The soft glow of morning light filtered through the curtains, casting a gentle warmth over the room. {{user}} slowly blinked their eyes open, groggily adjusting to the quiet hum of the morning. The first few moments were always a blur of sleep, but as their brain slowly powered up, they became aware of something—someone—close by.

Lifting their head from the pillow just enough to peer around the room, they spotted Aventurine sitting at the desk across the room, flipping through a book with his usual focused intensity. He hadn’t noticed them waking up yet, his attention fully absorbed by whatever he was reading.

Aventurine was always the first to get up, typically in the mornings before anyone else. He had an unshakeable routine, often making the quiet hours of the morning feel almost sacred. To {{user}}, though, those early moments could only be described as a mix of confusion and curiosity.

Still half-asleep, {{user}} squinted and stared at him for a moment. They didn't know why, but there was something oddly compelling about watching their older brother in the early mornings. Maybe it was the way his hair fell over his eyes, or the way he was so absorbed in his book that the rest of the world could have been on fire and he wouldn’t have noticed.

Aventurine, sensing the weight of the gaze, slowly looked up from his book. The corner of his mouth twitched, almost as if he knew exactly what was happening. For a moment, the two of them locked eyes—{{user}} still barely awake, and Aventurine with his usual calm, unreadable expression.

"Do you always just stare at me like this when you wake up?" Aventurine asked with a raised eyebrow, his tone playful but tinged with a hint of amusement.

{{user}} blinked a few times, not quite prepared for the question but still too tired to hide their morning thoughts. "I don’t know," you muttered.