A/N: Hey again! I know I just posted the last chapter about a day ago, but I was working on this one the same day and ended up getting it done quicker than I thought. I was planning on making this one longer but thought against it and kept it as a stand-alone chapter. I hope you like it!
Chapter 21 Versace on The Floor
Catherine's POV
"Piers?" I gaped at his hesitant hazel eyes, his mouth frozen in a hard line.
"I, uh...I don't know what I'm doing here." He raked a hand through his hair. "After everything I've been through—what you put me through...I should have just walked away and left it at that. But for some God forsaken reason, I'm standing in front of you." He didn't sound ecstatic about it. His eyes were a turbulent storm, changing from hatred to uncertainty.
"Have you thought about what I said?"I asked hopefully.
There was a moments pause before he nodded his head. "I, uh—"
"Cat, I need you to..." Maggie trailed off as she spotted Piers, her eyes flicking between the both of us in confusion. Piers cleared his throat and straightened up.
"This was a mistake. I shouldn't have come here." He gave Maggie a faint nod before passing by her and out the door. My feet moved without me instructing them to.
"Piers! Wait!" I dashed out the door and caught up to him before he could take another step. Cocking his head over his shoulder, he paused. "Please don't leave. You came here for a reason whether you want to admit it or not. Let's just talk. That's all I ask." He drew out a long breath and fixed me with a stare.
"What time do you get off work?"
"Less than an hour. Your welcome to stay and wait if you'd like?" He mulled it over for a few moments before agreeing.
I led him back inside and showed him to a table. "Would you like something to eat or drink while you wait?"
"Coffee is fine." I started for the kitchen, making it just to the doors as Maggie pulled me to the side out of sight.
"What are you doing?! What's he doing here?" She jutted her chin out in the direction of Piers. I scooted past her and reached for a coffee mug.
"He came here on his own. I only asked to talk, and he agreed." Maggie gawked at me as I poured the coffee.
"Did he say why he changed his mind?" I shrugged my shoulders. "Pft, men. Never know what they want." I couldn't help the bitter chuckle that resonated in my throat.
"He came back, so it must be a good thing." Maggie returned my smile with a guarded look.
"Cat just be careful alright? I'd hate seeing you get upset again." With a final nod, I made my way back to Piers's table. He set his phone back down as I set the coffee in front of him.
"Here you are. If you need anything else don't hesitate to ask."
"Thanks." I left him to his business and started working on icing and adding the details on the desserts. It was my favourite thing to do while at work. I've gotten my fair share of compliments from customers, even Maggie was impressed with my ability and steady hands.
As soon as I had the icing bag in my hands, I started humming my favourite tune and lost track of time. I just finished up placing the last few cakes inside the glass casings when Maggie strolled up behind me.
"He's been staring at you for the past half hour. Please go talk to him before he creeps out the other customers." I flicked a confused glance up to Piers's table and sure enough, I caught him staring. Awkwardly clearing his throat, he flicked his eyes out the window. "Now you're staring at him. Geesh you two are hopeless." My cheeks grew warm. I was about to rebuke her comment but she rolled her eyes with a smirk and strolled away. Untieing my apron, I started for his table, cursing myself for not fixing my hair this morning.
"Sorry for the wait. I hope it wasn't too boring." He tore his gaze out of the window, a small smile touching his lips.
"I had business to take care of so it wasn't too bad." I took a seat opposite him and played with my hands in my lap, unsure of what to say.
"Icing cakes is your hidden talent? I would never have guessed." He gazed at the cakes and desserts in the glass window by the counter, a hint of a smug smile tugged at his mouth.
"Yeah who would have thought a mercenary killer and hacker who runs away would be good at baking?" He lowered his gaze to his hands on the table.
"I didn't mean..."
"Piers, you don't have to apologize. What you said was true, I can own up to that at least. So, what kind of work did you have to take care of?" I changed the subject in an attempt to ward off the heavy atmosphere that seemed to always follow us whenever we were together.
"It's confidential B.S.A.A matters. Not like that will stop you." His tense muscles eased and for once he looked alomst...at ease.
"They aren't overworking you there are they?" He shook his head, the remnants of his smile still playing on his lips. He's starting to look more and more like the old Piers the longer he sits here.
"Well, I am the captain, I kind of have to work harder. I have a team to look after now you know."
"Yes, I know. You're a great captain, the way you watch over your team is admirable. You should be proud." A genuine smile broke across my lips.
"Yeah, I—How do you know?" A spark of fear flared up in my chest. I shifted in my seat and focused on my hands once more.
"Well, I, uh just know. I know you too well to know you'd be putting your blood sweat and tears into your team." He didn't buy it. After a moment's hesitation, I puffed out my cheeks. "Okay, okay. I might have observed you and your team a few months ago while I was on a mission." He perked up and leaned his arms on the table, fixing me with his searching glare.
"That was you then." He clicked his tongue. "I knew it. What were you doing there?" His carefree tone switched to work mode. I should have kept my stupid mouth shut.
"Would you believe the guerrillas ordered a shipment of desserts from me?" He narrowed his eyes in a warning. "Ada and I were on a mission to retrieve some information...confidential information."
"Catherine."
"But I'd be willing to sell you said information for the right price." It took all my willpower not to burst out laughing at the sight of his annoyed face. "I'm just teasing with you Piers, relax would ya. You're always so high strung and ready to go into work mode at the drop of a hat."
"Where's the information, Catherine? And don't think of lying to me."
"You already have it." He arched up a brow. "I might have slipped some coordinates into your system to point you towards the computers." Both his brows skyrocketed high on his forehead.
"Wait...That was...you?"
"Why you so surprised? I helped you out before haven't I?"
"Well, Yeah, but that was ages ago. I thought after—"
"After I ran away you thought I severed all ties with you and the B.S.A.A? I tried...but believe it or not, I missed those times where I just barked at you through the radio and told you what to do." I froze when Piers's hand reached across the table and grabbed mine. Lifting my eyes to his, I couldn't help but notice a glint pass over his eyes.
"Thank you. You didn't have to, but you did anyway." I half shrugged my shoulders, my Cheshire grin playing on my lips.
"Well, someone has to look out for your scatterbrained ass." He shook his head and rolled his eyes, but the ghost of a smirk twitched at his lips.
"Scatterbrain? I thought I was an admirable, hard-working captain?"
"It doesn't take a lot of work to get yourself in trouble. It seems to find you just fine."
"Finding it isn't the problem, it's getting rid of it that's giving me a hard time." He gave me a wink.
"If I'm correct, I got away just fine—easily actually. So much for B.S.A.A's best driver. My grandmother could out drive you." He snorted and took a sip of his coffee.
"I let you get away."
"Playing the high road?" It was my turn to give him a wink.
Conversation flowed easily after that, it was like nothing had happened between us at all. I asked about his team and his missions while he harped me on returning to my illegal activities. He was happy to see I left that life behind, even if he didn't flat out say it. Maggie offered me some coffee and something to eat, which I gladly took even though I know she was just curious about Piers. She's going to corner me latter about this and demand I tell her everything, and when Maggie wants something she gets it. The woman is petite and for the most part friendly and always has the time for everyone, but get her mad or determined and she can even scare me. Piers grimaced as he looked at his watch, his eyebrows drawing together.
"I have to get back to work soon...gotta meeting with my team and some practice later." A twinge of disappointment filled my chest.
"I understand. The same old workaholic as usual." I flashed him a smile. "But that's alright, I have some errands to run anyways." He followed my lead as I stood up from the table, spotting Maggie, I waved to her goodbye and made my way to the door.
The sun starting lowering in the sky, signalling the late afternoon. How long were we talking for? I turned to Piers as he exited the cafe.
"Thank you for talking with me today. I had a great time." I tried not to laugh as he awkwardly shoved his hands in his front pockets. It was too adorable considering Piers was always confident and sure of himself.
"Yeah, so did I actually. I wasn't expecting all this to turn out the way it did." The awkward demeanour melted away, replacing it with his guarded captain attitude. "Hey, listen. It's best we keep this on the low for now—I mean not this," He gestured between the two of us and the cafe, making me raise an eyebrow. "Not talking I mean! I mean just being together—seen together, we aren't together." His words died on his lips as I snorted.
"Piers, that was a train wreck." I broke off in a fit of laughter, making him angry, but that only made me laugh harder.
"This is serious Catherine! If Chris finds out that we were talking he'd flip shit—let alone the B.S.A.A. They'd interrogate me for questioning and toss you in jail." I wiped a single tear away from my eye and cleared my throat.
"I understand Piers. I'll keep quiet if you keep quiet." Another snort escaped me. "It feels like we're teenagers going behind our parents' backs."
"Yeah, eh?" He rolled his eyes and nodded his head. "I gotta go, but we should do this again sometime."
"Well, you can always find me working here if you ever want to chat again." I jabbed my thumb to the cafe behind me. "See you around." I didn't know what to do, we awkwardly stood staring at each other for a fleeting moment before I raised my arms around him for a hug. Except when I turned my head to say goodbye, he turned his head at the same time, resulting in an awkward half kiss. We both froze and gawked at each other, unsure of what to do. I quickly pulled away and averted my eyes, hoping he won't take notice of the obvious blush growing on my cheeks.
"I didn't mean to do—"
"It's fine! I, uh, gotta go. Bye." Without glancing at him, I turned on my heels and started off in the opposite direction, not slowing down until I turned the first corner.
Maggie was more excited about the whole event that day than I was. She could barely keep quiet as I told her the story. Of course, Maggie is a hopeless romantic and pure of heart is also quite sharp. She inquired when was I in the B.S.A.A, of course, I had to lie to her. I felt bad about it, but I couldn't tell her the truth...not yet anyway.
For the next few days after that, I flipped between dread and excitement at seeing him again. I was annoyed with myself whenever my mind would wander to him while I was working. I'd curse myself and fling all my mind into my task, but somehow I'd end up thinking of him once more. Giving up on my cleaning task, I thought fixing up the desserts would calm me down. I stood with a huff and started for the counter, the icing bag in hand. I slowly got into a rhythm, singing a tune from the radio and icing the platter of cupcakes in front of me.
"Excuse me, ma'am." I snapped out of my daze at the sound of the voice in front of me and reeled back abruptly. "Sorry didn't mean to startle you." Piers flashed one of his boyish smiles, making me want to kiss him again. I froze at the thought and batted it away immediately and put on my usual glare.
"With a face like that, you could scare the dead." His smile widened, making me swallow uncomfortably.
"Oh, yea? What's wrong with my face?"
Sh-shit. It backfired on me. I darted my eyes from his face to my hands on the counter as I thought up a witty comeback.
"W...well, uh, um. Well, a lot." He plopped his arms on the counter and leaned in closer, his smile growing smugger by the moment. "well, first off, it's in my way. I'm trying to work." I tried to sound as curt and calm as I could. He flicked his eyes to the counter full of freshly decorated desserts then back to my face.
"Looks to me like you're all done. So, you got time." Oh, shove off Piers. I thought as I cursed myself. "These look good, can I have one?" I blinked down to the cupcake he was pointing at.
"Ya go ahead." He gladly plucked one up, brought it to his mouth and took a bite. I tried ignoring him and put the cupcakes away as he hummed with satisfaction. "Hey, these are really good." I turned to say some sarcastic remark but jolted back as icing hit my face. I gawked down at a smug Piers licking the icing off his finger. "Oops. Sorry."
"You don't look or sound sorry!"
"Relax would ya. You're being a spoilsport." He shrugged his shoulders and returned to devouring his cupcake in silence. Clicking my tongue, I dipped my finger into some of the leftover icing and smeared it across his cheek. Shocked, he flicked his eyes to me.
"Coming from the workaholic—" He smeared more icing down my nose. I narrowed my eyes as he tried hiding a snort. "Would you stop that? Why is it whenever there is food around us we always end up in a food fight?" I wiped the icing off my nose and cheek.
"Coming from you—the laid back, no rules apply to me girl, I thought you'd be having fun." He shoved the last piece of cupcake into his mouth and wiped his hands.
"Some of us are mature adults."
"Some. Clearly not me...or you." His boyish smile returned full force to his lips, making my heart hammer in my chest.
"What are you doing here?" I narrowed my gaze, but he seemed unfazed by my sad attempt to look angry. Even I couldn't fool myself that I was happy to see him.
"Well, I was just passing by and thought I'd stop in to say hey."
"Well, you said your hello and made a mess of my counter and put icing in my hair." I picked up the empty tray and began to clean off the dirty counter.
"What are you doing tonight?" I stopped cleaning and flicked my gaze back up to his eyes, the mocking smile gone from his lips.
"Um, nothing. Why?" I leaned in closer, curious to hear what he had to say.
"Well, I wanted to talk with you more about some...things." He narrowed his eyes slightly. His serious work tone clicked on. I raised a curious brow.
"What kind of things?"
"About Switzerland and the castle...and Goldman." I shrank away slightly, averting my gaze back down to the counter.
"Oh..."
"I'd like to write up an accurate report for what happened, but I need your account. Seeing how you're a wanted criminal, I deemed it better if we did it in private. It could help clear some of your name Catherine." I thought it over briefly before nodding. "Great. I can give you my address to my place. How's seven tonight sound?"
"Seven is fine with me."
"Great." He perked up, took out a pen and started jotting down an address on a napkin and handed it to me. "This is my address. I'll see you at seven then. Oh," He turned back on his heels to face me. "You like Chinese? Please tell me you had Chinese before?"
"Yes, I've had Chinese before, Piers." He raised his hands in a defensive matter.
"Just asking cause you never had a hamburger the last time we ate together." I tilted my head and offered him a smile.
"I like Chinese."
"Okay. See you at seven." With one last smile, he reluctantly turned and stalked out of the cafe.
"Thanks for the cheesy romcom show." I nearly flew in the air at the sound of Maggie's voice. The smirking woman folded her arms across her chest.
"We were just talking." I stuffed the napkin with his address into my pocket for safe keeping.
"Sure you were. So you got a date tonight?" She jutted her chin to my pocket with the napkin.
"No. He still wants to talk some more about...some things."
"Are you having dinner there?"
"Uh...ya—"
"Just gonna be the two of you?" She let out a light snort as I turned my eyes to the floor. "Cat, that's a date. It's like you've never been on one bef—" She froze as she glimpsed my downturned face. "Cat, you never..."
"I never had the time nor the interest." Maggie's hands flew over her mouth as she tried covering her squeal of excitement.
"Ohmygodohmygod! Can I help you get ready? I can do your hair and makeup—"
"It's not a date. We're talking about some important—"
"Stop trying to kid yourself! It's a date! I was watching the two of you the whole time. It is definitely a date." She was practically bouncing in her shoes.
"You were spying on us?" She batted her hand in my face as she lifted up her tray.
"Spying is a strong word. You two were out in the open making lots of noise and I happen to just...see you guys. But enough of that! I'm helping you get ready tonight whether you like it or not." She levelled me with her steely glare making me swallow the forming lump in my throat.
I have a bad feeling about this...
"I look ridiculous."
"No, you don't! Now hold still while I zip up your dress." I fumbled with the hem of the dress as Maggie zipped me up.
"This isn't a date. He just wanted to ask me a few things about...my old work."
"Cat shut up and hold still. You're going on a date with him and are going to look beautiful." I shut my mouth at the clipped tone of her voice. Her alter ego surfaced, and I was unprepared to restrain her...mostly because I'd lose. "Alright. You're done." I turned around to meet her gaze; her hands flew to her mouth as our eyes met. "Cat..."
"It looks bad, doesn't it? I can go chan—"
"What?! NO!" I froze at the pitch of her voice. "You look...different." I walked to the mirror expecting the worst. and gawked at my reflection.
Is that...me?
"You look stunning!" The blond clapped her hands on my shoulders. Her beaming smile reached from ear to ear but I hardly took notice of it because I was to busy staring at the pink dress I was wearing. "I didn't know you had this tucked away?! Why haven't you worn it before?"
"Ya...ha...ha." I stared at my reflection, turning my head from side to side to make sure it really was not an illusion and me.
"Wait until Piers sees you. He's gonna have a hard time not staring at you the whole evening. Oh! You're going to be late!" I jerked out of my trans and grabbed my light coat and started for the door.
"Thanks, Maggie! I owe you big time!" I trudged down the steps, nearly tripping over my feet in the process.
"You can repay me with juicy details later. Have fun!" She yelled at the top of the stairs as I slammed the door behind me.
Breath. Just breath Catherine...it's just dinner...just the two of us.
I made my way up the stairs to the apartment number, my heart hammering with every step I took. I stopped dead in front of the door, my hand hovering in the air. I sucked in one last gulp of air to steady my nerves before I knocked. It was barely a moment later when the door swung open.
"It's about time you showed..." His words trailed off as his eyes flicked over me, resting on the pink dress he bought me long ago. "Oh." Was the only thing me managed to utter after an awkward amount of silence passed.
"Sorry I'm late, Maggie insisted on all of this." I waved a hand over my hair and dress. My cheeks grew warmer the longer he stood there silently gawking at me. I shifted uncomfortably and tried to put on a smirk. "Are you going to let me in or are we eating out in the hall?"
He jerked himself straight and held the door open for me. "N-no...sorry. Make yourself at home." I let out a silent sigh of relief for not stuttering and strolled inside, his aftershave and cologne tingled my nose.
I took note of his place. It was simple, clean—so like him to have everything organized and tidy. I buried my snort of laughter by clearing my throat and circled the living room. Pictures of people laughing and smiling filled the walls and fireplace mantle, I leaned in closer to inspect them better. A smile moved my lips as I spotted a younger Piers in most of them. An older couple I assumed to be his parents stood tall and proud behind their sons. I never knew Piers had siblings. I guess I'm learning more and more about him every day. My eyes flicked to the silent man standing by the door, eyeing me as I inspected his place.
"I'm going to have to start charging you for staring. I'm keeping a mental tab on how much you owe me, so far you're up to three-hundred dollars." The tug of a smile played on my lips as he cleared his throat and entered the living room, halting beside me as I scanned over another photo. "This photo," A picture of a smiling Piers in his B.S.A.A uniform caught my eye. "Is this when you first got into the B.S.A.A?" His eyes flicked from my face to the photo in my hand.
"Yeah. It was my first day. Heh, I was so anxious that day I could barely talk."
"You, nervous? Now that's something new." My sarcastic smile grew as he narrowed his eyes. I put the photo back and made my way to the windows. "Beautiful view. How long you been living here for?" The wooden floorboards creaked behind me, the brush of his shirt stroking my bare skin.
"A few years now. The rent is decent and I love the view." He talked about the view, but his eyes never left my face once. I shifted again at our close proximity. "The dress, you kept it this whole time?" My eyes shifted over the dress once more, my hands fidgeting at my sides.
"Actually, Ada kept it while I was in Switzerland. She gave it to me before she left a little over a month ago."
"It looks nice on you. You look really beautiful tonight." I shuddered at his gruff voice over my shoulder. I tried to stay calm and walked towards the couch.
"You wanted to talk about what happened in Switzerland right?" I plopped down onto one of the soft cushions. Piers dragged his feet slowly and sat beside me, his eyes darkening.
"Yeah, about that...can you tell me what exactly happened? I get you wanted Goldman dead and chased after him. I'm just confused on the why, what, and who?"
"it's a long story."
"I got the time." I flicked a questioning eye up to the man beside me and let out a long breath and nodded.
"Well, you got something to drink at least, cause this is going to need some alcohol." He jumped to his feet and quickly padded to the kitchen, returning shortly with a bottle of wine and two glasses. He set the glasses down in front of me and poured us each a glass before returning to his seat beside me. I took a swig of the wine; the liquid warmed me up and dulled my nerves.
"Okay, Well, it began long ago..." For the next few hours, I told him everything. The orphanage, Kevin, Sheena Island, Goldman, my encounter with Wesker and my life to the point where I met him. He sat calmly as I talked, grabbing my hand when it came to talking about Kevin. His eyes darkened when I got to the treatment we sustained on the Island and me living with Wesker. Three glasses of wine later, I got to the Overlook Castle. "And then I ran into Florence. Piers, she was something else. She looked like me! Not like Carla and Ada—They were two entirely different people created using cloning technology. But Florence, she was able to freely morph between forms—I've never seen B.O.W's do that before."
"So, it was her that attacked my team..." He placed his empty wine glass on the coffee table, his eyes cast to his hands in his lap.
"Ya, it was her, but...I killed her." My eyes pricked with tears, but I pushed the feeling down. "Piers, I saw myself in her. She was an innocent child subjected to that torment...with that monster—" My voice cracked into a sob. "And yet I killed her. How am I no better than Goldman?" Piers gently wiped my tears away with his thumb, a gentle look in his eyes.
"Cat, you aren't anything like Goldman. You're kind, caring, strong...beautiful. Never think you are a monster."
I gently laid my hands on the sides of his face and closed the distance between us. He didn't respond right away as my lips brushed his, but eventually, his shock subsided and he kissed me back with a new type of hunger. He started off slow, testing his boundaries and seeing how I reacted. I opened my mouth to allow him entrance, which he gladly claimed. Crashing his lips against mine, I nibbled on his bottom lip, a groan reverberated in his chest. Pulling him down on top of me until my head hit the cushion with a soft thump. He broke our kiss and moved along my jaw and neck, my body shivered under every kiss.
"I guess this is where I run away again, huh?" Piers jerked his head up. A playful glint passed over his eyes as he completely lowered his full body weight on top of me, caging me between him and the couch.
"Just try." My snort of laughter cut off as his tongue dragged up my neck and over my jaw, causing me to suck in a shallow breath. "You aren't trying?" A hot sensation filled my lower abdomen, making me squirm under Piers.
"You're going to ruin my dress if you keep laying on me."
"actually it's my dress since I bought it, but it looks better on you so I guess I can move." He jokingly said as he leaned back up on his elbows. As soon as the weight lifted off of me, I pinned him down, his eyes going round with shock as I leaned on him.
"Well, it was a great evening, but I'm running away now." I placed one last kiss on his jaw. I bolted up but only got one step in before a pair of hands wrapped around me, causing me to scream. He chuckled in between the kisses he left on my neck and shoulder.
"Gotcha." In a swift movement, he scooped me up and stalked over to a room while I laughed.
My head connected to the soft sheets of his bed. He quickly tossed off his shirt and jeans, leaving him only in his briefs, giving me an ample view of his toned muscled chest. I sat up straighter as my gaze rested on the scars on his shoulder. He quietly gazed at me while I pressed my lips to the scars in a gentle kiss. A hum passed my mouth as I felt his heart racing under my touch. He slipped a finger under my chin, tilting it up and crashing his mouth on mine while his fingers worked the zipper of my dress.
The fabric dropped to the floor in a swish, leaving me exposed. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around myself in embarrassment, but gentle hands pried my arms away. I flicked my gaze up to Piers, his gentle smile washed away any doubts I had. I wrapped my arms around his neck and planted more kisses on his jaw and lips. He broke the kiss to remove his briefs then fumbled with mine, depositing them into our growing pile of clothes on the ground. A pair of hands moved over my rear and hoisted me up, my legs wrapped around his waist as he settled me back down on the bed.
Time slowed to a halt, there was no rush, I was completely contempt with where I was. I turned my head to the side, while he kissed my neck and shoulders, a moan reverberating in his chest sent a wave of pleasure through me. He carefully laid between my thighs, the shadows of the night cast over his darkened face.
"Just relax." I bit his neck to suppress a scream. I wrapped my legs around his waist to get into a more comfortable position while he gently rocked back and forth, going slow at first but slowly building up. The pain quickly subsided replaced with a pleasurable heat. He cupped my breasts and trailed kissed down my chest and stomach, releasing a gasp from my lips. My hands dug into his hair making him moan louder.
Feeling bolder, I shifted over and pinned him under me. His initial shock faded away as he began trailing his hands over my body, stopping at my waist as I gently rocked back and forth. A smile cracked my lips as I took his hands and pinned them to his sides. He raised a questioning brow as I leaned down and licked the side of his neck right up to behind his ear. He sucked in a quick breath and tried to suppress another groan.
"That's not allowed." Moving from nibbling his ear I trailed my tongue over his jaw making him clench. He tried raising his hands but my firm grip on his wrists kept him pinned under me. I moved to his abdomen, trailing wet kisses down as I went, sending shivers over his skin. He tore out of my grasp, gathering me up and crashing his mouth on mine as he hungrily nipped and kissed.
"That's. Not. Fair." He heaved between kisses. My body grew hotter as he moved in me again, rolling new waves of pleasure off of me until it snapped, sending out a gasp from us both. Breathing heavily, I laid my head on his chest, trailing my fingers over his scared shoulder.
Our hushed voices were the only sound in the apartment. We talked and joked about everything, the past and right then. I got curious after a while as the silence stretched on. Turning over, I met with the softly snoring man with the peaceful expression. The pull of a smile touched my lips as I trailed a finger over the angles of his face, humming a tune as I did so. My eyes started to go fuzzy as a wave of fatigue rolled over me. I shifted over to snuggle closer but froze as his arms wrapped tighter around me. Snuggling his face into the crook of my neck and without opening his eyes his gruff voice sounded in my ear.
"Don't...leave." I pressed one last kiss to his forehead before settling back down beside him.
"I'll never leave again. I love you." My eyes fell closed and soon enough my breathing levelled out with his.
A/N: Well it only took 21 chapter but our little duo is finally together! I felt so awkward writing the love scene so I hope it wasn't cringy or awkward or seemed rushed...it was basically my first or second time writing a love scene so I hope it turned out fine. Thanks for reading and see you in the next chapter!