~I miss you~

It was Madison's day off and in true Maddy-fashion, she decided to head to the park. She'd packed a small lunch, a book and her camera, in case she felt a photo-session-spree coming along. She was wearing a cherry dress, her hair falling in waves around her shoulders. As she arrived there, she noticed with a smile that the playground was empty and headed to the swings. She was missing Albert all of a sudden, so she got her phone out and texted him, "Hey Albert... Was wondering if you're free today? If you are want to meet up?"

Albert had a day off, after a long, difficult case. He just wanted to relax and feel good, so he headed to the park. He was wearing a blue pair of jeans and a large white shirt. As he was walking, he noticed Madison in a swing; he couldn't help a smile from spreading on his face when, right in that moment, his cell buzzed in his pocket signaling a message from her.
He walked up to the swings, the same smile plastered on her face. "I am free," he said gently, not wanting to startle her. "And I do want to meet up with you."

A happy smile spread across her face when she saw him. "Albert!" she greeted him happily, getting up and giving him a shy hug. "How've you been?"

Albert closed his eyes as he warmly hugged her back. He had missed her as well, he had to admit that. He gave her his signature smile, the nice, yet charming one. "I've been good," he said, nodding a bit. "Worked a lot, been really busy lately. How about you?"

She nuzzled into him slightly before looking up at him. "You're always busy," she teased him with a smile. "I'm surprised you even have time to sleep. Or have you given up sleeping now and are like Cullen?" She gave a slight shrug when he asked her that. "Ah you know, just protecting the streets of Miami. As usual. Been super busy too, but that's nothing new," she added with a chuckle.

Albert chuckled at her words, keeping his arms around her and resting his chin on the top of her head. "Twilight? Really?" he asked quietly. "I thought you had better tastes in movies, Miss Lewis," he teased.
"Nothing new, indeed," he nodded. "But you do a really good job. I feel better knowing that you are the one protecting the streets I walk on."

Maddy looked up at him, glaring playfully. "I do have better tastes in movies. And you know it. I just couldn't think of anyone else who doesn't sleep..." She moved her head back to it's original position so he could rest his chin on her head again. "Unless you want to be Voldemort," she added after a moments thought. "But you have both a nose and hair, so you can't be. Besides, you're too handsome."

She couldn't help but smile when he said that. "Thank you," she told him sincerely. "It feels wonderful being appreciated. And I do try keep the baddies off the streets..."

Albert smiled and pulled away from her just slightly, so he could look into her eyes. He cupped her face with his hands and placed a small kiss on her forehead.
"You are not bad yourself," he said lowly, the smile always on his lips. It felt so good being close to her again.

Maddy couldn't help but blush when he kissed her, even though it was simply a kiss on the forehead. She was glad things weren't all awkward between the two of them. "Thank you," she murmured, getting lost in his eyes for a moment. "I've really missed you. Missed hanging out with you..."

Albert looked back into her eyes. They had managed to hypnotize him for the first time, and they did the same now. "I missed you too," he nodded, moving a lock of hair out of her eyes. She was so beautiful...

She reached up and stroked his cheek for a moment, a small smile playing on her lips as she looked into his eyes. She was tempted to kiss him, but she knew she shouldn't. He was so sweet and so gentleman-like and she didn't want to break his heart again.

Albert looked into her eyes for another moment. He wanted to kiss her so badly, but he couldn't do that. He didn't know if she wanted that as well and he didn't want to do the wrong move.

She leaned closer, placing a kiss halfway between his lips and cheek. She bit her lip slightly, watching him.

Albert closed his eyes as she did that. Once she pulled away, he leaned closer and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. He didn't know if it was right, but he knew that it definetly felt right.

She blinked in surprise as she felt his lips against her own. Knowing she shouldn't, she kissed him back. Oh how she'd missed his kisses. But after a moment she pulled away, confusion flitting through her eyes. "Al..." she began then trailed off.

Albert looked deeply into her eyes as she pulled away. So, it hadn't been right. It had been wrong. His hand remained on his cheek, as he shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said lowly, staring down at her beautiful face.

Her fingers brushed his lips, silencing him. "Don't be sorry," she told him softly. "I enjoyed it. I would kiss you now, but I just don't want to hurt you, Al." She looked into his eyes. "Tell me what you're wanting from me and I'll tell you if I can," she said softly, her voice almost a whisper.

Albert caught his hand and gently kissed her fingers, his eyes never leaving hers. "You think you would hurt me?" he asked softly. Normally, he didn't like to answer to a question with a question, but he needed to know that. "Why?"

This was just heart-breaking, Maddy thought sadly, biting her lip. Here he was being so sweet and caring, and yet she was going to seem like a complete bitch. "Because as much as I care for you, Albert, and believe me, I care for you a lot, I can't handle a proper relationship right now..." she answered softly. "Fun and games, sure, but not a relationship."

Albert sighed a bit and nodded. He gently stroked her cheek with his thumb. "I can wait," he said gently. "If you want me to, I can wait."

Maddy's heart broke when she heard that and she frowned slightly, looking at him. "But why? I'm nothing special... Besides, I'd feel awful making you wait..."

"Maddy..." he said gently, giving her a sad smile. "You know you are special. I am willing to wait. If you don't want that, I'm okay with that. I am ready to respect your decision, whatever it is."

Maddy buried her head in her hands, before running them through her hair. "You're such a damn gentleman," she said with a rueful chuckle. "And that's what makes you amazing. But I can't make you wait. That's just unfair on you. So throw your gentlemanliness aside and let's just have fun for now. No strings attached, for now. And then further down the road, we'll see...."

Albert sighed a bit and looked down, before raising his eyes to look at her. He smiled and nodded slowly. "Okay then," he said, dropping his hand from her cheek. He liked her and cared about her so much, that he couldn't disagree.

She gave a sigh. She knew he wasn't really happy with the compromise, but it was the best she could do. She gently took hold of his hand, tugging him towards the swing. "Come, let's just chillax..."