Where We Belong

Gillian stirs when she feels the warmth she was getting from Harper's body leave the bed. She blinks a few times and pushes herself up onto her elbows to see that the light from behind the closed bathroom door is turned on. She lays back down and smiles to herself. It has been some time since she has shared a bed so intimately with another person and she had almost forgotten how nice that feeling is.

When Harper finishes up in the bathroom and makes her way back to bed, Gillian pulls her naked body into her own. Gillian nuzzles the spot right under her jaw and leaves soft kisses on her neck. Harper hums softly. "A girl can most definitely get used to this." She pulls away just enough so that she can see Gillian's face and smiles at her. "Hi."

Gillian returns the smile. "Hey there, my pretty girl." Then she lays her head back down onto Harper's shoulders.

"Did I wake you?" Harper asks. Gillian just shakes her head. They lay that way for a bit longer before Harper speaks up again. "What time do you have to leave here in the morning?" She asks.

Gillian has been dreading this conversation all night. "I was planning on leaving at seven-ish. But, I guess that depends on you." She says as she pulls herself away from Harper and lays down on her pillow once again facing her instead.

Harper repositions herself so that she is lying in the same position opposite Gillian. She can see into Gillian's eyes this way and their faces are just a few inches apart. "Why does that depend on me?" Harper asks somewhat dumbfounded.

Gillian thinks about her answer for a minute and when she finally replies, Harper can hear the mix of emotions in her voice. "I suppose that it doesn't. Not really. What time do you plan on leaving for New York in the morning?"

Suddenly Harper remembers that she had asked Gillian for the time off to go back to New York but she is not going to need it anymore. She chuckles without replying right away but when she sees the confused look on Gillian's face, she says, "I think that I'm going to stay here for the holidays."

Gillian frowns and is still very much confused. "You are? But, I thought--"

"That was just something that I planned to do because I thought that it would give me some space away from you. But now, I don't need or want any space." She reaches over, puts her hand on Gillian's lower back, and pulls the woman closer to her touching their foreheads together. "I was running." Harper says barely above a whisper.

Gillian pulls away and studies Harper for a moment before she leans in and captures her mouth with her own. She hopes that the kiss will reassure Harper, erasing any doubt or uneasiness that she might still have in her mind. Once she pulls away, she sees that Harper's eyes are closed but she is smiling. Gillian waits for Harper to open her eyes again before she speaks again. "I'm very happy to hear that you're going to be here when I get back. There isn't anyone else that I would rather see after spending Christmas with my family. I was honestly worried that you wouldn't be here and that feeling was so awful." She adds a pouty lip at the end of her statement for effect.

Harper lightly kisses her protruded lip.. "I'm sorry that I made you feel that way. I probably should have mentioned earlier that I want to spend as much time as I can here with you. Speaking of that..." She leans over to look at the clock on the nightstand. It was just a little after four in the morning. "Merry Christmas." Harper says.

Gillian smiles. "Merry Christmas, Harper." She says sweetly.

"I'll have to say, this is the best Christmas morning I've ever had in my life. You with your kisses, and this bed, basically just booted Christmas 1991 down to 2nd place." Harper replies with a big grin.