She had told herself, when he first came back home, that she wouldn't fall for him again.
It had been almost eleven years since he ripped her heart out like they hadn't spent three years together as a couple, and four years before that as friends. He'd been the first boy she'd fallen in love with, her first crush, her first date, her first kiss, her first… everything. They'd been happy. So much happier than she'd known him to be when they were in elementary school and he was in the counselor's office to deal with the trauma of his abuse at the hands of his mother and absent father. He'd been through more than most ten-year-olds needed to go through at that point in their lives.
He'd been beaten, screamed at, starved, burned, and neglected. She'd seen the scars on his skin—fainter by the time she saw them, thanks to the fact that it had been years since they occurred, but still there. The physical scars were the ones that were faint. It was the mental and emotional ones that were taking time to heal. It made her both happy and sad that he was willing to open up to her, that he wanted her to know how fucked-up he'd become. That he believed he didn't deserve her or the life he was leading.
But she'd accepted every part of him that she knew.
There were still things about him that were a mystery at the time of his disappearance. He never talked about his father much, but she knew that the man had been a dark presence in his life for a long time. Even to the point they were at now, she could tell that his father loomed over him, driving him beyond the point where he felt he could function. On those days, he sought out her comfort, her words, her voice. Anything to prove that he still had some worth in this world. And she'd obliged, hoping to pull him back from the proverbial ledge and keep him from leaping over it.
They'd finally reached a point where they were both happy. He was open with her in a way that he wasn't with anybody else. She saw him as her escape from her more-overbearing-than-ever mother and her meekly obedient stepfather. To each other, they were a support system to get through the good days and the bad days, to provide comfort and care when the other needed it, and above all, a couple that worked and stayed together, despite everything being thrown in their way. Not once did either of them consider breaking up or seeing someone else on the side. It was perfect.
Then he'd left, and she'd broken.
Her support system was gone, and in its place was a broken web of confusion, anger, pain, lies, and in the middle of it all, a person who was depending on her as much as she'd depended on him. Her baby. She'd picked up the shattered glass of the mirror that had depicted her 'perfect' relationship and put it away, intending to never lay eyes on him again and keep her daughter well away from the man who had hurt her so badly. It worked, and the little girl never knew her father or what he'd done. And the mother was happy.
Suddenly, he came back into her life. Suddenly, he was once again protecting her as he had before, trying to be her support system despite his absence. She found her heart wanted to let him back in, let him be her knight in shining armor. But time had taught her there wasn't time to be a damsel in distress. You couldn't rely on a knight to save you, because they might leave and everything might shatter in an instant. Those were the lessons she gave her daughter—save yourself. Don't rely on someone else, or you might get hurt.
And yet…
Max was hurting, too. She didn't know what he'd been up to while he was gone. She just knew that he'd left to keep her and, by extension, their child safe. He didn't talk about it, and he refused to tell her what had gone on. No amount of prodding from her could get him to talk, and she knew that trying further would lead to unnecessary pain on both of their sides. The pain of reliving that time for him, and the pain of knowing for her. They weren't the well-coordinated system they'd been before. That emotional openness wasn't there anymore.
They didn't know each other. They might as well have been different people than before. He was making an effort to know her again, but she was resisting him. She didn't want to let him in again and risk him leaving her as broken-hearted as before. But after the events of her disastrous date with Jason, and him protecting her as much as before… she wasn't so sure.
It took her a week after that to work up the courage to approach him.
She headed down the basement stairs, where she knew he was getting ready for bed. It would be the perfect opportunity to talk to him without interruptions or him evading her questions. Nothing was going to distract her from that mission.
Except, of course, the fact that he was just taking off his shirt when she saw him.
"Eep!" she squeaked, covering her eyes. He whirled around to face her.
"Whoa, hey! What's up?"
"N-nothing! I just came down here to talk to you!" He snickered.
"You don't have to cover your eyes. You've seen everything."
Shit, that's right. We have a kid.
She uncovered her eyes and got a good look at him. He'd certainly grown over the past decade. He was more muscular and toned than she remembered, though not in a professional wrestler or body-builder way. It was more of an active-lifestyle type thing, where he had to stay in shape to keep up. Nikki bit her lip. He looked… good. Really good.
He also had more scars than she remembered. Several of them were round and knotted, reminding her of the bullet wounds she'd seen in old anti-gang films back in middle school. More of them were long, thin scars, as if he'd been slashed or stabbed. Something told her that the 'dangerous world' he'd said he was going into was the cause of the new wounds. It made her feel a little sick… and stirred a feeling she hadn't felt for a long time.
"You're staring."
Max's voice snapped her from her thoughts and she felt her face heat up. He was still shirtless and giving her a confused look—making for a cute yet sexy moment.
Get it together, Nikki!
"Sorry! It's just… it's been a long time since I've seen you… like this."
"Well, to be fair, last time you saw me like this was in my bedroom and there were even fewer clothes involved, so…"
"Oh, that's right." She cleared her throat. "Y-you have a lot more scars than I remember."
"Yeah." He took a deep breath and sighed. "Why are you down here, anyway?"
"I wanted to talk to you in private, and this is the only place that can happen. Everywhere else either has someone listening in or you dodging my questions. Please, Max. Just let me talk to you."
"Okay. We'll talk." He sat down on the couch. "Come on."
She took the invitation and sat down next to him, her thoughts occupied by the memory of the last time she'd been with him while he was shirtless on this couch. In fact, she was eighty-percent sure that they'd conceived Lovetta right here. It was either that or in the room that their daughter now occupied.
No! Focus!
"I want… I want to know more about the time you were gone. Tell me the truth. Please."
"So that's what this is about. I should've known you'd ask eventually."
"Then you must have something to say about it. I have to know what you left me to go after, because not knowing hurts."
"It's not something I'm proud of, but you're right. You should know."
"Tell me, then." She gave him a determined look and he started laughing. "What's so funny?!"
"You are so fucking cute when you get that look on your face."
"Will you take this seriously?!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He stopped laughing and cleared his throat. "I told you that somebody threatened you to get to me, right?"
"You did."
"Well… that somebody was my dad. My birth father." She blinked.
"Wait, why?!"
"Because I was almost an adult, and my dad wanted me to take over his 'business'. He was the leader of a large gang of drug-dealers and other people like that. I refused at first because I was happy with you, Gwen, David, and Lizzie. I didn't want to get involved in that kind of world. But… then he started making threats. First, he threatened my birth mom—which, I mean, I didn't really care as much as I did when he threatened you—but he followed through on the threat. Then he made some comments about you and I got angry. I told him to get out of my life. He followed it up by threatening to torture and murder you."
"And because he'd already followed through with your birth mother, you knew he wasn't bluffing?"
"Exactly. I didn't want to risk it, so I told him I'd go if he left you alone. After that, I stuck the note in your locker and left town."
"So you became a gangster?"
"Sort of, but not really. I wanted to take the bastard out for good and come home to you, so I secretly called the Millers and told them I could help take down a major gang leader. They accepted and I was working undercover to take my dad down."
"The scars are from you being in the gang?"
"Bingo. I've been shot and stabbed more times than I want to admit, but it worked. My dad's behind bars and the other members have been scattered. We're safe."
She bit her lip again and reached for one of the bullet-wound scars on his shoulder. It was cool to the touch, but he let out a hiss as she made contact with the sensitive skin.
"Sorry!" she squeaked.
"No, it's fine. They're just sensitive." He sighed. "I hate how they look sometimes, but they're a reminder that I actually did something."
"I feel the same way about my stretch marks."
"Your what?"
"Stretch marks. They're from when I was pregnant with Lovetta and my stomach was bigger than it had ever been before or after. They're ugly, and I think it's the biggest reason I've been afraid to date. Nobody wants a girl with a fucked-up body. Uh, Max, what the hell are you—"
He tilted her chin upwards and started kissing her. Shockwaves went through her body as the familiar electricity surged between them and she was drawn to him like a magnet. Her body reacted of its own accord and she pulled him down on top of her, desperate for more contact as her fingers tangled in his black curls. She could feel his hands traveling down her body, brushing every spot where he knew she was sensitive to his touch. He bit her lower lip. In response, she let out a moan that seemed to make him more determined as he started to push up the hem of her night-shirt.
"God, I love you," he groaned as she dug her nails into his skin. She froze and broke their lip-lock, staring up at him with an astonished look. His eyes widened as he realized what he'd said. "S-sorry! Fuck. Dammit." He sat upright and got off of her, burying his face in his hands.
"What are you sorry for?" She sat up, too.
"I know you're trying to move on from me, and then I go and pull this bullshit… I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry!" She puffed out her cheeks in annoyance, somehow looking adorable and sexy at the same time to her ex. "Did you mean it?"
"Nikki, I have been in love with you since we were ten years old. Do you really think I would fucking say it if I didn't mean it?"
"Max… I'm still in love with you, too." He stared at her in shock.
"Then why the fuck are we dancing around on this?" He pinned her back down and kissed her again. "You wanna give our relationship another try?"
"Hell yes."
Gwen headed into the kitchen that morning and found Nikki already making breakfast. She seemed happier, lighter than Gwen had seen her in over a decade. The young mother was even humming the stupid Camp Campbell song David had written. Even more shocking, Max was already awake and drinking a mug of coffee, also in a surprisingly good mood.
"What the hell happened with you two?" she asked, making her own mug of coffee.
"What are you talking about?" Max inquired.
"You're in a good mood and it's not even seven AM yet. Something happened with you."
"And when I want to tell you, I'll tell you. I'm gonna take a shower and get ready to take Lovetta to school." He headed upstairs, leaving Gwen alone with Nikki.
"Okay, he's gone. Spill."
"Nope." Nikki walked away from the stove, but Gwen noticed she appeared to be in a bit of pain as she walked.
"You okay?"
"A little sore." Nikki shot Gwen a smile and Gwen immediately knew what had happened.
"So you're friends with benefits now?"
"Not exactly. We agreed to give the relationship thing another go, but we'll just have to wait and see what happens."
"I guess Max forgot the meaning of the word 'restraint', though, based on the way you're walking. I mean, it's been over a decade since you two last did anything." The mint-haired woman blushed bright pink and chewed on a piece of bacon.
"A little, I guess, but… if this works out, Lovetta's wish will come true. She wants me and Max to be together."
"Okay, can I just say that your kid is adorable and innocent?"
"And she wants a younger sibling."
"Lizzie did, too, until Lovetta was born. Then she just considered Vet her sister."
Nikki smiled, then winced as she moved her legs.
"I don't know how I'm going to work my shift today. I guess I could call in sick?"
"You're not going to be able to work today walking like that. Your job requires you to be on your feet way too much."
David and Lizzie came downstairs a minute later—a father-daughter duo of early-rising nature-lovers. Both were as surprised as Gwen had been to see Nikki up early like this.
"I heard the shower running," Lizzie commented. "Who else is up?"
"Max," Gwen and Nikki replied in unison.
"Wait, seriously? Did Hell freeze over?"
"No, Liz, Hell didn't freeze over," chuckled Gwen. "Let's just say he and Nikki have patched things up and he's in a really good mood."
"So we can expect a new nibling for me soon?"
"What the hell is a nibling?"
"It's when you don't know if it's a niece or a nephew, so you call it a nibling." Nikki's eyes widened with worry.
"Oh, no…" she whispered, biting her lip.
"Chill, Nikki," sighed Gwen. "I'm sure it'll be fine. Plus, Max won't leave this time. You know he won't."
"I know, but I'm still nervous." She twiddled her thumbs. "It was kind of… heat of the moment and we didn't take precautions. So it's definitely possible that Lovey might have a sibling on the way."
"Relax. You're older now, so it won't be as hard as it was with Lovetta."
They decided to quickly change the subject in case Lovetta came downstairs, which happened about five minutes later.
"Where's Max?" she asked.
"He's upstairs, taking a shower," Nikki replied.
"Nope," Max replied, coming into the kitchen, fully dressed with his hair still slightly wet. "I'm right here."
"So, are you taking me to school?"
"Yep. Hurry up and eat so we can get going."
"Okay!"
Neither of them knew who was waiting at the school…
Okay, so originally, I wasn't going to post this chapter until the next one went up. Then I realized that putting this one first actually made more sense. Don't worry; Max's dad's revenge is coming, too. An important thing to note is that Lovetta is the only person in the family who is unaware that Max and Nikki are patching things up. This is important for the next chapter.
Huh. The one that's going up next has been on the back burner for the past two days. Weird.
But this one is important. Max and Nikki have gotten back together, and that will lead to an AO3-exclusive story that's the more explicit version of that little thing in the middle. Yeah.
So long and thanks for all the fish!