In the midst of the morning haze her skin resembled freshly fallen snow.
He watched her like she was the morning sun. Qrow was happy to soak in her warmth, yet still fought desperately to shield himself from getting too close, in fear of disintegrating to ash. He was slowly losing to her, in a battle of willpower.
She was like a hangover that was impossible to get over. Hangovers were a normal part of his life; they had been since he was 17. Every morning would meet him with an excruciating headache and a killer stomachache. For years he had pushed through those rough mornings, just to repeat the process at night with no self-control to end the cycle. A long time ago he had convinced himself that one more drink would rid him of the horror in his existence. He had told himself that drowning his sorrows was a reliable way of therapy.
Yet the past still haunted his dreams.
However, for some reason, with her it felt different. Calm. It probably had something to do with how their relationship was anything but.
An hour ago when his eyes had fluttered open in a groggy panic it had been the first time in years that he didn't feel lonely. The humble light of early dawn had washed over his body in a silent wave.
For a minute, time had stood still. Then he felt a form to his right move. A warm calf brushed against his leg and he felt a shiver run up his spine.
Turning toward the movement he felt his breath catch. Whenever he got the opportunity in his life to witness a sight so beautiful, he counted himself lucky. The girl to his side had her bare back to him. He watched as her shoulders rose and fell. His eyes ran over love bites along the back of her neck. He could make out indents from his fingers on her hips and thighs, remnants of the previous night.
Qrow watched her for what felt like an eternity. She had twisted around five separate times. He had counted. Each shift would create a new range of wonder for him to observe and capture in his minds eye. Her taught stomach, her velvety skin, her pink cheeks… everything caught his attention. On multiple occasions he tried to and failed to keep his observation innocent. His line of sight kept falling to her chest and thighs, two parts of her that he had a particular fondness for. Recalling last night and the moan that had escaped her mouth when he had molded her body to his will was easily one of the most erotic moments of his life. Thankfully there have been quite a few of those moments lately. He found his eyes wander back up to her cherry pink mouth. Those lips had done something particularly magnificent to his body last night.
Fuck. He had tried to keep his want buried behind the peacefulness of the morning, but his desire was too great. It was now easy to see his need. A dark part of him wanted to take her right there, before she even awoke. He wished to watch her unravel first thing in the morning, have the first sound leave her lips be the moan of his name. He desperately sought to finally hear her lose herself to wild passion and fervor. Even in their most intimate of nights Winter wasn't a very vocal participant when it came to sex. He would always get a little disheartened when she bit down on her lips or only let out a heavy breath when they reached the peak. The hell woman? What more do I need to do to get you to scream my name? He had already tried everything in the book, but still she wouldn't let him hear the bliss of her return from heaven with his name on her lips. It just means I need to try harder in the future. Making her unravel was an obsession he had indulged in whenever he could.
He was knocked out of his personal thoughts when he saw her chest rise particularly high. He watched in a trance as those icy orbs of hers lazily opened. He could see a bleary tiredness still in her face. It took a few minutes but slowly her focus rose from the mattress below her head. He felt his heart take a wild leap when their eyes met. Surely, she would be his downfall. Hell, I can't even stay away from her for longer than a week.
"Are you going to stay the morning?" her voice came out slow, the sleep still evident as she raised a hand to rub her eye. He watched carefully as she yawned, a dribble of saliva barely evident on the corner of her mouth. Fucking Adorable… wait, how can I find spit endearing? He quickly shook the thought off.
"That depends." He let out a grin, running a hand over his beard.
"Oh?" the girl's eyebrow rose questioningly. "Depends on what?" there was a twinge of humor in her voice. If his ears weren't betraying him there was a hint of a dare in her tone.
He watched as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. It took all of his concentration not to take his eyes off her face. "Depends on if you'll be putting clothes on anytime soon."
Her eyes widened slightly, recalling her state of dress, and he saw the tips of her ears turn pink. For a second her arms reached to cover her chest, but she must have decided against it. Her mouth pursed, and he had to resist the urge to kiss her.
"Well..." her eyes roamed the entirety of the room, before once again focusing on his face, "That also depends."
He let out a teasing, "Hmm…" leaning his body in towards her neck, pressing a row of light kisses along her collar. Qrow never was able to hold himself back for long. Her playful attitude was a rare creation of the morning, and he wanted to enjoy her current mischievousness for as long as it lasted. He pulled away slowly, watching as she let out a long breath. "And what does that depend on?" The husky tone of his statement caused the girls cheeks to take on a deeper shade of pink.
When her clouded eyes suddenly focused energetically on his own he felt every muscle in his body twitch. His chest seemed to tighten in response to that ice blue stare.
"That," she emphasized the word, dragging out the sentence in a breathy manner that drove him wild, "depends on whether or not that boner of yours is merely for show."
In less than a second he had her pinned beneath him. Her sparkling eyes were now locked directly on his mouth. He licked his lips. "Since it seems you've already forgotten from last night, how about I fix that memory of yours."
The smirk forming on her face, was the only response he needed.