Corrode - [Charles Leclerc]

𝙐𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙞

        Joanne decided she could sleep in for once as well. She didn't have to think about Liam this morning, he was still at Charles' place. She had her phone on her nightstand all night with the sound on to make sure they could call her in case he got an intense longing to be back home or in case something was wrong. The device hadn't made a sound the whole night and that's exactly what she expected. Joanne was sure Liam was safe with Charles and that he was having fun. Her stomach filled with butterflies at the thought of him, tall and lean, his broad frame dressed in the suit and the always piercing look in his eyes. It all faded when he talked to the children, when he played with them or joked with them. And it was adorable to see. She hadn't thought she'd ever find a man that she'd trust with her son, but she trusted Charles blindly.

Joanne shoved the duvet off her body and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She moved a hand through her messy hair. She hadn't done any effort to shower last night, the mousse and the hairspray she had used had been in there all night and she figured it would be good to wash them out now. Joanne picked a denim skirt and a white top out of her closet, along with some clean underwear and she made her way to the bathroom. It felt a bit weird that she didn't have to go downstairs first and prepare breakfast for Liam, make sure he was entertained for a moment so she could shower, but she could get used to this. She figured she could clean up the house a bit too when she was done showering. Joanne let the water run while she picked a towel from the cabinet. She washed her hair and conditioned it afterwards to detangle it as well. She instantly felt much better.

She stepped out of the shower cubicle and reached for the towel after squeezing the water out of her long hair. She leaned forward and used the towel to dry it then, before drying her body. She wrapped the towel around herself and got back to her bedroom where she had laid out her clothing for today. Joanne got dressed and took her time to diffuse and style her hair again, this time with just a serum to make sure her hair was silky and shiny. She shoved her feet into some slippers to get downstairs, taking her phone from the nightstand meanwhile. She saw she had a message from Charles from fifteen minutes ago when she tapped on her screen to light it up. Joanne hopped down the last step and unlocked her screen to read the message.

Charles: Buon giorno, Joanne. Are you staying for lunch when you pick up Liam?

Her teeth dug into her lower lip to keep her smile under control when she read the message. She didn't have anything specific on her planning today anyway, so she would love to stay. Her thumbs moved over the keyboard to respond to him.

To Charles: I'd love to. See you later!

She hit send and she soon saw that the message was delivered. Alright, lunch settled too. Her mood was chirpy, but now she was even more happy and she hummed a song she had stuck in her head while she took the vacuum cleaner through her house. Butterflies flew around in her stomach and she realized that she actually felt happy. She wasn't unsatisfied with her life, her job, her son before, but now she knew what it felt like to feel... complete. And she didn't want to get rid of that feeling any time soon.

Charles silently walked upstairs to make his way to Jules' room, where both of the boys were sleeping. They had been building a fort with Pierre last night and he guessed the kids had fallen asleep in whatever they build of pillows and blankets. The door was slightly ajar, Pierre had been watching over them tonight. Charles was about to grab onto the handle, when he heard the boys softly talking. "Don't you have a mom?". Liam asked his friend. Charles didn't want to spy on these seven year olds, but he was curious for his son's reply. "My dad told me she left us". Jules replied, which was true. The case was too difficult to explain in depth to his son why they were really with the two of them. "I wish I had a mom". Jules softly said and it made Charles' heart clench in his chest. "I wish I had a dad, you have the coolest dad". Liam said and the boys giggled next. "You have the coolest mom". Jules said next and Charles was glad to hear that about Joanne.