𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍

twenty nine

yo, I kinda messed with the timeline in this one. Shhh...

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『 twenty-nine 』

NATALIE SLOWLY SAT UP IN BED the next morning, checking for notifications on her phone. It was just after ten. She laid back under the covers for several minutes and scrolled through social media. Everything was quiet. She wished she could fall right back asleep and let this time continue for the rest of the morning. 

Yet it was ten, and she was hungry. She said goodbye to Robby - who was still sleeping in bed next to her- and got up to make breakfast. 

Waffles were good to make. He liked waffles. Who didn't like waffles? Waffles were good for the soul. 

Natalie found a recipe on her phone and got to work. She was preparing the ingredients for roughly ten minutes, always getting distracted by notifications on her phone. Someone texted her. And then someone else tried to call. 

She had begun quietly singing the chorus to one of her favorite songs when a pair of arms slowly wrapped themselves around her torso from behind. Robby hugged her from the back. 

"You have a beautiful voice," he whispered into her ear, invoking an embarrassed smile. Natalie set the spoon down and turned around to face him, though he left narrow space between the counter and himself. 

"You're affectionate today," she mumbled, resting one hand at the nape of his neck. 

Robby kissed her cheek before nuzzling his nose into her shirt. "I missed you."

"I can't imagine how hard it must have been to be devoid of female contact for three months," Natalie said with a slight smirk. She missed teasing him. 

"You have no clue," he stated. She turned back around, and he moved to stand next to her at the counter. "I didn't realize how much impact you had on my daily life until I wasn't able to text you in the morning, or hear you laugh at my stupid jokes. I just wanted to be around you."

Natalie stared at the ingredients in front of her, ignoring the smile that was slowly creeping onto her face. She loved his intentional cheesiness. 

"Keene, you can't say things like this while I'm cooking. I'm gonna end up using baking soda instead of baking powder," she told him. 

Robby shrugged and tilted his head. "You're cute when you get frustrated. Not, like, the stressed-out frustrated. But like now. Your nose scrunches, and it's impossible for your face to look intimidating. You look like you're attempting a stare-down with the milk," he told her, tiny chuckles along the way. "You need one more egg, by the way."

She hastily searched for the egg carton, without remembering she had stored it back in the fridge. She was stressing herself out over nothing. Robby reached into the refrigerator himself and handed one egg to her. He wore a shit-eating grin on his face. 

"Thank you," Natalie set it on the countertop. 

She continued her baking, content with the two of them the way they were. She remembered them doing something similar to this seven months previously, but the roles were now reversed. It was fun to remember the good times of the past, while simultaneously enjoying the equally good times of the present. It was a good feeling. 

"I'm sorry this took so long," he finally admitted. "I had some personal things I needed to work out myself."

Judging from her expression, he didn't know whether or not to be quiet or further explain himself. He had been acting very quick and sudden over the past twelve hours. "And I'm sorry if this is pressuring. I will happily back away. I was a little eager at first, you know? I'm sorry if it made you uncomfortable-"