She was an angel when she slept.
Tranquil, perfect, the image of pure serenity.
He'd come home, expecting to be met with a tirade of complaints about something or other...maybe he'd forgotten to put his bowl in the dishwasher, or he'd left the toilet seat up, or she'd found what looked suspiciously like a tobacco stain on his clothes. But instead, on rare occasions, he'd walk in to see her passed out on the sofa, her reading book on her chest, hair falling out of its restraints. She looked so peaceful...but he knew if she was there all night, she'd ruin her back. So that's where his job came in.
He lifted her slowly, gently, and carried her bridal style towards the bedroom. He was always surprised at how light she was in his arms, even though she had muscles and curves that would suggest otherwise. Now came the difficult part; lowering her onto the sheets. It was late, and if he woke her now, he would never hear the end of it. So he laid her reverently on the bed at a painfully lethargic pace until he was sure she wouldn't stir, then stripped down into his sleepwear, ready to climb in next to her.
He turned towards her, moving in so that their noses were less than an inch apart. He loved looking at her up close; here he could truly appreciate every tiny fibre of her being. He listened to the soothing sound of her breathing, watched her eyelashes flutter ever so slightly with every exhale, saw her hair become ever more unruly as she shuffled in her sleep. He wondered what she was dreaming about, secretly hoping it was him; and if she were having a nightmare, he knew he would be right there to hold her and comfort her if she panicked.
He loved that she never turned her back to him, so that when he would wake in the morning, the first thing he'd be greeted by would be a pair of spectacular teal irises. They expressed everything; her happiness, her sadness, her fears, her anger. Sometimes he worried that when she closed her eyes for the night, they'd never open again. But they always did, along with her mouth, ready to nag him for another day.
He wouldn't have it any other way.