Well, this line of conversation inspired me to write a poem about this topic as it relates to me.
If it's my boyfriend, I don't mind. It seems sweet. He's probably thinking about how I seem so harmless and peaceful I am when I'm not awake. My neuroses have to be exhausting for him.
What I'm getting at is that context is important!Dale is aware that he could seem creepy even though he's touched by how adorable Mar-Bear can be. It's different than, say, a particular vampire going into the room of someone who thinks he hates her and watching her sleep for hours and even fixing the squeakiness of her window so she won't hear him sneaking in. Just, you know, plausibly...
[[RED TEXT EDIT: St. Clair beat me to the reference! Dang.
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Marigold really wants him there. I think she'd get flustered and flattered if she could have heard Dale say what he did. She didn't want him out of her sight. I don't think she'd have a problem with him doing the same!
I do think there's a limit, though. It's one of those "YMMV" things, but I do think there's a point at which you should probably stop watching someone sleep, even if they're okay with it. Doing it for the length of allergy-medication-induced sleep might be a bit much.