A/N: Takes place after the final chapter of my longer fic "Something Like a Normal Life". Beware very mild spoilers if you're planning on reading that one first!
Ethan awoke slowly, warm and wonderfully relaxed beneath soft sheets. The air was warm, smelling of cinnamon and coffee, morning sunlight streaming in the open window where white curtains billowed gently in the breeze. He blinked, taking a few moments to wake up, to readjust to the unfamiliar room and sounds: beech furniture and cream sheets, the rumble of traffic on cobblestones outside, the ring of bicycles and occasional snippets of Italian floating in through the window. Even the mattress was premium, and the sheets were pure silk.
Ethan stifled a yawn against his hand and pushed himself up to sitting, smiling fondly as he looked over at his husband. Norman lay fast asleep beside him, dark hair mussed against the pillow and the sheets pushed to his hips in deference to the warmth. Handsome face relaxed in sleep, there was a small smile on his lips, the light from the window catching his cheekbones and jaw, the defined planes of his chest and abs very like the statue of Apollo they'd seen yesterday, and which Norman had taken a ton of photos of him beside.
Ethan gazed for a moment longer, marvelling, before an idea struck him, making him grin as he slipped out of bed and grabbed his sketchbook from his rucksack. The light was even better from this angle; he settled himself carefully on the far corner of the bed, crossing his legs, and started to sketch, smiling despite himself as the lines started to come together, so perfectly it felt as though he was channelling something beyond himself. Ethan didn't know how long he sat there, completely absorbed, feeling himself at one with the pencil, the paper, the sense of euphoria that filled him as a beautiful image gradually took shape beneath his hands — before there was a quiet sound from the bed, Norman stirring slightly.
"No no, wait — stay still!" He extended his free hand unconsciously, eyes still locked on the paper as he worked, trying to get the last, exquisite lines down before the other moved.
"Mmn. Mars?" His husband sounded sleepy, slitted blue eyes blinking curiously over at him. "…What're you doin'?"
"Just, stay still. Don't move for a second." Norman made a perplexed sound, but did as asked, heaving a contented sigh and shutting his eyes again. The movement dislodged a curl from behind his ear to lie against his cheek, the light falling slightly differently, but Ethan ignored it, finishing the last of the shading from memory and putting the final touches on the drawing, before lifting his pencil away with a satisfied huff. The image was a near-perfect reproduction of the scene he'd woken up to; he smiled and folded his sketch book carefully closed, setting it aside. "Done."
"Can I move now?" He chuckled at his lover's grumpy tone, slipping back into bed.
"Yup."
"Mmn." Norman leaned up to catch his lips in a deep kiss, pulling Ethan gently down on top of him with an appreciative sound as he returned it. "What were you doin', anyway?"
"Just sketching." Blue eyes blinked sleepily up at him, filled with fondness and warmth, and he realised that for all he'd managed to capture the other man's beauty so well, he'd missed Norman's most striking feature. Something to be remedied in future early-morning sketches, whenever he could get the other to lay still long enough for it. Michelangelo probably never had this kind of trouble sculpting David.
"Can I see?" Ethan smiled lop-sidedly and nodded, reaching over to retrieve his sketchbook from the side-table, before settling back down beside his lover, slipping an arm around Norman's waist as the other man leaned into him. His husband blinked at the image, eyes widening as he realised who he was looking at, before the colour rose to his cheeks, gaze dropping to the side as he cleared his throat, visibly fighting a grin.
"Aw jeez. Y'know you — that's — that's real flatterin', Mars." He only smiled and pressed a kiss to the other's temple, one hand rubbing absently at Norman's chest where the other man clasped his shoulder, anchoring them together.
"I just draw what I see." His lover chuckled, eyes squeezing shut with embarrassment for a moment, and shook his head, one hand slipping around the back of Ethan's neck to draw him into a deep kiss. He returned it with a moan, the other's clever hands running down his chest, around his hips and up his back to pull him close, his own hand sliding into Norman's hair as he settled himself gently on top of him.
"Mmn." Ethan broke away reluctantly a long time later, found himself pressing soft, passionate kisses down his husband's neck and along his collarbone before he could stop himself, making Norman chuckle, and he was momentarily convinced that there was no sound he loved more in the world than the other man's laugh. "We'll have to get up, if we don't want to miss breakfast."
"Nngh." His lover frowned in mock-disagreement, blue eyes sparkling where they met his own. "Rather have you for breakfast instead." He chuckled, moaning appreciatively as Norman kissed him again, shifting them over and straddling Ethan's hips with impressive dexterity for having just woken up. He'd be lying if he said the other man's wiry strength and natural agility wasn't a massive turn-on, and he was so damn beautiful, all dark hair and toned muscle and sparkling blue eyes, backlit by the light from the window…
"Mmn —" Ethan broke away again with a soft chuckle before he could lose his train of thought completely, running a near-reverent hand down his lover's neck as Norman pressed a last kiss to his lips. "Much as I'd love to do this all day, we have a bus to catch."
"What're you — aw hell." He chuckled quietly again as Norman squeezed his eyes shut with a groan, forehead dropping onto Ethan's shoulder. "That's today?"
"Yup."
"Fuck." Shaun had pestered them for almost a week before leaving to take a selfie from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pizza, but the attraction was only open one day out of each week due to essential maintenance.
Norman made a disgruntled sound and pressed himself closer, burying his face in Ethan's neck. "Goddammit…"
"I know, babe. I don't want to go either, but we promised Shaun, so…joys of being a parent, I guess."
"No kidding." His husband lifted his head with a wince, hair mussed and blinking in the sunlight, and looking thoroughly adorable. "Jeez. My head's on board, but my body was expectin' a lazy day in bed featuring sex and whatever those lemon-pastry-things are called." Ethan only smiled and drew him into another soft kiss, deepening it despite himself with a ragged moan.
"God, why does making out feel so amazing on holiday? This isn't fair." His lover chuckled, trailing kisses along his jaw as Ethan ran a hand down his back, trying to muster the resolve to get up and roundly failing.
"Eh, novelty and relaxation, I guess; pretty much guaranteed to kick-start your libido. S'why all them holiday romances are so popular." Norman smiled, catching his lips in another passionate kiss as Ethan pulled him close again, cupping his lover's jaw with an appreciative hum. His husband was so warm, muscles soft and relaxed from the remnants of sleep, and he smelt so good…
"Okay. Okay, you're going to have to get off me, or we'll never make it there in time." Norman chuckled, blue eyes playful where he propped himself up on his elbows, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah? I'm kinda tempted to stay right here, then. 'Less you got an idea of how to convince me…" Ethan chuckled himself, slipping a hand into the other's hair to kiss him deeply again, breakfast hours and bus timetables be damned.
"…Okay. How about this? We can go see the sites, go for lunch someplace, then come back here and order room service for dinner. Sound like a good compromise?"
"Nnngh, the live music in the dining room is great at night though. Plus that view of the river is spectacular." Norman smiled fondly, tracing Ethan's cheekbone with his thumb. "Remember you sayin' you wanted to sketch it, back when we got here."
"Mmn. Can think of something else I'd like to sketch even more..." He smiled, trailing deep kisses down his lover's neck and feeling him shudder out a groan. "Requires privacy, candles, and a lot less clothes." His husband chuckled, colouring faintly where he met Ethan's gaze, and shook his head.
"This place is gettin' to you, Mars; you're starting to sound like me." He grinned, pressing a soft kiss to the other's jaw.
"What can I say? You're so gorgeous I can't help myself."
"Aaah." Norman grinned himself, catching his lips in another quick kiss. "Listen. How's about we go out, see the sites an' have lunch, come back here an' have dinner, then just spend the rest of the night together? Ain't nothin' we gotta do tomorrow, so…" He smiled, cupping his lover's cheek to kiss him deeply.
"That sounds wonderful."
"Mmn, one condition." He raised his eyebrows, searching his husband's face where Norman looked playfully at him.
"Yeah?"
"You join me in the shower before we go get breakfast."
"Mmn. Now that's motivation to get up if I ever heard it." The other man grinned and shifted reluctantly off him, pressing a long, lingering kiss to his lips as Ethan sat up himself, fingers twining with his husband's own as they headed for the bathroom.
