True to You

Sleep Tight

2019

Matt toed off his shoes and silently crossed the room to where his heart lay sleeping. Caitie lay stretched out across the bed in a sprawl of long, pale limbs and tangled auburn hair. Her lips were pink and plumped up in the dim light of the beside lamp. The colour in her cheeks eased the clench of anxiety in his chest. He'd hated leaving her, especially to attend a funeral that hammered home reminders of their fragile mortality, when she'd been feeling so unwell. Still, she'd insisted he go. Unable to deny her anything she wanted he went; his dour demeanour entirely appropriate for the solemnity of the occasion.

The original plan for her to spend a couple of nights with Kelly and Zacky had been abandoned when baby Sloane had decided that late night rehearsals of her future role as a heavy metal frontwoman were her immediate priority for the foreseeable future. Zacky's mother had offered to take up residence in their spare room in an attempt to help move things along to more of a Yacht Rock level of noise rather than in the pit at a Slayer gig, but had been declined. In light of that decision Caitie had declared that the new parents needed to create a routine for their daughter without the added burden of superfluous house guests. When Matt had baulked at the idea of leaving Caitie home alone his sister Amy had stepped up to the plate. She'd declared that although Matt was behaving like a hysterical old woman she'd be delighted to spend a couple of days with her sister-in-law. Taking in how peaceful Caitie looked with her head pillowed on her hand Matt had to agree that in the end staying home so she could sleep in her own bed was the best thing his wife could have done.

Eagerly shucking his clothes Matt flicked off the lamp and crawled into bed gathering his love into his arms. She was all warm skin and soft cotton. The t-shirt she slept in an old Motorhead one of his. She turned in his arms to press herself closer. "Matt," she murmured her breath warm against his skin.

"So glad to be home," he brushed a kiss across her lips and clutched her just a little tighter as she slid an arm around his waist.

"Me too. Glad you're home I mean," her words were a sleepy sigh.

"Shhh," he whispered as he rolled on to his back and tucked her in tight to his side, "go back to sleep. We can talk in the morning." Closing his eyes he allowed himself to drop into the darkness of sleep, completely content that there was nowhere else he'd rather be.

***********************************************************

Caitie was seated at the kitchen island sipping a cup of her breakfast beverage of choice, tea, when a sleep rumpled Matt emerged from the bedroom.

"Where's Amy?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and ran his lips up her neck.

"Gone," she shivered. Matt felt his lips curl up in delight at the way he could draw a response from her. Gone? She hadn't even waited to say hello?

"What she didn't want to see me?" Matt huffed as he gave Caitie one more kiss before releasing her. He crossed the room to the coffee machine and began punching buttons. He slid a cup beneath it and watched in satisfaction as, with a roar that could be heard from space, it prepared him a perfect cup of coffee. His friends could laugh all they liked, he loved his coffee machine.

"Matt," Caitie rolled her eyes as she took another sip of tea, "she saw you two days ago." It was true she had but he had things he wanted to ask her. Like how Caitie had been while he was away.

Caitie gave him a narrow eyed look over the rim of her tea cup. "She wanted to get in an early run." Matt gave a grunt in response. He could have run with her and grilled her at the same time. Multi-tasking at its finest.