Operation Stepdad
by Kadi
Rated K+
Disclaimer: So not my sandbox. I just like the toys!
A/N: Well, you see, what had happened was... I figured Rusty might have the same question we had. Like, what the hell happened next dude? So, instead of picking up after fade to black, I decided to tackle that question. Enjoy!
He was almost pacing the elevator. For the third time since it began its climb toward the eleventh floor, Rusty wiped his hands against his jeans. He was practically vibrating with nervous energy. He left last night, not really knowing what to expect, but thinking that maybe he would know something by now. He spent the night pacing, while Gus was laughing, and tried very hard to keep from texting his mother or Andy and just asking the question that was foremost on his mind. What did she say?
Rusty never thought that he would be this nervous about it. He didn't think that he would care. The whole idea of it all still grossed him out a little, but really, who wanted to see their mother kissing some guy? That was just wrong on so many levels. The thing was, and as he explained it to Gus, he realized for the first time just how true it was for him now, he had gotten used to them. This whole thing between his mother and Andy, it was just weird in the beginning. Rusty wouldn't even say that he couldn't see them together, because he could. That was the whole point. He saw it before they did. Then it happened.
It was part of the reason why Rusty waited until mid-morning before heading home. He was worried about what he might walk in on. There were still a lot of things that he wasn't interested in knowing about. What his mother and her boyfriend did while he wasn't around was at the top of that list.
He practically bolted from the elevator when it finally came to a stop on their floor. Rusty walked quickly down the hall, but slowed the closer he got to the door. He stood in front of it for a few moments. As eager as he was to find out the answer to the previous night's big question, he was also wary at going in. He took a deep breath and schooled his features before sliding his key into the lock. He was quiet as he slipped in the door, just in case. He really hoped that by now they were up and about, but one could never really tell about these things. They had certainly surprised him before. Surprised. Traumatized. The terms were interchangeable as far as he was concerned, at least where they pertained to his mother and Andy.
Rusty dropped his keys in the tray by the door and let his bag slip off his shoulder. He placed it quietly on the floor as he looked around. Sunlight was streaming in from the windows that overlooked the balcony. Nothing there looked out of place. His brows drew together as he moved further into the condo. His gaze swept the room. There was nothing out of place anywhere. The candles were gone. As were the flowers. It looked as if the previous night never happened at all.
That was concerning.
While his heart rate increased, Rusty drew a breath and held it. He let his gaze continue to circle the room and that was when he spied his mother. She was seated at her desk. His eyes narrowed slightly as he tried to control his outward expression of surprise. Her hair was twisted up in a clip. She was wearing a sweater and a pair of jeans and seemed not even the least bit different as she sat sorting through bills and consulting something on her laptop. The line between Rusty's brows deepened. She was casually paying bills, today of all days. Like it was just an ordinary Saturday morning and she had nothing else in the world to do.
What the hell?
He only just narrowly avoided asking the question out loud. Rusty rubbed his palms against his jeans again and took a step closer to the desk. "Hey mom." That was casual enough. Even while his mind was screaming at him to hurry it along like what the freaking hell happened last night people!
"Hi honey." Sharon afforded him a quick glance before her attention was once again on the pile of mail in front of her. It had gone unattended for too long, but they had been exceptionally busy lately. Almost everything came out of the joint, household account now, but she and Andy still maintained their own personal finances in addition to that. "How was your evening with Gus?"
"Uh… it was fine." Rusty squinted at her. She had that casual, distracted tone that she always had when she was doing the bills. Was she freaking kidding him right now? Rusty looked around again. His head inclined as he listened, trying to discern any other sounds in the condo. There were none. He cast a careful, casual look toward the door. Andy's jacket wasn't there. His heart jumped, his stomach twisted. His mother was sitting there, basically doing finance chores, on the morning after the guy was supposed to propose to her and he was nowhere to be found. Like, how was this even a thing? It definitely wasn't normal. It couldn't be good either. He walked over and leaned against the back of the orange chair nearest her desk. "So, um, where's Andy?"
"Hm?" It took a moment for Sharon to really register his question. "Oh." She waved a hand through the air without looking up. "He had some errands to do this morning. He will be stopping by the Whole foods place if you need anything, and then he's going to pick up his dry cleaning." It was then that she looked up. She gave Rusty a bland look. "He is still driving an hour to pick up his dry cleaning at that little place near where he used to live." Sharon rolled her eyes at him. "Apparently," she continued, "they are the only ones who can get the starch just right for his shirts. So if there is anything that you need from the store, don't expect him back for a while. You know how he is."
Rusty just stared at her. He watched her go back to her task, with little more than a shake of her head and another hand wave. He blinked a few times. Did Andy change his mind? He was beginning to wonder if the guy had, like, chickened out or something. Rusty tried to get a good look at her left hand, but with the way that she was sitting, he really couldn't tell if there was a ring on it or not. Suddenly he was worried. Incredibly worried. He felt his stomach twist again. Who in their right mind would get engaged, or not, and then go pick up their dry cleaning? That was seriously abnormal. Wasn't it?
"Yeah," he replied. "I know how he is." Rusty turned slowly and walked toward the hall. Something really weird and maybe even really terrible was going on here. He decided that he was going to have to call Andy and find out what was going on. Of course, Gus had told him a dozen times to play it cool. To be chill about the whole thing, however it turned out, but how the hell could he be chill about this?
He only barely made it halfway down the hall when his mother's voice called him back. "Oh, Rusty…" Sharon waited until he reappeared to continue. He blinked owlishly at her. She arched a brow at him. "The next time that Andy decides to plan something like this, perhaps you can warn me?" She pinned him with a look before she added, "I thought that you and I were supposed to be a team. You couldn't tell me that he lost his mind?"
Rusty stared back at her for several seconds before he lurched where he stood. He took two steps forward. His hands went into his hair at exactly the same moment that his face fell. "You said no?" He didn't mean to sound so surprised by it, or completely bothered, but at that moment he stopped caring about how he sounded. "Oh my god! How could you say no? He almost worked himself into another heart attack. Do you know what we went through this week trying to pull this off, and you said no? Who does that?"
Halfway through his tirade, Rusty began to pace. Sharon placed her chin in her hand and watched as he moved back and forth in front of her desk. A small smile curved her lips. "I thought that you didn't want to know about any of it?" Before he could answer, her head tilted. "I'm surprised that you helped, honestly."
He rolled his eyes toward her, his look filled with more sarcasm than was probably wise, but given the occasion, he was risking it. "Are you kidding me? First it was going to be a weekend getaway in Napa," he began ticking it off on his hands, "and then he had the bright idea to do it at Serve. Really Sharon? Really. Be glad that I was involved. At least you didn't have to tell him no in a room full of strangers." Rusty heaved a sigh. "He's not running errands is he? You said no and he moved out, and now everything is ruined. I knew this would happen!" In a move that would have made Emily proud, Rusty turned and flung himself onto the couch, where he promptly covered his head with a throw pillow.
Sharon's back straightened. Her brow arched again. "Why do you keep assuming that I said no?" She sounded just a little offended, and perhaps she was. Why did everyone always expect her to be the bad guy in these relationships? She didn't dwell on that too long, however. Instead, she followed it with another question. "Since when are you on his side?" That was truly surprising. She had obviously miscalculated if they were teaming up against her, so to speak.
Rusty's head popped up. His brows lifted. He looked almost hopeful. He almost felt hopeful. "You didn't say no?" He watched her eyes narrow. Her lips pursed. Her head inclined again. Rusty groaned. "Forget Andy, I'm the one that is going to have a heart attack. Would someone please tell me what is going on?"
The corners of Sharon's mouth twitched. Her jaw clenched. It was all completely futile, though. She snorted a laugh even as she looked away from him, trying to avoid that very conclusion. She leaned back in her chair and folded her hands in her lap. "I am glad to know that you are no longer concerned about finding Andy Flynn at the breakfast table in his bathrobe."
It was Rusty's turn to roll his eyes. "Please," he said, tone dry, "I've seen way worse than that. Doctor Joe is going to start charging more if you guys don't cut it out. Is it so hard to lock a bathroom door?"
Sharon simply gave him a smile and a small shrug. Was it so hard for him to knock before opening a closed door? That was not the response that was on her mind though. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that yes, it was hard to lock a bathroom door, especially when your hands were busy, but she was able to refrain. Instead, she shook her head at him. "Andy is running errands," she said, "he has not moved out." Sharon leaned forward in her chair once more, gaze once again on the stacks of bills and correspondence that was spread out in front of her. "The ring didn't fit," she explained, "Nicole called this morning. She needed his help. While he is out, he is dropping the ring at the jewelers to have it sized, and since he will be on that side of town, he will pick up his dry cleaning."
Rusty ignored most of the rest of what she said. There was only one part of her statement that really mattered. He sat on his knees and watched her closely. The ring didn't fit. That meant she put it on. "You didn't say no?"
She was almost tempted to roll her eyes at him again. "I did not," she drawled.
He was off the sofa quickly. Rusty pulled his phone out of his pocket and called Gus. The moment that his boyfriend answered, he grinned widely. "Operation Bachelor Party is a go."
Sharon's head snapped up. "Rusty!" She didn't know who he was talking to, although she could guess, but it was his all too eager tone that had her attention.
Rusty waved her off as he headed down the hall again. "Sorry mom. It's payback time. He owes me. For every second of Flynn-sitting, for every sighting of that ugly green robe, for all of the make-out sessions in the kitchen, for the bathroom, and the noises, and the not telling you that I found a bra under the couch cushion. Not to mention the smelly cheese in the fridge, and all of the hours in waiting rooms, and the ICU, and seeing you cry. He really owes me. I'm cashing in." On the other end of the line, Gus was laughing, and he didn't care. It was probably pretty funny. It might have even been insane. It didn't matter. He and Andy Flynn were about to have a reckoning, and he couldn't wait.
It wasn't that he wasn't happy for them. He was. It was also a huge relief. No one was going to be awkward or broken-hearted. Underneath it all, he really just wanted his mom to be happy, and somehow, in some weird way, Andy Flynn made her happy. He made her laugh. She sang cheerful tunes while cooking on Sunday afternoons, and her eyes lit up, like they had last night when she saw the condo, in a way that made it seem like no matter what, everything would be okay. Ultimately, that was why he was okay with it, even if it was weird and gross, and more than he needed to know sometimes. But, if Andy was going to be his stepdad, they were going to clear the air, and Rusty was going to enjoy every second of it.
She watched him go. She was left sitting alone in the living room. She sighed quietly. "It's so wonderful that he has learned to be so altruistic," she stated. Sharon shook her head and turned her attention back to her chore. She wanted it done before Andy got home. After another moment, however, her eyes widened. "Napa? Oh dear…"
~FIN