Hello Friends! Thanks for sticking with me. I hope you enjoy this chapter. - Sevy14
I watched television with Jimmy for some time before Victor came down and plopped down in one of the chairs. He entered and sat without either a word or any acknowledgement that either Jimmy or I were present, at least, no non verbal acknowledgement. If he had communicated with Jimmy nonverbally I would not know. The end of the second quarter drew near and I heard the soft stirring of Henry. I listened through the monitor to determine if it was him passing wind, just stirring or, if he were waking. It became clear though that he was waking up and I rose to go get him.
I waited until I heard the last of London's footfalls on the stairs to speak. First clearing my throat, Victor blinked, but did not look over. "She spoke to the Professor." A sniff was the closest sign that he heard me. "Now that we've made it, I suspect he will be calling me back within the week." I peered over at him. If he was irritated he did not let on. "I could ask him to let Storm come and stay after I leave." I say this in jest and as the words left my lips he turned his head and sneered at me. I smiled at him and chuckled. "You could just respond ya big lug." I say with a shake of my head.
"No matter if you are here the rest of the week, leave tomorrow or longer. Nothing changes. No response is required Runt." Victor grounds out. His tone gruff but I could tell he wasn't truly upset with my words, as usual, it was more likely he was annoyed with my existence in his presence.
"Suppose that is true. Still... Might make your time with London less irritating if you acknowledge when she speaks to you." At this his glower turns into a glare. I smiled again before responding. "At least some of the time any way, it wouldn't kill you."
He grunted and turned his gaze back to the television. "Shut it."
I chuckled and shook my head. "I'm just sayin Victor, I think she would be less annoying. She doesn't seem like one of those needy high maintenance types, just the meat and potatoes, ya know?" I felt his eyes on me and I looked over at him, he had a confused look on his face.
"What the hell does that mean?!" He huffed. "Meat and potatoes." His face was a mixture of perplexed and annoyance that this conversation was even happening.
"You know, the basics. She just does not strike me as one of those girls who are always whinging and whining about this or that. She clearly isn't the entitled type. Which obviously is good cause I wager you'd rip someone like that in half." He chuckled at that and raised both of his eyebrows as he nodded in agreement.
"Meat and potatoes, huh?" He gave me a side eye and chuckled some more. Clearly he was amused by the statement.
I shrug. "It is an analogy that fits. And I know I'm not wrong here."
"Nothing wrong with a good ripping." He says, no longer a chuckle in his throat but a predatory smirk crossing his face and a gleam in his eye that was both far away and yet, focused.
I looked at him, "Victor... Not here. Not with her or the baby." I say, my tone cautionary.
"Soft." He grunts out. "You have become soft. Doing of your precious professor making you a sensitive sissy." He says.
I shake my head. "All I'm saying is, she'll push you if you don't give her an inch. She isn't meek so just give some okay Vic?"
"Jimmy?" He says.
"What Victor?" I reply, his eyes on the television.
"Shut the hell up before I kick your ass." He says roughly.
Clearly the time to converse is over or at the very least he was done with this conversation. "Yeah fine whatever. You're a stubborn bastard." I say.
He huffs "I think you will recall that of the two of us, you, are the bastard." I could tell he was smirking. I shook my head but did not reply. He wasn't wrong though.
I reached Henry and somehow the rattle had somehow ended up at his feet. I shook my head as I lifted him out, the fragrance that wafted into my noise made me recoil. "Oh ew." I said and I made a face, as if crinkling my mouth and nose would save my senses from the smell of the baby's dirty diaper. I made quick work to change Henry, thankful I had taken time to go through and set up the changing area earlier. I made note in the back of my mind that he was due for a bath and that tonight I too would take a hot bath. "Alright all clean." I say to Henry, putting his clothes back on. He giggled and wriggled about as babies tend to do and I couldn't help but smile at him. Lifting him from the changing station I grabbed the rattle and a few other toys and a blanket before exiting the room to go back downstairs to join Victor and Jimmy. Upon entering the room I dropped the toys and blanket on the couch where I had been sitting and turned and moved towards Victor, his eyes watching mine, their depths, while not cold, left a chill on my spine. I gave him a small smile. "I... I am just gonna grab something to drink. Do you want a beer?" I ask as I laid the baby down on his lap. I could tell he was chagrined.
"Sure London, thank you!" I hear Jimmy say.
I straighten up and look over. "Okay great, be back in a jiff." I glance at Victor who is glaring at me and smile. "Thanks."
The tension of the kitchen was less energized and I breathed a sigh of relief, one I had not realized I was holding. I made busy work of grabbing two beers and it took me a moment to find some tea and where the mugs were in this new place, surprised somewhat that the layout differed from the Montana house. While the water in the tea kettle got hot I opened the fridge and looked in before changing my mind and grabbed some of the apples that were on the counter in the fruit bowl and chopped them up into slices. I knew the amount would not be enough for the three of us but I did not really think Victor even ate fruit, he sure as heck didn't opt to eat vegetables very often. I grabbed three plates none the less and placed apples and some sliced cheese on them and brought the filled plates out to the living room.
"I uh... I made us a snack, it isn't a lot, sorry, but just something to nibble on." I set the plates near the end tables next to both Victor and Jimmy. Victor I noticed stared at the plate momentarily but did not speak. Jimmy though, true to form continued with his good manners. Jimmy's voice drew my attention away from Henry who was calmly resting on Victors lap, eyes wide and both hands holding fists of his shirt as they lay at his side. Victor, for his part, did not seem to have interacted with the babe a lick since I placed him there.
"Thank you London." I noted that he picked up an apple and piece of cheese and popped them in his mouth. The cheeky smile he gave to Victor did not escape my attention. I wanted to chuckle or smile at it but thought better considering who Jimmy's target was.
"I will be right back with the beers." Hold on.
"Gimme two." Victor ground out.
I paused and turned. "O-Okay." I said. Looking over at Jimmy. "Do you want to as well?"
Shaking his head he responded, "No that's okay, one will be enough for me. For now anyway."
I nodded. "Right." I grabbed three beers and brought them back in and was thankful that each table already had coasters on them. Seemed that while the place was well built, there was a sense I felt that Victor liked even his property to be kept a certain way and condensation rings was not something he seemed the sort to be okay with. By the time I was done setting the beers down, I was relieved to hear the popcorn and tea kettle indicate they were done and rushed back to the kitchen. I removed the popcorn and poured it into a large bowl, letting it sit for a moment I moved over to the hot water and I smiled as I poured the hot water over the tea bag, the steam rising up and caressing my face. I dumped the popcorn into two bowls and salted the kernels lightly in each. I steadied myself as I made way to go back in there and carefully carried the two bowls and my mug into the room.
Before sitting I looked about before looking over at Victor, "Um do you have a throw blanket or something? I am kind of chilly." I ask. He gives what I can only describe as a lazy slow blink before indicating with a jut of his head towards a trunk along the wall. I look at it and back. "Right, okay. Thanks." I move to the trunk noting that it was very old and I had to fight to not ask about its origin. "Would anyone like a blanket?" I ask. Both Victor and Jimmy shake their heads. I pull out the top blanket and unfold it and place it on the couch and move back to Victors side and bend down and lift up Henry who whines, his noise stopping me.
"You better take 'im." Victor says and our eyes make contact over Henry's head.
I nod. "I will-am!" I reply as I straighten out and hold him fully. "Seems he's taken a bit of a liking to you." I say and offer him a small smile. "Nothing wrong with that I think." He sniffs but doesn't answer, his gaze back at the television. When I turned Jimmy had a curious look on his face but his features morphed back into that blank canvas it so often rests in. I was thankful to now be able to settle in and I used a pillow to act as an arm rest for my other arm. I was cozy beneath the blanket and did what I could to focus on the game and Henry and most certainly not the strange bedfellow I was currently 'married' to.
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this quick chapter. - Sevy14
