From Chi to Cali: A Henry Cavill Fan Fic

Part 21: You Only Live Once

JANELLE POV

I sat in my room, looking around. I hadn't been here in days and I was leaving again to get ready for work. Taking Monday off didn't help. I sat and cried, caught up on sleep and that was about it. I'd been through breakups and what not, yet this time it was just plain hard. And it was all so intense, and then with someone intense in an intensely short amoutn of time. He was a tornado I was happy to be whirled in, and now I needed to touch the ground, find my footing again. 

I opened my laptop. There he was. God. Pictures of him would mean something totally different now. Do I delete them? No, I couldn't. But, oh, his eyes. No picture did them justice anymore...and now, the memory of his scent, his touch, the sound of his voice...will all come back to me just looking at a picture. Yet, no, no deletions.

I rode my bike to work and decided to come late, wanting to dive right in and work with the kids. I said hello to the park police. There would be more of them for a while. TMZ and gossip rags had found sustenance in finding me, finding out about me, but I was fodder. I just had to wait until something of more consequence happened to call the life locusts to the next location.

"Hey!" I smiled, raising a box of donuts in one hand. "Come get one if you have the chance, okay? Thanks guys." 

I walked my bike in. The kids were already there, I could hear the screams, yells and loud laughter before entry. It was already a comfort. It got a little quiet when I entered the building, but I had to get my lock off and put the bike away. "Sorry-"

"Are you always this late?"

My breath caught, knowing that voice, that accent. My eyes rose. "Henry?" 

He stood there, looking a little tired, but handsome as usual. He held a pretty big box in his hands.

The place went completely quiet. The kids were standing in the double door entrance to the main room, all trying to get a look. I looked and saw my staff looking on from different doors.

"I got you something." He handed me the bulky but lightweight box.

"You didn't have to." 

I put the box on the counter and opened it. "Oh, my God." Everyone cooed.

"You said your last dog passed," he said. "Figured you'd like the company again. You like her?"

"She's adorable," I cooed, taking her out. She was happy to be out, and nestled close. "She got a name?"

"Uh, No."

"Tess." I said quickly.

"Tess?" he quirked an eyebrow.

"Tess." I declared, jiggling her like a newborn. 

"Tess it is." 

I couldn't believe it. A puppy, and one that looked like my last dog, to boot. He'd done his homework online. It was hard to picture him lurking  and researching on my sites and pages. I looked at him. He looked almost sad.

"You didn't say goodbye," he said softly. 

"Oooh!" the kids hooted.

"Okay, inside guys." one of the staff started pushing but was craning her neck to keep watching.

"We can go outside." Henry offered. "On the other side of the park where there's more trees. Great cover."

I could hear shuffling everywhere we went. They were all following us from the inside window to window! "Henry, this is all a--"

"A surprise?"

"Well, yes--"

"I didn't want to say goodbye to you," Henry said quickly. 

My breath caught. "I didn't know how." I felt the tears coming. I didn't want to cry.

"You are right, love is a gift," he raised an eyebrow. "And I read somewhere that it's a miracle if it's reciprocated?"

"You've been reading my posts." I whispered. 

"And what if it is?" he took my hand and smiled gently. "We owe each other nothing and don't regret anything, can't forget but don't want to. What if we both want to give this a chance-see where it goes?"

"Henry--"

"My work takes me everywhere," he said. "how do you feel about that?"

"Being with you is probably like being a soldier's girlfriend," I shrugged. "You miss them because you love them, but you understand the work so you deal with it. Then you just hope they miss you as much as you miss them while they're gone."

"Except there's calls, texts, visits." He looked different, as if I said something that meant a lot. He looked almost eager. 

"That helps." I said. My mind was racing with disbelief, not able to look at him.  I chanced a glance at him. "Aren't you supposed to be somewhere?"

"Left L.A. early to stop here,"  He tipped my chin to make me look in his eyes. "So?"

"What?"

 "Do you want to see me again-see where this goes?" He shook his head. "I want to."

I couldn't trust my voice, so I nodded. He drew me into his arms and kissed me tenderly. Hoots went up from the building.

"God, I love this place!" my boss yelled. 

We couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Guess what?" he purred.

"What?" 

"I'm being reconsidered for Bond."

"No!" I gasped.

"Yeah," he laughed softly. "I guess our little caper is making them see me a little differently."

"Wow." I tilted my head, looking at him. "You don't look excited."

"If it happens, it happens," he shrugged. "Right now, I have other projects, so--"

"So are you guys made up?!" one of the kids screamed. 

"We can't hear anything!" another yelled.

We laughed.

"Yolo?" he asked.

"Yolo." I whispered.