Cooper's Children's Home // BradGa

T W E L V E

"I can't do this." Stefani said with tears in her eyes. The next time she blinked they overflowed and she sucked her top lip into her mouth to taste the saltiness of them.

"You'll regret not saying goodbye." Bobby said, watching her break down. He hadn't seen her cry so vulnerably yet. She was usually not a fan of showing emotions and when she did end up crying she'd hide away or it would be out of anger, never because of sadness. "I'll wait in the car." He said, rubbing her shoulder with a smile before he walked off. Stefani turned back towards the door and opened it, wiping the tears off of her face before she entered the living room.

Everyone's eyes were on her immediately and she smiled, trying not to cry again. Bree was the first one to stumble over to her and wrap her tiny, chubby arms around Stefani's leg, hugging her tightly. The rest soon joined, wrapping her up in a cocoon of love. "Is 'Tefi leaving?" Lukas asked, his bottom lip quivering already.

Stefani knelt down to be able to reach the little ones better and ruffled her hand through his soft hair, nodding. "Yes, buddy, but I promise I'll never stop caring about you." She looked up at the rest of the kids. "None of you. If you need me, I'll run out of my studio and be here in a heartbeat, okay?" She said, knowing it wouldn't be possible, but she couldn't take hurting them any further.

"I'll miss you." Anna wrapped her arms around Stefani, sobbing.

"You can always call me, okay?" She said, wiping the kids' tears away.

Anna nodded and smiled, running off to join the rest of the kids upstairs now. They'd all said their goodbyes and Stefani felt nauseous when she noticed that the only two left in the living room were her and Bradley.

He stood a few foot away from her, with his hands in his pockets, not knowing what to do or say. He didn't want her to go, because he knew there was a high chance she wouldn't come back and forget about them, forget about him once she went back to being entirely consumed by her typical lifestyle and her work. She was right, he didn't know her. He didn't know that Lady Gaga side of her and maybe whatever they had has been an act for her all along. Maybe she didn't even feel as strongly for him as he did for her and maybe he would hate the sides of her she didn't show him yet, but all he knew was that he didn't want her to go. He didn't want the Stefani he'd gotten to know over the past three months to go and forget about him.

"Bobby is waiting in the car." She spoke up first. "Thank you for being so wonderful to me these past months. I appreciate that." She said.

Bradley finally erased the space between them and placed his palm against her wet cheek, leaning down to press his forehead against hers before his lips met hers in a soft kiss. He couldn't believe she'd leave and he wouldn't be able to kiss her again, feel her skin against his own. "Don't go." Bradley whispered against her lips.

She opened her eyes to look into his and shook her head. "You know I can't stay."

"You don't have to leave forever." He said, holding her close to his body. "You can come back, visit. We could make it work."

Stefani kissed him again, pushing him away with a sigh after a while. "No. I can't. We can't. I can't keep coming back here just to leave again. It's not fair to you or me and it's not fair to the kids either. They'd be so confused." She explained through tears, kissing him again.

Bradley savored her taste and grabbed her waist in his hands, his thumbs rubbing the soft, exposed parts of her skin. "I love you. I won't give up on you and I won't just forget about this and pretend like nothing has happened between us. The house will be so empty without you. I love you." He confessed, his lips brushing against hers.

She smiled a sad smile and nodded. "I promised I wouldn't forget about you. I always keep my promises." She paused to kiss him one last time. "I have to go now. I'm sorry." She said, turning away from him to leave before she could break down and cry.

Bradley watched her walk towards the car and let out a heavy sigh, ready to close to door when she called out his name again, making him stop and look at her.

"I love you too." She said, her tear stained cheek glistening in the bright sunlight.

Bradley smiled at the little glimpse of hope that maybe she would come back and they could have their second chance. When she was inside of the car and took off he finally closed the door behind himself. This was it.

THE END.

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