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Chapter Text
It’s the sickly, salty smell of bacon that wakes her that morning. It drifts through the air, summoning her like some sort of ghostly apparition one might see emerging from a freshly baked pie in a cartoon.
She’s still groggy from sleep, clad only in his wrinkled white shirt and her hair feels an awful, tangled mess, but her stomach rumbles, demanding to be fed. So, she prevails, allowing herself to be led down the stairs and towards the kitchen.
And there he is, her Devil, the bringer of so much light in her life, stood at the cooker, bare back to her as bacon sizzles away in the pan before him.
Without a second thought, she wraps her arms around him, embracing him from behind and basking in the surprised little noise that tumbles from his lips. She rests her head against his back, closing her eyes and almost dozing as his heat seeps into her and his deep, even breaths lull her into a place of peacefulness.
“Good morning, Love,” his voice comes, a deep rumble in his chest that resonates within her soul. “Hungry?”
She can feel his muscles moving beneath her, dancing as he works despite the roadblock which is her body around his.
“Mmmhmm,” is all she can manage, too blissed out to form actual words.
He chuckles. It’s something she feels more than hears. A little, joy-filled earthquake that shakes her still sleepy world.
“I’ll take that as a yes then,” he replies and, despite not being able to see his face, she knows he’s smiling. “It’ll be a few more minutes though.”
“I can manage,” she mumbles, squeezing him a little tighter and pressing gentle kisses to the perfect plateau of skin between his shoulder blades.
A chill prickles her bare legs but she can hardly bring herself to care. Not when she has him— her personal space heater— to keep her nice and toasty as she waits.
She feels his hand cover hers, his thumb tracing miniscule, comforting movements across the back of her hand. Standing there, her cheek resting against him, the soft sizzling of bacon and the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathes, she finds herself almost drifting off again.
It’s been… a long time since she’s felt this relaxed
Things have just been so good recently. They finally, finally have their little bubble of happiness and it feels like nothing can ever pop it.
“Coffee, darling?” he asks, chuckling a little.
She nods against him, mumbling another affirmative. It only succeeds to make him laugh a little harder. And what a beautiful sound that is. It’s a soothing sound, like the pitter patter of rain hitting the window on a stormy day. She could listen to it forever.
He squirms a little in her grasp, obviously trying to move to the coffee maker, but a sudden playful urge overcomes her, and she alters her hold on him, encompassing his arms and squeezing him just a bit tighter. He makes a weak effort to move again, obviously not using his full strength— she knows that he could easily break free if he really wanted to— but soon gives up, chuckling to himself.
“Chloe,” he says as he turns his head, doing his best to look at her over his shoulder, “I need my arms, Love.”
“No,” she replies impishly, resting her chin on his shoulder and pouting a little.
He sighs heftily, deflating in her grasp. “Well we might be here for a long time, then,” he counters, tone still playful. “Not that I’m complaining, it’s just a shame to let good bacon go to waste.”
Her smile widens at that. She loves how easily their banter flows, how the simplest things he says have the ability to turn a bad day into a good one. She just loves being around him. She loves him so much and sometimes that fact hits her so hard and so unexpectedly that it feels like her heart might explode in her chest.
“I’ll let you go,” she says, unable to keep the smile from her face, “but I want something first.”
“Ooh? A deal?” She loosens her grip, allowing him to turn in her arms so that he’s facing her. “Who are you and what have you done with the Detective?”
His soulful brown eyes meet hers, his eyebrow quirking suggestively as his lips pull into a smirk. Those perfect pink lips; she could kiss them all day long and never tire. That unruly mess of jet-black hair that her fingers just itch to dive into.
She loves him so damn much.
As they stand there, his smirk fades into something softer, something deeper. His dark eyes seem to twinkle at her, drawing her in closer.
Her eyes fall to his lips once again. She finds herself unconsciously licking her own as her mind provides helpful ideas of all the things they could spend the day doing.
Right now though, she just wants a kiss. Unless of course they get carried away (which they usually do).
Leaning up on her tiptoes, she presses her lips to his, moving her hands to wrap around his neck. The move must surprise him because at first, he doesn’t seem to respond, almost as if dumbfounded by it, but he soon remembers himself. His hands settle on her hips as he deepens the kiss, tilting his head slightly as his tongue darts from between his lips, teasing her with tantalising little touches.
Her fingers stray upwards as his stray downwards, tangling themselves in his hair as he squeezes her ass.
Truthfully, she could do this all day, but her stomach has other ideas, grumbling its protests rather loudly. So, she regretfully pulls away, leaving him hanging. She can’t help but giggle as he cracks his eyes open, lips still half puckered, to look at her with a puzzled expression.
A fond smile tugs at her lips. “Breakfast first?” She chews on her lip a little before adding, “Would hate to waste good bacon.”
His eyes light up, a sultry smile spreading across his face like the cat that got the canary. “Well I can certainly think of a few ways we can burn it off afterwards,” he purrs before pressing his tongue to the inside of his cheek, waggling his eyebrows.
“Sounds perfect,” she replies, smile widening.
And he’s just about to turn away when she places her hand on his forearm, halting him. He raises his eyebrows quizzically, looking slightly confused as she just looks at him, her smile softening. “I love you,” she tells him quietly, a tender confession that leaves her lips like a prayer despite having said it so many times before.
For a moment he says nothing in return. His smile fades into something gentler, his eyes glistening in the light. Then his hand comes up to hold her face, his thumb gently caressing her cheek and he replies, “I love you too, Chloe.”