Renaissance (Cillian Murphy x Reader)

Part 5

The next week passed by in what seemed to be the blink of an eye. You kept yourself busy in order to avoid Brad, which wasn't very hard to do since you had lectures in the mornings and then you had to go to the gallery for the final preparations before Friday.

You didn't say anything about Cillian to your friends. Probably, Olivia would encourage you to have fun but Valerie would freak out, not only due to the age gap but also due to the fact that he was your teacher and someone in a position of power over you.

So you kept him as your little secret.

Moreover, he had invited you to have dinner at his place twice during the week. Instead of meeting in the coffee shop or his office to review your project, he suggested doing it at his house. After all, he had a huge collection of books related to the topic of your research that he insisted you could borrow if you needed. You couldn't be more grateful.

And finally, Friday night came. You were at the gallery with Maureen and Laura, the exhibition was a great success, eight of the paintings were already sold so you could feel satisfied.

You were standing in front of the painting which was inspired by Olivia, looking at it and taking small sips from your glass of wine. You loved opening a new exhibition at the gallery, it made you feel mature and elegant just by talking to potential buyers while drinking wine.

Someone stopped by your side and imitated the way you were standing in front of the painting, he was holding a bottle of beer.

You smiled, without needing to look at him to know that he had the most beautiful pair of blue eyes you had ever seen. He pointed at the painting with the hand that held the beer.

"It's interesting how human beings have been painting and sculpting this type of motif since Prehistory. It represents the depth of our desire and the origin of life, is just fascinating. Like a door that we must cross for the world to welcome us " he spoke nonchalantly.

You looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"This was inspired by my friend Olivia, you know?" you said, looking directly at him.

Cillian sighed and took a sip of beer. "I didn't need that information, Y/N. Honestly, I hope I never have to meet your friend."

"Why not?" you hit him in the arm playfully. "She's nice. Also, I think she's over there with the artist."

"It's a pussy," he said, keeping his voice low.

"Yes, it is. Olivia's, to be more precise" you corrected him, ready to tell him how excited was Olivia after being an artist's muse.

Suddenly, Maureen appeared from nowhere and hugged Cillian. You looked at them a bit confused but remained silent.

"Cillian! It's been ages since I saw you last time, you've been hiding in the basement or what?" she joked. He rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Just busy with work, lots of essays to mark, you know how it is. Some of them make me want to tear my eyes out."

"Mines too?" you asked, staring at him over your now empty glass of wine.

"Yours are a breath of fresh air, Y/N. Impeccable writing is appreciated from time to time" he said, pointing at you before turning to Maureen. "She's my favourite student, very hard working."

Maureen snorted.

"I know she's hard working, Cill. " She put her arm around your waist and turned to you. "Did you know that me and Cillian studied together when we were at the university?"

You looked between them with wide eyes. "I had no idea, no."

"Yes, back then in the Paleolithic" murmured Cillian, earning a pinch in the arm from Maureen.

You frowned and shook your head. "You're not that old."

"Thank you, dear" Maureen gave you a little squeeze. "Have fun tonight, both of you. I'd like to stay and talk about those wonderful years with this dork but I have work to do."

After that, you gave Cillian a little tour around the gallery, helping Laura and Maureen from time to time until the last visitor left, way after dark. Both of you watched as Maureen closed the door and then kissed Laura, it made you blush just thinking of the affection and delicacy with which both touched each other.

You sighed, wishing Cillian to show that kind of tenderness to you, to be touched that way by his wide hands and maybe, if you were lucky enough, to be kissed by him.

He put a hand on your back, snapping you out of your reverie.

"What are you thinking about? You seemed to be far away from here."

You shook your head, thinking of something to say.

"It's nothing, just... tonight was a good day at work, we even sold Olivia's painting" you joked. It was hard to concentrate on saying something coherent with Cillian's fingertips tracing circles on your back.

You started walking towards Cillian's house after saying goodbye to your bosses. His house was close to the art gallery so you didn't mind the little walk despite your outfit choice. He noticed you shivering a bit due to the autumn wind so before you could refuse, he took off his jacket and put it over your shoulders.

It seems so cliché, you thought. Still, you couldn't suppress the urge to bury your nose in the soft fabric and inhale. As expected, it smelled like him.

"Do you mind if I tell you something?" he asked quietly.

"Not at all. What is it?" you looked at him somewhat worried. He kept walking with his hands in his pockets.

"That dress is nice," he said, making a pause. "You look beautiful tonight."

You stopped walking and stared at him, not believing his words. "What?"

"I mean, you always look good but tonight you look like you had been taken out of a painting, so ethereal" he added, caressing your hair.

"Stop lying..." you muttered.

He had his eyes fixed on your face, not letting any of your features go unnoticed. To be seen by those eyes was incomparable to anything else, its intensity was quite overwhelming.

"I don't need to lie to you, I'm just being honest. It's okay if...?" Cillian hesitated, still searching your face for any signs of discomfort or rejection. The last thing he wanted after the incident with your roommate was to scare you.

"If... what?" you whispered with your heart pounding like a wild bird.

"May I kiss you, Y/N?"

After taking a look at the street and seeing that it was empty except for the two of you, you closed the distance that separated your bodies with a kiss.

It was slow and delicate, barely a caress from your lips, both of you taking your time while adjusting to each other's rhythm. You had your arms wrapped around his neck with his hair tangled between your fingers as he put his hands on your hips, moving them up and down and making you shiver.

Once your lips parted away, you looked at each other with parsimony, without letting go. Cillian opened the mouth to say something but nothing came out of it. For the first time, he seemed to have run out of words.

It made you giggle slightly, although what you really wanted to do was laugh out loud, feeling as light as a feather, as if you had found the place where you belonged right there, in his arms.

"You know, the first time I saw you, I thought you looked like you'd been taken out of a painting, too" you said, letting your hands slide from his neck to his shoulders and down his arms until resting them in his hands.

"Oh, really?" he laughed and intertwined his fingers with yours.

You nodded, smiling. "Like a renaissance prince or a mythological god, something like that."