ficlet: let go your heart
let go your heart, (David/Juliet), PG, if you want it, come and get it
A/N: Oh hey look who wrote fic for the first time in twenty-seven forevers. :)
If you want it
Come and get it
Crying out loud
The love that I was
Giving you was
Never in doubt
Juliet takes a deep breath, standing in front of her full length mirror, and runs her hands over the skirt of her dark blue dress one more time. Her lips twist in a frown at her reflection, and she sighs before turning on her heel and heading for the door.
Her barren apartment feels strange, and she pauses in the living room to let her eyes scan up and around the space that she used to call home. Most of her things are at David’s now. The bigger pieces, like her grandmother’s curio cabinet, are packed into his garage while they figure out where to put them, while the majority of her clothes are overflowing his closet and sitting in laundry baskets on the bedroom floor. The merging of their households and belongings is a process it seems, one that perhaps started over a decade ago and is only now nearing its completion.
That too feels strange, if she’s honest.
Sighing again, she flops on the couch and waits for David to arrive.
Somewhere nice for once, he’d said, while she was still pressed between his body and the edge of the desk. She’d grinned because David was looking at her in a way that made her feel warm head to toe, and Chris was shuddering in the hallway, suitably traumatized after walking in on them kissing. But that was last week, and since then David had quietly refused to tell her where he’d made reservations.
She hopes her dress is suitable.
David shifts in his seat, drumming a rhythm on the bottom edge of his steering wheel with his index fingers, eyes darting intermittently to the clock on the dashboard. After a moment he stops and runs a hand through his hair. He glances up at the large three story brownstone, eyes immediately finding the left front window that he knows belongs to Juliet’s living room.
His feet tap anxiously and he frowns, wondering why now, after all this time, his brain has decided to get jittery. Memories amble through his mind, looks and moments he should have noticed, should have understood to mean more than they were on the surface, but didn’t, or maybe, more accurately, couldn’t.
The reasons are all so pointless now.
But he’s left with this oddly unsettled feeling, and the reason why nags at him more than the sensation itself. It’s not as if there are any steps left for them to take, they’ve had sex for fuck’s sake, and he snorts out a sort of laugh, shaking his head at his own terrible pun.
A beat later, he jabs his finger at the radio button to turn on the clock, and gets out of the car, having decided that being a few minutes early won’t make him look too anxious.
This is not them.
David looks around the restaurant at the high ceilings and ornate moldings, the glittering chandeliers with their delicate crystal, light bulbs glowing as soft as candle light. Then his eyes settle back on his menu, fingers flipping the pages mindlessly as he bites the inside of his lip.
This is not them at all.
Juliet fidgets in her seat, anxiously pressing her hand over her dress for probably the eighty-seventh time since they left her apartment. Her nose wrinkles as a couple passes by their table, arm in arm and trailing a heady, musty perfumed scent. She’s sure it probably costs hundreds of dollars a bottle wherever they got it. She glances over at their waiter and sees him fawning over three men at another table, the combined value of their suits probably totaling more than her last two pay checks.
This is not them at all and both of them know it.
She looks back to David and finds him already looking back at her. He gives her a sheepish sort of smile, and she shakes her head.
Later, a waiter picks up two menus from an empty table and frowns.
They step out of the bar arm in arm.
She leans into him and looks up, still half laughing at his story, and he wonders if he has enough of them to keep her smiling like that forever. It hits him then, just how in this he is and how he always has been. He doesn't like to think about how much time they might have lost, choosing instead to remind himself of how much future they have together.
Juliet slows her stride just a touch, not ready for the night to end, not wanting to get to the car too soon, and if David notices he doesn't say anything, just slows to stay in step with her. She leans into him again and sighs at how warm he always is and catching just a hint of his aftershave. She bites her lip to keep from smiling and turns her head, watching as a couple of taxis roll by, the tires squelching against the wet asphalt.
When they reach the car, she lets go, hand sliding down his arm to his hand, wrapping her fingers around his. He takes a step forward to open the door for her, but she slips in front of him and presses her back against the car. He gives her a mildly confused look, the corner of his mouth curving slightly at the coy expression on her face. She tugs on his hand and he inches forward. Her eyes are bright and shining in the street lights, the warm breeze flutters the skirt of her dress, and his breath catches.
He opens his mouth, wanting to say something, even stupid enough in this moment to ask what she wants him to do, but her hands come up and grab the lapels of his jacket. An instant later she pulls him to her, mouth opening against his. He leans into her, hands braced on the car on either side of her, and her tongue slides over his lip and then inside his mouth. She rolls it lightly and he makes a sound, low and rough, that she feels all the way to her toes. His hands drop to her waist, pushing at her dress, lifting it a little as his fingers gather the fabric. When he presses his hips against hers, she pushes back insistently, and there is very little doubt in either of their minds where the night will be ending.
Juliet breaks the kiss first, tugging on his bottom lip as she tips her head back. Her voice is just above a whisper when she speaks, breath ghosting over his mouth. "Take me home, David."
The drive to David’s house is quiet, not in a tense or awkward way, but there is a feeling of expectation and anticipation. It’s new for both of them and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t love it. He pulls into the driveway and shuts off the car, saying nothing, and it’s then that Juliet finally turns to look at him.
Her expression is questioning, and he glances at her, smiling slightly, but then fixes his eyes at some distant point by the house. “I really hope this is what you meant.”
It takes a second for her to connect what he just said to her earlier request to take her home, and then she smiles, teeth pulling at her bottom lip. “Yeah, it was.”
He grins too, and steals a quick kiss. “I love you.”
“And I’m sorry about dinner - our first dinner,” he adds a moment later.
She shakes her head, still smiling, and replies, “I love you too. And don’t worry about it. I know you just wanted to have a nice evening out, but, please, let’s never go back there again.”
He laughs and nods. “Deal.”
She doesn’t wait for him to come around and open her door, just opens it at the same time he opens his, and they scurry through the light rain to the back door.
Inside, they both stop and toe off their shoes, leaving them side by side on the mat, and Juliet smiles a little at the mundane sight. There’s a pair of her sneakers sitting there as well, and everything looks as if it has just always been this way.
David takes her hand and they start to move through the kitchen, but midway she turns to him, pivoting on her bare foot, and giving him a cheeky smile. He looks at her over their outstretched arms, fingers still threaded together, and raises an eyebrow.
When she tugs him forward, his other hand catches her waist, pulling her close.
“Race you,” she says softly, tilting her head slightly.
His eyes widen as he leans in, intent on kissing her, but at that very moment she pulls away abruptly, walking backwards towards the bottom of the stairs.
Just before she spins around and makes a dash for the stairs she adds, “Winner gets to be on top.”
A/N: Oh hey look who wrote fic for the first time in twenty-seven forevers. :)
If you want it
Come and get it
Crying out loud
The love that I was
Giving you was
Never in doubt
Juliet takes a deep breath, standing in front of her full length mirror, and runs her hands over the skirt of her dark blue dress one more time. Her lips twist in a frown at her reflection, and she sighs before turning on her heel and heading for the door.
Her barren apartment feels strange, and she pauses in the living room to let her eyes scan up and around the space that she used to call home. Most of her things are at David’s now. The bigger pieces, like her grandmother’s curio cabinet, are packed into his garage while they figure out where to put them, while the majority of her clothes are overflowing his closet and sitting in laundry baskets on the bedroom floor. The merging of their households and belongings is a process it seems, one that perhaps started over a decade ago and is only now nearing its completion.
That too feels strange, if she’s honest.
Sighing again, she flops on the couch and waits for David to arrive.
Somewhere nice for once, he’d said, while she was still pressed between his body and the edge of the desk. She’d grinned because David was looking at her in a way that made her feel warm head to toe, and Chris was shuddering in the hallway, suitably traumatized after walking in on them kissing. But that was last week, and since then David had quietly refused to tell her where he’d made reservations.
She hopes her dress is suitable.
David shifts in his seat, drumming a rhythm on the bottom edge of his steering wheel with his index fingers, eyes darting intermittently to the clock on the dashboard. After a moment he stops and runs a hand through his hair. He glances up at the large three story brownstone, eyes immediately finding the left front window that he knows belongs to Juliet’s living room.
His feet tap anxiously and he frowns, wondering why now, after all this time, his brain has decided to get jittery. Memories amble through his mind, looks and moments he should have noticed, should have understood to mean more than they were on the surface, but didn’t, or maybe, more accurately, couldn’t.
The reasons are all so pointless now.
But he’s left with this oddly unsettled feeling, and the reason why nags at him more than the sensation itself. It’s not as if there are any steps left for them to take, they’ve had sex for fuck’s sake, and he snorts out a sort of laugh, shaking his head at his own terrible pun.
A beat later, he jabs his finger at the radio button to turn on the clock, and gets out of the car, having decided that being a few minutes early won’t make him look too anxious.
This is not them.
David looks around the restaurant at the high ceilings and ornate moldings, the glittering chandeliers with their delicate crystal, light bulbs glowing as soft as candle light. Then his eyes settle back on his menu, fingers flipping the pages mindlessly as he bites the inside of his lip.
This is not them at all.
Juliet fidgets in her seat, anxiously pressing her hand over her dress for probably the eighty-seventh time since they left her apartment. Her nose wrinkles as a couple passes by their table, arm in arm and trailing a heady, musty perfumed scent. She’s sure it probably costs hundreds of dollars a bottle wherever they got it. She glances over at their waiter and sees him fawning over three men at another table, the combined value of their suits probably totaling more than her last two pay checks.
This is not them at all and both of them know it.
She looks back to David and finds him already looking back at her. He gives her a sheepish sort of smile, and she shakes her head.
Later, a waiter picks up two menus from an empty table and frowns.
They step out of the bar arm in arm.
She leans into him and looks up, still half laughing at his story, and he wonders if he has enough of them to keep her smiling like that forever. It hits him then, just how in this he is and how he always has been. He doesn't like to think about how much time they might have lost, choosing instead to remind himself of how much future they have together.
Juliet slows her stride just a touch, not ready for the night to end, not wanting to get to the car too soon, and if David notices he doesn't say anything, just slows to stay in step with her. She leans into him again and sighs at how warm he always is and catching just a hint of his aftershave. She bites her lip to keep from smiling and turns her head, watching as a couple of taxis roll by, the tires squelching against the wet asphalt.
When they reach the car, she lets go, hand sliding down his arm to his hand, wrapping her fingers around his. He takes a step forward to open the door for her, but she slips in front of him and presses her back against the car. He gives her a mildly confused look, the corner of his mouth curving slightly at the coy expression on her face. She tugs on his hand and he inches forward. Her eyes are bright and shining in the street lights, the warm breeze flutters the skirt of her dress, and his breath catches.
He opens his mouth, wanting to say something, even stupid enough in this moment to ask what she wants him to do, but her hands come up and grab the lapels of his jacket. An instant later she pulls him to her, mouth opening against his. He leans into her, hands braced on the car on either side of her, and her tongue slides over his lip and then inside his mouth. She rolls it lightly and he makes a sound, low and rough, that she feels all the way to her toes. His hands drop to her waist, pushing at her dress, lifting it a little as his fingers gather the fabric. When he presses his hips against hers, she pushes back insistently, and there is very little doubt in either of their minds where the night will be ending.
Juliet breaks the kiss first, tugging on his bottom lip as she tips her head back. Her voice is just above a whisper when she speaks, breath ghosting over his mouth. "Take me home, David."
The drive to David’s house is quiet, not in a tense or awkward way, but there is a feeling of expectation and anticipation. It’s new for both of them and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t love it. He pulls into the driveway and shuts off the car, saying nothing, and it’s then that Juliet finally turns to look at him.
Her expression is questioning, and he glances at her, smiling slightly, but then fixes his eyes at some distant point by the house. “I really hope this is what you meant.”
It takes a second for her to connect what he just said to her earlier request to take her home, and then she smiles, teeth pulling at her bottom lip. “Yeah, it was.”
He grins too, and steals a quick kiss. “I love you.”
“And I’m sorry about dinner - our first dinner,” he adds a moment later.
She shakes her head, still smiling, and replies, “I love you too. And don’t worry about it. I know you just wanted to have a nice evening out, but, please, let’s never go back there again.”
He laughs and nods. “Deal.”
She doesn’t wait for him to come around and open her door, just opens it at the same time he opens his, and they scurry through the light rain to the back door.
Inside, they both stop and toe off their shoes, leaving them side by side on the mat, and Juliet smiles a little at the mundane sight. There’s a pair of her sneakers sitting there as well, and everything looks as if it has just always been this way.
David takes her hand and they start to move through the kitchen, but midway she turns to him, pivoting on her bare foot, and giving him a cheeky smile. He looks at her over their outstretched arms, fingers still threaded together, and raises an eyebrow.
When she tugs him forward, his other hand catches her waist, pulling her close.
“Race you,” she says softly, tilting her head slightly.
His eyes widen as he leans in, intent on kissing her, but at that very moment she pulls away abruptly, walking backwards towards the bottom of the stairs.
Just before she spins around and makes a dash for the stairs she adds, “Winner gets to be on top.”