Wasted Times

Part 18 - Out Of Time

You feel a very soft touch on your body, which makes you open your eyes and end your sleep. You almost got scared, thinking that maybe Ethan found a way back to you, but once you saw Tony's beautiful eyes you felt safe.

"I'm sorry" he apologises quickly, understanding that quick moment of fear you went through.

"It was nothing, don't worry about it" you say nicely.

"I don't want you to feel scared" he takes a strand of your hair out of your face as you look up at him.

He's supporting his head on his palm, his bent arm keeping him steady. The way his eyes look down at you just brings a melting feeling all over your spine. He just looks so pure.

"I'm not. If anything, I feel safe right now" you show him a smile.

"Gosh, I love you so freaking much" he says quietly.

You instantly feel blood rushing through your veins and you don't even have to check to know that your cheeks are red.

"I love you, too" you reply sweetly.

He first looks at your lips with a silly grin on his lips, and then slowly leans down towards you until your lips meet. It always feels so good having his soft, tasty lips against yours. So good that you can't stop yourself from kissing them.

Your hands both move, one on the back of his head to make sure he doesn't break the kiss, and the other on his chest, feeling his bare skin and how his heart is beating, loving this moment as much as you do.

Unfortunately, though, after long and smaller kisses, you have to pull away from each other in order to breathe. The smiles are obvious on both your faces and no one is trying to hide them. Tony even can't help himself from resting his forehead against yours and pecking your nose before he rests his head on his palm again.

"I was thinking..." he says.

"Hm? You were?" you giggle.

"Yeah, I was. All this time that you were asleep and I was alone with my thoughts and the best view I could ever ask for" he replies.

"Okay, that was really sweet" you admit.

"So, should I continue?" he asks.

"Definitely, I'm sorry" you nod your head.

"Next month, the weather will be warmer. What if I take some time off between meetings and events and we can go somewhere? You need a change of environment, it'll be good for you" he suggests.

"Tony..." you sigh.

"Don't worry about anything else, really. I'll handle everything, I'll find the time" he sounds sure.

"I'm not sure that vacation is what should be on our minds right now" you shake your head.

"Yes, it should. You deserve some rest, you've been through so much" he insists.

"No. This is important, Tony. We might not even have a month" you gulp to keep the panic away.

"Don't. Don't think like that" he changes his position on the bed so that now he's sitting on top of it.

"How else am I supposed to think like? You act like this situation isn't urgent" you speak your thoughts loudly.

"I'm very much aware of what the situation is, I just prefer to focus on the bright side" he explains.

"There's no bright side until we find a way to get you out of the big trouble. I won't stand here and plan vacation when you're facing months or even years of jail time" you stand by your thoughts.

"I don't want you to worry about all this. I have very capable lawyers and their teams working on my case day and night so that we can focus on you" he tells you.

"How can I not worry when I don't see any good news? Your lawyers are working on it but I don't see you getting out of any danger. Is your team working on any kind of deal for you to skip jail time? Is Ethan even considering letting this be settled without a trial?" your heartbeat is increasing.

"Shhh, baby, come here" he notices your distress and pulls you in his arms.

You try your best to not cry, you've grown tired of it. Your heartbeat is fast, your eyes feel ready to let out tears but Tony's embrace is keeping you sane and stable.

"I don't want to lose you, Tony" you say with an afraid tone.

"You won't. We'll find a way out of this, I promise" he kisses your head with love.

"I have an idea" you take a big breath before saying those words.

You also take a seat on the bed, instead of lying on top of Tony's body, and look into his eyes. You take your time before saying it even though he's patiently waiting for you to share it with you. But the more time you need, the more Tony understands what your idea is about. It's probably your eyes that are giving away what your idea is.

"No" he speaks before you do.

"This is the only way" you say seriously.

"There's a reason you've been quiet about what happened, I'm not letting you do that for me. You wanted privacy, I'm not ruining that for you" he shakes his head in denial.

"He will have to take back the charges. Only thing you have to do is to tell your lawyers what happened. The moment they bring this up, he'll know he's done" you insist.

"Alice, there's no way I'm doing that. Everyone will know, this is not what you wanted" he takes your hands in his.

"And there's no way I'm letting you go to prison. Yes, you took it too far but you don't deserve this" you look deep into his eyes.

"In 2 days I have a meeting with my lawyers. Maybe they'll have a good plan by then, let's be positive and please not think about this at all. I only want us to make good memories from now on" he pulls you closer to him.

"2 days, alright. But if they don't come up with something by then-" he interrupts you by pressing his lips against yours one more time.

That feeling is enough to make you lose your words, your mind, your thoughts. Especially his little smile when you pull back from one another makes you forget all about your previous feelings of anger and panic, and instead they're taken over by joy and love.

"Breakfast. Tell me what you want for breakfast and I'll make sure it's ready and served on your bed as soon as possible" he changes the topic.

"Eggs. Yogurt. Croissants. Fruit. Anything would be great right now. Whatever you feel like eating" you shrug.

"Okay, I'm on it" he kisses your forehead and stands up.

He reaches for his phone and, just like that, calls one of the city's best chefs. You sit there and admire him, remembering how much power he holds. You didn't hear most of the conversation he had with the chef and this is exactly the reason why you were completely shocked when the food that was delivered to your house was more than you could ever imagine.

"Tony! This is so much" you say with shock and laughter.

"I ordered everything on the menu, couldn't take any risks" he replies with a grin.

"We can't possibly eat that much food" you say.

"We'll save the rest for later. Don't worry, it's not going to waste" he replies.

"We better start eating, I'm really hungry" you say happily.

"Nothing brings me more joy right now than seeing that you got your appetite back" he wraps an arm around you.

"Thanks to you" you blush and wrap your arm around his back.

He smiles proudly, noticing that you're more and more open to intimacy as times goes by. The progress that you're making step by step is important to you and to him as well. You don't know how much time you have together, but at least you're for sure making it worth it.