James Norrington Fanctions||Short Stories and Long||

Forgiving[norribeth][au][ls][fluff]

norribeth~long story~au;;modern~fluff

"Have you seen my shirt?" a deep, broken whisper questioned. It echoed to a woman standing against a door frame, arms folded, watching the man pack a case. Her eyes stayed looking down, as did the mans'. The couple hadn't met eyes for two weeks.

She lowered her arms, giving a sigh of nostalgic stimulus, "Which one?". Her long legs timidly and ever-so shyly faltered towards him. He turned his rigid back against her, facing this one of many half-full cases. She ran her naked hands carefully up his back, and onto his shoulders then resting her head on his back, hesitantly and gently, as if he were a dull fire that could burst at any minute. She closed her eyes against the unforgiving silence.

"From the wedding."

Her eyebrows furred together as the vibrations from his back were so low, defeated and heartbreaking to hear. James had begun exchanging 'our' to 'the' when describing his marriage to Elizabeth. A small whimper and a sudden small wet patch formed at his back, where her head rested. Her delicate hands fell down from his shoulders to wipe her weeping eyes.

He sharply turned at the sound of her hushed sobs, wrapped his naked hands around her petite body and pulled her close to him. Her head rested in his chest, as it once did in happier times. His head rested on top of hers, perfectly and incandescently, like these two lovers were made of clay by a cupid. Perfectly manufactured to fit together. Like a padlock and key, yet these padlocks take a simple force to break them apart.

Their days were filled with gloom, since Elizabeth's mistake, and James' finding out. After an argument, leading to James being immediately sent away on work relations, they had no time to make up, and no time to speak. Elizabeth had thought it was over, so so she said in her defense. This was the excuse she used when James found out she had slept with another man whilst he was away. The house felt alien-like. The car, the front door. Their bedroom felt most unfamiliar, knowing his wife had been with another man there. Knowing another had been naked in his bed. Had stayed the night, had walked around his house. Moreso, another had touched his beloved. 

James slept on the couch that night, well - like every other night for the past 2 months.  They spent one-month arguing, shouting, crying, leaving and coming back, sleeping together, sleeping apart, make-up sex, breaking up, trying again. Then the next month trying their hardest to avoid each other, but still trying to act as if the incident never happened. It hurt the two of then massively. Yet hurt more the inevitable would come where one of them would leave. 

It was James who decided enough was enough. It hurt him too much to act this way, with a woman he had loved for years. None of them wanted each other to go. They wanted their old life back. 

With a small blanket, a pillow and an old t-shirt with shorts; he slept alone. Well, when he could fall asleep. Most nights James lay awake, looking at the ceiling tortured by thoughts and memories of his wife. His phone lit up the dark living room. 2:06 am - Elizabeth - "Are you awake?" it read. He looked towards the bedroom, which was visible from the couch. The small lighting from suspected fairy lights that dangled around the bed's back seeped through the door's gap at the bottom. He gave a small, sad smile when he reached for his phone to reply with "Yeah, are you okay?" a simple "No" followed immediately after. The lump in his throat grew as he looked back towards the room. 15 minutes of contemplation passed, does he stay or go? Nervously, he walked towards the door, and quietly and gently knocked. He entered to see her laid on his side of his bed, on top of the duvet, phone next to her. Head rested on his pillow, her hair messily spread across the mattress. To him, she was a sight to behold, and he knew his wasted heart would always love her. Her soft breathing grew louder the closer he got. Gently, he removed a stray hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. She softly sighed and smiled, half asleep and half awake. She slowly stretched her arm out to her empty side of the bed, looking to see if he was there, when she didn't feel him, she lifted her head up, and looked. Her tired eyelids still half closed. When she found him absent she let out a sigh, and pulled his pillow closed to her, retracting her hand in the process, leaving the bed made for two, cold and absent of love.