#bright orc

Fred had been extra tense and distracted all month.  Right up until about two hours into the afternoon barbecue when she had wandered out of his sight for about 20 minutes and came back much more relaxed.  Enough so that Gus had actually sniffed around to see if someone had put something in her drink.  

That had offend Dorghu enough that Gus was pulled aside for a quiet word of his own.  “She’s fine.  She just got some good news.  Don’t worry about it.”

Gus fixed the man with a firm glare. “She’s my wife.  I am going to worry about it.”

Dorghu raised an eyebrow, “She’s only your wife because I made that happen.  Don’t go forgetting your place, boy.”

----

It was only one flight of stairs, but Gus had to carry Fred home.  Mikey was close behind with a sleepy Mac in his arms.  Gus parked Fred on the couch then helped Mac get into her pyjama’s and into her bed.  By the time he got back to the living room, Fred was getting herself a glass of water.  Having first stripped down to her cute matching bra and panty set.  Gus took a moment to appreciate Fred’s soft curves and amazing ink.  

Fred turned to look at him. “I’m too hot.”

“Yes, you are.” Gus said with a slight grin.

Fred set down her glass, finding the counter on her third try. “Can I sleep with you tonight?”

“You’re really drunk right now. I don’t think you’re gonna remember any of this.”

“No, I’m not drunk at all. You’re just blurry.”

“Yeah well, let’s get you cleaned up and tucked in before that gets worse.”

That had been a production.  Fred had insisted on taking off her make-up and brushing her teeth.  Except she kept distracting herself with random things.  About the time she was explaining the Vimes Boots theory of socio-economic unfairness, Gus gave up and just cupped her chin and carefully wiped her face with one of those baby wipe things she kept for this.  Then he told her to pee and went to pull the extra pillows off her bed so she could go to sleep.

Five minutes later, he found her unconscious in his bed instead.  With a sigh, he dug out his tea shirt and tried to figure out how to get her out of her bra.  Once he was sure she was safely settled, Gus watched Fred snoring softly on in his bed. He ghosted his hand up and down her arm.

“I think I’m in love with you and I’m terrified,” he confessed.

Fred wiggled in her sleep and crept a little closer to him.

“And the worst part is,” Gus continued, “if I tell you that, then you will be terrified too.”

In the end, when Gus lay down Fred slid over and used his chest as a pillow.  He sighed, then closed his eyes and tried to relax.

He woke in the same position hours later, the sun was streaming in through the cracks around the blinds.  Mac was knocking softly on the door.  “It’s OK, Mac.  She’s in here.”

The door opened a crack and Mac peeked in.  “Can I come for snuggles too?”

Gus blinked. He was wearing sleep shorts.  The knock on the door had been the equivalent of a bucket of ice water for his libedo.  “Sure.”

Mac hurried in and looked at the two of them, then copied Fred position on his other side.  “You are nice and warm,” she mumbled rubbing her face on his chest, then yawning hugely.

Gus chuckled then raised his head to kiss the top of hers.  “Go back to sleep little girl.  It’s still early.”

----

Fred woke up to the sound of snoring.  Her head hurt a bit, but mostly she needed to pee.  She was surprised to find herself in Gus’s bed, in his shirt, and even more surprised to find Mac sleeping curled up against his other side.  She inched herself away and headed quietly to the main bathroom.  Looking in the mirror, she still looked tired, but her make up had been scrubbed off and running her tongue over her teeth found them to not be worse than any other day.  

She finished up in the bathroom, then headed to the kitchen for some water.  The glass on the counter suggested she had thought of this last night too.   She had another one and an aspirin and after a moment of internal struggle, went back to bed.

Gus, cracked one big yellow eye, and peeked at her, before closing it and mumbling a question that sounded vaguely like, “yo-kay?”

“Yeah.  I’m good.  Should I take Mac?”

“Nah.  Come sleep.”

Fred considered this as she tucked herself against his side.  “Gus?”

“Mmm?”

She hesitated, so much to say and not enough words, “Thank you.”

“Mmhmm.”

----

When the alarm went off at ten, Mac was the only one ready to get up.  She encouraged the adults by jumping on the bed and singing, “Get up! Get up! We promised Gramma Imani we would got to church!”

Fred groaned, “Ten more minutes.”

Mac bounced in her direction. “No! You have to get up now!”

Fred pulled the pillow over her head, “I don’t wanna go to school.”

Gus stared at the ceiling and laughed. Mac stopped bouncing and joined in.  Fred remembered where she was and jumped up, catching her daughter around the waist and heading toward the kitchen singing, “No more monkey jumping on Gus’s bed!”

“Not unless you can talk your mom into joining in!” Gus called after them.

It was a bit of a push and Fred ended up putting her still damp hair into a bun, but they made it to church in time to sit with Imani and Gerard.  Fred was fascinated watching Gus and his dad interact with Imani.  As an orc, she was almost as tall as Gerard, who despite Fred’s initial impression was only 6’6.  The same height, in fact, as Gus.  She and Mac looked tiny in comparison.

Afterwards, Imani invited them over for breakfast, making a dig about them not being able to run off this time.  They had lunch, Mac found some of Gus’s old crayons and set about colouring.  Fred and Imani did the dishes while Gus and Gerard argued about football.

Fred was vaguely expecting the shovel talk.  And, in a way, she got it.  

Imani fixed her with a fierce glare and announced, “If my boy doesn’t treat you right, you tell me and I will kick his ass.”

Fred choked, then nodded.

The rest of the day was horribly domestic.  Laundry at the laundromat, then family laundry folding in front of the TV.  

Mac laughed at everyone’s underwear. Fred frowned and told her that was being rude.  Then she put Mac in charge of folding socks.

That night, after Mac was tucked, the laundry was put away and the dishes were washed, Fred opened a bottle of wine and poured two glasses.  She handed one to Gus as she came to sit on the couch with him.

He chuckled as he took it.  “What’s the special occasion, Doc?  ‘Cause I know this is a regular thing for you.”

Fred shrugged, “I need to ask you something, but I’m really nervous it will upset you.”

Gus set his wine glass on the coffee table and leaned back, man spreading as he did so.  He watched Fred for a moment, then smirked and asked, “What’s up, doc?”

Fred groaned and threw a pillow at him.  

Gus laughed and picked up his wine.  “I’ve been waiting months to say that.”

Fred rolled her eyes, then took a deep breath and blurted out, “Will you go out with me?”

Gus paused, his glass halfway to his lips.  He blinked at her for a moment, then said, “What?”

Fred ducked her head and looked at her hands.  “I mean…  Look.  I know you only married me because Dorghu told you to, and I don’t know if you even like human girls - women- and…”  She trailed off and peeked up at him and started over.  “I know this is a marriage of convenience and you might want to date other people, but… could we just try dating each other first?”