𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝘼𝙩 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛, 𝘽𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙚!

FOURTY FIVE - A Month

David was the first out of the pair to wake the next morning, his arms wrapped securely around the woman as she slept soundly against his chest, her arms wrapped around his torso. His chin rested on top of her head, the scene dimly lit by the golden dawn that shone through the mostly-closed blinds. He had no trouble remaining how he was, recalling the events from the night before. It was almost like he'd blacked out, if he hadn't spent the night he would've woken up and figured it was a dream.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed when Mari finally shifted, her eyes starting to flutter open, stopping once she realized where she was. She sighed, hummed, then pulled him closer, tightening her arms around him. He subconsciously did the same.

"I forgot you were really here." She lazily mumbled, smiling as he chuckled.

A few minutes passed in comfortable silence before David hummed, getting her attention, "Hey." Her eyes finally opened and she looked up at him, "Yeah?"

"I, uh, just realized that nobody knows where I am. Can I call and let them know?" He asked, watching as she shook her head, "Yeah, phone is on that bedside table there." she said, nodding towards the table behind him.

The two sat up, Mari stretching and running her hands through her hair while David leaned over and dialed the number to he and Jim's shared apartment, putting the phone up to his ear as it rang for no more than a second.

"Hello?"

"Hey Jim." David greeted, listening as Jim sighed irritably on the other side of the phone, "Man, you had Corinne freaking the hell out! We didn't know where you were!"

David hummed, "I'm fine. I'm out somewhere, I'll-...I'll explain it to you later. I'll be home late this afternoon."

"Where are you? Are you alone?" Jim interrogated, "I'm visiting someone, no I'm not alone, I'm telling you I'll explain it to you later. I figure that's enough." David answered.

Jim sighed, tapping the phone a couple times before responding, "Alright. I'll see you this afternoon."

"Alright. Bye."

David hung up the phone and leaned back on the bed-frame, shifting to rest his head on Mari's shoulder with a sigh, "We should just elope." he joked. She laughed, putting her arm around him and resting her head close to his.

"That's jumping the gun, don't you think?" She asked, he chuckled, "That's definitely not my biggest concern." he said, laughing.

She hummed, pulling him closer as she closed her eyes again, "Are you busy at all today? I don't want to be keeping you from anything."

He scoffed, "Does it seem like I'm being kept from anything?" he asked, closing his eyes as her hand ran through his hair, "No, not really. I was gonna keep you here anyway." she said, smiling as he laughed, leaning into her touch.

Her lips parted before she moved her hair from where it was, "Sorry, your hair is just so much healthier." she said, watching as his eyebrows furrowed, his eyes still closed, "I didn't tell you to stop." he said, adjusting his position slightly before she slowly put her hand back where it was.

"...I feel like you're testing me." She finally spoke, quieter, his eyebrows furrowing again, "How come?" he asked with a hum. She shrugged, "I don't know, I just feel like this is just not real. Like I shouldn't trust you yet. I mean, as horrid as your issues were, I just don't believe you got out of them that easily. It's just too good to be true."

He processed her words, almost immediately understanding what she meant. She had a good reason for her skepticism, she was right, he was near death for an astonishing amount of time, the fact that he'd even lived long enough to make it out of New York was pure luck.

Mari was slightly taken aback when he suddenly began to sit up, facing her, taking in her expression before saying what he wanted to say.

"I understand." He began, "But by no means am I letting this go to waste. I won't lie to you and say I'm fully healed, or say I haven't been in a complete state of depression since moving here, I won't lie to you and say I'm clean, but I can say I'm better. I wouldn't have come here if I felt it was a risk on your behalf, or overstepping your boundaries. I'm not that type of person."

He took a deep breath, sighing, "But I just want to know, what do I have to do for you to be my lover?"

Her lips parted, he noticed her eyes slightly widened at his last words, she resisted the urge to pinch herself to see if she'd just been dreaming all along. She opened her mouth to say something, but for a moment she was speechless. She just couldn't believe what she'd heard.

"I just want to know that you're safe." She finally answered, watching him nod as if he were taking in any other piece of information.

"...Give me a month."

She couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows, "A month?" she relayed, no time passed before he nodded to confirm his words, "A month." he repeated, "I want to go out with you, you can show me around here. Like when we were in the city, but better. Then, maybe, if you want to--"

"We could make it something official?"

His nervous eyes finally traced back to her, his lips parted before he nodded in confirmation. She paused, a moment passing before a smile finally began to form on her face, "Can you take me to the studio sometime then? I miss your voice."

He laughed, "Yeah, I'll take you soon." he answered with a nod, "Me and Jim are working on some things."

She nodded, looking away with a smile, "I never told you this, but when Station to Station came out I didn't listen to anything else for two weeks." she said, looking back up to see his lips turn into a smile, he laughed.

"You're insane." He laughed, her jaw dropping at the words, but she couldn't contain her laughter, "I'm insane?" she said, he laughed harder.

"Yeah, alright. Maybe I'm not all there either." He chuckled, calming down before going back to his original position next to her, wrapping his arms around her stomach and resting his head on hers.

"Don't let Corinne here you say that." She teased, he laughed again, "She'll never catch me admitting it."

The two laid together for the next hour, both talking every now and then before they both fell back asleep. Mari only stared at the woman in her arms, the words 'a month' replaying in her head, over and over. Did she really want to wait a month? No, but that wasn't the situation. She had to wait a month. For him. For their wellbeings.

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A/N

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