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you woke up to tiny kisses being pressed to your cheeks, tom's head full of short curls luckily shielding your tired eyes from the blinding morning sun coming in through the bedroom windows. it still smelled faintly like fire from the night before, a reminder of the flames that drifted up toward the stars and the warmth that could never compare to his.
you smiled so slightly as his breath tickled the skin of your neck and he whispered, "happy birthday, beautiful."
his voice was low and sweet, still drenched with sleep but pretty and you lazily reached up to cup his face.
"thank you. i love you. But it is way too early," you reply with a short giggle and pretend to be annoyed. because how could you be when he sounded better than your favorite song and the quiet of your local library back home, as you sat reading for hours lost somewhere in a different world.
it was early. 8:46 A.M. to be exact and you had never been a morning person. he decided it was worth the risk, even though he almost decided against it at least three times because you looked so beautiful as you slept, his own personal sleeping beauty. with your eyelashes laying gently on your cheekbones and lips falling slightly open, he was completely dazzled by you. in every possible way. like when you were cranky because it was before 10am and hadn't had your coffee, your hair was still a mess because you couldn't be bothered to fix it just yet or when your makeup was smudged from the day before because you forgot to take it off. especially then.
"i know, darling, but it's a big day!" tom grinned, his dark brown eyes lit up with excitement as he lifted your hand to kiss the back of it.
"tommy, what did you do?" you question him, because he had already done so much. he made the weekend perfect. just the two of you in a cozy cabin, surrounded by acres of trees and a lake that seemed infinite. he did all of this for you and you still couldn't believe that you managed to get him all to yourself for more than two days because it didn't happen very often.
he didn't answer, still just kept smiling as he gave you a chaste kiss at the corner of your mouth and reached over to his bedside table.
"i told you not to get me anything... i—" you protest, watching as he pulls out a small box and places it in the hand he had been holding. it was wrapped in the prettiest light yellow paper, messy in the only way he knew how, with a tiny bow over the lid that was also his doing. you couldn't help but laugh.
"yeah, well i didn't listen." he winked. "and don't laugh, it's some of my best work."
tom sat up, pulling you slowly up off the pillow so you were sitting in front of him. he moved his hand down to your thigh, rubbing gently and waiting patiently for you to open it. you didn't right away. because the sunlight was shining perfectly across his face, highlighting each of your favorite features like his always unruly eyebrow and crooked nose. it made his eyes sparkle as he looked at you and now you were the one staring too much.
"babe..."
"alright, alright." with a light-hearted chuckle, you finally remove the lid.
inside was a stunning silver chain and the charm hanging off of it, was a sun. you took it between your fingers, feeling the cold of the material as you held it up. it was breathtaking, small but cute and you had always seen ones that had a moon but this was better. it meant more and you didn't even know it yet.
"what do you think?" tom asked, hopeful and wishing as if you could hate it?
"tom, it's—
it's beautiful." the real sunlight reflected off the tiny shape, shining in your eyes but you couldn't look away.
he smiled, lips pulling up to show off his adorable eye crinkles that you loved so much. "it's a sun because that's what you are to me..."
with wondering eyes, you waited as he took it away from you and moved so that he was behind you. he swiped your hair to the side, placing the chain around your neck before leaning down to kiss your shoulder delicately. his arms wound around your waist, fingers spreading over your stomach the same way they had with the fire crackling under the cold air.
"you are my sunshine. you're the light of my life and i want you to always keep that with you." tom kissed your neck again as you put your head back against his shoulder.
the blush rushed to your cheeks and you started playing with his hands, locking your fingers between his as he held you tighter.
"that was really cheesy," you giggled.
"i know, i'm sorry." he wasn't. he felt the flush on his own skin and he smiled at the effect he had on you.
"but i love you. thank you, baby. it's perfect." reaching up to find the necklace, you held it like he was holding you.
"i love you so much."
you spent the rest of the day between the sheets, trying to push off leaving as much as possible. you stayed wrapped up in each other until the sunlight turned to moonlight and the glow of the night meant that your birthday was almost over. tomorrow you would be back home, tom would have to leave again soon, and you had to get back to reality. but it was okay. because with him, every day felt like a fairytale; one where it was always light and perfect.
