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There were many things that Charlotte adored in Mia, specially the way this woman could be so soft with her whenever they were alone. She remembers that one night very clearly…
Mia came back from her 2 month long trip, physically tired from the constant country jumping and the only thing she wanted was to receive a hug from her girlfriend. FaceTime’s just don’t enough justice to how much she ached to be near Charlotte. She knocked lightly on the door, with a duffle bag in her hand, she knew she never looked this bad before but she didn’t care.
There was some shuffling on the other side of the door, before it slowly opened to reveal Charlotte, her brows scrunched up in worry at the fact that there was someone at her door at this late hour. But it didn’t take long for her face to change, her eyes glistened and the door opened wider. “Amelia?”
It made Mia smile just at the sound of Charlotte’s voice. “Hello Sweetheart..”
Charlotte sighed with relief at the sight of Mia being all in one piece. Her mind was registering Mia’s presence but her body had a mind of its own as her feet took the first couple steps and walked towards her, throwing her arms around her and taking in Mia’s perfume.
It was an instant reaction on Mia’s part to hold Char in her arms, there weren’t that many moments of her doing that, she has been a lot more absent than she wanted. But the thought of Roger being in the same area as her, only made her want to dash out of the city and far away from the bad memory.
But somehow in Char’s embrace all of that was just background thought, she cared about what Char wanted, needed and thought about. She wanted to give Char the best treatment that she possibly could master up. She just wanted to be with Char at all times.
There was no need for words in this moment, the embrace itself said everything that was clouding Mia’s sober thoughts. She had a lot of doubt in her mind about what she actually could give to Charlotte, she offered nothing but emotional baggage, something that has been with her since she could remember.
She was good at bottling things up rather than speaking it out loud to everyone, she was good at threatening and finding loop holes to certain situations to get what she wanted, it worked a lot of the time and she managed to become a very successful liar that managed to get Reece wrapped around his finger a lot of the times.
But there just was one person who she couldn’t lie to, who had a heart made out of gold and was willing to share her time with her at any given moment. The embrace was healing in some sense, it was healing the part of Mia that wanted to be loved and missed, she wanted to that girl in the movies where she fell in love and found her forever person.
As they stood in the darkness outside of Char’s front door, she pulled away just a bit to look into Mia’s eyes and just make sure that this definitely was not a dream. “I’m so glad you are here.. But what are you doing outside my front door? I thought you had one more month being away?”
This moment right here made Mia’s heart melt, it was staring at Charlotte’s face and reminding herself internally that this woman willing chose to go out with her, regardless of how much of a bad person she acted to others.
She swallowed the lump in her throat that stopped her from answering her girlfriend. “I..” She paused, trying very hard to not place herself back in that cold place that was full of lies and unhealthy habits. “I missed you.”
Charlotte could see that it was difficult for Mia to open up about her feelings, but this was something that Char didn’t mind working with Mia on. She knew the woman was trying her hardest and amongst all of that, her search to look for her dad was still happening.
The smile that sat on Charlotte’s lips was gentle and reassuring, one of her hands moved from Mia’s shoulder to grab her hand. “Come on inside, I’ll make you tea and we will talk.”
That was Mia’s favourite thing to do with Charlotte, just talk.. Talk about the most boring things to others but it was the most interesting thing to Mia. She never understood what love was but she knew that was something she felt for this kind hearted woman.
The warmth and the scent hit Mia’s nose and it made her smile even more, she wanted this for the rest of her life, she wanted to wake up in Charlotte’s arms and just be the person that Charlotte deserves.
She placed her duffle bag near the front door after closing it, and trailing after Charlotte right after. She leaned on the door frame of the kitchen and just watched as Charlotte moved around her kitchen freely, looking for tea bags and sugar. It made Mia happy inside that Charlotte even remembered to use Mia’s favourite mug, their eyes met as Charlotte smiled. “Are you hungry? I can make you something.”
There were some nerves with butterflies simmering in her stomach, there was no way she could even try to eat something. “No, but thank you..”
Charlotte nodded as her attention turned back to the sugar jar that was holding, and Mia couldn’t hold herself back. Taking a few steps and attaching herself to Charlottes back, arms around Charlotte stomach as she held her snug against her.
The smile that was radiating from Charlotte in this moment was contagious, they have been together for some time now but moments where Mia was around were fewer than she liked. As the kettle was heating the water up, Charlotte happily stayed in this position.
Mia gently turned Char around to face her, she loved looking into her eyes and just admiring how pretty this woman was. “I missed you too Mia.”
Charlotte’s eyes dropped to Mia’s lip, and the redhead took that as her chance to lean in and press her lips against Charlottes. It was a sweet, delicate kiss that Charlotte never experienced before.
It was rather short but Mia pressed her forehead against Charlottes and closed her eyes for a moment, she never felt this relaxed with anyone in her life. “Are you okay?”
Those words that always broke down her walls that Mia tried to hard to build. She shook her head ever so slightly, before pulling away to look into Charlotte’s eyes that she adored so much. She turned to pour the water into the mug and grabbed Mia’s hand, pulling her towards the sofa.
Mia was just glad that Charlotte was home alone today, she just wanted to be honest and open about everything to her girlfriend and she didn’t want to fear about waking up her girlfriend’s girls. She grabbed the tea off the table and sipped it as Char’s eyes watched her. “Are you feeling like you want to talk?”
Mia was debating in her mind, her heart was beating so fast and the doubt that she will be judged. Char reached out and placed her hand over the redheads, gently taking it in hers and interlocking their fingers together. “We could just cuddle until you’re ready..”
It was the reassurance that meant a lot to Mia, It meant more than anything in the world and the fact that Charlotte never pushed her made it 10x better in her head. She nodded and Char opened her arms which caused the redhead to place herself in her arms with no hesitation. Charlottes hands playfully messed Mia’s hair and Mia took Char’s necklace in her fingers.
“Thank you..” Mia answered almost above a whisper, as she felt a soft kiss being placed on top of her head. This wasn’t the Mia that everyone knew of, this was the Mia that she always wanted to be but never could. She knew that Charlotte deserved to be treated with kindness and have the love that she craves.
There was this other time that Charlotte remembers…
She had made plans for Mia to finally meet the girls and bond with them. It was a very important moment to her because her girls were everything to Charlotte. Their opinion was very important as she really wanted everyone to get along.
She decided to take them out for a day to a Funfair that was local to them for the weekend. It wasn’t too crowded and it was easy to keep the girls close by, and it was adorable to watch Mia interact with them.
She never thought that Mia was so great with kids. Sure she has been around the kids before, like the nursery but she was more miserable than anything, alway causing issues with the parents and getting punched by one once.
But here, she saw the Mia that no one else saw, the loving, smiling and happy Mia. One that felt peace to be around Char and that made her happy, like really happy. She saw the girls grip onto Mia and drag her away towards a stand with candy floss.
Charlotte laughed and followed promptly to make sure it wasn’t too much for them, she was still a mum after all. Mia ended up buying one for herself and Char as they sat on a bench and watched the girls play around together with other kids that were near them.
“Do you think they like me?” The redhead asked the million dollar question that was circling around her head.
Char looked over, before picking off some Candy floss and placing it in her mouth. “Considering, they grabbed onto you first and pulled you towards candy, I would say you’d make a terrific partner in crime with them two.”
The redhead smiled rather shyly at the thought of her being a little entertainer to have the girls rebel with her against Charlotte. But she knew deep down it would be just some silly little bits, never anything serious that Charlotte would set for them.
“I’m glad you’re getting along with them, I want the people I love to get along.” Charlotte never looked away from Mia, she wanted to let the redhead know that she was one of those people.
Mia hummed and had a smug smile across her lips. “Am I hearing that right? You love me?”
Charlotte playfully rolled her eyes with a smile that no one has ever managed to bring to her lips. “Yes, I love you Amelia Mae Roberts.”
No matter how many times Charlotte said that to Mia, she could never get bored of it, she loved the way her full name rolled of her tongue. “I really wish to kiss you.”
“What are you waiting for? Mia, kiss me.” Char uttered as her eyes were dead locked into Mia’s and it felt like time stopped for a short moment. Mia pulled in and just as her lips were about to touch Char’s. “Miaaaa!”
Char’s girls called out for her, causing both of the women to stop and look at each other as they both burst out laughing. “Raincheck?”
Charlotte nodded and she received a kiss on the cheek. “I love you too baby..”
It was so strange because Charlotte was never the biggest fan of nicknames in relationships but something about Mia calling her whatever she wants, just sits so right with her. She watched with a huge smile and a laugh when the girls offered to push Mia on the swings instead of them, wanting to include her in everything…
But there wasn’t that many good moments in Char’s life, and she remembers one very specifically…
As Charlotte’s husband moved himself into the spare bedroom, it was getting more and more real to Charlotte, she felt worried about her future and how the girls would react to their dad moving out.
She found herself staring at her phone and wanting to message Mia for advice but she knew she couldn’t do that all the time, she locked her phone and just before she put it down, Mia messaged her. “I saw you typing, are you okay?”
There was just a little tug at the corners of her lips, her fingers typed away but she couldn’t form a sentence. “He is leaving soon, I’m not sure how the girls will take it..”
She watched her phone intently as she watched the text bubble show up on her phone, she watched as Mia typed and typed. “If you have time, we can meet up and talk about this in person.”
Charlotte looked around her room, she was here for the past hour doing nothing but worrying and he was still here until night time when the girls were asleep. She bit on her nail a little before typing that she will meet Mia in 15 minutes. She took her bag and headed towards the living room, seeing that her husband was still packing some stuff away.
“I’m heading out for a bit, I will be back before you leave.” Charlotte spoke out and he didn’t even care to look her way, not even a word, just a nod which caused her roll her eyes and leave.
She headed towards Mia’s house and her heart skipped a beat for a moment, she realised that she really was going to Mia’s to tell her about her issues like Mia didn’t have her own ones. But before she could change her mind about her decision, the redhead was already waiting for her outside.
There just was something about this woman that pulled Char towards her, something that she couldn’t place her finger on but she had no argument to not go through with this.
Mia did everything to make sure that Char was comfortable, even had her favourite juice waiting for her as they both sat down on a couch. “Can I get you anything else?”
Charlotte shook her head but her eyes wandered all over the place, how the whole place just matched Mia so well and yet it didn’t at the same time. Maybe it matched the soft Mia that Charlotte knew rather than how everyone else sees her.
Mia almost saw the way her own mother struggled with coming to term that she was alone with no support, and even though Mia was too young then, she knew she could help Charlotte in whatever way that she needed. “So, what happened Char?”
“I’m just worried how everything will go from here, I mean I came to the terms with the separation but what about the girls?” Char asked the most worrying question that lingered in her mind.
“Well, they are at this age now that will form a lot of questions about their dads leave but if you’re honest with them as much as they can understand, I am sure everything will work out.” Mia tried her best to be reassuring for the worried mother that sat near her.
“But what if they hate me?” That was a common question that Charlotte kept coming to, but Mia was quick to protest that idea.
“Charlotte are you kidding me? You are like a super mum, I am very sure that they will not hate you for wanting to be finally happy. I’m pretty sure if they were older, they’d tell you to do what makes you happy.”
Charlotte was letting those words simmer inside her head as Mia continue after her pause. “Look, as a woman who watched her mother be very unhappy in her relationship, and then watch her struggle after she was left. I wish she made that decision to finally be happy and choose what’s right for her.”
Mia was right with that, if she wants her little girls life to be good and happy, she needs to make sure she was happy and loved. Not stuck in a relationship where there was nothing but just simple co parenting done in the household.
This was really important to Charlotte, she really needed to hear that from someone, and Mia knew that’s exactly what she needed to say, she wanted to help Char in whatever way she could. Not just because she really liked the woman but because she felt like Charlotte deserved a lot better than being treated as a woman of someone’s kids rather than a partner and a parent.
This was one of the sad moments but Mia was always the first one that Charlotte went to, and it was all rewarding…
It didn’t take long for Mia to possess her own set of keys to Char’s place, it was cute and honestly it was a lot easier to get in whenever Charlotte was asleep early and Mia wanted to spend the night without waking her girlfriend up.
She knew that Charlotte was getting off late today as one of the parents was coming in late since they informed her of some traffic on the way to the nursery. Meaning that Mia had a lot of time on her hands to do something that she was planning for a while.
She knew how much work was tiring and she wanted to treat Charlotte to something nice without her leaving the comfort of her house as she had work the next morning. She felt guilt with each time she left the country and could barely spend time with her own girlfriend and her heart ached at how much she missed her.
She wasn’t that good at showing it but she knew that was something that Charlotte always loved and melted at the sight of. So, tonight she decided to do a candle lit dinner for her special woman. She planned everything out so perfectly and made sure that the food was piping hot and ready to eat.
She calculated everything and prepared all of the cutlery perfectly too, it all looked really romantic and beautiful and she couldn’t wait to hear the key turn and for Charlotte to notice the rose petals that were scattered all over the floor, to the living room.
That was exactly what was happening, the candles that were placed near the front door that lit the place so beautifully, that Charlotte stopped in her tracks to make sure she wasn’t seeing things.
She muttered under her breath. “What?” But curiously followed the petals to the living room, only to see her girlfriend dressed up so stunningly, holding black roses and smiling widely at the sight of her. “What is all of this?”
“I wanted to treat you to something nice after a long day of work.” Mia spoke up as Charlotte approached her, and took her in her arms.
“Thank you.. You didn’t have to at all..” Charlotte pulled away only to look at the beautiful set up, with Mia’s arm still around her.
“This is such a beautiful surprise, I feel bad for not dressing up better.” She looked down at her clothes as she took the roses from Mia.
“Speaking on feeling bad..” Mia paused and that pulled Charlotte’s attention, “I felt bad for leaving all the time and I wanted you to feel special because you mean a lot to me, so I wanted to make you dinner and make sure you felt relaxed tonight..”
That made butterflies in Char’s stomach flutter badly, she loved when Mia was soft like this and especially when her gifts for Charlotte were from her heart rather than her pocket. “This is really beautiful, Amelia.”
She leaned in and placed a soft kiss on the redheads lips, one hand gently caressing Mia’s face. “But never feel bad for wanting to sort your own issues out, because I will always be here for you. Waiting when you are ready to stay permanently.”
She gave her the best reassuring smile that she could matter, before she felt Mia pull her in by her waist and kiss her again, with so much emotion and passion, that it was hard to pull away and have this innocent dinner at this time.
There was another instance that made both of them realise how much impact both of their did to each other lives.
It was one of those days where Mia was required to attend a board meeting and the sheer thought of being near Roger could’ve sent her on a spiral of insults to anyone around her.
She sucked it up and attended it, just like she was required. Regretting her life choices almost immediately when her eyes laid on Roger who made digs at her from time to time whenever she had an idea presented.
It boiled her blood but she knew she couldn’t just blow up like that, he taught her that she had to control her answer and find ways to blackmail others to get what she wanted.
She felt so much anger and maybe that thought alone made her snap. She couldn’t hold it anymore before she spilled Rogers secrets to the rest of the board, she didn’t care at all and in that moment she wanted Roger to fear her for once.
She stormed out and in that moment Charlotte was leaving her shift a little bit earlier as she requested it a couple weeks prior. She was suppose to take the girls to the dentist but their dad decided to do that instead to spend some time with his daughters.
Charlotte’s eyes landed on Mia and it made her smile that her girlfriend was here too. “Mia?”
But with the way Mia turned around and looked at whoever called her, told her everything that she needed to know. She cleared her throat and grabbed Mia’s hand and the keys that Mia was clutching onto so intently. She decided to drive Mia’s car as she has done a couple times before, it was one of the things that Mia really wanted to see Char do.
There was no words exchanged as Mia’s mind kept replaying all of her words that she said to Roger in that meeting. She was fuming and she had every right to be, he ruined her life and the way she is now, it was all because of him.
All of that anger and fear that was pent up in Mia, didn’t even occur to her that she was no longer outside the nursery but outside a very reserved park that Charlotte had found with the girls on one of her strolls.
She grabbed Mia’s hand when they both got out of the car, and she just started to walk around the park that was really quiet with some birds chirping in the background. Still nothing was said as Charlotte lead Mia towards a little pond that had some swans and ducks swimming around, they stopped and Charlotte pulled out her untouched sandwich that she had in her bag..
Mia’s attention was now on the rustling of the bag that the sandwich was wrapped in, she handed her one side of the bread and gave her a simple smile. “Throw the bread in small pieces.”
Mia knew how to feed the ducks but for a moment she forgot what she was so worked up about. Her fingers gently picked at the bread and she started to throw little bits into the water that had some ducks near by. Watching as little ducklings and their mother swam towards the pieces and pecked at them to eat.
Charlotte watched as Mia slowly smiled, watching the ducks enjoy a little snack that was being thrown to them. “Did you know that ducklings can fly within 5-8 weeks of hatching?”
Mia raised her brows and she shook her head. “So, they just fly that young?”
Char nodded before handing her another piece of the bread before closing the wrapper and placing it back into her bag. “Yeah, really young actually. But they have to learn somehow to survive later on in life.”
Mia hummed to acknowledge Char’s words before throwing the last piece of bread towards the ducks, she rubbed her hands against one another to get rid of any crumbs. She turned towards Charlotte as she took Charlottes hands into hers. “Thank you, I think I would’ve punched someone in the face if I didn’t have a moment to calm down.”
Charlotte smile softly, as she nodded. “You know I will always be here for you, no matter what you are feeling.”
Mia smiled, pulling Charlotte into a hug as she really needed it right now. She needed to feel that warm embrace of her girlfriends in this moment. Letting a tear or two fall down her face. Charlotte pulled away and she never judged whenever Mia cried. Instead she wiped the redheads tears away with her thumbs, placing a soft kiss on her cheek and smiling ever so gently.
“Each day I fall in love with you more and more..” Mia choked out as the best she could, she really wanted to clench her jaw at those soft words but watching as Charlotte smiled wider and wider, and placing a soft kiss on her lips as a rewards was everythign that the redhead really needed in this moment.
“I fall in love with you more every second that I get to lay my eyes on you.” Charlotte took that up a notch and was even more softer than Mia, which caused the redhead to raise her brows.
“Am I hearing a challenge? Because I can beat you in it.” Mia spoke up as her arms held Char very comfortably. That alone made Charlotte giggle, it was something that Mia could hear a lot of to cure her of her issues. She loved making Charlotte laugh, or smile or just make her happy. She really did love Charlotte and that was something that she was really proud of.
These, amongst many other instance, made Charlotte realise how much happiness Mia has brought into her life. She made her a lot more happier and a lot more loved than she has been for the past decades of being with her ex husband. She finally felt like herself after such a long time and this mean redhead was everything that she ever hoped for to have.