"Do you think we could be boyfriend and girlfriend, Ms. Parrilla?", Sean asked with a mischievous grin on his face.
"I do believe we could, Mr. Maguire.", Lana said nodding positively before crushing her lips to his, removing every single inch of space between them.
The whole situation felt like a huge dream for both of them and neither was willing to ever wake up. Sean's hands traveled from Lana's face to her back, placing them just above her hip to hold her with a soft amount of pressure, whilst her fingers still remained on his face, cupping it slightly.
Since Lana was laying on top of him with basically her whole body, she could feel how Sean's heart began to pound faster and heavier and she knew that her inner self was doing the exact same thing. Their lips moved in sync, nibbling softly at each other like they were specially made for each other. A little laugh escaped Lana's mouth when she had to break the kiss because of the lack of being able to breathe. Her forehead remained on Sean's, who was grinning from ear to ear, still with closed eyes to hold on to the moment just a few seconds longer.
"We should keep that to ourselves for a while…", Lana said quietly. "Let's not tell anyone just yet, I wanna share those first moments with you. Exclusively you.", she exclaimed. "And no kissing in front of the children.", Lana added.
"Yeah… I agree. We should wait a bit before telling them. To be sure it's working between us, even though I do not doubt since we basically lived together for the past five months.", Sean grinned. "But we still should be mindful, because telling the children is a huge step since you would basically become their Stepmother…", Sean said with a smile since he liked the sound of Lana being his kid's Stepmom at one point. She basically was already more than just an auntie to them but adding the official name would even make it more real.
"That title actually sounds beautiful…", Lana said, having some tears in her eyes again. "Sorry, I am extremely emotional today.", Lana laughed, giving him a quick kiss. "I cannot comprehend what is happening right now.", she confessed. "You have no idea how much I would love to be a part of that family. Officially. I love every single one of you so much and it always makes me feel better when I see you. Gosh, it's so kitschy what I am saying."
"I basically poured out my whole heart a couple of minutes ago… I think the moment couldn't get any more corny for both of us.", Sean laughed and pulled her into a close embrace.
"You're crushing my boobs.", Lana complained with a giggle in her voice, which made Sean lower his pressure a little. "That's better.", she informed him with a grin. "When do we have to get up to pick up the kids?", Lana mumbled into his chest, not really knowing if she really wanted to have an answer since she could stay right here forever.
"At 2 pm. Still, plenty of time left to cuddle.", Sean said. "But unfortunately I have to use the bathroom."
"Nooo…", Lana complained, not wanting to get up from him, since her resting position was just perfect.
"I am sorry, but I really have to.", Sean said before turning to the left, making her roll down from his body, so he was on top of Lana now. He was holding himself to put his weight off her, still giving an apologizing look to her. "I'll make it up to you. Promise", Sean grinned and gave her a fast kiss before stumbling outside of the room.
Whilst he was away his phone started to ring, showing Josh's ID on the screen.
"Sean? You got an incoming call from Josh. Should I take it?", Lana yelled in the direction of the bathroom but didn't get a response. She hesitated to just answer the call since it wasn't her phone, but since it was Josh calling it shouldn't be that much of a big deal.
She accepted and held the phone to her ear, which was a mistake since Josh was basically screaming into the speaker not even letting Lana say one word.
"See brother!! That was the best dare of your life! In the end, asking Lana out wasn't the worst idea! WAIT… were you guys just cuddling or was there more happening??", Josh's voice yelled excitedly before finally stopping.
"Just cuddling. It was just a cuddle.", Lana said in a monotonous voice, making Josh widen his eyes in no time.
"Fuck. Lana, I am sorry. I didn't know that it was you… I wouldn't have said--", he didn't come further with his explanation since Lana just pressed the red button with a deep sigh and the struggle to actually breathe. All the happiness vanished from her body, pulling her back into the dark thoughts that were sometimes present in her head since her last serious relationship. Her eyes moved incensed in all the different directions in the room, whilst her head was showing her several flashbacks from situations she had experienced.
When Sean entered the room again, his smile faded as soon as he saw the woman, sitting in a frozen position on his bed. The calm atmosphere was gone, her breathing wasn't steady anymore, just hectic and in short waves. "Hey, what's wrong?", he asked immediately, crawling up to her in the bed. His face showed more concern than ever, thinking she had an asthma attack because of her unregulated breathing.
"It… was a dare…", Lana said, still not believing what Josh had said. "Josh called… I just took it because I thought that it would be okay since I know him and you didn't answer me if I can take it.", she mumbled all at once, not even taking a breath in between. "And… he talked about that dare… this… all this was just a setup??", Lana asked with a sob, wiggling out of his arms and standing up from the bed.
Sean's eyes got as big as plates when he understood what Lana was trying to tell him. He held his hands out in defense, trying to calm her down before she would explode." No no no. That's a misunderstanding--", he started but got cut by Lana immediately.
"Yeah. That's what Fred used to say.", she cried out coldly. Normally Lana was a person who gave people the chance to explain themselves to make her understand but since her ex-husband had betrayed her many times, her heart snapped into defense mode immediately.
"What is that?? Is it all a joke to you? Are you hiding some cameras for your 'mates' to laugh about my stupidity for falling again for somebody that is using me? What the fuck, Sean?? Since when would you play games that could hurt people?", Lana yelled in a voice Sean had never heard before. There was so much anxiety, fear and sadness in it, that only just the sound shattered his heart into pieces. He was stunned in the moment, when Lana was stomping outside of the bedroom with tears running down her beautiful soft cheeks.
"Lana, wait!!", Sean shouted when he managed to move again. He hadn't thought about that being such a big deal, but it had to do with the fact that she totally misunderstood the situation. Sean ran behind her, grabbing her hand to turn Lana back to him.
"Let. Me. Explain.", he said in a calm voice, making Lana stop wiggling. She knew he was right. She knew that she should listen to what he had to say. "The dare was not to be together with you. The dare was to take you on a date and yes it was the reason why I finally found the guts to ask you but it is not the reason for my feelings. Everything I said was the truth and came from me, not from a stupid party game. I am extremely sorry that this situation triggered something that had to do with Fred. But I am truthful in my words. I am NOT him. And I wouldn't hurt you intentionally. Please… you have to believe me… and I know you do because you know me. You know that I wouldn't confess fake feelings just for a game.", Sean said with a pleading facial expression and managed to get Lana back in the real world, out of her toxic thoughts and experiences.
She nodded slightly, knowing that Sean wouldn't do something like that.
"I-I overreacted. I messed up...I-", but now it was her who got interrupted.
"Hey. Shhh. It's okay, darling. Calm down… you're shaking.", he said worriedly, pulling her into his arms. "Do you wanna talk about what triggered your reaction?", Sean asked, drawing circles on her back.
"No… no just… let us forget about that and have some pancakes. I am dying for some…", Lana sniffed, wiping away the last few tears but a look in Sean's face told her that he wasn't really convinced that she was going to be okay. "Stop looking at me like that.", she huffed.
"Wasn't it you who told me to talk about my feelings and outbursts? Yeah… it was you. When was the last time? Right… just recently on Tanya and my wedding day. So please, Lana. Talk to me. You listened to my crap for the last five months, let me return the favor.", he said with a small smile on his face.
"Alright. Fred always told me that I was misunderstanding the situation when I caught him calling his lover babe and even when I actually saw him with her in OUR bed, okay? That's why. And I… I just chose to believe that he wasn't cheating on me for such a long time since I still had the image of him in my head that as a nice guy. The guy I fell for and married. But he just changed so much over the years… he…it was like his success was carrying him further and further apart from me. He didn't like the fact that I was earning more money at the time, he always had this classic picture of a family in his mind where the father is the one who earns all the money. It destroyed him over the years. He was chasing his career and he was promoted many times. He got what he wanted in the end….he is a successful businessman indeed. But unfortunately the whole process changed him a lot. I mean… I don't wanna blame just him. I changed as well...and I wanted to get to know him better again after Once ended. That was when I caught him… with that… girl. She wasn't even our age. I love people deeply, with my whole soul… and he just… took all my trust for granted and spit on it. You know how fallen apart I was after my marriage. I wasn't fine… not even close to fine. BUT I learned to contain my anger and sadness and I moved on. That's the main part.", she said with a sigh and shook her head slightly to get rid of all those thoughts again. She took a long inhale before breathing out and looking him back into his eyes.
"And now I wanna forget about it.", she added and Sean didn't dare to pick up that topic since he knew that she didn't need that right now. Instead he pulled her in for a soft kiss, showing his support.
"Let's make pancakes.", Lana said with a small grin, whilst Sean had to chuckle.
"You know… if fans from Once could hear you they would probably collapse right here and now.", Sean laughed about the detail Lana didn't even recognize.
"Why's that?", She asked frowning, not knowing to which scene Sean was referring.
"It's like 'making tacos'. I guess it was Hook and Emma who 'made pancakes' when someone walked into them.", Sean laughed with a smirk remaining on his lips.
"Well, I didn't really define what making pancakes means, did I?", Lana grinned mischievously in a raspy voice, which made Sean swallow heavily.
"Alright. Jokes aside, I am starving so I am going to make breakfast.", Lana said and walked away, swinging her hips totally noticeable since she knew that Sean was watching.
"Stop teasing me, woman.", he said after her, shaking his head slightly in disbelief of what she had just done.
When Sean managed to break free from his spot, he followed Lana into the kitchen, grabbing her waist from behind.
"I still owe you", he grinned whilst placing a soft kiss on her neck, which made Lana close her eyes.
"I know… but right now I am extremely hungry and if you're not letting me finish those pancakes, I, unfortunately, have to hit you with that pan to knock you out.", Lana laughed, before cracking an egg.
"Understood.", Sean grinned and sat down at a barstool at the kitchen counter. "Do you need any help?", he asked politely but Lana turned his offer down since there wasn't much to do.
They had their breakfast just minutes later, which contained lots of eye contact because they could wrap their mind around everything that had happened in the last 12 hours. Lana slurped her coffee in relish, looking up once more into Sean's eyes.
"It's really weird sitting here...next to you, knowing that we are together. Like for real.", Lana said out loud to make it more believable for herself. "I didn't think that I would have another chance of finding a family like that.", Lana confessed with a small grin. "It feels like I am stuck in some Hollywood romance movie that is too corny to be actually true.", she laughed into her mug before taking another sip.
"I know, right? I mean even waking up to you and kissing you felt like a dream.", Sean said with a laugh. "You kiss way better than Regina.", he grinned, cutting his pancakes.
"Well… thank God. It would be kind of weird to kiss the exact same way privately, wouldn't it? I mean you're kissing differently as well. Never had your tongue connected with mine before.", she smirked, placing a hand on his since it was resting on the table. "Even though some people would tell me otherwise.", she mumbled to herself.
They both finished off their breakfast and got dressed before dedicating themselves to cleaning the house from yesterday's party. It took them literally hours to make it look decent again, before doing some laundry as well.
"Hey, it's time to pick up the kids, do you wanna come or stay here?", Sean asked nicely, leaning inside the room, whilst holding on to the doorframe.
"Ehm… I think I am going to stay this time. I want to finish hanging those clothes.", Lana nodded and Sean mirrored her action. All she needed was some minutes to herself to properly think through all of this.
"Alright, see you in a bit.", Sean said before giving her a quick kiss. Something he definitely liked getting used to.
Lana finished hanging the clothes outside for them to dry with a deep sigh, before looking up to the sky.
"Please tell me that I am doing the right thing, papa.", she cried out, letting herself sink to the ground to just sit on the grass right there and now. It didn't bother her at all that it was still slightly wet from all the rain yesterday.
"Fuck. It is the right way, isn't it?", She asked herself, biting one of her fingers. Lana knew how fragile she was after the divorce and even though she wanted to find happiness in a family, she was scared like hell to love as deeply again as she loved before.
"I love them so much, daddy… so much that I am scared to mess it up. I want to be together with Sean so badly that it feels… unreal to really be his girlfriend. But we'll manage, right? I… I have to take that chance. Now or never.", she said, pushing herself up again. Those sudden mood swings weren't something new to her, since she was a huge overthinker and imagined many possible outcomes within seconds but she learned overtime to pick herself up from the ground and stay by the decisions she made and where they had led her.
It took her another deep breath before walking back inside where she was faced with a picture of Tanya. Lana approached it slowly, picking it up from the TV table to have a closer look at it. A small smile appeared on her lips that was a mixture of sadness and thankfulness at the same time. "I promise I will do everything to keep them safe.", Lana whispered before kissing her fingertips and pressing them to the picture in her hand.
She felt much more relieved after those minutes of alone-time, even if it might appear weird to other people when she was speaking to herself. It helped her think everything through and face the real world.
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A/N: Since they are *finally* together I gladly take assumptions/ ideas/ wishes according to chapters about their relationship.
Keep in mind that I am pre-writing, so I am already around chapter 40. If any of you have an idea it might take a while until it will appear in the story, if I am not able to include it in a previous written chapter. 😝✌️