Untroubled

[Taniya_K]

I am sorry that this chapter's up late! I just didn't have the time to get to write it until about 3 hours ago, and then I had a couple of phone calls interuptting me and... well you get the message.

Ok, so here it is.

Chapter 47:

A shiver ran through her for the 2nd time in a minute. It was now close to 11pm, and they both sat rooted in their places. Belle kept occasionally glancing at her watch, amazed at how the time seemed to go by quickly even though they hadnt spoken one more word in the past hour and a bit.

At first, she contemplated asking him to go somewhere else, maybe back to hers, but she realised quickly enough that if he had wanted to go there, he would have came there instead of to the beach.

She had spent a lot of the time just thinking. About Aden, them and his father. When Belle pulled herself into a spiral of thoughts, she had forced herself to snap out of it, reminding herself that she was there for Aden. But, as she had expected, he hadnt moved or said anything in that time. In fact the only movement that he had made was to lace his small finger with hers. It had been a small, subtle move with no other part of him even seeming like he acknowledged what he had did. His eyes had still stared right on into the darkness of the sea and Belle got the feeling that the gesture was a way for him to anchor himself to this world rather than to the one that he was drifting off to in his mind.

After that, Aden hadnt done anything else, not even as she picked up his mobile from where he must had thrown it into the sand or when she linked her arms around his to lean against him as she pulled her finger away from his.

Now, when she shivered for the 3rd time, Belle was glad that she was right up against him. His natural body heat gave her some warmth, although with the T-shirt that she had on, it wasnt much of a help. She knew that he must be cold as well, even if he didnt show it. His skin had been cool to the touch, and there were slight goosebumps raised too, but she wasnt sure if that was from the cold or from the days events and his thoughts.

When Belle felt the 4th shiver creep along her spine, she automatically turned her face inwards, pressing it against Adens shoulder gently. She hadnt realised what she had done until she felt him reposition himself slowly, placing his chin on top of her head.

You should go home. Aden murmured, his voice rough and thick from, what she guessed, the emotions he struggled to keep in check.

Im ok. She whispered.

Youre cold.

Im not leaving you here. Belle told him in a tone that left no argument, although he had no strength to argue with anyone right then.

Youll get ill. He said factually, sighing. Belle ignored the comment, gritting her teeth together as another shiver came upon her, trying her best not to show it.

Come back with me? When Aden didnt respond, she pulled away from him and tilted her head to look up at him. His eyes were still fixated on the dark horizon and had frozen up again. Please?

Aden took in a deep breath. He didnt want to leave. However he didnt want Belle to leave either. Just the two of them, right there and then, was what he wanted. With her next to him, he had someone who he could attach himself onto and keep himself in reality while his mind took him into some other world. Someone who he trusted wholly to keep him with her, safe, while his own self took him to dangerous places. Although he still refused to think about his father and what had happened, not thinking about anything still took a lot of effort.

Aden? Belle soft voice swayed him. As much as he knew going back to the beach house meant going back to reality, he knew that he would have to in the end. Nodding once, Aden knew he made the right choice when she gave him a grateful smile.

---

The house was quiet as Belle led the way through the kitchen. Although the downstairs light had been left on, presumably for them, it seemed like everyone had gone to bed.

Aden followed her as she took them to her room, hand clasped tightly in his, turning off the living room light on the way. She locked the door behind Aden as he entered. Silently, he sat down on the edge of her bed while she hovered by her door. Belle didnt know why, but she felt uncomfortable all of a sudden. Here they were, alone in their room like they had been many times before, but the silence this time was different.

On their journey there, Aden hadnt spoken one word, and she hadnt tried to push him. He had said he didnt want to talk earlier, and she accepted that. But now Now, they were in her room. There was nothing and no-one else there, almost like the beach, except that this was an enclosed private area. It was where most of their secrets had been revealed late at night, telling each other small things in the early moments of the morning and more. It was almost their sanctuary.

Heading over to her dresser, she placed Adens mobile next to the pile of little boxes and pouches which had contained charms when he had given them to her. He had teased about how she kept everything, and she had repeated told him that it was good for the environment that she reused them, not that she ever did.

Glancing over her shoulder, the person who she saw sitting on the edge of her bed, staring mindlessly at his hands, was not that same person who teased her endlessly. It wasnt the light-hearted, easy-going person that she was used to this late at night. It was the serious, broken, lost person who Belle hated to see, especially when he didnt open up to her.

Slowly, she rounded the bed and came to stand in front of Aden. He didnt look up at her or even acknowledge her presence and Belle had to wonder what it was that he was thinking about.

Will you say something?

About? Aden replied after a while, eyes not moving.

Anything. She reached for his hands as she took a place next to him on the bed, surprised to find the tips of his fingers icy cold, even the ones of the hand that she had held on their walk back. What are you thinking?

I- He faltered as he kept on staring at his hands, now meshed together with hers. Belles eyes never averted away from the side of his face that she could see as he uttered, harshly. I dont know.

Dont know what? Belle prompted, confused with his admission, but glad that he was now talking.

I dont know what to think. He clarified. I dont know how to feel, what to say, what to do

Hey- She cut herself off when she realised that telling him its ok would just be a lie. Instead, Belle removed one hand out from his and wrapped it around his back, laying her hand on his other shoulder while pulling him closer to her. Resting her forehead against his temple, she could feel him relaxing into her slowly.

I cant- Aden drew in a breath, clutching her hand forcefully as he went on. I cant bring myself to think about it.

Why not? Although he shrugged in response, Belle had a feeling that there was more to it than he was letting on. Not wanting to pressure him into doing anything right then in fear of making him withdraw from her more, she placed a delicate kiss to his cheek without moving before sighing and carefully wording her thoughts. Aden, she began, murmuring the words close to his ear. You cant keep fighting it. You have to think about it and deal with it. I know it hurts, but Im right here and Ill help you in everyway that I can.

I cant. He repeated after a moment. His voice was low and his words were said with fatigue. I cant.

Why? She asked him again. And like before, he didnt give her an explanation. Instead, he kept looking down, and Belle could see him blink a couple of times as if returning back to reality from a dream.

Can we just go to bed? He changed the subject.

Aden-

Please? Aden turned his head to look at her, making her move back a little. Pursing her lips, she caught his eyes. They werent the clear blue colour that she was used to, but a darkened shade that held confusion and grief in them as they almost begged her to agree with him. Even though she knew that dropping this right now might not be the best thing, Belle couldnt help but nod.

Ok. She whispered as he stood up. Watching as he headed towards her dresser, Belle couldnt help but wonder why he would want to go bed. Surely, if he didnt want to think, sleep would not be his friend. But then Belle realised that, even though he looked as if he hadnt slept in days, there was the off chance that Aden might just be up all night. After all, if he was fighting himself to not think about the days event, Belle was sure that he could focus on fighting off sleep if he had to.

---

Eyes snapping open, Belle cursed herself. Contrary to what she had thought, Aden had fallen asleep within an hour of turning off the light, before even she had. When his arm around her had gone lax, she had turned onto her back and watched him for a bit. He had seemed so peaceful, even as the sorrow from the day lingered over his form. She had used his gentle breathing to lull her to sleep, trying to stay as close to consciousness as possible just in case he needed her during the night.

That, however, hadnt worked. Twisting around, Belle could clearly see Aden, who laid on his side facing away from her, gripping at the pillow with such a force that she was surprised he hadnt ripped it into shreds yet. Just like she had predicted, everything that he had pushed away while awake was now coming after him while sleeping.

Moving closer, she leaned over him, a hand on his arm while she contemplated what to do. She knew that waking him up would be a mistake, but the ferocity of this nightmare seemed so strong that she thanked God it was her pillow he gripped, otherwise her secret might just have been out in the morning.

Belle watched, her right hand softly stroking his hair, as his eyes darted about under his eyelids. She quickly glanced at the time; 3:23am. It had taken 3 hours for reality to catch up with Aden.

Leaning forward, she reached out with her left hand to force him to uncurl his fist that was just in front of him. Although the other hand held onto the pillow, this one didnt hold onto anything, and Belle was scared that he would end up hurting himself. Prying the hand open, she held it flat with all the might that she had as she tried to overpower him. She didnt want to restrict him, but at the same time, she didnt want him to feel like he was alone.

Shh Belle murmured into his ear repeatedly, hoping it would be enough to draw him out of the bad dream and back to her without waking him up. It had appeared to be working when she felt his hand stop fighting hers and the other one loosen the grip on the pillow, but the relief only lasted for a moment before Adens eyes suddenly opened and he bolted straight up, pushing away Belles hands.

She was frozen in her place for a second. Never in the past 10 months had she even known Aden to react so violently to a nightmare. Now, as she watched in him the dark, she could hear his deep, laboured breathing, using one arm to keep him sitting up as if he had no other control over his body.

Aden-? Belle began as she laid a hand on his shoulder, only for him to immediately shrug it off. Hey, its only me.

Aden didnt reply to her, just tensing up as she placed her hand on his back this time, shuffling a bit closer towards him. She was still cautious; he didnt look like he was fully out of the nightmare. Sighing, Belle figured out that she assumptions had been right, and that these dreams had been much worse than ever before. Watching him now, head tilted upwards as he tried to calm down, she frowned.

Aden? She tried again, getting in closer to him so that she was sitting almost behind him and to the side. Whats wrong? It was only when she stopped talking that she could hear that his breathing hadnt improved. It was shallow and quick, and it gave her a sinking feeling. When his other hand came to hold onto his chest, she knew that her first thoughts had been right: he was hyperventilating.

A bout of panic swept over Belle as she watched him try to gain his steady breathing again. It was only when Aden began to tug at the bottom of his t-shirt that she moved, knowing that she had to help him. She slipped her hands under his shirt at the back and assisted him to take it off and letting it fall onto the floor next to bed as he tried to get rid of anything physically constricting his chest as his lungs refused to correspond to what he wanted.

Aden, Belle spoke gently, her hands rubbing his upper arms in comfort, you need to calm down. Just breathe. She could feel him trying to do as she said, but after a while, she saw that it wasnt working at all.

Running out of ideas, she pulled him back to lean against her. She wrapped one arm around his waist, rubbing slowly at his chest as she rested her chin on his shoulder while placing the other hand on the other side of his face to turn it towards her, touching their cheeks together as he closed his eyes to give him as much to hold onto in this world as she could.

Just breathe. Belle said again, her words more confident now as she struggled to take control of the situation. Theres no-one else here. Its just you and me. She carried on talking softly, feeling his body start to give in to her coercing. Just you and me. Breathe with me, ok, honey? Just focus on me.

Belle continued with her murmurings even as she felt Adens breathing begin to match hers. She was glad that she was still able to get through to him in his state. Once he had calmed down enough, Belle moved backwards, bringing him to lay with her as she sat propped up by her pillow and the headrest. He went willingly, turning his face into the crook of her neck for a while as his breathing got back to normal.

They stayed like that for a bit until Aden moved his head to rest it just under her chin, wrapping his arms around her waist to keep her near him. Belle allowed him to get comfortable before laying one arm along his back while using the other hand to play with his hair.

Go back to sleep. She instructed, softly. Ill be right here. As she dropped kisses onto the top of his head, Belle vowed to herself to stay up for the rest of the night just in case he needed her. It was least she could do.

---

Morning, love. Irene greeted her as she walked out of her room. Youre up early.

Yeah Better muttered, heading over to make herself large cup of coffee. It was just past 7 on a Saturday morning. Surprisingly, even after being up for the past 3 and a half hours, Belle didnt look at bad as she felt. She had taken a peak in the mirror as she walked out of her room. The last thing she wanted was for Aden to feel guilty when he woke up.

How is he? The elder woman asked her concernedly, watching the teenager move around the kitchen slowly.

Hes Belle shrugged. I dont know. Hes not coping with it well. I dont think hes allowed for it to sink in yet. He refuses to even think about it yet alone talk about it. She didnt add on the bit about how, even throughout the whole night, he hadnt shed one tear.

You need to give him some time. It must have been a shock to him. I know it was to the rest of us. Irene tried to reason with her.

I guess so. She suddenly felt bad about trying to get him to open up the night before.

And what about now?

Hes sleeping, which for one, I am grateful for. She sighed while coming over to the table and taking a seat opposite her, pulling a leg up onto the chair and holding her steaming mug of coffee tightly in her hands.

Long night? Belle merely nodded in response, sipping her drink.

After his nightmare, Aden had fallen back asleep pretty quickly. She guessed that the events had taken its toll on him. Since then, he hadnt woken up once, not even turning or shuffling. He laid so perfectly still that it had almost scared her. It had taken her all her strength and quite a bit of courage to leave him right then. She had been worried about waking him up as she had unwrapped his arms from around her and slid out, gently placing his head on her pillow. Belle had sat on the edge of her bed, holding her breath, for 5 minutes afterwards to make sure that he wasnt going to wake up. Once she was sure, she had crept out the room.

Listen, love. Ive got to get to work, and Ive made sure that Geoff and Annie are out of here as soon as possible-

You didnt have to do that, Irene. Belle interrupted her, feeling bad for forcing her family out of their house.

Darl, I know for a fact that the last thing Aden will want right now is a house full of people and eyes all on him. She replied strictly, and Belle had to agree with her. It was why he had gone to the beach last night; to get away. Anyway, I just thought Id let you know, and if theres anything we can do, let us know, ok?

Sure. Thanks. Belle said gratefully as Irene gave her a caring smile and excused herself to head off to work. She continued to sit there as she drank the rest of her coffee, thinking over everything that had happened over the past week in her head. The bandage on her arm was a constant reminder of how this all started, and there was a part of her that wondered what would have happened if she hadnt called Aden back when he had tried to go after Larry as he had ran out of the house. Would he have been back in jail? Would he still be alive?

Driving herself crazy with the questions, Belle got up and placed her cup into the sink before heading towards her room. Opening her door quietly, she was stunned to see that Aden hadnt moved an inch from where she had left him about 20 minutes beforehand. Picking up the shirt that he had dripped onto the floor last night, she walked around her room and pulled out some clothes for the day as she exited once again, wanting to be ready before he got up.

---

Blinking, Aden opened his eyes to find himself alone. Looking over his shoulder at the time, he was amazed to read 11:02am on the clock. There was no way that Belle would ever let him sleep in this late.

At least at was what he thought before everything came back to him. Closing his eyes, the events of last night, from Charlie and Jack telling him the dreaded news, to the two of them on the beach, to her comforting him in the middle of the night, all came back to him.

Taking in a deep breathe, Aden swallowed the urge scream at the muddle inside of his head. He didnt know where it was from, but it was as if all of his thoughts from last night had just been unleashed once again. Sitting up in the bed, Aden wished to go back to that moment between sleeping and waking up, when everything was alright and good and happy. And clear.

The bedroom door swung open just as he had thrown back the covers and place his feet on the ground. He looked up at Belle for a second before carrying on with what he had been doing.

Belle stood back by her dresser as Aden got up, eye averting to all other places rather than her. He moved towards her, brushing past her to get to where his clothes were stored

Aden? She simply said, watching him carefully. He didnt seem affected by her word or presence as he shut the drawer.

Im going for a shower. He replied, tonelessly, walking right past her without any contact in any way or form.

Ok. Belle whispered after him, her posture rigid until she heard the bathroom door lock. Sighing, she tried not to take the rejection personally, reminding herself that pushing him right now would do more harm than good.

Busying herself with making her bed, it was only when she caught a glimpse of the star that hung from her neck, glinting in the light, that she stopped. Sitting down, she ran her hands through her hair, allowing the tears for him that she had kept back for this long free.

---

The first thing that Aden heard when he walked out of the bathroom 30 minutes later, fully dressed after taking as long as he could, were voices. A females voice that he could recognise anywhere as Belles and the other as males, which he saw as Jacks when he stepped into the living room.

Aden. Belle said as she stood up from where she sat on the sofa.

Whats going on? He questioned the two of them, not failing to see the red tinge in his girlfriends eyes.

Weve gotten the results of the post-mortem back. Jack informed him.

Oh. Questions started to form in his head as emotions came to him, forced to remember everything that he had tried to push to the back of his mind. And?

It seems like the ultimate cause of death was heat exhaustion. Jack got straight to the point. He could see from his defensive posture and yesterdays experience that asking him to take a seat would just have been a waste of both their time.

What does that mean? Aden asked, confused. He felt Belle placed a hand on the small of his back as she came to stand next to him, giving him the strength he needed right then to just think about it.

It means that as there was no foul play, theres nothing else to see into.

No, I meant, the ultimate cause? Aden replied, shaking his head.

Well, there were many factors that led to your fathers death. The police officer explained as well as he could. Im sorry, mate, but if you want to know more, youll have to talk to Rachel. She would know how to explain it to you.

Thanks, Jack. Belle broke the silence that hey had fallen into, her words giving the underlying permission for Jack to leave, which he did so quietly.

When Belle turned to face Aden, a bit of relief came to her as she noticed the distant look on his face. By the way his featured had softened, she realised that he was finally thinking about it all.

Holding onto his hand, she guided him to her room. Even though the two of them were home alone, it was still to open, with anyone able to walk in whenever they wanted. She let go of him to lock the door before coming to stand in front of him, watching as his eyes started to tear up and hurt and grief shone on his face.

Without a word, Belle wrapped her arms around his shoulders, waiting for a second as he hesitate before automatically letting his arms come around her waist, holding her tightly to him. She threaded the fingers of one hand into his hair as he tucked his face into her neck,. She could feel his eyelashes against her skin as he blinked repeatedly, never letting a tear fall.

Pulling away a tiny bit, Belle looked into his eyes, silently urging him to let go of his pain. Aden rested his forehead against hers before suddenly claiming her lips with his. His hands on her hips kept her close to him as he hungrily kissed her.

Aden- Belle tried to pull away from him, but he was too strong for her to fight against as his lips came down upon hers once again. She moved her hands to his face, trying to slow his kisses down before pulling away. Aden, stop it.

He didnt look at her as he began to drop kisses along her neck, his hands working their way under her top. Belle reached down to his forearms, stopping them from moving any higher as she softly, but firmly spoke again.

Aden, stop. She felt him freeze in his actions at her words. Both of them breathing heavily, they stood like that before Belle placed a hand on his back and rubbed it comfortingly, turning her head to make him look at her. You dont want this right now.

I do. Aden had tried to sound convincing, but the words came out quieter than he had wanted to as he kept on looking down, even as Belle tried to get him to look at him. I just need you.

You have me. She whispered, her words so meaningful that he eventually looked into her eyes, seeing the comfort, safety and understanding that he sought. You have me, ok?

Aden allowed her to pulled him into another embrace, but this time, he didnt fight her, breaking down the moment Belle held him close, finally letting it all go.

---

Hope you enjoyed it.

xoxo

[Taniya_K]

I know, I know. Late update again! I'm sorry! It was my sister's birthday today, and I was on the phone to her and then the webcam for hours! [The things I do for family!]

Anyway, like I said, this is now nearing the end of the story. Which only means one thing... FLUFF!

Enjoy!

Chapter 48:

Twiddling with the straw in her long glass of cold orangeade, Belle flipped the page of the magazine that she mindlessly read. It was a gorgeous day as she sat at one of the outside tables of the Diner waiting for Aden.

It was now three weeks since Larry’s death, and Belle had to admit that everything was going pretty well. After the initial shock, Aden had finally opened up to her and they had spent nights talking, just like they used to. It was mainly during the first week that he had let everything out. Refusing to take the pity or the sympathy that anyone tried to offer him, he still sat through his exams, to everyone’s amazement. Principle Bartlett had insisted that they would be understanding if he missed a couple, and sat them a week later, but Aden wouldn’t let anyone think he couldn’t cope.

So, Aden had spent most of the days studying and taking exams, while spending the nights with her. She wasn’t sure how they always got to the subject of Larry. Belle never brought it up, never asking him how he felt. She knew that there were no words to describe his feelings, and anyway, Belle was able to read him just with a simple look. But somehow, by the time they ended up going to sleep, they would have spoken about it, mainly about what Aden was thinking. It wouldn’t be for long, but it would be meaningful and she understood that it was a way of coping that he had learnt during his counselling sessions months beforehand.

Larry’s funeral had been a small service organised by Roman with the help of Morag as Aden was busy with exams. It had been on the weekend after his passing, and only close family and friends, such as Roman, Nicole, Morag and Ross, and Geoff and Annie had attended.

Belle and Aden, in the end, didn’t turn up, per se. She had known that this was going to happen. She had just known, yet she had convinced herself that maybe she had been thinking the worst and that there was no way that Aden would skip out on going to his own father’s funeral.

They had all search the Bay like they had a week before, Belle even going to the place where she had found him although she knew he wouldn’t be there now that it wasn’t a secret place. When no-one had found him or heard a word from him with 20 minutes until the service began, they had no other choice but to give up and hope that he turned up.

Arriving at the small church, Belle had figured that no-one was surprised to see that Aden wasn’t there either. Standing around outside until the last possible second, she had just let out a sigh while switching her phone off when a figure in the distance caught her eye. Telling Geoff and Annie, who both stood next to her at that moment, to go on inside without her, Belle waited until everyone was inside before she made her way over.

It took her about 5 minutes to get to where Aden sat on a hill that overlooked the cemetery. He was wearing his black jeans and shirt, and she guessed that he had planned on attending the funeral, but just couldn’t bring himself to do it.

She sat next to him, leaning against the big tree that cast a shadow upon them, keeping them out of the harmful rays of the sun. They didn’t speak even as he gave her a small smile, not questioning why she was there as if he had expected her to find him all along.

At the end of the service, which the two of them had watched from their place high up, Belle spotted someone down below who she vaguely recognised. Asking Aden if that was his brother Sean, he had nodded before sarcastically replying to her encouragement of going to see him. From then on, they talked, starting off with why Aden had back out of going to the funeral. His reply had been simple; he had said goodbye to Larry a long time before. But, out of respect and knowing that it would eat him up inside if he didn’t, he came anyway.

They hadn’t spoken about Larry or anything about it since. Aden had requested for her to give him two weeks to mull it all over with himself, and Belle had reluctantly agreed, as long as he knew that she was there for him, day and night, if he ever backed out of his 14-day silence. Which, as she had predicted, he hadn’t. In fact, as the days went by, Aden became more and more like the normal, arrogant, cheeky, lovable guy that he was before the whole tragedy.

“… in less than two weeks!” An outraged voice broke into Belle’s thoughts, returning back to her magazine. She knew exactly who it was and what it was about. “I’m not going to have anything to wear!”

“I guess it’s a good thing you’re not going then.” She heard Aden reply, the voices getting closer as they approached her from behind.

“Dad didn’t say that I couldn’t go!” Nicole snapped back, trying her hardest to convince him. “He said that I might still be grounded.”

“Which would mean that you wouldn’t be going. Hence, you won’t need a dress.”

“But, Aden!” Nicole whined just as they reached where Belle sat. “It’s for my birthday. You can’t deny me a present. You know you want to!”

“No, I don’t, actually.” Aden told her, amusement underlying his words as he took a seat opposite Belle, reaching forward to take her drink out of her hands to have some. She raised an eyebrow at him, while he ignored her. Belle had blanked out Nicole’s voice; she was use to this now.

Over the past two weeks, the blonde had taken every opportunity that she had to try and get Aden to buy her that dress. At first, Belle thought it was very insensitive, considering that his father had just passed away, but with time, she saw that the normalcy of it was helping Aden.

“… I love you, really.” Belle just caught the end of her words, tearing her eyes away from the magazine she had gone back to, to look at the teen standing next to their table.

“Excuse me?”

“Uh… private conversation here.” Nicole said, irritation in her tone as she continued to just stare at Aden while addressing Belle.

“You just told my boyfriend you loved him. I think that warrants as an invite.” She replied sweetly as Nicole huffed.

“Whatever.” She flicked some of her hair over her shoulder, turning all her attention at the boy in question and Belle just rolled her eyes as she saw Aden laugh at their petty argument. “Please?”

“The more you annoy me, the less likely it is that I’ll give in, Nic.” Aden told her pointedly as she crossed her arms.

“Fine.” Nicole sighed, turning to face Belle. “Where’s Geoff?”

“Dunno. How about you go find him?” She answered dryly as Nicole scowled at her response.

“This conversation isn’t over.” Nicole told Aden sternly, who nodded in mock seriousness as he continued to sip Belle‘s drink, before twirling around and going to look find her own boyfriend.

“What?” Aden asked Belle as she stared at him in disbelief.

“Are you ever going to put that girl out of her misery?”

“Nah.” He laughed, taking off his shades while pushing the glass back to her.

“Thanks.” Belle said sarcastically when she saw that he had left her about a tenth of what there was to start with.

“No problem.” Aden gave her his typical grin and she couldn’t help but to copy it.

“Seriously, though. Are you actually going to get her that dress?”

“Maybe. Why?” He shrugged casually.

“Just wondering. Like she said, you’ve got less than two weeks.” Belle pointed out, before adding simply. “Plus, this way, I know what to expect.”

“Expect for what?” Aden questioned in confusion as she continued to pretend reading the magazine.

“For next week.” She said while looking up at him, only to see his eyebrows drawn together in thought. “My birthday? Don‘t tell me you forgot!”

“Of course not.” He replied quickly. “But how do you know what to expect?”

“Because if you buy Nicole a $250 dress, then you have to buy me something worth a lot more that that. It’s the rule.” Belle told him matter-of-factly.

“Oh, really?” Aden asked in exaggerated interest, leaning forwards on the table. “Tell me more about this ‘rule’ then.”

“Well, basically, if you buy someone else an expensive present, especially another girl, then you have to get your girlfriend something more. And then the next year, it has to be even more expensive, and then the year after more and then the year after…” She trailed off as she made her point. “So, anyway, I guess it’s a good thing you have all that money, because if you do end up getting Nicole that dress, you’re going to need it.”

“What if I break up with you, like, a week before your birthday every year? Then, technically, you won’t be my girlfriend and I don’t have to abide by those rules.” Aden suggested after a couple of minutes of thinking about it.

“Nope. Because then, when we get back together, you have to buy be a bigger present.” Belle informed him. “That’s if I take you back.”

“Please, like you could resist me.” Aden smirked his ‘bad boy’ smirk at her while she tried her hardest to bite back her smile.

“So, you still gonna think about buying that dress for her?”

“Maybe.” He shrugged once again. “I’ve already got your birthday prezzie sorted, so now it’s just-”

“You’ve already gotten my present?” Belle cut him off in shock.

“What? You didn’t actually think I would forget?” Aden teased.

“No, I guess not.” She replied, sighing a bit. The topic of her birthday hadn’t been brought up at all. “So… any clues?”

“Nope.” He said instantly.

“Oh, c’mon. Just a small one.” Belle pushed her magazine aside and leaned closer to him. “A teeny clue.” She tried, holding her hand up with her forefinger and thumb just millimetres apart.

“Sorry, no can do.” Aden grinned. “You’re just going to have to wait.”

“But that’s not fair.” Belle pouted childishly, hoping that it would sway him into telling her something.

“Not going to work. Trust me, with all the effort I’ve put into this, I’m not going to ruin it now.”

“’Effort’?” She repeated. “Please don’t tell me it’s a party. Because if it is then one,” she held up a finger, “it doesn’t count as a present and two,” she held up another finger, “I don’t want a party.”

“Well,” Aden began, grabbing the hand that she still held up with two fingers wriggling, “it’s not a party so you can relax about that. But,” he pulled her hand up to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to her knuckles, “I don’t know if anyone else has planned you one. So you might want be warned.”

“Great.” Belle mumbled, although the smile gracing her features spoilt her attempt at being annoyed. She watched as Aden pressed another kiss to her hand before bringing their joined hands to rest on the table in front of them, the fingers of his other hands skimming along her bare right forearm.

Belle had had her stitches taken out a week ago, glad to have gotten rid of the bandage that ruined her style. There was a slight scar left that marred her skin, especially at the beginning when the redness of it stood out considerably against her pale skin. It had clamed down now, and there was a tiny bump along the line of where the stitches had been which Aden now traced.

“I forgot…” He murmured as he let go of her hand and arm and stood up to dig into his jeans’ pocket, pulling out a small black pouch as he sat down. “I was going to give this to you last night, but seeing as you jumped me the minute I climbed through the win-”

“I did not-!” Belle snapped, stopping herself before lowering her voice, realising they were in a very public place. “I did not jump you the minute you got there.”

“You so did.” Aden chuckled, untying the drawstring bag as he kept his eyes on her, her cheeks slightly tinted red. “Don’t worry; I don’t blame you. In fact, I kinda liked it.”

“Shut up.” He laughed more at her defensive words as she was not able to come up with a witty remark. Bringing her right hand back to him, Aden tipped the contents of the bad into her palm.

“Here. Like brand new.” He said softly, keeping an eye on her face as her eyes lit up in joy and awe. “Well, not entirely like brand new, but you know what I mean.”

“Yeah… yeah, I do.” Belle pushed her bracelet around in her palm, making sure that it had all of her charms attached. “Thank you.” Using her elbows, she leaned over the table to give him a quick peck on the lips before sitting back down. “Put it on?”

Aden took the bracelet out of her outstretched hand and held it up to get all the charms in the right place before securing it around her wrist. Twisting it around her wrist for her, he only looked up at Belle when he heard her let out a small laugh.

“What?” He asked, amusement colouring the word.

“Nothing.” She practically sighed the word with happiness before turning her attention back to her bracelet. “There’s something missing.”

Before Aden got to ask what it was, she was reaching to the back of her neck, unhooking the chain that held his mother’s pendent. He understood immediately, and he wondered how he had forgotten. Over the past few weeks, he had gotten accustomed to the necklace she now wore instead of anything else around her neck.

Belle pressed the star pendent-turned-charm into his hand that laid on the table before hooking up the chain and putting it into the pouch that he had extracted the bracelet from. Holding out her hand once more, she told him without any words to add the clear, crystal charm to her collection of memories on her right wrist. She found it almost ironic that the scar was also on that same wrist, holding more memories that she would rather forget.

“There, how does that look?” Aden broke her out of her thoughts, retracting her hand to spin the bracelet around her wrist again, spotting the new addition in between the ‘A’ and the camera charms.

“Perfect.” Belle smiled, eyes still fixated on her wrist. He watched as she touched each of the charms for a moment, rubbing them gently as if trying to bring their representation to life. “Absolutely perfect.”

“Good.” He said earnestly, making her glance up at him quickly giggling slightly. Before her eyes went back to her most prized possession, Aden was able to get a glimpse of the look in her eyes. It was different that he had ever seen before. Sure, he had seen her eyes shine before, from tears of both happiness and sadness, but this was something entirely different.

He wasn’t sure how he had noticed, but as she obliviously kept on playing with her bracelet, Aden tried to place that look. He tried to give it a description. It was somewhere between pure joy and awe, with a forever hint of love and lust. But there was something else there too. In that split second that she had looked up, he had seen it, making her eyes shine brighter than ever before, making her more beautiful than ever before, and making him fall deeper in love with her than ever before.

Struggling, Aden still tried to word what it was that he had seen. When she looked back up at him, a slight wave of disappointment went over him when he saw that that glint had now vanished. He was sure that he hadn’t imagined it, and he so badly wanted it back. It had made everything stop for that second, made it all ok, made it all right.

“I love you.” Belle said, her hand gripping onto his, the smile still shining on her face.

“Love you, too.” Aden replied after a beat, his words thick in his mouth. He wanted to say so much more, but like with what he had just seen, there was no words to describe it

“Listen, you want to head to the beach? It’s getting really hot just sitting here.” She asked him, squeezing his hand gently.

“Sure, whatever you want.” He told her easily as she stood up. Thoughts were whirling around in his head. They had came form nowhere, and now they wouldn’t go.

“You ok?” Belle questioned, seeing his far away look. “Aden?” She snapped her fingers to get his attention back to her. “Hey, where were you?”

“Sorry, just a million miles away.” Aden smiled at her while standing up, sliding on his glasses in hope to cover up anything that his face may give away about his planning of thoughts.

“That’s ok. I’ll be right back.” She informed him, as he nodded.

“Alright.” He watched her walked up to the entrance of the Diner before turning around and seeing the person that he had been just thinking about finding.

Heading towards where Nicole stood by the log barriers that separated the beach from the path, he came to a stop next to her, leaning back on the fence with this elbows, back towards the sea while she faced it.

“Yes?”

“I was thinking…” Aden began.

“Good for you.”

“… that if you really wanted, we could go to the city tomorrow.” He carried on like she hadn’t spoken. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw her head snapped towards her. “And get you that dress.”

“Are you serious?!” Nicole asked in a surprised tone before lowering her voice to a dangerous one. “Because if you’re messing with me, Aden-”

“I’m serious.”

“But Dad-”

“I’ll clear it with Roman. I’m sure he’ll let you after I have a little talk with him.” There was a heavy suggestion to his words that made Nicole frown.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

“Nothing.” Aden replied innocently.

“I’m not stupid. 30 minutes ago, you were nowhere close to agreeing, and somehow I doubt little miss perfect over there made you change your mind.” She pointed out, eyes narrowing at she tried to figure him out.

“Ok, so there might be another reason.” He admitted, tilting his head down and crossing his arms.

“Go on.” She crossed her arms too.

“I just thought of something that I need to do in the city and I kind of need your help with it.” He explained.

“What kind of ‘something‘?” Nicole pried.

“A something kind of ‘something’.” He laughed. “I’ll fill you in later.”

“But you’re going to get me that dress?” Aden nodded at her eagerness. “And make sure that Roman lets me come to the city with you?”

“Yeah, trust me, he’ll let you come when I tell him that I need your help. I won’t mention the dress though, alright?”

“Oh, my God!” She squeal, jumping a couple of time on the spot before flinging her arms around his neck and pulling him into a hug. “You’re the best! You’re the best brother ever!” Moving away, Aden wondered if she realised what she had just said. “I need to go tell Geoff!” Her eyes went wide and he figured that she just remembered that there was the chance that she wouldn’t be able to go to the formal at all. “Do you think you cold convince Dad to let me go to the prom too?”

“Now you’re pushing it.” Aden chuckled as he spotted Belle heading towards them.

“Yeah, thought as much.” She gave him another quick hug before bouncing off, yelling a ‘thank you’ over her shoulder just as Belle reached him.

“What was all that about?” She asked him funnily waiting for a reply before he smiled at her sheepishly. “You didn’t.” Belle couldn’t help but laugh. “You gave in!”

“I didn’t ‘give in‘!” Aden tried to correct her. “I just…”

“Just… what?” She mocked.

“Never mind.” He slung an arm over her shoulder while guiding her down the dunes towards the beach in silence.

“So…” Belle started quietly, glancing over at him quickly as they slowly walked along the shore. “It’s been two weeks.”

“Yes, it has.” Aden responded, accepting the fact that she had pointed out to him.

“Got anything to say?”

“Not that I can think of…” He pulled a face that made it look like he was thinking deeply.

“Aden.” Belle said exasperatedly, not amused in the least. “You said to give you two weeks, and I have.”

“I know that, Belle. But it’s ok.” Aden replied seriously. “I’m ok.”

“You sure?” She looked up at him once again.

“Hundred percent.” He pressed his lips against her forehead. She closed her eyes for a brief moment as he did so, before laying her head back onto his shoulder as they continued to walk along the beach.

After being silent for so long, the small laugh that Aden let out confused Belle as they came to ‘their’ place on the beach which was pretty much secluded except for a couple of other people.

“What you thinking about?” She asked him, sitting down in the shade on the sand with Aden following suit.

“Just something that Nic said earlier.” He shook his head dismissively, but Belle pressed on.

“What was it?”

“When I said that I would get her that dress…” He trailed off, feeling slightly embarrassed before turning his head to face her slowly. “She said ‘you’re the best brother ever’.”

“Really?” Belle’s grinned brightly at him. “Well, I’m not surprised.”

“How so?”

“You and Nicole are close. There’s so much more there than just best friends. I mean, she’s never had a sibling before, and you’ve never had anyone younger or a sister before. And you’re both living together. It was only a matter of time.”

“When you put it like that…” He nodded slowly at her explanation, leaning backwards to prop himself up on his elbows. “I just never thought about it before. It’s weird, you know? Having a proper family. Almost.”

“’Weird’, how?” Belle stretched out so that she laid on her side, leaning over him slightly.

“Just knowing that there’s always someone there and to rely on. I’m still not used to it. And I know that Nic and Roman aren’t really family, but even after a year, it really does fell like it.”

“Good, because I know for a fact that they’re not going anywhere.” She assured him before kissing him. “And neither am I.”

“Yeah?”

“Yup.”

“For how long?” Aden asked her teasingly, although there was a hint of fear in the words.

“Well… right now?” Belle pretended to think about it. “Let’s say forever. That sound good to you?”

“Sounds great.”

---

Cute huh?

Hope you liked it. Just two more chapters left. I can't remember how many questions are left to answer, lol! I hope I get them all done

xoxo

[Taniya_K]

So here it is; the penultimate chapter! And like always, it's fluffy fluff fluff stuff!

Oh, just so it makes sense, for the sake of this fic, I've made it so that Belle and Aden's birthday's so that it works out to be that Belle is one of the youngest in their school year, and Aden one of the oldest [when they were at school, that was]. Hope that makes sense.

Chapter 49:

“I thought you’d be over at Belle’s tonight.” Roman commented as he came down the stairs to see Aden sitting on the couch with the laptop open in front of him and his phone next to him.

“I will be. Just sorting some stuff out.” He replied distractedly as Nicole skipped into the room from the kitchen with a big bowl of popcorn and dropped to take a seat next to him.

“Last minute?” Roman laughed.

“Fine, just checking some stuff out.” Aden adjusted his earlier comment with a smile. It was just past 7 on the evening before Belle’s birthday, and like he had expected, things were not going smoothly.

“He’s been on the phone for the past hour yelling.” Nicole filled her father in. “Something about a mix up.”

“’A mix up’?”

“Stupid people can’t get one thing right!” Aden exclaimed through gritted teeth. Roman was just about to ask what it was that the ‘stupid people’ couldn’t get right when Aden’s phone buzzed alive.

“Mattie.” Nicole stated, holding the phone out for him.

“Hello?” Aden answered it. Roman had left to get himself something to drink, respecting his privacy, while Nicole stayed sitting next to him, not even hiding the fact that she was intently listening to their conversation. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“What?” She piped up suddenly at the sound of outrage in his words as he waved a hand to tell her to be quiet.

“So how long?” He listened to whatever it was that Mattie was saying, a frown forming on his face. “But her birthday’s tomorrow! Not in 3 days.”

“Uh-oh…” Nicole murmured, shovelling some more popcorn into her mouth. Forget the movie on the TV; this was more entertaining for her.

“What if I went and got them?” Aden asked before sighing. “Is there any way to get them tomorrow?” He was silent for a couple of minutes as Mattie continued to explain everything. “Yeah, I guess so. But has everything been sorted then?” There was a pause before he leaned back into the couch. “Alright, I’ll guess it’ll just have to wait then. That’s one thing sorted though. Thanks, Mattie.”

Aden let his mobile fall to the side once he had hung up, tilting his head backwards and closing his eyes for a moment. There was a reason why he had planned all of this a month or so earlier. He wanted it to be a perfect day for her. After everything that she had done for him over the past couple of months, and everything else over the year before that, it was the least that he could do for her.

“So…?” Nicole prodded him to explain what was going on.

“Mattie’s done it all and she’s emailing me the details.” He told her, turning his head to look at her with a ghost of a smile on his lips.

“But it’s done, right?”

“Yeah, it’s done.” He confirmed as she broke into a huge smile. Aden had only filled Nicole in with his plans for Belle’s birthday and her presents a week ago, whereas he had told Roman straight when the idea had came to him.

“Email.” Nicole broke him out of his thoughts as she pointed towards the screen just as Roman re-entered the room. “Dad, come see.”

“What is it?” He sat on the armrest next to Aden, all three of them reading the email that Mattie had sent. “You changed it?”

“Mattie’s idea.” Aden told him. “She’s her best friend; I think she would know.”

“Alright…” Roman chuckled.

“Um… don’t forget me.” Nicole added.

“Yes, Nicole. Thank you for your help too.” Aden said wryly, making Roman laugh.

“No need to be sarky.” She grumbled, eating some more popcorn before pointing to the screen one again as Aden click on the ‘inbox’ button. “Email.”

“What’s with the running commentary?”

“I’m being helpful.”

“You’re being annoying.”

“Fine!” She huffed, leaning away from him and pulling the bowl onto her lap, munching away.

“Oh, yes! Finally!” Aden sighed with relief. “Something’s going right.”

“What?” Both Roman and Nicole asked at the same time, peering at the screen to see what it was.

“I’m guessing these were the ‘stupid people’.” Roman stated, a smile on his face when he saw the other two just nodded.

“At least they worked it all out though.” Nicole supplied.

“Yup.” Aden began to shut all of the windows before closing the laptop. “Now I have to find a way to keep Belle preoccupied until then and keep her out of the way.”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something.” Nicole said simply, her tone suggestive, making the other two roll their eyes at her. “What?”

---

“Wakey, wakey, birthday girl.” Her body tensed a bit at his whispering. “Belle…” Aden continued, right next to her ear. She squirmed a little as the words sunk in and her eyes started to flutter open. “Morning.”

“Morning.” She muttered, turning over onto her back so that he now leaned right over her. She stayed still even as he brushed the hair out of her eyes and caressed her cheek with his thumb.

“Happy birthday.” Aden smiled softly at her as she reciprocated it, realising what that day was. Reaching out, Belle pulled him closer to her, brushing her lips against his.

“Hmm… thank you.” She grinned, letting his lips work against hers, tenderly kissing her as she began to wake up properly. Suddenly, she pushed him away, her nose scrunched up in annoyance.

“What?” He asked her, hovering above her.

“How long have you been up for?”

“Uh… an hour or so.” Aden replied, confusing seeping into his words. “Why?”

“You taste like oranges.” He laughed at her response, dropping another brief kiss onto her lips. “Anyway, I thought that we could, you know...” Belle added, holding him close with a hand threaded into his hair and the other working it’s way up Aden’s back. “Start the day off in style.”

“Sorry.” He mumbled against her lips before allowing her to take him into a deep kiss. “Belle…”

“What?” She said innocently before letting her eyes finally roam his body, seeing that he was already dressed in his jeans and red T-shirt, watch and other accessories already on. “But it’s my birthday.”

“I know, sweetheart.” Aden told her, smiling gently. “Which is why you’re going to let me go while you get up and have the surprise breakfast that Geoff and Annie have made for you.”

“You’re an idiot, you know that?” Belle giggled at his words as he sat back, pushing herself up in her bed. “Aren’t you going to stay?”

“Nope, I’ve got other stuff to do.”

“What stuff?”

“Just stuff.” He shrugged casually, but the cheeky smile on his face gave away more clues.

“Can’t you stay for at least a little while?” Belle asked him sweetly.

“Sorry, but no. Anyway, those two have gone to a lot of hard work for the breakfast. They’ve been working at it for an whole hour!” Aden patronised them.

“Don’t be mean!” She reprimanded him lightly, although she knew he was only teasing. “What if you made me breakfast too? I could do with some of those pancakes.”

“Not only would that be rude, but I’ve really got this other stuff to do!”

“But it’s my birthday!” Belle pouted and Aden couldn’t help but be reminded of the tantrums that Nicole had thrown when he had denied her the dress, before he had brought it for her, that was.

“Look, if you still want pancakes later, I will gladly make it for you.” Aden tried to reason, hoping that she would agree. He always felt guilty when he couldn’t give her something that she wanted, no matter how small or trivial. “But until this arvo, you’re going to have to bare with these other delinquents, because that’s when I’ll see you again.”

“Ok, firstly,” Belle frowned, “’delinquents’?”

“What?” He asked her coolly while she just rolled her eyes.

“And secondly, why am I not seeing you until this afternoon?”

“Because it’s your birthday, and there are many people who want to spend it with you. Like your family and your best mate. All of whom I promised some time with you.” Aden informed her.

“But what if I just want to spend today with you?”

“Tough.” He smirked as she whacked him with a pillow. “Alright, alright. No need to get violent.” He tried to tug the piece of furniture off of her, but she had a tight grip onto it, hitting him once more. “Hey! If you don’t stop that, I won’t give you your presents.”

“Presents?” Belle immediately stopped, perking up. “Where?”

Aden didn’t reply, just holding his hands out to her and he jumped off the bed. Sighing, Belle took them, sliding out of the bed and letting him guide her out of her room and into the main part of the house.

“Wow…” Belle exclaimed in surprise as she spotted the main living room table filled with various foods from the basics such as toast, to waffles and more. “You guys did all this?”

“Yup. Happy birthday.” Annie replied, still in the kitchen with Geoff, who wished her a happy birthday too. “Well, we did all except from the flowers. They’re from Aden.”

She turned to look at him, who was leaning against the counter to give her a moment with her foster siblings, smiling ecstatically. Walking over to the table, she picked up the vase that contained the huge bouquet of red roses, their sweet scent reaching her even before she had lifted them up to her nose.

“They’re beautiful.” Belle told Aden as she placed the flowers back down and went over to him. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He replied, giving her a quick kiss before wrapping his arms around her shoulders as hers went around his waist. They stayed like that, pointedly ignoring the other two as they did the same to them until Annie broke them out of their own little world.

“Ok, breakfast is now served.”

“And that’s my cue to leave.” Aden laughed as they separated.

“See you later?” Belle made sure as she went over to where the younger two were at the table.

“Of course.” He replied. She didn’t miss the little smile that he shared with Annie as he walked out of the house, and Belle had to wonder what the other ‘stuff’ was that he had to do.

---

“Oh, Mattie, it’s gorgeous.” Belle said in a hushed voice as she picked up the 17 inch photo frame, adorned with metallic and gemmed butterflies and fairies. Inside the frame, there was a collage of pictures of mainly the two of them, Ric, Cassie and even some old ones with Lucas and one with Drew. “Where did you get all these pics from?”

“I just had them lying around.” Mattie shrugged as the two of them sat in Belle’s room a few hours later. “I really had no idea what to get you, so I realised that I should make you something. Of course,” she added hastily, “I didn’t make the frame… but that’s beside the point.”

“I love it…” Belle couldn’t tear her eyes away from it. There must have been pictures from way back when they had all finally became friends as least 3 years ago. “I can’t believe you had so many pictures from so long back!”

“Yeah, well, you know what I’m like. I tend to collect things.” Mattie said lightly, making Belle laugh as she got off her bed and found a place for it on her dresser.

“I’m glad you did.” She sighed, coming back to sit down at the top of her bed, looking at the frame from afar. “Thank you so much, Mattie.”

“Hey, it’s your birthday! You’re not supposed to thank me for presents!” They both laughed at the mock seriousness in her voice. “Anyway, speaking of presents, got Aden’s yet?”

“Uh… yeah.” Belle replied, confused, trying to remember whether she had shown Mattie what Aden had left for her with the other presents that morning or not. “The flowers out there and that.”

Mattie tilted her head upwards to where Belle pointed to on the ceiling, off to the right, near to the window. Up there, there was a very elaborate wind chime hanging, with multicoloured diamond shaped drops at various heights.

“Pretty, huh?” Belle asked her, smiling.

“Wow… yeah, that’s pretty.” Mattie replied in awe. It was really pretty. Much more than pretty, actually, she realised.

“Yup. I‘ve got a feeling that I‘m going to regret sticking up there in a week or so. But never mind.”

“You do realise that he’s got more, right?”

“More wind chimes?” Belle questioned, glancing back at her best friend.

“No, you dimwit.” Mattie had to duck as Belle threw a pillow at her, still hitting the top pf her head. “More presents!”

“Yeah, I kind of assumed with the way he was saying he had ‘stuff’ to sort out.” Belle sighed heavily, sinking down further on her bed. “Any chance you’ll tell me what it is?”

“Nope.” She smiled at her teasingly, fighting the urge to correct her that it wasn’t just ‘it’ but rather ‘they’, in terms of the presents. “He would kill me.”

“Why do you know, exactly?”

“You’ll understand when you get it.”

“Not even a tiny clue?” Belle sat up, hopeful when Mattie bit her bottom lip as if she was fighting herself. “Please?”

“Nope.”

“What kind of best friend are you?” She grumbled, falling back to slump against her headboard.

“The best kind.” Mattie replied easily. “Why are you being so moody for? It’s your birthday!”

“I’m not being moody!”

“Yeah, you are!”

“Am not!” Belle retaliated, picking up the pillow from where it lay in front of the two of them and throwing it back at her.

“Are too!” Mattie threw it back, both of them collapsing into hysterics when it went in the wrong direction. “Aw, I’m going to miss you.” She managed to get out in between the fits of laughter.

“’Miss me’?” Belle looked at her funnily. “I’m not going anywhere, Mattie!”

“Yeah, I know.” She quickly told her, realising her mistake. “I meant, when I go to uni.”

“But you’re just going to the city. We’ll probably see each other everyday!” Belle rolled her eyes at her, not expecting the pillow to be picked up from the floor and come to land in her lap.

“Yeah, but you’ll be working, and I’ll going to and from the city… We won’t have time to catch up.” Mattie explained, the words going softer at the end as she realised just how true that was.

“Mattie! Don’t make me cry!” Belle said with a hint of amusement. “It’s my birthday! I don’t want to cry on my birthday! Anyway,” She added. “we’ll both be in the Bay and we’ll make time! You’re my best friend.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Mattie sighed before shaking her head. “Ok, I’m going to stop now. You’re right; it’s your birthday and we have like 2 months to think about this.”

“Good!”

“Right, so it’s 1 o’clock, which means that it’s officially afternoon.” Mattie grinned, remembering the little argument they had had earlier when Belle had told her that Aden said he would see her in the afternoon, but she didn’t know when exactly. Mattie had pointed out that it would be after noon, which was after 12 and according to Mattie, 1pm was the official start to the afternoon. Belle, however, had argued that after noon technically meant after 12, but she was quickly shut up when Mattie teased her with her present.

“Yeah, I guess it is.” Belle agreed, seeing the time on her bedside clock. “Now what?”

“Wanna go down to the Diner? We might be able to score some free chocolate cake.” She tempted her, knowing her plan had worked when her eye lit up.

“Totally.”

---

Belle squealed as a strong arm came around her waist. She was standing by the main counter in the Diner, talking to Irene about what Mattie had given her when she was rudely cut off.

“Hey, birthday girl.” A voice whispered into her ear, pressing a kiss to the side of her jaw.

“Aden!” She hit his hand, making him remove it as Irene just laughed at them and went back to work. Turning around, she saw that in his other hand, there was a sliver gift bag. “For me?”

“Might be.” He grinned, leading her to one of the tables and sitting down first. “How’s your day been so far, then?”

“Meh… alright.” Belle shrugged, sitting down opposite him. “Being 19 doesn’t feel any different. Except that I’m getting old.”

“Hey! I’m 20 in 3 months. Watch what you’re saying!” Aden said in mock irritation as she giggle.

“20’s way old.” Belle told him, playing along. “Next thing you know… you’ll be 30.” She lowered her voice for the last bit, making it sound like a taboo.

“Gee, thanks Belle.” Aden replied. “Just remember; when I’m 30, you’ll be 29.”

“Alright, no need to be mean.” She laughed. “So…?” Belle tipped the bag towards her slightly. “Is it for me?”

“Seeing as I don’t know anyone else with their birthday today, I guess it would be, wouldn’t it?” He smirked at her while pushing the bag in her direction.

Belle bit on her bottom lip to stop the grin from threatening to break out, not wanting to show Aden just how excited she was to see what it was. Peering into the bag, she frowned when all she could see was tissue paper. Digging into it, she finally found something solid, pulling it out with ease.

Laying it onto the table, she dug back into the bag, only to be told by Aden that there was nothing more inside. Putting the bag to one side, she looked over the rectangular, silver box. It was only about an inch think, and almost the size of a standard envelope, just perhaps a bit bigger.

“Just open it.” Aden said impatiently. Belle just smirked at him before lifting the lid off the box, only to be confronted by many pieces of paper, a lot of writing all over it and a staple in the corner holding it all together.

“You got me paper?” She asked him sceptically.

“Read it, would ya?” He sighed as she smoothed out the pieces of paper, eyes skimming the words. Aden could see her eyes darted from one side to another several times before her eyes widened. He watched as she turned to the next page, and the one after, not reading them, but just making sure that they had the same basic information on it.

“Aden…” She breathed out in disbelief. “Really?”

“Yup.” He grinned at her shock.

“Where?”

“Outside.”

“Here?” Her head snapped up at him, her mouth open a bit as she struggled to form words. Giving up, she jumped up from her seat, rushing right out of the door without a second glance.

Aden got up a second later, seeing both Roman and Irene in the kitchen area watching them with an amused smile, walking out of the Diner as he left the papers and the bag with them.

Belle was standing outside, Nicole, Geoff, Annie and Mattie all sitting at the table right where she stood, perfectly planned so that they could see this. It was clear to Aden that they had pointed it out to her which one was now hers.

“You like it?”

“You’re crazy.” Belle mumbled back, before tearing her eyes away from her present and looking back at him. “You’re absolutely crazy.”

“Maybe.” He shrugged, gently pushing her forward with a hand on her lower back. “But do you like it?”

“’Like it’?” She repeated, letting her legs carry her forward as he carried on guiding her. “I… I-” She was lost for words once again as she neared it. “It must have cost you a fortune.”

“Good thing I have all that money then, huh?” Aden quoted her from the week before.

“It’s a car.” Belle said in astonishment as they stopped right next to the brand new silver VW Beetle. “It’s-”

“Don’t even think about saying it’s too much, because I’m not taking it back.” He practically read her mind.

“But… it’s a car.” She turned to face him now.

“Yes, we’ve already established that.” He nodded slowly.

“A brand new car.”

“I know.”

“I can’t-”

“I’m not taking it back.” Aden cut her off once again, a small smile playing on her lips now, and he knew that he was getting close to making her cave in. “And this is such a girly car so it’s not like I could take it instead.”

“It’s not girly!” Belle quickly said.

“See? You’re defending it already!” He laughed as she rolled her eyes. “C’mon. You know you want to.”

“Aden…”

“How about you take it for a spin first?” He tempted her, dangling the keys in front of her.

“Can I?” Belle asked him excitedly.

“Sure. It’s yours.” Despite her attempts to not give in, she snatched the keys out of his hand, walking over to the driver’s side while skimming her fingers along the smooth body of the car.

Unlocking the doors, she climbed in, the new car smell hitting her strongly. She inserted the key into the ignition just as Aden got into the passenger’s seat, immediately loving the purring sound that the engine made as she turned the key.

“If this is such a girls car,” Belle began as she did her belt. “Then how did you choose it?”

“I know my cars, Belle.” Aden laughed as she steadily drove the car, slowly picking up speed as they got onto the main road. “Not to mention that Roman can be a really good help.”

“I see.” She laughed, trying not to fall in love with the car that she now drove with ease. But with every second that passed, she found it harder and harder.

“So, what do you think?” Aden asked her. “Does it pass the test?”

“It’s a really great car.” She replied.

“But…?”

“But it’s too much, Aden.” Belle repeated. “You do know I was only joking last week-”

“Belle,” He interrupted her. “If you read the papers, you will see that I bought this car about 2 weeks ago now.”

“Oh.”

“Any other excuses?” He questioned as they sped along a deserted road. When Belle stayed silent, he knew that he was just a second away from winning this argument. “If you don’t accept it, you’ll be hurting my feelings.” Aden said in a sad voice, making her giggle.

“I can’t do that, now can I?”

“No, you can’t.” He laughed. “Does this mean…?”

“Yeah, alright.” Belle sighed as Aden smiled his smile at her, and she realised just how much this meant to him. “But this doesn’t mean that you can splurge out whenever you want, alright?”

“Of course not.” He replied strictly, face straight, before smiling again. “You wanna see something?”

“What?” Belle glanced over at him quickly as he pressed a button. There was a slight whirring sound as the roof started to retracted backwards. “Convertible.”

“Impressive, huh?” Aden raised an eyebrow at her as they came to a stop by a red light. “You’ve gotta love it.”

“Yeah, I do.” She sighed, almost disappointed that she had given in so quickly. Turning her head to look at him, she saw that he had a look of pure happiness on his face, and she smiled. “I love you.”

“Love you, too.” Aden replied, tilting his head back to rest against the headrest while looking at her. “Belle?”

“Yeah?” She said, not tearing her eyes away from him.

“Green means go.”

---

For all of you lot who are like me: Belle's Car

Hope you liked.

xoxo

[Taniya_K]

I know I said 5, and then 6, but I'm so sorry! I just went OTT with this chapter.

Anyway... here it is. The last chapter of this fic *tear*. I just want to saya HUGE thank you to *takes a deep breath* xknomex, H&A_diehard, adelle, Lise, wrongturntaken, mk1diva, HAA Girl 08, zzazzb, monkeysmoke, meant2live, *Zetti*, Deborah, LAURZY!, SAM27#, Beate, enjoy the ride, MissOlivia22, Aden+Belle forever, BeforeItsTooLate, matticus01,rokkafella125, karenp, **Julie**, bikinikill, leah1234, rfran, belle_aden_fan1, Lustre, wooo_im_cool, lucylinda, Symphony, sephy, adelle fan., and amz89. You guys all made me keep writing and keep going on even when I really didn't like what I had written, you were all so nice

Thank you all so much.

Chapter 50:

“How do I look?”

“Beautiful.” Aden replied from his place still in bed, propped up by the headboard and pillows. Belle glared at him via the mirror as she fixed her hair one final time.

“I’m not looking for ‘beautiful’, Aden. I’m going for something a bit more professional.” It was 3 days after her birthday, and she had received a phone call a couple of days before from the newspapers where she was due to start work in about 2 months, saying that they would like for her to come in for the day just to show her around and get to meet her.

“You’re always gonna look beautiful.” He claimed as he crawled to the end of the bed. “But, yes, you look professional too.” She wore a simple, long white top with a black design with black trousers and shoes. Compared to what she usually wore, it was very business-like, not that Aden was complaining.

“Thanks.” She said before adding under her breath. “Smooth talker.”

“You love it.” His tone was typical ‘Aden’ as he pulled on her hand, whirling her around to face him and bringing her closer. Using too much force, he inadvertently made her lose her balance as she placed a hand on his shoulder to keep steady. Not one to waste any time or an opportunity, Aden quickly brought her into a kiss.

“Aden…” Belle muttered against his lips while he wrapped one arm around her waist, using the other to lean backwards onto the bed so that she had no choice but to press up against him. She smiled, not breaking their kiss, when she got her mind working again and worked out his ploy. “I’m gonna be late.” She managed to mumble out even as Aden tugged on her bottom lip.

“No, you won’t-.” He began before being cut off by a sharp knock to the bedroom door.

“Belle, you’re going to be late if you don’t get a move on, missy.” Irene told her through the door. Smirking, Belle pushed herself off of Aden, giving him an ‘I told you so’ look.

“What was that you were saying?” Belle said mockingly, faking ignorance.

“Hmm… funny.” Aden smiled at her sarcastically, using both elbows to lean back on.

“I’ll see you later, yeah?”

“Sure. Just let me know when you get back home.” He sighed as she gathered her things together before climbing onto the bed on one leg and giving him a brief kiss.

“I’ll make it up to you. Promise.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” Aden called after her as she left him in her room. Collapsing back onto the bed, he groaned when hearing his phone buzz. He didn’t move for a couple of minutes before deciding that if he didn’t move soon, he would probably just end up wasting the day just laying there, not that that was a bad idea.

Reaching over to grab his phone from the bedside table, Aden sat up straight when he saw it was from Nicole. Opening it as quickly as possible, he grinned, the motivation to get up and get something done today coming back to him in an instant.

---

“Here.” Nicole handed him two envelopes as he entered the house, coming to sit at next to her on the couch. Still grounded, although Roman was being a bit more lenient, she was restricted to staying at home and doing chores that day.

“Thanks.” Aden replied, turning them both over in his hands. “You haven’t opened them?”

“Gee, don’t sound too surprised.” She rolled her eyes at him. “I do some sense of courtesy, you know?”

“I didn’t, actually,” He laughed. “But thanks for letting me know.”

“Jerk.” Nicole sneered. “What does Belle see in you, exactly?”

“A lot more than you, that’s for sure.”

“Gross.” She said in a disgusted voice, hearing his suggestive tone. “You going to open them then?”

“Yeah…” Aden placed the thin, white envelope to a side, focusing on the brown one that looked more like a package rather than a letter. Grabbing the nail filer out of Nicole’s hands, he used it to open it up, sliding it effortlessly along the top.

“Uh… do you mind?”

“Nope.” He answered as he held the filer out to her and she snatched it out of his hand. However, this time, she left the filer hanging in her hand as she watched Aden pull out the contents of the envelope.

Aden made sure that everything was out of the brown package before tossing it to one side and placing it all onto his lap. Reading the attached latter with mild interest, he had to bat Nicole’s hand away 3 times before he picked up the items left in his lap and looked at them himself.

“Can I see?” She asked him, impatient, just as he flipped through one of the items. Aden ignored her, reading all this with more concentration. It was about 5 minutes later when he handed it over to Nicole to look at while he attended to the other item, doing the same thing.

“It all looks good.” Aden commented as he finished with that, taking back what he had given to the blonde next to him.

“Yeah, it does.” She sighed. “Oh, and I stand by what I said; if Belle doesn’t like it, then I will be more than happy to take it.”

“Righto…” He chuckled. “You’ll have to fight Mattie on that.”

“Please, I can take her on.” Nicole dismissed easily. “In fact, I could probably take Belle on too.”

“You’d probably lose, but hey,” He smirked at her, “if you wanna, I’m not gonna object.” She gave him a sarcastic smile while shoving him in the shoulder.

“Anyway, aren’t you going to open the other letter?” Nicole changed the subject.

“Uh…” He replaced everything back into the brown envelope before swapping it with the white one. “Yeah, I’ll open it later.”

“’Later’?” Nicole repeated incredulously. “What’s wrong with now?”

“Well, for starters, you’re here.”

“Hey!” Nicole pushed him once again. “Do you know what it is?”

“Nope.” He lied, a small smile on his face while standing up.

“Where’re you going, now?”

“I need to go see Mattie.” Aden informed her, picking up both of the envelopes.

“Hey, does Mattie know?” Nicole enquired as she twisted around in her seat to face him as he reached the door.

“Know what?” He asked in confusion.

“About the…” She couldn’t say the word for some reason. Having to keep it secret to Nicole meant not ever saying it out loud, even if there was no-one else around. In Summer Bay, you never knew who was just around the corner. “You know?”

“No.” He laughed.

“Are you going to tell her?”

“Hell no!”

---

A gentle knock on her window and the sound of it being slid up brought a smile to Belle’s face. Turning around while towelling her hair dry, she saw Aden climb though, closing the window behind him and locking it.

“You took your time.” She commented as she turned back around to look into the mirror.

“Not that long. It’s only…” Aden looked at his watch, perching on her bed, and realised that it was 8.30pm and that it had been about 3 hours since he got her call saying she was home. “Oh. Ooops, sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Belle dismissed, watching him via the mirror, seeing him play around with two envelopes in his hands. “What you got there?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Not really.” She laughed, throwing her towel over the back of the chair as she stopped with her hair.

“Well, if it’s like that then...” Aden rolled his eyes at her, declining backwards to rest against her headrest.

“Aw, c’mon. You know I was just teasing.” Belle giggled, holding out a hand as she stood at the end of her bed.

“Hmm… I dunno if I want to show you anymore.” He replied, his words lined with faux hurt. “That is, unless, you convince me somehow…”

“Yeah?” She asked him slyly, seeing his eyes roam her body as she stood wearing just his hoodie that she now claimed as hers, his ‘bad boy’ smirk appearing on his lips slowly. “Please?”

“Oh, yeah, that convinced me.” He said sarcastically before she climbed onto the bed, crawling over, right up to him.

“What about now?” Belle asked in a sultry voice, placing a leg on the other side of his body so that she was straddling him. Their faces were merely inches away as she ran a hand seductively down his chest before pressing her lips against his. It didn’t take more than a second for him to respond, kissing her back with passion.

Using one hand to keep herself balanced by placing it on his shoulder, Belle trailed her other hand down his right arm that was holding onto her waist loosely. Slowly, without opening an eye or making any drastic movements, she let that hand drop to the side, simultaneously pulling out of the kiss as she grabbed the envelopes he had dropped and quickly pushed away from him.

“Hey!” Aden cried out, trying to get a hold of her as she moved away, sitting at the opposite corner of her bed. “That was mean.”

“I know.” Belle replied cheekily as he pouted slightly. “Oh, please. Like that pout will do anything.”

“Fine.” He sulked.

“So what’s in these?” She asked him, holding one envelope in each hand before turning the big, brown one around. “This one seems interesting.”

“It is.”

“Can I open it?” Belle said politely as he just gave her a look.

“You took it off me; do what you want.”

“Aden.” She turned serious. “If you don’t want me to look at them, then I won’t.” She held them both out to him and he leaned over and reached out, taking the brown one from her.

“That one first.” He nodded towards the slim envelope in her hand and she just looked at him for a moment before turning her attention to it and doing as he said. It had already been opened, obviously, so Belle just had to pull the piece of paper out of it.

Unfolding the letter, the name of the sender in the top right hand corner caught her eye first. She looked up to see Aden watching her expectantly, sitting up straighter now. A small bubble of eagerness and excitement grew inside of her as she glanced back down again, reading the rest of the letter.

“You got in.” She stated slowly, not tearing her eyes away from the acceptance letter from the university. “You got in.”

“Yeah…”

“Oh, my God.” Belle squealed, scrambling across the bed and flinging her arms around him with such as force that they both collapsed backwards, causing Aden to bang his head against the top of the bed.

“Ow!” He laughed, one hand coming up to rub the offended area while the other one just held her close.

“Sorry.” She smiled sheepishly, pulling away slightly so that he could sit up comfortably. “It’s just… wow!”

“You sound surprised!”

“I am.” At Aden’s sceptical look, Belle swatted him on the arm. “I don’t mean it like that! I knew that you would get in. I’m just…”

“Surprised?” He supplied for her, his free hand pushing the damp hair away from her face.

“So proud.” She corrected him, feeling his hand freeze in it’s actions.

“It’s just uni.” Aden shrugged casually, a small, shy smile coming onto his face.

“Yeah, but it’s still awesome.” Belle told him, holding onto his hand as it came down. “I am so happy for you.”

“Thanks.” He gratefully accepted the brief kiss she gave him, showing him just how much she meant her words. “Do you want to open the other on?”

“Nah, I’m sure it can wait just a little while.” Belle replied suggestively as he grinned.

“As much as I can’t believe I’m about to say this,” Aden sighed, pulling her closer to him. “I really don’t think it can.”

“Wow… are you turning me down?” She asked in mock offence. “Well, I’d never thought I’d see the day.”

“I’m not turning you down.” He insisted. “I’d rather you open this first.”

“Why?” Belle wondered what it was about it that made him so anxious.

“Because I’ve been planning it for ages!”

“Then I’m sure that a little while longer won’t hurt.” She smirked.

“Belle…” He groaned, sitting up straight and looking back at her teasing face.

“Ok, ok.” She obediently sat up as he turned on the bed and sat opposite her. “I’ll open it now.”

“Good.” Aden reached over and picked it up from where he had placed it onto the other pillow. He held it out to her and she had just gripped it when a sudden thought came to his head. “Just keep in mind that this was supposed to be your original birthday present.”

“What?” Belle looked at him funnily but he just shook his head and let her take the envelope. She didn’t take her eyes away from him as she absentmindedly found the opening of the envelope and stuck her hand in to pull whatever there was in there out.

“Just look.” Frowning at his enthusiasm, Belle did as she was told. Glancing down, her frown turned into a perplexed look a she retrieved the three items out of the envelope. “Wait, that’s for me.” Aden quickly grabbed the letter from her hands, causing her to drop the other two things into her lap.

“Whoa.” Belle exclaimed when she saw what was in her lap. Picking one up, she flipped it around in her hands a couple of times, recognising the name on the cover as the name of a renowned travel agent in the city. “What is this?”

“Well, if you would open it and see…” Aden heavily hinted, watching as she following his instructions. He saw her eyes go wide at the tickets inside.

“Plane tickets?” She asked him, still in shock, quickly gazing up to see him nod. “Where to?”

“Look.” Belle could here the smile in his voice as she pulled the tickets out, letting the cover for it drop to a side. There as something weird about the tickets, she realised. Although she couldn’t remember the last time she went on a holiday, she was sure that plane tickets were not this thick.

Using he thumb, she flipped through the pages, trying to see if there was anything that would give her the littlest clue. When that idea went down the drain, she started from the beginning again, flicking through the pages slowly.

The first few were either blank or with printed writing that she guessed must have been just terms and conditions. Reaching an entirely blue page, she flipped it over to see the plane ticket on the next page. Belle’s eyes skimmed over it, seeing many things but only looking for the destination. Finally finding it, she gasped.

“St. Petersburg?”

“Yup.” Aden answered happily.

“As in Russia?” She asked, completely stunned.

“The one and only.”

“But… why?” She didn’t meant to sound rude, but she couldn’t help thinking about why he chose that place out of every other place in the world.

“Belle,” He began, leaning over and turning the ticket over and then another page, where she saw another ticket, “keep going first.”

She did as he told her even as everything inside of her told her to stop. Skimming the page that was now open, she found the next destination. Rome. Head snapping up at him, he made a motion for her to continue and, with shaky hands, she did. The next one was Madrid, followed by Paris, Edinburgh, London and,

“New York?!” Belle gasped, one hand coming to cover her mouth as she found the last two tickets to Los Angeles and then back home. “Aden.”

“You-”

“No.” She didn’t let him get another word out, instead shoving the tickets back into its cover and placing that, with the other tickets in her lap, into the brown envelope it had come in. “I can’t. This is way too much.” She thrust the object into Aden’s hands instantly.

“Belle, just listen to me.”

“No.” She shook her head determinedly, shuffling backwards a bit on her bed. “You gave me a car for my birthday. That’s done.”

“Then don’t take this as a birthday present.” Aden suggested.

“You said that this was a present.” She snapped. “And I refuse to accept it.”

“Belle,” She glanced up at him from where she had been watching her fingers to see hurt flicker in his eyes. “this isn’t just for you. It’s for us.”

“But it’s so much.” Her voice was gentle this time. “It must have cost you God knows how much. I don’t like you spending so much money on me.”

“I have the money.” Aden shrugged good naturedly.

“But that doesn’t mean that you should go around spending it like crazy.” Belle sighed, pushing herself onto her knees and coming to sit in front of him. Guilt overcame her at the way she had reacted, knowing just how excited he had been about this. “Aden, that money is for your future. Not for you to spend on me. The car and this… I can‘t even think about how much that must have cost.”

“Belle, I haven’t even touched the 200 grand in the savings account.” He assured her. “This is all from the ‘fun’ money. The money that I’ve kept to spend whenever I want.”

“A round the world trip, though, Aden?” She asked him cynically. “Isn’t that a bit overboard?”

“No, not really.” He told her coolly, carrying on when she gave him an unimpressed look. “Ok, so maybe it’s a bit… different, but think about it, Belle. This is probably the only time that we’re going to have where we can do whatever we want. In two months, you’ll be working and I’ll be at university, and who knows when the next chance to get away will be.”

“I’m all up for ‘getting away’.” Belle replied, holding onto one of his hands.

“Then why are you complaining?” Aden moaned. This girl confused the Hell out of him sometimes.

“Because this isn’t ‘getting away’. This is a once in a lifetime trip.”

“So? Maybe that ‘once’ in our lifetime is right now.” Aden informed her. “Did you ever think about that?”

“Aden…” She sighed. There was logic to his words, and she could feel herself giving in as she thought about all those places. Elation started to sweep through her as she thought about spending all that time with just Aden, seeing things that she would never have ever thought to have seen. “I don’t know.”

“You better make your mind up soon. We leave in 5 days.” Aden said calmly as her eyes went wide.

“5 days?” Her words were husky as she tried to overcome the shock. “But that’s… Why so soon?”

“Because the trip‘s for 6 weeks. If we go this weekend, then we‘ll be back with a just enough time to spare to get anything sorted for work and uni.” Aden informed her. “Anyway, if I had given it to you like I had planned, it would have been 8 days.”

“6 weeks.” She repeated in amazement, before shaking herself out of it. “Who else knows?”

“Uh… well, Mattie helped me a bit; New York was her idea.” Belle recalled a conversation several months previously when they were talking about Cassie travelling and how she would love to see New York. “Roman and Irene know, obviously. Oh, and Nicole.”

“Why does Nicole know?”

“You know what a snoop Nic is.” Aden lied. “She just found out.”

“Alright.” She nodded, not bothering to even try and call his bluff. “Aden, I still don’t know. I mean, it’s a great idea and all, and I love you for giving me the opportunity and I agree with what you said, but I don’t know.”

“C’mon, just imagine it, Belle.” He urged her, holding onto both of her hand tightly. “It’ll be winter. And snow. There’ll be snow, especially in New York. We can have a white Christmas.”

“Snow?” Her eyes lit up like a little kid’s. “Oh, my God. New York in the winter…”

“Yeah, exactly. And we won’t have anything else to worry about,” Aden’s voice had dropped lower and lower as he neared her, tilting his head to tenderly brush his lips against the side of her neck. “Just the two of us. For 6 weeks. Going wherever we want. Doing whatever we want.”

“Aden.” She sighed in slight pleasure as he began to kiss his way up her neck. “Should we?”

“Should we, what?” He pulled away from her a bit so that he could look into her eyes.

“Should we go?”

“What’s stopping us?” Aden countered. “Apart from your stubbornness of not wanting to be ‘spoilt’.” Belle giggled at his words as he went back to dropping kisses now along her jaw.

“True.” She breathed out heavily as he came to the extremely sensitive part just below her ear, shuddering at his motions. “Ok.”

“What?” He stopped and sat up straight, not sure if he had heard right.

“Ok, let’s go.” Belle bit her bottom lip, a huge grin threatening to break out. “Let’s go see everything. Let’s go see New York in the winter.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously!” She laughed. “Unless you’ve changed your mind…?”

“As if!” Aden scoffed before a relived smile broke out onto his face. “We’re going?”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Belle replied earnestly as Aden kissed her hurriedly, pushing her back to lay onto the bed. Still shocked with everything that had happened, and Aden’s sudden attack, Belle froze before she felt him caress her face with one hand. That was enough to break her out of it and return his kiss with just as much eagerness and lust.

“Just so you know,” Aden panted as they parted for a second, “Mattie’s taking you shopping tomorrow.”

“You were that sure you’d give in?” Belle asked him sceptically, arms laced around his shoulders.

“I didn’t think you were even going to argue, gorgeous.” He admitted. “Stupid me.”

“Hmm… stupid you indeed.” She whispered before bringing him into another kiss until a stray thought passed through her head, making her stop.

“What’s wrong?” Aden’s tone was clearly worried and almost fearful.

“We’re going by plane?”

“Uh… unless you’ve learnt how to teleport, I think that was the idea.” He joked as she scowled at him.

“The last time I got onto an aircraft, it crashed, Aden.” He pulled away from her suddenly, pushing himself up above her with is hands.

“Crap, I totally forgot about that. Belle, I-”

“No, it’s ok.” She cut him off, assuredly. “It’ll be ok.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” She pulled him back down to her, resting their foreheads together. “You’ll be there with me, so I’ll be perfectly safe, right?”

“Of course.” Aden agreed with such intense meaning that it made her tummy flip. “I won’t let anything happen to you. It’ll be the best 6 weeks ever.”

“Yeah, that it will be.” She brought him into a deep kiss, digging her fingers into his hair to keep him as close as possible before giggling and breaking away. “I can’t believe we’re gonna go!”

“This is what you want, yeah?” Aden asked her. “You want to go away, right?”

“Yeah, of course.” Belle replied, blinking a couple of times, her smile softening. “I’m really excited. Aren’t you?”

“Me?” He questioned her as he smoothed the hair away from her face before letting his lips just touch hers briefly. “As long as you’re happy, babe, I’m happy.”

---

And there it is. The end of my second fic... [adelle, you were right about the present ]

Hope you guys liked it and thought it did my fic justice.

I will be doing a sequel, called 'Unfamiliar'. I hope you'll all join me for that!

xoxo

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