Christmas Part Three

"Can I ask you a question?" Daryl asked quietly, lying in his dark bedroom with Shiv beside him.

"Yeah. I might not answer it, though." She said as he turned on his side to look at her better.

"Have you actually slept with other people? Since me?" He asked her as she turned her head to the side to look at him, "You said you had but… I feel like I can tell when you're lying." He said, "I mean… it's been like… two years since we were hooking up."

"Judging by the two boxes of condoms in your drawer, you've been sleeping with plenty of people." She replied hastily as he laughed a little.

"Yeah, notice how they're both pretty full boxes." He pointed out as Shiv opened up the bedside drawer and looked again.

"Oh, yeah." Shiv realised, "That's kinda sad, actually." She turned to him with a frown as he chuckled.

"So?" Daryl waited, "Not even at college?" He asked.

"I mean… I've had the opportunity." Shiv defended, "I just… I don't see the point in sleeping with someone if I don't actually like them. I know it's pretty common. Especially at college. But… it just seems like a huge waste of time."

"Spoken like a good catholic girl." He nodded.

"Stop." She shoved him under the covers as he chuckled.

"So I'm not a huge waste of time? That's good to know." He nodded.

"That was better than it was before." She said as he laughed a little, "What?"

"It's just… good to know." He smiled, "Does well for my ego."

"I'm sure it does." She rolled her eyes, "Don't you think it was?" She asked a little worriedly.

"Yeah. I do." He nodded truthfully as she smiled, leaning forward and kissing him softly as he cupped her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb softly.

"I wish you had just let me be there for you." She pulled back, leaning her forehead against his and stroking his cheek, "When you broke your leg. I would have been there for you."

"I know you would have." He said, "But I didn't want to drag you down with me. I was a mess. I didn't want to take my shit out on you so… it was easier to shut you out. That way I wouldn't hurt you or… depress you with everything that was going on."

"You did hurt me." She told him honestly, "Sleeping together was great but… you were my best friend first before any of that. Since we were little kids." She said, "I lost the only person I ever felt like I could talk to."

"You had your girlfriends." Daryl said, hating to hear the pain in her voice. Pain he had clearly caused her.

"I never spoke to them about things I spoke with you about." Shiv said, "It was just different with us. I thought it was something worth holding onto. And you just discarded me like I was nothing." She said quietly.

"Shiv." Daryl sighed.

"I know you weren't in a good place. I get it." She nodded, "But it just… it made me feel like I wasn't enough. You know? Like I wasn't good enough to help you through it all."

"That's not true." He said, "You were more than enough. I just didn't want you to see me so miserable. I wasn't fun to be around. I was drunk half the time. Saying all kinds of stupid shit." He said, "I didn't want to subject you to any of that. It was easier to just… let you go." He nodded.

"You shouldn't have." She said fiercely, looking into his eyes as he nodded, looking at the necklace around her neck, the only thing she was wearing on her body presently.

"I know that now." He nodded, "For the record, I don't think I'd ever let you go." He added.

"I go back to college in a couple of weeks." She said, "We'll barely see one another." She said quietly, afraid to discuss the reality of it.

"We'll make it work. I'll drive down to see you. I'll pick you up for the weekend. It's not impossible." He nodded.

"I don't want to tell anyone." She shook her head, "I mean… our friends. AJ and Phil." She said, "They'll only ask questions and make it a big deal."

"To be fair, they've been waiting a long time for this." He said as she chuckled.

"Yeah, I know." She rolled her eyes, "But just for the time being."

"Ok." He nodded, "Whatever you want." He said as she turned around and opened up the bedside drawer, taking out a condom from the box and turning back around to him.

"Whatever I want?" She smirked.

"Fuck." AJ gasped, lying on her side with Punk directly behind her, keeping a hold of her leg up whilst he thrust into her from behind, in perfect position to bury his face into her neck and pepper it with kisses.

"You feel so good." He moaned into her neck as AJ moaned back, shivers tingling up her spine at the sensation of his rough voice in her ear whilst he pounded into her from behind.

"Holy shit." She moaned, leaning her hand back and digging her nails into his thigh, the feeling of it all just as thrilling as the first time they slept together. She would never get over the feelings he stirred inside of her. The way he knew how to work her body and make her feel so good, and watching him lose himself every now and then and thrust into her desperate and hard only turned her on even more. She never thought it was possible to feel wanted this much.

"I could have you like this all day." Punk moaned, grabbing her chin and turning her head around to look at him behind her, watching her smile deviously before he kissed her on the mouth.

"I'm gonna come." AJ moaned against his mouth, feeling his arm snake over her body, his hand going between her legs, fingers finding her clit which he stroked whilst thrusting into her.

"Fuck." Punk said, feeling her body go rigid, her voice going quiet as she arched her back and then let out a moan of relief. It was enough to set him off, spilling himself inside of her as he grabbed a hold of her hand, their bodies tingling with pleasure at the same time as they held one another through the ecstasy.

"Shit." AJ laughed a little, leaning her head back under his chin, feeling light-headed and dazed with happiness, in awe every time of how good it felt to be with him.

"Yeah." Punk agreed, resting his chin on her head, still buried inside of her, feeling limp and jelly like against her body which he had his arms wrapped around.

"I still can't get used to it." She shook her head, kissing his arm.

"Used to what?" Punk asked, slowly pulling out of her and rolling onto her back as she done the same, grabbing the messy sheets and pulling them over them both a little.

"How good it is." She shook her head, running her hand through her sweaty hair, "Like… it's not that good for everyone, right?" She turned to look at him as he smiled, "What?"

"It is if you're with the right person." Punk nodded.

"Is it, though?" She propped herself up on her elbows and looked down at him, "I mean… is it normal that I literally need to fuck you morning and night? And occasionally in the afternoon?" She raised a brow as he chuckled.

"Completely normal." He nodded, "It's that thing… what's it called again?" He snapped his fingers.

"What thing?" She shook her head.

"The thing." He said, as if she already knew, "You know…" He continued to click his fingers with thought, "Oh, yeah. Being in love." He nodded to her with an obvious smile.

"So you feel that with every person you fall in love with?" She asked, collapsing back down on her back beside him, "Were you in love with Sophie?" She asked, fidgeting with her hands.

"At some point. Yeah." He nodded.

"So this… this isn't new to you?" She asked worriedly, "You've had this with Sophie?"

"No, it's new to me, April." He assured her, "I loved Sophie but… it was never like this." He said.

"You're just saying that because I put you on the spot." She figured.

"I'm really not." He said, "Yeah, when I met her, it was great. We had fun and our relationship was good but… I never looked to the future with her. There were never plans. It wasn't like this." He said, "I miss you the second you leave the room. I ain't ever felt that with anyone before."

"Even when I just go to the bathroom?" She grinned.

"Yeah. It's a sickness." He nodded as she chuckled, nudging him under the sheets, "You're the strongest, most badass, beautiful, big-brained woman I've ever met." He said as she turned her head and looked at him.

"Big-brained?" She smiled.

"You're very smart." He nodded as she chuckled.

"I always laughed when Lyla told me that I'd be ready to open up to a guy when the right one came along. I thought it was such a cliché." She shook her head, "But she was right. It's like subconsciously, I was just waiting on you moving here."

"If I knew you were waiting, I would have come sooner." He smiled as she leaned up and kissed him sweetly, "I have one last Christmas gift for you." He nodded, feeling it in his bones that it was right.

"You do?" She smiled, sitting up in the bed and leaning against the headboard as he done the same whilst stretching over to his bedside drawers.

"I've been going out of my mind thinking about how to do this." He admitted, "There were so many times today that I thought felt like the right time, and then something got in the way. Then I realised you probably wouldn't want to let people into this moment." He said, feeling around his drawer for the velvet box.

"What moment? Are you going to bring out a sex toy right now?" She raised a brow as he laughed loudly.

"Not quite. The next best thing, maybe." He said, finding the box and shutting the drawer over, turning to her and holding it out in front of her as she stared at it.

"W-What… what is that?" She asked, staring at the box, feeling her heart rate increase tenfold.

"I feel like I know you well enough by now. I've had this for a couple months. Tried to think of all these elaborate ways to propose. Then I realised that you always seem happiest when it's just the two of us. Goofing around and being in our own little bubble. No one else watching." He nodded.

"Phil." AJ said with a shaky voice, watching as he opened up the box where a glistening ring sat comfortably inside.

"April." He looked at her with a glint in his eyes, turning his body to face her completely, kneeling in front of her, "Will you marry me?" He asked as she looked from the ring to his face, not being able to help the tears from welling in her eyes.

"Yes." She whispered, placing her hand over her mouth as Punk smiled.

"Yeah?" He nodded.

"Yes, of course I will." She nodded, leaning up and cupping his face, kissing him passionately, "Yes, I'll marry you." She said whilst pressing multiple kisses on his lips.

Punk took her hand from his face, taking the ring out of the box and sliding it onto her finger, watching her admire it with awe and joy. He'd never felt so lucky to have her in his life. For their paths to have thankfully crossed.

"I love you." He said, never feeling so sure about anything in his entire life.

"I love you." She shook her head, leaning up and kissing him passionately again as he wrapped his arms around her, sliding her back down the bed onto her back, kissing her like he'd never kissed her before.