Picking up the Pieces [Stu]

[Stu Pott]

His smile was all the agreement they would need. He didn't even bother to grab the clothes they had already shed. He lifted her and carried her across the threshold before kicking the door closed.



He rolled off of her sometime later, and craved a cigarette. He didn't want to smoke in her room, so he buried the urge by wrapping his arm around her, nuzzling her neck. His body was slick with perspiration, his hair matted in all sorts of strange directions, and if his eyes hadn't been obsidian they'd be clouded over in ecstasy.

It had been the best night of his life.

"You did miss me. I mean, I knew you did, but damn... you missed me a lot, twist."

He smiled broadly, knowing she probably wouldn't pick up on the deeper meaning behind the word, being very offensive yet also descriptive of the actions that had just gone down. They had done things that he didn't think his body was capable of.

It had been GREAT.

[Delilah A. Black]

She suppressed a laugh as he hauled her into his arms for the second time that day. She threw her arms around him and peppered him with more of those nibbling little kisses as he carried her, reveling in this moment of perfection, however brief. At any rate, she intended to keep it going for as long as she could.

Once they were in the confines of her room, as far as she was concerned, there was nothing beyond it. Just Stu, Delilah, and their euphoria.


------------------------.


She fell back with a groan of gratification, her chest rising and falling with the last of their exertion, out of breath. With a shaky hand, she pushed the hair out of her eyes, managing a breathy laugh as Stu curled himself around her, pulling her into him.

"You did miss me. I mean, I knew you did, but damn... you missed me a lot, twist."

She let out a throaty chuckle as she shifted in his arms, turning over to face him, tucking her face into the crook of his neck, smelling his musk. “Oh, plenty more where that came from, I assure you.” It had been nearly five damn years without any interaction whatsoever with a man. She hadn't known how much she missed the more...carnal side of things until she was confronted with the all at once. Their intensity had surprised her, too, but it had left her feeling satisfied. Again. And again...and again and again.

She tilted her head up to look at him, just marveling at his being there. “Not bad for a couple of old people, huh?”

[Stu Pott]

"Not bad at all."

That roguish smile was firmly set as he inhaled, taking in her scent. He lay there in silence aterwards, thinking about about the day. It had been a lot of ups and downs, left and rights. His side ached something fierce.

He leaned up, propping himself into a sitting position. He tousled his hair before looking at her.

"I'm sorry. For everything. I shouldn't have said those things. Just wasn't right. I'm staying, I meant it when I said it to Johnny. I really did."

He put a hand on hers, and squeezed. "Plus, that little guy needs me. And he needs you. I think he deserves both of us."

[Delilah A. Black]

“Not bad at all.”

She chuckled deep in her throat as she closed her eyes, pressed up against him, relaxed. Really and truly relaxed for the first time since the bombs had fallen, as though a great weight had been lifted off her. It took her a moment to register what that weight was: the hope she had harbored for so many years, the waiting, the yearning that she had to carry with her, a weight she was afraid she had passed onto her son. How many years had it been since she hadn't fallen asleep out of exhaustion or in front of her paper work? How many since her mind had felt this clear? How many since she had slept without a nightmare or waking up from an anxious certainty that something wasn't right?

Before today, she would have dismissed it as a fact of life. Now, with Stu lying naked beside her, something she only dared hope to dream about on the odd occasion, she thought that just might be possible.

Stu shifted, and Delilah realized she had been drowsing. She looked up at him as he sat up, watching as he tousled his hair and turned his black eyes towards her. She couldn't read them in this light: she could scarcely read him just by watching his eyes anyway, but the obsidian depths of his eyes only reflected the darkness of the room. She pushed herself up on her side to give him her full attention and the blanket around her shoulders fell down to her waist.

“I'm sorry. For everything. I shouldn't have said those things. Just wasn't right. I'm staying, I meant it when I said it to Johnny. I really did.”

She felt him take her hand, squeezing it lightly. She kept her eyes locked on his, hers wavering ever so slightly in the dim light of her room.

“Plus, that little guy needs me. And he needs you. I think he deserves both of us.”

Her throat clenched with an emotion she didn't think had a word. It was the feeling of being understood, vindicated, and loved unconditionally in one fell swoop. It meant a lot for her to hear that, that her reason for fighting him hadn't been stupid. Well, the fight had been stupid, but at least they had both gotten their respective points across.

But Stu had already broached this subject prior. Not normally one to repeat himself, Delilah wondered if he had another reason for bringing this up again, especially in the manner he just had. Was he going to...? Nah, there was no way.

She smiled up at him and placed her other hand lightly on top of his. “I'm sorry I over reacted. I lashed out when I thought you were going to try and take Oliver from me, which in hindsight, makes no sense. I wasn't thinking. That fight was my fault, and I'm sorry I hurt you.” she took her hand off his to touch the bruise nearest to her, gently massaging it in slow circles. The bruises she left were deep and needed to be brought to the surface, something that was done by dispersing the bruise over the affected area and breaking down the broken capillaries that make up a bruise. This would lessen the time that the bruise would be debilitating as well as tender. “I'm happy you're staying. Oliver won't be able to go to school this fall or visit his friends and he's trapped here in the base more often than not...he's a strong boy, but he needs to grow up knowing happiness. He needs you...and I need you, too.” she exhaled a shaky breath, still smiling although her eyes were shining a little more now. “Now that I know you're back, that you're alive, I...I can't...” she trailed off, shifting her eyes from his as a tear quickly rolled down her cheek. It even hurt to think about.

[Stu Pott]

((This is going to suck. I'm pissed I lost all my muse, but you deserve a post))

Thin, gaunt arms hugged the body next to him close, his senses taking in all of her being. He shushed gently as she trailed off, no real words just a gentle issuing of breath through pursed lips. There there, you'll be all better. Just like mama used to.

They laid in silence, the ambient noises of the night all that they had to comfort their ears, besides the constant and rhythmic thumping of their hearts. Stu's beat loudly, as if in defiance of all the times it had fallen quiet, a thundering bass that threatened to break apart his ribcage. His chest would seemingly heave with the breaths necessary to palpitate at such ferocity, but his air was drawn in slowly and smoothly.

At some point he drifted off to sleep. At another point she was and he wasn't. The morning would begin to bleed red as it did often in this post apocalyptic world that they inhabited. It was as if even god knew that times had changed. He wondered idly if the mornings had ever been a color other than red.

He didn't get up. He couldn't force himself, despite wanting to get the show on the road with Militia. His new charge, the sword still in the kitchen on the table, the cabinet full of dossiers. A purpose. A real purpose that wasn't just finding someone else.

Because he had found her. He had found all he had needed, but now he needed more. The hunger awoke deep within him, but it was unsure of itself; it had never been put to such a use. It had been the hunger that kept his mother alive and the people under him alive, so it wasn't the purity. It had been the hunger that drove him to commit the atrocities over Olesya, so it wasn't some great evil or a penchant for the bombastic.

No. This was a hunger well satiated, but had room for more. This, he thought, was what pride must feel like.

[Delilah A. Black]

As relaxed and happy (and exhausted) as she was, Delilah was unable to fall asleep. The next morning, she would awaken rested and refreshed in spite of her lack of sleep and the thoughts keeping her awake.

It had been less complicated without Stu, she had realized. Now she had attachments to the world, things that people could use against her. This wasn't really news, but just a sudden realization that what she held dear could destroy her simply by not being there. At the same time, she knew that in the grand scheme of things, their relationship was miniscule, the life of her own son insignifigant. If either of them were to die, the life would go on...

But it would be meaningless.

She dwelled on this throughout what remained of the night, her eyes closed, her face pressed against Stu's chest. Eventually, she came to peace with the thought. Life would go on, but she would be unable to live. It was something she simply had to accept. With Stu and her son, the Crows, everyone on the line, there was no better reason to continue living.

The sun started to rise and Delilah opened her eyes automatically. It was time to get up and start her routine.

She raised her head and kissed Stu lightly on the lips before rolling off the bed and onto the floor. She didn't normally do push-up's naked, but there was a first for everything.

Slowly, her body started to wake up again as blood surged through it while she stretched and excersized. All in all it only took five minutes for that light work-out, but it left her with a pale sheen of sweat on her neck and chest that shimmered in the morning light. Sighing, she plopped down on her bed, looking at Stu with a slight smile. "How'd you sleep?"

[Stu Pott]

As she fell into the bed, she startled him awake. His eyes were blurry, but the image before him assuredly had something to do with it; the woman that he loved more than any other before, the girl he had crossed the desolate wasteland that was the world they lived in, and she was layining naked next to him. Her skin glowed with a light sheen from the dull light coming from the window, and her curves and skin caused something to stir deep down inside.

"I slept like a king next to his queen."

He scurried across the bed and wrapped himself around her, his lips finding hers and his tongue exploring her mouth. He didn't care about his morning breath or hers, all he cared for was exploring every part of her that he could.

Every. Single. Part.

[Delilah A. Black]

"I slept like a king next to his queen."

The way Stu looked at her in that moment was like flipping an internal switch inside her. All at once, her pulse quickened, her body flushed. She felt herself yearning for him, as though last night was only a passing (albeit awesome) dream. Delilah returned his kiss eagerly, hungry for him.

Any routine that she had established over the last couple of years would be immediately and pleasantly interrupted forthwith given the onset of new and vigorous activities. Her schedule would have to be...updated.

And she wouldn't mind the extra workouts if they were going to be this fun.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Sometime later, Delilah would flop back on the bed, flushed and panting as she laughed breathlessly. "Mmm...I don't know how much more 'surprise' my body can take."

Referring of course to the number of times he had pounced on her thus far and how her body had responded instantly.

She'd look over at him, smiling. "It's about time for Oliver to be getting up...do you want to have a shower before we eat?"

[Stu Pott]

"Only if you'll join me."

His face split in that cheshire grin that he owned, the only one he ever gave his beloved. He threw a pillow at her as he got up and sauntered over, turning it on as he hopped in. Whether or not she joined... well that was up to her. He expected that motherly duties would bar her from another romp, and he understood, though he did not like it one bit.

Getting out afterwards, he dressed in slacks and his hoodie. It was a day in, a day for Oliver and her. Johnny could wait... especially after everything they had talked about during that day.

He went out to the kitchen and joined his woman and their son. And honestly? He couldn't have dreamed a more idyllic scene; there was his boy, sitting at the table joking with his mother, who was looking more beautiful every minute he had been with her.

And he was happy.

[Delilah A. Black]

"Only if you'll join me."

Goddammit, he did it again. She sighed in fake exasperation as she batted the pillow to the side, returning his wicked smile. "I'll be right with you, love." she said, winking playfully. First, she just needed to check on Oliver.

Wrapping the sheets around herself, she tip-toed quietly across the hall to her son's room, opening the door a crack so she could determine whether or not he was asleep.

He was. WELP, no reason to dally!

Ensuring all the clothes from their earlier escapades were back safely in their room, Delilah grabbed a fresh set and took it to the bathroom with her, vowing to make it quick.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

She stumbled out of the shower a few minutes before Stu, a silly grin on her face. Oh, that man...

Delilah got dressed quickly, brushing her hair before putting it up in the clip. She strode out and poked her head in Oliver's room, and he stirred.

"Time to get up, Oliver."

His eyes opened automatically at the sound of her voice and he sat up, wide eyed. "Is dad still here?"

She smiled at him, "Of course. What do you want for breakfast?"

"French toast!!!"

"you know we don't have syrup, right? Just icing sugar."

"That's okay."

"When that's what we''ll have."

Oliver let out a whoop of glee and vaulted out of the bed as Delilah strode to the kitchen to begin the food. It was nearly done when Stu walked in, fresh from his shower. Her heart swelled at the sight if him.

GOD, she had missed him.

"Just in time," she said as she put out the plates on the make shift coffee table, accompanied with little forks andkknives (and chopsticks for her and Oliver.

"Dad! What do you want to do today?!" he said enthusiastically, beaming up at Stu.

[Stu Pott]

He went over and kissed Del before sitting down next to Oliver, the placement with the fork and knife. She was being thoughtful and it warmed him almost as much as their coupling did.

He grinned at Oliver's question, and he roughled his hair before answering. "Boyo, whatever you want to do."

He grinned at Del before tearing into the food, the first real cooked meal for him in as long as he could remember. It was the most delicious thing he had ever eaten.

[Delilah A. Black]

She watched as Stu and Oliver ate in the same wolfish fashion, as though thryd never ear again. She shook her head, picking up a piece of toast between her chopsticks and taking a bite.

She hadn't always been able to cook. In fact, she had been notoriously bad for it up until Oliver was born and Delilah was stable enough to be by herself. Through trial and error, she got to a more passable level.

Oliver chewed his food thoughtfully for a moment before coming up with an idea. He had already finished thus breakfast. "THE BEACH!"

Delilah looked over at Stu, smiling with raised eyebrows. "its fine with me. How about you?

Oliver would probably get some one on one time with Stu today as well since Delilah had about EIGHT MILLION THINGS TO COORDINATE.