I spent some time rereading this and decided against what I wanted to do with it...originally the previous chapters were leading up to a kidnapping situation and I tried to write it and then started to hate it. So now I think I don't want the story to have that anymore, I rather want it to stay a bit cute. Still going to have drama but not as much lol, idk exactly what I'll do with it yet. Lmk if there's something you'd like to see <3

*

Bradley was certain Lea had no idea what they were getting into tonight, even though she insisted she did. Because she was an expert at everything these days.

"We're going to watch Stefani perform. But we can't go up close to her, okay?"

"I know. You said that already. I'm not a baby."

"I just want you to know what to expect. It's not just for us. There are going to be a lot of people there."

"I KNOW."

She had complained about the noise protection headphones all day and him calling them Minnie Mouse ears wasn't doing the job at all. Bradley handed both of them a baseball cap and at least they put those on without much trouble. Probably because he was always wearing his too.

"And we'll go visit her before the show, but we have to make it short, okay?"

"What does short mean?" Ashley asked while she wrapped Emily in a long dress.

"I don't know." he admitted and rolled his eyes. "But we're in the same hotel as her afterwards, so save the long stories for later."

They piled the kids into the car and only then did Bradley notice how nervous he was himself. It wasn't even cold outside, but they had wrapped both kids up well to avoid any unnecessary pictures of them being taken.

*

The bustle Bradley had seen at her Jazz show was nothing compared to this. People dressed up and heading towards the arena were already visible miles away and the crowd only grew denser the closer they got. Even the kids were staring out of the car with large eyes.

"They're all here for her." Ashley smiled and rubbed over Emily's arm.

"This is insane." Bradley muttered.

Lea squinted. "They only come to watch Stefi sing?"

"Yeah. Think about how nice it is we get to hear it just for us sometimes."

Emily hummed and pressed her hands to the glass, overwhelmed with so many people at once.

They drove past the crowd and right through to the back of the arena, where only security and team members were scattered around. Bradley was relieved when he spotted some security guards he was familiar with that led them into the back and towards a dressing room. The first thing he saw when they opened the door was a wall lined with Stefani's digital pianos that she'd insisted on lugging along.

Then Emily dashed past him, right into Stefani who'd barely managed to get up. She was wearing a long sweater and seemingly nothing else, which would make costume a lot easier when they got ready. She yelped when Emily barreled into her and almost fell back onto the chair behind her.

"Your hair is rainbows!" Lea shrieked in delight and interrupted whatever Stefani was whispering to Emily before he could pull her back.

"They're extensions, unfortunately not too real."

"I want those too!" Lea announced and had to reach out to touch Stefani's hair.

"They'd look very pretty on you." Stefani agreed before she caught the flash of panic in Bradley's eyes. "Maybe we can pick out some clip-ons. When I'm back."

"Tomorrow? Are you coming home with us?"

"In two weeks."

"Oh." Lea sighed. "So, you're not coming home with us?"

"Only to the hotel after the show, baby."

"That's not good."

"No?"

"My dad misses you at home."

"I miss him too. But promise I'll be back home soon."

Bradley lingered, letting Emily have her moment until she got distracted by the wigs on display and he finally got all of Stefani's attention on him. She walked towards him quickly and he immediately hugged her when she got close enough.

She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing tightly while pressing herself against him so he could feel how warm she was. He kissed the top of her head tenderly as she let out a shaky breath. "God, I missed you so much." He said softly, nuzzling into her hair.

"Yeah, this was such a long time." She sighed into his shoulder but didn't pull away from him or loosen her grip on him.

"You guys, you're very cute, but it's only been a few weeks." Ashley piped up behind him. "And Hi, I missed you too, Stef."

The show was like the kids' worst sugar high Bradley had ever seen. They were seated high up on a balcony and at first, he was almost disappointed they didn't get as close as he'd been before. But it was probably better with the kids this way, and nobody got to take a very close look at them or even seemed to notice they were there.

When Stefani first appeared on stage, he saw Emily grip at the banister and stand on her tiptoes to get a better look. It was insane to see her sing on stage in front of so many people, when she was the one they were all here for. Their adoration was so infectious, he couldn't help but smile even as his heart ached for her.

But while Emily was very quiet, trying to digest what was happening, Lea was bouncing along and seemed to actually remember some of the lyrics. Which was a bit worrisome. But he knew that this was also exactly what they'd need for their movie. This energy and this atmosphere would be something they'd have to catch. Most of all, the fact that she looked like she belonged right there.

*

Her hotel suite was large, and they took up half the floor of the hotel with Stefani's teams, so they weren't worried about privacy at the hotel. As much as Ashley tried, she couldn't entice the kids to stay with her in her room and Bradley ended up waving her off. Both girls were exhausted enough to get changed easily and then climbed into the bed in one of the rooms of the suite without much complaining, knowing they wouldn't be far away. The getting into bed part was easy, the sleeping part not so much.

Stefani was struggling to let go, her leaving always interrupted by Emily asking for yet another hug. "Again. Just one more."

"It's late, honey." She sighed and leaned back down anyway, loose strands of her hair falling over her temples.

"I know."

Stefani looked over her shoulder to Bradley. "Do you want to get ready first? I'll just stay a minute longer." She asked and Emily brightened, shifting to the side in the bed to let Stefani slip into it with her. "Just for a minute."

It was a bit longer than a minute.

Bradley was long out of the shower and tried to keep himself occupied with work emails when Stefani finally crept into the bedroom. Her hair was still a bit wet, and she wore one of those shirts he'd given her to wear for the tour.

"Sorry."

He shrugged. "I almost expected you to bring them both with you."

"Nooo..." she drew out and bit her lip, standing at the edge of the bed and fidgeting with the hem of her t-shirt. "Nobody told me being separated from those kids would be this...this much."

"They're a lot. Even when they're not there. Although I like to think we got lucky with those two."

"We'll find out later if we did it right, I guess." She hummed.

"Ours will be an angel after that practice, I'm sure." He said with a nod towards the kids' room. "If we want."

"I like your confidence." Stefani laughed and then turned a little serious and more sincere than she had looked all night. "And you know, if we can. If I can, really. Anyway. How are things at home?"

Bradley eyed her carefully and decided this wasn't the time to ask for more. "Good." He assured her. "We're trying to be as normal as possible. It's more stressful, I've started covering the kids up more when we go out. For now. Not forever. And work is good. You'll love the team we have for the movie."

"Did you miss working with your team? Are you enjoying it?"

"It's good to be back. It's very different in a writing room compared to sitting in my office."

"Can't wait to get started." Stefani said and finally crawled into bed next to him, hugging the pillow. "Finally." She sighed as she relaxed into the sheets.

"Tired?" He asked and she nodded, pulling his arm over herself like a blanket.

Bradley grinned and wrapped his arm tighter around her waist. She smelled and looked the same as at home. "Is the tour giving you trouble?"

She let her hands run over his chest and shrugged. "Not more than the others."

"Any pain? You can tell me the truth. I won't tell on you or rat you out to your team."

"Just right after the shows. And in the morning sometimes but once I'm warmed up it's alright."

He pressed a kiss to her shoulder and got up on his knees. "On your stomach."

She startled out of her dozing. "What?"

"What did I say?"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm helping you get rid of that tension."

"You don't have to, we can just..."

"Stef, let me."

She peered up at him uncertainly until he nodded again, then he caught her smile before she pulled the t-shirt off and flung in onto the floor. "Fine, not going to say no if you're offering."

He moved to hover over her legs and smoothed his hands down her back, sneaking some glances over her arms. The bruises had faded and so had some of her tan. Her muscles felt hard and tense under him and he wondered if she always felt like this after shows.

Bradley let his fingers wander over her ribcage, around her chest to brush the undersides of her breasts. Stefani only let out a laugh at his attempt at innocence. She laid her head down on her arms. "You know you don't have to give me a massage to touch my tits."

"That's not what I'm doing." He grunted and got a giggle as a response. He had missed touching her more than he'd admit to himself. But her ribs felt much more prominent than they used to. He slid his hands down her back, stared at the tattoos under them and tried to stay focused there, on those lines, and not at how she was squirming underneath him.

Her skin was cooler than his hands and after a few minutes he had managed to massage her into a relaxed puddle. She mumbled softly as she relaxed under him, the feel of her naked thighs against his own legs giving him strength as he continued with his ministrations, stroking her until his entire world was focused on her soft skin and the fact that he had the ability to make it so easy for her to be at peace.

Stefani moaned softly when he leaned down to kiss her neck and his stubble tickled her enough to break into another laugh. He moved on to massage the small of her back, his lips following, finding their way down the column of her spine as he kissed every part of her that he could reach.

Her soft voice murmured a quick apology as she shifted underneath him and turned around, wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him up to her. She pressed her lips to his and kissing her here was almost the same as at home. This kiss grew deeper as they explored each other again slowly, like they had all the time in the world. The weight of his large frame seemed to press her down and he tried to balance his weight on his elbows when she wrapped her legs around his hips.

When he broke the kiss, he'd almost forgotten where they were and that he had only meant to help relax her to make falling asleep easier. "I know you get the professional ones done but..."

"This was better." She whispered hoarsely and let her fingers trace his features like she was learning them all over.

"Forgot what I look like?" Bradley asked and pushed some of her hair behind her ear. "Did I change too much in these weeks?"

"No. Still perfect."