"Babe?" Rayna calls, hearing the front door slam, "I was just thinking…how would you feel about putting this stuff…elsewhere?"
He frowns in confusion and follows her voice to the garage. When he finds her, she's on her on her knees, poking half-heartedly through several cardboard boxes of cheap analogue recording gear, most of it broken or battered, all of it covered in twenty five years of dust.
"Like maybe a dumpster somewhere?" she continues, squinting up at him now.
"Are you kiddin' me?" he exclaims. "I'll have you know these are some priceless artifacts right here."
She raises an eyebrow. "Priceless, huh? I bet they are, no-one would pay a dime for this crap."
"Hilarious," he replies dryly – but as she gets to her feet, his hand still reaches out to her waist, as if of its own accord.
He kisses her quickly. "Hey."
"Hey. This garage is a mess."
If it occurs to Deacon that the whole place was significantly less of a mess before Rayna was possessed that morning with the sudden urge to tidy it, he wisely keeps his thoughts to himself.
Instead, he changes tack entirely. "You want a cup of coffee?"
Rayna hesitates, taking in the chaos surrounding her, clicking her tongue in dissatisfaction. Moments later, she shrugs, as though deciding to wash her hands of the whole unpleasant job, at least for the time being.
"…Sure. Where's Daphne?"
"Daphne…" he muses vacantly, leading her back into the kitchen, his hand ghosting across the small of her back. "That's the little one, right? I don't know, I think I might have left her in a store."
Rayna rolls her eyes. "Now who's hilarious? Where is she really?"
"Upstairs taking off her soccer gear. Maddie still asleep?
"Mmm-hmm. I swear, that girl has not been up before noon once this week."
"Guess that's sixteen year olds for you," he says, flicking the switch on the espresso maker. "Gonna be a shock to the system when school starts back though."
"That's for sure," Rayna agrees, flopping down on the couch and watching him move around the kitchen with ease, collecting cups and spoons and creamer as he goes. This house is bigger than his old place and smaller than hers. In more ways than one, it feels like they've met in the middle.
They chat idly about nothing in particular while the coffee machine whirrs, the radio on quietly in the background, until Deacon presents her with a mug of steaming liquid.
"You're nice to me," she says sweetly, and he just smiles, lifting up her legs and settling himself underneath them, her feet slung across his lap.
"So you know," Rayna begins after a moment, "it's gonna be a daughter-free zone around here tonight…"
"Oh yeah. What time's Teddy coming over?"
"Like, six, I think."
"Dinner for two, then, huh? You wanna order in? I could probably be talked into some Chinese food."
"Mmm, yeah, we could do that," she replies noncommittally. "Or, Tandy and Bucky are going to this thing at Layla's…"
"I'm not going to get king prawn kung po at Layla's," he points out.
"Come on," she wheedles. "A little barbecue, a little two-steppin'…"
Deacon winces, seeming – if anything – to be less convinced. "Ray. I don't dance. You know this."
She just smiles the tiniest of smiles, nudging his thigh with her heel. "You will for me."
And he will. They both know it.
"You really should use your power for good, not evil – anybody ever tell you that?" he says loftily.
"I don't know, babe." She cocks an eyebrow, setting her mug on the coffee table beside his and sitting up to face him. "I can think of a time or two I've used 'em for good."
He turns towards her, a half-smile on his lips. "Well I guess when you put it like that…"
She laughs, her eyelids fluttering shut, her fingertips automatically finding his jaw line as he moves in closer. And when their mouths meet, it's comfortable and unhurried, both of them aware that this is not a precursor to anything else, that this is leading nowhere right now. It's just kissing for its own sake, and it's delicious.
Moments later, a mildly disapproving voice sounds from across the room;
"Ugh, guys, I haven't even had my breakfast yet."
Pulling away, Rayna looks up. "Well, my goodness," she says pleasantly, her voice rising in playful sarcasm, "look at this, it's my first born child, risen from the dead. What do you mean you haven't even had breakfast yet?"
"I mean," Maddie says, already gulping down orange juice from the refrigerator, "that I shouldn't have to witness parental making out on an empty stomach."
Deacon chuckles. "Well that's duly noted, Mads," he says, his tone suggesting he'll be losing no sleep over her psychological well-being. "What's on your agenda today anyway?"
She shrugs. "Not much. I, um, I kind of… got a gig for next weekend."
"You're kidding!" Deacon exclaims, a sudden grin breaking over his face.
"Why didn't you tell us?!" Rayna shrieks at the same moment.
At this explosion of enthusiasm, Maddie laughs bashfully. "I don't know, the guy just called me yesterday… it's just an open-mic kind of thing..."
"That is awesome, honey," Rayna says, her eyes shining. Deacon's confidence that between the two of them, they'll be able to keep the girls on the straight and narrow in this business has gradually rubbed off on her. The way he sees it, no parents could be in a better position to make sure their kids have all the opportunities and none of potential to be taken advantage of.
"You nervous?"
"I don't know," Maddie says, fidgeting with her hands in a way that is clearly an answer in the affirmative. "I guess. I was thinking…maybe you guys could help me practice? I think I know what songs I wanna do, but I don't know… I feel like my playing could use some work. Everyone else is probably gonna be so good."
"Well," Rayna replies laughingly, "if it's guitar help you're after, then I know you're only asking me to be polite."
Her daughter grins. Busted.
"I can probably pass along some of my wisdom," Deacon says breezily, affecting an extravagant air that is so at odds with his natural humility he can hardly keep a straight face himself.
"If you can take much more of it," Rayna interjects slyly.
Deacon attempts a withering glance, but fails, breaking into laughter. "No time like the present," he says, turning back to Maddie. "How about we do it this afternoon? You mama's taking Daphne to get new school clothes anyway, right?"
He glances over at his wife, who nods her confirmation.
"Sounds good," Maddie says, pleased.
And as she rises in search of her youngest daughter, Rayna can't help but think that, yes, everything sounds very, very good.
As outlined in the description, this was written for the September challenge (I didn't quite manage under 1000 words, but close enough!). I enjoyed writing it though, and was thinking i may add to it if there is any interest - not necessarily in the form of a continued story, but maybe just other little snapshots of life. Perhaps when the season starts, we'll all enjoy imagining some point in the future where Rayna and Deacon have somehow managed to resolve all their problems!
