a/n: sorry about the slow update, life has got busy again and i've struggled to find motivation with no carter onscreen, i hope this chapter makes up for it though...
Carla woke up confused, she felt squashed yet comfortable at the same time, it wasn't until her green eyes fluttered open that she came to the realisation she was still on Roy's small red sofa with Peter. Her head was on his chest, his arms were wrapped around her securely and their legs were tangled together, she couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips at the sight.
Feeling Carla move slightly, Peter looked down at the brunette hair that was splayed across his chest, "Ah, Sleeping Beauty's awake." He had been awake around 20 minutes but didn't want to disturb her, thinking she most likely needed the nap after an afternoon of schmoozing clients and drinking wine.
She raised her head up and looked into his deep brown eyes, "Mmm, just about. I forgot how comfortable you are."
"I've missed you using me as a mattress and pillow." He sighed contently whilst giving her a soft squeeze, "Although I am gonna have to ask you to move for a minute so I can nip to the bathroom."
"No can do I'm afraid, I'm far too comfortable."
"Oh like that is it?" He chuckled when she nodded her head tiredly against his chest, "Well, in that case…" The strong arms that were wrapped around her middle slowly inched their way towards her rib cage and once his hands were in the perfect position he tickled her.
"Peter, get off." She attempted to squirm out of his grasp and swat his hands away but he was too strong, "Peter, stop it! Pleaseeee." She laughed and screamed at the same time, "Fine you win! You can go!" She finally gave in with a huff.
He stopped tickling her and removed his hands from her ribs, he'd ended up half on top of her so could have easily got up and gone to the bathroom but he got so caught up in the moment the thought didn't occur to him until after. Without thinking, he leant forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead whilst she laid underneath him getting her breath back.
He subtly admired her flushed appearance as he sat up on his knees, the slight blush to her cheeks and the little pout on her lips made his heart ache. Her eyes were closed and she was still breathing heavily, just as he was about to ask her if she was okay she abruptly sat up and pushed him on his back, their positions switching out of no where, completely catching him off guard.
"Weren't expecting that were you?"
"No I wasn't." He admitted with a nervous laugh.
Carla leant forward, hovered over his body and slowly moved her face closer to his. She wasn't drunk anymore, the booze had been slept off so there was no reason why he had to restrain himself now. The thought excited them both, it was clear in their eyes and as their lips got closer, the atmosphere got more intense. Peter shut his eyes, ready to be reunited with his favourite lips but then he suddenly felt Carla pull away.
"Suppose I should let you use the bathroom now ey?" She sat back in his lap comfortably, the smirk on her face clear.
He groaned loudly when he realised she was paying him back for tickling her, "Well played, Connor."
"Why thank you, Barlow." She flashed him a perfect smile.
Peter sat up whilst Carla was still in his lap, hooked his arms under her thighs and picked her up easily. She squealed, not expecting to be lifted in the air but it didn't last long as he dropped her back down on the sofa once he had stood up. He winked at her before he walked off towards the bathroom and she felt her heart skip a beat.
Not knowing what the time was and how long they'd been asleep for, Carla picked up her phone from the coffee table and gazed at the lit up lock screen, 10pm, they'd been asleep for a few hours. Now she wasn't sure whether to kick him out or let him stay the night, she knew they needed to have an important conversation, all the little moments they kept having clearly meant something but she wasn't sure if now was the right time.
Carla glanced over to the table and a piece of lined paper immediately caught her eye, she picked it up when she saw her name on it and instantly recognised Roy's elegant handwriting.
Carla,
As I informed you this morning, I am bat watching in Bolton tonight.
I did not want to wake you to say goodbye as you appeared content.
Have a pleasant evening and I will see you tomorrow.
Roy.
The sound of the bathroom door opening brought Carla back from her daze. She was reading over Roy's note again, blushing slightly at the thought of the cafe owner finding her and Peter asleep on his sofa. She also realised he must have been the one to turn the television off before he left because Peter wouldn't have been able to reach the remote control from the table whilst they were cuddled up together.
"I guess I should be off then?" Peter asked tentatively whilst walking towards Carla.
"What? No! I mean… You don't have to go, unless you want to that is." Carla was grateful he couldn't see her as she rambled, she could sense the cocky smirk on his face from behind her though.
"Really?"
Carla turned to look at him, the look on his face confirming her senses were spot on, "Don't get any ideas, I'm not saying we can live happily ever after but I do think we need to talk, don't you?"
Peter chuckled softly, walked around the sofa and sat down next her, he gently took her hand in his, "Yeah I suppose so. Look I've told you how I feel Car, me and you… We're meant to be together and I know I've messed up in the past, that's putting it lightly to be honest but I'm a changed man now." He looked deeply in her eyes hoping she would see the sincerity in his.
"Not too different I hope." She joked, lacing her fingers through his, "It's just... I swore I'd never go back there again after what you did." She glanced down at their intertwined hands.
With his free hand, he carefully tipped her chin up and made her look at him, "I know and I understand that I'll need to earn your trust again but I know we can do it."
"How can you be so sure? I can't go through all of that pain again, Peter."
"You won't. I will never, ever do anything to hurt you again and I'll spend every single day for the rest of our lives loving you the way you deserve to be loved and treating you like the queen you are." He raised her hand to his lips and gave it a soft kiss, "So what do you say?" His puppy dog chocolate brown eyes gazed into her hypnotising green ones with hope.
Carla tore her eyes away from his and glanced down to his lips, he caught her wandering eyes but didn't react, not wanting to push her as she hadn't answered him yet. She slowly leant forward, closed her eyes and pressed her soft lips against his. One of his hands moved to cup the back of her head and in her hair, the other went around her waist, trying to bring her closer. She seductively nipped his bottom lip as she climbed into his lap and he couldn't help the little groan that escaped his throat.
After a few minutes they broke apart before things got too heated but Peter kept Carla in his lap, putting both of his arms around her middle and holding her in place. They both breathed heavily and chuckled, feeling like teenagers doing something they shouldn't have been. He stroked her defined cheekbone with his thumb, not quite believing that she might actually be giving him another chance.
"So… Was that you saying let's go for it then?" He asked coyly.
"No. That was me saying I don't want anything to do with you, go on get gone." She smirked and attempted to dodge the playful poke in the ribs Peter gave her, "This is it now though Peter I mean it, no messing it up this time." She stated seriously.
"I promise, this is for keeps." At Carla's slight nod and small smile he pecked her on the lips, "Does this mean you're moving back here?"
"I haven't actually thought that far ahead, I just know I can't fight this." She gestured between the two of them with her finger.
"I'd move to Devon if that's what you wanted or I'll stay here and we can do long distance until you're ready to make a definite decision."
"You'd do that for me?"
He gazed at her lovingly, "I'd do anything for you, Carla."
Carla's eyes filled up at Peter's words, she could physically feel and hear the love in his voice. She hadn't even realised a tear had fallen until she felt Peter's thumb wipe it away gently, "I think I'm going soft in my old age."
"Nah you've always melted around me, it's me special power." He flashed her a dimpled grin, "And if you're old I must be ancient so less of that, you!"
Carla chuckled and wiped underneath her eyes, Peter always found a way of making her laugh when she was tearful no matter what, it was one of the many things she loved about him, "We probably shouldn't rush things though, it didn't exactly go well last time."
"I agree, we should take things slow. I'm going to win you like I should have the first time round, we can go on dates and do things properly."
"That sounds perfect. Hopefully we won't have any interfering exes, siblings or babysitters/barmaids this time round ey?"
Peter shook his head but couldn't stop the laugh that came out of his lips, "Nothing is gonna come between us baby, I promise." He tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear, "We even have Si on board so this time is different already."
"That's true." She grinned, "Speaking of Si, how's he been since being back? I know it's not exactly been long but has he been staying out of trouble?"
Peter's heart swelled at how much Carla cared for his son, "Yeah, well I think so anyway. He stayed at me dad's last night with me rather than at the pub which was nice."
"Good, let's hope it stays that way." She smiled happily, proud that Simon seemed to be back to his old self, "Have you managed to sell your half of the pub yet?"
"No but Toyah has now decided she wants to sell her half as well, something about needing a fresh start or something so hopefully it'll sell faster now it's the whole place up for sale." He explained optimistically before noticing Carla trying and failing to hold in a laugh, "What are you giggling at?" He raised an eyebrow curiously.
"I'm sorry darlin', I just still can't believe Peter Barlow ran a pub, that's like a cat being in charge of an aquarium."
Peter gave her a light, playful smack on the arm, "Oi, I've stayed sober the entire time thank you very much." He stated proudly.
"That's amazing, baby." She leant forward and placed a soft kiss on his lips before pulling back, "Ey I could always buy Toyah's half and we could run it together, a recovering alchy and a borderline alchy, the whole street would go into shock." She added a loud cackle at the end to show she wasn't being serious.
"That's not a bad idea."
"Peter, I was joking."
"Well why not? It's somewhere to live, it's a good income, you'd be good at chucking out rowdy punters and calling last orders." He smirked, knowing it was in her nature to be boss whenever she had the chance.
She thought about it momentarily, not completely hating the idea but also wary of their relationship with alcohol as well as not wanting to rush into things and make the same mistakes as last time, "Yeah but us running a pub together and being around booze 24/7? That's asking for trouble."
"I suppose it'd be risky, but risky and reckless has always been our motto has it not?" He chuckled until he noticed the serious look on Carla's face, "I'm kidding, look I've managed perfectly fine so far and you would be a positive addition to the situation because you understand me better than anyone."
"Didn't we just agree to take things slowly because this seems like the complete opposite." Carla raised her eyebrows and grinned, she wasn't annoyed at his persistence, she actually found it endearing but deep down she knew now wasn't the time to be investing in a pub together.
"Yeah, you're right. Sorry, I just got a bit carried away."
"You don't need to apologise. We've got our whole future ahead of us, we just need to take it day by day." She said profoundly, a yawn appearing at the end of her sentence.
"And on that note, am I staying tonight then?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Carla didn't see the harm in letting Peter stay as Roy was out for the night, selfishly she wanted his arms wrapped around her as she slept. They both felt shattered after their early starts that morning due to work so they had a brew, spoke some more about everything and then went off to the small bedroom Roy had prepared especially for Carla whilst she was visiting.
When getting ready for bed, Peter realised how much he had missed the littlest things about Carla, like her very specific night routine, he always used to sit back and watch her take off her makeup and then do skincare, he adored the way she went from the strict, no nonsense business woman to the cute and vulnerable woman that only he was allowed to see. The fact he was able to witness it again caused a lump in his throat to appear, he had never felt so lucky.
Carla noticed the unnatural silence in the room as she stood in front of the mirror and squirted some night cream onto her fingertips. "You alright? You've gone quiet, it's not like you."
Peter got up from his seated position on the bed and went to stand behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist, kissed her shoulder and cleared his throat, "I honestly couldn't be happier."
"Soppy." She gently rubbed the cream into her face, still in the comfort of his arms and noticed that he was stood in his t-shirt and underwear, his jeans on the floor by the end of the bed, "I'm happy too." He gave her a squeeze and she turned around in his arms after making sure the cream was rubbed into her skin properly. Reaching up, she put her arms around his neck, "I could be happier though."
He tightened his grip on her waist, "Oh really? And how can I make that happen?"
Carla leant up and pushed her lips against his, "You… Could… Give… Me…" She said in between kisses.
"Go on." He mumbled against her lips.
"Your…" Carla ran her hands down his chest and rested them on the bottom of his top, "T-shirt." She cackled, bunching it up in her hands, ready to pull it up and over his head before noticing the look on his face, "What? I wanna sleep in it." She said innocently.
"You tease." He groaned but did as she asked and took the t-shirt off and handed it to her, leaving him stood in his underwear, "You're lucky I love you so much."
Carla took the top out of his hands with a victorious grin and brought it to her nose, the scent of Peter immediately filling her nostrils, "Mmm, I know. Thank you." She pecked his lips to show she was grateful.
Peter got into bed as Carla brushed her hair, when it came to getting undressed she wasn't shy and stripped the dress off of her body in front of him. The lacy black underwear set she had on underneath pleased him in more ways than one, he wanted nothing more than to reach out, pull her towards him and show her how much he loved her but they both knew Roy's spare room wasn't the place for that.
"You look amazing." Peter thought aloud.
Carla smirked at him with a glint in her eye, "You don't look so bad yourself lying there like that." She hummed.
Peter had one of his arms resting behind his head, his tanned upper body was bare and the dimpled smile that she adored on his face. Carla bit her bottom lip teasingly and took her bra off, she noticed the way his breath hitched but just continued to get changed, slipping the t-shirt over her head without saying a word.
After turning the light off, Carla climbed into bed next to Peter, he stretched his arm out so she could fall into the space between it and his body and she happily complied, feeling comfortable within seconds.
Carla let out a sigh which caught Peter's attention, "What's up?"
"Nothing, I've just realised at some point I've gotta tell Chelle about us."
Peter chuckled, "Aw, scared of your little guard dog best mate are we love?"
"No but you should be." She giggled and placed a sensual kiss on his stubbled cheek.
"Ha, you're not wrong. She's quite scary when she wants to be... But I know it's only because she's protective of you." He kissed Carla's smooth forehead, "Anyway there's no pressure, we don't have to tell anyone straight away if you'd prefer not to."
Carla looked up and gazed into his eyes dotingly, "I love you."
"I love you more." He craned his neck to reach her lips and kissed them passionately.
Carla knew there was going to be a handful of people not impressed with her decision to give Peter another chance but she also knew that she deserved to be happy and he made her happy. Her family and friends would just have to learn to accept it. Peter was right though, they didn't have to tell anyone straight away. The two of them could enjoy their little love bubble in secret until they definitely knew it was going to work.
Now, Carla had some thinking to do, did she want to stay in Devon or move back to Manchester? Luckily, there was no rush to make a decision as Peter had been extremely understanding. A small smile appeared on her face when she realised for the first time in a while, the thought of the future excited her and that was thanks to the man she was currently cuddled up with.
