Threat

"You're back." AJ smiled, greeting Punk in the kitchen as he got home late Sunday night, dumping his bags down and getting a well needed hug from her.

"I have returned." Punk nodded, wrapping his arms around her tightly before giving her a long-awaited kiss, holding onto her face as she wrapped her arms around him. In a way, it was nice to miss each other for a few days as the reunion was so much sweeter.

"I really missed you." AJ said, pulling back from the kiss as he gave her a few more pecks, "A lot." She said between his kisses.

"I missed you too." Punk smiled, "How was your night with Renee?" He asked.

"It was good. She loved this place." AJ nodded, "We just ordered in some pizza and watched some movies. Talked about you and Dean." She teased.

"Oh, so a real sleepover?" Punk nodded as she smiled.

"How was the conference?" AJ asked him as he took his jacket.

"Oh, you know… just the most boring thing I've ever taken part in." Punk nodded as AJ chuckled.

"That bad, huh?" She asked.

"Oh, even worse than I thought it'd be." Punk said, "Plus I was babysitting Dean all weekend and when he gets bored he gets crabby." He nodded, "It was all very enjoyable." He nodded sarcastically as AJ smiled.

"Well you're home now." AJ smiled, "Did you enjoy the pictures I sent you?" She asked.

"I did." Punk smirked, "And the videos."

"Well I couldn't decide what to send so… I just sent them all." She shrugged.

"Yeah, I was almost booking myself a red eye when I got my eyes on them." He nodded as she smiled, "Now I have a report to do on this dumb conference for tomorrow morning." He groaned, dumping some paper work on the kitchen table as AJ frowned.

"That's a little cruel. You've just gotten home." AJ said.

"I know but it's gotta be sent away tomorrow morning." Punk shook his head, "I wish I could just do my job without all the added on extras. The crash courses, the reports, the paper work…"

"Yeah, if only." AJ nodded.

"You're getting closer to starting your new job." Punk smiled, sitting down at the kitchen table, "Excited?"

"Yeah and nervous." AJ nodded, "I feel like everything is going superfast right now." She admitted.

"Is that a good thing?" He asked.

"Yeah, I think so. For the most part." AJ nodded, "Everything I seem to be doing right now is all new experiences. I know, it's embarrassing." She rolled her eyes, "But I was nervous for Renee to come over and spend the night here."

"It's not embarrassing. It's normal." Punk said.

"It's normal? To be making your first friend at the age of twenty?" AJ questioned him as he looked over at her, "It's embarrassing." She concluded.

"It's not embarrassing, April." Punk assured her, "You've lived a life where those opportunities, those luxuries that most people don't think twice about, you haven't been given." He said, "Sure, it's unfair but it's not embarrassing." He said, "And Renee really likes you, so I think you're doing ok." He smiled.

"You think she likes me?" AJ wondered.

"Of course she does." Punk nodded, "Don't be hard on yourself. You haven't had it easy these past couple months and I don't know, I feel like you're… you're able to be yourself now, without those chains your family had you in." He said as AJ nodded, "You can start living for you instead of them."

"Yeah." AJ nodded, "Yeah, sometimes it still feels weird. Waking up in bed and realising I'm in my own place and… I'm starting a new job, I have a boyfriend-"

"Can't forget the boyfriend." He smirked as she smiled.

"Of course not." AJ smiled.

"You deserve to be happy." Punk assured her. He felt it was important to remind her of that because sometimes he could sense that she didn't really believe that. That she was still tied to the mentality her parents had raised her with, and that wasn't fair.

"I am happy." AJ smiled, "You make me happy." She nodded as he smiled, "I was lying in bed this morning trying to remember the first time we talked to one another or met at the bar actually." She said as Punk thought to himself.

"Well we had been going to that bar for a few years." Punk nodded to himself.

"I was probably sixteen or seventeen." AJ nodded, looking across at him, "I just always remember being so fascinated that you came in and didn't drink anything. It was the first time I really understood how cool it was not to conform and follow suit." She said, "I was jealous."

"Jealous of me?" Punk laughed a little.

"Yeah, you could just do whatever you wanted. You were your own person. And everyone took notice when you came in." She nodded, "I just thought that was cool." She said as he smiled.

"Well I'm glad you thought I was cool." Punk smiled as she laughed a little.

"I bet you used to just feel sorry for me. Oh, look there's the poor kid who gets bossed around and manipulated by her family." AJ nodded to herself.

"I never thought that." Punk shook his head, "I thought you were kind and sweet. Bubbly." He smiled to himself, "Couldn't understand how you came from the family you did. It was such a huge contrast between you and them." He said, "Looks like you learned how to not conform either." He said as she smiled to herself.

"Yeah, maybe." She nodded, "I have an early morning class tomorrow." She groaned, noticing how late it already was.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna be here for a while finishing this report." Punk nodded, "As much as I'd rather go to bed with you." He huffed.

"Why don't you do the report in bed?" AJ smiled as he laughed a little.

"That's never gonna work." He said as she smiled, "You go on. I'll try not to be too long." He said as she nodded.

"Ok." AJ said, leaning over and kissing him sweetly, "I love you."

"I love you too." He smiled, tapping her on the ass with his paper work as she chuckled and left the kitchen whilst he dug into finishing the remains of his report.

"When do you finish?" AJ asked as Punk drove her to college the next morning.

"Five probably." Punk nodded tiredly as AJ frowned.

"When did you come to bed?" She asked.

"Like… 4am." Punk said, "I'm hoping I can sneak a nap at my desk." He nodded to himself.

"Well at least you got your report done." AJ nodded to him, "I didn't even hear you getting into bed."

"Yeah you were sound asleep." Punk smiled to himself, "But I did have to budge you over a little. You were sleeping in the centre of the bed." He said as she chuckled.

"Man, I must have been really out cold." AJ laughed a little as Punk smiled.

"What classes do you have today?" Punk asked her.

"I'm in clinical science all day." AJ said, "A ton of writing, a ton of listening." She nodded, already tired at the thought.

"I'll cook tonight, what do you fancy?" Punk asked her.

"You cook?" AJ questioned.

"Yeah, I cook." Punk nodded proudly, "I can do tacos." He said, "Not to blow my own trumpet but… they're pretty good." He said as AJ smiled.

"Well then I gotta try them." AJ smiled.

"You do. They're gonna rock your world." He said as AJ chuckled, "Ok, go learn some smart stuff." He nodded, pulling up outside the college.

"I'll try." AJ smiled, turning to him. It was insane how drastically different her life was in just the space of a few months. She had such an internal happiness which she hoped would last forever. He brought it out in her, but he also brought out the ability for her to love herself, and that was just as important.

"I'll see you later." He nodded.

"Mhm, have a good day at work. Save some cats and eat some donuts." She teased, leaning over and kissing him, cupping the back of his head.

"I do more than that, you know." Punk said between pecks, "I help old ladies cross the street too." He teased as AJ chuckled.

"A hero." AJ said, kissing him one final time before getting out of the car, putting her bag over her shoulder and watching him drive off, smiling to herself as she began to walk towards her college.

She was minding her own business when she heard her name being called. She turned around and surprisingly noticed her dad coming towards her, as if he had been waiting to see her appear.

"Dad?" AJ shook her head, "W-What are you doing here?"

"I uh… I just wanted to make sure you were still going to college." Robert nodded as AJ looked at him, "Which I'm glad you are."

"Why wouldn't I be?" AJ questioned.

"Well with how you've been acting lately, I just thought you would have gave it all up." Robert said.

"How I've been acting?" AJ questioned.

"Yeah… fooling around with this man." Robert shook his head with disappointment.

"His name is Phil and I'm not… fooling around." AJ rolled her eyes, "I'm not homeless by the way. No that you or mom cared about that possibility when you threw me out." She said.

"I know I… I came by your apartment the other night." Robert said, "I knocked but I didn't know what to say."

"Why?" AJ shook her head.

"Well I'm not so proud to see my daughter living off an older man who quite frankly doesn't care about her." Robert said.

"Oh, you know what? I am sick to death of people thinking they have this figured all out. You don't know anything about my relationship with Phil, and you don't even care to know." AJ said, "You threw me out, why are you even here talking to me? What do you want?"

"I want to make sure you never tell your mother about what you know." Robert said as AJ raised her eyebrows.

"What?" She shook her head.

"We are not alike. What I did was different, it was out of my control." Robert said, "You knew you were wrecking a marriage-"

"Is that why you really came here?" AJ shook her head, "Because you think I'm gonna tell mom about your little affairs?" She spat.

"I wouldn't put it past you right now. You're not the same April I know." Robert shook his head, "I made my mistakes right. You're still in yours."

"No, you straight up lied and cheated. I'm in an actual relationship now with someone who actually gives a damn about me, which is more than I could ever say for you or mom." AJ said, "I don't care about what you did. I… I want nothing to do with you, or mom." She shook her head, attempting to walk away as Robert grabbed her back by the arm.

"If you tell her, I'll make sure you never see that man again." Robert warned as AJ looked up at him, snatching her arm back from him.

"I have a class to go to." AJ spat, "Stay the hell away from me."

"You know I'm worried about you." Robert made clear, "I don't trust him. I know men like him. You're young and naive and he's taking advantage of that."

"He's really not." AJ assured him.

"Despite what you think, I don't want you to get hurt." Robert said, "You're still my little girl."

"Like that means a damn thing to you." AJ shook her head, "Just stay away from me. I'm done with you and mom." She said. If anything this had just made it so much clearer that she had to cut ties with her family and their toxic behaviour. She wasn't going to stay quiet anymore, "I have to go." She said, walking away from him down the path towards college.