A/N: Happy Easter!
Terri opened her beautiful blue eyes and attempted to focus in spite of the darkness that surrounded her. She knew it must've been late, probably after midnight. She couldn't remember why she had woken up and she could not recall having a nightmare of any sort. As she blinked the sleep away and tried to get her bearings, she remembered that she was up in Larry's apartment...more specifically, in his bed.
They had officially been in a romantic relationship for the past two months now. These days, Terri spent more time upstairs at Larry's place than downstairs with Jack and Janet, but no one seemed to mind. Jack and Janet had a thing going on too, so it was nice for both couples to get the privacy they needed. Terri had practically moved in by this point, having essentials such as toiletries, daytime and nighttime clothing and other things tucked away in various places in Larry's apartment. She even had some of her favorite foods stashed away in his kitchen. Far from fearing that it might cramp his style, Larry seemed to welcome the company. He even gladly took down the provocative pictures he'd had of women on his wall, stating that he had the best woman on earth and that others did not compare. He even threw away his infamous little black book. He seemed almost happy to do so, as if Terri unofficially moving into his apartment allowed him to let out a metaphorical sigh of relief. Terri could not believe his reaction to everything...it wasn't what she expected at all. He did not try to get rid of her or try to give her the slip and they were still going strong. Terri knew it hadn't been a very long time, but for Larry it must have been an eternity...and yet, Larry still seemed so happy and absolutely crazy about her. Terri wondered how long his longest relationship had been and wondered if maybe she was already approaching that threshold with him. She couldn't believe that she trusted him, given his history as a womanizer, but she did. Something just told her that he would never cheat on her. He even jokingly (or maybe not so jokingly) said that he'd slit his wrists before he'd even consider going behind her back. When he would go on and on about what an angel she was or how much she added to his life, Terri sensed that he wasn't just being overly sentimental or showy in typical Larry fashion but that he was actually being honest and sincere with her. Terri wondered why Larry didn't do the whole longterm relationship thing more often, because he seemed much happier and more fulfilled than when he was living a life of one night stands...or maybe it was just because he was with Terri, period. Maybe he wouldn't have agreed to go steady with anyone but her? That very thought made Terri feel so honored. She couldn't help but feel for the many (many) women who had not been able to get close to Larry other than the usual roll in the hay, only to be given the heave ho by him later on or to end up moving on from him when they'd had their fun. They'd missed out on the affection, the sweetness, the laughter, the warmth...there was so much more to Larry than just sex, although that was fun too. Terri felt badly for those other women, then again, their loss was her gain.
In spite of Terri's initial nervousness and even skepticism in getting together with Larry, they had actually gotten along wonderfully. Their friendship was not ruined by their romance, but in fact, was taken to a whole new level. Along with seeing wonderful changes and maturity occurring in Larry, Terri also went through changes to her own personality. For the first time in her life, she actually enjoyed sex. Sex had always been a thing she considered a chore and something that she had to do within a romantic relationship as if it was a duty. But with Larry, she actually wanted to experience it. It was fun. He was fun. He was an absolute joy and a delight to be with and kept her laughing and smiling constantly. She felt her tough as nails, no nonsense attitude soften up quite a bit when she was with Larry and felt herself becoming lighter and more playful in order to match his usually high spirits. He had a way of speaking to her inner child like no one else ever had before. He was unlike any other guy she had been with in the fact that he was a sucker for sunsets, sunrises and various phases of the moon...a lot of that "romantic and poetic junk" that was supposed to only appeal to women. Larry loved to watch the moon, the stars, the sun and all things nature and did not try to hide it. Terri knew that he wasn't doing it to impress her in any way, because he engaged her in lively and informative conversations about such things and even taught her a few facts that she had never known before...he was, in no way, ashamed to be a sentimental and hopeless romantic. Many nights they'd spend on his balcony watching the moon. Larry loved the full moon because it was at its biggest, brightest and most beautiful and shone as a beacon of hope whereas Terri liked the crescent moon due to its neat, sharp and clean edges. Terri found herself slowing down and looking at the world around her in a whole new way.
He was also quite a family man, always writing letters and calling everyone back home in New York. He'd tell her stories about his family when he was growing up and about how much he loved being from a large family. He loved to go over photo albums with her and to share memories with her, and to also ask her questions about her family and past. A few things did strike Terri as odd though...all of the memories he shared were positive and humorous, such as how he and all of his siblings had a habit of speaking to eachother in different languages while growing up in school together...they would speak to each other in Greek, Hebrew and Yiddish in order to share inside jokes with each other without anyone, especially teachers, finding out what they were saying...it was like a secret code the Dalliapoulos siblings had. Terri had remembered Larry mentioning in passing that his father was no longer alive around Christmastime, but he had never mentioned it again since then. Terri was very curious about it, but thought the reason he didn't bring it up was because he didn't care to revisit the sadder events from his past, so she didn't ask him any questions about it. It was clear to Terri that Larry loved his family very much and she wondered why he lived across the country from them. The separation must've been hard on him.
As for the sexual side of the relationship, it was like a grenade had gone off ever since that first official time back on Valentine's Day. They had both really surprised each other that night...Terri shocked Larry with her inner strength and Larry intrigued Terri with his reactiveness to her and with a certain unexpected sweetness. This led to an explosion of encounters between the two of them. Larry, of course, was a well known horndog but Terri found herself rising to the occasion and matching him in terms of enthusiasm. Terri never could have imagined it, but he just triggered something within her. It was great fun, not to mention, wonderful stress relief. Terri wanted nothing more than to hop into bed after a stressful day at the hospital or to help melt Larry's tension away when he'd had an occasional bad day at the car lot. One time around two weeks ago, Terri had suffered a very irritating and long day at work. She hadn't gotten off until it was late and pitch black outside. Luckily for her, Larry had picked her up from work just as he always did for the past few months. Terri was so happy and relieved to be free from the hospital at that moment that she'd gotten a brilliant idea to show Larry her appreciation right then and there in the nearly abandoned parking lot. It wasn't full on sex, just an intense (yet fully clothed) kiss and grope session in the front seat of Larry's car. Larry had been in the driver's seat and Terri was on top of him...it had been a bit like their little practice run to actual sex way back on New Year's Day. Terri surprised herself and Larry by initiating the encounter...and Larry, of course, was not about to say no. Unfortunately, the moment came to an abrupt end when Terri's ass accidentally honked the steering wheel horn. It had scared the crap out of them both and had sent them into a laughing fit for the next twenty minutes. They got to finish what they had started later on at Larry's place. It had been a very fun night. Larry truly was so much fun to be with.
On the other hand, Terri had gotten to know softer and more vulnerable sides to Larry over time as well...the parts of himself that lay beyond the winks, wisecracks, corny jokes and mischievous grin. Terri had suspected this for many months now, but there was so much more to Larry than he let on. He was, for instance, not just overtly sexual but also incredibly sentimental and romantic...he was so sentimental, in fact, that most people would think that he was joking or exaggerating when he was actually being very serious about his emotions. Speaking of emotions, Terri had discovered something very surprising and a bit troubling about Larry. Apparently, Larry needed tranquilizers in order to sleep at night. She learned that he had been a severe insomniac ever since adolescence. Through repeated nights in his bed, Terri had also learned that Larry cried himself to sleep almost every night before the tranquilizers kicked in. Terri didn't want to embarrass him, so she pretended to be asleep every night...but these sobs were particularly heart wrenching tonight. Not loud...never loud...but muffled, deep and racking. The kind that took his breath away and that left him gasping for air shakily. As Terri lay there in concern and listened to Larry as he quietly wept, she realized that this is what had woken her up in the first place.
It kind of reminded her of a time from several months back when she and Janet had faced off against Jack and Larry in a silly crying contest. It was just for fun, but Larry had broken down when it was his turn to go and had wept like a wounded child. It was horrifying. But afterwards, he had acted like the whole thing had never happened and did not speak about the event whatsoever. Terri had never forgotten it though. She meant to ask him about it as a concerned friend, but felt too self conscious to bring it up...she had gotten the feeling that Larry wanted to move on from the experience. It kind of intrigued her in a way. The way that Larry cried most nights, including tonight, was nowhere near as explosive...his cries were much softer and more subdued, but no less painful for Terri to hear. She wondered if these nightly breakdowns were in any way related to that meltdown she had witnessed before. It disturbed her to realize that a guy seemingly so happy and carefree obviously had a huge amount of sadness in his psyche. She wondered why Larry was so sad subconsciously and was curious as to what could drive a guy usually so jovial to repeated tears like this every night. Steeling herself and wanting to comfort him, she rolled over in bed and wrapped her arms around him from behind. She placed a gentle kiss on his shoulder. She hoped it wouldn't make Larry angry that she had finally decided to intervene. She doubted it would, though. She couldn't recall ever seeing him truly angry before. He was pretty good natured overall, other than the crying jags.
Larry tensed up at her embrace, gasping a little bit in shock. He held his breath and went dead silent for about ten seconds.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you..." Larry's voice was low and husky.
"Don't worry about it." Terri soothed. "Can you roll over and face me?"
"Sure..." Larry sighed tiredly. "Just a second..."
Larry reached over and grabbed a few tissues from the box on his nightstand next to his side of the bed. He took a moment to gather himself and to clean up a little bit. After a deep, calming breath, Larry did as she asked and rolled over in order to face Terri. He looked at her nervously. The moonlight coming in through the bedroom window made his eyes shine, although that was probably from unshed tears. Terri took one of his hands in hers and caressed his knuckles with her thumb.
"What's the matter, sweetie?" Terri asked him softly.
The tone of voice that she used...the sweetness, the understanding...caught Larry off guard. It was a tone that he never thought he'd hear coming from her directed at him. It struck a chord with him and it was enough to push him over the edge again. Larry was beyond frustrated...this is why he mostly preferred to sleep alone. He knew that any one of his past one night stands would find this sort of thing odd, as well they should. But obviously, Terri was much more to him than that. He knew she would've found out about this sooner or later. How embarrassing.
Emotion swelled up into his chest, tightening his airway and making it difficult to breathe. His expression crumpled into a look of agony. He briefly covered his face with his hands and took a few deep breaths as he tried to gain control over his emotions.
"Don't you mean what's the matter with me?" Larry tried to joke, letting out a watery sounding laugh. "Where do I begin?"
Although trying to be funny, tearfulness eventually won out and Larry gave up trying to laugh through the tears. He rolled onto his back and sobbed quietly for a few seconds. After a short while, he made another attempt to pull himself together once more.
"I'm sorry..." Larry apologized to her, wiping at his eyes with a tissue once again.
"Don't apologize for being human. It happens." Terri joked sympathetically. She remained on her side and just watched him. Although she hated that Larry was in some kind of emotional distress and felt badly for him, she also found this moment to be strangely endearing and intimate. She felt like she was getting to know Larry better and was seeing a side to him that no one else got to very often. She thought the fact that he didn't get out of bed and leave the room when confronted was a very good sign...it made her feel like Larry was slowly letting his guard down with her and knew that he didn't have to always be funny or even sexy around her... he could just be a human being. It was progress.
"Do you want to tell me what's troubling you?" Terri asked him. "Maybe I can help. Is it nightmares, or...?"
"Nah, I think the food we ate at that new Italian restaurant must've been bad or something. It's just gas pains. I'll be fine." Larry smirked slyly to himself at his explanation.
"Larry, you're teasing..." Terri chided him gently.
Larry shrugged and nodded, owning up to it with that slight smirk still on his face.
"Because you don't want to tell me..." Terri added.
The smile disappeared from Larry's face and he just stared up at the ceiling.
"I've noticed that you do this sort of thing almost every night and I'm worried about you." Terri confessed to him. "I'd really like to help you."
Larry sighed, mortified. He ran a hand through his hair nervously, refusing to make eye contact as he spoke.
"It's kind of hard to explain. I've been this way since forever. There's nothing you can do, I'm afraid. But I want you to know that it has nothing to do with you, believe me. You're the best thing to ever happen to me." Larry reassured her. "It has to do with some messed up things from my past...it's just...I really don't want to talk about it right now."
The way Larry's voice shook made Terri not want to push him any further, so she merely scooted over in the bed and snuggled up next to him, resting one arm across his torso and leaning her head down on his chest. They lay still for a moment, Larry was trying to even out his breathing and Terri was just listening to his heartbeat as she racked her brain. She desperately wanted to help him feel better, but she was at a loss of what to do since Larry didn't want to talk about his problems. After a few moments, a stroke of genius hit her and she came up with a brilliant idea. The solution she came up with was so Larry, that she couldn't believe she didn't think of it sooner. She was certain that Larry would love it.
"Hey, I think I know how we can make you feel better..." Terri said in a sing song tone.
"How?" Larry blinked, wiping at his eyes some more. He just wished the tranquilizer would hurry up and knock him out already.
"Sex. It's a natural antidepressant." Terri stated as a matter of fact.
Larry snorted in amusement, smiling at Terri's sweetness and consideration.
"I don't think you want to have sex with this soggy mess, Terri." Larry laughed quietly. "Can I take a rain check?"
"But you're miserable now." Terri pointed out. "I really want to help you feel better. It doesn't have to be full blown sex if you're too tired or if you're feeling too badly. It can just be a little something to make you...you know..."
Larry cracked a huge grin. He thought she was so adorable.
"You're so sweet..." He kissed the top of her head. "But I don't know..."
Larry thought Terri was very beautiful and considered himself lucky to have her. He didn't want to turn her offer down, but he felt miserable, tired and decidedly not in the mood at all. He couldn't picture himself doing anything sexual right now and didn't even know if Terri could elicit any kind of response from him whatsoever at the moment.
"Please let me try..." Terri coaxed him gently. She lightly dragged her fingernails down his stomach. "Please?"
Larry sucked in a sharp breath and trembled under her touch.
"Well, when you put it that way, how can I say no?" He huffed out a laugh.
"You'll feel much better when I'm done..." Terri promised. "Trust me. Just relax..."
She leaned in and kissed him on his cheek as she continued to draw patterns on his chest and stomach with her fingertips.
"That feels good, babe..." Larry let his appreciation be known as he shivered under her tender touch. Goosebumps broke out on his skin. When Terri began toying with the waistband of his pajama pants, his breath hitched in his throat. Night time was always a hard time for Larry. Repressed thoughts, feelings and memories came rushing over him in overwhelming and soul crushing waves and yet, never once, had he ever thought about jerking off just to feel better. Of course, this wasn't quite the same. He noted how differently Terri's touch felt than his own.
When Terri's hand slipped into his pajama pants, his mind went momentarily blank.
"Wait a minute..." Larry finally spoke up. He yanked his bottoms down in order to give her easier access.
Terri snickered quietly at his sudden eagerness. She wrapped her slender and graceful fingers around his already semi erect cock.
"It looks like someone is feeling a bit better already..." Terri whispered, giving him a playful squeeze.
"It's got a mind of its own..." Larry half chuckled, half groaned. In spite of his mental state, he could feel his body responding positively to Terri's touch. Terri gripped him snugly and had started to pump him up and down as she stimulated him to full hardness within seconds. Larry gasped shakily...he couldn't believe it. He was not even close to in the mood a mere three minutes ago and now he had gotten so hard, so fast that it literally made him dizzy...it was as if every drop of blood in his body had rushed south in about ten seconds. A battle raged in his head between the two conflicting emotions of sadness and lust, and the latter was winning out big time. It was a welcome relief.
Larry turned his head to kiss Terri as she continued to skillfully work him over. Terri wasted no time in returning the kiss. When she started to kiss him back, it sent a jolt of pleasure down his body. It caused precum to ooze out of the head of his cock and Terri did not miss a beat...she swiped her thumb through it, spreading it down his shaft with her fingers. Her hand now glided with ease in an up and down motion thanks to the natural lubricant. Larry broke the kiss due to the intensity. He shut his eyes and panted, beginning to move his hips slightly in time to her rhythm.
Terri moved in even closer as she became more engaged in what she was doing. She pressed a kiss to his neck and closed her eyes, losing herself in the moment. As she continued jerking him off, Terri was unaware that she had been opening herself up to him, almost draping herself across him. She had lifted one leg, hiking it up over one of his until her thigh was just below where she had her hand working away busily. Without thinking, she ground herself against his hip.
"Oh wow..." Terri blinked, her hand momentarily stilling. She laughed breathlessly at herself, muttering quietly. "Sorry about that."
She surprised herself as she had no intention of pleasuring herself tonight.
Larry opened his eyes and turned his head once again to look at her. A slow grin spread across his face. He certainly didn't mind.
"Are you kidding me?" He breathed. His hand farthest away from her was gripping the bedsheets tightly. He wrapped his other arm around her waist, pulling her even closer. His hand drifted down her lower back before settling on her ass. He began moving her against himself, encouraging Terri enthusiastically.
"I love it when you come on me..." Larry moaned needily and filthily. "I love it so fucking much."
Terri's face burned at what he said. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and began pleasuring him again while moving her hips against him simultaneously. She was rewarded for her actions by some very loud moans and groans from Larry. She just loved driving him wild like this. For Larry, this was also highly erotic. The combination of Terri sighing quietly into his neck as she moved against him and feeling the heat radiating from her core, even through her panties, was becoming a bit too much for him. When Terri held her breath and started to shake against him after a while, his heart picked up its pace as he realized that she was experiencing her orgasm surprisingly quickly. How she continued stroking him through it, he had no idea. He held her close as she clung to him, and then felt that familiar tingling sensation in his lower stomach.
"Uh oh..." Larry said under his breath. He really didn't want to make a mess of the bedsheets. He groped with his free hand for the tissue box on his nightstand for what felt like the 100th time that night. Ripping a few of them free, he quickly lowered his hand over Terri's, arched his back and, with a grunt, exploded all over her hand.
Through her own blissful haze, Terri hummed in appreciation. Her wrist was a tad on the sore side now, but she continued stroking him through the experience. They always used condoms when it came to traditional sex, but since this wasn't typical sex, there was no need for them now. There was a certain eroticism and even intimacy in the way she could feel him throbbing in her hand and she quite enjoyed feeling the result of her actions spilling over her fingers like this, warm and wet. These were things she normally couldn't feel through a condom. She found it strangely hypnotic and craved more of this skin on skin contact in the future...
Larry whined softly at the overstimulation and gently pushed her hand away. He was starting to grow soft in her hand.
"Oops..." Terri giggled. "Sorry."
She took the tissue from him and began gently cleaning him up, wiping off his lower belly and mopping off her fingers. Larry pulled his pajama pants back up with a relaxed and dreamy smile on his face.
"How do you feel now?" Terri asked with a cocky smirk, her blue eyes sparkling. She felt very pleased with herself. This was her smoking-a-cigarette-after-sex moment, only instead, she was wiping off her hand with a tissue.
Larry responded by rolling over onto his side to face Terri. He cupped her face with both of his hands and kissed every inch of her skin he could reach...her forehead, nose, eyelids, cheeks, chin and, of course, her lips. Terri glowed at the extra attention.
"That was amazing, sweetheart. I'm so glad you talked me into that!" Larry exclaimed in between kisses. "Can I do anything for you?"
"Yes, you can. Go to sleep and have sweet dreams." Terri said adoringly.
"I don't know what I did to deserve that or you, but thank you." Larry smiled sleepily at her. The adrenaline rush was finally causing the tranquilizer he had taken to flow more steadily through his veins, thus causing him to gush a little bit. He paused for a second before adding an afterthought. "And I am so making you breakfast in the morning."
"Deal." Terri smiled. "Now go to sleep."
The two of them settled into the bed with their arms around each other. Terri lay there for the longest time as she listened to Larry's breathing deepen and even out...a tell tale sign he had drifted off into a peaceful slumber. Between the drug he had taken earlier and the feel good hormones now coursing through him, he didn't stand a chance of staying awake very long anyway. She had a huge smile on her face as she thought about how she'd taken Larry out of a miserable and tortured mental state and helped him into one of pleasure and joy...all from a simple handjob. She wondered if this was why Larry was so sexual in the first place...sex was, after all, a natural high.
She squeezed his sleeping form in a hug and resolved to intervene on his nightly crying spells with a sex act every night if she had to...to replace his overwhelming negative feelings with equally powerful positive ones. It was a wholesome and natural cure to depression as well as insomnia.
Terri would have Larry off of those damned tranquilizers in no time.
THE END