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Eddie can feel all of the strain in her muscles immediately begin to loosen as she lowers herself into the freshly drawn bath. Steam rises from the hot water, clouding the bathroom in a eucalyptus and rose-scented haze. The mirror over the vanity has fogged over as the candles flickering on the counter illuminate the comfortably small room in a warm golden glow.
Sinking further down into the steamy water infused with bath oils, Eddie leans back against the curved wall of the tub and allows her eyes to momentarily flutter shut. Her whole body finally relaxes and releases all of the built-up tension from the stresses of the week that she can now leave behind her.
The sound of footsteps approaching the bathroom has Eddie opening her eyes again just in time to watch as the door opens and Buck returns with one of their stashed bottles of wine and two glasses in her hands. The soft flickering of the candles bounce off of the satin of her robe as she kicks the door shut with the heel of her foot.
Eddie watches in complete infatuation as Buck briefly sets down the bottle and glasses on the vanity so she can shed from her robe and hang the garment on its dedicated hook on the back of the door. There has not been one day that has passed since the two of them had finally gotten their feelings sorted out for one another where Eddie ever gets tired of this.
Only she gets to have Buck like this. Bare, vulnerable, and beautiful. Only Eddie gets to watch every single muscle flex under even the most minuscule movement Buck makes. She gets to see every last inch of flushed ivory skin glowing under the soft candlelight while memorizing every scar, freckle, and mole scattered over her body.
Even after all these years of knowing her and now a few years of being with her, the very sight of Buck still manages to render Eddie absolutely breathless from the way her thighs jiggle as she crosses the bathroom to the way her stretch marks go taut and the soft flesh of her stomach rolls over itself as she settles into the opposite end of the tub.
Eddie shifts a little and watches in awe as Buck comfortably sinks into the water, their legs quickly entangling as a soft content sigh slips right past Buck’s perfect pink lips. Even the way Buck uses her teeth to pull out the loosened cork from the wine bottle has Eddie so unbelievably smitten.
There’s an undeniable love-struck glint in Eddie’s eyes as she watches Buck hold the stems of both glasses between her fingers in one hand while pouring the maroon liquid into them with the other. When Eddie takes one of the glasses, and Buck sets the bottle of wine down on the tiled floor next to the tub, they both are able to fully relax into the hot water with their knees bent and scissored between one another as they jut out of the water.
Buck lets out the softest of hums once she takes her first sip from the glass, the wine leaving behind a deep red stain on her lips. “Why don’t we do this more often?”
“Maybe because your legs are a mile long each,” The tease comes effortlessly off of Eddie’s wine-stained tongue as she knocks her knee against Buck’s. The fond little eye roll she gets in response brings the warmest of smiles to her lips.
There’s a brief moment of silence between them as Buck drinks from her glass. Eddie awaits whatever witty remark will be thrown at her in return but it never does come.
“Or maybe we just need to get a bigger tub,” there’s a certain softness in Buck’s voice that Eddie recognizes easily as herself feeling vulnerable and worried about impending rejection.
All Eddie can do is listen– listen and be as physically comforting as she possibly can. She sits up in the tub, scooches herself a little close to Buck, and brings up a hand to tuck a rogue curl behind her ear from where it was previously falling in her face.
Blue eyes filled with so much fret stare back at Eddie whose gaze has the utmost amount of softness filling them and waiting for Buck to continue. “Or maybe we don’t need a bigger tub but instead a second bathroom.” The words feel like pieces of a puzzle falling perfectly into place.
In recent weeks Buck had been acting more fidgety than normal; having secret plans that Eddie was never invited to, leaving the room completely for certain phone calls, and even putting a password on her iPad which she’d never done before without letting Eddie know the code.
It wasn’t like Eddie was thinking Buck was having an affair, she knows that would never be the case. It did make her wonder what secret she was keeping though, and now it’s spilling out.
“You wanna move?” Eddie knows the answer, can piece it together with the little information she has, still she asks the question just to make sure.
Eddie watches the bob in Buck’s throat as she nervously swallows. “I want more than just that. I want our names to be next to each other on the same title, I want to share a mortgage with you, do our property taxes together, share a place that is ours from beginning to end,” The more Buck spills about her wants she’s been hiding for weeks– or possibly longer, who really knows– only has Eddie’s smile growing wider and wider.
“I also really want to have another kid with you.” Those particular words, soft and sweeter than honey coming off of Buck’s tongue, takes Eddie’s breath completely away.
Eddie’s thought about it before, she’s dreamt about it, has even looked into IVF treatment and its costs before. It’s a secret they’ve both been keeping from each other, one that they both share, one that they both want more than anything.
Leaning over the tub to place her wine glass on the floor next to the bottle, Eddie then brings both her hands up to cup each side of Buck’s jaw. “I want all of that too, probably more than I have ever wanted anything before,” the anxiety in Buck’s eyes immediately washes away as a smile forms on her lips, “But I think we should wait– at least for the last one– until we decide we want to get married.”
There’s no space for pause because the moment the words leave Eddie’s lips, Buck’s next ones are slipping off of her tongue, “Maybe we should do that too then.”
Eddie stares at her, mouth slightly agape and eyes filled with more love than probably possible. She can’t find the words, she can barely believe that they’re being suggested right here right now.
And somehow things get even more unbelievable. “I have a ring,” Buck’s clear impulsive words have Eddie’s heart thrumming against her chest, “it’s on the bookshelf in the living room, inside of a stash box that’s disguised as a book.”
Eddie chuckles lightly then, only Buck would buy a hollowed out book to hide an engagement ring. “Are you really proposing to me in our too-small bathtub right now?” It’s ridiculous and yet somehow very perfect for them.
Buck only grins, “Is that a yes?”
Of course it is. Eddie’s small nod and shaky giggle tells as much but she still needs to say it. “Yes.” She’s immediately lurching forward, capturing Buck’s wine-coated tongue in a long sweet kiss that makes Eddie feel as if she’s floating away.
There’s no place she’d rather be though than in the too-small bathtub that just barely fits the two of them.