Disclaimer: Characters not mine, no copyright intended
Written because a dear friend has had a rough week and is in need of some fluff. Ficlet was inspired by "Crack the shutters" by Snow Patrol. Comments inspire the muse ;)
Connor half opened one eye and began to assess the situation very carefully and thoroughly. He knew that outside the duvet would be cold. The heating in the flat had been broken for two days now, and winter was definitely beginning to close in. Abby had banned him from even touching the boiler, saying it needed to be a professional that fixed it, so they had to wait for their landlord to arrange for an engineer to come out.
He decided to remain under the duvet for as long as possible and knew if he pretended to be asleep, Abby would leave him be. He could hear her in the kitchen, and judging by the aroma wafting under the door she was making fresh coffee. Perhaps she'd even make some bacon sandwiches if he was lucky. That would be nice. His mind began to drift.
The next thing Connor knew, a pair of icy cold hands were on his bare chest and he yelled out. "Abby! What the hell? You're freezing!"
"I know," Abby smiled devilishly. "Wakey wakey!"
Connor shrugged her away, pulled the duvet around him and rolled over. "It's Saturday," he grumbled. "We don't have to go anywhere, let me stay in bed a bit longer yeah?" For a moment, he thought he'd won, then the duvet was thrown off and Abby was stood beside him with a serious look on her face. Wide eyed now, Connor swallowed nervously. Abby being in a bad mood this early in the weekend was not a good sign. He should probably get out of bed.
As he began to sit up, Abby stopped him. She slid off her huge, fluffy bathrobe to reveal her tiny vest and shorts that she slept in and then climbed onto the bed beside Connor. She then pulled the duvet around the both of them and snuggled against Connor's bare chest. He sucked in his breath; Abby was icy cold and he could feel her goose-bumped flesh against his warm skin.
"This is more like it," Abby sighed. "Seems you had the right idea after all." Connor sank back, allowing his head to rest on the pillow beneath him as Abby cuddled in closer, her left hand resting teasingly close to the waistband of his boxer shorts. She let out a contented sigh, and within moments her breathing was soft and even. Glancing down, Connor realised she'd fallen asleep. Typical! He was wide awake now and she was quite happily dozing in his arms.
The light filtering through the slats of the blind at the window cast shadows over them and it made Connor smile. It reminded him of waking up in their shelter in the Cretaceous era; the early morning sun would seep through the small gaps in the roof and walls and the light on their faces would wake them. They slept pretty much in the same position as they were now, and Connor remembered how he had found it so hard to believe that Abby actually wanted to be with him like that. At first he'd thought she just snuggled into him to get warm, it had taken him several nights before it clicked that she was cuddling him because she liked him and wanted to be close to him.
He tangled his fingers lazily in her hair and kissed the top of her head softly. The Cretaceous seemed a lifetime away at times, but it had been such a significant point in their lives it was never far from their minds. Ordinary moments like this; wrapped in the warmth of each other's bodies and waking up together, had kept them from falling apart. Connor firmly believed the only reason they had survived the whole year was because they had each other.
Connor blinked and felt a stray tear trickle down his cheek. He hadn't even realised he was crying and he angrily wiped his face, sniffing and trying to compose himself. It was stupid to get emotional – life couldn't be more perfect right now.
"You OK, Connor?" Abby whispered, looking up and pressing her hand to his cheek. He nodded and placed his own hand over hers, moved it to his mouth and kissed it.
"Just thinking about how lucky I am."
"How lucky we are," Abby corrected. "Apart from the fact we have no heating!"
"Let's just stay in bed then," Connor smiled. "That was what I planned to do before someone decided to wake me up!"
Abby nodded and nestled herself into Connor, closing her eyes. For a few minutes, Connor watched the changing shadows in the room and listened to the soft sounds of Abby's breathing until his own eyelids felt heavy and he drifted back into a contented sleep.