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Takashi yawned and sank deeper into the mattress, letting his eyes remain shut he he took stock of his surroundings with his other senses. Low ambient noises, as familiar as breathing. He was on the castle. Soft horizontal surface under him. He was on a bed. A scent he could barely smell and couldn’t name. It wasn’t the bed in his Paladin quarters. A taste of chemical floral scent in his mouth. He wasn’t alone.
Takashi cracked an eye open, and felt a sleepy grin spread across his face. Sometime in the night, Allura had wound up shifting from her pillow to his chest. Her hair was in his mouth, and probably snagged in his right arm since he’d apparently slid that across the small of her back in his sleep, holding her close even as she drooled on him. Takashi let his smile widen, and shut his eyes again. He felt rested, a sensation which had been growing more common lately but he would never be able to take for granted. His limbs were still heavy with sleep, and the warmth on either side of him was comforting enough almost to lull him back into semi-consciousness.
His numb left arm, though, made that pretty much impossible. The weight just above his elbow had evidently been there all night, because everything past it was in that strange limbo of sensation which came right before pins and needles. He curled his fingers into a fist, just to make sure he could, and slender calloused fingers slid between his when he flexed his hand flat. “G’ba’t’sleep.” Matt mumbled, scooting over until his back was pressed to Takashi’s side, feet tangling with the blanket around his knees. Takashi nodded and gave Matt’s hand a gentle squeeze, earning a sleepy grunt of approval.
For as long as he could remember, Takashi had hated waking up early. But now, with Allura drooling on his chest and Matt formed around his numb arm like particularly heavy memory foam, he didn’t really mind all that much. He chuckled, and Matt made a wordless sound of confusion.
“Nothing.” Takashi murmured, turning his head and pressing a gentle kiss to the back of Matt’s shoulder, which was all he could reach without dislodging Allura. “Just thinking.”
Matt grunted in acknowledgement, and Takashi ran a thumb over the back of his boyfriend’s hand. It had been something like two years since he saw Earth. He was the pilot of a giant mechanical alien lion, which combined with four other smaller lions to make a jaeger the size of a small skyscraper. He’d punched out space-Hitler in the astral plane. He was the unquestioned leader of a team of teenagers who just might actually achieve universal peace within their lifetimes. He was in love with, and happily involved with, not only Earth’s most brilliant young xenobiologist but also a literal princess. An alien princess had fallen in love with him, and with his boyfriend,
“Whatcha thinkin bout?” Matt mumbled, turning over and blinking the dregs of sleep out of his big beautiful eyes.
“Early mornings.” Takashi grinned. “I think I like them now.”
Matt squinted at him, and pressed a hand to his forehead. “You don’t feel feverish. Are you getting sick?”
Takashi chuckled, and pressed a kiss to his boyfriend’s nose. “Lovesick, maybe.”
Matt groaned, and planted his hand on Takashi’s face to push him away. “It’s too early for your schmoop.”
“Love you too.” Takashi grinned, holding Allura closer as she began to wake up. He would have to disentangle his arm soon, and then there was training and diplomacy and of course the ever-present threat of the Empire to look forward to during the rest of the day, but just for a few more minutes he could lie here with two people who loved him and enjoy the early morning.