Life Is Short
Punk watched from the corner of the funeral home as AJ greeted every single person to walk in. She was holding up so much better than he even imagined. When they went to the morgue part of AJ was expecting to see Celeste so when it was revealed to be her she broke down in his arms but she got right back and started to plan Celeste's funeral. He was actually more concerned by how calm she seemed.
"She seems ok" Devon noted walking over to Punk
"She's not" Punk said keeping his eyes on her as she shook hands with some of Celeste's co-workers "It's just a front"
"It's such a sad story" Devon frowned "Beaten to death? That's just sick and twisted"
"Its horrible" Punk agreed
"Don't take on all of the guilt and sulk like you usually do" Devon warned
"What do you mean?" Punk asked
"Dad told me that you were the last to see her alive" Devon said to him "It's not anymore your fault than it is AJ's"
"Yea" Punk muttered as he watched a few people come in and AJ hugged, probably people from New Jersey. "Thanks by the way for helping with the club"
"Don't mention it" Devon said to him. Punk & Devon didn't see eye to eye often but they did consider each other to be brothers and would always support the other "Whenever you're ready. So any word on the boyfriend?"
"Skipped town" Punk said to him "They don't even have enough to issue a warrant for his arrest he's just wanted for questioning"
"No DNA on her?" Devon asked
"That takes times" Punk said to him "But like I told Dean and Roman I'm not sure if Seth played a role-"
"If he comes near Mia I'll kill him" Devon said seriously and Punk nodded "And don't worry I'll keep an eye on AJ too"
"Appreciate it" Punk said to him. Punk narrowed his eyes when a man in a t-shirt walked in to the room. His long hair was pulled back and a few different colors and he pulled AJ right into a hug. Punk kept an eye on him thinking the hug was already going on far too long. When AJ finally pulled away he saw the strange man's hand still linger on the lower back of his girlfriend as he leaned down and whispered into her ear.
"Relax" Devon warned "Don't cause a scene and upset her" he knew Punk better than he thought.
"I'm just going to go introduce myself" Punk said to him and walked right over to the two.
"Phil" AJ smiled as Punk pulled AJ from the man casually and wrapped his arm around her "This is a friend of mine and Celeste's from Jersey- Jeff"
"Nice to meet you" Jeff said extending his hand to him and while Punk smiled politely at the man and shook his hand something struck him on his arm that was covered in tattoos. "I'm going to go up and pay my respects, I'll find you in a little" he said leaning down and kissing her cheek "Nice meeting you Phil" he said to him
"That was nice of him to come all of the way from Jersey" Punk noted
"He was Celeste's foster brother" AJ told him "She kept in touch with him"
"Did you?" Punk asked
"No" she said to him "I think I need to take a break from greeting and smiling" she admitted to Punk
"Go sit down for a little I'll take over" Punk offered
"Are you sure?" she asked
"Yea" he said and kissed the top of her head.
"I'll be with your mom" She said to him and he just nodded and watched her take a seat next to Jennifer who had been beyond supportive during this time- including helping AJ make all the arrangements.
After a long day at the wake Punk took AJ home so she could sleep before the burial the next day. He wanted to continue to be supportive and reassuring but there was something nagging at him and he wasn't sure when or how to bring it up to her. He walked into the bathroom as she was brushing her hair and looked at him through the mirror.
"Tired?" she asked him
"I am actually" Punk admitted "How are you doing? You've been running around like crazy"
"I'm still in shock" she said to him "Just be prepared for me to completely break at some point"
"I'll be here" he assured her and she gave him a weak smile. He moved her hair to the side and looked at the tattoo he had discovered weeks ago that she refused to talk about.
"I knew you saw it" AJ said
"Saw what?" He asked innocently
"That Jeff has the same tattoo as me" AJ said to him "I'm surprised you didn't ask me right away"
"It's not important right now" Punk said pulling her back to cover the tattoo
"I'll tell you about it" AJ said turning around "You've been amazing these last two weeks and if you're uncomfortable or have a questions-"
"Like I said it's not important" Punk said to her "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"You mean besides do all of the cooking, cleaning, dressing me and bathing me practically?" she asked him
"Yea" he said seriously
"There is something you can do" AJ said to him as she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him. "I want you"
"AJ you're upset-" Punk started
"I am upset and what I need to keep myself from completely falling apart is to be with you" She said to him "I want to feel you, I need to" he completely understood and took her by the hand and led her into the bedroom.
Punk sat AJ on the edge of her bed and gently tugged her t-shirt over her head and tossed it behind him then slipped off her small pajama shorts before removing his own clothes. He tugged the comforter down and she crawled underneath with him crawling in behind her. He grabbed her face and kissed her as hard as possible, he hadn't had her like this in weeks and he did miss being intimate with her, actually it was the longest he had gone since he could remember. She freely let him roll on top of her as he continued to attack her lips and caress her tongue with his own.
Punk was careful not to be rough with her, he knew how fragile she was and didn't want to push her too hard. His hands ran lovingly up and down her arms and over her perky breasts. AJ's fingers ran through his short hair to urge him more into the kiss and she began to arch slightly to just feel him against her skin again, she could feel he was hard already as he poked her in her stomach with his shaft.
"I love you" AJ whispered pulling away from the kiss only for a few seconds to get the words out, she didn't let him respond before she began to kiss him again. Punk ran his hand down her body until he hit the apex of her thighs and palmed her slowly and sensually. "Please" she whispered against his lips before sucking on his bottom lip.
Punk gently entered her and it was like this weight was lifted off of his shoulders. Being one with her was the calming and fulfilling thing for him. And it wasn't just about sex he had come to realize it was being as close as possible to this woman. He rested his forehead against hers as he ever so slowly moved in and out of her small body.
"Harder" she sighed loving this feeling
"No" he said to her "This will be good I promise" he said kissing the tip of her nose "Trust me?" he asked and instead of responding she answered him with a kiss, a kiss that was so intense he almost completely forgot what he was doing and where he was. With one of his hands supporting her neck so he could kiss her and the other at her hip he thrust into her as deeply and slowly as possible.
When Punk abruptly pulled away from the kiss because of his impending orgasm AJ looked over and saw the time and couldn't believe how long they were both lasting. She hadn't realized it had been almost half an hour and she was sure she never wanted this to end.
"Don't stop" she pleaded "This is the best I've felt in weeks"
"I know baby but we have all the time in the world" he said to her
"No" she said shaking her head. As much as Punk wanted to continue this conversation the need to finish her off was stronger. He moved his hand over her clit and played with it until she tightened around him and as always that set him off. After a minute he pulled out of her but stayed over her body
"What did you mean?" Punk asked her
"Nothing" she said to him
"I said we have all of the time in world and you told me no" he reminded her "What did you mean by that?"
"How do we know?" AJ asked him "Celeste thought she had all of the time in the world too and now I'm burying her two days before her 25th birthday"
"AJ-" Punk started
"Let's be real" she said sitting up causing him to straddle her legs "I can be dead tomorrow-"
"Don't say shit like that" Punk said to her
"Did you mean what you said to me before we got the call about Celeste?" AJ asked him
"If I said I meant it" Punk said not really remembering what he said to her
"You said you wanted to marry me, have children with me" she reminded him
"Yea I meant all of that" Punk said to her
"We're not guaranteed that time" AJ reminded him
"What are you trying to say?" Punk asked her
"I want to get married" She said to him and he was stunned
"What?" he asked stunned
"Marry me" she requested
"You're asking me to marry you?" Punk asked slowly
"Look I know it's not traditional and it's very fast but I love you and you love me" AJ said to him "We both want this and I'm afraid if I wait long enough it might never happen"
"I think it's very sweet you asked" He smirked "But I don't want you to marry me out of fear, I want you to marry me because you want to"
"I do want to" she said to him "I haven't been able to stop thinking about what you said to me it's what's kept me together. Hope." She said to him "That's what you gave me and I don't want to wait I want to marry you"
"I'm supposed to do the asking" Punk reminded her
"I'm not very traditional" she shrugged "And believe me it's not about money I'll sign anything-"
"AJ I have never thought or accused of being with me for my money" Punk said to her "I just know you're grieving right now. Next week you might not feel the same way"
"I love you more and more each day" she told him "There were two people in my life that I had trusted and loved and one of them is dead now. I wish I could go back in time and just give her one last hug or tell her how much I appreciated her or how she was better than any blood family I may or may not have. I don't want to have any regrets with you" she said to him
"Ok" Punk said to her
"Ok?" she asked
"Let's do it" he said to her and she smiled as she wiped away the few tears that had escaped her eyes earlier.
"You really want to?" AJ asked him
"I've wanted to marry you since that first kiss we had" Punk told her honestly "And I don't want any regrets with you either but I know we won't have any. I'm going to take care of you" He promised grabbing her left hand and kissing over her empty ring finger.
"People are going to try to talk us out of it" AJ said to him "They're going to think I'm grieving and you're crazy"
"They already think I'm crazy" Punk smiled "And it's fine we won't tell them"
"Really? Elope?" she asked
"Yea" Punk said to her "We'll go whenever you want, I'll get us tickets to Vegas- unless you want a big wedding in that case-"
"No let's do it" AJ said to him "Tomorrow"
"Tomorrow is Celeste's funeral" Punk pointed out
"I think she out of everyone would appreciate it" she smiled lightly "We'll leave tomorrow night"
"Ok" he smiled "But you can take some time to think about it"
"You're the one who should think about it" AJ teased "I'm the one who asked you"
"Can we not spread that around?" Punk asked her "Hurts my ego"
"I doubt that you're ego is pretty big" she teased "Don't you love that you have a kick ass girlfriend?"
"Actually I guess its fiancée now" Punk smiled "Are you going to get me an engagement ring?"
"Yes a big flashy diamond" AJ smiled
"I'm a lucky guy" Punk teased he tucked her hair behind her ear and looked her in the eyes "Are you really sure about this? Because right now I'm pretty excited and if you change your mind I'll understand but the longer you wait the worse I'll feel"
"When I was little girl all I dreamt about was a family taking me in and loving me and I knew it would make me happy, I never once considered that making my own family would make even happier" she told him honestly as a tear fell from her eye "I want to be your family."
"You are" he said kissing the corner of her eye where her tears were "I love you and I'm going to marry you"
Punk kept his arm wrapped firmly around AJ as she sobbed into his chest, unable to look at the casket being lowered into the ground. Celeste didn't have many connections but there were a few people surrounding the burial such as all the Klein's, a few co-workers, Shawn, Dean, Roman and the mystery man with the matching tattoo. Punk couldn't help but glare towards the man who had his eyes locked on AJ's body the entire time. He didn't seem like a man grieving and if he was he clearly wanted to be grieving with AJ. But Punk pushed it all aside because today was about Celeste and later night AJ was going to be his wife.
AJ & Punk said goodbye to the Klein's and Punk began to walk AJ to his car.
"AJ" Jeff said walking over to her "I was just wondering when you're going to be going through Celeste's stuff…you know cleaning out the apartment?"
"Oh" AJ said slowly "I hadn't even thought about that" but of course she was going to be the one to do it.
"She's been a little preoccupied" Punk said rather coldly "She's not worried about her stuff"
"I didn't mean to be insensitive" Jeff said quickly
"No it's alright" AJ said to him
"I just wanted to be around for it, you know?" he said with a hopeful smile "I'm leaving tomorrow-"
"AJ isn't going to be around tomorrow" Punk informed him and she wouldn't- they'd be in Vegas and this would be a true test to see if AJ still wanted to go through with the marriage.
"I won't be back until Wednesday" she told him "If you can wait until then that would be great but if not I'll just get in touch with you to see if there's anything you want" Punk was very satisfied with her response.
"No I'll hang around a few days" Jeff said to her "I have some friends out here I'd like to see"
"Alright" AJ said to him
"Where are you going if you don't mind me asking?" Jeff asked
"I mind" Punk said with a bitter smile "Bye" he then pulled AJ away from the man and helped her into the car. "Sorry if I was rude but you literally just buried your best friend and he's worried about her stuff"
"It's fine" AJ said to him
"So our bags are in the trunk" Punk said to her "Am I going straight to the airport or back home?"
"The airport" AJ said to him "Are you sure you don't mind your family not being there, or knowing for that matter?"
"I love them and they are my family" Punk said to her "But I can't help but feel our childhoods were similar, alone and looking for someone, anyone to save us. We'll save each other" he said to her and she smiled
"I like that, just the two of us" AJ said to him "Is your family going to hate me?"
"No" Punk said "But this isn't about my family this is about us."
"You're right" AJ agreed and reached over to kiss him before he began to drive off.
"So that Jeff guy-" Punk started
"We never dated" AJ said to him
"Were you close?" Punk asked
"Me, Jeff and Celeste were very close" AJ admitted "I had a huge crush on Jeff but he was older and had a girlfriend but we shared a bond. He lost his father to suicide and we just kind of clicked"
"And you never slept with him?" Punk asked bluntly
"I didn't say that" she said quietly and he looked over to her as he stopped at a light "The night before Celeste and I moved to Chicago to start school Jeff and I got tattoo's of the date so we'd remember each other" she said to him
"Getting a tattoo with someone is pretty intimate" Punk noted
"He has hundreds of tattoo's" AJ pointed out
"You don't" Punk said to her "It's like having his name on your neck"
"You want me to have it removed it?" AJ asked but he didn't respond
"So when did you sleep with him?" Punk asked dying to know
"We went back to his apartment after the tattoo's to meet with Celeste and she flaked on us" AJ smirked remembering it "she always did that" Punk placed his hand over her knee and squeezed it gently to comfort her "Anyway I was alone with Jeff and his girlfriend wasn't around and it just happened" she shrugged
"It doesn't just happen" Punk said to her
"I wanted it to happen" AJ said to him "He was Celeste's foster brother for years but when he turned 18 he was on his own but always looked out for us and took care of us. He always looked at me as the same little girl he had first met but that night he said he saw me in a different light and as a goodbye we slept together" she shrugged "That's the first time I have seen or spoken to him since that night"
"What a guy" Punk snorted
"Are you going to honestly say you've spoken to every single woman you have slept with after the fact?" AJ asked him
"No but I have a had a tattoo with her I would" Punk said to her "Also if I had a long history with her I would as well" Punk looked over to her briefly then back at the road "You have the anniversary of the date you had sex with another man on your neck"
"I know" She said to him
"I can see why you never wanted to tell me" Punk said to her
"No one ever sees it" AJ told him "I don't even remember it's there"
"I see it" He pointed out
"I'll have it removed" She said simply "It means nothing to me" she said honestly
"Really?" he asked her and she nodded
"Absolutely" she said without hesitation
"Having tattoo's removed is painful maybe we can just change it" Punk suggested
"I don't care about the tattoo all I care about it is that we're going to be married in a few hours" she said to him.
"Mrs. Brooks" Punk smiled "Never thought I'd get married"
"Me either" she said to him "I can't wait to be officially yours"
"I can't wait until I can say you're officially mine" Punk admitted
"I'm not even scared" she said to him "Is that weird? Don't most people have cold feet?"
"Yea I think that's common" Punk said glancing over to her
"I feel nothing but excitement" AJ said to him "No regrets, no hesitations"
"Me either" Punk said to her "That's how I know this is the right thing to do."
"When we get back and I have to go through Celeste's things would you mind doing it with me?" AJ asked him
"Of course not" Punk said to her "You didn't even have to ask"
"I know" she said to him "I think Celeste is smiling wherever she is." She said to Punk "She'd want me to be happy"
"I agree" Punk said to her "It's actually a nice way in honoring her"
"One life ends and another goes on" AJ said almost too quietly "I just always imagined Celeste would be at my side whenever I got married"
"She'll be there" Punk said to her
"I thought you didn't believe in god?" AJ asked
"I don't but I believe in the afterlife. I think there's something out there" Punk said to her
After a half hour drive Punk pulled up in the airport. As he turned off the car he looked over to AJ one last time.
"Don't you dare ask me if I want this" AJ warned and grabbed his face and kissed him. "Let's stop talking about it and just do it"
"My girl" Punk grinned "I love you" he said to her "And the fact that you you're about to fly off to Vegas with me for a few hours to marry me is making me the happiest I have ever been in my entire life"
"I love you too" she said to him sweetly "Let's stop wasting time and get on that plan"
A/N: Do they go through with the wedding? Do they even want to? Is AJ just in shock? Will they regret this later? Also thanks for the reviews :)