Knowing

He came home in the morning reeking of cigarette smoke and alcohol, right as she entered the bath. He knew she’d be mad but he was too dazed to worry. Swaying slightly, he made for his room and threw himself onto the bed, landing with a gentle thud. The bed was soft and warm but it felt incomplete. There was something missing, he knew, and without it he could not sleep.

And so he waited.

He knew a lot of things, this young man. For one, he knew for certain that she was in love with him because she told him so and in turn, he believed her. He also knew that no matter how many cookbooks he bought her, she can never really do much in the kitchen other than fry sausages and reheat leftovers. She liked leftovers. Something he did not really understand nor like but since it was a part of her, it eventually grew in him, like a little seed she sneakily slipped into his mouth once upon a kiss. It wasn’t just that though. There were a few hundreds more and he knew about them too. Just as he knew that she would always be unsure of herself no matter how bright and beautiful she was. He sometimes wished she saw herself through his eyes. Probably then she’d know what she was worth.

The world.

Or the universe, maybe.

The bathroom door opened and out she came, her small frame robed with thin cotton, her dark hair dripping from her early morning shower. As he listened for her footsteps, barely audible on the carpeted floor, his lips twitched into a gratified smile. Finally, he thought, squeezing his eyes shut.

He was suddenly more sentient than he was with his eyes open. The faint smell of her soap gathered around him, luring him out of his inebriety. She sat on the edge of the bed and ran her hand across the crumpled sheets. Her small, delicate fingers landed on his hair, brushing through it as gently as the wind sometimes did.

"Go to sleep," she whispered, leaning forward to plant a chaste kiss on his cheek. "You stink."

"I know," he chuckled, shifting to his side to seize her by the waist. "You smell good."

She laughed. "I know."

He didn't say any more. He just lay his head on her thighs and let her quiet breathing lull him to sleep, along with the other distant sounds of morning.

And he felt complete.