hypnos.
It had been so long that I nearly forgot how easily sleep came to him; within minutes he had drifted off. I didn't mind. I was glad to know that he was resting and I knew that he would sleep soundly until morning.
With practiced grace, I slid off the bed as quiet as possible. As soon as I could feel the rough carpet under my feet, I stood up and reached my arms as high as I could while standing on my toes to stretch my back. I could feel my hips pop and the tension release along my spine. It helped to brush off the sluggishness as I padded carefully to the bathroom.
To avoid waking him, I closed the bathroom door before I turned on the light. It kicked the fan on as well and I was glad for the ambient noise filling the silence. I turned the shower on, the faucet sputtering to life as the water spilled out, stalled, then rushed out as if over a waterfall. Steam rose from stream as the water heated up. It was already fogging the mirror.
I tied back my hair in a bun, careful to gather every strand before securing it to the top of my head with a claw clip. I stood back as I continued to look at my reflection in the mirror. My body hasn't changed much in the last few months. I slimmed down only slightly, my skin was still very pale, and I had the remnants of a breakout as my body got used to its new steady supply of hormones. I felt beautiful. The way he looked at me made every blemish and scar and imperfection seem to disappear. I thought he was the most beautiful creature alive. For the first time, I wondered if he felt the same about me.
I jumped behind the shower curtain and into the tub to start rinsing off. It was a short shower, some soap in the necessary places, the careful flick of a razor across others. I kept my hair dry and out of the way. Washing it wasn't necessary as I already done so that morning. Soon enough, I turned off the water and dried off my body before wrapping the towel around myself like a dress.
Efficiently, I brushed my teeth and quickly washed my face with the cleansing stick. The baby blue packaging of the cleanser and the moisturizer I followed up with made me smile. I felt light and airy even as I applied some body lotion to soften my skin after the drying effect of the salty air. Clean and dry, I let my hair down from the bun and shook it out to re-establish the part on the side.
I wandered back into the bedroom as quietly as I could manage after turning out the bathroom light. I peeled back the covers and sat on the edge of the bed just watching him rest. His chest rose and fell with a deep, steady rhythm, closed eyes fluttering as he dreamed. I leaned in and placed a feather-light kiss on his cheek. My heart. My king. I could only smile as I climbed under the blankets next to him.
He made a soft noise, shifting and adjusting himself to accommodate the intrusion as he continued to sleep. In the bleariness of unconsciousness he stirred and moved closer to me just as I did him. He slung an arm around me to hold me against his warm body. We both settled and fell asleep quickly after that. It was the best sleep both of us had gotten in a while.












