Work Text
things you said at 1 am
“Maddie...psst. Mads. Are you awake?”Maddie squinted her eyes at the clock on her nightstand. 1:25. Chim was very lucky they both had the day off tomorrow. She rolled over to face her boyfriend, closing her eyes again. She yawns long and loud.“What is it Chim?”“...I’m thinking about the clown from Poltergeist again.”Maddie can’t help the smirk that appears on her sleepy face. She had picked the movie that night, as she only had vague memories of the first time she had seen Poltergeist as a teen. She knew Chim wasn't the biggest fan of horror movies, but she hadn't imagined it would be this bad. Chimney had claimed he was fine with it, but the way he jumped at almost every scene said otherwise.“Chim, if you were freaked out before, what made you think it wouldn’t have freaked you out now?”“I mean, I was hoping the fact that I’m now a grown man would have helped.”Maddie laughs and forces herself to open her eyes. In the dark of her room she’s able to make out Chimney on his back, staring at the ceiling and looking exasperated. She can’t help but take pity on him, as she shifts closer to him, wrapping her arm around his middle and placing a kiss on his cheek. She can feel him smile as she squeezes him tightly.“Well, as long as I’m here, I won’t let any clown dolls get you, or let you get sucked in by the TV.” Chimney chuckles and thanks her, settling into the bed and finally closing his eyes. Maddie knows she’ll pay for it later, but the yelp she gets out of Chimney when she reaches around to poke him and scare the daylights out of him, is 100% worth it.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
things you said after you kissed me
They’re on a walk around the lake at Echo Park when it happens. The sun is setting, and it’s a great end to a great day. It was their first official date. Chimney had asked Maddie out the day before, nervous and babbling. Once he finally got it out, all Maddie could do was smile, telling him that of course she would love to go on a date with him. In fact, there’s nothing else she would rather do on her day off.They’ve stopped in front of a group of ducks, watching them find their dinner and splash amongst the weeds. Maddie’s hand is linked tight with Chimneys, and they find themselves in a comfortable silence. The sun is setting over the buildings downtown, bathing everything in a warm orange glow. Maddie can’t help but sigh, relishing in the beautiful evening the city she loves so much has given her.“It’s so beautiful tonight.”Chimney takes a second to respond, shaking himself out of wherever his head had drifted off to.“Huh?”Maddie giggles, nodding towards the skyline.“The sunset. It’s like a painting tonight. It’s beautiful.”Chimney squeezes her hand, rubbing his thumb on the back of it. Although Maddie is still watching the sky, she can see Chimney out of the corner of her eye as he turns to look at her.“Not to be cheesy but...there’s something a lot more beautiful I was looking at.”Maddie turns to look at him now, the blush on his face matching her own. The way he’s looking at her knocks the breath from her lungs, and it’s not the first time he’s had that effect on her. Except tonight, they’re on a date. Tonight, she can act on the feelings she’s had for months but didn’t feel quite ready for. She uses her free hand, grabbing the front of his jacket and pulling him in for a kiss.It’s short and sweet, but if the way Chim kisses back says anything, it’s something they’ve been waiting for for a long time. When Maddie let’s go, she takes a breath, waiting for him to say something, anything, to let her know exactly how he felt. After a moment, he smiles impossibly wide, and it’s a look Maddie could get used to seeing on him. When he finally speaks, Maddie can’t help but laugh.“So. Can we do that again?” Maddie pulls him in again, and she hopes the answer is clear.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
They’d removed the bed, covered all the other furniture in plastic, and lined the floor with newspapers to the best of their ability. Maddie had finally finished taping around the molding on her floors, while Chimney had been doing the same to the ceiling.She had asked Chimney the weekend before if he wouldn’t mind helping her paint her bedroom on his day off. Buck had offered to help, but Maddie had graciously declined. They had tried home improvements together before, and failed spectacularly each time. The great IKEA dresser building fight was still a touchy subject.Maddie had promised Chimney a date night with takeout from their favorite Chinese place along with a showing of the newest Mission Impossible on the couch if they could get it all done before dinner. Maddie had bought two buckets of paint just to be sure (Grand Luxe Blue, it was called), along with two of everything so they could both tackle different sides of the room.When they’re both satisfied that they’ve done a thorough job with their taping, they divide up the supplies so they can do the corners and molding with smaller brushes. Maddie pours some paint into disposable bowls for each of them and heads off to her corner by the closet. She’s enjoying the companionable silence when she hears some shuffling across the room, followed by a very audible, “Oh, shit .”Maddie whips around, instantly nervous that they’ve already screwed up. She knew Buck wouldn’t be any help but she never stopped to think of Chim was any good at this kind of thing.“What? What’s wrong? Is it on the floor?”Chimney just laughs as he turns around, revealing his once paint free shirt that now has a huge blue glob right in the middle of it. There’s also some on his hand that’s holding the small bowl, which is also covered in blue.“How in the world did you do that?” Maddie tries to be stern, but finds herself giggling along with Chimney. He struggles to answer through his laughter, cracking up like it’s the funniest thing he’s ever seen.“Mads, I-I really don’t know.” Chim wheezes, trying not to double over. “I think I just wasn’t paying attention and then I let it tip over on me.”Maddie just rolls her eyes, seating down her brush and bowl before crossing the room. She takes the bowl out of his hand, picking one of the spots that isn’t now stained blue. Chimney wipes his hand on his shirt, only worsening the damage.“While you work on not cackling anymore, I’m gonna go grab one of Buck’s t-shirts for you to wear.” Maddie pats Chim on the shoulder, grinning softly as she leaves.She heads to the room next door and opens up Buck’s dresser, grabbing one of the shirts and letting it unfold. Definitely not Chimney’s size, but it would do.She’s walking back into her bedroom when she stops in the doorway. Maddie feels like she really ought to say something, alert her presence, but if he just turned himself 2 inches to the left he would definitely notice her. She likes to observe sometimes, just watch people being themselves without any else around, even if it’s only for a second. Chim has finally calmed down a bit, assessing the damage. His hands pull the dark blue stain away from his body. It’s leaked through the thin material of his shirt, staining spots on his stomach blue. He sighs, rolling up the paint onto itself so he can do his best to avoid it. He shucks it up and off over his head.Maddie knew Chimney was attractive. She had told him so multiple times. They had kissed and cuddled and gone on dates, and they were taking things slow. She liked it that way. But she was a human with wants and needs whose mind sometimes wandered towards fantasies that weren’t PG-13. She certainly had a lot to think about. The lean build, his dark and messy hair, and that smile that was just annoyingly charming. Beyond the physical, he was kind and had a huge heart. He made Maddie laugh in ways she never thought she would again. He cared for Maddie and she cared for him too.So,is it really her fault that her tongue gets caught in her throat and she just can’t stop staring .The first thing she notices is his arms. She’s always known he was strong, but now she can see it, and that makes all the difference. She wants to run her hands down his biceps, feel the muscles and the corded forearms, be held by the strong hands that save lives every day.Her eyes flick down to the speckles of blue on his abdomen, small spots that weren’t contained by the shirt. She knew he didn’t work out as frequently as say Buck or Eddie, but he still was in incredible shape. God, she wants to touch and feel in a way she hasn’t wanted to touch anyone in a long time. Sure, she had seen his calendar photo, they all had. This was different though, this was him in the flesh. She’s only a few steps away from saying screw painting her bedroom and taking Chimney downstairs to the couch and kissing him till he can’t breathe.There’s a dark trail of hair on his toned stomach that disappears underneath the top of his jeans, and Maddie wishes she could see how far down it goes, wishes she coul- Chimney clears his throat.Maddie feels her face turn red as she tears her eyes away from his lower half, meeting his smug gaze. Chimney waggles his eyebrows as he looks about ten seconds away from bursting into giggles again.“You good?”Maddie looks for words and can’t seem to find any. She walks into the room finally, holding out the fresh t-shirt for him to take. “Uhm, I got you a shirt.”Chimney takes it, slipping it back on over his head. Maddie finds that she’s very disappointed to see the smooth skin disappear underneath it. He adjusts it, the size being just a bit too big. He tucks the front into his jeans, laughing as he does so.“Well, this just proves that Buck and I aren’t the same size. Hopefully he won’t mind.”Maddie is still looking anywhere but at her boyfriend, not quite being able to understand why she’s so damn embarrassed. They’re in arms length of one another, so Chimney takes her hand in his, rubbing his thumb soothingly over her fingers.“Mads. You don’t have any reason to be embarrassed. I get it, you were staring. I’m kind of a knockout.” That does the trick, making Maddie giggle. “I know it’s intimidating dating Mr. April.”Maddie just rolls her eyes, bringing her gaze back to him. He’s smiling like a fool and it makes her want to do the same. She leans in, kissing him softly on the lips, feeling him smile even wider as she pulls back. He looks slightly bashful when he speaks again.“Luckily for Mr. April, he happens to be dating the most beautiful and amazing woman in the whole world.”Maddie smiles, this time grabbing Chim’s shoulders so they’re flush against each other when she kisses him. His arms wrap around her waist as they kiss in the middle of the room that they’d barely even started to actually paint.When they both finally pull back, they’re a little breathless and back to being giggling messes. Chimney looks flushed, as he nods over towards the forgotten painting supplies.“Sooo, should we get back to painting or have we given up on that?”“No no, we are not giving up. I want to be able to sleep in this bedroom tonight.” Maddie reluctantly lets go, stepping back from Chim and heading back over to her side of the room. She picks up her brush and bowl again, dipping it in and diving right back in to the corner that she barely had started. She hears the scrunch of newspaper as Chim walks back to his spot and starts to paint as well.After a few minutes of silence, Maddie smirks, turning her head to look across the room.“Chim?” He turns around from where he’s kneeling on the floor, dragging the paint brush across the taped molding.“Hmm?”“If you want to get more paint on yourself, at least wait till we’re almost done. Then I won’t feel so guilty when we abandon this and I drag you downstairs to the couch.” Maddie sends a wink over her shoulder before turning back to her work.Chimney just laughs, smiling back at his girlfriend.“Sounds like a plan.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It’s been two whole weeks since their schedules have matched up. Maddie has been working late shifts while Chim was stuck working early mornings. They called when they could, but hadn’t even slept in the same bed together at the same time.So when Maddie pulls Chim into the supply closet on their way to the bathroom at the firehouse, he really isn’t surprised.She closes the door behind them, turning the lock and dropping her bag on the floor. When Maddie looks back at him there’s a dark look in her eyes. Chim can’t decide if it’s the low level lighting in the closet or the fact that this is the first time they’ve been in the same room together in what feels like an eternity.He decides it’s the latter when Maddie pushes him back up against the shelves and starts unbuttoning his uniform with deft fingers. Chim isn’t complaining, really he’s not , he’s just surprised is all.“I guess you really missed me, huh?” Maddie’s expression doesn’t change as she finishes with the buttons, pulling the rest of the shirt out from where it’s tucked into his pants.“Listen, our schedules have been terrible and I miss you like hell.” She pushes the uniform off his shoulders, leaving him in just an undershirt. Chimney wriggles his arms as it falls to the ground, his badge clanging as it clatters against the concrete. They both wince at the sound, eyes glancing towards the door.After a moment of realizing there’s no way in hell that anyone heard that, they lock eyes. Maddie starts to giggle, the ridiculousness of their situation sinking in. Chim wraps his arms around her waist, pulling Maddie close. She continues to giggle as he nuzzles into her neck, placing a soft kiss there. His breath tickles her skin as he speaks.“So my dear, how long until you think someone notices we’re gone?”Maddie’s hands drift to his shoulders, relishing in the feeling of his skin.“Oh, I’m sure they already have. I doubt they actually believed us when we said we had to go to the bathroom at the exact same time.”Chimney laughs but keeps it quiet by keeping himself buried in the curvature between Maddie’s neck and shoulder.“Let me rephrase that then. How long until Buck comes looking for us and I have to avoid the wrath of the youngest Buckley?”“Oh, about 5 minutes.” A sly grin breaks out across Chim’s face. Maddie can feel it against her neck, and it makes goosebumps breakout along her skin. He starts to place kisses on her neck, pulling at the low collar of her sweater.“I can work with that.”-Luckily for them, Buck never comes knocking. They look a little disheveled when they emerge from the closet about 8 minutes later, but Maddie thinks she did a good job putting themselves back together. Sure her bra was now in her bag, but she’s not the one who broke the strap with their busy fingers.Before Maddie leaves Chim asks if she wants to head back upstairs to say goodbye to the others, but decides better of it.“Like we said, your friends aren’t stupid Chim. Also, if we both show up upstairs like this-”“I know, I know, Buck will kick my ass.” Maddie just smiles at him sweetly, placing a kiss on his cheek.“Love you.”“Love you too.”Maddie heads out of the firehouse, slipping past the trucks and into the cool afternoon to return home to get ready for her shift.When Chimney gets back upstairs, Hen is already snickering from her spot on the couch.“Hey Chim. How was the bathroom ?”“It was fine, Hen.”“Well if your shirt is anything to go by, I’d say it was more than fine.”Chimney looks down to find his shirt is...less than perfect. Sure his badge is in the right place and its tucked back in, but he must’ve missed a button because the whole thing is a lumpy mess. Apparently his vision in the dark wasn’t as good as he thought. Hen turns around to lean over the back of the couch, nodding towards Eddie and Buck at the kitchen counter.“You know Eddie, I’ve never met anyone who had to unbutton their shirt and take it off to go to the bathroom.” Buck is ignoring the whole conversation, which Chimney certainly doesn’t take offense to given the circumstances. Eddie puts his chin in his hand, giving Chim a teasing look.“Yeah, maybe I’ve been doing it wrong all these years.”Chim isn’t sure what makes him wanna die more, Hen and Eddie’s laughter or Buck’s death glare that he sends his way from the kitchen.He decides that they both pale in comparison to when Bobby passes him as he comes back up the stairs, clapping him on the shoulder.“Nice hickey ya got there Chim. Might wanna cover that up.”Hen and Eddie don’t stop laughing for another 5 minutes.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
When she opens the door, they both gasp. It's so quiet that no one on the outside looking in would’ve noticed, but they both could.
Maddie gasps because Chimney is standing there on her doorstep with an absolutely gorgeous bouquet of white roses, looking incredibly handsome. Chim does because, well, he’s never seen Maddie dressed up like this. An all black ensemble with a striking blazer and pink lipstick.They’ve gone out before, but those weren’t dates. Maddie always dressed to be comfortable, not trying to impress anyone. Tonight though was special. This was Maddie’s her new start. She was going to dress exactly how she wanted, with no one to tell her otherwise.She realizes she must’ve impressed Chimney when it’s been about 30 seconds and he still hasn’t said anything. He’s just staring at her, his eyes sparkling like he’s looking at stars.“Hi, Chim.”That seems to snap him out of it, Chimney letting out a shaky breath and holding out the roses for her to take.“Hi Maddie. You-you look really great.” It’s Maddie’s turn to blush this time as she takes the bouquet, bringing them up to her nose. They’re sweet and fresh, the brown paper wrapped around the stems crinkling in her grip.“Thanks. You look nice too. Very handsome.”They both continue to stand there for a moment, just taking each other in. When Maddie finally realizes that Chim is still standing outside, she invites him in.“I’ll put these in some water before we leave.” He follows, closing the door once he’s inside. Chim lingers in the living room as Maddie heads into the kitchen, listening to her dig around in the cabinets for a vase. Chimney glances up the staircase, looking for other signs of life.“Is Buck here?” The water starts to run in the kitchen as Maddie fills up the vase.“No, he’s hanging out with Eddie. He’s coming back sometime later.” Maddie emerges back into the living room, proudly holding up the crystal vase that is now holding the roses. She heads over to the mantel, holding it with one hand as she rearranges her other knick knacks to make room. “I’m honestly glad he went out, he offered to give me date night advice. I think he would’ve just stressed me out.”Chimney chuckles along with Maddie as she finally finds a space for the vase, setting it alongside a picture frame. She steps back for a moment, examining her handiwork.“Chim, they’re beautiful.”She turns back to look at him, and she meets his eyes. She realizes he must’ve been staring because Chim blushes, ducking his head down. He toes the tip of his shoe against the carpet.“Well, beautiful flowers for a beautiful girl. It seemed to make sense.”Maddie’s heart thumps in her chest at that, and for the first time that night she realizes how nervous she is. They were going on a date. They were finally taking the first steps into something more.She makes her way over to the table by the door, stowing her phone in her purse. She turns back towards Chimney, smiling through her jitters.“Well, should we get going?” Chimney gnaws on his bottom lip as he slowly makes his way over to her. Maddie can feel it now, the nervous energy that is surely radiating off both of them.“Actually. There was something I wanted to do first.”Chimney lifts a hand to Maddie’s face, the same way she had a few days ago in the firehouse when she kissed him on the cheek. She would be nervous, except she trusts him completely. Her heart is beating a hundred miles a minute, but she knows that if she wanted him to stop, he would.But she doesn’t want him to.Before she knows it, his next hand is on her other cheek and he’s impossibly close. When he finally kisses her, it feels like she’s been waiting years for it. It’s simple, just one soft kiss before he lets go and takes a miniscule step back, giving her room. Maddie realizes he’s waiting for her reaction, waiting to see if he crossed a line.Maddie just smiles, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Well, now I’m
really
glad Buck isn’t here.” That makes Chimney laugh,
really laugh
, the way Maddie loves to hear.
Just like that, the nerves in her stomach have dissipated, leaving her feeling light and happy and excited. Something clicked in Chimney as well, the tension in his body having melted away. He holds out his arm, nodding towards the door.“Well Madame, your chariot awaits. It’s destination, a night on the town.” Maddie links her arm through his, pulling him tight against her. It feels right.They head outside into the night, Maddie locking the door behind her, excited to head into her new beginning.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
There’s a high school about 10 minutes away from Chimneys place that opens their track and field up to the public on the weekends. Whenever he finds the energy and the time, he likes to take a chunk out of his morning to stretch, get in a few laps, and feel a little bit better about himself. Bobby has tried to convince Chim to go with him, but that man runs around Echo Lake like it’s nothing, and Chim isn’t exactly at that point yet.When he arrives that Saturday morning, there’s a few people already there. A pair of moms with strollers jogging on the outside two lanes. A group of teens practicing their long jumps in the sand.Chim is walking over to his usual spot by the starting line for the 100 meter races when he spots her. She’s set up on the grass inside the track loop, doing toe touches on the yoga mat. She’s wearing floral leggings along with a cropped black sweatshirt, her hair tied loosely into a ponytail. She’s parallel to where Chim starts his run and well, that makes him a little nervous. Nervous because it’s been a while since he’s gone for a run, and the last thing he needs is for the most beautiful woman he’s probably ever seen to watch him pass out.When he finally reaches his spot he throws his arms above his head, grabbing his elbow and stretching out his back. He tries his best to be casual, not wanting to stare at the woman, but also really wanting her to look over. When she finally notices him out of the corner of her eye, he’s thankful that he’s in the middle of a lunge, stretching out his calf muscles. He’s not a vain guy, but he knows when he looks good, so he’s glad she caught him doing this and not a few seconds before when a twinge in his back made him wince considerably.The woman gives him a small half wave, an acknowledgement really, and smiles. Her smile is devastating, her pearly white teeth sparkling in the early morning sunlight. Chim plays it cool, waving back and giving her what he’s sure is an equally charming smile. She goes back to her yoga, twisting her arms around to crack her back.After another minute or so of stretching, Chimney starts running. He’s hoping to get in a solid two miles today before he crashes and burns. That’ll give him enough time to go home, take a quick nap, then shower before his shift later. Weekend shifts were always rough, but Hen and Eddie would be joining him that afternoon at the firehouse.He’s feeling pretty good as he makes his way around the first loop, trying to remind himself that once around is only 400 meters and he oughta pace himself better. Except Chimney was never one for impulse control so he decides he’ll deal with the consequences later. He passes the stroller moms as he rounds the corner and the woman comes back into view. She’s in a low plank, and pushes herself into upward facing dog.Chim doesn’t stare because that’s creepy, and he doesn’t want to make this woman who is literally a stranger to him feel uncomfortable doing her morning exercise just because he develops crushes in 0.5 seconds.He glances at her out of the corner of his eye as he crosses the line, and to his surprise she glances too. They make eye contact as he jogs past, and the woman blushes, gaze shifting down to her yoga mat.Chim’s crush continues to develop as he makes his way around the second time, promising to give the woman a short but sweet, “Hi” as he passes this time.He promptly forgets about his plan when he gets back and the woman is sitting facing the track, legs spread on the yoga mat as she reaches her left arm over to her right leg. Although his job is based on acting under pressure, Chim never said he was any good at it outside of work. Chimney forget’s what words are so instead he winks. Fucking winks.He’s lucky this woman doesn’t think he’s a total fucking weirdo, because she just rolls her eyes, a small grin playing at the corner of her lips.So even though he didn’t follow through with his original idea, he’s technically batting a thousand right now. He isn’t ashamed to admit that he might take his third lap a little faster than the other two just so he can get back to smiling at the yoga woman. He’s also kinda hoping he can impress her a little.He’s distracted when he rounds the corner and gets back to the straightaway, the woman having changed positions again. She’s standing now, prepping to do something that involves balancing on one foot. Since Chim’s distracted, much too distracted , he doesn’t notice that one of the laces on his shoe has become loose and is dangerously close to getting caught underneath his foot. He’s passing by her and he opens his mouth, except he never gets the chance too, since that’s when his lace chooses to get stepped on by his own shoe.Chim feels himself trip over his own two feet, and he instinctively puts his hands out to stop himself as he falls onto the rough track. He hits the ground with a loud thud, and the stinging in his right hand doesn’t even hold a candle to how embarrassed he feels right now. He’s considering not getting up and just lying face down on the track forever when he hears a voice behind him.The voice is sing-song sweet, and he can only hope it belongs to the yoga woman.“Oh my god are you alright?!”Chim gives a weary thumbs up as he rolls himself over, the sun pouring into his eyes, making him squint. There’s definitely someone in front of him, but the sunlight behind her makes it hard for him to make her out as his eyes adjust. When he can finally fully open his eyes, the woman is already kneeling down next to him.God, she’s even prettier up close. She’s looking over him like some sort of beautiful brown haired angel, a look of concern written across her stunning features. Chim blinks a few times, smiling.“I am now.”The woman ignores his statement completely, asking him if he can sit up. “Yeah, I’m good.” Chim puts his hands behind him, pushing himself to be upright. When he does, a jolt of pain shoots through his right wrist and he winces. The woman notices, hands going for the injured arm. Chim pulls it back, not wanting her to accidentally hurt his wrist even more.“Oh no, it’s okay I can handle it. I’m a paramedic.”The woman just calmly but firmly grabs his arm anyway, her voice stern as she smiles. “And I’m an ER nurse.”Chim opens his mouth to say something, but for the umpteenth time today he’s at a loss for words. Instead he just watches as she exams his wrist, gently pressing. Her touch is warm and gentle, and it makes Chimneys skin heat up even more. The woman seems to have gone into full nurse mode, asking him what hurts, if it hurts when she presses like this or this, what his name is.“My name?”She snorts, stopping her prodding and looking at him. “Yes. I don’t think you hit your head that hard when you hit the ground.”Chimney laughs, keeping himself upright with his free hand. “Mm you never know, my skull isn’t the thickest. And it’s Chimney, by the way.” The woman just nods, her gaze already back at his wrist. She seems satisfied with her work, letting his hand go.“Well Chimney, I think your wrist is gonna be just fine.” Chimney flexes his fingers, circling his wrist a few times along with it to make sure everything is still connected. She stands back up, holding out her hand in an offer to help him up. Chimney takes it, hoisting himself off the ground and brushing bits of rubber from the track off of his shorts.The woman runs a hand through her ponytail, giving Chimney a nod.“I guess you should get back to your laps. I on the other hand should get going, I’m meeting my brother for brunch.”“Thanks for the help Miss…?”“Please, it’s just Maddie.”Maddie. As soon as she says it, its as if Chim knew along, like ‘Maddie’ is the only name that could possibly fit this radiant woman in front of him.“Okay Maddie. Well, I hope I see you again sometime. Or, maybe I don’t since ER rooms haven’t been my friend lately.”Maddie blushes a little, and Chimney wants to make that happen again, right now.“Will you be here tomorrow? I can show you some yoga. Help you stretch out that wrist so you don’t find yourself in the ER anytime soon?” Now it’s Chimneys turn to blush, because this woman is smooth , probably smoother than him it seems.“Uh- yeah. Yes. I will be here tomorrow. Same time.” Maddie just chuckles as Chim fumbles out his words, his tongue seemingly tied over the fact that she’s offering to help him. Maddie smiles, giving him a wave as she starts to back up towards the grass back to her spot.“Then I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”Chim waves back, probably much too enthusiastically, but he doesn’t care. Sure he fell flat on his face, but now he has plans to exercise tomorrow morning with a gorgeous, kind ER nurse. And sure , now this means he has to come back tomorrow to willingly exercise at 10AM for the 2nd day in a row, but some things were just worth it.Chim can only pray he’s gonna be good at yoga.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
She’s standing in front of the full length mirror that sits next to her dresser. Maddie’s glad for the alone time she had today between her day off and Chim’s mid-day shift. She was able to pick up around the apartment, do some laundry….try some things on.She smoothes her hands over the fabric of her panties for what feels like the tenth time. They’re lacy but not uncomfortable, the high rise style of them exposing the sides of her thighs. The bra is a little more intricate; more lace along with sheer chiffon attached to the band that lays gently around her midriff.Maddie turns in front of the mirror again, looking over her shoulder. She repeats the move a few more times, letting herself take a look from all angles. She enjoys watching her hair bounce around and fall against her shoulders over and over, the chiffon swinging in the manufactured breeze. Maddie can’t help the smile that creeps onto her face, the flush she can feel overtaking her cheeks as she finally organizes the thoughts swimming in her head.She feels sexy. Sexy and gorgeous and happy, because….she looks amazing. Maddie finds an incomprehensible joy in being able to say that about herself, and really believe it.Maddie runs a hand through her hair, giving the mirror a wink as she puts on her best model pose. “Oh, yes girl. Get it.” She chuckles to herself, running through her closet in her head, wondering if she has any outfits that would work over this. Maybe one of her loose fitting blouses to hide the chiffon. The idea of wearing this underneath her clothes makes her feel excited and honestly, a little bit powerful. Thinking on it, this was probably the best gift she’s ever gotten for herself; period.She takes one more long look at herself before she walks back over to the bed, picking up the clothes and underwear she had been wearing before she decided to have a mini fashion show.She gets changed, albeit slowly, a little sad to be taking off the lacy undergarments. She puts them away in her drawer carefully, not wanting to snag the fabric on anything. She stares at it for a moment before shutting it, heading out of the room to continue with her errands for the rest of the day.As she grocery shops, the image of herself is still stuck in her brain, and she finds herself with an itch she can’t quiet scratch.-Chim had gotten home late, immediately retreating to Maddie’s bedroom to use her small shower that was connected to it. Once he was done, Maddie had switched places with him, claiming she was getting changed for bed. Except under the folded up pajamas was the lingerie, hidden so her surprise wouldn’t be ruined. She had originally planned on waiting to wear it, to break it out for a special occasion.‘Fuck special occasions,’ thinks Maddie as she slips off her jeans and underwear. ‘I wanna feel hot and appreciated now.’She folds her clothes up, setting them on the bathroom counter as she catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Maddie is happy to find that her opinion on herself hadn’t changed, that she still loved how she looked and felt in the underwear. Learning to love yourself and going after what you deserved was a hell of a thing.The look on Chimney’s face when she walks out of the bathroom is something Maddie wishes she could burn into her memory forever.He’d been reading something on his phone while he sat cross legged on the bed, hair still damp from his shower. He looked up as he heard Maddie open the door, and Maddie was pretty sure she almost gave him a heart attack. She watches him as he looks her up and down, not saying anything. After a moment or two, he shakily runs a hand through his hair and wipes his palm on his sweats as if he forget it was still wet in the first place.“Mads, you look….you look, wow.” Maddie cracks a small grin, walking over to the bed to stand in front of him.“I look ‘wow’?”Chim rolls his eyes, hands coming up to feel the chiffon that’s covering Maddie’s middle. “You know what I mean.” One hand strays away, creeping under the sheer material to stroke up and down Maddie’s side. She shivers, bringing her knees up to the bed so she can shuffle on.Once she’s hoisted herself up, she straddles Chim, who’s grin is downright wolfish now as he starts running his fingers over the lace patterns in her panties.Chim leans up, placing a kiss just below her clavicle. Maddie feels him smile against her skin.“You look stunning, Maddie. Absolutely stunning.”The compliment goes right to her heart, blood pumping as it beats even faster inside her chest and against her ribs. Chim continues his kisses across her clavicle and along the tops of her breasts. Maddie giggles as she realizes he didn’t shave, and his stubble tickles against her skin.He pulls back, gazing up at her with a look full of fondness and warmth. Maddie leans down and kisses him, biting at his bottom lip to be given a satisfied groan in return. When she looks at Chim again his downright salacious grin has returned, his hands finding her waist to pull her close.Chim gives her another once over, gaze so heated it makes Maddie blush.“So as much as I love you in this, I’d really like to take it off of you.”Maddie could work with that.