The Golden Band

Adler awoke to his ringing alarm with a grunt, the sound grinding his ears and making you give a disgruntled closed mouth groan beside him. You turned to face him as he turned it off, blinking his eyes blearily and automatically wrapping an arm around your waist as you laid your head on his shoulder near his neck and a hand to his chest, your breath slowly coming out from deep sleep. The curtains of their room still hid the darkness of the upcoming morning, that and it is still the hour of dawn as Adler laid on his back, rubbing your waist that was covered by his shirt from last night. Adler leaned his head atop yours, glancing at your form with eyes still in the sleepy haze and soft as they roved at how his turtleneck seemed to swallow you and how your hair was up and awry with an affectionate tired smile.

You always seemed to enjoy his turtleneck, as evidenced by last night. He inhaled you deeply just as you sighed, the breath hitting his neck and him giving you a small peck to your temple before checking the time again with a squint of his eyes and sighing at what he saw. He shifted under you slightly, you releasing another petulant sound from the back of your throat even when he grazed a kiss to your ear and hand lowering to rub at your bare thighs from under the covers.

"Time to get up, sweetheart," he said, voice thick with sleep and feeling dry even with clearing his throat and giving you another but firmer kiss to the side of your head with your disheveled hair. You frowned with a sleepy whine, nuzzling against his neck and wrapping your arms around him and getting half on top of him which made him chuckle good naturedly as he rubbed your bare skin of your leg. Bell always hates the morning. "We can't be late," he said and giving your thigh a squeeze before slowly shifting out from under you and the air immediately attacking him after sitting up and the warmth from you disappeared. "I'll set the coffee up while you get a few more minutes."

Once he finished up with the coffee, you eventually went down the stairs, your hair still up and your eyes squinting everywhere like an upset cat with his shirt reaching the top of your upper thighs and leaving little to the imagination. He passed you your mug how you liked it when you reached the kitchen counter, you grabbing it with a mumbled "Спасибо" in thanks, the spasibo sounding slurred. You taking a sip, a lazy smile on your lips and eyes brightening like they always do when he does your coffee right. He doesn't know why, the way you like it is simple although high blood sugar inducing. He's not one who forgets.

You leaned up to give him a kiss, but due to you still awakening you missed and got the corner of his lips on his scarred side instead, his lips quirked all the same.

Cute.

"доброе утро," you greeted, before moving onto cook both of them a quick breakfast like always, him giving the greeting back and calling you lapooshka, 'sweetheart' in your mother tongue just how you like it as you hummed. Giving him his plate before settling next to him with your own as he gave his thanks while putting a hand to your bare knee, the other to his utensils and his eyes to the newspaper to read anything he's missed while they quietly ate.

After they finished and went to get dressed, you called his name from their bathroom as he was about to put on his tie, his shirt still not fully buttoned as he went to check on you. Only to see you in your underwear while scrutinizing yourself in the mirror. His eyes roved down, him moving to lean against the doorframe as he stared in appreciation gleaming in his eyes.

"Called for me?"

"Yes, I called for you. Look what happened," you pointed at the slope of your neck, his eyes going towards it before seeing what you meant as you put a hand to your face. "How am I supposed to hide that? I don't think I have a collar high enough to do it. . ."

Adler shrugged, eyes canvassing the other marks left on your body due to him.

"You can always wear a turtleneck." You shot him an unamused look which just made his lips upturn to a smirk. "Don't know why you're looking at me like that. You're not the only one who has to deal with it." Your eyes wandered to his neck where his collar was still open, eyes widening in realization with a small 'oh' and a hint of a smile that he caught. Him coming towards you and trapping you against the sink with your chest to his as you asked what he was doing hands to his chest, his lips grazing your own as he answered. "Nothing. Just find it funny you're here complaining while I'm planning to wear mine like a badge of honor."