afire love

This entire night had been an epic failure in so many ways Ari wanted to do nothing but curl up into her bed not wake up for hours. With a small frown now taking over her lips Ari turned to her sister and brother, both of whom where beginning to stand, “I’m sorry” she mouthed but they both shrugged it off and got up to hug her, Cori whispering “We’re gonna go, alright? Call me” in her ear before kissing the top of Ari’s head.

Warm arms wrapped around him and he was brought down, face resting on his wife's chest. The sobs couldn't be stopped and all he could do was wrap his arms around her middle and sob into her chest. "I hate them. I fucking hate them," was all he could say, sobs making his body shake in her embrace. The entire night was a nightmare, he hadn't been expecting anything less, but the fact that his parents were so against his marriage to Ari that they were comfortable enough to not want their baby killed him. He honestly hated them. 

"I know you think you’re trying to help, dad" Ari said gently, putting both her hands on his arms so that he would look at her and Ari frowned at the genuine concern reflected in his gaze. "But I would bet my life on the fact that Ryan would never hurt me, he’s a good person; arguably a better person than I am most of the time honestly you should be offering to adopt him because I put him through hell on a daily basis" She said managing a small smile "I can’t change what’s already on your mind but don’t blame him for his parents mistakes, they are literal demons but he’s not like that."

Jason only shook his head, clearly struggling between his own thoughts and Ari’s heartfelt words. The sound of Ryan’s name being screamed brought Ari’s attention back to the situation at hand and she patted her father on the shoulder twice before scampering away to return to the kitchen before ‘Ryan, no!’ turned into ‘Ryan, stop!’. Ari wasn’t aware of exactly what tipped him off, she’d only heard bits and pieces about control and ‘that woman’ which she assumed referred to her, and now Ryan was being physically restrained by his sister who was mere a few inches taller than Ari herself.

As badly as she wanted to tell Ryan’s parents just how much lower than shit they were Ari knew they were going to get anywhere unless Ryan calmed down at least a little bit. “Ryan…baby,” she called as she moved to stand in front of him, cupping his jaw beneath her hands so the he was looking at her and not his father “Listen to Kim, love, he’s not worth it. Don’t let him turn you into him.” Ari said softly as she gently caressed his cheek. 

When Ari turned and demanded that they leave, Ryan wrapped an arm around her waist and glared at his parents, silently backing up his wife. "Excuse me? I'm not going anywhere." Dropping his head for a minute he picked it back up to give his mother a look. "Mom, you guys need to go. This is over and... I'm not even sure that I want you guys in our lives anymore." Ryan spoke, his voice rough from the previous yelling and his tone screamed exhaustion and sadness. Brokenhearted, Ryan pulled away from his wife before walking through the doorway of the dinning room and pass Jason-- too ashamed to look at the older man-- and finally into the kitchen.

Ari scoffed and rolled her eyes when he mention being a good father, muttering “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me” underneath her breath. Even if she didn’t know what a horrible person he truly was the results of his parenting were obvious and written all over the pain in Ryan’s face. Ari hated seeing him like this most often she hated when she was the cause for it but she felt even worse that someone else could have that effect on him.

The petite woman was hardly paying attention to anyone else round the table but when Ryan dropped the revelation of his father’s abuse Ari’s eyes went straight to her father, who had been watching both her and Ryan since she started yelling at Vera. This really wasn’t how she wanted him to become accustomed to Ryan and his family considering they’ve never spent any time together before this and Ari just knew what he was already thinking when he got up slowly and began to walk over to her.

“Ari, I need speak with you in the liv-”

"I’m not going anywhere Dad" Ari snapped back in response, the last thing she wanted to do was leave Ryan’s side.

“That wasn’t question, Ari, come here" Jason said a little more forcefully but still in a hushed tone. With an immature groan Ari moved from her position and followed her father but stopped him in the hallway just outside the dining room, that was as far as she was willing to be away from Ryan.

“Has he ever put his hands on you?” Jason asked wasting no time getting to his point.  ”What?” Ari asked in disbelief, “Answer the question!” ”He touches me all the time dad, how’d you think I got pregnant?” she answered, refusing to even took in her fathers direction. “Don’t get smart me y-” Jason took a deep breath, calming his nerves before he spoke again in a softer more pleading tone. “I know what it’s like for the children of abuse, Ari, I just want to know that you’re okay. I had no idea his parents were like this… you know you don’t have to stay here. You can come back home,”

"I did what I had to do to create order within my home. I will not be nailed to the cross simply because you can't grow up. You're not a child anymore, Ryan." His father was spewing shit and Ryan couldn't believe it. The man was actually defending his actions and his mother just sat there, nodding her head with an absentminded gaze in her eyes. What kind of family was he cursed with? Glancing over, he watched as Kim shook her head and fought to speak in the matter. The twins had managed to sneak their way back into the dinning room, crouching behind the half wall that led to the basement door. Great. 

"Maybe if you would control that woman, we wouldn't be having this issue. She has a big mouth and she needs to know her place." That was it. That was the final straw that had Ryan blacking out for just a moment. This man, this piece of shit that Ryan had the misfortune of calling his father, had just suggested that Ryan put his hands on Ari so that she could be more like Vera. He'd never hated anyone more in his entire life. 

But Ari couldn’t just stand there and ignore the comment like her family seemed to be doing, Michael suddenly very interested in the pattern of the China on the table, Corinne was already back in her seat pretending to text with her fingers furiously moving over the digital keyboard and her father, well, her just looked confused. The expression on his face read nothing but pure disbelief but not necessarily anger. Which seemed to be the norm for them, Ari always was the one with temper while everyone else was skilled in calming her down when it became too much.

"Ari," he repeated when she spoke of how he had 'fucked' her. He knew it. He knew that this night was going to be a mess. His mother ruined everything with her siring hatred. "Mom! Stop, that's enough! Don't talk to her like that. I'm so sick of your attitude and your snide comments. She's my wife. You will respect her." It's best to mention that Ryan didn't raise his voice or curse to his mother, he never did. But that wasn't enough for Harold, Ryan's father.

From his seat, his stoic expression deepened and he spoke up. "Don't talk to your mother like that. Show her respect." That was enough for Ryan to lose his mind. How dare he, this man who beat on his mother every single day since he could remember, talk about showing her respect? It was laughable, a fucking joke. His blood was boiling and he was beyond upset, but he knew if he flipped that it would cause Ari stress and that's not what she needed, especially now that she was carrying their baby. But Harold's condescending expression and hypocritical statement ate at Ryan. "Shut the fuck up. Just shut up. You don't get to tell me anything about respect."

Kim was standing beside Ryan, shaking her head and looking at her boys while pointing to the basement door. They could hang out down there in the family room until everything was sorted out. "Dad... please. Let's not fight, okay? They're having a baby and we need to be happy." Harold, being his usual self, shrugged his daughter off with a flick of his hand before standing. "I did my best as a father. I was a great father." Ryan cut him off, raising a hand and pointing a finger at him. The floodgates opened. 

Just as her mouth opened to speak again Ari’s eyes squinted at the man behind her husband, clearly only speaking to him like she didn’t even exist even though she was practically wrapped around him. When he finally did pay her a glance it read of nothing but discontent and Ari bit her lips to restrain the verbal onslaught that wanted so desperately to leave her tongue. “D’you know what?” Ari huffed, loosening a hand from Ryan’s waist and cupping his jaw so that he was looking down at her “Fuck this let’s just tell them and get it over with I want those people out of my bloody house.”

With her entire mood effectively and irrecoverably ruined Ari stomped into her dining room slammed a hand down onto the surface of the table to gain everyone’s attention. She waited for a moment until Ryan was by her side before speaking again. “Alright, so I know all of you are probably wondering why we invited you here since we’ve literally never done this” She spoke with hardly any enthusiasm “But we have something to tell you and we wanted everyone to hear at the same time that I..am pregnant. We’re expecting a baby!”

Following his wife, dragging his feet a bit, he noticed that Ari was standing at the head of the table and everyone's attention was on her. Shit. Maybe they weren't ready to tell them yet. Maybe he wasn't ready. Either way, it was happening and there was no point in prolonging it. Holding his breath, he listened as his wife dropped the bomb onto their families. Corrine's reaction was adorable and he was glad there was at least one person that seemed happy about it. Of course his sister already knew, but she decided against letting anyone else know that she was the first to know. The twins seemed happy about it, both of the boys declaring that they wanted the couple to have a boy.

"Oh God," was the only reaction that came from his mother. She had a look of pure disgust on her face and she didn't bother to hide it. His father, on the other hand, kept his expression as it always is-- enthused and internally, eternally bored. "You got her pregnant? So this... marriage," his mother spoke with acid dripping from her lips, raising her hands to make air quotations around 'marriage'. "It's a permanent situation now?" Ryan's eyes narrowed onto his mom, lip curled in anger. 

“Ryan! How are ya, mate?" Jason replied with excitement in his voice as he reached forward to shake his hand with enthusiasm, followed by Michael who offered simple head nod and "You alright?" before moving to inspect what Ari had cooked. Michael would never admit to it but he became painfully shy in group settings with people he wasn’t familiar with. Ari’s father greeted each one of Ryan’s family members with his trademark charming smile before turning to Ari with confusion "Where’s your mum?”

"How the hell should I know,Dad" Ari retorted "You didn’t invite her?” Ari groaned and moved to stand next to Ryan, looping her arms with his “No I didn’t, and why do you every care? Don’t you hate her?” “How I feel about her doesn’t matter she’s still your mum, Ari I-" 

With a smile, Ryan glance down at his tiny wife as she patted his stomach. It was true, he'd been starving all day. Ari didn't always cook but when she did, it was delicious. He was thankful that Ari was ushering everyone into the dinning room-- not only because he was starving but because the sooner they start to eat, the sooner they could tell their families about the baby and the sooner everyone could leave. Just as everyone started to file into the dinning room, Ryan pulled Ari by the arm and held her back for a moment.

"Can we just tell them now? So that they can go?" It wasn't even a funny, snide question. He was completely serious. Having everyone underneath one roof just to drop a bomb on them wasn't something he was looking forward to. "We should've just invited your family. I told you I didn't want my parents here." He didn't mean to snap at Ari, but he was just so frustrated. 

Even though Ari had invited the couple to her home there was still part of her that hoped that they wouldn’t show up. Her dreams where crushed however the door opened and she could practically hear Ryan’s nerves reach their peak. “I need you two to be my filter for the night” Ari whispered to her sister and Kim quickly before the senior Kings entered the kitchen and immediately began annoying her with unnecessary comments. “Hello, you two” Ari greeted with a smile so wide and tight it might have split her cheeks in two as he reached forward to shake their hands. She wouldn’t make the mistake of trying to hug them again after the last debacle that turned into.

When Mrs. King spoke again Ari blinked a few times, honestly not expecting to be put on her toes so quickly. “Oh don’t you like it?” Ari asked and ran the tips of her fingers along the ends of her hair “Y’know I have an appointment for next week maybe you can come with me and tell my stylist how you get your hair to accomplish the lifeless, dull thing its doing. You wear it so well” She snarled in response, trying not to sound as aggravated as she was but she doubt that she hid it well. In fact, Ari didn’t even realise that she’d taken a few steps toward the woman until she felt Cori’s hands pull her back by the shoulders.

"Ari," he hissed when she pulled him down to her level by his collar. This was definitely not a good idea, at all. When she walked to the door to answer it, Ryan stepped completely in the kitchen and took the opportunity to speak with his parents, now that they were no longer paying Corrine any mind. "You guys need to stop with the attitude. Stop being disrespectful to my wife," he spoke harshly in a whispered, looking pointedly toward his mother. His father was a silent man, only hitting lethal when it was least expected-- of course, behind closed doors, his hitting was always expected. He had no idea why his parents never like Ari, besides the obvious fact that she wasn't Chinese-- or just Asian. It'd pissed him off to no end but he couldn't get his parents to stop. 

It also helped that Ari was starting to gain a bit of weight around her midsection, she still wasn’t showing and anyone who didn’t know her would probably just assume she was retaining water. But for the married couple it was physical reminder to be more patient with one another, more kind in preparation for the life that they were bringing into the world. At least that’s the way Ari thought of it, finding herself stroking her tummy and softly talking to the fetus inside whenever she felt herself getting too worked up over something Ryan had done or said.

Cori sniffed, not convinced by Ryan’s quick and halted answer “You don’t sound too sure about that, bro!” She laughed, loving how nervous he seemed though she had no idea why. In some ways Corinne could be just as sadistic as Ari was. Ari, however, sighed in relief when the door bell rang and Ryan fled for his life. She definitely would have killed him if he’d spilled the beans so quickly, it had been hell for her to keep this big a secret from her only sister.

"What a pig," Kim teased, giving her younger brother a light shove before turning to Ari. "You look good. Glowing." Ryan had to communicate to his older sister, who wasn't too good at keeping things to herself, with his eye that she shouldn't say any more. It'd always been that way, ever since they were kids-- Kim would say too much and then Ryan had to cover for her. This time, if Kim said anything else, Ryan would be receiving the brutal end from Ari. Thankfully, Kim got the picture and quickly turned around to pay a little visit with Corrine. It was cute, how their sisters clicked so well. 

Just as Ryan was about to ask his wife when they could eat-- a silly question that would've earned him a scolding-- the doorbell rang once more. His stomach nearly dropped and his glanced toward his sister, in which he got a knowing look back. "Damn," he whispered before slowly moving away from the counter and through the living room where his nephews sat on the couch, watching whatever kid's movie Ryan had bought On Demand. Reaching the front door, he nearly threw up from the anxiety before finally swinging the door open. There stood his parents, his father with his ever familiar sour expression and his mother with her painted on face and fake smile. "Hey," he greeted enthused, stepping to the side and allowing them to enter their home. 

"Now then, down to business, you know I have to ask whenever I see you. I trust you’ve been treating my sister well?" Corrine asked as she moved to take a seat on one of the bar stools. Ari only shook her head, wiping the small amount of tears from her cheeks then walking toward the stove to finish moving everything else on to the dining room table "He’s been treating me just fine, Cori” Ari answered just before shooting him an icy glare when she saw the evidence of him tampering with her chicken.

"Yeah... uh, we've been good." The truth was burning at the tip of his tongue. He wanted to tell everyone that they were going to have a baby-- his previous reservations about having a baby now almost gone. In fact, Ryan often found himself daydreaming in excitement of the little one. It was hard for him to keep up a conversation with Corrine, knowing what he did and wanting to tell her, but he couldn't. Ari would literally kill him and serve him on a platter to their families. 

"Also, get off your arse and come help me with this" She snapped quickly when she noticed he was just sitting there basically twiddling his thumbs. "Get the chicken out of the oven and put it on this serving dish" Ari instructed and pointed to the clear empty dish that she’d placed on the counter next to her "Don’t burn yourself!" She added on while she started taking dishes from the counter and placing them in the center of the dining room table.

Ryan was in the middle of washing his hands in the kitchen sink when he heard a knock coming from the front door. No, no way in hell. He was not going to answer the door-- even if it was his parents. He loved Ari but he did not want to deal with them just yet. They had all night to face one another, if he could hold off on coming face-to-to then he would do just that. It was when he heard Ari's scream that he knew he was safe. That scream could mean only one thing.

She sobbed gently all the way through preparing the salad and finally stopped once she put the bowl to the side and returned to the pots on the stove. If it was entirely up to just the two them they would probably never have people over to their home, apart from maybe their siblings. Both their parents weren’t exactly the greatest influences on their life and as more time passed Ari began feeling more and more anxious, and nauseous but could just be because of the baby.

Hopping onto one of the bar stools seated at the isle, Ryan listened to her ask her question. He was silent for a moment, unsure if he himself knew whether the night would be a success or a fail. "Um," he started, playing with the plastic bottle. "I don't know? I mean..." he trailed off, nerves starting to build up inside. He rarely ever spoke to his parents, it'd been nearly four months since he had spoken to them and almost a year since he'd actually seen them. But he knew how they felt about his marriage to Ari and it pissed him off. Shaking his head, he stopped himself from getting angry before they'd even gotten there.

There were very few things that Ari explicitly hated, she disliked many things this was a fact but she reserved actual hate for the few things in life that irked her beyond reason and cooking was one of them. Not just cooking but having to prepare a meal for more people than two people. So while she on occasion did cook dinner for her family she never did it was a smile or gave off the opinion that she was enjoying it, she did it because they needed food to survive and that was literally the only reason. This was why she currently slaving over pots and pans of various sizes, bubbling over with steam.

  On the surface this seemed like a good idea. Ari’s father and older brother were in town to visit and since she’d hardly gotten to talk to them in tha past few months the subject of he being pregnant never seemed to come up, at least not in a way that seemed natural to Ari. She could exactly slip in a ‘oh dad by the way I’m pregnant’ after he just told her about him kicking Oliver over for the third time. Ari’s brother had always been somewhat of an underachiever. So she saw this as the perfect opportunity to invite them over for dinner and to break the news then.

It all kind of snowballed from there, Ryan suggested inviting Kim and the twins which lead to Ari calling Corrine and inviting her as well. The only people Ari had second thoughts about inviting were Ryans parents but eventually she gave in and made Ryan call them too, she would have felt guilty leaving them out of the loop when literally everyone else knew. All expect Ari’s mother but they could always send her a post card.

It was a very rare occasion when they would have family over to their house. But it was time for them to finally tell the family about the pregnancy. Originally, it was only suppose to be Ari's father and older brother-- both were visiting the states for a moment-- and her sister Corrine. But then Ryan wanted to invite his sister, even though she already knew, just for a bit of support. One thing led to another and even his parents were going to be there. He didn't know how he was suppose to feel about that, but he was definitely scared. Ryan wouldn't have minded pulling the same thing Ari did and just tell them when their kid was a few months old, but he had to face the music. 

Ari propped herself up on her elbows and evaluated his actions with silent approval. Her hand right slid through the front of his hair, grazing them back until her fingers cupped around the back of his head. She opened her mouth to possibly compliment him, or more realistically tease him for being so thorough, but it was cut off when he administered a slow long lick to her slick clit, sending a hot shiver right up her spine. ”Ryan…” She moaned his name, pulling his head deeper between her legs.

When she pulled him deeper into her, he held back a chuckle. His hands held her hips down while he continued his motions. Flicking his tongue a bit, he pulled away so that he could rub his thumb over her swollen clit. Leaning in, he placed gentle kisses on the inside of her thighs. Contemplating on whether or not he'd let her finish, he decided to be nice and give her what she wanted.

Ari peeked up when he disappeared from in front of her and she nodded at his suggestion “Yeah, alright..” Ari breathed with a gentle grin, she wasn’t completely used to any boy, let alone some guy she’d just met a frat party, being such a gentleman toward her even while she was laid across his bed practically panting for him.

Pushing her skirt up just a little bit more, he gently spread her legs apart before tracing a finger around her area over the fabric. Ryan bit down on his bottom lip, eager to taste this girl. Hooking a finger on the band of her panties, he pulled them down and off of her legs before tossing to the side and onto the floor. A throaty groan was his only response at the sight of her, his mouth watering.