Bridget hummed lightly as she closed her eyes, her head resting on the back of the couch as she inhaled the aroma coming from the kitchen. They had fallen straight back into their old habits almost immediately after Franky's exoneration and almost every night for the last month, the alluring brunette had prepared them a home cooked meal. Things were finally beginning to get back to normal for the two of them, Franky was due back at her Legal Relief job in a month's time whilst Bridget had taken some holiday leave to spend more time with her partner.
Franky shuffled around in the kitchen, the only noise in the house coming from the sizzling of pans and the low music coming from the radio. She stirred the various vegetables and meat around in the pan whilst angling her head to get a peak into the living room, blue eyes softening as she took note of her lover resting on their couch, her back to the door. The brunette gave a small, involuntary smile at the sight. God, she couldn't believe her luck right now. After her attempts at pushing Bridget away - and ultimately succeeding when the blonde resigned – and what seemed like clutching at straws for evidence, it became increasingly difficult for Franky to believe that she would ever get to step foot in this house again. Just four months ago, Franky's taste of freedom came crashing down and each time she came close to proving her innocence, there was something new to stand in her way. Yet, despite everything – The Freak, Pennisi, the cops – Bridget had stood by her and was even willing to do time just to give Franky a chance to find evidence that could already have been destroyed for all they knew.
'You have no idea how much I love you,' Franky thought.
Not once in her life had Franky ever experienced the love that she and Bridget shared. It was passionate and intense but at the same time so tender and precious. The brunette wasn't lying when she told Kim that it's the first time she'd went there with her feelings, what she felt for Bridget terrified her in the best way possible. In fact, Franky was more frightened by the idea of losing Bridget than she was about being left to rot in Wentworth. If it hadn't been for the blonde in the next room, Franky imagined that she wouldn't even have left the prison in the first place. She was so grateful to the psychologist and she couldn't wait to spend the rest of their lives together.
The sound of oil sizzling brought her attention back on the pan as she worked to set the heat at an appropriate temperature. She gripped the handle of the pan lightly, tossing the food around to mix it together. Blue eyes met the clock on the wall, ensuring that she hadn't left the chicken on for too long. 'Five more minutes,' she told herself in her head. The brunette's thoughts drifted back to a time during her parole when Bridget had attempted to cook for them, leaving the food on the heat for a little too long following a distraction from her lover. The blonde was embarrassed by her lack of attention to the food but Franky just flashed her a wide smile, kissed her forehead and thanked her for the meal. No one had ever cooked for her, apart from the other inmates of course but beans and slop didn't really count as a home cooked meal. The tattooed paralegal was beginning to notice a trend, there were plenty of things that Franky hadn't experienced until Bridget came into her life and she was more than excited to share these experiences with the shorter blonde. Once she was satisfied that the food in the pan wasn't going to overcook or burn, she grabbed two bottles of wine and placed them on the table in front of her, lighting a few candles to sit in the centre.
"Hey Gidge," she called out, listening for a hummed response as she finished lighting the final candle before she continued, "Red or white?" She asked, referring to the bottles of wine she had left on the counter.
"Go for red, darling." The blonde called back.
Franky looked up at the sound of footsteps coming closer, placing the safety lighter back in its drawer. A cheeky, toothy grin made its way onto her face, showing off her dimples. The blonde came to a stop beside the counters, internally swooning at the smile on Franky's face. At forty-six years of age, Bridget would've thought she'd be passed the butterflies stage of being with someone yet here Franky was, constantly surprising her and making Bridget feel just like a teenager again. She had never had someone look at her with so much love and adoration as Franky did. Any insecurities she had about their relationship would just vanish at the sight of the brunette's dimpling smile and lustful eyes. The blonde moved to remove the cork from the bottle of red, her breath hitching slightly when Franky gently pressed herself up against her back.
"I told ya to relax," the brunette whispered in her ear, replacing Bridget's hand on the bottle with her own. "Take a seat, Gidge, you deserve to be pampered." She placed a light kiss on Bridget's ear as she finished her sentence.
The blonde turned to face her partner, feeling butterflies again when blue eyes immediately zeroed in on her lips. She was putty in the hands of Franky Doyle and she was certain her lover was the same.
"You're too good to me," she told her, their breaths mingling as Bridget wrapped her arms lightly around Franky's neck at the same time Franky wrapped hers around the small waist in front of her.
They teased each other with their lips, barely touching, grazing the others with the lightest of touches. Franky let out a breathy chuckle as she finally pecked her lover's inviting lips, pulling away before Bridget had the chance to deepen the kiss. She patted the blonde's hips.
"Take a seat, Gidge. Let me treat ya for once," she smiled cheekily, knowing full well that that's all she's been doing since her exoneration,
Bridget, as if reading her mind, smiled back and stroked Franky's face before moving away to take her seat at the table. She watched as the brunette moved gracefully around their kitchen, touching Bridget at every opportunity she could. The taller woman poured the wine into their respective glasses, bending down to kiss the top of Bridget's head as she deposited the glass in front of her before moving back to the two pans. With ease, Franky shuffled the food around with a pan in each hand before mixing the noodles, veg and the chicken into the one pan. Franky quickly placed the empty dish into the sink before sharing the food evenly onto the waiting plates, dropping the other pan beside its companion in the hot water after doing so. She turned off the stove and quickly yet expertly mixed the food together, preparing what Bridget would call a restaurant quality meal.
The brunette smiled as she turned around, meeting her girlfriend's adoring look. Franky gently placed the plate in front of Bridget before doing the same with her own in the seat next to the blonde. Before the whole Pennisi incident, the pair would usually sit opposite one another at the table but since Franky's release, the two were reluctant to part with one another.
As the couple dug into their meal, Franky couldn't help but smirk proudly as her girlfriend let out a moan of appreciation. They sat in silence, appreciating the low hum of the radio and enjoying the closeness of one another. As the blonde took another bite of her food, Franky stopped to take in the moment as she raised her wine glass to her lips, watching her girlfriend over the rim. The brunette truly adored the quiet moments like these, not that she didn't love the passion in their relationship – she was a very willing participant in that aspect – but it was the moments like these that Franky truly felt at home and loved and even part of a family. The brunette swallowed her wine, placing the glass down on the table as her thoughts drifted to the small velvet box she had hidden inside one of her shoe boxes. The brunette took a deep breath as blue eyes met her own.
"I love ya, you know that?" The brunette asked, she knew the answer but sometimes she just needed to hear it.
Bridget smiled softly in understanding, nodding her head. "Yeah," she replied quietly. "I love you too."
Franky returned Bridget's smile, leaning over to meet her waiting lips.
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Please leave a review and let me know if you'd like to read more, either as an expansion or more one shots! And of course, I do not own or am associated with any of the characters or the show.