Jim's Folly

ALL RIGHTTTTTT! *pumps her fist into the air* After much debate, it's TIME FOR THE HONEYMOON!

;) I won't write too much. Purity is key, children! Raine Ishida does not believe in lemon stories. ^_^

Chapter Thirty Six

In the dark of his room, Andrew hummed and occasionally sang quietly to himself. He was amused at the fact that his voice was beginning to change. Simon was drunk again so he'd decided it was best to stay in the safety of his room where Simon couldn't see him and get angry for no reason. Like usual.

Sitting amidst his humming, he thought of his mother. Even at twelve years of age, he couldn't help but notice how much like her he was starting to look. He had her youthful beauty, her smooth skin and deep brown eyes. He looked dark like her. His hair was dark and straight, jet black like hers. Simon's was black too, but not the rich black of Raven's hair.

Even Simon had noticed his change. Simon was angry at this…but took delight in Andrew's likeness to him in stature. Simon was tall and thin, lanky, yet strong. Andrew was well on his way to becoming the same.

Andrew stared ahead at the floor in front of him, watching as the planet's moon lit up the floor. He stopped humming. Simon was coming upstairs.

Suppressing the urge to tremble, Andrew rose to his feet to confront his oppressor.

Simon entered the room, poking his head in.

"Hey."
Andrew frowned. "What is it?"

Simon licked his lips. "I'm goin' to bed. Go to bed soon, 'kay? Don't wantcha to be grumpy in the morning."
Andrew's frown didn't flicker, but in the back of his mind, he was confused. Simon, dead drunk, was going to bed early…and was being nice to him. Weird.

"What drugs are you on?" Andrew asked, trying hard to push one of Simon's buttons. The older man shrugged. "Nothing. I'm just tired, tha'ssall," he muttered. The door was closed and Andrew was left in the dark once more.

Frowning deeper, Andrew bit his lip. "That was…weird."
Picturing his mother in his mind, the recently-turned twelve year old boy smiled. It was best if he fell asleep thinking of her.

---

Leland had been put up at the BenBow Inn. He'd not put up a fuss. He liked being near his family. That was the excuse he gave, anyway. Jim wasn't sure his mother was buying it, but she didn't seem troubled, so Jim let it slide.

Raven and Jim were going to go on their honeymoon in a while from then on, but for now, they'd decided to relax and get used to married life on Montressor for a little while.

The very same night Leland had arrived, Jim and Raven had retired to Jim's old room. Sarah had knocked on the door, poking her head in. "Hey, do you two want a bigger room, or what?"

Jim shrugged. "Whatever, Mom. You got a bigger room?"

Sarah smiled. "I reserved the suite for you, honey."

He blinked. "What? No one's staying in there?"

Grinning, Jim's mother kissed him on the cheek. "You are!"

With that, she left the room. Jim glanced at his wife and raised an eyebrow. "Well, would you believe me if I told you we've just been upgraded to the best room in this entire building?"

Raven nodded, considering what had just happened. She didn't care where they were. All she cared was that she was with Jim.

After the two had gone to the new room, Raven stood at the window, one hand on the pane as she frowned. "Why'd he come back? Do you know?"

Jim joined her at the window, now in loose sweatpants and a t-shirt.

Sighing, he shrugged. "To ruin my life again, I guess." He hugged her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder. "He's good at that."

Raven leaned back and kissed her husband on the cheek. "It'll be okay." She excused herself to the bathroom and left Jim at the window.

---

In the bathroom, Raven closed the door behind her and suppressed her tremors. She couldn't do...this. What usually happened on wedding nights? The marriage was consummated, right.

She knew that. She wasn't stupid. She also knew she was terrified and didn't want to follow tradition. What would Jim say? Would he say anything? Would he be offended? Would…he still think of her the same way?

Biting her lip, she looked at herself in the mirror. The girls had really done a beautiful job on her makeup, but standing in the rain had done atrocious duties to her hair. It was straight again, no longer curled in beautiful curls around her face. Shrugging, she went about washing her face and brushing her hair. She was no longer in her wedding dress but in her light blue flannel pajamas.

Sighing, she left the bathroom. It was now or never…to explain herself.

Jim was sitting on the bed reading a solar surfing magazine. Hearing her come out of the bathroom caught his attention and he looked up. "Hey!" he said happily.

He could tell right away that she was troubled.

She sat next to him and snuggled against his chest. He didn't even need to look her in the eyes to discover what was wrong.

"I'm scared too, Ray."

She looked up at him, aghast. "How did you know?"

Smiling, he sighed happily. "After knowing you for seven years, I should hope I know by now how to read your body language."

"But…"

"It's our wedding night. What's in the tradition isn't always for everyone, you know…"

She sighed heavily. "You're…amazing. How did you know that was…?"

He kissed her forehead. "It doesn't matter." He was amazed at how smoothly this was coming out, considering he was shaking on the inside.

"Both of us have had interesting pasts," Raven said quietly, looking down at his arms, the forearms turned up to hold the magazine. She was saddened at the fact that they were covered with tiny scars. She ran her hand over the scars and smiled at the smoothness. He'd been clean for ages.

Jim nodded. "Yeah. Makes it a little easier, I suppose…"
He paused. "When we're ready, we'll know. All I care about is having you next to me."

He kissed her gently and pulled back the covers, getting underneath. Once she had joined him, he turned out the light.

"Night, Ray." It was quiet in the dark. "Love you."

--

Silver arrived at the BenBow Inn three months later. By then, Raven had happily returned to work, commuting back and forth each day.

Jim was still on his break. He used this opportunity to help out at the Inn, lending a hand wherever necessary.

Silver's arrival startled a few guests and they left, but Sarah was happy to meet the cyborg who had changed Jim's life for the better.

The cyborg was now on parole, being on Montressor. A Robocop followed him around oftentimes, not letting Silver out of his sight. Silver didn't seem to mind too much.

When he was introduced to Raven, he kissed her hand.

"Lovely to meet ya, Lass. You're finer than Jim let on," he boasted with a grin.

Raven blushed, biting her lip as Jim laughed. She let the two go off and spend some time together, Morph following, while she went to help Sarah in the kitchen.

---