Her black rose

I'm glad it's you here

5am. The time of day where dreams are still meant to be had, and nightmares are meant to be escaped from. For Mia, she was driving to pick up her dream. Snap out of it, Amelia, far too soppy. She was driving to pick Charlotte up ready to fly to the South of France for a wedding. Truly, Mia hadn't really expected Charlotte to accept the offer of joining her but she was so glad she did. It did make Mia's journey over the weekend slightly longer. Without Charlotte, she'd be flying straight from her latest trip on the Amalfi Coast over to France. But with Charlotte now joining her, she was making a stop off in England to pick her up. For anyone else, Mia wouldn't have gone out of her way. But for Charlotte, she'd move mountains to have her join her for a week. 

Before heading to Charlotte, Mia stopped off at home to make a coffee to put in her travel mug. She knew that Charlotte didn't function well without her morning coffees, and as much as she thought Charlotte would most likely fall back asleep in her car, she wanted to make an effort. As she pulled up at the brunettes home, she saw exactly what she expected to find: a sleepy looking Charlotte sitting on her doorstep with a bag plonked next to her. Mia allowed herself an extra five seconds in her mustang to silently take in the sight of the nursery worker who had now begun to stand. Mia smiled to herself, getting out of her car, coffee in hand, and walked over to Charlotte. 

"Hello, sweetheart." Charlotte's heart fluttered immediately, the widest of smiles tugging at her lips. "Hi. You actually came...and on time." A look of fake shock laced Mia's features. She'd always come if Charlotte asked - and she was hoping to prove that to Charlotte. 

One of the things with Charlotte, Mia had discovered, was that a lot could be learned from the small things she said. Observing, reading between the lines...it was one of Mia's strengths, even more so when it came to Charlotte. So the fact that Charlotte may have been worried that she wasn't actually going to turn up, or at least be on time, suggested to Mia she'd been let down a lot in her life - most likely in her marriage. It was something Mia would be sure to never allow to happen with her. Their gazes met properly and they both fell into the depths of each others eyes. "I'm a girl of my word, Char." Charlotte's smile became much more shy, her hand reaching to tuck her own hair behind her hair. Annoying, Mia thought, as she'd desperately would've wanted to tuck it behind her ear for her. They weren't there yet. Or maybe they were. Neither of them truly knew. Instead, Mia held out the travel mug of coffee she'd made. 

"I have to say, you're in a much better mood than I thought you would be pre-coffee at 5am. Not that I'm complaining. But I thought you'd want this." Char took the cup with a slightly bewildered look, bending down to pick up her own cup off of the floor. Mia sighed as she noted the cup that Char was picking up. Of course she'd have already been prepared. What Mia wasn't expecting, however, was what came next. Charlotte handed her the cup she'd picked up off of the floor with the kindest of eyes and spoke. "I had the same idea. Tea! It's tea. I know you don't do coffee." Mia's mouth fell open slightly as she took the cup. She couldn't remember a time that someone had been attentive enough to know that she wasn't a coffee drinker, let alone make the effort to ensure she was also looked after before an upcoming journey. 

Mia's trance like state was broken by Char who had taken the liberty to elbow the other. "And for your information, I am always in a good mood. Sometimes I just need a little kickstarting in the morning to get going." Mia smirked, brows raised. "Noted." She winked, before grabbing Charlotte's bag and throwing it in the back of her car. She turned back to Char after opening the passenger door and placing her tea on top of the car, gesturing for her to come over as she leaned back against the car. No time was wasted by Charlotte who swiftly came over, but Mia caught her arm and took her own cup from her, placing that too on top of the car before pulling the brunette into her. Char relaxed into the hug immediately, breathing in Mia's scent as she nestled against her chest. 

"You look great, by the way." Mia spoke softly, still not pulling back from their embrace. Charlotte could feel a small blush rise to her cheeks so kept her face safely tucked away. "I look sleepy, Mia. That's hardly looking good." Mia did pull back a little then, taking Char's face gently in her hands to allow her thumbs to glide across her cheeks. "Sleepy looks good on you." Charlotte blushed harder, not knowing what to say. Instead she fell back into another hug, but she knew Mia was smirking. "We should go...before the neighbours start curtain twitching. I mean, you know what people are like...they're just...nosey...and..." Mia moved so that her lips were almost touching Charlotte's ear, the warmth of her breath hitting Charlotte's skin making the younger shiver a little. "Or we could always give the neighbours something to really curtain twitch about." Mia's words were whispered against Charlotte's ear, but she pulled away immediately with another wink and moved to get into the car. 

It took Charlotte's mind and body a good few moments to catch up with each other. She was flustered beyond belief, shy, sleepy - a mess. If she was honest, she was a mess. She forced her legs to put her into the car, closing the door and turning to Mia who was seemingly unbothered by the last few moments. "You...look good too, by the way. Great! You look great." Oh, how Char wished she was so much better at this. She hadn't flirted in so long, and even when she had...it had never been her forte. Her and her husband had been friends first and their relationship just sort of happened. This was all new to Char, and although she was trying, she knew she was terrible at it. "Cute." Mia played it cool, although she couldn't even begin to tell Charlotte just how attracted to her terrible flirting she was. 

Their drive to the airport was filled with Mia telling Charlotte about her latest trip. Charlotte was insistent on Mia doing the talking, telling the other she was too tired to really partake in a full blown conversation but found Mia's talking soothing. Mia was happy to oblige, Char's small hums an indication she was listening still. It was when the small noises stopped that Mia paused her latest story and chanced a quick glance over to Charlotte. Her breathing had evened out and her eyes closed. The softest of smiles found Mia's lips as she grazed the back of her fingers briefly over Charlotte's cheek before continuing driving. 

"Sweet dreams, sweetheart." 

About an hour later and they'd reached the airport. Mia had already taken out both sets of luggage before opening the passenger door and waking Charlotte gently. The pair made their way through the airport effortlessly, finally to the other side where Mia noted the way that Charlotte's eyes had darted in the direction of a coffee shop. Mia couldn't help but smile. Char turned to her, her eyes pleading. "Do you mind if we..." Mia cut her off with a small 'shh' and started in the direction of the shop. She turned back on her heels and gave Charlotte a more stern look. "Well, are you coming or not?"

They had some time to kill before needing to board, so the pair set themselves in a small booth of the coffee shop facing each other. "Mia," Charlotte started, her hands wrapped tightly around her mug. "I haven't actually asked. Whose wedding is this, anyway?" Mia gave a nonchalant shrug, her own hands clasped on the table in front of her. "Someone that Reecey and I went to school with." There was a sharp furrowing of the brow from Charlotte. "And Reece didn't want to come? I mean, if you both went to school with them, wouldn't you both want to be there?" The innocence of Charlotte never failed to amaze Mia. It was one of her greatest traits, and one that Mia would protect for as long as she could. Mia knew what she was about to say may hit Charlotte hard, so she took the chance to reach her fingers to pull Charlotte's from her mug. She linked their index fingers together idly, not wanting to make a huge deal over it, before continuing. 

"Sweetheart, imagine you've got a mutual friend with your ex. You haven't long broken up, but there's still a wedding. Would you still feel comfortable going with your ex?" Charlotte stared down at their single fingers linked and made the decision, bravely, to tuck her fingers completely in Mia's palm. Mia brought her thumb to trace back and forth against Charlotte's ring finger, highlighting where just a few weeks ago Charlotte was still wearing the ring that she no longer needed. Weirdly, the gesture brought a sense of comfort to the both of them. "Sometimes I forget just how long you and Reece were together. I know it was complicated and not really what you wanted, and that Reece is happy with Marjorie now... but that's still a long time with someone. I'm sorry, Mia." Mia gave Charlotte's hand a squeeze, her head shaking firm. "No, Char. Why are you apologising? I'm glad it's you here." Mia let go of her hand and stood, a mutual look of understanding between them shared. Both knew that they both were okay, and both were happy with their current company. 

"Let's go. I want to be near the front. I can't bear waiting with the economy passengers."