Closer
Sometimes one just needs to feel somebody a little bit closer.
You're staring into Addison's eyes again, and you're thinking about confessing how much you're into her but you're scared, so you just keep staring.
Addison is staring at you, too, and her pupils are wide, and her green irises are sparking.
She really is so pretty.
"Come to bed with me, Addison," you say with lust, and hold your hand out to her, and you hope that she gets the message.
She's single, so what's the harm? You could kiss her. You could touch her. You could make love to her all night long-
You're thinking all of these things as you reach for her, pulling her close to you, and you're leaning in, and she's leaning in, and your eyes are closed until you wait for a while.
And then you open them again because she's not moving anymore.
"What, do you not wanna kiss me? Oh, I'm sorry. What a faux-pas… We can just be friends. Heh, heh…" you sigh, and you look down on your feet.
"Oh, no it's not that, it's- well it's a bit soon, I'm not officially divorced yet, and you've been drinking…" says Addison.
"I'm not drunk-drunk, just tipsy-" you pout.
"Mm, better safe than sorry," Addison does lean in to kiss your forehead.
"Mm, more of that please," you whine.
"Sorry, can't," Addison smiles.
"Why not," you ask her.
"I promised Cristina," Addison smiles.
"That you wouldn't kiss me?" you ask her.
"That I wouldn't take advantage of you," says Addison.
"I'd be the one taking advantage of you. I'd be taking advantage all evening and I'd take all your clothes off, and then I'd-" you try talking dirty to Addison in your most seductive voice, but she's not budging an inch.
"Okay, all of this sounds lovely," Addison says, and she's blushing so you think you're winning, "but we're not gonna do any of that tonight. I appreciate you having me stay, and we can just lie down together and sleep, and we'll talk more in the morning," Addison offers.
"I really like you, Addison-"
There, you said it. It's out there, it's out loud. And now Addison knows.
"I like you too, Meredith-" Addison smiles.
Her eyes light up for you, and you can tell that your eyes are lit up for her.
"You do?" You say shyly.
"I do," Addison giggles. "Now come on, it's getting late," Addison smiles.
"Oh right, the bedroom's upstairs, I'll show you. The washroom is here you can go first, let me know if you need any clothes," you smile.
"Clothes would be great, believe it or not, I didn't plan this," Addison giggles.
"Okie, you can wear my pajamas," you smile.
"And you'll be wearing…?" Addison teases.
"Hey, I own more than one set of pajamas… Unless you want me to be wearing nothing," you try.
"Haha, good one Meredith," Addison laughs. "Pajamas are just alright for tonight."
"Okay," you say, and Addison's finished so you get ready for bed before you join her.
"Do you have a particular place you want to be?" Addison asks you.
"Just with you," you lie down, and you pull her into your arms. You pull the blanket over both of you, and you shift so you're resting your head on her chest again.
It's so much cozier than on the floor, and it feels more intimate now that you've both confessed your feelings to each other.
Addison plays with your hair, and you run your fingers over her arms.
And you're tired, but you don't want to miss this time with her, so you stay awake for a little bit just drinking in the sight of her.
"I'm so glad we started getting close," you whisper.
"Me, too," Addison smiles.
"I never thought we would end up like this," you laugh.
"Me neither, but I don't regret a thing," Addison smiles.
"I can't wait to wake up to you again," you smile.
"Absolutely," Addison yawns.
So you close your eyes, and weave your arms around her, and you fall asleep to the soothing sounds of her heartbeat.
"Good morning," you say, as she blinks her eyes awake.
You woke up a few minutes ago, and you're admiring her again.
Luckily, you're not drunk anymore, and you didn't drink so much you are hungover. It all comes rushing back to you, Addison's breakup with Derek. Confessing to Addison you like her. Addison saying that she likes you back. Coming onto Addison and trying to get her naked (oops!). The pillow talks.
You feel like you're sky-high and flying, because she's here with you.
"Hey," Addison's voice sounds husky in the morning, and it warms you up.
"Hey," you have a million-watt smile on your face as you talk to her.
You want to tell her how much you meant everything that you said last night, how much you care for her, how special she is, and all of that, but you just enjoy lying back down and cuddling with her for a few minutes before you have to move again.
Addison speaks again, to thank you for having her, and you say it's nothing, and she tells you that you've been a great host.
"Move in with me-" you say impulsively.
"What-!?" Addison is startled.
"I know it's fast, but you probably don't want to live in the trailer now that you're broken up with Derek, and we have lots of space here, and I like having you here, and I'll miss you-" you say desperately.
"Meredith this is all so fast-" says Addison.
"It doesn't have to be about 'us-us,' it can just be a friend helping someone out in finding a place," you offer.
"Well…" Addison hesitates.
"And if it doesn't work out I'll help you find somewhere else. I have enough rent from the other roommates, you can just stay for a little while if you want to test it out first," you back peddle a little.
"We could try it for a little while, thanks, Meredith," Addison finally softens.
"No problem," you smile.
"Do you want a ride to work?" Addison offers.
"Sure," you smile. "Do you want to get breakfast there? I don't know how to cook," you say shyly.
"I could probably cook something," Addison offers.
"Alright," you nod.
Addison disappears into the kitchen as you get ready for work, and when you emerge she has two plates of omlettes laid out in front of you.
"This looks great," you smile.
"You had lots of things there," Addison smiles.
"So… are we dating now?" You blurt out.
"Do you want to date?" Addison asks.
"Yeah, I mean, once you're like, not married," you sigh.
"Okay, once I'm not married we can date," Addison smiles.
"When is that happening again? Because I want to kiss you," you say.
"Soon," Addison says. "We're putting the paperwork through today."
Today's good enough for you, and with that, you head off to work together, and you try to avoid the snickering that you hear in the background.
"So how did last night go?" Cristina snags you as soon as you enter the locker room.
"I kinda asked her to move in-" you grin.
"Wow Mer, you're taking U-Haul lesbianism to the next level," Cristina teases.
"She's got nowhere to stay, and we've got lots of space," you say.
"Uh-huh, and I bet she's going to be staying in your bedroom," Cristina laughs.
"Hopefully," you say dreamily.
"So did you kiss her yet?" Cristina asks you.
"She's not divorced yet, so we're waiting, and it's torture," you sigh.
"But you're not platonic anymore," Cristina smirks.
"Nope," you grin. "We're seeing each other, and it's the very best feeling," you gush.
"You two are going to be so annoying, I can tell," says Cristina.
"Definitely."
You expect a confrontation from Derek sometime, but he's mysteriously being good about it, so you don't poke a sleeping bear or whatever expression you're trying to remember now, and you just let him be.
You check on the quints, who are all doing well, and you bump into Dorie who is also visiting.
"You'll never believe what happened," you smile.
"What?" Dorie smiles, and at least pretends to know nothing yet.
"Addison and I are getting together," you smile. "She picked me. She really picked me. And I'm crazy for her," you sigh.
"Congratulations," says Dorie.
"Sometimes things do work out I guess," you smile sheepishly.
"I guess they do," says Dorie.
"I'm still terrified. I've never felt this way before now, but it feels awesome, and I hope it lasts. I want to make it last," you smile.
"You two are very smart and caring people. I think you can figure it out," Dorie smiles.
"Thank you," you smile. You just can't stop smiling.
You and Addison meet in the cafeteria for lunch, and all of your friends and her friends come by to 'heckle you,' and/or cheer you on.
"I'm glad this worked out. She's really great you know," George says to Addison.
"She is," says Addison.
George walks away to get his lunch, and you can tell he's still a bit sad you didn't pick him, but you know that this is for the best.
"Dude, this is awesome," Alex smirks at both of you.
"Thanks, Alex," you laugh.
"Seriously, it'll be so great to have another girl in the house," says Izzie.
"Yeah," says Addison.
"I sure hope you're both not going to be incredibly distracted for the next few years," Bailey interrupts all of you.
"We'll be good," you say to Bailey.
"We will be. No special treatment, I promise," says Addison.
"And no pornos in the on-call rooms!" Bailey says.
"We weren't-" you fumble.
"I know you weren't before. I'm saying from now on, I don't want to hear it!" Bailey says.
"Noted," you blush.
"Yup," says Addison.
"We'll just have to be really really quiet," you whisper to Addison when Bailey walks away.
"Of course you already want to break the rules," Addison chuckles.
The divorce lawyer meets Addison and Derek around four, and they settle things in the conference room. You can vaguely overhear what is happening.
"I have to say something," says Addison. "Mark and I, at the time, we stayed together after. We had more of a relationship than you knew about, so I wanted to be fair," says Addison.
"I'm going to have to process that," says Derek. "But thanks for telling me," he adds.
"What do you want from this?" Addison asks him.
"I want the trailer," says Derek.
"Oh you can have the trailer," Addison laughs.
"Why don't you keep one of the properties in New York, and we can sell the other together," Derek offers.
"That sounds fair," says Addison.
"Do you have a place to stay here? Or are you moving back?" Derek asks Addison.
"Umm… I'm actually staying with Meredith. She asked me and umm…" Addison says softly.
"Oh, okay," says Derek. "Well then I guess that settles things," he says.
"I guess it does," says Addison.
"I'm a little shocked you're dating Meredith now, but I'll get there," says Derek.
"Thank you," says Addison.
They sign the papers, and then Addison comes out to meet you.
"So I have one less hyphen and name now," says Addison.
"Mm, amazing Dr. Montgomery," you smile.
"And I told Derek I'm moving in with you," says Addison.
"I can't wait," you smile.
"Do you want to help me move tonight?" Addison asks you.
"Yup," you smile.
"Awesome," Addison smiles.
You hold hands at the table, and even Callie congratulates you.
You're so happy all afternoon that even Preston Burke's confusion doesn't phase you.
"So, Addison was married to Derek. And then Derek dated you. And now you're dating Addison?" he asks you.
"That is correct," you say.
"Huh," says Burke.
"We're happy. I'm just glad we're happy," you say excitedly.
"Huh," he says, and you think you catch him smiling.
You leave with Addison after work, and you help her pack all of her things. The moving truck fits all of it in one trip, and pretty soon you're back at your place again.
"Where are we putting this?" Addison asks as you get in the house.
"We can start with what you need in my room, and then we can go from there," you smile.
There's plenty of room for both of you, and you like the look of her clothes beside yours in your closet.
All of it seems so very surreal, just days ago you thought you'd never find your soulmate, and now you feel like you have your whole lives together ahead of you.
"You know I snore right?" You say anxiously.
"Yeah, it's pretty cute," Addison smiles.
If it doesn't bother her, then you must be meant to be together.
All the rest of your roommates come over for dinner as usual, and you all pack yourselves into the kitchen to share a big feast of chicken wings and miscellaneous takeout.
They tell you to 'keep it down,' in the night times, and you tell them you have no idea what they are talking about.
As the evening fades, everyone goes off to do what they need to. Cristina goes back to her place, Alex is out with Izzie, and George has a shift at the hospital.
"We're finally alone, and both single," you whisper to Addison.
"We are," Addison wraps her arms around you.
"Kiss me?" You ask her sweetly.
"Finally," Addison smiles.
Addison is a good kisser- no, a great kisser. The best one you could possibly ask for. Your bodies fit perfectly, and you're spinning her around the kitchen until you land in a heap against the cupboards.
She kisses you soft and slow like a promise, and you hope that you never have to let go.
"I guess this was a successful experiment?" You smile.
Addison glows, and she twirls your hair in her hands.
"It most certainly was."
***** END OF CHAPTER 6