Chapter Text
NYC, 2015
He made up his mind that night. He looked at her, singing and dancing her dorky dance moves, flinging her arms around with the tambourine, having the time of her life in that crowded room while looking at him as if they are the only two people in the world. That was when the unease inside of him over the past few months lifted like a curtain of fog. He wants to do this, he needs to do this.
London, a week later
She leaves the bathroom door open just a crack, luring him in like a siren’s call. He steps in, and there she is, floating in her bubble tub with enchanted scent and steam in the air, draping her arms across the edge and looking in his direction with her big, wet eyes as if she truly is a mythical creature who is waiting for him this whole time.
“You’re here,” is her greeting when he leans on the door frame.
“Where else could I be?” He looks at her funnily.
She shrugs, “Anywhere else."
He just nods in understanding. They have moved in together for 6 months but they are still works in progress. They have a lot of things to get used to after two decades of not seeing each other on a daily basis, although things are a lot easier without the work pressure and countless other issues from that time. Now, they fight, then talk, make up, and make love. No one leaves. Instead, they usually laugh about that unfamiliar feeling whenever they fight, after a while one of them would go find the other in the house thinking they have gone and more than once jumps when said partner is found in one of the rooms, waiting patiently to talk again. That's how it goes.
"Uh... Just come to tell you that I failed at dinner again," he scratches his head, "I'll order something from Nando's if you want."
"I do," she smiles, her wet hair clings to the back of her neck, somehow praising her laugh lines and wrinkles even more. He loves it.
"Sorry I messed it up," he takes his phone out and starts placing their order, "Was trying to make something nice for you, you have had a long week."
"It's alright, you’ll get better," she tilts her head, looks up at him adoringly, then waves her soapy fingers, "Come join me."
"Maybe later," he chuckles, "Dinner will come shortly," he pulls one of the bathroom chairs to the tub and sits down next to her. She raises a hand and strokes his cheek, her eyes never leaving his, “You’ve come a long way, you know that, right? I’m proud of you.”
“You too,” he takes her hand and kisses her knuckles, one by one, then puts it back on his cheek and rubs his face on her palm. They spend a moment to gaze at one another in content silence, as he counts in his head from 1 to 20 to gather his courage. Then he clears his throat.
“Hey, how about we go on a vacation? All of us.”
“All of us?”
“Yeah, as far as I know, our kids are great together, but we’ve never taken them anywhere all at once. This could be fun.”
“I don’t know,” she seems unsure, “I mean, the boys are staying with their dad and Piper is going on a trip with her friends.”
“Then we’ll wait for them to come back and go. You don’t have any shooting or press until July, right?”
She nods, but then frowns, “What about you?”
“I always have time for us, Gilly,” he wiggles his brows, “I want to take you somewhere nice and warm. You deserve it.”
“Sap,” she flicks some water at him, “So, what do you have in mind?”
If only you know, he says to himself. “I’m thinking Santorini, Greece,” he pulls up some pictures on his phone, “Have you ever been there before?”
“I have, a long time ago. It’s beautiful,” she absentmindedly plays with the pufferfish toy in the tub, vaguely remembering her last time there.
“It is. And one of my acquaintances has a private villa there which he is currently using as a homestay for tourists,” he shows her the pictures, “I could give him a call and rent the whole place for us in 5 or 6 days at most, and-- What’s wrong?” He stops when he realizes the dreamy smile on her face has disappeared and been replaced with worry. She avoids his eyes, but he gently turns her face to him with a finger under her chin, “Hey, what is it, baby? It’s just me, you can tell me.”
“Places like Santorini always have those paparazzis,” she bites her lower lip, voices her fear, “I don’t want them to intrude on my privacy with you and our kids. I don’t want to come back home and find a bunch of photos of us on the news, taken without our consent.”
He wraps his arms around her despite the fact that she's going to wet his shirt. Putting his lips to her temple, he speaks to her with his most assuring tone, since the thought of those people harming Gillian that way disgusts him as well, “I’ll take care of it, don’t worry. I’ll make sure we have all the privacy we need where we're staying, and if I spot any fucking paps on our way, I’ll catch them and break their cameras, okay?” That makes her laugh a little and he feels like his heart has just been released from an invisible vice. He pulls away, holds her face in his large hands,
“I promise you, if we find any pics of you or our kids that are not taken by me, I’ll make their lives hell,” he kisses her forehead and she clutches at his wrists, “I don’t hire my legal team for fun.”
She nods, already feeling safe. This man has been her protector for over two decades and he does it better than anyone else, not that she always needs to be protected. But he does it nonetheless. I trust you, she thinks as she kisses him deeply. The way he promises to fight anyone who dares to put a finger on her and her family makes her want him badly. He groans as she sucks on his lips, letting his tongue wander into her mouth and explore for a good while.
One of his hands splays on her shoulder blades, while the other sneaks under the water and slides into the space between her legs, closer and closer to her slick, hot center. When he makes contact with her labia, she jerks in his arms, her moans drunk by his hungry lips. When they finally part for air, she presses their foreheads together and signals him to move. He slowly fucks her with three fingers, at the same time circling her clit with his thumb. She meets him thrust by thrust, at one point bites down on his shoulder to muffle her groans. But he moves his hand on her back to her cheek and starts taking sipping kisses on her lips, punctuates each sentence with a kiss:
“I love the sounds you make. Let me hear them, honey. It’s just us.”
Then he speeds up a bit and adds another finger so that he can scissor her cunt with four. When he reaches the spot that makes her lose her mind, he punishes it over and over, causing her head to fall back as she lets out loud whimpers and curses. Her right hand desperately hangs on to him while her left tweaks on her hard nipples. He nibbles at her ear, huskily encouraging her:
“That’s it Gilly, let it go,” he sucks on her earlobe, “You’re so beautiful. Come, baby, come on my fingers. Let me feel it,” then he presses his thumb hard on her clit.
With a shout, she bucks violently, her cunt grips his fingers and she rides them through her orgasm. He holds her until she comes down and once again swallows her sated mewls. Her spongy walls are still twitching around his fingers when he retracts them. She rubs her nose to his sweetly, purrs:
“I love you.”
“I love you too,” he replies, “About the trip, give it some thoughts, okay? And, if you still worry for the kids’ safety, we can always go by ourselves.”
She smiles, petting his chest, “I think it’s going to be okay. I’ll call and tell them our plan after dinner.”
At that moment, the doorbell rings.
“Must be the food,” he says, standing up from his chair, “I'll get it. Take your time.”
“David, wait!”
“What?” He turns around to see her pointing at the big bulge in his pants, “Oh. I’ll cover it with a robe,” he laughs.
“When you come back, go to our room,” she says mischievously, “I’ll take care of it.”
“Yes ma’am.”
As he walks down the stairs, he thinks of the possibilities and what he wants to ask from her, with the ring in a velvet box hidden deep in one of his drawers. If she’s been hoping for the same change of status as him, she doesn’t show it. Honestly, it’s a leap of faith. But with the way they’ve grown over their time being together and the efforts they’ve put into this relationship, he can say things won’t end for them if they have different ideas in this aspect of life.
Still, he’s terrified, but the voice in his head sounds a lot like the tiny, brave woman he loves dearly. That voice constantly tells him to do the things he fears most, otherwise, he’d just live in regret. Worst case scenario, she says no, he’ll be sad for a while, but he’ll continue to be with her as much as she wants, love her with everything he has like it’s always been for the last few years, and not begrudge her a minute. They will work this out, that he knows for sure. If she says yes, god, his heart is already pounding wildly at the mere thought of it, he’ll be the luckiest person alive. He can’t quite believe it. He’s going to propose to Gillian, and it’s going to happen in the next few days.