note: YEAH READ THAT TITLE AGAIN! total fluff. i love them.
Emma looked at herself in the steamy mirror and frowned. She never thought of herself to be very attractive and now after finally finding herself in a relationship, her self conscious levels have, to put it bluntly, sky rocketed.
She grabbed her towel off the floor and dried her hair thoroughly and studied her natural curls. Would Paul prefer it this way or did he like it straightened? It shouldn't matter, but to Emma, it really did. She leant forward to the mirror and scratched at where a zit was forming. Great, now she'd have to wear a bit of makeup to bed. She noticed how tired her eyes looked and figured she'd have to have some better sleep, but then again she'd just end up having coffee, lying awake, thinking about she was always thinking about.
Paul. That perfect dork that she'd somehow managed to become official with. Through the early mornings at Beanie's to what ended up being the late date nights at countless restaurants. Together the pair grew incredibly close, and soon they were official. They'd held hands, kissed, cuddled, you name it. But what Emma regretted was not admitting she had fallen in love with him. Perhaps it was too early, but for her, she knew it was true.
Anytime she was around Paul, she wanted to be the best version of herself for him. Perhaps she went overboard, spending a bit too long on her looks, but in the end he always made her feel good. But it was tiring too, not being able to really be herself sometimes. Emma was known as a bit of a badass, but with Paul, she'd grown truly soft.
As she quickly snuck a glance at herself again in the now clearer mirror, she nodded to herself before quietly opening up the bathroom door. Emma walked through the hallway of her apartment towards the kitchen, where she saw Paul sitting on the couch. As she grabbed a glass of water, she said a small hello to him but he didn't answer. She shuffled over and saw he had headphones and was on FaceTime with his friend Bill. Emma assumed they had just got on, as Paul was asking him how his day was.
She smiled at him. Paul was the most polite and thoughtful person she knew. He always put others first and knew how to make someone smile and feel happy. She took a sip of water and sat down where she could still see the back of Paul and his FaceTime call. He was smiling into the camera as Bill chatted away and Emma watched them silently.
She took another gulp of water when she heard Paul say her name. Emma almost spat it out everywhere but quickly regained her composure by swallowing it and setting the glass down, turning her attention back over to Paul, whose face lit up on his phone screen.
"Emma is so amazing." He was saying to Bill, and she couldn't help but blush. "She's just so amazing, Bill, really. Like, the moment I met her, I was so... so drawn to her! And she's kind, and funny, and so pretty. Like the most beautiful, gorgeous, stunning girl I've ever seen." Paul gushed into the camera and Emma was now all smiles. "And she's herself. She speaks her mind, and she's not afraid to be the boss. But she's also so adorable, like, I can't take my eyes off of her, ever. Which might be creepy but it's because... It's because I love her!"
Bill's face from the screen was shocked, but Emma's was even more than that. In the process of Paul talking, she had risen her glass again but when she heard that one four-letter word, she dropped the glass and it shattered across the floor. Paul jumped and whirled around, yanking out his headphones in the process.
"Emma!" Paul said hurriedly, his face now bright red. He turned towards his phone quickly and mumbled a quick goodbye to his friend before hanging up and throwing his phone across the couch. He got up and walked towards Emma, staying far away to not step on glass. "E-Emma, I'm sorry, I- Emma?"
She had tears in her eyes from everything he had said. All those kind words Paul had said had brought her to tears. But he loved her, and that was the most exciting part of all.
"H-how much did you hear from that?" He stammered, looking at her straight ahead.
Emma simply shook her head and opened her mouth, but no words formed. But, she quickly got up out of the chair and flung herself towards him, literally jumping up on him.
"W-woah, okay." Paul laughed lightly at the sudden embrace, and wrapped his arms around her waist and she clung her arms around his neck.
She looked down at him and smiled. "I love you." She said quietly, before speaking up. "Paul, I love you too!" She moved her hands to cup his cheeks and moved her head to kiss him passionately. His lips were warm and soft against hers and Paul smiled into the kiss.
Emma reluctantly pulled away and smiled through her tears. "You have no idea how long I've waited to tell you that."
Paul, still completely in shocked, grinned at her and nodded at her vigorously. "Everything I said is true, Em. You make me a better person." He swung her around playfully before lowering her to the ground gently.
"I really fucking love you, Paul, you have no idea." Emma gasped and smiled at him so hard, she felt like her face would fall off. She hugged him tightly before kissing him quickly again.
Paul laughed gently and held her close, before looking over her shoulder at the mess of glassware on the floor. "Clearly you were shocked." He pointed out happily.
"Yep!" Emma said excitedly, staring at his eyes with pure love. "'Cause you love me!"
"Yeah, yeah. Now I can finally tell you every day." He leant down and kissed her forehead and she blushed at the soft gesture. "Let's clean up, because after we're gonna cuddle."
"Abso-fucking-lutely we are."
