Chapter Text
Even though with his back turned towards the still covered windows, it was easy for John to tell that the early morning sun was beginning its slow climb into the skies above Brookhaven.
Normally, he would have regarded the sight as something akin to a once in a lifetime moment. Where the stars were chased away by the bright glow of their closer counterpart.
Yet despite his normal love for witnessing the sunrise whenever he had the opportunity, it was another event that had captured his attention on this morning.
While some would’ve considered this sight as being something seen as quite trivial when compared to witnessing a miracle of nature. To John, the sight of his peacefully sleeping girlfriend was something that he knew he’d never get tired of.
Though he knew that if she’d been awake, Charlie would’ve argued that she was far from a “wonderful sight” even when she was all put together. But to John’s enamored mind, there wasn’t anything more beautiful than seeing the love of his life in a relaxed state of mind. Albeit one that involved her currently being at rest.
As the early rays of sunshine continued to peek through the curtains, the faintest trace of a golden ray landed on Charlie’s face. The brightness momentary rousing the young woman from her tranquil slumber.
John drew back and quietly watched on as Charlie’s eyes briefly fluttered open before she squinted at the harsh beam of sunlight that had dared to interrupt her sleep.
Her mouth opened to say something that John was certain was going to be some of rebuke towards the sun, but the only sound that Charlie found herself able to make was a tired groan that only ended when she turned away from the offending daylight and buried her head back into the pillow.
A rush of air raced through John’s noise as he tried his best to hold back the laughter that had begun rising up in his throat.
It seemed that no matter how old they got, some things never did change about them. He remembered how back in Kindergarten, Charlie had been the very last one to wake up when the teacher announced the end of naptime.
Her antics had been something that vexed their teacher to no end, yet provided a lot of entertainment for her classmates as they watched Charlie attempt to stay on her mat no matter what the teacher threatened.
The fond memories brought a faint smile to John’s lips as he cautiously leaned closer towards his slumbering sweetheart and reached out his arms to embrace her sleeping form. He wasn’t sure where this compulsion to hug had come from, but it was one that he wasn’t going to ignore.
He made sure to be gentle whilst wrapping his arms around her resting figure so as not to jostle her awake. Although he suspected that Charlie knew exactly what he was doing because once he’d managed to get both arms around her, she abruptly moved backward so her backside was pressed up against his chest.
Then, John felt Charlie delicately take hold of his hands and move them around her waist before she then carefully lacing their fingers together in a delicate embrace.
But it was what Charlie did next that confirmed John’s newly created suspicions.
For just as she finished taking hold of his hand, she tilted her neck back so the top of her face was pushed up into the crook of his neck. The feeling of her breath tickling the small hairs that made up his barely visible beard before she spoke three words made his heart soar.
“I love you.”
John flushed as the whisper rose to his ears. But before he could give a reply, he felt Charlie go limp once more as she drifted back into what she hoped would be an uninterrupted slumber.
After collecting all his flustered thoughts, John decided that it’d be wise to follow her example and head back to sleep until it came time for them both to start the day.
But before he finished drifting off himself, John gently leaned forward and lightly pressed his lips up against Charlie’s forehead before giving perhaps the most appropriate response to her earlier statement before he too drifted off black to sleep.
“I love you too Charlie.”