AU: Charlie comes home early from base to go house hunting to find Bree in the backyard... some home truths are shared while they look for the perfect place to call home.
POTENTIAL TRIGGERS: Interracial relationship, discussion about sex.
Chapter 8: Bad Habits
Friday, 18th June 2004 – Colorado Springs & Manitou Springs – Charles Kawalsky
Pulling into the driveway, I smiled when I saw Bree's bright blue Taurus. It was an awfully ugly car with patches of paint missing, a bunch of old faded bumper stickers and a bent wire coat hanger fashioned as a replacement antenna, but it was hers and for that reason alone, I loved that car. Seeing it meant I would soon see her and that filled my heart with more joy that I knew what to do with. Slowly, I got out of Jack's truck and walked over expecting to see her napping with the driver's seat back, but she wasn't there. She didn't have keys to the house, so I figured that maybe she had gone for a walk, and she'd be back soon.
Taking the steps up and unlocking the door, I picked up the mail from the floor as I walked in.
"Electricity bill, water bill, ooh pizza, house appraisal…" I muttered as I went through the stack, then clipped the pizza vouchers to one of the fridge magnets, screwed the 'free appraisal' advert into a ball and pitched it at the bin, then picked it up and placed it in said bin because I never was good at ball sports. Wandering up to the study, I dropped the two unopened bills into Samantha's top tray and turned to leave. A slight movement had me looking up and I saw her, half reclined on the Adirondack chair tapping away on her work laptop. A warm and mischievous smile crossed my face when I remembered the last time she… well we… had been on that chair. It had been a little over a month ago and our first time after a much-needed week of healing with a little antibiotic help. She told everyone it was a cut on her finger, but in truth, the sheer amount of sex we enjoyed required Bree to have a little reprieve. Though we worked out other ways to have fun, a week of no sex and it didn't take much for us to ravish each other.
Walking back down the hallway, I left via the front door because the wooden deck often creaked when it was stood on and I wanted to surprise her. Crossing the front yard, I walked to the left past the ladder to the rooftop observatory and around the side coming into the backyard on the opposite end to the wooden deck. The chair was facing slightly towards the deck which gave me the added advantage of her back facing me. Calling on my former black ops training, I crept closer being careful not to stand on anything that would create a noise. Despite Gracie's absence, the backyard still contained the occasional 'bomb' in the form of discarded toys that I had to be aware of. Taking my final step, my plan was to kiss her neck.
"Hey babe!" She said before I even started my decent…
"Holy!" I almost squealed… almost, in a very manly fashion. She looked up, lifted her glasses and smiled. "How on Earth did you know…" I gestured wildly behind me. She looked around at the direction I had come, her smile broadened, then she grabbed my shirt and pulled me in for a kiss.
"What were you saying?" She asked as her lips left mine, though they were still close enough that I could practically feel her talking.
"What was what?" I sought clarification because my mind had gone completely blank beyond anything other than it was Friday, she was at my house, and we were alone.
"How on Earth… something something…" She repeated then kissed me again, her hand still firmly closed around my shirt.
"Mmm…" I hummed. "Dunno." I replied, then relieved her of the laptop, gently frisbee'd it to the next chair – thankful for the padded cushions – and straddled her on the chair so we could enjoy the seclusion a little more.
"I think we have this wrong." She murmured, once our lips separated, the flat of her palms running up and down the tops of my thighs.
"True, but if we swap, then there won't be any house hunting today." I gave voice to the truth that we both knew mainly because last night I ended up staying on base since Bree said she needed to spend some time with her sister this week.
"Then you better get up because if I get you up… well…" She teased.
"Oh, you are so mean." I replied and leaned in to kiss her again. "You are so mine later." She giggled and rubbed her nose on mine. It was strange how I went from feeling every one of my 47 years to being as light as a feather, feeling 20 years younger the moment I was with her. Samantha often said we were like high school kids, well as far as I was concerned, this was payback for having to watch her and Jack do the same thing on both sides of the mirror.
"C'mon." I urged as I stood up and pulled her to her feet.
"Whoa!" She said and gripped on harder to stop herself from falling.
"Bree. Are you OK?" I asked with concern because she had never been lightheaded before. She blinked a few times and shook her head.
"Yeah. I guess it's leftover from my headache. It finally went away two hours ago. This one was not fun." She stated with a grimace. I wish I could have said that I understood but having never had a migraine before, I truly didn't know anything about them. My oldest twin sisters suffered horribly with them every month until they were in their early 50's when they just stopped getting them.
"How long was this one?" I asked as I rubbed her shoulders.
"Two and a half days' of head splitting fun." She complained while I massaged her shoulder and neck muscles through her shirt.
"A reason to look forward to your cycle then, hey? Aside from the obvious." I joked earning myself a small chuckle and groan of appreciation when I hit a particularly knotted muscle. "Five days of reprieve." I added earning myself a lazy smile.
"Yeah, you sex fiend." She taunted back with flashing eyes of hazelly goodness that shone against her beautiful olive skin. I couldn't help but laugh as I wrapped my arm across her shoulders and guided her out to the truck. We were a solid 50/50 when it came to initiating sex.
"So, how is dear ole Winnie?" I asked because there had to be a reason why she chose to sit out the back of Samantha and Jack's place rather than sleep the morning away in her darkened bedroom at home. She snorted a laugh.
"She'd hate you even more if she heard you call her that."
"I'll survive." I replied, and I would. As a late addition and the only boy with four older sisters, I had to learn how to deal with the eccentricities of the female sex or die young.
"We had an argument." She confessed. That wasn't new, they were always arguing about something, it's just that lately it seemed to be happening more often. Not that I said anything because I figured with Winona being well into her second trimester, emotions were running high.
"You OK?" I asked knowing she would tell me what it was about in her own time. Most of the arguments were petty. Winona's idea of motherhood was a little different to most people's idea. Certainly different to mine anyway.
"Yeah, I guess." She sighed heavily as we reached the truck. Turning her in my arms, I traced a finger down her face and lifted her chin.
"You know you can tell me anything. I won't judge." I said to her, and I meant it even if the idea seemed a little strange. She closed her eyes and breathed out heavily.
"I guess she didn't like me telling her that I don't want what she wants. I never really did. I kinda want it for myself." She confessed. Now, I'd be lying if I said that my heart didn't do a backflip – just a little. She opened her eyes, they were full of sadness, but also a decision. "Chris. James. Paul." She squinted her eyes and half her face as if she were trying to stop the tears. "Owen. Zac." She recited the names. "Five guys in three years have cut and run because she lied to them about me despite pushing me to date them in the first place. She threatened to do the same thing with you this morning." Her lip quivered, and I noted that she didn't elaborate on what it was that she wanted for herself.
"Hey." I pulled her into my body. "I'm not going anywhere." I promised, almost spilling out the fated 'I love you' but biting it back before it got me into trouble. "It'll take more than jealous sister to run me out of your life."
"You really think that's it?" She asked with a question in her eyes.
"What, jealous?"
"Yeah. Why would she be…" She truly didn't know or rather didn't see just how amazing she was.
"Remind me, who has a PHD in Molecular Biology, you or your sister?" She half smiled and tried to hide her face, but I didn't let her. "You are beautiful and amazing and so ridiculously smart." It was funny actually. Like Samantha and Jack, Bree was this scientific powerhouse and me, well, all I could do was shoot people.
She looked at me with something akin to awe. "Aren't you even a little unsettled by that? My brother and father, while proud, get all weird about 'my brains'." She replied looking a touch uncomfortable about the topic.
I shrugged, "I work with theoretical astrophysicists, geologists and archaeologists. Those guys get all nuts over space dust and rocks." She laughed and hid her face, so I ran both hands up and down her arms. Most other women would demand that I tell them what business the US Air Force had with those kinds of scientists, but Bree didn't. She accepted that what I did was unusual and highly classified. It still bowled me over how accepting she was that she would never know about that part of my life.
"Ethan would get a kick out of that." She chuckled, "He's already giving me hell about dating a chair force guy." She commented as I opened the truck door for her.
"Yeah, why are you doing that again?" I replied, then leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips. The smile I received back was equal parts shy, mischievous and beautiful. When she smiled like that, it was with her whole face and loved it. Drawing back, I closed her door and made my way around the other side, opened my door and slid inside.
We spent the next 10 minutes driving to Manitou Springs talking about our respective families, where we grew up, aspirations for our careers and where we saw ourselves professionally in five years. Though still through that conversation, we managed to avoid any confirmation of whether we saw the relationship between us evolving beyond what it was right now. I discovered that she spent her younger years growing up on a Navajo Reservation in northern Arizona while her father was posted overseas. Bree was surprised that I had four older sisters – three of them living abroad and one still in New York – and laughed heartily when I explained the origins of my four first names. She particularly laughed over the last one, making a reference to Mr Burns. Jack would love her, and Samantha would rue the day they met.
It's not like we hadn't talked about these kinds of things before. We had, just not in as much detail. I had known she was of the Navajo Nation through her mother, and from Arizona, just as she had known I was a New Yorker with a large family. I guessed that the tentative decision to look for a house together paved the way for us to open up a little more. I had never really been in the habit of forming serious bonds with people especially prior to the SGC when I was on back-to-back black ops missions. I had been a regular cad with women, never letting things get too involved, which was probably why I crashed so badly after Samantha. I had returned to my rakish ways after her for a time, but it had not been as fulfilling. Things were different now. I was different and I had more reason than ever before to share things with Bree that I had never shared before.
"So, Brittany is a very umm… British name." I suggested hoping not to cause any offence.
"Yeah. Dad chose my first name. My second name – Aiyana – is all my mother. It means 'forever flowering' because I was born in Springtime. Winona means first born daughter." She explained as she ran her hand through her long hair.
"And Ethan." I prompted.
"Ethan is the youngest of us. He was born prematurely; he was so small and fought so hard. My mother was very sick, so Dad gave him a name that meant strength. His middle name is Ashkii meaning boy. His two names together mean strong boy." She confirmed. "Diné believe names are sacred and should reflect the spirit of the person they are bestowed upon. Winnie doesn't have a middle name." She added using the awful nickname I had given her sister. I smiled since that had been the first time she used Diné to name her people in our conversations which I figured meant she was growing more comfortable with the idea of us being more.
"Thought you said she'd hate me for that."
"Oh, she so would, but after her crap this morning, I can't say that I really care anymore. Of course, my mother would not be impressed and my shimasani would… well, I'm not sure what she would do, but it wouldn't be good." She replied with a heavy sigh that spoke yards about her grandmothers character.
"When was the last time you were home?" I asked as we pulled up on the road alongside our first stop for the afternoon.
"I visited Yuma in early January for Ethan's birthday. He came in from Miramar for a week. Dad is posted at the Marine base near Yuma." As much as I wanted to meet her family, I was a little apprehensive because of our age difference. "Our whole family normally descends upon the Reservation every October for the New Year." Bree added as she opened her door and got out, encouraging me to do the same. She hadn't asked if I would like to join her, and I didn't want to press the issue while things were so new.
"Mr. Kawalsky?" An older woman in a smart business suit and triangle of fuzzy white hair with a shock of pink on her fringe greeted. I immediately thought of Patty and Selma and hoped that my amused expression was not as glaringly obvious as it felt.
"Please, call me Charlie." I offered and shook her outstretched hand. She smiled and let her eyes wander in a way that I didn't particularly enjoy. Right up until Bree appeared and claimed ownership in the most unexpected way.
"Hey, baby." She said, wrapping herself around me. "Is this the one with the mirror on the ceiling?" She crooned then placed an open mouth kiss on my throat before looking at the agent. She was such a minx, and I couldn't help but love her show of dominance. The agents face dropped slightly before she smiled and gestured for us to follow her up the path to the small studio style apartment. I looked at Bree with a raised eyebrow, she pursed her lips in a small smile and shrugged then followed the agent.
"There are two floors. The main bedroom is up the top, combination kitchen and dining downstairs. The real feature of this place is that the bathroom doubles as your own laundry. No need to go to the laundromat, though there is one not far from here." She stated as she unlocked the door, walked in and held it open. We both walked through the narrow door and noted that from where we were, we could see the majority of the lower floor. There was a ladder going to the second floor which judging by the size of the outside, was nothing more than a converted attic.
"Snug." I whispered to Bree as we walked around looking at everything. "We'll need some rugs on these floors in winter."
"Blinds as well. The block out kind." She added when noting that the windows had nothing to stop the cold from coming through the glass.
We spent the better part of twenty minutes scrutinising everything. On the whole, it was a great place, newly renovated throughout with rustic charm and affordable. The upstairs loft was carpeted with skylight on one side. Since I arrived on this side of the mirror with nothing, the low level of storage was not an issue. Bree didn't have a lot of things either assuming she even wanted to move in with me.
"What do you think?" The agent asked. I looked at Bree and she smiled but still shrugged indifferently. "We have two others not far from here." She suggested. With my eyes still on Bree, she nodded and smiled. OK. So, we would look at these others and then talk because something was clearly on her mind.
"Can we see them?" I asked. The agent nodded, then gave me leaflets for the other two before herding us out so she could lock up.
"Are you OK?" I asked as we pulled away from the kerb, keeping pace with the agent's convertible.
"Yeah. Suddenly tired." I looked at her because I knew it was more than that. "Nervous." She rubbed her hands on her thighs.
"If this is too fast, I understand." I rushed to fill the silence before it became a void. As much as I wanted to wake up with Bree every day, I didn't want her to feel pressured into doing this. "We can…"
"No! I do. I really do, but…" She grasped onto the thread I left dangling then hesitated once again. "I'm really untidy. I drop my towel on the floor, and I don't wash coffee cups. My bathroom cabinet is full of stuff I don't really need, and folding clothes is just… not my thing." She rushed out while twisting her hands in her lap. With a huge grin, I broke out laughing.
"I have my own bad habits. I meticulously fold my clothes, iron jeans and towels, and my bed is made with crisp hospital corners every day." I confessed.
"That doesn't sound bad at all Charlie." She replied mockingly. "Weird, but not bad."
"Ah. Well, you see. I have this innate hatred of cleaning bathrooms, so all your stuff will hide the mess, I leave the toilet seat up and often forget to change the roll. Oh, and I'll buy something, put it in the pantry, forget about it and find it three years later after its expired." I replied with just a few of my bad habits. She smiled sheepishly, so I reached my hand out to squeeze hers. "You never know, maybe we'll complement each other."
"In that case, Mr Kawalsky, challenge accepted." She replied with a smile and threaded her fingers with mine, then looked out the window just as we arrived at the next place. This one did have a mirror on the ceiling, which made Bree laugh herself to tears before she said no because the room was barely big enough for a double bed and she would be bringing her queen size with her, add to that the linoleum floors throughout rather than hardwood which we both preferred.
After that we saw two more which were deemed unsuitable for a variety of reasons, leaving the agent with a promise to think about the renovated studio apartment and get back to her first thing in the morning. On our way back to Samantha's we stopped to pick up some groceries since it was my turn to cook tonight. Bree had decided to stay for dinner but would need to go home to clear the air with Winona and tell her she was moving out. My offer to be by her side, while appreciated, was declined because Bree was expecting an argument of monumental proportions and despite their differences, Bree still loved her sister and did not want to cause her added stress. That was just one more reason why I loved this woman.
A/N: Please note that I have used Google for the Navajo language. Diné (pronounced Di-nay) is the word used by people of the Navajo Nation to describe themselves. It translates to "The People". If any of this information is incorrect, please let me know. I appreciate all feedback and will make corrections if I have made an error.
