Last night I was curled up in the couch corner for some quality reading time. My nesting partner came in from the cold, did his thing, and settled down not far from me to do some studying of his own. He put on Lo-Fi HipHop Beats to Study To, because that is how we roll around here.

We just vibed, enjoying each other’s company while doing our own thing. One of us would make a sound (him grumbling over Theory, me losing my shit reading Wind and Truth). Depending on how engrossed we were, we’d even respond to said sounds.

Living together. Existing together.

Eventually I hunkered down for a nap as the sun set, giving him one last look before I disappeared into the blanket nest to continue reading till I fell asleep.

"Hey! I love you!"

(a few seconds as it registers) "Oh! Love you too."

I thought to myself, "Oh, this is probably how Princess Carolyn felt." Content, assured in love, and is able to… get right back to work. Because she knows and feels it so deeply it can be summed up with a smile and a "Mm." And when we’re done with whatever we’re doing, we’ll be there for each other.

I was also given a handmade zine from him that articulated this feeling better than I could. I keep it in my headboard; it’s good to have something tangible to remind you of the sorta-intangible at times.

So I nodded off with a smile on my face.