Love Can Save {An Aphmau Fanfiction}

Katelyn

Waking up in the morning was always easy. Even though the bed was nice and warm, and even though I had been up late into the night thinking of all that could happen in the next few months, I never found it hard to throw off the covers and start the day. There was so much that I had to do everyday, and it had only increased since Levin and Malachi had agreed to build the guard academy in Phoenix Drop.

Yet this morning, as I came awake to the sound of rain pattering against the window panes, I closed my eyes again and sighed. I felt the bed shift beside me, and I turned my head to look over at the young man staring right back. White hair was tousled from sleep, but there was no trace of weariness still in those green eyes, which only mimicked the smile he gave me. I smiled back, fighting back a yawn just seconds after I had been pulled from sleep.

Travis and I had been together for over a year, and not once did I find myself falling out of love with him. The Travis that I had come to know so well was completely different from the flirty guy he had been for the first few months after he joined our group. He was sweet and kind, never pushing me farther than where I wanted to go in this relationship. He had moved in with me about four months ago, and I knew that he couldn't be happier about it.

He reached out, grabbing my hand and brushing his thumb over the back of my hand. "It's raining outside." I snorted, rolling my eyes at him.

"Really? I had no idea." He laughed as well, propping himself up on his elbow with his free arm, still holding my hand and looking down with a smile. The covers slipped down his body, pooling against his waist and uncovering the black shirt he had worn to bed last night.

"I'm just saying. It's going to be hard to get things down if everything's damp and dreary." I groaned in agreement, looking up at the ceiling as I tried to find the motivation to get myself out of bed. His hand tightened on my, and I glanced back over to see his smile starting to slip into a smirk. "Maybe... maybe we could just relax today. No work, no worries... just staying home and staying out of the rain."

I laughed, pushing myself up into a sitting position and shaking my head at him. "You really think we can afford to lounge around for a whole day when there's so much to do?"

"Come on Katy, there's not much we can do," he countered, still propped up on his elbow. "We won't know anything about Tula until Dante and the others get back, and the construction on the academy won't start for another week or so. Besides, you've been working so hard for months. You deserve a break."

I started to argue, but he silenced me with another squeeze of his hand. "Don't think I don't know that you stay up for hours at night worrying. Please, Katelyn, just give yourself a day to breathe." The look he gave me was full of worry and love, an emotion that I was still surprised to find in both our hearts. I sighed, letting myself slip back down to lay next to him on the bed.

"One day. And tomorrow, we're working twice as hard." He beamed, giving me a quick kiss on the forehead. I smiled back at him, loving his quick transition from love-sick puppy to a giddy child.

He gave me a wink, rolling away and out of bed. "You just stay here. I'll bring up some breakfast." I stared up at the ceiling, still smiling as he slipped downstairs, footsteps masked by the rain that was now pounding against the window panes. As much as I hated wasting time, I was looking forward to this lazy day spent with the man I was still falling in love with.

XXX

After a quiet morning with breakfast in bed, Travis and I eventually made it downstairs. Now I was curled up on the couch, a book that I had been meaning to read for months propped up beside me. Travis's head rested in my lap, his fingers playing with the ends of my hair as he drifted closer and closer towards sleep. The rain outside was starting to lull me to sleep as well, and I found it hard to focus on the pages of the book.

Travis shifted in my lap, looking up at me with a sleepy smile. I closed my book, brushing his hair away from his forehead. "See," he whispered, leaning into my touch, "aren't you glad you took the day off?"

"The day's barely begun," I fired back, drawing a chuckle from him.

"Well then, maybe we can find some ways to spend the rest of it," he drawled, running his hands up to the side of my face. My cheeks heated, one of my own hands moving from his hair to rest on top of his. Leaning into his hand, I knew that my face was on fire, but after spending so long not knowing what love was, I didn't care. I had never really been in love before; maybe with more time, I might have fallen for Jeffory. But he was my best friend, and my feelings had never gone farther than what I felt for Kacey.

But Travis... by the Six, he made me feel alive. So many walls I had built up over the years had come tumbling down this past year as he showed me it was okay to be weak. It was okay to put your own needs before others sometimes. It was okay to cry when life got hard. And it was okay to rely on others for help. I felt like a new person, letting myself be young and in love. Hell, a year ago I never would've imagined myself giggling with Travis Valkrum in the house we shared, but here we were.

Travis pushed himself up from my lap, pulling his hands from my face before leaning back towards me, pressing a kiss against my forehead. I smiled again, kissing him and feeling like we had all the time in the world. All the time to forget about the enemy slowly approaching my home from across the region. I knew they were coming, but for now, I was happy to sit with my boyfriend in our living room. There will be time to worry about the incoming danger tomorrow.