Infinite Bliss || Volturi Kings

|23| CHECKMATE

"Buongiorno, amore mio."

Eliana opened her eyes, but once she inhaled the warm, musky scent that was undoubtedly Marcus', her eyes closed again instantly. She could already tell that they were in his bed, her body curled up towards his.

"Tesoro," Marcus chuckled amusedly, the sound rumbling through his chest, "whether you choose to awaken or not, I do have work to get done today."

"Don't then," she mumbled, "just stay here instead."

"I can spare . . ." He glanced at the clock across the room, "no longer than 5 minutes, but then I really do have to go." He kissed the top of her head. "Come on. I'll let you cling onto me for as long as you'd like after that. You can spend today with Aro and Caius instead."

Eliana made a humming sound, but whether it was in agreement or not, Marcus couldn't be certain. However, judging by how she simply burrowed herself further under the covers, he had the feeling it was the latter.

"Would you prefer to be carried to Aro's office?" he questioned. "Or left to sleep here instead?"

"I don't mind," she sighed. "I just want to sleep . . ."

Eliana kept her eyes closed after that, even when Marcus, slightly exasperatedly, lifted her into his arms wrapped in a blanket, carried her a short distance to Aro's office where Caius and Aro already were, and placed her down with Aro, all in under a second.

"Hi there, cara mia."

She could tell it was Aro instantly, even before he'd spoken. As his fingers threaded into her hair, holding her head to his chest as she lay beside him across the sofa, she still didn't open her eyes, only subtly nodding in acknowledgement.

All he needed to do was pull the blanket that Marcus had brought with her up to her neck and purr softly in order for her to fall back asleep within minutes. In her defence, Marcus had brought her over at around 6am, so her tiredness was completely understandable considering her regular sleep schedule.

This nap of hers continued for 3 more hours. While Aro kept a hand touching her face during that time, quietly observing each absent thought and dream that crossed her mind, Caius worked at Aro's desk, only leaving the room once to take a phone call.

Inevitably, she did eventually awaken eventually. Her heartbeat sped up to a pretty regular heart rate for an awake human, and her breathing pattern altered, but she kept her eyes closed regardless.

"I assume you want to sleep for longer?" Caius asked her.

"I'm just comfy," she replied quietly with a yawn. "Please don't leave. Unless you have to. I don't want to get in your way."

"Eliana, you're never in our way," Aro assured her, "and lucky for you, neither I nor Caius have any prior commitments scheduled for today."

"Was there anything you wanted to do?" She turned onto her front and rested her chin against his chest, blinking up at him sleepily.

"Nothing too taxing for your wrist while it heals," Aro responded. "That means nothing like yesterday morning. In my opinion, Caius should have waited until you were of optimal health."

Caius could not have rolled his eyes harder. "If you wish it was yourself fingering Eliana, just say so, Aro."

Eliana pursed her lips and glanced off into the distance. "Should I leave the room for this conversation?"

"It's quite alright, amore," Aro reassured her. "Caius is just being defensive. But as I said, at least until you get that wrist brace off, nothing that has a remote chance of causing you any physical injury."