Moving to London wasn’t the hardest part, but adjusting to a whole new work environment was certainly a difficult task but not because the people there were bad — their dynamic was surely different, but everyone was so friendly that you never missed the Danish office. Not for one moment. So when you received text messages from your former colleagues and they tagged you on their Insta stories, you felt bad for not missing your days there.

Between adapting to your new life, having April and Archie around daily, and finishing decorating your new flat, you hardly had the time to miss anything from your old life.

Except him.

He wasn’t there anymore, in your dreams. Your nights were as dark as ever — it felt like there was a void and they were meaningless. Probably like every night should be, but not since he appeared to turn your sleep into more than getting enough rest for the next day. The consequence of this was you sleeping poorly and feeling tired all the time because he wasn't there to make you feel safe, and your best friend just assumed it was because you missed (your now ex-boyfriend) Henrik.

“I don’t,” you blurted, getting a hand squeeze and a confused frown in return as April placed her cup of coffee down. “I mean, I do. He’s important, but it was not the same.”

“Every relationship has its own rough path, love.”

You shook your head, letting her hand go. “It’s not a rough path when there’s a third person involved.”

April’s jaw dropped as a gasp escaped her lips. “He cheated?” She breathed, taking both hands to her chest, clearly shocked.

“God, no! Henrik would never!”

“You cheated on him?” Her voice reached a note higher than it was appropriate, making a few curious glances make your blood boil under your skin.

“Can you keep your fucking voice down, please?” You clenched your fists, long nails marking the skin of the palm of your hand. “You know better! I’m no cheater!”

“I’m sorry,” she shrugged, giving you an apologetic smile. “Who’s the third person, then?”

“I don’t know,” you sighed in frustration, rubbing your forehead with the tip of your fingers as the frown was back on April’s face.

“Are you high?”

“No, but you’ll probably ask that again once I tell you what’s been happening.”

For the next hour, sitting in a corner in that little café, between chocolate muffins and more cups of steamy coffee, you told April the whole truth about your dreams. She listened, smiling when you shared how you felt every time he held you in his arms. Not once did you feel like she was judging you, and you felt a bit foolish for not telling her sooner and getting it all out of your chest — she was your best friend and you always shared everything, no matter how pathetic it’d be. Letting it all out made you feel lighter, maybe even a bit less miserable since you stopped dreaming of him even if you felt like half of you was still missing.

Not knowing his name wasn’t a problem for the ever-creative April, who always tried to get something positive out of every situation. With both of you being massive Grey’s Anatomy fans, she decided you’d start calling him McDreamy from now on. It was a bit foolish but seeing how invested she was made your eyes quickly burn with tears you fought hard to stop.

“I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you, Apes,” you reached for her hand again, squeezing it softly.

“Don’t be silly. I’ll always be around, and it’s so wonderful seeing how in love you are…”

As hard as it was to admit, you did love him. A stranger, a man you had no idea who it was or if he was real — but that pair of brown eyes and the way the corners of his eyes wrinkled when he smiled, and that constellation of freckles sprinkled across his face… made you flutter.

“Funny you mention his brown eyes,” April said, making you frown this time but you remained in silence, waiting for her to continue. “You always dated men with blue or green eyes, but remember when we were fourteen and you convinced me to draw the man you’d like to marry someday?”

That was the moment you felt the whole place move too fast and everyone around you too slowly. Your hands and the back of your neck tingled, a knot formed on your throat and stomach and you felt the urge to vomit. Memories of a twelve-year-old you were all over your mind, so vivid that if you stretched your arms just a bit you’d be able to touch them and feel them. McDreamy wasn’t so unfamiliar to you, his face was familiar for a reason and the possibility of him being a fantasy made you panic.

If it wasn’t for a pair of strong arms holding you, your body would hit the floor so fast you’d end up hurt once your vision blurred and it all went black.

*****

Y/n.

That name was all Mason could think of for the past two months, besides all the frustrating situations he found himself in. Missing the woman of his dreams, Chelsea having a bad season and his contract negotiations going nowhere he wanted, Mason hoped he could just run away and start fresh. He made an effort to be rational, think of something that’d explain why you weren’t there anymore to bring the only comfort he had in the middle of his chaotic life. But nothing involving you could come with the word “rational”.

He missed you, deeply.

He missed the warmth of your skin and how soft it felt under his touch. Mason missed your smell, he missed your hair between his fingers and mostly, he missed how natural and loving you had been. How he never felt like this for anyone else in his life, and how he found it when he least expected it.

Loving you gave him purpose.

And now you were gone, vanished.

“Mase? Are you listening?” Carlotta, his stylist, waved one hand in the air and snapped her fingers, trying to get his attention as she drank down her latte.

“Yeah yeah, sorry… the Dior collab?” Mason sighed, pouring sparkling water into his almost empty glass.

“I’m supposed to go to their office on Thursday to pick some outfits for you. Would you like to come?”

The Nike + Dior collab was something major, and being invited to be part of it with a few other well-known and influential names got Mason pumped up at first, but it all disappeared once you faded from his life too. You never shared information that was too personal, scared of waking up for sharing more than you should and ending the little time you spent together, but Mason always silently shared his happiness with you whenever something good happened — he shared sadness and frustration too, and without asking anything, you’d soothe him either with your nails softly scratching his skin, making him both relax and get the most delicious chills running down his body, or with your smile. The sweetest smile he’s ever seen.

Mason chewed the inside of his cheeks, not wanting to disappoint Carlotta, but also not knowing how to say no. “Training on Thursdays is usually tough, maybe we could FaceTime?”

“Mase,” he didn’t move his eyes from his glass to look at his friend when she called him; Mason just let out a long, exhausted sigh, when Carlotta reached for his forearm and tried to comfort him with a soft squeeze. “I’m here whenever you feel like sharing what’s been happening.”

Mason nodded, offering her a side smile in return. “I know,” he muttered. “It’s good knowing I’m surrounded by people who care, I know I’ll figure things out soon.”

“That’s the spirit!” Carlotta waved her imaginary pompoms in the air, sharing a giggle with Mason. “FaceTime, then?”

“Sounds good. What kind of theme will this shoot have?”

Carlotta was ready to answer him when, a few tables away from them, a small group of people tried to help a woman. She groaned, trying to get a glimpse of what exactly was going on, but without any success. Mason leaned to his left, stretching his neck hoping he’d see something but there were so many people around the woman that all his eyes caught was an arm hanging in the air as a man walked her out of the café.

He spent another hour or so talking to Carlotta, mostly about this Nike + Dior campaign and the lavish party both brands would throw once all the photoshoots were wrapped, with his own being the last one of a series that were taken with other athletes.

A golden bracelet glistening on the floor when he was about to walk out of the café caught his attention, and it was like his soul left his body. Like there was no blood rushing through his veins, but at the same time he could feel it burning under his skin as his heart pounded against his chest — so hard it hurt, that Mason could swear he’d vomit it.

He’d seen it before. The golden vintage bracelet, with a poppy pendant that his fingers played with so many times before.

In his dreams.

*****

The familiar scent of orange blossom somewhat comforted you because it meant you were home, the dim sunset light forcing its way between the half-closed curtains brought some cosiness to your new and recently fully decorated bedroom. But it didn’t take long for anxiety to creep in again, forcing you to shut your eyes and do your best to focus on your breathing as you repeated the sequence that usually soothed your nerves.

Flashes of what happened before you blacked out filled your mind again, along with memories of a distant past when you were a 14-year-old and spent your afternoons at your best friend’s house, making plans for the future and daydreaming about your potential husbands – although you always made clear you’d marry last because your career would always be the main priority. April was the hopeless romantic in this duo, and not so surprisingly, she’d become a mum just five years later.

Three knocks on the door followed by the most adorable and fuzzy ginger hair showing up behind the door brought a side smile to your lips. Archie was the perfect combination of the sweetest, shy, and sassy child you’ve ever seen; the most precious gift April could’ve ever given to you when she asked you to be his godmother and you proudly accepted.

“You can come in,” you cooed, finally seeing his face. Green eyes sparkled with curiosity and worry, he carefully held a Spider-Man mug in both hands and took short steps toward the bed. “What do you have in there, munchkin?”

“It’s hot coco, mummy made it for you,” I told her you’d feel better if it was in my Spider-Man mug,” the six-year-old said, slowly stretching his arms to you. “I told her you’d feel better if it was in my Spider-Man mug.”

A loving smile spread across your lips, the sorrow in your heart being quickly replaced by the joy that Archis always brought into your life.

“You were right,” you said, carefully sipping the hot liquid. “But do you know what would make me feel even better?”

His eyes widened a bit when you leaned forward as you were about to share a secret. “Huh?”

“Cuddles with my favourite person in the world,” you patted the empty side of the bed, making Archie throw his head back and a cheerful laugh fill the bedroom. He jumped on the bed right after you placed his mug on your bedside table and quickly wrapped his arms around your body.

“Are you going to die?” Archie mumbled, hiding his face in your shirt. You frowned and, before you could say something, he continued: “I was at the Zoo with daddy and I overheard him on the phone with mummy, she said you fainted.”

“Archie, love…” You cupped his face with both hands, making your godson look at you – his teary green eyes blinked repeatedly, trying to push the tears away, as he sniffed. It was painfully adorable. “There’s nothing to worry about. I’ve been very tired lately, just working a lot and finishing decorating the apartment. And I’m feeling much better now that you’re here.”

“Do you promise, momster?” You giggled at the nickname he came up to you: a combination of mum and monster, something you called him quite often. According to Archie, you were too important to be called auntie, and godmother was too long.

“I promise, my little monster.”

It wasn’t long until April decided to check on you – she found a half-asleep Archie in your arms, mumbling how he couldn’t wait to take you to watch him play football so he could score a goal for you until he finally crashed and low snores fell from his parted lips. The constellation of freckles spread across his face was utterly adorable.

“So…” April started, sitting on your bed. “What the hell happened?”

“I had a flashback to our teen years after you mentioned the drawing.”

“But why?” She frowned.

“Because it’s him, Apes. The man I described to you when we were fourteen is the man I’ve been dreaming of, which makes me believe he’s just… someone I imagined.”

“He can’t be.”

“Apes, I know you’re a hopeless romantic but please,” an exhausted sigh parted your lips. “Be fucking reasonable.”

“I refuse myself, Y/n.” April shook her head, repeatedly, not wanting to believe it’s all been your subconscious trying to fill something, you just didn’t know what, because when he showed up for the first time you were in a happy relationship.

“You’re seriously not helping.”

“Would you describe him again? So I can draw him.”

A knot formed in your throat and it was a hard one to swallow. “I love you for doing this for me, but I won’t. I know it was just my mind playing tricks on me, and end of discussion.”

April pouted, and though you were deadly serious about not talking about it anymore, you knew her all too well. She wouldn’t let go, but she’d remain quiet for a while — you hoped to find something else for her to be distracted because it meant she’d focus on it and finally leave you alone.

You talked for a little while, mostly about Archie and how well he was doing at Chelsea FCAcademy. April had sent videos of him multiple times, but you’ve never attended an open training nor a game in person, it’s always been on FaceTime when you were free from work.

Not far from your new apartment, Mason found himself alone at home — tucked under a heavy blanket and a grey hoodie, body was lazily thrown on the dark L-shaped sofa with only the TV lighting up a living room that was too large for just one person. When he bought the house, Mason thought how incredible it’d be to have his family there as many times as he could and that someday he’d have his own family to fill the space. He hoped his own family would get so big he’d have to buy a new, larger house.

With the golden bracelet between his fingers, poppy pendant shining, Mason’s thoughts were everywhere. He remembered, clear as daylight, when you mentioned in one of the dreams that the bracelet belonged to your grandmother and that the pendant was a gift from your dad before he left and it was your favourite flower. It couldn’t be just a coincidence, especially because it was exactly the same bracelet, so he allowed himself to feel all the joy rushing through his veins, warming his heart, body, and soul.

You were real.

You would be lying if you said you didn't still think about him, you lost count of the number of times you started to reach out to him, when things weren't going well for him at Chelsea, when he helped the US qualify for the World Cup, when he scored what ended up being the goal that pushed them out of the group stages and he subsequently got injured, and again when they had failed to make it to the next round after a heartbreaking loss to the Netherlands. The thought also crosses your mind tonight, but ultimately like those other times, you decide against it.

What you didn't know was that with each of those events in his life, as well as countless others, he wanted more than anything to call you, he spent hours searching through notifications for any sign of you, but never found it, and never found the courage within himself to make the first move.

When the two of you broke up, you had agreed to stay friends, and you did for a while. You still attended some events with him, made it to the occasional match, and continued supporting him from afar. On occasion, he also reached out to you, seeking a particular type of comfort only you seemed to be able to provide. But for the last year, you had no contact with him, both of you thinking it was for the best to let the other move on.

A knock at your door dragged you from your thoughts, it was late, very few people were on the guest list for your appartment, and an even smaller number knew the code to get up to your floor, thinking it must be a neighbor needing something, you open the door, surprised to see a completely broken brown haired, brown eyed boy standing in front of you.

"Oh" you whispered quietly, looking into those eyes you used to get lost in for hours on end. "Hey" he croaks out, "I'm sorry, I left the stadium, heading home, but somehow ended up here, I wasn't even sure you still lived here until I found out I was still on the list, I don't want to bother you, I shouldn't have come over, I know it's been a long time, I just," he rambled, looking down at his feet, his hand rubbing over the back of his neck, a clear sign to you that he was nervous.

"Christian, stop," you reach out to place your hand on his jaw, causing him to look back up at you and sigh, instinctively relaxing into your touch. "Come in, please" you whisper, moving to the side and allowing him entrance into your apartment, a place that was as nearly as familiar to him as his own home.

With the door closed behind him, you pull him into a tight embrace. His face burrying into your neck as he breathes in your scent, a scent he didn't realize he had missed so much until just now. One of your hands settles into his hair while the other gently rubs his back, two things that you'd done thousands of times before tonight.

Quiet sobs escape his lips as you feel a few tears fall against your neck. You pull way from him, tilting his head up and wiping the tears away with your thumbs. He leans in and presses a soft kiss to your lips, "sorry," he mumbles "force of habit."

"It's ok," you whisper back, offering a reassuring smile which he doesn't reciprocate. "Would you like a beer or something?" you offer. "Tea would actually be nice," he says, his tone still very flat. He kicks off his shoes and follows you into the kitchen. You quickly grab the remote and turn off the post match coverage that was still playing, "sorry, force of habit" you smile reluctantly.

You fix tea for the both of you while he watches in silence, sliding his cup across the counter to him, you make your way over to the couch and sit down, him following close behind you. He takes a sip of the tea you'd made for him and his head falls back against the cushions, "some things never change" he sighs, "I've still never figured out how your tea is so much better than mine."

You stay quiet for a few more minutes, giving him time to hopefully settle in, "do you want to talk about tonight?" you ask him quietly. He shakes his head. "Ok, do you want to talk about anything?" you try again, still unsure why he showed up at your door, although, you have a pretty good idea of where this will end up. "Not really, it's all shit right now, so I wouldn't even know where to start," he says as he takes another sip of tea, "I shouldn't have just shown up here like this, I just didn't want to be alone, and you've always been the one person I could count on when it felt like the world was ending."

"Christian, I" you start but he stops you. "I know, y/n, I know we didn't work out for a reason, and I'm not here trying to sort through any of that, I can leave if you want me to. I know me showing up like this is probably the last thing you want or need."

"I don't want you to leave," you say, your voice barely above a whisper. You know he needs you more than anything or he wouldn't be here, and you have never been able to deny him, a part of you still needing to be needed by him. You turned on a movie, something he'd probably seen a hundred times, understanding it's what would help him to unwind.

Quietly, you stand up, taking your now empty cups to the kitchen. Your eyes staying focused on him as you wash them, watching him sitting on your couch with his head leaned back against the cushions. He looks so broken, so fragile to you that it breaks your heart.

When the two of you broke up, there were no hard feelings really, you'd simply grown apart, both of you needing time to figure out who you were and what you really wanted out of life. You had been lonely of course, you'd lost your best friend, you had been really close with his family, especially his sister, and the guys you had become so accustomed to being around every day just vanished, but ultimately this gave you the time and space you needed to really work on yourself, and for that you were thankful.

But looking at him right now, you knew what he was here for, this had happened a few times after your breakup, he would show up, needing you, and you didn't have it in you to send him away. So you'd sleep together. It wasn't meaningless, how could it be meaningless with someone you'd once been in love with, but it was easy, comfortable, and there were no awkward morning after regrets. After the last time, you really thought you were both done with each other for good though, especially since it had been over a year with no contact whatsoever.

He'd come home with you that last night, a fit of jealousy taking over him when he thought you were out with someone else, not giving you time to explain that it was someone from work, whose wife also happened to be accompanying you. He had practically dragged you out of the club you were in, the two of you tumbling into the back of a taxi, barely able to keep your clothes on until you got into your apartment. He had fucked you on the counter you were now leaning against, saying he wanted to show you who you still belonged to, and to be fair, you did belong to him, part of you always would. The next morning, he placed a light kiss on your forehead and left, and you hadn't heard from him since.

It was then that he realized that his behavior was toxic, he knew you had both agreed that you weren't right for each other, but he also knew he didn't want anyone else to have you either. After that night, he was painfully aware that he needed to take the time to actually work on himself, figure out who he was as an individual before trying to find his way back to you.

And now here he is, clearly at his most vulnerable point, barely a shadow of the fun-loving, happy guy you knew. You know what he wants and needs from you, and even though you know it will quite possibly break your heart, you still love him enough to give him what he needs. Right now, what he needs is to forget everything that's going on, and maybe, just for the night, he needs to be able to remember what you once had.

You wander back to the couch, grazing your hand over the top of his head as you pass by, sitting down a plate of his favorite cookies on the coffee table before handing one to him, also taking one for yourself as you sit down close to him, tucking your knees under you. He hums at the taste, memories flooding his mind as his eyes flutter closed. "These have always been my favorite," he says his voice barely above a whisper, giving you the only hint of a smile you've seen since he's been here. "I know, I got the urge to make them earlier, now I guess I know why," you offer him a kind smile as he shifts to rest his hand over your legs.

Without realizing, your hand moves towards his arm, lightly tracing over the tattoos that you had once adored so much. Eventually, his own body betrays him and he turns to lay with his head in your lap. He cannot explain why he needs you as much as he does, but right now, he doesn't have the energy to fight it.

He's laying on his back, one arm draped over his stomach while you still trace soft shapes over it, your other hand finds it's way to his hair, gently scratching at his scalp, hoping to help ease his mind in whatever way you can. "You can talk to me you know, I do still care about everything that's going on with you, I know it's been a rough patch lately and I should've reached out to you, I just thought maybe you had someone else and I didn't want to interfere."

He shakes his head softly, "no, there's no one else," he whispers.

"What about you? Is there someone that's going to walk through that door and want to kick my ass?"

You shake your head and notice a flicker of a smile on his lips before he starts to tell you everything that's been going on. You listen as he let's everything out, only nodding quietly or offering him your support and reminding him that most of these things are well beyond his control. As he keeps talking you feel worse and worse for not reaching out to him, especially the last time he had gotten injured, you knew when you saw it happen he would be devastated that his excellent run of form was yet again ruined with an injury, but you still didn't have it in you to call him.

After he finishes talking, he seems lighter, like he just needed to get all of the thoughts of his head and spoken in front of someone he knew he could trust not to pass any kind of judgement. "Thank you for listening to me, I know I just unloaded a whole lot of shit on you," he says, his expression a bit softer. "It's fine, Chris, um, Christian, I promised you a long time ago I would always be here for whatever you need, and I don't plan on breaking that anytime soon," you sigh, your hand moving to caress the fine stubble on his jaw.

He leans up towards you, pressing a tentative kiss to your lips before pulling away to glance over your expression. He smiles slightly when you cup your other hand over the other side of his face and lean in to kiss him again.

He quickly changes positions, pulling you into his lap so that you are straddling him without ever breaking the kiss. He lets out a quiet moan as you deepen the kiss, dipping your tongue into his mouth as you roll your hips over him. His hands slip under your shirt and skim up and down your back. You both pull away from the kiss breathless as you stand up holding your hand out to him and leading him to your room.

Once inside your room he stops you, "y/n, you need to know this isn't why I came over here tonight."

"Oh, do you not want to?" you answer him, your eyes searching his features.

"No, of course I want to, it's just, I don't want you to think that's the only reason I'm here."

"Ok" you whisper, going up on your tiptoes to kiss him again. You tug at the hem of his shirt and he quickly breaks away from you to pull it over his head before he pulls your hoodie off of you, smirking when he finally realizes it's one of his, "I looked for that forever," he lets out a soft laugh. "Sorry" you grin at him. "No you're not, you forget I can tell when you're lying, y/n."

"You're right, I'm not sorry at all, it was one of my favorites, still is," you mutter against his lips as you both move towards the bed peeling off the rest of your clothes and leaving a trail on the floor.

You fall back onto the bed as crawls towards you, "that's a sight for sore eyes" he whispers as his eyes drag over your naked form. "You're still the prettiest girl I've ever seen" he smiles at you.

He settles between your legs, you can feel his hardened length pressing into your leg when he leans down to kiss you. His hand grazes over your breast as he rolls one of your nipples between his fingers causing you to gasp. He slides his hand down your body, applying soft pressure over your clit as he dips two fingers into your entrance. Your breath hitches in your throat as your hips lift to meet his movements before he quickly withdraws his fingers and sucks on them, humming at the taste of you.

You reach between your bodies, wrapping your hand around his dick and lining it up with your entrance, "I need you, y/n" he whispers against your jaw, "I know, Chris, I need you too" you let out a faint moan as he pushes into you.

"Fuck" he breathes out dropping his head against your shoulder, "I'm gonna need just a second" he groans as he feels you clench around him when you nod, trailing your hands up and down his back.

He starts rocking his hips into you agonizingly slow. "You feel so good, Christian, oh fuck" you moan, knowing he loves being praised. "Shit, y/n, you feel amazing baby, I didn't think I could ever forget what you feel like, but I swear it's better than I remember," he pants out, your heart fluttering at the use of the pet name he always called you.

He picks up the pace, thrusting into you deeper as his cock pounds into your g-spot over and over as he hitches your leg up higher over his waist. "This isn't going to last as long as I want it to," he grunts out, slowing his pace and sliding his fingers down to rub circles over your clit. "You gonna be able to cum for me baby?" he asks noticing the way you throw your head back against the pillows. "Yes" you moan out, "keep going, just like that, Chris, I'm close."

You clench around him as your orgasm approaches, his movements becoming sloppy, hips faltering as he is holding off as long as he can. "Come on, y/n, cum for me," he whispers into your ear as your eyes roll back in your head and your back arches off of the bed. As your orgasm hits you, you let out a loud moan of his name. He stills inside of you when he cums, your name falling from his lips with a whimper before he collapses on top of you.

"Jesus" he breathes out as you nod, your fingers scratching at the back of his neck while you both work to steady your breathing.

He rolls over to your side, pulling you in for a kiss before you head to the bathroom to clean up. When you return, he's pulled his boxers back on and is waiting for you with the covers pulled back. He tosses you his T-shirt and you pull it over your head before climbing into bed next to him.

He drags you closer to him, not happy with the space you left between the two of you. You rest your head on his chest, listening to the familiar sound of his heartbeat as he scratches your back.

"Y/N" he says quietly, his voice a bit shaky, "I know, Christian, I know" you breathe out, pressing a kiss to his chest as he presses one to the top of your head, "let's just go to sleep, we can talk in the morning."

The next morning you wake up and pull on a pair of shorts under Christian's t-shirt before making your way to the kitchen. As you are finishing up a stack of pancakes, Christian wanders in, shirtless with his joggers hanging loosely around his hips.

"Hi" he says, sliding a hand around your waist and kissing you softly on the neck. Your posture goes rigid under his touch. This is different from the past few times you've been together, this feels more like it did when you were dating and you are not quite sure what to think.

"Sorry, y/n, I didn't mean to, I just thought," he drops his hand from your waist and moves around to the other side of the counter, an unmistakable sadness in his eyes.

"It's ok, I just wasn't expecting you to be so friendly this morning" you say as you slide a plate of pancakes over to him.

"That's my fault," he glances up at you, "the other times, since we broke up, I was unfair to you, I realized that after the last time, that's why I didn't come back, I knew I had to get myself in a better spot first."

"Shit, that's good" he practically moans as he takes a bite of his pancakes causing you to let out a giggle.

"What?" he says looking up at you, swiping some syrup from his lip with his tongue. "I don't know if I should be offended that that's the loudest I've ever heard you moan" you chuckle.

He lets out laugh, "these are really good, but they are nothing compared to you," he winks at you.

"Easy, lover boy, you can lay off the charm school tactics," you grin at him, "do you have training or something to get to?"

"No, we've got the day off" he shrugs, "but I'll be out of your hair after breakfast."

"Chris, that's not what I meant, you can stay as long as you would like, I was just asking to make small talk."

"You've never been good at small talk, y/n" he chuckles taking another bite of his food.

"Yeah, well, neither have you," you smirk back at him.

"Listen, I'm just going to come out and say what I need to say to you," he says sitting down his fork and reaching out to place his hand over yours.

"I know we ended things because we weren't right for each other, but I can't help but wonder if it was just that those versions of us weren't right for each other, but maybe the people we are now are meant to be together. I've spent the last year or so working on myself, figuring out who I am. I've also had some really high highs and really low lows, and the only person I wanted to share any of that with was you. It's ok if you say no, but I just needed to tell you. Again, I'm sorry for just showing up, but you were on my mind when I left the stadium and I didn't even realize I was driving here until I saw your building, but I miss you and I miss what we had and I..."

You move to stand between his legs, cupping his face in your hands as you lean down to kiss him softly, "I've missed you too," you whisper against his lips, "so much, Christian, but are you sure it's not just because this is easy and comfortable? I don't want you to miss out on something greater because your settling for what's familiar."

"Y/N, I'm not settling for you, I'm saying I'm choosing you, you are the person I'd face the end of the world with if I knew it was coming, that's not settling," he says as he stands up, wrapping his arms around your waist, "please, please give me another shot to prove it to you."

"Ok" you whisper as you wrap your hands around the back of his neck.

"Ok?" he raises an eyebrow at you as you nod.

"I still love you, you know, that's never changed."

"I still love you too, Christian," you smile at him, tears threatening to spill from your eyes as he leans down to capture your lips in a kiss.

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Since the moment the two of you had arrived at home from the hospital, you hadn’t let Mason leave his spot in the corner of the ‘L-shaped’ couch. As soon as you walked through the door, you had (gently) pushed him down onto the soft cushion, tucking a soft blanket over his legs. It was only a few minutes before you had a bottle of water and a couple of snacks by his side in case he needed them.

The surgery had been relatively minor, all things considered. It was an outpatient procedure, scheduled for the early hours of the day. So by the time it reached the late afternoon, the doctor had discharged Mason, instructing him to take it easy for the next couple of weeks to avoid agitating the incisions before easing back into his regular training regimen. The doctor had informed you that everything had gone very well and there should be nothing to be concerned about.

So of course, you were very concerned, just a ball of anxiety, making sure that Mason didn’t lift a finger for the rest of the day.

Mason had been pretty tired once the two of you had arrived home, so you left him to nap on the couch while you tidied up the rest of the house. Mason’s parents were making the drive up from Portsmouth to spend the evening in London. Mason hadn’t been able to see them in a while and took advantage of the free days he would have following his operation to invite them to spend some time with him (and you).

Part of you had been worried that Mason would be too exhausted after the early morning he’d had and the surgery to visit with them. But you also knew that, like you, Debbie would be worried about Mason following the procedure, and just being able to see him would do wonders to calm her nerves.

So as Mason took a well-deserved nap, you moved about the house, sweeping the floors, wiping down the counters, and making sure that everything had been put in its proper place. You washed the dishes that had accumulated in the sink over the last couple of days and put them away. You were sure to pass through the living room every few minutes to make sure Mason was still sleeping peacefully. You felt a warmth spread through your chest each time you checked on him, the blanket tucked up under his chin and a slight pout on his lips as his face was smushed into the pillow.

It came time for Mason to take the next dose of one of the medications the doctor had sent home with him, and he had just begun to stir from his nap as you sat down on the couch by his head. You reach out, threading your fingers through his hair as he began to blink his eyes open, humming at your gentle touch.

“How you feeling?” you spoke softly to him.

“ ‘m good,” he mumbled, a grin on his face as he looked up at you with nothing but pure adoration in his eyes.

You returned his smile. “Good. Well, it’s time for you to take your medicine.”

He sat up slowly, grunting with the effort, which instantly put you on edge, worried that he was in pain. He must have noticed the look on your face when he looked over at you.

“I’m fine. I promise,” he moved himself up on the couch so that he was sitting next to you. He placed his hand on the back of your neck, gingerly leaning over to kiss you on the forehead. “Stop worrying yourself so much.”

You smiled sheepishly at him, feeling a little silly for how worked up you had been the whole day, but you couldn’t really help it. You would truly do anything for Mason, and the thought of him in pain was something you never wanted to even consider.

“Your parents should be here any minute,” you informed him once he had swallowed the pills. “Dinner is almost ready, so we should be ready to eat as soon as they arrive. Are you feeling hungry?”

“Of course. Especially if it’s your cooking.”

“Oh, shut up, you.” He laughed at your deflection, knowing that you had no clue how to accept a complement. Even so, he delighted in giving them to you often, watching your cheeks flush red and your eyes dart to the ground.

It was only a few minutes before you heard the knock on the front door, knowing it could only be Debbie and Tony. You gave Mason a quick kiss, instructing him not to move from the couch as you walk to the door. You opened it, greeting his parents as they both pulled you into warm hugs. You had met Mason’s family several times before, but your relationship with them was still new enough that you felt nervous any time they came around. You felt as though you needed to somehow prove to them that you were worthy of their son’s love, despite Mason’s constant reassurance that it was unnecessary, insisting that they already loved you. You still tried your best, though, making sure that everything was perfect at the house before they came over.

You led them to the living room so that they could greet their son and told them you’d be in the kitchen, putting the final touches on the food you had prepared. You caught Mason’s eye before you turned away, and he flashed a quick grin at you.

You were dishing the food into bowls when Debbie entered the kitchen, a kind smile on her face as she offered your help. You informed her that you were nearly done, but she could help with carrying the dishes to the boys.

“He seems like he’s doing well,” she said.

You nodded in agreement. “I think so. He hasn’t told me he’s had any pain since we got home, and I just gave him another dose of the pain medicine that the doctor sent home with us before you got here. Though you and I both know that he probably wouldn’t say anything even if he was in pain.”

The two of you shared a laugh over the stubborn boy that was dear to both of your hearts.

“How are you doing?” she asked suddenly.

“M-me?” Her question caught you off-guard as you dished food into the fourth and final bowl, and you looked up at her. Her lips were drawn together in a tight line as she examined your face.

“Yes, you. I know you well enough to know you’ve been running yourself ragged all day to keep him comfortable.”

“Oh,” you breathed, a warm feeling spreading through your chest at her motherly concern. It meant more to you than she realized that she would express that kind of affection for you. “Y-yeah, I’m alright. He’s a pretty good patient, so he makes my job easy.” You pressed a smile to your face despite the emotions you felt welling up inside you.

You handed Debbie the bowls containing food for Tony and herself and let her know you’d be in the living room in a moment. She walked out of the kitchen, and you lingered behind for just a moment, dabbing the tears from the corners of your eyes in an attempt to keep your mascara from running.

Just that simple question from Mason’s mother was so important to you. Knowing that she approved of your relationship with her son and saw how much you wanted to take care of him—it did wonders to calm your nerves surrounding your relationship with her and Tony.

Once you had collected yourself, you picked up the two remaining bowls and met Mason, Tony, and Debbie in the living room. You had decided that it would be best for the four of you to eat on the couch so that Mason could remain comfortable, and you could all continue to visit together.

Plus, you knew Mason and his father really wanted to continue watching the football match that had started a mere 20 minutes ago.

As you approached Mason, he gently swung his legs off of the couch cushion, patting the space where his legs had just been to signal for you to sit down. You did so carefully, still holding both bowls of food and he placed his legs across your lap, draping the blanket back over both of your legs. You were a little taken back by the display of affection in front of his parents but brushed it off as you handed the bowl to him.

He gave you a curious look, brows slightly furrowed, as he noticed the misty look in your eyes. You just replied with a slight shake of your head, a signal that the two of you would talk later.

You eagerly watched Mason and your two guests as they took the first bite of their food. It was one of Debbie’s recipes and you hoped desperately that you hadn’t let them down with the dish. As soon as you knew Mason had a surgery coming up, you had texted Debbie asking for the recipe for his favorite meal of hers, wanting to spoil him after the procedure.

Debbie and Tony both smiled, humming in appreciation as they got their first taste, and Tony remarked how good it was. Mason, ever the dramatic one, let out a groan, dropping his head onto the back of the couch, using words like “incredible” and “scrumptious” as he voiced his gratitude for the meal. He merely grinned at the way you rolled your eyes at him while your cheeks flushed red.

By the time the halftime show was wrapping up, you were collecting everyone’s dishes and carrying them into the kitchen to tidy up. Debbie appeared moments later, pushing you back into the living room and insisting that it was “the least I could do” to clean up your kitchen. You hesitated for a moment, but eventually gave in.

You walked around behind the couch, threading your fingers through Mason’s hair to get his attention, He dropped his head back, eyes gazing up at you lovingly.

“Do you need anything?” you asked as you scratch his scalp lightly with your nails.

“Hmm,” he pretended to think for a moment before tapping his lips with his index finger. “Just a kiss.”

You laughed at him, leaning down as you held your hair out of the way so it wouldn’t get in Mason’s face. You pressed your lips to his gently, expecting to give him a quick peck. But Mason seemed to have other ideas, holding your face to his for a few seconds with a hand that had reached to the back of your head.

He let you pull back after a moment, and you gazed down at his upside-down face, adorning a lovestruck grin. You weren’t sure what had gotten into him today, but something had gotten him in a touchy and lovey mood.

“Anything else?” you whispered, caught slightly off-guard by his actions. Mason just shook his head, gesturing for you to come back to sit on the couch with him, and you resumed your position under his legs.

As you watched the football game, you did your best to keep up with Mason and Tony as they talked over the strategies of the teams and the technique of the players on the screen. The exhaustion of the day was finally catching up to you, and you felt your eyes slip closed, your head falling forward just slightly before you jolted awake.

Noticing this, Mason pulled you into his side and intertwined his legs with yours. Your head rested on his shoulder as he leaned back on the cushions, shuffling down slightly so that your neck wouldn’t be uncomfortable. Too tired to protest the PDA in front of his dad, you draped your arm over his stomach and quickly fell back asleep in the comfort of Mason’s arms. He ran the tips of his fingers over the skin of your arm, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of your head every couple of minutes as he listened to your steady breathing.

A knowing smile took over Debbie’s face as she re-entered the living room after finishing up in the kitchen.

“She’s a keeper, that one,” she pointed to your sleeping form. Your cheek was pressed firmly to Mason’s chest, causing a slight pout to form on your lips.

He looked down at your face, a smile spread across his lips. “She’s just amazing,” he replied earnestly. “She’s so selfless and hardworking, always taking care of me. I don’t know what I would’ve done without her today.” He looked back up at his parents, holding you a little tighter. “I’m… really happy with her.”

Debbie and Tony smiled back at him, happy to see their son in a healthy and successful relationship.

“People like her are hard to come by,” Tony remarked. “You better do everything you can to keep her around.”

“Oh definitely,” Mason grinned, looking back to the football match on the TV screen. “At this point, if she leaves me, I’m going with her.”

"We've been given the day off," he says as he plates up your eggs, grabbing the toast from the toaster and handing you a piece along with some butter and jam.

"Would you like to go do something?" he asks, a playful smile playing on his lips.

"I might," you grin at him, humming appreciatively as you take a bite of your breakfast, "what do you have in mind? I can tell by that smirk you are up to something."

He holds his hands up, feigning innocence from where he is stood at the counter eating, neither of you bothering to move to the table, as you are still sitting on the counter with your plate in your hands.

"I was thinking we could take a little road trip to Oxford, be Harry Potter nerds for the day," he smiles as he sees your expression change into a wide grin.

"I would love that!" you giggle with excitement. "Good, we need to leave in about an hour," he smiles at you. "You finished with that?" he tilts his head towards your plate as you nod. He takes it from your hands and sits it in the sink along with his own.

He returns his attention to you as he steps between your legs, sliding his hands up your thighs and settling them on your hips, his fingertips digging into your behind. "Have you really been sitting here this whole time without underwear on?" he groans against your neck giving you a light squeeze when you nod.

"You're going to be the death of me, I swear," he chuckles as he presses a few sloppy kisses to your neck. "Hmm, that's my plan" you sigh as he runs his tongue along a particularly sweet spot before capturing your lips in a needy kiss.

He slips one hand around to your front, grinning against your lips when you inch your legs a little wider urging him to continue. He teases your entrance with two fingers before plunging them into you, his thumb rubbing circles over your clit while his other hand slips under your shirt to palm at your breast. "Already so wet for me, baby" he smirks as you drop your head to his shoulder and let out a moan.

"Tell me what you want," he whispers into your ear, nipping slightly at your earlobe. "Fuck" you breathe out when he curls his fingers perfectly against your g-spot. "You, Christian," you whimper when he stills his movements, not satisfied with your answer.

"I know that, but that's not what I asked," he tilts your head up to look at him, his eyes dark with lust. "I want you to make me cum, please" you stammer, shifting your hips trying to gain any type of friction as you are already overwhelmed and teetering on the edge of an orgasm.

He chuckles, giving in and startjng to move his fingers again, "shit Christian," a low moan escapes your lips as your head falls back. "God I love hearing you moan my name" he whispers and you just nod in reply.

With your neck fully exposed to him he takes the opportunity to place a few sloppy kisses along the underside of your jaw before he slides his hand up to your neck and applies light pressure. He's a little unsure of how you'll react at first, but when he feels you clench around his fingers and sees you bite your lip he knows you are enjoying it.

"You like that?" he questions lowly. "Mmmhmm" is all you can manage to get out, completely lost for words as he continues hitting all the right spots inside of you with his fingers. Fuck, how has he already figured out how to find those spots so easily, you think to yourself.

"Chris, I'm close, you feel so good" you pant out. The praise you're giving him sends his mind into overdrive as he continues exactly what he's doing, using his grip on your neck to force you to tilt your head forward as he captures your lips in a sloppy kiss. "Open your eyes, y/n, look at me baby," he says as he pulls away from the kiss.

Your eyes flutter open, met by his intense gaze, his pupils blown out as he watches the way your body reacts to him, "look at you baby, look at you taking my fingers so well, making a mess everywhere, I want you to watch yourself cum on my fingers, you're close, I can tell, watch yourself let go for me."

You do as he says, looking down to where he's working you so perfectly and that's all it takes for your orgasm to surge through you, your legs trying to clamp shut as your body shakes with pleasure and curls itself against him, your head falling to his shoulder with one final whimper of his name as he slows his movements eventually halting them.

You place an appreciative kiss to his collar bone, and whine a little as he pulls his fingers out of you, holding them up to your lips for you to lick clean. He groans as you pull them into your mouth, sucking on them until you gag.

"I want a taste," he says against your lips as you wrap your hands around the back of his neck and kiss him, forcing your tongue into his mouth so that he can taste you as he hums in satisfaction.

"You want some help with that?" you ask him, gesturing towards the visible tent in his shorts. "Yes, but not right now, we have a date to get to, and if I fuck you right now, I know I won't want to leave this house. I'll want to drag you from room to room and christen them all," he smiles at you tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear.

"That doesn't sound awful," you giggle as he places one more kiss to your lips and helps you down from the counter. He lets out a laugh when your legs are unsteady and he has to catch you to keep you from falling over.

"Don't laugh," you say, smacking him lightly on the chest, "I'm not used to this kind of attention."

"That's a shame, babe, but you better get used to it," he winks at you, making sure you are steady before he lets go of you. "Do you think you can make it upstairs on your own?" he smiles at you.

"Yes, I'll be fine," you roll your eyes at his clear smugness. "Good, go get in the shower, I'll be up in a few minutes, I'm just going to clean up from breakfast," he says kissing you on the forehead and smacking you on the ass as you walk away from him.

You make your way upstairs, turning on the shower and some music while you pull your hair back and out of the way so that you don't have to wash it. Shortly after you've stepped into the shower, you feel Christian slide his hands around your waist and place a kiss on your shoulder.

You both stand there for a few minutes enjoying the warmth of the water and each other's embrace as you lean your head back against his chest and absentmindedly run your fingers along his arms. Eventually he moves away from you just enough allow you both to lather yourselves in soap. As you rinse off you watch him as he washes his hair, mesmerized by the way the water is dripping from his curls and trailing down his body.

"My eyes are up here, y/n" he chuckles when he catches you staring. "Mhmm, I know. They are one of my favorite features about you," you smile back at him, blushing slightly. "What are your other favorite features about me," he asks, cocking an eyebrow at you. "Pretty much all of this," you grin gesturing towards his whole body. "And here I thought you liked me for my personality," he laughs pretending to be offended.

"Well, yes, that too, but come on Christian, surely you realize how hot you are," you shake your head at him. "You think so?" you notice the tops of his ears turning red. "I know so," you laugh softly pulling him in for a kiss and molding your body against his.

"You, my love, are stunning, gorgeous, perfect, sexy" he says as he kisses softly along your cheeks and over the bridge of your nose, you heart fluttering at the use of a new pet name. "Ok, we've got to get out of here before I fuck you in this shower," he smiles at you, kissing you one more time.

"I wouldn't object," you say lowly, turning around and bending over just slightly in front of him. "You're trying to kill me aren't you" he says as he turns the water off, sliding one hand along the curve of your ass. "Come on, we have a day full of nerdiness ahead of us, there will be plenty of time for this later, I promise."

"I'm going to hold you to that," you chuckle. "Oh I'm planning on it," he grins back at you as he steps out of the shower and hands you a towel.

You both get ready quickly, excited about your day. You make your way downstairs and Christian fixes both of you to go cups of coffee as you grab your bag and put a couple of waters in there before you head to the car.

"Music?" he says as he backs out of his gated driveway onto the road. You nod happily in response as he starts a road trip playlist. The drive to Oxford goes by fairly quickly as you both talk and sing along to the mostly country songs he keeps playing. Just as you are coming into Oxford, he starts playing the Harry Potter theme song "to set the mood" he says as you giggle at him leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.

He parks the car, coming over to open the door for you and offering you his hand. "So do we have a plan for the day, or are we just wandering?" you ask him, not really sure what he was planning to do. "Well, I tried to get us an official tour, but since it was last minute, that didn't work out, so, I did my own research and have my own plan" he smiles at you intertwining his fingers with yours, "is that ok?"

"Sounds absolutely amazing, Chris" you grin back at him leaning into his side. He kisses you quickly on the temple and pulls up his plans along with a map to help him navigate.

Your day is filled with his very thoughtfully planned out tour. He even included a couple of historical things he thought you would enjoy. You wander from place to place, taking pictures and remembering different scenes that were filmed in the various locations. The whole day was perfect in every way.

"I can't believe you planned all of this," you say as you wrap your arms around his waist while you are making your way back to the car. "Did you like it, really?"

"Yes, I loved it," you smile at him, "almost as much as I love you, there is absolutely no one else I'd want to be doing these things with, you know?"

He stops walking and pulls you around to face him, his hand coming up to cup your jaw, "I'd do anything to see that smile" he says quietly, his thumb stroking your cheek softly. "I love you, and you are the only person I want to do these things with, y/n."

"I love you, too, so so much" you whisper, pushing up on your tiptoes to press a delicate kiss to his lips.

You continue the walk back to his car hand in hand as you reminisce about the things you had seen on your little makeshift tour, continuing to thank him for the effort he had put into the date. "I've never had anyone plan something like this for me," you smile at him as he opens the door to the car for you, "I was happy to do it, babe," he says as he kisses your forehead. "You are going to have to get used to someone wanting to make you feel loved and cared about," he smiles as he settles into his own seat, taking your hand in his and kissing over your knuckles as you nod at him.

"But I want to make you feel the same way, Chris" you breathe out as he starts driving, not even bothering to turn on any music. "You do make me feel that way, y/n, just being with me, coming to the game yesterday, not expecting anything from me, all of that tells me that you care about me and love me."

You settle into a comfortable silence for a few minutes just enjoying the drive back to London, your thumb tracing shapes over his knuckles.

"I can't believe I've only got one more day with you before you abandon me," he pouts at you. "I'm not abandoning you, Chris, I'm going home, to finish sorting things out so that I can move over here for good, then you're stuck with me, you'll probably be sick of me in no time," you giggle as you rest your head against his arm, his hand moving to your thigh as he leans as close to you as he can while he's driving. "Never" he whispers before kissing the top of your head.

"What's on your bucket list?" he asks giving your thigh a squeeze. "Personal or professional" you ask, sitting up a little and turning to face him. "Let's start with personal, give me your top three" he grins, "your professional one will probably intimidate the hell out of me and make me feel like an idiot."

"Hmmm, well, we've already knocked a few off, but ski in the Alps, go on an African safari, and see the Northern Lights," you trail off, "what about you?"

"I mean, yours is a pretty good list" he grins, "but, yeah, I'd say play golf at St. Andrews in Scotland, the Old Course of course, tour the Holy Lands, and see as many of the seven wonders as I can."

"Those are good ones," you smile at him. "Yeah, I'd say that's enough to keep us busy for a while," he chuckles.

"Can I take you out to dinner tomorrow night, for your last night here?" he asks as he continues driving.

"Yeah, that would be nice" you answer him.

"Ok, I've got training in the morning but I'll be back fairly early, do you have plans for tomorrow?"

"I actually need to go sign my new lease on my apartment tomorrow, and see about furniture shopping so that maybe things will be ready for delivery when I get to move."

"Well, you can stay with me as long as you need to if they aren't" he shrugs, "and I was thinking you could leave anything you don't need to take back to the States with you at my house for the time being, just less to move later."

"That's a good idea, thank you, I should probably start sorting through everything and packing tonight," you look over at him, his expression dropping slightly.

"Why don't I order some take out and I'll help you," he offers, his tone sad. "I don't want to think about you leaving, but I know it's not for long."

You offer him a soft smile, and take his hand in yours, pulling it up to kiss the back of it, "I'll be back before you know it, but I'd be lying if I said I'm not going to miss you like crazy." He nods in agreement, "feels like we've just settled into a good routine though."

"Hey, it's going to be ok, we will figure out a new routine while I'm away, and then another new routine when I'm back," you reassure him and he finally gives you a flicker of a smile.

"Will you teach me how to play chess before I leave, just the basics, maybe we can play online a little while I'm gone."

His face lights up, "yeah, you really want to learn? I'd love that, y/n."

"Of course, I told you I wanted to learn, and you're making the effort to be into the things I'm into, so why wouldn't I do the same?" you smile at him.

The remainder of the drive was relatively quiet, he turned on some soft music, and occasionally pulled your hand up to his mouth to kiss over your knuckles.

Once you arrive home, Christian heads to the kitchen, grabbing you a glass of wine and himself a beer. You settle in the living room, sitting in the floor next to the coffee table, glancing up as Christian walks in, he places your drinks down and grabs his chess set, moving it over to sit between you as he sits on the floor opposite of you. He explains the rules and helps you through the first couple of games, winning easily of course, but applauding your effort. You catch on fairly quickly and even though he still wins, he tells you you are doing better and will be beating him in no time.

After a while, he orders food to be delivered and you lay on the couch together while you wait for it. "This has been the best day," he whispers against your neck, kissing you softly. "I can't wait to have you here all the time to spend my lazy days with" he grins as you nod.

"I've made reservations at a small Italian place for tomorrow evening. Do you have a nice dress with you? It's kind of fancy," he says as he continues placing soft kisses along your neck and jaw.

"Not really, but I can get something while I'm out tomorrow," you smile turning to place your lips against his. "Or I could take you shopping, or get my stylist to come over with some things," he says against lips. "Or you can just let me buy my own things," you shake your head at him. "You're never going to let me spoil you are you?" he chuckles as he repositions himself so that he's laying between your legs with his head on your chest.

You weave your fingers into his hair, lightly scratching at his scalp, "I just don't want you to think I expect you to do that, Chris, I don't mind the surprises and you spoiling me in whatever way you want, but I don't want you to feel like you have to. I've got a good job, and I love you, but, I can afford my own stuff."

"I know" he says, turning to place a kiss to your chest, "and I know you don't expect it, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to still try," he grins up at you as you roll your eyes playfully at him.

You continue laying in the same position, one hand playing with his hair while the other scratches his back until your food arrives.

While Christian gathers your food from the delivery driver, you pour another glass of wine and get him another beer. The two of you head upstairs and sit in the floor of the bedroom with your take out spread out around you. Christian turns on some music and the two of you spend the next hour or so eating and dancing and sorting through everything you brought with you. Once you are finished, you place items you are leaving at Christian's in his closet, the rest you start organizing in your suitcase.

After you are done, you take a bath while Christian gets his things together for training. After finishing your night time routine, you join Christian, he's writing in a journal when you snuggle into his side. "Are you going to tell me what this is?" you ask, nodding towards the book he's holding.

"I bought it that first day we went out, I'm just writing little memories of ours down, so that when things get tough, we can remember what got us here," he says as he places the journal on his bedside table and turns off the light. He wraps his arms around you and pulls you closer to him.

"How did you get to be so perfect?" you whisper against his chest. "I'm far from perfect, y/n, but you make me want to try to be," he says as he kisses the top of your head.

"Do you ever worry that all of this has happened too fast?" you say, speaking your fears into the dark.

"No, not at all," he breathes out, turning you onto your back, his face and body hovering over yours, the moonlight filtering through the curtains illuminating his features "we've known each other for a long time, y/n, we spent a lot of that time fighting off how we felt out of fear, being able to tell you how I truly feel about you has been the best and most natural feeling ever, you aren't doubting things are you?"

"No, it's not that, I don't doubt this at all, it just still doesn't seem real to me sometimes, like I can't believe out of everyone, you'd pick me."

"This is real, very real, darling, and I'd pick you a thousand times over, I hate that I've ever made you doubt me in the past, but I'm going to spend every day of however long you'll have me making sure you know how much I love you and how wanted you are," his breath fans across your face as he leans down to kiss you slowly. "Can I show you how wanted you are?" he whispers along your jaw, his teeth barely grazing you when you nod.

He slides his hands down your body, pulling your underwear down your legs before taking off his own and settling himself back between your legs. He tucks a strand of hair behind your ear before kissing you gently, sliding his tongue into your mouth effortlessly swallowing your quiet moans.

He intertwines the fingers of one of his hands with yours while caressing your body softly with the other as he trails delicate kisses along your chest and stomach, your free hand moving to scratch lightly over his scalp and the back of his neck, touching him anywhere you can reach. His kisses are tender, nothing sexual about them, full of adoration as he slowly worships your body.

"Every inch of you is perfect," he whispers as he brings his face back to yours, "perfectly made for me." He reaches between your bodies, lining himself up with your entrance before pushing into you in a single, slow stroke. He smiles against your lips at the quiet moan that escapes you as he burries himself fully.

"Tell me we aren't perfect together, sweetheart," he breathes out, as he slowly grinds his hips against you, his dick still buried completely in you as his pelvis rubs against your clit. You hands trail over his back, "you're perfect for me, we are perfect, this is perfect," you gasp as he rocks his hips against you again and presses his lips to yours.

He continues rocking into you slowly, the sounds of your mutual but quiet moans filling the room as you both whisper words of adoration to one another, drowning out the silence and pouring as much love into each other as you possibly can. He lets out a soft groan as you clench around him, your body reacting to his in a way he never thought imaginable.

He kisses you slowly and passionately as he feels you climax around him, your hands gently gliding over his body, as you swallow his quiet moans when he also reaches his release as his head falls into the crook of your neck.

"My god, that was..." his words trail off as he collapses on top of you, his head on your chest as you bring your hand up to play with his hair soothingly. "Yeah" is all you can breathe out "that was."

"I think you've caused my brain to malfunction" he chuckles, "I can't even think right now."

"I know", you sigh, "that was intense, I don't think I've ever..." you struggle to put together the right words, "no, me either," he turns to kiss your chest. "I could sleep right here, just like this" he murmurs quietly. "You're eventually going to have to pull out and let me clean up," you giggle when he rolls off of you with a groan. You reluctantly leave him, scooting to the bathroom to clean up before returning to the bedroom. He's turned to face you when you emerge from the bathroom, looking completely love drunk as you slide back into the bed next to him and tuck yourself into his side.

"I love you, Christian, with everything that I have" you whisper against his neck, feeling him relax beside you. "I love you too, y/n, there isn't a doubt in my mind that you were put on this earth for me to love," he whispers as he kisses you on the forehead, both of you drifting off to sleep, still wrapped up in each other.

The next morning you wake up as Christian stirs beside you, wrapping an arm over your waist and pulling you into him as he kisses the back of your neck.

"I don't want this to be our last day together, can't you just go ahead and stay here? I'll pay someone to pack your stuff and ship it over," he squeezes you even closer to him. "I wish I could, I do have a few things I need to finish up in the office back home though, but maybe I can work out a way to get back here a little earlier," you sigh, turning to face him, "for what it's worth, I'm not happy about leaving tomorrow either."

After smothering you with kisses, Christian eventually gets out of bed and into the shower, you make breakfast for the two of you and he leaves for training as you start getting ready.

You meet Sophia and Emily and square away signing the lease for your apartment as well as a bit of furniture shopping before heading into a couple of shops to find a dress, heels, and accessories for your date. You settle on an emerald green satin dress that hits just below your knees, but has a high slit and low cut back, happy with your choice you and Emily return to Christian's house.

Christian arrives home shortly after you and spends some time with Emily before joining you for a nap. After your nap, you start to get ready for your date, Christian bringing you a glass of wine and sitting on the bathroom counter sipping on a beer and chatting with you while you get ready before disappearing into the closet to get dressed.

He comes out dressed in a pair of navy suit pants and a white button up shirt with the top two buttons undone, the two necklaces he always wears barely on show as you drag your eyes up and down his reflection in the mirror, a slight smirk dressing his lips when he notices your reaction.

"You're far too cocky," you grin at him in the mirror as you put on your lip gloss. "Am I though?" he says as he wraps his arms around you from behind, dropping his head to kiss your bare shoulder, as you shake your head. "Stay here," you whisper as you walk into the closet to pull on your dress and heels, walking back out and turning around for him to help you with the zipper.

He zips your dress and settles his hands over your hips turning you around to face him, "you are the most gorgeous girl I've ever laid my eyes on," he says kissing you on the cheek as you blush. "You ready?" he asks quietly, leading you from the bathroom after you've put everything you need in your bag.

"Wait," you say as you are about to leave his room, "I have something for you," you smile walking over to your nearly packed suitcase and grabbing a small box. You hand it to him and watch as he opens it, pulling out a small bracelet with a puzzle piece. "You said it felt like I was your missing piece the other day, so when I saw this earlier it made me think of you, if you think it's cheesy, you don't have to wear it," you smile shyly at him. "I love it" he whispers as he holds out his wrist for you to fasten it on him, pulling you in for a kiss, "sorry if I messed up your makeup," he chuckles, "couldn't help myself."

"I don't mind," you grin at him, "okay, now we're ready to go." You make your way downstairs to find Emily and Ben snuggled up on the couch watching TV. She takes several pictures of you, smiling like a proud parent before you leave, "night kids, use protection," Ben shouts at you as you walk out the door.

The restaurant Christian booked for you is gorgeous, the food is unbelievably good and the two of you spent your evening in quiet and comfortable conversation, sitting close to one another, him reaching over to hold your hand or rest his hand on your thigh. "Are you ok, you seem a little nervous," you smile softly at him as you take a sip of your wine. "I'm good," he smiles back at you, pulling a velvet rectangular box from his pocket and sliding it over to you, "but I do have something I want to ask you before we leave," he takes a deep breath to steady his nerves as you look down at the box.

"Open it" he whispers gesturing towards the box. You do as he asks, opening the box to reveal a necklace with a small sapphire pendant, your eyes glancing back up to him. "It's beautiful, Christian," you smile, fighting back your tears. "I want to ask you to make things official between us, I can't imagine putting you on a plane tomorrow without doing that," he breathes out like the weight of the world has just lifted off of his shoulders, when you nod at him, a couple of tears slipping from your eyes.

"Yes?" he says, an excited smile spreading across his face, "yes" you whisper back, "I'd love nothing more than to officially be yours."

He stands from his seat, pulling the necklace out of the box and placing it around your neck, "it's my birthstone," he says as you nod, "seemed more subtle than my initials, and it will be pretty with a Chelsea or US shirt" he winks as you turn your face towards him, placing a soft kiss on his lips.

"Thank you, I love it," you smile at him, your fingers coming up to touch it. "I love you" he whispers as he sits back down, taking your hand in his. "I love you, too" you smile back at him.

"I'm fine if you want to keep things kind of private, but can we at least not be a secret?" he asks, his eyes scanning your face to judge your reaction. "I'm ok with whatever you are comfortable with," you smile back at him as he nods.

"Mase helped pick it out," he smiles as you walk back to his car after leaving the restaurant. "Wait, really?" you smile at the thoughtfulness the two of them had put into it. "Yeah, he's surprisingly useful sometimes," he chuckles. "Y'all are cute, I'll have to thank him next time I see him," you giggle. "Just text him, he's driving me insane asking me if I've given it to you yet, I had to mute our conversation, which has only made him text me even more since I'm ignoring him," he laughs.

Once you get back home, Ben and Emily are already in bed so you and Christian decide to do the same. As you slide into the bed next to him, still wearing your necklace and noticing that he still has on his bracelet he pulls you close to him. "Can't believe I get to call you my girlfriend now," he kisses you on the bridge of your nose. "Gonna have to get you added to the WAG chats" he chuckles "so you can do whatever it is the girls do."

"Hmm, maybe just give me a few days first, I'm still in a state of shock that I'm Christian Pulisic's girlfriend, and maybe let me properly meet them before dropping me into a group chat" you chuckle, kissing him on the neck as he nods. You lay there for a few minutes, one of his arms wrapped around you, your head on his chest while his other hand intertwines with yours.

He takes a picture of your hands, his bracelet visible. "Can I post this?" he asks you, a simple picture of your hands with "thanks for being my missing piece" as a caption. "Yeah, I'm fine with that, you smile up at him.

He finishes his post, closing his phone and placing it on the table beside the bed snuggling into your side, "last night for a month" he whispers as you nod, "I'm going to miss this so much."

"Me too," you whisper, already trying to figure out how you can get back to London sooner.

The next morning you wake up to Christian kissing you softly. You had both slept in a little since he had training later in the day before going to the team hotel for the night. Your morning passes quickly and soon he is getting ready to leave. You finish getting everything into your own suitcase and are ready for your flight that evening. He has already said his goodbyes to Emily, thanking her for bringing you and supporting the two of you.

Christian stands in front of you, nervously bouncing from one foot to the other, "I can't say goodbye" he smiles down at you, your chin resting on his chest as you look up at him, your arms wrapping around his waist. "Then don't say goodbye, tell me you love me and that you'll see me soon" you whisper.

"I love you, and I'll see you soon" he whispers, running his nose up and down the bridge of your nose before placing a heavy kiss to your lips.

"I love you, I'll be back in no time" you whisper against his lips, kissing him again and threading your hands into his hair before pulling him into a tight hug.

"See you soon, y/n" he says as he turns to leave and you can't help but notice the tears in his eyes and the pained expression he has, "see you soon, Chris, I love you so much."

"I love you, too," he whispers before turning quickly to leave.

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