Perfect End to a Not-So-Perfect Week (E.D.)
Summary: Ethan knows he’s in love but also knows its way too soon to say anything, until he accidentally blurts it out
Ethan swore he’d never tell anyone he loved them unless he absolutely truly meant it. And the only way to be sure, was to wait and to be patient and really get to know that person.
Which is why he was confused after first thinking that he loved her after only two months of knowing her.
They’d met through mutual friends, and seen each other in a group setting a couple times before he asked her out. They hit it off immediately, sharing their first kiss at the end of that first date, sitting in his car on her street as he dropped her off. They were moving fast, but they got along so well and connected on so many things, and he couldn’t help how he felt, so after two months, he was sure he loved her. Of course, he didn’t say anything, not wanting to scare her away, because he was sure she didn’t feel that way about him yet. But the thought was always at the front of his mind. Every time she laughed, or teased him, or told him something personal.
A few weeks later, when she arrived at his place on a Friday evening, he was picking up the shirts that he’d left on the floor and throwing them into his closet in a frenzy, wanting his room to look half presentable for her. As she dragged her feet to his door and knocked on it, already thinking about collapsing onto his bed, cuddling Ethan and not moving until she had to leave on Sunday night, he shoved his closet doors shut, kicking the clothes on the ground in with his foot, and swore under his breath.
A few moments later, he appeared at the door, wearing a black t shirt and sweats, seeing his girlfriend smiling at him, carrying an overnight bag in her hand.
“Hey,” she said with a tired smile. Although Ethan thought she was the prettiest girl he knew, he could tell she was a little flat. And it wasn’t just today. She’d been so busy that week, with work and study and family things, their texts had been limited to him asking her how everything was going, and her replies about how much she still had to do, until she texted she was going to bed. Now, seeing her in person, he could tell she was exhausted.
“Hey,” he grinned at her, reaching out his hand and pulling her inside. She dropped her bag at the door and stumbled over to the couch as he pulled her across the room. He gently guided her to sit down, beginning to press kisses all over her face as he crawled over her.
“Woah, hello,” she said giggling.
“Hey,” he pulled back to grin at her. He hummed into her neck, going back to kiss her again. “Mmm, I’m happy now.”
She ran a hand up his side, and he subconsciously flexed as her hand ran over his stomach, legs either side of him lightly pressing against body. “Why are you happy?”
“Because I get my girl all to myself the next two days.” He said, pressing kisses to her cheek in between every few words.
She smiled, breathing him in, then sighed with a little moan. “I’m looking forward to that,” she told him softly.
He pulled back and gave her a half smile, left arm holding himself up. He looked so handsome and she smiled, causing him to scrunch his nose up and laugh. “Are you okay?” He softly asked.
The question surprised her so she simply nodded and told him she was fine. He nodded slowly, but then said, “Okay, just because I haven’t seen you that much this week, but you seem kinda down and I don’t like seeing you upset.”
She nodded, saying, “You’re sweet, Ethan. Yeah, I’m fine.”
He squinted at her. “You sure?”
He watched as her face didn’t change, until she started sucking on her bottom lip and her eyes welled up. Ethan frowned, not expecting her sudden change of heart, and having never seen her cry before. She looked away from him, trying to blink her tears away, but they ended up spilling over and running down her cheeks.
She tried to sit up, but Ethan was in her way, so he moved back, giving her space, before pulling her into a hug against his chest.
“Don’t cry. What’s wrong?”
She sniffed and pulled back, wiping her cheeks, keeping one hand on his shoulder. His hand was on her waist, and his eyebrows furrowed in concern, mouth hanging half open. She smiled at his worried face and shook her head. “I’m okay. It’s just been a bad week, and I really wanted to see you and be with you.”
His heart fell and he sighed. “Babe, you should’ve told me.” She gave him an apologetic smile, and he pulled her closer again, head resting on his chest. “What happened?”
“What didn’t happen?” She sat up, but stayed close to him. She wiped under her eyes, and with a dry laugh, said, “This is so embarrassing. I’m sorry.”
He shrugged and shook his head, saying she had nothing to be sorry about.
“I just feel… not myself. It sounds stupid, but it’s the only way I can describe it.”
Her slightly red, glossy eyes looked into his and he felt his heart both break for her pain, and grow at how beautiful this girl was, despite her crying.
She finally told him about all the work she’d been doing every day, and how texting him kept her sane. How she had trouble getting to sleep, and just as much trouble getting out of bed in the morning because of the lack of sleep. “And I’ve been fighting with my parents a lot lately, I don’t even know why, but I guess they’ve got their own stuff going on too, and my best friend hasn’t spoken to me in four days. I also don’t know why.” She sniffed, and he pulled her back into a hug. “I feel so alone.”
His heart dropped in his chest, and he had suck his bottom lip into his mouth to give himself a moment to think about what he was going to say.
“You know I want to be there for you,” he said, kissing the top of her head. She nodded. “Um, do you want to call your friend? Spend the weekend with her instead?” he asked, rubbing her back.
She shook her head frantically. Even though her boyfriend had been so looking forward to spending the next two days with her, he was offering to give that up if it meant she would feel better, and she wanted to grab his face and kiss him because of it. “No. I’d rather spend the weekend with you. Like, that’s the only thing I want to do,” she said, laughing a little at the end.
Ethan smiled. “Okay. Good. Because she’d probably have to, like, pry you from my hands. I’d be holding on pretty tight.”
She chuckled, sniffing, and he smiled.
She exhaled, removing her arms from around Ethan to wipe her eyes and cheeks again. He was staring at her when she looked back at him, and for some reason, that brought a new wave of tears. She kept apologising for crying, embarrassed that she’d broken down like this in front of him, and he just shook his head, saying it was okay.
Her words that she felt alone kept playing in his mind, and he held her tight to his chest, knowing that was the worst feeling.
“You’ve got so many people that love you, you know?” he said. “You’re not alone, even though you might feel like it. Your friends and your parents love you, I love you, y-.” Ethan realised what he’d said a second too late.
He felt her stiffen against his chest and panic overtook him. God damnit Ethan.
She sat up and he avoided her gaze. “Really?” she said, her voice soft.
Ethan shrugged, trying to play it off. “Yeah, you’re not alone. Y-.”
She shook her head with a little smile. “No, I know that.”
Ethan’s heart was beating hard against his ribcage, he was sure she could see it vibrating his chest. He took a deep breath in and exhaled. “Um, yeah. But I know we haven’t known each other that long, and I didn’t mean t-.”
“Ethan,” she put her hand on his, stopping him from talking. “I- I love you.”
He moved his hand to the back of her neck, while leaning in and kissing her hard. He felt her smile, and it caused him to smile too, pulling away.
“I do-,” he said, pushing her hair back off her shoulder, “-love you, I mean. I didn’t want to say anything because it’s only been a couple of months, but,” he paused and shook his head, “I love you, y/n.”
She bit her lip. “Ethan,” she groaned with a small laugh. “I love you too. You’re gonna make me cry again.”
He smiled, pulling her in for a hug, and kissing her again. She sighed in content. “You’ve made my week completely worth it,” she said, sniffling.
He smiled again, just staring at her for a few moments. “I want to do something for you,” he said, kissing her temple.
She shook her head in disbelief, but watched as he stood. She put her hand in his as he held it out for her, and muttered, “Okay,” as he dragged her down the hall to the bathroom. He wasn’t going to take no for answer.
Ethan tugged her in, and went and sat on the edge of the bath while she stood opposite him, leaning against the tiled wall with her hands behind her back. He reached behind him, turning on the taps, testing the water, then letting it fill up. The water gushing from the tap into the tub was loud enough, the sound echoing around the bathroom, so she had to raise her voice a little to be heard above the filling bath. “You’re running me a bath?” she asked.
He nodded, smiling shyly. “Is that okay?”
She nodded. “Yes, of course. Thank you.” She smiled, looking down at the floor. When she looked up again, Ethan was leaning back to put bubble bath in with the water, white foam beginning to swirl around and grow with the water. Her eyes fluttered over his arm that was stretched out to balance himself as he leaned over the edge, his triceps peaking out from under his sleeve. When he thought there were sufficient bubbles, which was far more than the average person, he closed the lid on the bottle and put it back on the side of the tub. He turned around, seeing her biting her lip gently, watching him. Did she really have to do that?
He put his hands on his thighs, awkwardly looking around, deciding that this was probably the time to leave her alone. He was about to stand, when she took a step forward and planted herself in between his legs. She gingerly put her hands on his shoulders, so lightly, they were almost hovering. He reached forward and grabbed the back of her thighs and she smiled when he gently squeezed her legs.
She removed her hands from his shoulders, and grabbed the bottom of her shirt, lifting it over her head before Ethan could register what was happening. She dropped it to the floor beside them, and hesitantly placed her hands back on his shoulders, quickly looking down at herself. Ethan tried not to stare, but he couldn’t stop his jaw from dropping slightly and eyebrows momentarily moving upwards as the girl in front of him stood in her bra. It wasn’t like he’d never seen a girl like this before, but he’d never seen this girl like this before. It was completely different.
“You’re beautiful,” he told her, allowing his eyes to momentarily drop from her face down her exposed upper body.
With that, she slid the leggings she was wearing down her legs, and Ethan tried not to watch, but he couldn’t look away. She was so close to him, and he wasn’t expecting this at all and he was still elated from the admissions they’d had on the couch minutes prior. He could see her breathing was shallow, much like his own. He stood from his place on the edge of the bath, hands lightly trailing up the sides of her legs to her waist, her body pressed flush against his.
“No, I’m not.” She blushed, and pressed herself closer into him, probably because she was feeling self conscious and to hide herself from his eyes, but the feeling of her pressing against him didn’t help. At all.
“Yes, you are.” He took a step back, kissing her cheek sweetly. He allowed himself a quick glance down her body then he turned around and headed towards the door.
“Where are you going?” she asked, small creases forming on her forehead.
Ethan pointed at the door as she crossed one arm over her stomach, hand holding onto her other arm. “Oh, I- I don’t know,” he stuttered.
She glanced over at the bath, seeing the water was close to the top, and leaned over to turn the tap off, the bathroom getting significantly quieter.
She reached out and grabbed his hand. “Will you stay with me? Please?”
She didn’t have to ask him twice. Truthfully, she didn’t have to ask him once. He just thought it would be more gentlemanly if he ran her a bath and let her have alone time. But now thinking about it, leaving her alone like that seemed like a bit of a dick move. He didn’t know what he was thinking. He ran a hand through his hair and nodded. “Yeah,” he breathed out, still in semi-shock this was happening.
She slipped her hands under his shirt and grabbed the hem, looking up at him, waiting to see if it was okay. He nodded, helping her pull it off his body, and he threw it in a ball on the floor. She’d seen him shirtless before, but this was different and she was about to see more of him than she ever had.
He shoved his thumbs into his pants, pushing them down, and she let out a sort of laugh. “I’m gonna be honest, I’m kind of nervous.”
He stood, only in his underwear and he saw her eyes skim over his whole body, then unnaturally lock on his eyes, probably the same way he was avoiding looking anywhere further down than her mouth.
He was about to tell her they didn’t have to do this, but two words in and she was cutting him off. “No, I want to, if you do. I’m just nervous.”
He nodded. He was nervous himself. She went over to the bath and stuck her hand in. One of them had to do something before it got awkward.
He followed her, then gently touched her back, and she looked up at him again. “I love you. I really do,” he said again, this time definitively, his eyes connecting with hers.
She smiled. “I love you too, Ethan.”
“Come on,” he said, nodding towards the bath, and feigning confidence as he pulled down his underwear and slid into the bath.
She quickly, and shyly, rid herself of her remaining clothes, then she followed, sitting across from him. As she sat facing Ethan, between him giving her advice and sympathetic words about her awful week, their legs touching under the water, and her playfully blowing foamy bubbles in his direction, she decided this was the most perfect ending to her not so perfect week.
