Hana had never had the best of relationships with sleep. The two tugged back and forth at each other since she was a teenager, something her wife had long since been accustomed to, and never brought into question.
The women had little luck finding it for the first years of their marriage, and not for the reasons most would at first believe. In sleep, they were defenseless against their memories, and fears. Often, they woke as trembling, sweating, crying, disasters of women curled into sheets, or springing to sit upright. What rest they could find, they cherished and over time, the couple became each otherâs security, so that even when the past came back to haunt their dreams, one was never far from the other. Never more than a handâs breadth away to sooth or be soothed. To coddle or be coddled.
Now it had been several years, and Hana still had trouble finding rest from time to time. Nights like this she appreciated such interesting company, so the need for sleep was an afterthought to her. And since Karuna was already resting so peacefully, Hana could spare the time.
"I have plenty of time for sleep" she reassured with a warm, almost maternal, smile "Iâll be fine"
He hesitated for a moment. He was worried that she would strain herself but at the same time, he knew that she knew herself and her own limits. He sighed and stopped fiddling with his mask before smiling and nodded his head. Reaching forward, he took hold of his tea and began to sip it, savoring the flavor as it washed over his taste buds.
"If that is so then⊠I would be delighted to hear a story from you." He smiles sincerely as he fixed his mask once more for good measure and ran a had  through his slicked back hair. He was always unconsciously worried about his looks.. or was it conscious? He didn't know anymore.
He placed the cup back on the table and leaned back slightly, relaxing a bit more after seeing just how pleasant the woman in front of him truly was. Not many in this world, or his, was this kind. He was eternally grateful.
