Ch. 45
Laurie didn't see the card stuck to the door until she and Rorschach were all the way up the front steps to Blake's house.
"Huh," said Laurie, reaching out and taking the card.
Laurie started to open it, when Rorschach snatched the card out of her hands.
"Walter," Laurie exclaimed.
Rorschach ignored her and pulled the card out and read it. He shrugged and held it out to her.
"Just a Crimebusters invitation," he told her.
"Well thank you," said Laurie, taking the card away from him. She glanced at it. It was a meeting request for tomorrow evening.
"Wanted to make sure it was safe," he told her, in a wounded tone.
"Walter, honestly, there aren't very many people out there who would send me a card, let alone one that's unsafe."
Laurie fiddled with the lock as Rorschach came closer.
"I thought it might be Agent Orange," he told her, while looking over her shoulder.
Laurie turned to look at Rorschach, noting how close he was hovering over her.
"Why on earth would Agent Orange send me a card?" she asked. Distracted, the bouquet Agent Orange had sent her was far from her mind. Rorschach finally reached around her and unlocked the door. Laurie glanced at it, then at him as she stepped inside.
Rorschach shrugged as he followed behind her. Laurie turned on the lights and Rorschach closed the door and locked it. Then he took his hat, mask, and gloves off and set them aside.
Laurie placed the card down on the table near the door as a reminder, then moved into the living room with Walter close behind.
"I'm sure Nelly wants to talk about Captain Carnage, since nobody showed up at the meeting the last time."
"Hmm."
Laurie turned to Walter and smiled at him. He was smiling back a little tentatively as she took his face in her hands and started to lean in. Then he frowned.
"What happened with you and Captain Carnage?" he asked her.
"What?" Laurie paused, halfway through closing the gap between them. She straightened. "Walter."
"I need to know."
Laurie blinked at him in disbelief.
"Why do you need to know about Captain Carnage?" asked Laurie. "Right now, of all times?"
"I just want to know, that's all."
"Why now? Can't we talk about it later?"
"No."
"Why?"
"I keep wondering what happened."
"And?"
"I won't be able to perform properly if I'm thinking about it."
Walter turned red even as the words left his lips.
"I don't mean it like that," he said, quickly, "I get really focused on things and can't concentrate on anything else."
"You mean you can't concentrate on this instead?" Laurie asked him, as she grabbed his hands and put them on her chest.
Walter's eyes went wide and he looked at her, aghast, almost offended. Laurie noticed he didn't make any move to remove his hands, however.
"I just keep thinking about the things that could have happened between you and Captain Carnage," he told her.
Laurie laughed.
"Okay, fine," she said, as she stroked Walter's hands thoughtfully. "Well, I first saw him a few days before he appeared on the papers."
Walter's eyes flickered downwards for a moment, but then he was looking her in the eyes again.
"He was stalking me, I think," she told him. "I almost caught him a few times before this, but tonight was when I finally came face to face with him."
Walter nodded and suddenly seemed very nervous.
"He appeared across the street from me," said Laurie, "I started chasing him, and he was throwing money at my feet, shouting something about how he stole it. He ran into an alley and I cornered him and started beating him, and..."
Laurie frowned.
"What?" Walter asked her.
"Well, that's when it got really weird," she told him."
"What happened?" Walter looked pale now.
"I don't know, it's..." Laurie sighed. "Well, he was... was... moaning, and saying, 'Yes! Yes! I've been so bad!', things like that. He was writhing all over the place, and I was getting disturbed and let up a little, and he started screaming and saying, 'No! Harder! Please, oh god!'"
"What?" Walter asked, taking his hands away.
"I told you it was weird," Laurie exclaimed as she threw up her hands. "I was so creeped out I told him to beat himself if he liked it so much, and..."
Laurie put a hand to her mouth, remembering the vivid image of Captain Carnage's face looking up at her from the ground in the dark alley.
"What?" Walter asked her, in a demanding voice. "What happened?"
"Well," Laurie laughed, "He said, 'I beat myself every night thinking about you.' Took me a moment to realize what he meant -- couldn't even kick him in the face for saying it because I knew he'd enjoy it too much. I turned and ran away from the alley as he screamed at me to come back. Can you believe it?"
Walter looked like he had been carved from stone.
"Walter?" Laurie asked, waving her hand in front of his eyes. Walter took her wrist and held fast.
"I will kill him," he told her.
"Oh god no, Walter," said Laurie, horrified.
"Oh god yes, Laurie," he said. "He's disgusting."
"Can't you just... I don't know, arrest him or something? Maybe they'll take him to the mental institution and lock him up... then he won't get any beatings in."
Laurie smiled at the thought, but Walter seemed to be drained of all humor at that moment. He just shook his head at her solemnly.
"Oh, Walter," said Laurie, kissing him. She silently hoped that Nite Owl II or Ozymandias would find Captain Carnage and put him in prison before Rorschach got to him.
Walter put his arms around her and pulled her close to him. Laurie quietly stood with him for a long moment in his arms, until she got ideas in her head that she couldn't resist. Laurie kissed Walter's ear briefly before she moved to his mouth. If he was thinking about killing Captain Carnage, Laurie couldn't tell.
Laurie snaked her hands up Walter's chest as she continued to kiss him. She untied the scarf from his neck and discarded it to the side. She got hold of the collar on his coat and pulled it back off his shoulders. He didn't complain when she removed it, then his suit jacket, even his tie, but he stopped her when she started to unbutton his shirt.
"What are you doing?" he asked her, with his hands on her forearms.
"It's too hot in here," she told him, with a smile. "I thought I'd help you, Walter."
"I'm fine."
"You wear too many layers."
"It's practical."
"Oh, come on," she said, as she untucked his shirt.
"I don't see you stripping inappropriately in the living room," he pointed out. Then his eyes widened as he seemed to realize what he had inadvertently suggested to her.
"Fine," she said, unstrapping her armor and letting it fall to the floor.
"You don't have to," Walter protested. But he didn't stop her as she pulled off her boots, tossed them aside, then unzipped her costume and climbed out of it. Unfortunately -- or fortunately -- her costume was only one piece, so now she was standing in front of him in her undergarments.
"Okay, now you're over dressed," Laurie told him. Walter seemed to have gone speechless.
Laurie pushed Walter onto the couch and climbed onto his lap. He didn't say a word as she kissed his throat, then unbuttoned the rest of his shirt and opened it. He shuddered when she kissed his chest, and his arms seemed to have gone limp as she pulled his shirt off and flung it aside.
Walter finally seemed to find his voice when she gave him a look before she reached for his pants.
"What are we doing?" he asked her, stopping her again.
"What?" Laurie asked, freezing in bewilderment.
"Is this leading somewhere?"
"I...I don't know," said Laurie. "Maybe."
"I need to know how far we are taking this."
Laurie bit her tongue to keep from snapping at him. She had asked him to express himself more, and he seemed to be doing it in more ways than she imagined him to.
"Walter," she said, kissing him gently, "Do you have to analyze every single thing that goes on?"
"I just want to know what's expected of me," he told her.
"I don't know," said Laurie. "I just want to be with you, that's all. It doesn't need to... to... lead to sex or anything."
Laurie looked away, a little embarrassed.
Walter nodded.
"All right," he said, giving her an almost pained look. Laurie felt bad.
"Walter, do you think things are going too fast?" she asked him.
"Yes," he said, looking relieved.
"Well," Laurie frowned. "I guess it's kind of too much at once, isn't it? It's just that I'm so glad you're back, and I... I missed you."
Walter nodded but said nothing. He looked guilty.
"It's okay," she told him, as she took his hand. "Here, why don't we go to bed?"
Walter gave her a wide eyed look, and Laurie had to hold up her hands.
"Not like that," she said, laughing in her nervousness, "I mean, just like normal; for sleeping."
Walter seemed perfectly keen on this idea. They climbed into bed together, but Laurie didn't feel like sleeping at all. Lying there in bed next to Walter, she was quite content with watching him instead. Walter stared back at her with what looked like amazement in his eyes. She supposed she had the same look in her eyes, as well -- it seemed surreal to find him back with her again. She half-expected her father to come back as if he had never left. Of course, that wouldn't be ideal at that moment, considering their clothes were still all of the living room floor.
Smiling, Laurie leaned in and started to kiss Walter. If he had any qualms about this arrangement, he didn't show it. She ran her fingers down his arm, marveling at the cords of strong muscle that ran over it. She moved her hand to his waist as she pulled him close to her, the bare skin of their bellies brushing against the other. Laurie couldn't help but moan at the contact. Walter pulled back his head to look at her apprehensively, though his eyes seemed more drunken now, and his lips were red from their impassioned kissing. Laurie put her lips to his throat again, running her hand up his stomach and over his chest.
Walter pushed Laurie onto her back as he kissed her lips, under her chin, her throat, and her clavicle. Laurie closed her eyes as Walter touched her hips, then her breasts, with trembling hands. He moved very slowly as he kissed her sternum and downwards, moving to her stomach, then further below, near her hip. He ran his fingers tentatively down her legs and kissed her thigh.
"Walter," said Laurie, gasping at the sensation.
Walter's head snapped up as he stared at her as if in shock.
"I'm sorry," he said, eyes wide with what looked like panic.
"What?" Laurie asked, looking at him. "Why are you sorry?"
Walter was shaking his head and giving her that tortured look again.
"Didn't mean to," he said.
"Didn't mean what?" Laurie placed her hand on his face, and he seemed to be shaking with emotion.
"Mother was a prostitute," he told her, his words strangled as if he was choking on them. "Don't want to see you like that, don't mean to treat you--"
He turned his face away from her, shoulders shaking.
"Walter," said Laurie, shocked. She grabbed Walter's head and placed it to her neck and held him there.
"I thought he was hurting her," he told her, his voice a muffled hiss against her shoulder. "Didn't want her hurt.. Don't want to hurt you."
Walter was sobbing now, utter anguish in his voice as he tried to say things to her that were incoherent. Laurie held onto him, afraid that he would fall apart on her if she let go. His hands were against her ribcage, clasping so hard it almost hurt. He made a rasping sound in his throat as if he was going to start screaming, but it cut off to more sobs.
"Walter, it's all right," Laurie told him. She didn't think he could hear her, but she tried anyway. "Shh..."
Laurie stroked his hair, then his back as he went silent. He was trembling in her arms, and she could feel the tears pooling on her throat.
"You would never hurt me, Walter," Laurie said, gently. "You love me, don't you?"
Walter nodded, though he didn't look up.
"Prostitutes," Laurie paused as Walter flinched at that word. "Prostitutes sell their bodies -- I think what they do is very different from what people in love do with each other. Don't you?"
"Yes," he whispered, then he started to lift his head. "Yes, yes."
Walter kissed her, lips salty from his tears.
"It's not bad at all," he told her.
"No -- how can it be?" Laurie smiled at him. "I love you."
Walter nodded and looked at her with eyes that were teeming. Laurie wiped the tears from his eyes and kissed him again.
"It's okay," she told him. "Why don't we stay like this, Walter?"
"Yes," he said, as he put his face against her shoulder and settled into her arms.
Laurie stroked his hair until he fell asleep. Laurie stayed up for a long while afterward, looking up at the ceiling and thinking about Walter before she too, fell into a dreamless sleep.
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To be continued...