For the 2018 Fall event: Day 1 - Cozy
Oversized jumper, thermal leggings, thick woollen socks, a good book and a steaming cup of Earl Grey had Alice curled up on her small couch, a blanket thrown haphazardly across her legs. She was entirely ready to spend the day lost in another world.
Chiara, her flat mate, had gone back to her family in Italy for the duration of the fall break, so Alice had their spacious flat to her alone.
Sighing, she huddled a little closer into the cushions of the couch, sipped her tea and found the page she had left her book on. There was nothing better than peace and quiet on a dreary English afternoon, something that had become rather sparse since her relationship with Gabrielle had happened. Texts, calls, snaps, tweets, stories and God knows what other phone apps thrown at her had thrown it all in disarray. University had also been no help in this.
Quiet was rare, so Alice intended to utilize it to the fullest.
Yet for once, there had been no texts, no silly exclamations in a garbled mix of French and English that had become the standard for their conversations, not even a snap of Gabrielle's bed with a message of it's so empty without my petit lapin :'( that had Alice blush as red as Chiara.
Alice frowned at her phone, lying innocuously on the table. She had already checked three times whether she had somehow accidentally turned off sound or notifications, sent multiple texts herself (even a daring I'm thinking of you ;)), but there hadn't been anything at all.
It was just a little worrisome.
She reached for her phone, scowled at her lock screen as it held no notifications. Unlocking it, she set about sending another text, conveying clearly and wordily just what she thought of this development. But before she could hit send, the doorbell rang.
Glancing between her phone and the front door, Alice slowly disentangled herself from the warmth of the blanket. She dropped her phone back on the table and padded across the room, wondering who in the world would be at the door. If it was another one of those sales persons after she had made it very clear she did not appreciate their pitches, she'd tear them a new one.
So she forgot to check the peephole, now too agitated to care (and Amelia's baseball bat still stood behind the umbrella pot in case of), and all but ripped open the door. The words stuck to her throat, however, when she saw who was actually stood in her doorway.
"Bonjour, ma chérie!" Gabrielle exclaimed, throwing her arms around Alice.
Alice didn't catch on until Gabrielle had left a definite trail of red lipstick kisses against her cheek and neck. Then, she simply didn't understand.
"What—" she grasped Gabrielle's arms, creating some space between them (and to make sure she wasn't having some sort of hallucination). "You're here?"
"Surprise!" Gabrielle swooped in for a kiss on the lips, hands falling on Alice's hips before she pushed past her, suitcase in tow. "I planned this with Chiara because I missed you!"
Left blinking at the now empty hallway, Alice slowly closed the door, turned to watch Gabrielle meander into the living room. As beautiful as ever, Gabrielle looked just a little frizzled from her flight, her long blue skirt crumpled, hair only in a quick ponytail. She was shrugging off her jacket, glancing back at Alice questioningly.
Alice gestured for her to hand it over, using the distraction as an excuse to wrap her mind about this sudden development.
It wasn't that she particularly minded (the last time they had seen each other was well over a year), but she would have loved some foreknowledge. The fact that Chiara had apparently helped with this also worried her slightly, mainly because Chiara could use it against her for whenever her girlfriend was over and Alice was complaining about them being too loud.
Yet, Gabrielle stood in the middle of her living room, undoing her long hair and running her fingers through the tangles. She perked up when she caught Alice's gaze, smiling and extending her arms toward her.
Alice walked into them, brushed her fingers across Gabrielle's cheeks, into her hair, and kissed her.
Kissing Gabrielle more often than not devolved into making out, devolved into falling onto the bed, devolved into losing clothes, devolved into so, so much more. But today Alice was still set on having a quiet day, French beauty or not, so she broke the kiss that had not yet devolved into anything more than leisure Frenching, drawing a little whine from Gabrielle as she did.
"Okay, well, I'm glad you're here and je t'aime and all that," Alice said, drinking in Gabrielle as she brightened at those words, but moved on quickly before she got distracted, "but I, uh, kind of wanted to not do anything at all today, so—" She gestured to the couch, to her abandoned book and blanket.
Gabrielle followed her hands, nodding slowly. Taking Alice's hand in hers, she smiled. "Sounds like a plan. I had to wake up at three am for my flight. Une tragédie pour ma beauté, je sais, mais ça en valait totalement la peine."
"I'm sure it was," Alice replied dryly, running her free hand through Gabrielle's long hair. "I'll help you unpack."
Ten minutes later found Alice back on the couch and Gabrielle in the shower, even if it had taken some time to get her under there alone. She had already reached chapter three by the time Gabrielle emerged in a cloud of steam, wearing only a long t-shirt and grinning as Alice's eyes travelled down her long legs.
"It's cold," Gabrielle said and Alice rolled her eyes, moving the blanket as a silent invitation that Gabrielle took far too eagerly. Settling against Alice's chest, in between her legs, Gabrielle sighed into her neck, pressing a quick kiss against her collarbone. "I really missed you, Alice."
Alice absently ran her fingers through Gabrielle's hair until she had to turn the page. She hummed, shifting a little against the pillows to find a more comfortable position, adjusting the blanket to make sure it covered them both. "Toi aussi, tu m'as manqué, Gabrielle."
Gabrielle smiled, moving her toes against Alice's calves. It would have been suggestively had she not sighed tiredly immediately after and closed her eyes, snuggling just a little closer.
Her breath soon evened out and Alice found herself distracted from her book, just watching Gabrielle's smooth features, brushing her hair away fondly. Wiggling down, Alice just about managed to press a kiss against Gabrielle's head, even if her movements made Gabrielle groan softly.
Turning back to her book, Alice settled in for her afternoon of peace.
Translations:
Petit lapin - little rabbit (endearment)
Je t'aime - I love you
Une tragédie pour ma beauté, je sais, mais ça en valait totalement la peine - A tragedy for my beauty, I know, but absolutely worth it
Toi aussi, tu m'as manqué - I missed you too
Originally posted on the 7th of October on AO3.