𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝘼𝙩 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛, 𝘽𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙚!

FORTY FOUR - Stay

"...If I open this door, will you make me regret it?"

David's heart sped up, his face going pale, his head going light as he replayed the words in his head over and over again.

"No, no, no, you won't. I promise. I swear on my life."

He felt as if he were teetering on the edge of a cliff, he was so close to something he'd wanted for so long, it was only one door away. He listened carefully to her silence, trying to imagine what her face might look like on the other side of that door. Little did he know, she was doing the same. He jumped when the door began to open, taking his body weight off of it, stepping back, running a terrified hand through his hair before he finally locked eyes with the dimly lit face that he'd missed more than anything.

She couldn't help that her mouth fell agape when she saw him. She looked over him, processing all the differences. His hair was a natural color, a chestnut brown, and had been cropped much shorter than she was used to. He was visibly healthier, he'd gained weight, and as she locked eyes with him he couldn't help but chuckle at how taken aback she was. Right then, she could tell he was happier.

"...Come in."

The smallest smile still lingered on his face as he entered the house, she closed the door behind him as he entered and began to process that from there, there was no turning back.

"You can turn on a light, I won't disappear." He joked, doing his best to lighten her up, satisfied when he noticed a slight chuckle, "Really? I'm not dreaming? I mean, this is pretty fucking crazy." she said, turning on a lamp, it lit up the entire living area. She sat down on the sofa, he sat down across from her on a recliner.

"...You look so normal." She finally observed, getting a better look at him in the lit area. He had a glint in his eyes that he didn't have last time she saw him, something about them had come to life, and he wasn't so pale anymore.

He chuckled, "I've been playing a bit of pretend lately." he joked, she laughed.

"No, really, this isn't David Bowie, this is David Robert Jones." She expressed, emitting another laugh from the man, "That's what I'm going for. Me."

She nodded, humming, "Well, it's nice to meet you.", she said, a small smile over her face. His lips parted as he processed what she meant.

A moment of silence passed through the room, both getting good looks at the other, David taking a moment to look around the living area before his eyes landed back on her, "I've been getting sober. Like you told me, you know. I've been cleaning up."

She locked eyes with the man, "I'm glad, very glad. But I have to ask, how does this bring you to my doorstep, thousands of miles away, at twelve in the morning?"

"I've just been thinking about you...Just you." He admit, watching the gears turn in her head, watching for a reaction. Nothing, so he kept going.

"One day, out of the blue, Angie called. She didn't know where the nanny had taken Zowie, so she called me-- and you know what I said?...I asked her why, 'out of all people', she'd decided to me. You can imagine how she responded." he paused, licking his hips, taking some time to think.

"I feel like that was the day I finally snapped out of it, like I'd woken up from a bad dream. Like I'd snapped out of a trance. That day where you left me, it almost did the trick, but after I rethought all the things that had been happening and all the things people had been telling me for the past two years, it did something to me. I realize that it should have happened much sooner, and I realize that the way I treated you wasn't right. I shouldn't have subjected you to taking care of me, I wasn't in the place to get so attached and I'm sorry."

Mari's lips were parted as she thought carefully about David's words. It was clear that this had been on his mind for a lot of time, his words were thoughtful, he knew how to say what he wanted to say.

"Don't apologize." she started, "It's hard to put my feelings into words, but I don't want an apology. I want you to be healthy, I want you to be happy. I'll take care of you all day, everyday, if this is what it'll get me."

David hesitated before speaking, knowing what he had to get out of the way, "Me and Jim were recording over at Hansa studios a couple months ago, we thought it was really nice here."

He paused for a reaction, his eyebrows just beginning to furrow as Mari chuckled, "I know how spontaneous you are, if you told me you moved here I'll laugh." she said, opening her eyes to see his mouth agape, lips beginning to turn up as he nodded.

"Yeah, actually, we did." He huffed, chuckling out of pure relief as she laughed slightly harder, "Are you being serious? You moved here? Berlin?" she said, calming down, eyes wide as she looked over at him.

"I'd known for the longest time that I had to get away from the dealers." He shrugged, watching with slight confusion as she began to  laugh again, "David, this is the heroin capital of the world!" she said, throwing up a hand up. His eyes widened, jaw dropping as he began to laugh along with her,  "Is it really?!"

Within thirty seconds he was hunched over laughing with the woman across from him, he couldn't help but recall all the times he'd been in the same situation months ago, the times they'd spent together, they were all rushing back to him, reminding him why he was doing this in the first place.

"David, why'd you really do it? Why'd you move here?" She asked, finally able to calm down.

"Other than the fact Jim and I really liked it here...I couldn't stop thinking about you. We sat down and had a conversation that we'd move here and clean up, that's what I've been doing. It's been depressing from time to time, but I try." He explained, watching as she nodded, deep in thought, still taking in his new appearance.

"How long have you been here?" She finally asked, watching as his lips parted, possibly counting the amount of time.

"About a month, I think." He finally answered, "I just had a spur of confidence, I guess." he shrugged, watching as she chuckled, leaning back in her seat.

Another string of silence passed throughout the place, David and Mari both still taking deep breaths to calm themselves, looking over one another, until finally they locked eyes.

"Well?" David asked, watching carefully as the corners of her lips turned up.

"...You should stay over."

David's mouth fell agape as he tried to find the words to respond, but he couldn't say anything. He wanted to stay, but he didn't know that he could. He had to be at the studio early the next morning, he had an interview later after that, and he wanted time to write.

"I want to talk to you, you know. I missed you." She continued, filling in the silence just before he spoke up.

"I'll stay."

***

A/N

We are officially entering Berlin era, which is my fav!! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter <33

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