Broken Pieces - Becklian III
Three weeks pass quickly. So much so, that Beck doesn’t quite realize that it’s nearly the end of the month until Sophie reminds him that her favorite musical is coming to London and that he has to go with her. The first week Beck spends mostly tiptoeing around Lillian. He, of course, wants to press her to every surface he can find and just take her for what he wants – (that’s everything, of course). But as he had discussed with the blonde, that wasn’t something that he felt was in the cards for them right now. Sure, there were little moments, after Sophie had gone to bed, that Beck would lift Lillian up onto the counter, press himself between her legs, and press his forehead to her chest as a way to bring himself as close to Lillian as possible without crossing any additional lines. Sometimes he’d press a kiss to her temple or her nose, sometimes to the bare skin of her shoulder after class and on the rare, rare occasion, he’d press a kiss to Lillian’s lips before she’d wander off to bed or leave to her apartment. He’d never ask for more, he’d never push for more, and he’d always do it when no one could see. Sophie, Beck was pretty sure, hadn’t caught them doing anything that scandalous. She’d walked in on them dancing in the kitchen a few times, and once when they’d brushed their teeth together- Beck serenading Lillian with a toothbrush and Lily nearly choking on her spit- but never anything more. His life during the past few weeks had been consumed by everything Lillian and Sophie and for whatever reason, that thought- that fact- didn’t scare him. He loved it, really. The second and third week had been spent mostly building out the second bedroom. He loved Sophie, he did, but his back was starting to ache from how often he found himself sleeping on the couch. Lillian had given him her amazon account and before she had even realized it, Beck had packaged pouring in. Everything came as suggestions from Sophie that Beck would simply run with. A platform bed with cabinets underneath, a desk that had a playscape- a bookcase with flowers- (some of them he shot down, but Beck was never one to deny a child the opportunity to learn).
At the end of the third week, Beck found himself covered in sawdust and sweat from building in the second bedroom that when he stumbled out to find Lillian and Sophie wrapped up in a blanket and sharing the couch, he audibly groaned in discontent. “You guys are watching Moana without me?” Sophie had been working down the line of Disney movies that Beck had missed while he was homeless and Moana was, by far, one of his favorites, “I feel betrayed.” Beck poured himself a cup of ice water and stood next to the couch, his fingers weaving their way through Sophie’s soft curls, “After you’re done here and I’ve showered, how does ice cream sound?” Sophie giggled in response and Beck gulped down another sip of water. While he hardly got out often, per Lillian’s request, he was itching to spend some time in the real world again. Beck nodded towards the bathroom door, “’m shower first- Lillian, do you plan on joining us?” He was already halfway towards the shower, his hands pulling at his white shirt that clung to his sweaty torso. Lily mumbled a response that he didn’t catch just as Beck closed the door to the bathroom. Beck showered quickly and shuffled out of the room, surprised to find only Sophie on the couch, her eyes focused closely on a book he’d bought her a few days ago (also from Amazon). “Hey little bird, where’s mum?” Beck slipped on his sandals and slid onto the couch next to Sophie. “She went out- she tried to tell you, but I don’t think you heard her. She mentioned something about getting the mail and seeing uncle Derrik?” She closed the book and set it down on the table, “When we go get ice cream, can we stop by the art store too?” Sophie hopped off the couch to grab her shoes and held them out for Beck, who took them without question and laced them up, “I wanna make her a picture and you don’t have any art stuff here.” After lacing her shoes, Beck helped Sophie into her jacket before shrugging into his own, “Of course we can. Maybe we can even get you some glitter, although I’m not sure how mum would feel about having glitter all over the studio.”
“Oh- Soph- go brush your teeth so I can lock the front of the studio. I’ll meet you at the back exit, okay?” Beck smiled as Sophie bolted into his bathroom, to which he quietly made his way downstairs. Something in Beck told him to close the stairwell door and as of late, he had done nothing but trust his gut. He started powering down the studio – the music, the lights, and then finally stepped over to the front entrance. Beck, as always, was in his head through the whole thing. His hand was just flipping the lock when he noticed a man on the other side of the glass door- tall, dark hair, dark eyes, and in a nicely pressed suit. Beck’s stomach immediately did a dip, to which he wasn’t entirely sure why, but something told him to not open the door. The man on the other side of the glass gave Beck a look and motioned for him to unlock the door, “Well?” the man said, “I’m not entirely sure who you are, but I expect you to open the door and let me in, considering this is my business.” Beck gulped, his mind flashing to Lillian’s request that he remain in the studio, as Mason hardly ever visits. Beck shook the thought away and opened the door, “Can I help you?” he questioned, “The studio is closed, but I’m sure Miss Moon will be back shortly. I’d be happy to leave a message.” Beck knew immediately that this must be Mason, but he figured playing dumb might be the best choice. “Leave a message?” the man laughed, “That’s gold. Leave a message. Sure, I might consider leaving one, but she’s my fiancé and I figured she’d be here since she wasn’t at home.” Mason stepped closer to Beck, who immediately positioned himself in front of the stairwell door. He, of course, knew that Mason had no idea of the flat above the studio, “So you must be Beck,” Mason smoothed down the collar of Beck’s leather jacket, “Its curious to me- Lillian mentioned that she had dinner with you the other night, but not that you’d have stuck around- or even, that you’d be here. In our studio.” the our made Beck’s blood boil, but he let a gentle smile slip onto his face, “Oh, right- well, I just-“ Beck cleared his throat, “I’ve been helping out around the studio- minor repairs here and there. I’m typically only here during downtimes, so I don’t- see… many people too often.” Please leave, please leave. Beck couldn’t think of anything else to say, he just hoped Sophie would be smart enough to stay upstairs, “Like I said, though. No one is here. I’m sure Lillian is on her way back to your apartment now, though. You might just try calling her once more?”
