#felinnette

Felix cracked an eye open to see pale, watery light spilling in from the window, slowly arcing across the stone floors and the colourful rugs Annette had bought just after they’d married.

He ran a hand through his hair, the cool dawn air biting against his skin. The bedroom door was wide open, and he could see long shadows stretching along the wall, changing and shifting at the movement of whoever was beyond the door.

“Annette,” he called out, his voice still thick and heavy with sleep. “What are you doing?”

Annette poked her head through the doorway, looking sheepish. Her unbound hair brushed against her shoulders in loose, messy waves, like she’d just woken up, but her eyes were bright like she’d been awake for hours.

“Oh no,” she whined. “You have to be asleep! Go back to sleep!”

He sat up, the blankets pooling on his lap. “I can’t sleep when there’s so much noise.”

She scrunched her shoulders up to her ears, her cheeks flushing. “I’m sorry. I’ll be quieter.”

Felix sighed, running a hand through his own unbound hair. “Why don’t you come back to bed?” He held out a hand. “It’s cold.”

Annette whined, her brow wrinkling. “I can’t.”

Felix dropped his hand. “Why not?”

“I can’t tell you.”

He drew his brow together, confusion swarming through his sleep-addled mind. “What?”

Annette pursed her lips, growing tense. “It’s a surprise. A special surprise.”

A special surprise?

What could possibly be special enough that Annette had to wake up before the crack of dawn?

It wasn’t like it was his birthday or-

Oh.

Felix blinked slowly, counting out the days in his head. Time had lost some of its meaning over the last few months, everything blurring together in a whirlwind of new responsibilities and wedding planning and working to rebuild everything the war had almost destroyed.

But if he was doing his math right, then today was his birthday. Which no doubt had something to do with whatever Annette was planning.

“You don’t need to do anything for my birthday,” he said.

Annette pouted, crossing her arms. “But I want to. I want it to be special.”

“Why?” She flushed at that, crimson slowly blooming in her cheeks and reaching across her face as she fidgeted in the doorway.

“Annette?”

She played with the hem of her shirt. “It’s your first birthday where we’ve been married. I wanted to…” She trailed off, chewing on the corner of her lip. “I wanted to make it extra special. Because you’re special to me.”

Heat slowly crept up Felix’s face, and he felt some of his drowsiness melting away as she spoke. His heart ached, and he found himself pushing aside the sheets and making his way across the cold stone floors towards her.

Annette looked up as he paused in front of her, taking both of her hands in his. “Annette,” he said, warmth pooling in his heart as he met her pale blue eyes. “Every day is special with you. The only gift I could ask for is to spend all my days with you.”

Annette opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again, closed it again, but no words came out. Her cheeks flushed a brilliant scarlet, and she sighed deeply before wrapping her arms around his waist, pulling him into a tight embrace.

“Felix, no fair,” she cried. “You can’t just say sweet things like that. I’m supposed to make you feel special today!”

He bit back a laugh, resting his cheek against the top of her head as he returned the embrace. “You do make me feel special.”

“You’re just a big meanie,” she whined, burying her face against his chest.

“Does that mean you’ll come back to bed now?”

Annette pulled away, again looking sheepish. “I have to clean up the dishes I broke.”

Felix sighed, dragging her away from the mess that was no doubt right outside their door. “It’s fine. It can wait until later.”

Annette made a half-hearted attempt to pull away, but ultimately let him drag her back to bed.

She smiled, pressing a kiss to his forehead as she pulled the covers up around her shoulders. “I love you, Felix.”