Work Text:
It wasn’t the first time Ted had stayed over, not at all, so it wasn’t the first time he listened to Charlotte’s steady breathing as she fell asleep. But it was summer and still early enough to be light out, and a bit of light fell over Charlotte’s face, and it was the first time Ted noticed how relaxed she looked in sleep, peaceful, the worry lines and quick little gestures gone, replaced by a soft cast to her lips that wasn’t quite a smile.
Ted raised himself up on his elbow and watched her for a bit. For a moment, he let himself dream; dream of Charlotte leaving Sam, of waking up to that soft smile every morning, of making her coffee and dropping it on her desk with a kiss that he didn’t have to hide, of eating lunch together, of Bill’s disapproving glares when he got frisky at after-work drinks… And that was what broke him out of it. Because almost all the dreams he had of a life with Charlotte were confined to the spaces he already knew her in; at work and in bed.
With a sigh, Ted got out of bed and got dressed. He didn’t really care to stay the night, not like this. Not when he could go home, lighting up a cigarette on the way, and leave her to wake up alone.
(Or next to Sam, some insidious part of his brain said, the part that never let him forget that she wasn’t his, she’d wake up next to Sam and be happy.)
He sighed and dropped his shirt on the floor and slid back under the sheets next to Charlotte, closing his eyes and falling asleep faster than he cared to admit, her soft breathing and gentle snores more effective than any lullaby.