Author's note: Again, dum dee dum.....
When Laina woke the next morning, Mush had left the chair he'd been sitting in before. She sat up and saw that jack had returned from where he had gone the night before. He was sitting on his bead reading a book while sipping a cup of steaming coffee, and lifted it to her when he noticed she was awake.
"Mornin' Moonbeam," Jack said in an aimless tone, keeping his eyes on his book once he'd lowered his mug.
"Mornin'. Hey, where can I get some of that?" she said, gesturing to the mug of coffee in his hand.
"Oh, uh, down at Tibby's. You goin' alone?" "No." Mush had just entered the room through the half opened door. "I'll go with her." Jack greeted Mush in the same fashion he had greeted Laina, and went back to reading his book again with his coffee mug now sitting on his nightstand. "I'll wait for ya by the stairs."
Laina quickly grabbed a clean white shirt (a/n: I know I have her wearing white a lot, but hey, it looks good on her), black pants, and black boots. She half ran to the bathroom to take a shower. A quick look out of a window told her that it was still very early in the morning, and she wanted to get a hot shower before all the guys could.
She turned the water on and stood under it. It was so relaxing to just stand under the steamy water. When she got out, she towel dried her hair and let it hang around her shoulders, not bothering to do anything special with it since Mush was waiting for her.
When she met Mush by the stairs, he was wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, brown cut off pants, suspenders hanging down at his sides (a/n: think of what he was wearing during Seize the Day Chorale) and had a brown hat in his hand.
"Hey. How'd ya sleep?" he asked while slipping an arm around he waist, guiding her out of the building and out onto the dimly lit street. "Pretty good actually. How 'bout you? You sleep at all?" Though she didn't really need to ask. Dark circles under Mush's eyes signified that if he had slept at all, it wasn't a very good quality of sleep. "A little," he half lied, "how ya feeling, you okay?" "I need some coffee, but other than that I'm okay."
She latched both arms around his waist as they walked. He moved the arm that was around her waist up around her shoulders, giving her a quick squeeze before returning it to her side. She released a hand and left the other around his back. They walked in comfortable silence until they got to Tibby's.
When they entered the restaurant, their faces instantly went from happy to thoroughly disgusted. Inside, seated in a corner, they found two extremely bruised and bandaged Delancy brothers. 'Looks like Jack found 'em last night,' Laina thought to herself.
When they saw Laina and Mush walk in, and saw the look of repulsion in their eyes, they quietly squealed and ran out the back door. Mush was still fuming when they found a booth in the corner for them to sit in. Laina went up to order some coffee for the two of them, and when she returned, he was still oozing with rage. She was sitting across from him, and he had become determined to tear the napkin in front of his to shreds in his finger tips. She couldn't stand it, so, she reached out, taking his hands in hers.
He looked up at her, and then directed his eyes back down. She just shook her head lightly, and got up, coming around the edge of the table to sit next to him in the booth.
When she got to him, he wrapped an arm around her waist before she could even sit down, and pulled her up close to his side. She looked up into his eyes, and brought a hand up to his face, trying desperately to calm him back down. He pulled her into a deep, fierce kiss. When they broke apart, Laina saw he had a grieved look on his face.
"I'm so sorry that happened." He said in a tone of fought anger and swallowed tears. She leaned closer to him, placing her forehead on his and whispered, "I know, I know, its okay-"
"No it's not! I should've been there! I should've been there to protect you- "
"No! I shouldn't have gone with them. They said they'd seen you back in that alley an-"
"I'm sorry Laina-"
"No, I'm sorry."
"I-" but he couldn't do it. He couldn't tell her that he loved her, not just yet.
"You, what, Mush?"
"I just," he tried desperately to think of something to say to smooth over his abnormal outburst.
"I just can't forgive myself for not being there to stop them, and you shouldn't either." Mush was acting as if it was all his fault, and Laina couldn't help but be miserable. She took his face in her hands and said with intensity, "Mush, it wasn't. Your. Fault. It wasn't anyone's fault but theirs. It'll come back to them, no one can escape their own karma."
Mush just stared back at her, a combined look of vulnerability and self defeat written all over him. Seeing this made Laina's heart ache. She felt horrible.
'It's all your fault you know,' said a menacing voice from the back of her head.
'What? How? I couldn't do anything-'
'Oh yes you could! You could've, and should've stayed put, never left that place. Then maybe you wouldn't be causing him so much pain.'
'How am I-'
'Look at him, he's so miserable, and it's all. Your. Fault.'
When the voice's shrill laughter faded away, Laina thought about what it had said. 'You're making him miserable. It's all your fault.' Laina whimpered, and put her head down on Mush's shoulder. 'It can't be my fault, can it?' She whimpered again in her growing frustration. Mush threw his arms around her, and they sat there, holding each other.
The waiter brought their coffee and a small basket of muffins, and they slowly devoured the meal. They sat their, sitting in comfortable silence, and although they were no longer in the other's arms, their thighs tickled the other's.
When they had finally finishes and left a nickel on the table, they set out into the street. Their hands clasped together, heads cast down to the ground. Laina couldn't bear to be causing him so much pain.
'I'll leave then, tonight. It's all my fault he's so sad, so I'll just leave.'
---------------------------
Mush and Laina went back to the lodging house, and went up to the roof, where the cushions and blankets still sat (a/n: yes, it magically hasn't rained or been windy since the last time they were there). They sat down on it, resuming the position from the booth in Tibby's.
They sat there holding each other in comfortable silence for almost a half an hour. As Mush softly stroked her bicep and upper back, she sighed occasionally, sinking deeper into his chest. Then the thought that had been floating around in her head since they left Tibby's came up again.
She couldn't stand to be causing him so much agony. She sat up to look him in the face, and he simply stared back, a look of desire, grief, and rage in his eyes. He brought up a hand to gently touch her face. As he did, she closed her eyes, pressing her cheek into his hand. He leaned in and locked her in a soft kiss.
Just as they began to separate, Laina felt something moist on her arm. When they broke apart, they could see that it was beginning to rain heavily. Mush began to stand up to go inside, but Laina stayed where she was. She liked rain, ever since she was little she'd loved the feeling rain gave her. It was like all the sadness and problems in her life were being washed away. It was an immense feeling of hope, and of freedom. She wanted to share this feeling with Mush, and possibly ease his pain a little.
He gave her a confused look, but when she smiled up at him, he smiled back. He lifted her up by the hands and she closed her eyes and looked to the sky. She threw out her arms and began to spin around in circles. Mush laughed at the for a minute, but they were both laughing when she grabbed his hands and they began spinning together.
Mush began to slow down, but Laina kept going, so she let go of his hands and resumed spinning with her closed eyes to the sky. Getting an idea, Mush came up behind her and pocked her hard in the side, causing her to squeal, and turn around to face him. She was making her way up to him, but squealed yet again when Mush grabbed her around the waist and picked her up off the ground.
She wrapped her legs around his firm stomach, and placed her hands on his shoulders. He spun around a few times before stopping completely and saying, "So I guess this means you're okay?"
"That's what I've been trying to tell you. I'm fine, really."
Mush brought her back down to the ground, and gazed deep into her eyes. She gazed back into his, and knew she couldn't leave. Not now anyway.
"What are we gonna do today?" Laina asked, a seductive grin playing across her soaking wet face, locks of hair beginning to curl sticking to it.
"Well, it's raining now, so I guess there's only one thing we can do," Mush said, with an equal look of seduction.
Laina pretended to be thinking hard, when she blurted out, "Go swimming!" And she ran over to the fire escape and began to climb down it, leaving a confused and amused Mush behind her.
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So, how was that one? Let me know what all of you thought of this chapter!☺
♥Wildchild22♥
When Laina woke the next morning, Mush had left the chair he'd been sitting in before. She sat up and saw that jack had returned from where he had gone the night before. He was sitting on his bead reading a book while sipping a cup of steaming coffee, and lifted it to her when he noticed she was awake.
"Mornin' Moonbeam," Jack said in an aimless tone, keeping his eyes on his book once he'd lowered his mug.
"Mornin'. Hey, where can I get some of that?" she said, gesturing to the mug of coffee in his hand.
"Oh, uh, down at Tibby's. You goin' alone?" "No." Mush had just entered the room through the half opened door. "I'll go with her." Jack greeted Mush in the same fashion he had greeted Laina, and went back to reading his book again with his coffee mug now sitting on his nightstand. "I'll wait for ya by the stairs."
Laina quickly grabbed a clean white shirt (a/n: I know I have her wearing white a lot, but hey, it looks good on her), black pants, and black boots. She half ran to the bathroom to take a shower. A quick look out of a window told her that it was still very early in the morning, and she wanted to get a hot shower before all the guys could.
She turned the water on and stood under it. It was so relaxing to just stand under the steamy water. When she got out, she towel dried her hair and let it hang around her shoulders, not bothering to do anything special with it since Mush was waiting for her.
When she met Mush by the stairs, he was wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, brown cut off pants, suspenders hanging down at his sides (a/n: think of what he was wearing during Seize the Day Chorale) and had a brown hat in his hand.
"Hey. How'd ya sleep?" he asked while slipping an arm around he waist, guiding her out of the building and out onto the dimly lit street. "Pretty good actually. How 'bout you? You sleep at all?" Though she didn't really need to ask. Dark circles under Mush's eyes signified that if he had slept at all, it wasn't a very good quality of sleep. "A little," he half lied, "how ya feeling, you okay?" "I need some coffee, but other than that I'm okay."
She latched both arms around his waist as they walked. He moved the arm that was around her waist up around her shoulders, giving her a quick squeeze before returning it to her side. She released a hand and left the other around his back. They walked in comfortable silence until they got to Tibby's.
When they entered the restaurant, their faces instantly went from happy to thoroughly disgusted. Inside, seated in a corner, they found two extremely bruised and bandaged Delancy brothers. 'Looks like Jack found 'em last night,' Laina thought to herself.
When they saw Laina and Mush walk in, and saw the look of repulsion in their eyes, they quietly squealed and ran out the back door. Mush was still fuming when they found a booth in the corner for them to sit in. Laina went up to order some coffee for the two of them, and when she returned, he was still oozing with rage. She was sitting across from him, and he had become determined to tear the napkin in front of his to shreds in his finger tips. She couldn't stand it, so, she reached out, taking his hands in hers.
He looked up at her, and then directed his eyes back down. She just shook her head lightly, and got up, coming around the edge of the table to sit next to him in the booth.
When she got to him, he wrapped an arm around her waist before she could even sit down, and pulled her up close to his side. She looked up into his eyes, and brought a hand up to his face, trying desperately to calm him back down. He pulled her into a deep, fierce kiss. When they broke apart, Laina saw he had a grieved look on his face.
"I'm so sorry that happened." He said in a tone of fought anger and swallowed tears. She leaned closer to him, placing her forehead on his and whispered, "I know, I know, its okay-"
"No it's not! I should've been there! I should've been there to protect you- "
"No! I shouldn't have gone with them. They said they'd seen you back in that alley an-"
"I'm sorry Laina-"
"No, I'm sorry."
"I-" but he couldn't do it. He couldn't tell her that he loved her, not just yet.
"You, what, Mush?"
"I just," he tried desperately to think of something to say to smooth over his abnormal outburst.
"I just can't forgive myself for not being there to stop them, and you shouldn't either." Mush was acting as if it was all his fault, and Laina couldn't help but be miserable. She took his face in her hands and said with intensity, "Mush, it wasn't. Your. Fault. It wasn't anyone's fault but theirs. It'll come back to them, no one can escape their own karma."
Mush just stared back at her, a combined look of vulnerability and self defeat written all over him. Seeing this made Laina's heart ache. She felt horrible.
'It's all your fault you know,' said a menacing voice from the back of her head.
'What? How? I couldn't do anything-'
'Oh yes you could! You could've, and should've stayed put, never left that place. Then maybe you wouldn't be causing him so much pain.'
'How am I-'
'Look at him, he's so miserable, and it's all. Your. Fault.'
When the voice's shrill laughter faded away, Laina thought about what it had said. 'You're making him miserable. It's all your fault.' Laina whimpered, and put her head down on Mush's shoulder. 'It can't be my fault, can it?' She whimpered again in her growing frustration. Mush threw his arms around her, and they sat there, holding each other.
The waiter brought their coffee and a small basket of muffins, and they slowly devoured the meal. They sat their, sitting in comfortable silence, and although they were no longer in the other's arms, their thighs tickled the other's.
When they had finally finishes and left a nickel on the table, they set out into the street. Their hands clasped together, heads cast down to the ground. Laina couldn't bear to be causing him so much pain.
'I'll leave then, tonight. It's all my fault he's so sad, so I'll just leave.'
---------------------------
Mush and Laina went back to the lodging house, and went up to the roof, where the cushions and blankets still sat (a/n: yes, it magically hasn't rained or been windy since the last time they were there). They sat down on it, resuming the position from the booth in Tibby's.
They sat there holding each other in comfortable silence for almost a half an hour. As Mush softly stroked her bicep and upper back, she sighed occasionally, sinking deeper into his chest. Then the thought that had been floating around in her head since they left Tibby's came up again.
She couldn't stand to be causing him so much agony. She sat up to look him in the face, and he simply stared back, a look of desire, grief, and rage in his eyes. He brought up a hand to gently touch her face. As he did, she closed her eyes, pressing her cheek into his hand. He leaned in and locked her in a soft kiss.
Just as they began to separate, Laina felt something moist on her arm. When they broke apart, they could see that it was beginning to rain heavily. Mush began to stand up to go inside, but Laina stayed where she was. She liked rain, ever since she was little she'd loved the feeling rain gave her. It was like all the sadness and problems in her life were being washed away. It was an immense feeling of hope, and of freedom. She wanted to share this feeling with Mush, and possibly ease his pain a little.
He gave her a confused look, but when she smiled up at him, he smiled back. He lifted her up by the hands and she closed her eyes and looked to the sky. She threw out her arms and began to spin around in circles. Mush laughed at the for a minute, but they were both laughing when she grabbed his hands and they began spinning together.
Mush began to slow down, but Laina kept going, so she let go of his hands and resumed spinning with her closed eyes to the sky. Getting an idea, Mush came up behind her and pocked her hard in the side, causing her to squeal, and turn around to face him. She was making her way up to him, but squealed yet again when Mush grabbed her around the waist and picked her up off the ground.
She wrapped her legs around his firm stomach, and placed her hands on his shoulders. He spun around a few times before stopping completely and saying, "So I guess this means you're okay?"
"That's what I've been trying to tell you. I'm fine, really."
Mush brought her back down to the ground, and gazed deep into her eyes. She gazed back into his, and knew she couldn't leave. Not now anyway.
"What are we gonna do today?" Laina asked, a seductive grin playing across her soaking wet face, locks of hair beginning to curl sticking to it.
"Well, it's raining now, so I guess there's only one thing we can do," Mush said, with an equal look of seduction.
Laina pretended to be thinking hard, when she blurted out, "Go swimming!" And she ran over to the fire escape and began to climb down it, leaving a confused and amused Mush behind her.
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So, how was that one? Let me know what all of you thought of this chapter!☺
♥Wildchild22♥