#abimess

[randomshyperson]

here to remind everyone that flirting with you is my job cause I'm one jealous motherfucker

our relationship is not imaginary, we literally talk every day, never use this image with me again 😤

[messedupfan]

Bound To Fall | Leigh Shaw x Reader (Request)

Summary: Based on this anonymous request. Things are rocky between Y/n and Leigh after she starts a new job. Can things be mended before it's too late?

Warnings: angst, some smut (18+), emotional damage. (I will not be covering therapy bills and neither will B. So read at your discretion)

Red text is written by @abimess

A/N: Surprise!! It's a collab!! Special thank you to B for helping me with this story, it wouldn't be as strong as it is without you! Definitely wouldn't have a title either! It took me a few drafts to finally come up with something for this but I'm glad I did. I apologize for the wait, anon! Also Matt isn't a teacher in this. He does something in writing. Fasten your seatbelts she's, they's, and gay's, it's going to be a bumpy ride. I hope you all enjoy it! And requests are still open.

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You stir the spoon around in the tea you made. You intended to drink it but have been too upset to even take a sip. It was closing in on midnight and she still wasn’t home. She hasn’t called or texted once since she left. She hasn’t answered or responded to your messages. She promised that she wouldn’t be out too late but it’s well past the curfew the two of you had agreed on. Briana comes bounding down the stairs again. 

“Where’s mommy?” She pouts with tears at the brim of her dark hazel eyes. “I can’t sleep without my goodnight kiss from mommy.”

You sigh as you turn to look at your child. “I gave you extra kisses. Those didn’t work?”

She shakes her little head, “I need mommy’s kisses too.” 

You stand from your stool and walk over to get her back to her bed. She is resistant at first but you promise that her mom will be back soon. Briana agrees to go to bed and wait a little bit longer. After tucking her in, you return to the barstool in the kitchen and continue to wait by your cell. Hoping that the call you receive isn’t a hospital informing you that your wife is gone. 

It’s another hour before she is being led into the house by her co-worker. She is giggling and when she sees you, her eyes widen. “Oh my goodness! You stayed up? You didn’t have to stay up!” Leigh walks out of the guy’s arms and stumbles over to you. “Don’t I just have the best spouse ever?” She has her arms around you and she kisses your cheek. You clench your jaw to hold back the anger that is poisoning your body. 

“You didn’t tell me that Matt was going to be there,” you say with a tight expression, trying to keep your cool.

“We ran into each other at the club–” 

“I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking to my wife,” you snap at him.

Matt holds his hands up in surrender. Leigh giggles, “Aw don’t be a grumpy pants. The overprotective jealousy thing was hot in college but now it’s not necessary.” She begins to kiss your face excessively but you were too upset to let her have any effect on you. “Uh-oh, looks like I’m going to be in trouble.” She mutters while moving her face away. “Thank you for taking care of me, Matt. You can go now,” she says, waving him goodbye. 

“Are you sure that you’ll be okay?” His implication upsets you even further. 

Who was he to think that you would harm your wife? “She’s home, of course she’s okay.” You respond in a short tone. 

“Respectfully, I would prefer to hear that from her,” lucky for him, Briana comes running down the stairs for her mom. 

Leigh smiles at her coworker as she confirms that she’ll be fine and the man finally leaves. You don’t miss the longing look he gives her just before he exits. It makes your blood boil. He didn’t want her when he had her and now he wants to complicate the life the two of you have? “Bri! Why are you up past your bedtime, sweetheart?” She does her best to speak clearly to the little girl who was clinging to her leg but still has a little slur in her speech. 

She giggles and beams up at Leigh, “You sound funny, mommy.” 

“Mommy is just tired, like I know you are! Come on. Let’s get you to bed, baby girl. You go first, I’ll be right behind you,” she sends the girl off and she shakes her head at you. “She’s not going to want to get up for daycare tomorrow. You were supposed to put her to bed on time.” 

You begin to laugh sarcastically at the fact that she is upset with you when you were the one that was home and she wasn’t and she hasn’t been for months. “You so do not want to go there with me right now,” you say in response to her asking what was funny. “I’ll help you up the stairs and into bed but I’m sleeping in the guest room again tonight.” 

Leigh frowns but doesn’t question it. She does the night routine that Briana is familiar with and the little girl is finally able to sleep. A soft smile makes a quick appearance on your grumpy features when you admire your sleeping child. It disappears when Leigh reaches out to hold your hand. You pull away and gesture for her to walk ahead of you, keeping your distance from her. Only to ensure that she gets to the room safely under her condition. You’ve heard one too many horror stories of someone dying from a slip while drunk. You might be upset with her, but you still care about her wellbeing. 

Stopping at the door, Leigh turns around with tears in her eyes. “I miss you.” 

“I’m right here,” you reply. 

She shakes her head, “No, you’re not.” 

“Goodnight, Leigh,” you walk away from her to go to your room. It was technically the guest room, but it was slowly becoming your room. Another thing you hated.

The next few days are tense, but the two of you put up a happy front for your daughter. She didn’t need to know how unhappy her parents were and she was still too young to pick up on it. Unfortunately, you and Leigh are left with a mountain of unresolved issues which only continues to grow. That is, until you come home from work one day to find Leigh sitting in the living room waiting for you. 

“Bri is with my mom for the night,” she states before you can rush upstairs to avoid her. 

You sigh and set your messenger bag on the hook by the garage door. “You know that I prefer to watch her when you go out.” 

“I’m not going out,” she says. 

Your face contorts in confusion, “Then why isn’t she home? We had plans to do a few of those big puzzles and watch one of the popular animated movies that got added to streaming.” 

“We need to talk and we can’t do that while she’s home, so I had my mom take her.” Leigh explains. 

You slump down in a seat across from her. “Maybe not talking is the only thing saving this marriage,” you say bitterly. 

Leigh sets her jaw to hide how sharp your words are. “What happened to us?” She whispers. She hasn’t been able to figure it out. One minute, she’s in the best marriage she could ever dream of. Her family was happy. She was happy. You were happy. Then it was as if overnight all of that changed. You grew distant and cold, treating her the way you would treat the rest of the world. She didn’t understand it and she didn’t like it. “Is there someone else?” 

The question makes you look at her. “I don’t know. Is there?”

Leigh’s eyebrows knit together. Why would you accuse her? She wasn’t the one who changed. Unless she was the one. No. Her confusion wasn’t noticeable. Was it? What did you know? How much did you know? Is that why you changed? “No, there is only you. There has only ever been you.” She watches you scoff with disbelief and she can’t believe the reaction. You have always trusted her when she told you those words. You never doubted her or her faithfulness to you. “What did I do to make you feel this way? How can I fix it? How can I fix us?” 

You stand up from your seat, prepared to find any excuse to walk out before you say something you might regret. But a bitterness inside you decides that she needs to hear whatever it is that you have to say. Even if it’s something that could damage this family beyond repair. “You know, when you started working late nights I tried to tell myself that you were just doing your job. I foolishly believed that I had nothing to worry about. That you loved me and our family and you would never do anything to jeopardize it.” 

“I wouldn’t! I haven’t!” Leigh pleads with you. 

You ignore her and continue on. “So imagine my surprise when I find out that the person that was keeping you at the office late was none other than your ex-boyfriend. At an office party nonetheless!” 

“I love you. I didn’t think it would be a big deal,” she swears.

You continue to ignore her. “But I chose to not let the humiliation of the people around your office being so surprised you were married to me and not to him get to me. No, I felt safe and secure in our relationship. Leigh, my best friend, mother of our child, my loving and devoted wife would never cheat on me.” She bites her tongue, wanting to defend herself but knowing there was no use. You have the floor now and you won’t let her take it. “I continue on, like an idiot, trusting that the reason my wife is at work late is because she has so much important stuff to do that she can’t make it home in time for family dinner. She at least makes it in time to tuck our daughter into bed and she shares a bed with me at night. That’s what matters right? That you came home to me and weren’t sleeping in someone else's bed.” 

Leigh knows where this is headed and she wants to tell you that you were ridiculous in your assumption. That nothing happened at all the night she claimed to have spent the night at the office. But she vowed to never lie to you, she just hasn’t figured out how to tell you. 

“Did you know that I stopped by that night to bring you food?” 

The reveal makes her heart drop. “You what?” She whispers. 

“We had made plans that night. You left a message, telling me that you weren’t going to make it home for the date we had scheduled. That you were looking forward to it and were bummed because all you had eaten that day was potato chips from the vending machine,” you recall the voicemail that you’ve played over and over. Trying to figure out where she lied to you, because it all seemed to be the truth but what you found that night led you to question everything. “I felt bad, so I got the babysitter for Bri anyway and I ordered some food from your favorite restaurant and I came to your office to drop it off. Maybe even try to convince you to have a break with me. So we could reconnect and save this marriage!” Your voice rises in the last sentence as the anger from that night returns and Leigh flinches. You weren’t the type to ever raise your voice often, especially not to her. 

“Why didn’t you?” She asks. If you had walked in, she wouldn’t have been carrying this guilt with her for what happened that night. You could have stopped it. Why didn’t you stop it?

You scoff at her question. “I didn’t want to interrupt,” you say bitterly.

“What did you see?” 

“I heard you laughing when I was walking through to find your office. I thought maybe you were on a break watching some dumb video on the internet. Then I heard his voice. I wanted to believe there were other people working late with the two of you but no. It was just you and him.” You give her a moment to say anything, maybe tell you that at some point there were others, but she lets you continue. “When I finally did see you, you looked cozy on the couch in his office. You looked just like you did in college. You had that same dopey look, like you could never love anyone the way you did him. I know it well, you used to look at me like that… before he came back into our lives.” 

Leigh shakes her head, there was no way she was giving him that look. Or was she? That’s what he claimed when she tried to tell him it should have never happened. He said he only crossed that line because of the way she looked at him. Maybe she had to accept that she did. It wasn’t intentional but it happened. You wouldn’t say it if it didn’t. How can she tell you that she didn’t mean it? That would put into question if she means it when she looks at you that way. How was she supposed to convince you that she does? 

“I watched and I waited for you to act the way a married person does. Stop him from getting closer. Keep your distance. Keep things friendly, or strictly business. But then you asked him why he was sitting so far away. And to tell you more about his semester abroad. The one that resulted in the end of your relationship. You asked him if he ever regretted losing you–” 

“I wasn’t in my right mind, we were celebrating. Did you miss the bottle of wine or did you just not have enough of a view?” She snaps at you. She wants to continue to deny that she invited it. That as a married woman, she wanted someone else.

“That’s no excuse, Leigh! Do you know what I do with the people that hit on me when I’m drinking?” She stumbles on coming up with an answer but you interrupt her. “Nothing! I go looking for you!” 

“I might have had some unresolved issues. It’s complicated.” Stressed out, she moves her hands through her long hair. 

You cross your arms over your chest and shrug, “Uncomplicate it for me, Leigh. If not for me then for our daughter. She deserves that much.” 

Leigh presses her lips together and bounces her leg as she tries to make sense of something in minutes that she hasn’t in months. “Not everyone can be so fucking perfect all of the damn time. Okay? Some of us have flaws!”

You can’t believe that is her defense for her actions. You sit one arm on the other, with one laying across your chest and use your index finger and thumb to rub your eyebrows. “Did you know that I would have forgiven you, had you told me about the kiss that night?” Her eyes dart to your direction but it's so tough to look at you when you won’t look at her. “I might’ve even done so without the details. But,” you shrug and scratch your nose. “You didn’t tell me. Every day that you didn’t tell me, it just made it harder to find a reason to forgive you. It made it harder to believe that you weren’t cheating on me the whole time.” 

Leigh drops her head shamefully but she doesn’t want this to be her fault. You were there, you should’ve caught her or had this conversation with her sooner. Why didn’t you? Were you only trying to make her look bad? Did you hate her? Were you trying to destroy this marriage?

“Then the big project was done and I thought I could finally have my wife back. I had plans to try and reconnect, even some to talk about what I saw. I was going to be calm and understanding. But then you started to avoid me. Every attempt I made, you just pulled away further. I wanted to believe… I still want to believe that you were doing what you said you were doing. Then the other night, you come home well past Bri’s curfew, drunk, and hanging off of him. What am I supposed to think? Am I being an idiot? Am I the asshole here, not seeing something? Am I trapping you in a marriage that you don’t want to be in? Do I not love you enough? Do you not love me at all anymore?” 

“No, that’s not why I–” she stops herself. Any explanation would only hurt you further but there is no way to heal you without explaining it. “When I started working there, I didn’t know that being around him would bring back so many old feelings. I thought they had died with our relationship. It was confusing. I knew that I loved you, I still do. But there was a time when I thought I might still love him. I needed to know, and I didn’t know how else to figure that out. So, yeah, I had a few drinks with him. I talked about things I otherwise wouldn’t have and when he kissed me, I let him. But it didn’t go beyond that. I felt so stupid and ashamed and I betrayed you. There isn’t a doubt or an excuse for it. It happened and I am sorry. I wish I could take it back. I wish I could take all of it back.” 

Feeling as though you have been hit by a freight train, you fall back into your seat. The two of you sit in silence for a long period of time. Processing and not knowing what to say. You can't figure out where you went wrong that she felt the need to be with someone else. That she felt things towards someone who hurt her time and time again. That’s when you realized you needed to cut yourself out of the equation. It wasn’t about you. It was about her. But why? Why would she do this to herself? Why would she risk losing what she had? Was she not happy with it anymore? Was there anything you could do or was she on a self-destructive path? How could you help her? Could you even help her?

Meanwhile, Leigh is sitting there waiting for you to blow up. She also can't understand or let go of the fact that you let it happen. That you let her get away with it for so long. That you didn't catch her. That you didn't talk about it until now. When it might be too late. “If you already knew, why didn’t you say anything?” She finally asks. 

You scoff, “I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt. I wanted you to come to me. I thought I was very clear that you could come to me about anything and everything. But maybe I should’ve just caught you in the act or something. I don't know.” You look at your hands as you play with your wedding ring. You took it off to remember the day she put it on you. To remember that happiness. But all you can think about is maybe she didn't share in that happiness. 

“Why didn't you?” She observes you carefully as you frown at the ring that once made you light up a room with a grand smile. 

“Because, Leigh, you were. You were supposed to think about me and our daughter, our family, and what you were risking. What you might lose. Over a silly kiss.” You rub your hand over your eyes with your elbow resting on the arm of the chair. It was the first piece of furniture that you bought for the house. She had pointed it out while the two of you were window shopping one time. When the two of you bought the house, she hadn’t known that the deal had been finalized until you brought her back and the chair was sitting in the middle of the living room with a big red bow and a sign that welcomed her home.“You were supposed to stop yourself. Come home, and talk about it. I told you about the time an intern kissed me at work! The day it happened.” 

“Yeah, but you have no history with that person. You didn’t have to worry about my reaction the way I did with you.”

“What did you think my reaction would be?” 

“I,” she isn’t really sure. She had stressed over many scenarios, but she couldn’t think of a single one to tell you. “I don’t know.” She drops her face in her hands and grips her hair. “I was afraid and confused, everything was confusing.” 

You sigh, you didn’t like seeing your wife in pain. But you can’t sit next to her. You can’t comfort her right now, because then nothing will get resolved. She could kiss you and you could lose yourself in her and then the two of you will think that everything is okay until everything builds and it isn’t anymore. It needed to be figured out today. You couldn’t continue to live the way you have the past few months. “What is it now?” You ask, trying to be the understanding person that you wanted to be for her. There were very few people in this world that you had this kind of patience for and she knows that, she appreciates that you haven’t completely given up on her.  

“It’s… well, it’s less confusing. I know what I want, who I want,” she looks at you when she clarifies. “I know what I did was foolish and selfish and you deserve so much better than that.” Leigh grabs a tissue to blow her nose. “I’m still scared to death that I fucked everything up. I haven’t given you any reason to trust me anymore. I can swear to you that those nights I wasn’t here, I was with Jules or with friends. Hiding from you so that I didn’t have to tell you what I did. I can promise that the other night, Matt was just there. He wasn’t invited, I tried to avoid him but seeing him there… The guilt was awful. I just kept drinking. I don’t think I’ve had that much to drink in years. My friends tried to cut me off early and Drew was supposed to take me home but Matt offered. He doesn’t know, no one does, so he let him take me home. I couldn’t tell him why it was a bad idea.” She pauses, playing with the tissue. “I wouldn’t blame you if you don’t believe me.” 

“Good,” you start, “because I don’t.” Leigh nods and wipes some of her tears. She was at a loss of what to do now. In all of the scenarios in her head, she never came up with this one. As for you, all you want to do is cry and scream and throw things but you don’t. You keep yourself cemented to the chair. Not even trusting yourself to pace around the living room. Afraid you’ll lash out on the innocent objects around you. Setting your ring on the coffee table in front of you, you rub your palms together. “Was it worth it?” 

“Of course not,” the lack of hesitation gives you some relief but not enough. “What can I do to fix this?” The desperation in her voice tugs at your heart and part of you wants to forgive her and let it go. But what if that leads her to do it again? What if forgiving her isn’t enough for you? What if you can’t let it go? 

You shrug, “I don’t know. I…” you sigh, not having a solution. “I wish things could go back to what it was but we can’t, ever. Before is gone now. What comes after this… I don’t know if we’re going to make it.”

Leigh gets upset by this. “So that’s it? One meaningless kiss and you’re ready to throw all of this away? You’re just done! You’re just giving up?” Now her voice is raised. 

“That’s not what I said!” 

“Isn’t it thought?”

“Look, it wasn’t just a meaningless kiss and you know it! I almost lost you to him once! And the entire time the two of you were together I had to stand by while he treated you like crap and you allowed it!” She doesn’t try to cut you off when you mention the relationship she had with Matt back in college. You were right. It was awful, she never felt as low and insecure as she did when she was dating him. “Damnit, Leigh! I thought what we had was special! To know that a part of you still wanted him! After how he hurt you! Clearly there’s more going on that you need to figure out and I can’t help you with it!” 

Leigh nods, “You’re right, I need to work a few things out. I’ve been selfish these last few months and I don’t know. I just. Fuck.” She gets up from her place on the sofa. “I’m just like my father.” She walks away because she is beginning to feel like the walls are closing in on her. She steps out onto the back porch to get some fresh air. You let her be on her own, give her some space. What she did to you wasn’t nearly as bad as what her father had done to her mother. Or was it? 

His affair was more physical, something that didn’t last once he was caught. But this was deeper. This was emotional. This was with an ex of hers. But she’s right, it was one kiss. It could have been worse. She could have been sleeping with him. Part of you still thinks she did but you wanted to hold onto what she said. That she was with anybody but him. But then, just the fact that she compared herself to her father raised some flags. You get up and walk over to the door that led to the backyard and lean on the frame. She was holding onto the banister and looking out to the garden the two of you made together. It was full of dead plants having been ignored by the both of you. Was that what this marriage was now? 

“Are you,” you stop, almost not wanting to ask, too afraid of the answer. “Are you like your father?” You get out through a shaky tone. She is quiet and you take that as a bad sign. “Was it more than a kiss? Did you sleep with–”

She spins around with wide eyes, “No! That is not what I meant when I said that!” You ask her to elaborate what she did mean by the statement. “When things got tough for him, instead of seeking help he just blew up his life even more. Instead of tending to the minor, fixable problems he had, he created more problems that he couldn’t come back from. Problems that could have been avoided. That’s what I’m talking about.” She takes a breath, you could almost see her clarity in her expression. 

“If I had just told you what losing my job meant to me. What it felt like only getting one job out of the hundreds I applied to. How I didn’t feel comfortable at first because I’m pretty sure the only reason I got it is because my ex was the person in charge of hiring. That I hated that my only options were this job and going back to work for my mom. That I wasn’t confident in my work anymore because the person reviewing all of it was him. That I haven’t recognized myself in almost a year.” She pauses and takes a small step closer to you. Waiting for you to take a step back. You stay. 

“Why didn’t you tell me? I would have been there for you, Leigh,” you say. 

“I wish I knew,” she replies. She doesn’t know why she didn’t, she just knows that she should have.

Not being able to handle the distance from her anymore, you step off from the door frame and hold your arms open for her. Leigh crashes against you almost instantly, letting the sobs rip through her. You hold her close and reassure her that you’re still here for her. No matter what. 

The two of you spend the rest of the evening winding down from the intense conversation. You order food but the both of you don’t have much of an appetite and you end up pushing the food around your plate until Leigh says that she’s tired. You admit that you are drained as well and help put the food away. When the kitchen is clean, there is an awkward tension of not knowing what to do next. 

“Will you sleep with me tonight?” Leigh asks, reaching for your hand. 

You’re hesitant but you let her take your hand. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to have sex right now,” you admit. 

She keeps her eyes to your hand, noticing that you haven’t put your ring back on. “I know that, I meant just sleeping. I’ve been having a hard time sleeping without you. I miss sharing a bed with you.” 

You sigh, figuring there couldn’t be too much harm to share the bed with her for the night. “I suppose that is okay.” Pulling you by your hand, she takes you to the bedroom and gets ready for bed. It was a strange experience for you. Returning to the bedtime routine for the two of you after months. For the first time, you felt like a stranger in your own home. There was an awkwardness that never existed between the two of you before. The first thing that drew you to Leigh was how comfortable she made you. Why was that stripped away? Was it from this one night of confessions? Or was it built from the months of neglecting the relationship? 

When you climb into bed, neither of you knows how to settle in next to each other. You wanted to put a wall of pillows between the two of you and she wanted to be held by you. So that she can’t request anything from you, you turn away from her and tell her goodnight. She says it back, adding that she loves you. You don’t say it back. You did still love her. It just… it hurt now and that was confusing. 

Leigh peacefully falls asleep, but you spend the night tossing and turning. Not sure what to do. She needed to get help but would she get help if you stayed? Did she need an extra push? Or would that only give her more reasons to hide things from you? Maybe you needed a break. Maybe you needed to get away for a bit. She has had plenty of time and space away from you. But she needed help right now. Was it fair to abandon her when she finally opened up to you? The racing thoughts frustrated you. There was no one answer to any of these. None of them seemed simple. 

In the morning, you tell her that she needs to see a therapist and that the two of you should do couples counseling. She agrees. To show that she is serious about mending the things she had cracked, possibly broken, she makes the appointments later that day. The two of you didn’t talk to each other much once Briana was home. Instead, the three of you went out for frozen yogurt, saw a movie and then had dinner. Then came home, did Briana’s bedtime routine, and she asked you to join her in bed again. You do it, because you need to. In order to see if things were getting better on your end. 

Several months later, after many sessions in couples therapy, you wake up in the middle of the night with the fear that you were drowning. Nothing had been resolved because neither of you were truly trying at the sessions. The both of you had said way more that one night than you had in the many expensive hour long therapy sessions. You were beginning to feel like the only way you would know if you still loved Leigh, is if you are without her. 

So, in the middle of the night, you write her a letter explaining why you’re not next to her. You tell her that you needed some space and that you desperately hope this will only bring the two of you closer. But that if it doesn’t work out that way, your hope is that neither of you hate each other if things have to end. You quietly pack a bag, stopping at every small movement she makes. Then you get in your car and drive, uncertain of your destination. You didn’t want to go to a friend's house because then it would broadcast your marital problems. You didn’t want to go to a hotel because that felt like a step towards divorce. Not the direction you wanted to head. So you just drive and think. 

Leigh’s heart drops when she finds a note instead of you. Her heart breaks as she reads it over and over. Why was it that when you thought things were good, she was silently suffering and when she thought things were getting better, you were? What caused this seemingly sudden imbalance and why couldn’t the balance be restored? She isn’t able to dwell on it for long because Briana comes running into the room requesting a fun breakfast. The kind only you can make. She forces back the tears and hides her pain behind a smile as she promises to make something just as special. 

You return home late that night. Surprising Leigh. She was sitting in the living room with a movie on, crying. She wanted to blame the tears on the film but she knew they were from the troubles between the two of you and with herself. You open your mouth to say something but she holds her finger up to her lips before pointing to her lap. Briana was fast asleep. You nod and sneak your way up the stairs, needing to take a shower. 

At one point during your drive, you pulled over to a hiking trail and went to the top to just think. You sat in the sun for hours, a little too close to the edge without realizing. When you decided it was time to stand up, the sand and rocks had gotten soft and crumbled under your feet. You slipped off of the ledge but was lucky enough to grab onto something sturdy enough to pull you up. When you got back up, you didn’t even process the cuts you got, you just stood there and  stared at how far of a drop it was. You could have died and no one would have known what happened. Your wife would have thought you abandoned her. Your daughter would have grown to believe the same. 

It really puts into perspective what your life is and what you want out of your life. It wasn’t this. On the hike down, you got sick and stopped to throw up, close to passing out. You were lucky that some hikers found you and helped you to your car. One drove you to the hospital in your car and the other followed in their car. You were dehydrated, had a concussion, a few bruises and required a few stitches but were otherwise fine. You take your time in the shower and when you get out, Leigh is sitting on the bed. 

“I thought you needed your space,” she starts. 

You play with the waist strap of your robe as you lick your lips, “I did. Then something happened.” 

Leigh looks down at her hands. “Did you,” she pauses to consider her words carefully, “Were you with someone else?” She looks back up at you with tears sitting on the brim of her eyes.

You shake your head, “No, I went on a hike and,” you open your robe slightly to reveal the stitches and scratches on your side. “It got pretty fucking scary.” Leigh jumps from the bed and frets over you, asking what happened and if you’re okay and why you didn’t call. “I’m fine, I’m still a little startled but I’m fine. I’m alive. I’m home. I’m here, with you.” You reach out to hold her face with your fingertips as your palms need to have a new bandage on them. “But it made me realize that neither of us are happy and neither of us are trying to make each other happy. We can’t live our lives like this. We can’t pretend things haven’t changed or that certain things didn’t happen.” She closes her eyes, knowing that you’re right but not wanting to let you go. “We do need space. We need to find ourselves again. We’re lost, the both of us, and it’s killing us. Maybe the time apart will bring us back together. Maybe it won’t. But we can’t keep going the way we are.” 

“What do you want?” She whispers. 

“I’m going to move out,” you state, “but I’m not giving up.” 

“You almost died and you realized that you don’t want to be with me anymore. I don’t think we should drag this out longer than it has to be,” she says more to protect herself from the pain of hearing you end the relationship. She’s not sure she can survive it. 

“That’s not true,” you try to get her to look at you. She doesn’t so you continue anyway. “It made me realize that I miss you too. That you aren’t you and I’m not me. I kept blaming you for not telling me what you were going through but I couldn’t even see that you were drowning. I avoided you as much as you avoided me. I hid behind our daughter. Leigh,” you call her name and use your knuckle to lift her chin up to you. “I don’t want to hate you because we forgot how to communicate with each other.” She meets your eyes and for the first time in almost a year, you don’t look away from her. Leigh’s breath catches at the intensity of your gaze and her eyes flit down to your lips. It’s been so long since she’s had them and she can’t even remember what they felt like against her. She moves closer and you let her. 

Leigh finally presses her lips against yours, gripping your robe as if she can keep you from slipping through her fingers further than you already have. You let her kiss you, but you don’t respond as eagerly. You savor the feel of her soft lips, her taste, the desperate way she pulls you closer while being cautious about your injuries. It tells you that she needs you. That she still loves you. This is the first time that you haven’t wanted to pull away or run from her. This time you ignore all of the reasons not to and you allow for things to go further.

The moment you both fall onto the mattress, her body beneath yours and you fitting into her in the way that used to be so perfect, your first impulse is to run away. But she traps you there with her legs around your waist, her hands still trying to work on your robe. So you stay there, your mouth on hers, wondering if they fit as perfectly as hers did with his, if she slid her tongue against his like she's doing with yours now. You wonder about it until you can’t bear it anymore, then you move your lips down her jaw, ignoring everything in your mind screaming at you to stop, paying mind to that - although smaller, just as eager - part that tells you how much you missed her, how much you want to feel her. 

When Leigh's hands finally undo the knot that kept the garment secure around your body, your own find her pajama shorts, pulling them down so desperately that her breath gets caught in her throat, surprise and excitement overcoming her entire being. Maybe that's all you needed. A moment to reconnect, to be reminded of what it feels like to belong to each other, that you still belong to each other. She has no idea, however, that the reason for your desperation is that you need to feel something immediately before you break down, intoxicating your mind with something other than the voices screaming inside your head. But she lets the lower part of her clothes slide off her legs to the floor anyway, and pushes the robe you wear off your shoulders so that it joins with her garments.

It's easier not to think about things when your fingers slide with ease in between her folds, and much more so when her own works between your legs, Leigh's teeth trapping your lower lip when the sounds she loves so much start to leave your mouth unintentionally. The warmth in the pit of your stomach spreads throughout your entire body, the nails of her free hand scratching your back and her moans helping just as much as the sensation to keep the doubts at bay. But the moment your high takes over you, you close your eyes, and the scene of that night in the office behind your closed eyelids is almost as vivid as witnessing it with your bare eyes.

Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe you shouldn't have done this at all. Leigh's loud moan and her walls squeezing your fingers let you know she's reached her own high. But they also make your eyes water, your chest tighten. It wasn't supposed to be like this. You should be thinking about your wife and your wife alone - underneath you with her breathing ragged, not with her ex-boyfriend's lips all over her. The idea makes your stomach churn.

In Leigh's head, however, in the last few months, there has never been a more hopeful moment than this, the undone knot below her belly also undoing some of the tension in her shoulders. You are hers and she is yours. Things might be hard and you might have lost each other for a moment, but she can feel it now. Things would get better. "I lo-" Her lazy words are cut off by your lips pressed to hers harshly. 

You can't hear that. You can't say that. Hell, you can't talk right now. The heat of the moment leaves all your emotions running wild. Any words spoken now would be a mistake, a path of no return. So you use your mouth for something else, running it all the way down her body, tracing the path you know drives her crazy, scolding yourself for thinking so much about what it was like for her when it was with him. Her hands in your hair when you reach your destination work like an anchor; grounding you to that moment with her, to your wife.

But then she's cumming again, against your lips this time, and when she tugs on your hair for you to come back up, it's all back again. All the pain, the doubts, the insecurities. You love her. You know you do. And there's still hope in you that it will all work out. Even if you can’t see how right now. She smiles at you when you climb your way back to her and smiling back at her is so easy. Why can't it all be this easy?

"I'm gonna get you some water." You say the first thing in your mind, an excuse to get out of that room before you explode. "I can go with you." Her eyebrows are frowning but the smile is still on her lips. She seems more at peace than she's been in quite a while, and you find yourself hating yourself for not trying as hard as you could. "It's okay, you must be tired."

"Will you come back?" Her question is uncertain, her eyes scanning yours with concern. You don't know what gave you away. Whether it was your voice, your expression, or just the fact that she knew you better than anyone else. But you force a smile anyway, ignoring the lump in your throat to kiss her forehead. "Of course." You can feel her body relaxing against yours at your reassurance, nodding as she lazily runs her fingers down your back in a gesture that was meant to be a caress, but which makes your skin burn in every place she touches. 

"Okay." Leigh gives you her confirmation, and you waste no time standing up, ignoring the pain in your body from the injuries of your hiking incident. You can feel your wife's eyes following your every movement, but you avoid her gaze at all costs as you put your robe back on. You flash her a short smile as you reach the door, however, receiving an - although content - uncertain one. And, finally out of the room, you don't fight the tears in your eyes anymore.

In the morning, you wake up with the searing pain the adrenaline and pain killers from the hospital had protected you against. Leigh is quick to take care of you. She cleans and redresses your wounds, then she quickly goes out to have your prescription filled so you don’t have to. The rest of the day she lets you rest and comes to your aid whenever you need. You were relieved that she spent most of her time outside of the room with your daughter. Anytime she was in the room only made it more confusing in your mind. It reminds you of that time in college, before the two of you got together. 

You had gotten so sick that you couldn’t even get out of bed. Your roommates had abandoned you because it was close to the final exams and none of them could afford to get sick. Not that you blamed them, if it had been any of them you would’ve moved out just to be safe. Besides, it wasn’t like you were close with any of them. Leigh was the only person that cared to check on you when she noticed you weren’t in class. You tried to push her away, but she stayed and she took care of you. She made you feel things you never felt for or from a person before with that act of kindness. Shortly after that, you asked her out and never regretted that decision once. Being taken care of by her now made you want to stay. 

But once you’re rested and no longer need the medication to manage the pain, you sign a year lease on an apartment. She is livid when you are packing your things. Throwing your clothes at you as she rips them out of the boxes. You let her get it out, at least she wasn’t holding back anymore and it made you proud. When she broke down in tears, you held her until she fell asleep. You waited until she left for work before you moved your boxes into your car. 

Settling into your apartment is the worst night of your life. You wanted to be home with your daughter. You didn’t want to be alone in this empty place. Nonetheless, you survive the night and the next and the next. You don’t make the place feel like home, you don’t even set up the second bedroom for Briana. You don’t want your daughter to be here ever but that means you see less of her. It hurts but you made a promise that you weren’t giving up and that would be giving up. The boxes you have are the only things you use for your clothes. The only piece of furniture that you buy is a mattress and box spring because you need it in order to get sleep. But the quality of rest you get is very low since you don’t have your family with you. 

The only time you see Briana is when you need to pick her up from school and drop her off with either Amy or Jules. Sometimes you extend the visits by getting a treat with her, or even picking up some new popular toy that she absolutely must have. Briana is happy about those things, until she asks you when you’re coming back home. You always disappoint her with not having a set answer. 

You see Leigh at the couple therapy sessions that have gone from quiet and polite to screaming matches which progress further to finally hearing each other out and even making each other laugh again. It was much like riding a roller coaster and it made you recognize that life was a roller coaster. Full of highs and lows, good times and bad. That life will always be that way, regardless if you give up on something or keep working on it. You were grateful that not only you chose to but that she chose to keep fighting as well. 

At the end of the most recent session, your therapist gives the strangest homework assignment you’ve ever been given in your life. She assigns the two of you to go out on a date together. You were to take her out on a date sometime between this appointment and the next one. You didn’t like the idea of it being something that was expected of you. Something like that should be something more natural. Something you’re allowed to do and not have to do. But Leigh seemed to be hopeful and looking forward to the date.

The two of you leave the session side by side and you aren’t sure when you’re supposed to ask her. Or even if you’re supposed to or just set a place and time. Reaching the parking lot, Leigh lets you know what direction her car is parked, yours happened to be on the opposite side of the lot. So before you separate, you figure it would be best to set a plan. “Listen, I want to ask you out. I do, but,” you sigh, putting your hands into the pocket of your pants. “What does your work schedule look like? So I won't pick a bad day for you.” 

“Oh, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.” She plays with her car keys nervously. “Well, a few weeks ago, someone told Matt about our separation,” she gestures between the two of you and you worry about where this was going. “He requested that I stay behind one day and I thought it was going to be constructive feedback about something I had submitted and was waiting to hear back on. But instead he confessed his undying love for me and tried to kiss me.” The annoyance in her tone and features amuse you and you choose to focus on that instead of getting upset. “He didn’t get close enough, of course, I shut it down and I just quit. I gathered my belongings and got out of there. I’m back to working for my mom, so any night is good for me.” 

You stand there, stunned. “Wow, okay, how do you feel about that? I know the last thing you wanted to do was go back to that place.” 

Leigh shrugs with a slow smile, she looks so much lighter. You hadn’t realized how different she looked until now. “It’s actually not so bad. I started working on my first novel since I have so much free time. Besides, I get to be with Bri more than I have since I went on maternity leave. Nothing is better than that.” 

You smile, a little jealous about how much she gets to be around your daughter. “Yeah, I bet it’s amazing. She, uh, she mentioned something about you being home a lot. I just thought that meant no more late nights.” You take your phone out to check your calendar and pick a day that works best for you. “How does that sound?” You ask sheepishly. It was strange, having to ask the woman you married out on a date. You felt like you were doing it all wrong, but with the way things were, it didn’t seem like there was a right way.

“Yeah, it works. Although, I have an early curfew,” she says in remarks to Briana’s bedtime ritual. 

“Right, of course. I promise to have you home by eight. Eight thirty the latest.” The two of you go your separate ways and the rest of the week you have a new giddiness that you haven’t felt since the beginning of the relationship. You make reservations at a nice restaurant, making sure to let her know where you’re taking her. You have your best outfit dry cleaned and you even get your car washed. 

The night that you show up, knocking on the front door with two chocolate roses, she opens the door dressed in a honey plaid blazer, a black blouse, and black jeans. She is stunning and you’re left speechless. It was a new outfit and you felt bad that you didn’t do the same for her, but she knew that you weren’t as involved in your clothing. In fact, she’s the one who helped you upgrade your style. It wasn’t a full on makeover kind of thing but you appreciated that she helped you with owning clothing for special occasions. 

You hand her one of the roses. “One for you and,” Briana comes running to the door to greet you, “one for you!” She excitedly pulls you through the door to show you something. It was the first time in months that you’ve been inside your own house. Everything looked so different. Nothing was, maybe a new throw pillow or piece of framed kids artwork, but nothing significant was different. And yet, it all looked different. Felt different. You look over at Leigh, emotions starting to build up, “Are you ready to go?”

“Uh, we have to wait for Jules,” she responds as she spins the stem of the fake flower between her fingers. On the first Valentine's day the two of you had as a couple, she didn’t want you to do anything crazy special. She wasn’t into the corporate holiday, but you still showed up to her dorm with a chocolate rose and took her out. That time it was a simple dinner at a fast food place and to a movie because that’s all that you could afford. What you did varied each year but every Valentine’s after that, you made sure to buy her a chocolate rose. One year you even tried to make one, you failed but she loved it anyway. The last one you gave her was the year she was pregnant with Briana. She had all but forgotten about them. It was one of those little things that Dr. Robbins talked about. “I thought you might like some extra time with Bri,” she grins at you. 

“Thank you,” you say and let Briana take you on a tour of your home. She thinks that you have forgotten it and she needs to remind you of what everything looks like. She ends her tour at the wall of photos so that you can admire them. There were pictures of you and Leigh when you were young and in love. Baby pictures of Briana. Photos of family events. A few pictures of Jules with different partners. She always requested that Leigh take them down after every break up but she never did. You know it was because Leigh did it to mess with her little sister which normally amused you until you noticed a new picture on the wall. It was the picture from the office holiday party at Leigh’s work. It isn’t a picture of you and her, it was of her and Matt. 

Leigh joins your side to look at the pictures with you. She makes some small talk, mentioning the memories of photos she points out. Then she notices that you’re not really paying attention to her and she follows your gaze. “Oh shit,” she quickly removes it from the wall. “I told Jules to get rid of it! I can’t believe this is where she put it!” She struggles with opening the frame. “I can explain this, I promise. It’s not at all what it looks like. I swear I didn’t even know it was up here.” 

You quietly take it from her hands and stare at it. They are posing together because someone must’ve requested it. His arm is around her and he is smiling at the camera. Leigh is holding a flute of champagne and smiling at him. Her expression is soft and it looks similar to the ones around the rest of the wall, where she’s looking at you, but there is something else there. Something darker. She was in pain. She wasn’t in love with him. She was just feeling the way she did when she was first with him. Insecure and lost. You weren’t the one who made her feel that way so it wasn’t associated with you. It was associated with him. She thought what she was feeling toward him was romantic but it was just a cry for help. You clench your jaw as you tap the wood of the frame against the palm of your hand. “Where did this come from?”

“He sent it, with a note and some flowers. I tore up the note and threw out the flowers. It came in a different frame and I gave it to Jules because she liked it. She was there when it was delivered. He had it sent to my new job. I guess she reframed it to get back at me or something. It’s a sick joke,” she explains and reaches to take it from your hands but you hold onto it. “Stop, it’s just a stupid picture,” she says in a whisper.

You nod in agreement, it was a stupid picture. But it reminded you where you failed as a spouse. Which made it less stupid. “I think we should burn it,” you suggest. “Just to see if it will reappear again. Maybe he got a witch to enchant it or something.” 

Leigh scoffs, “You’re joking? I’m over here having a heart attack and you’re making jokes!” 

You shrug, “I’m pretty serious about burning it but if you find humor in it, good for you.” Then to let her know that you are making light of the situation, you break into a grin and she shakes her head at you. Jules rushes into the house and she freezes at the sight of you holding the picture in your hand. “Oh good, we can go now.” You hand the picture frame to Jules, “Not funny, but nice try. Have fun with Bri.” Jules shuts her eyes and curses to herself as she holds the frame. 

“Leigh,” she starts an apology but her sister tells her to save it. She really didn’t care to hear it. The two of you say goodnight to Briana on your way out. Then walk hand in hand to your car. 

During dinner, you can’t help thinking how different things feel with her. It was a good difference, but it was an adjustment. It’s been a while since you’ve shared a meal with her and even longer since you’ve had a decent conversation with her. She talked mostly of her life without you and it hadn’t hit you how long the two of you had been separated for. And you didn’t realize how much you put your life on pause for. Leigh was talking about having started a book club with her friends who meet every other week to discuss the books they choose. That Briana had really gotten into art more than ever before. She was also having playdates regularly with her new best friend that you hadn’t heard of before. She talked about how helpful her mom and sister have been since the separation. That she even has a better relationship with her father and how much her therapy has been helping. 

There was so much going on in her life that you were having a hard time imagining a place for you in it. Other than the couples therapy where you’re back in her life for an hour a week. She was fine without you. She doesn’t need you. “What about you?” She asks when she notices how quiet you’ve been. “What have you been up to lately?”

It takes you a moment to come up with an answer that didn’t sound sad. You didn’t want to drop the good mood she was in but you weren’t able to match her level. “Uh, I go to work, I pick up Bri, and then I go home. I don’t do much else, except of course the thing with you.” 

“Oh,” she isn’t sure what else to say. “You know that you can always have Bri over if you–”

You shake your head, “I didn’t want that. I,” you sigh and drop your fork to your plate. “My apartment isn’t furnished or decorated. I don’t want it to be a permanent place. It’s not supposed to be. When we started this, I thought we would still see more of each other–”

“That’s not how we give each other space.”

“I know,” you sigh, “I know but still. I didn’t think that I was supposed to have a life, you know outside of trying to get ours back.” Your tone was heavy with upset and accusation. 

Leigh drops her utensils, “I’m only doing what was asked of us. Which was to find ourselves outside of our marriage. No one told you to sit and wait for things to get better.” 

“Don’t give me that, I like who I am in our marriage. I like staying home with you and Bri on a Friday night. I don’t like other people, I don’t like going out, I never have. You know that,” you respond. 

“I know, but sometimes I like to go to dinners with my friends. The kind that they bring their spouses along to. I always felt, I don’t know, left out because you wouldn’t go to those.” 

“This again? Leigh, every time I go to those I upset everyone. I thought we agreed it was better that I just stayed home.” 

“Yes, this again. Maybe you could try treating other people like they are people. Like the way you treat me and Bri. Why can’t you be funny and kind to everyone else?” 

“Because I don’t care about everyone else!” You close your eyes to center yourself and lower your voice. “It’s hard for me to talk to people. You know that.” 

She nods and crosses her arms, “I do, and I think it might be something you should work on. I love our time alone together, Y/n. But I need more. If you were in my shoes, you would too. I don’t always enjoy the company of others but sometimes I do and I want to be able to share that with you. The way my friends can with their people.” 

You mirror her and cross your arms over your chest. “You’ve changed and I’m happy for you. That’s what you wanted to do and I still care about you. But I’m not changing who I am. I like who I am,” you shrug. 

She nods a couple of times before slightly leaning over the table to keep her words private as the two of you are getting the attention of others. “So basically, you’re just waiting for me to come back to you. To a marriage that wasn’t working. After all of this work I’ve done on myself to fix this marriage.” 

You shake your head, “What are you talking about? Plenty of people would be happy with our arrangement.” 

“Well I’m not any of those people and I’m telling you that I’m not happy about it,” she states sharply. 

“I see,” you poke your tongue around the inside of your mouth. “I think I’m ready to go home now,” you wave the waiter over to ask for the check and Leigh puts up no protest. When you drop her off at the house Jules asks how it went and you only thank her for watching Briana. That night you start looking for ideas for Briana’s bedroom. This was going to take longer than you originally thought and you couldn’t keep going on without being around your daughter.

At the next session, Leigh is quick to tattle on you for not working on yourself and the therapist agrees with her. You haven’t been putting in the required work in order for things to progress. You needed to find yourself outside of the marriage. You needed to have interests other than the bare minimum. You needed to have a life that wasn’t just staying home, eating frozen meals, and watching the entirety of streaming channels on your laptop. You needed to stop waiting. 

So you start looking online for things to do outside of work. You go to a local activities center to sign up for different clubs to test them out. You find no joy in any of them and get yourself kicked out of three. You also start seeing a therapist for yourself. Well, you cycle through a different therapist a week for five weeks. Unable to connect with a single one, until you give up and settle for the sixth one. After two months of going to a therapist, you didn’t feel any different in where you stand. But you offered Leigh a compromise to host more dinner parties at home, not seeing the reason to go out when they could come over. She liked the idea but only if you agreed to go out at least once a month. Reluctantly, you agree. 

Dr. Robbins congratulates the two of you on the progress and assigns another date. This time you have more stories to share with her. Hectic things that happen at work, the things you do with Bri when she’s over at your apartment, the hobbies and activities you’ve failed at and the stuff you actually took a liking to. “Now, it’s not a group thing like your book club. But trust me, individually adding those beads to the sticky paper has really kept me sane the past few months. I can show you some of the ones I’ve done so far!” You reach for your phone to show her but she stops you. 

“It’s okay, I can see them the next time I drop Bri off. No devices, remember?” 

“Oh, right,” there was a small list of rules that the therapist gave the two of you for how to go on the date. The most important one being no distracting electronics of any kind. “How is the book club?” 

Leigh smiles, “It’s been good. I um, I actually gave them all of the chapters that I have finished so far when no one could agree on a book and the feedback was very positive and some of them even had helpful ideas. It was really amazing seeing people so engaged with something I wrote.” 

“That’s amazing! I’m not surprised at all, you’re a talented writer and I’m so glad that you finally see that.” She thanks you for the compliment with flushed cheeks and you smile back at her. It goes quiet for a bit after that. The two of you enjoying the food in front of you. “I would love to read it when you’re ready to share it with me,” you eventually say. 

“Oh, yeah, I’ll email it to you as soon as I get home.” You thank her while taking a sip of your drink and she stops moving her full fork as she recognizes a certain piece of jewelry on your hand. “You put it back on,” she points to your wedding ring. 

“Oh, yeah, I did.” You flex your fingers out in front of you. “My assistant asked if the divorce was finalized and it put me in a bad mood. I hadn’t even thought about it since I took it off. I wasn’t even sure that I brought it with me when I moved out but, well, there it is.” You resume eating and the rest of the meal, Leigh has a smile on her face. She finally felt like she was going in a good direction with you. 

At the end of the date, you walk her to the front door but she doesn’t open it as fast as she did last time. “Well,” she says and you look at her cluelessly. She lets out a soft laugh as she licks her lips. “I’m pretty sure this is the part where you kiss me goodnight.” 

“On the first date?” 

She gives you a look that says are you kidding me? “Technically it's our second.”

“Ah, because the first one went so well,” you say playfully. 

“And last time I checked, we’re still married,” she says matter-of-fact. 

You look to her hand to see her wedding ring then drop your gaze to your hand and nod, “That’s true.” You weren’t sure why you were being hesitant so you lean in and just as your lips are about to meet, Jules opens the door startling the two of you apart.

“Oh, that’s why. My bad, carry on,” she shuts the door. You and Leigh share a laugh but she still expects a kiss. Now you know why you weren’t so quick to kiss her. You were still so in love with her that you would probably throw all of the work out the window and come back home and never attend another couples session. The last time you kissed her you allowed things to go further than you probably should’ve. Or, kissing her could make you realize that all of this work might not be worth it anymore. That it could be easier to go your separate ways. 

So much can be undone by this one kiss and that idea almost seemed ridiculous to you. Until you remember why you’re here in the first place. You try to block it out of your mind. You didn’t need to go back there. You need to be here, in this moment, with her. Leigh starts to get discouraged by how long it’s taking you to make a simple move on her. Maybe this was a mistake, maybe she should’ve waited, or maybe she should’ve just done it herself. Then you place an intimate kiss on her forehead. “I’m sorry,” you whisper. “It’s too much right now. I’m not there yet.” 

She nods in understanding and places her hand on your cheek, she rubs her thumb back and forth as she admires you for a moment. “It’s okay, another time,” she says hopefully but you aren’t certain there will be one. You nod, for her sake, maybe even for yours, and wish her a goodnight. 

Because the date went so well, you’re encouraged to go on more. But it felt… odd. To be dating the woman you married close to ten years ago. It almost felt like an entirely new relationship. The two of you were living separate lives for the most part; homes, friends, etc. Nothing was what it used to be, which is a tough pill to swallow but people aren’t meant to stay the same forever. They’re meant to grow, evolve. This was the two of you evolving, separately but somehow still together. The fact that the good elements from your old relationship still existed and only seemed better than before was comforting. As for the old problems, the two of you discover them and deal with them as they arise. Instead of pretending they don’t exist or hoping they disappear on their own. 

Physically, you’re still keeping your distance. You hug her at the end of the dates, or kiss her forehead, or caress her face. But never go further than that. Still working through the issues you have with being physically intimate. As for emotionally, you don’t believe there was ever a time when you and Leigh were so vulnerable and intimate with each other. Yes, the both of you could argue knowing each other more than anyone else, but there were so many new sides that you were learning of. Not just from her but from yourself as well. You were learning how to better communicate with other people and even managed to meet people you actually enjoyed talking with. You hadn’t realized before that your friends were really Leigh’s friends. 

Now that you started meeting with a few people after work to have a few drinks every so often, you started to feel less lonely. That was part of the problem with Leigh. The only time you didn’t feel alone before was either with her or with Briana, that wasn’t fair to either of them. Now, you had people to talk to that you weren’t paying for and they had similar interests that you didn’t have to introduce to them and explain over and over. It was fun and it was easy. 

Then they planned a dinner where they included their significant others and the loneliness returned. You finally understood what Leigh meant when she mentioned that she felt left out. Yes, there are moments when everyone engages on a topic, but there are also the moments when people have conversations amongst themselves. It was awkward and you missed Leigh. You know that she would have come if you had invited her. But you needed to experience this without her in order to understand.

The session after that, you apologize for being stubborn and for isolating yourself from the world for so long which in turn isolated her from it. To reward the impressive strides of progress the two of you have made as individuals and as a couple, the next assignment is for the two of you to make your own moves in the relationship. Without her input or guidance. The therapist encouraged the two of you to still come to counseling, because it’s good for even the healthiest of couples but it wouldn’t be weekly and she was no longer going to give assignments. What happens from here, it is up to you and Leigh. 

That created some anxiety for you but you already knew what you wanted to do. It was something you had been wrestling with for sometime. But as you’re walking to your car, this time parked next to hers, Leigh startles you by saying, “I think we should have sex.” You lose balance when you trip over your own foot but you catch yourself before you make an even bigger fool of yourself. “I just… We haven’t in a long time. You know, not since…” she trails off. 

“I remember,” you give her an apologetic glance. During one of the sessions you had to talk about why you still left after that night. What was going through your head when you slept with her. The hard part wasn’t telling her how you felt. The hard part was hearing what was going through her mind when she made love to you that night. She was heartbroken and angry with you to find out that you used her the way that you did. Not only that you slept with her and made her feel wonderful during one of her most vulnerable nights. It was the hope that you gave her that hurt her the most. Part of you even knew what that night would mean for her. But you did it anyway. She has since forgiven you as you have forgiven her. But that didn’t mean the reminder didn’t sting a little. 

Leigh gingerly places her hand on your forearm, “I’m not saying right now or tomorrow. I’m just putting it out there.” She works her hand up your arm as she stands closer to you, so that you can smell her perfume. It was the kind that drove you crazy and she knew that. Clearly, she’s had some ways to improve the relationship on her mind as well. “I want you,” she says in a low, alluring tone. “I need you,” she tucks her bottom lip under her teeth as she meets your eyes with hers. She was doing all of the old tricks she knew that used to hypnotize you. Fortunately for her, they were still working. You were having a hard time not kissing her. But in the parking lot of the therapist's office was not the place you wanted to kiss her for the first time. 

“I’ll, um,” you swallow thickly, “I’ll think about it. We should uh, we should go. I think we have to um. You have a babysitter for Bri right? Wouldn’t want to have to pay her more than you already do, right?” You adjust the collar of your shirt and Leigh takes pleasure in watching your squirm. She wasn’t certain if she could still have that effect on you. It was almost better than if you gave into her right now. 

She shakes her head with a soft giggle, “She’s at your apartment with a sitter. Remember?” 

“She is?” You look away from Leigh to collect your thoughts. “Right, right, she is. Well, I have to go,” you finally step away from her. “I’ll call you later,” you say as you unlock your car. She nods once as she confidently struts to her car, knowing that your gaze is on her. You start the car when she starts hers and it’s taking everything in you to not jump into her car and give her what she wants right then and there. 

You take the long way back to your apartment to cool off. Leigh had awakened something inside of you that had been asleep for far too long. You go through a drive-thru to pick up dinner for you and Briana because there was no way you were going to be able to focus long enough to cook. You just had to get her fed and put to bed so that you could go to sleep. That is, if you can fall asleep. 

The task proves to be a difficult one when all you can do is think about being with Leigh. It doesn’t help when she sends you a short video to tease you. It wasn’t anything too revealing, her face wasn’t even in the frame, she was in her pajama shorts and had on one of your t-shirts that you left behind. But the shirt wasn’t covering her stomach. She had it bunched up to show her smooth skin as she ran her fingers down the length of her abdomen and stopped at the top of her shorts. All you could respond with was calling her evil. She wished you goodnight and you wanted to throw your phone across the room just so you could tear your eyes away from the video. It was so simple, yet it triggered many pleasurable memories of being with her. Shaking your head, you reach your hand into your pajama pants knowing that you wouldn’t be able to sleep otherwise. 

The next day, when you knew she was at work, you send her a spicy text message which she opened near Jules. Her sister didn’t see anything, she wasn’t even paying attention to Leigh. But the second she realized what the message was, she covered her screen as if you had sent a dirty picture. Her reply made you laugh as she scolded you for trying to distract her at work. You told her it was payback for making you lose sleep. 

This led to a series of teasing each other when either of you least expected it. That is, until one day Briana is playing on Leigh’s phone and you had sent a link of something you wanted to try with Leigh. Thankfully, Briana didn’t see anything, all she did was excitedly return the device to her mom. She was always happy to see you and Leigh talking to each other. Leigh texted you immediately that the game was over and why. You couldn’t agree more, you don’t even want to think about what Briana could’ve seen had the situation been reversed. 

On a date with Leigh, this time at your apartment for a special meal you made instead of an expensive restaurant, you try to figure out how to tell her what the next step in the relationship it is that you want to take. You make a nice setting, she has a glass of wine, there are candles lit around. A few in the kitchen, one on the coffee table, and another in the center of the dinner table. Not enough to maintain lighting. But enough to keep the place smelling nice. You have the lighting on a low setting, to give off the romantic candle lit date effect which she appreciates the efforts you were making. 

Leigh was hopeful this evening would lead to more physical events. She wasn’t expecting sex, but she was expecting something more than a hug. Though, she most definitely had the former on her mind. It was almost impossible not to. She thought you were the most attractive person she had ever laid her eyes on and she was human. She has needs that only you could fulfill.

She was sitting at the kitchen counter, watching you cook and imagining being with you again. You were going over your speech in your head as you tried to keep a light conversation between the two of you. Effectively ignoring her bedroom eyes. She hardly responds, most of the time you have to repeat yourself because she was lost in a daydream. When you serve the food you have her move over to the table and fumble trying to bring up why you asked her on this date in the first place. “So, my landlord emailed me the other – what are you doing?” You were sitting close to her and she was taking full advantage, she had one hand on your thigh as she ate her food with the other. 

Leigh shrugs and plays it off, “Nothing. This is really good by the way. Where did you get the recipe?”

You clench your jaw to focus on her question and not how good her touch felt. “My,” you clear your throat, “it was something my mom taught me during her last visit.” 

“Awe, I miss your mom. She finally started talking to me again, but she’s still not happy with me.” 

“Yeah, she’ll come around. Eventually,” you grab your water and gulp half of it down because your mouth has suddenly gotten very dry. Her fingers were only lightly caressing the fabric of your jeans, something that wouldn’t normally affect you so much, but after a long time of abstaining it was making your entire body scream for her. Now, with your mind completely invaded with thoughts of Leigh, you throw your entire plan out the window. It could wait a little longer. This, however, could not.

"Yeah, I was actually thinking of- humpf!" Whatever Leigh was about to tell you was cut short by your lips crashing against hers, so eagerly that she almost knocks her drink. But the loud surprised noise she gave woke you up immediately, widening your eyes as you pulled away from her - fighting the heavy magnetic field that keeps your body so close to her. "I-I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking-" Now it's your time to be interrupted, her mouth coming back to yours at record time. "Don't apologize, I like it when you don't overthink things, just... Do what you want."

"What I want now is to take you to my bedroom." You let her know in a hoarse voice, your lips still tingle as you gaze at her own, watching as the corners of her mouth lift up in a smirk. "Well," she starts in a husky voice, leaning forward, smiling proudly at the way your eyes descend to the low cleavage of the dress she so carefully picked with those exact intentions.  "What are you waiting for?"

Your eyes snap back up to hers as you smile softly. In silence, you stand up from your chair, holding your hand in front of your body for her to take. Leigh does so with a smile of her own on her lips, making a point of keeping her body as close to yours as possible as she places herself on her feet. But the little distance between your torsos is still too wide for her, so she uses her free hand to wrap it on your tie, pulling you closer until your mouth is back at hers again. 

The action makes you groan as you remember all the other times she's done it before. Of you coming home from dates before and after you got married, or even just those times you got back from work and were greeted with your wife with a fire that only you were able to put down. And it also made you remember how this one was the first real kiss you’ve shared since that night. The last time you touched her in all these months. No wonder why you missed her so much, why her tongue sliding against yours is driving her crazy. 

You pulling her up by her thighs surprised Leigh greatly, but she took no time wrapping her legs around your body, deepening the kiss as her arms loosely enveloped around your neck. As you take her to your destination, eyes closed and mouths messily pressed together, bumping into pieces of furniture along the way is inevitable. But both of you laugh every time you do, and the sound of her laugh makes your heart fill with such love you can't even process it. The way she smiles against your lips lets you know she's feeling the same way. 

When you reach the bedroom, you press her against the closest wall to keep her steady. But your back was still hurting sharply, and you groan as you put her back on the floor. "Sorry, I guess I'm too old for that." You comment sheepishly, but the giggle she lets out is content, and she looks at you so dearly that you feel like there's not a single reason to be embarrassed. "It's okay, that was hot enough." Leigh answers good-naturedly, and now it's your time to laugh, shaking your head with amusement before kissing her again.

This kiss, however, is completely different from the others. Your lips meet slowly, savoring the taste you haven't had in so long, the feeling you've been craving more than any of you thought possible. Leigh makes her move first, her fingers working on your tie with expertise, loosening around your neck before taking it off. Before the item even hits the floor, her hands are on the buttons of your shirt, undoing each one as you trailed your kisses down her neck, sucking the sensitive spots you know drive her crazy. 

When she reaches the last button, her hands are back on your shoulders to push the shirt off. But this time you stop her, moving your fingers - previously holding her waist - to her own shoulders, pushing the thin straps of her dress to the sides. Before you have to ask, Leigh spins on her heels, her back to you as she pushes her hair to the side, giving you a better view of the dress zipper. So you take advantage of the exposed skin to kiss the back of her neck, smiling against her as you hear her holding her breath. 

As you finally pull the zipper down, you put some distance between the two of you, just enough so Leigh is able to step out of her dress comfortably. But you catch yourself staring at her figure as the thin fabric slides down her body, exposing her body to you. You have seen it thousands of times, but you're absolutely certain you will never get used to the heavenly scene - much less when you noticed she was wearing no bra underneath her clothes, only her underwear covering her sculpted body. 

"Is everything okay?" Leigh asks when she turns around and catches you frozen in place, somewhat uncertain. "I'm just admiring you." You answer, unable to do anything other than smile. Your wife offers you a shy smile, her cheeks taking on a slight shade of pink. The whole composition takes your breath away. "You're gorgeous." 

"And you're the most beautiful human being I've ever seen." She hits back as she approaches you again, her hands finding their way to your chest underneath your unbuttoned shirt. "Someone's gotta tell you what a mirror is." You joke with your hands on the bare skin of her waist, making her smile with amusement, muttering softly against your lips, "Shut up." She does it for you, however, kissing you again at a deliciously slow pace that makes your head spin. 

As she finally gets to push your shirt off your shoulder, you grab her buttcheeks, pressing her body against yours and savoring the way she moans against your mouth. The sound, however, awakens in you an even stronger type of need. So the moment your shirt is on the floor, you walk with her towards the bed. When her calves hit the mattress, Leigh sits down on the bed, moving her hands to your hips to keep you in place. Before you can ask what's wrong, she's working on the zipper of your jeans, her eyes fixed on yours as she pulls your pants down making your mouth go dry. 

As soon as you step out of the piece of clothing, Leigh takes your hands in hers, inviting you to lay on top of her. Obeying her quickly, you smile when your face is hovering over hers, drinking her in, admiring her as if she was the most beautiful work of art you've ever seen in your life - because that's exactly what she is. Her green eyes shine into yours like a million little stars, and if you were able to read her mind right now, all you'd hear was Leigh screaming how much she loves you, how deeply she needs you. But you can't. And you don't even have to, for her body tells you these exact same things every time you touch her. 

Peppering kisses along her jaw, you slide your hand up her inner thighs, slowly making your way to her center. Once your fingers rest over her covered intimacy, Leigh sighs heavily in anticipation, her fingers gripping your shoulders to encourage you to go further. So you pull her panties down her legs, and Leigh helps you by moving them until the small item slides to the bedroom floor. With your eyes locked on hers, you slide your fingers along her folds, collecting her wetness in your digits before you start drawing light patterns along her clit. 

Leigh shudders with the touch, her body burning, and her skin tingling. But she holds your gaze firmly, unable to look away. Completely hypnotized by how beautiful you are in her eyes, by how much she loves you and how much you mean to her. As your movements grow faster you start to leave wet kisses along her neck, going down to her collarbone. "Wait." She calls out when she feels you moving your body down. You stop yourself in place, wondering what you've done wrong. But all she gives you is a tender smile, wrapping her arms around your body in a loose hug as she explains, "I want you up here. So I can hold you."

The smile you give her is blinding, filling her chest with all the best things that exist in the vast, unknown universe that surrounds you both. But nothing out there matters now. All that matters are your fingers fucking her the way only you are able to do, your mouth so expectantly kissing her that that alone would be able to drive her crazy. But you're willing to give her so much more than that, of course, and when you thrust two fingers inside her, curling her in that way you know she likes most, Leigh's back arches up, her torso pressed against yours as she moans loudly, her nails scratching your back making your own core boil. 

It doesn't take long for Leigh to reach her limit, moans and whimpers leaving her lips as she spasms beneath you, your name coming out in a cry of pleasure as her orgasm washes over her. Her trembling hand rests over your wrist to ask you to stop, and you do so with a smile on your lips, watching as she breathes in and out with her eyes closed. "I love you." The words leave your mouth with ease, and Leigh's eyes snap open immediately, a sea of green meeting yours with a multitude of emotions. "I love you too." She lets you know tearfully, and you let out a happy giggle, kissing her one more time before you pull away again to say, "and I want you to sit on my face."

"What?!" She asks with a laugh, shocked by the unexpected request. "What?!" You ask as if it was the most natural thing to ask your beautiful wife, smiling amusedly at her cheeks burning red. Your question makes her laugh some more, shaking her head at your attitude. Leigh missed this the most, your relaxed nature, so comfortable with her you know you could say anything to her, the same way you would hear anything she has to say. It is at times like these that she's most certain that you are the only person she would ever want in her life.  

"Are you sure about this?" She asks, this time with concern, and you place a finger under your chin as you pretend to think. "Wait, let me think of reasons why I wouldn't want you sitting on my face, I'm sure there are many." Your answer makes her laugh wholeheartedly, the sound warming your soul entirely. And soon after her laughter dies down in a smile, her lower lip trapped between her teeth for a short second before she's kissing you again. As you kiss her back, the two of you move together so she's on top of you instead, and she pulls away to do what you requested of her. 

She looks almost shy as she straddles your face, and you would've made a joke about her doing this a bunch of other times if her smell wasn't intoxicating you so much. As she settles down slowly, you take a hold of her thighs, pressing her further against your as you eat her out, letting your tongue explore every single piece of her. Still affected by her previous orgasm, Leigh has to hold onto the headboard with her eyes closed, and it doesn't take long for her to cum again, spilling her juices into your mouth as your tongue guides her through her high. 

"Baby, please." She asks in a whimper, her hand on your hair as she begs you to stop the overstimulation. Grudgingly, you do so, letting go of her legs so she can lay back down. With an easy smile on her lips, Leigh lies on top of you, kissing you softly and letting out a low moan as she tastes herself on your tongue. But the kiss is short lived due to her tired state, so she soon pulls away and rests her head on your shoulder. You take no time in wrapping your arms around her, drawing small patterns along her hip bone.

In the silent room, the only sounds you hear are those of your breathing and the voices in your head, with a million arguments for you to do something that maybe you shouldn't. But then Leigh's voice speaks louder than all the others in your mind. I like it when you don't overthink things. Maybe you should just do it. "Leigh?" You call out softly after a long moment of silence. "Yeah?" She asks lazily, her breath tingling your skin as she speaks. It takes you another moment to decide, your mouth going dry. But before Leigh can ask what's wrong, you smile to yourself, making up your mind.

"I'm ready to come home."

Taglist: @madamevirgo @wqndanat @thisischaismagic @artisannat @olsensnpm @evenbeingcrazy1998 @bentleywolf29 @awkwardmandalorian @agaymilflover @sayah13 @princessprudy @likefirenrain @tearsofglitter @feltlikethat @piningismymiddlename @the-writer-arcane @diaryoflife @natashasilverfox @karsonromanoff

[wmarximoff]

eu assumo que tu é tão emo que dá pra perceber só de bater o olho

...sim e eu não me orgulho disso mas é o que tá tendo. Mas em minha defesa eu só tô seguindo os ensinamentos da kween 👇

[stephanieromanoff]

Hi, cafetina! 47, 50 and 55!

Hi, vadia!

47: Where did you get the shirt/sweatshirt you’re wearing

It’s from a store called Piticas (I think lol), they sell a bunch of stuff with movies/shows themed.

50: Are you a good artist?

Not at all, I wish though.

55: Ever stayed up all night on the phone, with who?

No, my 8 hours of sleep are very precious 😂

Thanks for sending this, vadia 💚

[somewhatgreatexpectations]

For your honesty hour, what was your first impression of me and why was it that I am so very awesome?

It would be something nice if you weren’t dead to me. You’ve even sunk the friend ship. 🥲

[myfavoriteficss]

Hey!!! How are you doing?

I just wanted to say that it's so nice what you do with your blog. You help readers looking for stories to read and you help writers by promoting them.

So I just wanted to say that you are amazing and thank you for what you're doing for everyone here 💕

Hi babe! I’m doing great. How are you?!

Thank you so much!! I really appreciate your very kind words. You are going to make me cry lol.

But let’s be real here, if anyone is amazing, it’s YOU. You are a brilliant writer and an even nicer person! 💖

[aquamarinescarlet]

Hello, amor da minha vida ❤️

I have a question for you, my love, any chance you can give me back my heart? I need it to pump blood and stuff

Nah I think I'll keep it, but I can help you make your blood rush, if you know what I mean😏😏

[messedupfan]

The Nightmare

Summary: Y/n has a nightmare.

A/N: I did not come up with all of this on my own. I hope y'all enjoy!

Masterlist | All Chapters | All Stories Taglist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A red ball of energy fires at your foot as you’re trying to run away. “Dammit, I really regret not taking training so seriously,” you pant out as you get back up to continue on. Another one comes whizzing past your head, luckily you’re able to dodge this one. Otherwise you’re certain your brains would be painting the store window you had run past. 

You were running away from something in an empty city. You really weren’t sure where you were or how you got there. Just that you had to keep running. Going as fast as you could with the injuries you had sustained from a fight. What fight, with who? You didn’t know. All you know was there was more blood on your body than there ever has before. You want to open a portal to get yourself somewhere safer but you couldn’t. Why not? Did you lose your sling ring? You hate dreams like these where everything goes wrong and you can’t do anything to help yourself or the others in it. 

Finding it hard to keep going you make your way into a narrow alleyway. You zip through it and go through a few more before you can finally stop. Leaning against the wall you try to catch your breath and assess your injuries. There was a large gash on one thigh and another on one of your shins. With that gash, you could see bone. You shut your eyes and dig your teeth into your bottom lip as you hold back the involuntary noises of pain. It was already hard enough to control your breathing. Why was the area so empty? Where were all of the people? Sure, it was dark out but there wasn’t a single person out? No one that’s homeless or just out late? Anyone that could help you hide the  noises that were coming from only you? 

There wasn’t time to waste, so you glance around to see if what was chasing after you still was. When you think the coast is clear, you stand up and prepare yourself to start running again. Just as you turn to go through the darkness, a distorted figure appears out of thin air in front of you causing you to scream in fear. She hardly looked human. Her skin was gray, decaying, dead. Her eyes were glowing red and her teeth were razor sharp. What did this creature want with you? 

You fall to the ground and try to crawl away but the ground under your hands disappears and it feels like you are falling into nothing. She was in your head. You tried to fight against her visions but she was much stronger than you. Why did her abilities feel so familiar to you? “Why are you doing this?” You shouted as you continued to fall. Suddenly you stop falling. You clench your eyes shut as you wait for the impact to break you but nothing happens. 

Opening your eyes, you find yourself floating above the tallest building in the rundown city. Wanda stands on the roof as she holds you up in the air. You’re shocked to see her there. Her appearance is no longer as gruesome and horrifying. She appeared to be normal, except for the disappointed look in her eyes that you weren’t familiar with. Who was she really? This wasn’t the Wanda that you knew. It had to be someone posing as her. Why was this happening? What caused this? 

“You’re not the one I need,” she says as she pulls you closer to her. “Shame, you put up a good fight. I had hope for you.” She clicks her teeth and tilts her head to the side. The fresh skin on her face melts away as her eyes glow red again and her razor sharp teeth grow out of the normal teeth she had before. Her mouth opens and you’re afraid of what she might do. 

“Please,” you gasp out. “I h-have people who n-need me.” 

She stops and her face returns to normal. “Begging for your life,” she seemed impressed. Other versions of you had cursed her out just as she consumed them for the amount of power they did have. “I’ll tell you what, I won’t rip you limb for limb. No, I won’t do that.” She sets you down on the roof, a little distance just before the ledge. “And I’ll let you live,” she approaches you slowly, taking the moment of relief that you had. With a sinister smile she says, “If you survive this fall.” Before you can ask what she means she flips you so that you can watch the ground get closer as she pushes you off of the building. 

“Ahh!” You shoot up in a cold sweat, panting heavily. 

“What’s happened?” A voice asks just as startled. You jump at her touch. Had she not just tried to kill you? “Baby, talk to me. What’s happening? Are the nightmares about Thanos back?” She asks as she tries to hold your face. You were frantically trying to pull away from her but she kept you steady. You couldn’t be in this bed. She threw you off a building. She tried to kill you. She hates you. The lights turn on by themselves and you shut your eyes. You didn’t want to look at her. Too afraid to see that zombie face again. “Y/n,” she calls softly. “What happened? What did you see?” 

Her voice is soothing and you allow her to comfort you as you begin to settle down and gain control over your breathing again. She does the breathing exercises that normally help you in this state and you follow along with her as you start to ground yourself to reality. You weren’t dead. She wasn’t chasing you down the street. She is here, holding onto you as she helps you calm down.

You remember a time, so many years ago, when you had a dream that you were flying. Everything had been great, the cold wind blowing in your face as you cut through the few humid clouds over a city you didn't know, with skyscrapers mixed with colorful buildings that, if you were honest, seemed to defy the law of physics. And it was at that moment, looking at the structures below you, that you realized you were, indeed, flying. And everything went wrong. 

Nowadays, after all that had happened to you and all that your body had been subjected to, flying is one of your most ordinary activities. Back then, however, to be gliding around, with your feet off the ground and no logical way to keep yourself in the air... It made your brain become aware that something was wrong. And when you realized that you couldn't really fly, you started to fall, at full speed, down from the blue mid-afternoon sky onto the hard concrete or whatever it was that covered the roads of that strange city. 

And that made you very angry, how could it not? You were flying seconds before, why couldn't you fly now? You flap your arms as if they were wings in a rather ridiculous attempt to go back to flying. You try to force your mind to stay in the sky, because you can do anything that you put your mind to or whatever nonsense coaches tell people to try to convince them to buy their courses. None of it worked, though, and you fell to the ground, your stomach churning with anxiety for an impact that never came, because you woke up seconds before you hit the asphalt. 

That old dream, however, was nothing like the one you had tonight. This one seemed real, so real you could still feel the pain in your body, the taste of blood in your mouth - the same blood that bathed your clothes completely. And you could still feel her in your head, and the icy wind of that ghost town as your body hit the ground after she had pushed you. 

But whatever they were, regardless of the similarities and differences between the two of them, they were just that. Nightmares. Nothing to be concerned about. Dreams couldn't hurt you during your waking hours. So you keep taking deep breaths, and trying to focus on what really matters: your wife's sweet voice, the gentle touch of her fingers on your face, soft as the finest of cottons. You are all right. You are safe. You are with her. The real her.

“I’m sorry,” you say once you open your eyes to meet hers. There was love, worry, and kindness in her eyes. Those were the eyes you knew. This is real, she is real. “You were chasing after me and then you killed me. In my dream. That’s what I saw,” you explain. 

“Wow,” Wanda slumps away from you a little. “Do you know why?” You shake your head. There wasn’t much information in the nightmare and most of the details started to slip away the more you woke up. “Huh, that’s so strange. Well did you cheat on me in your dream and I found out about it?” She offers lightly, making you chuckle a bit. 

“No, I don’t think that’s what happened,” you say. “Also you would like, turn yourself into some sort of zombie or something. It was really freaky.” 

Wanda shakes her head, “That explains it!” You look at her confused and she has the television in the room turn on to the last thing you watched last night. “I told you not to watch that damn zombie movie before bed!” She exclaims. “Honestly, I think we need to just get rid of the tv in here. It does you no good having it in here. I read somewhere that it's bad for sleep habits.” 

You look at the zombie on the screen and rub your face with your hands as you shake your head. You felt ridiculous. “Yeah, I guess you were right.” 

“Of course I am. I’m your wife. When are you ever going to learn that I’m always right?” She kisses your cheek. The television and lights shut off. “Come on, we have a couple more hours. You’re going to need them,” she gently tugs you down so that she can hold you. Willingly, you tangle your body with hers as you relax into the mattress. She gives you another kiss on the cheek as she whispers that she loves you. It spreads a comforting warmth through you and you return the words as you thank her for taking care of you.

The Phoenix

Taglist: @madamevirgo @wqndanat @thisischaismagic @artisannat @olsensnpm @evenbeingcrazy1998 @bentleywolf29 @awkwardmandalorian @agaymilflover @sayah13 @princessprudy  @likefirenrain @tearsofglitter @feltlikethat @piningismymiddlename @the-writer-arcane @diaryoflife @natashasilverfox @karsonromanoff @lovelyy-moonlight @red1culous @jovialsublimecomputer @natasha-maximoff @iliketozoneout @doudouneverte @aloneodi @druggedduck @abimess