Chapter Text
The next morning, an early alarm went off on Helen’s phone, the sound piercing her peaceful sleep and forcing her eyes open. The sun was barely peeking through the drawn curtains, birds chirping happily just outside the window on the ledge. A nest had been built a few weeks ago and Helen had been taking photos every few days, documenting the eggs and the little sparrows that were housed inside them.
With a deep sigh, Helen reached over to tap the screen of her phone, silencing the alarm, and it was at that moment that she felt the body wrapped completely around her from behind. A smile stretched her lips, her fingers sliding under the covers to tickle the back of the hand that was resting comfortably just beneath her breasts. A silky smooth leg was tossed over her hips and Helen blushed when she realized she could feel the heat through the cotton between those legs right against her lower back where her shirt had ridden up through the night.
“Maddie,” she whispered. “Mad, baby, I need to get up.”
A grumble sounded between her shoulder blades and a nose was buried even further into her back.
Helen grinned, lacing her fingers together with Madeline’s, lifting her hand to her lips so she could kiss the soft skin of her knuckles. “Honey, I have to get up.I have a meeting with my publisher.”
“Five more minutes, Helly,” she grumpily whined, tightening her hold on the author.
“You can stay here,” Helen told her. “You can sleep in, honey.”
“Noooo,” Madeline whimpered, kicking her leg higher over Helen so it was completely draped over her waist. “I don’t want you to go.”
Helen’s dead heart clenched tight in her chest. She knew Madeline was acting this way because she was still half asleep. Even though they were closer than ever before and on the verge of something very new, the woman was still putting up some boundaries when it came to her touchy-feely side. If she were more awake, she probably would have let Helen go as soon as the alarm went off. The redhead took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and relished in the sweet comfort of Madeline holding her for just a few minutes longer.
A second alarm went off.
This time, the author sat up with a deep sigh. Still latched onto her back, Madeline came with her, another leg hooking around her from behind as both arms held tight to Helen’s neck. Helen laughed, turning her head to press a kiss to the mess of blonde hair resting on her shoulder.
“Do you want to sleep longer or take a shower with me?”
Madeline’s head popped up at comical speed, looking like a puppy being asked if it wanted to go for a walk. “A shower?”
Helen nodded, finally able to extract herself from the actress. She stood up and stretched, still not used to the lack of aches and pains in her body that she used to feel every morning before taking the potion. When she looked down at Madeline, she saw the woman staring at her chest, her bottom lip pinched between her teeth, her eyes glazed over with something more than just sleep. Helen glanced down and noticed her nipples were pressing against the cotton of her shirt, and she smirked.
The redhead held out her hand for the other woman. “Come on, Maddie. I’ll let you wash my hair.”
Madeline’s gaze darted back to Helen’s face, excitement dancing in her blue eyes. She accepted Helen’s hand and together they walked to the attached bathroom. Madeline sat on the counter while Helen turned on the shower and undressed herself. Once she was naked, she walked over to Madeline, stepping between her legs, and hooked her thumbs in the waist of her panties. Madeline helped her remove the cotton garment by lifting her hips, the light pink underwear sliding down her legs and falling to the floor once they were past her feet.
Helen palmed Madeline’s thighs, her hands sliding up to her hips, and then her arms came around the blonde’s waist. Their bare breasts brushed together, nipples stiff, the peaks kissing with each breath they took in. Madeline reached up and cupped Helen’s jaw, her thumb stroking the apple of her cheek as she gazed lovingly into the author’s green eyes.
“Can I tell you something?”
Helen nodded immediately, entranced by the way the blonde was looking at her.
Madeline licked her lips, her breath stuttering as she worked up the courage to speak. “That day when you walked into my room and I was crying because I couldn’t reach my own shoulder to fix a simple touch up…” She took a deep breath, her hand sliding down from Helen’s cheek so she could rest her palm over where Helen’s heartbeat should be. “I was crying because I was afraid that one day I would do something to push you away again and that I’d finally be alone.”
A tear spilled down the blonde’s cheek and Helen swiftly wiped it away, cupping her face as she felt her own tears stinging behind her eyes.
“I was trying to fix my paint because I figured I might as well practice since you’d inevitably leave me,” Madeline continued, her bottom lip trembling. “I’ll screw up again, I know I will. It’s what I do.” The blonde’s words were coming out with deep, heart-wrenching sobs. “You’re my h-home, Helen. I could be surrounded by thou-thousands of people, b-but you’re the only one w-who doesn’t make me f-feel completely and utt-utterly alone.”
“Madeline,” Helen whispered out, trying to soothe the shaking, nearly hysterical woman, but she kept speaking through her heaving sobs.
“I hate how n-needy I am wh-when it comes to you,” she confessed. “I’ve known for y-years that you were my person and all I want-wanted was to be yours.”
Helen was shocked by the outburst of emotion. She knew she and Madeline had reached a moment last night that left them on the precipice of something new, but she had no idea it would lead to this emotional outburst from Madeline. She was glad that the woman was finally explaining why she had been pulling away; that Madeline was explaining how she feared the only person in the world who mattered to her would leave her like everyone else, but Helen hated how upset the actress was over it.
“When–” Madeline blubbered, completely overwrought. “When you s-said I was like a leech wh-who you couldn’t get off your back–”
Helen’s heart broke, her chest tightening with regret. Madeline’s words turned into gibberish, her emotions overwhelming her so much that Helen could no longer understand her. “Maddie, ssh, calm down for me, baby. Take a breath.”
The blonde let Helen pull her into her arms, her sobs muffled as she buried her face in Helen’s shoulder. It seemed like years of anguish were pouring out of the woman all at once. Despite the heaviness of it all, Helen felt lighter somehow. Hearing Madeline say how much she wanted Helen and only Helen healed so much pain between them. Deep down Helen always knew that Madeline was the one for her so to know that Madeline felt the same made the author feel like she was on top of the world. She felt free.
Madeline’s crying eventually slowed into soft hiccups and sniffles. Helen pulled back and held Madeline’s face in her gentle hands, wiping the snot and tears away. “It crushed me when you started pulling away from me,” she said. “I didn’t mean to tense up that day on the balcony. I hadn’t… I hadn’t felt your touch like that in over a decade, Mad. It was a split-second that my body couldn’t control. You may have been like a leech, but you were a leech that I never wanted to get off my back.”
Madeline let out a half-sob, half-laugh, pressing her forehead to Helen’s. “I want to crawl into your skin,” she whispered. “I don’t feel whole unless you’re touching me, Helen.”
Helen could burst at the seams with happiness. She kissed Madeline’s cheek, rubbing their noses together. “I don’t either.”
They stayed in each other’s arms like that for a few more minutes. Steam billowed around them from the running shower, fogging up the mirror and making their skin dewey. Helen was definitely going to be late to her meeting with her publisher, but she didn’t care in the slightest. Her hands held Madeline’s face, tilting her head back as she peered into her eyes, and she slowly leaned in, but the actress gasped and pulled away. Helen felt her heart leap into her throat.
“You can’t–” Madeline shook her head, her hands frantically wiping at her cheeks and under her nose. “Helennnn,” she whined. “I’m all gross and snotty. You can’t kiss me for the first time when I look like this!”
As the actress explained her reluctance to be kissed, Helen’s body relaxed, a smile forming on her lips. She shook her head, gripping Madeline’s wrists and peeling her hands away from her blotchy, tear-stained face. “You’re beautiful, Maddie,” she sincerely said. “But if you want me to wait…”
A pair of very eager lips crashed into hers and Helen smiled into the sudden kiss. Madeline tangled her fingers in her red hair, tugging lightly at the base of her skull as she deepened the kiss. Their lips moved together, years and years of everything they had hidden deep inside of them coming to the surface and spilling out in needy, desperate kisses.
Air was no longer needed, allowing them more time to swallow each other’s moans and whimpers, but the women pulled apart anyway. They breathed heavily into each other’s mouths, and then Helen placed a sweet peck onto Madeline’s nose, earning a beaming smile from the blonde in return.
“I love you, Maddie.”
Madeline kissed Helen again, and whispered against her lips, “I love you, Helly.”
When Helen returned home later in the day, Madeline wasn't there. She recalled that the actress had a few interviews for her new movie that would be coming out soon, so Helen changed into her comfortable clothes and decided to get a head start on some new chapters. She was able to get through a few paragraphs before her mind wandered to earlier that morning and she ended up thoroughly distracted. Before she knew it, she had written an entire sex scene about two chapters too early and one of her characters had miraculously turned into a female.
Her cheeks flushed as she read back what she had written; it was basically a continuation of what she and Madeline had begun in the bathroom that morning before they finally parted so they could get in the shower. Helen highlighted the paragraph, but instead of deleting the words, she cut and pasted them in another document, saving them for later. The author completely ignored the fact that she had just basically written a fanfiction of herself and Madeline and continued on where she left off in her book.
Another hour or so passed before the front door opened and closed, the sound of heels clacking along the tile in the foyer sounding, followed by a call of Helen's name. The redhead hopped up from her chair and swiftly walked to the stairs to see Madeline taking each step two at a time to reach her.
“Hey,” Helen smiled as Madeline reached the top. “How was your d–”
The blonde cut Helen off by capturing her lips in a deep kiss, almost knocking the woman over with the force of crashing into her. The author hummed, snaking her arms around Madeline's waist, one hand sliding down so she could palm her ass. Their tongues slid together, the kiss becoming more erotic as time passed. When Madeline's hands began to slip beneath Helen's sweatshirt to get to her breasts, Helen broke the kiss, earning a whine from the blonde that made the author smirk.
“I missed you,” Madeline whimpered as she snuggled her face into Helen's neck.
Helen's smile was broad and amused. “It's only been a few hour–”
“Too long,” Madeline grumbled, lifting her head to sweetly kiss Helen again. “All I could think about was you the whole day. I almost said your name in one of the interviews. I just barely caught myself.”
“Aww,” Helen cooed, pecking Madeline's nose. “You're obsessed with me.”
She expected a roll of blue eyes, followed by a witty retort, but instead she received a sparkling smile of elation.
“Yeah,” Madeline said, brushing her lips against Helen's as she spoke. “I am.”
Their mouths crashed together and Helen's hands grabbed hold of Madeline's round behind, her fingers squeezing enough to earn a gasp. The blonde lifted one leg to Helen's hip and Helen grabbed the back of her thigh to encourage Madeline up so she could lift her, but unfortunately, Helen lost her grip and the two went tumbling down to the floor, narrowly missing the edge of the staircase.
“You bitch!” Madeline exclaimed, sprawled out on top of the author. “You almost threw me down the stairs again!”
Helen let out a loud cackle at the ridiculousness of it all. Madeline attempted to crawl away so she could stand, but Helen grabbed her ankle, tugging her back.
“Helen!” Madeline screamed, trying and failing to kick the woman off.
“Where do you think you're going?” Helen laughed. “Come back here so I can keep kissing you.”
“No!” Madeline cried out. “You tried to kill me!”
“You're already dead! Besides, I was trying to pick you up so I could take you to the bedroom. But if you don't want–”
A screaming laugh erupted from Helen as Madeline threw herself on top of her, the blonde's lips muffling the sound.