The two weeks between Roxy returning home and the boys following her passed in a blur of work, cats and hanging out with Kayla. Yes, since Mary had gone out to join the band, Roxy was going in and out feeding their cats which Amos and Casper were not happy about when she came home smelling of them.
John had told her on the phone that they'd be getting into Heathrow at around two tomorrow afternoon and that meant that she'd be just starting her shift at the diner which meant that she wouldn't be able to go pick them up with Kayla.
She knows that she saw them not that long ago but she hates it when John's not here. Things just don't feel right.
The next day at the diner, she can't keep the smile off of her face. Her boys were coming home tomorrow! And the girls would be back together as well!
Though by the phone calls she's been getting from Rebecca, she's starting to think that there's some work needed between her and Mary but Roxy will find out the problem when they're home and settled back into London life.
She holds off going for her break - waiting until she's practically starving until she throws in the towel because as everyone knows, the longer you leave it, the less time you have to go when you come back.
She's through the back getting more coffee stirrers and when she returns to the floor, she's shocked to see that Roger, Brian and Rebecca are sat at the counter - so shocked that she drops the box she's carrying onto her foot, alerting them to her presence.
"There she is!" Roger cheers, getting up from his stool, "Was wondering where you were, Nessie."
"I...you-what?"
"Spit it out," he laughs as he hugs her tightly.
"What are you doing here?" she grins, hugging him back just as tight, "Not that I'm not happy to see you but aren't you just getting home?"
She quickly greets Brian and Rebecca before returning to her spot behind the counter.
"We've been back a while," Brian murmurs, "But then we soon realised that we had nothing in the flat except some rather disgusting milk."
"So we've come for food and coffee," Rebecca grins, "Deaky was going to come too but the poor guy was practically falling asleep on the minibus. He probably crashed as soon as he got home."
"That's alright," Roxy murmurs, "I'll see him when I get home. Anyway, tell me about Japan! What was it like?"
And so the three of them loudly launch into telling her about the food, about the cities they went to and they even tell her about John and Freddie getting lost in this huge park when they went sightseeing for the day.
"John was definitely the favourite though," Rebecca says after she takes a sip of her coffee, "They loved him over there."
"He was," Brian nods in agreement, "Couldn't get enough of him."
"Of course he was!" Roxy grins as she starts placing their food orders down in front of them.
"We went to this other park," Rebecca continues, "All of us. I can't remember the name of it but all the way round, he was jut swarmed by kids."
"Really?"
Brian nods again, "He reckons that they were more interested in his camera than him but he was really nice about it."
"He let them take some pictures with it," Roger mumbles with a mouthful of food.
"I took a photo with Roger's camera. We'll show you when we get it developed."
Yeah, she couldn't wait to see that.
++|++
The rest of her shift felt like it went on for forever. She swears that the place has never been busier than it had been that day and so when midnight finally came, an exhausted Roxanne was out that door bang on the hour, calling a loud goodbye to those unfortunate souls who were there for the nightshift.
She doesn't hang about and with her quick pace, she makes it back to her flat in record time where she opens the door as quietly as she can, just in case John's asleep and though he's laying on the couch (with Casper sprawled out on top of him and Amos stretched out along the back of it), he's awake, watching the news.
"Hey," she greets quietly, not wanting to startle him as she closes the door behind her.
"Hey," he murmurs, glad when Casper gets off of him so he can get up and greet her properly, wrapping his arms around tightly when she crosses the room to him and he hears her sigh and feels her rest her forehead against his shoulder, "Tough day?"
"Just long," she whispers, craning her head back to look at him, giving him a tired grin, "Welcome home."
He gives her a soft kiss before letting her go get changed and even though she's tired, she doesn't want to leave him sitting out there on his own but after she gets changed into her pyjamas on, he meets her in the doorway.
"What-"
"We can talk in here," he says softly, hands on her hips as he guides her back towards the bed, "You look exhausted, love."
"So do you," she replies, gently running a finger across the dark circles that are under his eyes and he catches hold of her wrist, turning his head slightly so he can kiss the skin of her palm, "Did you sleep at all?"
"No."
"Come lie with me," she whispers, smiling when he nods and the pair of them climb onto the bed and while Roxy slips underneath the covers, John doesn't, giving her the impression that he probably still won't fall asleep as easy as she surely will.
"Did you see Roger?" he asks when they're both comfortable, "He said he might pop in and see you."
"He did. Brian an-" she's cut off by a sudden yawn, "Sorry, Brian and Becca too."
"Good. I think Becca's been looking forward to seeing you."
"Why?" she frowns, humming quietly when he starts running his long fingers through her hair.
"For some reason, that I can't for the life of me work out, she's got the impression that Mary doesn't like her all that much."
"What? That's absurd!" Who doesn't like Rebecca?
"I know," he nods, "I think it's just because they haven't spent much time together with just the two of them. It's always been the four of you, hasn't it?"
He could be right, Roxy thinks as she closes her eyes, concentrating more on the feeling of his hands in her hair because really, she thinks that there is no better feeling than having her hair played with as she's going to sleep and before she knows it, she's fast asleep.
++|++
Roxanne wakes up again halfway through the night and a glance at her bedside clock lets her know that it's just a little after three. She's not really sure what it was that woke her up but she can hear the rain pelting against the windows and a rumble of thunder in the distance.
Letting out a huff, she closes her eyes and turns back onto her other side, blindly stretching out a hand for John, letting out a pathetic whine when all she finds is cool sheets.
He must have gotten up.
Reluctantly, she leaves the warm confines of the bed, pulling one of his jumpers over her head as she heads for the door.
He's sat on the couch again but this time, instead of having the t.v on, he's got the record player on at a low volume and he startles slightly when she wraps her arms around his neck.
"Hi," she whispers, resting his head on his shoulders, "You alright?"
He nods, putting one of his hands on hers, "Did I wake you?"
"No," she winces when there's a crack of thunder, "That did. Did you manage to get any sleep?"
"No," the frustration is clear in his voice, "I want to, Roxy. That's all I want to do but I-"
"Oh, John," she soothes, gently rubbing her thumb across the small exposed skin on his chest, "Do...do you want a cuddle?"
"A cuddle?" he repeats, smile tugging at his lips.
"Might help you sleep?" she offers.
He touches his head against hers for a moment, "Yeah, that sounds nice."
Standing straight again, Roxy holds out her hand which he takes and she leads him back to the bedroom and while John gets back into the bed, she returns back into the living room to turn the record player off.
John's already on his side when she returns and Roxanne quickly climbs back onto the bed and cuddles up to his back, tucking one arm under her pillow and wrapping the other around his middle.
To her relief, she soon feels him start to relax and she smiles when he shivers as she presses a light kiss to the back of his neck.
"Is it working?" she whispers a few minutes later.
"Mhm," he hums, "Quite like it. 's nice."
Grinning, she rests her head back down on the pillow. It was so good to have him home again.
++|++
i just can't have my bbys apart
i have my work's Christmas night out tomorrow and i haven't had a drop of alcohol since easter. pray for me