seventeen » you make me happy

17

Happy.

In which Mira makes Sebastian happy.

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"HOW HAVE YOU BEEN, IAN?"

MY father grinned with Oakleigh by his side as Ada welcomed them in. I had my sister in the tightest hug I could muster at that moment, and she groaned quietly when Ada continued to speak to my father.

"Mira," she patted my back. "There's something called oxygen, and I'm going to need some of it right now."

Laughing, I pulled back to stare at her and try to notice all the changes since the last time I saw her, which was three months ago. "I've missed you so much." My eyebrows lowered and I narrowed my eyes. "Dad let you get a nose pierce?"

The scoff that was emitted from my dad's mouth was clear and audible. "Girl, you know I would never." He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "She was grounded for two weeks."

Oakleigh shrugged her shoulders and touched her nose ring with her fingertips. "Totally worth it." She grinned and narrowed her eyes back at me. "You can talk since you got your first tattoo when you were eighteen."

"Keyword being eighteen." Ada chimed in with a laugh. "Before we go out, are you guys hungry? Mira just made some lunch."

My dad threw his arm over my shoulder and hugged me to his side. "You know how much I love my baby girl's cooking."

For the rest of the afternoon, I spent time, that was long overdue, with my family. In a way, it reminded me of the times where my mother would have us around the table for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, like clockwork. One thing she always said was that she cherished the times where all of the family were together. It meant everything to her.

Truthfully, she only began the family tradition after she found out about her cancer, which I wasn't told about after a year of her diagnosis. She was very good at hiding things from me, something I resented since it filled my mind with how I could've spent that year differently.

The ringing of my phone pulled me from my pensive mood, a smile gracing my face when I glanced upon Sebastian's caller ID.

"Hey, pumpkin." I could practically see the signature grin on his face and the sound of his deep voice made my day. "Did I call at a bad time?"

I shook my head. Oakleigh and Dad were at the supermarket buying bottled water since they didn't like drinking from the taps too often. And they wanted drinks for the journey back home. "Now is actually a good time. I was literally staring at the wall."

His laugh travelled to my ears and I smiled like it was a reflex. "Kale is ill, so if you want to go out today I need to assign you another bodyguard."

My smile widened. "Kale already told me all of this...but you knew that, right?"

A few moments of silence passed before he answered in a murmur. "Right." He blew out a breath. "Honestly? I just wanted an excuse to talk to you. Avery says she misses you, by the way."

It had been a week since her accident, and because I was kept occupied with my restaurant, I hadn't seen her at all. "I miss her too." I covered myself with my thick duvet, feeling my cold fingertips brush my cheek as I adjusted the phone on my ear. "Can you believe that the cuddle pact is actually over?"

A literal second passed when he responded to my question. "But we're not over. Even if you think the cuddle pact was an obligation to me, I always wanted to help you sleep. I still do."

I'm so close to falling in love with him.

A comfortable silence drifted between us so I could hear when he stood up from his desk. I assumed he was at work because for the past week he had been consumed with his job. When a tired sigh fell from his lips, I cracked a small smile.

"Looks like you need the cuddle more than me." When he laughed and promised that the coffee would keep him going for the day, he continued the conversation with a question.

"James, Lena and I are going to my family's cabin in a few days, would you like to come with us?"

I had to think for a few moments. Lena was becoming a good friend of mine and I definitely wanted to get to know James more since he was Sebastian's best friend and from the times we were out with him, I found him to be good company.

"With your charming ways, how could I say no?" Closing my eyes, it felt like he was right beside me when he spoke.

"Can I say something totally cringeworthy?" Taking it as a rhetorical question since he would continue anyway, I remained silent and listened closely. "I really wish I met you sooner because imagine where we could be right now if I did." A few beats of silence passed. "You make me happy, Mira."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

After an unwanted goodbye with my father and sister, Ada had gone to dinner with a friend, which left me to my own devices until Avery called me herself—from Sebastian's phone, of course—and requested that I finally come see her.

James was the one to open the door with a grin painted on his face. "Don't you look absolutely cheery today." He commented and opened his arms to welcome me into a hug.

The smell of his cologne was heaven to my nose and had me reluctant to let go of him before he laughed. "Damn, I didn't know you missed me that much. I'm truly flattered, Casey."

My cheeks warmed and I stepped back to see his obvious smirk. "Sorry."

He waved dismissively and jutted his thumb over his shoulder to bring my attention to Sebastian and Avery who I could just about see in the kitchen. "Your boyfriend is over there."

I gave him a glance, which he responded to with a widened grin and a shrug of his shoulders. "I'm a strong believer that Sebira will happen one day."

Playfully rolling my eyes, I placed my bag near the sofa. Sebastian and I had established a schedule, we would alternate between each other's places and that meant that I was staying at his place.

James took a seat on the sofa and resumed watching a football match with his nearly finished sandwich and drink situated on his lap. He maintained eye contact with me as I walked passed and brought his glass to his lips.

"Mira!" Avery squealed from her position sitting on the countertop, holding her arms out since there was no way she could jump down by herself.

Approaching her, I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her into a hug. She held me tightly, and her eyes seemed to shine. What was usually a deep azure appeared as an almost electric blue and the brown of her other eye resembled honey.

"We're making berry smoothies."

My gaze flitted over to Sebastian who had finished pouring the smoothie into Avery's glass. Sucking the pad of his thumb, he slid a straw in and passed it down to her with a kiss to her forehead. "You can go watch the match with James, Aves."

Avery went on her merry way, a skip in her step as she sipped on her smoothie. Unwittingly, I allowed my eyes to follow her whilst a smile slowly spread across my face. When I faced Sebastian again, he was standing closer.

A lot closer.

I didn't have to tilt my head upwards at him like I had to when I briefly spoke to his bodyguard, but I still had to look up to actually meet his gaze. He was wearing my favourite cologne of his and when he took a step forward, essentially trapping me between his body and the countertop, I held my breath.

"Hello to you—"

To my complete and utter surprise, he silenced me halfway through my sentence by closing all the distance between us and pressing his lips to mine. I was suddenly overwhelmed by everything that was Sebastian. From the mint and eucalyptus smell of his shampoo to the natural scent that I was becoming intoxicated with.

His five o'clock shadow gently grazed my face as he deepened the kiss and pulled my body against his by wrapping his arms around me. Naturally, my hands threaded through his soft hair and lightly tugged it when he abruptly pulled back, leaving me in the same shock I was in when he first kissed me.

"What was that for?" I breathlessly muttered, staring at his slightly swollen lips.

His fingertips came under my shirt, but simply rested on my waist as his fingertips set my whole body alight. He rendered me with a smile that made me almost as breathless as his kiss did. "I just missed you."

Wow.

The back of my hand pressed against his forehead and I laughed. "You haven't got a fever, what's gotten into you?"

"Nothing," he chuckled, swatting my hand away. "I'm just—" a sigh left his lips and he smiled as if he felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders. "I'm really happy you're here right now."

My heart beat a mile a minute and I couldn't battle the grin that overtook my features when he brought me into a hug. "Smoothie?"

I nodded with a twitch of my lips before he distributed the rest of the smoothie between our two glasses, handing me mine as we made our way to the living room. Avery was stretched out on one sofa, her legs placed on James' lap, which left the other sofa to Sebastian and me.

He lied down and gently took hold of my hand to seat me between his legs, my head resting on his chest. I felt his heart that was pumping quite fast, which made me smile as my eyes focused on the footballers kicking the ball around. I never had much interest in the sport, but I solely kept my eyes glued to the screen to avoid the Cheshire Catlike smile that was painted on James' face.

After a while, the sleepiness sunk in when his fingers brushed over my hair and lightly massaged my scalp. I tilted my head upwards and looked into his eyes. He gave me a smile moments before the match ended, and I assumed his team lost from the holler James released and the groan Sebastian passed through his lips.

James jumped up, slapping a high five on Avery's hand as he hugged her tightly whilst spinning her around. "Pay up, mate." He laughed to Sebastian when he placed her on the floor, holding his hand out.

Sebastian rolled his eyes, sitting up with me in his arms to take a £50 note from the pocket of his jeans. It looked difficult for him to part with it, his eyes watching the smug expression that adorned James' face with a sort of blankness in them.

"It's one bad game, but you'll lose the next bet we make."

James nodded uninterestingly and turned his wrist towards him to glance at his watch. "I have to get back to work. I'll see you in a couple of days." He collected his jacket and slid it on, leaving a kiss on Avery's forehead. "Bye, princess. Bye, Mira." He directed his mirth-filled gaze towards me and smiled an innocent smile.

Once he left, Sebastian sighed and stared at his niece who practically represented exuberance at that moment since she was unable to stop fidgeting in her seat. "What do you wanna do now, Aves?"

She leaned back on the sofa and gave him her best puppy dog eyes since she was no doubt proceeding to ask him something he would be reluctant to do. "Can we play dress-up?"

And that was the first time I saw Sebastian with hair clips in his hair and a tiara on his head. Avery had the brilliant idea to transform into a princess, and like her, I was enjoying every single second of it.

"I've got to say, Sebastian," I didn't act on the urge to laugh in his face as I continued painting my nails. "Pink is really your colour."

Avery had a nail varnish set and a teacup one for that matter, which was what she opted to play with. A smile that was more of a scowl that he was attempting to hide from Avery came my way, his chestnut eyes silently calling for help.

"You know what I think would look great, Avery?" she stopped painting his nails and looked at me with curious eyes. "You can do his other hand with the bright pink one."

She took it into account, which caused Sebastian to continue staring at me with blank eyes. He was going to find a way to get me back, and that became even more apparent when I snapped a picture of him on my phone. James would absolutely love the picture.

"Done!" Avery exclaimed after a few minutes, peering down at her handiwork proudly. Despite the nail varnish that she got on the sides of his fingers, she had done a good job for her age. "You're pretty now, uncle."

Avery was officially the funniest kid I had ever met.

Sebastian widened his eyes and looked taken aback. "Wow, thank you. I'm flattered, princess."

"Now you're a princess too." She grinned and stood up to face me. "Your turn, Mira!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

He studied himself in the mirror, tightening his hold on the sink as his eyes wandered to mine through the reflection. The clips in his hair slightly tangled the strands so he was having a hard time before I pushed myself off from the wall, proceeding to help him.

A chuckle fell from his lips and he winced when I took out two clips at the same time. "You look better than I do."

I smiled and dropped the clips into his hand. "Maybe that's because, with you, Avery had more to work with."

He began to laugh loudly seconds prior to me slapping my hand down on his mouth so he wouldn't wake Avery. The last thing he needed was a hyperactive five year old on his hands. I moved my hand as he examined his nails and frowned. "Call me a doting uncle."

After opening the nail varnish remover and pouring some on a cotton bud, I held his hand in mine and started to wipe his nails. "I call you a hot mess."

He smiled with a stronger exhale through his nose, releasing a sigh when his nails were finally bare of varnish. Stopping me from letting go of his hand, he led me to the guest bedroom. "I think we should go to sleep before my pride gets any more wounded."

"Aww," I laid down under the comforters and placed my head on his chest. "You know you're handsome, shut up."

The silence wasn't allowed to settle when Sebastian decided to prolong the pillow talk for a bit longer. "You know, sometimes I think that spending time with you actually keeps me sane—for the most part because you're starting to become a handful." A slap to his hand pulled a deep laugh from him. "I'm sorta kidding, but I wanted to ask a serious question and get your opinion on it."

I opened my eyes from the sombre tone in his voice and gave him the cue to continue.

"I'm a good person, right? And I'm not referring to the fact that I've never been to prison or broke any laws, but you know me, will I become a person who has more to his legacy than billions in his bank accounts?"

I remained silent for a minute, trying to figure out the best way to actually answer his question. I valued honesty and at that moment, Sebastian seemed to really need it.

"You already are a person whose life has meaning. I mean, you've done remarkable things that many people wish they could do. You're kindhearted and you've impacted people's lives in such a positive way that if you didn't have more to your legacy than how much you make, I would be pretty surprised." I turned around to face him, a small smile adorning my face. "You're an extraordinary person, and I'm not the only one who thinks that."

His hands cradled my face as he pressed a soft kiss to my forehead, closing his eyes as he held me tighter and closer.

And for the first time ever, he held me all throughout the night and didn't let go until morning came.