In Five Years

Chapter 7

Their lives merged into one with much more ease than either of them expected. They'd used the few days off after being in New York to stop dancing around the topic and move Shayne firmly into her house – their house – and not two weeks later he suddenly had a TV pilot offering him a co-leading role – one that he jokes was because he was suddenly dating someone much more famous than himself.

"But you're super talented Shayne and I'm sure it's nothing to do with me because they chose you and-" she'd debated him back, but Shayne quickly moved from where he'd been sitting at the breakfast bar to nestle against her side on the couch, arm wrapping around her shoulders.

"I auditioned for this a couple months ago, so yeah, but- like, that's kinda how this industry works, and it probably does help that my name is suddenly out there a lot more next to yours, but it's whatever. I don't care, I was just being silly. And hey, you do make me better in every way," he reassures, Courtney sighing lightly and leaning further into his shoulder, letting the topic drop.

The cats more than remember Shayne, immediately begging for his attention and affection as much as they do Courtney's – maybe even more – when they pick them up from Kari to bring them home the day they return to LA. Courtney is ridiculously overtired from the rapid trip to New York and disjointed sleep schedule, and that mixed with seeing Shayne lying in her bed – their bed – with her cats curled up beside him that evening had made her burst into tears. He'd looked up in shock and concern, but quickly realising what it was, beckoned her over to join them, gently shifting Bones out from under his arm so Courtney can lie up against his side.

She's taking a couple of months' break over the winter, so while Shayne starts getting back to work for the first time in a few months as the year draws on, she spends her time pulling out the annuals from her veggie garden herself, for once, prepping it for new plantings in Spring amongst letting her cats take her attention as much as they desire and feeling her heart swell with happiness every night when Shayne gets home and they settle into whatever they choose to do together that night.

She catches up with friends, too – they both do – and she makes more of an effort to find time to hang out with old friends, although they have an uncharacteristically cold LA winter so much of the catch-ups they have are inside someone's house with the heating going.

She doesn't know exactly how it happens, but it's suddenly March and their house is so firmly theirs that she can't imagine him not being there with her, and they have fortnightly dinner parties – she actually uses the dining table, now – with their friends. The show he'd been in the pilot of had been picked up for at least a three-season run, and he was deep into filming while she was working on another movie at a lot annoyingly far from the one he was shooting at.

He'd been busy filming on the day of the SAG awards, moping around for the week after in disappointment that he'd missed being there to support her as she won Best Director – her first individual SAG award, and one that had everyone buzzing about OSCARs predictions. His absence had caused enough of a stir about their relationship that he'd ended up running into a paparazzo for the first time ever when he dared drop by a small grocery store near the lot he was filming at, but Shayne simply shakes his head and moves quickly out of their view and into the store when the man shouts at him about breakups.

He makes it absolutely certain that he will be free the day of the OSCARs, going through suit fittings for the few weeks leading up to the event as Courtney goes through her own slew of dress fittings, often at the same time in a room just beside him, given the same designer had offered to dress both of them for the event.

"I'm nervous as hell, you're not going to let go of my hand the whole time, right?" Courtney asks him, softly, lying in bed the night before with her face almost hiding in his shoulder.