Merry Christmas to the most patient friend in the world! I told you I wouldn't break this promise!
This story is a sequel to Barefoot And Bruised, which I highly recommend reading before delving into this story! Happy reading!
~TLL~
Their alarm went off at six-thirty, just like it did every morning. Jude groaned and slammed his hand down it. Connor opened his arms without opening his eyes, knowing how Jude would settle his body into Connor's hold, clinging to the moments his snooze afforded to him. Connor kissed Jude's forehead.
"How'd you sleep, baby?"
"It was good."
Jude reached down under the blankets, finding Connor's left hand, drawing it up between them. Connor finally opened his eyes, watching Jude's thumb spin the band on Connor's ring finger.
"You don't regret asking, do you?" Connor asked, unsure of how genuine his question really was.
He wasn't surprised when Jude shook his head.
"I can't believe I did it after spending months thinking about it. I think I'm still just surprised you said yes."
"Of course I did."
Jude twisted in his arms to hit the second snooze and Connor heard Hades' tags jingle as he stretched. Jude yawned and hid his face under the blankets.
"Weekends are too short."
"You say that every Monday morning," Connor said.
"Yeah, well, I mean it. What are you doing today?"
"State manager is coming in Wednesday so I'm going into the office then instead. Hades and I will probably meet with Ali and Feldman at the park today."
Hades let out a yip at the sound of his best friend's name and then Connor heard his nails clicking across the floor. His big head peeked over the edge of the bed. He caught Connor looking at him and put two paws up on the bed though he didn't actually jump up until Connor gestured for him to. He splayed his body across their feet, making himself comfortable.
"I also need to go grocery shopping. What do you want for dinner?"
"Mmm … Pasta something," Jude decided. The last of the snoozes went off and Jude turned the alarm off completely. He stretched out once, slightly dislodging Hades. "Okay, time to shower."
When Jude got up, so did Connor. He knew he didn't have to; he did have the day at home, even if a chunk of it had to be dedicated to work. But Connor had never completely broken the habit of getting up early and he hated being in bed while Jude was up.
Hades padded behind him as he went down into the kitchen. He let Hades outside through the back door, leaving it open as he went through his routine of getting the coffee maker started and feeding Hades. As soon as his food hit the bowl, Hades rocketed back into the kitchen.
"You act like we never feed you," Connor teased, patting Hades' side before topping up his water.
Upstairs, Connor heard the shower shut off. He put a muffin in the microwave, thinking that he'd have to make more tomorrow. He started pouring coffee and had their small breakfast on the table by the time he heard Jude coming down the stairs.
"Hey, baby, I had a thought," Jude called.
"Just one?"
Jude laughed, kissing Connor's cheek before taking the seat next to him. "I was thinking about our honeymoon."
"Is that the only part of our wedding you're thinking of?"
"So far," Jude admitting, pulling the top from his muffin. "There's a lot of places to go."
"Somewhere new," Connor said. "It should be somewhere new."
"I couldn't decide if you were going to say that or if you'd say New York."
Connor shook his head. "No. I think of New York as Mom's place. I want somewhere new so I can think of it as our place."
Under the table, Jude's foot nudged his own. "Where do you want to go?"
Connor shrugged, looking at his ring. It was still so new, even though he already felt like it had been there forever.
"I haven't really thought of it. Of anything, really." Embarrassed: that's what he was feeling. Jude was already thinking about their wedding and he just … hadn't. He was still looking at his ring and trying to wrap his head around engaged. But that was normal. Jude had just proposed on Saturday. Should they be planning already or was this just Jude's overly romantic side taking over?
"You already picked when you wanted to get married. You started this."
"I guess I did."
Jude grinned and finished his coffee. "Okay, I have to get dressed."
After Jude was gone, Hades sidled up to Connor, his head heavily on Connor's thigh. Connor scratched his ears and finished his breakfast, organizing his day in his mind so he could have dinner ready by seven. When he had the breakfast dishes in the sink, Connor headed upstairs, Hades staying behind in the living room. Jude was just buttoning his work shirt as Connor stepped into the room.
"Just so you know, I'm going to be telling everyone who even looks at me today that we got engaged this weekend."
Connor stepped behind him, straightening the collar on Jude's shirt. "I think I'd be offended if you didn't."
"Everyone needs to know how happy I am." Jude turned around to kiss Connor. "You happy too?"
Connor nodded. Being with Jude always gave him a feeling of contentment, even on his worst days. Days of stress and work and, even all these years later, nightmares. But, moments like this, when the morning was still new and there was nothing to take away from it, Connor could just feel the happiness spilling out of his heart, so strong that it could still leave him breathless.
"Kiss me again before you go, Jude?"
Jude did, his fingers sliding under the t-shirt Connor had worn to bed and Connor itched to do the same to Jude, even though he knew he couldn't rumple Jude's work shirt. He resigned himself to tangling his hand in Jude's hair, resolving that, when Jude got home from work, Connor was going to be the one to take Jude's shirt off.
"Okay," Jude murmured, breaking the kiss, "I have to go."
"Drive safe."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
Jude left and Connor started his day alone. He showered and dressed and then dug his laptop and paperwork out of his briefcase, carrying it down to the living room. They had set up an office in the second bedroom but it wasn't Connor's favourite place to work. He only sat there when there was enough paperwork that he needed to spread out. He preferred to sit in the living room. There was a cushy window seat in the large bay window and that had also been the reason that Connor had finally agreed with Jude that this house was their house.
Jude had loved the house the moment they'd spotted it online but Connor had been more reserved. Jude had blamed it mostly on Connor's generally reserved-state about everything. He'd kept asking if it was too soon to buy a house and Jude kept rolling his eyes and asking what the point was of continuing to rent. He was glad that Jude had been ready for this and, at the time, slightly pushy about it, because Jude had been right. This house was their home. He set himself up in the window while Hades curled up on the couch. He worked the morning away and, after he and Hades had lunch, Connor put the dog's harness on him and they headed off to the dog park.
Connor knew the neighbourhood well by now and, though it surprised him, he was even friendly with quite a few of his neighbours. It was far from the isolated life he once though he'd lead and he loved it. Absolutely every part of it.
Ali and Feldman were already at the park when Connor and Hades arrived. The burly woman waved to Connor as he let Hades off the leash. Hades immediately bounded to Feldman, the two sniffing at another intently. Connor was always amused to see them together. Feldman was the runt of a litter of show poodles, born with a deformed leg. Ali and her wife still kept him trimmed and show-ready and, so, Feldman always looked a little too posh to be standing next to Connor's chewed-on Pitbull.
"Hey, Connor!" Ali called and he took the seat on the bench next to her.
Ali was possibly Connor's favourite friend. She was ten years older than he was and he'd met her because she and her wife, Miranda, owned the gym that Connor now attended. They were both body-builders and Ali liked to cook as much as Connor did, so they often made joint dinner at each other's places. Jude's and Connor's was the popular spot in the summer as they had a barbeque and a backyard.
"Hey, Ali."
"Aren't you supposed to be at work today?"
"Wednesday, instead. How was your weekend?"
"We had a Caesar dressing salad because the seal on the bottle broke. Other than that, same old same old. What about you?"
"Jude asked me to marry him."
Saying it to someone who wasn't family made it seem far more real. He was getting married.
"Oh, Connor, congratulations!"
"He took me camping."
"Jude went camping?"
"That was my reaction too," Connor said with a smile. "But, there was a meteor shower and it was the most perfect moment, actually."
"How fairy tale is your life?" Ali snorted and Connor ducked his head.
He'd never told her about his past. There'd never been a point to reliving it. So, he knew she wouldn't understand the truth if he said: my life's not the fairy tale, Jude is. Still, thinking about it made him smile because he knew it was luck that brought him to Jude and they could have completely missed each other. It would have been so easy for them to have missed each other.
"Well, what was your proposal like?" Connor asked.
"Un-romantic, so Miranda always says." Ali reached up, tying her long blonde hair into a ponytail. "We'd been dating for seven … eight years or so. We were at Thanksgiving dinner with my family. We were a little tipsy and a lot all over each other. My sister – Brittany, not Carrie – told us to get a room. Mom said, "oh, they should get married first". So, I looked at Miranda, said, "let's get married". She said yes and I got to tell my mom that engaged was close enough."
"They are definitely different stories," Connor said.
"Yeah, well, if she expected anything different from me, she wouldn't have said yes," Ali reasoned.
Hades padded back over to Connor's side, his head on Connor's knee. Connor reached into his bag, pulling out a tennis ball. He launched it as far as he possibly could across the park. Hades and Feldman tripped over each other trying to go after it. Hades could easily outdistance his friend but it wasn't often that he did. Feldman tripped Hades and got to the ball first bringing it back to Ali. She threw it for the dogs this time and asked what Jude and Connor were doing this weekend.
"We're seeing Jude's parents on Saturday night. Did you want to do something on Sunday?"
"Can't. Miranda's staring her scrapbooking class on Sunday."
"Scrapbooking class?" Connor repeated, launching the soggy ball again.
"Mhm. Have you been into that new shop where the used clothing store used to be?"
Connor knew where she was talking about but he'd never been in. It had only opened up about two weeks ago and Connor hadn't been interested. It looked very arts and crafts centred and neither he nor Jude was the type to care.
"You should stop in. They've got some cute knick-knacks and things. I think Miranda bought about nine different planners."
Planners. Well, that had Connor's attention.
"Maybe we should check it out," Connor mused.
"It's a cute little place. But, anyway, they advertised a scrapbooking class and Miranda decided she was interested in that. I want to know who needs a class for scrapbooking but whatever. She's excited."
Connor nodded, watching Hades do a lap along the fence, just because he could, and then he went to steal his ball back from Feldman. Ali and Connor let the dogs play into the afternoon and then she had to leave to pick up Miranda. Connor and Hades still had some time left before they had to go home and start dinner and so they headed toward the store that Ali had mentioned. Despite the hours of play, Hades was still full of pep, his nose to the ground and his tail wagging as they walked.
They approached the door of the brightly decorated shop and Connor was happy to see a beagle already inside. He was always worried about something happening to Hades when he had to leave him outside – whether it was because someone thought Hades a cute dog or because someone had something against Pitbulls. Hades stuck close to Connor once they were inside. It wasn't a huge store and it wasn't hard to find the wall that he was looking for. Hades laid down as Connor shuffled by the day planners and found the books on wedding planning. They were huge books – bigger than he imagined – and Connor realized that there were a lot more small details to wedding planning than he had been anticipating. They were also flowery, pretty books, and Connor knew it made sense. What engaged couple wouldn't want bright? But it just didn't feel like it fit.
Connor dug around until he found a pastel blue planner with faint white flowers. It seemed more like he and Jude. He bought the planner, stopped by the local produce place, and then he and Hades headed home. When they arrived, Connor rested the planner on the coffee table in the living room and headed for the kitchen. As he went, he opened the windows, letting the spring breeze sweep through the house. He put music on and began to prepare dinner. Hades flopped in the middle of the floor and Connor smiled as he pulled vegetables out of his fridge.
He stood next to the counter, placing his hands on the cool surface and looking down at his hands, just feeling his smile grow.
"We're getting married," he said aloud. "Jude loves me."
It was wonderful to know that for sure; to have it be fact and a part of him. It was what love – real, honest, returned love – was supposed to feel like.
Connor hummed as he pulled out his cutting board, feeling happy as he prepped supper and slid it into the slow-cooker. He had just put the lid on when Hades' head perked up, the way it always did when Jude's car pulled into the garage. It didn't take long for Jude to come in the front door. Connor heard a thud that he knew was Jude leaving his briefcase next to their shoes – a practice Connor was annoyed by, which was probably why Jude did it.
Connor leant against the archway between the living room and kitchen.
"Hey, baby," Jude said, nearly tripping over Hades, who always had to sniff him to make sure he hadn't turned into someone else in the hours they'd been apart.
"How was work?"
Jude blew a raspberry before leaning down to give Hades the belly rub he wanted. "I did tell the universe I'm getting married."
"Really? To who?"
Jude glanced up at Connor and then laughed. "Who else would I marry?"
"I don't know," Connor replied, but the teasing tone had leaked from his voice. He had gotten so used to thinking of he and Jude's as each other's that it was difficult to fathom a world where it was no longer true.
"Me neither," Jude said, and then he pushed himself up. "Come on, Hades. Minimal dog hair on my work clothes."
Hades rolled onto his feet, looking annoyed that Jude had stopped petting him before he was ready.
"Dinner will be another two hours."
"Okay, I – What's that?"
"Oh. Ali mentioned a new store so Hades and I checked it out and found that."
Jude picked up the big book and his grin grew. "We've been engaged two days and you bought a book."
Connor fidgeted, feeling like Jude was on the verge of laughing at him. Jude let out another laugh.
"I love you." Jude left the book on the coffee table so he could wrap his arms tightly around Connor and kiss his temple. "It's great, baby."
"I mean, we don't have to plan right away but if we had an idea or something, we should have it."
Jude kissed him. "I'd marry you tomorrow but I want to make a bigger deal of it than that."
Connor hugged Jude's waist. Jude could have whatever he wanted for the wedding. Connor had never really thought about getting married, not after everything that happened with Leigh. He was glad that Jude had asked, he wanted to move forward with their life and he knew marrying Jude was what he wanted to do. But it was the thrill of thinking about Jude as his husband that was really pre-occupying Connor's thoughts.
Jude kissed the top of his head. "I'm going to change."
Connor let him go bit by bit until he was just holding onto Jude's hand. "You know, this morning, I told myself I'd be the one to take your shirt off when you get home. What do you think?"
Jude smiled and then led Connor up the stairs. Connor shut their bedroom door – Hades had a habit of barging in when he heard sounds. He let go of the door and reached for Jude, sliding the thin black jacket over his shoulders. He knew Jude was laughing at him when he took the time to hang up the shirt.
"Come on, I need attention!" Jude teased.
Connor kept his hands slow as he worked his way down Jude's shirt, though he ached to go fast. "I know I pay enough attention to you."
Jude's hand slid under Connor's shirt. "No such thing as too much attention when it comes to you."
Connor pushed open Jude's shirt, letting it fall from Jude's shoulders to the floor. His hands dropped down to Jude's belt while Connor looked up to Jude's eyes.
"Kiss me," Jude whispered.
And, of course, Connor did.
(-.-)
Jude hid his face down against Connor's shoulder, sliding his arm around Connor's bare waist.
"Don't you dare get up."
"The slow cooker –"
"Won't burn in the next ten minutes."
Jude cuddled Connor close again and then pressed a kiss to his chest. Connor was powerless against the way that Jude curled around him, especially now that it was in the evening, not in the morning, and they had the five extra minutes to give to one another.
"Okay but Hades will have to go out sooner rather than later."
"Don't ruin the mood by talking about dog pee," Jude instructed, his leg sliding across Connor's. "I'll never forgive you."
"Never?" Connor asked, his forehead pressing against Jude's as he cupped his hand around Jude's hips.
"Well, maybe … eventually … I might."
"Can I talk about the dog in general or is that a no too?"
"I suppose you can talk about the dog."
"Are you going to come on our walk with us tonight?"
"Yeah, I'd love to come on your walk tonight."
Jude kissed the tip of his nose and Connor ran his hand down the length of Jude's spine one more time. It was as though Jude could sense that he wasn't going to be able to keep Connor where he was for much longer because he went for Connor's lips, but Connor heard Hades scratching at the door and he sat up. Jude looked annoyed at being dislodged but only for a brief moment and then he was playfully happy again, leaning down to the floor and flicking Connor's clothes up onto the bed at him.
"You go check on dinner, I'll let him out."
Connor took his time to get dressed properly while Jude haphazardly pulled on pants, still getting his t-shirt over his head as he opened the bedroom door. Hades burst into the room and jumped up on the bed, sniffing intently until Jude called for him. Then, Hades barrelled off the bed and Connor smiled to himself as he heard Hades shoot down the stairs. He smoothed out the sleeves of his t-shirt and then descended the stairs himself. He stood in the kitchen, rifling through their cutlery drawer, looking for the meat thermometer. He happened to look up and through the window as Hades jumped up on Jude, too short to reach the ball that Jude was holding.
All thoughts of overcooking the food went out of his mind as he watched Jude, dangling a ball high above his head. Despite how tall Hades was, he still wasn't a big enough dog to get all the way up Jude's body, even though he put in his best efforts, smearing dirt from his paws down Jude's t-shirt. Jude didn't seem to mind, teasing Hades a little bit more before throwing the ball so that it bounced off the fence. Hades bounded around the yard, tripping over himself until he successfully caught the ball in his jaws, bringing it over to Jude to start the game over again.
Connor could have watched them forever. His fiancé and his dog; it was the family that he had created for himself and every day that he got to watch them, he was just overwhelmed with gratitude, because he knew that this life was not supposed to be his. He wasn't supposed to be this happy, and yet, he was. And he knew that he deserved this happiness.
He forced himself to check the meat and then dish up dinner for he and Jude. He let Jude and Hades play for as long as he could, setting the table and dishing up everything before calling them back inside. Hades bolted inside, sitting at his food dish and looking up at Connor. Connor reached for the dog food.
"Jude –"
"I'm changing my shirt," Jude said. "I'm dirty, I know."
"It's just the wrong kind of dirty," Connor muttered.
"Flirting with me, baby?" Jude teased, though Connor hadn't truly meant for Jude to hear the words.
"Yeah," he admitted. "Of course."
Jude grinned and winked at him before he went to grab a clean shirt for dinner. While Hades was eating, Connor sat at the table but he didn't take a bite until Jude was sitting at the table with him.
"Anything else happen at work today?" Connor asked.
"Who cares?" Jude said. "The only thing that mattered to me is that everyone knows I have a fiancé now."
Connor twirled spaghetti around his fork, unable to look at Jude. "I love that you're so excited, Jude"
"Aren't you?"
"You knew this was coming," Connor said. "You knew we were getting engaged. I didn't. I'm still getting used to it. It still doesn't feel real to me, like a dream."
"Yeah, well, I know how long it takes you to adjust to things," Jude teased.
"You still feel like a dream," Connor said. "Like a really good dream but still a dream."
Hades finished with his dinner and crawled under the table, flopping down at their feet with a heavy sigh.
"You deserve this, baby."
"No one in the world deserves you," Connor replied.
"Such a flirt," Jude said. "I love it."
Connor just laughed, Hades shifting so that he was sitting directly on Connor's feet. They talked about little things over dinner and then they did the dishes together, like they did every night. Then, he and Jude tugged on their sneakers while Hades picked up the end of his leash in his mouth, giving it a good tug, trying to get it off the wall. Despite Connor's training, it was the one habit that Connor had never been able to break him of. He clipped the leash to Hades' harness and Jude opened the door. Once the house was securely locked behind them, they started down the street, stopping to let Hades pee in the bushes he always peed in.
Jude took Connor's hand and Connor couldn't keep from smiling.
There was nothing more he could want from life.
This story is named after the song Under The Stars by Jamestown Story.
The chapter's title is after the song More Than This by Vanessa Careloton. If you have a song that reminds you of Under The Stars and would like it to be on the playlist – and possibly a chapter title – send it in and let me know! I'd love to hear your playlist suggestions! (Chapter titles are mostly chosen via shuffle.)
So, on tumblr I'm: we are all of legend now (with dashes between every word). If you want to find my replies to anon reviews, add backslash tagged backslash anon dash replies. If you want to see anything I post about Under The Stars, go to my tumblr URL and add backslash tagged backslash under dash the dash stars dash. Punctuation is spelled out due to Fanfiction's restrictions. If you're having any trouble accessing the tumblr content please send me a pm and I can format it for you in a different way.
~TLL~