After The Storm

When they released Freddie from the hospital, there was no discussion as to where they were headed. Bel softly gave her address to the cab driver, and away they went, leaving the pain and fear of the hospital behind them.

The door to her apartment stuck, as always, and they both laughed at the normalcy of it all, Freddie using his good arm to help her open the stubborn door. As he did, he noticed her hands were trembling slightly, and this somehow reassured him immensely.

He watched Bel as she bustled about her small apartment, putting the kettle on to boil and making them toast. She seemed to be steadfastly avoiding eye contact. It was only when they sat down on her mint green couch that she finally looked him in the eye. It seemed to confirm something for her, because as she regarded him, she began to speak.

"I wrote you a letter when you were in America."

"What are you talk-"

"I wrote a letter and I wasn't brave enough to send it, and I was so afraid, and-"

Freddie stopped her by gently placing his thumb over her full lips.

"What is done is done. I refuse to regret anymore" he said lowly, cupping her chin in his hand, his thumb caressing her lower lip as he spoke. He noticed Bel's eyes breaking contact with his as they flicked down to his lips and back. He leaned his forehead against hers, feeling her breath hitch against his lips, and he thought in that moment that he might simply combust with affection for her. Bel broke his reverie by closing the distance between them, capturing his lips in a gentle kiss that seemed to slow time. Freddie deepened the kiss, sliding his hand from her flushed cheek to her pale neck as his tongue slid into her mouth.

This was wholly unlike the kiss they had shared before he had left for his fateful meeting with Kiki. This kiss had none of the desperation of the first kiss, and yet this kiss communicated all those years of longing in an eloquent release. Bel grasped handfuls of his shirt, pulling him closer until she was practically straddling him. They broke for air, chests heaving and skin burning with desire. Bel's skirt was by this time bunched up to the top of her stockings, exposing a deliciously bare stripe of skin on either leg. Freddie placed a slightly shaking hand on one leg, slowly sliding his hand up to that little stripe. He and Bel took in simultaneous breaths. He looked deeply into her eyes, noting that her pupils were extremely dilated.

"Bel, I can't- That is, with my arm, I can't—"

Bel smiled and leant down to place a gentle kiss on his nose.

"I don't care. We don't have to—to make love tonight. I just want – I need to be close to you tonight."

Freddie let out a relieved breath.

"That doesn't mean I don't want to make love to you tonight with all my heart."

Bel smiled knowingly and shifted slightly in his lap.

"I can feel how much you want to, you know."

"Oh. Right."

Freddie smiled then, and leaned up to capture her lips again, this time with less urgency. He slid his good hand up over the fabric of her rumpled skirt, trailing his fingers up her side, brushing the side of her breast as he went. Bel threw her head back and let out the most arousing moan Freddie had ever heard.

"Oh God—Freddie, if we don't stop now, we're just going to cause each other more distress and discomfort."

He sighed.

"I suppose you're right."

He let go of her then, allowed her to delicately climb off of his still obvious arousal and slump onto the couch beside him.

It was dark and still when Bel awoke and realized Freddie was no longer in bed with her. Instantly she missed his warmth, his scent, his floppy hair spreading out onto the pillow next to her. She got up, pulling a thin dressing gown around her. She moved towards the light underneath the bathroom door, and as she approached, she heard the sounds of water lapping against the sides of the tub. She turned the knob and stepped in. Freddie was lying in the tub with his head resting against the edge, his eyes closed. When he heard her approach, he opened his eyes and grinned.

"Always bloody barging in on me in the bath."

"Bad habit of mine."

She shut the door behind her, undoing the tie to her dressing gown as she did so.

"Is the water still warm?" She asked.

"Quite" Answered Freddie, now transfixed by her nimble fingers unbuttoning the shirt she was wearing to sleep in.

The shirt soon joined the dressing gown on the cool linoleum, and Bel smirked as Freddie stared, glassy eyed, at her breasts now swaying in his line of sight. She stepped out of her panties and climbed into the tub in front of him, sighing as the warmth of the water and the solidity of Freddie's body enveloped her. His uninjured arm wrapped around her shoulders as she settled in between his legs. She leaned her head back, pressing a kiss to his neck. He slid his hand down from her shoulder to her breast, letting it fill his hand.

"You know, I can accomplish quite a lot with just one hand" he said as he kneaded one breast and then the other, eliciting tiny gasps from Bel. She laughed, the sound echoing around the small bathroom. Her laughter quickly turned into a moan as Freddie rolled a nipple between his thumb and forefinger. His hand slid away from her breasts down her body, pausing when he reached the patch of silky curls he had fantasized about for so long. Bel murmured a breathy "Please" into his ear, and that was all the encouragement he needed. He slid two fingers between the delicate folds, pausing to caress the nub that was already engorged with arousal with the pad of his thumb. Bel thought she was going to unravel right then from the sheer feeling of his fingers on her, where she had desired them for so long. She forced herself to focus on elongating this pleasure. When he slid a finger inside her she gasped his name as if it were a benediction and arched her back out of the water. He quickly established a rhythm, sliding his fingers in and out of her in time with sliding his thumb over her nub.

Within moments, she was gasping his name with every breath. He knew she was close, and increased his pace, bringing her to such a climax that she was forced to cover her mouth to keep from screaming aloud. He rode the waves of her climax out with her, thinking that he had never seen anyone more beautiful than she was in that moment, with her head thrown back, hair damp with bathwater and perspiration, skin flushed with the heat of the water and her desire for him. She lazily opened her eyes and caught him staring at her. She pulled his head down into a kiss.

"I love you Freddie Lyon."