Friends, Families and Other Disasters
"She knows." Liam announced at a hiss. Closing the kitchen door behind himself to muffle all the chatter and laughter from the other room.
"Hmm." Carla hummed absently as she brushed dark tendrils of hair away from her face with the back of her wrist, completely absorbed in trying to make the plate of desert in front of her look as attractive as possible.
"She knows and now she is torturing us." He moaned moving to lean against the fridge like a child sulking.
Carla pushed him out of the way with her hip; frowning into the bright light of the open fridge as if she could not quite remembered what she was looking for. She ignored Liam till he knocked her off balance with a gentle push.
"Can you at least pretend to pay attention while I have a crisis, woman." He ducked out of the way of her playful slap.
She laughed; mimicking Liam's pouting lips as she reached up wrapping her arms around his tall shoulders in mock comfort. "Sorry darling, I just want everything to be perfect for once."
"Hayley did all the cooking for ya. All you're doing is heating things up and putting them on plates." He raised a sceptical eyebrow secretly grateful not to have to put up with the drama that was always Carla's culinary skills.
"Oi you prat. Why am I slaving in the kitchen for your family anyway?" She played with the short hair at the nape of his neck too strangely giddy to pretend to be angry with him.
She had never been the domesticated type and she did not ever plan on being one of those women. But they were having a get together before Michelle went on tour again and she couldn't help but enjoy bossing the boys around or the way it put her in the centre of attention for a good reason for once.
He kissed her nose and she pulled a face at just how soppy the scene would see from the outside. "They are your family too Car." He said with such conviction she was a little surprised. She knew what was left unsaid and she loved him even more for it.
She hugged him close for a long moment, relaxing against his chest and letting her hands travel the strong plane of his back. When Paul had died she had been terrified that she would no longer have a connection to the family that mostly just about tolerated her. But, lead by Liam they had rallied around her. Sure there were still differences only now the arguments felt like normal silly disagreements rather than the others closing ranks on an outsider.
Only there was one last secret that could potentially destroy all that they had salvaged.
"Now who knows what?" Carla asked pulling away and curious to what would make him hold a crisis kitchen meeting against the background noise of Barry singing and Ryan complying loudly.
A blank look past over his features before his eyes narrowed again he had just discovered some great conspiracy. "My mum that's who. She knows about us."
For a second Carla's heart stops. It was one battle she was dreading and it was never meant to be today. Helen had finally started treating her civilly not long after Liam broke up with Maria and if the woman found out she was corrupting her last surviving son the tentative peace would be well and truly broken.
They had all agreed Michelle's going away party was not the time to make an announcement to the older Connor's. It had been hard enough convincing the rest of them that they were not having some sordid affair or going mad with grief. The look on Ryan's face when he first realised the truth was something she never wanted to experience again. And to go through it all again on a day that was meant to be so happy, she did not want to think about it.
Luckily the fear is quickly overruled by logic. "Lee, how can she know? Who would have told her?"
Liam rolled his eyes like a disbelieving teenager. "No one has to tell her she just knows. She's an evil genius. How else do you explain this torture?"
He could be so adorable sometimes, annoying but adorable and it annoyed her even more that she found him adorable. Especially when adorable was distracting and her mini pizzas were starting to burn.
"If she knew, and she doesn't, why would she be laughing out there while we could be doing god knows what alone in here?" She asked as she searched for the oven gloves and pulled the hot tray out of the oven. Scowling as Liam tried to steal one of the little pizzas only to find them too hot.
"Did you miss the evil genius part? She doesn't know that we know that she knows. So she thinks while she knows that we don't know that she knows we can't do naughty things. And you have no idea how much I want to do things to you." He mumbled as he sucked his burnt fingers.
"God you are so romantic." She growled throwing the oven gloves at him, a clear mistake as he caught them and used them to pick up a pizza safely. The triumphant grin on his face made her bite down on her lower lip to suppress the giggles. "Piggy." She accused and he took a mock bow.
"And your mother does not think like that. She's too fiery," 'Too much like me' she added silently in her own head. "Do you remember the last time she suspected something between us? Look how innocent that was. If she even suspected anything now do you really think she could sit there so calm while we could be doing…this?"
She sways her hips as she approaches him and grabs the belt loops of his jeans to pull him forward and press their pelvises together all the while glancing up at him through her dark eyelashes.
Liam swears at the contact and quickly swallows the rest of a treat that could quite possibly double as molten lava. She could do things to him with the simplest touch and he had not been lying. Once he knew he could not touch or kiss her it became the only thing he wanted to do.
"Tease." He accused.
"Oh don't pretend you don't love it." She whispered pulling his head down to her level and kissing him deeply. It was as clear she missed the contact just as much as he did.
They broke apart with a jump at the sound of something falling and breaking in the other room and Tom's loud apologies and looked at each other breathlessly.
"Fine so maybe you are right but it doesn't make this any less torturous." Liam wiped his mouth, kissed her one last time and moved to find the dustpan and brush.
"I know love, but today is for them to say goodbye to Chelly. Let's not give them anything else to worry about." She squeezes his hand briefly before turning and picking up various plates to take through to the other room.
"When did you get so bloody wise?" He scoffed, a gentle smile playing across his face as he watched her play house.
"Always have been you've just been too thick to notice." With her hands full she simply winked at him and laughed. "Now hurry up and get out there before Tom breaks anything else.