Come to Your Senses // Something Rotten AU

Adult Life

Nigel's POV

"I did it! I met a girl! And what a girl!"

Nick turns around, confused, as I bounce in. "Really?" He looks dubious.

"Really!" I'm talking fast. Nothing out of the ordinary—I'd be concerned if a day went by where I didn't—but it's special this time. "And hey, maybe I'll finally be moving out soon."

"That's great, Nigel," my brother responds tiredly. He probably knows what's coming—I can't seem to maintain relationships that last to the moving-in-together stage, so he prepares himself for disappointment.

"Nick, I swear! This woman is really special. And... she seems to be pretty into me."

"Who's pretty into you?" Bea, my sister-in-law, walks in through the door I forgot to close.

"The girl I met," I gush, my heart fluttering. Nick rolls his eyes from the couch. I notice. "Oh, just be happy for your brother for once! Romance is a beautiful thing, even if your relationship's lost it all!"

I turn back to Bea, who looks a bit hurt. "I didn't mean that," I fumble.

"No, you've got a point," she admits reluctantly, coming behind the couch and hitting her husband's shoulder (gently) in a "get up" kind of way. "This one's always working, it's like I don't even know him anymore."

"Come on, Bea," Nick argues, standing up, "it's not like you're free, either."

It's true—they both work constantly, kind of to pay for all of us (I spend my time at home, trying to start my own career, and/or hoping I can finally find a new place to live, so as not to be, y'know, a burden).

Although to be fair, Bea works a lot closer to home. She's working for our landlord, mainly to get on his "good side" (I don't know why the quotation marks, that's just the way she always says it).

"It's not the same!" she points out.

"I'm gonna head off," I volunteer, grabbing my books and stepping out of the living room.

"No!" Bea points. "Stay." I obey. "Tell me about this girl!"

"Okay..." I sit down on the couch, in the spot next to Nick's old one because he's probably been sitting here on his ass the whole day and I don't like sitting in warm spots if they're not from my own body. Anyway.

"Yeah. I'm curious," my brother himself adds, sitting back down for me. "Tall? Short? Young? Old? Nice? Blonde? Real?"

"Yes, she's real!"

"What's her name?" Bea pipes in.

"Portia," I smile.

"Portia what?" Nick interrogates.

"Um... I don't know. We're not on a last-name basis yet."

I hear Bea ask, "Are you gonna tell her your last name is Bottom?"

I clear my throat. "Kinda gonna be a second-date thing, that one." Then I turn so that I'm facing both of them at once. "And hey, get off my back, you guys! You do this every time I meet someone new or get any kind of opportunity! I know you keep saying I'm not a burden, but sometimes I feel like I am!"

"Nigel..." Nick is quiet. "You're not a burden. We're doing everything we can for both of us, anyway!"

"Yeah," says Bea. "And I was just kidding about the romance thing. There's still a lot of spark in this marriage." She turns lovingly toward her husband.

"Oh, yes," I nod from the couch, "I believe that. I go to bed later than you think I do."

Nick gets up quickly. "Uh, do you remember when you said you would 'head out'? Does that offer still stand?"

"Yeah, yeah." I collect my books from the kitchen. "Just don't let that spark get too hot. I write my books on that couch." And I'm off.

Nick's POV

I sink back into my spot on the couch. Somehow I don't feel any better.

"So... this is exciting, huh?" Bea sits down next to me (on the side opposite to Nigel's—it's kind of a shared pet peeve).

"Yeah. Exciting. Just as exciting as Mariah. And Emilia. And Jason. And—"

She sighs, her smile gone. "I get it. He's been through a lot. And to be honest, I don't think it'll be different. I doubt he'll be out anytime soon."

Really? Man, this must be the breaking point of her hopefulness. Can't blame her.

I look down the hall as if Nigel's there (he's not), concerned. "Well, does he need to be?"

My wife turns my head back to her. "Baby, I don't want to keep working all the time. I want to spend time together. Like we used to."

Like we used to, before we had to fend for ourselves. When universities provided housing. When we didn't have a whole other person depending on us.

"We're not in college anymore, Bea," I sigh. "I'm not too hot on it, either, but it's adult life. It's how it works."

"It's Nigel," she says dubiously.

"It's Nigel and us. And anyway, he could totally hit it off with this Portia. In fact, we should make sure they get to that stage."

"Yeah, but that'll take a long time."

"Hey, it's okay." I grab her hand. "We'll last like this as long as it takes. Just as long as it's not forever."

"Deal," she laughs.

"Even if we only get that time when we die. Or Nigel does. Whichever comes first."

"Yeah. And anyway, I wanna support him. Because you were right. He's not a burden."

"Well, if we play it right, it'll be more than just support."

My wife nods. "I get ya."