My exams have just ended and I'm on holiday now, so it goes without saying I'm wasting all my time writing fanfiction; I've already finished a few chapters ahead for this story so I'm quite happy with myself!
I also have another story which I haven't posted, which was written before this one that is the same pairing. It's a completely different storyline and the characters are different personality wise, but I was a little worried that I might get told off for some minor similarities between the two fics. Any thoughts on me posting the second one? I'm nervous about it.
My mother had jumped at the chance to meet my boyfriend again, organising a family dinner within a week. He insisted that it was fine, but Carlisle was obviously nervous; fussing over clothing almost as much as I did. I let him do it, knowing that there was nothing I could do to calm him until we got there and he saw it was alright. As he brushed his teeth for what seemed like the millionth time that hour, I repressed a sigh. This was going to be a long night.
Carlisle had done nothing but be polite since we'd arrived, but my father was glaring daggers at him. Every time he glanced up, they made eye contact and he'd quickly look back at his plate again. "I have to go to the bathroom," he whispered to me after a while, excusing himself and standing up after I gave him directions. I knew he just wanted to be out from under my father's gaze for a few minutes, but I felt bad for him. Dad smirked, and I swallowed a bubble of rage.
"Leave him alone," I grumbled.
"I told you I didn't approve." He matched my tone.
"It doesn't matter whether you 'approve' or not; I'm not a damn child."
The was a few moments of intense silence, and I shoved a forkful of food in my mouth to keep myself quiet. It wasn't too long before he spoke again, though. "It does matter if I have to introduce some brat who's just taking advantage of this family as my bloody son in law, Garrett," he growled. "You do not need a needy little leech attached to you for the rest of your life."
"I love him. And don't you dare talk about him that way," I snapped harshly, praying to every god I could think of that the boy in question wasn't in ear shot.
Carmen and Eleazar looked awkward, and my mother was quiet. Thank god Kate was with a babysitter, at least.
"…I'm not trying to take anything from you family, Sir, but I love your son," Carlisle interjected quietly from the doorway, sounding like a little kid in trouble. Fuck.
"Shut your filthy mouth, boy. Get out of my house." He waved his hand dismissively, rolling his eyes.
"Leave him alone." My temper flared; he'd more than crossed a line.
"Calm down, Garrett. It's no loss on your behalf; he's not good enough for you. He doesn't deserve you."
"He is the best thing that's ever happened to me," I argued hotly. I couldn't figure out where his hatred was coming from; I'd always gotten along well with my father, so I couldn't understand why he was so upset with the thought of the sweetest boy I'd ever met being with me.
Carlisle was frozen in the doorway, unsure whether he was supposed to sit at the table again now he was seemingly banished. My father shook his head at him, and he took a step back.
"Come and finish your meal, love," my mother murmured to him, forcing a smile. The atmosphere was so thick with tension I could taste it.
I placed my hand on Carlisle's leg as he sat next to me again, tracing circles against his jeans with my thumb.
He was doing a good job at pretending by father's words hadn't been a brutal slap in the face. "I can go, it's alright," he told me quietly, risking a nervous glance at my father.
"This is a family dinner. You shouldn't have been here in the first place," dad scolded him.
"He is family," I protested straight away. "There isn't anything you can do about it, so learn to be nice." I'd never spoken to my father this way before, and it was strange for both of us. I felt utterly ill on Carlisle's behalf.
"He is not. I will not have him under this family's name. Ever."
"Then I'll take his last name," I countered, pretty much seeing red. "For god's sake, I'm not asking your damn permission to marry him; we've only been together a few months. I just want you to acknowledge him as my partner and be nice." We glared at each other, the silence last a few minutes before Eleazar cleared his throat.
"The food is great, mum," he told her, forcing a smile. His attempt to move the conversation on was fairly successful, and small talk resumed around the table once again.
Carlisle didn't eat anymore, keeping his head down and pushing what was left on his plate around with his fork. I didn't blame him for feeling a little sick, and I had half a mind just to leave and get him out of here. But that would mean my father had won.
We didn't stay for desert, and Carmen and Eleazar were polite as they said goodbye. Mum followed us to the door, and Carlisle mumbled a thankyou as I kissed her goodbye.
"Thank you for coming, love," she murmured, briefly hugging him. "Don't you worry about him, alright? He'll come around eventually."
He nodded, withdrawn and more than shy now. I ran my hand down his back, thanking my mother again as I led him outside.
"I can't believe he acted like that," I grumbled as we drove home, my blood still boiling. I was holding his hand, but it wasn't until he used his free one to loosen my grip on his fingers a little that I realised how tightly I was squeezing him. I immediately relaxed it, guilty and repressing a sigh. "Am I taking you home?" I asked instead, frustrated and gritting my teeth. The words came out harsher than I meant them.
"…yeah…I guess so…" he mumbled, still not looking at me and fidgeting uncomfortably.
"I didn't mean it like that, Carlisle. You know I love having you stay with me," I reminded him, hearing what I assumed to be hurt in his voice as he took my question the wrong way.
"I know…just…I want to go home…please…" Any conversation I tried to start after that, he quickly shut down, letting go of my hand and stopping all interaction between us. "I would do it, you know…" he murmured after a long silence.
"Do what?" I asked, confused.
"Take your surname name, if you wanted that. If we get to that point."
Not knowing if he was teasing or not, I laughed and glanced over at him. "I don't expect you to do that."
He shrugged. "Mine's not worth the paper it's written on."
I barely resisted engaging the child-locks in his door when we pulled up outside of his apartment block and he tried to leave after only mumbling a goodbye. Assuming he wouldn't react well to being trapped, I chose a gentler option and walked him to the door instead.
He turned to face me as he unlocked the front door. "Do you want to come in, or…?"
"Do you want me to?" I asked him, running my fingers through his hair to get it off his face.
He looked down immediately and I already knew the answer. "…I just want to go to bed, Garrett…"
"That's okay," I assured him, using my thumb to tilt his chin up again so I could kiss him.
Appearing a few meters behind Carlisle, Alistair slowly and deliberately shook his head at me in a 'what the fuck did you do?' gesture.
"Don't, Allie," Carlisle told him quietly. "I love you," he mumbled as I hugged him, kissing his forehead as we said goodbye. After promising to talk again tomorrow, he closed the door and I wandered back down to my car.
I was terrified that my father had fucked things up with him for good. I hated the idea of Carlisle being upset in general, even more so if it was because of me. After a few days of no contact and him ignoring my texts, I gave up, resorting to calling his asshole flatmate. I didn't have his number saved in my phone, but I knew he'd text me once or twice so I scrolled back through the records of unknown numbers, eventually finding one I assumed to be his.
"What'd you do?" he snapped upon answering, forever in a bad mood with me.
"Can you get Carlisle to answer his phone, please?" I snapped back.
"Not if you're taking that kind of attitude with him."
"For fucks sake- please, Alistair?"
"What if he doesn't want to talk to you?" He was enjoying himself way too much, and I wanted to bang my head against a wall.
"Forget it," I grumbled.
The day seemed to drag on and on as I waited for lunch time to come around. Eventually it did, and I picked up a coffee, hoping the hot beverage might warm my MIA boyfriend up a little. For old time's sake, I grabbed a paper as I entered the bookshop, setting both it and the cup on the counter in front of him. "Carlisle, we need to talk."
"Can it be after work? Because I really can't handle that right now, and I still have to be here six more hours," he pleaded softly.
I grabbed his hand, shaking my head. "Are you alright? I know what my dad said was horrible, but it doesn't change how I feel about you. I love you."
"I love you too, but…I can't tear your family apart, Garrett. I've done it to mine, but I'd never do that to yours." He wasn't looking at me as he spoke, overly focused on the paper work in front of him.
I leant across the counter to kiss him. "He'll get over it. And until then, I'll keep him well away from you."
He laughed, but I got the sense it would only to relieve a bit of anxiety. "I don't want to hurt your family."
Pushing aside any work place rules, I walked around the counter to get to him, pulling him into a tight hug. "You won't. You're not." I kissed him gently, a weight lifting off my shoulders as he kissed back. "Come over tonight? I miss you."
He nodded, wrapping his arms around my neck.