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If Y/N had to be completely honest, the first few months working in Pike's Corporate were hellish. Not because it was difficult and time consuming (which it was, for sure), but because she found herself completely enamoured by Rosamund Pike herself.
It was something crazy to realize.
Ever since that fateful night Rosamund let herself take a place inside of Y/N's daily life as more than just her boss by taking her home in the freezing haze of bodies warmed up by wine and good food, the assistant couldn't bring herself to understand how infuriating it was trying to still look at the blonde woman in a respectful manner.
It wasn't that the younger woman had her mind set to have pervert thoughts about how awesome it would be to have Pike's slander arms wrapped around her waist and plump lips touching hers. Well...she did find herself navigating these waters once or twice in the past three months after that dinner, but it was just simply wishing for the least. She looked forward to hearing how Rosamund would always call her by the name instead of surname, and the intimacy of how their fingers would brush against each other while trading papers and pens and even the occasional food Pike would order for both of them to eat inside of her office because, in her own words, she had to make sure Y/N stupid habit of not eating every three hours would bring her to the ground in the mind of the day.
It was heartwarming for her, truthfully, to feel that Rosamund cared about her more than she had the obligation to. Actually, she didn't have to do anything besides make sure her payment was there by the end of the month. But she did. She drove Y/N back to her place every single day after working hours because both of them were the last ones to leave the building. She would, as said, buy her food and offer her a warmer coat when the weather would change out of the blue. Rosamund had given her a red scarf on day, because the sky was gloomy and her nose had started hurting from the amount of cold air Y/N was inhaling while being out of the office to assist Rosamund in a court appointment.
Pike would always, without a doubt, make her fell safe and, somehow, loved. It was something so gentle and in small acts of service and shy words, that Y/N herself didn't quite realize how it brought her to the knees when it came to her feelings toward said woman.
"Y/N, can you please send this email back to Mrs. Harrison? The documents are signed.", Rosamund asked her with that dammed sweet smile that would light up the entire room and be damned the way it made her heart flutter.
“ Yeah, sure!” she answered, taking the iPad back into her hands, having one of them held by Rosamund. “Is everything okay, Rosie?”
Rosamund had a smirk on her lips when the nickname slipped. It was a new thing, something that came up while the older was driving her to her flat two nights before. They were joking about how Rosamund's friends would call her Ross, and how Y/N could only picture Friends' Ross and Rosie would be better.
“ Well, then you should call me that, darling. I'm pretty sure no one else is ever going to. ”
And it became a thing Y/N would do when they were alone. Under the watchful eyes of other employees that were starting to grow skeptical of their dynamic, Rosamund wasn't Rosamund, nor Rosie. She was Miss Pike, and even thinking about saying it made the assistant's mouth hurt.
" Yeah...", There was a pause that gave too much space for interpretation. Rosamund was lost in thought, not looking directly into her eyes and Y/N wasn't sure if that made her fell better or worse. "Everything is fine, just a long day."
She delivered the line like it held much more behind it, and it actually did. Much to her own displeasure, Rosamund had settled into the realization that she was in love with Y/N by two full months, and it was eating her insides to be so close to her. Closer than she should be as a boss, too far away to be consired anything else other than a friend. So she decided that feeling how Y/N fingers were so smooth and warm against her hand, silvery rings adorning them, was better than having nothing at all.
Thankfully, Y/N was more than happy to comply to what her newfound friend needed, turning her palm down to hold Rosie's hands to her own, squeezing it lightly while looking at her in a way that made Rosamund look back, finding the sweetest smile she loved more than anyone could imagine.
All that Y/N could think of was how insane it was to hold someone and feel like the whole world could vanish if they stayed like that, and nothing would change at all. Even in this scenario, she realized, having Rosamund then and there with her made it worth it. The sweet voice, smile, gentle touch. Their frenzy together, even if ever so light and hiding behind secrecy, was palpable and she was addicted. It was what falling in love tasted like, and that hit her like a truck in full speed.
She had been falling in love.
“ You've been overworking yourself these past days. Why don't you finish things up here and go home earlier? I'll just send this email and I can take care of anything else that comes till the end of the shift."
It was thoughtful, as always. Rosamund needed that after one full week of extra hours to make sure they would win the case they did in the same morning. It was like her body was screaming for some time off, but she knew her mind would be as restless as it had been in the past days, when Y/N made her loose sleep and wonder about all the "what ifs". So, instead of taking up the offer, the blonde let go of Y/N's hand.
“Send the email and call it a day", It was not her asking, Y/N knew. " I've been saving a wine back home that I just know you'll love, and I'm not taking no as an answer."
And, although afraid of being so close to Rosamund right after realizing something so intense as the idea of falling, Y/N nodded and did as she was told.
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She didn't feel at ease...at all. Usually talking and just generally being by Rosamund's side was a no brainer. She didn't need to think if it wasn't work related, to consider variables or calculate her moves. But now it was different. She felt like falling into a rabbit hole just by even thinking about how the blonde's presence by her was intoxicating. She couldn't bring herself to relax, knowing full well that, maybe, if her eyes fell onto Rosie's, she might give up all of her dignity and kiss her.
Y/N was feeling too much, and it would be too easy to completely shut down everything around her and focus on the chaos building inside of her mind. But, then again, there was something worrying about the silence that also came from Rosamund from the minute she was gone from her office to the one Y/N was by her doorstep, searching eyes curious as to the distant look on her face.
It was unsettling that Rosamund, the one of them that would always initiate their conversations and try to friendly ask about everything related to Y/N, was painfully different today. The quietness, the longing eyes staring in the distance, the way she would mostly try not to brush against her assistant and yet bring her to her home was too confusing to even let the younger one remember that she was just minutes ago finding out about her own feelings towards her.
Y/N was at lost and as Rosamund poured them a glass of wine each, her bright eyes searched for some kind of comfort looking forward into the city. Soft and gentle hands handed her one glass, burgundy dripping quiety along the sides of it. She might have seen the little patterns that ressambled one of the equaly quiety drizzel agains the large windows that overlooked sweet, restless, old London City. But her mind was elsewhere. It was focused on her. On her red tinted lips, her medium blonde hair that smelled like strawberry more often than not. The small wrinkles on the corner of those bluish greys. It was hopeless, and it was also killing her inside.
Pike's presence guided her towards the large sofa. She walked around too afraid to be steping on egg shells, not familiar at all to that private version of Rosamund. At the second, Y/N felt as if she could go against a thousand men, but not against how Rosie, her caring and sweet Rosie, quietly held her pinkie with her own, opening some kind of intimacy that she no longer could unravel without being caught; at all.
Her eyes fell onto the gentle and quiet smile those lips were giving her, and when such a clouded mind gave in, there was no denying the deep heartfelt sight that left the woman's body. Rosamund didn't need to be even closer to her, settled by her side, turned to her on the same confortable piece of furniture she had spent countless nights awake. That was before meeting the woman whose breath smelled like her best wine and some mint she had probably acquired from chewing on the same brand of gum Pike always saw resting on top of her pristine table at work, right outside her office doors, right on the edge of her life.
And Rosamund could not take anymore of her being right there. On the premises, lurking around, always there by her, but not really. She wanted it all. The late hours at work and her self disciplined being. The stubborn careless self. The morning crankiness without ever being rude. The way that she would look at her. Slightly touch her. And...
Did the woman of her fucking dreams even liked her?
Rosamund took one step back at the intrusive thoughts. Her absence made Y/N insides twist in outer agony. And maybe it was the red wine. Maybe it was the way Rosamund smelled especially good that night, or how she could read her so perfectly that she should probably reconsider ever feeling so damn right about something in her life. But there was no inch of her body that could stop what her mind and heart had decided together.
One of Y/N's hands were still holding onto the expensive glass of wine for her dear life, but the other reached out, sliding slowly against her boss's hair to just...hold her. It was so soft that Pike felt her whole consciousness melt right there, leaning against her palm. There were so many words that could've been said there, but none was good enough when the younger girl leaned in, taking one step further into the short battle that short circuited her whole existence. Their foreheads touched, just as the tips of their noses. Suddenly none of them could properly breathe. Y/N gulped, closed her eyes and considered. Her job, her life, her future. But in the half minute that passed, nothing mattered anymore because Rosamund closed the small insignificant gap, crashing their lips together.
And, oh fuck, didn't she taste just like wine and mint, and just so right.
The younger woman felt herself trip, crash and fall. So hard that the wine was long forgotten, probably spilled with the poor attempt of placing it on the coffee table before the other hand joined it's pair around her lover's face.
Their lips moved in sync, like facing and pacing and tumbling along with each other. Y/N kissed her like her lungs depended on it as fuel to function. She breathed Rosamund in with each inch her tongue explored Pike's, pulling her in, inching closer, almost combusting in panting, brushing of swollen lips and giant smiles.
It took them a moment of two. Maybe three. Both too drunk on each other to even consider departing.
It was Rosamund's time to hold her face, so tenderly it almost made her cry with the utmost comfort and...love, that it brought her.
“ I've waited so, so long to hold you like this. ”, she whispered, gently stroking Y/N's left cheek. “ I just might never let you go.”
A heartbeat.
“ I might just let you have me forever then.”
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Hi guys! I'm sorry it took me so long to finish the Afterglow series. I must admit that it was my first time trying to develop a plotline within this amount of chapters. Used to write very excruciating books that would have close to 60 chapters. So...yeah. I'm not very happy how the whole thing turned out, but I enjoyed every chapter as its own. Guess I just might be the type who either writes 1 or 1 hundred.
But, there we go. Afterglow is finished, I have a couple of drafts already waiting on me, and I intend to post them. So, if you guys are still alive as I am, don't forget to give me you honest thoughts so I can keep going.
Thank ya!