Should've slept alone (Damon Albarn)

Chapter Fourteen

A/N - I know I've not updated this in YEARS but I see and hear you all asking for an update, so I hope this doesn't disappoint. I'm a bit rusty as I've not written for such a long time, but I enjoyed doing this so hopefully I'll start updating more.

That being said, any feedback is greatly appreciated, particularly if you have anything you'd like to see in upcoming chapters.

Enjoy!

Charlotte wasn't naive, she knew that herself and Freddie living with Damon wasn't going to suddenly make them some happy family, but she certainly wasn't expecting it to be this difficult.

She could tell Damon was trying his best but he was busy, far busier than Charlotte had realised. Sure, she knew how big blur were, but that didn't stop her from being, perhaps, naive at what that meant for Damon's workload.

She had just put Freddie to bed and was now staring at the clock, trying to decide whether or not to wait for Damon to have dinner. He had left the studio early today but had gone to see his parents, he had wanted everyone to have dinner together but his parents had refused the idea even more than Charlotte had.

Perhaps Charlotte was a bit too quick to jump the gun and say it was difficult living with Damon, he, himself, wasn't difficult. She just made it worse for herself by doing what she's doing tonight, sitting watching the clock.

They hadn't gotten any further forward with their relationship, but that didn't stop Damon from pining after her. He found her more attractive every single day, though he didn't want to push it too far. Just living with them and getting to be a presence in Freddie's everyday life was enough to make Damon's heart happy.

"You haven't waited for me to eat dinner again, have you?" Damon grinned as he came bounding into the kitchen, his keys being discarded on the worktop.

Charlotte almost instantly felt any worry lift from her, he could do that by himself. In fact, she was almost sure that that smile alone could ease any worries she had.

"Not deliberately" She smiled back, though she was almost certain he knew it was a lie "Red's only just gone to bed"

"Late for him" He commented, sitting down on the chair next to Charlotte "Is he okay?"

"Yeah he's fine" She reassured him, her eyes lingering far too long on his "Just lost track of time"

"You know I ate at my parents house, don't you?" He grinned, as he watched her dish up dinner. They both knew it was a lie, but Damon liked nothing more than trying to wind people up.

"Very funny" Charlotte mumbled as she placed his dinner in front of him, before sitting down and tucking into her own.

"This is lovely, thank you my darling" She smiled into her meal, considering Damon was completely funding her life, she always tried to make sure she looked after him as best she could.

They idly spoke between themselves as they ate, before Charlotte got up to quickly wash everything up before Damon could stop her.

"I can do that Lottie, you cooked after all" He walked behind her, attempting to take the sponge from her hand, instead all he ended up doing was wrapping his arms around her.

"You're not being much help" She muttered, but she couldn't complain too much, the felling of his arms around her was more than welcome.

It didn't take her long to tidy the kitchen, though Damon clinging onto her slowed her down considerably.

"Why are you being so clingy?" She laughed as they walked into the lounge, his hands still firmly around her.

"CauseI'mgoingawayforafewweeksandI'mgoingtomissyou" He mumbled in one breath, Charlotte wasn't stupid, she'd heard what he'd said but she knew she'd need a bit more time to process it.

"Sorry?" She laughed, though they both knew how forced the laughter was. Truthfully, Charlotte had felt instantly sick at his words, she wasn't sure she could cope without him now.

"We've got a few shows scheduled around America" He practically whispered, his eyes focused on his fingers which were playing with Charlotte's hands.

"When do you go?"

"In two days" Charlotte breath hitched at his words, she couldn't comprehend the thought of him not coming home every night.

She wasn't sure what came over her, but she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. She had this overwhelming urge to have him as close to him as possible. Weeks without this man who undoubtedly made her laugh and kept her sane every single day.

Charlotte couldn't decide what made her feel more ill, the thought of him going or the sudden realisation of how madly in love with him she was.

"I don't want you to go" She whispered, almost not recognising her own voice. Damon instinctively started to play with her hair.

"It's three weeks, it'll fly by, I promise"

Charlotte had laid awake in her bed for what felt like hours. She knew that going away was part of Damon's job, but a part of her couldn't help but feel like him leaving was just going to send them back to square one. She had been stupid, she'd let herself fall for him, fall for this lifestyle and dragged her poor darling son in with it all too.

It was all a harsh reality of just how easily he could pick up and leave her and Freddie. Damon had always said just how much he wanted this, Charlotte had always followed his lead but now with him leaving them for a few weeks, just how much did he truly want this?

She shook her head in a feeble attempt to get rid of her thoughts before taking a large sip from her glass of water. She was spiralling and needed to get a grip. Damon wouldn't let them go back to how they were living, he knew how much that mould-ridden flat haunted Charlotte and she was almost certain he wouldn't let them go back to that. Almost.

Charlotte felt relieved as she watched her bedroom door open to reveal Damon, clearly she wasn't the only one who couldn't switch off.

"Lottie, can we talk?"