Sometime before Chapter 6. Anna

The light coos of morning doves and chirps of early birds awoke me from my slumber. Taking a brief glance at the bottom edges of the tent, relief filled my heart at the sign of no light. I've trained myself to wake before the sun, but it was still refreshing to see that I made it in time, and maybe even a few minutes to spare. After all, this whole relationship with Chrom was built on secrecy and clever planning.

My dear fiancé - the term still sounded new to my ears - convinced me to sleep in his tent every night. The whole idea was stupid and dangerous, but somehow, his constant badgering and cuddles really grew on me. Plus, the man was a living furnace; such a thing was a godsend in the chilling weather.

However, sleeping in the same bed as him came with its own challenges. For example, his cot was slightly larger and of a better quality than the rest of ours - only by a small margin, though - but we still had to squeeze close together for there to be any room for the both of us. Another example is that the lug sometimes rolled over and crushed me in his sleep. The third one I could think of was that I couldn't get out of bed without waking him up, seeing that he held onto me with such fervor.

But, with all of the challenges came rewards. It was nice to have someone to wake up to, to see them at the start of every single day. Sometimes, I would just watch his peacefully sleeping face as I whispered sweet nothings I was too nervous to say when he was awake. And, I wasn't totally against him holding onto me so tightly. There was just something about him that made you feel so protected, no matter the situation...

I placed a hand on the face of my fiancé, feeling the soft ends of his hair with the tips of my fingers. I cupped his cheek even more, wishing I could just go in for a kiss. His skin was soft beneath mine. He was quiet, calm. Not a damn thing would hurt or disturb him, not as long as I breathed air.

However, my ministrations seemed to be just enough to wake him. He squinted slightly, eyes still shut, and pulled me even closer to him. "Time?" His voice was husky with grogginess, his brain unable to fully form words to get his point across, but I understood him all the same.

"Yeah, I have to go." I pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "Good morning, my love."

He cracked his eyes open, smiling. "Good morning." I wanted to stay here forever. This was our own, private, little world.

"I'll see you again, though. We have a strategy meeting right before breakfast, remember?" I started to get up, my bones cracking and creaking with every movement. I should get Stahl to crack my back again. My whole body has been killing me.

"M'kay..."

As soon as I was fully up, Chrom burst out laughing. I looked around, trying to find what was so amusing to him. I gave him a look. "What? What's wrong?"

He sat up with me, wiping away a tear. "S-sorry, love. But, well, your hair!"

My face went white. I put a hand to my hair and sure enough, I could feel that it was a knotted, frizzy mess.

Another challenge of sharing a bed with Chrom: I stopped wearing my hair up at night. What I normally did in the past was wear my hair in a bun or ponytail while I slept so I could avoid all the rigorous brushing in the morning; it wasn't much, but it certainly saved me a few minutes in the morning. However, I started wearing it down again because Chrom enjoyed running his hands through my hair as we fell asleep - and in general, to be honest. I would normally protest but gods, I really like it when he plays with my hair. It always tickles in such a pleasurable way.

I averted my gaze from his. "Sh-shut up! You don't know what it's like to have long hair! Besides, your hair is messy, too!"

Chrom ran his hand through his sleep-tousled hair in emphasis, still laughing. "Anna, I'm not the one who looks like three birds make their home in my hair!"

"Fine! Maybe I'll wear it up again!" I growled.

He tried calming down, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me close. "No, no! Don't! I'm sorry!" he chuckled. "Do you need some help? I'm really good at detangling hair."

I rolled my eyes, willingly leaning even further against him. "How?"

"I have two sisters."

"Oh, er, right." I took a strand into my fingers, trying to fiddle with it but the knots giving me a hard time. "I-I think I can handle it. I can't extend my stay here much longer, anyway."

He nuzzled his face into my hair, breathing me in. "You're not over-staying. You're always welcome here." He rumbled against my skin.

"But that doesn't matter when we're trying to keep our relationship secret, does it?" I found one of his hands, taking it in mine. "I have to go."

He squeezed my hand, nuzzling even further against me. "I don't want you to..."

"I don't, either." I turned, taking his face in mine. "It won't be like this forever. One day, when we're married, we'll be able to stay with each other as much as we want, all right?"

"And I can help you with your hair?"

I laughed, resting my forehead on his chest. "Yes, you will be able to play with my hair all you want."

He kissed the top of my head. "Sounds like a plan."

What a dork...

*****
RIP my hair in the mornings. It seriously gets so tangled. I didn't wear it up at all this weekend and I deeply regretted it. I also like not having to brush it too much in the morning cuz it's soooooo poofy. Also, the whole thing about loving people play with my hair is so flipping true. It always feels so nice and ticklish. It also makes me feel loved and appreciated. I think these A/N's are turning into me doting on my significant other 😂 . Yeah, that's all I got. Thank you so much for reading and look forward to reading more!

Next Prompt: June 13th - "Home"

Link: https://youtu.be/QOmHCywnJLQ