• He awoke with a start, and then saw his own set of sheets above his head; Trent breathed a sigh of relief. It could only have been a nightmare; Trent reassured himself, and then pondered the source. Obviously that thick slice of cake he had before bed, he decided. It was either that, or the bottle of beer that he had in the middle of the night while searching for a snack.

    Reluctant to start a new day, he tugged one arm free of the tangle of sheets, then the other. The warm blanket was removed, and a wave of chilled night air swept over his dark, sweaty curls. The bedroom door was set open precariously, letting in the cold draft. One sharp glance to his right confirmed it was only his latest girlfriend up and about. This early?

    Another glance, this time to his left, which revealed the small, shiny, black alarm clock into his line of sight. The bright red letters that danced in the darkness shone a forbidding five thirty. He was late to get up.

    "Ana? Are you up?" Trent called, lifting his head slightly from his pillow to listen harder into the house. A grumpy murmuring came from the next room, and Trent smiled to himself.

    "You're going to be late for work." Ana mumbled, stumbling quietly into the doorway. In one hand was a steaming cup of coffee -- straight black, Trent presumed -- and in the other, a page of the newspaper. Her dark brown hair was frazzled and disrupted from the usual stylish bob. Her silver eyes were half shut and in obvious need of a few hours rest. Her long shirt was rumpled and her bare legs crossed at the ankles, her feet covered in a pair of light brown slippers. The baby blue robe she wore flowed down to the ground and swayed in the soft breeze as she stared relentlessly at Trent.

    "I'm up, I'm just not up up." Trent grumbled and swung his legs over the edge of the tall, queen-sized bed. He fluffed his almost-black curls and stood, his pajama pants twisted from the night's twist-and-turn episode.

    "You look terrible." Ana muttered and half-smiled, then scanned his half bare body.

    "You obviously haven't looked in a mirror." Trent retorted and swept her in his arms. He pressed his lips to hers and smiled. At her annoyed expression, he continued, "Actually, I changed my mind. You look quite beautiful this morning." He kissed her lovingly again and stalked to his closet.

    "You're obviously bluffing." Ana said with a smirk and settled on his side of the bed, curled her legs under her and she took a long drag of coffee.

    "You know me better than that, baby. I could never bluff with you around." Trent's head stuck out from the closet's door, a broad grin on his face. He pulled out two shirts, one a dim blue, the other one a slight reddish plaid. Without looking, Ana gestured to the red shirt that hung from Trent’s left wrist.

    Trent looked from her, to the shirt, and back up. "You're obviously bluffing." Trent repeated her and tossed the red shirt into the closet behind him. As he tugged the blue one over his head, Ana scanned the front page of the newspaper.

    "Hey, check this out." She said quietly and laid the paper on the sheets between the two of them, facing his direction so he could walk up and read it. As soon as he succeeded in putting on the short-sleeved polo, he leaned over the bed to read the small font.

    "An escape from the labs? What could possibly be escaping?" Trent asked without looking up. Ana shrugged and peeled the paper from the bed, folded it in half, stood and stretched onto her toes to reach his lips. After a brief kiss, she stalked out of the room and out into the kitchen that was adjoined to the living room beyond the door. After pulling on a pair of long jeans and some socks over his exposed feet, he followed close behind.

    “Is there anything special for breakfast, love?” Trent asked and yawned, automatically making his way to the near empty coffee pot. He poured himself a cup and took a drink, then winced at the bitter taste. On a second thought, he added some cream and sugar.

    “Only the same as always. Make yourself some cold cereal.” Ana drank some more coffee, then eyed Trent’s cup. She traded their cups and sighed contentedly after she took a gulp. She took her single piece of toast and took off with his coffee, headed to the long couch in the living room. With a flick of a switch, the room exploded with light, exposing the flowing drapes that covered the half open window, the couch, the small radio that sat off to the side on a short table.

    With a short, soft sigh, he filled the rest of Ana’s cup with cream and spooned a bit of sugar into the liquid. After a quick stir, he downed half the cup in one drink.

    “You’re going to be late for work.” Ana reminded him and sipped at the coffee, and Trent glanced at his watch.

    “The bus doesn’t come for another fifteen minutes.”

    “It takes that long to get down there. Now go.” Ana waved her hand to the door. Trent narrowed one eye slightly in confusion and slipped his shoes on quickly. He grabbed his sweatshirt and let his hand hesitate over the doorknob.

    “I love you.” Trent said quietly, then opened the door and walked out.

    “You too.” Ana answered before he closed the door.