originally posted to AO3 13/11/2017
Caesar had never really considered himself a morning person.
His eyes are gritty, limbs tangled up in the sheets, face buried into soft hair. He's always the first one awake.
One of his arms is stuck, and he has a crick in his neck. Caesar rubs at his eyes with his free hand, acclimatising himself to the intrusion of sunlight through a gap in the curtains. Suzi groans softly, pressing her face against the arm she holds captive. Everything is so quiet he can hear every gentle inhale and exhale, her chest pressed up so hard against his it's a wonder they can breathe at all. It seems almost criminal to think about waking her.
Mornings with Suzi are wonderfully melty and slow, and—at least to himself—Caesar doesn't mind admitting it. Though he knows it can't last forever. Despite himself, he tries to get a better look at his predicament, angling for the best way out. Caesar tries to pry his arm from underneath Suzi's head, so carefully that he's not sure if he's moving it at all.
Any chance of freedom is suddenly quashed by an alarmingly loud snore and the heavy thwack of Joseph's arm coming to land over his.
Still grumbling away, he nuzzles against the back of Caesar's neck, muttering unintelligible words as he goes. Defeated, Caesar sighs as he begrudgingly nestles back down into the pillows. Despite Joseph's added weight he can manoeuvre his arm just enough to sling it around Suzi's waist, fingers sliding up against the thin fabric of her chemise.
Though he hardly deems it possible, he attempts to pull her closer, closing his eyes and inhaling the lingering perfume of her hair oil. He pushes away soft blonde curls with his nose, dipping down to kiss her forehead. Suzi makes a sound not unlike a purr, leaning into his embrace. He kisses her again, lingering longer this time.
A murmur, and she uncurls herself enough that Caesar can watch as she flutters her eyelashes and blinks away the drowsiness, large blue eyes finding his in the soft morning glow.
'Buona mattina,' she murmurs and smiles at him, in such a way that his heart doesn't know whether to speed up or seize up, and she reaches up to stroke his face. Her slender fingers wind around a lock of his hair, then she gives a sleepy giggle and tucks it behind his ear.
Joseph stretches and yawns, blindly groping around air and skin until he finds someone's hips with a squeeze of his broad hand. His mop of brown hair is so much more unruly when he first wakes, strands plastered to his forehead with perspiration. He offers a drowsy grin to the two of them, chin propped up on Caesar's shoulder.
'G' morning,' he mumbles, voice impossibly husky. He cranes his neck to kiss Caesar on the cheek, then struggles to lift himself enough to do the same to Suzi. He attempts it again, grousing, and throws himself forwards with so much force he ends up splayed across Caesar's chest.
Caesar grumbles his dissent at this new and awkward position, his legs caught up at an odd angle and Suzi further away than he wants her. She tuts at Joseph, but accepts his kiss nonetheless.
Joseph readjusts himself, comfortably curled up against Caesar, their legs intertwined. He looks up at him for forgiveness, batting his eyelashes deliberately. Caesar snorts at that, and Joseph takes that as a good enough indicator to reach up and catch the side of his jaw with a kiss.
Suzi titters again at her boys, pulling the covers up over her shoulders and snuggling down against Caesar's other side.
Caesar gazes up at the ceiling, watching dust motes as they twirl and descend in the morning light. Content, he allows himself to relax and closes his eyes, arms draped around Suzi and Joseph's shoulders.
'Buona mattina,' he agrees, though it sounds so much more like an admission. There are, he's certain, few things in the world that can compare to this.
Caesar had never really considered himself a morning person.
He supposes he's always been wrong.