Chapter 14 #4
They went inside, Zeus plodding between them, and started planning their shared future and the practical details about furniture placement and whose coffee maker they'd keep.
But underneath the logistics ran something bigger, a commitment, both of them deciding to build a life together, consciously and completely.
Jade had her answer for Diana.
Yes. To all of it. Yes.
Later, after they'd cleaned up the dinner dishes and refilled their wine glasses, they drifted to the back porch like they always did. Maddox's thinking space, she'd called it once. The place where hard conversations happened and where walls came down.
The summer evening had gone soft around the edges, twilight stretching long and comfortable.
Zeus had claimed his usual spot at their feet, his breathing already evening out into something close to sleep.
Jade held her wine glass between both palms, watching the last of the light catch in the burgundy liquid.
The day had been full of big words—contract, commitment, permanence—and now they sat quiet in the aftermath.
It should've felt overwhelming. Instead, it felt right.
Maddox was quiet beside her, staring out at the trees, the kind of stillness where Maddox was gathering her words. Jade waited patiently.
"Can I say something?" Maddox finally asked, her voice low.
Jade turned to look at her, reading the vulnerability in the set of her shoulders and the way her jaw worked. "Always."
Maddox took a breath and set down her wine glass. "I've been thinking. About us. And about how we started."
Jade's chest tightened, but she stayed quiet, letting Maddox find her way.
"It started with mandatory therapy," Maddox continued, her gaze still fixed on the darkening trees.
"The warehouse call is what sent me to you, then there was that barricaded teen.
Every major moment between us has been in a crisis or because of one.
" She paused. "We’ve shared trauma and a mutual understanding of what it's like to carry guilt you can't put down. "
Jade felt the heaviness in her words, but simply sat there, watching Maddox and nodding slowly.
"I was terrified," Maddox said, even softer now. "I was terrified that it was just proximity and that we needed each other's brokenness. That maybe when the crisis ended and I started healing—" Her voice caught. "That the attraction would fade."
Jade's throat went tight. She'd had the same fear, but hearing it from Maddox made it real in a way it hadn't felt before.
"I thought maybe I needed you because you understood the darkness." Maddox finally turned to face her, and Jade could see tears gathering in her eyes. "Because you didn't flinch from my PTSD or my walls or the fact that I couldn't say Titan's name without drowning."
Jade wanted to reach for her, but her instincts told her that Maddox needed to finish this first.
"But these past weeks"—Maddox's voice strengthened slightly—"doing the therapy work, the EMDR sessions and processing the warehouse call, processing Titan, I’m…I’m better." She swallowed. "I'm lighter and more whole than I've been in eight years."
A tear slipped down Maddox's cheek, and she didn't wipe it away. Jade tucked her hands underneath her thighs to avoid reaching up to wipe it for her.
"And I still need you." The words came out rough and honest. "Not because I'm broken or because you're the only one who understands what it's like to make impossible choices." She met Jade's eyes fully. "Because I love you."
Jade's vision blurred.
"This isn't trauma bonding anymore," Maddox said. "I don’t think it ever really was. It's just...love."
The declaration hung there between them, raw and vulnerable and true.
"I need to know this is real," Maddox continued. "Not just convenient or us filling voids. Real." Her hand found Jade's, gripping tight. "Tell me it's real. That you feel it too."
Jade's chest cracked open. All the fear she'd been carrying, all the worry that she was only needed when Maddox was broken, that her intensity would become too much once Maddox healed—it came pouring out.
"It's real," she managed, her voice thick. "It was always real."
She set down her own wine glass, needing both hands to hold Maddox's. "I worried too," she admitted. "That I was too much for you and that you needed my intensity because you were drowning, and someone had to be the life raft."
Maddox made a small sound in her throat, but Jade kept going.
"My ex told me I was exhausting. She told me I was too caring, too involved, too emotional." The old wound still ached when she pressed on it. "I thought maybe you needed that because you were broken. That when you healed, you'd realize I was..." She trailed off.
"Too much," Maddox finished quietly.
"Yeah." Jade wiped at her eyes with her free hand. "But you're healing and you’re doing the work. And you still choose me."
"Every day," Maddox said.
"Not because I'm useful." Jade's voice broke. "But because you love me."
"Because I love you," Maddox confirmed. "Not your therapeutic skills or your ability to talk me down from panic attacks. You. The woman who laughs at Zeus's antics and burns toast and cries at nature documentaries. You."
Jade let out a sound that was a half-laugh, half-sob.
"I love you," she said. "Not your brokenness, not what you needed from me. I love the woman who gives Zeus too many treats and pretends not to cry during sad movies and makes terrible coffee."
"My coffee's not that bad," Maddox said, but she was smiling through the tears.
"It's really terrible," Jade said, unable to conceal her grin. "But I love you anyway."
They both laughed, the sound watery and relieved.
"We started in a crisis," Maddox said after a moment.
"We did," Jade agreed. "But we're not in the crisis anymore."
"No." Maddox squeezed her hand. "We're not."
"And we're still choosing each other."
"Will you keep choosing me? Tomorrow and the day after and—"
"Yes," Jade said. "Every day. I love you."
"I love you," Maddox said at the same time.
They stared at each other for a beat, then both laughed again. Jade couldn’t help but be surprised and delighted by the timing, by the certainty, by the fact that they were really doing this.
Maddox stood, pulling Jade up with her. The kiss was salty with tears and sweet with wine and full of everything they'd just said and everything they hadn't needed to say. Jade melted into it, into Maddox's arms.
When they broke apart, Zeus lifted his head from where he'd been lying, watching them with those intelligent eyes.
"Yeah, you too," Maddox said, her voice still thick with emotion. She reached down to run her hand over his head, and Jade did the same. "All three of us."
Jade crouched beside them, wrapping one arm around Maddox and using her other hand to scratch Zeus's chest the way he loved. "All of us," she said. "Our family."
The word settled over them—big and certain and right.
Jade stayed crouched there, her hand on Zeus's warm fur and Maddox's shoulder pressed against hers. The light was going soft and purple at the edges. Then Maddox straightened and pulled Jade up with her.
"Come inside," Maddox said, her voice dropping lower.
Jade's pulse kicked up. "Yeah," she said. "Let's go inside."
They moved toward the house, all three of them. The stars had come out, scattered and bright against the dark.
Inside, Maddox turned to face her, and the look in her eyes made Jade's stomach flip.
"What?" Jade asked.
Maddox just shook her head, reaching for Jade's hand. "Come upstairs with me."
Not a question, an open invitation.
Jade laced their fingers together. "Yeah."
They climbed the stairs together, Maddox leading the way with that confident stride Jade loved so much. Jade’s heart raced, anticipation building with every step, and Maddox’s hand felt warm and sure in hers.
At the top of the landing, Maddox turned left toward the bedroom, pulling Jade gently behind her. Maddox flicked on the small black lamp, bathing the room in a warm glow. She released Jade’s hand to close the door behind them with a soft click.
Jade stood there, watching Maddox’s broad shoulders as she turned back, her short-cropped hair catching the light.
Maddox’s eyes locked on Jade’s, dark and hungry, but filled with deep affection that made Jade’s chest tighten.
Without a word, Maddox stepped closer and cupped Jade’s face in her hands.
Their lips met in a slow, deliberate kiss, Maddox’s mouth firm yet inviting.
Jade melted into it, her hands sliding up Maddox’s arms to grip her biceps, feeling the toned muscles flex under her fingers.
The kiss deepened, their tongues exploring and a spark igniting low in Jade’s belly.
Maddox’s hands moved down, tracing Jade’s jaw, her neck, then settling on her waist, pulling her flush against her body.
Jade could feel the heat radiating from Maddox, the subtle press of her breasts against her own.
“I’ve wanted this all day,” Maddox murmured against Jade’s lips.
Jade smiled into the kiss. “Me too. God, Maddox…”
They broke apart just enough for Maddox to undress her.
Her hands found the hem of Jade’s shirt, lifting it slowly over her head, exposing Jade’s toned midriff and the lacy black bra beneath.
Jade raised her arms, helping, her long hair tumbling back down her back as the shirt hit the floor.
Maddox’s gaze raked over her, appreciative and reverent, before she reached around to unhood the bra with practiced ease.
It fell away, and Jade’s breasts spilled free, her nipples already hardening in the cool air.