Ignite | e. buckley

thirty six

"I just can't believe she killed Hollis and that his assistant took all the money to the Maldives. What if I wanted to go to the Maldives?" Anastasia said from the couch beside Buck, her legs thrown over his lap as they watched something on TV.

Despite what the building says about dogs not being allowed, they snuck Tatum up to his apartment so he wouldn't be home alone.  He was curled up in the middle the rug that Buck had in his little living room,

"It's okay. It may not be $5 million dollars, but I can take you to the Maldives. We just need to work enough to get paid time off, and then we can take the trip. And we get one of those little huts on the water."

Look away from the TV so she could look at Buck, she saw that he was watching a YouTube video on his phone. It looked like one of those SFX makeup videos, and though it was only half done, it looked like the girl was doing a skeleton look. "What are you watching?"

"I don't know, I was watching a cooking video and ended up here." Buck said, still so focused on what was going on in the video. "Can all girls do this? Can you?"

"With practice. I've done it a few times for like halloween makeup, but I didn't do it on that much of my upper body." She pointed out in the video, because the girl had dragged her makeup down to around her collarbones. "Would you let me do your eyebrows?"

Scrunching up said part of his face, Buck looked away from his phone to meet eyes with his girlfriend.  "Why?  Is something wrong with them?" He unconsciously reached a hand up to one of his eyebrows, touching them as if searching for a flaw.

Anastasia reached up a hand to pull his own down as she shook her head. "There's nothing wrong, I'm just curious because guys usually only fuss about their beards." She told him. "You have nice eyebrows."  She said as she ran her thumb over the one that had his red birth mark.

"You have a nice face."  Buck retorted back to her.

Anastasia just laughed it off, calling him corny as they held eye contact. With the smiles the two had on their faces, Buck could just hear the team teasing them about how obsessed they were with each other.  "No, but seriously, I could clean up your eyebrows."

"I love you."  From a wide smile to a dropped jaw, Anastasia stared at Buck with wide eyes.  "I know we've only been together like six months, but you've changed my life, completely.  You make me feel things I didn't even know people could feel, and sometimes the butterflies in my stomach when I'm around you make me feel like I could throw up.  In a good way, of course.  You complete me, and I love you."

Through his whole monologue, he kept eye contact with Anastasia and watched every emotion in her eyes, and was able to stop a tear from rolling down her cheek by the end of it.  "I love you, Evan Buckley, wholeheartedly.  I didn't prepare a speech like you did, this isn't fair."  She said with more tears threatening to cascade down her face, but it brought a laugh out of the both of them. 

Buck wiped more of her happy tears away with his thumb, and even after they were gone, he continued to caress her face.  "You can save your speech for another time, my love."

"Can I call you my Bumble B now?  Instead of just B?  I feel like embarrassing nicknames are appropriate now."

Despite her legs already being thrown across his, the two got even closer once Anastasia snuggled up against him.  "You can call me whatever you want, as long as I'm yours."

Being so absorbed in staring each other, the two didn't notice that Tatum had woken up from the rug and walked a few feet over.  They didn't notice until he had laid his head on Anastasia's leg and started whining while gazing up at the two.  Without any words, Buck fully lifted Anastasia onto his lap and moved over so Tatum could lay on the blanket now beside them.  "Someone wants to get in on the love too."