ice and sugar dust (alex turner fanfic)

Chapter Twenty-One

The toasty, comfortable warmth under the shelter of the covers had Alex concerned to move, convinced the warmth would fade if he shifted and allowed the chilly air of the bedroom to invade their cover. He could hear Chloe's soft breathing, had his arm wrapped loosely around her, his body curved around hers protectively with his chest pressed to her back, his fingers intertwined with hers. He could've sworn she'd fallen asleep, making him jump slightly when she spoke into the darkness, snapping him out of his thoughts that had managed to continue wandering back to the exact same thing.

"Al?" She paused, licking her lips and listening closely, sighing with relief when she felt his thumb stroking the back of her hand.

"Mmm?" Alex hummed, shuffling closer to her. Her voice sounded muffled, thick with sleep, and he wondered if she'd drifted off and now woken back up again.

"You're not going to leave me, are you, Al?" She whispered, her eyes remaining closed as she squeezed his hand gently as if to keep him from moving away if he tried, craved his physical warmth as well as the reassurance she'd asked for.

Alex's own eyes snapped open, his lips parting in a silent gasp, his body tensing. "W-Wha'?" He asked, pressing his lips together. "Wha' d'yeh mean, Chlo? Why on Earth would I ever leave yeh?"

With her mind properly awake, she would have been flustered, but she was at ease, only slightly shaken by the shock in his voice. "Just ... you know, if the band kicks off..." she said. "Or if you go off to uni ... a different one than me perhaps ... or..."

"Hey" he whispered, his voice quiet, yet reaching its goal of pausing her elaboration. He deemed it unnecessary, did not like her delving into scenarios that were beyond unlikely. "Dun't wanna 'ear anofer word of tha'."

His words forced her mind fully awake now and she shuffled, allowed some of the warmth to fade, but Alex's focus was entirely on her now, his lips parting as he looked back at her in disbelief, his eyes getting used to the darkness slowly, the room dimly lit by merely the fairylights swung loosely around the curtain pole.

"I mean it" she pouted, licking her lips and reaching to smooth her fingers through his hair. "It's not that impossible."

"It absoluteleh is" he disagreed, shaking his head against the pillow. "Yeh're so important t'meh and weh're not even close teh graduatin' yet. Wha's put those thoughts in yehr 'ead?"

"I was dreaming about uni" she explained. "Me studying and ... I don't know. I woke up and I thought about it..."

He felt his heart tearing, swallowing hard, thinking carefully before he spoke again to fill the momentary silence. "Yeh dun't fink 's gunna drive us apart, reyht? I mean ... I wouldn't ... I just wouldn't let tha' 'appen."

She pushed her bottom lip forward, inhaling deeply. "Do you promise?" She asked.

Alex nodded eagerly. "I fookin' promise, babeh" he whispered. "Babeh, I'm yours..."

Chloe parted her lips, still trying to find the right words to respond but closing her mouth again when he continued, shuffling closer to her and knocking his nose playfully against hers as he started singing quietly. "And I'll beh yours ... until the stars fall from the sky..." A smile spread across his face when he looked back at her and saw that her eyes had lit up, that he'd soothed her worries. "Yours, until the rivers all run dry..."

She giggled when he nudged her nose again, could tell now by the way he wiggled his eyebrows what he wanted and she caved, her voice sleepy and small when she joined in. "I-In other words..." Her heart melted from the intensity of his eyes and the way the melodic tone of his voice blurred gently into a whisper, had her mimicking it until they spoke in unison. "Until I die."