Treble Clef IPA // Roleplay With Eris

Mila grinned ear to ear. "Yea. I'll say." She said, booping Baylee in the nose with a chilled finger. A quick peek into the cab of the truck, confirmed Baylee's suspicions and Mila couldn't help the soft 'awwww' that slipped from between her lips at the sight of the men holding hands. Thankfully, Berry nor his boyfriend noticed, but Baylee still pulled her away from the open window and into his chest to keep Mila quiet.

She laughed into the skin of his neck, even though a tiny thread of jealously twisted in her stomach. Batting the stupid feeling away, Mila turned her head to look at the lights again, but remained within the circle of Baylee's arms. He propped his chin on the top of her beanie, blowing an exasperated breath out when the pom smacked him in the face. "Should we invite them to dinner? Maybe a game night?" That's what functioning adults did right? Mila had no idea.

Baylee snorted, shaking his head slightly at the idea. "If their acting like this right now," he gestured to the car, where the guy was now leaning his head against Berry's shoulder, "their night will be too occupied to come over for dinner." Berry was many things, but patient wasn't one of them.

The next hour was filled with light conversation and more googling at the lights in the neighborhood. Baylee would typically have been a bit self-conscious with the cuddling in public, but the calm demeanor that Mila gave of squashed any worries he would've had. Plus she was keeping him warm.

After they ran through the full neighborhood and repeated, the truck pulled into the driveway of Baylee's home. Baylee and Mila both said their goodbyes to their friend as they hopped out of the flatbed and headed inside. Immediately Baylee returned to his spot on the couch, forgetting about the PJ's tucked underneath his bed.

Mila shucked her coat and blanket–the ridiculous blinking hat came off too–before heading into the kitchen to make herself a warm drink. Her toes and fingers prickled as warmth stole back into them and she spent a moment making a face as she danced from foot to foot to get her limbs awake. A few minutes later she reappeared with two steaming cups of coco for both her and Baylee piled high with marshmallows. They had made it home in time for the newest Ninja Warrior and Mila took up her place under Baylee's arm as they watched.

The show progressed with much commentary, as both of them thought they were experts on all things 'ninja' these days. When Mila commented that the contestant's cartwheel was sloppy, Baylee joked that she couldn't do much better. So Mila immediately put down her coco and did a perfect cartwheel across the living room, sticking her tongue out at him the entire time. She tumbled into a a crisscross sit right before his knees. "I am a girl of odd talents." She offered by way of explanation.

Snuggled up back in her spot again, a light bulb went off in the singer's mind. "Hey–Didn't you say something about pajamas?"

"Oh!" Baylee set the coffee mug full of hot cocoa on the ground next to the couch and got up to his feet, looking sheepish as he walked into his room. "Completely forgot about them."

He walked out 15 minutes later, wearing an adult-sized onesie jumpsuit that was the ugliest thing he could've found. The overall design of it was a candy can, the red and white stripes misaligned slightly because the fabric hung off of his body ever so slightly.

"Here ya go, búp bê," Baylee said, tossing her a similar onesie in Mila's size. He hoped.

"Oh my God." Mila was giggling so hard she could barely breathe. "And I thought my Christmas hats were bad…Baylee, these are so ugly. I adore them." Holding up the fabric before her, she burst into another fit of giggles. She stood, passing by Baylee on her way into his bedroom with a soft 'Best. Christmas. Ever.', which he was obviously not meant to hear.

It took Mila longer to get changed. Considerably. "Holy–crap." She muttered to herself as she stood in front of the full length mirror in the closet. There was no way she was going to walk out in this. The outfit broke all the unspoken rules that she and Baylee had set up over the course of their two months as–whatever they were. Mila's frown deepened and she pulled at the fabric, trying and failing to get it to lay in a way where she did not feel so self conscious. Baylee obviously had a hard time guessing sizes, or maybe he legitimately thought that Mila was smaller than she was. She was always clad in an oversize tshirt, she wasn't one to flaunt her body at all. It was an honest mistake.

But one she could not walk out in. For sure.

"Uh–Bay?" Mila asked, sticking her head out around the door jam. "It–uh–well it fits, but I'm not so sure about it…"

He was taking a long sip of coco and just waved her out. A Baylee sized playful grin telling her that he had bought it one hundred percent for it's ugly embarrassment value.

"Okay then." Mila said softly, stepping out into the living room. Oh, the pajamas fit alright. Snug. In alllllllllll the right–yet entirely wrong–places. The zipper couldn't even go up all the way her chest. "Tada?"

Baylee had to keep his jaw from dropping to the floor. He didn't think he had to check her clothing size when he bought the PJ's, but obviously a small was, well, way to small.

Or was it?

No, no, no. This was going to be his first Christmas in years. No way in hell was he going to fuck it up by letting his urges take over. He was able to hold them back for this long. Sure, their relationship was much different now, but the point still stood. Now was not the time.

So, he gave her a small, uncertain smile and mumbled a quick, "It looks good," before snapping his eyes back to the TV. Baylee was sure Mila was in an even more compromised situation than he was, so keeping his eyes from wandering would make both of them more comfortable.

"Thanks." Mila mumbled, stepping over to the love seat on quick feet. He barely looked at me. Stupid, stupid, stupid thought teasing the back of Mila's mind. The part that was aware of all the times he touched her and how he sometimes looked at her. Ugh. How he made her feel just by being his gentle stoic self. That part that wanted to kiss him so badly it hurt.

Baylee stared directly ahead at the TV, he seemed frozen to the spot, although there was something deep in his green eyes that felt like pure fire when their gazes met for a fraction of a second before they both looked away. Not daring to move the blanket that Baylee had a death grip on, Mila grabbed one of the spare blankets from the side and quickly wrapped it around her scantily clad, candy cane form. Taking up the other end of the love seat was the best idea Mila had ever had it seemed, and she firmly tucked herself in, copying Baylee by staring ahead at the TV. Her face was on fire, much like the rest of her, but she stayed perfectly still. Were either of them breathing? No.

Mila was reminded of the first night she spent here, that same tension charging the air between them. There had been so little they'd known about each other, so much baggage each of them was carrying like Atlas holding up the sky, and they'd still felt that crazy string pulling them together. Now…holy shit..now, Mila exhaled the breathe she had been holding quietly, it was so much worse.

"Jesus fucking…." Baylee mumbled to himself, barely more than just a breath that was shaped by his lips. He should really explain himself, shouldn't he? Communication had been key for keeping these past two months running so well. Even when he struggled with the words, he at least tried.

"I'm….sorry," he said, raising his voice to its normal tone and volume. "I shoulda looked at your size before buying the PJ's. I really didn't mean for it to look like….that." Oh, well, now it sounded like she didn't look good. Which was the opposite of the case. "And….I'm not acting like this because I think you look bad in it. It's the opposite, in fact. I just…." he pulled a face. "Don't want to break any of our rules." God, he finished that so weakly. He just….couldn't get the words to say what he really wanted to say. In all truthfulness, he wanted nothing more than to kiss her right now. To hold her, to make her feel comfortable, and….Christ. He tried his best to push the R-rated thoughts out of his head, but a light blush on his face betrayed what he was truly thinking about.

This was all his fault, wasn't it? The way they had to walk on egg shells around each other sometimes. How situations like this because almost torturous instead of humorous. Both of their uncertainties with the relationship could be derived from the fact that he didn't know how to act around her. Why couldn't things just be clear to him for once?

Mila relaxed ever so slightly, but pulled the blanket a little tighter around her shoulders as she turned to face Baylee as he spoke. Right now her front side was a lot more distracting than anything else and he was already having a hard time telling her what was going on in his head. Baylee was still facing the TV, staring daggers at it so intensely Mila wondered why it hadn't exploded already. But he had noticed how she looked…Mila blushed, a lot more pleased than she should have been.

"You don't have to be sorry." Mila played with the end of her braid, chuckling to hide the awkwardness in her words. "It's an honest mistake–I'm tiny. Naturally a small would fit, but–ah–looks like the designers had other ideas. It's not your fault, Bay" The same ideas that were making everything so goddamn tense between the two of them. Another of her gentle laughs, made Baylee look at her from the corner of his eye, that same uncertain smile gracing his features.

He probably felt so bad, but it really wasn't that big of a deal. It was just them and their unspoken, unacted on weirdness. Mila wanted to make it up to him, especially when all Baylee wanted was to share something goofy and sweet with her. "Don't worry." She said warmly, getting up from the couch. "Our rules are safe from the treachery of Christmas fashion designers. I'm going to make more coco." Mila grinned more fully, letting Baylee know that all was forgiven before she vanished into the kitchen.

Baylee couldn't help it. He was human. A somewhat normal, functioning human with the same hormones running through his body as the next guy. And when humans are attracted to another human, they tend to look. Everywhere. So, when Mila stood up and dropped the blanket, Baylee's eyes went from her face, to her chest, and then to her hips as she walked into the kitchen.

Christ.

His face turned so red it looked like he was having an allergic reaction as he dropped his head into his hands and let out an internal scream. The manufacturer obviously had different opinions on the word small than the rest of the world, but Baylee might've liked it better. Because she looked damn good. His face was still completely covered with a deep red hue when Mila walked back into the room, but he didn't even try to hide it.

Where was this night going to go?

Mila's brows flew up into her hairline at the sight of Baylee's face. She'd only ever seen it this red once before–when he was livid as all hell. Mentally she went over everything that she had said to him, but found nothing that would have made him angry. "Um…" She approached carefully, extending his mug to him. He looked up at her over the pile of marshmallows she had topped the mug with and that's when his expression clicked. It all clicked.

Oh.

Mila's face warmed and kept warming until her coloring was the exact same shade as Baylee's. Oh man. Oh Christ. It wasn't fair that he was looking at her like that. Not when she just promised that their rules were safe. Not when her mind was suddenly flooded with the mental image of her climbing into his lap, and Baylee's hands all over her–

"Maybe I should change…." Came the quiet whisper. They were still staring at each other. Maybe you should kiss me, Baylee. Crap. Crap. Crap.

Baylee scratched the back of her head, finally breaking eye contact to look at the wall behind her. Something in his chest was twisted by the tone in her voice. Like it was her fault the situation was so awkward. Which it wasn't. It was definitely his fault, but he knew for certain he didn't want her to change. He knew she had more curves than she typically showed, but……damn.

"I mean…..if you want to," he mumbled, his eyes slowly moving back over to Mila. "But….I don't have a problem with it if you don't want to." His eyes trailed up her entire body, starting at her feet, pausing at her hips, pausing again at her chest, then eventually landing on her eyes.

Mila's heart did a funny little stutter in her chest as Baylee looked at her. She could almost imagine his gaze as a featherlight touch that left goosebumps in it's wake, it was that intense. Fuck. And she thought he was being unfair before. The singer usually didn't like being checked out, but when Baylee did it with absolutely no shame? Holy shit did she feel…beautiful. The half smile he gave her when Baylee's eyes flicked up from her lips made her own answer in kind. So…he did like her. There was that funny little heart shiver again that made a happy glow spread all throughout her body.

"I don't either." She finally said, moving to sit back on the couch. Mila curled up, not quite in her usual spot, but close enough if Baylee decided he was okay with touching her in this crazy intense moment of 'we-have-rules-but-holy-shit-do-I-want-to-break-them' moment. "They're surprisingly warm and cozy." Mila continued casually, as if nothing had just happened. She even took a sip of coco, swallowing past the tightness in her throat like a champ.

Baylee was mustering up bravery for a good fifteen minutes before making his move.

She smiled at you, man. She's obviously fine with cuddling.

But she's so…..

Beautiful? Yeah, that's why you should go do it.

But what if things for farther than I mean for them to?

Then role with it. You've let this awkward shit go on for too long now.

Baylee couldn't argue with that. So, sending a mental prayer to whoever was the god of awkward moments between people, he bridged the gap between the two of then and put his arm around Mila's shoulder. Normal motion, a thing he's done a thousand times before with her, but now it gave him a perfect view of her -

No. That was taking things one step too far. So he kept his eyes on the TV, trying to make himself seem as comfortable as possible.

But where the hell did all these curves come from?

Hiding her ecstatic grin behind another sip of her coco, Mila remained where she was, letting Baylee relax a little more. She was perfectly fine with touches and cuddles between the two of them, as she had been initiating most–if not all–since they'd met. Baylee was a little more reserved, so having him reach out to her felt amazing. Mila felt that Baylee's affection was a good show of how much she meant to him. Just a little bit more each and every day, as she fell more and more for him.

Although, she wasn't quite in her usual spot against his side and the lack of warmth was bugging her a bit. Mila shifted closer to Baylee's side, settling in with a soft sigh and a shift of her shoulders–which proved to be a potentially terrible idea. Baylee didn't have a sure grip on her shoulder like he usually did, so when Mila shifted closer, his hand trailed down her body in a heavy caress. From her shoulder, across the side of her breast, over her ribs, and coming to a stop right on the curve of her hip where his fingers spayed over the soft fabric of her pajamas.

It was purely an accident, but damn did it feel good. Mila was hyperaware of the trail his hand had taken, the heat left behind bringing that blush right back up into her cheeks as the both of them stared dumbly down at Baylee's hand.

Baylee's face bushed such a bright red that it was hard to tell what his real skin color was. He wanted to go back in time to cut his hand off, or run down her body again, or kiss her so hard she might loose consciousness all at the same time. How was she able to make him feel like she was the first girl he'd ever touched? How could her just showing a bit of skin make him react so aggressively? His insecurities and the way it affected his relationship with Mila was beginning to real piss him off.

Fuck his head. He was going to let his heart take the wheel for a while.

The bartender didn't move his hand from where it rested on Mila's hip, choosing instead to pull her closer to him. 1. He was cold and the blanket in his lap couldn't compare to the warmth his singer gave off. 2. He fucking wanted to. For the first time in….ever, he knew exactly what he wanted to do. A moment of clarity that was parting all of the stormclouds in his head. Damn shame it had to happen after they set up their rules.

Mila hummed, settling into Baylee's embrace like a cat in the sun. This was probably breaking of their rules, but she really didn't give a rat's ass at the moment. It just felt good to be held. Especially as Baylee's thumb rubbed circles into her hip, so soft that if she hadn't peeked at it from the corner of her eye, Mila would of thought she was just imagining it. She wondered idly where this was coming from. Was it the power of the candy cane onesie? A little Christmas miracle?

Whatever the case, Mila wasn't about to scoff at it. They both kept sipping at their warm drinks, blushes burning on both their faces, and watched overly fit people jump around ridiculous obstacle courses. Call it domestic. Mila finished her drink first, not daring to move out of her spot to place the empty cup out of the way. What if Baylee got spooked because she moved? No way she was going to risk it. They sat in quiet for a long time, only the sound of the TV and the occasional laugh broke through, but Mila had never felt more comfortable and even though she tried as hard as she could to remain awake, the warmth, the comfort, Baylee, all caught up to her and she was out.

It took a few minutes for Baylee to realize that Mila had fallen asleep. The first sign was her body completely relaxing in his hold, but he figured that was just her getting comfortable with the whole situation. The second and most obvious sign was her deep, regular breathing, much different than the chopped, unusual breaths that she did whenever she felt awkward. Baylee looked down at her peaceful face and couldn't help but smile. The furious blush that was on her face just moments ago was now dimming to a light red hue and she had fallen asleep with a small grin on her face. Baylee allowed himself to loosen up as well, sinking into the cushions of his couch and dozing off, the sounds of people cheering on the TV acting like a lullaby for him.

Around 9 hours later, Baylee let out a loud yawn, momentarily forgetting where he was. Oh. His couch, his home, and his-…..his Mila. The zipper for the onesie had crept down even farther while they were sleeping, causing a furious blush to resume its hold on his face. Reaching over with his free hand, he grabbed a blanket and draped it over both of their upper bodies before he woke her up to make sure she didn't think he was trying to catch a sneaky peak. Or maybe it would look even more suspicious? He tossed it off of them again and just hoped she wouldn't ask him about it.

"Hey…." He nudged her with his shoulder gently. "Hey. It's Christmas."

Mila was not happy about being woken up. Turning her face deeper into Baylee's chest she mumbled something incoherent. She wanted to go back to her dream–what had she been dreaming about? Something to do with Baylee, and…candy canes? Blue eyes popped open as the memory of last night, and what Baylee had just murmured gently to her, registered. "Christmas!" She cheered quietly, voice still scratchy with sleep.

Mila stretched lazily, obviously not planning on moving from her spot any time soon–that is until she noticed the lacy edge of her bra poking out of her onesie–well actually most of her lacy bra was on display. She bolted into a sitting position, facing away from Baylee as she zipped it up. How long had it been like that? Did Baylee notice? Mila looked over her shoulder towards the man, just as he turned his face in the other direction. But–there was a hint of pink on his cheeks. Well then, Merry Christmas indeed.

Instead of letting it get to her, Mila turned back towards Baylee and leaned over, wrapping her arms around him as much as they would go. It was a playfully awkward hug and her face was tilted up toward his with a giant smile. "Merry Christmas, Baylee." Said with all the warmth in the world and with that one smile she knew he loved the most.

Baylee shook off his awkward attitude after seeing how Mila reacted, shifting into a more comfortable position and returning the hug with equal effort. That smile she had on her face had a way of brightening his entire day by just being on her face, so it made him very happy to see it so early. Today would be a good day.

They chose against putting up stocking, since 1: They didn't have a fireplace, and 2: Neither of them would get up late at night to fill them up. Instead, they just bought a shit-load of discounted candy and put the bags into one of his drawers, promising to each other that it would only be opened for their Christmas breakfast. Baylee never even rolled open the drawer since they bought the bags, so he'd see if Mila would hold up her end of the bargain.

"Anywasys, presents," he said, unraveling himself from Mila's arms and getting to his feet. After a quick stretch, he walked over to the smallest box underneath the tree and tossed it over to Mila. "You go first."

Watching Baylee head towards the kitchen–and the drawer with the candy in it–made Mila anxious. She had meant to tell Baylee that she had eaten all her candy already, but it just never seemed like the right time. Not to mention receiving the 'Baylee Look of Disappointment' was never a fun thing.

She turned the box over in her hands, using it as a distraction while waiting for the sigh that would tell her he had found her crime. But she was quickly intrigued by the luxurious feel of the material and the embossed "P" on the top. Mila's deft fingers found the seam and pulled the pieces of the box apart. "Baylee…" Mila whispered, lifting the silver Pandora bracelet from the box. It was shiny and stunning, each link fitting together seamlessly. It already had a few charms on it, a single black treble cleft note and a blue M.

"Oh–It's so pretty…I love it" Mila held it up in the light and the morning sunlight glistened off of it and off of the tears lining her eyes. They didn't fall though, not even as she extended it toward him with a soft, "Would you help me put it on?"

Baylee smiled at her reaction, the sight of the drawer filled with wrappers completely forgotten. After digging around for a moment, he produced a large plastic bag full of lollipops, Jolly Ranchers, and fruity hard candies like that. The fact that she liked his present nearly made him skip a beat. He'd been looking around for hours on end for the perfect gift, eventually landing on the Pandora website. The personalized charms caught his eye and it didn't take long after that to find the perfect ones for Mila.

Setting the candy down next to his singer on the couch, he took the bracelet from her hands and gently slipped it onto her wrist. It took a minute or so for him to figure out how to tighten the damn thing, but he eventually got it to where it was loose enough that it wouldn't restrict bloodflow but wouldn't jangle around. And, of course, she made it look phenomenal.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Mila's voice was so, so soft and eyes as big as saucers as she continued to move her wrist around admiring the jewelry. She gave Baylee a one armed hug, squeezing him tight around his waist. When she pulled back there were a few pieces of brightly colored candy in her hand. Sneaky.

"Your turn!" Popping up, Mila grabbed a flat medium sized box that was wrapped in a dark green paper with little penguins on it. "From me to you." She announced excited, dropping the gift into Baylee's lap before vanishing into the kitchen to make coffee.

Again, Baylee's eyes weren't on the present in his lap as Mila walked away. The blush on his face wasn't as aggressive as it was the first two or three times he checked her out, so he was making progress- in a weird, creeperish way.

After taking a few moments to regain composure, he tore open the wrapping paper to expose…..a plain white box. The thin kind that people only use to hold clothes for Christmas presents. The present as a whole had a bit of weight to it, so he figured it was a jacket, but when the tore off the tape and looked inside, he was stunned. It was the nicest leather jacket he had ever seen. The leather was so soft it was hard to believe it was really leather, and the inside was lined with a thin but warm layer of fur. The tag said Reiss, a brand he was never able to afford. He felt tears welling in his eyes as Mila walked back into the living room, coffee in hand.

And then his heart overpowered his brain for a bit.

Baylee stepped forward the moment they made eye contact, bringing them so close that he could smell the coffee in her cup. For a moment, he was worried he was going to make a mistake, but maybe it was time he took a rist or three. So, he wrapped his arms around Mila's torso, listed her up so that they were at head level, and kissed the ever living shit out of her lips.

Mila almost dropped hot coffee on the both of them, but somehow managed to maintain her death grip on the mug when she wrapped her arms around Baylee's neck. Her body melted against his, every one of her curves meeting every one of his hard edges.

It was like an explosion of all the emotions they'd been keeping in check. Their lips crashing together in an almost desperate attempt to show the other how much they truly meant. Mila's entire body was focused on this one kiss, deepening it until she could feel it in her damn toes. Baylee was so warm and gentle, despite the wildness of his kiss and the tight grip he had on her waist. Mila's heart thundered in her chest, each beat for the man in her arms.

The kisses shortened quickly becoming sweeter and sweeter, until Baylee placed Mila back on her feet. He leaned his forehead against her's waiting for their breathing to return to normal. But Mila couldn't help the giggle that tickled the back of her throat. "Best. Christmas. Ever."

Baylee laughed, giving her a final lingering kiss before pulling away entirely. His expression was the same as always, but there was a self satisfied glimmer in those green eyes. "You have more presents." Mila said, bumping her hip into his. She needed a moment to calm down and that wasn't going to happen while he was still looking at her like that.

"Yeah…." he said, running a hand over his short-cropped hair and attempting to keep his heart from beating out of his chest. "Yeah…guess I do."

Obviously, Baylee had been kissed and delivered plenty of kisses in his lifetime, but that?….Damn. There was so much emotion in it. Two and a half months of awkward tension and restraint being thrown into the wind in an instant. At this point, he couldn't even remember what any of the rules were. Sure, he initiated the kiss, but it still stunned the absolute shit out of him.

He wanted to do it again.

"Um…." Still recovering, he shuffled over to the tree and bent down, picking out the smallest of his presents. Ripping open the paper, he read the name on the black box: "Polo Black."

"Jesus fuckin'," he mumbled, looking up at Mila as he opened up the box. "How much money did you spend on this shit?"

As soon as his back had been turned, Mila pirouetted, a giant grin on her pink face. That kiss had been more than she ever expected, her lips still tingled from the force of it. Baylee was a man of very few words–and those words generally never expressed what he was feeling–but that kiss? Damn it was like he was telling her of all the emotion he had built up inside him since they had met. So she had responded in kind. With all the affection for him bursting like a firework in her heart.

Mila froze in her celebration, the instant Baylee's eyes landed on her over his shoulder. She was still grinning though, her blues as bright as the sunlight streaming through the window. Question momentarily forgotten, Baylee's own lips tilted up at the corners. They shared a moment of just smiling at each other like lovesick teenagers before they both looked away, identical blushes coloring the high points of their faces.

Shrugging, Mila came over to look at which present Baylee was looking at. "Oh! The cologne? Smell it. I thought it would be perfect for you."

Oh yea, she was ignoring the question on purpose. There was a tiny uncertain knot in her stomach, they'd never discussed a budget for presents and now Mila was freaking out a little.

"I actually have the same brand," he mumbled, setting the box down on the couch with a smile still on his lips. His hands were still shaking slightly from the kiss, but they stopped when he slipped them into the pockets of his onesie. His eyes stayed down at his feet as he turned around and faced Mila. "I…" What the hell was he trying to say? Why was there a ball of emotion in his throat? And the tears in his eyes? "Thank you for staying this long. This is the first Christmas I've shared with someone since….probably since I was 16. It…" a small sniff and one of his hands had to come out and wipe a ear from his cheek. He had been holding in all of this ever since he woke up, but after that kiss, it was like a dam broke in his head. Everything he was feeling was coming out all at once. "…..means a lot to me."

Mila slipped her arms around Baylee's waist again, propping her chin on his chest so she could look up at him. The expression on her face was open, compassionate, but there was a deep sadness in her eyes. She understood him more than he knew.

Baylee's free hand settled on the curve of her hip again, bringing her closer into his embrace. Althother tear slid down his cheek, but Mila's fingers were the ones that caught it this time. "Don't cry, Bay. Being here–being with you–means the world to me. I've never had a place where I felt comfortable in my own skin…" She cupped Baylee's cheek entirely, gently tracing the lines of his features.

"There have been places I've lived, places that I've enjoyed traveling through… But Baylee, this is the only place where I've felt home." Mila's own voice cracked with emotion, but she was smiling gently.

Baylee closed his eyes and leaned against her touch. For what felt like the first time in…ever, he had no conflicting feelings in his chest about their physical contact. There was no restraint, no voice in the back of his head telling him she was trying to use him, and no panic in his head. He simply enjoyed it. Opening that first present freed him in a way he hadn't felt since his father died. A break from his depression that not even his medicine gave him: it made him feel wanted.

"Fuckin' shit," he mumbled, opening his eyes and slipping a light, almost sheepish smile on to his lips. "I didn't meant to turn this shit into a sob-fest. I just….you mean a lot to me, búp bê. I guess I'm just now realizing it." Damn. He'd been wanting to say those words since he met her and now that they were out, the last little bit of weight in his chest dropped.