Simon is looking at him incredulously.
As always. But how could he not?
His Kieren. Quiet strength and a heart of gold, never wanting to hurt, never wanting to disappoint. Unknowing of how unbelievably beautiful he is, inside and out. Incredible. And sound asleep.
He tiptoes over to where the younger man is curled up in Simon's bed, occasionally sighing, resting peacefully. Simon leans over to him and brushes a few strands of blond hair from his face, kissing him gently on his forehead. Kieren stirs, opening his doe eyes slowly into Simon's white ones.
"Hey," Simon whispers, barely audible.
"Mm, morning." Kieren doesn't seem very eager to get out of bed, as usual.
"Don't seem too ready to take on this lovely day," Simon jokes, gesturing towards the pouring rain outside the window.
"Would rather you joined me.." Kieren hums, sounding more like a hopeful question than a statement.
Luckily, Simon has promised him again and again to do anything he can to make Kieren happy, so the lonely space beside him is soon filled by a man in a thick jumper, with his comforting arms instinctively wrapping around the younger man's waist.
Kieren turns to face him, burying his head in the fabric of Simon's jumper, breathing him in. As long as his arms are twisted around Simon, everything is okay.
Simon undoubtedly feels the same, and is so determined to show Kieren how breathtaking he is that it's sometimes too much for both of them to handle. The constant proclamations of adoration from the older man give Kieren flocks of butterflies in his stomach, so he lives for quiet, comfortable moments such as this.
"What did I do to deserve you?" Simon mumbles into Kieren's hair.
"Don't start," Kieren says, planting kisses on Simon's neck.
"Mm, can't stop now," Simon argues, pulling Kieren closecloseclose to him. There's always just a little too much space between them, even when they're wrapped up together like this.
Kieren laughs softly, pulling Simon's face down to his own, resting their foreheads together. Milky eyes meet,and thousands of words are exchanged without a sound.
That's why Simon constantly looked at him in disbelief. How could a love be as great, or real, as this?
But before he can wonder about it too long, Kieren closes the distance between them, pressing a soft kiss to his surprised lips. Always surprised.
Simon's hands travel from Kieren's waist up to the back of his neck, fingers closing around it gently, hopelessly trying to remove all space between their lips as (humanly?) possible. Kieren pulls him closer still, their soft kiss becoming a bruising, desperate one as Kieren kisses with a growing force and Simon's fingers burrow in the younger man's hair.
Simon would love to tell him that their kisses were breathtaking, but luckily, he didn't have to stop and breathe.