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Wolfwood's still asleep when Meryl sits up in bed and stretches, awakened by the morning light filtering into the window. It's a rarity, especially with Milly and Vash both audibly (if attempting to be quiet) rummaging around in the kitchen. Usually, he takes the task of breakfast much more seriously but it would seem today he's opted to enjoy the last few moments of sleep he can get.
Meryl can't blame him. He clearly hasn't been feeling well the past few days. Some unfortunate combination of his daily aches and pains and the particularly cold nights they've been having have left their favorite "priest" rather lethargic and sore.
This in mind, Meryl leans over and runs her fingers gently through his hair to brush the bangs back from his face. Wolfwood doesn't respond, face still slack with sleep, so she allows herself to do it a few more times. His hair is soft—silky and smooth, smelling of the botanicals of Vash's shampoo he likes to steal.
His face is soft too, softer than Meryl could have imagined it being when they first met. The curve of his nose, the soft fluttering of his eyelids, plush lips and thick eyebrows and surprisingly long eyelashes; Meryl lets herself linger over it all, fingers still gently coiled in his hair.
She overhears someone starting coffee in the kitchen. That sounds nice but…
Wolfwood rumbles quietly in his sleep and shifts, rolling so that he's closer to her, back pressed to her thigh. Smiling, Meryl reaches down and combs her hand through his hair, nails scratching at his scalp gently. He's a bit like a cat, she thinks; often desiring attention to the point of neediness but only accepting it on his own terms. Also, very cat-like, he shows his back and belly only to those he feels he can trust, in moments he feels safe like this one.
Meryl runs her fingers down his neck and the ridge of his spine, watching goosebumps raise on his skin at the gentle touch. There's scars she doesn't know the source of on his back—not nearly as many as Vash has but still a troubling amount if she thinks too long on them. She doesn't today, instead opting to follow the curve of his body all the way to the dip of his back before sliding her finger back up. Wolfwood twitches and squirms a little, clutching at his pillow, before huffing out a yawn and stretching, clearly waking.
"Mm, mornin'," he drawls, followed by another yawn that he muffles by fully shoving his face into the pillow clutched in his grasp.
Meryl laughs faintly and ruffles her hand in his hair. "Good morning, sleepy head. Had a good rest?"
Wolfwood half turns, upper body facing her with the pillow still in the crook of his arm, and gives her the laziest, sleepiest grin she's ever seen. She wants to kiss it off his face so the world can't have a second more of it, only her.
"Not bad," he murmurs. "You have fun pettin' me like a cat?"
Briefly, Meryl wonders how much he was actually aware for. It feels silly now to have assumed he could sleep through being touched; she knows well the various horrors Wolfwood has known in his life. How little sleep he's gotten in the past simply out of habit of sleeping with one eye open and a gun under his pillow. Even at his most content, most safe, waking him isn't all that hard.
"It was nice," Meryl replies simply. "Your hair is soft."
"Stole spikey's fancy shampoo again," he says, sounding too proud of himself. "Find any grays?"
"Not a one," Meryl hums and sinks down into the pillows next to him again. Breakfast will be done soon and if they take long enough she knows Vash and Milly will bring them coffee and perhaps even breakfast itself to bed. Wolfwood might have been onto something here. "I'm going to go gray before you at this rate," she adds.
"I think it'd look nice on you. Very distinguised," Wolfwood says, reaching up to lazily toy with her hair. Meryl leans toward him and Wolfwood cradles the back of her head with his hand. He's sleep warm and so gentle…
"I think you're just being complimentary because you want something," she teases.
Wolfwood grins. It's crooked and goofy, one of his fang-like canines snagging on his bottom lip. "May~be," he sing-songs at her.
As if she could resist, really. Meryl has been considering kissing him since the moment she saw he was still asleep in bed next to her. It's a wonder how any of them get a thing done when Wolfwood is there, kissable like he is. She's seen both Milly and Vash get terribly distracted with the act on a regular basis too.
Meryl leans down and graps his chin, scruffy as always. Wolfwood keeps on smiling that goofy grin, going just a bit wider, but lets his eyes fall closed in anticipation. It's maddening, extremely endearing, terribly adorable. Meryl wants to bite his nose about it but she resists, knows what she actually wants from this isn't that even if it might cure some of her cuteness aggression for the time being.
"Pretty," she mumbles, not meaning to say it outloud, and Wolfwood laughs. Warm breath puffs across her lips as she leans in closer to him. "Don't laugh," she whispers, "you are…"
"Mm, high praise from someone as gorgeous as you," he mumbles back, lips brushing against hers as Meryl inches ever closer. They're a bit chapped but still soft and warm and Wolfwood and who could complain about kissing him? A terrible kiss from Wolfwood was worth a dozen wonderful ones from a stranger.
Because he kisses her like she's made of glass. Because he kisses like he's drowning and she's the air he's clawed his way to the surface for. Because he kisses her in this contented, wobbly way that lets Meryl lead him and know he'd follow anywhere she wanted.
And when they part he's still got that silly grin on his face so Meryl kisses the tip of his nose, just for good measure. Wolfwood laughs, this pleased purr-like rumble in the back of his throat and down into his chest, and bobs his head forward to rest against her shoulder.
"Good morning," he whispers, pressing closer as Meryl listens to the clink of coffee mugs headed down the hall toward them. She hooks her arm under his head and teases her fingers through his hair. "Great morning."
And it is, Meryl couldn't agree more.