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His sleep was deep and dreamless, a dark, sweet nothing with a comfortable warmth underneath him that let him sink and surface over and over again, letting his eyes flutter open whenever he dipped high enough to peek his head out of the sea of slumber, only to close them again almost immediately because it wasn't his time to wake up yet, before he returned to the soft, warm ocean, to remain motionless and unbothered until the calm surface of the water suddenly got ripples when it moved with a deep sigh and an unexpected current swept him up again- forcing him to gasp for air, with his eyes looking at the thick jungle of hair before his eyes until his kids grew too heavy to keep them open, so he returned with a deep exhale parting from his own lips.
This time, it wasn't an ocean but a river, and he was no human or a piece of driftwood to be rocked by the current; no— this time he was an otter, a small helpless infant drifting down the river, all by himself when he moved around, his mouth letting out tiny squeaks of fear when he somehow managed to turn himself onto his belly, his face now underwater, drinking in the bitter nectar of drowning when a dark shadow suddenly pushed itself underneath him, lifting him out of the water and letting him breathe again before something even warmer began to hold him close. Tiny paws, subtle touches all over his back and head when he found himself too exhausted to struggle against the sudden touch that felt so familiar to him at the same time that it was inviting him to stay, to calm and relax when the touches trailed down his spine, tiny fingers now combing through his hair and soft kisses hushed on his face before they held onto his shoulders, moving him around, pulling him higher onto the warm surface that was now softly forcing his head to listen to its heartbeat that was telling him to just let himself fall, be safe on this cosy, comfortable cushion, on this chest that was rising and falling just like his own but that whispered so carefully into his ears how much they loved him, assuring him that they would never leave him and that he was the most precious thing in the world to them before they pulled him even closer, cradling him in their arms like a little pup, with his nose deeply buried in the soft, thick fur that gently tickled his nose while filling it with a familiar scent.
It was a scent that had always been there to greet him every morning. A heavy musk, mixed with a subtle note of sweat and sleep and something that was indescribable to him because it lay further down than anything the human language could describe since it was nothing that words could even grasp because only the heart could. The kind of scent that he had grown so used to that he couldn't imagine ever being forced to spend another night without it- in combination with the soft and steady sound and touch of a familiar heartbeat that had turned itself into the calm rhythm of the river- the gentle noise of drums that was adding a steady beat, an escape in the wild melody his life had become and a safe haven whenever the loud noise of the world had become too much for him. Whenever he lost track of his own heartbeat, theirs would always be there- to guide him, to hold him tight and to keep him safe, like a nightlight in the dark would protect an innocent child- without asking.
His face nuzzled deeply into the soft fur, he let out a deep sigh when the waking world began to tug on his toes, telling him that it was time to say goodbye to the cosy river when his eyes fluttered open and he found himself staring into a lush forest of thick, brown hair.
“I think Evie is licking my feet…” Was the first thing the man muttered when the one underneath him let out a bright chuckle that was letting his chest vibrate.
“Oh, she is!” The other man said, his hands now waving around with the blanket in an attempt to get the dog to stop, while Danya let out an annoyed groan when he nuzzled his face deeper into Fedir's chest when he pulled his feet underneath the blanket, in hopes of escaping the mouth of his dog that had taken a liking to his left foot that was sticking out from underneath the blanket.
“…stupid dog…” he mumbled. “I had such a nice dream…” Danya grumbled and felt himself get pulled up by Fedir, who tried his best to get Danya to move closer to him.
“Why do you always have to sleep halfway down the mattress though….this was meant to happen at some point…” Fedir laughed, and his partner let out another, heavily exaggerated groan when he threw himself onto his back- only to regret it immediately because he was missing the man's warmth, so he threw himself at his chest again.
“Don't you dare leave me, okay…?” Danya mumbled with a pout on his lips and with his eyes closed.
“I'm not leaving you; you were the one who threw himself onto his back, Mister.” Fedir smiled and placed a small kiss on top of his hairline when the man had made himself comfortable in his arms again.
“Mhmmmmmmm…yes…but you should have stopped me…” Danya hushed and his lips curled into a smirk.
“Forbid me from not reading your thoughts then.” His partner whispered and gave his forehead another kiss. “Are you going to fall asleep again?” He asked, the fingertips of his right hand softly dancing over his exposed back.
“Mhm-hm…you're just too warm and this is so…comfortable…” Danya sighed and opened his eyes again, blinking at the man before him tiredly when he turned his head to look at him.
“Wanna tell me what you dreamt about earlier?” Fedir wondered, the smile still on his face when he looked into his partner's face, who had already trouble staying awake.
“I was an otter and floating on the river by myself when something picked me up…and held me close…” Danya mumbled quietly, as if he were still seeing the dream in his mind. “It was such a nice feeling…” the man sighed, his left hand now absently stroking through the man's chest hair.
“It's funny that you dreamt that.” Fedir chuckled and moved the body of his partner just a bit so he wouldn't wake up with a sore neck later.
“What do you mean?” Danya asked before he noticed that the way his partner was holding him felt familiar. “Wait…were you?”
“Yes.” The man hushed gently. “I was cuddling you awake, my little otter.” He said, and Danya's eyes went wide.
“No…oh noooo…” he groaned. “Please don't tell me that I really made those squeaks for real!” He gasped, and Fedir let out another chuckle.
"Yes, you did; and you sounded so ridiculously sweet when you chirped like that.” The man teased and gently kissed the other man's face, who only rolled his eyes before he ducked his head down to escape his partner's lips with another mumbled “Nooooo.”
“Come on- it's nothing to be embarrassed about, my little otter.” Fedir smirked when he held onto Danya's shoulders to dip him on his back. “You looked really happy when I held you earlier.”
“Mhnnnnng….yes..buuut…uuuuurgh!” Danya whined, trying his best to escape his partner's gaze, who refused to let that happen and cradled his face instead, forcing the man's attention back towards him again when he carefully stroked over his left cheek with his thumb.
“There's nothing wrong with that. I…actually like that you dreamt about me because of that…” Fedir confessed quietly, his eyes not looking into Danya's face but past it.
“I also liked it…I felt so loved and cared for…” Danya whispered eventually, who had accepted his fate that he wouldn't escape the other man this time. “You know that I didn't mean it like that, right?” He added, and the tone in his voice told Fedir that he was on his way to overthink again.
“Of course I know, silly.” He hushed and quickly placed a few small kisses on his face, his thick beard brushing over Danya's soft skin, letting the man underneath him chuckle brightly. “And I know how important it is for you to have our quiet mornings together…that's why I changed it up a bit- if that's okay for you.” He added, his baby blue eyes now looking directly into the bright gold of Danya's.
“It is- but you're not going to do it every time now, right? This feels like something special.” Danya gasped, and his face lit up like a child on Christmas when he said the last word.
“Only on special occasions then?” Fedir asked, who tried his best to suppress the urge to squeeze his face for being so adorable again.
“Mhm-hmm.” Danya said with a nod before a wide smile flew over his face that was letting his partner's heart make a little jump.
“I'm going to put a pin in that then…” Fedir whispered before he leaned himself closer and placed his lips on top of Danya's, who immediately melted underneath their touch.
“Do you really want…to go back to sleep?” Fedir asked sheepishly when he pulled himself away from the kiss for a moment.
“That depends…how much time do we have left? When do we have to get up again?” Danya asked and was just about to turn his head around to look at the clock on his nightstand when his partner suddenly forced his attention back towards him again when he pushed the man's chin up with his thumb.
“Don’t worry about that…we have plenty of time…” he whispered hungrily before he locked his lips with Danya's again.