'𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺. - 𝘱𝘢𝘶𝘭 "𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴" 𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘢.

'𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳.

"i promise. she's all i've ever wanted." she finally mentioned, pressing a kiss to the baby's forehead.

-

it'd been about a week since tara had given genevieve the baby she found. residents of hilltop so kindly gave her newborn items their children had grown out of. she was given plenty of clothes, and toys- and comfort items to make genevieve's new mom life easier.

a crib that was given to her resided in her bedroom, and people who went on runs kindly picked up diapers and formula for the new mother.

after much debate, she decided to name the infant clementine. paul loved the name, and already loved his new housemate.

he also loved genevieve, and unbeknownst to him- she shared his feelings.

it was evening, and the new mother had just put her baby to sleep.  she came from her bedroom, and stood by the sink to get a glass of water.

"hey," paul greeted, flashing his handsome smile as he nonchalantly leaned against the cou ter space nwxt to the sink.

"hi." she replied, downing the glass of water, before glancing over at him.

"is she asleep?" he asked, his strong arms crossing over his chest.

"yeah, she's easy to put down." genevieve felt a smile etch on her face, and paul couldn't help but smile all the brighter. he took a moment to admire her, his feet subconsciously moving to shuffle closer to her.

"you're a great mom, vi." he complimented, his voice quiet. "i'm glad she found you." the ginger smiled sheepishly at his kind words, her cheeks tinging with a light pink color.

paul reached out, his warm hand tucking a few stray hair that had fallen in front of her face, behind her ear. she leaned her head into his hand, forcing it to clasp over her cheek. her eyes lifted up to look into his, and she found herself getting lost in the beautiful blue abyss. paul stepped forward, just doing what felt right, and placed his free hand on her waist. her arms reached up to latch around his neck in return. genevieve could feel gravity pulling her closer and closer to him, until their lips met.

they molded perfectly together, and the kiss was supple and sweet- something comforting. after relishing in the moment for a few, paul finally pulled away. his thumb swiped over the highpoint of her cheek, and he found himself smiling.

paul smiling, made genevieve smile. his mood was contagious- but maybe it was just his gorgeous smile.

"i'll start dinner." paul finally spoke, giving her waist one final squeeze, before heading over to figure something out.

genevieve watched in awe, her lower lip getting caught between her lip as she watched him, before deciding she would go check on her daughter.

she quietly turned on her heel and stalked towards her bedroom, anxious to see how her baby was sleeping.

she carefully opened the door to keep it from squeaking, and stalked over to loom innocently over the crib.

she didn't expect the infant to be awake- so she let out a quiet laugh.

"oh my, clem— i guess you're not very tired, are you baby?" genevieve bent down, carefully lifting the baby to her chest. glancing over at the wrap she normally used- she decided against it for the time being. "let's go see paul."

she headed back to the kitchen, the sound of boiling water making her stomach turn with delight. she kept the baby cradled in her arms as she re-entered the kitchen.

"i'm making pasta," he said, stirring the water around with a wooden spoon before turning to see the woman and the baby. "well it looks like someone wasn't very tired." he cooed, trotting over to greet clementine. he accepted as genevieve handed her over, and pressed a kiss to ver soft head. "i missed you, clemmy." he boasted, his smiler growing the widest it'd been.

genevieve admired how he was with her baby. her heart melted as she watched. she made a mental note to talk to him about the kiss over dinner.

her baby needed a dad. and she wanted it to be paul.

-

once dinner was finished, paul set the table and plated the creamy pasta. genevieve thanked him and took her seat, cradling clementine against her chest as she began to eat.

after a few moments of silence, she spoke up.

"so..." she started, taking a sip of her water. "about that kiss?" she nervously smiled, emitting a small chuckle from paul's throat.

"what about it?" he asked, cocking one eyebrow.

"why?" she took another bite, keeping her eyes on the man in front of you.

"genevieve. you're joking." he choked, looking at her with a plain face.

"what?" she was clearly confused.

"it's obvious." he paused, mentally raking over his words, before meeting her eyes. "i really adore you." he finished, stuffing another bite of the hot meal into his mouth.

genevieve felt her face heat up, and her grip on herk tightened. she shoved another bite into her mouth, and spoke once she swallowed.

"i adore you too." she whispered, but he caught it.

"good." he replied, and a silence fell over the pair as they continued to eat.

-

genevieve had finally gotten clementine to fall asleep, and she layed her back down. she headed into the living room to clean up a bit, her eyes falling on the handsome man who resided on the couch.

"up for a walk?" he asked, his hair cascading down onto uis shoulders, delicately framing his face.

genevieve felt a smile form on her face, and she nodded, slipping on shoes.

"a quick one. still don't have any monitors." she pursed her lips together, and joined paul by the door.

he held it open for her, and she stepped out, waiting for him. he quietly shut the door, and hand in calloused hand, they trotted down the steps and into the chilly night. genevieve felt the cold air hit her skin through her sweater, and she lightly shivered. she glanced over at her.. friend? wondering just how he was able to be in just a t-shirt. she was caught looking, which emitted a chuckled from the man's throat.

"like what you see?" he teased, poking his head closer to hers as he gave her hand a light squeeze.

"yes." she answered truthfully, the smile falling back on her freckled face. she could tell paul was definitely taken aback by the statement, and he stopped in his tracks, pulling her a bit closer to him.

"genevieve." he started, his demeanor suddenly serious. her face fell from the smile, and she felt her heart drop to her stomach, scared she had done something to upset him. "i more than adore you." he stumbled over his words, eyes flicking down as he held now both of her hands. "i-i just really, really enjoy spending time with you, and watching you with clementine— even if you've only had her for a short time. and she needs a father figure.. and you need breaks sometimes— and honestly i've just fallen for you."

"paul—" she tried interrupting but qas cut off.

"and if you like- don't want any of what i want— please tell me so i don't make you uncomfortable." he finished, looking up into her eyes.

"paul." she repeated, finally having his attention. "i've fallen for you, too." she flashed a tight lipped smile, and the man before her circled his arms around her waist, lifting her slightly off the ground into a hug.

he set her back onto her own feet and leaned in, slowly pressing his lips to hers to seal the deal.

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chap 4.
horrendous filler chapter.
sorry for messy updates.
no motivation.
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