Safer on the Bus
She came back to work to copious amounts of teasing from her coworkers. It was one of those rare shifts when Tyr wasn't working so she had to face the rumors alone. Apparently word had spread like wildfire about Tyr taking her home. The whole shift people sought her out to ask about wedding dates or reprimand her for being a loose woman. After a particularly cutting remark from Lupa, a nurse that she highly respected, Abbie decided that she'd had enough.
"For your information, Anasazi and I are not sleeping together; not that it's anyone's business if we were. I live on the north side of town and work in the south, so he offered to drive me home. That's all. There was no sex. There was no copulation at all. He just dropped me off so that I wouldn't have to be in transit until two in the morning like usual!" She was glaring daggers at the group of nurses she'd just found discussing her so-called love life. They all looked suitably chastened after her tirade. Mentally she resolved never to take a ride from the man again. It was deeply embarrassing to be the topic of discussion for the whole unit.
Fortunately, by the next day people had calmed. It was still a topic to discuss outside of Abbie's hearing, but her admission that things were still platonic between them had cut down on the wild speculation. Tyr noticed right away that his girl was giving him the cold shoulder. He automatically made arrangements to have a cab waiting for him at her house at one thirty in the morning. At the end of the shift he got in his car and went to the bus stop to pick up his lady. She stubbornly refused his summons.
"Abbie, please get in the car? It's late!"
"No! Yesterday was humiliating! I don't want people in my personal business. Go home! Stop worrying about me! I'll get home just fine. I've done it just fine for years now."
Even prepared for her impassioned speech, he found himself furious at the girl. All their progress and she was just willing to throw it all away? He pulled away from the curb without a word. He was going to show the stubborn girl that he was serious if it was the last thing he did.
Abbie ignored the chatter around her in favor of thinking warm thoughts and moving around a little for warmth. She may be cold, but at least people wouldn't be linking the two romantically anymore! Pulling out her headphones, she settled on something soothing for her nerves and waited for the bus. The tap on her shoulder a few minutes later made her jump. She whipped around to see her tormentor standing behind her. He was bundled up like she was. The difference was, he made winter attire look good. She actually had to wait a minute for her brain to reboot before she could summon a proper righteous fury. All her treacherous mind was giving her before then was 'hello, Salty Goodness', a phrase she sure as hell wasn't going to say in front of this many witnesses.
"What in God's name are you doing out here?" she finally shouted once her brain decided to be useful again. His impish grin did nothing to calm her raging hormones. "I already told you: I'm a big girl and I can get home all by myself! Go away!"
"Unfortunately for you, this is public transit. Which means you can't stop me from tagging along and making sure you're safe." If possible, his shit-eating grin got even larger as she sputtered incoherently. She wanted to slug him, but the bus was finally here and she didn't want to make a scene. She flounced ahead of him, flashing her monthly pass at the driver and heading to find a seat. The infuriating man sauntered onto the bus, dropped a fifty dollar bill into the change slot with a charming smile and a quiet word to the driver, who was quick to hand over a ticket to the man - damn his sex appeal! - and direct him to the seat closest to her. Abhaya was a giant ball of jealousy as her coworker carried on a perfectly innocent conversation with the female bus driver. The woman was trying her darndest to steer the conversation to more sexual waters, but Tyr was having none of it. She hated that she cared what the two were talking about enough to turn her music off without removing her headphones to eavesdrop. She hated that it affected her that he was socializing with another woman at all. He wasn't hers, dammit!
That thought firmly in mind, the young nurse slipped out the back of the bus when her stop came up. The bus was almost empty by this time, so she wouldn't have much cover for her escape, but that didn't matter with the driver doing her level best to get into her sexy coworker's pants. He likely wouldn't even notice that she was gone! Huffing to cool her rage, her eyes narrow and diamond hard as she made her way to the train, she didn't notice her suitor following her until he bumped into her when she stopped on the platform.
"What are you still doing here?" the girl sneered. "I would have thought you'd be availing yourself of the temptress Gerda's many charms." She turned away quickly, horrified at herself. Not only was such a comment beneath her, she'd just given away that she'd been eavesdropping!
"Jealous?" he asked with a raised eyebrow when she finally faced him. Her face felt so hot and blotchy right now. If her skin had been any lighter, she was sure he'd be able to see her blush.
"Wh-what have I got to be jealous about?" she finally stuttered, feeling sweaty despite the cold. Before she could turn away again, he reached out to bring her face back to his. Stepping closer, he stared deep into her eyes until she thought she might spontaneously combust from all the heat her face was giving off.
"Exactly. You have nothing to be jealous of. Nothing at all," he crooned to her, his tone caressing. She leaned into his touch with a soft sigh, then remembered that she wasn't supposed to be falling for him and almost backed into the train as it arrived. Tyr pulled her close, out of danger, and smiled at her whimper. "You ready to go, Bliss?"
She nodded, not trusting her voice to behave and not crack, and stepped into the open doors. The nurses settled themselves in a pair of seats, there were plenty this time of night, and waited for the train to go.
"How long will the train be parked here waiting?" he asked curiously as he looked around.
"About twenty minutes," she shrugged, glad to be back in safe conversational territory.
"Oh. Well, what do you do to entertain yourself during that time?"
"I listen to music, read or write. Sometimes I crochet," she shrugged, taking off her headphones. They weren't on anyway. "Why do you ask?"
"I'm afraid I don't have any way to entertain myself until the train gets moving, so I'll have to rely on old-fashioned conversation, dear lady." Both chuckled at the courtly turn of phrase, but before Abbie could say something, the bus driver came running up to him, out of breath.
"You forgot your change," she said breathlessly, but made no move to hand him the coins and bills in her hand. "Hey, listen. I'm off shift now and I was thinking about going to the Hifi Club with a couple of friends. You want to join me?"
"Sadly, I'm only here to escort my lady home. Thank you for the invitation, but I must decline."
"You don't have to-"
"Can't she see herself home?" the woman said over the nurse. "I mean, she's not exactly a child that she can't take herself home. We could have some fun together."
Tyr was looking at both women angrily. "I'm not interested in clubbing tonight. I only want to see my lady safely home. Thank you for bringing my change, Gerda. Goodnight." He held out his hand for the money, staring hard at the bus driver when she looked ready to argue his logic. Finally, she handed the money over and walked away.
"God, I can't take you anywhere," the girl quipped. "And I clearly remember the change machines saying 'exact change only' on them. That woman really wanted to go out with you."
"It doesn't matter," he grumbled at the broken mood. "I didn't ask her to come here and spoil our fun. And as for 'taking me out', if we were in my Jag I wouldn't be getting assaulted by random bus drivers at one in the morning."
"I'm sorry," she said contritely. "You really shouldn't be here though. Seriously, what makes you think that I'm suddenly incapable of making it home safely? She's right, I'm not some little kid."
"Abhaya, if I'd known all this time that you were constantly putting yourself in danger like this, I would have insisted that you ride with me earlier. It's not about you being too young to judge the danger. It's about you not having to put yourself in a position where bad things could possibly happen to you. As a responsible person and a friend, I can't just stand by and let you continue to put your life in danger just because you can 'get away with it'."
The girl was shocked. When he put it that way, she suddenly felt like a douche for refusing his help. He'd only been trying to help her, and she'd effectively punished him for it by forcing him to ride public transit at an ungodly hour. Feeling remorse, she stood up. She couldn't quite look him in the eye though.
"We should… We should head back to the hospital. We can-"
"No," he said firmly, ducking his head to catch her eye. "I'm curious about what your commute entails. I only ask that you talk to me. In case you haven't noticed, I'm very interested in you." She tried to hide her face, but he held her gaze now that he had it.
"I'm not very interesting," she said softly, perching precariously back on her seat.
"Really? Cause I find you fascinating. Your heart is pure and focused. You have so much compassion for your fellow human beings that I stand in awe of you. Yet you're sassy as shit to those that need it. Your innocence is overwhelming in a world of jaded assholes like me. It's refreshing. So yes, I find you fascinating, woman."
The girl felt elated and terrified. It wasn't supposed to be this way! His interest was going to lead to a background check. And a deep enough check would uncover her true identity and bring her parents' wrath down on her! Summoning up the willpower that had broken her free of that miserable existence, she hardened her heart and stood up once again.
"I'm not fascinating, Ana-"
"Tyr, Abhaya," he said firmly, placing an arm around her shaking shoulders. " My name is Tyr. I'm the only one you call by their last name and I don't like the distance it puts between us."
"I like the distance between us," she huffed stubbornly. He didn't let her pull away, not completely.
"Why do you keep pulling away from me?" he stood up in frustration too. "You've been denying this thing, this attraction between us for two years now! What is it about me that is so repulsive to you?"
"I have a history, okay?" she snapped at him, eyes flashing with her temper and humiliation. "I have a history and that history says that hot guys and me do not mix! I'm well aware of my obesity and that it identifies me as unloveable. I keep wondering if you lost a bet or something! Well, I'm not going to give you the chance to humiliate-" His lips were suddenly pressed to hers, cutting off her tirade against him. Her eyes widened in shock before she melted into his embrace. He folded her into his arms and flicked her lips open to continue the kiss. Turns out that he'd chosen her nickname well. She was bliss. Her mouth tasted so sweet even though she hadn't been eating. When a sound of utter contentment rubbed its way out of the back of her throat, he groaned and slid his tongue along hers to hear it again. This seemed to shock the girl out of her contentment and she jumped back with a gasp. The man took a step towards her and she held out a hand to stop him, breathing hard and looking terrified. The hunted look in her eyes stopped him from advancing.
The train lurched to a start, causing both occupants to lurch backwards. Abbie found her seat, but wouldn't look at him.
"Abhaya, I-"
"That was my first kiss," she said softly, still not looking at him.
"It was?" he asked in amazement.
"Yes, and it was stolen," she said, looking up at last. Her eyes were full of tears. "Stolen by a selfish, self-centered, egotistical man that's likely played me for a fool!"
"I haven't," he said gently, reaching out to touch her cheek where one of her tears had escaped her beautiful brown eyes. "I'm not trying to fool you or trick you, Abbie. I only want you. I want you so bad. I won't hurt you or turn away from you. There's something almost magnetic about my attraction to you. I know you feel it too. Why won't you give in to me?"
"I can't," she said, even as she leaned into his touch. "There are things about me that… I just can't."
"What things, Abhaya? Whatever it is, we can-"
"We can't. You and I aren't meant to be," she said sadly. She went to turn away, but he turned her face back to him and pressed his forehead against hers.
"Change your mind?" he said softly, wiping her tears away with his thumbs. She shuddered but didn't pull away. The two stayed that way, breathing each other in as the train rolled to its next destination. No one came in to disturb them, sensing the powerful emotions passing between the two. Abbie herself looked almost peaceful leaning against him. When the train reached her stop, she stood as if in a trance, Tyr right behind her.
"This is me," she whispered quietly as the train slowed to a stop.
"Lead the way, Bliss," he said just as softly, his nose in her hair. He followed her as she made her way down a couple of blocks to her next bus stop. When she sat down on the bench, he followed suit, trying his best not to shiver. It was freaking cold outside at this time of night!
"I still can't believe you do this every day you have an evening shift," he commented idly, readjusting his hat.
"It's not so bad once you get used to it," she shrugged, looking in her backpack for something to do. The bus wouldn't be there for another forty minutes, so there was time to kill. Finding her yarn and half completed blanket from the other day, she fished out a crochet hook and started working on it from memory.
"What's it going to be?" the man asked after a few minutes of watching her nimble fingers working despite the deep cold.
"I have a commission to finish," she said absently as she worked. "I sell blankets and the like on Etsy for extra money."
"Really? I never heard that on the unit."
"Well, unlike some people, I don't advertise all my stuff to the unit. I'm a very private person. I don't like my information out there."
"That's too bad, Bliss. 'Cause we are practically a tele-novella for the unit. Everything about us is-"
"There is no 'us'," she said pointedly. That brought the conversation to a close. Tyr watched her work, noting the beautiful pattern she was creating. She was right; there was no 'us', not officially. He'd been trying to start something with her for two years and the stubborn chit just wasn't cooperating! What was her problem with him anyway? He hadn't dated since he'd met her. Him! A certified playa all his life and he hadn't so much as looked at another woman in two years. He was cleancut and hygenic. He was charming, polite, and helpful. Hell, he was practically a boy scout these days; he'd lost most of his circle of friends due to her. What could he possibly be missing?
"I think you're lovable," he said into the silence.
"Excuse me?" she looked up. Her fingers didn't stop working the yarn though. He was impressed.
"I think you're lovable."
"What does that even mean?" she said, expressive brown eyes narrowing in thought and fury.
"You told me that you weren't lovable because you're obese. I say that you are. Love isn't dependent on your weight at all. I think you're lovable. In fact, I know it."
The girl blushed furiously. "That's not how I was raised," she shrugged at last, looking back down at her blanket. Something about the lonely look in her eyes had him grabbing her chin to lift her face up to him.
"And now that you're an adult?" he asked intently. She flinched back at the question and he knew the biggest barrier to them being together suddenly. Feeling the overwhelming urge to deck her parents for teaching her about conditional love, he sighed and shook his head. "Love - true love - doesn't come with conditions, Abhaya. Whoever taught you that you had to be thin to be loved was wrong. You're quite lovable because you have a lovable personality. End of story."
There was a look of desperate hope on her beautiful round face now that tugged at his heartstrings. He wanted to kiss her again, but she'd been so upset after the first time that he held off. Squeezing the back of her hand instead. After that he decided to let the silence be silence, watching her work her magic with her crochet hook. The pattern she was coaxing to life out of nothingness was complicated and quite gorgeous. He could see where she was going with the pattern and it was ingenious. It took about twenty minutes for her to start having to squeeze her hands to get the blood flowing through them.
"You don't have to entertain me," he said softly, covering her ice cold hands with his gloved ones. She shivered at his attention and he ignored it, taking off his gloves and putting them on her smaller hands.
"Thank you, but I have my own," she blushed yet again, putting her things away and reaching into her own pockets for gloves.
"Mine are warmer," he insisted, sticking his hands in his pockets. And he was right, damn him. Not only were they thick and thermal-lined, but they were warm from him wearing them for so long. He was also right that she had been trying to entertain him with her crocheting. She couldn't help it! The poor man was following her home and didn't have anything prepared for the long wait between stops. Luckily this was the last part of her journey. After the bus let her off, it would only be a brisk walk to her house. And of course, a cab ride back to his car.
With a heartfelt sigh - he really wasn't making it easy not to like him - she pulled out her headphones and switched on the music. Putting one headphone against her forehead was awkward, but she managed it. Then, in a move that surprised them both, she laid her head down against his jacket and forced herself to relax despite the cold. She turned up the music so that he could hear it too and sighed softly when his arms surrounded her. Despite the loudness of the music, she was dozing when the bus finally arrived.
"Wake up, Bliss. It's time to go home," he prodded her. She stretched against him and got up, ignoring his shiver at the loss of contact. They boarded, being almost the only ones aboard, and settled into the good seats near the front. Tyr wrapped his arm about her shoulders, relaxing when she didn't push him off, and let her settle more firmly against him with her tiredness.
"So… How long have you two been together?" the bus driver asked when they came to a stop light.
"We aren't," Tyr said softly so as not to wake the drowsing woman. "Not yet."
"Ah, 'I see,' said the blind man," the older man winked and cackled. Tyr smiled at the old busybody absently and switched his attention back to his lady. She kept stirring and looking out the window as if to convince herself that it was okay to snooze a little longer. When she spied her stop she stood up with a stretch and a yawn and passed her companion on her way to the exit. Tyr watched her with a fond shake of his head and followed close behind.
"You have yourselves a good night," the driver said with an exaggerated wink. Abbie looked at him strangely as she exited the bus but Tyr simply rolled his eyes. The girl shivered in the cold and started for home. The man trailed behind her, noting that her fast gait was doing interesting and altogether nice things to her swishing hips. Nodding his approval of 'dat ass' though no one was there to see it, the nurse followed his coworker to her apartment.
He'd timed it right; the cab pulled up to her house just as they reached the front door.
"Allow me to see my lady safely inside. Then we can go," he told the cab driver firmly. The man shrugged and returned to his taxi where he'd been about to ring the doorbell. Tyr held her door open for her as she entered her house to go to her apartment. She turned on the light and groaned, noticing the ankle-deep water at the bottom of the stairs.
"Oh, damnit!" She growled, running down the stairs and stopping just short of the water. Looking into the laundry room across from her apartment, she saw that the water was running in the sink there and that it was stopped up. Apparently little Sylvia was playing her games again. Stepping on some crates in the inside corner of the laundry room with a curse, she turned off the sink and unstopped it even though the water was freezing.
"Everything okay down there?" the man asked and she prayed for patience, readjusting her things and wondering just how long it was going to take to clean up this mess.
"Everything is just fine. I just need to wake up my landlady. Goodnight. Thanks for bringing me home."
"What's the matter?" he asked, starting to come down the stairs. She met him halfway to keep him from stepping in the water.
"My landlady's little brat of a daughter likes to play these stupid little games with me when I have long stretches of shifts. She left the water running and stopped up the sinks so that it would flood my apartment. I want the mother to see it, because I'm not paying extra for the water damage to my carpet."
"You wouldn't have this problem if you lived at my house," he sing-songed playfully into her hair. She swatted at him in annoyance.
"Don't you have a cab to catch?" His eyes narrowed and she smiled sweetly, loving the way he was so obviously plotting revenge. Instead of saying something cutting, the man simply kissed her forehead and left to catch his cab before it pulled away. One problem dealt with, the girl squared her shoulders and knocked on her landlady's door to rouse her. This was going to be a mess.
That's one long commute, eh? Made even longer by the object of her unwanted attraction being right there every step of the way, making her feel things she doesn't want to. Poor Abbie! ::cackles madly:: I have more awkwardness in store for our protagonist. Tyr isn't going to just go away. That's not his style. See ya next week! :D