On the couch

Susan wrapped herself up in the thin yet surprisingly warm blanket that adorned the couch and laid down, her head resting in Gerald's lap. He smiled and ran a hand through her hair, feeling how soft it was, his head resting on his other hand, supported by having his elbow resting on Susan's shoulder. They smiled at each other in happy quietude, the only sound being that of the heater turning on and beginning to warm the vents of the house.

They stayed like that for a long while, simply happy to be in one another's presence, Gerald more than satisfied to comb through her hair with his fingers to keep himself entertained. It was the end of a long week for the both of them, and Susan's eyes drooped as sleep began to win her system over. She bemoaned the fact quietly to Gerald, who continued to smile and gently pet her face with his thumb, telling her that it was alright for her to go to sleep. And so, though she did not want to, she let herself drift into unconsciousness.

Gerald was tired too, and leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes. While Susan was able to fall asleep in only a few minutes, Gerald was not quite so capable, and merely rested his eyes as they relaxed together. He wanted to sleep, but in the back of his mind he knew that there were still things that he had to do before he could go to bed, but he did not want to have to make his lover move from her resting place in order to do them, meaning that he would have to make sure to stay awake for a while longer.

A half hour passed before Susan awoke again, surprised by how long she had been asleep, and found Gerald playing games on his phone to keep himself awake. "You didn't have to stay here," she mumbled under her breath. "You could have gotten to your work and left me here."

Gerald looked away from his phone to smile down at her. "I could have," he said, "but you're too comfortable to just walk away from. Besides, I know you would have woken up as soon as I tried to move, and I didn't want to disrupt your sleep."

Susan smiled sleepily up at him before sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "You're too nice to me."

"It's hard not to be when you're so beautiful."

She couldn't help but giggle at that. "Why aren't we married yet?" she asked teasingly.

Gerald hummed and pushed his phone back into his pocket, fishing around as he did so for the small lump that he had pushed out of the way before Susan had laid down to rest against him. "About that..."