lottie anxiously fluttered up the small steps to the raised first floor of her apartment building, hoping that matthew had showed up after all. after what she had said in that damn text. it had been second nature for the blonde to tell the male she loved him. it was something she did often when they were together, even if he was never able to utter the words back. when she didn’t get a response, lottie had thought about messaging him again, to profusely apologize for her words. then she realized that she meant them, and she didn’t want to apologize for what she felt. sure, maybe what she felt for matthew wasn’t romantic love any longer, but she still loved him immensely. truly, she couldn’t picture a day where she wouldn’t love him, especially after spending so many years crushing from afar.
stopping in front of her wooden door, the blonde breathed deeply, in through her nose then slowly releasing the air from her lips. the second the lock clicked, lottie’s chest was pounding, dread filling her insides at the thought of matthew not being there. not waiting for her to tend to his wounds. his wounds. similar injures she had seen throughout their relationship, which he ( gently ) refused to answer the cause of time and time again. maybe things would be different now. the blonde wasn’t some naive twenty-one year old who was blinded by the sheer adoration she felt for matthew any longer. straightening her shoulders, lottie pushed open the door, stepping through the threshold and tensing slightly when she heard a familiar deep rumble coming from the direction of her couch.
❝ matty- ❞ a small sigh of relief, ocean hues brightening at seeing him laid out so comfortably on her furniture.
she looked to adora, the feline blinking towards lottie as she nudged her head against the underside of matthew’s ( bearded ! ) chin. ❝ i can see that. seems she’s intent on snatching you away from me. ❞ the blonde responded, playfully narrowing her eyes towards the feline who just raised her nose up with a flick of her tail. ❝ listen, i know i’ve already spent an entire night with you in the past week, but it’s gonna take me a bit to get used to you with a full beard. ❞ lottie kicked off her slip-ons while walking towards the couch. once up close, she was reminded ( again ) of the blooming injury upon his handsome features. shooing away adora, lottie softly crawled into his lap, legs straddling his muscular thighs as she delicately took his chin in her hands to inspect the injury. ❝ you’re lucky you didn’t need stitches, hotshot. ❞ the tanned skin was split in several places, dried blood coating the purplish-black skin around it. ❝ did this happen today? ❞ she shook her head, disappointment etched upon soft features. ❝ want to tell me why it looks like you haven’t put any antiseptic’s on it? gods, have you even cleaned it out yet, matty? ❞
“I never knew you were a cat person.” He observed, letting out a playful sigh of dismay as Adora left his lap, only to smile when Lottie went to replace her, straddling him as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He smiled and rested his hands on the sides of her thighs, looking up at her in mild amusement. “Do you not like the beard? I’ll have you know, it’s made me very popular.” He said, grin turning wicked as he raised a suggestive brow, knowing fully well that Lottie would know what he was talking about.
He immediately grew quiet as he felt Lottie’s fingers dance over his bruising. He felt bad, he always did, that he could never tell her what had happened, not fully at least. He’s convinced himself too fully that it was for her own good, and he still stood by that. “I told you it wasn’t as bad as you thought it was.” He pointed out. He shook his head at her questions, something he would do to tell her he wasn’t going to answer any of them.
“I’ve had it cleaned and taken cared of. That’s all you need to know.” He said simply, running his hands up and down her thighs soothingly.
“Stop worrying. Why don’t we just enjoy the rest of the day together.” He coaxed, hoping that would divert her attention from his injuries.