Pete, Addison - "intimacy"
A/N: A hint spoilerish, kind of.
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Dime and Suture
- Gifts From Enola
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He finds her with coffee wrapped between her gloved hands, coat buttoned as high as it will go on her neck, and cheeks rosy in the California winter air. They haven't done this much at all lately, he realizes, as his legs hit the bench behind him and he is inclined to sit, suggesting she do the same.
He'd ask how she's doing, but from the quiet that surrounds her, and has been for weeks, he knows better than to inquire. Addison isn't fine, and hasn't been for a while now. "I'm a lousy husband," Pete begins with a shrug, sipping at his own bitter tea, a seasonal virus attacking his immune system, nose as stuffed as they come. "I'm just no good and Violet is there, trying."
"Pete," Addison sighs, patting him on the arm. She has no words of assistance, no background for this conversation. She was a bad wife, a worse girlfriend, and a outright horrible friend. It's a wonder he's still talking to her.
"Your turn," Pete announces, not willing to take it any further.
"My mother- I- can't," she exhales slowly and decides to take another route. "Sam doesn't want kids, I don't think, Sam," she tells him exasperated by her findings.
"And you do," Pete assumes, finding it not at all awkward to speak of him seeing as most of their mutual relationship was centered on other people. He's missed this over the months, her companionship and sturdy guidance even when her own world is shaking.
"I really do," Addison mourns. "I just have a feeling...I feel like there's this piece missing."
"Kids are...a lot of work," Pete tosses in for good measure, in case she needs to be reeled in from this crazy fantasy.
"I'm supposed to be someone's mother Pete."
"Yes," he agrees, remembering her with Lucas. When her head falls on his shoulder he doesn't shrug it off, instead he loops an arm around the back of the bench, around her bundled shoulders.
"You're a good husband," Addison mumbles trying to curb his nerves.
"You'll be a great mother Addison," Pete tells her encouragingly. "With or without him."
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