Prompt: "lazy morning kisses before they've even opened their eyes, still mumbling half-incoherently, not wanting to wake up"

Mature Content

A/N: This one really got away from me. It was supposed to just be a nice romantic morning but Stef gave Lena one nice compliment (okay, two) and all bets were off. We ran head first into smut and it was all Lena's doing. I had no say in the matter. And just for fun, we threw in some character growth because why the heck not? Anyway, enjoy.


Sunlight, pastel and warm, painted Lena's face. It draped along the curve of her shoulder and across her bare chest. Flat on her back, her legs were splayed out, encroaching on Stef's side of the bed. Her arm rested over her head, her face turned, buried in a cloud of curly black hair. Her mouth was relaxed into a gentle pout so serene and inviting that, as Stef watched her, it was all she could do to resist it. Stef had always marveled at the way her wife looked when she slept. With her usual polish and poise stripped away, her natural grace morphed into something soft yet just a little wild.

She watched her in awe, playing with the end of a single curl until her eyelashes, glowing like tiny gold flames in the sun, flickered. Her eyelids twitched and fluttered open then snapped back shut, her furrowed eyebrows accompanied by a groan of protest.

Stef chuckled as she leaned down and brushed the faintest kiss over Lena's pouting lips.

"Good morning," she said, her voice hushed and gentle.

"Mhmm," Lena croaked back. Her bleary eyes squinted up at Stef's face.

Neither of them was quite used to these kinds of mornings yet. No morning rush, no alarms, no kids. Since Jude had left for college, though, they happened more and more often. Almost every weekend, and Stef was beginning to wonder how she'd ever lived without this early morning peace.

She sat back up but Lena grunted her objection and fumbled trying to grab her arm so Stef leaned back down and kissed her again, this time eliciting a contented sigh.

When she pulled back, Lena arched her back in a full-body stretch, the blanket sliding down around her ribs before she relaxed back down into the mattress. She sucked the roof of her mouth and cleared her throat and Stef watched her with an expression full of affection and wonder.

"What?" Lena asked, eyebrows arched high to help keep her eyelids open.

"Nothing." Stef smiled down into her dark, sleep-heavy eyes. "I was just thinking..." She plucked at a curl by Lena's temple. "I think you are your most beautiful just like this. No makeup, no jewelry, wearing nothing but the early morning sun." She swept an appreciative gaze down over Lena's body before settling on her eyes again. "You, my love, are perfection." She brushed the curl away from her face, then drew her hand down her neck and across her sun-kissed shoulder.

A sleepy smile curved Lena's lips. "You know, you're very charming when you want to be."

"Am I?"

"Mhmm."

"Well, I'd ask if I charmed your pants off but you're not wearing any." Smirking, she settled down on her side facing her wife.

Lena laughed. "You know what? I changed my mind."

"Oh, come on! One crude joke and I lose all my charm?"

Shaking her head, still laughing, Lena rolled over onto her side and propped her head up on her hand. "That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean, hmm?" Tipping her chin up, Stef regarded her from beneath raised eyebrows, a twinkle of amusement in her eyes.

"You're not charming when you want to be. You're funny when you want to be. And silly. Sweet. But you're charming when you're not trying to be. You just say whatever's on your mind in a way that is so genuine and so honest that I have no choice but to believe you."

A blush bloomed in Stef's cheeks as she considered her wife's observation. After a moment, she shrugged her shoulder. "What can I say? You deserve to know how often I'm completely blown away by how incredible you are." She traced her fingers down Lena's side, pushing beneath the edge of the blanket toward her hip. Lena's eyes dropped down for a moment as she bit back a smile. "Besides. I have to make up for all the times my big mouth gets me in trouble." She winked at her and grinned.

There was a moment of silence, weighty and pulsing, when Lena's gaze slid down to her mouth and Stef felt the shift before she even saw her eyes darken. Her heartbeat quickened as Lena leaned over and captured her lips in a slow, deep kiss. Her fingers grazed over Stef's ribs and down her bare stomach. "I'd like to see just how much trouble that mouth can get into," Lena said, her throaty suggestion sending a delicious jolt down Stef's spine.

"Oh, sweetheart," Stef grinned up at her. "You know how much I love a challenge." She pulled Lena in to kiss her again while laying back at her urging. The blanket slipped down off of Lena's hips as she leaned over her and Stef took full advantage, sliding a hand down her back to grab her ass, still kissing her perfect lips.

As they kissed and their hands wandered, finding delightful little spots to tease and play, Stef marveled at being able to go from early morning tenderness to sex without having to rush to keep from being interrupted. It was exhilarating to be able to just follow their own whims and desires because for the first time in their almost twenty years together, they could have sex when they wanted, where they wanted, and how they wanted. And she certainly knew how she wanted to right now.

Lena began making her way down Stef's body, kissing between her breasts and across her stomach, heading toward the apex of her legs when Stef stopped her.

"Move over a little bit," she told her.

"Why?" Lena asked, though she did as she was told, scooting toward the middle of bed.

"Because we need more room."

"For what?" She looked at Stef with an eyebrow raised.

Stef sat up and slid over next to Lena, cupping her jaw and kissing her way up the side of her neck. "You wanted to see what my mouth could do, didn't you?"

Lena nodded, excited curiosity dancing in her eyes. Stef kissed her with an easy passion, unhurried but brimming with desire, then laid back down and shuffled a bit lower.

"Then come sit down and find out." A cocky grin tilted her mouth to one side.

Lena's jaw went slack for a moment at her candor. Stef had to admit, it was a bit out of character for her to be so brazen. She usually preferred more subtlety, or at least to mask her desires behind the safety of a teasing joke, but it seemed the mood of the morning had emboldened her.

When her wife continued to stare at her, Stef reached for her leg, gently tugging at her thigh. "C'mere."

Lena's eyes widened. "You're serious?" She almost laughed.

"As I've ever been." Stef held her gaze steady and Lena's cheeks darkened with enough color that Stef could actually see it, her lower lip tucked between her teeth. When she hesitated, Stef took her hand and kissed the tops of her knuckles. "Only if you want to," she assured her.

A blushing smile crept across Lena's face until she was all teeth and dimples and sparkling eyes, and Stef knew her answer before she nodded and said, "Okay."

Stef held out her hand and Lena took it, bracing herself with her other hand on the headboard as she swung her leg over Stef's head. Releasing her hand, Lena held onto the bed and lowered herself until she hovered just over Stef's face. Stef slid her hands up the backs of her thighs, gripping them as she helped guide her the rest of the way.

When she made contact, Stef felt a wave of desire rush up from her belly, coursing through her like burning waves. She swept her tongue along the length of her and as she began exploring her from this unfamiliar angle, nothing existed but Lena - the taste of her, the smell of her, the weight of her. To be so encompassed by the woman she loved, to be granted such vulnerability by her was both beautiful and arousing in a way she couldn't have imagined despite how much she'd always wanted to do this.

Her knowledge of Lena's body acted as her guide and it wasn't long before she realized it was best to let Lena lead. She followed the pace of her hips, letting her control speed and pressure, happy to do whatever she desired. Her arms were wrapped around Lena's thighs, her fingertips pressing into her silky brown skin when she felt Lena push her fingers into her hair.

Glancing up, she couldn't resist the sight above her. She'd never seen her lover quite like this before, the angle odd but as breathtaking as ever. She slid one hand around her hip, up and over the little rolls of her belly toward the curved undersides of her breasts that swayed with the motion of her body. She cupped one, rubbing her thumb over her nipple until Lena moaned and threw her head back, making her neck look impossibly, irresistibly long. One hand was splayed against the headboard, elbow locked, while the fingers of her other hand tugged even harder at Stef's short blonde hair.

Everything was wet and warm and Stef would have been content to stay right there forever. But Lena was hurtling forward, pulling Stef along with her. Her full weight was on her now as she curled forward, the muscles in her stomach twitching with every heaving breath and rushing sigh. She dropped her head into the crook of her elbow, bringing her other hand back up, clinging to the headboard with both hands, grinding down while Stef held her rocking hips and she rode her toward the crest. Finally, her body tensed, her shaking legs clamping around Stef's head as her panting, stuttering moans filled the room.

Stef brought her back down gently until her body collapsed against the headboard. After a moment, she gave her a gentle push on the backs of her thighs and Lena lifted just enough for Stef to extricate herself. Kneeling behind her, she wiped her face clean as best she could before wrapping her arms around her wife's waist. Pressing a few kisses to her shoulder blade, she drew Lena's limp body back until they were both sitting with Lena nestled between Stef's sturdy legs. She rested back against her, eyes closed and head tipped back onto Stef's shoulder.

Stef dusted kisses along the top of her shoulder and watched the rapid rise and fall of her chest. When it began to slow, Lena found Stef's hand and ran her fingertips along the backs of her fingers before lacing her own between them. With a satisfied hum, Lena turned her face towards Stef's, brushing her nose against her jawline.

"So..." Stef's voice was soft, as if trying not to disturb Lena's current tranquility. "That was, uh..." She cleared her throat. "It was good?"

Lena laughed against her neck. "You really have to ask?"

Stef smiled into her hair. "No, I know it was..." She paused for a moment. "I meant, you liked it? The, uh— The position...?" She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks. It seemed her earlier bravado had abandoned her. "Is it something you'd want to, y'know, do again?"

Lena turned slightly and looked up at Stef, her face bright and her eyes playful. "Well, I'm not sure how often my knees are going to allow it but I wouldn't mind occasionally adding it into the rotation." She shifted onto her hip so she was facing Stef more easily. "What about you? Was it okay for you? I was worried that it might've been hard to breathe." Her eyebrows raised in that way they always did when she was inviting honesty.

Stef rolled her lips in between her teeth and wet them before nodding and clearing her throat. "I could breathe just fine." She let out a nervous chuckle. "It was good. It was... Actually it was even better than I'd hoped it would be."

Lena's head tilted to one side and Stef felt her lay her hand just above her knee. "Is this something you've been wanting to try for a while?"

Stef tucked her chin and her eyes darted down toward her lap. "Yeah... a pretty long time." Heat burned the tops of her ears and her mouth twitched with anxious energy. "Years, actually."

Lena's thumb caressed the side of Stef's knee, her inquiring eyes seeking out her gaze. "Why are we only just doing it now?"

Stef shrugged. "I mean, it's not really the kind of thing you can do with kids in the house when you're trying to get in a quickie between piano lessons, and karate, and homework."

"Sure," Lena agreed, her eyebrows drawing together. "But there were opportunities. Date nights, sleepovers, a few getaways without the kids... If it was something you wanted to try, why didn't you ever ask?"

Stef watched Lena's thumb slide back and forth against her own pale skin while searching for honesty amidst the excuses she'd always given herself. Taking Lena's hand from her leg and holding it in her own, she looked back up at her wife with tenderness and vulnerability.

"You know that I've struggled with shame about sex and about my sexuality for a long time." Lena nodded but didn't interrupt. "And the last couple of years, y'know, I've finally been able to work through a lot of those feelings, learning to accept myself and truly embrace who I am for the first time." Lena smiled and squeezed her hand. "This was something I always felt particularly ashamed of. It made me feel wrong to desire you like that. Dirty— but, not in the fun way." She gave a half-hearted laugh and swiped her hand through her hair. "But now, looking back, it feels... ridiculous that I let some imagined perception of us, of... of me, dictate our love life and I just..." she paused, searching Lena's eyes and exhaling a sigh while the tension softened out of her face. "How could I ever feel ashamed of loving and wanting you when it comes more naturally to me than breathing?"

A soft smile tugged at Lena's mouth, her eyes crinkling a little at the corners. "There it is again."

"What?"

"Your charm."

Stef's mouth twisted into a self-conscious smile as she turned her chin against one shoulder. Lena drew her fingers down her temple to cup her cheek, leaning forward to kiss her with such sweetness Stef felt it ache in her chest.

"I'm glad you finally said something," she said after pulling back, her hand still on Stef's cheek. "You know you never have to feel ashamed of anything when you're with me."

"I know, love." She turned her head and kissed Lena's palm. "With you is where I've always felt safest."

Taking Lena's hand, she pulled her toward the pillows. They settled together, back under the covers with Stef's arms wrapped around Lena's shoulders and Lena's head nestled beneath Stef's chin. They both sighed and let the quiet blossom in the hazy sunlight.

"Sometimes it feels like we're getting a second chance at the honeymoon phase we kind of missed out on, now that we don't have kids in the house."

Lena hummed her agreement. "Except it's better because we know each other so well."

"Yeah." A quiet beat passed before Stef spoke again. "I'm glad we're getting it now."

"Me too," Lena said, then laughed through her nose. "Though, I wouldn't mind having my knees from fifteen years ago."

Stef let out a bark of laughter and kissed the top of Lena's head. "Yeah, me too."

Lena heaved a wistful sigh. "We can't have it all, I suppose."

"Speak for yourself," Stef said and Lena picked her head up, eyebrows arched high. "I've got it all, right here." She winked as she squeezed Lena's shoulders and grinned when she pursed her lips against an enamored smile.

"Charming." Lena shook her head and caught her lips. She kissed her softly while they both grinned like fools, too drenched in the warmth of their enduring love to be burdened by the persistence of the rising sun.