The blaring sound of the alarm cut through the silence, signaling the start of another early morning for Aella and Emily. Aella groaned softly, stretching her arms before turning to her girlfriend, who was still curled up under the blankets. She reached out, giving her a gentle nudge.

“Psst… baby, time to get up,” Aella murmured, her voice still heavy with sleep.

Emily, who had stayed up way too late the night before, let out a groggy sigh. She buried her face deeper into the pillow before reluctantly cracking open her eyes. “I’m going… I’m going…” she mumbled, rubbing at the sleep still clinging to her.

They had no choice but to wake up—it was game day. Emily had a basketball match to prepare for, and that meant dragging themselves out of bed at the ungodly hour of five in the morning.

With a sigh, Aella swung her legs over the side of the bed and pushed herself up. She shuffled toward the bathroom, flipping on the light before reaching for her toothbrush. She wanted to get her morning routine done as quickly as possible—she still had to pick up the baby, feed them, and then get dressed.

Behind her, Emily groaned dramatically before finally forcing herself to sit up. She ran a hand through her messy hair, then followed Aella’s lead, trudging toward the sink to brush her teeth. she was tired a little bit too tired