Disclaimer: It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.
Author's Note: All right, every one. This is a VERY IMPORTANT REMINDER that this fic is RATED M. Which means, as usual, that this story is not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16, with possible strong but non-explicit adult themes, references to violence, and strong coarse language.
Yes. I hate to give it all up like this, but the adult content is back for a bit. And I don't mean to treat you all like children, but I don't want anyone getting any nasty surprises when they read this chapter, since the rest of it has been relatively adult-content-free. So be warned—read on at your own risk!
(Also, this chapter is in two parts because it got way too long. So don't worry if this one seems to end a bit abruptly.)
Written July 9, 2006
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Chapter 14 - The String of Loose Ends
PART I
We walked the few blocks home from the museum together, Troy holding my hand tightly in his. He'd held onto it since we had gone back to the museum foyer, to wave goodbye to Zeke. Zeke had nodded to us from the table, smiling at us as if to say Go on. Then Troy had squeezed my hand and led me away, back down to the street.
But though we had made up, I couldn't help but feel suddenly shy around him. Talking was okay… but besides our kiss from earlier, he hadn't touched me in ages. I felt awkward, like I couldn't touch him, like I needed to learn to be with to him all over again. When we got inside the apartment, I let go of his hand immediately, pretending to be busy with taking off my heels.
He didn't seem to notice though, turning instead toward the kitchen with a laugh. "I don't know about you," he said, "but I could use a PopTart." And as he rifled through the cupboards and got the toaster ready, I went to sit on the far end of the couch in the living room, a safe distance away.
He grabbed the PopTart as it came out, eating it lazily as he came to sit next to me. But I sat with my back to the arm of the couch, my legs stretched out so he couldn't sit close. Realizing this, he moved to sit facing me, perched on the opposite arm. Finishing off the PopTart, he grinned.
"I still don't know why you hate these things," he said, holding up the last corner of his snack.
"I still don't know why you like them," I said, smiling. "And watch it, buddy. You're getting crumbs everywhere."
He ate the last bite, then held up his palms. "Well, you've never noticed before."
I looked over at him sharply. "Hey, sorry," he said, laughing. "But you really haven't."
He smiled, then clapped his hands together absently before looking back at me again.
"Hey look," he said, his voice dropping seriously. "I know we've kind of just got back to solid ground. But… there's some things we haven't talked about yet. And we probably should."
"Like kids, and last names?" I asked innocently.
"Kids and last names, yeah." He was quiet for a moment,. "I mean, I've been thinking about it a bit."
I put my arm along the back of the couch, looking at him sideways. "And…?"
His fingers reached up to loosen his tie. "Well…" he said, carefully. "About the kids. You kind of have a point. I mean, you're right. I'm not the one who's going to have to carry them. So… it's ultimately up to you, when you want to have them."
His words didn't sound quite right. "Well… kind of," I said slowly. "I mean… we should try to come up with a decision we're both okay with. It doesn't have to be a zero-sum game." I chewed the edge of my fingernail. "Maybe… we could have them a little earlier than I wanted. But just not right away, like you wanted."
"Like how long are we talking?"
"How about… three years?"
I braced for a fight, but he nodded easily.
"Okay," he said.
I felt shocked. "Really?"
He shrugged. "Yeah, sure," he said. "Three years can go by really fast. And I won't be that old by then. I'll be in my early thirties, not mid-thirties. Practically a kid."
Well… I guess maybe we really could work things out. "Okay," I said, looking at him warily. "Okay. So what about my last name?"
"You go first this time."
"Well… I guess I want to keep it," I said, shrugging. "I really like it. But… I don't know. I could just keep it professionally, and use yours outside of work. I don't really want to hyphenate it."
And suddenly he was nodding again. "Okay," he said easily. "If that's what you want."
But this time, I stared at him in sheer disbelief. "No," I said, pointing a finger at him. "No way, Bolton. This can't be that easy. We had a huge fight about this last week. Everything's not just okay all of a sudden." I shook my head. "Something's up. I don't know what it is, but something's up."
"Well…
He looked away for a moment, then sighed heavily, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well… while I was at Zeke's, I had this conversation on the phone with Sharpay. And she told me all this stuff about—"
Oh, God. I put my hand over my face. "Was it… about being an only child?"
He looked up abruptly. "How did you know?"
I shook my head, laughing. "Well… Ryan told me the exact same thing in New York," I said. "He said that we both were used to getting our way, so we should think about backing down a bit. Stop being so self-entitled."
He laughed. "Well, she also told me I needed to listen to you a bit more, quit thinking about myself first in everything." He put his palms out and shrugged. "And that I should quit getting too involved in her and Zeke's lives, though it was kind of helping them at the moment."
"Really?"
"Yeah." He laughed again. "She said it was dangerous, I could get blamed for everything if it all went wrong. And… that it was an extreme manifestation of being an only child and insisting that I was right, which I should really seek professional help with immediately."
Then he looked over at me and we both burst out laughing, the sound echoing softly through the room. I laughed again as he put his hands to his face and tried to stifle it back. Then he gave up and just laughed sheepishly, flushing red and tearing up as the laughter kept coming. Finally, after a few minutes, it began to subside, letting him clear his throat and speak.
"Well, okay, here's what I really think," he said, wiping the tears from his eyes. "The kids… I'm okay with. Three years is fine. But I did really want you to have my name. I just thought it would be… nice. We'd show the world that we're together." He said the last part in a dramatic voice, then shrugged. "But… I thought about it later, and I understand if you want to keep yours." He laughed softly. "I know you're the last of the Montez dynasty. And… as far as proving we're together, we'll always have that."
He pointed at my hand, where the ring was shining brightly. I held it up and looked at it, as if seeing it for the first time. "Right," I said, smiling. "You'll get one too, I guess."
"Lucky me," he said, grinning.
So… that was it. Babies and last names, over. I couldn't believe it had been that easy. I hugged my knees to my chest and grinned at him. And then suddenly, he slipped off the edge of the couch and sat right next to me.
"Okay, put your knees down so I can hug you," he said playfully.
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Author's Note: Ha—guess what, since I split it up, the adult content is in the next part of this chapter, not this one! Sorry about that. It'll be up soon, once I'm happy with how it sounds. It's kind of a lemon, but I think it fits anyway. Oh, this will also means that there are two more installments to go: the next half of this chapter, plus the end.
And this may be a bit late, but I thought I'd share a few self-indulgent notes with you as this story winds down. If you're interested, there's been an unofficial mood-setting soundtrack I've been listening to as I write. I don't know about you, but these songs make me think of utter sadness, mixed with wistfulness about what has gone before. I'd be interested to hear what you think if you ever give any of the songs a listen and then read the story again.
Left and Leaving - The Weakerthans (unofficial theme song of this fic)
My Favourite Chords - The Weakerthans
Woke Up New - The Mountain Goats
Your Ex-Lover Is Dead – Stars
Calendar Girl - Stars
Adlai Stevenson – Sufjan Stevens
Casimir Pulaski Day – Sufjan Stevens
My Love is Gone (acoustic) – Josh Rouse
Falling Down Blue – Blue Rodeo
I Will Follow You Into The Dark – Death Cab for Cutie
Have You Seen Me Lately (live) – Counting Crows
Fix You – Coldplay
All right! Now send me a review and tell me what you thought of all this! (There were 17 reviews for the last chapter, by the way. The record still stands at 22 reviews for Chapter 12, but I think that was due to the mega-cliffhanger nature of the ending. (Maybe I should do more of those, huh? Haha, you know you love them :) )
