Winter had never been especially close to Reece. Sure, they had engaged in conversation over the last year him and Autumn had been together, but he wouldn't class them as 'close'.
He respected Reece though, he knew how much him and Autumn had been through as kids, and wanted to be closer, but they never had that bond. Seeing Autumn and Reece interact was enough for him.
So when Reece showed up to their house one Sunday evening, Winter assumed he was here for Autumn, who wasn't home.
"Oh hello Reece, I assume you are here for Autumn?" Winter said when he opened the door to Reece standing outside.
Reece shook his head.
Winter looked confused, and gave him a look to say 'elaborate'.
Reece sighed and looked Winter up and down.
"I just wanted to check up on you, you know, after what happened. Autumn said you'd been trying to stay strong for her, and i wanted to make sure your okay."
Winters face froze. He had never expected this from anyone. Especially Reece, his girlfriend's hugely protective big brother.
"Why don't you come in?"
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A few minutes later, Reece had a beer in front of him, and Winter had a glass of red wine, and they were sat on the sofa, Reece sitting opposite Winter.
Even though he would never admit it, Reece loved Autumn and Winter's house. The big entryway, the large oak doors, the smoothe stone counter tops, the black leather sofa, it was magnificent. He had always known Autumn would settle down eventually, but this, Reece would never had expected.
"So. How are you?" Reece asked, breaking the awkward silence.
"Well, ive been better. But Autumn's slowly healing, so that's helped." Winter replied, taking a sip of his wine.
Winter wasn't much of a drinker, atleast not as much as Autumn, but recently he has been drinking more than ever before. And Autumn noticed this.
"I didn't ask about Autumn. I asked about you."
The words hung in the air, while Winter processed what the older man had said. He was shocked that Reece had come over to see him, not Autumn, him. But what shocked Winter most, was that very sentance. He had never got the impression Reece was fond of him. He knew that Reece liked him, but that was about as far as it went. And he only knew that because Autumn told him.
"It's been hard. All i want is to be there for her, but sometimes its so difficult. It's made us more vulnerable, I don't know what to do."
Winter sighed, and took another sip of wine. Reece gave him a look of utmost respect, which Winter didn't notice.
"You saved her life, you know."
Winter looked up at Reece, his eyes twinkling, as though asking for more information.
Reece took a deep breath and spoke.
"I don't think ive ever seen her this happy since Mum left. You've really helped her. You helped her when i couldn't. She's lucky to have you."
Reece offered Winter a small smile, which was returned. Winter's eyes were brimming with tears, which he wiped away before Reece noticed.
"She's one of a kind. Thank you for letting me love her."
Reece nodded in approval, and drank the rest of his beer. Compared to when Reece first arrived, the silence was comforting. They both sat there for a while, just enjoying the silence.
Autumn arrived home a few moments later, and was just as shocked as Winter when she saw the two sitting together.
"Reece what are you doing here?" she asked, though not rudely, curiously.
Reece looked over to her and stood up.
"We were just chatting, but i'm leaving now, see you later Winter."
And at this point in time, usually the two men would shake hands, but what surprised both Winter and Autumn, was when Reece went in for a hug, which was gratefully accepted.
As Reece walked through the oak front doors, Autumn raised an eyebrow at Winter who merely shrugged.
After the door had closed, Autumn began interrogating Winter about his and Reece's conversation, but he didn't tell her what it was about.
A few hours later, while she was removing her makeup in the en suite bathroom, and he was scrolling on his phone in bed, the topic resurfaced.
"I didn't know you and Reece were that close." she stated.
Winter looked up from his phone and smiled.
"Darling if i'm going to be completely honest with you, neither did I."
This made Autumn's eye brows furrow. Reece had never shown any interest in Winter before, why the sudden urge now?
She shrugged it off and got into bed beside him, though the thought did not leave her mind.
Winter was sleeping next to her, his arm wrapped around her waist, as though protecting her from absolutely nothing.
Ever since the miscarriage, her and Winter had been slightly more distant than usual, even Marjorie noticed. The car journeys to work once filled with debates and storytelling, now silent and awkward, the dates to the fanciest restaurant in town turned into chinese takeaways, they hadn't even had sex since the incident, which was extremely rare for them, because intimacy was a huge part of their relationship.
It had gotten better as the days went on, but the awkwardness still lingered, and Autumn was beginning to think it would never be the same again.
But still, a part of her knew it would be okay. She had never felt this way about anyone before. In the past, her relationships consisted of all one night stands, and meaningless sex, but this was the first relationship ever where she was truly happy. Where she didn't wake up wishing she was someone else.
And she knew it was special to Winter too. He hadn't been lucky with relationships either. Although they were going through so much pain, she would much rather go through it together than alone.
It was Winter or nothing.
