These past 6 months have gone better than I could have possibly hoped for. Kalin and the guys are closer than ever before, and the other signer's have welcomed him back with open arms. Akiza was the last one out of everyone to trust him and now those two are the closest out of everyone because of their past experiences.
I get jealous about it often but I try and not let it get to me. And now that I've been promoted from just a plain waitress to an Assistant manager I've been busier with the restaurant than I ever have been before, so that helps to prevent me from thinking about them often.
Kalin and the boys bonded by making a new runner for him to use, and Kalin and I have been living together ever since we've been reunited. In his down time, he'll go and spend time with the boys of he'll do some chores around our home. He'll pick me up from work and we'll talk on the couch for hours until I fall asleep, then he'll carry me to bed. Then in the mornings he'll make me breakfast and drive me to work again, it's funny because he'll only let me leave him with two minutes before I have to start work so that way we can spend as much time together as possible.
Now don't get me wrong, my life is so much better now that he's back, but I still can't help the nagging feeling that something is still missing from my life. I try not to think about it often but I know that Kalin is getting worried about me again, I've been quiet lately but it's totally un-intentional and I'm not afraid to admit that to him either.
This time though as I walked through the kitchen my heart began hammering in my chest when I saw Kalin sitting on the couch with his hands folded together and head hanging.
"Kalin?" I asked. He didn't move a muscle in response and that worried me even more.
I moved to sit down beside him and gently took his fingers so that I can slide them into mine. I stayed there beside him silently hoping that he would say something, but he never did.
"Kalin, did something happen today while I was at work?" He still remained silent. "If someone said or did something to you then I need to know who to..."
"It's not them." He finally said quietly. "It's you. You've hardly spoken to me in days and I'm getting worried, ever since your promotion you've been more distant with me."
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be."
"I know you don't Charley, but we really need to talk. There's been things that I've wanted to talk to you about but with the way that you've been acting lately I just didn't bother." My heart began breaking when I heard those few small words. "Charlie if you want me to leave then just tell me."
"How could you possibly think that Kalin?"
"Because you're not talking to me. I mean, I hardly see you anymore and I get that you have more responsibility at work but you need to have some time off to yourself every once in a while, too." He said his voice beginning to rise.
"Kalin... I didn't want to tell you this, but I've forced myself into being so busy at work because I wanted you to be able to bond with everyone and can do it on your own time. At you own pace, and if you ever got overwhelmed then you would have a quiet place to come back too to relax and not be questioned anymore." I began hesitantly.
"And I appreciate that, god you'll never know how much that I've appreciated everything that you've done for me these past months. But sometimes the only way for me to be able to fully calm down is for me to be holding onto you." I looked at him shocked.
But his gaze was steady on mine, and I knew that everything that he was telling me is coming from the heart.
"I'm sorry. I should have realized." I said sadly. "I've been wanting to spend more time with you too, but whenever I went to surprise you with plans you had already left to meet Akiza. Don't get me wrong I'm glad that you found someone that you can relate to about... Things..."
He cringed. That was one topic that we both knew never to interact with lightly, and that's why I was glad that he could tell at least someone about it. Even if it was just for him to be able to get it off his chest.
"But I've been getting jealous about how much time that you two are spending together."
"Charlie, you know that there is no need for you to be jealous of her."
"I know that, and sometimes I feel stupid for feeling that way but that's just how I've been feeling. So to not start any pointless drama I've just been throwing myself into my job so that I could try and distract myself from it. I love you Kalin, you know that I do, honestly, but I can't help the feeling that there's something missing whenever that we're together."
He looked at me with shocked eyes and I was confused. Did I say something that he never knew???
"Kalin? What is it? What's wrong?" I asked starting to worry again.
Just when I thought that we were getting somewhere it seems like we're taking three steps further away from each other again with each passing second.
"I didn't know that..." He whispered quietly, even though his eyes were anything but quiet.
"Didn't know what?" I asked.
"That you love me."
"But... Yusei told me that he told you how I felt when you asked about me..."
"No, he didn't say anything about you and I'm sorry but I was too deep in my sorrow that I didn't even think of you until after they left." He said taking one of his hands away from mine to rub the back of his neck nervously.
"Then when did you write that letter to me?"
"When I first got back to Satellite City. Crow found me and took me to their place and I saw you working, I thought that you were just a figment of my imagination. But Crow told me everything that happened with you after I left.
"So that's how you knew so much about me..." I murmured thoughtfully.
"Yea, and I have a confession to make too." He said with a shy smile.
"And what would that be?" I asked.
I released my hands from him and moved so that my head would be resting on Kalin's lap while my legs were hanging over the edge of the couch's arm. He had a large smile on his face that I couldn't help but mimic, especially when I grabbed his hand again and placed it on my stomach so that it was underneath both of my hands.
"That day when you went to go and talk to the guys, I was there."
"No way!"
"Yea, I was." He laughed. "I wasn't sure how you were going to react so I just stayed where I was and listened to you."
"You know how creepy that sounds right?" I joked after a small moment of silence.
"I know, but it's the truth." He said smiling and began running his fingers through my hair that was sprawled out behind me.
I smiled, closing my eyes I couldn't help but to relax against him. But hopefully I wouldn't relax too much against him and end up galling asleep on him again.
"Hey Kalin?"
"Yes Charley?"
"Can you stop doing that please?"
"Why? You always love it when I do this?" He stated confused.
"I do, but it's making me want to fall asleep when I don't want too."
"Why not?"
"Because." I murmured sleepily.
"Charley..."
"Because this moment is too perfect to wreck." I said quietly, blushing because of how cheesy that it sounded.
"Then don't wreck it." He moved his hands so fast that one was underneath my knees and the other one was on my lower back. "Hold on."
I squeaked in surprise and wrapped my arms around his neck tightly.
"Owe." He murmured closing his eyes for a moment.
"Kalin, what are you doing?" I squeaked. And yes, I do squeak.
"Taking you to bed so that we can both get some sleep and not have to ruin our time together." He stated.
"Are you still having nightmares?"
"Only occasionally."
"Well hopefully you won't tonight." I said placing my head gently against his and giving his cheek a kiss.
He stopped walking, it seems that I have shocked him once again. I walked away from him with a smile on my face and threw the comforter away from the pillows, giving us both room to get in and get comfortable.
Kalin looked uncomfortable now, so I took his hand and lead him to the bed tucking him in. He watched me so I gave him a goofy face and he broke out into a fit of laughter. I smiled and turned the lights out, now it was my turn to play shy as I walked back over towards the bed.
It was funny though because Kalin gently tugged his way for me to lay down and have me comfortably tucked into the sheets, just like what I had done with him only moments before hand.
"Hey Charley?"
"Yes Kalin?"
"Do you really mean what you said earlier?"
"Depends what part that you're talking about." I joked.
"That you love me." He whispers almost too quietly for me to hear.
"Did you mean it when you said that holding onto me calms you down?" I asked in return.
"Never mind, forget I asked." He grumbled rolling around in the bed so that he was now facing away from me.
I turned around in the bed so that I was facing his back, and moved so that my head was right behind his with my arm wrapping around his waist. It was my weak attempt to keep him here with me.
"I never realized that what I felt for you was love until Martha explained it to me just after you were taken away. I couldn't stop thinking about you for the longest time. The way that you were the only person that I cried out for during the night for a month straight, and during the day I would travel to every place that we ever went to together just so that I could have some sense of you being close to me. The way that my heart broke when I watched you being forced to leave us and how every night after that I would always dream of being with you again. Wanting to hold you and to tell you how much that I missed you. The times that I started randomly thinking about what it would be like to kiss you..." I stopped talking after that.
Thinking that he was asleep I turned around again so that we were back and made myself think of something else so that I wouldn't cry myself to sleep on the off chance that he was still awake and ended up hearing me.
When I woke up the next morning Kalin was no where to be seen. The bed beside me was cold and the kitchen was empty. And I mean completely empty, like he never even made breakfast this morning.
Today was my lucky day off so I went back to my room and got changed, just as I was about to leave the room to head back to the kitchen my phone went off.
"Hello?" I answered. I opened my fridge door and began debating about what to eat.
"Charley, thank god you're up."
"Bruno? What's going on?" I asked.
There was a rustle on the line behind him and then a bunch of angry voices, one of them I easily recognized as Kalin's voice. And by the sounds of it he was pissed off about something.
"Be right there." I moaned and hung up the phone. I could only hope that I made it there in time before any blood got spilt because of their stupid ego's.
I got to their door just in time to stop Jack from walking out, and with a single motion I forced him back inside with the others.
"What is there something else that you need to say Jack?" Kalin snorted in disbelief as he watched his friend re enter his home.
"Everyone is going to sit their asses down and tell me what the hell is going on." I demanded angrily.
Crow didn't dare go against my wrath and sat down twiddling his thumbs. Poor Bruno, he became so scared of me that he instantly sat down so that I wouldn't take my anger out on him accidentally. Jack hesitated for a moment before he also sat down across from his other two friends. But Yusei and Kalin just stayed standing, they refused to look at anything but the floor in front of them so I didn't force them to sit.
"Now who would like to start talking?"
"Kalin got mad at us that we gave you false hope about him ever coming back." Jack stated.
"Who threw the first punch?"
"Kalin did." Bruno said quietly.
"Jack, how far did you push him verbally?"
"Too far." He mumbled.
"Crow, Yusei, you guys got defensive?"
"Yes..." They each mumbled. I nodded and all was silent for a moment.
"You all need to grow up!" I shouted. "It's been 6 months since he's been back. Why is everyone blowing up now?"
Everyone remained silent.
"Yusei, Crow, Jack. The three of you went behind my back and lied to me about my secret feelings for Kalin, and the only way that I found out was when I surprised him by telling him how I felt. And Kalin you have no reason, that I'm aware of at least, to be pissed of with them. I'm a big girl and can take care of myself, it's not like the guys are strangers and mean any harm, they are our friends with mislead intentions. So, stop fighting pointless battles for me. All of you are grown men and should be able to sort out your differences without violence, we're not in Satellite anymore, so start dueling and work yourselves out. And Kalin don't bother coming home until all your anger is out of your system.
I turned my back on the idiots and slowly began my trek back home. Home was the last place that I wanted to be right now, but I needed to make sure that Kalin didn't come back before he was ready.
Half the day passed by in silence when I finally decided that I could be safe enough to go for a shower, but to be on the safe side I took a change of clothes into the washroom with me. I came back out fully dressed in a tank top and shorts, I was towel drying my hair while walking through my flat when I saw Kalin standing around nervously in the kitchen.
"Kalin? What are you doing here?" He looked up at me in surprise, but instantly blushed when he noticed what I was wearing.
"You said to come back when I was ready..."
"You don't look ready." I stated throwing the towel into the sink and crossing my arms over my chest.
"I'm as good as I can be when I'm not with you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" He didn't answer me, but began moving away from the counter and towards me. "Kalin, look, I'm not in the mood to be playing games right now. So, if you could..."
He had moved so that he was standing in front of me. His face lowered enough so that he would be able to reach my lips, while his arms followed their familiar path around my waist pushing me so that there would be no extra air between our chests.
"Just stop talking and hold me." He mumbled breaking our kiss long enough to say that before his lips were right back to being on mine again.
For once I listened to him.
I allowed my body to enjoy the feeling of his body being so close to mine, and this time I didn't hold back my heart or emotions. For once I allowed them to be in control. My arms snaked around his neck while our mouths continued to explore each other, and I moved myself to be impossibly closer to the love of my life than I ever have been before.
For once I could feel every inch of his body against mine, the way that everywhere his hands touched left my body uncomfortably warm and wanting more. How his heart was racing against my chest, and I could feel mine also vibrating against his. Then of course how his lips automatically seemed to fit with mine, it was almost like they were two pieces of a puzzle that were waiting to be put together to make the perfect picture.
We broke apart for air but kept our foreheads together.
"So you weren't lying last night." I whispered, in an attempt at making a joke.
"And neither were you." I widened my eyes in shock. "I was awake the entire time, even after you went to sleep."
"Why didn't you say anything?" I whispered again, scared suddenly to know the answer.
"I needed time to let it all sink in and to believe it."
"Well do you believe me now?"
"You waited for me all this time. Why?" I hesitated a moment before answering.
"I've always known that it was you, I don't know how or even how to explain it but I just knew. And love is patient Kalin, I knew that when the time was right I would see you again so I waited." I started tearing up a little bit. "I almost gave up, but then you came back and I knew that there was a reason that I still loved you after all this time."
He smiled at me and pulled me closer to him, kissing me again. "I love you too Charley. I always have and always will." He whispered.
"Good because I'm not letting you go ever again. I love you too dam much to do that." I replied reattaching his lips to mine.