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It’s been a month or so since Yoongi stayed for dinner and never left. He’s putting in long hours at his friend’s studio as an assistant producer working on an album for a K-pop act that you haven’t heard of. But it’s paying the bills.
Yoongi is tired but loving the work and you’re heading up a project at your job which is nearly finished and which you’re really proud of.
Tonight, Yoongi has an evening recording session, and as its Friday, your friend Dana has invited herself round with the promise of wine and pampering and a good gossip. You’re both on the floor leaning against your sofa, faces covered in sheet masks when you decide to broach the subject.
“So, I think Yoongi wants me to help him with his heat.”
You practically hear the snap in her neck as she whips her head to you. She can’t actually see your expression, what with the mask, but the movement is instinctive. “What? Why? Doesn’t he take medication?”
You lean your head back against the sofa seat, stretching your legs out. “He does, but he wants to take a break. He’s been on it for the last three years and you’re supposed to take a break every two.”
“Oh right.” Dana scrunches her face up. “God, I want to scratch my nose so bad right now! What did you say to him?”
You take a sip of wine, trying not to move your face too much and dribbling it down your chin in the process. “I said I’d be happy to help; I thought it would be kind of cool to be his heat assistant, y’know? Like it’s come full circle, like I get to repay the favour.”
Dana clicks her tongue. “So why do I sense a ‘but’ here?”
You sigh, blowing your cheeks out. “Well, he was kinda weird about it. He said it would be different in heat, he said he’d be different, that we’d need to talk about it.”
Dana picks at a loose thread on her Chanel lounge pants. “Well of course. Everyone’s different in heat.” She snorts a laugh. “Look at you! From the sounds of it, you turned into some kind of subby nymphomaniac!”
You giggle at this. “Don’t start on me! I’ve seen the bruises on Jungkook’s neck! At least I’m not a biter!”
You’re both chuckling now.
“He can take it, he’s really strong. He’s not cute and cuddly Jungkook all the time, you know, sometimes, he’s pin-me-to-the-bed-and…”
She stops as you raise a hand in protest and laughs. “So, did he actually ask?” Dana swigs her own wine.
“No, it was all a bit of a rush this morning. I was going to the chemist and asked if he wanted me to pick up meds for him. He just said he wasn’t sure and was a bit weird, and that’s when he mentioned it.” You snap your fingers suddenly, “Oh, that was it! He said he wouldn’t want to hurt me. Why would he say that?”
Dana shrugs. “Some people can get a bit rough in heat I guess. Ooh, maybe he’ll go all alpha on you!”
You laugh at this. “Keep your fantasies to yourself, Mrs!”
She raises a triumphant, perfectly shaped brow. “Who says they’re just fantasies?”
You shake your head at her, then carefully remove your mask, smiling. “We didn’t have time to talk though. He said we should discuss it tomorrow.”
“Ah well.” Dana pulls off her own mask and dabs her fingers over her face. “Guess you’ll have to do that then.” She rubs her hands together, smoothing the extra essence from the mask into her skin. “But don’t forget we’re all out tomorrow night at the movies!”
You groan. You had forgotten. “Come on!” She gives you a shove with her shoulder and smiles. “It’ll be good for you guys to get out, see some other faces, yes?”
She wipes her hands on her pants, picks up the wine bottle and waggles it at you. “Top-up?”
It’s after two when Yoongi rolls in, but you’re wide awake, staring at the ceiling in the dim light. You hear him shuffling around, doing his own routine in the bathroom, then he’s sliding into bed next to you, cold feet against your warm ones, making you hiss. You turn and nuzzle into his body warmth and spicy scent.
“You awake?” he murmurs, voice dark and chocolatey.
You hum against his neck and try to move closer, the length of your body pressed against his, rubbing a little against him, feeling heat pool between your legs. You slide one leg over his and move against him, rutting against his thigh. It feels amazing.
You can hear the smirk in Yoongi’s deep, rumbling voice even though you’re not looking at his face.
“Careful, sweetheart or you’ll end up with more than you bargained for!”
You grin and lift your leg fully over him, shifting to straddle him. You slide your arms out of the sleeves of your sleep shirt and pull it off over your head, dropping it onto the floor and looking down at him. He swears and reaches up to trail his long fingers over the curve of your breasts, cupping them firmly before pinching your nipples and making you gasp in pleasure.
Then his hands go to your hips and he looks up into your face raising an eyebrow in challenge. “Go on then!”
A little laugh escapes you; It’s funny how even in this position he’s calling the shots, taking charge, and yet he’s never controlling, never dominating, just confident, giving you the feeling that you’re in good hands, that you’ll be cared for, satisfied, listened to. That you’re safe to explore without feeling foolish.
You peel down his boxers, him lifting his slim hips to help you as you smile softly at him.
He's already hard and you wrap your hand around him and start to move it. Your other hand is sliding through your own wetness before Yoongi takes your wrist, moving it firmly out of the way and touching you himself.
“Sweetheart, didn’t I tell you, you’ll never have to get yourself off again?” he murmurs, pulling you down to him, kissing you gently.
He rubs slow firm circles around your clit, dark eyes fixed on yours in the dim light, your breath mingling with his as you as you line him up and then sink down inch by inch onto him, until you’re fully seated on his cock. You both moan at the sensation and then you’re moving; eyes on his, enjoying the slackness of his jaw, the pouting ‘O’ of his mouth, before he gasps at a particularly hard bounce and bites his lip.
You’re working hard now, lifting yourself on and off him, as he fixes his gaze on the bouncing of your breasts, cursing and rubbing you harder and harder towards the finish line. You stop moving as your orgasm rips through you suddenly, crying out as the world fades and brightens all at once, while he works you though it. And then he’s pulling you against him and rolling you both and thrusting firmly into you. He takes his time, then, going deep and slow, pulling almost all of the way out, before pushing back in, grinding his pelvis against yours; spinning out your own pleasure, before finding his own release with a sharp cry.
“Oh God.” He mutters, panting, sweeping his bangs off his face. “I love it when you wait up for me.”
“Actually, I think it was you who was ‘up’ already!”
He lets out an exhausted laugh. “Been thinking about you all day, sweetheart!”
You nuzzle against his neck, breathing him in. “Me too. Been thinking about what you said this morning. About helping you with your heat?”
He hums against your hair. “You’ll need to think about it. You know I said it was different in heat.”
“Different how?”
He shifts awkwardly. “I’m not myself in heat; I lose some of my control, I can be rough, demanding. And. Uh, kind of…uh, relentless, I guess. I don’t want to hurt you or scare you.”
You should probably be nervous at the idea following these revelations, but actually you just feel incredibly aroused. You shift your hips against him, a whimper slipping past your lips, and he raises a brow.
“Really? You like that idea? I thought you said you were boring in bed!” He reaches a hand down between your legs, fingers already working. “Though I think we’ve disproved that theory enough times!
“You’re gonna give me another” he mutters darkly. “And then we’ll talk about this mile-wide submissive streak you’ve got going on!”
When you wake it’s mid-morning and the smell of coffee is drifting in from your tiny kitchen. You throw on a shirt and undies and venture out in search of sustenance.
Yoongi is drinking coffee at the counter, scrolling on his phone, and pours you a cup when he sees you. “Hey, gorgeous, sleep well?” He pushes the coffee across the counter and smiles at you, eyes crinkling. You hum in assent, eying him over the top of your coffee mug. He is rumpled perfection in a faded black T with his hair all over the place. All these weeks and he still makes you feel brave and shy and beautiful and strong and weak at the knees, all at the same time.
“I talked to the doctor yesterday.” He announces, oblivious to your ogling. “Gonna get the heat reducer you used last time if you’re still happy to err…assist?”
You nod, sipping your coffee, then putting it down as he comes around the counter to lean next to you. “When are we talking about, D’you think?”
“Next week? If I stop taking the meds.”
“Okay!” you nod, thinking. “My project’ll be done by then, so I can get the time, easily.”
He searches your face for a moment and then nods firmly. “Okay then. You wanna change anything on your list?”
You gasp at this “Oh My God! You still have the list?”
Yoongi laughs at your expression and taps the side of his temple. “Got it in here. I can stick to the list, sweetheart, even in heat.”
Your heart swells with affection for him and you step in closer, putting your arms around his neck. “I know. You’ll still be you, right? You won’t do anything to hurt me. I trust you.”
He smiles softly, kisses you gently then pulls away to look at you. “And the reducer will make it shorter, so it’ll be easier on you, I think.” He reaches down to cup your mound over the cotton of your T shirt then suddenly grins mischievously. “Don’t want to break this pretty pussy.”
You feel the heat rising to your cheeks and he laughs, wrapping his arms around your waist, heads resting on each other’s shoulders. “God, you’re perfect.” he mumbles.
You both arrive at Dana’s place later to pick them up and Jungkook pours you both a drink while he fills Yoongi in on what’s happening at 'Heat Help'
“Well, you know that 'Take the Heat' got shut down?”
Yoongi rubs the back of his neck, thinking. “Yeah, some tax thing, right?”
Jungkook sits down on a beanbag and takes a pull on his beer. “Right! Well, anyway, we’re basically picking up all their clientele now, it’s mad, honestly.”
“But you’ve taken on some of their assistants?”
“Well yeah, a couple, but quite a few left; saw an opportunity to get out.”
Yoongi snags a chicken skewer and chews thoughtfully. “What about the centre on the other side of town?”
Jungkook pulls a face. “Oh God. 'Alpha Heat Support'? Yeah, they’re still going. Horrible bunch. You know Tay who started just before you left? He came from there, couldn’t get out fast enough. Said they were running a book on clients; rating them out of ten and stuff.” His eyes are wide with outrage.
“No way!” You squeak. “That’s terrible!”
Jungkook shrugs. “Well. It’s all great for the business I suppose. Namjoon’s recruiting like mad. New finance girl started last week. We have a finance department now!”
Dana interrupts at this point. “Oh, poor thing in that testosterone filled office!” She glances over to you. “We’ll have to go in one lunchtime, see if she needs rescuing!”
Jungkook snorts at this “I doubt it. She’s already got a massive crush on Joon. He’s completely oblivious, but still. I don’t think she’s struggling with anything except trying not to stare at him all the time!”
Dana laughs. “All the more reason for me to pop in and work my magic!”
There’s general laughter and scoffing at this, and Dana catches the cushion you throw at her and hugs it gleefully to her chest, giving you a mock scowl. “Hey, don’t knock it! If it wasn’t for my magic, you two would still be pining over each other as well!”
Jungkook shakes his head fondly at her. “Anyway, it means we’re super busy.” His smile turns a little sly as he looks at Yoongi. “Don’t fancy your old job back?”
Despite yourself, you tense a little, but Yoongi just laughs. “No chance! From now on I’m a one- woman heat assistant!” He grins at you and you feel the butterflies dance in your belly.
You zone out a little as Dana relays a funny story from work. Jungkook chides her gently a couple of times when she criticises a colleague and she nods at him, relenting, agreeing. She’s warmer when she’s with him, you think, less inclined to be caustic.
Her last boyfriend was difficult to like, incredibly suave and handsome but tough and cynical, and he brought out Dana’s harder side. But seeing these two together, you realise that Dana brings Jungkook out of himself and that he softens her edges. And they’re clearly crazy about each other.
You ponder the thought for a moment. Maybe that’s it. It’s not about two halves making a whole; two incomplete people making one functioning human being. It’s about two people bringing out the best in each other, helping the other to be the most that they can be.
You know that Yoongi inspires you, boosts your confidence and helps you to believe in yourself. But what do you do for him? Is he getting enough out of this? He catches your eye across the room, winking and then frowning briefly in concern at the expression on your face. “You okay?” he mouths, then crosses over to you. You pull yourself together, stop overthinking and smile back, smoothing down the black dress that Dana picked out for you. He leans in, mouth hot against your ear. “You look gorgeous!” he whispers. “That dress is stunning on you, can’t wait to peel it off you later!” You smile and smack him with your clutch bag, finishing your drink as he grins at you gummily, hands in the pockets of his bomber jacket, all pleased with himself.
“Right!” announces Jungkook “We’re off!”
The queue for a taxi is long after the movie so Dana goes off to try and find phone reception while Jungkook heads off to the toilets and you and Yoongi wait in line for a cab.
Someone is calling out behind you, and after a moment you realise that they’re saying Yoongi’s name. An attractive young woman rushes up, beaming. “Yoongi! I knew it was you! How’ve you been?” she’s a little older than you, maybe Yoongi’s age and she’s very beautiful; slim with long sleek hair tinted a flattering auburn colour.
Yoongi smiles at her and gives her a hug. “Suki! Hi, I’m good, you?”
She stretches out her hand to display a beautiful gold ring. “I met someone!” she announces, bouncing a little in excitement.
Yoongi grins at her. “Oh, that’s great! I was wondering where you’d got to!”
She looks at you, then, and Yoongi steps back and puts his arm around you “Ahh, sorry, this is my girlfriend!”
He makes the introductions, and you nod, smiling, “How do you guys know each other?”
Suki looks at him and hesitates. He laughs. “It’s fine, Sook, she knows. She was my last ever client!” He turns to you. “Suki was also a client of mine for a while.”
You freeze, digesting this information. Oh my God. Of course this was going to happen eventually. This woman has been intimate with Yoongi, paid for him. Been knotted by him during her heat, probably one of hundreds of people. What the Hell do you do with this knowledge?
Oblivious to your internal struggle, Suki claps her hands in delight. “Your last ever client! Oh, that’s lovely! He never asked me to be his girlfriend, you must be very special!”
Yoongi grins down at you. “She is!” he declares, eyes still on your face.
“Oh, you’re so cute together!” Suki gushes. “You’re such a lucky girl!”
It’s impossible not to like this woman, she’s as transparent as a window. Yoongi’s past is in the past, and there’s clearly no logical reason for your jealousy. You take a very deep breath and on the exhale, you release it all.
Then you smile at Suki’s effervescence and give a little shrug, your confidence building. “Actually, Suki, he’s the lucky one!”
She laughs at this and then nods firmly. “Good for you. You’re right. Make sure he knows it! Oh!” She waves at a group of women by the doors.
“I have to go. So lovely to see you, though, all the best!” Then she kisses you both on the cheek and hurries off to her friends.
There’s a pause and then Yoongi looks at you. “You good?” he frowns. He looks worried.
You smile back up at him. You feel calm, strong, at peace. “Yep. I really am. She was nice.”
He nods; an expression in his eyes that you can’t decipher before he speaks softly. “I’m so proud of you.” His words take you by surprise, he’s gazing at your face, and for a moment you wonder if you see the glint of tears in his eyes. “I’m so lucky to be with you!” He’s leans in a little as though he’s about to kiss you.
Jungkook appears at your elbow, suddenly, eyes wide. “Was that Suki? God, she’s so hot!” He frowns immediately. “Don’t tell Dana I said that!”
Yoongi clears his throat and you both laugh at Jungkook as he flushes, begging for your silence and then Dana returns waving her phone triumphantly. “Uber’s a minute away!” she announces. “Come on, you lovebirds; back to mine for drinks!”
Yoongi’s heat arrives on Wednesday the following week.
He’s clingy in the morning, wanting to cuddle with you on the sofa and watch TV. You phone in to work and then pick a drama that you’ve had on your list for ever and sip coffee, while Yoongi lays his head in your lap. “Stroke my hair” he mumbles, and you smile, running your fingers through the long dark locks.
After lunch, his skin is hot to the touch and he’s shifting uncomfortably on the sofa. “Right.” You say softly. “Let’s get you a glass of water.” It feels good to be the one looking after him, you think.
Yoongi frowns, but he downs the glass that you give him and puts it on the table. When you look up, he’s studying you intently, hungrily. His voice is deep and rough when he speaks.
“Gonna need you to get in the bedroom and take your clothes off, sweetheart.”
Heat Yoongi is assertive.
Your stomach flips and you swallow, rising on slightly shaky legs, heading to the bedroom with him right behind you. You strip your clothes off, anticipation making your hands shake.
“Fucking perfect.” He nods, frowning. Then he pulls his T shirt over his head, pushes you against the wall and steps in closer, running hard, greedy hands over your body. He leans in to kiss you roughly, tongue licking into your mouth and you respond, sucking a little on his tongue until he breaks the kiss and pushes down on your shoulder, black eyes glittering, tongue darting out to lick his lips.
“Get on your knees.”
You do. The carpet is soft against your naked legs.
There’s the clink of metal on metal as Yoongi undoes his belt and pulls himself free from the confines of the denim. He’s very hard. Then you’re opening your lips as he feeds you his cock, thrusting into your mouth. You gag a couple of times before finding a rhythm, wrapping a hand around the base of him and sucking hard as he moans and curses above you.
“Such a good girl for me” he mutters. “Oh, God, you’re such a good girl.”
His words just make you wetter; there’s a brief moment when you wonder what on earth has happened to all of your feminist sensibilities, before you bob your head against his length and then reach down to touch yourself, one hand on him and one on yourself.
You’re impossibly turned on already, and you stroke yourself in time with your mouth until he realises what you’re doing and swears, pulling out and giving your shoulder a little push.
He growls. “Need to fuck you now, sweetheart. Turn over.”
You do as you’re told, getting on all fours on the carpet, and there’s a sudden stinging slap to your butt that makes you cry out. That’s all the warning you get before he’s crouching down behind you, running his fingers through the wetness you’ve created, then sliding one inside you. He takes a moment to add another finger, preparing you, and you realise that even in the haze of heat, he’s taking care of you, making sure you’re ready for him. Then he’s rutting against you until he finds your entrance and working his cock inside.
His hands come around to massage your breasts, rolling your nipples with his fingertips and he pauses for a few moments before starting to move, bottoming out each time and cursing. You’re both on the bedroom floor and he pulls you up flush against him; your back against his front. He reaches a hand down between your legs to rub roughly; there’s no finesse at all in the way that he touches you, but it doesn’t matter; you’re so turned on that you can feel your orgasm approaching fast.
Yoongi thrusts hard in and out of you, grunting with the pleasure of it.
“Oh my God!” he moans “Always so fucking tight for me. Gonna do whatever I say, baby, yeah? And I’m gonna give you everything you need, sweetheart. I’m gonna fill you all up. You gonna cum for me?”
As always, it’s his words that do it, tipping you over the edge and into the blinding sensations of total pleasure. You cry out, clamp down hard around his cock and trigger his own climax. He shouts something unintelligible as he comes, pumping into you, knot swelling as he continues to thrust into you until he can’t move anymore, slumping against your back, panting.
“Oh my God.” He pulls you back towards him, hands on your breasts, leaning you both back against the wall, still inside you. You’re kind of enjoying the way that he manhandles you, his pale skin is still hot against yours and you both sit for a moment breathing heavily.
“You good, baby?”
You nod. “Yeah, I’m good. You okay?”
You both doze against the wall until Yoongi’s able to slip out of you and you pull him over to the bed.
You wake an hour or so later; the sun has gone in and there’s a chill in the air. Yoongi is fast asleep, hair jet black against the starkness of the white pillow. You get up and head to the fridge, grab some juice and pour two glasses, taking them back to the bedroom with a plate of kimbap rolls.
When Yoongi wakes, you fight him off long enough to make him eat and drink, then allow yourself to be pushed back onto the bed. He pulls your legs over his shoulders, folding you almost in half and then fills you almost immediately, fucking you on his knees as he watches the place where you’re joined together. His skin is hot and his eyes a little unfocused; he’s running on instinct now, you think, as much as anything else.
You relinquish all control and revel in the opportunity to be completely biddable. It’s freeing, you think, to let him have free reign and take control. And it’s turning you on every time.
He thrusts into you hard and comes quickly and then he’s curled up half on top of you, dozing again.
Heat Yoongi is relentless.
He wakes every few hours, baking hot, to take you again; sometimes you climax with him, and sometimes you’re just too tired, just letting him take what he needs.
One time it’s in the sitting room, Yoongi having followed you to the kitchen on a water-trip. If there was one thing that Yoongi had taught you about heat-assisting, it was the importance of hydration and you’re determined to do this right, if nothing else.
He pulls you onto to the sofa, arranges you on his lap, knees either side of his hips, straddling him and smacks your arse to get you to lift up and then down onto his cock. “Good girl!” he tells you. “Don’t stop, baby, gonna give you a big fat knot in a minute, keep going.”
Heat Yoongi is possessive.
It’s sometime after four in the morning and you’ve both been to the bathroom, but now he’s got you pushed up against the wall, black eyes utterly focused on you. His bangs are falling into his eyes as he studies you; he doesn’t shift his gaze on you, just takes your hands in his and lifts them to pin them both above your head in one of his.
He licks his lips and smirks at you.
He’s naked, hot, and very hard and his pale creamy skin is almost glowing in the dim light of your hallway. You trust him and you know you’re safe, but at the same time you feel vulnerable, helpless, pinned like this. You realise with a start that you love the feeling.
“You ready for me, baby?” the fingers of the hand not capturing yours drift between your legs finding the wetness there, making you moan and rut up into his hand.
You danced to this tune plenty of times, but this is different; he’s radiating some kind of new energy and you can’t take your eyes off him. He picks up one of your thighs and shifts it over his hip, then lets go of it briefly as he grasps his cock and pushes into you. It’s a stretch; you’re not as ready as you thought, it turns out. He pulls almost all of the way out, then thrusts back in hard, before setting up a punishing pace; pistoning in and out of you as you whimper against the wall.
“Take it, baby.” He mutters against your neck. He’s still pinning your wrists in one hand, the other holding your thigh against his waist as he bangs into you hard. “Fucking take it. You’re mine.”
You moan, eyes fluttering shut as he rams into you. “Say it!” he grunts “Say you’re mine!”
You nod, pressure building, the world starting to fade away, your only focus is him and the sensations he’s drawing out of you. He releases your hands which fly straight to his shoulders, and he thumbs your clit hard. “Fucking say it, baby!”
“I’m yours!” you sob “I’m yours. Yoongi!”
“Yeah you are. Cum for me, then, sweetheart.”
You do, crying out, overwhelmed by sensation and pleasure as your leg weakens. Yoongi picks up your other thigh and hammers you into the wall, holding you up as he pounds into you like you’re a rag doll.
He moans, hips stuttering as his thrusts become more erratic and he comes with a shout, knot taking almost immediately. He moans long and slow as he gasps into your neck. “You’re mine!” he whispers again, releasing your thighs to let you stand on shaky legs. He runs a hand through his hair, pushing it off his face and kisses you softly, once, twice, three times, before murmuring against your lips;
“You’re fucking mine, sweetheart.”
He must have carried you back to bed, because when you wake the next time you’re back under the covers. You’ve lost track of how many times he’s had you now; You’re sticky and sore and a little bruised, and if you were doing this job properly you probably should have made him shower, but its all been too intense.
When he appears in the doorway, you jump a little.
“You okay, sweetheart?” He looks a little more together, eyes clearer.
“Yeah, I’m good” You stretch out, naked, popping your back with a click.
You study him carefully. He still looks a little flushed. “Is it nearly over?” You ask.
“My God is it that bad?” he scoffs, grinning.
You huff a laugh, struggling into a sitting position. “No, not at all, but you’re feeling better?”
He shrugs, raises dark bows, considering. “Yeah. A bit.” His eyes scan over you and something in his expression shifts. Darkens.
“Gonna have you again right now.” He climbs onto the bed, gloriously naked and hard as a rock. He looms over you, palming your breast with one hand and shoving your thigh to one side with the other, then licks up the side of your neck making you squirm.
“And then maybe again, in the shower, if you’re up for it?”
You flush, feeling your body react to him already, and bite your lip. “Sounds like a plan.”
After the shower, you limp to the kitchen where you reheat the japchae that you’d left in the fridge, and you both scarfe it down before falling back into bed. You snuggle into Yoongi’s side as he runs his fingers through your hair. You’re exhausted, but everything is perfect in this moment.
When he speaks, his voice is so soft you almost miss it. “Did I hurt you, sweetheart?”
You frown and look up into his worried eyes, startled. “No, Yoongi, no. Why?
You feel the shrug as his fingers trace up and down your arm. “You looked uncomfortable in the kitchen, like you’re in pain.”
You shake your head, smiling. “I’m a little sore, but I’m fine. I liked it.” You pause. “All of it.”
He raises a brow and nods and smirks. His face turns more serious as he runs a hand up and down your arm. “Thanks for helping me, though; it means a lot that you trusted me.”
You study his features; there’s uncertainty in his face. He’s normally so sure of everything, so quietly confident, but now he looks a little lost. You prop yourself up on an elbow and look down at him, smoothing the bangs out of his eyes with the other hand.
“Don’t you deserve to be trusted?”
He sighs. “I guess, with my job before, all those…people, I could understand how that might be difficult for you. But you’ve done nothing but trust me from the first day I met you. You make me believe that I can do anything.” He rubs a hand over his eyes. “So I mean it; thank-you, you didn’t have to, you know.”
You stroke a hand over his chest, lay your head back on his shoulder. “I wanted to.” You pause, summon up your courage. “I love you.”
There’s silence. You shift awkwardly, heart sinking, and just as you’re about to speak, to tell him he doesn’t need to say it back, you hear his response.
He sounds a little choked, like he’s struggling against tears.
“I love you too sweetheart.”