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She took a deep breath as she turned around for the tenth time in three minutes.
No matter how much Pepa tossed and turned in her bed, she seemed to never feel comfortable. Her back felt stiff, her limbs fell out of place and her whole body just told her to move into a less uncomfortable position over and over, like it would never make up its mind. Her limbs ached, and for once the texture of her sheets felt weird and off, too warm and too rough, even if it was literally the same sheets she slept in yesterday, almost to the point of icky . It was slowly driving her mad.
The young woman had a gray cloud over her head that proved her annoyance, it was proof that she was still very much wide awake and unable to fall asleep even though her body was exhausted. The cloud wasn’t thundering (yet), but she could still hear the subtle sounds from it, so annoying and uncomfortable, that no one else ever seemed to hear. It was too much, and very present now in the middle of the night when there were barely any other sounds to focus on, except Félix’s snoring.
All she craved was some sleep, yet today her own body seemed to be her enemy, refusing to grant her that wish. She despised it when that happened. She would be so tired and cranky the following day.
Pepa knew she had been lying awake for at least an hour, and she knew that the longer it took, the more frustrated she would become and it would end in her unleashing a mad thunderstorm at herself, which was something she really didn’t want to do today.
She glanced over to her right, seeing Félix fast asleep, snoring as the blanket was wrapped around his body. As he was breathing in his sleep, Pepa saw how his chest was moving up and down, lungs filled with air. He looked so peaceful and she did not want to scare him awake with some incoming thunder. Every time he snuck into her room, he always had to get up before sunrise to not be caught by Alma. She didn’t want to wake him up and deny him the tiny amount of sleep he would be able to indulge in before he needed to sneak out her window.
She stretches her limbs in order to try to get her body to stop feeling stiff, and lets out a low disgusted groan as she hears one of her joints pop. She’s always hated that sound, it felt like her ears were bleeding. It wasn’t worth it either, because her limbs still felt stiff, so she sighed in defeat and shifted position once more, gritting her teeth. Pepa let her hands run over her braid as frustration took over, trying to find something to focus on… it didn’t work.
All she wanted to do was to sleep and her thoughts were everywhere, and after yet another unsuccessful position shift she hit the bed frame in a rage, hearing the sound of her fist hitting wood, followed by a creak. Her hand hurts, the pain quickly spreads, and she curses as she hears the sound of thunder above her, all too loud when there’s no other real sounds around her. She almost puts her palms over her ears from the surprise of it.
Félix wakes up, practically jumping out of his side of her bed, eyes wide with his arms covered as if to protect his forehead like he’s prepared to be in the middle of a storm.
Great, now she had woken Félix up too, the one thing she didn’t want to do. She grabbed her hair in annoyance and pulled at it, which caused her boyfriend to give her a concerned look.
“Mi vida, is something wrong?”
She sighs as she sits up in bed, and looks at him right below his eyes as she apologizes.
“Sorry, sorry. I just can’t sleep and I got frustrated. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”
The bed creaks at the sound of shifting weight as Félix jumps closer towards her and lets one of his hands gently rest onto her shoulder.
“It’s fine Pepa, sometimes that just happens,” he says, and Pepa feels him press a soft kiss onto her forehead. It’s like all of her body immediately relaxes as she feels his touch. “Do you want me to keep you company until you fall asleep?”
There’s a small nod, barely visible.
“If it isn’t too much of a chore.”
“Nothing is a chore when it comes to you, mi vida.”
He kisses her again, and then asks if she wants a hug. She nods, and the following second she’s trapped in a warm embrace that she never wants to part from. Félix’s skin feels so warm and soft against her own, and all she wants to do is to lie down next to him. She eventually does, and Félix carefully wraps the blanket around the both of them. He’s so gentle, and Pepa loves being the subject of his gentle care.
“Thank you,” she tells him, kissing his cheek.
“Anything for mi vida,” he says, and Pepa feels herself heat up as he cups her face with his hands and kisses her forehead. “Do you want to talk for a bit? See if that makes you tired eventually? Or do you want me to talk to you? Tell you a story while you try to sleep?”
She thinks for a moment, biting her lower lip. If she talked she could easily lose track of time and end up spending an hour or two talking to Félix about something she was passionate about.
Simply lying there in bed though… with Félix by her side speaking to her with his soothing voice while he played with her hair. That did sound relaxing and something that could possibly work, especially since his presence and touch always made her feel so calm, happy and secure.
She nods.
“The second one, I think that would work best. Can you play with my hair?”
She sees the smile grow on his face, there’s such an innocent joy to it that makes Pepa flutter. Félix is adorable.
“Of course, I’d be honored too. Do you want me to undo your braid?”
She nods.
“Yes please.”
Usually she slept with her hair braided. It was much easier and stopped it from getting everywhere, and having her hair down as she was tossing and turning before she fell asleep could really test her temper as her senses got overwhelmed because no matter where she turned, there was always more hair . But today, she felt like having it down, she already had problems falling asleep, and she did enjoy Félix playing with it.
In fact, she adored it, and the Félix of his hands running down her curls always made her relax as she felt happy and desired. Wanted, even.
“Okay.”
They kiss once more, this time on the lips. The kiss is soft, and Félix tastes vaguely of something sweet she can barely describe, he always did.
The man removes the hair tie and immediately uses his fingers to untangle the braid, and soon Pepa’s mane of ginger, almost golden curls are set free down her back.
“You have such beautiful hair.”
“And you’re making a woman blush in the middle of the night.”
“Does that mean I earn myself a kiss?”
“Go ahead.”
He does, pressing a gentle kiss against her lips, followed by one below her jaw that makes her laugh from the tickling sensation.
“Félix! That tickles.”
He grins at her and places a last kiss onto her cheek before he tells her to lie down on her side. She does, and seconds after she feels his fingers running through her hair, trying to untangle any knots he might come across. He speaks to her in his soft voice that Pepa loves more than life itself, telling her a story. A tale from his childhood that she eagerly listens too.
After a few minutes, she lets out a yawn. Her body is relaxed, her eyelids are beginning to feel happy, and she’s calm.
Yes, she feels safe, warm and right at home beside Félix, and she knows there’s only moments left until she will finally earn her well wanted slumber. She reminds herself to thank Félix in the morning, and then she’s out.