#directed both at alyx and at myself for this unmitigated FLUFF

[aethernoise]

rest prompt: moonlight. trying to stay up until a loved one comes back home. :3c

Alyx may have already gone to bed, but she clearly had no immediate intention of sleeping. The lamps were lit, and she was sitting mostly upright on top of the covers rather than under them, propped up by multiple pillows. Evidence she had been reading lay beside her--a book still open but clearly set aside on purpose rather than dropped. She was in a state of in-between, not yet dressed for bed but clearly undressed for comfort: tights and socks still on, skirt hiked comfortably up her folded legs, and the high collar of her shirt drooping wide. 

All of these details were, in Aymeric’s mind, familiar, and rather unremarkable (assuming it were possible to claim anything about Alyx was unremarkable). But as he approached, wincing all the while at that one particular floorboard’s announcement of his arrival, he was struck by a detail wholly unfamiliar and quite remarkable indeed: she was wearing glasses.

He had never, ever seen her in any kind of spectacles, nor had he ever known her to require them. These were subtle, nearly rimless, as un-encumbering to her features as was likely possible for such an adornment to be. Aymeric felt then as if he had stumbled not upon a common scene, but a glimpse of a carefully guarded secret.

Another familiar detail: Alyx was almost immediately awake upon his entrance to the room. Even without the traitorous manor floorboards, it was nearly impossible to sneak up on her. She perked up with a sharp inhale and blinked furiously into the scene she had woken into, reaching first for her book, and then, instantly, for the glasses.

Aymeric said nothing, just smiled at her in triumphant glee.

Alyx snatched them from her now deeply-reddening face.

“Not a word,” she threatened groggily.

“Not even one?” 

Her energy snapped back from dozing in the form of an extremely rapid defense: “I only wear them occasionally because sometimes I get awful headaches if I’m reading when I’m tired and ever since I came back from the First it’s been happening a lot more and I needed to do something to--”

“Adorable,” Aymeric said through a chuckle, “If I am to be limited to one word.”

Alyx groaned, rolled her eyes and frowned all at the same time, which produced a result arguably more adorable than the glasses.

“I am not teasing!” Aymeric realized it was difficult to convince her of such when the claim was made through laughter, “Truly, I think they look quite fetching.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled, still pouting, still blushing, still gods damned adorable, “Welcome home.”