Steps Singles - The One Shots

Heartbeat (Part 3)

Lee:
By the time we were all up again that afternoon everything had been hidden under a soft white blanket of snow, filling each of us with a childish joy. If only for a few days the snow would bury the thoughts and worries of living in a country that was at war. And it was so beautiful, the way the sun made the snow sparkle a little and the way it hid everything. Having eaten breakfast the three of us pulled on our warm coats and rushed outside, playing around at throwing snowballs at one and other. A game of running, chasing and squealing - the latter mostly from Faye when snow got down the inside of her coat. For a fleeting amount of time we could act like children and like nothing was happening and it was thrilling, if a little cold on the fingers. We contemplated making a snowman when we were done with our snowball fight, the girls shaking their hair in the hope that would encourage some of the flakes back out, but there wasn't really enough snow to make a decent snowman. The clouds still looked dark and heavy, so the three of us hoped there'd be more, it would be a shame for Ian to miss out.
Christmas was the only time the park almost completely emptied out. We got leave, and sick days were a thing (with the shifts sickness was common) but the week around Christmas was strange with so many people off. The issue was in the house we all had different days of leave and to return; Ian and Lisa were first, then Faye, and I would be the last one leaving closest to Christmas and coming back just before New Years. It was then no surprise that as we had an evening together alone once the two Welsh darlings had left for their families Faye and I had sat together for hours talking and playing card games. While travelling late at night so close to Christmas day would be a chore I wasn't complaining because at least we got chance to still celebrate with our families; Lisa's Johnny, who we'd still heard nothing more about, wouldn't even have had that chance. And, unlike so many people I knew, at least the rest of my family were at home together and safe.

Ian, and Lisa when she felt up to it, had been teasing Faye and I about dating for weeks in the lead up to our Christmas time apart. Pretty much since Lisa had moved in it had been constant, Ian had someone to spur his jokes on now after all. I certainly loved her, and Lisa had assured me Faye felt similarly, but I just didn't have the courage to ask her. She was so beautiful but had such a bad past with men that I didn't want to say anything that might ruin our friendship, like telling her I loved her could do if she didn't feel the same way. So until recently I'd buried it down but tonight felt like the right night to at least take some little steps towards asking her if it was true and she felt the same way I did. I braved it as I scooped the cards off the table and began to shuffle them.
"Can I ask you a very genuine question?" I asked her timidly. "You have to promise to answer truthfully."
Faye looked up at me, a shy look I hadn't seen since the day we'd first met crossing her face. "Of course. Un...unless it's about work, 'cos I can't tell you then obviously." She laughed a little at the end.
I smiled a bit too. "Lisa said that you had feelings for me, like that you...urh..." I trailed off. If she did have feelings she'd know how that sentence should have ended.
Very timidly she nodded. "Lisa said you have feelings for me too, and that it's super obvious to everyone but us."
I smiled, people had been saying that a while, but I'd finally heard it enough times that's why I was asking. I was bored of hearing how people thought Faye and I would make a beautiful couple. "I know that you had a bad experience before, but I promise to be nothing like him. I love you. Your shyness around new people, the way you get so excited by small childish things, the way you fiddle with your skirt when you're nervous. Would you like me to take you on a date on New Years?"
She stared at me, her blue eyes lighting up at the suggestion. "That would be nice." She mumbled. "I've waited so long for you to ask! I love you too, though I don't have a little speech prepared unlike you." She laughed.
I smiled, setting the cards down on the table and leaning over it to place a small kiss to her head. "I love you, and I will protect you." I whispered to her as I pulled away.