She felt a warmth around her that rivaled a furnace, his steady breaths brushing his chest against her back comfortably as the sun steeped in through the blinds. She let out a soft hum as she came to, last nights endeavors flooding her thoughts with a flash of remembrance. A small smile graced her lips as slowly turned in Link's arms. He was snoring just the slightest bit, the image before her something she had only dreamed of. Taking a moment, she tried her hardest to memorize the way his face relaxed when he slept, or how the usual floof in his hair was gone and replaced with a disheveled look that screamed sex hair.
It was then when she realized that the sun was up, and they were most definitely late for work. Lucy was quick to turn once more, arms running through the expanse of the bed in search of her phone when she heard a soft groan from beside her.
"What's goin' on?" Link breathed out, his voice scratchy with sleep. She turned to him,
"I think we're late." She breathed out, pulling the comforter off their bodies in one swift movement. Link threw an arm over his eyes, sprawled out and exposed on her bed with a hint of a smile on his lips. Lucy swallowed thickly as she eyed his not so subtle erection, before darting up to meet his gaze, peeking at her from behind his arm.
"Well, we're already late." She remarked, earning a soft laugh from Link as she crawled across the bed to throw a leg over him. He reached up to cradle her head, the curve of his lips still present as they kissed softly.
_____
"Have you seen the comments on some of the new videos?" She asked, phone in hand as Link drove, one hand on the wheel with the other cradling a cup of Starbucks. He looked at her for a brief second, a silent gesture for her to continue.
"Lots of questions about your ring. Wow, these guys are pretty perceptive, huh?" Link huffed out a soft laugh while smoothly turning the wheel with his palm.
"Yeah, they are. You'd be surprised with what you'd find on Tumblr." He remarked. She quirked her brow, giving him a curious look. Link glanced at her, "Ever heard of shipping?"
"Kind of. Like, putting people together in a relationship, right?"
"Yeah, well 90% of our fan base thinks I'm in love with Rhett." He said, jokingly. Lucy grinned,
"Well, you could have fooled me." Link snickered playfully,
"Oh come on. Really though, what're they sayin' in the comments?"
"Link's wedding ring is gone...There's something different about Link...Where is his ring?..." She listed off a few of them, and Link pursed his lips in thought as he pulled into the lot. "There's a bunch more, too. But you get the point."
He put the car in park, pulling the keys out of the ignition before stuffing them in his jacket pocket.
"Well, I did tell Stevie I would announce it, right?" He commented, glancing at her. She nodded her head slowly, but eyed Link with a curious glint.
"Today?" He frowned lightly, eyes narrowed as he pondered for a moment.
"Yeah, I think so. I mean, there's no point in puttin' it off." He glanced back at her, "At any rate, we should get inside." Lucy gave him a knowing look, reaching down to grab her bag from between her legs, when she felt him reach out to grasp her chin between his thumb and forefinger. Link quickly turned her head, leaning over the console to press a firm kiss against her lips. She melted into the embrace, tasting the coffee on his tongue, before reality hit her. Pulling away, she knit her brows,
"Link, what if someone see's us?" She breathed out. He shrugged,
"At this point, let 'em. I'm not goin' anywhere, and I'm hopin' you aren't either." He was looking at her with a soft intensity, and she found herself growing warm beneath his gaze.
"Nowhere without you." She sounded breathless, quickly closing the distance between them, kissing him earnestly before pulling away with a blissful smile.
_____
"You're late, Link!" Rhett's deep voice resounded in the crowded office floor, garnering the exact reaction the taller man wanted. All eyes turned to Link, and in turn, Lucy. She felt her blood rush to her cheeks, heart thrumming wildly against her chest as she walked past Link toward her desk. A few curious eyes followed her to her seat, and she felt like she was in school again, walking into class late to be bombarded with embarrassment and silent judgmental stares.
Link frowned, his attention darting from Rhett to throw Lucy a silent apology. She managed a small reassuring smile, before slipping off her light cardigan to place on the back of her desk. She could still feel eyes on her, but she shrugged them off as she took a seat at her computer. She found it sweet that Link knew how she was feeling, as he remembered her distaste on being the center of attention.
Link stole one more quick glance at her, before walking past Rhett toward their shared office. The taller man quickly pivoted on a heel, and Link could already see the smug grin on the mans face.
"Couldn't help but notice you didn't stop by the house after work." Rhett remarked, once they were far enough away from the crew. Link opted to ignore the taunting lilt that escaped his mouth, opening the office door to step in with Rhett still on his heels. "You don't gotta say anythin' brother. But you should consider changin' your clothes, since they're the same things you wore yesterday."
"Was plannin' on it." Link said, dropping off his backpack before turning to face Rhett. He was right, he was wearing that stupid, smug smirk. It was like they were college kids all over again, and despite the annoyance it brought Link, it made him feel nostalgic. The last time Rhett had teased him like this, was when he met Christy over twenty years ago.
"You gonna let me have it, or not?" Link finally smiled, gesturing for Rhett to proceed with the inevitable taunting. Rhett hesitated a moment, before shaking his head.
"You know what? No, man. You're startin' new, so I will, too. Congrats on what I'm assuming was you gettin' laid." He smacked a hand down on Link's shoulder, a genuine smile on his lips. Link looked struck for a moment, before he found himself mirroring Rhett's expression.
"I've known you long enough to know that's sarcasm, but I'll take it for what it is." Link remarked, "But you're still an ass." Rhett threw his head back with a hearty laugh, and Link shrugged his hand off his shoulder, shaking his head as he rounded his desk to take a seat.
"All jokin' aside, I think there's something we need to address. I mean, I need to address."
"You've seen all the comments on the latest video, I'm guessing?" Rhett asked after a moment, the laughter dying down to a somewhat serious tone.
"Yeah, Lu read them off this mornin' on the drive here." Link was focused on retrieving his laptop from his backpack, while Rhett leaned up against the work surface.
"What're you thinkin'?"
"I'm thinkin' I should just tell 'em. I mean, truths gonna come out sooner or later, and I'd rather it be sooner. Maybe at the end of More?" Link threw the idea out there, glancing away from his screen to give Rhett a questioning look. Rhett hummed, fingers stroking his beard as he thought about it.
"That's making it seem casual, like it's no big deal. But we can't make a video on just that, it'll come off a little weird." Rhett pondered aloud.
"I was kind of hoping for a casual tone. I don't want to make it a big deal, y'know?"
"We'll have to talk to Stevie about it before shooting. I'm sure the crew will be just as surprised as the fans." Rhett remarked.
"Right. Half the crew already suspects somethin' between me and Lu."
"To be fair, you guys haven't really been puttin' a lot of effort into hiding it." Link frowned, glancing up from his computer screen, and Rhett raised his hands in defense. "Just callin' it like it is, man. I mean, even the fans have noticed. Remember back when she was on More?"
"The cereal combinations. Yeah, I remember."
"Why don't you take a look at those comments." Rhett said, in amusement.
"We weren't even together when we filmed that." Link sat back in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest as he eyed the taller man. Rhett simply laughed,
"Whatever man. I'm not here to argue about your relationship status. So long as you're happy, it doesn't matter." Link's tense shoulders loosened up a little,
"Oh..Thanks, Rhett...So let's get out there and start filmin' already." Link announced, pushing himself up to stand. Link was almost anxious, knowing that he'd be announcing something so serious to all of their fans. He wasn't sure how they were going to react, but he hoped for the best.
They walked out of the office in unison, Link on Rhett's heels, "Clothes, man." Rhett simply said. Link cursed softly under his breath, pivoting on a heel to head down the opposite end of the hall and toward the dressing room.