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The first thing he noticed when he arrived within hearing distance of his home was the stillness. The shift he just finished has been taxing. The little girl had passed despite his best efforts to save her life and he felt helpless. He was an immortal being; he should have been able to work faster or harder to save her but even his inhuman talents were no use tonight. All he wanted to do was hold you, to bury his face in your neck and wrap his arms around your warm body. He knew you would probably be fast asleep but his undead heart silently prayed to a God he had long since believed in that you had gotten your nose stuck in a book.
The quiet hum of the car’s engine was the only noise besides the ever present flutter of the leaves in the wind and creatures in the night. His eldest son might have loved the twilight but he was becoming more entranced with midnight. The time of night when everything is sleeping and quiet and calm. He has begun to find solace in your favorite time of day; it brings memories of moonlit dances to your favorite songs and stargazing on clear nights where you point out constellations. Tonight was no different. Thankful for his enhanced senses, he spent most of his drive staring out at the moon. She was beautiful tonight, sparkling against a backdrop of small stars. He briefly considered waking you to pull you out into the forest to spend time admiring the view.
As soon as his car was pulling into the driveway, he searched the home for any lights. His children were all out hunting for the weekend so the only movement in the house would have been you but there was none. The tinted windows lining the home were all reflecting the forest back at him.
Bypassing the light switches, he strolled into his home in the dark. He stopped briefly to hang his scarf and scrubs in the rack next to the garage before peering into the kitchen. There were no dishes on the counters but he could smell the scent of food and took comfort in the fact that you remembered to eat dinner. Living with vampires set your internal clock to a weird schedule as you found early on in the relationship. Thankful of his immortality and lack of need to eat, he silently sped towards his bedroom.
The second he reached the first floor housing his study and room, he was met with disappointment. By the steady beating of your heart, he could tell you were asleep.
Not wanting to wake you, he slipped into the bathroom off of his study to shower. He liked to rid himself of the hospital smells as soon as possible so they didn’t linger in his home to bother his children. Since you were asleep, he had no reason to rush. He washed and rinsed quicker than a human would but still slower than his normal routine when he knows you’re waiting.
After slipping into fresh clothes, he toweled his wet hair and made his way to the bedroom. The moment he walked through the door he could tell you weren’t asleep. Your breathing was slow and steady along with your heart beat; anyone that didn’t know you as closely as he, would assume you were dreaming but your hands were clenched around the pillow you held to your chest. The sight of you snuggled up under his covers never failed to send sparks under his skin.
With a grin, he threw the towel at the hamper and walked over to your sprawled out form, “Hi sweetheart”.
Your eyes opened in the cutest little squint as you realized he was right in front of you. He knelt before the bed and moved a hand to push back a strand of hair from your face as he smiled at you sweetly.
“Hi” you whispered back, voice cracking from lack of use. He gave you a moment to yawn and wipe your eyes before he handed you the glass of water from your nightstand. You sat up and took a sip before handing it back to him with a wiggling hand. As soon as it was down, you were reaching towards his arms to pull him onto the bed.
He went willingly, letting you guide him to lying partially draped over your body. His head found its favorite place to nose at your neck. You had asked him once if being so close to your pulse bothered him but he found himself loving his enhanced senses in those moments. Always having the definitive proof that you were there and healthy and breathing set his mind at ease. You smelled the most like yourself there. That area held no perfumes or lotions with added smells to change your unique scent. Whenever he got the chance, he loved being able to watch you squirm in delight as he buried his face beside you.
Tonight, he guessed, you were warned by the resident pixie as to his needs and kept yourself up for him. He took a moment to run the tip of his nose gently up and down your neck. His ear found a home against your pulse and he peppered soft kisses along the hollow of your neck and collarbone. You would giggle slightly at each kiss, a hiccup like sound meshed with chiming bells that he recorded in his mind to listen to when he missed you.
Somehow you always knew what he needed. You didn’t ask about his day or anything else, letting the only noise come from your hands. One rocking back and forth in shapes down his back while the other toyed with the quickly drying tips of his hair. The silence didn’t hang heavy between you, it settled like morning dew in a way that only years of friendship could foster. Later on, he would ask about your day, tell you how much he loved you, how grateful he is for you, but for now, he let the soft caress of your touch lull him into a stillness that he spent centuries searching for.