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Xiao stepped into the house, finding that it was oddly quiet; there was usually some sort of racket when he came home from patrol, whether it’s her cooking for him so late at night, or her yelling his name as soon as he walks in, excited to see him; but there was none of that.
As he walks through the house, he takes notice to how it looks the same as it did this morning; usually, she changes out the pictures, or she’ll write something new on the whiteboard in the kitchen, but again, it was all the same.
It clicked as soon as he stepped into the bedroom, finding her passed out, the same spot she was in this morning, wearing the same clothes… She had been sleeping all day, including last night.
Earlier in the day, before he had left for patrol, he had kissed her goodbye, rubbed her shoulder before he left, told her he loved her, and not to sleep all day. Evidently, she didn’t listen.
He steps closer to the bed, crouching down by her side, so that they were face-to-face, “Yelan, I’m home…”
She just barely stirred, a loud, grumpy moan being pulled out of her as she shifts around, finally arising from her extensive slumber, her eyes opening to look at him, “Mm…?”
“Were you sleeping all day?” His hand moved to her shoulder, caressing her bare skin, a sweet smile on his face as he noticed how sleepy she was.
“No,” Yelan’s voice was quiet and hoarse, eyes sparkling when she stared at him, an excited smile making its way onto her face as she finally began to actually wake up, realizing that he was in front of her, and that he was home finally, after such a long day without him.
“Are you sure?”
She ignored his question, sitting up and opening her arms wide, insinuating that she wanted a hug, and he accepted her plea, standing up and hugging her tight.
“I missed you all day,” She mumbled into his shoulder, her arms wrapped tight around him, breathing in his scent and relishing in what she had missed all day; the feeling of his arms around her, his soothing voice whispering in her ear, his gentle kisses… It was always hard to let him leave in the morning, only because she knew she would miss him so bad.
“I missed you too,” He kissed the side of her head, and she giggled, feeling his hands running up and down her bare back, fingertips fluttering across her skin, playing with the hem of her bra.
“Did you miss me that bad?” Yelan whispers as he unhooks her bra, pulling away slightly to let the straps fall off her shoulders and off her body, then continues hugging her.
He doesn’t respond to her, instead, he kisses her shoulder, arms wrapped around her as he sighs, wishing he could just hug her forever. Begrudgingly, she pulls away from the warm hug, laying back down on the bed and staring up at him. He smiles at her before walking across the room to the dresser, “I’m gonna change.”
“Okay…” She watches him walk into the bathroom, holding a pile of clothing, and she sighs, huddling under the blanket and hugging a pillow.
A couple of minutes later, he walks back out, and she takes the chance to scan her eyes over all the scars that were hidden beneath his previous clothing, ogling him, a blush on her face. His hands, arms and legs were oh so scarred, bumps and ridges in his flesh, but she loved to feel all of it, run her hands over his skin and let him know that she loved everything about him, even if he had several scars on his body.
Shyly, he comes over to the bed, getting into it, and immediately, she curls up against him, dropping the pillow she had been holding, “I love you. I missed you all day today.”
“I know you did. I can tell… And you said it, but I missed you today too. I always do, my love.” He brushes her hair out of her face with his fingers, while she gazes up at him with such a tender stare he felt as though he may melt. His palm settled on her face, caressing her skin, silence falling between them as the love grows in their hearts.
He drops his hand from her face, grabbing her hand that was on his chest and holding it, fingers interlocking. Xiao could feel her eyes burning into his face as he stared ahead, squeezing her hand every so often just to remind her that he was there.
“So… were you sleeping all day?”
Yelan nodded her head, a bashful look on her face, “Yeah…”
“Why? I know you’ll have some trouble falling asleep tonight…”
“Well… I knew I would miss you so much all day, so I figured that I’d rather just sleep so the time went by faster…” She shrugged, snuggling into him, her eyes closed and a content look on her face, perhaps even a little bit tired again as well.
“Aw, well… I’m here now.” He laid down with her, instead of sitting up against the headboard, and she opened her eyes, looking at him with a slightly surprised expression, but it quickly melted away as soon as his lips were on hers.
The kiss was tender, sweet; it was everything she had wanted while he was gone, just to revel in his touch again, be wrapped in his arms while he whispers to her, something sweet; perhaps telling her how much he loves her, or how beautiful she is, but no matter what it is, she loves it all the same.
Every time he leaves the house, she misses him to such an extent that it’s hard to live without him, and she would rather stay in their bed all day, where his scent is most prominent. When she is not in bed, however, she likes to cook something for him, so that when he comes home, he has something that he likes to eat on the table… No matter how late at night it is, she will always be there to greet him when he walks through that door.
When he pulls away from her, there is a certain expression on her face, one of adoration and admiration, love seeping from her eyes and from the smile that was present on her lips, “I love you so much.”
“I love you too. More than you could ever imagine,” He whispers, leaning up to kiss her on the forehead, to which she giggles and pulls herself closer to him.
“Xiao… Tomorrow, can you stay home? I’ve been missing you so much whenever you leave lately…” She pleads, her lips pouted as she stares at him, begging him to listen.
He is silent for a couple of seconds before sighing, “…Yes. Of course.”
Yelan giggles, kissing his cheek, “Mine, forever…” She wraps her arms around him once again, “Xiao… I’m tired.”
“You should go to sleep, then.”
She shakes her head, but he can tell that she is very close to passing out, her breathing beginning to slow, and that same woozy look that was in her eyes when he woke her up has returned, “No… Want to stay up with you,”
“Yelan, my love, I’d end up falling asleep after you. I’m tired as well,” He smiles at her, “You should go to sleep, I’ll be here all night and all day tomorrow.”
Much to her dismay, she gives in, passing out as soon as he finished his sentence. He brushes the hair out of her face as best he can, gently wiggling out of her arms so he can curl up against her, and in her asleep state, she inches closer to him, hands grasping at his shirt. She was a very cuddly creature at night, always wanting to be touched and hugged; a stark contrast to how she was during the day. He didn’t mind, though; he would do anything to be closer to her.
He kisses her cheek, whispering one last thing before he falls asleep, too, “I’ll love you forever. I promise.”
Tomorrow, he was sure that they would end up doing absolutely nothing all day, except laying in bed and cuddling, talking and sleeping, but it didn’t matter. As long as he was with her, he was happy; there was nowhere he would rather be than in her arms.
He is elated that one day soon, they will be able to spend the rest of their lives together, married, and he didn’t expect it to ever happen, but it is reality; so he is welcoming it with open arms.
Always and forever — a vow they made to each other, all those years ago when they started dating — and it is finally coming true.
He wouldn’t trade her for the world, not even if his life depended on it; he loves her too much to let go. And it will remain that way until the end of time.