The Upside of Heartbreak

The Morning After

Oh Lordy, it's finally here! I'm sorry it took so long everybody, but life is a bitch. Thanks so much for waiting for me to get my shit together. I hope you like it :)

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Drifting in that disorienting world between dreams and wakefulness, Astrid snuggled deeper into the warmth of the man beside her - not quite ready to wake up just yet. A small smile gracing her face as his fingertips traced abstract spirals over the bare skin of her back and shoulder. Her head nestled on his chest and his arm holding her close, and Astrid couldn't remember ever being more comfortable. She also felt surprisingly good considering how much she had drank last night. Hell, she didn't even have a headache. Likely thanks to the two big glasses of water she'd forced into herself during movie time.

"Good morning Princess." There was a hint of a smile in Hayden's soft voice as he felt her shift against him, and Astrid's heart fluttered again. She still couldn't believe that he was really here, but it was hard to deny the proof that was right in front of her face. Pulling herself fully back to the land of the living now, Astrid grudgingly cracked her eyes open. Squinting slightly against the beams of sunlight sneaking through the slats of the blinds.

"Mmm... Morning babe," she returned sleepily. Sighing contentedly as she cuddled in closer and brought a hand up to splay her fingers over Hayden's chest. Astrid could tell that it was already mid-morning by the angle of the light, but that didn't mean that she was ready to get out of bed. Especially not with the pleasantly musky scent of Hayden clinging to her sheets and his naked body next to hers.

Peeking up at him now, she saw that he was staring up at her ceiling. A faraway look in his eyes. A smirk slowly twisting up one side of his lips when he felt her looking at him. "Babe?" he asked with a soft chuckle as he finally glanced down to meet her gaze. His eyes dancing in the sunlight - the yellow washing out the green until it was nearly a clear aquamarine. "Are we at that stage already?"

The way he said 'we' made Astrid feel overjoyed. He had probably meant it as a joke, judging by the sarcasm in his tone, but she didn't care. Just hearing him refer to the two of them as 'we' - like they were an official couple - was enough to make her feel like she was floating. "I certainly hope so," she grinned back up at him. If Hayden seriously thought that she was just going to let him go without a fight now, he was crazy.

Hayden shook his head at her, but he didn't actually dispute or confirm it. "Are you always this cuddly in the morning," he teased lightly when she pressed a kiss to the warm skin of his bare chest. Though they had spent a weekend in bed together back in August, Hayden had always left the bed before her. Likely in an effort to maintain some distance. This was the first time they had actually woken up together, and it was wonderful.

"Not usually," Astrid shot back with a grin. "Consider yourself lucky I'm in a good mood. A solid right hook to the shoulder tends to be more my style."

"Warning duly noted," Hayden smirked back, before his expression grew suddenly serious. "I must say, I thought you were going to hit me when I snapped at you last night," he offered with a sigh. "I'm sorry for that, by the way. Admittedly I kind of always knew that you weren't after me for revenge or money. I just slowly convinced myself otherwise because it made it slightly easier to resist you that way. As you may have guessed, I was starting to get rather uncomfortably frustrated regardless..."

"And I accept full responsibility for all of it," Astrid stated firmly. Cutting him off mid-apology and snuggling up impossibly closer to him now. "I needed to hear it, because you were absolutely right. I didn't see you, and I should have. I have never regretted anything so much in my entire life," she admitted guiltily.