December 2008

The potluck dinner last week went smoothly, and Sara felt that her damaged relationship with Tacoma was beginning to heal although it was nowhere near what she had in San Bernardino or even Charming. The blonde gained the confidence and initiative to start navigating her way around Tacoma— although her ventures were mostly out of necessity. Exploring the local area became one of the few things she found joy in doing while her grieving heart healed. Happy's tiny one-bedroom apartment was spartan and feeling more cramped than ever, considering her belongings had been brought up from Charming with one of the delivery trucks used for runs. She'd put most of her big substances such as furniture in a storage unit temporarily, but the smaller items were still in boxes stacked around the living room where the Tacoma prospect had left them.

"You need to find somewhere to put this fuckin' shit," Happy snapped after tripping over half-opened boxes for the hundredth time.

"I'm working on it," she stated from the tiny kitchen, nonplussed by his grouchy attitude. He'd been harping on her to put her stuff away since it had been delivered, but she didn't exactly have anywhere to put anything. The bedroom closet was tiny, and he only had a single three-drawer dresser in the bedroom for storage.

"How is it possible you own so much shit?" he grumbled, moving into the kitchen and grabbing a beer. The bottlecap popped off sharply emphasizing his foul mood.

"Because I'm not a stingy asshole like you," she retorted smoothly.

"Being mindful of excessive spending isn't stingy."

"Whatever," she shrugged, her tone making it evident she didn't agree.

"Don't think I don't know you turn the heat up when I'm gone."

"It's cold," she responded flatly, "I don't like being cold."

"Yea well it ain't cheap to heat this place."

"Fine" she sighed, reminding herself she need not pick every fight, or they'd murder each other before the end of the week. If he could be so patient with her for the past few weeks, she could try to accommodate his few guidelines. Money was the only area she would never try to make him bend. She knew he was strapped for cash due to the high cost of his mother's medical treatments, and she didn't want to tap on that nerve too hard. It didn't feel right. She couldn't fault him for being a good son who loved his mother enough to go without so she could be comfortable, even when it felt like she was the one going without.

"What's for dinner?" he asked, changing the subject coolly.

"Chicken," she stated, pointing into the pan at the obvious chicken breasts simmering in some kind of glaze.

"You sign up for classes?"

"Yep," she stated, popping the 'p' for emphasis. He'd been hounding her about it since she'd emerged from mourning.

"How much is it gonna run me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Tuition and shit."

"You're not paying for my school," she scoffed, amused that he thought as much.

"Yea, how you gonna pay for that shit?"

"I had a full-time job for the last year and not a lot of bills," she pointed out, trying not to be offended by his assumption that she needed him for financial stability.

"You got the kinda money you need for tuition?" he scoffed in disbelief.

"Not all of it, but I can take out a student loan." She glanced at him when he didn't respond. He had a brow raised as he sipped his beer, "What?"

"Not takin' out any loans you don't need. Draws too much government attention," he shook his head firmly.

"No, it doesn't, you paranoid old man," she laughed, rolling her eyes, "Every normal student takes out student loans. The government doesn't give a shit what I do so long as I make my loan payments, and I can defer until after I graduate if I need to, so I don't need more money upfront."

"I can pick up a few runs and float you the cash."

"No, let me be normal," she stated firmly, "Normal people don't have their boyfriends murder people to pay for school." He sucked his teeth in response, not pleased with her assessment of his methods for getting paid, although she wasn't wrong.

"Don't bother denying it," she added, pointing her wooden spoon at him accusingly.

"Wasn't gonna," he shrugged, "I don't gotta take those kinda jobs; I got other ways to make money."

"Well then spend it on heating this place," she shot back with a victorious smirk. He scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Wear a jacket."

"I'll remember that when I'm cold tonight," she sassed, grabbing two plates.

"Oh, fuck off," he groaned, knowing exactly where she was going with her declaration.

"No, no," she sang innocently, "You told me to wear more clothes. I'll sleep in a full snow suit. Good luck getting laid that way."

"We'll see," he stated disbelievingly, and she winked at him before carrying the plates to the small folding table that served as their dinner table. He trailed behind her, taking his seat. He smacked her ass as she passed to head back into the kitchen to grab her wine glass.

"Hey!" she yipped.

"Gotta get it when I can if you're gonna be snow-suited up tonight," he joked, waiting for her return to the table, "I gave Alanna your number today. She wants your help planning her annual Christmas party."

"Okay," Sara shrugged. She'd spent some time with the woman on a few occasions since the potluck. Lee seemed to be giving her a polite but wide berth, maybe at the behest of his wife, but she still got the feeling he wasn't fond of her. Nonetheless, his wife seemed to like her and that was enough for Sara. As annoying as it was that she needed to ingratiate herself to his Tacoma family, she absolutely appreciated the olive branches Alanna was extending.

"I think I'm gonna fly down and see my brother before class starts in January," Sara stated casually. They were still waiting for him to wake up and doctors were confident in his progress. Her mother was still posted up in Reno, although she'd made a few trips back to Omaha and her husband had come down to visit as well. Happy nodded in understanding.

"I might drive down to see my Ma," He countered, equally blasé. Happy still hadn't introduced his two favorite women, but he'd told his mother about her on a few occasions. He'd meant to bring her down for Thanksgiving, but Sara'd been in such a fragile state so soon after Donna that it didn't feel right springin' that shit on her. Christmas didn't feel right either; it was too big a holiday. His mother would just be pushing him to propose to Sara or some romantic bullshit. She'd been like a bloodhound on the scent since she'd found out he was dating someone. 'I'm not gonna live forever; don't make me die without a daughter-in-law to leave my jewels to'. His mother was a kind, God-fearing woman, but she wasn't above trying to emotionally manipulate her son into matrimony. Happy simply grumbled that she didn't have any jewels to leave.

Happy climbed into bed after finishing watching a sports game in the living room. Sara was already in bed, although he knew she was still awake. When had he become the guy who knew whether she was awake or asleep just by glancing at her and hearing her breathe?

He snorted when his eyes fell on her. Sure enough, she was wearing one of his hoodies with the hood up and pulled tight around her head. Pulling back the blankets, he saw she was curled up in a pair of his sweatpants as well. So fucking histrionic.

"Take off your clothes," he instructed sliding in beside her, "Stop bein' so fuckin' dramatic. Its 65 degrees in here."

"No way. That's fucking freezing."

"I'll keep ya warm," he teased, grabbing her easily and dragging her across the bed towards him. He slipped a hand beneath the hoodie and she hissed feeling his arctic fingers brush her skin.

"Your hands are cold!" she whined, trying to push his hand away.

"Lemme tuck 'em between your legs, they'll warm up fast," he joked lewdly. His hand abandoned its quest to the north and instead moved south to slip beneath the waistband of the sweatpants. She shrieked and laughed as he forced his hand between her tightened thighs. She rolled onto her back as he settled over her comfortably. Her gentle hands cupped his cheeks and pulled him down for a kiss.

"I love you."

"Not sure why," he self-deprecatingly teased, "I'm a stingy old man."

"Don't tempt me with a good time," she giggled as her legs wrapped around his hips, locking him in place above her.

"Did you know we've been together over a year?" she asked idly tracing the tattoos on his bare shoulder. Reflexively he shuddered in response to the soft scratch of her nails across his skin.

"Depends when you consider us 'getting together'. If you mean when we started fuckin' then yea."

Her face contorted in admonishment as his crass summary of their early relationship. He shrugged; it was the truth.

"So much has changed in a year," she stated distantly before pushing away unhappy memories and smiling up at him, "I'm glad we're still together though."

"This would be pretty fucked up if you weren't," he chuckled, gesturing to their position before leaning down to kiss her again. One thing that hadn't changed over the months was his preferred method of expressing his feelings for her. Once again, his fingers slipped up the hoodie. She flinched at first contact but didn't push him away this time. After a moment he moved to push the hoodie up and he moved away just far enough to give her space to pull off the sweatshirt and the shirt she wore under it.

"Christ; how many layers do you have on?" He mused, surprised by her bralette. She usually slept either naked or in a tshirt and boyshorts, but never a bra.

"I told you I was cold."

"Good thing I run hot." He waggled his brows and snickered at his own cheesy line.

"Yea you do," she giggled, biting her lip suggestively. She couldn't help her attraction when he was playful like this; this was her favorite Happy. He unlocked her ankles to give her room to kick off the sweatpants.

"You gonna make me work for it?" he inquired, snapping the elastic edge of her panties as she settled back.

"Nothing comes easy."

"You cum pretty easily," he shot back, nipping at her earlobe and smirking as she began to squirm beneath him.

"You think you're sooo smooth," she stated with an amused huff. He grabbed her hand and pulled it to the front of his own sweatpants.

"Go ahead and feel how smooth I am," he smirked as she rolled her eyes at his continued innuendo but gently squeezed his hardening length.

"Just shut up and kiss me."

His tongue dipped between her lips as his settled his weight settled , pressing his hips pressing into the cradle of hers. He fuckin' loved the way her body seemed to mould around his, a perfect fit. Her hands squeezed the firm muscle of his strong biceps as he ground against her producing mouthwatering friction. Dainty fingers skipped and skated across the smooth skin of his shoulders, the back of his neck, and down his spine before dipping into his sweatpants to grip the hard muscle of his ass and pull him tightly against her. He thrust in response, grinning into the kiss at the hitch in her breath. His own hand cupped between them to rub against her fabric-covered opening. The clearing of her throat in response broadened his grin.

After a few more impatient moments, she broke the kiss to turn onto her side. He slipped behind her to spoon against her body, once more in awe of the way she nested perfectly against him. Did all women fit this way and he simply never gave enough of a shit to notice? He calmly watched as she wiggled her panties down past her knees before kicking them off, amused by her enthusiasm. Eagerly, she reached back and pushed at his sweatpants. He chuckled to himself at her desperation as he slipped them off. She settled and pressed her back against his bare chest. A small shiver raced down her spine and she giggled.

"Still cold?" he asked in amusement and she was distracted by his mouth turning up at the corners. Fuck, he had a handsome smile. Gratitude flooded her as she recognized how lucky she was to see this unbarred side of him, not just occasionally but regularly. She knew intellectually how dangerous he was, and that he'd earned his fearsome reputation, but she couldn't help but wonder what all those poor souls would think if they could see him now. He wasn't some repugnant killer with no moral compass like Ted Bundy or Charlie Manson. He was simply a man who would do what was necessary for his family to survive.

"A bit," she admitted shyly, blushing under his appraisal, wondering what he truly thought of her. She wasn't easy to live with, especially by his standards, but she tried to make his life easier rather than difficult.

Happy pressed against her tighter and dropped his arm over her to settle his fingers between her bare legs. Instantly, warmth surrounded her like a heated blanket. A heated blanket that smelled of nostalgia, and love, and incontestable man. She arched against him and lifted her leg, resting it over his own in offering. Her breath hitched again two thick fingers pressed into her opening.

"I dunno, you seem pretty hot to me," he teased, feeling her press against him with each move of his fingers.

"Please, Happy… more," she whined and slipped a hand between them to pull at his steeled length.

"You ain't ready yet," he stated, although he shifted to allow her hand better access.

"What the fuck do you mean I'm not ready?" she hissed with condescension, turning her face to glare up at him.

"Cold-start slowed you down," he shrugged, thrusting his fingers forcefully to prove his point. She moaned at the harsh friction.

"I don't care," she whined, "I want your cock in me."

He chuckled again at her feverish lust and removed his hand from her legs to grip himself and align with her entrance. He pushed in slowly, met with some resistance. She was wet—she was basically always wet—but not nearly as ready to be stretched as she usually was; the position only made her feel tighter and it took a quick rundown of baseball stats to keep him from a frenzied coupling. She'd already be bitching later about being sore, he wasn't gonna give her more firepower.

A hiss escaped her, as her nerves fired electricity up her spine in response to every slow inch disappearing inside of her. Feeling the biting sting of her body stretching open, she bit her lip. Maybe he'd been right, but whatever, she couldn't let him know that. He'd never shut up about it.

"Fuck, that's good," she hissed as her ass settled against his thighs. His hand gripped her hip tightly as he moved against her although the position restricted his range of motion.

"Hap…" she whined, reaching back and clawing at his thigh, "I want it harder."

"Yea, I bet you fuckin' do, but I don't want you outta commission because you're too horny for me. Not makin' that fuckin' mistake."

"You won't," she assured wantonly, and he took her assurance with a grain of salt. In that moment, she'd tell him the sky was red if it meant she'd get what she wanted.

"There ain't much to do up here in winter, baby. Don't worry, you'll get this dick enough," he assured pushing into her deep to emphasize his point.

It felt too good; she couldn't wait. With a bossy huff, she hooked his arm and pulled him with her as she rolled onto her belly. Although the rotation was clumsy, she pushed her rear back seductively as he repositioned himself behind her, lifting her hips to meet his.

"Damn, woman," he chuckled with a lustful tone that made her clench, "You really want this cock, huh?"

She was dripping around him, her body finally catching up to her desire. He thrust into her sharply and she let out an unsophisticated grunt, wantonly pushing back to grind against him, forcing him millimeters deeper and filling her completely.

"Keep going," she moaned encouragingly. A heavy hand slid up her spine to grip the back of her neck firmly for leverage before increasing his speed.

"You like that, little girl?" he asked once he was hammering into her quickly, the vulgar sounds of their pairing echoing in the quiet apartment. She turned her face from the pillow and nodded, her hands wrapped tightly in the sheets in a futile attempt to brace against him.

"Don't stop," she moaned. She jumped a little at the sting of his hand slapping her ass. "Again," she begged. She cried out in pleasure when he smacked her cheeks again.

"You gonna be a bitch about it later when you're sore?" He asked, and she could hear the glee in his voice, "You better not push me away when I wanna fuck you again."

"I won't," she managed to choke out between her punctuated moans. He pulled against the back of her neck until she arched upright and was sitting splayed across his thighs.

"Yea, you ain't never said no to this cock, ain't that right?" His throaty whisper hit her just ear just right and she felt her body flutter around him. So close.

He roughly pushed the delicate material of her bralette up and squeezed her tits as she arched, resting her head back on his shoulder. She tightened around him as he pulled at her nipples and thrusted up into her.

"Fuck, Hap. You feel so good," she moaned, although it came out as more of a breathy whine.

"Yea, baby? Tell me how good I make you feel."

"Sogood." she cried out, squeezing her eyes shut as she ground against him. He could feel her walls fluttering around him and his own toes were beginning to curl. Fuck, he was getting close.

"Come on, baby, cum for me," he urged, licking his thumb before rubbing it against her clit rapidly.

With a string of expletives, she spasmed around him and shifted her oversensitive nub away from his touch. Stars spotted her vision as she halted her movements.

"That's my good girl," he praised as she shuddered and gasped for air. He urged, "Keep goin' little girl, don't quit on me now."

"I can't…" she gasped, squeezing and fidgeting over him as his thumb continued to stimulate her. It was too much. Surely, she couldn't cum again, not so soon after—his thumb circled her clit with just the right pressure and, "Oh, fuck, Hap," another shiver went down her spine as she came undone around him. Jesus Christ.

"Fuck yes you can," he countered arrogantly, trying to push her back onto her knees.

"No, I can't," she whined, shaking her head; her body felt like lead. She felt the cool draft in the room, the pulse of her heartbeat in her limbs; she felt the heavy weight of gravity, but her senses were floating in the cosmos. There was no goddamn way she could get the coordination to do anything.

Strong, tattooed arms manhandled her, pushing her over and rolling her onto her back. Her hair splayed out beneath them, but he was too busy guiding himself back into her slick opening to notice much. He thrust in sharply, grunting aggressively with each move of his hips. Her spine arched, pressing her tits into his chest as she cried out with each meeting of their hips.

"Yea, take it, little girl. Take that big cock," he grunted, lifting up a bit to watch her face contort with ecstasy. Nails clawed down his back, but the sting only fueled his desire. Primal need to claim and possess her filled his thoughts. He pinned her wrists next to her head, pleasing his predatory instincts.

"Who fucks this tight pussy?"

"You." Her response was strained, edged in delirious pleasure.

"Say my name," he gritted out between clenched teeth. Fuck, she felt so good.

"Happy!"

Her breathing was shallow and quick, unable to catch her breath as he thundered into her. Her brain was sensory overload, as if every cell in her body was vibrating at a higher frequency. Her legs wrapped around his hips tightly, limiting his movements and giving her a small semblance of control. If he minded, he didn't make it known.

With a strangled grunt, he spasmed involuntarily followed by the warmth of his seed filling her. His muscles relaxed, and he collapsed over her. His lips found hers and he placed a searing kiss before dropping his head onto the pillow beside hers, releasing her wrists. Her legs tightened around his hips to keep him in place as he softened inside of her. The cold air pricked at her bare sweaty, skin but she wasn't nearly as upset about the cold as she was when they started, especially with Happy's radiating heat on top of her.

"My god, you fuck so good," she panted with a spent giggle. He snickered in response, his ego swelling large.

"Have I told you lately that I love you?" she sighed dreamily.

"That's multiple orgasms talking," he mumbled foggily, still not able to fully feel his legs let alone think straight.

"Even so, I love you," she hummed. He moved to kiss her shoulder softly in response, gently licking the salt from her skin. They lay in silence for a few moments before he tried to move from her grip.

"You gonna let me go?" he teased, gripping her toned thigh with his strong hand.

"No; if you move then all your cum is gonna come pouring out and its gross," she whined.

"Well a baby's gonna come out if you keep it up there forever," he shot back, dropping another kiss on her and moving to disentangle himself to stand.

"Jesus Christ, Hap. Way to kill the mood," she mumbled, completely sobered by his words. Briefly she mentally double checked that she took her pill, even though she hadn't missed one since they'd been together. She'd always been meticulous about it; she saw enough former Old Ladies raising kids on their own to know better.

"Relax, it was a fuckin' joke," he grabbed her ankle and pulled her to the edge of the bed, "Besides, you know how I like it when my load drips out of you."

He grinned lewdly, pulling her to her feet and into his arms in the blink of an eye. She groaned in disagreement, squeezing her thighs together immediately in an attempt to slow the inevitable. He shoved his hand between her legs and tried to curl two fingers up into her.

"Come on baby, spread those legs wide for me," his sexy voice in her ear sent a shiver down her spine. No fair.

"Not on the carpet!" she whined, wiggling against his intrusion.

"Fuck the carpet," he declared, and she knew he was lovedrunk with post-orgasmic endorphins because he'd never disregard cleanliness otherwise. Her squirming only accelerated gravity's work against her as she felt the beginnings of their mixed fluids leaking from her. She stopped resisting as his fingers slid through her slit, coating her with the product of their coupling. He removed his hand and leaned back to watch it slowly dribble down the inside of her leg. She felt disgusting but catching the way his pupils were blown wide with desire as he rapturously watched, she knew he thought she was anything but gross.

"Are you done?" she asked patronizingly, refusing to let him know she was a little turned on by his reaction.

"For now," he stated with shameless intensity and ominous promise before casually adding, "Shower?"

"Depends, you gonna fuck me again, old man?" she teased, grabbing his hand and backing into the small bathroom. He smirked at her coquettish lashes batting up at him and the lip innocently pulled between her teeth.

"Goddamn, I love you woman."

"Prove it," she murmured, pushing him against the bathroom wall.

"Gonna need some rebound time," he shrugged and watched with an amused smirk as she bent to flatten her tongue against his chest, dragging it up across his ribs to his collarbone. Small hands moved to grab his larger ones, pulling them to her body.

"I know how you can kill some time."

"Yea?" he asked cockily.

"Touch me," she mumbled, stretching up onto her toes to kiss him.

"Where?" he murmured against her lips.

"Everywhere," she whispered back as his lips trailed down her neck.

A/N: Mostly smut but a bit of plot. Thank you for reading! Please drop a review and let me know how you feel about Sara in Tacoma.

A few housekeeping notes:

1) I have been going back and updating previous chapters, editing for typos and mistakes. Anyone who follows this story will begin to received updates stating I've added new chapters as requires uploading and replacing chapters and registers them as completely new chapters rather than replacements. No major plot details will be changed. I just wanted to give followers a heads up so that they aren't surprised when they received 76 emails. Sorry in advance!

2) For those of you who are interested: there is a Facebook group for SOA writers and readers where we discuss favorite stories, writing process, what readers like to see, etc. Its a great place for fledgling writers to ask questions or get feedback, and also a great community for fans of SOA and SOA fic. It's called "SOA Fan Fiction Revival". I'm on there as Lynn West and my profile picture is the cover photo for this story. Please don't hesitate to join!