Work Text:
Luke would never tire of waking up next to Penelope.
Always, in those groggy waking moments, he reached out, unconsciously searching for her. His heart dropped a bit every time his hand grasped only air.
He liked it best when he woke first; being the first to welcome the morning and taking some time to watch her as she slept. The way her nose crinkled and the little noises that escaped her. Noises that sounded something close to words, but not quite.
Today when his eyes fluttered open, Penelope was already awake. She was sat up against the headboard, glasses already on, scrolling on her phone.
Luke turned his head to look at the clock on his bedside table, groaning when he saw it was only just after 6am.
“Hey sleepyhead,” Penelope said in a sing-song voice. Luke grumbled and shoved his face into the pillow, earning a sweet little laugh from his girlfriend.
The next thing he knew, her hand was running through his hair. The corners of his mouth twitched, and he moved his head so he was looking at her. Penelope’s mouth was curled into a sweet smile, and it only widened when he shuffled to place his head in her lap, giving her easier access to twirl his curls.
They spent a moment just laying like that, appreciating that this was the life they got to live. They knew better than most people the horrors of the world, which made them cling onto these little seeds of happiness even harder, storing them inside themselves and letting them grow. They never underappreciate how lucky they were, to have found each other, and to have ended up together.
Luke had almost drifted back to sleep, basking in Penelope’s warmth, when she jostled him. He could tell it was on purpose – she was ready to start the day. And he was just going to have to deal with that.
“Today’s the day!” she exclaimed, eyes glinting. Luke’s brow furrowed, his still sleep-muddled mind sifting through recent conversations, trying to remember what they had planned.
Penelope waited as he sat up, mirroring her position of leaning on the headboard. He thought maybe he would remember by the time he was up and making eye contact with her, but when it happened, he knew she could see the blankness that lay in his eyes.
“Costumes. Photoshoot. Ringing any bells?”
“Ahhh, yes,” Luke said monotonously.
Penelope rolled her eyes.
“You know, you act like you hate this, but I know you love it really.” And Luke did. Because it made her beam like that. And he’d love anything that would make her happy.
---
By the time Luke had showered and dressed, Emily had arrived. She sat in the armchair holding a mug almost as big as her face, the steam still rising from it. The cats and Roxy were milling around, not yet in their costumes. Those were laid out on the coffee table.
“Penelope?”
“Yes honey,” Penelope replied, stopping setting up the pumpkins and twisting to look at him.
Luke pointed down at the table.
“Is that a hot dog costume?” He raised his eyebrow.
A smile grew over Penelope’s face and her eyes crinkled. “It is.”
Luke fought hard to keep the frown on his face, even as his mouth twitched.
“And from the size, I’m guessing it’s for–”
“Phoenix,” Penelope interrupted.
Luke sighed, feigning suffering. Emily snorted out a laugh.
“So, let me get this right,” Luke said. “Our cat is going to be dressed as a hot dog. And our dog is going to be dressed up as…” he looked at the other costumes, “a cat.”
Penelope giggled gleefully.
Luke rolled his eyes, but unable to stop the fond smile overtaking his face, it didn’t have the exasperated effect it would normally have.
“Bet you think you’re funny, don’t you?” he marvelled fondly.
“Oh I know I’m hilarious,” Penelope smirked.
Luke couldn’t help but walk over and place a loving kiss on her forehead.
“I love Sergio’s the most, actually,” Emily piped in, drawing Luke’s attention to the third costume. He walked over and picked it up.
It took a second for him to place what it was, and when he did he let out a quick, sharp laugh.
“A bat? Did you choose that?” Luke asked.
Emily wiggled her eyebrows. “What do you think?”
“All three costumes needed to be coordinated, it wouldn’t have worked otherwise,” Penelope shouted over, from where she was back rearranging pumpkins into the perfect backdrop.
There was one huge one, about half of Roxy’s size. And surrounding it was little ones, the smallest no bigger than the width of Luke’s hand.
“Do you want some help with that?” Luke offered.
“Hmm, I’m good, I need to get it just right. You could start getting them dressed though,” Penelope replied, voice tinged with amusement.
You walked right into that one, Luke thought.
He turned to Emily. “For that, it’s going to take at least the two of us. Who should we start with?”
They both analysed the pets, eyes narrowing. Roxy was curled up on her fluffy bed, Phoenix and Sergio were running around, pursuing each other.
Luke and Emily’s eyes met. “Roxy,” they stated unanimously. And so it began.
---
In the end, Roxy was happy to wear her little outfit. She pawed at the ears in the beginning, but quickly settled down, flopping back on her bed like nothing was new.
The cats, however, were chaos. As all cats are and should be.
For a while, they were just chasing them, getting within catching distance before they took off or hid under a piece of furniture.
Then they strategised. Heads bowed down, whispering as if the boys could hear them, taking it as seriously as any work case.
It took them an hour, 4 different plans, a bag and a half of cat treats, and multiple scratches.
But it was worth it, in the end. To see Penelope beam with joy as Roxy sat in front of the pumpkins, panting, tongue out, almost smiling, if you believed dogs could do such a thing. To hear Penelope laugh as Sergio once again tried to wriggle out of Emily’s grasp as she held him in frame of the camera. To feel Penelope’s kiss once it was over and she had obtained photos she was happy with.
“I don’t know how you managed to do the least amount of work here when it was all your idea,” Luke teased, pulling Penelope close and planting a chaste peck on her nose.
“I know,” Emily called out from across the room. “It’s because you are absolutely smitten Alvez.”
Luke gazed down at the woman who had captured his heart, who had helped paint his happiest memories, and he thought: yes. Yes I am.
---
Luke would never tire of falling asleep next to Penelope.
He didn’t take it for granted. There was something so intimate about sharing a bed, about curling up together, wrapping your body around another person’s and slowly feeling your breathing sync. Of placing your head on their chest and hearing their heartbeat. Of becoming fully intertwined.
It was mad really, how quickly he had become accustomed to it. How now, when Pen wasn’t there, his arms yearned to hold something in them. He burrowed his face into the back of her neck, and tightened the hold around her stomach.
He felt like every time they fell asleep like this, he fell in love with her a little bit more. The woman whose smile lit up even the darkest day, whose kindness never failed to warm his heart. And what Luke had realised, was that love wasn’t needing someone, it was choosing them. It was choosing to be there for the lowest of lows, the nightmares, the sobs, the anxiety, the loss. It was saying out of everyone on this entire planet, I choose you. And if you’re lucky, they’ll choose you too.