DISCLAIMER: Fifty shades of Grey or its characters do NOT belong to me. I own the plot and more than a few characters though. I would like to remind you that this is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or places is accidental.
Thanks so much to my awesome Beta, Ninkita
.
*Information:*
Ana and her friends = 24 years old
Christian = 28 years old
Mia = 22 years old
Elliot = 30 years old
Stephen = 28 years old
[I'm casting Stephen Amell as Stephen of my story ;)]
.
.
Chapter - 12:
.
Coming back to GEH, Christian hurried to his office. He wanted to read his long-awaited email. Grinning excitedly, he waved at Ros and Andrea. They were left staring after him as Christian closed his office's door behind him. Almost running to his chair, he opened the laptop. He couldn't stop the excited wiggle he did in his chair, feeling like a 5-year-old. He opened the email after taking a deep breath. "Hey Fucker!" at the greeting, Christian chuckled, before he continued to read.
"How have you been? I know you've been waiting for this email for years now. So, I won't torture you much and tell you. I'm back in states. I've returned last month from Afghanistan. Sorry, I couldn't contact you earlier. I needed to fulfill some formalities before I could retire from the army. Now that everything here is done, I can finally come to Seattle. My flight lands in Seattle tomorrow morning around 8 am. Will I see you there? Waiting for me? I know I will.
Christian, thanks for being my family. I miss you my friend. See you soon.
Yours,
Stephen"
Christian smiled. He considered Stephen as his own brother. If they hadn't met in college but a few years earlier, he would've insisted that his parents adopt Stephen as well. Stephen's parents had also died the same year Christian's had. So, he felt a kinship to Stephen. Sighing in relief, he pressed the intercom button. "Andrea, Ask Taylor to come to my office. Oh! and send Ros in, please."
Two minutes later, Ros entered his office with a curious look on his face. "Are you ready to propose already? I thought you had just started dating," she inquired before taking a seat in front of Christian.
"What are you rambling about, you crazy woman?" Christian gave her an amused look.
"Ana. You just started dating her. You look a little too happy for a simple date. So, I thought maybe you're ready to propose," Ros shrugged.
"That's not it. We've just started seeing the good in each other. So, it will take some time to reach that stage where I even... think about proposing her," Christian explained. "No, my best friend is coming back after 7 years. He's been away for far too long," he added with a smirk.
"Do you mean to say... that Stephen is coming?" Ros squealed excitedly. Ever since she had started working for Christian 6 years ago, she had heard a lot about Stephen. She almost felt like she knew him personally.
"Yeah. tomorrow," Christian answered, beaming.
"You must be really excited. Is he moving in with you?" Ros inquired.
Christian laughed out loudly. "No. I kept one of the apartments in Escala empty for him. He'll move in there... I hope. He can be super stubborn," he sighed.
"Anyways, you called me for something?" Ros asked, getting serious.
"Yeah. I will be busy with Stephen the next few days. As you know, there are several important meetings scheduled at the same time. I need you to attend them for me."
"Yeah, sure. I'll get Andrea to send my assistant the schedule. Go have fun. I've got it," Ros assured.
"Thanks, Ros."
.
.
Next day. Christian was back at the airport. He was nervously pacing back and forth, waiting for Stephen to come out. His plane had landed a few minutes ago. He was glancing around when someone called out, "CHRIS!"
Christian looked towards the sound and found his best friend heading towards him with a large smile on his face. "STEPHEN!" he greeted when Stephen reached him. They hugged each other, laughing in relief. "Oh man! It's so good see you!" Christian exclaimed excitedly.
"Absolutely, man! I thought this day would never come," Stephen stated pulling back. Christian was the only family he had in this world. Even his emergency contact was Christian.
"I've been worried sick for you," Christian sighed in relief before finally looking at his best friend up and down. "Look at you. You look like one of those beefy firefighters," he teased.
Stephen posed smugly. "I know. I look hot," he replied with a smirk. "I can see you put on some muscles too," he added.
"I work out," Christian replied before they both laughed. "Let's go home. I didn't get much for your apartment. Only the bed and fixed the closet in the master bedroom. We can get other things later. Till everything is ready you will live with me in the penthouse," Christian informed.
"Wait... what are you talking about? What apartment?" Stephen asked, puzzled.
"I kept an apartment in the building I live ready for you. I wanted you to have a home to come back to," Christian replied.
"Christian, thank you... but I can't take it. I want to join the city firefighters. I want to do things on my own," Stephen explained, apologetic.
"A firefighter? Why? You just came back from a dangerous job," Christian sighed in frustration.
Stephen laughed. "I'll be fine," he said patting his friend's back.
They headed out of the airport. Christian was determined to change Stephen's mind, though he knew once Stephen had decided something, he would stick to it. Taylor was waiting for them at the waiting area. "Taylor, meet Stephen, my best friend," Christian introduced.
"Hello, sir," Taylor greeted stoically.
"Hi, I'm Major Stephen Whitley," Stephen greeted politely, shaking Taylor's hand. "Army or Marine?" he asked.
"Marine, Major Whitley. It's a pleasure to meet you," Taylor smiled. He opened the door for Christian who had a proud smile on his face. They headed towards Escala soon after.
"So, how have you been?" Stephen asked.
"I'm good. I... uh... I started dating... kind of," Christian replied with a wry smile.
"That's great news, man. Wait... what do you mean by 'kind of'?" Stephen asked turning towards him.
"The girl I'm dating, Ana, we didn't get along well. We each did some things and it escalated. So, mom interfered and as a punishment, she sent us to go on a date. On the date we realized that when we weren't fighting, we were a great match," Christian shrugged shyly.
"She must be someone special to make Christian Grey blush like a thirteen-year-old," Stephen teased, beaming that his friend was finally moving forward. "Hey, what did you mean you both did some things?"
"I... I... may have... accused her of stealing," Christian mumbled. He felt ashamed for how he had reacted that day. He now realized how awful he had been to her that day.
"Wow... talk about screwing up," Stephen grimaced. "So, how did she react?"
"Well... she pulled some brilliant pranks on me in my own apartment in a way that even my IT personnel and security in-charge were not able to find any proof of," Christian informed with a proud smirk.
"Wait a minute!" Taylor exclaimed. "That was Ms. Steele's doing?" he asked in astonishment.
"You didn't understand that with the airport prank I pulled on her?" Christian asked, amused.
"So, THAT's why you pulled such an elaborate prank on her. I was wondering why you scared that poor girl like that," Taylor was laughing by now.
"What did he do?" Stephen asked Taylor. Excitedly, Taylor started telling him the airport prank. "Yikes! That was serious! You could've given that girl a heart attack!" Stephen stared at his best friend in shock.
"Don't worry. I asked her mom about her heart condition before doing it. I'm not an idiot. I was trying to pull a prank; not kill the girl I'm dating," Christian rolled his eyes.
"You have the weirdest way to woo a girl," Stephen snickered.
.
.
.
Ana had a busy day. As soon as she landed in California, she had back-to-back meetings. Exhausted, she collapsed on the bed in her hotel room. A chirping noise made her turn towards her phone. Opening the text, she saw that it was from Christian.
"You looked beautiful tonight... 3 -C" it said.
Blushing, Ana replied, "You didn't even see me... :p -A"
"I didn't have to. I missed you today. -C"
"Me too. Have fun thinking up more pranks. ;) -A"
"I already have a brain full of interesting ideas. LOL. Good Night. -C"
"Good night. -A" Smiling, Ana put her phone down.
After taking a shower and changing into her pale pink silk pajamas, she got in the bed. She closed her eyes, hoping that her exhaustion would put her to sleep, but it was unsuccessful. She had a rather strange encounter that day. After her second meeting, she was getting of the clients' office building when she saw a familiar person walking out of the cafe next door. Surprised to see a familiar face, Ana had approached the man. "Mr. Hyde! Hey! How are you?" she had greeted him with a smile.
The man looked startled to see her. "Ms. Steele? Is this really... you?" he sounded really surprised.
"Yes, it is me, Mr. Hyde. What a coincidence! I came to California for some meetings. What are you doing here? Last time we met, you were in Seattle," Ana commented.
"Ah... yeah. It's... I moved here two weeks ago," he said. "I... ah... needed to move on," he added before a strange smile lit up his face, "but it seems the universe had different plans."
Ana had felt confused at his last statement. "I don't understand," she said.
"Nothing," he shook his head before suddenly grabbing her for a tight hug. "It's really nice to meet you."
Awkwardly and uneasily, Ana had patted his back. She didn't understand why he was so excited to see her. They were mere acquaintances and nothing more. "Um... okay. Glad you're feeling good," she muttered, trying to pull away.
"Would you like to have coffee?" he asked, finally pulling away.
"I can't, I'm sorry. I've to get to another meeting on the other side of the city," Ana stepped away from him with an apologetic smile.
"Next time then," Jack said with a charming smile.
"Yeah... I guess," Ana muttered. After that she left and went on her way. Still, his behavior had felt kind strange to her. Shaking her head to clear away the thought, Ana snuggled into her pillow and closed her eyes.
.
.
.
The next day, Christian and Stephen arrived at the Grey manor for dinner. Grace and Carrick were really fond of Stephen. When the boys were in college, every vacation Christian would force Stephen to come with him. As Stephen had no family on his own, the Grey family had become his pseudo-family. So, the Greys were also equally excited to have Stephen back in the States.
"Oh Stephen, dear boy! It's so good to see you," Grace hugged Stephen tightly. "I was so worried," she sighed as she tried to blink away her tears.
"Thanks for all the care packages you sent me," Stephen said, trying to make her laugh.
"Shut up, you," Grace slapped his shoulder after pulling away, laughing through tears.
"Mom, let us greet him too," Elliot complained. Shooting him a mildly irritated look, Grace moved away from Stephen. "Stephen, my man! Looking good!" Elliot hugged Stephen and patted hard on his back.
Stephen was wearing a brown Henley with beige pants. He wanted to shave off his five o'clock shadow, but Christian assured him that he looked more handsome with it. "Thanks. Just what I wanted to hear," Stephen smirked.
"Do you have an eight pack? I heard army officers all have eight packs!" Mia asked with curiosity.
Before Stephen could actually reply, Christian wrapped his arm around his sister and said, "Nope. You're not allowed to think about male bodies yet," before pushing her inside the house. The others followed behind them, amused.
"I'm 22 years old," Mia stated dryly, not amused.
"We will revisit this conversation when you're 30," Christian replied, rolling his eyes.
"What?! DAD!" Mia whined, stomping her feet.
"That's not helping your case," Elliot pointed out, smirking.
"Christian, stop teasing you sister. She can date when she's 25," Carrick said sternly.
"BOYS!" Grace growled at her husband and sons, making them wince. "Mia is a grown woman and she can date whoever she wants," she added sternly.
"Thank you, mom," Mia sighed in relief before poking her tongue at her father and brothers.
"Of course, if you get pregnant out of an one night stand, we will disown you," Grace stated casually before heading to the kitchen.
"Wait... what?! But mom," Mia followed after Grace to complain.
"Does that mean if Mia gets pregnant in any other situation, it's okay?" Stephen asked, confused as the Grey males stared after Grace in disbelief.
.
"So... did you guys meet the girl Christian's been dating?" Stephen asked as they sat to drink coffee after dinner.
"Dating?! What is he talking about, Christian? What about Ana?" Grace asked angrily. "Are you dating two women at once?" she asked, getting more riled up.
Shooting a glare at Stephen, who gave him a guilty look, Christian turned to his mother. He had noticed that his dad and siblings were also glaring at him. "Mom, he's talking about Ana. No, I'm not dating two women at once," he stated dryly.
Grace brightened up instantly. "Really?! Christian dear, that's great news! I knew when you two stop fighting, you will see how perfect you are for each other," she gushed excitedly.
"Oh my god! That's awesome!" Mia squealed.
"Finally!" Elliot sighed in relief. "There was so much sexual tension between the two of you that every time you guys fought I was afraid you would start fucking in front of us," he added with a smirk.
"Language," Grace stated slapping the back of Elliot's head as Christian glared at his brother.
"I'm glad. Call me when you want to go ring shopping. I can't wait to make that girl my daughter-in-law," Carrick said nonchalantly.
Christian was taking a sip from his coffee when Carrick said that. Poor Christian ended up choking on his coffee. Clearing his throat, he asked, "Ring shopping? Seriously?!"
Carrick just shrugged in response. "I like her. She's perfect for you," he said with an affectionate smile.
"Back to my concerns," Stephen interrupted. "Since everyone knows and likes her, what kind of girl is she? Tell me more. How did you meet her and where?" he asked. Excitedly, everyone started telling him about their encounters with Ana.
.
.
.
4 days later.
Ray was waiting for her when Ana got out of the airport. "Daddy!" she squealed excitedly. She had missed her dad.
"Hey, baby girl! How was your trip?" he asked after pulling away from the tight hug his daughter gave him.
"It was... a SUCCESS! We got another two new publishing companies under our belt. I'm so happy," Ana beamed.
"I'm really proud of you, kiddo," Ray said wrapping his arm around his daughter. "Everything is going good in our world... only if your mom agrees to marry me again, I'll be a happy man," he added with a sigh.
Ana giggled. "You do realize that she feels flattered each time you propose to her, right?"
"I know. That's why I keep proposing. I get to reap the benefits of those proposals later in the night," Ray smirked.
"Eeewww! DAD!" Ana grimaced, shaking her head to get rid of the image. Ray snickered at his daughter's reaction.
After having lunch together, Ray dropped Ana off in front of the Steele tower. Alyssa was waiting for her at the door. She helped Ana to take her luggage upstairs to her apartment. Bill was already there, having brought Tyson back there from his apartment. "Hey, sweet boy," Ana greeted as soon as she entered the apartment.
"Hey, Annie," Bill greeted.
"I don't think she was greeting you," Alyssa stated with an amused smirk.
Frowning, Bill looked at the doorway to find that Tyson had run up to Ana and was giving her puppy kisses as Ana cooed at her dog. "Mean," Bill muttered pouting.
"Oh! Hey, Billa," Ana finally greeted the pouting boy.
"I see where we stand," Bill said folding his hands over his chest. "You greeted the dog first," he gave her a stink eye.
"It's not my fault that my dog is cuter," Ana replied with a smirk before laughing. The friends hugged. "I missed your crazy ass. How have you been? Was Tyson good?" she asked.
"Everything was under control. Jose and I only fought 23 times. Tyson was a good boy," Bill informed proudly.
"Only 23 times?! Wow... impressive," Ana commented wryly.
"Hell ya, it's impressive," Bill replied haughtily. Ana snickered at his tone.
With the promise of a night out, Ana bid her friends goodnight. She took a shower and changed into her two-piece red satin pajamas before going to bed. Even though it was only 8 pm, she felt exhausted. Yawning, she snuggled under her fluffy blanket. Within minutes, she was deeply asleep.
Around 10 pm, the door of Ana's apartment opened. Caleb entered the apartment and moved aside to let Christian in. "Remember... I don't know anything about this. You stole her key from me," Caleb stated with a smirk.
"You got it. I'm not going to tell Ana that you helped me with this prank," Christian replied with a smirk on his own. Caleb and he had bonded when Christian had come to the library the day before.
"I really don't want her to start pranking me again before I can settle my score with her for her last pranks," Caleb shrugged.
"So, it's not just me who had to deal with the prank war?" Christian inquired curiously.
"No. Ana takes her revenge through pranks. We all have been on the other side of her pranks."
"Good to know. Now, you might want to go if you want to claim plausible deniability," Christian suggested.
"See you later," with a wave, Caleb left.
Smiling mischievously, Christian walked up to the loft. Tyson was sleeping by the bed on his doggie bed. Hearing Christian's footsteps, Tyson jumped up from his bed and was getting ready to attack. Hurriedly, Christian gave Tyson the treats he had brought along, and waited until the dog was calmer than before. When Tyson relaxed, Christian pulled on his mask and crawled up the bed. Then he stopped to stare at Ana. A soft smile came to his face. He didn't know how it happened, but he really, really liked her. He felt giddy whenever they were together. His heart seemed to expend and beat faster whenever he looked at her. Moving his mask for a second, he placed a kiss on her forehead before he went back to his agenda, AKA staring at her. When she didn't respond after 5 minutes, he decided to pull on her hair a little.
Ana was deep in sleep, but she her spidey senses were tingling like crazy. She felt like someone was staring at her. She ignored it and tried to go back to sleep but then... someone pulled on her hair. Moaning her displeasure, she opened her eyes blearily. Instantly, a scream tore through her. She jumped up from her bed screaming. The man with a scary joker mask tried to touch her. Ana was too scared to sit there like an idiot. She pushed the man away from her, and ran out of the loft, screaming for help. The man followed behind her, laughing the whole time. Something about him seemed familiar, but Ana was too scared to focus on that. She had almost reached the door of her apartment, when she heard the man speak.
"WAIT... ANA! It's me! Look!" the man said.
She didn't want to turn around, but his voice was really familiar. Hesitantly she turned around and was shocked. "Christian?! You... you... it's you?" she exclaimed. She felt like her heart was beating so fast that it might jump out of her chest.
"Hey. You okay?" he asked between his laughs.
"That was so mean! You scared the shit out of me," Ana whined stomping her feet.
"I'm sorry," Christian said trying to control his laughter.
"Asshole," she pouted.
"I missed you," he said before taking her in his arms.
Ana hugged him back tightly. She breathed in his amazing smell as her heart slowed down to a normal speed. "I missed you too," she whispered.
.
.
.
A/N: I know two weeks are a long time to wait. But due to my new job, I didn't have enough time to write. So, instead of every Tuesday, I'll upload every other Tuesday. Thank you for staying with me.
Now, do you like Stephen and Christian's relation? I'm imagining Stephen Amell as my Stephen. He's just too dreamy...lol