Hello! Here's another one-shot for y'all, right out of the oven!
Hope you like it!
Day 4: Forgiving
Summary: Things between Bunny and Tooth are getting tense, and it's not longe before one of them ends up saying things they regret. Can they make it work or are the odds too stacked against them?
Aster can hear sobs from behind the door, the slight knocks on the door. No answer.
His fists clench and unclench as he leans against the sink. Half of him knows that she didn't mean what she said, but the other half is too hurt to think, let alone talk to her. Her words are eating away at him.
"Aster, please, come out." She begs.
For Tooth, these months at work have been exhausting, and it is taking a toll on her and on her private life.
Her marriage is on a rocky patch and she can't ignore it any longer.
It starts months ago when she comes home one night and finds her husband on the couch, slouching and rubbing the sleep out of his face with his hand. When he sees her, she can hear the cogs turning in his head as he tries to figure out a way to tell her as less bluntly as possible that he has been fired from his job.
They need the money he earns to support themselves, since Tooth's job as a teacher does not pay exactly well, and he has been searching for months and absolutely nothing would come up. It is getting harder to make ends meet each month and odd jobs here and there are falling short.
Not long after him being fired, a new complication rears its ugly head. Her sister calls in tears, saying that she needs money desperately or she won't be able to pay her tuition fees and will have to leave college. Baby is not asking her to lend her anything, but in less than an hour, Tooth is transferring the money to her sister's account. It takes all of her savings and a considerable part of the money in her and her husband's shared account, but she doesn't think it twice before doing it.
Aster gets furious when he finds out. Not because she gives money to her sister (he knows that Baby will burn the candle at both ends in order to make them see that their inversion pays off), since he has always supported her taking care of her family. The fact that she does not consult him before deciding does not settle well with him. They are married. They are supposed to be a team!
And she – clearly tired, still affected by him being unemployed, and their future becoming a little more uncertain at every turn – gets just as angry and claims that what is done is done and that she thought he would understand.
They go to bed – which is only a mattress on the ground, especially since now they don't have money to buy the rest of the furniture – pissed off, and it takes them a couple of days for them to calm down. But despite eventually returning to a semblance of normalcy, she knows he still fills a little resentment over it. Every time they argue, he doesn't fail to bring it up.
Toothiana hangs her coat and scans the room. A long exhalation.
The table is littered with papers, magazines, and coffee mugs. There is a blanket on the floor, and there are breadcrumbs on the sofa. Toothiana can't help herself as she starts to tidy up the room, trying that her mood doesn't get the best of her.
She enters the small kitchen area, only separated from the living room by a partition wall.
Her annoyance spikes up when seeing that Bunny skipped the dishes and making dinner. Again.
'He's just messy, Toothiana' She tries to appease her temper.
Just this once in months, she had really looked up to arriving home and everything be clean and tidy, to find dinner already at the table, maybe even enjoy a glass of wine with her husband. But no.
Apparently that was asking the almighty too much.
At that moment Aster comes into the room. "Hello, love. How was your day?", he gives her a quick kiss on the forehead and rummages through the fridge.
Her day? A complete nightmare. Her students seem intent on getting the best out of her, being downright annoying and taxing. Then she has to spend time in the library to give tutoring lessons to kids that have the attention span of a goldfish. She swears that if she sees another of those damn fidget spinners, heads will start rolling. And to top it all off, the paper work keeps piling up to dimensions that defy Newton's gravity law.
"Fine." She says, clearly irritated. Grabbing a glass on the kitchen counter, she opens the tap. Nothing comes out.
"They cut the water." He informs her, taking away her glass and pouring what is left of orange juice.
"They cut our water?"
"Happens when you don't pay the bill, yeah." He says matter-of-factly, handing the glass back, which goes unattended immediately.
"Why didn't you pay it then?" She glares at him.
"Because it was down to either having water or having electricity, sheila."
"Fine. Where's dinner then?"
"Crud, I forgot."
"Really?" She scoffs. "You said that last night too."
"I'm sorry. I got distracted and didn't notice the time."
"Bunny, you've been here all day! We agreed that until you find another job, the house is your responsibility." She shakes her head. "I've taken tutoring to get extra money. I've been hunched over a desk for hours, and all I want is to return home and not have to clean up after you!"
"Then don't!" Aster countered curtly.
"I can't ignore it! You know I hate when everything's messy and it looks like you get a kick out of it!"
"Are we really fighting over dishes now?" Aster's famous short temper starts to flare.
"This is not over dishes! This is about you not taking your responsibilities seriously! I know that losing your job was hard for you, but please, I need your help!" Her voice gains volume. She's shouting now. "You can't keep leaving things for later. Grow up already! You can't keep acting like this forever!"
"Why are you being like this? You know that I'm lazy about house chores and that I do leave little messes here and there, but it never got to this." He says with bite in his tone. "And if it really bothered you that much, Tooth, maybe you should've though it before marrying me."
"Well sometimes I wish I hadn't married you at all!"
The sudden sharpness in her voice startles them both. It takes her fractions of seconds to realize what she has said, and her words disarm her.
The tears well up in her eyes when she sees her husband's expression. He is frozen in place. She sees the pained look that crosses his features, and regret washes over her like a tidal wave almost instantly.
"Bunny, I-"
He says nothing before slipping past her into the bedroom. She hears the bathroom door slam shut.
She leaves him be for a while. She doesn't think she can do much while bawling her eyes out.
Her words have been too harsh and she doesn't mean them, not even for a second, but nevertheless she has hurt the one she loves the most. And now she has to fix the mess she has made.
Only when she grasps enough composure to speak without breaking down, she goes to him.
Her calls go unanswered.
"I'm sorry."She furiously fights the tears that threaten to come out. "I didn't mean it. We've both been through so much lately, and I guess I let the situation get the best of me. It's just…this is so hard! I don't know what to do and it drives me crazy." She swallowed hard. "I took it out on you and you didn't deserve that."
Yet no response.
"I never have nor ever will regret marrying you." She places a hand against the door, wishing she could reach him. "You're the best that has ever happen to me and I would never be able to do this without you."
Silence. It twists around her heart and squeezes. She knows she is worthy of only his silence, but goddamn, it's the last thing that she wants.
"Bunny, please say something." She sinks down to the floor and forces herself to swallow down the lump that forms in her throat, willing herself not to cry despite her vision getting blurry. Her voice is laced with desperation. "At least yell to me! God knows I deserve it."
She doesn't know how long she stayed like that. Tooth didn't hear him moving or the fumbling with the lock.
The door opens and there he stands. What little control she had managed vanished and the tears come back.
He visibly grimaces; Tooth's body is wracked by sobs and it pains him to see her like that no matter how angry he gets with her.
He kneels down. His arms are open, inviting her to seek refuge amidst them. "Come here, Toothy."
She can't help but sob as she buries her face against his chest and holds him tight. They cling to each other.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She mutters while his hands rub her back in soothing motion.
"I know, sweetheart." He coos as he carries her to the bed and lays her there. He lies next to her and holds her close "I'm not mad at ya. It's ok, sheila"
They stay like that for a while. She continues to cry. Aster brushes his thumbs over her cheeks, dashing the tears away.
He sings to her, like he always does when she is upset and needs of his voice to calm down.
Wise men say only fools rush in
But I can't help falling in love with you
Shall I stay?
Would it be a sin
If I can't help falling in love with you?
Their wedding song.
Like a river flows surely to the sea
Darling so it goes
Some things are meant to be
Take my hand, take my whole life too
For I can't help falling in love with you
His voice slowly manages to make the tears subside, driving the sadness away.
Like a river flows surely to the sea
Darling so it goes
Some things are meant to be
Take my hand, take my whole life too
For I can't help falling in love with you
For I can't help falling in love with you
He kisses her forehead when he finishes. "Better?"
She nods, burrowing into his warmth.
"I'm sorry too, Toothy." He brushes her hair away from her face. "I guess that not being able to find something and spending so much time here got me into this funk and I ended up making things harder for you."
He feels her relax beneath him.
"Tomorrow's Saturday." He commented lightly. "How about you teach me how to keep things in order and I give this place a scrub from top to bottom?"
Tooth nods into his neck, resting her forehead against his shoulder. Exhaustion, both physical and emotional, are gaining on her and compelling her to finally close her eyes. "I love you, Aster."
"I love you too, Toothy." He sighs, relieved that the heaviness and tension around them has been lifted.
"Bunny?"
"Hmm?" He mutters, almost half asleep.
"I had no reason to act like that. Please forgive me?"
A sleepy smile tugs at the corners of his mouth as he pulls her even closer, feeling as if everything is once more as it should be.
"Always."
There you go! Hope you liked it. The song is "Can't help falling in love", by Elvis Presley.
Don't forget to R&R! ;D