#rcdaw

Thomas loved debating film with his wife. He nodded in acceptance to her argument, softly smiling when she kissed him for his agreement.

He cuddled her close beside him on the couch, making certain the fuzzy red Christmas blanket she had brought was snug around them while she handed him a plate of iced sugar and gingerbread cookies. The mulled wine he had surprised her with topped off their date night in.

As usually happened between the two who loved to see stories brought to life, they began to debate the argument the movie presented.

"He's right." Amanda remarked, standing up to take the empty dishes to the kitchen.

Thomas pushed pause and got up to assist her. "Who's right?"

She gestured toward the screen. "Harry. Men and women can't be friends without sex somehow coming into the picture."

Thomas followed after her and leaned against the kitchen counter. "I have been friends with women and sex did not come into play. Look at my relationships with Addison and Holly."

Amanda held up her finger. "Ah, but that is because you have a strict rule of never dating those you work with. Since you keep them as permanent members of your film crew, it was inevitable that you would snuff out any possible notion of romance with them."

Thomas quirked an eyebrow. "Are we discussing romance or sex?"

Amanda paused. "I think you can't have one without the other if between friends."

"And why is that?" He asked, thoroughly enjoying their discussion.

"Well, friends typically care about one another. A form of love develops, thus a sexual attraction would involve some level of romance." She reached for the wine and refilled both their glasses.

Thomas accepted his goblet with a slight frown. "I will concede that particular point but I disagree with you about sex always coming between men and women that are friends."

"Really?" Amanda leaned next to him as a teasing smile formed. "What about us?"

"What about us?" He reiterated.

"We were friends at first." She pointed out.

"Yes, I suppose we were." He chuckled when she playfully smacked his arm. Thomas slipped it around her waist. "And?"

"And I believe we had sex between us." She persisted.

"Had? I believe that is still the case." He pressed his lips against her neck.

"You are only proving my point." A surprised gasp slipped from her parted lips when he lifted her onto the counter. Thomas took advantage and captured her lips in a steamy kiss.

"I'm not." He muttered against her skin.

She leaned back and quirked an eyebrow. "How can you possibly not be proving it?"

His lips curved in that smile of his that made her heart race with the promises it held. "Because sexual attraction did not come in the midst of our friendship. Our growing closeness was what came between my initial desire for you."

She gripped his collar, pulling him agonizingly close while her smile grew. "I see. So that pesky friendship of ours put a damper on your lust?"

His hands started at her legs and leisurely moved up her body to tangle in her hair. "It failed in dousing it. If anything, it only enhanced it."

Thomas slowly kissed a line from her lips down. Amanda closed her eyes and tried to focus her thoughts. "This explains your willingness to marry me so quickly."

He paused and returned to her lips. "Exactly." He slid her off the counter, pressing his body to hers. "Shall we finish the movie or take this discussion somewhere more appropriate to the topic?"

“This was a terrible idea,” Rachel said when Thomas opened the door of the cab for her and she saw the large number of costumed people heading into the building behind him.

“Oh, absolutely,” he agreed and took her hand, helping her out of the car. “All your ideas are.”

She sighed. She had hoped he’d tell her that they would be fine. After all, she’d really been looking forward to tonight. “Maybe we should go back.”

“No.” He looped his arm around her waist to keep her in place. He thought back to when Ryan had invited them to his annual Halloween party and how excited Rachel had been at the prospect of getting to go. “We’ll have to be careful, but we’re staying.”

Her face lit up, though he probably couldn’t see that behind her mask. “Really?”

“Really,” he said and pulled her closer, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. He was reasonably certain that nobody would be able to tell who they were, at least not out here in the dark, but he didn’t intend to test their luck too much so he let go of her and took a step back sooner than either of them wanted him to. “We should get going.”

They walked towards the gates and Rachel cursed herself for her choice of shoes when she saw the path to the building was paved with cobblestone. She should have listened to Thomas and worn the flat boots instead of the ones with stiletto heels, but she was wearing a Catwoman costume, for heaven’s sake! The entire point of that was to look hot. And to mask her face, of course. The latter was, according to Thomas, the more important one. She knew, though, that he most certainly didn’t mind looking at her in her skin-tight catsuit. Not if his expression when she’d shown him her costume earlier that day was anything to go by.

“Is everything all right?” Thomas asked when he noticed her look at the pavement with dread.

She bit her lip. No, she was not going to admit that he’d been right. “Sure, yeah. I’m fine.”

But she wasn’t fine, and he quickly picked up on what the issue was as she struggled to walk, nearly tripping every few feet. He narrowed his eyes, wondering whether she’d planned this. He contemplated ignoring her, but he really didn’t want her to get injured, so he offered her his arm.

She frowned. “No. I said I’m fine. It’s not that far, anyway.”

“Rachel,” he warned, then quickly looked around to see if anyone had heard him say her name. No one had. Or, at least, no one cared. He relaxed a little when he realised that no one had even attempted to speak to him yet even though they’d passed a multitude of people already. They hadn’t recognised him. No wonder! Nobody could have expected Thomas Hunt to be the one hiding behind a Batman costume, not even he himself. It had taken quite a bit of convincing on Rachel’s part to get him to wear it – he looked utterly ridiculous! – but it was the perfect disguise.

She continued walking without his help but not for long. Because soon enough, she did trip. Luckily for her, Thomas had seen it coming and steadied her before she could hurt herself.

“Yes, you’re just fine, aren’t you?” he said, a small smile playing at his lips.

She huffed. “Shut up.”

“If I recall correctly, I did tell you not to wear these torture devices.”

“I said shut up,” she repeated and looked around. They were dangerously close to the entrance now, surrounded by a large crowd, but Thomas still had his arm wrapped around her waist, pressing her tightly to his body. Her eyes darted to his face, or rather what was visible of it. Which wasn’t a whole lot more than his lips, really, but those were very inviting and so she leaned up to kiss them.

Surprisingly enough, he didn’t protest but kissed her back instead. Until he heard an awfully familiar squeal. Rachel chuckled a little when she felt him frown.

“She’s not going to out us, I promise,” she said before pulling back and turning to the source of the squeal. “Hi Addi.”

“You two are so cute,” her friend said and pulled Rachel into a hug. “And, don’t worry, I’ve got a change of costume for both of you with me in case you guys are found out. Which is highly unlikely, might I add, because your costumes are perfect.”

Thomas cleared his throat. “Ahem. If you’re done praising your own work, Miss Sinclair, I believe we should head inside.”

“Right. I have more guests to greet, anyway,” Addison said. “I’ll see you later.”

Once Addison was gone, Rachel nudged Thomas. “You know you don’t have to be mean all the time, right?”

“I have a reputation to uphold,” he said as they continued on into the building, a safe distance apart from each other. “I can’t have my students thinking I’m going soft.”

Rachel grinned. “Oh yeah? Well, I happen to know that you are soft. Why else would you be here with me?”

“I think you should know by now that you, my dear, are the exception.”

Her grin widened. “Just wanted to hear you say that.”

“Let me; I insist,” said Rachel, adding the coffee to the built-in filter. 

Jessica shook her head, wrapping her robe around herself tighter. It was a little embarrassing to be caught by Seth’s mother in her pyjamas. She’d only met his parents twice prior to this trip, once when they came out to visit Seth in LA not long after they had officially become boyfriend and girlfriend, and the other time when she joined Seth in Ohio for Yom Kippur last year. And while his parents had been kind and attentive, she’d stayed in a hotel for that visit, the Levine household full to the brim with Rachel’s extended family. 

“I was just about to get one brewing before I got cleaned up, but I guess 6:30 wasn’t early enough.”

Rachel just shook her head, “You have to realize that this is 9:30 am on my internal clock, and I normally get up for work at 6 am.”

“But you’re my guests. I should-”

“Exactly, you are being very generous and hosting us. You are doing plenty already.”

“I told you, I have the space. It’s no big deal.”

“My dear, instead of getting into a ‘who-is-more-Midwestern’ contest with me, why don’t you just take a seat and let me make you a cup of coffee?”

Jessica smiled tightly at that. “I was actually going to go hop in the shower,” she mumbled, not wanting to draw anymore attention to her state of dress.

“Nonsense, this is your home. Don’t feel like you need to get all glamorous at this hour just for us.”

“But Rachel-”

“Family can eat breakfast in their PJs together, dear. Now, take a seat.”

Jessica felt like this could go on indefinitely, so she relented, climbing onto one of the stools at her island, watching as Rachel bustled around the kitchen, clearly making herself at home as she pulled out two mugs, sugar, and the creamer. She placed them all in front of Jessica as she found them. The aroma of coffee soon filled the air, the gurgle of the coffee maker the only sound. As soon as the carafe held enough for two cups, Rachel pulled it out and poured some into the mugs, returning it to the maker before she leaned across the island and looked at Jessica.

“Seth doesn’t need to stay at a hotel, you know.”

“Excuse me?”

“While Tony and I are in town. He can stay here as well; he doesn’t need to pretend you aren’t living together.”

Jessica blinked, taking in Rachel’s words. “He honestly doesn’t live here.”

“Really?” Rachel asked, eyebrows flying up her forehead as she gave her head a little shake. “Why not?”

“Your parents, actually.”

“Seriously?” Rachel’s disbelief was evident in her voice as she stirred a splash of creamer into her coffee.

Jessica laughed, “Seriously. I asked him if he wanted to move in after he proposed. He told me he could never do that to his Bubbie.”

It was Rachel’s turn to laugh, shaking her head as she added some sugar to her coffee. “My son, I tell you. Scandalizing them by moving to LA and telling them he had not gone to synagogue once? Sure. Going out with gentiles, men, and gentile men? Oh, he’d tell them stories of his dates without shame. But living with his fiancée before marriage, something my parents would have no way of knowing? That’s where he draws the line!”

Jessica shrugged as she sipped her coffee. It had thrown her when Seth had told her he couldn’t live with someone until he was married, but it wasn’t a big deal. They had their entire lives to live together, and with how busy they’d both been over the past few months, adding a move on top of everything was just an extra stress they hadn’t needed. Now that the press junket for Ninradell was winding down, she and Seth were going to start moving some of his things over in earnest. It was why his parents couldn’t stay in his spare room - half-filled boxes covered the bed and floor there.

“Yeah, it’s what he wanted. To be honest, I kind of figured it was partially for your benefit as well.”

Rachel scoffed at that, shaking her head. “I am not my mother, thank you very much.”

“I didn’t mean to-”

“Relax, dear. I get it. My parents and my sister certainly made their old-fashioned views known at Yom Kippur.”

“I’m kind of surprised they’re coming to the wedding, to be honest.” The statement slipped out of Jessica’s mouth before she fully thought it through. She did not know Seth’s mother well enough to be that blunt about her family, but hearing Rachel talk so dismissively about them had unlocked something inside of Jessica, something she’d shoved down and buried deep in her soul. This fear that to Seth’s family, she would never really be accepted, simply because of her religion. And while she knew none of that mattered to Seth, she didn’t like the thought of being the black sheep daughter-in-law.

But if Rachel found Jessica’s statement insulting, she didn’t let it on, instead reaching over and placing her hand on top of Jessica’s. “You have been very accommodating to my family, even though they haven’t been exactly warm or welcoming. Seth told me you made sure there was going to be a clearly marked kosher buffet, that you arranged for there to be a chuppah, that you will break a glass. I know this is for the benefit of my family, so thank you.”

“Oh, it’s nothing-”

“My dear, we both know it’s not nothing. Stop being Midwestern and just accept my gratitude, okay?”

Jessica smiled at Rachel and nodded, glad that even if Seth’s extended family didn’t fully approve of their relationship, at least his mother seemed to be on board. She moved to grab her coffee and take another sip, but Rachel wasn’t finished just yet, clasping her hand more tightly.

“I’m not just thankful for what you’ve done for this wedding. When Seth told us he was moving to Hollywood all those years ago, I was worried. Worried that no one was going to protect my sensitive, anxious, insecure little boy. Worried that this harsh industry would chew him up and eat him alive. Every year he stayed out here, I wasn’t sure whether it was good that he was surviving and making his way, or if this place was just breaking him so slowly, he didn’t even realize it.

“But you have been such a steady part of his life the past couple of years. The stories he’s told me... well, I finally felt that there was someone out here who was looking out for him. So thank you, thank you so much for taking care of my baby boy.”

Jessica didn’t know how to respond, so she just gave Rachel’s hand a little squeeze. Rachel coughed at shook her head slightly, “Sorry dear, for going full sentimental at this hour! I promised Tony I would hold it together until the wedding.”

“And yet, I knew you wouldn’t,” said Seth’s father, surprising Jessica as he entered the kitchen, carrying a white bag, Seth trailing behind him. Jessica cocked her head, surprised to see her fiancé this early, but he just smiled and kissed her cheek, dropping onto the stool next to her.

“I got drafted into a pastry run,” he said, answering her unasked question, “He claimed he wanted to spend a little time together, but I think he just wanted easy access to your building.”

Tony rolled his eyes at his son’s joke, but one part of his statement stood out to Jessica.

“Wait, you got pastries? I had food to cook breakfast for you two,” Jessica said, glancing between Seth’s parents as his father set the bag from the bakery down on the counter. 

“Don’t even try,” said Seth, shaking his head as he grabbed a bear claw out of the bag, “She’s never gonna let you cook.”

Rachel sighed at that, but didn’t contradict Seth as she handed him a mug full of coffee before she grabbed a croissant for herself and a hard roll for her husband. And so as the sun crept up into the sky, filling the penthouse with a bright glow, the four of them sat around the counter, enjoying a simple breakfast. The modern furnishings and high rise views were the only thing that kept this from feeling like an average Midwest morning. There was no pressure, no pretense, instead just a family clearly making an effort to welcome their newest member, even if it was a few weeks away from being official. And that was enough ease Jessica’s mind and let her feel like a normal girl from Iowa once again, if only for a moment.