Hanging by a Moment

The morning after his sweetheart’s birthday, and the best night in of his life, Ash was surprised to wake and find himself alone. At first he was concerned, but then he figured she’d just gotten up take her first trip to the bathroom of the day. Since it was typical of humans, he managed to calm himself down and not worry about her quite as much. It was only when he looked up and noticed the bathroom door was open that he started to worry again.

He knew as well as he knew his own name that Rebel didn’t use the bathroom with the door open, even though she trusted him. Aside from having been raised to close the door, it was just something she’d gotten into the habit of doing while she was with Logan’s father. As the old adage went, old habits died hard.

After pulling on a pair of boxers, he started searching the apartment, praying he hadn’t slept through a break-in during which she’d been abducted. That was when he laughed at himself, thinking that the possibility of a break-in was silly. On top of that, he figured that even if someone had broken into their apartment, the likelihood of him sleeping through it was slim to none. Being a father had lessened his habit of being a heavy sleeper, and besides, Tokyo and Killer would’ve started barking. Additionally, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that his sweetheart would’ve fought like a maddened banshee to avoid abduction.

It didn’t take him long to finally find her, but he hadn’t expected to see what she was doing. She wasn’t cheating on him or anything ridiculous like that, but she was shaking slightly as she held a cigarette, a slightly gray cloud being blown away from her face. He was ready to go rip her a new one over it…till he swore he saw a tear streaming down her cheek from under the sunglasses she’d put on before going outside.

“Rebel? Baby, what’s wrong?” he asked, purposely keeping his voice soft to avoid startling her too badly.

With a gasp, his sweetheart turned toward him, but he couldn’t see her eyes past the early morning sunlight or her sunglasses.

“Sweetheart…” Ash chose not to mention the still-lit cigarette in her hand as he slowly approached her.

“Sorry, mio subdolo angelo.” The young woman realized she was still holding the cigarette and flicked the butt out in the parking lot since she knew he didn’t like smokers.

“Don’t apologize to me. Just tell me what’s wrong,” he said, gently embracing her.

“My…my mother called me,” Rebel said, snuggling against him.

“So that’s why you’re up right now, despite how late we were up last night?” The bassist couldn’t resist thinking back to the previous night, nor reminding her of it.

“If she hadn’t mentioned wanting to fly out, or my ex…I’d be fine,” she told him.

“Really, now? Why don’t we go back inside to talk about it?” he suggested. “I doubt you want everyone in the complex to hear.”

Nodding, his sweetheart snuggled against his side as he steered her back inside, still ignoring how she now smelt like smoke, something she didn’t normally smell like.

“So what happened?” Ash asked, but only after getting them settled on the couch with a cup of coffee.

“I left my home state because things between my mother and I went pretty far South,” she told him after taking a sip from her mug. “She always claimed she loved me growing up, but the way she acted…”

“Yeah, actions do speak louder than words,” he agreed.

“Anyway, I finally got to the point that I couldn’t stand her, or being around her, after I reached the age of twenty-one. So instead of subjecting myself to a life of misery, I packed up everything I could and moved out here.” Again, she paused for a sip of her coffee.

“I’m guessing you’re originally from back East, then?” the bassist asked.

“Further East than you, love,” Rebel chuckled.

“Really, now?” He cocked a brow curiously as he took a sip of his own coffee.

“Really. I’m literally from the South. Not the Deep South, but still the South, nonetheless,” his sweetheart told him.

Ash hummed thoughtfully since he was in the middle of taking another sip.

“I was born and raised in Central North Carolina, part of my family being from Central-Eastern Tennessee,” she explained.

“Ah, that explains the deeper country twang to your speech,” he chuckled.

“Hon, I have an out-and-out drawl, compared to you,” she laughed.

“There we go…there’s that pretty laugh I like to hear.” He grinned at her, knowing she really did have an out-and-out drawl compared to him.

“Anyway, despite knowing I have blood relations out here, too, I moved out here to get away from my mother. I never gave her my number, but she managed to get it from a childhood friend that I haven’t spoken to in at least a couple years,” Rebel continued.

“And now she wants to fly out here. But why?”

“Because she found out about Logan from said childhood friend, and she wants to meet her.”

“Lemme guess…you don’t want her having anything to do with Logan because of how she treated you, right?”

“Bingo. I don’t want my daughter subjected to the crazy, heartless bitch that I had to grow up with.”

“I don’t blame you there… So what about this ex you mentioned?”

The young woman sighed heavily as she looked down into her mug, apparently collecting her thoughts as she took another sip. “Aside from Logan’s father…he’s the reason I’m so distrusting of men.”

Ash sat quietly, not wanting to push her too far.

“He got the ultimate trust from me. You know how I don’t like being tied down or otherwise restrained?” she asked.

“Yeah, I know. I haven’t ever tried to do such a thing to you,” the bassist answered.

“I’m not saying you have, Ashie. But when I dated this guy when I was nineteen, I let him tie me to his bed. Stupid move, since he also blindfolded me, but I trusted him.” She sighed again. “I never gave him my virginity, but I came damned close to it. The other thing I trusted him with…was my heart.”

Again, he didn’t say a word, only wanting her to talk if and when she was ready.

“I trusted him not to do anything stupid, but he decided he couldn’t wait for sex. He decided to leave me for his ex-fiancé, whom he’s now married to and has a baby with, simply because he was unwilling to wait.”

“What? You’ve got to be kidding me!” the bassist exploded. “What a low-life jackass!”

“When compared to you, no shit.” Rebel chuckled, but it was a humorless chuckle. “Between him and Logan’s father, who stole my virginity… Well, now ya really see why it took me so long to open up to you like that…”

“Yeah, I do.” Ash gently wrapped his arms around her, their mugs now on the coffee table. “I figured you had a reason, but I wasn’t gonna ask. It was one of those things I figured you’d tell me when you were ready.”

“Well, our blow-up in the kitchen yesterday was part of the reason I opened up like that,” she admitted sheepishly, then saw the look on his face. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. You didn’t guilt me into doing a damn thing I ultimately didn’t want to. It just made me realize that we both wanted the same thing, and if I’m honest, I guess part of me feared the past would repeat itself, to a degree, if I kept refusing.”

“I’m still not too happy that you felt even the slightest bit pressured, though,” he grumbled.

“Eh, touché,” his sweetheart agreed. “Still, it was enough for me to realize that you were just as desperate as I was, likely more.”

“Desperate though I was, I still could’ve waited. And like I said yesterday, I couldn’t bring myself to cheat on or leave you…I didn’t wanna lose you then, and I still don’t wanna lose you now.”

Rebel finally gave him a genuine grin as she snuggled against his mostly nude form. She tilted her head up, intent on giving him a kiss, when he moved away slightly. Not enough to keep her from cuddling, but enough to avoid having her kiss anything but his cheek. Pouting, she looked up at him with wide eyes that were suddenly glistening with tears. Knowing what she was thinking, the bassist immediately went into damage control mode, knowing he needed to reassure her.

As gently as he could, he reminded her that she’d been smoking right before they came back inside. To someone who didn’t kiss smokers regularly, not even the flavor of coffee could mask the flavor, and he honestly didn’t like it. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to kiss his sweetheart; he just didn’t want to taste something he considered nasty.

With a furious blush staining her cheeks, the young woman forced her way out of his arms and headed back to their bedroom. He swore he heard a sniffle as she left the room, and something told him she’d managed to stop her tears. Either that, or she’d burst into tears the second her back was turned, anyway. As hormonal as she was from both PMS’ing and continuing to nurse their daughters, he couldn’t really blame her for the slight emotional breakdown. He could only hope that she wouldn’t be pissed at him when she came back, or he went to go find her…whichever came first.

It wasn’t long before she came back down the hall, fully dressed, her hair braided, and her teeth brushed. Ash felt bad when she didn’t immediately come over to kiss him again, wondering if he should’ve just kept his mouth shut and dealt with the disgusting flavor. Then again, he doubted she’d have enjoyed if he’d gagged and vomited on her as a result.

Sighing, he rose from the couch and headed to their bedroom to get dressed as well, knowing that Jinxx would be bringing the girls back at some point that day. By the time he got dressed and returned to the kitchen, Rebel was engrossed in cooking breakfast. Since they hadn’t exactly taken much time to eat the day and night before, it was no doubt that the poor thing was hungry, but that didn’t mean she had to ignore him. When she wasn’t at risk of burning herself—or the food she was cooking—he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. To say he was pleasantly surprised when she sighed and leaned back against him would be a massive understatement. That didn’t mean he said anything, especially when she turned around in his embrace to face him.

Ash returned the warm smile she gave him, not hesitating by even a millisecond this time when she came at him for a kiss. Even if he didn’t smell the minty scent of her toothpaste, he couldn’t have brought himself to deny her again. Not even the scent of cigarette smoke could’ve made him deny her again, not after the look she’d shot him when he did the first time. Then again, his previous denial could’ve been part of what made this kiss so sweet, almost sweeter than the ones they’d shared over the past twenty-four hours before now. That was what made him grin at her when they pulled away, a grin she returned, before they both headed to the table to eat.

* * *

By noon, Ash and Rebel had headed back to bed for some more sweet moments before they returned to their everyday lives. They’d intended to watch a movie at first, but before they’d even gotten halfway through, they were engaged in a heated make-out session again. That was fine by them, though; they loved losing themselves in one another as much as they loved each other.

Now they were snuggled under the covers, the young woman asleep in the arms of the man she loved as her head rested on his chest. The bassist hadn’t been tired enough to fall back to sleep, although he’d thought he was going to for a few short minutes, and now he was content to merely cuddle her as she slept.

He had no idea how much time had passed before he heard a key in the front door, but he knew what it meant. Before Jinxx could come searching for them, he gently pried himself from Rebel’s loose grip. She didn’t seem intent on letting him go, actually trying to tighten her grip on him, but a few whispered words in her ear and a gentle kiss got her to change her mind. Once he’d extricated himself without waking her, he quickly pulled on his gym shorts and a wife beater so he was at least somewhat presentable when he headed out to the living room.

When he walked into said room, he saw Jinxx unbuckling what was obviously Legacy since Logan was already heading down the hall toward their bedroom. He gave her a wide grin and happily picked her up when she reached up to him, gladly holding her against his chest. The little girl squealed and giggled, drawing his friend’s attention to him, as she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. However, it was the sloppy kiss she planted on his cheek that made him grin even wider than he already was.

“Da-da? Where Ma-ma?” she asked.

“Mama’s taking a nap, sweetheart,” Ash answered, gently tapping her nose.

“Otay,” Logan said, then demanded to be put down.

The bassist was quite agreeable in putting her down, only to have to pick up his own daughter when she crawled over and demanded to be picked up.

“Da-da!” Legacy cried, happily wrapping her arms around his neck, too.

“Hey there, my Purdy princess!” he greeted her, grinning when she gave him an equally sloppy kiss. “Did you girls have fun with Uncle Jinxx yesterday?”

Both girls grinned and squealed happily, clapping clumsily as they called out to their adopted uncle.

“They seemed to enjoy themselves…well, after they stopped crying right after you left, anyway,” Jinxx chuckled.

“You girls were crying for Daddy?” he asked, giving them a fake pout.

“Miss Da-Da!” Logan cried. “Miss Ma-ma!”

“Mama and Daddy missed you girls, too,” Ash swore, gently hugging his daughter. “I hope they weren’t too much of a pain for you, Jinxx.”

“Aside from that and fighting sleep a bit right around bedtime, they were no trouble at all,” the multi-instrumentalist told him. “They were a pleasure to watch, and I’ll be happy to do it again, if you guys need me to.”

“I’m guessing they haven’t had lunch yet,” he chuckled when both girls whined.

“They were finishing their nap when I packed them up to come home, so no, not yet,” his friend answered.

“Let’s head to the kitchen so we can feed ’em, then,” the bassist said.

Jinxx was more than happy to follow him, helping him out by getting Logan settled in her high chair while he settled Legacy in hers. Within moments, he had a PB&J whipped up for the older girl, who’d moved on to some solid foods with little choking hazard. For the younger of the pair, he grabbed a couple jars of her baby food, which just happened to be her favorites: carrots and green beans.

By the time they were done with lunch, both girls were an absolute mess that needed a bath badly. Unfortunately, the didn’t actually have a tub in the tiny apartment since it wasn’t a necessity when he’d moved in here. Sighing, Ash started running the water in the kitchen sink since it’d be the easiest thing to bathe them in.

Using movements as quiet as he could, Jinxx headed down the hall to their bathroom to grab the baby wash from the shower for him. The multi-instrumentalist was careful not to disturb the sleeping woman still curled up in bed, honestly thinking she had at least pajamas on since the covers were pulled up to her chin. He didn’t think anything about it, especially considering that he doubted she and his friend had gone beyond a few chaste kisses here and there.

“Thanks, Jinxx,” the bassist said when he returned.

“Not a problem, man,” he answered, unstrapping and stripping Logan since she was messier. “I couldn’t help but notice how comfortable Rebel looked as I passed through the bedroom.”

“Lemme guess…she’s all curled up with the blankets pulled up nearly over her head, isn’t she?” Ash chuckled as he took a nude Logan.

“Yeah, she was,” his friend answered, chuckling.

“I’m not surprised,” he said, smirking and shaking his head as he started to gently bathe his more or less adopted daughter. “You messy little girl…”

“Why do you say that, Ash?” Jinxx asked curiously.

“You don’t wanna know, man.” A mischievous grin cracked his lips, showing off his pearly-white teeth before he turned his attention back to the baby he bathed.

“Wha—oh, my gods! No way, dude!”

“Yeah, way,” Ash answered.

“Took you guys long enough! I haven’t seen you looking this happy in months!”

“Well, as good as I feel—and have no doubt she feels—I swore when I asked her out that I’d wait till she was ready.”

“I’m proud of you, man.” The multi-instrumentalist gently slapped his back as he rinsed Logan off. “I honestly wondered sometimes if you had it in ya…now I know better than to doubt you anymore.”

“Shouldn’t have…doubted him in the first place.”

The bassist turned when he heard his sweetheart’s sleepy voice, her sentence broken by a yawn. “Hey there, mio acciaio rosa.”

“Buon pomeriggio, mio subdulo angelo,” Rebel answered, coming over for a gentle kiss.

“Ma-ma!” Logan cried happily, splashing her.

“Oh!” she gasped, fully awake within seconds when the water hit her face.

“Sorry, sweetheart… I think she tried to wear more of her lunch than she actually ate,” Ash chuckled. “She was in sore need of a bath.”

“Here…I’ll take her,” Jinxx spoke up, a towel draped over his arms.

Smiling his thanks, the bassist gently deposited the wet, squirming toddler in her uncle’s arms so he could dry and dress her. Now that they didn’t have a splashing baby to interrupt them, he grabbed his lady love and gave her a proper kiss. Rebel gladly melted into his embrace, her arms wrapped around his neck.

With a gentle clearing of his throat, Jinxx broke them up before things could get too heated, both because he was there and because the girls needed their parents. With a slight blush staining his cheeks, Ash pulled away and gently kissed his sweetheart’s temple before moving to get Legacy. She was covered in carrots and green beans, and now that Logan’d been bathed, it was her turn. Well, once he drained the sink and refilled it with fresh bath water, anyway.

By the time he was done bathing the younger baby, Rebel had taken over Jinxx’s role and his friend had excused himself. Apparently he had something to do later, and considering what time of day it was pushing, he suspected it was a date. Still, he was happy for his friend as he and his steel rose got through the rest of their day before heading back to bed, this time for sleep instead of anything sexual.

Notes