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Punk was behind bar the eve of Thanksgiving helping Mateo on a busy night. Punk would rather sling drinks behind the bar then be in an awkward environment with AJ and Penny. Finally after calling in more help both could take a short break.

"So." Mateo said looking at Punk as they stepped outside of the hot bar for some cold air.

"So?" Punk asked.

"Why didn't you tell me about my sister?" Mateo asked him.

"About her being bipolar?" He asked and Mateo nodded. "It's not my business."

"AJ isn't your business?" Mateo asked curiously and Punk laughed.

"AJ is very much my business. But her private medical shit isn't anyone's business but hers." Punk clarified.

"Is it weird?" Mateo asked him.

"No." Punk said shaking his head. "AJ is the most passionate woman I've ever met in my life and that has to do with her being bipolar and I love her for it."

"You love her?" Mateo asked amused.

"You know what I meant." Punk defended quickly.

"You think she killed Penny yet?" Mateo asked.

"It's very possible." Punk said to him with a smile. "You should have seen Ape's face when she walked into the bedroom and Penny was on top of me."

"I could only imagine." Mateo laughed. "Maria is going to come tomorrow, that cool?"

"It's April's thing but I'm sure she'd be thrilled. How did you force Maria into this?" Punk asked him.

"She was supposed to fly out to see her family but her flight got canceled due to weather." Mateo said to him. "She wants to see Penny anyway."

"I'm hosting Christmas though." Mateo said to him and Punk eyed him.

"Do you mean we're hosting Christmas?" Punk asked him. "Unless you have a new place to crash and I wasn't aware."

"I'll do all of the work." Mateo said and Punk shook his head.

"I hate Christmas shit. The tree's, the lights, the fucking peppermint." Punk complained.

"It's AJ's favorite holiday." Mateo informed him. "She'd be really sad if you didn't even have a tree."

"Fuck." Punk muttered. "She has to deal with it." he said quickly. "She can have her own tree and you can do whatever at the house but not tree or decorations."

"What's even the point than?" Mateo scoffed.

"I don't know." Punk shrugged. "You Mendez's have all taken over my life these last few months. You my place and your sister my personal life- I'm not budging on Christmas."

"What about when you have kids?" Mateo asked. "They won't celebrate Christmas?"

"I'll jump off that bridge when I get to it but as of right now I don't see kids in my future." Punk told him.

"AJ is not going to like-" Mateo began.

"I'm onto you. You keep telling me AJ likes and dislikes all these things you want me to change." Punk laughed. "AJ doesn't want kids."

"What? That's ridiculous. You have to change her mind on that." Mateo said to him..

"No I don't." Punk laughed. "You went from not being sure about me being with April to trying to get me to convince her to have kids."

"You two would have cute kids. I want to be an Uncle." Mateo said to him.

"Why don't you go have kids with your wife? I bet if you would she would take you back in the house since that's the reason you two are separated." Punk joked.

"I did tell her I want kids but now she doesn't believe me." Mateo said to him. "She thinks I only want them now because it's what she wants to hear."

"Is it?" Punk asked. "Don't agree to something you don't want no matter how much you love her."

"Trust me man once you're in deep enough you'll do anything for your girl." Mateo said to him. "Whether it's have kids or put up a Christmas tree."

"That won't work on me." Punk smirked. "I've never had a good Christmas."

"We'll see." Mateo smirked.

Punk walked into the apartment at almost three in the morning. Everything seemed in place so he was sure AJ hadn't killed Penny. He walked into AJ's bedroom and she was sleeping soundly in bed. He kicked off his shoes and stripped down before crawling into the bed with her.

"You should sleep on the couch after what you did to me today." AJ said in a tired voice and he rolled over to face her, eyes still closed he kissed her head.

"I'm sorry but Mateo really did need the extra set of hands." Punk whispered. "Are you ok?"

"It was a long day." she said with her eyes still closed.

"Your apartment reeks of weed." He laughed.

"I know." She groaned. "You know my mom is staying with her?" she asked and he looked at her.

"Yea? That's weird." Punk said to her. "Look, there's something I have to tell you."

"Uh-oh." AJ said opening her eyes.

"It's not that bad." He assured her and she narrowed her eyes at him. "But I don't celebrate Christmas."

"You what?" He asked.

"I don't celebrate Christmas and it's probably a shitty time to bring this up but Mateo was saying tonight how it's your favorite holiday-" Punk began.

"He was busting your balls." AJ smirked. "Halloween is my favorite holiday. Then Thanksgiving because I'm kind of a cow. Christmas isn't even in the top five."

"He's such a dick." Punk groaned annoyed.

"Why do you hate Christmas? What did it ever do to you?" She asked teasingly.

"Christmas Eve when I was seven was when my mom left the first time and my dad told me she wouldn't be back." Punk told her and AJ gave him her full attention.

"Christmas when I was nine my mom got hammered and accidentally burned down the Christmas tree with all the gifts underneath." He smirked. "Christmas when I was 12 my mom tried to kill herself. I found her."

"I had no idea." AJ said sitting up.

"My parents were separated my mom got me on that particular and she cut her wrists in the bath tub." he confided.

"That must have been horrifying." She said laying back down but wrapping her arm around him. "Christmas when I was 18-" He began.

"Your dad died." She whispered. "I remember."

"It's just not the holiday for me." He said to her.

"That's fine." She said to him.

"It's why I usually open my shop on Christmas. You'd be surprised how many people come in for Christmas tattoo's." he laughed.

"I'll go to work with you than." She said to him.

"You should be with your family on Christmas." He told her.

"You are my family." She said without a second thought. "Maybe I'll get a new tattoo."

"Yea? You should get my name." He suggested and she laughed.

"Where would I put?" she asked playing along.

"You could put it right here." he said running his finger over her left breast. "Or here." he said reaching around and gripping her butt.

"Property of above your name?" she teased.

"I would prefer that." He said seriously and she laughed.

"I don't know." She said to him. "What would look good on me?"

"Anything." He practically moaned. "But it should be special. I've been thinking about getting something new myself."

"What could you possibly want on your body now?" She asked.

"You." He said without missing a beat. "This." he said running his thumb over her bottom lip.

"You want my lips on you?" she asked.

"Always." He grinned. "I love your lips. You were talking about piercings the other night..."

"I want my cartilage pierced nothing inappropriate." She said to him.

"Good." He said to her. "Not that I would judge you or not like it but I don't pierce and wouldn't want anyone else doing it. I'd have to figure it out."

"No need." She said to him with a happy sigh. "I'm not that exciting."

"On the contrary, you're very exciting." He said rolling onto her body.

"I have to be up in like three hours to put the turkey in the oven." She warned him.

"I'll put the turkey in." He offered.

"Good because I have no idea what I'm doing." She said relieved and he laughed.

"I'll stuff your oven right-" He began but she placed her finger over his lips.

"Do NOT make my second favorite holiday dirty." She warned him teasingly.

"Fair enough." He said then leaned down and kissed her.

"So, how was your Thanksgiving?" Dr. Simone asked AJ.

"My sister came to town." AJ told him.

"And how was that?" Dr. Simone asked.

"She showed up a day early and left the morning of Thanksgiving to go to some sort of festival. She made make all this vegan crap and she didn't even hang around." AJ told him. "But it's for the best since I either burnt or severely and dangerously under cooked literally everything."

"Your brother spent the holiday with you I suppose?" he asked.

"He did and his ex and Phil." AJ told him and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Things seem to be getting serious between the two of you." Dr. Simone noted.

"They are." She told him. "He's getting my lips tattooed on him." she told him and the doctor frowned. "What?"

"It's just I was hoping after Nick you would have taken a break to find yourself." Dr. Simone said. "I've told you many times you'll never truly be happy until you can accept yourself."

"I do accept myself." AJ told him.

"You also have to be careful that people don't take advantage of you who know you're bipolar." the Doctor said to her.

"You think Phil is taken advantage of me?" She asked stunned.

"I didn't say that. I said people." he smiled.

"Phil makes me happy and since I've been with him I've only had one bad depressive cycle. Before him they happened at least twice a month." She told him.

"You can't depend on someone else to make you happy and keep you happy." Dr. Simone reminded her.

"I don't depend on Phil to make me happy but he helps in that department for sure." She said to him. "Even when we argue or we're not speaking for an entire day I feel fine." She shrugged.

"I just want you to be careful and take your time." Dr. Simone said to her. "Don't just pass your heart off to this man without a second thought you have a lot to consider here."

"He already has my heart." AJ admitted and the Doctor just narrowed his eyes at her. "He probably doesn't even realize it I haven't told him how I felt. Should I tell him?"

"I wouldn't." Dr. Simone said to her. "You're a prize worth winning. Don't just give it all away. And what happens if things go south?"

"What do you mean?" AJ asked concerned.

"Did you ever think how it would affect Punk's relationship with your brother? Or how it will affect your relationship with him?" Dr. Simone asked. "In today's world people rarely stay together. Divorce rate is higher than ever and you and Punk didn't even have a friendship. I really think you need to sit down and think about this before you progress any further."

"I didn't think about us breaking up" She said to him.

"You need to start looking at the whole picture. We've discussed this before. You jump in with two feet and never look down." Dr. Simone told her. "This is why you always end up so hurt in the end. This happened with your first job too."

"I don't really think it's fair to compare my job to my boyfriend." AJ defended lightly.

"You're a beautiful, intelligent woman who has come to dependent on the boyfriends in your life." Dr. Simone told her. "You haven't been single since you were 14, that's an awfully long time don't you think?"

"I've only ever been with two men." AJ told him.

"Don't you think it would be healthier to get out there and see what you could be missing?" he asked.

"I just don't know why I would give up something that makes me happy on a gamble." She said to him.

"You always told me that I go out of my way to avoid happiness but now I'm not and I'm happy and you're telling me I shouldn't be happy-"

"I'm not saying that." Dr. Simone said cutting her off. "I want you happy forever not just temporary happiness, that's all I'm saying. You're too fragile to be let down."

"Fragile?" AJ asked. "I've never considered myself to be fragile."

"What do you consider yourself?" Dr. Simone asked.

"My hour is up." AJ announced standing up then walked out of the office quickly.

Punk was at work just finishing up a tattoo.

"How does it look?" Punk asked the man who inspecting his arm.

"Fucking great." The guys said as AJ walked in the door.

"Pay up front alright." Punk said passing him an invoice when he spotted AJ then waved her over.

"Are you busy?" She asked him.

"Not for you." He flirted. "What's up?"

"So I had therapy today and my doctor was talking about us and bringing up how bad things will be when we break up and now it's in my head that I'm going to ruin your relationship with Mateo and-" she began and he held his hand up to cut him off.

"Why is he talking about a breakup? Did you tell him you want to break this off?" Punk asked.

"No! I told him I didn't and how happy I've been and he just bought up all this negative stuff and how bad this could go." She told him.

"That's weird." Punk noted.

"So what do you think?" AJ asked.

"I think he should stick to talking to you about paintings and mood swings and less about me." Punk said to her.

"But he made some valid points." She pointed out.

"Do you want to end this?" he asked her.

"No!" she insisted. "But now it's in my head that I'm going to ruin your life."

"You're not going to ruin my life." He laughed. "Anything worth it in life is a gamble. I like rolling the dice with you. I'll tell you what though, I think Nick might have been right about him though."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"He wants to sleep with you." Punk said and rolled her eyes. "Don't do that. Not everything I say is ridiculous. This man has sat across from you for six years. He knows all of your inner most personal thoughts, he's seen you at your best and worst of course he wants to put his dick in you." he insisted.

"Don't be like Nick with this. Therapy is very important in my treatment." She warned him

"I'm not saying you should stop it or even stop seeing him. All I'm saying is that he'll probably never speak positively on me or any man you're with." Punk shrugged.

"I think he's just looking out for me." AJ said to him.

"I think he's looking out for his dick." Punk responded simply.

"My stomach used to twist whenever I went to therapy because I knew Nick would bitch about it." AJ said to him.

"You don't have to worry about that from me. You're a smart woman. I'm not nervous about you talking to a guy who finds you attractive. I'm sure most men you speak to find you attractive I would prefer if he didn't try to insert himself into the middle of our relationship though." Punk said to her.

"He's not." She said to him.

"Ok." Punk shrugged. "Besides you ruining my life what else did he say?"

"He said I've been with a man since I was fourteen and that I should have taken a breather." She began and he laughed.

"Of course he did." Punk said to her as he pulled off his gloves and cleaned the seat that was just occupied by a customer. "Are you unhappy?"

"No." She said without hesitation.

"Good. Me either. We'll worry about ruining each others lives further down the road." He teased.

"You're right." She said and then gave him a kiss. "I'm going home. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yup." Punk assured her then watched her walk out the door.

When Mateo came in from work he saw Punk was still up, in the kitchen with a cup of coffee looking at his laptop.

"What are you doing?" Mateo asked. "You're normally in bed or in my sisters bed."

"Did you know that 87% of therapists are attracted to at least one of their patients?" Punk asked him.

"No I did not." Mateo said confused as grabbed a bottle of water.

"And 12% of therapists actually have sex with their current patients." Punk informed him.

"Fascinating." Mateo mocked. "Why are you looking this up?"

"Because Ape's therapist has a hard on for her that's why." Punk told him.

"What?" Mateo laughed.

"It's not funny. He tried to talk her into dumping me." Punk told him.

"You must have misunderstood." Mateo said to him.

"Pretty sure I didn't." Punk said to him.

"So tell her to go to a different therapist." Mateo shrugged.

"First of all, you can't tell April to do anything." Punk practically laughed. "Second of all, I promised her I wouldn't act like Nick when it came to this stuff and Nick is the one who first told me this therapist wanted her."

"Maybe you're overreacting." Mateo suggested.

"He showed up at that born art gallery and bought two pieces from her. He showed up alone too. Who does that? And those paintings sucked. I bet he didn't think I'd be there." Punk said to him and Mateo had to laugh.

"I really think you're reading too much into this." Mateo said to him.

"I might be but I doubt it." Punk said then went back to looking at his laptop.

"So what are you going to do about it?" Mateo asked.

"I trust her." Punk said looking back at him. "It's just this guy has been her therapist for a long time and if anyone could convince her to break it off with me it's him."

"If that was true she would have broken it off with you already." Mateo said to him.

"Part of me wants to go down to his office and confront him." Punk said to him. "But the other part of me knows what a big thing this is for April's treatment and just to leave it alone."

"Give her a little more credit." Mateo said to him.

"I've never been so scared to be dumped before." Punk confided.

"You really like her, huh?" Mateo asked.

"You ask me this constantly." Punk said annoyed. "Yes! I fucking like her! Would I be sitting up in the middle of the night googling therapists' true intentions towards their patients if I didn't?"

"I think this is a bit crazy." Mateo teased.

"Me too." Punk agreed. "I mean this guy can manipulate her-"

"You are crazy." Mateo corrected with a laugh. "She's not going to dump you because her therapist wants her to. And even if he wanted to sleep with her, so what? She's not going to."

"Maybe I should talk to him." Punk said to Mateo who shook his head 'no'. "No I mean I think it would be a good idea. I can convince him that I'm not bad for her-"

"I've never seen you so desperate before." Mateo laughed. "And do you think that I believe you're going to talk to him and be nice and convince him you're good for AJ rather than going to his office and screaming at him and possibly beating him? You can put on this happy go lucky front all you'd like since dating my sister but I know you and you tend to overreact especially when it involves someone you care about."

"I'd be more upset someone she trusts is she trying to manipulate her." Punk said honestly. "And if I found out he was then yes, I would kick the shit out of him. Why are you so calm about this? You're the protective brother."

"I am but I don't have to worry about her, she's got you looking out for her. It's a nice relaxing feeling." Mateo had to admit with a relieved smile. "But hey, if she knows how you feel I wouldn't worry about who wants her."

"Yea." Punk said to himself mostly.

"I'll see you in the morning." Mateo said slapping his back then walking up the stairs.

AJ was woken up suddenly by rapid knocking at her door. She checked the time and saw it was three in the morning and jumped out of bed. She stopped short of reaching the door realizing Nick still had debt collectors who were looking for him.

"Ape?" Punk asked as he continued knocked and she frowned and swung the door open.

"What's wrong?" AJ asked as Punk rushed inside.

"Nothing." Punk said to her. "Why?"

"It's three in the morning." She yawned.

"I know but I keep thinking about our conversation earlier." He said taking her hand and leading her over to the couch. "I can't sleep."

"Because of Dr. Simone?" She asked confused.

"Yes." He said to her.

"I told you not to worry about what he says." She said to him. "I've actually told you this multiple times."

"It's just he said you had been in a relationship since you were fourteen and how you needed time and normally I would agree with that." He said to her. "I think healthy time to yourself is important- it's important for anyone."

"Phil?" She asked fearfully as to where this was going.

"And I've been on my own for years. I can't remember the last woman I was with consistently. Being single and having fun with no strings was some of the best times of my life." he told her. "And a part of me feels you're really missing out something."

"Don't do this." She whispered.

"And you should also know that I'm selfish." He said bluntly and she narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm very happy with you and the other part of me doesn't give a crap that you're missing out on random hook ups and fun. I am in love you." he confessed. "I don't want you to take a break from me and experience things without me. I want to do this with you."

"I love you too." She smiled tiredly. "That's how this came up in my session. I wanted to tell you how I felt and he suggested against it."

"Of course he did." Punk remarked. "Don't be afraid to tell me anything." He said to her seriously. "Even if you know I'll hate it because we'll fight it out like we always do then get past it. If this is going to work we need to keep it real a hundred percent of the time."

"Ok." She agreed happily.

"Sorry for busting in here so late." he said realizing how crazy this was.

"It's nice to know I'm not the only crazy one in this relationship." She teased then stood up. "Come to bed. I need at least two more hours of sleep so I can function at work tomorrow."

When Punk opened his eyes the next morning he realized AJ was gone already. He stuck his head up and saw a piece of paper on her pillow.

Good morning, or should I say afternoon?

I left coffee in the machine for you and a bagel in the bag on the counter. I'll be home later tonight.

Xoxo

Ape

Punk smirked and rolled out of her bed and stretched before lazily heading into her kitchen. The second he turned on her coffee pot her door swung open and in walked Nick freely.

"Oh fuck." Nick groaned.

"What are you doing?" Punk asked stalking over to him and saw a pin in his hand. "Did you seriously just pick her lock?"

"I just need to pick up a few things and she never lets me in." Nick said trying to pass Punk but he wouldn't budge. "Come on man." He groaned.

"I'm not letting you take shit out of here. Come back later when she's here." Punk said pointing tot he door.

"What did I just tell you? She doesn't let me in!" Nick yelled.

"Then too fucking bad!" Punk yelled back.

"I need some of the jewelry I gave her back." Nick told him and Punk had to laugh.

"Just when I thought you couldn't be a bigger piece of shit you say something like that." Punk said amused. "You're really a dick."

"Come on man." Nick sighed.

"You're not getting in here." Punk said simply. "But before I physically throw you out of Ape's apartment- tell me about her therapist."

"Ah, he's shitting on you now too." Nick grinned. "Welcome to my life. And trust me, AJ thinks the man walks on water and that his word is gold. He shit talked me all of the time."

"Well, you are a piece of shit so that actually makes sense." Punk pointed out seriously and Nick glared at him.

"You're really giving me a complex. Since the day we met in elementary school I'm pretty sure you called me a piece of shit. Have you ever called me Nick?" Nick questioned.

"I knew you'd be useless, get out." Punk said to opening the door and pointing for him to leave.

"AJ should only be going to therapy once a month. That's how it started. Then he upped it to twice a month and now it's doubled to four." Nick told him. "He calls her cellphone to check in on her, what kind of therapist does that? He also shows up at her art galleries."

"I've noticed." Punk said annoyed.

"Just a friendly warning." Nick said. "Since I -"

"Out." Punk ordered. "And if you ever pick her lock again I swear to god I will break both of your hands." he threatened.

"I'm in trouble." Nick said to him and Punk just gave him an uninterested face.

"That's the business you're in." Punk shrugged. "Bye, bye now." he smiled then slammed the door in his face.