The fire in the living room had dimmed to a soft glow, casting long shadows across the stone walls. Aeliana lay beside me on the couch, her breathing steady, deep in sleep.
Her face, usually so animated, was now peaceful, soft, and entirely vulnerable in this rare moment of stillness.
The tension from our earlier playful banter and more intimate moments had dissipated, leaving behind a strange quiet between us.
I gazed at her for a long while, feeling a warmth in my chest that was hard to ignore. The way her hair fell loosely across her face, the soft rise and fall of her chest as she breathed everything about her right now was beautiful.
I couldn't help but smile, though there was a pang of something deeper underneath it. I wasn't used to feeling this kind of attachment, this need to have someone so close. But with Aeliana, it was different.
Carefully, so as not to wake her, I slipped out from under her arm and stood, stretching slightly.
