Waking up the next morning I felt different. I felt complete, as if I’d spent the past few years of my life surviving without something vital. Like air. Lying with an arm draped around my waist, knowing it was meant to be there. I felt invincible. Instinctively, I nuzzled closer into Jared’s warmth, suffocating myself with his fragrance, the soft skin of his chest cushioning my head in a comforting way no pillow ever could. His arm tightened around my frame and he grunted softly as sleep abandoned him. He kissed the top of my head, assuming I was still asleep. His fingers combed through my tangled curls gently, repeating the actions that had sent me to sleep the night before. I knew from past experience he’d continue to stroke my hair until my eyes fluttered open, but not willing to let this feeling drift away, I kept my eyes shut tight, enjoying the feeling. 

Eventually, after what I judged to be ten minutes, I sighed gently and opened my eyes. I turned and smiled sleepily as Jared continued to run his fingers through my hair. He returned my smile with a dazzling grin and brushed his happy lips against mine. His forehead pressed against mine and he whispered in a seductive tone, “I’ve missed watching you wake up in my arms.” I smirked and kissed him gently, running my hands over his bare chest before I pulled myself closer to him and buried my head into the crook of his neck, craving the feel of him embrace. I felt so blissfully at home in his arms, I gladly would have stayed like that all day.

Jared shifted his position carefully as I clung to him and sat up, pulling me with him. He lifted me with ease and carried me out of my bedroom, despite my protests. He laughed and put me down in my kitchen so he could rummage through my cupboards to find food. I readjusted my t-shirt and shorts and pulled my hair up into a messy bun using a stray hairband on the kitchen counter. I smiled as I watched him pulling out a box of cereal and two bowls, pouring the crunchy breakfast out and handing me a bowl, remembering I preferred this particular brand of cereal dry. As he walked towards the sofa, I watched his hips as they gently swayed side to side, the soft curve of his back, his perfectly sculpted chest, his stomach. I sighed at his perfection. He sat down and put his feet up on a coffee table, rubbing his hands on his jeans, the jeans he had slept in the night before. I smiled and sat next to him, pulling my legs up to my chest and throwing handfuls of cereal into my mouth. We sat in silence, both comfortable to just be in each others company. 

After finishing our lazy breakfast, Jared pulled me in for a long, sweet, seductive kiss that sent shivers down my spine and caused every hair on my body to stand to attention. He pulled away breathless, panting softly onto my lips. Our eyes stayed shut as we recovered from the kiss. 

“I’ve wanted to kiss you like that for so long,” Jared mumbled. Our kisses were always passion-filled, lust provoked, but never loving and tender like that one was. He placed a small kiss on my nose and wrapped his arms around me, hugging me so tightly it was on the verge of painful. 

“You’re the only person I’ve ever really loved, Maddie,” he started. I pulled away from his embrace just enough to place a finger of his perfect lips. 

“You don’t need to tell me this Jared. It’s like you’re trying to prove something to me. You don’t need to prove yourself…” I trialed off, tracing the outline of his lips with my fingertips. He took hold of my hand and kissed each fingertip before he looked deep into my eyes, searching my soul. 

“Let me get this out, Maddie. If I don’t say it now I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to get it out.” he took a deep breath and started again. “You’re the only person I’ve ever really loved. When I was stupid enough to let you go, I lost the most important thing in my life. I dont want to lose you again, Maddie. I don’t want to be without my babygirl. You’re my best friend. I don’t want to jeprodise that ever again.”

My heart fluttered dramatically at his use of nickname, at his choice of words. I smiled at him through the tears that were collecting in my eyes. He stroked my cheek gently, readying himself to cath them if they fell. He knew that his words had effected me in the way he desired. He planted a small kiss on my lips and held me. I relaxed into his embrace, comforted by his words. He’d won me over all over again. He made me feel like a teenager, hopelessly in love. For most of the day we stayed wrapped up in each other, sat on the sofa, watching movies, laughing, joking, kissing, cuddling. It reminded me so much of the days we would spend together when we were younger, when nothing else mattered, when we were inseparable. When we were us. Jared must have felt it too, because every so often he’d mention a specific day, a specific memory or a specific moment we had shared together. And it was always the day, memory, moment I was thinking of.

We were just coming up for air after a romantic, long, slightly messy kiss when I remembered who I was kissing. He wasn’t just Jared anymore. He was Jared fucking Leto; musician, singer, songwriter, actor, director, artist, sex icon. And he wasn’t going to be sat in my front room forever. 

“Jared, when do you have to leave for tour again?” I asked. He stopped running his fingers through my hair momentarily before he continued and shakily answered me.

“Tomorrow morning.” he said sadly. “We’re flying out to Australia in the morning then it’s flat out tour for the rest of the year,”

I sighed and clung on to him, wondering how we were going to deal with the separation just a day after finally sorting things out. 

“So what, is this where you dump me again and give me the speech about how you don’t love me and it’ll be better off this way?” I said half jokingly, half terrified that he would do just that.

He looked at me and frowned as if I was talking to him in some alien language.

“No,” he said firmly. “This is where I ask you to come with me.” 

Excited? :3