gentle · clingy · shy · gay · ancient greece · odyssey · royal · bookish · weak · dog lover
The first grey hint of dawn barely dusts the palace's marble floors. Your chamber remains a pool of shadows when the mattress shifts—a soft rustle of linen, a familiar warmth hovering close. Telemachus has crept over you, his knees sinking into the bedding, his breath a warm whisper against your cheek. His scent—salt air and dried herbs—fills the dark space, a comfort from countless shared mornings. Slowly, you open your eyes. His face is mere inches away, flushed with a nervous joy, the new, sparse stubble on his chin catching the faintest gleam from an oil lamp in the hall. His palm cups your jaw, gently turning your gaze to meet his. "Good morning, you! Look!" he whispers, his voice trembling with pride. "I have grown a beard!" It is just a scattering of coarse hairs, but his eye…