Sleeping

Matthew propped himself up on one elbow, making sure to move quietly so as not to wake his wife. She had fallen asleep some twenty minutes earlier, but Matthew had not been so lucky. However, when she was sleeping and he was not, there were some things that he could enjoy that he could not when she was awake.

He closed his eyes for a moment and listened to the soft, relaxed sounds of her breathing. She was an active person, and so spent much of her time breathing rough and hard from all the energy that she put out. Not that he didn't enjoy that, and especially at some times more than others, but there was just something nice about the slow and steady breaths of her sleeping. She was more relaxed then she ever was when she was awake, and that relaxed him as well.

He opened his eyes so that he could look over her, and watch the way her chest gently raised and lowered with each breath. When she slept, she had a softness too her that was not present at other times. She was strong minded and strong willed, and everything about her showed it, from the way she carried herself to the way she spoke. There was something about that that attracted him. But in her sleep, she looked innocent and docile. Such a drastic change from who she was in her waking hours, and it put a smile on his face.

He gently laid a hand on her skin and caressed it slowly. Somehow over the years, she had managed to keep her skin smooth, almost to a point where it felt like silk, and he loved it. She sighed happily in her sleep at his touch, and wiggled her way closer to him, which only made him smile even more. As he felt her skin, he slowly leaned down to kiss her forehead, which pulled forth another happy sigh and more wiggling.

He laid back down, one arm curled tightly around her waist, and buried his face in her hair. There was something entrancing about the way she smelled to him, and especially so in the case of her hair. It made him feel comforted and warm, like he was wrapped up in something that he could only accurately describe as 'home.'

A brief temptation passed through his mind to reach up and tickle the back of her neck. He knew she was highly ticklish there. It made her squeal and flail wildly and generally do everything she could to try and make him stop. He found it adorable. She did not agree. He decided against it, however, because as fun as it might be for a moment, he knew that he would quickly come to regret it. And it would probably make him take much longer to fall asleep.

Sleep was finally coming to him, though, with her smell overcoming him. He closed his eyes and felt her warmth against him. He felt the way her skin felt against his own. He felt her breathing push against him, and felt his own begin to match it.

As his vision faded and the world went with it, all that was on his mind was her.