Here's to chapter 4! Only one left to go until this little story is finished. I hope you enjoy it. As always I love reading the feedback and hearing what you think!
Bridget wakes up to what smells like an ice cream shop baking fresh waffle cones along with pots and pans banging. She can tell that the brunette creating the noise was trying to be quiet and discrete, but laughs at her failed attempt. She hears a voice just loud enough grumble "Where the fuck is my sugar sifter? I can't finish without that fucking sifter" slightly frustrated followed by "Ah about fuckin' time!" quip a couple minutes after.
That's her Franky, oh so elegant with her words. This was just one of the many traits she loved about her; she never failed to give her a laugh. Half the time she cracks up laughing at something she's said and Franky ends up frustrated feeling she's missed something, but can't figure out what. She was completely oblivious to the fact that she was the reason that caused so much of Bridget's laughter. Only Franky has the ability to make her laugh without even trying; no matter how vulgar, she couldn't get tired of it even if she tried.
After the clanking around has started to settle, she assumes Franky has finished with the sugar sifter, whatever the hell that is. She knew her kitchen was stuffed packed of all sorts of culinary gadgets even before Franky came to live with her. She couldn't seem to keep herself from buying the interesting looking instruments. She knows in reality she would never use them. She doesn't even know what they are called much less their use, but at the time she gets so excited they always end up in her trolley. Over the years she has collected more than she can count that have never seen the light of day, until Franky showed up. She was simply amazed at the number of cooking utensils Bridget owned after finding out she had no idea how to cook; all she needed was a microwave and fork for whatever meal she tried to 'cook' up. Franky's uncanny ability to cook was yet another thing Bridget loved about her. She seemed to be able to whip up something out of nothing, which was obviously the case for this morning. Bridget was well aware that they barely had any fresh food in the refrigerator; only someone like Franky would be able to find something to make from their very limited selection.
Once the clanking stops, she hears what she thinks could be glasses come from the shelf. Yupp, they are glasses she confirms after hearing liquid splash against the walls of the cup, and if that wasn't enough of a confirmation, she hears Franky gagging. It must be the orange juice she's pouring, Bridget thinks. She never knew someone could hold such disgust against something as little as a simple cup of juice. Franky has complained numerous times about how she couldn't believe that Bridget could stomach such a thing; she could barely stand to smell the stuff. After Franky has her little complaint, she always takes it like a champ and drinks the juice with a smile; Bridget knows she does that for her.
The noises have stopped, the drinks have been poured, and from what it sounds like now Franky is shuffling around, no doubt, to find something to put everything on. This is a new sound to her, she normally would expect to hear the younger woman come down the hall and through the door to wake her with a brief kiss and a "Good morning Gidge, I've made us breakfast", or if she knew that Bridget was already awake she would hear some sort of signal for her to come to the table to eat. The latest had been Franky calling out in a sing-songy voice that breakfast was ready, other days she would get a teasing "Oi, Gidget! You're wasting daylight out here; the food is getting cold."
Today was different. She hears soft footsteps walking much too slow for it to be a normal wake up, she sits up and rubs her eyes soon after they have been opened followed with a stretch. She felt so well rested. Sleeping with Franky was always so nice, it seemed seamless, she was always able to situate herself to be in the most comfortable positions, and still got to have Franky wrapped around her in some sort of way. In previous relationships she's had it was either be comfy sleeping apart, or spend forever trying to find a cozy way to cuddle, which almost always ended up failing and they would both be uncomfortable. Not with Franky, she had the best of both worlds without having to compromise on either side.
She's pulled from her half-asleep day dream state by a soft sigh, and looks up to see a lovely Franky standing in the doorway holding a tray full of food, along with the very orange juice in the cups, too orange Franky would argue. Franky smiles as she greets her, but then her expression changes subtly into what looks to be a mixture of shyness and hesitance in anticipation of what she is about to say.
"I just wanted to do something special for ya since you've been so supportive of me lately. I don't feel like I do this for you enough" escapes Franky's lips in a voice that is so full of emotion it sounds as though she could cry at any moment. This was no doubt a remanence of emotions from the night before.
Bridget is overwhelmed by the words that Franky is saying, almost as if she's telling the blonde her deepest secret, like she has never told anyone something that makes her so vulnerable, like she was taking a chance trusting Bridget to not go disclose her emotions to everyone, like what she was saying was unacceptable, and all of that broke her heart.
She had so much she wanted to say to Franky, to reassure her that there was no need to be afraid to tell her anything, that everything that she said to her would become their secret, not something to be used against her, but all she could get to come out of her mouth was, "Thank you, baby."
She sees Franky stand there like she was glued to the floor, a vampire that awaited an invitation to cross through the door to get to Bridget, so she gestured for her to come over to her. She saw the efforts that Franky had gone to this morning, how thoughtful she was that she made her breakfast; she had never been treated like this by anyone, it was almost like Franky held her on a pedestal, bowing at her feet. She knew that this would be one of those mornings that she needed to nurse Franky and give her reassurance, that she needed to hold her tight, and even if Bridget seemed indestructible reality was after last night she needed to be held tight too.
Bridget normally slept on the right side of the bed, and Franky the left, but instead of moving more towards her side she shifts toward the middle. She didn't want Franky to walk over and climb up onto her side to set the food in between them, she wanted her to be as close as she possibly could. Franky understands what she's suggesting and complies by walking up to the blonde's side of the bed next to her head, and climbs in tucking them both under the warm covers. Franky is grateful she has someone who can read her so well that she doesn't even have to ask for the extra comfort, it is just offered up, and she appreciates it, she has been so emotionally raw that it helps she didn't have to voice what she craves.
Franky places the food on Bridget's lap while she tries to get herself situated. They were sitting so close, just shy of sitting on each other's laps. After she gets in a comfortable position, making sure to sit in a way possible where the majority of their two bodies are touching, the smaller woman snakes a hand under the covers and gives Franky's thigh a small reassuring squeeze, being just the right touch to release the tension that was stored in the brunette's body.
Franky ignores the food for a second and holds her hand in a way to encourage the blonde's covered hand to resurface so she could hold it, while leaning down to tuck her head in the crook of Bridget's neck. Once her head is safely tucked against Bridget's neck she turns her head and kisses the sensitive skin She then feels the blonde turn her head toward her own placing a gentle kiss on Franky's brow, where the skin of her forehead touches her hair. Once the sweet, silent kisses were exchanged, Franky straightened her body and sat up, while doing so she dipped down to give Bridget a quick kiss on the lips, then turned towards the food.
Franky looks at the food, then looks at Bridget trying to read her expression and says "Look babe, I cooked you a shit hot meal" wiggling her eyebrows at her. Bridget lets out a single laugh and smiles glancing up at her. She sees that Franky's face has changed slightly and became a little worried; she needs to reel her back in. Franky hasn't put up a wall or steeled herself per say, but it was looking like she was trying to put on a strong face after having been so intimate, she had never had a relationship that allowed her to be loving without having to look strong.
This was something that Bridget was trying so hard to change. She gave Franky a little look, not of disappointment for the fleeting Franky, but more of a look of longing for it to return. She quickly glanced down at their hands that were still intertwined, then looks back up into Franky's eyes, gives her a quick squeeze and a little smile. She was hoping that was enough to tell her 'It's okay, baby. We are okay. This is our home, our room, our bed. This is our safe place, our sanctuary. This is us, this is where we can be our true selves. You are with me and we are forever' and just like that Franky's face softens. Sometimes she just needs a little reminder that she doesn't have to be so strong all the time, it's okay to enjoy a cuddle in bed without being considered weak.
After that quick, silent exchange of words Franky looks into her eyes and mumbles an apology and with that Bridget squeezes her hand once more. Both of their eyes say it, but Bridget wants to make sure that Franky hears it with her own ears, "I love you, baby. You're the best and I don't know what I did to earn someone as good as you" which rewards her with a blush creeping up the brunette's chest and across her face followed by both her eyes and face smiling back at her. With this reaction Bridget thinks those words really spoke to Franky and she took them to heart, she believed her, and that was her goal.
In addition she added "and this looks incredible, I'm starving, let's eat!"