Stronger Together | George Russell

09 - stars

Tired, I laid my head back and looked at the night sky, which was full of stars. George did the same and so we watched the stars until suddenly we saw a small, bright shooting star.

"Did you see that? Make a wish babe."

I giggled quietly that it was really cheesy to wish on a shooting star, but George said he always did it.

"Will you tell me what you wished for?" I asked jokingly and looked up at him.

"If it has been fulfilled, otherwise it brings bad luck."

He smiled lovingly at me and gave me a kiss on the forehead. Sighing, I leaned back into his chest and closed my eyes for a moment. I could hear his heart beating beneath me and the beat made mine beat faster too. What was this man doing to me?

"Are you falling asleep babe?"

When I just grumbled, George chuckled before pulling away from the hood and more or less pushing me to the passenger side. Yawning, I collapsed into the seat after placing the bridal bouquet on the front shelf. George quickly walked around the car and got in too. 

The journey was quite quiet as I was half asleep and George was also tired and therefore had to be extra careful. However, we arrived at the Russells' house quite quickly and got out. While I was already going upstairs, George wanted to put the bouquet in a vase, so he quietly disappeared into the kitchen. 

I quickly brushed my teeth and slipped into George's shirt before crawling under the covers. I turned off my cell phone and thought about Berger's message again. But my head was too tired to think about it any longer and so I fell back into the pillow with a sigh.

"Stay up two more minutes and I'll be with you." George whispered, poking his head through the door before disappearing again.

"I will try," I mumbled as my eyelids grew heavier.

However, George had hurried and appeared again in the dark room after just under a minute. He quickly got rid of his clothes and hung his jacket on the coat hook on the closet. After putting on a new pair of boxers, he crawled into bed next to me and tiredly I lifted the blanket so he could get under it.

"Gute Nacht, ich liebe dich," I murmured, half asleep, and next to me I felt Georg put his arm around me and pull me closer to him. (Good night, I love you)

"Ich lieben dich auch." (I loving you too)

These words, despite being mispronounced, continued to echo in my head for minutes as I slowly drifted away. And like the nights before, I didn't have any nightmares in George's arms, or any severe ones, which is why I woke up the next day with a smile on my face. 

When I turned around I saw a sleeping George, who looked extremely good with his tousled hair and shirtless, which made me bite my lower lip nervously. I carefully laid over to him and began to place light kisses on his neck. 

He made a few noises of satisfaction before he stirred and swung his arm around my waist, turning us around.

"Good morning," he mumbled into his shirt that I was wearing.

Laughing, I ruffled his hair, which covered my entire chest, so I couldn't see his face anymore. Sighing, I closed my eyes again and let my head fall back into the pillow.

"George!"

The voices became clearly audible when the bedroom door suddenly opened and Lari and Tim stood there. George and I immediately jumped up, but the two children had already jumped onto the bed and buried us under themselves. 

Laughing, I looked at George, who was also grinning, and suddenly a thought popped into my head. This exact picture a few years in the future would be perfect, George and I with our children waking us up in the morning. 

However, I was quickly brought back to reality as Lari pulled on my shirt.

"Annabelle, can we play in the garden?"

Overwhelmed, I looked at George, who gave me a quick kiss on the temple before getting up and quickly slipping into his sweatpants. Tim was now next to his sister and they both looked at me expectantly. 

Still a little overwhelmed by the whole situation, I took a few seconds before I could answer.

"Yes, of course. But George and I just woke up. So how about you two go downstairs and help your grandma make breakfast and we'll get to you in a few minutes?"

Satisfied with my answer, the two climbed off the bed and ran out of the room. Laughing, George watched them go and then closed the door before coming to sit at the edge of my bed.

"Sorry about that."

"Hey no problem, it's great to be woken up by children in the morning."

I gave him a meaningful wink and he just grinned back before holding out his hand so I could stand up. Since I was too lazy to look for something in my suitcase, I grabbed a pair of George's sweatpants and put them on, which my boyfriend only commented with a smile. 

Hand in hand we hopped down the stairs where everyone was already sitting at the table having breakfast.

"Did they wake you up?" Steve asked laughing and I nodded while George quickly disappeared into the kitchen.

"But no problem, children are great."

"Wait until you have your own. George and his siblings weren't the best either."

George glanced indignantly at his mother as he sat down next to me.

"Hey what do you mean, I've always been the perfect gentleman," said George with a shrug, whereupon the rest of us could only laugh heartily before he became serious again, "But we can't wait to have children of our own."

The table fell silent for a moment and while Alison smiled happily, Lari looked at me confused.

"Are you pregnant?"

My jaw dropped in surprise and I felt George grab my hand and squeeze it.

"No, sweetie, I'm not pregnant and I don't plan to be any time soon. You know, we've got other things to worry about right now than having a kid, but when the time comes, you'll have a cousin." I said calmly and she started to beam at the last part.

Luckily, other conversations came up again, including the plans for this week, which would not only be Lari and Tim's last here, no, George and I would also be leaving at the end of the week. 

Mercedes needed him at headquarters and simulator training was also on the agenda, which is why we couldn't stay here any longer. My original plan was to go back to Vienna, but George had already suggested after I arrived here that I should accompany him so that he always knew that I was doing well. 

After breakfast, George and I helped Alison put things away and Steve also came into the kitchen, so George took advantage of the opportunity.

"We wanted to talk to you about something." He carefully began to talk about yesterday's photo and the statement we wanted to make in the next few days. 

As soon as I arrived we sat together and talked about everything. They were almost like parents to me, especially Alison, so I had no problem with the whole thing. They just made me feel like I wasn't alone in the fight, unlike back then.

"We support you there and if you need anything, just let us know. You too Annabelle, you can come here anytime, even if George isn't there, you're always welcome," said Steve and Alison at the end of the conversation nodded in agreement.

I thanked them both a few times before Lari and Tim stormed into the kitchen.

"You two are really exhausting, how am I supposed to do household chores in these conditions?" George's mother chided her grandchildren.

So that the two of them could have a half-day of peace and quiet, I suggested that George and I could take them to the beach for a picnic sometime in the next few days and everyone was immediately enthusiastic, especially Lari and Tim. 

Proud of me and my ideas, George pulled me close and gave me a kiss on the temple while the others all disappeared elsewhere.

"I love you, you are perfect," he murmured into my hair and I had to smile.

I wasn't perfect, this was perfect, we were perfect.