Aria's eyes opened slowly, the first thing she registered being warmth.
The second was that she was very much trapped.
She blinked sleepily at the early morning light slipping through the blinds, then shifted slightly and found Alex's arm wrapped firmly around her waist, his body heavy and warm behind hers.
For a second, she just lay there.
It wasn't a bad way to wake up.
Actually, it was a very good way to wake up.
Too good, maybe.
The bedside clock came into focus and she let out a soft groan. "No..."
They really did need to get up.
Aria carefully reached down and tried to lift Alex's arm away from her waist, but he only made a low noise in the back of his throat and tightened his hold, dragging her back against him.
"Alex," she mumbled, fighting a smile despite herself.
He shifted behind her, still not fully awake. "Mm?"
"We have to get up."
"No, we don't."
Aria laughed quietly under her breath and tried again to untangle herself. "Yes, we do. We have jobs. Patients. Responsibilities. A deeply unhealthy dependence on hospital coffee."
Alex cracked one eye open just enough to glare vaguely at the ceiling. "You've got twenty more minutes."
"Twenty minutes I could spend eating breakfast."
"Breakfast is overrated."
She turned her head enough to look back at him. His hair was a complete mess, his face still softened by sleep, and one side of his cheek was creased from the pillow.
He looked younger like this.
Less like Evil Spawn and more like someone she could get very used to waking up beside.
"That's a stupid opinion," she said.
Alex's eyes slid closed again. "Just stay here."
There was something dangerously easy about that.
About him.
Aria let out a long sigh, the kind that was mostly for show, and gave in, settling back against him and resting her head lightly against his chest.
"I'm too tired to fight you."
His hand moved once, absently brushing along her side before going still again.
Aria smiled to herself.
For the first time in a very long time, she felt... light.
Not perfectly, not all the time, but enough to notice.
Enough that it felt strange and precious and maybe a little frightening.
And if she gave herself another ten minutes here, wrapped up in Alex's arms with nowhere else to be yet, she wasn't going to feel guilty about it.
⸻
By the time she got to the hospital, she was running on coffee, toast, and a mood that was still unexpectedly good.
Not manic-happy. Not forced.
Just... easier.
She had a patient she liked. Alex had barely stopped touching her that morning. Meredith and Derek were in a better place. Lexie was becoming less of a surprise and more of a sister every day. Even the hospital, with all its chaos and blood and impossible demands, felt manageable.
YOU ARE READING
Shooting Stars
Fanfiction"But he's Evil Spawn." "Don't you think I know that. I didn't wake up one day and suddenly decide I was going to be in love with Alex Karev." Being the daughter of a world renowned surgeon was never destined to be easy. The first born of the Grey tw...
