He was right that those little touches helped to keep her in the here and now; it had always been that way for her when things had gotten bad. And of course she didn't mind it in the slightest - she rather liked having those little affectionate gestures, and she'd be more than a little pleased if they ended up sticking around.

Rogue undressed as well, but down to her undershirt and panties since her new pants were still on the stiff side. They weren't the same as her old comfortable pajamas, but all of it was better than what she'd had before, and that was the degree to which everything was measured now.

When he pulled out that book and brought it over, the bookmark still in place, she couldn't stop the tears from flooding in. Pressing a hand to her mouth, she tried desperately to hold it all back, but it was just too much. Every little sign that he hadn't forgotten her, that he'd been waiting for her to come back, was too much to bear.

"I'm so-sorry," she stuttered out between broken breaths, bowing her head to try to hide her moment of weakness. "I'm so glad you k-kept it."