The dull noises of the far too early morning seemed so distant for Winter. In another life, Winter had never been adept at rest, neither had she been accustomed to forcing herself to retire for more extended periods. But in the years since Salem's downfall and the reconstruction of Atlas-Mantle, something had changed. Winter had changed. She had found and made the time for those things she deprived herself of. But even still, when she would rest. It felt like a dream for the Winter Maiden.
Winter's eyes cracked into slits, but she need not check her alarm to know it was still early. The darkness was evident enough. The haze of rest drearily lifting her from rest. Warmth beat down onto her, the comforter locked in the belting heat of the night. Pulled all the way up to her chin, Winter could feel the burning of her skin underneath the thick canvas. Her callous hand tracked down from its splayed-out position.
Tiredly dragging it across her smushed pillow and splatted hair. With some trepidation, Winter's sore muscles twisted her arm back around to lay across her chest. But the blanket did not allow the arm to sit as she had tiredly thought. No, it laid slanted, as if a boulder was laid across her already large chest. Winter grumbled quietly, confusion spouting in tired bumbling. A weak and tired struggle at her shoulders showed the Schnee attempt to sit up even more. Though to little avail.
It seemed whatever laid upon the Schnee's chest was also preventing her legs and abdomen from moving. Like some sort of weighted heated blanket. Her other arm was similarly pinned, the writhing of the appendage only fanning some heat underneath the blanket. "Gods…" Winter muttered, her now characteristic pout forming with ease. Hand fumbling off the slumping bump upon her, tired fingers took hold of the blanket's edge. Pulling it meekly backward and over her chest.
Breath caught in her throat as she stared down into the blanket. Slumped against her white sleeping shirt was the mound of fluffy ashen hair she had come to love. Tuffs stuck up and about all over, its longer edges falling over Winter's body. The sudden chill must've disturbed Cinder's rest as a slight gurgle slurred forth. "Cold." The bungled-together syllables made Winter's pout dissipate. Cinder's fleshy arm rounded from its place under the blanket. Slinking up alongside Winter, its gentle nature tickling the Fall's ribs.
Calmly, Winter lowered the blanket just a little further back. Resting just behind the fringe of Cinder's hair. The fluff was soft to the touch. Winter couldn't help but smile at the texture. Even though Cinder did nothing for the mane, Winter was obsessed with how well it was growing out. With a delicate hum, her hand moved along the frolicking puffs, coming to where the murmuring had originated. Cautious as not to wake her wife, Winter's hand gently moved the hair to the side. Unveiling from the blackened mass the light of pale skin. Cinder's face laid exposed against Winter's chest, no eye patch, hair or anything to cover the remnants of scarring.
Once upon a time, Winter would have cried seeing her bride in such a light. However, over the years of recovery and one too many ointments and creams, Cinder's scarring was merely a fade in her skin. A slight discolouration was all that remained. But even after all of the work they had put in, the beauty of Cinder's face still struck a chord within Winter. Her smile growing even more comprehensive, Winter's hand lost some of its strength in the beauty. Fingers resting on Cinder's head before gently dropping downward. Just moving underneath the left cover, Winter could feel the prosthetic arm's rigid angles. Thankfully dulled to prevent pain; otherwise, Winter would struggle to do this.
Forcing her other arm free from Cinder's clutch with some gentle puffs. Winter wrapped her arms around her love, scooping her and almost dragging Cinder up her own body. Tufts of hair tickling the bare parts of her collar bone before stopping. Cinder's soft breath pressed into Winter's neck, murmuring something happily. Holding her by the small of her back, Winter felt Cinder's sleeping arm fold back up to her chest. Blue eyes bled joy as she smiled tiredly, nuzzling herself into Cinder's hair with a kiss. Allowing sleep to slowly trace itself back into her.
It was so long before, with a flinch, Cinder's eyes snapped open. One gold and boring into the dark air. Her hands clutched at anything she was surrounded by. It felt as if she was falling. Although her flesh hand gripped at something far more course than the soft bed, she had fallen asleep on. Too was the material she laid on differently. This was far more welcoming than the bed was. Her open eyes snapped about the room for a moment. Cinder was continually amazed by waking up to this room. Not once in her few years here had she ever not expected to wake up from it like a maddening dream.
But, as her eyes flicked from the room to where she laid, her golden eye softly illuminated the welcoming cruck to which she laid upon. Golden light shone the strong jawline before anything else. Cinder's face immediately turned to a blush. Winter was even as beautiful as ever when she slept. The robust features of her wife, ever perfect, seemed so much calmer in bed. A slight tug in her throat former with Cinder looking over the smattering of faint freckles Winter had dotted under her eyes. Soft lips parted just enough for the airy whine of snoring. For once, Winter's freight train snoring had left her.
Even if Winter had been snoring like she used to, Cinder would still be sitting as she was now. Golden and broken eyes both staring wide, a dumb, idiotically wide smile plastered on her. Amazed by her bride, as she always had been. What felt like minutes passed without blinking. A yawn from the Fall Maiden, barely stifled by a forced shutting of her jaw, reminded her of the early black. Looking down to where she had awoken, Cinder's blush remained as she coughed a laugh.
Knowing full well, she had started the evening past on the other side of the bed after a bit of an argument with her current mattress. It was joyous of her to see that Winter's arms held tight around her. Cinder's fleshy arm rose up and slunk down alongside her wife's head. Pressing her own nose into the smattering of luscious white fields of hair. The smell of lavender and vanilla palpable, with a deep breath, Cinder's eyes drew to a close. Her hand reaching around and clutching Winter's shoulder with a loving caress.
Happy and joyful, the pair continued to slink back down into sleep. Neither stirring again until the warmth of the late morning would grace Cinder and Winter's room. Twisted in a loving embrace while they slumbered.