Hello! I decided to upload this chapter today instead of last saturday as a little gift for all of you. Happy Valentine's! If you don't have a valentine of your own, then you can join me today and read tons of fanfiction of your otp. Who needs a significant other when you can fantasize about your favorite characters kissing?

Enjoy!

xiv

Stu missed her. Very much so.

It was almost painful, really, to walk into her office every morning with Russ and not find her there. She had been a constant in his life ever since he signed with El Diablo, they had grown impossibly close since they started dating, and suddenly Noodle was not by his side on a daily basis anymore and it was odd. It left his heart feeling heavy and hollow at once, only to come back to life when his phone buzzed with an update from her.

As cliché as it sounded, it felt like he was addicted to her. He remembered that back in younger days when he made use of licit and illicit drugs that he could hardly go a day without feeling the rush through his body; this was pretty much the same. Or maybe he was just clingy.

Stu was sure to make good use of all the social media profiles they had created for him and he followed every single person that she tagged in her pictures or mentioned in her texts. That way, he could keep up with her work when she had no time to talk with him, and he would sit for minutes replaying the videos and stories posted on Instagram of her playing rad tunes in her electric guitar. He had never seen her playing that particular instrument before, only the acoustic guitar, and he felt his heart swelling at how talented she was. Noodle frequently sent him audios and pictures of the places she went, selfies and snaps of her cat that she was planning on taking to England with her once she returned.

They did not find time to visit one another. Holidays in Japan did not coincide with holidays in England, and it was a much too long trip to take on a weekend. They would both have to leave in working days to return on working days, only to see each other for about two days only, and most of the time would be spent on a plane. As much as they wanted to meet each other, this arrangement would not work well. They made up for it, though, by Skyping whenever possible. Noodle would sometimes start a video call just to blow him a kiss and wish him a good day as she slipped under the covers of her bed. Stu would put his insomnia episodes to good use and stay up to talk with her on holidays until wee hours and she forced him to disconnect to catch some much needed sleep.

He was writing songs in the period while she was away, enough songs to compose half an album. They were unfinished, though. As much as Russel sat with him throughout the day helping him write and compose, and even Murdoc gave his two cents every once in a while, there was something missing, a special touch only Noodle had. She had helped him finish the first song and he wanted her to be part of the new album just as much as she was part of his life. He knew it was too early to be thinking of another album, but honestly? He did not care. It was not always when the singer felt this inspired to write and compose so much, and besides, it was not like the other album would be ready and done in a month. He could get this out of the way now and plan a tour, maybe later take a one, two year break and focus on recording only once he was ready.

With The Fall scheduled for release a week after her expected return, and most things regarding it already solved, 2D had a lot of free time on his hands to spend as he wished. As much as he went out with Russel on a regular basis, the singer was working on his songs when alone in his apartment and was often talking to Murdoc about it. The ex-bassist did not mind this boost of creativity. On the contrary, the more he produced, the more the label would earn, and money always made him very satisfied. The three were sometimes together in her office discussing many things and Russ was looking forward to participating in some tracks.

2D spread the papers across the floor of Noodle's office and commented on some lyrics he was working and the few melodies and demos that needed to be perfected so they could be used. Russel picked a paper up, nodding along to the melody composed by his longtime friend. The song had a beachy feel to it, going along with the theme the singer was aiming for. He put down the sheet and picked up another one, his blank eyes scanned the ugly scrawl that was the singer's handwriting. The lyrics were good... But...

"I don't think ya should show Murdoc this one yet." He said, leaving the blue haired Brit confused. Russel craned his neck to look at 2D, smiling knowingly. "Have ya told her already?"

The singer picked up the sheet and examined it. All he had told the rapper was that the song would probably be much better if it were a duet, but he did not know where Noodle came into this. Maybe he assumed 2D would ask her to sing it with him? He had considered the idea, honestly, but did not know if she could sing at all or if she would even agree to it.

2D stored the song along with others inside a clear plastic case with the words Gorillaz: 2nd album written in black copic marker which was kept inside his wardrobe. The case width was thick with pictures, quotes, and newspaper cutouts about climate changes and related issues. All that talk about trash discarded in the ocean made him think of a beach while composing. Hmm... Beach... Plastic...

One day, he got his hands on a ukulele that he found in the storage room after he decided to take an aimless walk around the building. Stu could hardly play it. Since his accidents, he had not had the coordination necessary to play acoustic guitars and whatnot. That was why he preferred the keyboards nowadays; his fingers did not get caught in the strings. Russel had given it a try, even though his specialty laid in percussion, but the instrument was too small for his big hands. It was a clumsy affair and he was afraid he would drop it at any moment.

Soon, the anticipated day came and Noodle was still in Japan. Copies of The Fall were set on shelves of music stores all around the country and it was available for digital download and stream on many platforms. A small get together was held in one of the meeting rooms of El Diablo to celebrate the release of his very first studio album. At some point in the evening, Murdoc approached him with a tablet computer in his hands and passed him the device without a single word. Upon glancing at the screen, he could see a very energy drained Noodle giving him a soft, apologetic smile as she congratulated him for his accomplishments. 2D distanced himself from the others to lean against the wall and whisper words of thanks to her, his own smile as longing and rueful as hers. God, how he missed her. He wished he could reach over the screen and touch her face.

More days passed and the guitarist had no idea when she would return. She stopped giving him a deadline so she would not squash his hopes when the time arrived and she could not go back home just yet. She was getting busied and busier and had little time to talk to him, but she would always send a quick text or a picture of something from the studio. The singer felt like he could not take this distance anymore and would often bury his face in his couch, wishing it could have retained some of her scent.

A while later, Russel and 2D were in her office, the singer listlessly looking out the window as the rapper drummed a beat on a notebook to try to cheer up the atmosphere. His friend was feeling so low and he had not seen such thing since his girlfriend from their college days broke up with him. The door opened to reveal Murdoc, late as ever, his multicolored eyes immediately falling on the slumped form of his newest star.

He spared Russel a glance and spoke. "I, eh... Thought yeh'd like to know tha' Noodle got 'ome 'bout an hour ago."

2D stiffened in the chair as his boss closed the door and left them alone. He could feel Russel's eyes on him, waiting. He wanted nothing more than to just run over, but they were working on things together...

"Go, man." The singer whipped his head in his direction and stared silently. "I mean it, dude." The rapper said seriously. "I could use this time to do some laundry and ya obviously need to see her 'fore ya wilt away, so."

The singer sprung to his feet, giving him a breathy thanks as he crossed the distance to the door and made his way to the underground parking lot. His car was a little old, but a classic and he loved it regardless, but he wished that it were one of those superfast cars right now so he could make it to their apartment building in less than a minute, which would not be possible anyway given traffic lights, but one could dream.

He parked a block away in the first available spot he found and rushed over, his smoker lungs making it hard for him to go faster than a brisk walk, waving halfheartedly at the gatekeeper that gave him a knowing nod and allowed him to enter without much fuss. 2D willed the elevator to go faster as he tapped his foot impatiently and stumbled his way out into the hallway, placing his palms on the front door of the apartment and blindly searching for the doorbell, hearing it ringing beyond the walls when he jabbed it with a finger.

A long silence followed before the lock clicked and the door opened.