Disclaimer: All characters contained, with the exception of a certain group of restaurant employees belong to Marvel comics. I'm not making money off this, hell, I'm not even getting feedback off the series at this point. Don't sue, I'll tape everyone back together, good as new! Er, almost.
Author's Notes: This is part of the Time, Tide, and Trauma series, archived both at http://www.greymalkin.s5.com/Domino/ttnt.htm and at Alternate Timelines. This could, conceivably, be read without previous knowledge of the series... though a few things would probably seem a bit odd. Thanks go out to Lyssie, Alison, Andrea and Ali for heaps of advice, and to Alison and Lyssie again for betas. The rather unique twist on a totally normal board game is credited to Alan and Smoot, though I doubt they remember, and blame for the last ten pages or so rests squarely on the shoulders of Lyssie, Andrea, and Shai.
Part One
"What are you doing here?"
"Is that any way to greet an old friend?" G.W. Bridge leaned back against the porch railing, surveying the house and surrounding yard. "Nice place. Very rustic."
"It serves its purpose," Nathan replied, stepping out on the porch. "What are you doing on this side of the continent?"
"I was tying up some business in the area," he replied. "I had some free time before my flight."
"Dom went to the store... she should be back soon." Nathan opened the door and ushered him into the house. "Just in the area, huh?"
"Hey, I'm not allowed to check up on old friends? I haven't got that many left, you know." He shrugged off his jacket. "Besides, I was curious."
"You wanted to check up on her." Nate countered, taking his jacket. "Admit it."
"So I wanted to make sure you weren't being a clueless jackass again, so sue me. I really was in the area." He paused. "So, you going to give me a tour here or what?"
"How is she doing, anyway?" He asked as they wandered down the back hall. "You two seem to be taking turns trying to give me a heart attack."
"She's good, G.W."
"Back to being stubborn as hell and kicking your ass huh?"
"Pretty much," he replied wryly. "Not that she's ever had much trouble kicking my ass."
"Keeps you in line," G.W. replied good-naturedly. "What--" he stared at the empty guest room for a minute, and shook his head. "Forget it. I don't think I want to know."
"Hey, I let her do all the decorating," Nathan replied.
"You're just lucky she didn't paint it yellow. Then you'd be screwed." Nathan gave him a blank look and he shook his head. "Never mind. You don't want to know anyway."
Nathan's reply was cut off by the sound of the front door opening. "Hey, Nate? Whose car is that?" Dom's voice drifted in from the kitchen. They both walked back through the living room. She was standing by the kitchen table with a bag of groceries as they entered.
"Hope you don't mind a little company. I was in the area and thought I'd pop in to see if the rumors I'd been hearing were true."
Dom grinned. "Hey G.W." She set down the groceries and, much to his surprise, hugged him. He shot Nate a puzzled look, and Cable just shrugged. "Good to see you again. Been awhile."
He stepped back. "Good to see you too, Dom."
"Hey, Nate. Do me a favor and get dinner started? We're gonna go catch up."
"Sure."
She turned back to G.W. "You want any coffee? Gonna grab a cup for myself."
"No thanks, I'm fine." He waited as she poured herself a cup, then followed her back to the den.
"You see the rest of the house yet?" She asked.
"Nate already gave me the grand tour," he replied, taking a seat on the couch. "He said you put a lot of work into the place."
She tipped her head to the side. "It needed it. Besides, I had to do something to keep me occupied."
He nodded, silent for a moment. "You ever find what you were looking for?"
A vaguely apprehensive look flashed across her face. "The info helped, yeah." She smiled faintly. "Thanks."
"No problem," he replied, somewhat taken aback at her reaction. He bit back the urge to ask her what it'd been about. "You two certainly seem to have gotten... settled."
She laughed. "Well, we needed the change." She sipped her coffee, giving him an amused smile. "And I suppose a house in the suburbs and back-yard barbeques were as different as we could get."
"Nate. With a grill. Unbelievable."
"If you think that's scary, you should see him with the table saw."
"What have you done to him, woman?"
"Nothing he didn't want done," she replied innocently, unable to suppress an amused grin.
"I never thought I'd live to see you two acting like responsible adults."
"Your faith in us astonishes me," she replied. "I think we both had our wake-up calls... we're getting too old to keep playing games."
He tipped his head to the side, regarding her out of the corner of his eye. "You had me worried for awhile, you know."
Domino snorted. "You are just over protective. As if I need more overly-concerned males in my life."
"You didn't have to take late-night calls from Nate behaving more perturbed than I've seen him in years. Just take care of yourself, okay? I'm running out of good friends as is."
"Hey." She smacked him on the arm lightly. "Don't get like that. You want to brood, do it on your own time."
"Okay, okay," he replied good-naturedly. "Look, there was something else I wanted to talk about," he said after a moment of silence.
"Oh?" She'd been waiting for that. While his visit was a pleasant surprise, she'd had a sneaking suspicion that there'd been some underlying motivation.
"It's a job offer--" She started to protest, but he stopped her short. "Not what you think. It's with SHIELD. We're turning into an old boy's club, Dom. Could use someone who'd keep us on our toes."
"I don't wanna be some pencil pusher, G.W."
"Now, you know I wouldn't do that to you. Think of it as a consulting job, Dom. You still get to do field work, the pay scale is great, and there's a nice retirement package. Your illegal mercenary gig have that?"
She gave him a sideways look. "We're getting old."
"Don't remind me."
Domino ran a hand back through her hair. "I'll think about it, okay? Nate--"
G.W. put a hand on her shoulder. "We both know he's not really up to the kind of stunts you're used to pulling anymore."
She shook her head mutely. She knew--it was hard to ignore, especially after the time they'd spent apart. The difference had been jarring, despite forehand knowledge of how badly he'd been injured in Akkaba. "Try telling him that, though."
"Stubborn as a mule, I know. You'll think about it, though?"
"Yeah. We'll see." The words felt like a betrayal.
----
"You two done talking about me, yet?"
"As if we have nothing better to discuss, you old goat." Domino snorted. "He's so self absorbed," she continued, turning to G.W.
"So I see," he laughed, and glanced at his watch. "Well, as much as I'd love to stay and watch you two act out this rather disturbing brand of domestic bliss, I've got a plane to catch." He stood and shook Nate's hand. "You take care of her. I've got strict instructions to kick your sorry ass if you do anything boneheaded, and no qualms about carrying it out."
Nathan chuckled. "Watch your back, G.W."
"Count on it." He turned to Dom. "And you... don't be too hard on him, okay?" He grinned, and gave her a quick hug.
"Don't be a stranger, okay?"
"I won't."
They followed him back through the house and watched as the car pulled out of the drive. Nate slid an arm around her waist. "So, think we scared him?"
Dom laughed. "Oh, definitely."
----
"This is getting boring..."
"Only because you've only won two games," he replied.
"Ha ha. I'm serious. Maybe we should up the stakes a little?" She said, giving him her best innocent look, which of course made him immediately wary of her intentions.
"It's battleship," he pointed out reasonably. "There are no stakes."
"That's my point," she replied coolly--too coolly, he thought. "There's no thrill in kicking your sorry ass."
"I'm sorry my lack of humiliation fails to amuse you," he deadpanned. "Did you have something in mind?" He eyed her suspiciously and took a swallow of his beer.
Her angelic expression transformed into a positively feral one, grinning like the proverbial cat that ate the canary. "Oh... I don't know," she studied her nails casually for a moment before meeting his eyes again. "Strip Battleship, maybe?" He sputtered, nearly choking on his beer. Domino's grin merely widened. "What, not up for it?"
He recovered his composure quickly, matching her taunting expression with a dead serious gaze of his own. "I'm game. Rules?"
Her eyebrow arched slightly in surprise, but she covered it in an instant. "Well," she mused for a moment. "For each ship you lose, you forfeit an article of clothing."
"But that's not fair," he pointed out. "It could take five hits just to get your shoes off."
"Well, I didn't say it was perfect. But if we try to do it by hit points, you run the risk of losing your boxers before your pants. And unless you've suddenly re-acquired the ability to body-slide, that's gonna be a problem," she snickered.
"Well, I could be wearing the rip-off boxers..."
"And the last time you pole-danced was?"
"That time in Cancun..."
"And you got the entire Pack thrown out of the bar, remember?"
"That was only because they didn't appreciate my interpretive dance of Apocalypse Now."
"I admit the arm swirlies were inspired."
"So, a ship per article of clothing?"
"That's the general idea. I'll take my shoes and socks off if it makes you feel better."
"Depends. Are your toenails still painted bright red?"
"Yes."
"Then it makes me feel better."
"I'm occasionally worried that you find nail polish a turn on," she commented, stripping off her footwear and tossing it to the far corner of the room. "Is there any coffee left?"
"Think so."
"Need another beer while I'm up?"
"Oh no. I'm not falling for that."
"Oh, please. As if I needed to get you drunk to win." She returned with a mug and a beer can. "Got your side set up yet?"
"I'm still debating here..."
"Nate, it's a game. Not a strategic naval battle."
"You're trying to get me naked. This requires some thought."
"Getting you naked requires
thought?
And here I thought all I had to do was--""Do you mind?"
"Well, hurry up, old man. I'm getting bored."
He gave her an indignant scowl and went back to arranging his board. "Okay, finished."
"Well, finally," she rolled her eyes and stretched out on the floor. "Who went first last time?"
"I think I did."
"My turn, then. Um... C6."
"Miss," he eyed his board speculatively. "A9."
"Hit," she grumbled, sticking a peg into the board.
"So... who's going to kick whose butt?"
"Lucky guess, babe. Don't get cocky."
"You're just afraid you'll lose."
"Uh-huh. You wish." She paused to eye her board. "B10... So, color schemes?"
"Miss. Huh?"
"Kitchen. Really needs the wallpaper stripped."
"Um, anything's good. D6?"
"Miss. Hrm. Well, are you sure? 'Cause green and purple..."
"Okay, so white and blue are my preferences."
"Hmm. You got blue in the bedroom. White's not so bad, though. G8."
"Hit. Yeah, it kinda goes with anything. So, no clothes gone until the ship is sunk?"
"In a hurry to lose your pants?"
"No..."
----
"Oh, damnit. That was my destroyer," Domino scowled. "You bastard.
"Ha! Hand over the shirt."
She snorted. "Y'know, 'cocky' just doesn't work when you're losing, Nate." She reached down and pulled the hem of her shirt free from the waistband of her jeans and yanked the article of clothing off over her head, tossing it at him. "There, happy?"
"Whoo hoo! Nice rack!"
"See, if you weren't wearing those zebra-striped boxers, I'd hit you for that."
"Yeah, well..."
----
"Why are we playing this again?"
"I'm exercising my right to sit half-naked in my living room. Besides, it's fun watching you try to cheat."
"I am not."
"Are too. Don't lie to me, you're terrible at it."
"What about you?" He pointed out sullenly.
"Hey now, you know I can't help that," she replied smugly. "Completely uncontrollable."
"I've always wondered about that," he replied, narrowing his eyes.
"Oh, you caught me, Nate," she replied sarcastically, pressing a wrist to her forehead melodramatically. "You're right. I've been perpetrating this façade of having a totally uncontrolled mutant power for years, just to beat you in one game of Battleship. I dunno what conspiracy-filled fantasy you're living in, but I live in the real world."
He crossed his arms and eyed her. "You don't have to be so smug." The scowl on his face suddenly changed to a smirk as Domino's game board snapped shut, scattering red and white pegs across the floor.
"You bastard!" She jumped up, grabbing the pillow she'd been sitting on and tossing at him, scowling when he ducked out of the way.
He blinked at her. "You're in trouble now, you realize."
"Me?" She arched an eyebrow. "Is that so."
"Yes." Before she could react, Nathan was on his feet, grabbing her and unceremoniously tossing her over one shoulder.
"Hey, no fair, damnit!" She cried indignantly. "Put me down."
"I win."
"Nathan! This was not part of the rules."
"My rules."
"Sometimes... I really hate you."
"Good."
"Nate, I'm serious. Set me down!"
"I don't know... you're a lot easier to keep a handle on this way."
"Oh, fuck you."
"Promise?"
She growled in frustration. "Shouldn't you be...finding a tall building to climb so you can swat airplanes, or something?"
"Do I look like King Kong to you?"
"Well, you do have a nicer ass than any giant monkey I've ever seen..."
"Oh, thank you."
"You asked."
"Indeed I did. Always a dangerous thing around you." Grinning at her muttered "You know it," Nate started down the hall, Domino still slung over one shoulder, and made it to their room, kicking open the door.
"You got quiet," he commented as they neared the bed.
She snickered lightly. "Hey, what can I say. I had a nice view." Wandering hands punctuated this, making him jump slightly, and he felt a certain smug satisfaction leaking from her end of the link. 'Can't have that...'
Smirking to himself, he reached up and flipped her off his shoulder, depositing her most ungracefully in the middle of the bed.
Domino glared up at Nate, standing above her wearing an ear-to-ear grin and not much else, which only made the situation that much more amusing. She stretched her arms above her head innocently, and as he dropped onto the bed after her, met him with a goose down pillow square in the face.
He didn't even have time to deflect it with his TK. Sputtering, Nate shoved the pillow out of his face and gave her a mock-glare. She grinned unrepentantly from underneath him, eyes daring him to retaliate. Nate briefly entertained the idea of starting a tickle fight, but thought better of it, suddenly dipping his head low for a kiss and trailing feather-light touches down her exposed midriff.
Domino shivered at the sensation of techno-organic skin against her own and reached up, tangling her fingers in his hair and deepening the kiss. She shifted beneath him, drawing a low moan from the back of his throat at the nearly-electric shock as their bodies met. Moments later, Nate broke the kiss, smoldering eyes pinning her to the bed and sending a coil of desire spiraling through the core of her body. Hands lingered at the swell of her breasts as he trailed a line of fiery kisses down her jaw to her neck, stilling at a spot just underneath her earlobe. Dom gasped aloud despite herself as he teased her with teeth and tongue, alternately nipping and soothing until it felt as if every nerve ending was aflame. Her pulse thundered in her ears as he slipped down her body, slow and unhurried.
Lightly, she raked her nails over Nate's back, grinning wickedly as a tremor ran through him at her touch. He paused at the tops of her breasts, catching his breath momentarily and attempting to compose himself somewhat before continuing. Desire was already flowing steadily down the link, growing with each moment that passed, until it threatened to drown them both.
"Next time--you want to get my pants off...all you have to do is ask," he joked, voice gruff.
"Where's the fun in that?" She gasped in reply, back arched as his mouth trailed lower. She bit her lip and closed her eyes as he continued, wordless amusement drifting across the link. Finally, she dragged him back up to her, lips capturing his own roughly as they slid out of what little clothing they still wore.