The interview

Chapter 12

It was nearly midnight the next night and Riley was cleaning up her snacking mess in the kitchen. She shoved a half empty bag of chips in the cupboard, rolled up and tossed candy bar wrappers in the trashcan before grabbing a glass of water and switching the lights off. Just as she was about to turn off the hallway light, there was a knock on the door. She frowned and walked to it, peeking through the spy hole to see a familiar figure standing outside, bag on their shoulder. She smiled, unlocked and unchained the door before opening it dramatically, "Ladies and gentleman, the man working his way to the championships, Daniel Walsh!"
Daniel smiled and held up his fist, "Hey Red, nice to see you too."
Riley smiled and bumped his fist with hers before holding the door open wider, "She crashed out about two hours ago, we had a long day today."
Daniel smiled and stepped in, "Thanks."
Riley smiled back and closed the door, locking it again, "Yeah well, if you're staying the night, don't let me hear any suspicious noises coming from her room ok?" She wriggled her eyebrows and Daniel blushed, "I wasn't... I-we-"
"Relax dude, I'm kidding." She laughed softly before tapping his arm, "Night." She smiled, jogging up the stairs.
"Night." Daniel rolled his eyes smiling, before pushing his shoes off and shrugging of his jacket. He left his bag by his shoes and jogged up the stairs as well, heading to Lucy's room and slowly opening the door. She was snuggled up under the pink and white quilt, her hair tied in a messy braid that had come loose from her fidgeting. He grinned and stepped further into the room, closing the door softly behind him and walking to her bed. He slowly pulled half of the quilt and slipped in next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist while the other brushed her hair from her face. He smiled as she hummed and opened her eyes, blinking. Her eyes met his and she smiled tiredly, "Danny?"
"Hey there Sleepy-head." He grinned, leaning over and kissing her forehead. Lucy snuggled up to him, stroking his jaw.
"Ow."
Lucy lifted her head and squinted in the dark to see his face, "Oh my god! What happened to you?" She gasped. There was a giant swollen bruise on the right side of his jaw. He smiled slightly, "His right hook was a lot worse than it looked."
Lucy went to get up but Daniel grabbed her hand, "Where're you going?"
"To get you some ice." She said softly, letting his hand go before getting out of bed and walking to the door. Daniel sighed as he stared at the open door, listening to her footsteps getting further away. He lay on his back and touched the bruise gently, cringing, 'God, feel's like I've got a damn golfball under my skin.' He frowned before shuffling around and pulling his socks off, getting comfy.
"Here." Lucy appeared in the doorway again, tossing a blue ice pack wrapped in a towel to him. Daniel caught it and pressed it to his cheek as she climbed back into bed, laying propped up on her elbow and watching him carefully. He glanced to her and blushed, "What?"
"Are you ok?"
Daniel smiled and turned his cheek to her, "Kiss it better and I will be."
Lucy laughed softly and leant over, kissing the bruise softly, "Like that?"
Daniel smiled up at her and pecked her lips, "Yeah."
Lucy smiled back and ran her fingers through his hair, "You didn't keep your hand up when you were going for that punch. It was only by an inch but I saw."
Daniel nodded, "Yeah. I have a habit of doing that once in a while." He looked back to her and pulled her down to lay next to him, "Come 'ere." He grinned, wrapping an arm around her tightly and kissing her. Lucy giggled against his lips and caught the ice pack as it slid off his face. She pressed it back onto his jaw carefully, melting into his kiss. Daniel held her tighter and rested his forehead on hers, "I really missed you."
"I missed you too." Lucy whispered back, pulling his head back to hers, kissing him again. Daniel smiled against her lips and rolled them over, pulling her onto him. She leant back slightly and laughed down at him as he smirked up at her, wriggling his eyebrows, "Well this is cosy."
Lucy blushed bright red but ducked back down anyway, Daniel laughing and punching the air.

The next morning, Daniel was woken up by the sound of a camera snapping. His head jerked up and he opened his eyes halfway to see Riley standing over them with Lucy's phone. She smiled at him and waved, "Morning."
Daniel sighed and let his head fall back onto the pillow as he felt Lucy lifted her head and rub her eyes, "What's going on?"
"Red's being a creeper and taking pictures of you sleeping." Daniel mumbled tiredly, only to get a throw pillow to the face, "I am not being a creeper!"
Daniel held his jaw and groaned, "You could've at least missed the golfball lump."
Lucy rubbed his good cheek while looking around for the ice pack. She found it on the floor, thawed out and sighed, "You want me to get you more ice?"
Daniel shook his head, "Nah, I'll be fine."
Riley looked at his face and winced, "Damn dude, who's testicle did you chew off?"
Lucy burst into laughter and covered her mouth to muffle it while Daniel stared at Riley before throwing the pillow back, "Fuck you Red."
"Suck a cock Box-a-lot." Riley rolled her eyes, laughing.
"Thought I already did that." He countered.
Lucy laughed at the two of them and got out of bed, "Kids." She rolled her eyes. Daniel pulled her back and nuzzled his face into her neck, "Where d'you think you going?" He smirked before blowing a raspberry on her neck. Lucy squealed and kicked her legs out, trying to wriggle out of his grip. Riley watched the two of them with a smile before pointing Lucy's phone at them again, taking another picture, "You guys are so cute."
Daniel lifted his head and smiled, "Aren't we?"
Lucy caught her breath and leant back on him, "Oh yeah, the cutest. Can I have my phone back now?" She looked to Riley as she fiddled with it for a moment before tossing it to her, "You're welcome. I'm making eggs."
"Scrambled!" Daniel and Lucy yelled after her as she left the room. Riley saluted to them backwards before disappearing down the stairs. Lucy looked at her phone and blushed to see Riley had set the photo of Daniel burying his face in Lucy's neck as her background. Daniel peeked over her shoulder and smiled, kissing her cheek, "You look cute with bed hair."
Lucy leant her head back and smiled at him, "You too." She then jumped up and grabbed his hand, "Come with me."
Daniel rose an eyebrow, letting her pull her out of bed and down the hall to the bathroom. He stood awkwardly in the doorway while she rooted through a cupboard and draws, "Where is it?" She muttered to herself.
"What?"
"I got a bottle of Witch hazel when Riley trapped her arm in the hood of a car. It's good for bruises." Lucy replied before reaching into the last draw, "Aha!" She pulled out a bottle and a bag of cotton balls. She turned to Daniel and nodded to the bathtub, "Sit."
Daniel saluted and sat on the edge while Lucy poured some of the Witch hazel on a cotton ball and tilted his head up, "Hold still." She said softly before pressing the cotton ball to his jaw, spreading it over the lump and rubbing it in. She then held it there, "Ok, now you just have to hold it on there for a few minutes. Two or three times a day at least."
Daniel held the cotton ball in place while Lucy grabbed some gauze tape and secured it there. He smiled up at her, "Thanks."
Lucy smiled back and kissed his head, "You're welcome." She smiled, hugging his head. Daniel smiled and wrapped his arms around her, closing his eyes and nuzzling her, "I wanna stay like this forever."
Lucy smiled wider and kissed his hair, "Me too." She murmured, sighing contently.
"That was some make-out session last night, I didn't know you had it in you." He smirked up at her, "It was hot."
Lucy giggled softly and leant down to kiss him, "Well, you were away for 4 days, and kicked that guy's ass. I figured I'd surprise you."
Daniel purred and trailed his hands down, "There gonna be more surprises like that?"
Lucy grinned and stopped his hands, holding them at the curve of her back, "They wouldn't be surprises if I told you." She sang, poking his nose. He pouted and rested his head against her chest, listening to her heartbeat. He closed his eyes as her fingers worked their way through his hair, sending pleasant shivers down his spine. Lucy smiled down at him, "How about we just chill out for today?"
Daniel grinned, "Sounds good to me. As long as I spend the day with you." He smiled up at her before his eyes turned serious, "Luce..."
She stared back at him, "What? What's wrong?"
He shook his head and stood up, "Nothing's wrong." He murmured, resting his head against hers, not breaking eye contact.
"Then why're you looking at me like that?"
"Trying to guess if I should say it or if it's too early." He shrugged. Lucy was now extremely confused, she shook her head slowly, "You lost me."
Daniel stepped closer and pecked her lips over and over, keeping one hand on her back while the other brushed over her cheek. He pulled back and stared her in the eye, "I love you."
Lucy stared back in surprise, her face slowly turning bright red once again. Daniel smiled lopsidedly, "Sorry, was that weird?"
"No. No it's not weird." She whispered, shaking her head and wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a kiss. Daniel happily complied, wrapping her up in his arms and moaning softly. Lucy hummed and leant back, holding his face in her hands, "I love you too."
Daniel grinned and kissed her hard before hugging her tightly, burying his face in her hair. Lucy smiled and closed her eyes, her head on his bicep as he swayed them side to side. He kissed her head, "I love you so much."
Lucy smiled wider and kissed just under his bruise, "I love you more."