I wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of a pen scratching. I left my head, murmuring my wife's name. There's a lit candle sitting on the card table in the corner of our tiny bedroom and she's twirling her hoodie strings around her finger as she writes. She has her headphones on, plugged into the Walkman she got for her fifteenth birthday. She has a cup of coffee next to her, no longer steaming. Her monocle is perched over her eye like always.

I roll my eyes and stand up. I tap her shoulder and she slides off her headphones. "May I help you?" she teases as she looks up at me, pressing her head against my stomach.

"What the hell or you doing? It's like three in the morning!" I rest my hands on her shoulders.

"Homework."

"You said it wouldn't take that long."

"I said my Calculus homework wouldn't take very long. I still had a bunch of other subjects. And I didn't want to wake you up, so I've been working by candlelight."

I sigh and plant a kiss in her hair. "How are you not tired?"

"I'm used to late nights. I'm a night owl. Most nerdy people are."

I groan. "You make me tired just looking at you. Come back to bed."

She sighs. "Fine. I'll finish this conclusion in the morning."

"Good." I lean over her, blow out the candle, and lift her up into my arms. She squirms and her monocle falls.

"Jason!" she shrieks.

"Shh," I moan. "It's so early." I set her in the bed and wrap my arms around her tightly. "Haha, now you cannot escape." I gently press my lips to her neck and lay there. She chuckles and snuggles closer to me.


"Guess what," I say as I waltz into the kitchen. Veronica giggles as I wrap my arms around her waist. She's standing at the stove, stirring a pot of mac and cheese. We're quite healthy here in the Dean household.

"What?" She looks up at me and I kiss her chastely.

"I got the job."

"Ooh, Jason!" She wraps her arms around me and hugs me. I squeeze her back. "Which job?"

"I took your suggestion to heart. I start that self-defense class on Monday."

"Aw, Sweetheart, I'm proud of you." Veronica kisses me again, a little harder than before.

I laugh, trying to keep my balance as she tightens her embrace. "I love you," I chuckle.

"I love you too." She kisses the tip of my nose. "You're going to do great at that job."

"Mh, and what makes you say that?"

She rolls her eyes happily. "I don't know… something just… makes me think you will." Veronica wraps her arm around my waist now and pulls me against her. She slides her other hand up my chest.

I run my thumb across her lips before kissing those lips. She grabs my shirt and pulls me even closer. We're pressed against each other. Her back is against the wall and I'm keeping her there. I bite her bottom lip gently as I pull away. She giggle-moans, something I have come quite accustomed too. I cradle her face, holding her head just so. She runs her fingers through my hair and tips my head back, then kissing my neck. It is not something I'm used to at all. I always use that move on her.

She kisses a certain spot on my neck, just by my ear, and it causes the faintest moan to escape my lips. More like a sigh. She grins and slowly draws her lips back to mine. Her gaze meets mine and just as I'm about to lift her and fucking carry her to either the couch or the bed, she smirks and kisses the tip of my nose before slipping out of my arms and returning to the pot of noodles.

I almost pull her back. "The fuck was that?!"

She chuckles. "I don't want dinner to burn. Why don't you go set the table?"

"Damn you," I mutter as I kiss her temple before doing as she asked, rolling my eyes at her teasing. She sticks her tongue out at me over her shoulder and I can't help but laugh.

At least the mac and cheese was good. And at least she finished her homework. And at least Veronica's a hopeless romantic. And at least coffee is a thing. And at least we have the whole apartment to ourselves. And at least love exists.