The sound of steady traffic from outside the apartment and gentle snoring from within stirred Daphne from her sleep. As she opened her eyes, she immediately winced as she noticed how bright the room was. It was summer time in Coolsville, so the sun would often rise extremely early. Whether that was a good thing or not, she had yet to decide.

Shifting slightly, she realised that a pair of muscular arms were keeping her in place, wrapped around her abdomen in a loving embrace. Daphne smiled, moving so that she had propped herself up on her arms to look down on her captor without breaking the embrace itself. Fred was sleeping peacefully, quiet snores escaping his mouth now and then. His blonde hair was messy beyond belief, making Daphne smirk as she realised it was partly down to her and their... activities the night previous. However it had happened, it only made him look all the more endearing.

Being careful as she did so, she gently removed his arms from around her, shifting before placing them back on the mattress. Fred stirred slightly from the contact, mumbling before resuming his slumber. Planting a soft kiss on his forehead, Daphne swivelled her hips so that she was sat on the edge of the bed before standing up and walking over to the curtains.

Cautious not to wake Fred as she did so, she pulled back the curtain slightly to take a look at the street outside. Surprisingly, there was a considerable amount of traffic already on the road, despite it being a Saturday morning. Daphne shook her head in disbelief. The traffic alone in the city had always been enough to convince her against getting a car of her own, at least not whilst she was living in the centre of it anyway.

Nevertheless, it was an extremely nice day, one which she intended to enjoy at some point. But for the moment, she had other things to attend to...

Glancing around the room, she chuckled quietly as she noticed various items of both of their clothing strewn across the floor. Intimacy doesn't often allow for neatness when disposing of layers. Walking around, she picked up the remnants of her outfit, folding them carefully before placing them on the dresser. It was her only outfit, after all.

She really hadn't been as happy as she was for a long time. He had always had that effect on her, even when they were kids. That boyish smile of his always made her heart skip a beat, and she was never able to stay angry at him for long. Not that he ever gave her much reason to be angry.

She loved him. More than she'd ever loved anyone. And she knew that he felt the same way about her. Their situation as of late had taken its toll on their relationship, but they were strong. But despite that, Daphne missed him terribly.

Taking one last moment to glance over at Fred in his peaceful state, Daphne slipped into his en suite bathroom and shut the door behind her.

Walking over to the sink, she sighed when she saw the state of her own hair.

"I guess I wasn't the only one who was a bit over passionate..." she smiled, picking up a stray comb left on the countertop and running it through her silky, red locks, trying to somehow straighten the obvious knots that were visible.

Whenever she slept over at Fred's, she would always try and freshen herself up in the morning before Fred himself awoke. She knew that he didn't care what state she was in come morning, but it gave Daphne peace of mind to feel fresh and ready to start the day. The only problem was that she hadn't anticipated that she would be staying over, so she didn't really have very much to freshen herself up with.

She would just have to settle for semi acceptable hair for now.

Suddenly, she noticed that there was a picture hanging on the wall above the bath. Stepping over, she immediately felt herself smiling when she realised it was their prom photo. It felt like such a long time ago to Daphne, when in reality it wasn't as ancient as she though. Had their lives really changed so much since that day? Both of their careers, especially Daphne's had taken off, which was good in one way but bad in another. But in some way, their relationship seemed stronger, even better than the one they had in the picture all those years ago. 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder', the saying which had always stumped Daphne as a child finally made sense.

Even though the time they spent apart was difficult, it made the time they did spend together all the more worthwhile.

"Dammit, picture, why do you pull all of these deep revelations out of me?" she chuckled to herself as she splashed her face with cold water from the tap.

Hearing a noise from the bedroom, she turned, listening intently. From what she could hear, Fred was finally waking up.

"...D-Daph?" she heard him mumble, making her smile. He sounded like a kid who had lost his parents at the supermarket.

Deciding not to worry him any longer, Daphne pushed the door open and stepped into the room once again.

"I'm here, Fred," she smiled, watching as he turned underneath the covers to face her.

"Good morning, sweeti-" his voice trailed off as his eyes finally focused on her as she stood at the bathroom door. Daphne had never had time to get dressed, so she was completely naked as she had been going about her morning routine. Which was something Fred was now taking the time to fully appreciate.

Daphne couldn't help but blush as he stared at her.

"Like what you see?" her words echoed his own from the previous night, and he smirked as he propped himself up on his elbows, leaning against the headboard.

"As always."

Moving towards him, she grinned.

"I would tell you to stop undressing me with your eyes, but... you know..." she quipped, and he chuckled lightly.

"I did enough undressing last night to last me a lifetime."

She really had missed this; the banter, the flirting. He knew that she enjoyed it when he was over confident.

"That's a pretty bold statement, Mr Jones," she smirked.

"I'm a pretty bold guy, Miss Blake."

Daphne blushed again, sitting on the edge of the bed as she turned to face him. In the early days of their relationship, or rather the intimate side of it, she would have never have been as confident with her body as she was now. She was extremely self conscious of her nakedness, even going as far to hide herself from him when they did get intimate with each other. But over the years, Fred had convinced her that she was beautiful, and that her body was too. In a way, he was responsible for the confident young woman she had become.

"Tell me something I don't know..." Fred laughed softly, reaching over and taking her hand in his.

"How about that I'm the luckiest guy in the world?" he replied, kissing her hand gently as he did so.

"And why's that?"

"Because I have you..." he mistook the way her cheeks turned a deeper shade of red for anger, and suddenly he was like a bumbling schoolboy, "I-I mean, I don't have you! You're not mine! You're an independent woman, whom I have absolutely no ownership over-"

She had to use all her strength to restrain her laughter. He was such a gentleman at heart, not wanting to upset her in any way. It was hilarious to her.

"Shut up, Fred," she silenced him with a kiss, lifting up the covers and sliding in beside him. Pulling away, she rested her head on his chest as he pulled her into his arms, "If anyone owns anyone around here, you are mine, understood?"

That made them both laugh, and Fred kissed the top of her head lovingly.

"Sure thing, sweetie," he smiled, glancing over at the clock on the bedside table, "...you ready for some breakfast?"

Daphne nodded, almost not wanting to leave the warmth and security of his embrace, but her love for pancakes convinced her otherwise.

"After you chef," she teased, gently smacking his posterior as he exited the bed. Fred chuckled, but she could tell that he was blushing furiously as he walked.

As he reached his wardrobe, he noticed the scattering of clothes Daphne had seen earlier.

"We sure made a mess last night," he muttered, picking his trousers up and folding them in his hands. Daphne giggled, snuggling into his pillow as she watched him. His scent was obvious, and Daphne debated on stealing the pillow to keep in her own bed.

"A passionate mess," she replied, and he turned to smile at her before opening the wardrobe doors, hanging his trousers on an empty coat hanger.

Picking out a pair of grey sweatpants, Fred placed his feet through the legs before pulling them on. Daphne grumbled, and he laughed.

"What's wrong? Upset I'm not naked anymore?" he questioned, and she winked before throwing the covers to the side and standing up to join him. She loved the way his composure was instantly lost whenever she did something like this, his previously cocky expression replaced by wide eyes as she sauntered over to him.

His hands grazed the smooth skin of her sides as she leant up to kiss him, pulling away a second later to whisper at his ear.

"Got anything I can wear?" His hands were now running over her abdomen, sending shivers down Daphne's spine. Good shivers.

"To be honest, Daphne," there was a pause as he pressed his lips to her forehead gently, "I'd prefer if you didn't wear anything at all," he smiled, trying his best to keep eye contact, "...but I've got something you can wear for now."

Turning back to the wardrobe, he began to file through the various clothes that were hanging there. Whilst he was busy, Daphne gently traced the muscles of his back with her fingers. He really did have the body of a God.

"Here you go!" when she saw what he had selected, she couldn't help but smile. It was his high school soccer shirt, proudly printed with his surname and the number '11' on the back. It had always been too big for him, so it would fit her nicely as a casual top.

"I haven't seen this thing in years..." she smiled, taking it from him and slipping it on. It came to just above her knees. Fred smiled, closing the wardrobe and turning back to her.

"You used to come and watch every game, no matter how badly we did," he chuckled, and she smacked him playfully.

"The others might have been bad, but you weren't! You practically carried that team," she protested, and he pulled her into a warm embrace.

"That's awfully nice of you to say, sweetie."

They stood in silence for a few moments, just enjoying the contact. The shirt had brought back countless memories, from celebrating with him when they won to consoling him when they lost. Needless to say, she had always supported Fred in his sporting endeavours.

"C'mon, chef," she smiled, taking his hand in hers and leading him towards the door, "I want some of your world famous pancakes..."

"...so it's going to be a lovely weekend here in Coolsville, with temperatures rocketing over the next few days! So make sure you keep yourself protected from the sun..." the weather man on the television continued to babble about the soaring temperatures as of late.

"Looks like it's gonna be nice, Daph," Fred observed, shovelling another forkful of pancakes into his mouth as he spoke. Daphne giggled, sitting up to wipe a crumb from his cheek with her hand.

"Sure does. It's about time we got some nice weather," normally she would've hated the fact that they were conversing about the weather, but today she didn't mind. It was a relaxed atmosphere, which didn't require extremely intriguing topics. Just as long as they were with one another, nothing else really mattered.

"What were you thinking of doing today?" he asked, finishing his plate and walking over to the kitchen. Daphne pondered the question for a moment before answering.

"I was thinking of popping into central to buy a few things..."

'Central' was otherwise known as the city centre, where Daphne liked to spend her weekends browsing fashion outlets and perhaps paying a little too much money for certain things. Fred chuckled, reaching over to take Daphne's empty plate as she handed it to him.

"I can take you down there, if you like?" he offered, walking back over to the couch and sitting beside her. Fred was a rarity based on the fact that he owned a car whilst living so close to central Coolsville, as he needed it to get to and from work. But driving into central on a Saturday was almost suicidal.

"It's okay, Fred, I can walk from here..." she paused, catching his eye for a moment, "...you can come too, if you'd like?"

He smiled, crawling over until he had positioned himself above her on the sofa.

"Whatever makes you happy, Daphne," he spoke softly, lowering his lips to hers in a passionate kiss. Daphne groaned quietly, her hands grasping his hair as they kissed. She just couldn't get enough of him. It was incredible.

Her hands brushed the waistband of his sweats, and he broke the kiss, eyes smouldering as he met her gaze.

"Or we could stay here and do some... other stuff..." she suggested, trying to sound as sexy as possible. He smirked, moving to kiss her neck.

"I like the sound of that idea..."

Suddenly, the phone rang, shattering the peace of it all. Fred made to pull away, but Daphne wrapped her legs around his waist, effectively trapping him.

"It can wait..." she mumbled, smothering his lips with kisses in a desperate attempt to make him stay.

"No, it really can't..." reaching behind his back, he gently removed the vice grip she was attempting to perform. Daphne grumbled, sinking back into the soft fabric as Fred jumped up, jogging to the phone.

It was already happening. Their lives were coming back, ending their time together. And it saddened her deeply.

"Hello?"

Fred always said 'hello' the same way, she noticed: the tone of his voice always went up slightly at the end, to emphasise the question. She found it incredibly cute regardless.

"Oh, hey Tom..." he paused, leaning against the wall with one arm as he listened. Daphne watched intently, wanting to know what was going on, "...he got fired? Wow... so what does that have to do with me?"

He listened for a few moments, and Daphne watched as his expression changed significantly. It was obvious that he was barely containing his excitement.

"That's... that's fantastic, Tom. Thanks ever so much! Right, see you then... bye!" Fred placed the phone back on the receiver, stopping still for a second as he replayed what he'd just heard in his mind.

"What is it, Freddie? Something about work?" she asked, unable to stop herself from smiling. He turned, and suddenly he leapt towards her, scooping her up in his arms and capturing her lips with his own. Daphne exclaimed in surprise before sinking into his arms, returning the kiss eagerly.

Fred pulled away, pressing his forehead to hers as their eyes locked.

"I've had a job change..." he breathed, and her smile grew wider, "...and it's daytime hours, like yours," he finished, and she gasped.

This was what they had been waiting for. Her mind was already filling itself with all the things they would do together. It was an incredible feeling.

"You're kidding me, Fred!" she cried, planting a warm kiss on his cheek as he held her.

"Oh I'm serious," he replied, smirking as he did so, "...I promise."

IT IS DONE! :D Oh man, this was so much fun :D I should do this more often! Thanks so much for reading guys, I really appreciate it! Big shout out to FraphneAddict, who has been a really awesome help as well as my buddy Jazzola, who was also a MAHOOSIVE help with the second chapter! :D Thanks guys, and make sure to leave a review :D More coming soon, I PROMISE! Get it? No... okay... ;D