Scented Claudia

As we were driving home, I found myself sneaking glances at him.

After days of imagining he'd appear out of nowhere, seeing him behind the wheel felt surreal.

He caught me staring and gave a small shake of his head. "If you keep looking at me like that, I'm going to crash."

I snorted softly. "I'm just making sure you're actually real this time."

He squeezed my hand on the console between us. "I promise i'm not a hallucination. Though i'm flattered you missed me that much."

"You have no idea," I muttered.

He smiled at the road. "Tell you what, next time i get sent on a mission, you can come along. You'll last what, half a day?"

I rolled my eyes. "Very funny. I'd be great moral support."

"Oh, so you'll sit there and cheer for me while I work?"

"Exactly. Maybe even feed you grapes."

He let out a laugh, warm and genuine. "You just want an excuse to cling to me twenty-four seven."

I didn't deny it. "Who wouldn't?"

He gave my hand another squeeze. "I missed you too, Claudia."

The silence that followed wasn't heavy.

It was comfortable.

The kind of quiet that didn't need filling.

Then he cleared his throat. "By the way, we're stopping at my parents' house first."

I blinked. "Really? Why?"

He shrugged. "They want to see us. Celebrate the store reopening."

"Oh, that's right." A smile tugged at my lips.

"It'll be good to see them."

He nodded. "They're more excited to see you than me, honestly. Mom was worried sick."

I groaned. "Let's… not bring that part up."

He chuckled. "No promises."

When we pulled up, his family was already waiting inside.

"Look who finally decided to show up!" Viviena called as we walked in.

His mom came straight for me and wrapped me in a hug before i could say a word.

"Claudia, honey, you look so much better now. We were so worried."

"I'm okay now," I said, returning the hug.

Raphael's dad clapped his son on the back. "Next time, take her with you. She was miserable here without you."

Raphael smirked at me. "Told you."

I nudged him with my elbow. "Hey. I handled it."

He raised an eyebrow. "Sure you did."

We sat down to eat, the table full of food and laughter.

His dad raised his glass. "To new beginnings and hard work paying off."

We echoed the toast, our glasses clinking.

Raphael's mom beamed. "You should've seen them fixing up the store. I'm so proud."

I smiled at Raphael. "I know how hard you worked. I'm proud of you too."

He didn't say anything, but the look he gave me was enough.

Viviena, of course, couldn't leave well enough alone. "So, you two okay now? No more tears?"

I rolled my eyes. "We're fine."

"Fine as in…?" she pressed.

"Eat your dinner, Viviena."

Raphael snorted into his glass.

After dinner, the men stayed at the table talking business, while his mom, Viviena, and I moved to the balcony.

The night air was cool, the sky clear.

His mom sipped her wine and gave me a knowing smile. "Feeling better, sweetheart?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Just… needed him home."

She patted my hand. "Marriage isn't easy, but you two… you'll figure it out."

Viviena grinned. "As long as you don't start kissing curtains."

I groaned, covering my face. "Please don't bring that up ever again."

They laughed, but it wasn't cruel.

Just warm.

Eventually, Raphael appeared in the doorway, hands in his pockets.

"Love, let's go home."

Viviena pouted. "Already? You two just got here!"

Raphael smirked. "I'm not sharing my wife tonight."

His mom rolled her eyes fondly. "Go on then. Take care of each other."

We said our goodbyes and headed back to the condo.

-

By the time we got inside, I let out a long sigh, kicking off my shoes.

Raphael closed the door behind us, watching me with that familiar amused look.

"Feel better?" he asked.

I turned to him, smiling tiredly. "Yeah. I do."

He crossed the room in two strides, wrapping his arms around me and pressing his forehead to mine.

"I hated being away from you," he murmured.

"I hated it too," I whispered back.

He kissed me, slow and careful, as if making sure it was really me.

When we finally pulled back, I rested my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"Promise me you'll always come home," I mumbled.

His hand moved up to cradle the back of my head. "Always."

He paused.

"Come on," he said gently, brushing a kiss to my hair. "Let's go to bed."

He led me to our room, switching on the lamp beside the bed.

We didn't rush.

He sat down and pulled me onto his lap, arms locked securely around me.

No words were needed for a while.

Finally, he pressed a kiss to my temple. "Claudia. I love you."

My eyes burned, but I blinked the tears away.

"I love you too."

We didn't talk about work or worry about tomorrow.

We just held each other.

And for the first time in days, I felt like i could breathe.