Hey! I am sorry for the small wait with this chapter. As always all recognizable characters belong to Glee and I mean no disrespect. For the characters you don't recognize they belong to me and permission is needed to use them. I do use Mikki, Dylan, and Jeremy who belong to KikiJuanita and I have been given permission to use and if you do so wish to use them please do ask her.
Enjoy!
"That would be for you," Clint chuckled, burying himself further into the blanket, watching where he placed his feet as not to kick the puppy curled up in a ball at the foot of the bed.
"But he's your friend," she whined, making no move to roll out of bed to answer the door. "And your place," she reminded him, using her feet to push him out of the bed, not that he budged any.
"That is all very true, but he wouldn't be here if he didn't make plans with you to get groceries for tonight," he reminded her.
"Okay, fine," she huffed, tossing the blanket off and getting up to let Jason in before he started to call cell phones to get one of them up to let him in. When he told her that he would be over in the morning she hadn't thought he meant at the ass crack of dawn.
"Hold up," Clint said, getting Onyx to stop at the bedroom door. "You're gonna go out there wearing that?" He asked, giving her a glance.
"Uh, yeah?" She questioned looking at what she was wearing. "What's wrong with what I've got on?" She asked.
"Everything, considering you've got nothing on under that shirt," he commented. "You get ready for the day and I'll let Jason in," he told her getting up.
"Will do," she smiled, stopping him for a quick kiss when he passed her.
Clint smiled, shutting the bedroom door behind him as he walked to the door to let his friend in, not believing for a second that it could possibly be anyone else at such an early hour of the day.
"About time," Jason chuckled, shaking his head. "Thought I had to call," he said, slipping his phone back into his pocket as he stepped inside the apartment.
"Yeah, well some of us enjoy sleeping past 8 in the morning," he teased, walking to the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee.
"The early bird gets the…"
"Are you gonna say worm?" Onyx asked, stepping out of Clint's room fully dressed and her hair pulled up into a messy bun
"No," he answered, shaking his head. "You ready so we can get out of here?" He questioned.
"Almost," she told him, rounding the kitchen counter to share a small kiss with Clint, all while Jason made a small gagging noise to tease them.
"Mark my words the day I meet your girlfriend," Clint threatened with a smirk. "Hey now," he sputtered, grabbing his coffee mug back from his girlfriend. "Thief," he muttered, taking a drink.
"A thief you love," she smirked, grabbing her bag and placing her phone into it. "I'm ready now," she smiled.
"That goes without saying," Clint smiled, setting his cup on the counter. "Don't worry, I'll take the dog for a walk," he told her.
"Didn't doubt that for a second," she told him, following Jason to the door.
"Which one? My love for you or taking care of the dog?" He asked. Her answer was a smirk shutting the door behind her.
"Do we really need all this food?" She asked, pushing the cart behind him, letting him pick out the food as she didn't know anything about making it a vegan friendly meal.
"You haven't seen nothing yet," he laughed, stopping to look over a selection of food, finding what he was looking for he tossed it into the cart.
"I might officially be scared," she teased. "So I know the rest are bringing their girlfriend and wives, but what about you?" She asked, following behind him once more.
"There is someone, but we haven't been dating long enough to have her sit through tonight," he cringed. "I don't even know if you'll survive tonight," he smirked.
"Oh come on, they can't be that bad," she retorted. "Surely they wouldn't try to run off the one person their friend loves," she puffed out, rolling her eyes.
"If they don't feel like you're good enough for him, they will," he informed her. "And they have heard everything that has went on," he said.
"Like what stuff?" She questioned, feeling her nerves start to take hold.
"Like how you were cheating on him," he informed her with an apologetic smile.
"I never cheated on him, though," she pointed out.
"We all know that, and they know that, but they'll use it against you because they don't want to see Clint suffer from being hurt again," he sighed.
"I have no intention of hurting him. I love him, more than I have loved anyone," she stated. It is the truth, she loved Hunter a great deal, but it was nothing like the deep bone crushing love she feels for Clint.
"I see it," Jason told her. "I saw it just this morning and they will too. It's hard to miss," he smiled. "Now we should have everything we need here," he informed her making his way to the front of the store where the check-outs were located.
"Do they really hate me?" She asked, walking beside him.
"They don't hate you, Onyx. They don't know you, and once they do, they'll like you," he assured her. "Look how we started off and we're friends," he smirked. "I might actually be the biggest supporter in this, I've helped enough to have the title," he laughed, getting Onyx to laugh with him.
"You really have," she smiled. "And with the way things went down between us, I would have never thought that we would be here shopping together," she teased, some truth behind her words.
"I can agree to that," he laughed, as they slowly moved forward in line.
"Now what are you going to tell me about your girlfriend?" She asked, taking a step forward.
"I am not telling you anything," he smirked, she pouted. "Now see I'm not your brother or your bestie for life nor the love of your life, so that little pout of yours isn't going to work on me," he informed her with a smug smirk.
"You're just evil," she laughed. Finding no fault in what he said to correct him.
"We are evil," he teased, placing items on the belt separating his groceries from the person in front of them. "Tell you what once I get comfortable with the idea of her meeting my friends we'll set up a double date," he told her.
"I'll take it," she told him. "Do you want me to put any money in for this food?" She asked him.
"Nah, I've got it covered," he told her. "Yes, I'm sure," he said, seeing she was about to protest.
After seeing the total cost for the food, she wanted to protest more, but he was having none of it as he gave her a look saying he had it covered and she backed off. With the groceries paid for and in the trunk of the car they headed back to Clint's.
"Can we make a stop at my place?" She questioned him. She needed an outfit she had in her room. She kept very little articles of clothing at Clint's place and nothing she wanted to wear for a dinner party. "It won't even take that long," she told him.
"I doubt that, but you need to give me directions, I don't know where you call home when you're not shacking up with Clint," he teased.
"Is this leading into a why don't you just move in together speech?" She asked with a small smirk.
"That would be a negative," he told her, turning when she told him to turn. "It isn't up to me on when and how you move forward in your relationship with Clint. From my view and being on the outskirts of your guys relationship, I don't know what's best for you guys to do, only you two know that," he explained further.
"Why can't the rest of them see that?" She questioned in relief.
"Hard to say," he shrugged, parking out front. "I'll wait here," he informed her.
"You can come up," she told him, unbuckling. He shook his head, perfectly fine waiting in the car. "Shouldn't take too long," she told him.
Going up to her apartment hadn't taken very long at all she knew where the outfit was at that she wanted to wear with other things and with Seb out she had no reason to linger any longer than necessary.
"I think I can work faster if you go shower and check on your boyfriend that you've been neglecting for the past hour or so," Jason told her.
"Right," she laughed, walking the small distance from the kitchen to living room, where she spotted her boyfriend snoozing, the puppy curled up on top of him sleeping. "Said boyfriend is having a lovely nap," she said, walking to the bathroom to have a shower and get dressed for the night, with Jason having everything under control.
By the time she finished showering and getting ready, Jason had most of the food prepared and in the fridge to cook later in the day, Clint now cleaning up some, not that there is a big mess to take care of, other than the mess in the kitchen and Jason was handling that.
"Is there even anything left to do?" She asked, making her presence known.
"Uh yeah, you need to visit with your brother, he stopped by while you were in the shower and said that he needs to talk to you in person and that it really can't wait," Clint informed her.
"He didn't say what it was about?" She asked, sitting down to put her shoes on, taking a second to give her pup some love.
"Just that it was urgent," Clint said, offering her a hand to help her off the couch. "Go check in with him, we don't want him to have a meltdown of some sort," he remarked, pressing his lips against hers for a quick kiss.
"Yeah, we can't have that," she laughed, excusing herself to go see what happened to be so urgent with Jeff that it couldn't wait a day.
On the small walk from Clint's apartment to Jeff's her mind started to wonder to the worst as she couldn't imagine anything but. The last few steps down the hall to Jeff's door were hurried. She thought about knocking on his door but tried the door first to find that it was unlocked and she entered her brother's place seeing him pacing around the living room.
"What is going on?" She questioned, shutting the door behind her, afraid to move further into his apartment.
"Why don't you have a seat," he nodded, proceeding to sit on the couch, waiting on his sister to do the same.
She slowly moved from the door to the couch, sitting on it so she could face her brother. "Seriously Jeff, what's going on? I can't say when the last time I saw you this freaked out was," she quipped out.
"That's because I heard from Dad," he said. He had a better relationship with their father than Onyx ever had with the man and it wasn't something he could fault her for. But he felt like he knew she was going to react badly to what he had to say next.
"And what did dear old dad have to say?" She asked. She wanted to have that close father/daughter relationship with him like all her friends had with their fathers, but it was hard to do when you watch him go through multiple relationships and weddings in the span of such a short time.
"Not a lot, just that he has news to tell us and he would like for us to meet him for dinner on Saturday. I made no promises, knowing that you wouldn't exactly agree to it," he told her, keeping her from going off on him.
"You enjoy that, and relay whatever he has to say," she told him, getting up.
"You're not making this any easier on anyone, Onyx. I know how big of a womanizer he happens to be, but you know as well as I know that he cares about you, that the only woman in his life that he will ever truly love is his daughter. Just give him this one day," Jeff pleaded with her.
"Jeff," she sighed, licking her lips. "How many days should I give him, to prove that he has changed? He comes into our lives saying that he's changed that his latest will be the last, but that is never the truth. We both know what he wants to say, I just wanna know how it's going to mess with our lives this time," she stated, trying her hardest not to run her hands through her hair as she didn't want to mess it up.
"I get where you're coming from, I do, but…" he sighed, trying to get his thoughts in order. This wasn't any easier on him, as the last person he ever wanted to turn out to be like was his father, but beside him using woman, he held respect for his father.
"You can stop wasting your breath, I'll be there," she told him. "I can't act childish forever," she told him, standing up.
"You're not being childish," he assured his sister. "And once I know the rest of the details, I will send you a message," he informed her, walking her to the door. "And if you feel like you need to bring Clint along for it, bring him," he said, pulling his door open.
"I don't think I am ready for my boyfriend to meet the man who is our father. I don't need his influence to rub off on Clint," she said, giving her brother a small hug. "But I do want to have dinner at some point so I can meet Courtney," she smiled.
"Yeah, I'll see what I can do about that," he laughed. "Enjoy your night," he told her.
"I think I will," she smiled, stepping into the hallway. "Also, you don't have to worry about the puppy, Clint has taken quite the liking to him," she smirked. Jeff rolled his eyes laughing.
"He must really love you," Jeff said, shaking his head. Onyx's only reply was a grin, as she headed off to her boyfriend's apartment. She did everything she could do to shelf whatever her dad's news had to be to worry about another day as today she wanted to focus on the dinner.
She smiled coming to the door of the apartment that belonged to her boyfriend seeing his friend's and significant others approaching from where the elevators are located.
"Did Jason kick you out of the kitchen? He is a diva like that," Phillip laughed, giving her a hug once they were close enough.
"You know he did, but then my brother needed to talk," she laughed, pushing the door open, finding they could at least go inside the apartment instead of standing around the hallway. She had met everyone briefly at Phillip's wedding.
"Hey guys," Clint greeted. "What was so urgent with your brother?" He asked, having just got back in himself from taking Captain for a walk. Where he had stopped in and talked to the apartment manager as he was in and got the okay for the dog already having all the papers needed to prove he's had the vaccinations needed along with paying the fee, the fee he wasn't going to charge his girlfriend for because he has grown attached to the little fellow in such a short time.
"Just wanted to inform me that my dad will be in town and requesting a dinner," she told him leaving it at that. She would tell him more after they were alone.
"When did you get a puppy?" Julie asked. "The last I knew you didn't want any pets," she commented.
"I didn't," he said turning to look at his girlfriend. "She's the owner of the dog, he just gets to live here," he stated.
"Why is that?" Chloe asked, having went to see if her brother needed help with anything before taking up the empty spot next to her boyfriend.
"She can't have animals at her place," Dereck told his girlfriend, laughing at how fast Clint got attached to the dog.
"I'm surprised he got attached in one day. Yesterday he was saying he didn't want one and now he's pretty much claimed the dog as his," Vinny commented.
"The powers of a girlfriend," Chantel teased. "Though I am to believe that our very own Clint is just wrapped around the pinky finger of Onyx," she smiled.
"No, I am in love," he said, kissing the back of his girlfriend's hand.
"As I love you," she smiled, squeezing his hand.
"And you're a million miles away," Jason stated, leaning on the wall, not bothering with sitting down when he needs to be back in the kitchen in a short few minutes to check on the food. "Does your dad affect you that much?" He asked.
"He wouldn't under normal circumstances, but I already know what he has to say, and I can't wrap my head around it," she sighed. "But enough about my family drama," she said, waving it away. "That's not what tonight is about," she stated.
"Do you want to know what I find strange?" Phillip questioned. Gaining the attention of everyone. "Is how Jason managed to become so close with Onyx," he said, the guys finding it funny.
"Shouldn't they be close?" Julie questioned.
"Remember the night we hung out sans Clint?" He questioned his wife. She nodded remembering that guy night.
"You're the one that he hit on?" She asked amused by the situation.
"Yep," she nodded with a laugh. "But I like to think that we've come a long way from that first meeting," she said, looking at Jason. "Right?" She questioned, feeling nervous.
"We have," he nodded, walking backwards to the kitchen. "Does the talk at the supermarket mean nothing?" He asked, raising an eyebrow seeing the looks of confusion on everyone's face.
"You do know that I can't lie to my boyfriend and that I don't want to do that, so at some point I will have to tell him, if you don't tell them," she stated.
"But it wouldn't be a lie, it would just be a secret, a secret between friends," he smarted off.
"But I have learned the hard way, you shouldn't keep secrets from the one you love whether it be a secret between friends or not," she replied with a smirk.
"Before you two start throwing insults over your friendship, I'll let you have this secret, I am sure there is a reason behind it," Clint said breaking up what he felt would be an argument of some sort.
"I'll take it," she nodded.
"There is a reason I don't want you lot to know and you'll all find out soon enough," he sighed, checking on the food.
"I should really help him," she frowned, going to get up to help with the rest of the food even if she did need Jason to tell her how it needed to be done. "You do know that I wouldn't outright announce it, right?" She asked, standing next to him as she stirred a pot of sauce.
"I know," he confirmed. "And you can tell him after we all leave, I wouldn't mind because I don't want to be the reason you two fight," he told her.
"We won't fight over this, he already understands that you need to be the one to tell them all and it's not anything that is going to ruin your friendship with him, unless it's an ex of theirs," she said in a hushed voice.
"Not exactly," he sighed. "It's not them I am worried about, because it has nothing to do with them, moreso you," he told her, getting the food arranged on the kitchen counter so it wouldn't take up all the space at the kitchen table that is already set for everyone minus the plates as they were stacked on the counter.
"What do you mean, Jason?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest, her hip resting against the counter where the sink is located at.
"Can we not?" He asked with a pleading look. "It'll all get sorted, just leave it be for now, please?" He asked her.
"Okay," she nodded. "I am going to trust you on this Jason, and don't break my trust," she warned him.
"Not going to happen because I do happen to like you," he laughed, gently nudging her. "Now isn't tonight about getting to know the ladies a bit more and not interrogate me?" He asked with a laugh.
"No, I am here to eat and drink some beer, but not a lot because I do have work in the morning," she told him.
"In that case, help yourself," he told her shaking his head. "Dinner," he called, getting the others attention. "Seriously, follow Onyx and help yourselves," he told them, grabbing a plate himself.
"Clint told us that you're a teacher, but with the voice you had at the clubs opening, why didn't you go down that path?" Chantel questions, swallowing the bite of food she had eaten.
Clint sitting next to his girlfriend, held his breath, knowing how sore of a topic it is to be discussing, and he really didn't want it to ruin the night they've got with the laughs they've already shared. He placed his hand on her leg, his thumb rubbing gentle circles through her black jeans.
"I thought about it, would have liked to try," she told them, taking a drink of her beer. "But a few things happened, things were said and I gave up singing for the longest time and found something else that I was even more passionate about," she told them, being as vague as she could be with them still understanding to an extent on why she didn't pursue a career as a singer. "I feel like I can do more good teaching than I could do anything else," she said.
"I always wanted to be a teacher when I was little," Julie said. "But then I fell in love with animals and found my true passion, so if you need a vet for your little guy, look no further," she smiled.
"It would be wrong to go to someone else," Onyx laughed. "What is it you two do?" She asked, looking between Chloe and Chantel.
"Personal trainer," Chloe said. "So you need a new workout, hit me up."
"I've been working on a children's book," Chantel shared.
"I am going to keep both in mind because I am sure at some point, someone I know is gonna have a baby," she commented. "And a new workout might be in my near future," she laughed, thinking about the weekly takeout night with Seb, they started up again.
"Care to share in that theory?" Clint asked with a laugh. "Who do you know that is gonna have a baby any time in the near future?"
"Dylan, maybe Jeremy," she shrugged. "You'll like Dylan he's more laid back than Jeremy, but still a blast to be around," she told him.
"So you won't take threaten to call the cops on him?" He questioned in a teasing tone. Onyx laughed shaking her head no.
"What are we missing? Who did you threaten to call the cops on?" Julie asked.
"Jeremy and Dylan are Sebastian's older brothers and the day he showed up not all that long ago I had threatened him with a call to Seb telling him I was calling the cops," she quickly explained. "They're like brother's and he knew I would never call the cops on him," she tacked on.
"So other than Jeff and Sebastian, does our friend need to meet and get the stamp of approval from Dylan and Jeremy as well?" Phillip questioned.
"Oh please, Jeremy is cool with it, so will Dylan. But don't sit there and act like you're not making sure that I am good enough for Clint, because I know otherwise. I also know that I have put him through shit, but we've worked it out and we couldn't be in a better place because of it all," she stated, looking around the table.
"We're only looking out for our friend, it's nothing against you," Vinny replied.
"I know and I would be wondering what's wrong with all of you if didn't look out for your friend," she responded.
"I personally believe that you are more than good enough for him, I have to question why you are settling for him for?" Jason teased.
"Who said she was settling for me?" Clint questioned, his smirk a tight one.
"Hey man, we know that isn't the case," Dereck quickly said, not wanting a fight to break out.
"Trust me, babe, you would know if I was just settling," she told him, giving his knee a quick squeeze.
With the apartment empty and the dishes placed in the dishwasher they laid in bed, curled up with the puppy laying in his puppy bed on the floor. Clint's hand slowly running up and down her arm as she relayed the conversation she had with Jeff about her father earlier in the day.
"I don't mind going with you," he told her.
"I know and as much as I would like having you there for support, I think it's something that I need to do with Jeff," she sighed. "But on the up side of things, we have a future dinner date with Jeff and Courtney," she told him.
"I've meet Courtney," he informed his girlfriend. "It wasn't a long meeting, just an elevator ride down to the lobby, as they were headed out on a date," he explained further. "You'll like her," he said, placing a kiss to her bare shoulder.
"I'm not worried about that," she told him, "I just want to know if she makes him happy," she said, kissing his jaw.
"From what I can tell she does," he replied, moving his hand to run down her spine. "Now enough talk," he gushed into her ear giving it a nip.
"And a bit more action," she purred, running her nails over his chest to his back.