Awake
Juleka used to grimace a lot when she woke up. Opening her eyes was a chore, sitting up was almost physically painful, and standing up was a Herculean task that she somehow willed to happen day in day out.
Of course, things were different now. She didn’t wake up grinning, per se, but she was more content. Especially when she was still folded over her girlfriend’s body like a shell around a hermit crab. She never understood how Rose was comfortable like this, but she must’ve been, since that was how the pair woke up a lot of the days. Juleka could bury her nose in Rose’s hair and breathe the smell in as much as she wanted, which was one of the best parts of her morning.
There were other honorable mentions. The days when she woke up and Rose’s body was physically on hers. The sight of her head tucked under her chin. Juleka would trade the world away to see it one more time if she had to.
But she didn’t. And God was that glorious.
There were some days when she woke up and they were on separate sides of the bed, just holding hands. While not mind-numbing cute, she still reveled those mornings like all the other ones.
And there were fights. No two people can agree on everything, and even angelic Rose had a breaking point. Those initial nights where she slept on the couch were a personal Hell she never dreamt of going back to. She couldn’t seem to get warm, not in the right way, no matter how many blankets she used. She couldn’t speak for what Rose went through those nights, but those mornings were always the ones when Rose would already be up when she woke, waiting in the kitchen with a cup of hot chocolate in her hand. She would tackle her and apologize, professing Juleka right a thousand times over. Juleka would hug back, and say that it’s probably not that easy, and they would sit down and talk about it like adults.
Luckily, now they skipped right to the adults part, no raised voices were involved, and the pair never went to bed alone anymore.
Juleka was pulled from her thoughts by a rustle. Looking down, she saw Rose stir and stretch. Opening her eyes and looking at Juleka with a happy, sleepy expression.
Don’t even get her started on that look.