AN: This chapter was so long it got split in two. The ugliness of 1920s and gang-related crimes gain traction here and then really take off next chapter, so brace yourself. TW: A racial slur is used by a racist character. Also, some songs were released not in this time frame at all, but we're just going to ignore that in this fic, okurrr?
~2/4~
Mally captures a full bottom lip between his teeth, sucking a whine out of Bonnie's throat as he strokes deeper inside her. A sharp sting runs down his back when she scratches him reflexively and Mally growls, moving to grapple her hands and pin them down on the mattress beneath them. He breaks the kiss, taking in the sight of her pleasure-stricken face. If he died right now, with that image the last thing emblazoned on his vision, he'd go to oblivion without one regret.
"Oh, God, Mally," she whimpers and he shushes her, pressing closer so that his weight blankets her body. Slender, brown legs wrap around his waist, toes curled against the backs of his thighs as she urged him closer, harder, faster. Mally happily obliged.
It's finally the new year, a little over a fortnight since Bonnie had first kissed him against the pool table, and subsequently sealed their fate, whatever it may be. They're at his place, a small apartment complex in Whitmore, a town a short drive from Mystic Falls. He hadn't wanted to be at the manor or their hometown - in Whitmore, no one asked questions or witnessed anything. He'd just brought her back from Rudy's, after she'd finished singing and long after he'd finished with business there, having circled back to pick up her up to avoid suspicion.
"Won't Rudy wonder what yer up to?" he questioned when she clambered into the Bentley with him. He'd traded it for the Buick he normally drove around in, figuring anyone who saw it might reckon it was the car of a visiting "Founders' Family" member.
She'd shaken her head at his question.
"He'll just think I'm out with friends, and it's not like that's not true."
Mally recalled having smiled when she called him her friend. This new, tentative thing between them was intense - labeling it a friendship gave it both levity and gravity, but he liked it. To be honest, Mally had never had a friend before. He'd had his family, and maybe the Salvatores could be called friends, but there was always the taint of business surrounding their interactions.
With Bonnie, it was easy to forget he was Gemini, when they could talk for hours about music and pictures and literature, or get competitive over things as stupid eating cookies or as serious as a game of chess. He couldn't just let go and do that with anyone else, forget himself for long enough to have fun. And Mally did have fun with Bonnie, a lot of it, when he wasn't going crazy wanting all of her attention for himself
He wonders now, above her and inside her, naked bodies flush together, if this could still be considered friendly behavior.
Certainly, Mally's never felt this kind of 'companionship' towards Damon.
Bonnie twists her wrists out of his hold, entwining one hand with his and throwing her other arm around his neck to pull him back for another kiss. Answering her silent demand, Mally refocuses his attention on her, sweeping the inside of her mouth with his tongue. She tastes spicy-sweet, like the cinnamon gin cocktail she likes to drink.
His free hand moves to grip her hip, holding her still so he could grind his hips into hers. She keens into his mouth, a small surprised sound that makes Mally grin. He kisses down her neck to her chest, sucks a careful hickey on her breast.
He likes her sounds, likes marking her up. They were his, like she was; her first real experiences with a man and her affectionate smiles and her glowing, cat-like eyes. All his.
"Please, Mally," she whispers. Her eyes squeeze shut and she undulates against him, pushing against his hold for more friction. "Please, please, please."
The last plea is nearly a sob. Mally brings their entwined hands up, rubbing her lips with thumb. She moves her head so that the digit slips inside her mouth, sucking at it to stop her vocalizations.
"Good girl," he praises. "Shh, I've got ya. Go ahead 'n' finish."
Bonnie's eyes open slightly, lidded and dark as she watches him fuck her. The hand still clutched by his squeezes slightly, signalling her compliance, so Mally lets it free. Gripping her hips with both hands now, he rears back slightly and pulls her hips to his, getting his angle right.
Her back bows. A tiny yelp escapes her before she strangles it off, biting into her own wrist to avoid making too much noise. A shudder waves through her body and Mally watches it, pride and fascination removing his ability to look away. His dick feels slick with her release.
The orgasm that ripples through him takes him by surprise; he hadn't felt it coming, hadn't even been working for it really, but feeling her pulsing wetness must have pushed him over. He bows over her, hands moving to grip the sheets by her head. His hips keep pumping, working him through his own orgasm and pushing Bonnie into another.
"Fuck," Mally grunts lowly. She giggles softly at the expletive, pulling him back to her in another hug. Her hands run soothing patterns down his back, pausing briefly over the circular scar on his back, where one of the bullets he'd taken had passed through him. The other had to be cut out by a field surgeon and Mally doesn't think he'll ever experience anything as traumatic ever again.
"It's okay," she coos, teasing. "I'm here, sweetie."
Mally nips at her collarbone then rolls off of her so they both have space to breathe and come back down. Bonnie rolls to her side to face him, but doesn't reach out to touch him again, knowing without being told that he's like a live wire at that moment. She just watches him with a soft smile and he watches her back.
"Happy new year, Mr. Parker."
He smiles at her, feeling warm. It was an uncomfortably pleasant feeling.
"Welcome to 1924, Miss Bennett."
"Sometimes, I think maybe I'd like to sing at the Cotton Club," Bonnie muses, leaning against the side of the metal tub.
Water dribbles down her back from where Mally squeezes the sponge. He'd filled the large wash tub with water for her when she complained about being sticky from their earlier activities and they settled into the warmth together. His phonogram plays the record Bonnie had gifted him for Christmas when she found out he had a predilection for jazz.
The saxophone's timbre in "Dancin' Dan" fills his room while Mally listens to Bonnie speak.
"Only sometimes?" he asks, moving his unlit cigarette to the side of his mouth.
She hated the smoke, so he tried not to light them up around her unless he was really agitated. They compromised with him being able to keep a stick in his mouth if he needed it. The taste of tobacco soothed Mally; he'd smoked like a train before the war, but on the frontlines he'd been unable to get a hold of cigarettes as often as he'd liked. Now, they stood in as a reminder that he made it out of those bloody trenches alive.
"It's exploitative," she said. Her body shifts under his hand so he can reach around to soap her chest. "But the wealth and fame is probably worth it."
The uncertainty in Bonnie's voice prompts him to tug her back against him and wrap his arms around her.
"I don't know," she confesses. "If I can follow my dreams at the price of my pride. Sometimes I think that makes me a coward."
Mally hums and kisses her head.
"Nah, yer the bravest gal I know," he nudges her with his shoulder. "Don't tell Josie I said that."
She laughs softly, grasping at his wrist. Her thumb traces the Gemini symbol that lines the inside.
"Your secrets are safe with me, Mr. Parker," Bonnie reassures him. The comfort makes a bittersweetness overtake the taste of tobacco in his mouth. He has to remove the cigarette from his mouth before he gets sick.
How daunting, when she was his biggest secret.
Not wanting to dwell on the sick feeling, Mally kisses Bonnie's ear and lets his uncaptured hand drift below the water to tease at Bonnie's core. She sighs and swats at him, freeing his wrist.
"Are you really a man? This can't be normal."
"Mhmm. Jus like ya a lot," he moves his released hand to cup one of her breasts, and gently slips two fingers inside of her. "Now stop squirmin'."
He angles his wrist and for the next few minutes the only word leaving Bonnie's mouth is Mally's name. He forgets the dread that made him feel sick.
Mally takes an impatient look around yard. Dressed as an ice delivery man on a Wednesday afternoon to drive some foreign skirts to a politicians' orgy was not exactly his idea of a good time. Neither was waiting for Lucas to drag his ass in from wherever the hell he was so they could get to work.
"Where the fuck is he?" he growls at Joe, checking his pocket watch again. Joe shrugs, looking worried.
"It's not like 'im t' be late like this," the younger dark-haired Parker states. He sighs. "But we gotta go, Mally, we can't wait 'round fer 'im any longer."
The eldest sibling sucks his teeth, climbing into the driver's seat of the refrigerated delivery truck they were using to smuggle the women.
"I'm gonna tan his fairy ass," he snarls to himself.
"Mally!" Joe hisses, scandalized and paused entering the front seat. "Don' go jus sayin' it like that."
The taller brother only rolls his eyes. It's just talk, no one will actually think it's true. If anything, Joe's reaction reveals more information than Mally's insult ever could.
"Whatever," he mutters and takes off. Joe grips at the open door tighter, eyes wide before swinging the rest of his body inside the moving ice truck and slamming the door shut.
"You fuckin' prick," he spits at Mally, who just waves an aggravated hand at his younger brother as he drives to the Mill.
What irks Mally the most when they arrive, is how young and wide-eyed the girls look. Because they were girls, of all types of background, all sharing the same look of wistful determination. It's unnerving how easily he can imagine Bon in their place if her family luck had been just a little different - it bothers the hell out of him. He fucking hates John Gilbert. The second-most irksome thing is how stupid and unsuspecting everyone around the shop is. With hats hung low over their eyes and the long sleeves and gloves of the ice delivery uniform covering his and Joe's tattoos, it just looks like the friendly neighborhood grocer had very hands on delivery men.
Fucking idiots. Mally decides he hates John Gilbert's neighbors too.
An Oriental girl whispers something in a foreign language to a girl who looks very much like her sister. Mally is about to tell her to stay quiet when Gilbert slaps her harshly across the face, the impact resounding. Both he and the girl are shocked by the action, the small Oriental woman gripping her cheek and her friend grabbing her in concern.
"No one's paying you to speak, girl," Gilbert sneers at her and Mally is tempted is slap the other man himself.
He reigns in the urge. Slapping John Gilbert for momentary satisfaction will have his Pa on his ass faster than a tick on old hound. Instead he scowls at the man's back and when he isn't looking, shoves an ice pack in the girl's hands.
There's going to come a day when he kills Gilbert.
After he takes these prostitutes to the Council meeting and helps Pa get his foot in.
"Where the fuck have you been?" Mally barks when the back of Lucas's blonde head enters his field of vision. Lucas freezes in the middle of the foyer, then slowly turns to face his brother. Even in the dim lighting, Mally can see the mottled coloring and disfigured swelling of his younger brother's face.
His anger ebbs into worry, then re-swells, twice as hot and deadly, as rage.
"What happened?" he demands.
"Mally-"
"What dumb motherfucker did this to you, Lucas?" Mally cuts him off sharply.
Lucas stares at him.
"I'll tell ya okay? Just calm down. We need t' get Pa." Lucas' words are slurred and the Southern drawl he usually suppresses is strong. "It's family business, Mally."
The eldest Parker boy stares at his brother.
"I won' do nothing 'til we talk wit Pa," he promises. "But I want a name t' carve on the bullet."
The fair-haired brother sighs.
"Ya gonna need a few," he says. "Mikaelsons did me up like this."
Tensions with the Mikaelsons had been brewing for years, if Mally was being quite honest. They were another syndicate family, some ducks that swam across the pond and decided to stay in America. Prior to the war, the Gemini had been on the cusps of a turf war with them.
After the war, there had been a period of relative peace - Mally assumes the Mikaelsons were dealing with their own share of grief, having lost their matriarch and youngest brother to the Spanish flu and their eldest brother in Germany. Mally certainly wasn't in any headspace for a syndicate war, having been on bedrest for recovery from the two bullets he took to the trunk and somehow managed to survive.
The problem with Mikaelsons was that they were selfish. They wanted everything they had and everything others had and if they didn't get their way, they pulled a big fish in a small pond act. Running the gambling halls in Richmond and surrounding areas wasn't enough for them. They wanted on in the Gemini's liquor runs - or really, wanted to take them over - and when Joshua refused Esther Mikaelson's 'friendly business request' shortly before America was pulled into the great war, everyone involved knew he'd inadvertently started a turf struggle.
Mugging Lucas was officially a declaration of bloodshed against the Gemini from the Mikaelsons. Sitting inside a Richmond theatre, Mally watches Kol Mikaelson a few rows in front of him. The youngest surviving brother was around Mally's age and an extremely rude movie goer. He sat with three dates, all very pretty women with big eyes, big breasts, slender ankles, and elegant clothes; the other gangster was boisterously flirting with them, his hands on curved bodies and eyes daring anyone watching to say something foul.
Slouched in his seat, hat tilted low over his eyes and hands in his pocket, Mally observed the youngest male Mikaelson under the guise of sleep. Kol liked this theater, as it had a big showroom where a burlesque show was put on. His other big haunt was a casino in downtown Richmond run by his family that Mally surmises he oversaw. He'd come to learn all this over the past few days of watching him - Kol didn't have a particular pattern, but he did have a familiar routine that he hasn't broken - while he plotted his own counter strike.
Parker's followed three big rules: one, business always comes first. Two, don't drink watered down whiskey. And three, if they send ours to the hospital, we send theirs to the grave. Mally thinks on this as he stretches and rises with the crowd, exiting the theater. An older man gripes to his date about young, entitled rich kids and Mally smiles and lights up a cigarette, amused by the complaint.
Luke had needed stitches. Kol will need a casket.
It's over a week since he's last visited Rudy's, some Gemini affiliates doing the liquor runs with Joe and the Salvatores more than he does. He hadn't even been able to come see her doing Valentine's day, although he did ring her up long enough to hear her voice.
Mally has been busy helping his father with his campaign after he (somehow) successfully bribed Mayor Lockwood into rigging the mid-elections for him to gain a spot on the towns council, and preparing everything he needed to settle this Mikaelson affair - basically to destroy them when it became a war. The tension leaves him waspish and ruthless, but when Bonnie shows up on his doorstep at nearly midnight, his dourness leaves him in the dust.
"Bon? What're ya doin' here?" he tugs her inside the apartment. "How'd you get here?"
"I borrowed Daddy's car."
Her voice is hushed and strained. Fear strikes Mally and his hands run over her form desperately. Had the Mikaelson's done something to her? Or one of those crazed Ku Klux fucks? He'd fucking kill someone.
"Mally," she grabs his hands. "I'm so sorry."
He stops trying to find some physical harm and studies her carefully. There are lines of stress and fear on her face and the harder he stares at her the more he comes to realize that it's his reaction she was apprehensive about. He doesn't like it, but why he can't quite figure yet.
"What's wrong? What're ya sayin' sorry for?"
Instead of answering, she shuffles nervously, seemingly to gather herself together. Mally's suspicion grows
"Did you -?"
"No!" She smacks him sharply and Mally scowls at her, rubbing at his cheek. She scowls right back, her apprehension forgotten in the wake of her own flared temper. "How dare you insinuate that I'm a cheat, Malachai Parker, I ought to slap you senseless! You idi-"
Mally cuts off her rant with a kiss. When he pulls back, she's still glaring at him, but her anger is substantially less. She'd accepted his wordless apology.
"If it ain't that, then we'll be fine. What's it then?"
Her tortured look returns.
"I'm sorry," she whispers again. "But I don't know what to do, Mally, I've never -" she cuts herself off and takes a deep breath, steadying herself. Spine straightening, chin angling stubbornly, she opens her eyes and sets the burning malachite orbs on him.
"I'm pregnant, Mally." After her confession, all the bravery seems to leave her. Tears dampen her eyes. "I'm so sorry, I know this isn't a good situation. I didn't mean to. Please don't be -"
She keeps on speaking, but Mally can't hear her. He stopped hearing anything past the word 'pregnant' and the idea of it, of a child, their child, fills his chest with innumerable feelings, too big for him to contain in his body. But her tone, growing more desperate and pleading the longer he remains silent, returns him to the real world.
Mally pulls Bonnie into a hug. Between them, in her womb, a small life is growing and he can almost feel the pulse of it, the connection between them. Already, he loves the little thing like he loves it's mother.
Bonnie's tearful apologies falter. She hugs him back, tucking her face to the unbuttoned top of his shirt.
"You're not mad?" she asks.
She sounds so small, so relieved. It angers him that she'd be so worried he'd be angry, but it's his own fault. He doesn't have the kindest reputation and he hasn't told her that this...thing, this feeling between them actually meant everything to him.
Shaking his head, he hugs her closer.
"How d'you know?"
"Grams," she whispers. "Mama's mama. You know how she does magic? I felt sick and she made me tea, then did my leaves. We went to a negro's doctor out of town to make sure."
"Rudy know?"
Bonnie's head shakes in the negative and she pulls back to look at him.
"I think...Mally," her tears spring fresh again. "I think I have to get rid of him. Our baby." She starts to cry in earnest.
"Daddy wants me to get married and he told me to stay away from you and..." she takes a shuddering breath. "I love you."
The confession is quiet, barely a breath. Mally has to swallow the lump in his throat that it evokes.
"I love you," she repeats. "But Daddy is right, I deserve to do it right, to have marry a good man and have his children."
And that hurts, the idea of her with another man. His grip on her waist tightens slightly. The idea of any of her children not being his seems wrong.
Josie's words from months ago echo in his head again.
We can protect her.
She's his. She's his. Bonnie was made for no other man.
Coming to his decision takes only seconds. He cups her face and pulls her into another kiss. Then he kisses her forehead and each trembling eyelid. Taking her hand, he leads her to the sofa in his living room, bidding her to take a seat.
Bonnie watches him in confusion as he disappears into his room.
It doesn't take Mally long to find what he needs. Pa had given it to him shortly after he returned from the war, insisting that his mother would want him to have it. At the time, Mally had scoffed, knowing himself well enough to know that he'd probably never use this, but Pa had been persistent.
Now, Mally's glad he was.
Bonnie smiles tremulously at him when he reappears, but it falls too quickly to fool Mally into thinking her fears have subsided. But hopefully what he does next helps soothe the stress in her eyes.
Kneeling in front of her, Mally grabs at her hands and implores her with a serious look. He clears his throat and picks his words carefully.
"I ain't a good man," he smiles ruefully at her. "Not in the slightest. But you're right: you do deserve marriage and a happy home."
Her mouth opens, but before she can speak, Mally slips his mother's ring on her finger. She stares down at it, a tear falling down her cheek before she looks back up at him, shock lining her pretty features.
"And I'm telling you now, Bonnie, if you leave, I'll let you. You can find yourself a good man, far better than me, and he'll adore you, I'm sure of it," because how could he not, Mally doesn't say. Instead he pulls her ringed hand forward and places it on his chest, right over his beating heart.
"He'll adore you, Bon, give you a happy life, but I promise you this - you won't fill his whole world like you fill mine. You won't be the one person he longs for at all hours, you won't be the lightning that struck him and changed the way his heart beats. So if you want your good man, you should leave now, and go do what you need to do and I will let you go, because I love you, too."
Her lips part, breath caught, and green eyes rounded when he says that. But Mally needs to finish, to lay it all out, so she can make her choice, so Mally can know for sure that her choice is or isn't him.
"But if you take this," he thumbs at the ring he put on her finger. "And if you'll have me, I'll make it my business to keep you happy."
Suddenly, he grins beatifically and she grins back reflexively before her smile fades as she watches him seriously.
"And I'm sure after all our dealings, you know what business means to a Parker."
"Business first," she murmurs, nodding. Mally tickles under her chin, making her smile re-emerge. The hand goes to cup her cheek, caressing the warmth.
"Always, Bonnie." He swallows again and they stare at each other, drifting closer, magnetized.
"You'll always be first for me," he promises, right before they kiss. This time, Bonnie is the one to pull him closer and Mally knows her answer then.
When Rudy's fist comes flying for his jaw, Mally doesn't even bother trying to stop it. Instead he catches the punch with his jaw and goes stumbling back, falling to the ground.
"Daddy!" Bonnie admonishes her father.
The couple had decided to tell Bonnie's father first, as they both had no doubt he'd be the most vocal opponent to their union. It was early in the morning, still the dusky part of dawn and earlier than most people rise, when they showed up. Rudy had eyed them warily from his porch when he saw Mally's Buick pull up behind Bonnie in his car, setting his coffee down. His brow wrinkled as he looked between them and questioned where she'd been all night. The man's face had grown almost apoplectic when Mally had taken Bonnie's hand in his and told him, quietly but surely, that they were getting married.
That was when he pretty much just disappeared from the porch and then the next instant, his fist came to greet Mally's face.
"You hush," he growls at Bonnie. The imposing man turns his glower from his daughter to Mally. "I shoulda let yer white ass die in France! How couldya do this?"
"Daddy!" Bonnie calls his attention back to her. "It was me, okay? I went after him."
"Don' lie t' me!" Rudy bellows. He points at Mally, who pulls himself up from. "Ya think I'm a damn fool? Ya think I ain't see the way this fuck watched ya? I told you t' stay away for a reason, Bonnie!"
"I'm pregnant!" she snaps sharply, green eyes glaring at her father. "It's Mally's."
Rudy freezes for all of a second before he starts stomping towards Mally. The tall Parker wonders if he should maybe fight back after all, because he can't just let Rudy wail on him the way he sees the man wants to. He doesn't get the chance to ponder further because Bonnie throws herself between the two hot-tempered men.
Her pa doesn't even pause. His fist opens into a flat palm and he would've smacked Bonnie clear across her face if Mally hadn't yanked her out of his warpath.
Mally sweeps his legs out and trips Rudy, whose anger had made him careless in his advance. Remembering the image of Rudy's large hand descending towards Bonnie's face, Mally's own rage flares like a flashbang. The younger man slips on top of his love's father, pushing him down, ready to strike. Behind him, Bonnie hisses his name anxiously, not yelling to avoid nosy neighbors, but still loud enough for Mally to regain some sense.
"Stop," he barks at his former comrade. "Rudy, calm down."
Rudy pops him in the mouth. Internally, Mally sighs. Fuck it. Sometimes men have to do what they have to do.
They grapple briefly until a cold jet of water splash them both. They look up to see Bonnie with a hose bent in her hand.
"Stop rolling in the mud!" she snaps. "Have you two lost your damn minds?"
Mally stops tussling, rising off Rudy warily. He goes to stand by Bonnie, who tosses the hose away and stares at her father.
"Daddy," she says quietly. "We have choices to make. You can hear me out or toss me out, but you only get one choice and you can't take it back."
Father and daughter stare at each other, communicating silently in their stand-off. Rudy's face softens slightly as he shifts his gaze away from Bonnie and he stands. He shoots one last glare at Mally, then addresses his daughter.
"There's coffee in the house, c'mon," he starts to lead the way inside. He stops, turning a stern look on Bonnie.
"'N' turn off my hose girl, water ain't free!"
"We ain't jus' gonna let those ugly fucks get away with jumpin' Luke, Pa!" Joe's angry voice rang out, Olivia's boisterous affirmation supporting him. Lucas just sighs, and shifts uncomfortably, not quite sure where to throw his hat between his battling siblings.
"Daddy's not saying we won't hit back, Joseph," Josie snaps at her younger brother before Joshua can speak up. "But he's got his campaign, and Mally's got the paper in the works to turn the expand the orchards into a legitimate corporation. We cannot publically afford to be in a syndicate turf war right now!"
"Who gives a shit 'bout politics? Mally's right, our focus should be on expanding business, not gettin' in bed wit' fuckin' lily-livered wannabe blue bloods. We're Parkers, not Roosevelts!"
"The politics is business, you fool. And since when did you start speaking for Mally?"
The arguing siblings turn their attention to their equally dark-headed brother, whose gazing out Joshua Parker's window with a glassy-eyed look. There's a bruise on his face that he waved off when asked about it and everyone assumed he'd just gotten in one of his normal scuffles, except he'd been in an uncharacteristic fog since he showed up with it. An unlit cigarette hangs almost limply from his mouth, a matchbook in his hand, as if he started to indulge his habit and got distracted halfway through the task.
"Are we boring you, Malachai?" Joshua asks, slightly annoyed by Mally's obvious spacing out when he was the one most active in all manner of Gemini dealings.
His oldest boy blinks slowly and turns his attention back to the room, where the majority of his family stares at him in a mix of exasperation, annoyance, and bemusement. Sitting up straighter, he finishes lighting his cigarette and taking a drag, before he addresses them.
"The Mikaelson issue's gotta be dealt with quietly, Joe. Pa's dumb campaign's networking and power fer us. We work in on the government, we work in on the laws, we up our money and our control o'er it."
"So we're just gonna let -!"
"No," Mally cuts Olivia off before her smart mouth makes him want to set her pretty blonde head on fire. "We bide our time, make 'em feel safe. Then we strike back, and strike back hard. We ain't in it just for the caskets, we're fuckin' 'em out of the casinos too. If they ain't gonna leave it alone, why should we?"
In his periphery, Mally sees a proud and malicious grin flicker across Pa's face before the older man stifles it behind his usual stoic expression.
"'Sides, all this yellin' and I ain't even tell y'all the good news yet," Mally grins, his bright, infectious smile at odds with the tension in the room.
His family looks at him oddly when he puts his cigarette out. Rubbing his hands over his knees, his fingers drum a quick beat and he's suddenly keyed up, almost reminiscent of the kid he was before the war got him. It throws everyone in the room for a loop.
"Bust out the champagne and yer Sunday best, 'm getting married."
It takes a moment for his words to register, but when they do, his announcement is met with a collective "what?" before a cacophony of questions and opinions arise. Mally just grins, the cat that ate the canary, and fields off their questions as infuriatingly as he possibly can before he settles them down.
"Look, it's...unconventional," he finally admits. "The bride's Bonnie Bennett, Rudy's girl. She's pregnant."
Joshua's feels apoplectic at that, but soon shifts to confused when all four of Mally's siblings suddenly burst into loud laughter. Mally just grins back at them, nodding his head and seemingly waiting for them to start in on him.
"Of course," Livvy gasps. "Of course, Mr. Marriage-is-the-devil's-work would end up having a shotgun wedding. Oh my goodness," she grips her twin, an inelegant snort coming from her, both fair-haired siblings gasping for breath.
"Yeah, yeah, Livvy Piggy," Mally drawls back, disregarding his sister's unladylike middle finger. "Laugh it up."
"I knew it!" Josie crows. She comes over to sweep her twin into a hug that Mally playfully tries to lean out of. Ignoring him, she kisses his cheek. "Finally! I'm so happy for you!"
Joe shakes his head. "'M jus' fuckin' amazed the sentence 'm getting married' left yer damned mouth."
And seeing all his children's levity, Joshua swallows down the bad feeling in his chest and offers his boy a congratulations.
From the passenger seat, Bonnie huffs again.
"Really, Mally, where on earth are you taking me?" she questions, turning her blindfolded head in his direction.
"It's a surprise, stop askin' me," he chides her. She huffs once more, folding her arms across her chest and leaning back into the Buick's leather seats.
"You are a blockhead," she informs him primly. Mally grins at her irritation, eyes darting off the road for a moment to take in her pouting. It's cute, her simple, pretty blue dress and curled bob giving her a deceptively soft appearance.
"S'tha any way t' talk t' the man with yer life in his hands?"
She scoffs. "If you were ever going to kill me, you've had plenty of opportunities. You just like to play the big, bad gangster."
"Nah, I only like playin' wit' you," he pats her thigh and squeezes it just so, tickling her and making her squirm and shriek. She slaps blindly at his right shoulder, which he holds up to fend her off, his left hand holding the wheel steady. A pretty smile lights up the portion of her face that's uncovered.
"I really do hate you," she mutters. It's Mally's turn to scoff.
"Then gimme back my ring."
Bonnie pulls her left hand to her chest, cradling it. "Not until you've written me into the will, sir," she says in an mock-appalled tone. Mally ruffles her hair at that, making her scowl and rush to smooth the disturbed strands down.
"You're such an ass, why am I marrying you?" she bemoans. Mally pulls the car to a stop.
"'Cause I bought you a house?" he volunteers.
"What?" Bonnie moves to loosen the tie Mally had wrapped around her eyes, but he catches her hands.
"Not yet," he commands gently, then opens the door. Guiding her out of the car and up the farmhouse's long driveway, he moves behind her and takes the makeshift blindfold away. Bonnie blinks, eyes adjusting then going wide when she takes in the large space she's standing in.
"Okay," Mally tells her as she pivots around slowly. "Go crazy."
But Bonnie stares at him, her brow furrowed.
"This place is…," she trails off. "There's so much space, Mally, this is too much."
The Gemini shrugs, looking down. He gets uncomfortable meeting her gaze sometimes, as her green eyes always seem to look right through him.
"I was gonna move out anyway," he grumbles. "'Side the kids'll need the space."
"Kids?" she asks softly. Mally smirks, peering up at her through his lashes.
"Don' tell me ya wanna stop at jus' the one?" he teases. "Tha' won't be any fun fer either o' us."
But Bonnie doesn't fall for his teasing and Mally's grin falls, face becoming serious as tears suddenly spring up in verdant eyes.
"What'd I say?" he asks, alarmed, but Bonnie shakes her head and steps forward to hug him.
"I love you," she hiccups, pressing her face to the lapels of his jacket. "So much."
Mally relaxes slightly, curving around her. He cradles her the back of her head and lets her lean on him.
"This is jus' the baby makin' ya cry, right? Remind me to spank 'im when he gets out."
Bonnie heaves a choked laugh and pinches his ass. Mally retaliates by lightly smacking hers.
Soon enough, the couple are play-wrestling and then Bonnie is kissing Mally, jumping up so that her legs are wrapped around his waist and his hands are gripping her thighs. The kiss goes from playful to slow. Smoldering. Bonnie sucks his bottom lip in her mouth before releasing it, then pecking his ear lobe.
"Show me where we'll be sleeping, Mr. Parker," she breathes lowly.
It takes very little time for Mally to get them upstairs, throwing his suit jacket on the wood floor and laying Bonnie against it. It takes even less time for him to divest her of her undergarments and push up her pretty blue dress.
Bonnie doesn't let him tease her too long, pulling him up by the hair when his face lingers by her sex.
"I want you," she whimpers.
And Mally, gentleman that he is, obliges his lady's wishes, rolling her on top of him and letting her slide his cock inside her heat and ride it to her satisfaction.
Damon comes up from behind him, throwing an arm around around his shoulder and ruffling Mally's hair.
"Congratulations, you dog," the Italian man grins at him. "I'd say I'm jealous, but I'm really not."
"Yeah, yeah," Mally mutters, smiling briefly at him. He adjusts his tie and the lavender boutonniere on his lapel, his grin fading as nervousness overtakes him. Damon watches him closely, leaning back against the farmhouse Mally had purchased, before purveying the land.
"S'a good spot for a family. Isolated. Nobody to bother you," bright blue eyes pin Mally. "Nobody to help you out if you need it though."
Mally sighs.
"Ya think I'll need it?"
"I just think we're in the middle of a turf war with the those fucking animals," Damon sighs.
He pulls out a cigarette case, offers Mally one. He raises an eyebrow in surprise when the Parker declines.
"Bonnie don' like it," Mally explains. "She'll taste it when I kiss 'er an' get all huffy later."
Damon just grins and shakes his head. His very obvious thoughts annoy the taller man.
"Shuddup," Mally growls.
The Italian's grin just gets wider and he gestures to Mally.
"C'mon, man," he says. "I gotta go ordain the marriage of the perfect couple today, I can't stand around here with you."
Mally snorts, but follows his friend to the orchard where his and Bonnie's families are gathered.
It's a small wedding party; Mally's siblings and his father, Alaric, Rudy, Jamie, Grams, Bonnie's tall, pretty cousin Lucy, and Stefan, who kept shooting Lucy covert looks when the woman wasn't looking.
A hush descended on them when Mally stepped into view. A few rows of seats were placed around the huge apple tree Bonnie had fallen in love with, white and lavender ribbons decorating the tree and the seats. The tree itself was budding prettily, white blossoms just barely into their mid-March budding. Small bunches of lavender and baby's breath decorated the scenery and the only reason Mally knew this is because he'd walked in one too many times on the woman chatting about what to do with the wedding, considering how contained it had to be.
The wedding party finds their seats and Rudy disappears into the house to fetch Bonnie. Mally goes to the makeshift altar at the foot of the tree, kneeling in front of it while Damon takes his place behind it. A few moments later, music starts up and Mally hears the raven-haired man whistle lowly.
"She's beautiful, Mally," the officiator mutters to the groom.
Soon, there's a rustle of fabric and Bonnie is kneeling beside him. Her hand slips into his and Mally steals a glance at her. Malachite eyes, verdant and glowing, peek back at him through a white veil. Bride and groom grin brightly at each other, almost silly with delight at being together and soon being united.
The actual ceremony is a blur for Mally. It's old world and completely illegal, but it's very much real to Mally and Bonnie and all of their family and friends witnessing it.
Rudy and Joshua drape a shawl that Bonnie's Grams had knitted over them and Damon tied it around them, droning on about bonds and unity. Mally doesn't remember the words, just how right it felt to have Bonnie pressed to his side. He remembers saying "I do" and slipping a ring on her left hand while she did the same to him.
He remembers the way she clung to him when Damon tells them they can kiss, the way he couldn't stop smiling into it and the lightness in his chest for once crowding out the worry and anger he's been feeling since the year started.
After that there's cake and dancing. Bonnie throws her bouquet of purple and white flowers. Lucy catches it, much to Helena's disappointment - the toddler cries until Lucy offers to plait the flowers into her dark hair. The Salvatore's had provided some of their specially brewed moonshine for the party and everyone, even Bonnie, was a little tipsy. She cries when she dances with her father and Mally swears he sees a twinkle of tears in Rudy's eyes as well. When night falls, they build up small bonfire and toss in the lavender, which fills the yard with an aroma that keeps everyone calm as they eat and socialize.
Mally pulls Bonnie up to dance with him when Josie puts on "Somebody Loves Me" and Bonnie sings along with Ella Fitzgerald into his ear.
"Somebody loves me," she hums. "I wonder who? Maybe it's you."
Chuckling, Mally kisses her cheek.
"Maybe I do," he mutters in her ear. "Wife."
"Husband," she replies, smiling softly. "Maybe I love you, too."
He dips her and when he pulls her up, he kisses her again, right on the mouth, unprompted, in front of the only people who matter. His hand presses to her still flat belly and Mally vows to himself that he would protect the little family he made for himself.
At whatever the cost.
Before he can go on his honeymoon, Joshua demands that he and Lucas go check on John Gilbert's business proposal and Mally goes to the Mill with some reluctance.
All the cigarettes he hadn't smoked because of Bonnie's distaste for his hobby, he blows through in record time, especially after listening to the idiocy Gilbert proposes. Even Lucas is looking at John in disbelief. Mally blinks at him, very slowly, showing his skepticism.
"Let me get this straight," he utters removing the cigarette from his mouth. The rings on his right hand glint in the light and he can see the way Jonathan eyes them nervously, no doubt wondering what the metal would feel like biting his skin if Mally's temper proved hot.
The newlywed had taken to wearing multiple rings to disguise the wedding band on his left hand. Luckily for him, his reputation and taste in heavier, simple designs made them come off as an intimidation tactic as much as an odd fashion choice.
"Ya want us to run out Rudy Hopkins - our business affiliate and the man who saved my life 'cause he actually fought in the war," he references Gilbert's draft avoidance, one that everyone and their dumb, deaf, and blind grandmamas knew was faked. "So that ya can take o'er his speakeasy?"
"I know it may seem distasteful to you, given your...history," Jonathan says with a snake oil smile. "Let's not say there's no honor among thieves. But I think, considering how well our last business venture went, that we can do this quite well. And besides, it's just not right, for that nigger to swindle good people out of their money like that and making them drive to that part of town just for a good time. With our combined resources, any club we form will be much more...entertaining."
Lucas shifts uncomfortable at John's words, shooting his older brother a worried look. The ugly slur combined with the suggestion of Mally running prostitutes again…
Mally leans back in his chair, crossing one leg over his knee. Saying nothing, he blows smoke in a French exhale and watches John like a hawk. He cracks his knuckles and feels a twinge of sadistic delight when the Gilbert's eyes dart to his hand. Controlling the rage simmering in his stomach, he questions the slimy man in front of him
"And how exactly do ya propose getting Rudy to bow out? He ain't exactly easy to cow."
Gilbert shifts.
"You let me worry about that. But I hear his little daughter is pretty for a negro and I know some people who would know how to use that to make a convincing argument for him to sign over his business to me."
Before Gilbert can even finish speaking, Mally has him hauled up by his collar and thrust against the wall. His hands wrap around the other's man throat, squeezing tight he hauls up John Gilbert by the throat. Lucas stands up in alarm, gripping his brother's shoulder, but Mally ignores him in favor of watching Gilbert turn an interesting shade of purple. Mally cocks his head to the side, face blank and eyes cold.
"Lemme jus make somethin' real clear," the Parker states steadily. "Ya know. You. Know. I don't like the whorin'. You know I don't like the shit ya do to women - runnin' broads ain't something I like t' do, Johnny-boy."
He pulls John back slightly, and slams him into the wall so that maybe that information will stick in his thick, ugly head.
"Ya think I won't notice or care 'cause you only do that shit to the immigrant women and the coloreds, like I can't see through yer bullshit. Ya come to me with this shitty offer, when you know jackshit 'bout bootleggin', and yet yer askin' us to help ya sell some whiskey with yer women by threatenin' the family o' the man I owe my life to? Tha' our supplier owes his life to? No, I'm gonna make this very fucking clear."
Mally spits his cigarette into John's face. Behind him, Lucas hisses in shock and discontent, but the elder brother is beyond the point of caring.
"We will keep to business as usual, Mr. Gilbert. My father is very grateful for your help with getting him to Lockwood, but insofar as this business goes, I run it and you will not tamper with any of our ventures pertaining to any other speakeasies. Should you like to open your own salon, I will be more than accommodating in helping you get resources. But What. You. Will. Not. Do. Is threaten the livelihood of my friend and a source of my profits, do you understand?"
Gilbert stutters and Mally smacks his face lightly, releasing his neck to push him against the wall by his shoulders.
"What was that, Johnny? You're not going to fuck with my money?"
"No," the shorter man wheezes. Mally pats his shoulders, smoothing out the wrinkles in his clothes. Gilbert bites back a flinch when Mally straightens out the tie he ruined.
"Good. I'm glad we came to a' understandin'," Mally grins at him, suddenly outwardly friendly despite the menace that still lined his body. "Now, word o' mouth is that yer lookin' to expand yer company into the hospitality industry. Wouldya like to talk business?"
Mally is highly annoyed when his Pa asks him to postpone his honeymoon one more day to be there with him for the poll results.
"Yer gonna fuckin' win the spot, Pa, are ya serious?" he snaps. Joshua frowns at him.
"It's not over until it's over, Mally. I want you here in case I don't win. I don't want to have to try to phone you in France just to go over the contingency plans. That's incredibly expensive."
Mally waves his hand around, indicating the general size of Gemini manor.
"'Cause we're so badly off, huh?"
Joshua's frown just deepens.
Mally plops down in his seat, intent on ignoring his father until he can go home to his wife and try to find ways to make it up to her that they had to catch a later train to New York before they could take the ferry to France. It's not like it delays them much, it's still the same boat ride, but he'd been hoping to stretch out the traveling a bit so as not to put too much stress on his pregnant wife.
Her belly had popped recently and she's started wearing looser dresses and coats to hide it. She's still as petite and slender as ever, and only looks like she's pregnant when she's naked, but she's got a glow that Josie says only comes from being with child.
The heavier she looks, the more terrified Mally feels. They opted to travel under the guise of a businessman and his secretary, even went so far to book separate but neighboring rooms on the train and ferry. The chateau they'll be staying at in Burgundy is owned by cousin and used as a vacation house, since the area was experiencing a lot of emigration. Aside from two housekeepers and chef contracted to secrecy, there's technically no reason for Mally to be so jittery.
But still. He's worried that traveling with him in her state will give them away, that a commie or someone with Klan ties will take one look at them and know, the way all bigots seem to know, and that Mally will wake up with a dead wife, and a grieving, angry heart.
Joshua taps him on the shoulder.
"You're always in your head these days," he chides his son. He nods to the radio. "They're making the announcements now."
In silence, father and son listen carefully, shoulders relaxing in tandem when they hear the name Joshua H. Parker listed as one of the new-term council members.
"This place is like a much more elegant version of our home," Bonnie observes, looking around the foyer of the country chateau. Mally quirks his brow at her, setting one of her luggage bags down.
"How so?"
"It's French," she replies simply and smiles at him.
"S'pose it is," he agrees, nodding his head to her logic. She beams at him.
"Here, I'll help you get the rest of the luggage from the car."
They work quickly as a team, unpacking the car and settling in for their two weeks away from their world. Flopping down on the bed together, they heave simultaneous sighs of relief. Mally's happy to finally be at their destination. The cloak-and-dagger of actually getting there had been grating, and Mally leans over, pulling Bonnie into his arms for the first time in 3 days.
"After we get back home, we ain't ever leavin' the house again," he informs her.
Bonnie giggles, snuggling in and kissing him indulgently, making him almost ready to shake off his fatigue and fuck her right there. She pulls away before he gets too wound up.
"I may find that agreeable," she confesses. "That was awful."
He holds her for a few moments longer, just enjoying the furnace-like heat his little Bonster produced. Her body ran incredibly hot for someone so tiny. Finally, Mally pats her shoulder and sits up.
"Let's change," he suggests. "'M tired of bein' in these fuckin' clothes."
They change into Mally's blue, striped pajamas - she takes the button top and throws her silk robe over it while he gets the bottom and pairs it with an undershirt - then head to the kitchen for a snack. There are several meals prepared for them in the icebox and a few covered plates on the table with some room provisions. Bonnie decides she wants to dig into one. Her husband just satisfies himself with the bread and cheese from the table, and watches her while she bangs around the poor stove. Mally did not marry a cook.
Bonnie manages not to burn their lodgings down reheating ratatouille, for which Mally is quite grateful. He pours them both some red wine, even though he knows Bonnie will probably only sip at her glass before letting him have the bulk of it. He doesn't think anything's wrong with it, but she insists drinking too much is no good for the baby. Mally has no idea where she gets her odd ideals, but he's unbothered in indulging.
"Oh, praise Jesus," Bonnie moans, taking a mouthful of the vegetable soup straight from the post. "Honey, this is so good, come have some."
Never one to turn down food, Mally comes up behind her, one arm around her swollen waist and the other redirecting the spoon in her hand to his mouth. She glares at him.
"That is good," he agrees.
"That was mine," she grumbles. He smiles down at her and pecks her nose. Turning off the stove, he tugs her to face him and pulls his shirt off. She peruses his chest with a light smile, that melts into a glower when he throws his over her face.
"First of all, why? Secondly, I already have a wrap," she gripes, grasping at the shirt. Mally swats her hand away and turns her around, folding the shirt around her head until it effectively shields her eyes.
"Let's play a game."
"What game? And why do all your games involve blindfolding me?"
"A guessin' game. And 'cause it's sexy."
She shakes her head. "You're full of baloney, you hoodlum."
"It is," Mally insists and guides her to sit on the floor. Grabbing two plates off the table, he sets them on the ground on one side of her before he settles in behind her, leaning back against the cabinetry. He settles his long legs on either side of her bare ones.
"Ready?"
"I suppose," she sighs. He smiles and grabs a grape.
"Okay," he say. "Open wide."
Bonnie harrumphs and opens her mouth, and Kai pops the grape in. She chews it.
"Grape."
He feeds her another fruit.
"Berry."
"Wha' kind?"
"Strawberry."
He kisses her cheek in reward, then switches the food up.
"Cheese and cracker."
Another snack.
"Prosciutto?"
"French type," he prompts. She falls quiet, thinking.
"I don't know."
"Jambon de," he feeds her another slice, letting his finger tarry on her lips. "Bayonne."
"Jambon de Bayonne," she repeats against his finger. Her tongue darts out to lick the salt from it.
"Mhmm," he hums against her neck.
He nips it lightly, pressing a few kisses against the length of it. He can feel her pulse against his mouth and, as she leans back, he can see the shadow of her bare cleavage beneath his pajama top. Mally undoes the first button. Bonnie pouts.
"Food?" she queries, somewhat agitated, making her husband laugh. He grabs a random fruit and puts in her mouth, still undoing the buttons.
"We already," she gasps when he opens the shirt and palms her breast. They've gotten bigger and more sensitive as her pregnancy progressed, something the newlyweds both found to be a pleasant surprise.
"We already did strawberries," she breathes.
"Yeah," Mally mutters, rolling her nipples between her fingers. Bonnie moans, melting against him.
"Mally," she huffs. Her chest pushes against his hands. "What about the game?"
Sucking a bruise against her neck, Mally release one breast to palm her sex roughly, rolling her clit with the pad of his finger. Bonnie bucks against him
"Still playin'," he tells her. He brings the hand that caressed her back to her mouth. "Suck, don't bite."
She obeys. Her mouth is hot and wet and Mally kind of wants to make her taste his dick as well. Wonders if she'd like to.
"Slide down, kitten," he tells her. "Put yer head in my lap."
Something like a whimper comes from Bonnie as she follows his command. Pushing the pajama waistband down, he grips his dick and guides Bonnie's head to where it is. Her mouth is already open and she tongues it eagerly, humming her approval.
Head tilted back, Mally lets her lick and suck at him to her own rhythm for a while before he gently grasps her head and guides her to where he'd like her. She plays along, sucking hard at the tip when he won't let her go down any further, then relaxing her throat when he makes her blow him at a steady pace. She only taps his thigh for release when he's slow thrusting down her mouth and Mally takes that as all the invite he needs to turn her over on her hands and knees.
Sidling up behind her, Mally shoves his pants lower, around his knees, and slowly slides his cock into the warm sleeve between her legs, making Bonnie moan.
"Oh my god, Mally," she breathes. "Yes, please."
He leans down and presses his mouth against the top of her head, kissing there. He embraces her closer so that her back is flush to his chest. He gives a few shallow thrusts, teasing making Bonnie groan and press her hips back against his pelvis.
"Don't tease."
"So demandin'," he tuts. "I can jus' stop."
"I'll kill you," Bonnie growls, grinding back on him. Mally laughs, full-bellied and happy, and holds her hips tight. He then proceeds to fuck his wife like she commanded him to.
The majority of their time in France passes similarly.
A/N2: I got a cold from hell then went on vacation in rapid succession. Please don't dump me yet, I have two more parts to do.