Kawaii-Cherri: I'm glad you're okay! I've missed your reviews and thoughts about the chapters! I'm sorry that you've had such a crappy week! I hope you're at least feeling a little better and that you'll enjoy this. I think there's some really interesting things coming up though, this chapter is just more of a filler than anything.

Chapter Twenty-Four - Everyday fluff

Sebastian stretched as he sat on the edge of the bed. Elsie had dug in her heels and insisted that he join her in the bed. Her main point being; he would have a rubbish sleep if he didn't as her sofa wasn't long enough for him. Sebastian had to admit that he really enjoyed the night, being able to feel the warmth of Elspeth next to him and hear her steady breathing throughout was relaxing. They hadn't done anything more than cuddle but it was clear that either of them didn't need more than that. Once they had gone to bed, they were both so tired it didn't take long for them to simply drop off. Elspeth had an internal clock that was to the minute and was up just after dawn to tend to her animals and crops.

He yawned, brushing his hair out of his eyes. Elspeth had left him to sleep in and he barely noticed her leaving until the bed was cooler than expected. Once up, he made his way to the kitchen and looked around, there was a note on the table:

Hey, roomie!

Help yourself to anything, obvs. I've gone fishing so that we can have Sashimi for dinner tonight but I'll be back before half ten – I've borrowed one of your watches! Sorry! I was thinking once I'm home, we can get ready and head out? Have a think about what you want to do. Hope you slept well!

Elsie xxx

With a smile, he shook his head in amusement and as he turned to make a coffee, he spotted a sticky label on the machine. It was the instructions on how to use it; even though he had used it often when over. He then spotted a multitude more sticky notes, all over the kitchen, detailing where certain foods or drinks were. His heart swelled with affection at the time and care Elspeth had clearly put into writing them. With a click, he turned on the machine and wandered to the bathroom, finding sticky notes along the way. He collected them, sticking them to the back of his uninjured arm; planning to keep them as mementos. Some had silly drawings or quotes on them that were amusing.

Once dressed and sorted, Sebastian pulled out his laptop and began drafting up a lease agreement. He knew that Elspeth hated the idea but he felt it was necessary. He was on his second coffee when Elspeth wandered in, singing to herself. Buddy jumped around her waist, demanding attention. Sebastian smiled to himself as she walked over and gave him a squish around the head with one arm. 'Good morning!' She sang, brushing Buddy aside. Once she knew she was clear from dog ambush, she placed the prepared fish in the fridge for later. Elspeth turned around and kicked the door shut with her foot. 'Hey! You're wearing your gloves?' Elspeth asked, confused.

Sebastian looked at his hands and outfit, he had gotten dressed like usual. It hadn't occurred to him to dress any differently. 'Force of habit,' he admitted.

Elspeth shrugged a shoulder, 'baby steps,' she said simply as she sat at the table next to him. 'What are you working on?' She asked, curiously as looked at his laptop.

'An agreement,' he said. Elspeth stuck out her tongue and moved back in her seat as she got up to make her own hot drink. The weather was clear and fine, a little on the warmer side and very bright. It had been an enjoyable morning.

'Is it needed?' She began but Sebastian gave her a look. 'Alright, okay, come on then. Tell me what you've written,' she gave in and sat back down once her tea was ready. Sebastian swivelled his laptop towards her and she began to read. 'Hold on,' she said simply as she spotted a trend. 'Most of this is like, "Renter previously named, promises to do X,Y and Z, but there's nothing saying that I have to reciprocate with the same courtesy,' she said as she scanned the document.

'Well, this is your house. I need to be respectful and obey your rules-'

'Baz!' Elspeth said, pulling a face of disgust. 'You're renting a room. That will be your room. I'm not Demetrius. It's not, like, a privilege for you to be here. You're literally going to be paying for it. Just, clean up after yourself and ask before you want to, I don't know, ask before you knock down walls or shit,' she said simply. 'I'll respect your privacy and I know you'll respect mine.'

'I don't…' he began and then he frowned. 'What do you mean, "not Demetrius"?' He asked.

Elspeth mentally winced and realised she had shoved her foot in it. 'Bazz, please,' she said, shrugging a shoulder. 'You can't tell me that he actually gave you respect in regards to your privacy? That he knocked and waited for you to give him permission to enter? That he understood that things were yours and respected your space and even your opinion?' She said, bluntly. 'With the way he had so little trust in you; is it really hard to believe that I'd come to the conclusion that he was a bit shitty when it came to boundaries?'

Sebastian exhaled, defeated. Elspeth had really knocked it on the head. Demetrius hadn't really ever allowed Sebastian to create anything of the sort. It was his step-father's rules or… well, what Sebastian thought to be the worst possible outcome. Hurting someone. Killing someone. He ran a hand through his hair and stared at the laptop. Elspeth's expression fell and she knew this might hit him hard. Reaching over, she placed a hand onto his. Sebastian smiled weakly at her, 'sorry-'

'Don't be,' Elspeth said, quietly, not wanting to hear an apology but hoping she wasn't coming off rude either. He gently wound his fingers through hers and she leaned over, brushing a little of his fringe out his eyes. 'Let's come back to this, later,' she whispered. 'We can go through it together and make rules and conditions that apply to us, yeah?'

He cleared his throat and closed his laptop, 'sounds good,' he agreed, glad that she didn't want to go into it right now.

She squeezed his fingers and then got up. 'Right! I'm gonna get changed into something much cuter than this and then if you're still in the mood, we can go shopping?' Elspeth said with a bounce in her voice.

'Sounds great,' Sebastian said honestly, thankful for her cheery disposition. Elspeth squealed in delight and clapped her hands – a habit that she had picked up from Hayley. Sebastian realised that now his phone was broken, he'd have to pay on card. 'Did you collect my wallet from my mum's?' He asked.

Elspeth shook her head as she disappeared into her bedroom. 'No, sorry!' She called through the house. 'I didn't want to go through your drawers and things, so if it wasn't out for me to see; I didn't pick it up,' she explained. 'I have plenty of money though, so you can always just pay back whatever we spend today,' she added.

Sebastian picked up his keys, 'I'm gonna nip back to my mum's, there's a couple other bits I want to collect,' he said, thinking of a particular stone in his desk drawer. 'I'll be back in about twenty minutes.'

Elspeth stuck her head out from behind her door, her shoulders bare so it was clear she was midway through changing. 'I'll pick you up on the way past, I mean, we're driving anyway,' she pointed out. 'I'll be ready in about fifteen, so there's no rush.' He agreed and left the house, giving Buddy a scratch behind the ear before he left. Elspeth was stuck with her panicking thoughts about Sebastian running into Demetrius. Surely his step-father wouldn't say anything? No. Demetrius won't do anything. If he did, he would just incriminate himself to all the bad shit that he's done to him, she thought while rooting around in her drawers for something to wear. For the love of Yoba, why do I have nothing to wear?!

The last few nights that she had spent with Sebastian had been amazing. It was clear that there was still an issue with physical contact but she knew that it was going to be a learning curve for him. Seeing as the week before she didn't really think it was ever going to happen, everything was a positive step forward. Each morning, she had woken up and could smell his cologne on her skin with a hint of salt. Elspeth looked in the mirror at the cut that she had gotten during her fall, her fingers traced the injured skin and she winced. It didn't look like it was going to scar but it still hurt. With a deep inhale, she pushed all negative thoughts to the back of her head.

'I just need to focus on the fact that he can actually touch me,' Elspeth said to herself as she went back to looking for clothing. 'He can touch me and… lift me… and… fuck…' she whispered as her face went bright red. Her mind had decided to trail back to when they had kissed in the cave and all she could focus on was his touch. In a more intimate sense. 'Oh fuck, I'm obsessed,' she moaned, covering her face with a t-shirt. 'The things I am going to do to him,' she squealed into the material.

Playfully, she slapped herself on the cheek. 'Okay, okay, pull yourself together, you moron,' she said as she caught sight of her flushed face in the mirror. She grabbed a pair of jean shorts and a nicer top than what she was currently holding. 'Need to get moving,' she muttered to herself as she ran around grabbing things she needed. Her mind was a fog of hormones and it took longer than she would have liked; she even made the effort of putting on some makeup.

They were going into the city and even though they were keeping their relationship secret from the town, it wouldn't matter how they acted while out. Elsie plaited her hair and grabbed her bag and keys. 'Okay, Buddy! You protect our farm, you good boy,' she said as she gave him a kiss. 'My perfect, little boy,' she cooed, receiving a lick on the cheek before she left.

It didn't take long to drive to Robin's and Sebastian was waiting outside, talking to his mother. 'Elspeth!' Robin called as Elspeth pulled up carefully.

'Hey!' Elspeth said as she lowered her window. 'Morning!'

Robin bounded up to the window. 'Oh! Elspeth! I'm so excited for you two!' She said as Sebastian shoved a backpack onto the backseat before getting into the passenger seat.

'Mum, be cool,' Sebastian said in an exhale, letting Elspeth know that Robin had probably been quite heavy on him while he had been back.

Elspeth grinned and Robin rolled her eyes. 'Sebby!' She replied simply. 'I'm just excited for you two,' she repeated. 'I mean, come on. You're moving in together and then the next thing I know, you'll be dating and then… and then… you'll get married and then… you'll have babies!' Robin said in a flood of tears, her voice had been thickening with every word she said.

'Mum!' Sebastian moaned as he pulled out a pack of tissues and passed it over Elspeth to his mother. 'I'm sorry, Elsie,' he whispered as she looked at him in amusement and slight concern. 'She's been like this since I arrived. She just keeps bursting into tears,' he explains. Robin blew her nose noisily and wiped under her eyes. 'Sorry,' he added again.

Elspeth grinned and stifled a giggle. 'It's fine,' she whispered back to him and then turned to Robin. 'It's gotta be hard, Bazzie leaving?'

'So hard!' Robin wailed and Elspeth leaned out her window and shared an awkward hug with the woman. Robin managed to gather herself and she sniffed heavily, 'I'm sorry, Elspeth,' she said. 'It's just a lot. I am very happy for you both,' she said, honestly. With another wipe under her eyes, she cleared her throat. 'I've given Sebby the money-'

'It's too much, mum,' Sebastian interrupted but she waved it off.

'I'm not arguing about it,' Robin said, simply. She patted Elspeth's arm, 'also, there's a little something in there for you. I know how much washing Sebby does,' she teases, making Sebastian's face go bright red. Elspeth tried to protest but Robin wasn't hearing any of it. 'So, you two have fun, more fun the better!'

Oh wow, she's far too excited for this, Elspeth thought in a little fear. 'It should be fun,' Elspeth nodded. 'Oh, um, how did… how did Demetrius take it?' She asked Robin, refusing to look at Sebastian. She didn't want to see his confusion or wonder about her question.

Robin shrugged a shoulder. 'Oh, psssht,' she said simply. 'Demetrius kicked up such a fuss about Sebby moving to the city, he can't really complain about him moving down the road. He just worries too much. Besides, at the moment he's faffing over some data loss. I don't know, he's all pouty and grumpy. I'm just letting him work it out in his lab. It's happened before, years ago. He'll get over it,' she said without a care.

'That sucks about his data,' Elspeth said managing to sound sincere. 'Well, we'd love to have you over for dinner at some point,' she said.

'Oooh! Yes! Once you're all settled, Sebby. Sounds great. Okay, you two have a great time!' Robin said as Elspeth started her engine. Robin stepped back and Elspeth reversed so she was more in line with the road.

'Bye, Robin!'

'Bye!' Sebastian said as he gave her a weak wave through the open window as Elspeth pulled away. Sebastian looked over at Elspeth. 'Why did you ask about Demetrius?' He asked.

Elspeth was concentrating on the roads; they were fiddly back country roads that would eventually meet up with the main motorways. 'I didn't want him to lay some shitty guilt trip on you, that was all. I'm sorry, I should have asked you but I panicked,' she admitted and began to press the dial on her radio. She glanced over at him and pulled an apologetic expression.

Sebastian smiled weakly and reached up, gently stroking her cheek and taking a hold of her plait, playfully. 'It's fine. You had fair reason to be worried. It sounds like something he would do,' Sebastian admitted as he looked at Elspeth. He couldn't help but look at her with adoration; deep down he knew that he was in serious trouble. His mother wasn't far off with her predictions. There was nothing he wanted more than to be with her. Forever, if possible.

Be well. Stay safe.