You & I [Kier/Shane]

Chapter Thirty-Two - Kier

Kier's POV

Over the coming months, Shane had been able to sit and paint in the Kitchen weekly, eventually managing to sit just in front of the door and paint the image he saw through the small glass window. I was yet to return home, receiving calls and emails from my manager regularly but in all honesty, I didn't want to go back to New York; I wanted to stay with Shane forever. His and I's relationship continued to bloom, and I couldn't help to notice how much he was opening up to me; I'd never seen him walk so confidently or speak continuously fluently until now, and I loved it. He was utter perfection. 

Although, I am aware that it'll take some more time before he was capable of leaving the house with me, I was still so, so proud of how far he'd came. 

Releasing a low groan, I rolled onto my back, unable to open my eyes while feeling the mattress beside me for the presence of my blond boyfriend, finding nothing. Sunlight crept through the gap in Shane's thick curtains as I squinted, making failed attempts to open my eyes. 

"Shane?" I croaked, voice laced with sleep until I realised he wasn't in the room. Panicked thoughts ran of places he could be, however pride soon took that place as I realised this was the first time since I stayed here that Shane was up before me; He hardly ever left my side.

With another groan I left the bed, pulling on some pyjama bottoms over my boxers before sluggishly shuffling from the room and towards the bathroom, thankful it was unoccupied; I don’t think I’d gather the strength in time to turn back before opening it. I fixed my hair as quickly as possible, wanting to find Shane; Admittedly, I didn’t like the idea of him being by himself for too long, I was too afraid of how he’d over think things. 

Once I left the bathroom, finally content with my appearance, I trudged down the stairs and peeked my head through the living room doorway, finding Laurence typing away on his Laptop as usual.

“Morning!” I called cheerfully, beaming down at the ebony haired male, receiving a nod in response. 

“Have you seen Shane?” I continued, far past caring for the tone of response Laurence gave me; He was always too involved in his work to realise. He’d never do it out of spite. I waited a few minutes, contemplating repeating the question before he pointed to his left, mumbling a small ‘Kitchen’, his eyes never leaving the screen. 

“Thank you!” I cried, leaving him to his work and hurried off in the direction he told me, beaming as I spotted my blond sat at his easel, entire concentration on the brush in hand. I was already so proud of him to see him up and doing work, I almost didn’t notice the reason I released a small squeak in pride; the door was open, allowing a cooling summer breeze to wander through the room. 

Taking a deep breath I approached him from behind, not allowing him time to recognise my presence before wrapping my arms around his waist, cuddling and pressing myself against hi back. 

“I’m so proud of you.” I whispered, resting my head on his shoulder while grinning down at the piece of art he was creating. He giggled, calming instantly in my hold and leaning back against me; He’d no longer tense, he trusted me.

“Y-You scared me.” He scolded in a gentle whisper, tapping my hand in faux annoyance before placing the brush down on the table. 

“I didn’t want to disturb you; You seemed to be in the zone.” I mumbled, placing a gentle kiss to the patch of visible skin on his neck, just above his shirt collar. 

“I was,” He replied in the same tone, a faint blush on his cheeks while he gazed out into the garden. “but you ruined it with your pretty presence.” 

“That’s a shame.” I replied, smiling into his neck while squeezing him slightly, unable to hide my happiness every time he spoke without a single trip over words.

He hummed in response, not feeling the need to respond to the remark while gently stroking over the back of my hand. 

We were stood in that position for countless minutes, loving the warm contact of each other while our hair blew softly in the cooling breeze. 

“I…” Shane began, head tilting to the side while I kissed his neck comfortingly once more. “I really like it when it’s like this… you know, sunny.” 

I smiled, nodding gently in agreement. “It’s warm, but not too warm for it to make you lazy.” 

He nodded, his smile gentle and calm while cuddling back into me more and we fell into silence once more. However, Shane spoke again minutes later.

“D-Do you think we could go out in it?” He asked me in a timid whisper, turning his head towards me, his cheeks tinged a light pink. 

I grinned, leaning upwards to peck his lips before pulling back and taking his hand, leading him from the stool and into the open doorway.

“Stay close to me, alright?” I whispered, not wanting to risk him becoming light-headed while no one was there to support him. I waited patiently for a shaky nod of his head before stepping out into the garden in front of him. Taking both hands I stepped backwards, gently pulling him into the cool air with me. 

He squeaked slightly as the sunlight directly hit his pale skin, mumbling a small ‘I-It’s still a little cold’ before gazing down at our feet.

I stepped onto the grass, grinning in his direction as he giggled at the feeling of the strands beneath his bare feet. It was as if he was a child again; It was a beautiful sight. 

“Kier…” He breathed, eyes wide as he looked back up towards me, only just realising we were in the centre of the garden. 

“I know.” I replied in the same tone, leaning forwards to peck his lips, my thumbs running over the back of his hands. 

Shane didn’t speak again, looking up at the cloudy blue sky above our heads before squeaking and jumping into my arms, wrapping his own around my neck.