That one Kiss, part two (of three)
Bass had placed his hands on the banister of the porch and was leaning against it, when he looked at Charlie who was walking back to the house with Aaron, clearly deep in her own thoughts. There was a mysterious smile around her lips when she looked at him for a moment, the same one he had seen that afternoon in front of the church when he had just brought back President Davis with Connor.
Eventually Connor had found him in the woods, together with Neville and Scanlon. It had been a couple of hours after Miles had shouted to him to take Davis and get the hell out, when they were heavily under fire after they had been able to kidnap the son of a bitch. Bass, I trust you. Four fucking words that he had never expected to hear from anyone. Let alone Miles.
His kid had been upset, and it had taken everything Bass had to convince the kid to come back with him. He had been so sure Connor would take a step back to give Neville and Scanlon room to take their shots at him. But their blood connection had won over the control for more power. Connor had joined his side and they had managed to get the hell out of there, leaving Scanlon and Neville behind.
In the dark of nightfall, standing beside the wagon, after they had arrived with that pathetic excuse of a president, his eyes had found hers. Even when Connor had followed Miles and Rachel inside of the church, she had been still looking at him. Her eyes so damn soft, and something close to a smile around her lips. No relieve that he did not screw them over, no insults, no cold looks. It was like she knew somehow he would show up and come back.
He once again looked at the snow and was the last one to walk inside the house, right after the rest of the group. He was stretching his fingers to get some feeling back in them.
Charlie knocked the snow of her boots, before she walked into the kitchen again. Her cheeks were glowing from the snow while she watched Connor who did his best not to show anyone he was freezing his ass off.
'Can I get you a blanket, Connor?' Charlie shot at him a grin, while she got out of her jacket.
'Well, Charlie, maybe you have some other ways to get me warm?' He smirked at her.
Charlie rolled her eyes at him. 'Yeah, here is an idea, maybe one of your girls at the bar are willing to keep you warm.'
Connor grinned at her, while he poured himself another drink. He was just messing around with her, he knew he would never have with Charlie whatever it was they shared in Vegas, close to that fire.
She was the closest thing to a friend he had in this town and she was sharp and fast. He had liked her from the beginning. His eyes went to his dad, and there it was again. He did not know what the hell the story was between those two, but right after that thing in Vegas, he had seen it.
He had observed his dad with Charlie and if he did not know any better, he thought that something might be there.
His dad had said I don't care if you're with her, let's just focus on those patriots just a too often.
You know which people kept on repeating that they did not care? Right.
Miles and Bass had sat down in front of the fireplace in the living area. Charlie was making herself a cup of tea , her mind was still with that silent street in front of her and the pastel images where revealed to her. Nobody besides her, had seemed to notice what she had seen. But she had seen him, the man that was now sitting in her living room.
Aaron was busy looking for something upstairs, in the attic. When he walked down the stairs he had a box in his hands, a layer of dust on it that he removed with his hand.
Charlie had loved to play board games with Aaron. Sometimes Danny, her father or Maggie had joined them too. It had been the only thing around to do on a long winter day, a couple of candles on the table around them. Most of all Charlie loved it, because she could let out her competitive side.
There had been a little doubt in his voice when Aaron had asked Charlie if there were any games in the house. He was hesitant to bring up the subject because the last thing he wanted to do was hurting her by bringing back memories that would cause her pain. But Charlie had directed him towards the attic.
Another round of kicking Aaron's ass would be fun, Charlie decided. What she did not expected was for the others to want to join them. As soon as Miles and Bass heard the word board game, they were all in, and threats about kicking each other's asses were filling the room.
The game was simple. Whoever scored the moist points by answering all kinds of questions, won. Aaron set up the game on the wooden coffee table in front of the fire when Miles teamed up with Charlie, while Bass patted Connor on the back and told them they would win this. Easily. Which earned him a dirty look from both Miles and Charlie.
Aaron would be the impartial, Bass coughed something under his breath that was close to bullshit at that last word, leader of the game. His tasks were asking the questions and keeping track of the score.
Aaron prayed silently that things would not get of hand when he looked at Monroe, and then at Miles and Charlie. He let out a soft sigh when Monroe looked at Charlie and told her ladies first when Charlie did not hesitate and snatched the dice straight from the box. He reached for the first question, when Charlie started to throw the dice.
With the soft light of the winter world outside that reached them through the windows, and the warm glow of the fire in the fireplace, they started the game.
Point after point was scored, while Charlie bit her bottom lip with excitement and impatience. There was no way she and Miles would let team Monroe win, and she tried to stay focussed. Bass tried to focus too, but he had troubles keeping his eyes away from Charlie. She was just too damn adorable this evening, seeing her competitive side like this only added to that. And why the hell did she had to bite her lip like that? Oh Hell.
Charlie had just moved her and Miles' pawn on the board in front of them when Bass was just grabbing his glass from the table close to that pawn. Their hands touched for a moment, and Charlie felt a jolt going through her system. She moved hers back quickly, while she hoped she did not do that too quickly.
To her complete delight, Connor missed the next question, and his wrong answer gave Miles and her the lead. Bass looked pissed and slapped his son at the back of his head, while Connor grinned apologetically and shrugged.
Now, it was Charlie's turn. Aaron pulled another card from the little box that belonged to the game.
'Charlie, this one is for the victory, kiddo.' Aaron said. Charlie moved to the edge of the couch.
Miles took another gulp from his drink and nodded at her with a hopeful grin. He wanted to take down team Monroe as much as she did right now.
'The category is TV and Movies,' Aaron continued. Bass grinned, while Miles did his best not to curse. Charlie just shut her eyes in frustration when Aaron started to ask her the next question. History, Literature, it all would have been fine. But not this category.
'Which fictional superhero, who lives in Gotham City and can be found in several comic books, got his own TV show in the late 60's? Aaron read from the cart in front of him.
Charlie groaned with frustration, while her mind was racing. So close to this victory, so close to rubbing it in both Monroe's faces. Stupid, stupid question.
And then her eyes fell on Monroe, who did his best to be evasive. His elbows too casually on his knees now. She frowned at him. But then, his eyes found hers and things fell into place.
Without taking her eyes away from Monroe the answer came to her, while a victorious grin started to spread around her face.
'Batman,' she said softly, and then with more force, 'Batman!'
Miles shot her an incredulous look, while she was not sure if Bass was looking at her with amusement or plain horror because off all people, he just had made sure Charlie and Miles won.
'That is correct,' Aaron said, a hint of disbelieve in his voice too, 'and that means, team Matheson wins.'
Bass and Connor were both looking like pouting four year olds, when Charlie tilted her head back and laughed a full laugh while Miles just had to join her, hearing the bright sound of her laughter.
And then Bass stretched out his hand towards Charlie. Charlie bit the inside of her cheek for a moment before she realised she was not going to be a bad winner, and stretched out hers to meet his. The skin of his fingers was rough, and his hand was so large, that her slender fingers disappeared completely inside his hand.
He squeezed her hand, and he was not able to hide the surprise from his eyes, when Charlie did not pull back immediately. Her hand felt warm and soft in his, and he had not expected for her to return the gesture. Or maybe he did, this was Charlie Matheson, and she would never back the hell out of anything.
Most of all, her eyes reached a playful softness that ripped right through him and made his heart pound in his chest. She squeezed his hand back for a moment when their eyes locked.
Charlie knew that for the first time, she felt like she was sitting across from Bass. The smugness was gone, the arrogance was gone. It was just. It was just Bass.
'How the hell do you know about Batman,' Miles finally asked her, when Charlie crashed back into the pillows.
'You don't remember the Batman thing?' Charlie asked, 'Oh no, that's right, you were busy not telling us you were dying, you know with the pretty red infected lines on your arm.'
Charlie did remember. Monroe had appeared from behind some trees, mist around them, when they were looking for Aaron when Horn was trying to find him. Three patriots had surrounded her, Miles and her mom and he had been the one to save the day in a very dramatic unique Monroe way.
When he was done, and the ground around them was covered with those now dead three patriots he had looked at her. ' I'm Batman.' His voice smug and so sure off himself.
She had let out a breath with relieve, with irritation at his arrogance and frustration at yet another reference she did not get when he had stood in front of her. His blue eyes had been piercing through the mist, while she had tried not to focus on the flexing muscles of his under arm, while he was still holding onto the machete he had just sliced through those patriots with.
The raw energy between them had been almost palpable.
He had looked at her, and had moved out his hand towards her and growled a rough go when more patriots had been approaching. Only when she started to move, he had turned around and moved too.
Of course, when they had found Aaron and she had found a moment alone with him, she had asked him about Batman. She was just too curious.
'You asked Stay Puft about Batman huh?' Bass said in a slow and low tone, realising what Charlie had done by the look on her face, not able to resist messing around with Charlie about this one. He could not believe that she actually asked Stay Puft about Batman. Apparently she had been listening to some of the things he had been saying.
'Yeah, so?' she answered, trying not to focus on the almost teasing way in his voice. Stupid Monroe Charm. It would never work on her. Ever.
'Nothing, just interesting.' He answered, casually.
Charlie rolled her eyes at him, feeling her skin tingle. She got up from her space on the couch and told the rest she was hungry, before she headed into the kitchen.
After the game the rest of the evening had been fun. Aaron and Bass, where did that came from, were in the middle of a discussion about some TV show she did not even remember, when Miles and Connor were doing their best to reach the bottom of yet another bottle.
She used that moment to sneak out of the room. She had grabbed her jacket and walked outside softly. She found her favourite step of the porch, and enjoyed the snow around her. It was still there, a nice lush white cover surrounding the world around her. The snowflakes were still falling and she sighed.
She heard the wind pick up in the trees over her head. She zipped up her jacket a little bit closer. It was too cold to be outside for too long, but she could not resist. It was just too beautiful and the scent reconnected her with memories from the city where she was born and spend the first years of her life.
There was another gust of wind, that shook some snow from the tree branches.
Then, at the other side of the street Charlie saw them. Her breath got caught in her chest somewhere. Her bottom lip started to shake. Her heart filled with that one longing feeling when people that where a part of you and had been away for so long, too long, found their way back to you. She could not move, and her eyes widened.
Two men were standing across from her. The rest of the world faded away, still existing at the corners, but it was like she got pulled into the soft image in front of her again, just like with the soft images earlier.
The town was quiet, and she could hear the snow fall softy with little sounds. She let out a small gasp when she truly realised who were standing in front of her.
She looked directly in the face of her father, while Danny stood by his side. Without even realising she stretched out her hand to get closer to them.
And then she could see a Christmas three close and her mother walked in the room . A blond young girl was not far behind, the hand of a small blond boy in hers. There was warmth reaching the skin of her cheeks, like she was inside and there were many lights. Under the tree, the blond boy sat close to the blond girl, and they were both playing with lights in their eyes.
It took her a while but then she realised she was looking at a younger version of herself. She had no idea how much time passed, but the soft images before her stayed there, like she was looking through a glass at a memory she knew had to be her own.
For a moment, she was home again. And war, fighting, losing, fatigue, death, blood and keeping her strength was so far away, she forgot about them for a moment. She was home. She could look at the memory in front of her with all the time she needed, the images stayed in front of her for a long time. The colours so soft, and she heard herself giggle, the sound reaching her from within the images, when her father picked her up and walked with her to the window. There were many lights wrapped around the window. She put her head on his shoulder, and both father and daughter looked outside, looked at all the lights of the city.
And then, like a light that fades away slowly, the image in front of her disappeared. Warmth remained in her chest while the winter cold reached her again. The street was there once more, silent and empty and only her father and Danny stood under a street light with soft orange flames and both men smiled at her.
Her eyes filled with tears, when her father raised his hand to wave at her. Danny gave her a bright smile, and Charlie was not even aware that her right hand started to move to wave at them.
Ben laughed back at her. He waved at her one more time, and Charlie knew they would go. Don't go. Don't go just yet. She felt how tears welled up in her eyes. And then, her father threw his comforting arm around Danny and both father and son, her father and her baby brother turned and walked away together until they slowly faded away into the snow flakes. It was Danny who turned back one more time, and it was his smile that stayed with her, and pushed back the panic of having to let them go.
Charlie closed her eyes, and when she closed them, soft tears escaped from her eyes. She had longed for this moment, to see them one more time, to remember their faces. When she thought about her father and her sweet baby brother, she could think of them and feel a sense of peace around her this once. Finally, she was able to think about them with lightness and softness. She could finally remember them the way they were. How they were before their last moments that had been filled with so much pain. She could remember again.
She sat there on the porch, and looked across the street, holding on to the images from before. Holding on to them. Hoping they were at peace. She heard the porch door open behind her, and she knew it was Miles. He sat down next to her, but she did not have the courage to look at him right now.
Miles had seen how Charlie left the room, and he had given her some space. He knew this girl, she was so much like him, she needed her space every now and then. He would give it to her, but he would also be around.
He watched the tears on her cheeks and worry filled his eyes. He had not seen her cry in a very long time now. He always felt so damn helpless when he saw her hurt. He had no idea what he could possibly say. So he sat down next to her, and threw an arm around her shoulders.
'Kid, are you okay?'
Charlie buried her head in the hollow of his neck. She nodded slowly.
' Just...memories.' her voice was soft while a sob escaped from her throat and more tears followed when her father and brother felt they were still so close.
Miles heard the sound and felt the sob going through her body and it almost broke him. He pulled her closer and held on to his niece, his girl.
'I know Kid, I know.' He pressed a kiss in her hair, and Charlie closed her eyes at the soft and comforting gesture from her uncle. Both of them sat in silence for a while. Charlie could not see it, but Miles' eyes had filled with silent tears for her, for the world that was not there anymore, for the brother he had lost and the nephew he had not been able to keep safe in a world he helped to create after the black out.
And most of all, for the fact that Charlie had given him a chance. Again.
After they had returned from the war, he and Charlie had found a way to start talk to each other, really talk. It was in those hours he felt he had to finally share some of his darkest secrets , the demons he had pushed back for so long that reached the surface now.
He had told her about his role in forming the Republic, about his role in wanting Ben for his knowledge about the black out. He had told her about his most dark decisions he had taken alongside Bass.
He had told her the truth about his affair with Rachel. Rachel had argued against it, but Miles felt that Charlie deserved more, she deserved the truth. He had watched how a devastated Charlie had left her place by the fire, where they had been sitting when he finally told her. She had not talked to him, or Rachel, for days when she had found out. He understood, he had been a coward, and what he and Rachel did to Ben was unforgivable.
It had been hard, seeing the look in her eyes when she had looked to him, to Rachel and back to him again when she finally understood what had been going on for so long.
But in the end, she stayed around although he still did not know where she found that strength to stay, to start to forgive him, knowing what he, and Bass had done. Things had been hard, but she was still here. But that was Charlie.
With the tears that left her body, a sense of calm and peace arrived. Miles could feel how tension left her body and face.
The images of before stayed strong and the lightness of them was finally able to push back the dark that Charlie had carried remembering her father and Danny for such a long time. So she cried, cried for what was and cried for a sense of peace she did know she would experience ever again. She cried for seeing them once more time.
She cried, while Miles' warm body was close to hers, and he gently stroked her hair. She cried for finally feeling something else than darkness and grey endless despair.
Bass had just walked into the kitchen to see if there was any food left and to check on Miles and Charlie. He saw his brother sitting close to Charlie through the window, one of his arms arm around her. He knew things between her and Miles had been hard the past few months.
One part of him had been relieved that Miles finally stepped up, and Charlie had started to realise he was not only responsible for the fucking mess they had created. That finally Rachel, the one who had been bitching nonstop of doing the right thing literally the minute he had arrived with Charlie in Willoughby, had to admit some of her mistakes to Charlie. Bass knew, god it would haunt him towards the end of his days, how many huge damn mistakes he had made, but he was not the only one. He knew Miles, he knew Rachel. He was not the only one who had fucked up. Big time.
But the bigger part in him had watched her struggle with this new part of the truth, with his heart breaking for her. She had been through enough. From the beginning he had not been able to see her hurt or in any kind of pain.
He of course had know about the affair between Rachel and Miles. When he had heard the raised voices from Charlie and Rachel coming from the other side of camp that one day, he had quickly realised what the argument was about and that Miles had finally told Charlie too. The hurt on her face had tore him apart and it had taken him anything to not follow her into the woods, where she had stormed off into, not even noticing she had passed him on her way over there.
But now, Charlie's cheek rested against Miles' shoulder, while Miles chin was resting on her head. He saw her body shaking and Bass had to look away from a moment when he realised she was crying. He knew Miles well enough to see his tears too.
There they were. A small faint smile appeared around his lips, when a pale wave of tears blurred his vision too, at the sight of his brother who was there for Charlie. That one special woman who had managed to get under Miles' skin, before she had gotten under his. That one woman who did not even realise how strong in so many ways she truly was.
Two people that never seemed to give up on him.
Two people, he would give his life for, even though he had never told them.
He just hoped they knew.
In this chapter, you could find more about difficult moments between Miles and Charlie. I really think that could be a possibility: she has been focussed so much on Monroe, Bass, that the other side of the story, Miles' and even Rachel's part in all of it, was still out there too for her to truly see. Charlie loves Miles, she cares so much about him, but I really feel when she truly found out about his role, when there was finally time to talk about these things, it would be hard for them. They will be fine, but in my story, those hard conversations happened right after the war. I wanted to discuss them here, to help Charlie understand more of what happened and understand more of Bass too.
You are all so kind, thank you so much for reading and sending me those sweet and heart warming reviews. They are so inspiring and your kind words are there when I start another chapter, when I write again. Thank you so so so much! This was part two and...well, part three will be there. (( I told you I was bad at writing one shots.) it will be the last part of this story and then...it will be Christmas soon. Thanks for reading and...until the next chapter! Love from Love