The Memoirs

Shayla's heart was bubbling over.  She would have been laughing if her mouth hadn't been busy tasting Pete's nibbling lips, tongue sweeping over his, hands on his shoulders.

 

Pete loved her.  And she loved him.

 

That thought only made her kiss him deeper, pressing her naked body tightly against his as they kissed, stroking his skin reverently as she guided one hand to her breasts.  "Mmm," she murmured into his mouth, tongue still flicking over his lips.

 

Yeah. There was no better place to be on this earth. He wasn’t hard yet...aroused, though. Very aroused. He'd come back to find her laying naked, in her bed, watching the television as Spike ran across it, duster billowing. So he'd set down the Pepsi bottles and chips Ms Bird had given him, crawled back into bed, and told her about the run in he'd had with her brother.

 

They'd both grinned at one another… and slowly, softly, as if her skin was a magnet, he'd begun to touch her. Gentling touches at first...then warmer, harder, exploratory.

 

He lay beside her now, stroking when she brought his hand to her chest, and enjoyed the peeking nipple immensely. Warm and supple...Dick's had been like that. Tight and round and perfect to bite.

 

He pushed it from his mind, mouth streaking to her neck. Soft...beautiful, scented with apples...not like his Sam’s. Sam always smelled like wood, and pizza, and soft lavender soap he'd never admit to buying.

 

He licked there now, flickering his tongue across her earlobe, as the growing sense of dread slipped over him. "Mmmm… taste... yeah..."

 

Shayla giggled softly as his mouth moved to her throat, arching into the soft licks as she dropped her head to his shoulder.  She nipped delicately with her teeth, tongue licking and dipping into the hollow of his shoulder, over his collarbone to suck and bite the soft, soft skin there.  Too dark to hickey his skin, she tried her best to mark him anyway, wanting him to always know that he was hers.  Her friend, her lover. 

 

"Yeah?" she murmured into his skin.  "You too.  So addictive."

 

'So addictive, baby. Righ' here. Taste like honey... always. Always taste like honey.'

 

A sudden, overwhelming sadness overwhelmed him, midway through her gentle kiss. Soft, rolling muscles...pale and golden in the moonlight. The soft, easy movement against sheets as slick as silk. Male bodies, one toned and hard, the other softer but no less warm, moving against one another.

 

Soft, easy caresses, and in Pete's mind, for the first time, he realized the loss. The utter... loss of what had been taken away from him. A thousand memories, and hopes, and dreams and thoughts and loves and fears and heartaches all slammed closed behind a wall that sealed with stone and plaster... never to be opened again.

 

And he sobbed.

 

Right into Shayla's neck, below her ear, he lost it. That same it he'd been holding on to. He cried, so hard he couldn’t get breath, gasping against her as his fingers went from caressing to begging for an embrace, to asking for something...anything...to lessen the pain.

 

Shayla was shocked at the sob, and she gave him what his questing fingers asked for, hugging him tightly and rocking him against her smaller body.  "Pete... baby... It's okay.  God, please, sweetie, don't cry.  It's okay, he can't hurt you anymore."  She rubbed Pete's back, held the back of his head to her shoulder.  It was so hard to suddenly switch gears, her body was still hungry and aching, but she stomped down on it, pushing it aside as she cradled her lover.  "I'm here, Pete.  I'm here."

 

His erection was gone. His want snuffed like candle light. His body ached for a release his heart was giving him. He rolled over her, back onto his side, and held her as tightly as he could to him...as if he let her go, she'd slide away into the night. Like suddenly he'd be forced to watch her hug and kiss another man, and the pain of that, of seeing that, of having experienced it and the possibility it might happen again only made him cry harder against her.

 

He was a shell of a...no. He wasn’t even a man. He was a scared little boy, who didn’t know how to let go...who instead of giving the woman in his life pleasure, was burdening her with his pitiful soul.

 

He'd seen Graham, a split second before she'd been yanked off of himself. And in his heart, in a place he'd never tell her about, Pete had thought it was Shayla's lover, coming to claim her once more.

 

And his heart had quietly broken.

 

Shayla was scared.  She clung tightly to Pete, holding him with her arms and her legs, her body pressed tightly against his. 

 

Suddenly... she felt very very out of her depths.  She wanted to help Pete.  Wanted to make him feel better, but this... this crushing pain that he was so obviously in was killing her, because no matter how much of herself she gave him... she couldn't stop the hurt.

 

Instead she curled tightly against him, holding him, stroking him, whispering softly to him.  "It's okay, sweetie.  I'm here... I love you  I'm going to protect you best I can, okay?  I'm going to be with you as long as you can stand me."  She pressed a comforting kiss to his forehead.

 

"I thought... it's... it's gone, it's gone, Shayla, I’m so sad, I’m so sad," He gasped it into her shoulder,  pressing in tight. "I’m so sad, so sad, Shayla, my best friend is gone, he's gone, I… Shayla." He was trying desperately to make her understand, and knew she couldn’t. She couldn’t understand his pain, but he held onto her regardless, tight as he could. "You, you're wonderful, you're wonderful, please don’t leave me alone, don’t go, stay w-with me… I thought, I thought Graham, I thought he... and you were being taken from me, again, and.."

 

"No."  That was the one thing she could reassure him of.  "Nobody's going to take me away from you.  Nobody.  Not Graham, not Dick Grayson, not God Almighty himself.  Nobody's going to take me away from you." 

 

She ached.  She couldn't understand; she'd never had a friend like that.  "I can't imagine what you're going through, sweetie, but I'll help you in anything I can do."

 

He didn’t say anything more... just letting her rock him, just holding her... just wishing that this had never happened. That Sam were Sam, that Dick Grayson didn’t exist, that Bruce Wayne was only a myth.

 

But it wasn’t. No matter how much he wished, ever single thing Sam had ever told him… was a lie. Everything. He lied about loving you, Pete. His mind whispered. He never loved you the way you loved him.

 

It was gone. Never been real in the first place.

 

And the crushing loss made him press his face into a bare shoulder and hold his friend... his Shayla tighter. The only good thing that had come from this nightmare... knowing Shayla, holding her, being with her. She was the light at the end of the tunnel, and he owed her his life.

 

Because he was very certain that if he hadn’t known she'd be there after he left the library, Pete wouldn’t have gone very far. Wouldn’t allowed himself to. Not knowing that nothing waited for him...that there was nothing to comfort him. No one. And accidents happen, even to young boys such as himself.

 

Shayla rested her head against his, cheek to cheek, holding him tightly.  "Pete... please, sweetie... please.  It's going to be okay.  I'm going to help you get over this.  And we're gonna have something good," she said firmly.  "Something that's real with someone who's not going to hurt you.  I'm going to be here for you, Pete, take care of you.  Love you." 

 

She would not cry. 

 

But she was, because he was.

 

"You won’t, you won’t," He whispered, fingers stroking constantly across her bare back. "You won’t, someone new will come, and you won't, because I’m not… I’m n...you will, and you're so wonderful, and I can’t...I can’t."

 

"No, Pete... no.  Nobody new.  There's nobody else, Pete.  Nobody ever."  She rested her arms around him, holding him.  "Nobody I've ever known has made me feel in a few short days the way that I feel about you.  You're my best friend, my only friend, and nobody is ever going to come between us.  You are, Pete, you are.  Everything you think you're not, you are!"

 

"Can’t, Shayla, can’t." You're falling for her so hard. "I can’t, not yet, not so soon, pl… please, I can’t, I’m sorry I used you, I’m sorry, I didn’t...I… " Didn’t mean to start falling in love with you. "I’m sorry, pl… please don’t hate me, don’t… don’t hate me, please," His fingers stroked hard over her body, possessively, even as his mouth begged for her not to care for him. "Please, Shayla, please, please.."

 

"You didn't use me, Pete.  You didn't."  She caught his hands in hers, brought them to her face to press soft kisses to the wandering digits.  "I don't hate you, Pete, I love you.  It's okay, don't be upset.  I don't hate you."  She brought his hands back to her hips, letting him touch her possessively again.  "It's okay, Pete.  It's all okay."

 

"It's not. It's not." He let go and rolled over, feet hitting the floor as he sat up. His back hunched… he buried his face in his hands. "I’ve used you. I used you, Shayla, I used you because I hurt."

 

Shayla knelt up behind him, pressing her body against his back, arms looping around his waist.  "You didn't use me, Pete.  Okay?"

 

He looked away, face streaked, and whispered, "I’m doing it right now."

 

She shook her head, rubbing her cheek against the back of his shoulder.  "No you're not."

 

"Because...because, the sex. Shayla, the sex. I’m having sex with you because" I desperately want to see what’s in you for me... I want to give you myself. "I’m hurt, I feel like I can’t have anyone anymore. And you... you don’t deserve that. You don’t. I... I have to...Shayla, I can’t, not anymore."

 

She flinched behind Pete, but didn't let him see it.  "No, it's okay.  Pete, come on.  You can have me anytime you want to."  Her hands rubbed his shoulders.  "It's okay, sweetie, I promise.  You're not using me, I don't mind.  I'm not doing anything that I don't want to do."

 

He'd never been completely open with Sam. Was glad he hadn’t, but in his heart... his spirit, he knew Shayla would never hurt him as Sam had. So he turned to her, and grasped her hands, tightly in his own. "I t… think I’m falling in love with you. I think, because... because my head is so mixed up, so garbled, that I can't hear myself think. I c-can't. And I don’t want y-you to have a broken man. I can't let that happen. S-so... until... until after. I can’t...with you."

 

She kissed his face softly.  "It's okay, Pete.  I know how you feel there, at least that much I can share with you.  I think I might be falling in love with you too... I told Graham that, in fact."  Her hands kept rubbing and massaging his shoulders.  "You're not a broken man, Pete.  You're just hurting.  Don't--Don't distance yourself from me because of that.  I want to help you, sweetie."

 

"You don’t deserve to deal with it." He said softly, dropping his forehead to hers and squeezing those gentle hands at his shoulders. "You don’t. You’re so beautiful... you don’t."

 

"But I want to deal with it."  She kissed his hands softly, butterfly kisses on the knuckles.  "You're handsome, strong... so beautiful in your own right.  I know if I were in pain like this, you would be here for me."

 

"I just... I don’t..." He was running out of excuses...his heart was calming, his mind slowing down from its rabid rant. He swallowed, hard, holding her close to him by their hands, gently rocking as his throat worked.

 

"You don't what, baby?"

 

"I don’t wa-want you to look at me and see a mistake." Whispered softly.

 

"Pete... look at me."  She crawled around his body, slid down to her knees on the floor.  "Do you see a mistake when you look at me?"

 

"No, Shayla, no." He shook his head, cupping her cheeks and hating, loathing his weakness. "No."

 

She kissed the palm of his hand.  "Then why do you think I'm going to see a mistake when I look at you?  Pete... I faced down my brother, who raised me, who was like a father to me, and I made him see how much I love you and care about you.  I'm not going to look back and regret anything that happens between us."

 

He didn’t have any more words left in him. He just reached down, lifted her up into his arms, and held her as tightly as he could. "Thank you, Shayla." He said it, muffled into her cheek. "From the bottom of my heart."

 

Shayla wrapped her arms around him, face buried against his.  "You're welcome, baby.  You're so, so welcome."  Her hands pressed him close, one on the back of his head and one on his back, both stroking gently.  "You're welcome."

 

 

~ * ~ * ~

 

Dominic couldn’t stop staring. Why, oh why, had he been born with a penis? And a man’s heart? Why couldn’t he be okay with the terrifying things that were women? Was he a femalephobe? Is that it? Was he just scared of the vagina?

 

No. Okay? No. This was not right. He shouldn’t have to stand here and subject himself to this. He was a man! He was a MAN!

 

Just because Megan had agreed to the condom buying didn’t mean he'd agreed to tampon buying!

 

"No, no, no. No. Megaaan! I know you can hear me!" He bellowed over two aisles.

 

"Do you want to pick out the douche instead?" she bellowed back, carefully examining the condoms on the rack.

 

Oh, MY GOD. Poor Ms. Rubenstein didn’t need to be hearing this. He rubbed his face in horror… then peaked out of his fingers. God. Pink, yellow, blue and green, staring at him. TAUNTING him. Why couldn’t women just be quiet about their bodily liquids? Must they share them?! He just... blinked. He didn’t know where half this stuff went, let alone what did what. He'd made it a distinct point to keep OUT of his sisters personal hygienic habits as a boy, and now....what the bloody hell had changed? "I don’t know which one!"

 

"Which one says water based?" she bellowed back.  "Just like it says on the list!  Water based personal lubricant!"

 

He was pale. He was going to faint. he could feel the blood drain out of his face. "MEGAN!"

 

"MORGAN!"

 

She sighed.  "Fine!!  You pick out the condoms for Shayla, and I'll get the lubricant and the douche!  Pansy-assed MEN!"

 

He wailed. Oh, GOD! He ran out of the aisle so fast his short hair fluttered, and skidded to a stop in front of the one she was in. Shampoo products on one side, condoms and personal items on the other. He could DO this. "I can do that! I can buy condoms! I cannot, however, buy bloody Tampax!"

 

"Make sure they're latex, lubricated with spermicide, ribbed, and have the reservoir at the end."  She tweaked his nose.  "Think you can handle that?  Then when you've picked those out, find another box, Gold Coin brand, with the extra lubricant and reservoir tip for me."

 

Whatever blood that was left in his face completely drained, and he just stared at his twin sister with a look of absolute horror, before looking at the condoms. Then back at her, and he pulled a lock of hair. Hard. "You will find your own condoms on your OWN time! For the love of God! You aren’t having sex!"

 

"I will be when I get home, which I hope to God will be soon, and I don't intend to wait."

 

"Like not having any condoms would stop you." He muttered darkly, and blinked at the packages a moment… before reaching out and snagging the ones he always bought. "There. Can we go now please?"

 

"No.  Because, look.  They're not ribbed, and they don't have the spermicidal lubricant on them."  She kissed his forehead.  "Look.  Buy the right ones.  I'll be back with the other things in just a few moments."

 

Mutter. "Wouldn’t need it if she wasn’t having sex." Mutter.

 

But he sighed.

 

He kept the box... not that he was having sex. And was positive that Lionel had two or three somewhere. Dammit. He set the box back, and peered.  Way too many choices, and he thanked God he was alone.

 

A quick peer made him certain of the fact, and he picked up two boxes… Trojan and Carefree, and blinked. Both were spermicidal, which, by the by, what a blow to ones masculinity. They were ribbed...for her pleasure. Grack. Why did one cost 7.50, and the other 6 dollars? Was more better? They both had ten inside. Dammit.

 

He was TOO DAMN OLD FOR THIS.

 

Megan snickered as she listened to the exasperated mutter from the other aisle.  Her fingers skipped deftly over the boxes of personal products, and aha, there it was.  KY water-based personal lubricant.  See?  Easy as pie to find, and she picked up two boxes, one for Shayla and one for herself.  The next thing was the vaginal wash, and she was almost positive that Shayla wouldn't use it--she herself only did after showering and scrubbing off makeup on a photo shoot, but still... she wanted to make sure that her baby sister had all the options.  Choosing an all-natural wash formulated for teenagers, she made her way back over to Dominic's aisle, and casually dumped the products in the basket, along with a small box of her brand of tampons.  "Have you made your choice yet?"

 

"Take the female poison out of my basket. Or trade me." He held his arm out, still staring at the two boxes with a questioning male gaze, frowning as he read the back of each one, arm dangling.

 

Megan laughed, plucked the two boxes out of his hands, and picked up a third box altogether.  "Ten in the box.  Spermicidal lubricant.  Ribbed for her pleasure, reservoir tip, allergen-free latex."

 

"Yes, Megan, because I am actually fourteen years old and I don’t know what condoms are and what they’re for." He glared testily, and snatched them back. "Trojan is the best. The other brands aren’t as good."

 

"Aaah, yes, but do you know what brands our little sister prefers?"

 

"I don’t care. Trojans rarely rip."

 

"Trojans are also not allergen-free latex."  She held up the box.  "These are.  And I don't want to take Shayla to the doctor with a case of latex-rash between her legs."

 

He snatched it back. "And I don’t want to have to take her to the doctor after she realizes that her young man’s condom has ripped and she's very possibly pregnant."

 

"You're forgetting that she's on the pill," Megan reminded him.

 

"And? They’re only 97 percent effective." He glared at her… but yeah, he was sulking.

 

"Give me the odds on a condom ripping on the same sexual encounter that the pill decides to stop being effective," she demanded, tapping him on the nose with her box.

 

"Ellie."

 

"Ellie happened because that son of a bitch changed Lindy's birth control pills to fertility pills," Megan reminded hotly.  "For which Graham nearly killed him."

 

Dominic suddenly stopped, and looked up at that. Pain flashed across his face before he could stop it… and his eyes trained on Megan. "What?"

 

"You... you didn't know?"  Megan stopped in her tracks.  "I thought--I thought everybody'd been told."  She suddenly hugged Dominic tightly.

 

He let his sister hold him, but couldn’t quite come to hold her back...basket and condoms not withstanding. "What? What did he do? Why didn’t… why didn’t anyone ever tell me?"

 

She leaned back at him.  "Morgan... you can ask that?  After the last decade and a half of everybody in the family knowing that something happened to you but nobody--except me--knowing what it was?  You can ask why nobody wanted to add more onto your burden?"  She didn't let him go.  "Roddy found out that Lindy was on birth control pills, and he went ballistic.  He beat her, and she thought that was the end of it, until she got pregnant with Ellie.  When the doctors looked at her, they realized her pills had been changed.  Graham hunted him down and beat him within an inch of his life.  That's when Lindy left him; went back to stay with Graham until the divorce came through, and then Graham helped her find a home of her own."

 

"No one ever..." He had to sit down. And did so, in the middle of the floor... breathing very quietly as the fury slowly ate at him. "What a bastard. What a mother fucking bastard. Graham should have killed him. He should have. Fucking hell, why didn’t anyone... Christ." He rubbed his face… winced, when he realized the condoms were still in his hand, and set them on the shelf again, sighing softly. "My God, our Lindy. I wish I'd known… Megan, I wish someone had told me."

 

"I know, Morgan.  I would have, if I hadn't thought you'd already known."

 

He shook his head softly, and closed his eyes for a moment, before climbing back to his feet, slowly, shaking his head again as he arranged his basket again. "She didn’t press charges, did she?"

 

"No, she didn't."

 

"So proud, our Lindy." He swallowed. "Alright, well. Shock of my life, there. Just pick a box, Megan, and... and on to the chips."

 

"It's been done almost six years, Morgan... don't dredge it up to her, not again," Megan warned softly.

 

"I won’t." He shook his head, and looked down. "But its time for me to tell her. I...I-I think." He nodded, and gazed at his beautiful sister.

 

Megan squeezed his hand tightly.  "I think so too," she said quietly.  "It's torn Lindy apart, you know, knowing that she can't help you bear this burden."

 

"I know." He looked at the row of chips, and held her hand tight and warm in his much larger one. "I know. Tonight… when we go home. I think I will."

 

"You'll make her very happy."  She hugged his waist tightly with her other arm.  "After you tell Lindy... you might want to think about telling the rest of the family too.  It's gone on long enough, Morgan.  We've seen  you with Lionel, and it's like you're a changed man.  If telling him made such a difference in you... imagine what it will be like not to have to hide it any longer.  From any of us."  She kissed his cheek softly.  "I'll be there with you, my brother."

 

"I need you to be there." He said it softly...then shut his eyes tight and looked away. "It just scares me, Megan. The shame I can picture in Graham's eyes… and mama. I don’t want… I don’t want to become a center of pity for them. Do you understand? I don't want them to think I want it… or need it."

 

"No, Morgan.  I didn't pity you.  I'm not ashamed of you.  I can't imagine anyone else in the family being ashamed of you or pitying you.  I was horrified, but I just knew somehow that you were hurting, and that's the only reason you told me.  My brother, my darling...  love, nobody is going to react to you with anything but love."

 

"I did. You were the only one I could think of telling… going to. No one else understands me like you… not even Lionel" He admitted quietly, then beamed a little as he reached out for a bag of onion sun chips. Mmmm. And he shyly glanced at his sister "And I know. I know it. I’m just a wimp."

 

"You're not a wimp.  You're just worried about this.  Just start with Lindy, and see how that goes.  And then think about the rest of the family."  She left her arm around his waist, head resting on his shoulder.  "I love you, brother."

 

"Love you more, Goldilocks." He handed her a bag of potato chips. "Here. Eat these. God knows your hips can use it." But he hugged said hip with his hand, pulling her in tight to him as they shopped. "I'll talk to Lindy when we get home...and then, with you at my side… I'll tell the others. I’m scared, but I'll do it. Need to, I think. Mama has it in her head that Lionel’s done something bad to me."

 

Megan snorted.  "I eat like a monster as it is."  But she tucked the chips in her bag and stayed close to him.  "I'll always be by your side, Morgan.  That's what sisters are for."  Then she giggled.  "Yeah, I think she thinks that he's beaten you into submission or something like that.  Have you seen the way his temples throb when she calls him Little Boy?"

 

"She calls him Little Boy, constantly." He almost didn’t choke down the laugh. "I almost wouldn’t say anything, if I get to keep seeing that barely restrained temper… Yes!" Oh, he laughed. "Oh, good God, its so funny, and he just glares at me." He snickered, wickedly, and hugged her again. "I was going to make a particularly crude comment, but I shall pass."

 

"Why pass?  It's not like I'm going to run and tell him.  Besides, I appreciate a crude comment just as much as the next girl."

 

"Nope." Another grin. "Because as much as I love you, Lionel would not be pleased. ...And I don’t want to tease myself." A heavy sigh. "Darling, all we need is the meat, now, and I haven’t a clue as to how to chose it."

 

"Don't worry.  We're bright children.  We can figure it out together."  She bumped her hip against his.  "We've seen Lindy do this enough, we can shop for meat."

 

"Yes, but even when we were little, I just didn’t get her logic. Don’t you remember? "Why not that one, Lindy?? Why not?!" and she'd always answer with, "Its not the one we want." What the bloody hell that meant, I’ve not a clue."

 

"Wasn't big enough, had too much fat in it, or it wasn't the right kind of roast," Megan answered absently.  "So what does Hilde have us looking for today?"

 

"Who?"

 

"Ms. Bird, you dork.  Her name is Hilde!"

 

He stared at her. "Ms Bird has a first name? Christ, I didn’t know." He made a weird face. "I wasn’t supposed to know. She's... she's Ms Bird. I can’t call her Hilde for the love of God!"

 

Megan laughed.  "Of course she has a first name!  It's Hilde!  She made me and Mama and Martha call her that the first day!"

 

"Did she, now?" He looked at her for a long moment, and hummed softly. "I think she's lonely. Its just a bunch of men in the house, you know. Gets a bit lonely, I could only guess."

 

"You realize she won't be alone very much longer; not with Mama moving here with Graham and Mrs. Kent just down the road."

 

"I think that’s going to be interesting." He nudged her gently. "And what of you? What of my Meggie? When am I to see her again?"

 

She cringed.  "I've got two Parisian shoots in late January, and a Milan runway for February."  She squeezed his waist.  "But..."  she dropped her voice conspiratorially.  "In March... Philippe and I are going to get married, so I'll be in Metropolis then... to stay."

 

"Really?" He brightened, considerably. "Really? Don’t lie to me, now."

 

"Really."  She snuggled him.  "I'll show you the book when we get home, where we've planned everything out.  But don't tell anyone!"

 

"We can be newly weds together. You see? Knew it would work out for the Senatori twins." He beamed at her and squeezed her waist. "Not a word. Mama would go ballistic."

 

"Yes she will."  And she squeezed back.  "But once we're married she won't be able to say anything to him."  She flashed a quick grin.  "I talked to Bruce Wayne the other day, and he thinks that in a few more years, I should be able to move into photography myself... Philippe and I would be working his studio together."

 

"I think, beloved, that you would enjoy that much more then being in front of the camera." he smiled at her, and squeezed her tight. "That way, if you photograph naked, at least I don’t have to kill Philippe for it! You see? It all turns out well."

 

"He's been pestering me for a while now to help him book shoots, especially with the contacts I have."  She hugged him tightly.  "Not a word.  He's even moving his studio to Metropolis."

 

He looked down at her a moment, as he pressed his cheek to her hair and strolled the store. "Mmmm. Maybe I’ve got to get another opinion of Philippe."

 

"You should.  He's a good man, and I love him."  She grinned.  "C'mon.  Just think... your sister's ass won't be plastered all over America in a few months."

 

"Thank God almighty, for that." He huffed a breath...but he was serious about this guy. He'd been in his sisters life for almost five years now, and they'd only progressed foreword... few arguments, few fights. Just goodness, and Dominic *liked* that. "I know you do." He pointed at the rows of freezer meats. "I’m sure if he were here he'd know exactly what to get."

 

"He would, cause he shops and cooks."  She grinned.  "What's on the list?"

 

"Ahh...lets see." But he had a thick grin in his voice. Lionel would try cooking… and burn the house down. He could cook, for the both of them. "She wants three roasts."

 

"Roasts... yes, ah.  Oh, thank God.  Shopping for idiots.  Look at this label.  Beef for roasting and braising.  Thank God."  She shooed him back a moment.  "Ah... here we go.  Less than fifteen percent fat... less than twenty... less than fifteen, less than twenty... less than twenty... ah!  Less than fifteen!"  She piled the three roasts into the basket.  All were less than fifteen percent fat, and they were all two or more pounds.  "There we go."

 

He watched her, with avid interest...then frowned as she put the things into the basket. "Why did you pick those? What’s special about them? Aren’t these over here prettier?" He held one up, with a good portion of fat on it. It was prettier then those!

 

"Ewww!!!  Prettier, yes.  Better for eating, no.  See, that one's got a lot of fat on it."  She picked up one of the three from her basket.  "See... less fat, more meat to eat."  She giggled.  "Remind me to tell you the story of Prometheus and the sheep fat."

 

"I don’t know. I like prettier meat." He frowned at her but kept up, pointing to the last item on his list while speaking. "I’m sorry, I know you weren’t talking about the Greek slash Roman slash whatever gods that Lionel and his son have drilled into me for the past fifteen years, correct?"

 

Megan giggled again.  "Oops?" she said.  "See, that's what Prometheus did to the gods.  He taught the men of the world to deceive the gods with fat; they separated the good meat in one pile, and the other pile had the bones and the rest of the carcass, but it was covered in the snowy-white fat.  Zeus picked the pretty pile, but he got the worst end of the deal."  A light blush.  "Philippe told me that one so I'd remember what to look for.  Fat equals bad."

 

"Christ, you're marrying into it too. Megan, I suggest we just run off to Cancun. I’m sure we can make a living being belly dancers." A sad nod. "Its a nice story, but you know me and history. I’ve failed every history course I’ve ever taken."

 

Megan rubbed her belly.  "Would if I could dance, love, but I have no rhythm."  Then she thumped him lightly on the back of his head.  "You should know the history as much as you've been tutored in it!"

 

"Gyah!" He ducked another hit, and tossed a grin at her. "I zone out. I’ve come quite good at just nodding and smiling, let me tell you." He grinned again. "I love Lionel, quite a bit. But I'll leave his lecturing to Shane, who I’m sure will benefit from it."

 

A light cough.  "Lex is quite good at the lectures too, when he chooses to be.  He's a dear boy, but if I heard once, I heard a hundred times about Alexander the Great."

 

"And Napoleon. And Caesar. And Dante. And King Arthur. And Lord Byron." A cough, as he picked up some gummy worms and snuck them into the basket for Ellie.

 

"And Prometheus, Zeus, Hercules, Merlin..."  She let the list trail off.  "Morgan?"

 

"Mmm?"

 

"They're geeks.  Both of them.  You realize you're marrying a geek?  And will have a geek for your son-in-law?"

 

He blinked. Grinned. But blinked. "Son in law, mmm? That’s quite strange. I never really thought of him as a son in law." Oh, and his smile was wicked. "Now there is a good joking opportunity. I won't let it slide." Another cackle. "As for the geek part...he's a cute geek. An insanely cute geek...I can deal."

 

"Well, think of it.  Lex is Lionel's son.  He'll be your son too, by that marriage."  She doubled over.  "Are--are you going--to make him--call you dad?"

 

Oh, he burst into peels of laughter. "Oh, good God, I should, shouldn’t I? He'd string me by the balls!"

 

"You should!!"  She was nearly crying she was laughing so hard.  "Dad!!!"

 

Oh, my GOD. And he was just dying because the image of Lex's face when Dominic told him was enough to save that joke. Ohhh yes. It's time would COME. He snickered at his sister, tugging her along as they shopped and the wind howled outside. "Come on, you know I'll have to save that one."

 

"Oh of course you will.  But please, God, Morgan, promise me that you'll take a picture of Lex's face when you say that."  She almost crumpled in fits of laughter again.

 

He was still grinning...but alright, so maybe the thought wasn’t so bad. It was kind of... kind of nice. Lex would never do it, but dwelling on it made him smile. "Come now, take a breather, Goldilocks. We've got to get going soon. What else is there on that to go?"

 

Megan scanned the list quickly.  "Nothing.  We've got everything we need, and then some."  And then some was right.  With the extra things they'd picked up for herself and Shayla and the bottle of alcohol that Megan had snuck into the basket for Graham... well, it was going to be fun getting all the bags out to the car.

 

Plus Dominic’s gummy worms, and the pizza goldfish he had to have for Shaney, and the nice bottle of Pepsi, and--"We need to stop at McDonalds on the way home. Think they're open?"

 

"Should be, as long as the power's on.  But come on, Morgan... do we really need any more junk food?"

 

Oh, and that reminded him. He tugged his cell phone out of his coat pocket, and called the mansion. Ms. Bird had left explicit directions, to check in at some point so she'd know they were still alive. And he was making his customary phone call. "Yes." He nodded as he dialed. "Yes, indeed."

 

Ms. Bird threw the towel in her hands over her shoulder as she reached for the telephone.  "Hello.  Luthor Estate."

 

"Hello, darling, it's us! We're still alive! Isn’t it a miracle?"

 

"The vay chu drive?  Ja, et is.  Und vhat vere you thinking, dragging dear Miss Meggie out in dis veather!  She could ketch cold!"

 

"I know! Don’t kill me, but she  is the one who dragged me. I had no say so in it, whatsoever." He shook his head, like she could see. "I’m innocent, I swear it."

 

"Dat leetle girl couldn't drag a wet cat!"

 

"Hah! That’s what you think!" He nodded, then glared at Megan. "You've gotten me in trouble, snipe." Then back to the phone. "She dragged me out she did, I swear it." Several nods. "But I also called to make sure you haven’t thought of anything else you might need. Everything alright?"

 

"Ja, everytink is goot.  Oh, chu need vun more thing for Miss Shayla.  Tissues."  She nodded into the phone.  "Two, mebbe tree boxes vould be goot."

 

"Tissues?" He stopped. "Why does she need tissues?"

 

"Do chu pay no attention to vhat is going on under yer nose?"  She huffed.  "Sir Pete is upset because of vhat happened vith Master Dick.  Dey haf gone through a box already."

 

A blink. "What happened with Dick? And Pete? And why do I have a bad feeling Graham shouldn't know this?"

 

Ms. Bird huffed again.  "Chu.... boy!  Sir Pete and Master Dick vere hafing un affair until Master Bruce came und took Dick avay."

 

Holy fuck.

 

....Holy fuck.

 

"...An affair? And now that...that..." Oh, the blood was draining. "That boy was with...and now my Shayla?"

 

"Ja.  But trust Hilde, Sir Dominic.  Chu do not need to vorry, only learn to listen at keyholes."  A crafty smile.  "Dey love each other, or are beginning to."

 

"I know... its just... I’m not as brave as I was being in the kitchen, Ms. Bird. I worry for my Shayla." He kept the phone out of Megan’s reach. "However, teen angst does require some tissue--we'll pick some up. Anything else?"

 

"Vould you like to save vhat's left of my sanity?"

 

"Of course, beloved."

 

"Vould you please bring back French fries for Herr Lionel?  De man is driving me to insanity!"

 

Did he know his lover, or did he know his lover? "Sure will." And oh, there was love in his heart. "Tell him to calm himself, I'll be home in an hour."

 

"Could chu possibly make it home any faster?" 

 

"Forty-five minutes?"

 

"I vill be vatching de clock."

-fin-

 

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