A/N: Sorry it took me so long to post but school started up again so I was pretty busy. But I'm back!! Hehe. So on with the story!!
Piper waited, unsure whether she should say anything to Tyler. She really didn't know what to say and she wasn't in the mood for awkward chit chat so she looked down towards her cup of coffee, hoping to avoid confrontation. However, Piper's illusion was shattered once he grabbed his coffee and turned around.
"Piper?" He said, approaching her table.
Looking up Piper pretended not to know that he had been there. "Tyler! Wow! Who would have thought I'd see you over here."
"Well I do work across the street." He said, pointing out the large windows of the coffee shop towards the building across the street.
"Haha…yea well that is true." Piper said, feeling her face heat up.
"So how have you been?" Tyler asked, acting calm and collected. It pissed Piper off to see him so calm. How could he just move on so fast?
"I'm…I'm fine." Piper lied, wanting to make it appear like she too had moved on.
Tyler's face fell with disappointment. He had secretly hoped that Piper was feeling miserable without him. It had only been a merely fifteen, sixteen hours and already he missed Piper more than anything. He was trying to keep it together, to appear okay, but he really just wanted to grab Piper by the waist, pull her towards him and kiss her passionately. Instead he said
"That's good. Well it was great to see you Piper."
"Same here. Bye Tyler." Piper responded, watching as Tyler left her table and proceeded towards the door. She watched as he opened the door, turned back around, waved to her and walked out the door. However just as he was walking past the large glass windows she saw his shoulders sag a little and watched as his hand went up towards his face, as if he were wiping something off his face. Something like a tear Piper thought. But no, that wouldn't be right, he seemed okay when she was talking to him. He wouldn't be crying; it was impossible. But somehow, sitting there staring at the window where she had seen Tyler wipe his face only seconds ago Piper felt a tug at her heart. Whether she was upset with him or not she didn't want to see him cry and if he was crying the least she could do was try to help him, considering how many times he had done the same for her.
Picking up her coffee Piper went towards the door, determined to just "casually" pass by Tyler, say goodbye one more time and check to see if he had been crying. If he had, she would console him, the best she could, in this sort of situation anyway. And if not, then she would go to her car and drive home.
Walking onto the sidewalk she looked towards the right in the direction Tyler had been walking, but she didn't see him. Looking around for a few minutes she finally spotted him going into his car. Overhead she heard a loud clash, the sound of thunder. Shivering she knew she better get this over with before it started down-pouring.
Running to the car Piper went to tap on the glass, but as quickly as her hand went up it went down, back near her side. Her body sagged and she took a step back as she saw Tyler bent over the steering wheel sobbing. She was unsure of what to do. She had hoped for a little tear here and there, but not a full on sob fest.
Moving back towards the car window she lightly tapped on it. Tyler turned and when he saw that it was Piper he began to rub at his eyes.
"Sorry, I had something in my eye. Damn allergies! So what brings you to my car? Did I forget something?" Tyler said, rolling down the window. Although he wanted to make it seem like he hadn't been crying it was hard not to detect the sorrow in his voice.
"Tyler…I….I saw you crying. You don't have to hide it." Piper stuttered.
"I wasn't crying."
"Tyler, even though we aren't in the best of terms at the moment doesn't mean that I don't know you. We were together for months; I know when you are upset." Piper said blankly.
Tyler didn't know what to say. He didn't want her to see him like this, but she had discovered him. Now what was he supposed to do? He couldn't really tell her any more lies; there was just no hiding it. So he got out of his car and stood face to face with the woman he loved. He looked into her soul for a few heartbeats. He tried to detect something that was off balance, something that would tell him she was feeling lost as well. And suddenly he saw it. Her big brown eyes seemed to be melting, liquid glistening off the surface; she was crying.
Bringing his thumb towards her face he was careful not to scare her away. With one brief sweep he picked up the tear and washed it away. But he was not fast enough to catch the river that was about to form. Suddenly, almost in an instant, Piper was sobbing uncontrollably. Tyler shuttered, remembering how she had been just the night before. He didn't know if he should be comforting her, but it didn't matter. She was obviously in distress and that tore Tyler's heart apart. Reaching out for her waist, he pulled her towards him and gently laid a kiss on top of her rosy lips. He could taste the salty tears on his lips when he pulled away.
"Sorry." He said, moving away, back towards his car, embarrassed.
"It's okay." Piper whispered, the tears subsiding for the moment. "I want you to kiss me. It felt good."
And with that Tyler kissed her again, this time a little bit more passionately then the last time.
"I missed you Piper." He whispered into her ear. "You have no idea how hard it was for me to see you in so much pain. That's why I had to leave, you have to understand. I never really wanted to go, but I couldn't stand to see you hate me. It brought us both too much pain. But as for the ring…"
"Shh." Piper said, putting her finger to Tyler's lips.
"But…"
"Forget the ring. We'll talk about it later. Right now I want to go home and fall asleep on the couch watching a movie. I want to feel your arms around me and I want to take in your scent. I want to love you again; I want us to start anew."
"Well I'm all for that." Tyler said, reaching for the car door.
*~*~*
Tyler slowly opened his eyes, the delicate sunlight blinding him. Trying to move his hand towards his eyes, to block the sun, he found he couldn't move. Looking down he saw Piper asleep in his arms. Looking around he realized he was in the living room. Apparently he and Piper had really fallen asleep on the couch watching a movie, just as they had planned to do so the day before.
Tyler let out a long deserved sigh of relief. He was with her, they were together again and nothing could be better. Of course they had many things to work out, but for now everything was okay.
Careful, so as not to wake her, Tyler got up off the couch. He was planning to make up for all the pain that he caused Piper by cooking her breakfast and giving her the ring he had been holding onto for far too long.
That was the one thing he had really learned through this whole fight, that he shouldn't wait. Piper had been dying to be his wife and because he was stupid and too pensive he ruined the whole experience.
Going over to the kitchen he began preparing breakfast.
*~*~*
Piper could smell bacon and eggs as she slowly opened her eyes to greet the new day. Yum, she thought. Lifting herself up on one elbow she looked over the top of the couch to see Tyler fixing the flowers on the table. Plates filled with eggs, bacon, toast and pancakes were scattered among the small table.
Piper smiled, this was the way it should have been; she and Tyler together. She definitely didn't have any mixed feelings about this, everything felt right.
"Yumm." She said out loud, which in turn made Tyler turn towards the couch.
"Hey you…what are you doing up?" Tyler said, moving towards her.
"Ooh…I don't know, maybe the smell of eggs and bacon had something to do with it." Piper giggled.
Tyler smiled; this was the same giggle she had given him when he had received the picture in his office. That bubbly, giggly, good feeling laugh.
"Well then, you know what that means? It's time for you to step into 'Tyler's Kitchen and Cuisine'." Tyler said in a fake French accent.
Piper laughed and got up off the couch, the blanket she had wrapped around herself falling to the floor. Sitting down at the table she shivered for a second, remembering what had occurred here only a day or so ago. She could still picture the smashing wine glass, the way she fell to the floor, the tears that she had shed, everything, all of it came crashing down on her again. She felt a pain in her heart and she tried to breathe it off, but she wasn't successful. Tyler noticed it right away.
"Piper are you okay?" he asked concerned.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Really everything's okay."
"You don't look okay. Maybe you want to go rest or something. Come on, let's get you to bed." Tyler said, grabbing for her arm to lead her towards the bedroom.
"No! No! I'm fine. I promise. Now come on, let's eat." Piper said, grabbing her fork and knife.
Tyler, feeling defeated, sat down. Piper said she felt fine and whether he agreed or not he had to respect her thoughts. Watching her as she dug into the plate of pancakes Tyler wondered what had come over her. Then, as if a ton of bricks had been thrown at his head he figured it out. This is where it had all happened. Looking around Tyler realized that this apartment was filled with too many memories. Sure some were good, but not all. It was time that he and Piper let go of their past…
"Piper?"
"Yeah honey." She answered, looking up from her plate.
"I was wondering, umm…do you want to move?"
"What?" Piper said, shocked.
"Well you know, this apartment is filled with too many memories and if we are going to start our life together than we have to get a new place. Maybe a nice condo or something, a place where our kids will be happy."
"Our kids?" Piper asked, flabbergasted.
"Yeah, kids. You know that's what tends to comes after marriage."
"Marriage?!?!" Piper asked, her heart in her throat.
Tyler smiled and ran into the bedroom. Rummaging through his duffel bag he got out the red velvet box. Running back into the dining room he slid down towards Piper, ending up on his knees.
Bringing the box up towards Piper he whispered, "Piper, will you marry me?"
Piper tried to say yes, but the tears had already come, choking her. So instead she nodded her head.
Tyler stood back up placing the brand new engagement ring, that he had purchased the day before, in Piper's hand. Why had he purchased a new one when things had been so horrible? Well because he was confident that they would get back together. He knew he would spend his life with Piper.
Her hand trembled as she felt the ring slide onto her finger. She couldn't believe this, she was getting married. This was exactly how it should have been. Piper could not be happier as she kissed Tyler, her soon to be husband.
A/N: Review and let me know what you think.