Aesop x reader || fluff

I'm sorry^^ this chapter is going to be a little short and probably more errors than normal,,, I have a raging headache and I'm super dizzy haha

Cold is nothing but the absence of heat. You could say with confidence that heat was something you were severely lacking. The middle of winter and the middle of the night made a frigid combination that kept you awake. You dragged your blanket off your bed, immediately regretting your decision as the cold floor froze your bare feet. Bundling yourself tighter in the fluffiest blanket you owned, you shivered all the way down to the library, where you knew a fireplace would be ready to shield you from the harsh temperature. You were surprised to see the light emitted by the fire underneath the door when you arrived. You sighed, weighing your options. You didn't really feel like being near anyone, but if you went back to your room, you would still be cold. Braving the social anxiety, you pushed the door open with the slightest creak, notifying whoever was in the library of your entry. Your eyes caught the grey eyes of Aesop, and you released a quiet sigh of relief. Of anyone that could be in the library at this time of night, he was the best.

"May I sit next to you?" You whispered with the intent to make him feel as comfortable as possible. He nodded at you, then turned away to stare back into the fire. You noticed his absence of a blanket. Wordlessly, you tapped on his shoulder, moving yourself ever-so-slightly closer to him and offering him half of the cover. He pushed himself closer to you almost unnoticeably, but you knew, taking part of the blanket and wrapping it around his opposite shoulder. As you stared into the fire, you began to think. He didn't jump or shy away from your touch as he normally would anyone else, the thought itself made you smile. Set on your face was a comfortable, pleased expression. Your fixated eyes reflected not only the fire warming you from the outside, but the fire keeping you warm from the inside as well. Your lips turned up in a modest grin, keeping your face as relaxed as your mind.

"What are you thinking about?" You could barely hear Aesop's slow, silent voice over the soft crackle of the fire. You decided to take a chance. With great care, you set your head on his shoulder, further reducing the space between you and murmured back.

"I'm thinking about how happy I am, just like this."

He didn't push you away; he didn't even try to shrug you off of his shoulder. He hummed in reply, satisfied with your answer. Though he didn't seem to mind your proximity to him, his hands were gripping the hem of his shirt. Your eyes traveled to his face, taking in the blush you could clearly see despite his mask. You took one of his hands in yours, resting it on his lap. He became less tense as you circled your thumb across the back of his hand. You really hoped that he was comfortable; knowing him, he wouldn't tell you to stop if he knew it made you happy. You were going to ask if he was ok with what you were doing, however, he gave you an answer before you knew it. While you were watching your hands, you felt a sudden pressure on your head. With the same smile as yours on his face, he had fallen asleep leaning against you. Using the last of your energy, you closed what little distance there was between you and pulled the blanket around to cover you evenly, then fell asleep with him.

If you were to be honest, the floor of the library was not the most convenient place to fall asleep, but with someone next to you, someone you loved, you were on cloud nine. Especially when you woke up on his lap, a soft, continuous stroking motion on your head pulling you from your depths of sleep. You don't know at what point of the night did the fire die down, or at what point your head moved from his shoulder to his extended legs, but you were fine with it. You were immersed in the feeling of his hand rhythmically petting you. You heard his low chuckle when you revealed your consciousness by snuggling yourself further into him. You guessed that it was still early in the morning by the fact that if he thought there was the possibility that someone could walk into the library, he wouldn't be this confident. You never expected him to take the romantic initiative and give you affection like this; in fact, you never expected him to want to be romantic towards you at all, yet here you were, enthralled with his actions. You didn't want to ruin this moment, you wanted to stay like this forever, but you concluded that if you've been laying on his legs like this for more than a few hours, then he was probably pretty tired of the extra weight. For a moment, you regret your decision as you caught the pout on his face when you removed yourself from his lap, but you continued.

"Are you hungry? Can I make you breakfast?" You held your hand out to help him up, instead of simply nodding or shaking his head, he gave you a reply.

"A little, I'd like to eat together." Internally, you praised him. You loved his voice, and you were happy knowing that he trusted and liked you enough to share his voice with you. You couldn't help the smile on your face, though when he noticed it was directed towards him, he looked away with a blush. Hand-in-hand, the two of you walked to the kitchen. Starting with two cups of hot tea, you decided to make breakfast together, settling on the choice of a warm French toast meal. You realized that the past few hours you've spent with Aesop made you smile more than you've ever noticed, and the same could be the same for him. When the two of you finished breakfast preparation and sat down to eat, you caught a glimpse of the time. The clock read 5:30 am, well before anyone would be waking up. There was no idle chit-chat between you and him as you ate, only knowing glances shared between the two of you, silently sharing each other's feelings. You no longer felt the absence of warmth knowing Aesop was going to be with you forever.

(kinda long) a/n: what I am about to say has nothing to do with Aesop, but I have to say it anyways, I've been thinking about it all day. I take back everything I've said about Edgar being a brat. Have you seen the official christmas art and the christmas video? You cannot tell me that an arrogant bastard would have such a precious smile and wear a cute little crop-top. I used to think I didn't like him, but I've come to terms with the fact that Edgar is just plain cute and nothing will change my mind. He is a sweetheart, I don't make the rules.

Anyways, sorry (: idk why I felt the need to say that.

So what I wanted to really say in this is that it's december, you know what that means? Christmas Prompts! Well, more like, if anyone has a specific wintery story idea that they would like written, I'm totally happy with that ^^

I hope you enjoyed! Have a wonderful day!