Still 12th October, 2014
8:30 PM

This night wasn't any different that all the past nights Joseph had spent my himself, holed up in his apartment, drowning in self-pity. He had just put some water on the shove to boil some noodles and popped a beer bottle when his doorbell rings once...and then twice...and then thrice, the echo goes on and on.

Joseph sighs in frustration as he walks to the front door and swings the door open, "Daniel, I swear to god-" he trails off when his eyes land on a much shorter figure. Even in the dark, it didn't take him much to realize who it was, her intoxicating scent gave it all away, "Del?" he frowns but before he can go on, Adelaide reaches out and places her index finger of his lips, motioning for him to stay quiet.

Adelaide takes a step back and clinks the car keys as "Just The Two Of Us" by Bill Withers begins to boom through the car stereo.

"This is the song that we first kissed to. Granted it was for our show and we were acting, or at least you were. I don't know if you know but back then, I had this MAJOR crush on you for the longest time. Of course, you were seeing someone else then and we became such good friends that I never said anything because I was too scared it's ruin our friendship. And I wasn't ready to lose you. I still am not.

"I don't know what got you thinking I'd ever go for someone else when all these past two months, I've been crying and pining to come back home...to you. A few month back, you went ahead and told me you loved me, that you've loved me for a long time and that you'd wait for me until I was ready to love you back.

"That night when I called you in the middle of the night and we said goodbye at the airport the next day, I knew it. I knew what I felt for you and I...I wanted it to be special when I told you, so I didn't blurt it out then. That became my biggest regret and has haunted me for the past two months. My only aurones was that when I'd walk out of the airport and step into LA again, you'd be there waiting for me, just like you had promised.

"But today, when I was there, you weren't. you broke your promise and I know it's my fault. It's my fault because I let an insecurity grow in you that never should've been there. I should've made it clear to you that it's you and me till the end. You, you're the one designed for me. It's you and me.

"When you said you loved me, you said 'I only want two things. I want you and I want us'. If you still stand by those wishes, than you should know that I want the same thing.

"I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible. So, Joseph Morgan, here I am, laying my heart out on the line for you, offering you to spend forever with me. Because I LOVE YOU. I love you more than I've ever learned to love. Whether you say yes or not, you will forever be my always. After all my bad luck, if I truly know what love is now, I know it because of you. I know it because you've shown me what real love feels like and let me tell you, it feels like you're on Cloud 9, like you're invincible.

"And I get it, intentionally or not, I hurt you and I regret it more than anything. So, I'll tell you the same thing that you once told me. That I'll wait for you, wait for you to forgive me, to love me back; however long it takes-"

And in an instant, Adelaide was stumbling on her feet as Joseph closed the distance between them and crashed his lips on hers in the most loving, passionate and heated manner. The two had shared passionate kisses before but nothing ever came close to this. This was reassurance, longing, passion, lust...love; all at once. The world around them had come to a halt as the wind only picked up and the song continued to play on a loop as they basked in each other's embrace. The two were holding onto each other for dear life, showing each other how much they truly meant to each other, conveying the love they couldn't put to words.

When the two finally separate, Joseph tightly wraps his arms around her, afraid of letting go as their foreheads rest against each other's and Adelaide locks her arms around his neck.

"Does this mean you forgive me?" Adelaide whispers softly as a smile spreads over Joseph's face as he looks at her and places his hand under her chin to get her to look back.

"This means I love you and now that I have you, I'm never letting go," he whispers back before beginning to softly kiss her again as she mumbles a, "good, because I don't want you to ever let go."

As the two continue to kiss passionately, a loud ringing voice interrupts them as Joseph pulls away with a frown before his eyes widen in realization.

"Shit," he mumbles before sprinting back inside the house as Adelaide shuts the car and turns off the stereo before walking into the house to see smoke everywhere as Joseph stood there, drenched from head to toe.

"What happened here?" she asks in alarm.

"The fire alarm went off," Joseph groans, "because I left something on the stove before you got here. You really are ominous for the kitchen area, aren't you?" he jokes with a smirk as Adelaide gasps, mock-glaring at him before picking a bowl of loose flour from the kitchen counter and hurling it at him.

"I was drenched, Del! Now the flour's sticking to me," he complains in a disgusted tone as Adelaide laughs at his condition.

"It's what you deserve for making fun of me," she teases as Joseph smirks at her before filling the bowl with water and hurling it back at her, drenching her as well.

"Joseph, what the hell!" she yells before grabbing more flour at aiming it at him as the two ensue into a food fight, covering all of Joseph's kitchen with flour and water, making a gross combination. By the end, the two were all drenched and sticky, from top to bottom.

"This is going to take a lifetime to clean," Adelaide states as Joseph mock-glares at her.

"It's your fault, you started this," he retorts.

"Did you not learn you lesson about blaming me?" Adelaide asks with a raised brow as Joseph holds his hands up in mock-surrender.

"Alright, how about you go use my shower while I clean this and try to make us some dinner?" he then suggests as Adelaide nods with a smile before walking upstairs.

"I'm borrowing your hoodie!" she yells out after a while, "kiss goodbye to it. You'll never see it again!"

"First you ruin my kitchen and now you're stealing my clothes?" Joseph yells back in a teasing tone.

"It's what girlfriends do!" Adelaide responds as a big smile creeps up on Joseph's face. Girlfriend. The girl he had loved for all these years was finally his girlfriend.

About 20 minutes later, when Adelaide finally came downstairs with her hair drenched and his hoodie enveloping her body in an oversized manner, Joseph caught himself thinking how he could never get tired of this view. How this was the view he wanted to wake up to everyday. How it was her he wanted his forever with.

The night went on perfectly as Joseph showered before their perfect dinner ensued, accompanied by his best wine. The two then stayed up all night, cleaning his kitchen while gossiping, joking and fighting like an old married could. Everything was finally perfect.

Everyone could see how perfect they were for each other and after almost half a decade, they both saw it too. And they had accepted it, embraced it, loved it. Loved each other beyond words. Their story to get to this point was one of many ups and downs, many struggles. But to them, it was all worth it because the story they would write now would be perfect. It would be just them, so in love, forever. And with that thought and well wishes from all their loved ones, their story had officially begun.

Author's Note

AHHHH SOOOO
WAS IT WORTH THE WAIT OR NOT?!  IM SHAKING I WAS SO NERVOUS ABOUT THIS CHAPTER!