The Morning of Christmas || Nathan & Asce
Sunshine tugged softly on Nathan's eyelids, or so he had supposed for a second. It had in fact been the faint light from one of their lamps, the one placed on Asce's side of the bed to be exact, that was lit in the early morning hour. It was still dark outside Nathan noted when his lids parted, though that was only because he had observed how the light hit the features of his beloved who had still been lying down, facing the younger of the two with his eyes open. It was always the best way of starting the day, to be met by the sight of the man one were to spend the rest of his days with. To let oneself quietly admire how the raven locks fell and meet the loving gaze in his fiancés orbs. Mustering some strength in his arm, Nathan let his hand help moving some loose strands from Asce's face and place them with the others, still without saying anything. It was a quiet way of beginning his day and one that he genuinely enjoyed. Shuffling closer underneath the sheets, he let the same arm from before place itself in the curve between hipbone and ribcage as chests were separated only by the tiniest distance. Still letting a tiny but nevertheless content smile play on his lips, he let his own pair place themselves on the older male's, as nothing more than an innocent good morning kiss of course.
Holding the position for a few seconds, relishing in the feeling of Asce's skin against his own as he did so, when finally parting his eyes held a special sort of admiration in them. The tips of their noses still faintly brushing against each other and Nathan felt like the luckiest man on earth. Not being able to hold himself back anymore, the very first words of the day fell from a smiling pair of lips. “Je t'aime, Asce Chaussée.” A soft chuckle followed and so did another peck. Because what Nathan hadn't mentioned before, even though it being a reoccurring situation, was that as many days as he could, he wanted to begin with a set of words describing just what he felt in that moment. It might be a simple 'good morning' some mornings, or maybe just a content sigh of his fiancés name, or something as cheesy as today, but they were all genuine ways of expression. Nathan had figured that they spent so much time during the days being close but never together, that he really wanted to begin his days as lovingly as he possibly could. And so he did.
With this particular day being Christmas Eve, and even though he was aware that they would spend some time in the house of God during the day, instead of the halls of the undying where they both found work, he wanted it to be as special as possible. The tree was to be decorated as well, because so far it was still completely empty with the box of newly bought decorations in a large box standing next to it, even though the tree had already been on stand-by in their living room for a couple of days. Nathan had to make food as well, the pudding could wait until Christmas day, but the turkey and the rest of the dishes were to be prepared. (Thankfully, the only part of pastry making he had mastered was a corner of the British tradition, his knowledge about pudding-making stretching back to being taught by one of his father's English maids. Even though that had been during the early 19th century, the calm instructing voice still echoed inside of his head every time when he was making it.)
Reminding himself to ask for help with the apple pie later, the smile he had worn on his features broadened slightly as he let a finger run over a patch of chilled skin. Asce's back it felt like, and the tips of that hand's fingers circulated around an unevenness, most probably a scar, even though he was too busy getting lost in the colourful orbs of his lover to properly notice.