Chapter Text
She woke up earlier than him for the first time in forever, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave the bed and start her day.
The sun was just beginning to rise in the sky, its beams beginning to trickle through the window behind her, falling on his face ever so gently and softening the contrast of his features.
Watching him sleep was a rare sight for her. It wasn’t the first time she had seen it, but he was usually the latest to sleep and the earliest to rise between the two of them, so these tranquil moments where she could see him in such a peaceful state were always more intimate.
She raised a hand from the covers, taking extra care to move cautiously so as to not wake him as her fingers gently brushed the hair back that had fallen during his slumber, the cool air prickling at her arm and sending soft goosebumps down her exposed skin.
She let her arm fall, and instead gazed over his face, taking in every detail she could.
His face was often animated with expression when he was awake, but when he was asleep, it was calm. She could almost see the air he exhaled softly, and could recall the way it felt on her skin as she lay beside him, often close enough that it sometimes felt as if their breaths were synced. His lips were softly parted, and she could just spot the beginnings of smile lines beginning to form at the side of his mouth and eyes, though she would never point any of them out to him. Her eyes rose to glance over his, closed, but not still as they likely followed whatever it was he was seeing in his dream. She had realized a while ago that he had a tendency to raise his eyebrows unintentionally while he was awake, but while he slept, they relaxed, setting softly in place over his brow bone.
She let her hand rise softly again to brush her thumb across his sharp cheekbone, softened by the light of the sunrise, but still opposing the more sunken parts of his face. She felt him shift slightly in his sleep and stilled, not wanting to wake him up before his alarm went off, which was, in her opinion, still too early for any soul to want to wake up.
Once he settled, she smiled softly and let her hand gently entangle itself back in his hair, smoothing out the kinks that had appeared overnight. She took to mussing it gently, reveling in how soft it felt in her hands. She often combed his hair with her fingers while they were alone. She found it an enjoyable pastime, and he surely didn’t oppose it. He was sort of like a cat in that regard. Sometimes he’d let himself lay his head in her lap or on her chest while he read the newspaper and she would amuse herself by twisting his hair into odd angles, sometimes even attempting to braid the short strands, though often she’d receive a stern glance in return when she tried, especially when he still had business to attend to later in the day.
She watched how the sunlight caught in the strands, highlighting some of the darker undertones at his roots. It seemed like the sun always knew exactly how to reveal every color in hair when it rose in just the right way. She noticed that now as she ran her fingers softly through his hair and found herself gently singling one out from the rest. She rolled a single shiny, grey hair in her fingertips and hummed softly in thought. She had often wondered if he had actually dyed his hair like many of the rumors reported, he was after all, very meticulous about his appearance. Not that she minded either way. She loved his hair as is, but she wouldn’t object to a little salt and pepper either if she was being honest.
She felt him shift again, this time his arms softly winding their way back around her waist and pulling her in so he could rest his head in the crook of her neck.
“Why’d you stop?” His voice was warm and slightly darker than usual as it normally was when he woke up.
She laughed softly and returned to combing through his hair, this time using both hands to wind her fingers through the strands.
“No reason. Just found something of interest, that’s all.”
He paused and lifted his head slightly to gaze up at her, his brows knitting in confusion. She just smiled in response and pulled him in for a tender kiss, which he naturally returned. He grinned suddenly and she felt herself being turned onto her back as he lowered his head down and softly kissed up her neck.
“I always know when you’re hiding something, ma chérie.” He purred softly and pulled back to smirk at her lazily.
She grinned and pulled him back down for a proper kiss before responding.
“I’m not sure you want me to tell you, mon cœur. I might catch you staring in the mirror later today.”
He rolled his eyes and kissed her softly one last time before sitting up and rubbing his eyes.
“Oh please. You know I’ll do that anyways.”
She followed him in sitting up and laughed.
“Then you don’t need me to tell you what I found.”
She grinned mischievously and slid out from the bed, hurrying downstairs before he could make another quip.
He frowned and sighed, pulling himself out of the bed so he could make his way into the bathroom and try to find what she had seen.
She was halfway down the stairs when she heard the disgruntled moan from the bedroom.
“ Merde .”