The Dancer and the Don | ✔️

Chapter 4

"A contract went wrong with Grain Holders Inc., and now they're requesting me to come up and fix the mistakes my company made," he said with a reluctant sigh. Tony sat back in his seat, watching for her reaction.

She simply nodded, then picked up her burger and forced herself to take a bite.

"Fran, it'll be two days," Tony said, giving her a sympathetic look. "I'll be home in no time, alright?" Fran knew why he was being sympathetic.

She was diagnosed with anxiety when she was younger, and had recognized certain triggers throughout the years. After she met Tony the amount of triggers went up a little, but at the same time they went down in a way.

Whenever she was feeling anxiety or was beginning to panic, all she had to do was call Tony. Sometimes it would get so bad Nathan would have to call him for her.

She was also really, really thankful that Tony was so accepting about it. Fran didn't hide it when they met, as a matter of fact she just blurted it out on one of their first dates. From then on he didn't treat her different, just offered his help whenever she needed it. It meant the world to her.

One of the triggers she'd found was sleeping without Tony.

As a child, Fran had some sort of sleeping disorder that doctors never diagnosed. A radio or a TV must be playing while she slept, if not her brain just wouldn't sleep. She would begin to grow frustrated that she couldn't sleep, then cry and have a panic attack.

It was a cruel, cruel cycle that she eventually grew out of in high school.

With Tony, it hadn't really started until the got married. She began to get so used to sleeping with him in the same bed, and when he went on his first business trip Nathan ended up calling Tony for her.

Fran didn't want to interrupt him while he was busy, or wake him up if he was sleeping, but when she spoke to Nathan later he told her that she wasn't crying, she was screaming. It was worse than it had ever been.

He'd been on several more business trips while they'd been married, and usually Tony was able to call her and stay on the phone until she fell asleep.

It was a bad thing that Tony looked so worried right now.

"You won't be able to call, will you?" She asked in a monotone voice after swallowing her bite of burger. It was funny how excited she was for him to get home, and how quickly her night was ruined.

"I don't know that yet," he murmured, watching his wife carefully. She looked away from him.

"It's so stupid," Fran said incredulously, looking back at her husband, "that I need someone else to do something as simple as sleeping."

"Look at me, Fran," Tony said in a demanding tone. I let my eyes flash towards him, making eye contact with his beautiful, dark brown eyes. "It is not stupid, okay? It's something you can't control."

Fran shook her head, tears brimming in her eyes. She was such a child.

"No! No, Fran, I won't let you look down on yourself like this," Tony said, standing and grabbing her face, forcing her to look at him. He pulled her into a standing position, then into a hug.

"I love you, Fran," he murmured into her ear. She willed the tears I her eyes to go away, but they flowed over her cheeks anyway. His hand rubbed over her back and his mouth was cooing in her ear.

"I love you, Tony," she said a few minutes later, squeezing him tight as the last of her tears left her eyes.

"Let's finish the food, yeah? Before it gets cold." Tony was quick to sit back down and shove food in his mouth. She giggled at the ketchup and some mustard getting stuck on the corners of his mouth.

"Wait a second," she said quietly, the smile falling from her face only to be replaced with a frown. "What else did you eat today?" He was hungrier than usual, which sometimes meant he had forgotten to eat a meal during the day. She put her hands on her hips and made eye contact with his wide eyes.

"I'm just hungry!" He defended, swallowing the last of his burger and reaching for his drink. She shook her head, not believing a single thing coming out of his mouth.

"So if I went and asked Tate," she said, crossing her arms, "he would tell me what you ate for lunch?" His eyes widened, then closed.

"Fine. I didn't eat lunch," Fran's eyes widened in anger before he began to defend himself, "but I'm eating now! I bought myself three burgers, I'll eat every bite of them!"

"You need to eat lunch, Tony! You can't just skip meals! I'm talking to Tate," She said.

"No, no, no," he said, shaking his head.

"Yes, yes, yes," she mocked, "he'll shove the food down your throat. Eat your food." She stated, sitting back down and beginning to eat as well.

"That conversation turned so quickly on me," Tony muttered, looking down at his food in confusion.

"Well," she said, "maybe you should take more control next time."

A piece of his burger fell out of his mouth.

She winked.

He pounced.

****

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