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Helen loves the quiet time she and Madeline spend together. It doesn’t happen very often, and she would’ve been an idiot to think that living with Madeline Ashton would be a peaceful experience. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t change it for the world. But fortunately, they do have their moments of peace. She loves being able to sit on the sofa with a book, whilst Mad sits across from her doing her makeup. It’s so nice to be in each other’s presence and not feel the need to fill the time with words, to be touching but not talking, to just hang out together but separate, to sit in this totally comfortable silen–
“What do you think of this lip colour?” Madeline asks, putting down her mirror and looking at Helen expectedly. Helen lowers her book and glares at her. “What?”
“Just once I wanna be able to finish a chapter without you asking me some random question.” Helen replies.
“It’s not random, it’s relevant. What do you think?” She asks again, accentuating her lips with a pout.
“Looks great, now leave me alone.” Helen tells her, returning to her book.
“You’re not just saying that?”
“No.” She says indifferently, scanning the page for the sentence she was up to.
“I don’t believe you.”
“Oh gosh, how ever will I recover?”
She finds her sentence, reading it another five times before the information on the page finally sinks in, as she tries not to pay attention to the blonde in her peripheral vision who is now wiping off her lipstick and applying a different one.
“What about this one?”
“Mad.”
“I just want your opinion.” Madeline shrugs, like she doesn’t know what the big deal is.
“And I’m just trying to read, you should try it sometime.”
Madeline pulls a face at that.
“Fine. I’ll stop asking questions. I need to blot.”
Without looking up from her book, Helen grabs a tissue from the box on the coffee table and holds it out to her, but Madeline doesn’t take it. Instead, Helen feels the other woman straddle her legs, before swiftly plucking the book from her hands and setting it aside, then she moves in closer and places a soft kiss to her lips.
She pulls back with a smile. “Hey, this colour looks great on you too.”
Helen stares at her, trying to look unamused, but Madeline can always tell when she’s trying to hold back a smile.
“Did you just lose my page?”
“Nuh-uh, I stuck the tissue in there.”
Now Helen lets the hint of a smile show.
“Did you just use me to blot?”
“Mhm.” Madeline nods. “In fact, I’m not quite done.” She says, before leaning in and kissing her cheeks, her chin, her forehead, until Helen’s face is covered in faint lipstick marks.
“You done now?” Helen asks.
“I think so.” Madeline replies, not moving. “One more.” She says, kissing her again, slowly. But when they part again, Helen looks back at her with such softness in her eyes, it makes Madeline’s chest ache. “Okay, I’m leaving you alone now.”
“Okay.” Helen says with a gentle shrug.
But Madeline still doesn’t move.
“Okay.” She repeats. “I’m going.”
After another ten seconds of making zero attempts to move and looking at Helen with her best puppy dog eyes, Madeline finally begins to shimmy off of her.
Which is when Helen finally breaks into a full smile, placing a hand on Madeline’s arm to stop her. “Get back here.” She says, and Madeline’s face lights up when she pulls her in for another kiss.
Madeline hums contentedly, before suddenly lifting her head again, a look of real concern on her face when she says, “Wait, I feel bad, you wanted to read your book.”
“Forget about the fucking book.” Helen mutters against her lips, before deepening the kiss and wrapping her arms around Madeline’s neck at the same time she wraps her legs around her waist, and Madeline happily shuts up, sinking further into her embrace.