Bubbles

One shot shower fluff (or bubbles!) where Patrick and Emily discuss their relationship.

Emily leant against the bathroom door, the glass screen to the shower was coated in a thin layer of mist from the heat of the water, Patrick's figure was obscured behind it. She slid her towelling robe off and hung it on the hooks next to his. She slowly opened the shower door and placed her hand on his back.

Patrick jumped slightly at her touch, having not noticed her enter the room. He smiled as she looked nervously up at him. He took her hand and intertwined her fingers with his.

"Join me?" he asked. She nodded and allowed him to guide her under the water beside him. With his free hand Patrick ran his fingers through her hair, allowing the hot water to run through it. "I've missed you." He said, stroking her cheek. The corners of her mouth curved, and she placed a gentle kiss on his fingers.

"Me too." She answered, loosing herself for a moment in his soft eyes. "Where are we going with this, Pat?" She asked, becoming serious, as she often did, rather than let herself go, letting her emotions and her body tell him what she really felt.

"Well, now I've wet your hair, I was planning on washing it." He replied, reaching down for the shampoo bottle that was beside his feet. Emily sighed and smiled, turning from him as he squeezed some of the liquid into his hands. He rubbed them together, then began slowly massaging it into her silvery blonde curls. Emily closed her eyes as he massaged the foaming liquid into her hair, the hot water from the shower head running down the front of her body. She breathed in and out, all her fears and anxieties melting away as his fingers massaged her head. "Honestly," he continued, knowing he would be safer to answer her question sensibly as well as teasing her. "I want you back, Emmy." She smiled, satisfied they were on the same page, but letting him continue for her own pleasure. "I miss you. I'm a lonely old man, wishing he hadn't let his foolish, immature pride cost him the only woman he's ever loved." Emily's eyes welled up, the hot water from the shower running down her face disguising the tears as she turned back to face him. He pushed her hair back off her face, letting the water rinse the bubbles off as he continued talking. "I do love you, you know. I did then, despite the foolishness of my younger, more handsome, less wise self." Emily laughed, placing her hand on his chest.

"Your still handsome to me." She said. Her heart aching for him to hold her like he had done all those years ago. "I'm sorry," she continued, feeling relief as she finally said the words she'd needed to say for thirty two years. "I know I should have said that sooner, I know I should have been more patient, less insane, neurotic, everything." Patrick laughed. "I didn't realise how much a really needed you, until I'd let you go. Then I didn't know where to find the words to tell you I'd made a mistake."

"I should have been there, Em. I should have paid more attention to you and Ben. I should have grown up, stopped treasure hunting and looked after my family. I should have listened to what you were telling me and I should have been there. But we could both dish up our regrets and list what we should have done until the end of time, or we could put it down to experience, agree that we both made mistakes, and try again." Emily nodded, slipping her arms around his waist. "Because I've spent thirty years telling myself what I should have done and it's not done me any good, I can't change it."

"I know that much." Emily said. "Can we try again? I want you back, and I don't want to be alone anymore." Patrick kissed the top of her head, holding her close to him, gently rubbing his hands across her back.

"You've always had me, the first moment I saw you. And regardless of how foolish I have been, that is something that never changed." He held her there, allowing the water to run over them both, the last of the shampoo bubbles floating away towards the plug hole by their toes.