Hello!
Ok so ConsistantlyRandom brought up the Grimes is usually a douchebag thing. I wanted to show how most the time, with guys like that, it is a front and there are real people inside there. It maybe deeply hidden but its there. Sometimes. So hence Grimes acting mildly normal. That and I think that even Grimes has his limits on bad male behavior and hitting women is one of them. So I wanted to give Noemi and everyone else at least one reason why Grimes was not a total waste of human space and air. Don't worry I have no plans of making him fluffy and a good person. :)
Just curious, Any MALE readers out there? I know I have plenty of female readers and I expected that with this being a fic based mostly on the hottest guy...EVER...cough Tom Hardy cough...I was jsut curious to see if there are any male readers. if there are holler at me. I gots questions. :)
"Well, I am glad to hear that everything is good with you and the baby. Is Brendan excited?" Noemi had called Tess while she did laundry on the ground floor. Tommy was still at the gym with Paddy. Tomorrow was the big signing so Noemi was trying to ward off her nervousness with chores.
"You know how he gets each time I get pregnant. At least he hasn't started his 'I can't do this, I'm a horrible father' routine yet. I don't know if I have the patience for it this time." Tess answered grumpily. Noemi looked at the phone in her hand, frowned and then put it back up to her ear. Tess was normally impossibly happy when pregnant and her mood swings were generally food or Brendan-needs-to-be-naked related.
"You ok? You're not your usual perky self?" Noemi asked. Tess groaned in the background.
"This is the first pregnancy that I'm regretting. I feel like I'm coming down with the flu."
"Maybe you're having a boy this time."
"God knows." Tess grumbled. "I think Bren would really like having a boy and don't get me wrong, I love our girls, but I wouldn't mind a break from the princesses. I worry that Brendan would have a hard time raising a boy."
"I agree with you. Well, don't think about it too much until you know for sure. That's still a few months off right?"
"Well, I kinda lost track and it's not like Brendan and I have long dry spells. The doc said I am about three months so in about a month or two we should know a gender. Should be a September baby."
"Damn, I was hoping you would still be able to go to Sparta. Riley told me that he might be moving the date of the fight back a month or two. So we could be looking at the weekend before Labor Day."
"Nope, not a good idea. I mean I could but with how Rosie was early, it wouldn't be a good idea. Brendan shouldn't go either unless my mom can come hover over me. So it's all set then?"
"Brendan stays home. I would never forgive myself if he wasn't there. He would just get hounded by reporters anyway. Yeah, Tommy's signed on." Noemi said with an excited sigh while she put her wet laundry in a basket and shoveled it into the dryer. She slid in a few quarters and set it going. She hoped up on one of the empty washers and used it as a seat. Tommy came in with a sack of laundry, his ears going red. Noemi wondered again what that meant.
"So how's manager life working for you?"
"Oh it's fine, I mean I've only been doing it for a week. The Burgh isn't that different from Philly, you know." Noemi said even though she missed Philly a little. She was familiar with everything there.
"Yeah, but Garfield is totally different than here." Tess was referring to the fact that the Garfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh was blue-collar mill worker families and Noemi had grown up in nice middle class home that had once been considered to be in an upper-middle class neighborhood.
"True. I can't tell yet if it's growing on me or not."
"How's living with Tommy going?" Tess asked with disapproval. Noemi rolled her eyes.
"Don't say it like that. It's not that bad. He's better than any of the other roommates I've had." Noemi turned and gave a smile at Tommy who was ignoring her at the other end of the small laundry mat. He had a sports magazine in his hands and was lazily flipping through it. She thought she caught a hint of a dimple though.
"Met anyone?" Tess asked with that classic woman tone. It made Noemi smile.
"Actually yeah. He hasn't called yet but I told him that I'm busy for the next couple of days. With the signing and the photo shoot."
"Brendan told me about some of that."
"About what, the date or the shot?" Noemi asked in surprised horror.
"The sponsor deal and the photo shot."
"How the fuck does he know about that?" Noemi asked, her jaw hanging low and her eyes wide. She heard Tess laugh.
"Well first, your brother Frank has been telling everyone who will listen how successful his baby sister is. Him and Brendan get into braggin' contests over who's younger sibling is more successful. They are both so proud of you two." Noemi could hear Tess getting teary from over the phone.
"Damnit Tess, don't you start now! You will get me going! Keep your hormones to yourself!" That got Tess to laugh and Noemi could practically hear the tears drying up. "So how else does Brendan know about the deal? Just my loud mouth brother?"
"No, Bren and Tommy have been calling each other every couple of days, so some of it was Tommy's fault." Tess gave a small chuckle. She was still nervous about Tommy being around Noemi that much. There were times when Noemi's bluntness got on her nerves. She could only imagine it with Tommy's temper. "So tell me about this guy."
"Not much to tell, it's a date for trade."
"What does that mean?"
"I was going to pay him for doing some Jiu Jitsu sessions with Tommy but he just asked for one date. He seems a nice enough guy. Total opposite from what I normally go for." Noemi looked up when she heard stomping, just in time to see Tommy's high shouldered back leaving the laundry room. She frowned but didn't think much of it. She knew he didn't like her that way. Maybe he went up to eat.
"You sure about that?" Tess asked with concern.
"Yeah, he was real nervous when he asked me. I had talked to Kevin about it. He thinks it's a good idea." Noemi said with a shrug. She listened to the faint sounds of Rosie and Emily coming in from outside.
"The girls say 'Hi' and they miss you. All of us are going to be in Pittsburgh in about a week for my father's birthday, so we will make some time to see you guys. And Brendan is reminding me that we will also be in the Burgh for Mother's day weekend so we will see you then too. Well, I have to go and make dinner. Call me soon. Bye."
"Bye." Noemi hung up the phone and sat in the quiet alone for a moment, thinking about if going out with Fenroy was such a good idea. The washer further down the row from her buzzed and made her jump. It was Tommy's stuff and there was no sight of him. Without giving it much thought, she hopped down and loaded the sheets and two changes of clothes into a dryer and set it going. Wonder what about sheets and a few tees made his ears go red for. Must not be embarrassment. Maybe it's anger. Well if his reaction while I was on the phone was any indication, that must be it.
"Noemi." Tommy's voice rang through her sleep fuzzy brain. She hummed in her throat and curled tighter into a ball on her bed. It was way too early. She reluctantly sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Tommy was standing in her doorway, fully dressed and ready for his morning run. He sipped at a cup of concentrated protein shake. "You got ten minutes before Pop will come up here and pound on the door." He turned and disappeared from view. He has no right to be that awake at 5 in the morning.
Noemi stretched and nearly broke her jaw with the yawn she gave before swinging her legs out of bed. She shivered at the chill in the air that hit her bare legs, now that they weren't protected by her thick fluffy comforter. She pulled on her favorite camo compression pants, made especially for running in the cold. She traded her white tank for a sports bra and a long sleeve shirt. She yanked on some socks before tying her sneakers on just in time for Tommy to show up again in the door way with his duffel slung across his chest. She grabbed gloves and left her hair down and messy. She went into the bathroom and gave her face a quick wash and her teeth a good brushing. While fighting off the yawns, she waved at Tommy to lead the way, blind to his amused smiles.
Noemi gave a half hearted wave at Paddy through the windshield while shaking out her limbs. The sky was still dark, the bugs were still chirping, and they were the only ones up. Awake before the birds. The air was clean smelling even though it didn't have the same scent as Philly and her breath made clouds in front of her face. Tommy put his duffel in the back of Paddy's car. They did some quick stretches to keep their muscles from locking up. Tommy gave her a questioning glance. She gave a sleepy nod and he nodded back before starting off at a practiced jog.
The exercise warmed and awakened Noemi. She followed Tommy through the neighborhood, back lit from Paddy's mint-condition Oldsmobile. She fell in line with his easy warming jog, shoulder to shoulder with him.
It was after about half a mile, Noemi guessed, when Paddy flashed his brights for a second and Tommy took off at a generous run. Noemi gave a quick laugh and was grinning as she caught up. Noemi noticed then that despite their difference in height of a couple of inches, their strides were almost the same and that he did not run as fast as she expected. She ran ahead a bit and turned back to see Tommy smiling and shaking his head at her.
"Show off." He said as though he wasn't the slightest out of breath.
"Says the man who can't keep up." Noemi mocked around her huffs as she ran backwards. Tommy grinned out from under the black hood he wore, looking more like a menacing rapist than the soft hearted guy he was.
"Nice try. I don't play your games, girl. Shit's for real. Pop will get pissed if I fuck around with training." Tommy told her, not realizing he had cussed in front of her. Noemi gave a playful exacerbated sigh and nimbly danced back to his side before copying his footfalls and settling into the rhythm of their feet hitting the concrete.
"You're no fun." Noemi said childishly and mildly out of breath. Tommy snorted.
"And you're trouble." Noemi gave a bark of laughter. Tommy turned back to look at the road and enjoyed the ease of familiar surroundings. Noemi did the same until she was panting hard and starting to slow down.
"I'm done for. See you when you're done." Tommy gave a nod and a shooing motion of his fingerless glove covered hand. He was in his training zone and couldn't be bothered. Noemi jogged around to the side of Paddy's slow moving car. He hit the brakes and Noemi got in, warming her hands in front of the vents and trying to catch her breath. Paddy turned the volume down on what Noemi would swear was audio tapes of Sense and Sensibility. "God I miss running." Noemi said, still reeling from the buzzing of exhaustion in her body. "Morning Paddy." Noemi said cheerfully.
Noemi watched Tommy's dark form run along the sidewalk, billows of mist coming out from around his hood. His body disrupted the fog in the places where it grew thick. She eyed the way his sweats bunched and twisted around his tight little Irish ass while he ran. Focus!
"Morning. I brought you a cup of coffee if your interested." Paddy told her motioning to a stainless steel travel mug on her side of the cup holders.
"Thanks." Noemi said grabbing at the mug and taking a healthy swig of the liquid alertness. "How you doing today?"
"Fine, why do you ask?" Paddy asked a little suspiciously. Noemi snorted.
"I'm not just worried about how Tommy's getting along with training. How are you doing? You're working an eight hour day and spending six more hours with Tommy. That can't be easy." Paddy was taken aback. He hadn't had someone other than his AA sponsor care about how he was doing in a long time.
"I'm good. Every thing's good. My knees don't like this cold front coming in but not much I can do about that." Paddy growled good natured.
"Daddy could always tell the weather by his hands. Better than any weatherman." Noemi said nostalgically. Paddy made her think of Daddy a lot. He had been about Paddy's age when she lost him to a broken heart. Though Paddy was much rougher around the edges than her father. "You doin' good with your meetings and all that?" Noemi asked with a light tone. She didn't want Paddy thinking she was judging, cause she could care less if he was a recovering alcoholic. It didn't change the job she asked him to do.
"It's good. My sponsor was worried when I told him that I was training Tommy again since last time didn't go too well, but I can feel that this time is different. I'm gonna make it through Sparta this time." Paddy said with a nod of his head and assurance that Noemi figured was more for himself than for her.
"I'm glad to hear that. I don't doubt that you can do it, Paddy. I don't know you much but you do seem like a man that commits to something he believes in." Noemi told him. She could sense how much Paddy needed to hear from someone that they thought he could do it. Noemi noticed him look out the side window for a bit with his hand curled under his nose. He cleared his throat before speaking again.
"How's Tommy doin'? He givin' you a hard time?"
"No, its been really pretty quiet. He's usually sleeping or shoveling down food like it is about to disappear. He likes to stomp off in a huff like a kid doesn't he?" Noemi asked. Paddy gave a chuckle.
"He always ate fast as a kid. Bet the years in the Marines didn't help that. You been the one making those leftovers he brings with him?" Paddy asked, ignoring her comment about Tommy's tantrums. Tommy always brought something in a container with him for after his workout. Made all the men in the gym jealous.
"Yeah. I've been sticking real close to the restrictions you gave." Noemi defended. Paddy just laughed.
"No, that's good. Last time we trained, getting him to eat was like pulling teeth. I thought he was gonna starve half the time."
"Oh wow, no I am constantly making something for him to eat or making extra's of stuff so there are leftovers for him. He doin' good on his drills?"
"Oh yeah, workin' like a champ. I gotta pace him a little more now with those gloves you got him. I gotta say that I wish we had the stuff they have now, back in the day. He had one day a few days ago where he could barely get through the run."
"Hmm. Well he hasn't had any nightmares that I know of lately but that doesn't mean he slept good." Noemi said to herself. She got lost in her thoughts on what she had to prepare for the signing and the shoot. She noticed that Paddy turned the volume of his audio book back up and she was lulled into 19th century England by the narrators voice.
"I swear to God, Tommy, you go back in there and change your shirt! This is a business meeting not a pub crawl!" Noemi practically screamed. Since coming back from the morning run, Noemi had been freaking out.
She had hardly gotten any sleep before and was beyond stressing out. She went to run her fingers through her hair in nervous anxiety only to remember that it was twisted severely at the back of her head in a bun. She had spent hours perfecting her make up and hair. She had even went to the trouble of ironing her shirt and pants. Her feet were already hurting from the pointed toe four inch stiletto pumps she had shoved her feet into and Tommy had come out in a long sleeve tee. She blew her temper. She took a deep breath and mentally ran through all the things she needed and needed to know.
Tommy came back out with a scowl on his face. He had on a black button down with buttons that looked like they were about to pop off and hit someone in the eye. The shirt had obviously not been worn in years. He buttoned up the second button from the top which hid more of his pale skin. Noemi couldn't see any of the tattoos when the shirt lapels were straight but she could see a hint of shadowing on his skin from his chest hair.
"Better. When we get back, we are getting you new clothes. This won't be the only time you will have to wear something other than tees and track pants." Noemi told him distractedly. She grabbed her large patent leather purse which she used as her briefcase and they left for the downtown restaurant. Luckily, Tommy knew were they were going and drove back roads to avoid traffic. They arrived twenty minutes early and she thanked him for it. He just grunted at her before getting out of her car.
Tommy was wishing he had gotten rid of this shirt. The last time he had worn this black button down had been for Ma's cremation. He had only kept it because he felt like if he got rid of it, he was getting rid of Ma. It didn't fit and probably hadn't for years. He had been almost 18 when he wore this shirt last.
He hadn't been one of those lucky young men that grew again in his twenties. He had been considered short and lean in high school and had only gained muscle mass after that instead of height. He had been so awkward as a teenager with his slightly bowlegged walk and narrow shoulders for a man. He had stayed lean until his early twenties when most men got wide shoulders and more height, he got bulk and hormonal rages.
He sat through the contract signing with deaf ears. He trusted in Noemi's abilities and he was really only there to put down his signature. He wanted to sigh and roll the stiffness out of his shoulders, but he knew that doing so would rip the shirt he wore like the Incredible Hulk. Which only made him more frustrated. I can't wait to take this thing off. Even still smells like that place in Tacoma. I swear I can smell Ma's Virginia Slims on it.
Tommy was not enjoying the flashes of memories that this shirt brought. Had his high school graduation been the only time the shirt had been worn, he would say that good memories were attached to the fabric.
June 10, 1998
Tacoma, Oregon
"I am so proud of you honey." Ma said, full pink lips spread into a wide grin. She traded the lean cigarette from her fingers to her lipstick coated lips so that she could tightly hug her son. Tommy could feel the heat of the embers close to his ear but didn't worry, Ma had never burned him.
Tommy's ears were tinged pink but ignored the embarrassment of getting squeezed to death by his mother in public. All the other kids around him were going through the same things. Ma pulled back from the hug but left her hands on her son's shoulders which were two inches taller than her own despite her pumps. She took a drag off the cigarette, flicked the ashes away and left in between two red lacquered fingertips.
Tommy always thought she was prettier than other women her age. Her skin was lacking most of the wrinkles, though it did crease around her mouth and eyes. He had hated it when she cut her long natural auburn hair into a bob so that Pop wouldn't be able to find them as easy. She would have dyed it too if he hadn't put his foot down. She was wearing one of her favorite loud print sundresses. It reminded him of childhood when things were good. It hung awkwardly off her now rail thin frame.
"Look at you, all grown up." She smiled widely and gave Tommy a pinch of the cheek, just to tease him. "Come on, let's go have lunch." She said, teetering off towards the dated white station wagon they had driven across the United States.
"Naw Ma, we shouldn't. We don't have that much left. You already wasted enough on this stupid shirt." Tommy yanked at the front of it by the collar where he had a tie strangling him. He just wanted to go home, change into a familiar tee shirt, and forget about the fact that Ma had been the only one at his graduation to cheer him on. Ma turned around, pointed her fingers at him, still holding the cigarette, and took a deep breath in. Tommy had been ready for the chastisement of a mother just wanting to celebrate her son's special day but was greeted with hacking coughs instead.
There wasn't much he could do but take the Slim from her fingers, stamp it out under his ratty sneaker, and keep her from falling to the ground. He tried not to notice the stares from those around him while he rubbed her back and kept one arm around her thin waist while she hacked.
Tommy knew she wasn't doing well and knew that going to this event would do more harm than good to her fragile health. But there was no stopping her from coming. She had been weak for too many months and been coughing like this for years. It had been getting progressively worse. She had gone to a doctor before they left the Burgh. He had told her it was from the decades of smoking but there was no point in stopping now. Too much damage had been done to her lungs. Tommy knew that the doctor had told her something, since she had come back that day with tears in her eyes and told him that they were leaving. He didn't see it then but he saw it now. She was dying. Slowly and painfully.
Her fragile body shuddered with one last cough before she slowly stood up straight, using him to balance herself since she was lightheaded. She always was after a coughing fit. It was worse today. Tommy could feel the humidity in the Oregon air and it made for bad days. Tommy looked at her red face as she wiped the involuntary tears from her eyes, smearing her mascara around her ocean blue eyes. Her thin chest heaved with rattly breaths.
"Ma, let's go home." He pried the keys from her shaky hands and left his arm around her shoulder, making her lean on him while they walked towards the car.
"For all that is good, Thomas Riordan, we are going to that diner and we will have a nice lunch together. We are celebrating this whether you want to or not. You worked too hard." Ma said softly, not having the breath to yell at him. He acted the gentleman of helping her into the front passenger seat in such a way that she wouldn't know that he was making sure she didn't fall in her weakness. She hated his hovering sometimes.
"So have you Ma. You worked long hours for that money. Let's not waste it on food. Let me get some more morphine for you." Tommy said, staring at the car. The morphine he would get for her was illegal, sold by a kid that sold most the drugs in Tacoma, but it helped with the pain. To Tommy, the risk of arrest was worth it.
"No. I want us to go to lunch and that is what we are doing." Tommy closed her door and sighed a long suffering sigh before going to the driver's side and getting in. It took a few tries before the car started. They didn't have anything to spare to get it repaired and it had left them stranded a few times. He did what repairs he could on it himself between school and his job at the grocery store.
He drove to the diner. He hadn't let her drive since Oklahoma when she had a coughing fit that almost made them drive head on into a semi truck. He kept his eyes peeled for the sheriff. He was a fair guy but Tommy didn't have a licence. Didn't have the money for the test.
That lunch had been one of the last happy memories of being with Ma and not thinking about Pop or Brendan or the fact that he would be very alone soon. They had classic burgers and home style french fries. He had gotten a chocolate milkshake and Ma got her strawberry one and they had sat in that diner for hours. Talking and joking and laughing.
She hadn't made it more than a few more weeks after that. He was alone months before his 18th birthday but that hadn't stopped him from signing up for the Marines in his grief.
"Riordan. Tommy!" Noemi's voice echoed through his memories and brought him back to the present. He hoped that none of his emotions showed on his face. Noemi gave him a look and he raised a snarky eyebrow at her. "Are you ok with the terms?" She asked slowly, with a frown. The business rep in the navy suit across from them was also looking at him with concern.
"Yeah, sure." He signed the papers before him and slid them towards Noemi who sat in the chair next to him. She finalized things with the rep who told them that the camera crew should be there any second to talk details about the shoot tomorrow. The rep, Noemi, and Tommy got talking about fights and the circuit while they waited. Tommy forced himself to eat even though he wanted nothing more than to drink. Memories of Ma and Manny always made him crave the dulling effects of alcohol. He fidgeted in his chair and chewed at his toothpick instead.
Once the camera crew got there, the rep said his goodbyes and left. Noemi and the camera people hashed out the final details while Tommy made stick figure animals out of his left over whole grain pasta.
This kind of thing had never been for him, most of it going right over his head, but he was glad to see Noemi seemed to be in her element. Noemi and the film guy were babbling about something called 'golden hour' and if the commercial should be in color or black and white. He tuned them out again while Noemi was asking about how much of their fan base was women and if they were looking to increase that with the ad campaign. He had never been happier when Noemi shook their hands and said her goodbyes.
He listened to her babbling long enough to get the general idea of how much he owed her for the signing deal and what to expect for the shoot tomorrow. He drove them home and went straight for his room when they got there.
Thought I would give you guys a longer chapter since you are putting up with my barely bi-weekly updates.
Tell me how much you liked Ma! Talk to me people!