Pre-show. Pre-Shepherd's failed marriage. Fluffy. When Addison-and-Derek were still boyfriend-girlfriend. . . .
Isn't This a Lovely Day
"One day, I'm gonna be old and gray and wrinkly." Derek announces first thing Sunday morning.
It's just Derek - needy Derek, fishing a compliment or something out of her.
She could give him what he wants and tell him he'll forever look like a dashing prince. Well, it's true anyway. He does resemble Prince Charming in the most enticing way. All he's missing is a crown and a white horse.
But she barely addresses his fuss and also, hardly looks up from the newspaper she's been reading over a hot cup of coffee. Pouring only a little ounce of skimmed milk into the caffeinated drink, she scans the paper's back page for read worthy articles and adjusts the strap of her lacy nude camisole, mindlessly twirling the drawstrings of her light pink sweats (correction, Derek's pink sweatpants) that sat low on her hips.
It's a beautiful morning.
Her red hair cascades over her eyes and she lets out a deep breath, watching as the strands fly, then resettles back to its very position. She bites her lip and takes a small sip of coffee and in the shine of the metal table, she catches the reflection of her waiting boyfriend, who's now behind her and staring down her top.
"Old and grumpy, with arthritis and a hip problem." he insists, his breath dancing on her bare shoulders. The fine hairs at the nape of her stand up, yet she sips her coffee, taking her time in appreciating the roasted beans, listening to the soft music echoing from the stereo.
She'll just ignore him.
Ever since she'd been with Derek, she'd developed his habit of listening to the radio in the mornings, albeit, they had a difference of opinion on what 'good' music was.
She almost always - just almost always win the battle on which station they should just stick with. He likes the classics and sometimes she does too, when she's in the mood that is, and that will be their compromise.
Addison taps her foot against the light beige tile that covers the kitchen floor and he swivelled her chair around to face him in one swift motion.
"Derek." she chuckles softly. Staring at him, her gaze sweeps from his bare feet to his dark blue flannel sleep pants to the strong bare chest that's lightly sprinkled with hair. She lingers a little on his chest. Reaching out to trail a finger through the hairs just below his belly button. His skin is soft and warm, the muscles of his abdomen tenses under her touch. She licks her bottom lip, and looks up into the blue eyes she adores and can never ever get enough of.
His are a deep blue, dark and light, a sea at peace in a storm. It's a colour she's spread throughout their apartment, though she'd never admit it. The colour is everywhere - it's the tiny details he'll never notice. Like the throw pillows or the shower curtain and even their cutlery. It's a reminder, the little things, though she doesn't really need one.
She just wants him everywhere.
"Should I alert the New York Times of your foreseeable future, Der?" she says, the corner of her mouth twisting up into a wry half smile.
She lets him pull her up from the chair. The mug of hot coffee just barely making the edge of the table in time, newspaper floating to the floor in a messy heap. She lets him hold her in his strong arms. Soft and solid all at once. She lets him catch her lips in a dizzying kiss. A kiss so gentle, she barely felt it. And only releasing her for a breath and he takes a gulp while she takes two deep ones and allows her eyes to refocus on his before whispering, "Morning, Derek."
"Good morning, beautiful." he says huskily. His eyes dance and his smile is mischievous. His hair is still ruffled from a restless sleep. And the 'beard' he'd grown over the summer break is one of her most favourite things right now.
But she'll never tell him that either.
"What?" she smiles a little and wonders where he's going with this. But where ever he's going, she's more than willing to follow.
She's always always ready to follow his lead.
His fingers drag through her hair, pushing it out of her eyes. "Will you still love me when I'm ancient?"
His smile - that boyish smile - remains, but his eyes are soft with hint of yearn.
"Of course." she says, arching an eyebrow a little. "You're not planning on going bald early, are you?"
Now, that would be totally tragic. Derek's thick and luscious curls are to die for and it's probably his definite prized possession; his best feature. Healthy and strong - they're in better shape than hers.
"Maybe. . .Will you still love me, then?" he touches his tongue to her upper lip, licking a little coffee off of it.
"Always, but no toupees, okay?" she laughs and tickles the small of his back. She'd rather he go completely bald than have a furball glued on top of his head - artificial and crooked.
She can't even picture it in her mind.
He twists under her hands and pulls her back into his arms, the embrace tightens - a longing one, briefly too desperate.
"Der? What's wrong? Is everything okay?" she pulls back to look into his eyes, tracing her index finger along his jaw line.
"Mmmm. . .nothing Addie." he murmurs, his eyes cast down, his tongue darting out to caress her finger while it brushes his lips. "Just. . .nothing." His fingers drag along her sides, moving under the thin fabric of her camisole smoothly and she takes in a little breath, releasing a contented sigh.
"Nothing, huh?" she hooks her fingers into the waistband of his pyjama pants, pulling him closer.
She nuzzles her nose with his.
He smiles hesitantly and swallows nervously. "I heard someone was in town for a visit."
"Bizzy?"
Only because Hermès launched their newest Birkin in animal print - crocodile skin - yesterday and the Fifth Avenue boutique always have one reserved just for her.
"I was gonna say that bitch, but yeah, Bizzy."
Actually he's accurate. Very accurate.
She traces the hair below his navel, revelling in the softness and scratches her name on his stomach with a lightly digging nail. Addie. He laughs and she watches the white lines fade away like invisible ink. Like the ones she used to write on the walls with in her room.
He takes in a breath and splays his hands out across her chest. "I can't believe Naomi and Sam are back together." he nods, momentarily distracted by the way her skin catches the light. He brushes his thumbs over the straps of her tank, and down over her chest to feel the beat of her heart.
"Yea. Who would've seen that coming? I really thought her and the other guy were going to turn into something special. But whatever makes her happy, I guess."
"I think Sam has learned his lesson and hopefully he'll put Naomi first this time. She's a pretty good judge of character. And I trust her judgement. And Sam is our friend, he's one of your good friends. . .we should be nice." she smiles fondly, catching his still wandering hand, and squeezing it in hers affectionately.
"I guess we should." Derek eyes her hopefully.
"It's like I told Naomi, love makes us do crazy things."
"That it does." He can't argue with that because it's quite true.
She reaches out an index finger to smoothes out his furrowed brows slowly. He blinks under her touch and her lips purse thoughtfully. Her words seem far far away when they finally leave her mouth. "We're not really. . .who we were anymore."
"No?"
It's not really a question.
She sighs.
Her gaze flickers around the room, settling on an old picture. The picture of her and Derek that had once been the wallpaper on her phone, now it sits in a frame on their mantle.
They're making new memories every day.
He follows her gaze uncertainly, then look back at his girlfriend and sees her a few years younger, all wide eyes and promising him things she didn't have the vaguest idea she'd actually keep.
He sees her smiling. "It seems like yesterday."
Their first date. Their first kiss. Their first everything together.
He'd written all of their firsts on his journal. He'll never attest to that, even if his life is on the line.
"Yeah." her smile brightens. "So. . .what did you guys talk about?"
His eyebrows raise. "Excuse me?"
"Remember when you, my father and my brother shocked us all and went fishing a few weeks ago?"
"I do indeed, Addie. So?"
He knows what she means, but he just needs to hear her ask, just one more time.
"What did you guys talk about? I know my dad and Archer, Derek. So, I'm just curious of what you 'men' talked about all weekend. I mean, you leave to go to New Hampshire barely speaking and you come back like you're all best of friends or something. It's a little weird, don't you think?"
"We had a fist fight, caught some fish. . .and that was it. Bonded over what a pain in the ass you are." His fingers twitch at his sides as he attempts to hide his smirk.
She rolls her eyes and lets out an exasperated groan. "Screw you." And she starts to walk away from him, but is turned around by a strong hand, yanking her roughly back into his arms.
With a muffled moan, that should probably embarrass her, she gives in to his probing tongue, and his hands fists in her hair.
He finally pulls back, breathless and rubs a hand along her jaw line tenderly. "They said I know you best." Derek whispers.
"Better than I know myself." she replies honestly.
He nodded and gave her a smile, "Which is why I needed alone time with your dad and brother, so that I could ask them something."
"What?"
He takes a deep breath and plunges ahead. "Addie, I'm gonna stumble through this. So bear with me, okay?"
She nods gamely, the corner of her lip turning up slightly.
"Quietly too. . .Oh, don't give me that look."
She raises an eyebrow.
"Keeping your mouth shut is not your strong suit."
"You usually like what I do with my mouth open." Her eyes scan his chest lustily and despite his best efforts to remain neutral he feels a familiar tightening in his stomach.
Addison drags a confident hand down his belly, which she slides below the waistband of his pants eagerly. He winces as her fingers skim over him, and through his superhuman willpower he pulls her hand away, holds onto her wrist, stroking the soft skin, feeling her pulse - fast and crazy beneath the pad of his thumb.
Or perhaps it's his?
"Please." he begins, his words tumbling on top of each other in a jumbled pile, "I'm going crazy here, Addie. You make me crazy. I keep falling. In love. . .God, can this sound like anymore of a Hallmark card moment? What I mean to say is. . .butterflies." He pulls her close and whispers into her ear, awe struck. "They haven't gone away."
She smiles and opens her mouth to respond but is silenced by his finger, lightly resting against her lips.
Right. No talking.
He runs a hand through her hair, tucking a few strands behind her ear. "I'm not saying this right. . .I've got this picture of us in my head. Happy. Just like that, on the mantle - the one Mark took of us, with his stupid thumb poking through the edge because he wants to be in all the pictures. I mean, who does that? Anyway," he shakes his head, "I'm losing track here once again. . .And this image of you in Gross Anatomy with your goggles and gloves and scalpel in hand and in the campus library. . .so focused and determined. And in class as well. The beautiful girl who always always knows all the answers. . .And then, I see you lost and hopelessly following Bizzy. And watching this, this hold she had on you. . .And I was so afraid that I was losing you forever." The venom in his tone is really more of a habit now like a conversation that a family might have more out of ritual than necessity.
She rolls her eyes.
The last year had been pretty tough, she'll admit to that. The pressure that she had granted upon herself, to be the best of the best and to graduate summa cum laude, had gotten to her, weighed on her so heavy that she spiralled.
She spiralled bad and was so out of control and not her 'normal' self that Derek, her family, friends, and Bizzy, included, organised an intervention.
She checked in to The Dunes the next morning. It was for her own good, she had to admit. But, as the intervention played out, she most certainly didn't appreciate being ambushed like that.
He smiles and rakes a hand over her bare stomach, watching goosebumps freckle her skin at the touch. "And then I see you coming back to me. As healthy as ever. Coming to save me from Mark. And I knew once I got you back, I was never going to let you go again"
She kisses a trail up his neck. As she reaches his ear, he drops his head into her shoulder, mumbling into her skin. "You and me on that couch we bought. . ."
Not a spot in their apartment have not been christened.
She lets out a cross between a sigh and a giggle as his breath tickles her skin. He pulls away and stares down at her, want in his hazy blue eyes.
"And I look at you now," he says confusedly, wonder in his expression, "and I can't figure out how you got from there to here. I can't remember when I stopped being the guy who spent all his time worried about what your family was going to say about us being together." he stares at her now.
She blushes under his intense scrutiny and shifts on her feet. She has no real comeback, but intends to fill the charged silence. "I don't know what you want me to say, Derek. Or what you're trying to say."
"Addie, what about this?. . .I love you and it's been the best almost four years of my life. I want a renewal on that promise of keeping you safe and always catching you when you fall."
She barely hears him over the beating of her heart. "Renewal?"
"Your whole life guaranteed." he explained.
All he ever wanted was her life insured.
"You have it." she says, her eyes searching his.
Derek reached his hand up to gently caress her cheek. "I do?"
She nodded and leaned her head into his hand, pressing her lips to his wrist. "Of course you do, Derek."
"You sure?"
"Absolutely." she whispers. But he didn't bother to look at her, then. "That's not gonna work. 'Absolutely' is your way of lying to me."
"Derek." she groans.
"No, I want it in writing."
"How very possessive of you."
Normally, she'd be annoyed, but today she's definitely not. She actually finds it a little comforting.
He receives a kiss on his lower lip for his behavior and growls when she catches his lip between her teeth, scraping against it teasingly for a second before pulling away with a laugh.
"Or maybe. . ." he says quietly. His voice deepens with a cough, trying in vain to hide the catch in his throat. He continues in a whisper, the kind reserved for prayer. "Or maybe I just want to see you hold out your hand to everyone and whisper, 'Look what Derek got me.'" He gives her long fingers a tender caress for emphasis.
"My hand?"
He moves away from her quickly, running over to the kitchen. He reaches behind a cereal box, placed on a high shelf.
Addison's gaze follows his and she watches as he returns, carrying something in his hand. He grabs her hands and pulls her down on the couch next to him. Oh, no, Derek. . . The small black velvet box he holds out hardly needs any explanation.
"Marry me, Addie?" he stares at her earnestly, rubbing her slight hand between his palms, which she now notices are damn clammy.
A smile lights up her face and she takes the box from him. It's shiny. It's beautiful. It's perfect. It's not the size of Mount Everest like her cousin's and it's okay. Because it's better. Way way better.
Glancing down at it, she smiles and sets it back down next to her. She looks up at him nonchalantly. "Your trip to New Hampshire with. . .was that what this is about?"
He doesn't miss a beat and answers with practiced cockiness. "Well, maybe. . ."
"And why might I ask did it take you so long to ask me? We've been living together for over a year."
"Seventeen months." he growls, his voice deep and sexy, "I like telling everyone that you love living in sin with me." He draws out the word 'sin' like an invitation.
She feels his hands sweat. She sees his foot knock against the side of the couch nervously.
"So, help me, Derek," she threatens, "If you say anything along the lines of making an honest woman out of me. . ."
"Addie," he says, his voice a tad strained, "Marry me." he kisses her deeply, hoping to urge her to accept his proposal.
Another look down at the box, assures him it's still there. She hadn't said yes yet.
Will she even?
"My last name doesn't have to change whether I marry you or not." she replies stubbornly.
"True." he stares down at the box again.
Maybe through the powers of his mind he can get that ring out and onto her finger. "Say yes, Addie, you're ruining the beautiful moment." he knows he's whining now, but he's past caring.
"Beautiful moment?" she snorts. "Derek, your proposal was hardly poetic. I mean, I can't say I wasn't expecting more?"
"More?" he repeated as he stood up from the couch and pulled her by the hand down towards their bedroom.
She nodded as she walked behind him; he pulled her towards the closed door. "Yeah, I mean, I always took you to be the overly romant. . ."
Her voice trailed off as she looked in their bedroom, at the pictures of them, roses and twinkle lights and tiny little candles that decorated the room.
On the freshly made bed were rose petals laid out in the shape of a heart with a Scrabble Board spelling out 'Marry Me, Addison.'
She turned and looked at Derek who stared back at her.
"How?"
He smiled and cleared his throat. "Many, many, many trips up and down the fire escape and a little help from Mark, of course."
She felt her heart race as Derek took a step towards her and knelt down to his knee in front of her.
"Addison Montgomery, I am crazy about you. I have been since the moment I met you. You're my best friend and through everything life has thrown us over the last few years, we've both only came out on the other side, stronger together. You are the best thing in my life and I want to spend the rest of my life making you as happy as you make me. I don't want another day to go by without making you mine forever. Will you marry me?"
She look at Derek and down at the black velvet box. The simple, but most beautiful and precious princess cut ring flickered in the light as she looked down at the man she loved more than she ever thought possible and answered his question.
"Yes."
Bittersweet? These two. :) The couple of the century!! ;)
Hope you enjoyed! Let me know your thoughts. REVIEW!!!!
Please check out my other story, it's called Take Me To The Other Side