Gravensnod (manxman)

Chapter Nine

Philo

When my eyes opened the next morning I instantly smiled when I saw Alexei next to me. Last night we had watched movies with Agatha until she fell asleep in between us. Once Alexei put her to bed he pulled me into bed and had simply snuggled with me. I wasn't sure if he was going to be here when I woke up and I was over the moon to see him still in bed. Speaking of bed, this had been the first time in his room and I loved it.

His bedroom had a lot of windows with pretty curtains, the same that was draped over his king sized bed. There was a really pretty chandelier in the middle of the room and multiple flower vases on multiple tables. There were lots of framed pictures of Gravensnod around the room and also personal pictures. Many were of Agatha but a lot were of the rest of his family and even Winston. His entire suite seemed so personal but this room was my favorite. It didn't feel overly stuffy or royal, it was simply Alexei.

My eyes looked up at his sleeping face and couldn't help but smile. My fingers slowly ran over his cheek before those sleepy blue eyes opened. A smile was spreading across his face as his arms wrapped around me. I chuckled as his face buried into my neck, his lips leaving gentle kisses on my skin.

When he pulled back he kept his arms around me as he said, "I could definitely get used to waking up like this."

"Your bed is pretty comfy."

He laughed while his fingers started to lazily run up and down my back. "I meant waking up next to you Philo."

I felt heat creep up into my cheeks as I whispered, "I like it too."

With a smile he leaned down and placed his lips onto mine, making my heart beat rapidly. My arms slid around his neck as he deepened the kiss and pulled me closer. Before we could continue little giggles were filling the room before the bed shook from a body climbing up.

I laughed while pulling back to see Agatha climbing up the blankets towards us. "Hi Daddy!" She said while sliding down in between us. "Hi Philo!"

Alexei laughed while running a hand over his still tired face. He was then tickling her, making her laugh harder. I smiled while looking at them; my heart feeling like it could burst from cuteness. I definitely wanted this. I wanted to wake up to Alexei every morning and to see Agatha's cuteness every day. This was the first time I had felt truly happy since Louise's death. Even while traveling the world happiness had never seeped into my veins like this. It always seemed like something was missing and in this moment, I knew what it was.

"Agatha," I said as her giggly face looked over at me. "Want to know a secret?" She eagerly nodded as I said, "The bottom of your dad's feet are ticklish."

Alexei groaned as Agatha crawled down the bed as I sat up. Those blue eyes watched me with a smirk as we started tickling his feet. He immediately started laughing which only made us laugh harder. When his feet slipped out of my grasp, he crawled down the bed and leaned over me before my back hit the bed. He smiled as he started tickling my sides, his daughter joining in.

"Uncle, uncle!" I cried while tears were running down my cheeks as I laughed so hard my sides hurt.

When my laughs slowly stopped I looked up at his smiling face. He was still breathing hard as he ran his fingers over my cheeks. He was then helping me sit up before wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"Did you sleep well honey?"

Agatha smiled while nodding her head. "Are we still going to bake cookies today?"