It's early. Too early. In fact, it is early enough to be before your 6 AM alarm clock. Gentle light presses on your eyelids as it filters in from the bedroom window, coaxing you into consciousness. You fight the temptation to open your eyes, but it's only for a fleeting moment. That's all it takes for you to remember where you are. It hits you, and your heart starts a staccato rhythm against your chest. Your breath catches, ruining the deep rhythm it had just seconds ago. Your eyes flutter open so you can reassure yourself that it was not, in fact, a very realistic dream.
It's obvious the two of you have drifted apart in your slumber. He is splayed across his side of the bed, blankets thrown across his stomach, leaving his legs and chest vulnerable. One arm is draped over his eyes, with the other dangling off of the side of the bed. Even asleep, he seems to have a mischievous grin etched into his face, like he's expecting to hop out of bed and start cracking jokes at a moment's notice.
Slowly, as not to jostle him, you slide into a sitting position, folding your knees into your chest. Four years ago, when you met this man, this is not where you pictured yourself. He irritated you – no, he downright infuriated you. His ridiculous theories and inappropriate innuendoes left you talking yourself down from pulling your gun on him, then and there. Now, you sit in his bed, his sheets pulled up around you in a comfortable cocoon, and all you can think about is how right this feels.
"Are you just going to stare at me while I sleep?" His voice surprises you for an instant. A smile dances across your lips.
"Says the man who has done nothing but follow me around like a puppy for the past four years."
"Mm. Touché." He yawns loudly and with great flourish, stretching his arms out above his head. He reaches towards you, his eyes still shut, and gropes at the open space between you. His eyes pop open when he realizes he is grasping nothing more than bed sheets.
"Why are you all the way over there?" He sniffs his armpits comically. "I showered yesterday and everything."
You level him with an exasperated look and a raised eyebrow.
"You do realize you turn into Tornado Rick when you sleep, right? I'm lucky you didn't kick me off the bed."
"Why, Detective Beckett..are you always this cranky in the morning?" He chuckles as he dodges the pillow you lob at his head. "Come here."
You crawl across the bed and melt into his chest. Your cheek rests right on his heart, and the feeling of it beating, strong and consistent, soothes your soul. He pulls you in closer, and warmth pools in your stomach over just how his touch can make you feel like nothing can ever harm you again. You want nothing more than spend forever in his arms, where you are invincible from the heartbreak and cruel reality of the outside world.
The two of you drift into a state of semi-consciousness, wrapped up in each other and in the sheets. It is just as you fall back to sleep that you realize that you are, for the first time in a long time, really and truly happy.
