Title: At Long Last - A Wedding Bells Alternate
Category: Who's the Boss
Summary: What happens when you mix too much wine and a secret love?
Rating:NC-17, NSFW, M
Spoilers: Wedding Bells
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.
This story contains content for mature audiences only - please be warned. If people want, I can try to mark the sections so you can skip those parts if you prefer not to read them but still want the rest of the story. If enough people ask I can try!
This story is complete (I think) but it has multiple chapters. I'll upload them as fast as I can. I kept them to 1200-1500 words for the most part because I think that's manageable to read without having to binge the whole thing!
I wrote most of these a long time ago. I apologize for any mistakes, but I will try to edit as I go!
I'm moving my Who's the Boss fics from various other sites to here. Feedback welcome - good or bad - and appreciated :) Enjoy.
6.
The best thing about their unconventional employer/employee relationship is that most of their neighbours treat them as if they are a couple anyway, and it's how they've been invited to a post-wedding party for Paul and Isabelle thrown by Wendy and Herb Whitner.
"Come on, Angela!" Tony shouts upstairs. "It's already six thirty!"
"I'm coming!" she shouts back.
Tony checks himself out in the mirror while waiting. He never knew he'd fit in so well with this suburban crowd. Sure, there are some who aren't so fond of him, but for the most part all of the neighbours like him and treat him as an equal. He's not even afraid of being himself around them.
"Do you have the wine?" Angela asks, coming down the stairs. She looks pretty in pink and they kind of match with Tony wearing a red dress shirt.
"Got two bottles right here, one for you, and one for me. Or, rather, one for us, and one for Wendy," he laughs. The last party Tony and Angela threw, Wendy polished off a bottle of wine in the first hour and started a barefoot conga line.
"Let's go," she says, taking one last look in the mirror. The Whitners don't live far and it's a nice night, so they walk.
"You look nice," he says, cautiously. She does look very pretty, but he's not sure how bold he can be within this new thing they're trying. Can he say she looks beautiful, that the pink of her sweater sets off the pink of her cheeks in a very appealing way? Or would that be too forward? They haven't been exploring their relationship very quickly. In fact, he's not sure if she's exploring at all.
"Thanks, so do you. I hope they aren't expecting a gift… do you give a gift at a post-wedding party?"
"Are you kidding? First of all, they got married like two months ago. It's old news now. You threw her a bridal shower, you gave her a gift then, and we each gave them a gift for the wedding. What more do they want! It's not even their first wedding, it's their second! They already have everything they need!"
xx
Wendy always throws a wild party. Herb is soft spoken and quiet but indulges his over the top wife. They have honeymoon themed snacks and most are relatively tame - Caribbean themed drinks, cookies in the shape of bathing suits and swim trunks, heart shaped finger sandwiches. Tony nearly busts a gut when he finds the penis shaped marshmallows covered in chocolate. He grabs Angela and pulls her over to the bowl full of them.
"Hey, they've got your favourite, chocolate covered marshmallows." He picks one up to show her and when she recognizes the shape her eyes go wide.
"Oh my god, Tony!" she whispers fiercely, her cheeks turning red. Tony cracks up again.
"Go on, take a bite," he says, laughing. She hits his shoulder, and he laughs harder.
"Wendy, Angela *loves* the dessert," Tony calls to her, holding up a chocolate. Angela covers her face in embarrassment.
"Oh, Angela, I'll tell you where you can order them. They don't openly advertise them, of course, but they make them by hand right here in Fairfield!"
"Hear that, Angela? We can get you a whole box!" Tony laughs. She glares at him. He loves teasing her. It's another way that he flirts with her - and she can give as good as she gets.
After a few glasses of the honeymoon cocktails, Angela loosens up a little. She sits on the floor next to Tony while they all play a few games. Tony and Angela partner up and are on a winning streak.
Angela's shoes are off and in her stocking feet she's in front of the crowd for the next game, and she picks a slip of paper from the basket in front of her. They are playing charades and they've paired with another couple to form a team. So far, no one has a point.
Angela starts off and the team shouts out the answers.
"Five words… it's a movie…."
Angela thinks for a moment then folds her hands and places them against her cheek and closes her eyes, pretending to be asleep.
"The Big Sleep!"
"Sleeping Beauty!"
"No, no, no," Tony says, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers."
"That's it!" Angela says, cheering. Tony gives her a high five as she comes back to sit down.
"What?" Wendy says. "What does that have to do with Seven Brides for Seven Brothers?"
"Angela always falls asleep during that movie. Seriously, she's never made it to the end."
"I think that's cheating," Isabelle says.
"No! No, it's not!" Angela says. "I didn't say a word."
"This is why husbands and wives shouldn't be on the same team," someone complains. Angela takes another sip of her wine while Tony ignores it and gets up for his turn.
They have a lot of fun, and Angela even eats several of the chocolate covered penis marshmallows - Tony knew she wouldn't resist - and by the time they all are ready to go home, everyone is sufficiently buzzed and feeling good.
"Thanks for having us, Wendy," Angela says.
"Anytime."
"Everyone safe to get home?" Herb asks. He's the only sober one of the bunch.
He receives a chorus of "yeses," as everyone disperses to find their way home.
xx
"I wonder if you can get those chocolate covered marshmallows in different shapes," Angela says as they slowly meander down the street to their house.
"What? You don't want a bowl of those in the kitchen? Mona will love it!"
"Maybe if it was in the shape of a teddy bear or something…."
"I'll get you some, okay? In fact, I'll make you some."
"Thank you, Tony," she smiles. Tony loves making her smile.
"That was a fun night. And how great a team are we? We swept every game!"
"Yeah, we do make a good team. And we would have done even better but I know Wendy cheats. Herb's face gives it away."
"Yeah, he goes beet red, all the way up his bald head!"
"Wendy thought we were cheating."
"What? She was watching us, we weren't cheating!"
"She said my clues didn't make sense."
"Well they did to me. She's just a sore loser. It's because Herb couldn't guess a right answer if she spelled it out for him."
Angela laughs. Tony loves making her laugh.
"Anyway, Angela," he says, the alcohol making him bold, "you know as we explore this thing we have between us, that's something else to consider. We are unstoppable together. At least at party games."
"Yeah," she says. She looks at him and he looks at her. She's adorable, and tonight he feels that they are equals and partners in every sense of the word and so he takes her hand in his as they walk.
"I would never have guessed it by just looking at you, but you're really fun at a party, Angela. Once you loosen up a bit."
"Oh, you're fantastic at a party, Tony. But you're so charming you could fit in anywhere."
They walk in silence for a little while, Tony swinging their joined hands between them.
"You look real pretty tonight," he tells her.
"Thank you. You look pretty good, too."
"This old thing?" he asks, smoothing his hand over his shirt.
"Yeah, that old thing," she says, flirtily. "I know that's a new shirt."
"Yeah? How do you know?"
"I saw you bring it home the other day," she says, as they walk up the driveway, hand in hand.
Just outside the back door he stops her.
"Hey," he says, "I think those guys at the party think that we've got something going on."
"I told them we are just friends but… maybe that's not true anymore," she says as he pulls her close to him.
"Maybe we need to explore that a little further." With courage from the alcohol and still on a high from winning the games with her, he kisses her, out in the open for anyone to see, holding her tightly to him. He's glad to feel her kiss him back just as enthusiastically.
"Angela," he says in between placing soft kisses on her lips.
"Mhm?"
"I know it's been a couple of weeks, but I was wondering if you'd like to… you know…."
"What?" she teases, trying to keep a straight face. He's not buying it.
"I bet I can do better than last time. Wanna try?"
"Last time was pretty good," she says, kissing his mouth then kissing his cheek. As she speaks, her hot breath in his ear makes him shiver. "Do you think you can do better?"
"Yeah," he squeaks out.
"Then let's try," she says.
"Yeah?"
"Unless you don't…."
"Oh, no. No, no, no, I do. I want to. Come on." He grabs her hand and they quietly open the kitchen door. It's dark and quiet in the house. He still puts his finger to his lips to shush her as he locks the back door and they tiptoe across the living room. They don't turn on the lights, and Tony knocks his knee on the table leg.
"Ow!"
"Shhhh," she says. They listen for a moment and don't hear anything and so they continue to the stairs. She goes up first with him close behind, and they sneak quietly into her room and close the door.
"Phew," he says.
"We made it," she says.
"Um, Angela, look, um… I'm a little drunk but not a lot drunk, and I was a lot drunk last time and I don't think I asked you properly if you're, you know, into this."
"I'm into it," she says, throwing her arms around his neck.
"I don't want to take advantage," he says, his hand sliding over her behind.
"Oh, no, I don't want to take advantage, either," she says, kissing his neck. She's making it very hard to think. She's so sexy and she's so willing and he wants her so badly he gives up on whether or not she's too drunk to do this. He pulls her close and kisses her.
"You're not taking advantage of me," he mumbles.