"Mmmmm." Gilbert muttered, his mind slowly waking from the deep sleep he was in. Elizabeta hovered near him, crouched and leaning over the low arm rest as he lay stretched out on the couch; his legs too long and hanging over the other side. She giggled lightly as his eyelids fluttered, but then fell softly back down to rest. She propped herself up on her tiptoes in order get the best reach to place a few more kisses on his forehead.
"Wake up, sleepyhead."
Strands of shiny brown hair that had come loose from her high ponytail fell past her head, coming down to land on Gilbert's face.
"Hmmm?" He grumbled again, moving his head from side to side as he finally began to wake up. His maroon eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the morning light in the room, as well as the closeness of Elizabeta's face to his own. He smiled close lipped when he saw her, "So it was you waking me up."
Elizabeta snickered, "You say that like it could have been someone else! Does Luddy wake you up like that, too?" She brought her hand down lightly above his face, her slender fingers playing with the strands of silver hair that rested on his forehead.
Gilbert laughed half heartedly, "Tch, even if I slept in a minute past wake up call, he'd throw the alarm clock at my head." He raised a hand to his face, rubbing his still sleepy eyes, "Another reason why I moved out of that damned house."
Elizabeta smiled at him, and kissed his forehead once more before standing up. "Lucky I don't do that, huh?"
Gilbert figured that she hadn't been awake for too long; she still wore her old university sweater over a pair of German flag pajama boxers that she'd gotten as a joke gift from him last Christmas. He flipped to lie on his side on the rickety couch to watch as Elizabeta padded bare foot around the corner of the living room towards the kitchen. He listened to the clinking of ceramic as well as the opening and closing sounds of the fridge.
"You want coffee?" Elizabeta called to him.
"Please." Gilbert replied, sitting up too quickly for his still sleepy mind. His vision spun as blood rushed from his head; he closed his eyes and waited for it to pass. Gilbert's mind floated back to the events of the night before, and how exactly he ended up sleeping on the uncomfortable wreck they called a couch rather than his own bed.
As they did every 2nd Friday of the month, Gilbert and his friends, Antonio and Francis, went out to the same pub and had a typical guy's night: wings, pool, and a lot of Coke and whiskey. Gilbert had arrived home in the wee hours of the morning, a little more drunk than he would have claimed to be. Lucky for him, it was just a short stagger home, as the pub was only a few blocks from the small house he shared with Elizabeta. By the time he was able to wriggle the house key from the sticky door lock, Gilbert's heavy feet would carry him no further than their living room.
"Here you are." Elizabeta said softly, rounding the corner from the kitchen steadily, holding two pastel-coloured mugs; sky blue for Gilbert and mossy green for her. Gilbert reached up for his drink, but ended up clutching thin air to the left of the mug. He closed his eyes and shook his head from side to side.
"I see you haven't sobered up yet, Gilly." Elizabeta giggled, sitting down on the cushion beside Gilbert and handing him his mug directly. The couch was so small, that it was hard for them to sit down beside one another without their legs touching at one point or another. He mumbled a little from his throat, possibly something in protest to her statement, but took the mug from her and brought the cup swiftly to his lips. Elizabeta watched him, making sure that he was coordinated enough to do so. She closed her eyes and laughed again before taking a swig from her mug, the square tag on the end of the tea bag string spinning in circles. The two lowered their mugs simultaneously, Elizabeta looking entirely satisfied with her Breakfast Tea, and Gilbert seeming a little surprised, his gaze moving slowly from the front window to down at his beverage.
"It's cold." He said in a monotone voice.
"Ah, damn, sorry Gil. I must have had the coffeemaker preset on too early - let me get you a new one." She reached for his mug, but he held onto it with both hands, drawing it away from her reach and to his side.
"No, it's fine, Liz... Actually. It's sort of refreshing." He raised his eyebrows, taking another sip of coffee. He half turned to look at Elizabeta, who shrugged her shoulders and went back to her tea. They stayed silent for some time, while they drank and basked in the late morning sun that poured in through the large front window. Elizabeta sighed, setting her empty mug on the long coffee table in front of them.
"I should probably go out and weed those gardens today, since it looks like it's going to be so nice out." She mentioned, letting her small hands fall to her sides on the couch, her right hand landing on Gilbert's left. He shivered slightly at her warm touch, goosebumps rising over his body. The cold coffee, for some reason, tasted wonderful, but he never realized how cold he actually felt despite the sun. Gilbert put his almost-finished mug onto the coffee table as well, and grabbed Elizabeta's shoulders.
"C'mere." He said, pulling her in towards himself while he tried to lie down again. Elizabeta shuffled to him with no hesitation, also lying down and putting her one arm beneath his neck. Their bodies faced each other on the couch, his pillow being the couch's arm rest and her's being his large shoulder. He shivered again, the heat he was craving radiating off Elizabeta. Gilbert brought his socked feet up over the opposite arm rest before he sighed and spoke. "Since I am not doing anything today, you can't either." He said, just over a whisper.
"Oh really?" She replied, holding back a small laugh and looking up at Gilbert's eyes. "Is that how it works, now?"
"Mhm." He blinked slowly, as if he was half awake still.
"So we're just going to lie here all day and get nothing done?"
"Mmmhmm."
The two brought their hands together, forearms resting on their waists, and intertwined their fingers with care. Elizabeta played with his silver hair with her other hand, delicately twisting the ends of his spiky strands. Gilbert smiled down at her, finally letting his eyes close. Elizabeta watched him, then did the same. Their breaths became steady as they drifted towards falling asleep again.
"Stay with me forever." He said in a breath, his chest falling softly.
"Mhm."