You're in Love || EN ||

You can see it with the lights out

Meredith wakes up the following day from her full first night's sleep in two months. She's confused about her surroundings for a moment, but then it all comes back to her – the car ride, her confession, the t-shirt, coffee at midnight, the almost kiss, the cuddling.

Letting out a deep breath, Meredith readies herself for getting up. But when she tries, she hears soft mumbling coming from behind. A puff of hot breath tickles her neck as Addison protests, and her arm draped over Meredith's waist tightens. Her hand presses on Meredith's stomach, keeping her in place.

Meredith smiles to herself, feeling her heartbeat quicken. It feels like Addison's arms were made for spooning. Her hold is gentle yet firm, and Meredith can smell Addison's vanilla shampoo as she presses her head closer, nuzzling her nose into Meredith's hair.

She would love to stay in Addison's embrace, but work doesn't wait. Glancing at the clock on the opposite wall, Meredith sees they have only an hour to get ready and eat something. She realizes they are in a hotel, the Archfield Hotel and they surely have the best breakfasts. But she doesn't want to call them without telling Addison. And besides, she wants to make something for her. As thank you.

Carefully, she wraps her fingers around Addison's left wrist and lifts her hand before crawling out of the bed. Once standing, Meredith puts a pillow beside Addison and gently lays her hand on top. Addison hugs the pillow tightly but, fortunately, continues sleeping. Before walking away, Meredith neatly tucks the covers around her. But she pauses after a few steps, an intense need flooding her entire being.

Should I do it? Is it too soon?

Meredith turns around and walks back. Reaching out her hand, she gently moves Addison's hair from her face and caresses her cheek with her knuckles, gathering courage. Her heart was beating so loudly that she was surprised it didn't wake Addison up.

With a deep breath, Meredith leaned down and softly kissed Addison's temple. A gentle smile appears on Addison's face as she sighs before turning to the other side, still hugging the pillow.

Stealing a last glance back at Addison's sleeping form, Meredith walks to the bathroom, leaning on the sink with her hands.

What was that?

She sighs and starts brushing her teeth angrily with a new toothbrush she found in one of the cabinets.

This isn't a part of her plan, but she doesn't know how to stop herself. It just feels so natural. It's like they've been doing this for forever. But she isn't supposed to cuddle and caress and almost kiss her ex-boyfriend's wife. Well, not until she'll be her ex-boyfriend's ex-wife. And that will hopefully be later today.

Come on, Meredith. You got this.

Her neatly folded pile of clothes is waiting for her in the same place she left it yesterday, but she can't bring herself to let go of the Columbia University t-shirt yet. So, after she takes a shower and combs her hair, she puts on her pants and Addison's t-shirt, intending to take her own t-shirt home later. At least, she will have a good enough reason to return.

When she gets to the kitchen, she finds out that there's almost no food. Addison must use the room service a lot. Determined not to waste Addison's money, Meredith, as silently as possible, searches the fridge and every cabinet in sight. However, she can only find a couple of toast and an almost empty bottle of peanut butter.

Well, she wouldn't be able to cook anything, anyway.

Meredith starts putting the peanut butter on the toast, surprised she has so much energy. Ever since Addison showed up in Seattle, effectively ending Meredith's relationship with Derek, Meredith had problems getting out of bed. Some days, George had to wake her up because she fell back asleep after turning off the alarm.