Gotta make up for all that lost time this last month;)
Enjoy, lovelies <3
Love you guys sm
xoxo
Side Note: what was y'alls favourite/most played song this year?
Mine's tied for:
Make Up (ft Crush) - Sam Kim
Stay For A While - Victor Ray (this SERIOUSLY needs more plays than it has cause wtf)
Derek
I straight up couldn't believe that Brad had just left me to the wolves. Or... wolf.
One hungry, lone wolf.
At first I thought what could possibly warrant him to leave me?
Then I remembered the Ivanov's had a whole lotta whole lot going on right now that I'm sure Pierre needed to know the least about. This was why I tried to keep my answers as short as possible when questions started flying.
"What do you do at Mavericks?" Pierre asked, leaning against the wall where the door he walked through and Brad left through, was. Brad had kept it open which made me feel a little more safe. Like someone would hear my screams if needed.
I watched Pierre toss the bunch of white flowers onto the chair next to his travel suitcase a bit carelessly, while his eyes barely ever left mine.
Or rather me, I refused to meet this guy's gaze at all costs. It was way less intimidating staring at the door the vets disappeared through what now felt like hours ago, instead of at him.
"I work in-" I stopped a second. "At a job. I work at a job."
There, I nodded slightly to myself. Brad would be proud of that one.
Through my peripheral vision, I saw Pierre shift weight a bit, yet he didn't decide to sit. I didn't sit either, hoping that at any second Brad would walk through that doorway like my knight in stiff suits armor.
There was a longer pause before Pierre said anything, and at this point I couldn't tell how long we had been standing here alone. When he spoke again, it almost made me jump.
"I'm sure Brad and I can take it from here till John returns. Why don't you head home?"
That pulled my gaze away from the door, to meet his finally. "I'm here for Herold." I stated simply.
Pierre scoffed. "I'll take care of him."
I felt my eyebrows raise some. "From what I've heard, I don't think you're capable. Isn't that why John has him?"
There was a clear flash of anger that overwhelmed Pierre's face, before he tried to relax himself a little. The anger just transformed to straight irritation.
"Whatever Brad told you-"
"John did." I corrected him, watching as some of that anger crept up on him again. "And plus, I came here with Brad. So at the very least, I'm leaving when he is."
"He-" Pierre started, the he stopped himself. "...Fine. You and Brad stay with that hellish cat. John and I have things to discuss anyways."
I felt my face scrunch up some, but I forced my own irritations down immediately after. I had the upper ground right now... at least I'm pretty sure I did. And I wasn't trying to lose it. "From what I've heard, there hasn't been anything to discuss for at least a year." Those words slipped past my lips before I could overthink them, and judging by the slightly visible veins starting to form against his temple, I'd struck a nerve.
"How close exactly are you to John?" He asked me, his jaw locking then unlocking slightly.
"Close enough to know that he wouldn't leave his cat that's in surgery, to go do anything... let alone anything with you." I snipped back, allowing just a bit of my anger to slip through.
See, Pierre had most definitely hopped on one of his fancy planes to see John.
John however, had hopped on one of his fancy planes to see Herold.
Now I may not have been playing with a full deck here, but even I wasn't stupid enough to think John would fly in for Pierre. John loved the fucking hell outta that cat.
But before Pierre could get another word in, we both heard someone clear their throat from the doorway maybe three or four feet away from Pierre.
My heart filled with immediate warmth at the thought of Brad coming in to save me, but when I locked eyes with who was at the door, my entire being stilled.
Leaning against the doorframe was none other than John Terry.
And he looked- I mean- I-
His hair for starters wasn't perfect at all, which added to this disheveled look I wasn't used to seeing him in. He- that messy hair. The undone tie and half unbuttoned shirt. Even his dress shoes had a crease like he had been running in them.
I felt my body grow warm when my eyes found his again. They were looking directly at me. The smile that spread across his lips made my heart reconfigure its rhythm. It coerced its own smile from me, but I didn't manage a single word before Brad popped up from behind John like he was hiding there all along.
"Come here for a second." Brad beckoned to me, not really asking but more or less telling. That reminded me that Pierre was still very much here, and though I wanted to fight tooth and nail against leaving that fuck face here alone with John, I put on my big boy pants and headed towards the door.
Before I could pass through completely, shimmying past John, his hand reached out to stop me. There was barely any space in the doorway between us as is, and yet he still dipped his head down to whisper something to me.
"I missed you." He practically murmured against my ear, almost turning my legs to jelly as he pulled away slightly to catch my gaze. My face was absolutely beet red right now, and the stupid cheesy grin I had plastered on my face made me forget where we were entirely.
It was Brad clearing his throat that forced John to finally let go, before I did something stupid... like kiss him.
I let Brad lead me out of the waiting room, watching as John turned to head inside before the door closed.
John
I tried to wipe this smile off my face as I shut the waiting room door behind me, but being back and seeing Derek here just- it felt good. Too fucking good.
Of course the dreadful part of this situation presented itself in a man that was now trying to hand me flowers.
"These are for you." Pierre spoke, giving me one of his once charming smiles.
"You brought me roses? I'm not the one in surgery." I replied with a good amount of irritation.
"What the hell is a cat going to do with flowers I buy?" He asked, some of that charm quickly slipping.
"What the hell am I going to do with flowers you buy?"
"Put them in a vase of something."
It was my turn to dryly chuckle. "They'd look better in a bin. Preferable a trash bin."
Pierre's face settled back into what it usually was. Just sly of the Grinch's.
"I got your favourite." He tried to explain. I looked down at the white roses with a struggle not to roll my eyes all the way to the back of my fucking head.
"Red roses." I reiterated for what had to be the one thousandth time over the many many years I've known this man for. His favourite were a batch of colorful tulips, and I remembered that from the first goddamn date we had. "You couldn't even get that right."
Pierre glanced down at the flowers in his hand, before tossing them in the trash nearby. "You know, you don't have to be this way."
"And since you signed the papers for Herold, you don't have to be here at all." I reminded him.
"He's still my cat-" Pierre tried to start, but my anger cut him off.
"Oh for the love of god, cut that shit out Pierre. Go fly back off to wherever the hell you came from, I'll take it from here. I've always taken things from here.
Pierre shook his head. "I'm not going back to NYC just yet. The Onyx Comic Cocktail Party, remember?" My eyebrows tightened slightly in confusion. "That was a couples donation we made a few years ago that got me as an attendee this year. Aren't you doing a speech?"
I froze a moment, forgetting all about that. And the fact that it was next week. And the fact that Pierre technically did have an invite because of our ginormous donation a few years ago to help Onyx kick off their own comic-con like annual convention.
Fuck man, I really needed an assistant.
And I hadn't even started on that speech yet. Marty would be getting all of like 20 words out of me for it, cause I honestly didn't have time for any of that shit.
The door on the opposite of us opening, is what pulled both myself and Pierre away from what was about to be a real heated conversation. The vet that entered must've felt it too because the smile that she had on, immediately faltered.
"So you two are then..."
"Ex boyfriend," I jerked my hand in Pierre's direction, "and our cat." I then pointed to the paperwork in the vets hand.
"Right..." she nodded. "So, Herold's doing great. We'll keep him overnight just to make sure he's alright, and you can pick him up in the morning. This," the vet stepped forward to hand Pierre the paperwork but I intercepted it. "Uh- that's the treatment plan and care instructions, however the vet will also walk you through everything during pick up."
I glanced down, scanning over the papers to get a quick overview of what needed to be done, before I folded them and tucked the thin stack inside my suit jacket.
God, I couldn't wait to get out of these fucking clothes.
"You're friends are in the next room with Herold now, did you want to see the little guy before you go?"
"Yes." I answered immediately not caring to hear what Pierre's answer would be, but instead allowed the vet as she led me out into the next room through the door she walked in from. Pierre followed closely behind, the wheels of his suitcase rolling against the linoleum and echoing down the otherwise empty hall.
When she brought us to the open room, I first saw Brad standing besides the comfortable looking cot-like bed they had Herold nestled in. Derek was to the other side of him, crouching down to give the now sleeping Herold the gentlest head rubs. Derek had a soft smile on his face as he whispered quietly to my cat, and it made me slow to a stop.
I didn't want to interrupt him. Hell, I wish I had the energy to stay all night just so I could watch him like this, but the crashing my body was doing at this moment, was beckoning me home. From what Brad had described when I first pulled into the hospital, I had a mess I was coming home to clean.
Derek was really the only one out of all of us that managed to look the most together. Even Pierre seemed like he had a rough plane ride here. Brad looked like he was jumped by a lion, and this was by far the most stressed my look has ever been.
Yet there Derek was, crouched down comforting Herold with not another care in the world besides my cat.
Pierre managed to accidentally bump into the back of me with his suitcase which was what finally caught Derek's attention, while the vet walked towards a computer on the far right.
I made my way towards Derek, ignoring the uncomfortable suit I was in as I crouched down right beside him to check out my child. Herold was fast asleep, sleeping just how he did whenever he was sprawled out on my stomach.
I glanced over at Derek who was still petting him softly, but Brad's coughing pulled both our attention over to him.
"Well," he said to the room suddenly like he was addressing the court, "I need everything from a shower, to a first aid kit, to sleep. And explaining this," Brad gestured to his wild state, "to Joan has to fit somewhere in there. So while I'd hate to leave you all so abruptly, good night." Brad didn't even wait for goodbyes before he straightened his torn up suit jacket, gave the vet a courteous nod, and walked himself out.
"Honestly we should probably get going too." I told Derek softly. "Brad told me your bike is at mine?" He turned, catching my gaze finally since we walked into this room, and give me a nod. I could see his cheeks turning color which just made me want him alone to myself more. My hand reached out, gently lacing his in mine as I stood us up. "We'll be back tomorrow, first thing in the morning." I told the vet, leading Derek out right behind me.
"We?" Derek asked in a hushed tone. I turned back slightly to give him a grin.
"Yes, we."
The vet gave me a nod, accompanied by a warm smile when her eyes dropped to my hand in Derek's momentarily- which was the first smile of the night in my direction, might I add.
"He's real good with him." She spoke lightly to me, nodding behind me at Derek.
I didn't know if the gorgeous man behind me caught that, but I gave the vet a smile in return. "Yeah. He really is." I responded before leading Derek and I further out of the room. Before we could pass through the door completely, I heard the small whining of a cockroach somewhere behind me.
"So... you're just leaving then?" Pierre asked.
"Pierre, you can roll a sleeping bag out and sleep outside for all I care." I replied, refusing to neither turn to acknowledge him, nor hear the complaints of a very rich man in his own right. It was the masked chuckle I heard from Derek behind me that put a smile once again when I remembered where we were going, and pulled him further along.
Home.
-
I let Derek drive.
If I was being honest, it allowed me a few moments of much needed rest. I could tell he was nervous about it considering the car I owned was expensive, but I assured him the odds of us crashing tonight were much higher if I drove
He kept his hand on the gear shift with a death like grip, so I eventually pulled it away, and locked it in mine. Lifting his hand to my lips to kiss it softly made Derek unintentionally jerked the car, so I decided keeping it rested in my lap was a safer bet.
-
By the time we reached the house, it was well into the night. The dashboard of my convertible read closer to midnight, and man I was feeling it.
Derek, much to my insistence and dismay, helped me bring my suitcases and work shit inside. I think it was his final act of kindness to comfort the blow for the state my home was about to be found in.
"Well. Fuck." I whispered, looking around at the scattered vomit and ripped furniture.
"It's not that-... well okay no, it's pretty bad." Derek admitted from somewhere behind me. I had to watch my step when I set all my bags on the now ruined leather couch. I wasn't even mad or upset about that though. All I could think about was Herold going through all this while I wasn't here.
I was so caught up in assessing the mess, I didn't even notice Derek moving about the home until I heard some paper towels rip. When I looked over to the kitchen area, Derek had already laid out cleaning products, a box of rubber gloves, and two rolls of paper towels.
"Oh no you d-" I started to say, but Derek put the hand that was now in a massive yellow cleaning glove, up in protest.
"If we're both heading to the hospital tomorrow, I already know I'll have no say in staying here tonight- which no worries, I absolutely did not plan on protesting that- however, I refuse to stay here tonight and just watch you clean. You've clearly had a long day and I want to help."
My gaze held Derek's stubborn one for what felt like an unreal amount of time, before I accepted my dearest and took a step closer to him. "Have I ever told you how much I adore you?" I asked him lowly.
He slowly nodded his head. "I think so. But after we're done here.... maybe you um-... maybe you can show me?"
My eyes darkened at his words. The fresh rosy blush spreading across his face.
And I have never in my life snatched a pair of cleaning gloves so fast.
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