Chapter 65: You Love Me. Flaws and All.

Angela took a deep breath as she remembered how happy she was once things calmed down after Sam and Hank's wedding. Tony had really been doing his best to make up for ignoring her and taking her for granted (again!). Before long, the whole family seemed to settle into their "new" routine as winter turned into spring. That made it all the more puzzling as to why, as their wedding date approached, Tony seemed to become more and more irritable.

"Dad," Sam said, interrupting Angela's train of thought. "What happened in those few months leading up to what was going to be your wedding day? I mean before Iowa. I remember how short-tempered you seemed to get with everyone but especially with Angela."

Tony sighed and reached for Angela's hand before saying, "I know. I was a jackass. As I told Angela a long time ago, I think everything just kind of hit me at once; you getting married, me about to graduate without having found a job, remodeling Angela's bedroom and, of course, the wedding. It just all started to get to be too much, and I didn't handle it the right way."

Angela squeezed Tony's hand as her thoughts took her back to that strained period of time in their relationship…

The bickering between them had escalated to the point that, at her mother's insistence, she had joined her and Sam for a spa weekend getaway. When she looked back at now, she was glad she had met and spent time with Tom. In the end, he made her realize how much she loved Tony; flaws and all. Which was good considering what happened just a few weeks later when they decided to remodel her bedroom.

Angela should have realized, just like with the wedding planning and anything else that Tony became singularly focused on, that he would end up driving everyone around him crazy. However, the idea of creating a cozy and romantic bedroom that fit the two of them as a couple was enticing to her, so she agreed to the remodel. And, at first, everything seemed to be going well, even if she thought Tony's insistence that she share a bed with her mother during the construction, instead of with him, was ridiculous at this point in their relationship. Even though Tony spent most nights sleeping with her in her bed, they were still trying to be discreet around the rest of their family; mostly just to have some shred of privacy in their relationship, especially since they once again had a full house. She still remembered what he said when she'd called him out on it.

"Tony, this is silly. We're going to be married in two months and have been sharing my bed for most of the last year. What's wrong with us sharing yours while our bedroom is under construction?"

"I know, I know," Tony said with a sigh. "I've just enjoyed the fact that the rest of the family has never known for sure about that part of our relationship, so they've left it alone. As soon as they know we're sleeping together in my bed…," Tony said, his voice trailing off.

"Tony, you're being too sensitive," Angela responded, echoing back to what she had said to him when he had wanted to keep their entire romantic relationship private all those months ago. But as soon as she said it and remembered how naïve she'd been in thinking that the family would respect their privacy, she realized that Tony had a point. "Ok, ok. I guess, since the remodel is only going to take about a week, I can survive that long with Mother."

And then things went completely haywire, with Tony ending up as the construction foreman after he'd driven away Joe's crew and eventually even Joe himself. Looking back now, Angela knew how overwhelmed Tony was with everything, as he had just admitted to Sam, but back then, she hadn't realized that. All she knew was that her sweet, sensitive, romantic Tony had turned into a short-tempered and shell version of himself. She still winced when she thought about what he was measuring when he trained his electronic measuring device on her chest. Of course, he apologized much later when he finally came clean about all the stress he was feeling at the time.

"You were really a bit of a nightmare to live with back then, Tony," Jonathan said with a roll of his eyes.

"I know. I know," Tony said sheepishly. "I apologized to Angela a long time ago, but I owe you all an apology too."

"At least we made ample use of the bedroom of our dreams over the years," Angela whispered into Tony's ear as she thought back to the two of them sitting on the floor with it half-finished after she'd "fired" Tony as the contractor.

As they daydreamed about what it would eventually look like, they both envisioned romantic jazz music playing as the flames from the fireplace danced around the room. Tony had then leaned over and whispered in her ear, "I can't wait to carry you across the threshold and into this room, lay you back on the bed, slowly undress you piece by piece and then…" before he took her mouth in a searing kiss. That kiss quickly turned into much more as Tony grabbed a clean blanket from the laundry basket he had been holding when he had walked by the room and noticed Angela sitting on the floor, and spread it out over the carpet.

Quickly he leaned her back against the blanket and let his mouth trail kisses down her neck to her chest where, as he had just promised her, he painstakingly undid the buttons on the front of her orange blouse one by one before sliding it off her shoulders. Angela, in turn, made quick work of Tony's black t-shirt pulling It over his head before letting her hands roam all over his chest.

When his lips reached the lacy top of her pink bra, Tony quickly undid the front clasp and slid it off her before letting his mouth pay homage to each of her breasts. Angela's hands slid down to the button on Tony's jeans which she quickly undid, followed by the zipper, as he kicked off his shoes and socks. Angela smiled as she helped him pull down his jeans, taking his boxer briefs with them, and saw that he was already in such a state of arousal. His hands moved to the button at the top of her orange slacks, and before she knew it, he echoed her movements and slid them and her panties down until she was able to wriggle out of them.

"I've missed this," Angela said in between kisses and caresses. "And I can't wait until we can do this whenever we want in our new cozy bedroom," she continued as Tony brought his lips to hers.

"I just want to be with you, and I'm sorry that I've been so impossible these past few weeks; hell, these past few months. Madonna-mi, I almost feel like someone else took over my body and personality," Tony said as he caressed her cheek.

"But," he continued with dark eyes as his gaze wandered over Angela's naked body appreciatively, "I'm back in control now, and I can't wait to be together in here forever."

With no more words needed, they came together, more excited than ever about their future.

"I am glad that the invasion of the body snatchers that seemed to take over your entire being that spring somehow disappeared before your graduation, Dad," Sam said. "I mean, I'm not sure what would have happened with everything that came next if you had still been acting like such an ass."

Tony smiled ruefully as he thought about how he had risked everything and almost lost it all with the move to Iowa…