Til Death Do Us Part || Tate Langdon

forever

      "18...19....20," you opened your eyes. "Here I come!"

   You turned and looked around the empty room, then glanced up the stairs, making your heart race again. You crept up them so he wouldn't know you were onto him, and reached the top without a peep. You checked the bathroom first: empty. Then the spare room: nothing. Finally you made it to his bedroom, and bit your bottom lip in anticipation as you turned the knob.

   Tate was lying out in the open, right on his bed, arms crossed over his shirtless torso.

   "What--" your arms dropped to your side.

   "Guess I lose," he threw his hands up for a second and pressed his mouth into a line. 

   You stood motionless, realizing this was his plan all along. He made his way over to you, his gaze weakening your knees. His mouth was on your neck suddenly, licking and gently biting below your ear, sending goosebumps over your arms.

   "Go take your spot on the bed, winner," he whispered to you, and you swallowed nervously.

   He followed close behind as you walked cautiously over to you guys' bed, and you let him help get your bottoms off. He smiled up at you like it was his first time seeing you bare that way, and you looked shyly away. He asked one more time if you were sure this was okay, and you nodded eagerly.

You were a writhing mess only a few seconds later, 'cause fuck was Tate good with his tongue.

*****

      Another week slipped by, and each day you realized more and more how much you loved you and Tate's life together. It was calm, peaceful; completely different from your upbringing. Back then, you were always getting yelled at over nothing, having to walk on eggshells and gauge your aunt's mood before doing anything as little as even speaking. You felt worthless and stupid. Alone. Like a burden.

But now, with Tate, all that was the opposite. He told you and showed you every day how much he loved having you here. He was gentle with you; he kept you safe and happy. Days and weeks flew by when you were together, and it felt like you two just couldn't get enough of each other. All the sudden, you got a crazy idea. It scared you and excited you at the same time, but being with Tate was the one thing you were sure you'd want forever.

You'd been in the backyard for most of the morning, relaxing in your designated patio chair under the branches of a tree back there that was as tall as the house. Now mid-January, the days were getting back in the high 60's, and life was slowly starting to bloom again. After making your life changing decision, you practically skipped into the house and up to Tate's room where he was typing away on his laptop.

   "Tate?" you spoke calmly with a smile.

   He looked up at you, admiration instantly flooding those puppy-dog eyes of his, "Y/N?"

   "I wanna be with you forever," you announced proudly.

   He beamed for a moment before shutting his computer and standing to face you, "I wanna be with you forever, too." He took both your hands in his and kissed them.

   "Do you know what I'm saying?" you asked.

   "I... think so?" He raised one brow. "You love me, right? You want us to always be together?"

   "I want to die in the house," you blurted, and his expression immediately fell.

   He dropped your hands, "Why?"

   "Because," you turned, still smiling, "I don't have any where else in mind to go, and I don't even want to be somewhere you can't be."

   His bottom lip twitched, and he took one of your hands again and said sweetly, "Y/N..."

   "Plus, even if Thea came looking for me, she'd never be able to hurt me, or even find me." you added.

   The look on his face was pained, with a slight mix of excitement, "So... why don't you just stay here alive?"

   "I could," you scrunched your face, "But I'd keep aging and you wouldn't. Why not both be 18?"

   He laughed almost sadly at my comment, and looked to the floor for a moment before meeting your eyes again. "You're really sure about this?"

   You nodded with a tiny smile, and squeezed his hand, "Come on."

You led him downstairs, once again nearly skipping, as if the two of you were headed toward a picnic and not the gun in the end table drawer. You batted your lashes at him and flirted happily the whole way down the stair case, and he was rightfully confused on how he should feel. When we reached the bottom, you kissed his cheek and dropped his hand.

Something so dark shouldn't have been so exciting, but everything about this made sense. Constance could bring you guys things, Delaney or Remi could come over whenever, and know that you were safe, and it'd be just you and Tate, everyday. Safe together forever.

He looked nervously around when you pulled the gun from the drawer, and began pacing the floor as you looked it over. You switched the safety off, put your finger over the trigger, and placed the shooting end on your temple. You took a deep breath and looked at Tate, then squeezed your eyes shut. "I love you."

   "Wait," he finally spoke loudly, a split second before you could pull the trigger.

You opened your eyes again, to see a single tear roll down his cheek. You lowered the gun.

   "I can't watch," he muttered and shook his head. "I can't let you."

   "Okay," you said in a shaky breath, adrenaline pumping through you. "Go upstairs, I'll be up when I'm like you."

He didn't say anything, but instead came over with a calm expression, tears still flowing. He never broke eye contact as he slowly took the gun from your hand, and tossed it to the ground where it went clattering across the floor.

   "What the hell?" you asked. "I thought you wanted me here."

   "I do. And I'm so glad you want to be here too," he spoke sadly, and then, out of the blue, "I think you should search your aunt's name on your phone."