Another night of celebration had officially come to a close. This wasn't any ordinary celebration by the Tanner-Fuller crew, it happened to be a double the celebration between the 30 year Dad-iversary and the announcement that Kimmy was now successfully carrying the child of Stephanie and Jimmy.
There was clearly plenty to celebrate, but DJ couldn't shake the lingering feeling of sadness in the back of her mind.
She sighed and felt a wave of comfort from Steve wrapping his arms around her, pulling her in close. "What's on your mind, love?" asked Steve.
DJ shook her head. "I don't know..I guess I'm just thinking about how much I'm gonna miss you while you're gone." She hated the fact that she was so emotional over this when she was the one pushed him to go through with it in the first place.
Steve softly kissed her forehead and tilted her chin upwards so their eyes met. "Deej, I promise you these six months are going to fly by so fast. I'll call you everyday and I'll even come down to visit on weekends whenever I'm able to. I promise."
DJ wiped away at the tears beginning to form in her eyes as she smiled at Steve. He held her by her waist and planted a tender kiss on her lips.
His fingers traced little circles across DJ's lower back as he pulled away slowly. "Come home with me tonight." He offered as more of a question than statement.
DJ's bit her bottom lip softly and her heart began to race at the mere thought of spending the night with Steve. Finally, she spoke up. "I'd love to. I just have to let the family know first so they can watch the kids."
Steve smiled brightly. "Okay. I'll be waiting right here, sweetheart."
DJ turned to look around and spotted Stephanie nearby. "Hey, uh, Steph. I'm going home with Steve tonight so can you make sure the boys get home safely?"
It only took Stephanie a matter of seconds to put two and two together and she immediately raised her eyebrows, smirking teasingly at her older sister. "Ooh, going home with Steve, huh? I'm proud of you, sis. Have fun and be sure to do everything I would do"
DJ found herself blushing red at her sister's teasing. "Alright, that's enough. I will see you in the morning."
"Bye lovebirds" replied Stephanie.
DJ simply sighed and attempted to hide the smile curving on her lips. She walked up to Steve who was waiting for her by the door. "Ready to go." she said as she linked her arm with Steve's and headed out the door.
When they got to the car, Steve opened the passenger door for her before heading to the drivers side. Once they were both buckled in, Steve drove away towards his apartment.
With one hand on the steering wheel, Steve held DJ's hand with the other, intertwining their fingers and peppering soft kisses onto the front of her hand.
DJ relaxed in her seat, feeling content with the atmosphere of the music on the radio playing quietly, the sun going down outside, and the company of her soulmate.
Before long, they reached Steve's apartment complex. Steve got out of the car, once again opening the door for DJ. He took her by the hand and they held hands on the elevator ride up to his floor.
Arriving at the apartment, Steve flipped on a light switch and DJ looked around. She had only been to his apartment maybe twice before.
It was a fairly simple but nice looking condominium overlooking the city of San Francisco. DJ liked to imagine that her influence had a lot to do with the overall cleanliness.
She took a seat on his beige leather couch and observed his shelves that mainly consisted of his athletic trophies from his wrestling days, his med school diploma, as well as family photos and a quite extensive music collection.
DJ smiled to herself upon seeing the photo of her and her boys with Steve from their second first date two years ago.
"Hey Deej, I don't know about you, but I could go for some food right about now." said Steve, breaking her out of her daydream.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, food sounds good." replied DJ with a smile.
"Steak fajitas sound good to you?" asked Steve from the kitchen.
"Sounds delicious." said DJ.
She watched as Steve meticulously gathered the pans and utensils he would need as well as the ingredients.
While he cooked, DJ made herself at home, taking off her shoes and laying on the couch while she scrolled through the TV channels.
About thirty minutes later, Steve arrived with two plates. "Dinner is served, my lady."
DJ smiled appreciatively as she retrieved her plate and began to eat. "Wow, Steve this is really delicious. You did a great job."
"Aww, I'm glad you think so. I've been working really hard to perfect my cooking skills so I can cook meals for you more often." Steve explained.
"That's so sweet of you." said DJ, placing a hand on his leg.
Steve blushed slightly and leaned forward to softly kiss her lips. "Anything for my favorite girl."
After they finished eating, Steve turned on netflix and chose the first movie that sounded interesting. Though, it ultimately wouldn't matter considering that within the first five minutes, DJ and Steve were much more focused on each other rather than the movie.
The couple's passion-filled make out sessions lasted for minutes with no breaks in between. The feeling was very reminiscent of their high school days at the drive in or at Steve's old apartment all those years ago.
Steve broke away from her lips and now focused his attention on her neck and her chest. His kisses became more rapid as his desire for the woman before him increased.
"God, you're so beautiful.." He uttered breathlessly in between kisses.
DJ caressed the back of his head as she tried to regain enough composure to speak. "St-Steve..let's..let's go to your bedroom."
Steve stopped what he was doing, now staring deeply into her eyes. DJ stared back him, her eyes full of lust and the strongest of desires.
"O-okay..just one moment. Wait right here.." said Steve, stumbling nervously over his words which caused DJ to giggle a bit.
He disappeared to his bedroom and DJ waited on the couch, coming to terms with just how badly she wanted Steve, she crossed her legs and leaned back on the couch.
Steve came back out a few minutes later, he picked her up from the couch, carrying her bridal style to his bedroom.
He laid her on his bed and as she glanced around she noticed the vanilla scented candles lit around the room, as well as a smooth romantic playlist playing faintly in the background.
"I wanted this to be as romantic as possible for you. It could've been better, but you know, short notice and all." said Steve with a small shrug.
"Steve, just being here with you is all the romance I'll ever need." DJ assured him.
And with that, Steve's lips crashed right back into DJ's, his hands moving further up her dress. DJ felt a shiver down her spine from his touch.
As they kissed, DJ helped him remove her dress up over her head and it was quickly tossed to the floor.
Steve took in the marvelous sight of her body and DJ silently thanked herself for choosing her newly purchased bra and panty set to wear on that particular evening, a white and baby pink silk and lace bra and panties.
When he began rubbing her thighs, she again silently thanked herself for remembering to shave that day as well.
DJ laid further back onto the bed and without breaking the kiss, she pulled at the hems of Steve's shirt, which was then promptly removed.
She then ran her hands down his chest, admiring every inch of him. "Oh mylanta, my man is so gorgeous."
This caused Steve to smile as he kissed her, his hands traveling to unhook her bra, revealing her breasts. He tenderly squeezed and suckled on each of them, causing a small whimper to escape her lips.
Her nipples hardened underneath his hands and his lips, which only turned him on even more. One of his hands moved further down and he began rubbing her between her legs, quite surprised at just how wet she already was by that point.
Steve slipped his hand underneath the silk panties, and proceeded to graze his fingers across her wet folds, teasing her a little.
"S...St...Steve.." DJ crooned.
"Yes, darling?" answered Steve as his fingers gently pulled apart her lips.
"Touch me." she demanded, spreading her legs wider for him.
Steve did as he was told, inserting one finger inside of her. She gasped, biting her lip from the sensation.
He then began pumping his finger in and out of her. Her facial expressions, the sounds she was making, it was the most beautiful sight Steve had ever laid eyes on.
The man added another finger and DJ's hips bucked upwards, her walls tightening around his fingers that rubbed against her swollen clit.
Right when she was nearing the edge, she put her hand on his. "N- no more. I..I need you inside of me, Steve. I want you so bad.."
"How bad?" Steve teased in a seductive tone.
"More than anything in this world, baby.." replied DJ in an equally seductive tone.
There were no more words that needed to be spoken. Steve wanted the same thing just as desperately as DJ wanted it. The woman watched as he pulled off his pants and briefs in one swift motion.
DJ glanced down to see that Steve was rock hard and just as ready to be inside of her. He hovered over her, taking both of her hands and interlocking their fingers as he entered her slowly, kissing her while he did.
As he thrusted, increasingly picking up the pace, DJ moaned in pleasure. Steve was so attentive to her every need, hitting each of her weak spots like nothing she ever felt before, she swore she in that moment she was seeing stars.
DJ wrapped her legs around him tightly and Steve began rolling his hips, thrusting harder and as deeply as he possibly could.
Amidst the passionate love making were cries of "Oh god", "Oh yes", plenty of "I love you's" and even a quadruple oh mylanta from DJ.
The way their bodies and souls connected was a type of magic that neither of them could possibly begin to describe in words.
They continued this into the night until they were finally worn out from exhaustion and drifted to sleep entangled in each other's arms.
The next morning, Steve woke up before DJ, stunned by the beauty that lay next to him. DJ slept peacefully as the early morning sunlight peering in from the window hitting her golden hair at the perfect angle.
"Donna Jo Fuller, I am so in love with you." Steve said quietly as he gently kissed her forehead.
He then got out of bed, slipping on a pair of boxers and sweatpants, then went into the kitchen to cook breakfast for the two of them.
A short time later, Steve was finishing up the omelettes to go with their meal also consisting of bacon, pancakes, and fresh fruit.
DJ walked in and Steve's heart skipped a beat upon seeing how adorable she looked with her messy bed head, wearing one of his t-shirts that was way too big on her as well as a pair of his sweatpants.
"Good morning, love." said Steve, greeting her with a kiss.
"Morning, honey." said DJ as she sat on a barstool at the kitchen counter.
Steve handed her a cup of coffee already made exactly how she liked it. "Did you sleep okay?"
DJ nodded as she sipped her coffee. "It was the best sleep I've had in years. All thanks to you."
This caused Steve to blush slightly as he continued preparing their plates.
"Oh, and I hope you don't mind but I kinda used your toothbrush" DJ added.
Steve chuckled lightly. "Of course I don't mind. What's mine is yours."
They both took a seat at the dining room table once breakfast was ready and cherished each other's presence as they ate their food.
DJ spoke up after a few minutes of comfortable silence between them. "Steve, last night..last night was amazing. You were amazing."
Steve reached out to hold her hand that rested on the table. "So were you. Beyond amazing. I can hardly wait until I'm home for good in six months and we can do this a lot more often. More often meaning everyday for the rest of our lives."
DJ giggled softly, that was certainly a concept she could get behind. However, a part of her felt a little bit of that sadness coming up again at being reminded of Steve's impending departure.
Steve seemed to have read her mind, because in that moment he squeezed her hand, rubbing his thumb across the front of it. "I love you, DJ. And like I said before, these six months will fly by."
"I love you too. And you're absolutely right. You always know just what to say to make me feel better" said DJ as she leaned forward to kiss him.
Finally, the dreaded moment had arrived. Steve had one more day left in San Francisco which meant one more car ride and DJ would be saying goodbye to Steve for six whole months.
In Steve's room, DJ collected her dress from the floor and started to put it back on when Steve stopped her. "You can keep the shirt and sweatpants. Think of me when you wear them while I'm away?"
"I'll definitely do that" said DJ, smiling warmly.
After Steve put on a shirt and shoes, DJ grabbed her purse along with her dress and heels, and they headed out of the apartment.
As they drove off, DJ was looking out the window, thinking of just how deeply in love she was with Steve and the sacrifices she was willing to make for him.
Her thoughts were soon interrupted by the Steve turning up the radio and she realized their song was playing. (Everything I Do) I Do It For You by Bryan Adams.
Instinctively, both Steve and DJ began singing along at the top of their lungs. It was almost poetic just how true those lyrics had become over the course of their relationship.
The song eventually faded out despite the fact that neither of them wanted the moment to ever end.
Steve was now pulling into the driveway of the Tanner-Fuller home and when he stopped the car he got out to walk DJ to the door.
Now standing on the front porch, Steve wrapped his arms around DJ's waist and pulled her in for one final passionate kiss goodbye. The couple savored every moment until they finally had to break for air.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now, Deej." said Steve.
"Promise you'll call me as soon as you make it there?" responded DJ.
"Promise." Steve confirmed as he gave her one last kiss.
"Bye, Steve. Good luck with the Lakers" said DJ.
"I have all the luck in the world knowing that I have you." said Steve.
After one more hug and wrapping up their goodbyes, DJ waved him off before finally heading into her house.
She shut the door behind her and leaned back against it, closing her eyes. DJ was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she hadn't even noticed Stephanie sitting there on the couch.
"So how was your big night with Steve?" questioned Stephanie.
"Magical." DJ replied simply.
"Oh my god, so it happened?" asked Stephanie excitedly.
"I don't kiss and tell." said DJ, shrugging her shoulders.
"Hmm well I'm assuming you did a lot more than kiss.." said Stephanie.
"You'd be assuming correctly." DJ mumbled under her breath.
"What was that? You wanna say that a little louder, Deej?" teased Stephanie. "In all honesty though, I'm really happy for you DJ."
"Thank you. I am too. I'm really happy." said DJ. And for the first time in so long, she meant those words with every fiber of her being.