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Despite how exhausted he felt, Robert found himself being pulled out of his more than blissful sleep. Though his eyes weren’t open yet, he could tell by the long, red hair thrown across his face that Giselle was still in bed, which meant it was far too early to be awake.
The room was hotter than he would’ve liked, and logically, he knew he should untangle himself from Giselle. But even with her hair nearly suffocating him, he was far too comfortable to move. She so often got up before him, leaving him to alone in bed, and, as silly as he might have found it only a year ago, he simply didn’t want this moment to end.
Unfortunately, it seemed his body had other plans, and sweat began to slowly trickle down his neck, leaving him with no choice but to roll away. Giselle’s hair followed, dragging lightly across his skin, and he sighed, carefully brushing it away. He stared up at the ceiling in silence, far too tired to actually get up, when movement came from beside him.
Robert turned, and felt the corner of his lips quirk up as he watched Giselle slowly roll onto her side and cuddle closer. Her curls fell over her cheek, and he delicately tucked them behind her ear, before moving himself, and pressing a kiss to her forehead. Despite still being asleep, a small smile started to form on her face, and he kissed her nose softly.
As slowly as possible, he slid his arm out from under her pillow and pressed his lips against her shoulder. Pushing the blanket back, he made his way down the length of her bicep, and forearm, and stopped at her hip when he felt her knee bump into his. Slipping his finger under her shirt, he pulled it up just enough to kiss her bare skin and smiled when he heard a quiet hum.
“That tickles,” Giselle mumbled, her voice thick with sleep. Robert simply kissed her again, and she rolled onto her back, stretching one arm over her head, while her other hand landed on his shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open, and she met his gaze with a warm smile. “You should wake me like this every day.”
“I’d love to,” he murmured. “But you’re always up before me, so that makes it a little difficult.”
He crawled over her, trailing his lips up her chest, then buried his face against her neck. Giselle’s arms wrapped around him, and he let out a long, happy sigh, more than content to fall back asleep, when a quiet giggle escaped her throat.
“You are very sweaty.”
“Yeah. It’s your fault.”
“How so?”
“You’re a walking, talking heater,” Robert chuckled, kissing her collarbone. “Cuddling is great when it’s snowing outside, but it’s more than a little unbearable now.”
“Oh. Perhaps you should sleep all by yourself on your side of the bed, then.”
“Like I have a choice.” He met her playful gaze with a lopsided smile, and she raised a brow. “Every time I roll away, you follow me. You’re the clingiest person I know, even when you’re asleep.”
“Well, if that is such a problem for you, I will simply go back to sleeping on the couch.”
“No.”
Robert dropped his head to her shoulder, his hold on her tightening, and she laughed again. “Then stop whining.”
“I’m not whining.”
“It sounds an awful lot like you are.” Giselle’s fingers began to gently comb through his curls, and he could feel himself starting to drift off, when she spoke once more. “I need to get up.”
He simply whined in response, sliding his leg over her waist, and she quickly grabbed his knee, bringing him to a stop.
“Do not trap me here,” she said, pulling his hair. “My plants need water, and our bird friends will be here soon for their breakfast. Not to mention, I would like to eat as well.”
“What about what I need?” Robert grumbled. “Are those birds really more important than me?”
“No, but they will be quite upset if I’m late.”
“And I’ll be quite upset if you leave me.” He pressed his lips against a particularly sensitive spot just below her ear and smiled when he heard her let out a shaky breath. “Besides, it’s not like the birds would know. They can’t tell time.”
“Oh, and just how would you know if they can or not?” Giselle laughed, rolling her eyes. “You never talk to them.”
“That’s because I can’t talk to them. It’s not my fault.”
“Well, Morgan seems to have figured it out, so I am certain you could if you tried hard enough.”
“We’ve been together for almost a year,” Robert pointed out with a chuckle. “Plenty of your Andalasian-ness has rubbed off on me, but the whole singing, and talking-to-animals thing has, unfortunately, not.”
Giselle hummed, a warm smile spreading across her face, and he leaned in, bringing their lips together.
“Almost a year…” she murmured, kissing him again. “I cannot believe it’s really been a whole year since we met.”
“Mm, I know. That’s one whole year of you driving me crazy.”
“And one whole year of you being a butthead.” Giselle tugged on his hair again, and he grinned, pulling her in for another kiss.
“While we’re on the topic of anniversaries,” he said, lazily trailing his lips down the length of her neck. “Do you know how you want to celebrate?”
Giselle tilted her head back when his tongue brushed against her skin, and pondered his question, tapping her finger against his bicep.
“Perhaps we could go to that ball again.”
“It’s a different day this year,” Robert sighed, his mouth making its way to her chest. “It’s a month later, I think.”
“Oh, that’s too bad.” She fell silent again and arched her back enough for him to push her shirt further up. “Would you still consider dressing up for me?”
A chuckle escaped his throat, and he shrugged, pressing his lips between her breasts. “Maybe.”
“Then we do not need a ball.” Giselle twitched under him, his stubble tickling her skin. “You will be calling off from work, right? Or do I need to beg you to do so?”
He shook his head, kissing below her belly button. “I don’t work Sundays, remember?”
“Yes, but that does not answer my question.”
“Yeah, it does.” Robert’s lips brushed against the waistband of her shorts. “Our anniversary is on a Sunday, so I don’t need to call off.”
“No, it isn’t.”
Reluctantly, he stopped what he was doing and met her gaze with a crooked smile. “Did you forget our anniversary?”
“What? No, of course not!” She stared back at him in disbelief, and he couldn’t help but laugh. “Our anniversary is the twenty-sixth, Robert, that is a Monday!”
“I can’t believe you of all people forgot—”
“I did not forget!” Giselle grabbed his shoulder, and he inched closer, resting on his forearms.
“Our anniversary is the twenty-fifth, Giselle.”
“No, it is not!” A smirk formed on her face, and she pushed his cheek. “You forgot our anniversary, you butthead, not me!”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did!”
“We kissed on—”
“You did not ask me to be your girlfriend until the twenty-sixth of May!”
Robert stared at her in silence for a moment before another laugh escaped his lips. “Well, technically,” he murmured, kissing her cheekbone. “I never asked you to be my girlfriend.”
“Oh, is that right?” Giselle quickly turned away before he had the chance to kiss her lips, and grinned, pushing his shoulder. “Then do not kiss me anymore. Only my boyfriend may do so.”
“But I’m your true love.” Robert trailed his mouth along her jaw, gently nipping at her skin, and she tilted her chin up, allowing her eyes to close. “That title is far more important than boyfriend, don’t you think?”
“I suppose it is,” she sighed, tangling her fingers in his hair. “Our anniversary is the twenty-sixth, though, Robert. However, that does not make the twenty-fifth any less significant. In fact—”
Giselle suddenly pulled away, and reached for her nightstand drawer, quickly pulling it open. Grabbing a notebook, she began flipping through the pages, and he ignored her actions, continuing to press lazy kisses along her warm skin.
“We have an entire week of important dates. See?” Robert hummed, refusing to look, and she huffed, fighting back a smile. “Robert.”
“Hm?”
“Stop that.” Giselle twitched when he nipped at her hipbone, then tapped the side of his head with her journal. “Listen to what I am saying first, then you may kiss me.”
Sighing dramatically, Robert reluctantly made his way back up, and flopped down beside her, resting his arm around her waist.
“Thank you. Now, see, we met on the twenty-third,” she said, pointing to the date on the planner. “And then, I fell madly in love with you, and your chest, on the twenty-fourth.” Robert chuckled, rolling his eyes, and she continued. “And then, of course, we went to the ball on the twenty-fifth, and we began dating the twenty-sixth. Oh! And if we really want to celebrate the whole week, I dreamt about you on the night of the twenty-first!”
“Mm.” He lifted his hand, pointing to the notebook himself. “That means you agreed to marry Edward on the twenty-second, right?”
“Yes.” Robert’s nose scrunched with disgust, and she laughed, wrapping an arm around him. “Does that make you jealous?”
“No,” he grumbled, burying his face against her neck. “But it does make me feel sick.”
“Oh, but just think,” Giselle set her journal aside, and threw her other arm around him, holding him tighter. “Had I turned him down, I would’ve never wound up here. And had I never wound up here, I would’ve never met you, or Morgan. That is far more nauseating, don’t you think?”
Robert shrugged, then nodded, and a smile tugged on his lips when he felt her kiss his temple. He responded in kind, kissing the crook of her neck, and started to slide his hand up her side, when she shook her head.
“I really need to get up now, Robert.”
“No.”
He let Giselle wiggle just enough until she had rolled onto her side, then slipped his arm under her, and held her tight against his chest.
“Robert,” she chuckled, pushing his forearm. “Let me go, you butthead.”
“It’s so early,” Robert whined, throwing his leg over her waist.
Giselle squirmed a bit more, trying desperately to free herself, and he held back his own laughter, kissing her shoulder. Finally, she gave up with a huff and craned her neck enough to look at him.
“You are the clingiest person I have ever met.”
A grin formed on his face, and he pressed his lips against her cheek softly. “You made me this way.”
“Yes, I know. It is my greatest achievement,” she sighed dramatically. “Will you please let me go? The birds—”
A loud thump suddenly came at the window, making them both jump, and they stared wide-eyed at one another. The noise was followed by a series of odd tapping sounds, and Robert’s brows furrowed with confusion as they shifted their gazes across the room.
“What the hell is that?”
Giselle stayed silent, her eyes fixed on the window, before a grin spread across her face.
“Oh! Oh, I recognize that pattern!” She gleefully kicked the blanket back, and Robert watched as she stumbled out of bed, not any less confused. “It’s Sunny!”
“Who?”
“Sunny! He is one of our crow friends.” Giselle pulled his bathrobe from the hook on the door, and quickly slid her arms through it. “He brought you that old, broken watch a few weeks ago, remember?”
Robert didn’t remember, but he simply nodded anyway and watched as she made her way over to the window and pulled the curtains open. Just as she said, there was a crow perched outside the glass, and he sighed, falling back against the bed. The two of them started happily chatting away, and he knew that any chance of keeping her in their room was now gone. Pulling the pillow out from under his head, he shoved it over his face and tried his best to ignore the giggles that followed.
“Have a wonderful day!” She shouted before quietly closing the window. Silence filled the room, and he was certain she’d left to make breakfast, when the bed began to shift under him. “Robert?”
Giselle’s soft voice filled his ears again, and he could feel her knees pressing gently against his sides. Carefully, she lifted the pillow off his face and gazed down at him with a sweet smile.
“I spoke with Sunny.”
“About what?”
“Breakfast. He has agreed to take himself, and the others, elsewhere today.” She leaned closer, her hair falling around them, and kissed the tip of his nose. “He thinks we deserve a bit more alone time.”
“Oh?” She nodded, and he tugged on the belt wrapped loosely around her waist. “Well, remind me to thank him the next time he stops by.”