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-that could ever hurt him as long as he was safe in their arms.
...As quickly as Knox has his jarring, odd, first waking thought of the day, he dismisses it as he opened his eyes to the bright lights of the early morning sunrise. After he lets his eyes adjust, he turns to look at his night table, checking the time on his alarm clock. He got up surprisingly early for him on a Saturday. It's 9:34AM. Most of the time on weekends you couldn't get him out of bed before noon. He tries to stretch a little, preparing himself to get ready for the day. He might as well, clearly the universe decided that he needed to be productive for today anyways.
Except when he tried, he quickly realized he was not alone. He was with Chris, who was sleeping so peacefully next to him he almost gasped in amazement at the sight. She truly was gorgeous. She was delicate yet spunky, polite yet not afraid to speak her mind. She was...well, everything to him. So easy to say he felt his heart internally soar. For a little bit, he quietly wondered if this was heaven. He certainly felt like it, as it was unreal just how truly at peace he felt. There's something about this morning that feels so serene, so gentle that it feels like nothing he's ever felt in his life. All because he had Chris beside him, resting peacefully.
Eventually, she stirs awake from her slumber with a soft yawn. She takes a moment to stretch and try to wake up a little more. He almost feels anxious, as if once she does wake up she'd look at him and realize he wasn't the guy for her and jump up and run out the door to someone better suited. And yet, the soft gentle smile she gives him wipes away those thoughts entirely. They don't exchange any words, honestly they don't really need to. He just felt... so comfortable with her. Any doubts, any real, actual worries that he wasn't good enough for her or that he didn't deserve her, completely went out the window. Her face said it all. She had wanted him. She sat up with a bit of a stretch and all he could do was grin up at her, totally smitten. She laughed a bit, in an affectionate way. She snaked her arms underneath him, like a bridal carry except she wasn't really picking him up at all. He may have not known how exactly to describe it, but he certainly knew it felt nice regardless.
He thought about finally speaking up, but the words failed him as she gently ran her fingers through his hair, which made him let out a soft, dangerously near vulnerable gasp in surprise. He tried to recall if he'd ever really been treated this affectionately, but quickly found himself finding no results. He let himself simply just get comfortable in her embrace. They stayed like that for a while, for what felt like years. He silently wished he could stay like this forever.
Eventually, she sat him up a bit, lifting his back up to prop him up against the bedframe like he weighed nothing at all. The sudden motion and the way she'd held him up so easily had given him butterflies. He wondered if she could notice this as she let out a few more lighthearted giggles as Knox felt his face get hot. With no further hesitation, Chris placed a loving kiss on his neck. For a moment, he felt like he couldn't breathe. It wasn't anything too intimate, and yet it sent a shiver down his spine, like his nervous system was a bunch of fireworks being lit and exploding all over the place. He felt that in the uttermost romantic sense, this easily took first place for the most loved he'd ever felt in his whole life.
With that, he found motivation to finally find the will to speak. "Good morning to you too, sweetheart." He finally greeted her for the morning with a bit of a smirk, which she didn't respond to, yet simply smiled. She looked completely head over heels for him. He reached to pinch himself- to prove that this was even real, but Chris just stopped him by placing a hand on his arm, rubbing gentle back-and-forth strokes on it. It's at this time he feels honestly protected. It felt a bit odd, he always had imagined himself being the one to protect Chris from any assholes or any danger. And yet, he'd almost wanted Chris to do the same for him. She took such good care of him, he wondered if she had been sent as a guardian angel to just keep him safe right here in her arms, making sure that no one would ever do as much as lay a hand on him. Or that maybe, she was making sure that only she would ever really get to see this side of Knox. That she'd keep him safe by being the only one he ever trusted himself to be truly vulnerable around.
He closes his eyes after a minute or so, letting himself just absorb it all like a sponge. He finds himself getting a bit tired again. It makes sense, he usually doesn't get up this early anyways. He opens his eyes for a moment just to check the clock. He's a bit shocked to find that it was only now 9:41AM! Perhaps waking up early had made everything feel slow and long and relaxed like this. He took a second before quickly deciding that he'd let himself sleep in after all. It wouldn't hurt anything. Clearly he had it in him to wake up early on his own in the first place, who's to say he wouldn't do it again in the future anyways? Maybe this could become the new regular for him, especially if every morning could be this good. He looks at Chris one final time, his vision now fuzzy around the edges with sleep. He lowered himself back down into bed, getting back under the covers, laying on his back, before letting his eyes shut, finding himself unable to give himself the strength needed to keep them open any more. For the first time that morning she’d finally spoke to him. “You can rest now, Knox.” And so, after what had felt like an eventful early morning, he'd let himself finally sleep, hoping that Chris would be soon to join him as he did.