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you shielded your eyes from the sunlight coming in through percy’s window. the last thing you wanted to see after your sleepover with percy was the sun. with your vision blocked, it was just you flush against percy again. his breathing rising and falling slowly against where your cheek rested against the soft fabric of his hoodie.
but you couldn’t block it out forever. you removed your arm from your eyes. there, after you’d rolled over, was percy. his eyes were closed without any tension in them, his top and bottom pairs of eyelashes cuddling each other. lips curled downwards into a sleeping pout, his hair ruffled in the way that made it look like he didn’t do anything to it. a warmth bloomed in your chest at the sight.
you imagined the way his skin would probably be softer in the morning. such a huge part of you wanted to sit up to kiss him, to let your lips grace some area of his face, but you also felt like there were better ways to wake someone up than that. it was hard to want to do anything other than sit in bed and admire percy when he looked like that.
as the sight of him became more and more familiar, everything you were worried about raced back into your mind. the stuff you had to do that day. you wished being around percy in such circumstances would’ve dissipated those worries, but it didn’t. you had work to do. classes to teach, classes to attend, people to talk to. you wanted to curse daylight for coming back so fast.
reluctantly, you started to squirm out of percy’s arms. it was physically painful to feel your skin be stripped from the warmth of his embrace and thrown right back into the cold one of the world around you both. you shivered once you were fully out. even his cabin alone was colder than his arms. then again, how could it not be? the marble walls and pearl floors weren’t exactly the most insulating material. no wonder percy always slept like it was the middle of winter.
one of the many plushies you had claimed as your child—because a human can definitely birth a whale jellycat—had somehow followed your path and was now near your feet. probably because it was squished between you and percy overnight, and your squirming brought it up through the curve of your bodies. you gave it a small smile.
“good morning sweetheart,” you whispered, scratching its head.
“hmm?” percy started to shuffle awake.
you swallowed back a laugh. “oh, you too, percy, good morning to you.”
he sat up against his pillows, eyelids still too heavy to fully reveal his blue eyes. how someone could look so adorable waking up from sleep was a mystery. you tilted your head as you waited for his reaction.
“wait, i don’t get a sweetheart?”
a sleepy grin stretched amongst his face, causing all of the teasing remarks you’d prepared to abandon you. your stomach went hollow and fuzzy. suddenly all of the responsibilities you had that day became the least important thing in the world.
“good morning, sweetheart.” you said softly.
you’d never been more thankful for your vocal chords, because, if they hadn’t said that, you probably would’ve pounced on him like a crazy person and kissed him until he couldn’t smile anymore.
“good morning, sweetheart.” he said back.
you held up the jellycat, percy’s now fully open eyes taking it in. “this is who i was calling sweetheart, by the way. our child.”
percy laughed. the effort it took when he was tired clung to it in a way only added to your weakness. he had to be doing it on purpose, right?
“oh, right. i forgot about him.” he yawned. “i think he’s tired. w— he should go back to sleep.”
“okay,” you resigned. “five more minutes.”