Written for the 'a night to remember' challenge.
Title: Awakening
Jean expected Lucien to make an appearance in the kitchen, as well-groomed as he usually was every breakfast time at home, when the pan sizzled from her cooking. But after a long wait, she placed a plate on top of his bacon and eggs to keep them warm.
She stared out the kitchen window as she filled the sink with water, drinking in their honeymoon accommodation's magnificent view. She hoped the thick patch of Australian bush would hide them away from the rest of the world for a few weeks at least.
A kookaburra flew down to land on a branch of a ghost gum and threw his head back. Yet, the bird's noisy laughing song still did not rouse her husband.
She tiptoed into the bedroom and, like an anxious first time mother, placed her hand upon Lucien's chest, relaxing only once it rose and fell in time with his deep breathing.
Of course, what she felt for Lucien could hardly be described as maternal. Last night… Their wedding night. The first night they'd slept together.
Her breath hitched. It was certainly a night she could not easily forget..
She'd woken this morning, early, to the warbling of a family of magpies outside the cottage. Lucien, however, had remained in a deep slumber.
It was so rare for him to sleep at all, let alone this late–
She quickly covered her mouth to stifle her gasp. Lucien stalked the house at night, he completed paperwork, he scribbled on his blackboard, he drank… He never slept! Yet last night he had, soundly and deeply, like a man who'd had a weight lifted from his shoulders.
She stared at his long lashes, twitching peacefully against his cheeks. He was happy.
Once he woke she would tell him the feeling was mutual.