KISS: In The Band

Ch 2: I Miss That (Peter)

I pushed open the door to the apartment with a sigh, absolutely dead from work, and felt my heart immediately drop. Ace was standing by the door, dressed all nicely in a shirt and tie. He gave me a warm smile, taking my hand. "W-what's all this?" I asked, shutting the door behind me and allowing him to lead me to the table, which had a candlelit dinner spread across it. He shrugged, giving me a kiss before pouring me a glass of wine.

"I dunno, I just felt like having a nice dinner with you! You've been spending so much time at work and you've been so stressed lately I just wanted to treat you!" he said with a smile. My heart absolutely melted and I kissed him. "You, you are truly the greatest husband I could ever ask for and I love you from the bottom of my heart," I said softly. He squeezed my hand fondly. "I love you too. And I really appreciate everything you do for me and all the work you do."

I took a bite of the steak he had pan-seared and felt my eyes widen. "Oh my gosh love this is delicious! You're such a good cook!" I cried. He laughed, eyes sparkling. "Thanks! I'm not gonna lie, I called Paul since he's a way better cook and asked for help. But I did it all myself! And I'm really glad you like it."

It was so nice to not have to have worry about cooking or anything like that. And it was so, so nice to be able to sit and relax and talk with my dearest darling husband. Once we had both finished, Ace jumped to his feet, taking our plates and quickly putting them in the dishwasher. "I did all the other dishes before dinner so once you got home we could just spend time together!" he said proudly, pouring us each another glass of wine and pulling me to my feet.

I grinned, slipping an arm around his waist and giving him a kiss. "Babe you are the smartest and I love you so much," I purred. He smiled, nodding. "Ah, but I love you more! Now come on, let's watch a movie. I know you love old Western movies so I rented us one!" "But...you hate old Western movies!" I said as he led me to the couch, sitting me on his lap. "But I love you! And you like old Western movies so that's what we're watching tonight. I rented us um...oh, the Magnificent Seven! Apparently that one's a classic."

I snuggled up against him, resting my head on his chest. "It is a classic. It's one of my favorites," I said. He played with my hair, pressing play and taking a sip of wine. "Good! I'm glad," he said, evidently incredibly pleased with himself, which, to be fair, he had every right to be.

We spent the whole movie cuddling with each other and making out and just generally really being happy with being able to hold each other. Eventually the credits rolled and Ace turned to me, eyes dancing. "Hey love of my life, you wanna go to bed?" he teased. I smiled, heart skipping a beat, and felt my face blush pink. "When have I ever not wanted to go to bed with you?"

Giggling, he leapt to his feet, scooping me up in his arms. I laughed, throwing my arms around his neck and kissing him as he staggered to our room, doing his best not to drop me, just like on our wedding night.

My eyes flickered open and I sat up in bed with a sigh, wishing I could slip back into that dream. Running a hand through my hair I looked over at Ace, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the dark before I was finally able to see him. He was fast asleep, sprawled across our bed. My heart sank and I drew my knees to my chest, staring sadly at him. 

He stirred in his sleep, fumbling about for a bit before he found my hand, giving it a squeeze. "Mm hey babe w-what's wrong?" he mumbled through a yawn. I sighed, turning away from him and pulling my hand free. "Nothing, go to sleep," I said quietly. He sat up, picking my hand up again and pulling me against his side. "Bullshit. Come on love, what's bugging you?" he murmured, kissing me on the cheek.

I bit back another sigh, shaking my head. "I dunno. I just miss you." He let go of me for a second as he switched on the bedside lamp. Frowning, he held me again, running a hand through my hair. "Miss me? But babe we've been married for almost four years and I haven't left you during that whole time." Closing my eyes, I leaned against him, feeling momentarily soothed by the steady rise and fall of his chest. 

"I know, I know, and I love you for that. It's been four fucking wonderful years and I've loved every second of it. It just feels like with the band...we haven't had as much time for each other? Like I mean...come on Ace, when's the last time we've had a date night? When's the last time either of us has done a surprise for the other or something? You know? Like I just...I miss that. It just feels like we were more affectionate toward each other before the band happened." 

His face fell and he nodded slowly. "Oh. I'm sorry, babe. I didn't mean to hurt you and make it seem like I don't love you as much. I still love you just as much as I do the day we got married, or engaged, or hell, the day I asked you out senior year." I shook my head, giving him a tight hug. "No! Ace, no, no that's not what I'm saying at all! No doll you didn't do anything wrong, don't feel like you did! No, no it's not your fault at all!" 

He kissed me on the nose, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "Well I promise I do love you. But you're right, we have been busy. The band's kind of putting a strain on all of us. Gene's really stressed especially." I grinned, squeezing his thigh as my hand moved below his waist. "Well, we might have something to do with that. But you know what, let's just try and make more time for each other! Let's have a weekly date night, how about that?" 

Ace's eyes lit up and he kissed me. "Sounds dreamy. Let's do Tuesday! Ooh, and let's have some fun right now," he said with a cheeky grin, tugging at my shirt. 

So maybe our relationship wasn't as on the rocks as I thought it was.