O Fortuna
Chapter 12
Friends with benefits?
-/-/-/-/-/-
Light rain sheeted the windows through gray clouds while Kelly babbled quietly. His head poked out of the bassinet and he clapped to a chorus of "Ma Ma Da Da." She rubbed across Nick's cold chest, listening to the silence inside, savoring the peacefulness.
She slid out of the bed and wrangled the baby. His bright eyed grin livened her morning. "You love to make mama laugh, don't you buddy?"
Half an hour later, he giggled and bounced in her arms, while babbling and pointing toward the hiss of the shower in the quiet. "Yep. Daddy is up."
His wide smile lit the room as he burst into a chorus of "Da da da da da." Soon, Nick strolled by.
Popping and hissing in the kitchen gave way the rich aroma of coffee and the promise of driving off the morning chill.
He traded her a cup of coffee for Kelly. The boy bounced in his lap before straining for the floor. Nick chuckled and set him down. "You need some freedom, don't you, buddy?"
Kelly crawled off towards the living room and busied himself driving her fuzzy house slippers.
Adalind settled at the kitchen table. Her stomach knotted, but she had to get it out in the open. "I know what I'm doing is important, and Kelly needs me more than anyone else, but I wish there was something I could do to help you. And I wish that having this baby had been our choice. I can't help but wonder if you think this should be Juliette's child, not mine."
"I had a chance at a normal life with Juliette, and you gave that to me when you stopped me from being a Grimm."
"That wasn't exactly my intention at the time."
"I know. But still... We had the chance and we didn't take it."
Butterflies danced in her stomach. She had rehearsed this conversation a thousand times, and those words had never come up. Not once had he thanked her for taking his powers away, if only to know once and for all that he couldn't bear life without them.
Far from Nick's lip curling into the frustrated sneer she expected, it was the confession that he truly understood her struggle. When backed into a corner, he made the exact same choice, and like her, carried its burden.
Her fingers drifted through her hair as she gazed into his eyes. "I wish I could take it all back. Everything I did to you."
"Except for Kelly."
She was melting. He was thanking her. Not for contributing her genetic material and her womb towards producing a child, but for dragging his life out of it's bottomless tailspin.
"Except for Kelly."
His blue eyes latched onto hers and beckoned. It was like a dream, his lips meeting hers. Passion blossoming in their empty house. Fingers twined. Meaningless words urged caution, but his eyes called her towards the bedroom. She was drifting in for another kiss with Nicks face bearing the promise of deeper pleasures, but the garage door's grinding crashed things to a halt. Trubel tromped out of the elevator with the announcement that she would be staying, at least for the short term.
Nick's breath hitched with frustration while his eyes filled with longing. Her feelings were mirrored in the nervous itch crawling through her body. They would have to wait.
She wanted to tease another kiss out of Nick when he left for work, but his eyes flicked at Trubel wolfing down last night's leftovers. Adalind let her breath trickle out, public displays of affection probably weren't the best plan right now.
-/-/-/-/-/-
The spice shop's walls were still open in the empty back room, exposing the dark brown, rough sawn studs supporting the roof. Diagonal, wide plank sub-floors bore the scars of seventy years of hard use under multi-colored remnants of ten layers of flooring.
The Eisbeibers were busy pulling the new electrical wire and cutting sticks of white drain pipe. Adalind chatted with Arnold about the progress. He caught her elbow. "Hey, I need to talk to you before you leave."
A tunnel of boxes created a passageway behind the cash register. She found Rosalee and Monroe out front, collecting jars and assembling orders.
Kelly's car seat plopped on the worn counter. Rosalee scooped him up and was answered with face patting and happy babbling. "You want to see my fur, don't you?"
Kelly giggled.
She twisted her head, sheeting her face in orange. His mouth opened into a broad grin as his chubby fingers caressed the silky fur. He babbled while gently running his fingertips over her pointy fangs.
Adalind beamed. "Nick wants to make sure Kelly knows about Wesen. I told him it wouldn't be a problem."
Rosalee laughed as he craned for her ears. "I've never heard of kid seeing us so young. Usually, it doesn't really come on until we have the life change."
Adalind nodded.
"How are things with Nick? Roommates?"
A twinge of frustration caught her as Arnold's silent glance drifted across the room. Everyone in their circle of the Wesen community was waiting for her to do her part. Shouldn't Nick be allowed the dignity to choose what's right for himself?
Her stomach knotted. Dignity of free choice? That's rich, coming from you. Exactly where would he be right now if you had allowed him one second of dignity or free choice?
She fought back the burn of shame. Adalind replayed her own words from that morning. If anything does get going, lets make sure its about us.
The truth? If I wanted him on a leash I would never have suppressed my powers. He could just as easily put me on a leash, but he doesn't.
It's not like they weren't prodding Nick about The Hexenbiest. The evil witch who tried to kill them all, and then just showed up one day out of the blue, knocked up.
They were wonderful, the closest thing she had to family in the whole world, but sometimes, she wanted to shake them. Both of us are making a conscious decision to make this work.
Adalind smiled sweetly, reminding herself that Nick and herself were the monsters haunting their nightmares. "Not roommates."
Rosalee's focus was back on her potion when she nodded and smiled. Adalind couldn't help notice Arnold's relief as he dug back into the renovation work. Soon, she was stuffing jars and pouches of remedies into shipping boxes while Kelly crawled circles around her and explored. The spice shop was doing a brisk business, especially given the circumstances. Around the next aisle, Monroe was hunched over a computer, so she asked, "How is the website coming along?"
His eyes peeked above the laptop screen as he groaned. "There are just so many items, and each one has different pricing and order quantities. Customers hardly ever order the ingredients separately, but we require Wesen identification before we mix anything. How are we supposed to make the right remedy if we don't know which sort of Wesen it goes with. It's worse with special order compounded prescriptions and specialty Zaubertrank. I'm not exactly in the mood to have a talk with a Marechaussee about The Council's interpretation of the code as it pertains to websites..."
Adalind nodded. It wasn't an easy question, especially since you couldn't just come out and ask. For now, they could email back and forth to establish the necessary information pertaining to Wesen credentials prior to an order. It didn't scale easily, but this was the future, like it or not.
Kelly was starting to get grouchy. Lunch and nap time were nigh, so Adalind headed out. She caught Arnold on the way. Concern etched his face. "Hey, I got another letter from the city about the asbestos thing. There are at least two dozen more of us at the lodge."
"I'd like to represent you and the other Eisbeibers along with Rosalee and as many business owners as we can get. I'm starting the process of getting court filings together, but I need to sign you up officially so I can get things going."
"Our lodge has our monthly meeting the second Tuesday. Maybe you can stop by."
"Is that an official invitation?"
Arnold's nervous smile bloomed. "Would you come if it was?"
"Yes."
"Ok, I'll get back to you beginning of of next week, if that's ok."
Adalind nodded. The Eisbeiber lodge was her single biggest hurdle. While not everyone agreed with them, they were organized, vocal, and trusted in the community. If she got them to actually sign up, at least a hundred more Wesen business owners would follow on their heels, and she would have an honest shot at getting this giant snarl sorted out. They weren't naive, though, which meant her timeline for gathering legal support and resources just got pushed up. She wasn't exactly looking forward to the conversation with Berman, but it was her only real option. Another round of gauntlets through the thrift store circuit didn't blow up her skirt, but their income was seriously limited. It would have to do.
-/-/-/-/-
Two hours of plowing through the stacks in Portland's Multnomah Law Library was all the quiet Kelly could handle. She had a notebook full of case notes, a giant heap of photocopies, and a toddler straining for freedom against the bounds of his restraints. Every piece of case law said the same thing: The City of Portland's actions in the asbestos case were prima facia illegal. Legal or not, it didn't matter unless a court stopped them from crushing small businesses under their boot heel.
She really needed a few more hours, but Kelly was coughing and grumbling against the lack of adventure in the gray carpeted expanse. It was time to head home.
-/-/-/-/-/-
The cakey aroma of potatoes roasting in the oven filled the loft. Trubel had grabbed the phone out of her hand and yelled "Nick! Steaks! Hurry!"
Adalind peered at the cookbook. If she read the instructions right, she would need to sear Nick and Trubel's in a tablespoon of peanut oil, and then finish them to medium well in a three-hundred degree oven while starting hers on the stove to finish rare. It made sense, in theory. She wasn't sure about salting them until crystals laid on the surface of the meat, but everything else she tried in the Test Kitchen cookbook came out spot on.
In the mean time, asparagus was crisping in peanut oil. She was busy smacking Trubel's fingers away from the potatoes with a wooden spoon when the freight elevator's wooden door clattered open.
Kelly crawled straight over and grabbed a handful of pants. Nick hauled him up and laid a kiss on the boy's chubby cheek. He giggled and responded with a chorus of, "Da da da da da da da," while babbling and pointing in a very official manner.
Steak came out exactly to plan. Nick and Trubel's were tender, yet barely pink while hers was perfectly rare with a rich, beefy crust.
That night, Nick's eyes glittered as he played and sang to Kelly. Trubel got a little misty eyed at the family scene unfolding. She started fidgeting on the third song, and by the fourth, she headed out to visit some girlfriends.
Her son's eyes were drifting and his head was nodding, but he was having too much fun. He wanted to bounce and play, but was grumbly and grouchy. Ten minutes of quiet was all it took, and Kelly snuggled in for bed.
Her heart made a lump in her throat as she slid into the crook of Nick's shoulder. His lips brushed a kiss against her neck. "The steaks were wonderful."
Her cheeks were hot as he pulled her closer. He was going in for a second kiss under her ear when she turned and caught his lips. She grinned at the thought, necking on Mom's couch. Hands slid and fingers teased as they explored each other in the cool glow of the security monitors. He kept glancing toward the screens, and then took her hand. "Better if Trubel didn't walk in on us."
Her chest was tight, itching for the promise as they slid under the covers. It had been the better part of fourteen months since she the last time she had sex... Ironically with the very same man who was patiently coaxing her body towards ecstasy through her fuzzy sleep clothes.
Her hips rocked into his fingers, and her body was pinging. A twinge of fear flashed. She had to pull back, Hexenbiests could never allow themselves to cross that line in bed, but it was too late. Her legs were shaking and her toes curling as waves of pleasure washed through every single inch of her body.
She kicked off every scrap of covers and climbed on top of him. The room was so hot. She pulled her shirt off, unclasped her bra, and leaned into him, pushing her nipples into his mouth. She was rocking and grinding now, lap dancing him while he sucked. She turned her attention to his shirt, pitching it on the floor, and ran her fingertips over each scar.
His hand made its way down, and she was floating off into space to the rhythm of his thumb rubbing circles through her soaked shorts. Adalind crushed her lips into his. Her body shuddered as another wave washed over her.
She kissed her way down his body, pulled off his pants, and took him in her mouth. Nick's entire body stiffened, with his hand gingerly massaging through her hair. He was tensing and getting harder, but pulled her back up and found her lips. His hands drifted back down as she kept up her own rhythm on him. Soon, he had her nipples in his mouth while his fingers made circles, and she was floating back into heaven.
Her body ached for him, but her shorts were in the way. She slid back down, kissing and sending the gooey clothes to the floor. She was crawling back on top when he whispered, "I don't have any protection..."
For a second, she didn't care. Her body was begging, but Kelly's crib lay clothed in moonlight.
A reminder of just how compatible they were.
She huffed, but he had already slid around. His fingers' gentle motion sent her back into space, but she was working her own magic on him, gently squeezing and massaging her fingertips into his sensitive skin.
There was a moment he tried to hold off, to slow down and pull back, but the months without a woman's touch had clearly worn on him and she wasn't about to leave him hanging. Another wave washed through her, flooding all her senses with joy. And relief.
It wasn't until she woke up two hours later, laying on his ice cold chest, listening to the silence inside, that it dawned on her. This was the first time a man had ever taken her to orgasm. The first time in her whole life. And the thing when he sucked her nipples? It had never done anything for her before. She wasn't sure if it was something about her body changing from having kids, or just Nick's magic. But damn. Tonight, it was the cherry on top.
While they hadn't gone all the way, she was basking in the milestone. With the Grimm, of all people. He moved with confidence. Reading her body. It's like he knew exactly what she needed, what she wanted.
The cool night had already soaked all the heat off, leaving her with goosebumps. She stared at the lazy shadows circling with the ceiling fan, and yawned.
Truthfully, she was more than a bit relieved that Nick hadn't pushed her. Sex was a sore subject, in more ways than one. It held such promise but never delivered. It ended up being the perennial disappointment necessary to keep a man. Tonight, at least, reopened the question.
Her mind drifted. She had spent ten years obsessing over a night with Sean Renard. The reality had been a massive horror. Unlike his minuscule brother, the Royal Bastard was hung like a horse, and he liked it rough. She, on the other hand, was tiny. Their night conceiving Diana left her bleeding and unable to sit without painkillers. If not for the promise of a child, she could not have withstood the battering which left her insides burning and cramping for a full week afterwards.
Vicodin and tampons. She had been high as a kite on the transatlantic flight to Vienna. Airport layovers culminating in the ten-hour flight were almost as bad as the dungeon.
But then there was the Hexenbiest. The mummified corpse of her woged form had more than a few downsides. You couldn't exactly let that out of the bag in bed, which meant she couldn't risk really letting herself go all the way. Stories abounded of lovers losing their minds, vomiting, and even soiling themselves at the sight of the bleached cadaver, complete with rotting flesh, spread naked before them. Worse, the jagged bones and leathery skin were not kind to sensitive flesh. Disaster awaited those without steely self control. On the up side, she had gotten good at faking it. And she had been fine with that her whole life.
Until tonight.
He had done something to her. She didn't want to fake enjoyment while being jackhammered and ground raw. He left her craving.
Her stomach knotted at the prospect of sickening, or worse, injuring him. She was going to have to figure out how to have an orgasm without woging. In the mean time, that little concern was still suppressed... May as well have some fun while we can.
She kissed his chest and shimmied into some sleep clothes before hauling the blankets back over herself. Warmth chased the chill off, and sleep washed over her.
The next morning, he was sneaking glances across the table. She brushed hair out of her eyes and gave a mischievous smirk while bending extra low.
Nick's smile bloomed when her breasts peeked through the fold in her robe. "Are you trying to seduce me?"
"Is it working?"
"Mmm." He was pressing a gentle kiss into her neck while her hands slid down past his waist. She was right in the middle of whispering "Do you want some sugar with that coffee, Mr. Grimm?" when Trubel tromped out of the bathroom, scrubbing a towel through her short cropped hair. Adalind pawed at her shirt, hiding her breasts and busying herself with toast while Nick blushed and hurried towards the coffee pot.
Truble headed towards her nook. Nick snuck a kiss under Adalind's ear and ran a finger down the front of her robe, barely brushing her breast, while whispering, "Sugar sounds good, and cream, too."
Adalind's cheeks were hot when Trubel wandered over for the bowl of last night's left overs. She stared at the two of them for a minute, then rolled her eyes.