Cuddling in the first morning light
Vax hates Greyskull Keep. It's drafty and cold and echoey. And they all have separate rooms. That's definitely the worst part. He misses sleeping with his sister's back to his, with Pike's soft breathing, Grog's awful snoring. He hardly sleeps the first night in the keep. He wants to go to his sister, but she deserves her space.
Vax drags himself out of bed and out his bedroom door. The halls are dark, only illuminated by one torch. Vax can hear Grog's snoring coming from down the hall and he smiles to himself as he plods down the stairs. He's not sure where he's going, but as soon as he reaches the first floor, he feels his hackles raise.
He wraps a hand around one of his knives, slowly drawing it from his belt. His eyes catch on the dining room, there's a soft light coming from inside. Vax starts slowly making his way down the hall. He pauses outside the door, listening. Upon hearing nothing, he yanks the door open, ready to attack.
Keyleth gasps loudly, almost falling out of her chair as she whips to look at him with frightened eyes. "Fuck, Keyleth," Vax chuckles, stowing his knife as his heart rate settles.
"Fuck yourself," she responds, the pauses and immediately blushes deep red. "That's-that's not what I meant-"
Vax chuckles and shakes his head as he walks deeper into the room, "You're fine, you're fine. Sorry I scared you." It's as Keyleth tucks her hair behind her ears that Vax realizes she is wearing a white nightgown with a sheer bathrobe over it. "Do you want me to...?" He nods to the door.
"No! I mean, no, it's fine," she says as she pulls the chair out beside her. Vax smiles softly at her as he sinks into the chair. "Can't sleep?"
"Nope." He sighs. "Never liked having my own room."
"The window in my room rattles," Keyleth says softly. "Wouldn't let me sleep. Sorry, yours sounds a lot more serious."
"Nah," Vax kicks his legs up on the table. "We don't have to compare."
Keyleth looks at him, anxiously chewing her bottom lip. "Would...Would having someone with you help you sleep?"
Vax sighs. "Yeah, but I'm not about to go wake up Vex. Pickle might let me, but she's been having a hard time." He chuckles humorlessly. "I'll just stay up, maybe go train for a few hours."
"No, um, I'm offering," Keyleth stutters out, her blush deepening. "Just if you need someone...I can be there."
"You'd do that?" Vax asks. Something in his chest catches as she smiles at him and nods. "Yeah, that'd be incredible, Kiki."
"Your room though," she says quickly. "Your window probably isn't as loud."
Vax nods. The two of them walk up the stairs to Vax's bedroom with a significant amount of awkwardness. After the door shuts behind them, Vax makes his way over to his bed and crawls onto the left side, sticking close to the edge. In the darkness, Vax watches Keyleth tentatively make her way around the bed and slip under the blankets. She lies facing him, tucking her hands under her head. With Keyleth against the other edge of the bed, there's at least a foot and a half of space between them.
Something in Vax's head tells him to reach over to her and to pull her against his chest, keep her warm and safe. But he can't, she's his friend. As much as he wishes they could be something more.
"Night, Kiki," he murmurs, already feeling sleep weigh on his eyelids.
"Goodnight," comes her soft reply.
Vax sleeps deeply, never waking up in the middle of the night. Which is why it comes as a surprise to him when he wakes up in the morning to find a warm weight in his arms. He frowns and blinks open his eyes. The first beams of sunrise pour over the window sill, lighting the room. And the woman sleeping in his arms.
Vax looks down and sees Keyleth curled against his chest, her soft hair on his arm, a slight smile on her face. And he aches. She is so beautiful, so warm and soft in his arms. He can't help but think about how right it feels to have her curled against him. But she is not his to want like that so with great effort, he slowly pulls himself from bed, making sure not to wake her as he lays her down against his pillow.
Vax quickly gets dressed and starts to leave, but as he closes the door, he takes a last look at Keyleth, asleep in his bed with the sunrise setting her hair on fire, freckles visible along her shoulders and back.
