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Word count: 1 325
It was long dark outside and the small hand of the clock above your kitchen table had long moved past midnight. The bright light of the lightbulb illuminated the desk in the living room at which you were seated. Your hand skillfully moved over the paper, coloring in what you had drawn earlier. You were an illustrator for picture books. Currently you were working on a story of two bunnies who were not tired in the evening so they went outside to look at the night sky. Right now you painted the bunnies in front of the sky, two silhouettes in front of a not yet dark background that was sprinkled over with stars.
Usually you preferred working during the day; especially when it was sunny and you could sit outside in the garden, relaxing in the warm breeze, and transform written words into colorful images on paper. But today was special. Your husband Gerard would come home after several months of tour. You knew he would not be home until two am, and he had told you several times not to wait up for him, but you had decided to stay up anyway. It had been so long since you last had seen him or held him in your arms and you missed him more than ever before. For days you had been nervously looking forward to seeing him again, always blushing slightly at the thought of being reunited with him. You were married for almost four years already and had been together for about twice as long, so feeling nervous at the thought of him was something you had not experienced for a long time, yet here you were, blushing and giggling whenever you remembered him, like a silly school girl. Your only explanation for this was that you had not seen him in so long. You took it as a sign that you were still as much in love with him as on the first day.
You really had almost immediately fallen in love with each other. The first time you met had been at an exhibition. You had been there with your company to show how the process of illustrating worked and Gerard had been a visitor. He had passed your company's stand several times, always staring at you before he had finally found the courage to stop and talk to you. You had immediately admired the handsome stranger with the black hair and the 'planet of the apes' t-shirt. He had asked you what colors you used and told you he was writing comics and always wanted to be a comic book author. He had asked you many more questions and just when he had run out of things to ask you, one of you colleagues told you it was time for your lunch break. Gerard had quickly taken the chance to invite you for coffee and together you continued discussing comics, art, music and artists while having sandwiches, coffee and later ice cream. When it was time for you to return to your stand, Gerard handed you his phone number, blushing furiously, and asked you for a proper date.
With a sigh you set down your felt-tip pen and rested your forehead against the surface of the desk. Tiredly you got up and shuffled into the kitchen to make a cup of tea. It felt like centuries until the water finally boiled and you were able to pour the steaming liquid over the tea leaves Gerard had gifted you with after his last trip to the UK. You walked back to the living room, sitting back down on your chair. You had to blink a few times to focus on the picture in front of you. You admired the simple silhouettes of the bunnies and the dark blue of the night sky in the background. For a moment it was hard to believe that this was in fact your own work.
~*~
A street lantern lit up the narrow yet tiled path up to the front door. Gerard's legs and arms felt heavy from being tired but at the same time his body was buzzing with excitement. In less than a few minutes he would be able to see the love of his life again.
He turned the key in the lock and pushed the door open to carry his suitcase inside. When he closed the door behind him, he noticed light from the living room. Had he not told (y/n) to go to bed? Of course they were as stubborn as ever. He would really not be surprised if they had stayed up against his advice.
Gerard took off his shoes and turned around the corner. There they were. (Y/n)'s head was resting on the table between a mess of paper, sketches, pens, pencils, sharpeners, sharpies and aquarelle colors. He could not help the giggle that escaped his mouth as he walked over, pushing a strand of soft hair out of the face of the sleeping artist. You stirred slightly in your sleep, suddenly sitting up. Your eyes immediately found Gerard's and with a little cry of joy you jumped up, flinging your arms around the man. He laughed quietly as he hugged you tightly, burying his nose in your hair.
"I missed you so much," you confessed, wrapping your fingers around the fabric of his shirt.
"I missed you too," Gerard mumbled before pulling away and placing his lips on yours.
It felt like a firework had been ignited in your stomach as you felt his soft skin against yours. You could feel his breath against your cheek and your eyes fluttered close at the sensation.
It was not a passionate kiss, it was a kiss to make sure you were there, that you were still the same person he had left behind so many months ago, that you were the person he loved so much.
After a few moments he pulled away, his eyes scanning your face carefully.
"Let's go to bed, shall we?"
You nodded and took his hand, leading him up the stairs to the bedroom.
He quickly put on some pajama pants and an old t-shirt while you crawled into bed, already wearing your pajama. Gerard followed soon after, snuggling close to you and warming the cold blanket. He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into his chest and stared down on you in the dark. It was impossible to put into words how much he had missed you over the last months and now that he held you so close to him, that you were so warm and soft against his chest and that your breath so calmingly fanned over his skin, it felt like the whole world was back to how it was supposed to be. Nothing could happen that would be able to destroy this feeling right now. He felt strong and protective, as he held you to him. He would never allow that any harm would happen to you, not while he could prevent it. He would always love you and he would never be able to forget the many, many things that made him fall in love with you every day a little more.
His heart felt like bursting at these thoughts that were spinning in his mind so he bent down and pressed his mouth against yours, relishing the sweet taste of your perfect lips while he felt sleep creeping into his body. He pulled you a little tighter, never loosing contact to your lips and kissed you a little deeper, soon noticing how you also had started to fall asleep, your hand wrapped into his soft, dark curls. A last spark of pride shot through his brain, knowing that you felt save enough with him to fall asleep at his side, before his eyes fell shut and he drifted into deep, calm slumber.
Your cup of tea on the living room desk was long forgotten.