

Gritting her teeth, she decided to trust him. But, she refused to back away from where she was standing. Instead she curled into a crouch and did as told, cupping her hands over her ears and simply waiting. She had faith that whatever this transformation was he would come out of it fine, as he had apparently done some many times before. While she waited, she pondered over the darker grey splotches she had seen on his skin, and what they could mean.

She waited until he gave some sign of an all clear, before she even attempted to look at him. She kept her eyes away from his face though.

He had certainly wished he could say he was alright. To someone else his ok was probably somewhere at about a 12 out of 10 on the intense pain life scale. The only positive benefit of the constant transformations was it made taking a shot or stab paled in comparison. Regardless he was intensely grateful that she obeyed his wishes. Traumatizing her even further after the week she had would have made him feel incredibly sad and guilty. It also spared her the horrible sight of his body blowing itself. Aside from the obvious pain Erik found the sound to be the hardest to get used to. The enviable knowledge of what growing bones sounding like, or skin tearing and healing in equal measure as it stretched out. Sighing in relief when it was all over, the space juuuust enough for his larger form to fit laying down. A shiver of relief flushing through is body as it flooded through with endorphins.

A now much bigger toe nudged her leg gently where she was crouching. "Try not to freak or scream if you can please." Not that it would show in his current form but he felt an increased heat in his cheeks. Nothing ever seemed to pan out when it came to his mutations and trying to explain them to her. Not that he would blame her if she left the bedroom to go sleep on the couch or something. He was effectively stuck  in her room unless he decided to jump off her balcony. That option was left open for now as he covered a face with a hand and sighed, steeling himself for whatever her reaction would be.

She hummed to herself to block out any sounds, resisting the urge to peek purely from how distressed he sounded.

By the time he poked her, with what she couldn't fathom, she had already mentally gone though at least three medical books in her head. Work always managed to calm her down. Andrea cracked an eye open experimentally as her hands pulled back from her ears a little.

...Scream? Why would she-

Oh.

My dear, he was quite big now, wasn't he?

She would later be a little ashamed with how she stared for a moment, struck by many feelings and thoughts at the same time. Ultimately, two things stuck and she focused on them. 1. Relief. Pure, unbridled relief. He was ok! He would be okay, if he was talking normally. 2. Surprise. She might not have been able to recognize him for his coloring, but she sure could recognize him from his size and shape alone. It had been him the whole time!

That... that brought up a few things she would need to think through, but at a later date. She'd always known he was capable of some pretty impressive things physically, but she supposed she had never put much thought into that beyond recognizing it on a surface level. She'd filed away the rest for when she'd need it, which, before a bond had formed between them, and been never.

But, again, that was a thought for later.

Standing and finding a clear path to him around his discarded clothes, she hesitated to touch him for a moment before trying to get her arms around him somehow. It was.. awkward, but she tried her best anyway. "I"m so glad you are okay."

It was nice, his heat reminded her quite nicely that it was most certainly him. Even Sloth was roused enough to poke its head out and boop a cold snout against his skin.

She reached up to try and get him to remove his hand from his face, still marveling over the sheer difference it made in him. "It was you who rescued me...."

It was touching, really... maybe a bit too much for her frazzled nerves to deal with. She pressed her face into his skin before her eyes could turn traitor and start leaking again.

"Thank you."

It was an unusual sensation to be touched let alone hugged when he was in his bigger form. What sort of insane person would hug a bear? Or whatever mutant giant he became? Andrea was apparently the sort to ignore the potential for danger. Feeling the warmth of her embrace managed to relieve the immediate tension of the moment. Not everyone could handle such a revelation so smoothly as she did or at the very least was careful not to let it show around him. Erik didn't feel like Andrea was capable of that sort of deception. Even the cold snoot of Sloth curiously booping into him was a welcome sensation.

Getting him to remove his big paw of a hand from his face didn't take much urging after all that. He was sitting and still as large as her standing up. Was she always so short? Being big changed perception slightly he reminded himself that almsot everyone was small in this particular form of his. Words chilled his thoughts.. scary words. More revelations, more prospects for horrible disaster. Not that he felt their connection wa so weak it couldn't handle a few bumps and bruises. They would just prompt questions that would be uncomfortable to answer. Not that he wouldn't simply uncomfortable.

One off his hands rubbed her back gently as her face disappeared into him. "What man could live without his heart? I would do anything for you." The deeper voice still managing to convey a sense of embarrassment. It wasn't something he felt comfortable accepting thanks for and it showed. He could so he did as was ever his way with the world. The vast and loathsome emptiness in the few times he thought she might be dead were too hard to handle. Beyond his limited comprehension. To have found such a wonderful, magical thing and to lose it so quickly. Erik feared, no he knew such a thing would have broken him, perhaps beyond repair. Just one more celestial joke to make his life a hell.

"Losing you would have destroyed me." The words too hurtful too keep contained. Unsure if he was able to cry, but the strange previously unheard of tremble sounded strange to the already sometimes foreign voice indicating he might find out whether he wanted to or not. Strong sniffles managing to stave off the worst of the potential flood, if barely.

She mumbled a response too low to hear. Something woeful about why he had to be so good with words that made her want to cry a lot. But...in a good way? Jeez. Trying to get a grip on his big ol' hand wasn't gonna work, seeing as her's was not too small. It wasn't like she was going to ever be able to grow, either, so she would have to get used to that. Instead, she just pressed her palm flat into into his palm and stared at the size difference.

"I am sorry for putting you through that... I should have just run like Zaid said to, and maybe none of this would have happened. I never want to hurt you." Oh, but now wasn't the time for self pity. She had already told him snippets of the whole embarrassing thing, and then once more to the police who were investigating it.... but, she just felt so bad. Probably would until she could talk to the bunny himself.

Still tired, especially now that she was more or less sure he would be okay, she plopped herself down on his big ol' thigh and leaned against him. It was nice having his hand on her back like that. Warm.

"I thought you didn't need to sleep?" She questioned, brain doing a barrel roll from one thought to the next, seemingly without a care in the world. It was hard battling away drowsiness when it was right there, calling to her. What time was it, anyway?

There was a throaty rumble of disagreement at her words. Not quite a growl, but very close. "Hindsight is perfect darling. More importantly then then coulda, shoulda, wouldas is the fact that you are apologizing for being a victim. Never apologise for that. You made a decision you thought best at the time and there is no taking it back. It is not like you went to kidnapme.com and asked for this whole mess. Nothing you did was wrong." His hand moving soothingly on her back even as his sad words turned a bit edged. Angry at the people who had turned her into little more then a science experiment. 

A big thumb slipped into her hand and the rest closed around hers as best as they could. Smirking as she made herself comfortable on his lap, well leg rather. Sloth seemed to be exploring around for a choice comfy spot on the warm Erik 2.0 and the rest were trying to get in on the action to not miss out. He tried not to feel a tinge of guilt at the missing one. Erik figured he doubted himself as much as she questioned her own actions. What else could he have spared her from if he had been smarter, better, more connected? To his shame he knew he was impossibly dumb since he couldn't even think of any ways he could have managed the situation better.

Thankfully she provided a distraction from his dark, emotional musings. "It appears even I have my limits." She would just feel even more guilty if he mentioned the exact how it came to be even if it was to spend more time at her side in the hospital. "I am my version of normal again it appears." A moment of self consciousness wondering if she would be nearly as ok with the current situation if exhaustion hadn't held her so obviously in her grasp. Happy there was someway he could take care of her more he slowly leaned back to lay down with her in the crook of his arm and torso. Just enough space to manage doing so. "Better?"

She was too tired to be rightfully admonished by him scolding her, to a degree. He was right, and she knew he was right, even if it didn't make her feel better. The human brain would always wonder why things hadn't been done differently. She was aware of that fact, seeing as she dealt with it on a nearly daily basis at work.

She was a little surprised by him moving, having been fixated on how he was holding her hand and overthinking things for the billionth time over in her head. She didn't protest though, finding the new position just as good, if not more comfortable as the one before.

"Well I am happy you are back to normal. You had me worried for a bit, there." The Greek snuggled on in, letting her arms rest wherever they seemed to fit and draping her legs where they could. She did't care what he looked like, or how big he was.... He was still her Erik. Her serpents snuck out to sprawl themselves everywhere the second they had a chance, greedily soaking up his heat like he was a rock left out in the sun.

"Much better." She mumbled. Her eyes were already closed and she was already welcoming back the drowsiness. "I am going to have to invest in more comfortable furniture for you in here." She mumbled sleepily, yawning despite herself. After nuzzling in, she was out like a light a moment later.

~~ Hours ticked by in the blink of an eye as she slept, blissfully unaware of the world. She didn't dream again, either... just pleasant darkness and warmth. Blearily, she started to come back to with Erik having woken her again. Apparently the time was up for this large form of his. She hurried to scramble off of him without falling over.

"..Need to pee." She still at enough decency to blush as she hurried away to give him privacy, worried it would be just like the transition to big. She was also overly aware that she was the only one still in her day clothes. She snatched up her pajamas on the way to the bathroom, flipping on the light and shutting the door for privacy. The Greek turned to stare into her mirror for a bit, careful not to meet her own eyes, before moving off to do her business.

Returning to the mirror to wash her hands wasn't entirely welcome. She had seen glimpses of herself at the hospital, obviously... but now she had the time to really look. Andrea wasn't a vain person, not even hardly. But, there were a few things her blood couldn't heal away, or hadn't been able to heal away at the time. She had taken to having bangs to cover one scar up, seeing how close to her hairline it was... but she had fallen out of the habit the last few years with work being hectic and not having time to make sure they looked right. The scar was visible to her, and she was sure it only bother her because of how she had gotten it. Same with her other scars. The new cut under one eyebrow would scar, she was sure. It would be small and thin, hardly even noticeable.... but the reminder bothered her still.

She had just lifted her fingers up to touch the wound, when he eyes dropped down to a folded up piece of paper that had been propped up by the vase she always kept on her counter. Curious, she reached out for it and unfolded it gently.

To my dearest Andrea, light of my life, woman of my dreams.

I write this not knowing what condition your in. The doctor's say physically you will be alright, but having been through my own difficult experiences I know darkness can sneak up on us at the oddest and the seemingly most random times. Spoken words are so easily disregarded and forgotten. Written words feel so much more important and lasting. I found it a tragic thought that random happy thoughts were so much harder to come by and so I have begun this. Around your room, apartment, and wherever else I feel are notes hidden to be discovered over the course of the coming days to help stave off dark thoughts with the warm words from my heart.

You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. 1 of ?

Her breath lodged in her throat and she had to stumble back to sit on her toilet again or she'd end up on the floor. She red the letter over and over again, trying to sear them into her brain so she would have them forever.

She was forced to close the paper back up when a tear fell on it. She certainly didn't want to ruin something so precious.

She spent a moment in there locked away behind the door flat out ugly crying, before she was able to whip herself back into a reasonable enough shape that she could exit again.

Andrea hurried to change, leaving her pants and sweater on the floor of her bathroom, and threw open the door separating her from the man she loved So, so much. It would be clear instantly that she had been crying, but she also still had his letter gripped in one hand.

She wouldn't waste any time in tackling the poor man. Throwing her arms around him and squeezing as much as she could.

"I love the words from your heart..." A few more tears might have leaked out despite her efforts. "I love you so much!"

Erik smirked a bit as she half mumbled about getting furniture for his big form. Suppressing a laugh as he gently kept a tender hand on her body. Even the snakes seemed to make themselves comfortable. He enjoyed the intimacy despite his own completely awake state and contented himself with reading stuff on his phone with his free hand once he was sure she was out and snoring cutely.

The act of getting smaller seemed, for some reason, to be much less painful and usually a source of relief. For once now he was a bit disappointed. Her warmth though largely swallowed up by his own radiating self was a comforting presence after a exhausting week of intense pressure and anxiety. Not to mention the bit of guilt at waking her up from trying to sleep off sed week as well. As she disappeared he gave a bit of a nod and let nature run its course. 

Shrunk back down to normal he found the bag he had brought by earlier with his usual changes of clothes and survival stuff to follow her example and change into some comfy clothes. That done he moved about to tidy the tiny mess they had made in the few minutes of moving around they had managed to accomplish. The bed back in shape and everything put to rights he looked towards the bathroom door as it opened. Smiling towards his woman's return for his heart to stop at the sight of her. 

She had been crying, intensely from the look of it. He didn't expect her to breakdown so hard or even so soon for that matter. Heart slowly beginning to rend itself in two until he noticed the letter clutched in her hands heartbeats before she threw herself into him. A bit of a stumble as he was caught completely off guard. His own arms hugging them around her protectively as she tried to squeeze the life out of him. Then she cried more and said words the melted his heart.

At the time the letter had seen so silly. A tiny impossible weapon against whatever horrors of the days had inflicted upon her in the time it had taken him to get to her. He had even considered throwing it away before squashing his doubts, convinced something was better then anything. 

Now it was clear it had meant much more then the tiny power he had believed it capable of. His own spoken words always seeming to be insufficient to serving his purposes and at times just plain uncomfortable in situations he had to speak. In the written word he seemed to have finally found his true voice and reached her heart. Erik only hoping it would banish any doubt in her mind how he felt about her and she would truly believe what he had to say.

Somehow his face had gotten wet and he was clinging to her and to the warmth of the moment. Voice shaky he managed a reply, "I love you too my heart." Words being cheap as they were he squeezed her and gave the top of her head a kiss before is cheek nuzzled into it careful to avoid the wounded section. A small smirk appearing for a moment as the snakes showed their own appreciation as they squirmed about against him. Eyes slipping closed as the squeezing and reassuring continued themselves against her for as long as she decided to hold it. He was in no particular rush despite his hunger. For once he had found something that could make food wait.

"This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me." Lord, if she thought about it too much she would start crying all over again, and neither of them probably wanted that. She leaned into his arms as much as she could, savoring any forms of affection he chose to bestow upon her while her serpents squiggled out to get in on the hugging themselves.

Her last relationship had been loving, yes... but always strained to a degree. Full of guilt and fear and embarrassment. She had always been more afraid of getting herself in trouble or doing something abnormal to fully enjoy being with her partner back then.

Now though, she had matured to the point where she was confident enough in herself that she didn't need a constant protector. Kidnapping events aside, she could function on her own. Erik's sweetness was something unfamiliar, and honestly overwhelming, and yet she soaked it up as much as she possibly could. The only thing she really felt fear of these days was the possibility that she might not be able to return his sincerity in the same way. She worried that she wasn't as good with words, and tried not to let her unfamiliarity with touching disrupt her showering him with her affection any chance that she got.

Andrea leaned back slightly so she could peck him on the cheek, trying to control herself to only one lest she ruin the moment with wanting to smother him in kisses. She was glad, in a purely selfish way, that he was back to his normal size... if only because it make it easier for her to reach his cheeks without having to climb on him, or fetch a ladder.

"I'm sorry if it's selfish, but will you lay with me?"

She was still so tired. So blasted tired, even though it felt like all she had been doing for the past week was laying around. "I just want to hold you for a little while longer."

She didn't care that she wasn't wearing pants, or what time it was, or anything else for that matter. She was on an emotional roller coaster and was reaching the peak of a hill. She wanted to stew in for a little longer, squeeze all she could out of it, before she was pitched back down the other side.

Gently she tried to tug him along back to the bed, intent on crawling back under those covers and curling up with him for as long as he would give her.

Erik wasn't the least bit afraid of sniffling in front of the woman he loved. If he couldn't cry in front of her who could he? The outburst of love he felt from the display of emotion was almost too much for him to handle or comprehend, but he attempted to try and muddle his way through it as he did with anything involving her it seemed. 

"Words are a lot easier when they come from the heart." The party incident was proof of his own introverted ways only to be hammered home by his library of a room. She however brought out the best of him in ways he didn't think were possible. The lowkey nervous tension he usually felt around other adults never manifested itself around  her unless they were thrust into a situation with lots of people.

The kiss to his cheek made it all worth it. Later he would find time to admit he had found the letter idea and the notes he had put around the apartment too cheesy and almost didn't see light. The kiss to his cheek was returned with one against her own as she spoke then gave her another quick one on the lips because he was feeling a bit greedy himself. 

"All things considered you are completely allowed to be selfish for a few days. We can do whatever you want." The warm gentleness of his tone betraying his inner feelings that he would never consider her selfish. 

The hugging alone didn't feel like enough and his cheek pressed to hers to nuzzle against it a moment feeling her own soft skin against his before she started pulling him towards the bed. He detached quickly to grab some protein bars to munch on so he wouldn't figuratively die and snuggled under the covers with her. Figuring she wanted maximum contact he turned on his side so she could wrap around and get all entangled and clingy with him if she so desired without the snakes getting in the way. Running a gentle hand along one of her legs reassuringly as he stuffed his face.

Hugs and nuzzles and kisses were such great distractions from the fact that his sweet sentiments had made her bawl her eyes out only moments prior. Enough to bring a little warmth back to her cheeks and get her feeling a little more normal, if temporarily. "Careful, or that will go to my head and who knows why mischief I will get up to." She was teasing, of course. She hardly thought lazing about and napping as much as possible could count as mischief... though, she supposed that if she tried hard enough she could still manage it with Erik around.

She only pouted slightly when he slipped away, but busied herself with cocooning into her blankets and making enough space for him once he returned. It was terribly adorable watching him wriggle himself in with his snacks in hand, but she didn't comment. She, more than anyone she knew other than him, could understand the nearly constant need to eat.

...She would have to figure out a big meal after another name, perhaps.

The Greek took full advantage on his offered back, snuggling in close and wrapping her arms and legs around him wherever they comfortably fit. If she were honest with herself the fact that they were this close still threw her for a loop sometimes. It was hard to get used to the sudden change so quickly. She was used to snuggling pillows and blankets, after all.

Her serpents took full advantage of that closeness as well to snuggle in wherever they would fit, soaking up his natural heat greedily. They had missed it quite a bit, it seemed. One of them attempted to battle him for his food, but she was too busy nuzzling her face into the back of his neck to care. A few kisses might have ended pressed against whatever skin she found, as she settled in and got comfy.

"I missed this. Even if they had allowed you to cuddle with me in the hospital bed, Stacy and the rest of the crew would have never let us live it down." She giggled quietly. It had been bad enough already with them popping in whenever he had to leave for a bit, to harass her about their relationship and such. Apparently having him carry into the hospital himself and then stay to keep watch over her had earned the attention of most of the nurses she worked with.

The gossip was going to me hell when she was finally in a good enough spot mentally to go back to work. She found herself nibbling on his shoulder gently as she thought about it.