A/N I'm still on holiday and actually about to board my flight back to the UK but thought you deserved another fic first. This is post ep 25.07.15
Two Hearts At Home
"Are you sure you meant it? Are you sure that you don't care that I can't have kids?" Zoe asked as she lay curled up with her new fiancé after the hellish day they'd had.
"Of course I am Zoe, I can think of nothing better than being your husband and I meant it when I said that you were more than enough." Max explained, pulling Zoe a little closer, before placing a kiss on her lips.
"Are you sure this isn't a mistake?" Zoe checked, echoing Greta's words from earlier in the day despite having not having been there when they were said.
"Zoe I can't believe you'd even ask that. I love you more than I'd ever dreamed xwas possible, when I'm with you I feel safe and happy. Even when we argue, something inside me is still thrilled that you're still with me and that each time you stay instead of walking away, and that is why this could never be a mistake. Does that answer your question?"
"You realise that I feel the same, right? I know that I've never told you how I feel but I'm still here aren't I and I agreed to marry you? I just couldn't admit how I feel until you knew about the children thing, and I knew that I wasn't going to get hurt. Today I said a lot about this being the end of us, that we weren't right together and that we were being stupid to keep going, and at the time I thought I meant it. It's now that I know that I was wrong, that it was a defence mechanism of some kind because losing you would shatter my heart. I couldn't end it even if I wanted to because I'd keep coming back, I'm addicted to you and I love it. I'm in love with you, I've always been in love with you. There isn't an activity known tooa man that I don't think is enhanced by doing it with you, I love you Max Walker." Zoe told him only to realise that he'd been stunned into silence by her declaration of love, as she wasn't the type of person who laid her heart on the table. He moved even closer to his partner and kissed her before pulling back to speak, it seemed to be a day for getting out feelings and so he decided to get more feelings out.
"I can't believe how lucky I am, how did I manage to get the most stunning woman I have ever seen to fall in love with me? I feel more proud of you everyday with everything you achieve and with that I fall in love with you more everyday, and everyday I wonder how it's possible to love you anymore."
"I'm just as lucky to have you, you know. At first the age gap bothered me but now I just wonder how an older woman like me got an attractive younger man like you to fall in love with her? I feel awful for the way I've treated you in the past and for what I said today, I'm sorry and from now on I'll do more to show you how I feel."
"It's fine Zo', I know how stressed you get and I know that sometimes I push it. I know that sometimes we'll argue but every couple does, and it's normal, anyway we both know how much fun making up can be. I'm sorry about my mum today, you don't have to be in contact with her until she accepts us and I certainly don't want to talk to her until that point either."
"You might want to let her know we're engaged." Zoe pointed out. "As long as this is definitely what you want, then I can deal with you mother, but not for a while."
"It is definitely what I want, I want to still be with you when we're old and grey, living in a little bungalow somewhere whilst we lose our marbles."
"You've thought that far into the future?" Zoe asked, smiling at the image that Max's future plan had flagged up in her head.
"Of course I have, we'll get married and then some years down the line we'll move to a house on the outskirts of town or in a small village. I can see us travelling around the world together but perhaps most importantly, I can see us living a happy live together."
"Good, I don't want to wait to get married. I want all of that Max."
"We don't have to wait then, it's late, tomorrow we can set a date and begin wedding planning. Until then I think it's time we went to sleep." Max told her, which caused Zoe to reach other to turn the light off. "Night Zoe." He said softly as he spooned her.
"Night Max."
For a while everything was quiet, that was until Zoe rolled over.
"Max? Are you still awake?" Zoe whispered.
"Yeah, just." He replied before yawning. "Why?"
"I've been thinking..." Zoe began.
"What?" Max asked, a panicked edge to his voice.
"We need to get some appropriate pictures of us." Max laughed slightly at her thought.
"Okay, we'll work on that in the morning too. Now sleep before you're a nightmare to deal with in the morning."
"Rude. Night though baby."