Until You Met Me

Propping his feet up on the mattress, Gerard sunk a little deeper into the chair he was sat in, his head tilted slightly so that he could see Molly’s face. He still couldn’t quite believe that she was there. When he had seen her car, outside of their house, he had been almost entirely convinced that he had been imagining things, but the longer it had sat there, the more he had allowed himself to hope that it was real. It was what he wanted. Even despite the overwhelming fear that Molly could have decided to end their relationship, he had wanted to be near her again, and he couldn’t quite get his head around what had happened. He couldn’t quite believe that, when he’d woken up a few minutes earlier, he’d woken up with Molly cuddled into his side like she had never been away.

Stifling a yawn into his hand, he quirked a faint smile when Molly stirred in her sleep before he leant his head back against the chair, exhaling a soft sigh in relief. He had thought that it was over. When Poppy had let slip that Molly had stopped wearing her engagement ring, he had thought that it was only a matter of time before he received word from Molly, telling him that she thought that they weren’t going to be able to recover from what had happened between him and Ava, but he couldn’t have been happier that he had been wrong. It wasn’t just going to be fixed. What had happened between him and Ava had rocked Molly’s faith in their relationship, and it was going to take some time for things to knit back together again, but he was just thrilled that Molly still wanted to be with him. He didn’t care how long it took for everything to get back to normal again, only that he and Molly were still together.

“Gerard?”

Gerard lifted his head at the sound of Molly’s voice, his face lighting up with a slow smile when his eyes met hers. “Hey” he greeted.

“Are you OK?” Molly asked, pushing herself up so that she was rested against the headboard “You looked like you were thinking pretty hard about something” she added.

“Were you watching me?” Gerard chirped impishly.

Molly offered him a flat look, but couldn’t entirely stifle the smile that itched to brighten her features. “You’re one to talk” she quipped “Do you think I didn’t notice you watching me sleep?” she added.

Gerard’s answering laugh was slightly embarrassed. “Can I say something awfully cheesy without you teasing me for it?” he asked.

Molly grinned back at him impishly. “What do you think?” she asked.

Gerard feigned a huff, something that made Molly giggle before she looked down at the duvet she was toying with in her hands. “Is about how happy you are that I am here?” she asked “Because I might want to say something about how last night was the best night’s sleep I have had in a while, and not just because Albert’s couch is the least comfortable thing I have ever sat on” she added.

Gerard’s lips quirked up amusedly. “I might have wanted to say something about how happy I was when I woke up, and you were still here” he played along.

“I might have missed your snoring” Molly quipped “Weirdly, I don’t think I know how to get to sleep without it any more” she added.

Gerard let out a laugh. “I will remind you of that the next time you wake me up in the middle of the night to complain about it” he teased.

Molly shook her head, still gently toying with the duvet. “Do you want to talk about what you were thinking about?” she asked.

Gerard blinked a couple of times, caught off guard by the question, before he slowly shook his head. “It wasn’t anything really” he said “I was just thinking about what’s happened, and about how glad I am that you’re home. I know it’s only been a few days since you left, but I missed you. I am glad that you’re here” he added, the tops of his cheeks flushing a soft shade of pink.

Molly didn’t say anything for a moment. She sat and twisted the material of the duvet in her fingers before she looked up at him again. “I am sorry that it took me so long to figure things out” she murmured.

“Molly...”

“I know that you’re going to tell me that you understand” Molly interrupted “I told you I needed space, and so you let me have it, and I am really grateful for that, but I still want to say sorry. I didn’t call, I didn’t text. I just left you here with no idea whether I was coming back, and I am sorry for it” she added.

He had given her what she had asked for. When Molly had told Gerard that she needed space, Gerard hadn’t hesitated in giving it to her, but she hadn’t thought about what that meant for him, not until Poppy had mentioned how tired he had looked when she had visited the house. She had needed the space. She had needed time to process what had happened, and to figure out how she felt about it all, but she hated that it meant that Gerard had been left waiting.

Gerard pushed himself out of the chair he sat in, moving across the bed until he had cupped Molly’s jaw and pressed his lips against her forehead. “I don’t care about that” he murmured, moving to kiss the side of her nose “I am just so happy that you’re here, and that we’re still us” he added, pressing a soft kiss to the corner of her lips.

Molly leant her head against his. “I missed you, too” she murmured.

Gerard pressed a kiss to the other corner of her lips. “Really?” he quipped “What’d you miss the most?” he teased, pulling back to grin at her.

Molly made a show of rolling her eyes, not at all able to stifle her matching grin. “What’d you miss about me?” she countered.

“I asked first” Gerard retorted.

Molly scoffed out a laugh, something which made Gerard’s grin widen a fraction before he leant into her, stealing a soft kiss. “I am glad that you’re home” he said as he pulled back.

Molly drew him back in again. “I am glad to be home” she whispered between kisses.