James' eyes opened slowly, and he could see the sun behind the blinds. Still blinking a bit, he read the time, it was 10.30 am, they still had some time. He rolled on his other side to find Rafaela passed out on her sleep still. His lips curved in a soft sleepy smile as he watched her sleeping on her stomach, hair in front of her face. He pulled the hair away from her face and kissed her cheek softly, then rolled on top of her and kissed her again. She stirred a bit and mumbled something imperceptible, which made him giggle.
"Wake up." He said in a sweet tone, kissing her cheek again.
"No." She said extremely sleepy.
"Come on baby..." He whispered in her ear and bit her there to tease her. James felt himself growing hard while feeling her ass against his crotch and he wanted some morning fun. He slid his hands under her shirt and kissed the side of her neck. "Rafi..." He called her.
"Get off me." She told him but he was persistent, and he knew how to tease her enough to make her give in. He rubbed himself on her and continued kissing his neck.
"Wake up, come on..." He whispered again in her ear. Her eyes opened and this bit of hope hit him. "Rafi..." He called her name again to arouse her. "I want some..." He stopped talking and peeked at her eyes again. Closed... they were closed, and she was breathing heavy again. Summing things up, she had fallen asleep one more time. "...morning love..." He said sitting on the bed and looking at her completely passed out figure.
Resigned and taking a deep breath, he got up. His erection jumping straight behind his loose shorts. "I could hang a towel on here now." He muttered annoyed while walking to the bathroom.
James opened the water and looked at his face in the mirror, he decided to shave first. After, he went for a shower and took some time in it and finally, when he was brushing his teeth, he decided to peek on her again. He leaned against the door frame contemplating Rafaela sleeping. He wondered how she could still be sleeping if they hadn't gone to bed that late and she even fell asleep first than he did. His eyebrow curled surprised, but he came back inside to rinse his mouth and then came back inside the room to get her up, they really had to go.
He shook her lightly and she cursed a bit annoyed with his persistence. "We have to leave babe." He said giggling. "Get off the bed!" He exclaimed.
"I don't want to." She pretended she'd whimper. He pulled the sheets away and then opened the blinds. Her eyes blinked several times until she could keep them open, then she stretched and yawned. "I want to stay in bed."
"You can't. We have to fly to Chicago today." As he said this he remembered the only time when he had to struggle with her so much for her to get up.
He stopped still right in front of her, mesmerized. Rafaela sat on the bed lazily and then looked at him. There was only one time when he had to be the one to take her out of the bed and she fought it with all she had, it was when she was pregnant with Liam.
"Why are you looking at me that way?" James shook his head, but she kept staring at him. "James, you're even smiling." She pointed out.
"It's nothing really." He approached her and kissed her forehead. "Go to your shower and I'll order breakfast. You have to hurry."
"Ok." She said with that resigned look in her face that he hated so much.
He decided not to comment anything, after all it might have been just a coincidence and she hadn't had any other complaints that could lead this to a pregnancy. Shrugging, but bubbling inside, he grabbed the phone to order something to eat. Eggs, bacon, mushrooms, toasts, coffee and orange juice, the usual breakfast.
Everything was on the table when she entered the small living room. Her freshly showered scent invaded the room and he smiled at her as she sat by his side, either of them facing the street.
"Hungry?" He asked her and she shook her head.
"Not really..." She commented and he eyed her by the corner of his eye. Rafaela began to choose what to eat and he saw her pour a glass of orange juice and grab a toast, passing the eggs, the bacon and the mushrooms she loved.
"You're gonna eat just that?"
"I don't feel like having the rest." She frowned her nose as she looked at it and then shivered a bit. "I feel a bit weird today, maybe it's because I feel so tired."
James ran a hand over her wet hair. "You wanted to stay in bed?" He asked her and she nodded, then a wave of tenderness invaded him, and he wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his nose in her hair. "Oh, my baby wanted to sleep more." He smiled inhaling the cocoa scent from hair.
"And you woke me up..." She pouted pretending to be a little girl and he giggled and then pinched her nose.
"Hurry up, we're getting late." He said getting up as he was done.
"Can you just put the things that are on the bed inside my bag? Then everything is done." She asked as she saw him leaving to the bedroom. James raised his thumb as in a yes and left her alone. Rafaela stared at the bacon tempted to have a slice but then she shook her head all alone and shivered a bit, even getting goosebumps all over a skin.
"Christ no..." She murmured to herself. "Not today."
After breakfast they went straight to the airport. All band members and crew that flew with them were already there, they were the last ones.
"About time!" Lars exclaimed waving his arms in the air pretending he was really annoyed, but the soft smile on his lips let them know otherwise.
"I'm sorry." Rafaela excused herself. "It was my fault. I didn't want to get out of the bed, and we ended up being a little late."
"Let's go." Kirk said. "Everything is ready, we were just waiting for your guys."
Flying private had some benefits, like for example, the plane still being there even if you're late. A man came to grab their suitcases and took them away. James and Rafaela walked with others inside the plane. It took them about 15 minutes to take off, but after 45 minutes flying, they still were buckled up due to turmoil. Rafaela felt her stomach flipping inside out. Not only did she hate flying as well as that was being a horrible flight.
"You look pale." James stated looking at her. A concerned look in his blue eyes, and still she offered a him a bit of a faded smile.
"I feel horrible." She confessed.
"Oh Rafi..." His hand flew to her face and he rested it there letting his thumb caress the soft skin of her cheek.
"I am afraid of flying, you know that..." She gasped a little. "...this flight is like giving me hell." The plane shook and she gripped on to the chair tightly. "...I feel like I am going to have a panic attack... plus my stomach... I feel sick with all this turmoil."
James bent over her and rubbed his nose on her cheek. She felt his lips smiling against her skin and she elbowed him lightly. James winced as her elbow hit his stomach and took a hand there, laughing and gasping at the same time.
"Don't make fun of me." She said, knowing she didn't hurt him.
He grabbed her face between his hands and kissed her lips strongly. "You know this is gonna have consequences right?" He teased against her lips, making her giggle.
"I don't think I'll be able to comply with these consequences you're thinking. I feel a bit sick of the flight and I am sure I'll take some time to recover."
"Hey!" He strayed and pointed his index finger at her. Then he whispered. "I was really hard this morning and you kept sleeping, you're not slacking on me tonight." He complained.
"HEY!" Lars turned on the seat to look at them with a disgusting face. "I heard that!"
"Change seat!" James shot in a good mood.
"Gosh... I'm gonna have nightmares now." Lars turned around and Rafaela began to laugh, and then looked at James,. He took the opportunity to kiss her lips.
"Feeling better?" He asked then since he had distracted her a bit, but she shook her head.
When they finally got to the hotel she threw herself on the bed, not even taking a look around.
"Do you want me to ask for some tea babe?" James asked sitting on the bed by her side and running a hand over her hair.
"Please... otherwise I won't be able to go out and look for our wedding rings." She complained.
Her words muffled for she had her face against the mattress. James did so and when he put the phone down, she turned around on her back. "I hope the next flight goes smooth. This was horrible."
James leaned on one elbow and looked down at her. "At the end of the tour you fear of flying will be cured." He laughed. "We have to fly all the time sweetie."
"I know..." She sighed resigned to that fact. "I think I am already feeling a little better." Rafaela commented feeling her head was not spinning so much already. James placed a kiss on her lips.
"You have that tea and then we'll see."
Soon, room service knocked on their door and he went to open it. She remained lied on the bed and minutes later he entered the bedroom holding a white cup in his hands.
"Here." He said giving her the cup.
She sat on the bed and grabbed it with both hands, blowing the hot drink to cool it down a bit. James watched her attentively and one of his hands patted her hair. She looked at him and smiled, he smiled back, and she sighed.
"Why are you so sweet?" She asked him, feeling her heart melt with such tenderness and love.
It's true that he had always been tender with her, but ever since they got back together that she noticed he had taken his tenderness to higher standards. James was incredible with her, making her fall in love with him every day. Their relationship had never been so great.
"Because I love you, just that." He said calmly.
"You make me feel like I can never give you back what you give to me." She told him. Then she shook her head. "I am afraid I don't love you enough... wait...no..." James was listening to her attentively. "It's not love you enough, I do love you, a lot I shall say, but not in the way you deserve because you give me so much James... I am afraid that I don't correspond to your expectations. Do you understand? I want to love you properly, the same way you love me."
"Silly..." He whispered smiling. "You love me enough." He simply said kissing her lips. She took the cup to her lips and gave a small sip.
"Are you satisfied with the way I love you?" She then asked.
James nodded. "Always have been. Oh Rafi... you gave me so much baby! You gave me happiness, a family! I feel loved and understood, and that is something that I can't even describe it."
She took another sip. "When I finish this we can go. I feel alright now."
James got up and went to the bathroom, he simply changed. When he came back she had finished her tea and she put the cup on the nightstand. Then, she also changed and after it they left the hotel. Being on tour so many times gave him knowledge of almost every city in the US, so James knew exactly where to go to choose some wedding rings.
"It's cold." She said when they were walking down some street.
"You should have brought a jacket." He told her. The wind was gusting a bit cold indeed, even he shivered and was wearing a sweatshirt. "Do you want to go in here?" He asked stopping to look at some jewelry.
"Yeah..." She shrugged. "We have been looking for quite some time now and haven't found anything."
They got inside the jewelry shop and immediately a man came to receive them. James explained what they were looking for and the man, perfectly dressed in a black suit, guided them to a table and asked them to seat. He came back a few moments later holding three huge velvet boxes in his hands.
"Here..." He said opening the first one. James and Rafaela began to look at the rings.
There, Rafaela saw a flat platinum ring and took it off the box, scrutinizing it attentively while holding it between her fingers. It was so perfect, not gold but platinum, but it had a thin gold line all around it.
"It's so beautiful." She said handing it to James.
"I like it. It's not the usual ring..."
"Would you like to try it in your fingers?" The man suggested and they nodded.
The man went inside again, and then came back with another box filled with sizes of that ring. They searched for the one that would fit and they both put it on their finger and then stared at it.
"Looks so perfect." Rafaela said examining her hand carefully from all angles.
James did the same but in silence. He wasn't only appreciating the ring; he was also looking at how his hand looked with a wedding ring on it. Then he looked at hers and his heart skipped a beat with contentment.
"It's perfect yes." He said holding her hand.
Rafaela looked in his eyes, her green glare glittering so much. He could have kissed her right there if it wasn't for the boring stare of the man sat in front of them.
"So?" The man asked them.
James looked at her one more time and she nodded, he just wanted to be sure those were the ones she liked. He liked them too, they looked perfect.
"We'll take these." James said then taking it off their fingers.
After paying for it, they left. James pulled her tiny body to his remembering she had been cold on their way there and she giggled like crazy.
"Oh my God... we have the rings!" She exclaimed and James felt how she sounded so happy.
"Are you sure you want to marry me?" He asked, more like a joke but she came to a halt and stepped in front of him.
"Oh James..." She stood on the tip of her toes and kissed his lips. "I want it more than anything in this world."
"We're almost there." He said. Rafaela came back under his arm and they retook their way up the street.
"I am a little nervous." She confessed feeling her heart beat faster as she thought of it.
"I am too." He gave her a nervous giggle. "But I am so fucking happy, babe."
Rafaela stopped walking and stepped in front of him. "James... not even in a million years, when we met at that filthy club I thought we would come to this point where we are now. But I want you to know that it's been the most amazing ride of my life. Dividing my life with you has been the most wonderful thing. I love you above all."
"Save something for your vows..." He chuckled but he had his eyes filled with tears. Next he cupped her face between his hands and kissed her lips in the middle of the street.
"It's been one hell of a ride..." He whispered with his forehead against hers. "You fell with your ass at my feet..."
"And you laughed like a jerk..." She laughed and he laughed too.
"But you were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen and quite frankly I never thought you'd look at me... I fell in love with you shortly after Rafi. And I am sure I will never love another woman in my life. This is forever... you're stuck with me forever."
"James Alan Hetfield..." She approached her lips against his. "I am ok with forever."