Everyone Is Flawed {Completed}

~8~

My palms are slick and I am not ready for this. I lift my fist to knock against her bedroom door, but quickly allow it to fall limp next to me.

I'm such a wimp.

What are you doing? Just go in there and show her that you love her. I can't live like this anymore, I need Rachel.

Yeah, yeah, I get it, you've been chewing my ear off for the past two hours. You know, sleeping would help me come up with ideas for a date.

Sure, but we both know we won't be able to sleep unless it's beside her. Now grow a pair and knock.

Fine, fine. Calm down.

Before Hunter could continue his mental assault on my apparent cowardice, I lightly knock.

I'm sure she wouldn't have heard that, even with her face pressed up against the door.

I roll my eyes and take a deep breath. I move to knock again, but the door swings open. My Little Mate is stood in front of me, wide awake in her barely-there pajama shorts with one of my old t-shirts hanging loosely over her healthy body. I moisten my lips as my hungry eyes drink in her shapely legs up to my mark on her neck and finally, glare into her gorgeous cerulean gems. I wish she'd let me in again, I would easily be able to decipher what she's thinking or feeling.

"Couldn't sleep either, huh?" She murmurs so as to not awaken our children. The little munchkins were shattered after Blaze and I bathed them. We all came out of the bathroom a giggling, wet mess. All it did was make me want to kick myself for missing out on more of those moments. When they're older they won't want to have those moments as much anymore, I already wasted most of their childhood by not being there. I take full responsibility even if it was Blaze who ran. She would have stayed if I had told her I wanted children at least one of the twelve times she asked me about kids.

"Not really, I have this bad habit of only being able to sleep next to you." I whisper back, trying to suppress my cheeky grin. Now is not the time to tease her. I have to grovel to come sleep next to her. She bites her lip to help her suppress her smile as well. Oh, the things I want to do to that lip right now.

"Me neither. I was actually... Uhm- about to come snuggle in with you, if you don't mind?" She looks down sheepishly and starts shuffling her feet, wiggling her dainty toes, coloured emerald green with stick-on blossoms. Now that I think about it, her bed covers are green and black and so is almost everything else. Did she miss me as much as I missed her? This is how she coped? By reminding herself of me every day.

That, or she has an insane obsession with Buttercup from Powerpuff Girls.

"Don't be shy, Love. I was about to come grovel to sleep beside you... If you don't mind?" I raise my hand to help move her hair behind her ear. Now that I know she may want me as much as I need her, I can easily build the confidence.

"Well, I guess you don't have to grovel. Come on in." She hesitantly moves away from my touch and pads her way across the wooden floor. She jumps into the bed and I move up against her, since her bed is smaller than we're used to. I snake my arm around her waist and pull her against my chest, allowing her time to protest, but she barely squeaks. She curls up into me and turns around so she could face me. She starts tracing my five o'clock shadow along with my nose and the outline of my lips. I lightly kiss her fingertips as they graze my bottom lip, knowing she'd melt and possibly relent into a cheeky peck or three.

"Why did you leave, Blaze? We could have talked about it. You know I would never leave you, or them." I whisper whilst softly running my fingertips over her bare thigh. She shivers and decides to close her eyes. Whether it be to avoid my hurt gaze or because she's fatigued, I wouldn't know.