Title: Late Night, Early Morning
Ship: Florian/Aster
Word Count: 1282 words
Summary: Florian and Aster have a sleepover, though their differing sleep schedules mean they both get a moment to themselves.
---
“-and the paint ended up getting *all* over my sheets.” Aster paused, their gaze traveling from the ceiling to Florian’s face. They had expected some sort of reaction, a noise of acknowledgment at least.
“Oh.” They lowered their voice to little more than a breath as they saw his closed eyes. Aster, as slowly as they could manage, scooted closer, turning over to lie on their stomach and rest their chin against his chest. The cool fabric of his silky pajamas against their face was welcome in the warm room. Frankly, it was entirely too warm for Aster’s taste, they much preferred a bedroom to have a bit of a chill, so that they could cocoon themself as many thick quilts as they could find.
It would’ve been a bit better if they opened the window, at least then there would be a breeze. Florian, however, had insisted that if they did so, their voices would travel, someone would hear them, and they’d be found out immediately. This was already quite the risk after all, for Aster to stay in Florian’s room for the night, and they needed to take all the precautions they could. It was a big step for them, and Aster would gladly deal with the temperature not being to their tastes if it meant making this all a little less nerve-wracking for Florian.
Emphasis on ‘a little less’, because Florian had still checked the door was locked at least a dozen separate times before finally lying down. At least now, while he slept, he finally looked completely relaxed, his halo hung lower, the light dimmed and barely shining over his pink hair. What a special treat it was, to see him in a way they’d never seen before… Aster couldn’t help but stare. Whenever they stared at him normally, he’d get flustered after just a few seconds and turn away. That was lovely in its own way, of course, but they treasured this opportunity to finally look for a bit longer.
They really thought that Florian must be the most handsome angel in all of Heaven. His long ears, currently pointing ever so slightly downwards as he slept, the many little freckles that covered his face, his pink hair, loose from his ponytail for once and spreading out over the pillows on both sides of his face… The shape reminded them of an egret orchid, the way it looked as though each individual strand was stretching out. Aster reached up, gently pushing the one lock of hair that never cooperated with the rest of his bangs back into place. Of course, it immediately fell right back to where it always sat in front of his face, as it always did.
They kept staring up at him, wanting to memorize every little detail well enough to draw him from memory. Without thinking, they gently traced along different parts of his face, their fingertips mapping out his jawline, the bridge of his nose, his cheekbones… In Aster’s mind, they were already putting a lovely painting together, and this was just understanding their subject three-dimensionally, knowing where best to place shadows and highlights. Only when Florian made a tiny noise, his eyebrows scrunching together for just a moment, did Aster snap out of their thoughts, pulling their hand away and smiling apologetically, though he couldn’t see it. They'd hate to wake him, he had to get up early tomorrow after all.
“Good night, Florian…”
Florian stirred awake as the first rays of sunlight peeked through the gap between the curtains. For a moment, he was ready to jump right into his normal routine, to get up and prepare himself for his usual knightly duties, when he realized he felt a strange pressure on his chest. That feeling made his mind fully wake up as he glanced down, being greeted by the most wonderful sight he could possibly ask for.
Aster was fast asleep on top of him, their cheek squished against his chest. They had their arms wrapped tightly around him, squeezing him like he was an oversized stuffed toy. Heat rushed to Florian’s cheeks, and he could feel his heartbeat accelerate, which he hoped Aster wouldn’t hear in their sleep. They looked so perfectly comfortable, so happy… Damn it, how was he supposed to get up for work? How could anyone ask him to end this moment?
Florian carefully adjusted the silk scarf wrapped around their head and made sure that their scrunchie was still in place, keeping all of their hair piled on top of their head. Once he was certain that it was all in order, that not a single curl would be crushed as they slept, he shifted ever so slightly, trying to get out from under Aster. This instantly earned a small whine and an even tighter grasp around him. …Well, he was trapped completely, he supposed. No way he could get out of that. Perhaps he could show up to work on time, instead of early, that wouldn’t be the end of the world, surely.
Florian decided to run a small test of sorts. “…You’re so cute.” He made his voice a quiet whisper, to assure that it would have absolutely no chance of waking Aster. The test was a success, that was… so much easier to say when they were asleep. He barely even felt his face growing red. If that was the case, then for just a bit, he would allow his emotions to take over, and the words to come out of him without thought.
“I love you so much. Meeting you is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I never knew I could feel like this, and all I want to do is to make you happy, to give you everything that you’ve given me. I hope we can be together like this, always.”
It was training, he told himself. Some day, some day he’d be a strong enough person to say all of it when Aster was awake without stammering or looking away. For now, this would do. He craned his neck downwards, an awkward angle, to place a kiss on their forehead, gently brushing some of their dangling hair out of the way in order to reach it.
They were unspeakably beautiful in this moment, as they were in all moments. The freckles dotted across their nose, their sunset color of their hair, their flushed cheeks, one of which was so adorably squished from sleeping on it… Every second that he loved them, they only grew more beautiful in his eyes. He only wished he had better words for it all, that he could so easily convey exactly how they made him feel.
How could something like this be forbidden? Something that only made the world shine brighter? Florian had never questioned the rules in his time as a knight before, only accepted them at face value. Things simply were the way they were, and they would remain that way for the rest of time. But, now he couldn’t help but think that if more angels felt love, then they could never enforce that rule again. After all, how could anyone go back once they’d felt this joy? Perhaps it was naive of him, to think that everyone would understand and accept it all if only they were in his shoes… But he wanted to believe that was the truth.
Glancing out towards the rising sun, Florian knew he was going to be late for work at this point. But, for once in his time as a knight, he couldn’t quite bring himself to care. All that he wanted to protect was right here, in his arms.