Wife doting husband

Maria had not responded to Steve's words right away and by the time she wanted to, she felt like she had missed her moment. But the thought of keeping that misunderstanding alive between them, of Steve being the only one who had enjoyed their little unplanned get-together, bothered her more than she expected. Though it was very likely that Steve knew that she too had fun spending time with him in the otherwise empty and silent floor, it wasn't fair to put everything on him. To expect him to always read her mind and see through her words and the mask she liked to wear. She liked to see herself as being a stronger person than that then to rely on a man to do all of the carrying and pulling. But something about love made a person become so weak when it came to some things, yet so strong at other moments.

It seemed that right now she was having one of the weaker moments and she needed herself to overcome it. Though the mood that was hanging around them at the moment, as they were putting everything back in its place, wasn't helping her courage level. The air feeling heavy as both of them were completely silent. This being the stark opposite of the mood that filled the room just moments before. But as they were getting ready to leave the kitchen, Maria felt her time to act running out. Nervously she was fidgeting with her nails as she followed Steve towards the living room. They entered the foyer and when Steve got ready to put his foot on the first step of the stairs, Maria called out, "Wait...".

Steve took his foot off the step and put it back on the marble floor as he turned his body towards Maria. With lifted brows and a questioning tone in his voice he said, "Yes?" Nervously Maria looked at her feet, searching for the right words to say, while occasionally looking up to meet his eyes. "W-well...", "Uhmm...", "Y-you see." No matter how she started her sentence she kept choking on her words and failed to say what she wanted. Getting frustrated with herself, while Steve waited patiently and remained silent, Maria let out an irritated sigh before venting as she said, "Damnit. Why is this so hard? You make it seem so easy." This was when Steve's silence finally broke and he let out a soft chuckle that he tried to hide behind his closed fist.

In a gentle and understanding voice he said, "It's okay. Don't think about it so much. Either just spit it out or if you can't say it, don't force yourself. Just let it be." Though they were intended as words of comfort and support, to Maria they were nothing other than aggravating as they reminded her of how wonderful Steve was while she couldn't utter one word of kindness or encouragement back. Just like that, the words missed their intended effect but still managed to give Maria the push she needed to say what she wanted to say. Fuelling her anger, which gave her the strength to overcome the hurdle that was between her and the words she was trying to say. Proving just how powerful an emotion anger was.

With a fierce expression on her face Maria looked up at Steve and said, "I enjoyed it too okay!" Without waiting for Steve to respond or take her words in for what they meant instead of how they had been put across, Maria bolted up the long flight of stairs. She was almost running up the steps with the same speed she was running from her feelings, while Steve was left with a baffled expression on his face. When the meaning of her words finally sank in and he was finished processing what had just happened, Steve's baffled expression turned into the biggest smile one had ever seen. He jumped from joy as if he was a teenager experiencing his very first crush, before he made his way up the stairs as well in a dream-like state.

Once he was in his room he dropped himself on his bed on his back and stared at the ceiling as he relived the moment just now. He laughed to himself as he brought his arm up to his face in his state of disbelief, he smiled and wondered how he was supposed to sleep now after experiencing this. He was overjoyed. He didn't think he could feel such happiness anymore over something so little as a woman telling him that they had enjoyed spending time with him. But here he was grinning and smiling like a fool. Proving what a crazy thing love was. It could make you feel like you could touch the sky one moment and crush you to your core the very next.

He had always been teasing Noah for treating Laila the way he did but it seemed that he would be joining him pretty soon in fool country, capital city 'Wife doting Husband'. But he was certain that Maria would be worth every minute of him being a fool and that he would probably enjoy it even more than she would enjoy the results of his doting. Knowing that, he couldn't wait for his days of 'wife doting husband' to begin!