After a good night rest with Sarah, Stan woke slowly.
Morning light had already begun filtering through the bedroom curtains by the time consciousness fully returned. Sarah was still asleep against his shoulder, her breathing soft and even, her hair fanned across the pillow and spilling over his arm. The overnight bag she'd brought rested at the foot of the bed, now unpacked and neatly rearranged, a small domestic detail that suggested she'd decided, sometime during the night, to settle in comfortably and make herself at home.
For a few quiet moments, he simply held her, reluctant to disturb the peaceful stillness of the morning.
Eventually, he shifted, and she stirred with him. She blinked awake, smiled sleepily, and they eased into the gentle rituals of a shared morning.
