last man standing

“I know.” Thomas coaxes quietly with a smile. “You don’t have to apologize, ever. You’re doing all of the leg work here.” The man presses a kiss against her cheek, nose nuzzling the same space after. “Sometimes I just call Aimee and ask her what I should do... She’s the only person beside my mother who I know has had a kid. And I’m not asking mom for advice.” His arms shift as she settles in beside him, tender smile framing his tired expression. “I’m here. I’ll always be here. A little bit of growing pains isn’t going to chase me off.”

Thom considered it all, what he was enduring, versus Andie. And while some days were more difficult than others, he knew regardless of any of it his first and foremost duty was to support his partner. Things were changing in ways he couldn’t stop - that Andie was on desk duty, and soon maternity leave, and soon enough they’d have a tiny bundle to nurture and love and help to grow. He loved the idea of a family, but the road to reach that dream was winding, and nobody is perfect. Except perhaps for Andie, in his eyes. 

The familiar feeling of his hand against her sensitive middle made a soft breath escape her mouth, though it was quickly captured by his mouth on hers. She leaned into the kiss, hand resting on the lower part of his abdomen as their lips danced sensually against one another. If there was one thing the woman never found herself tiring of it was kissing the man across from her. They had become quite practiced at it by now and, no matter how many times they did it, it still felt as exciting and titillating as the very first time they ever did so.

“Take me to bed?” Andie whispered against his lips, surrendering her body to him gently as she leaned against him. They continued to kiss, the feeling causing all parts of her to warm, including parts that hadn’t felt such a sensation in a few weeks - not for lack of trying, that was. Pregnancy had just been kicking her ass ten ways to Sunday.

Thom’s lips creased into a smile as his favorite question parted from the woman he loved, nodding ever so slightly as their mouths reunified in their practiced dance. It was easy enough to pass off the excuse of ‘Andie isn’t feeling well’ to his parents as they passed through the corridors of the home to the room that had once been his. When he’d returned from Iraq the subtle touches of adolescence and childhood had been erased for a much more mature feel, the furniture he’d had as a child and teen swapped a queen-sized mahogany set that was just subtly too small for Thomas and his pregnant wife - even for a weekend. But as he guided his wife to the mattress with surety, all thoughts of what wasn’t good enough faded with the perfection that was her lips.

The man wondered at the natural majesty that was Andie’s pregnant form, now stripped of the clothes that impeded such a vision as his fingers worked to peel her shirt up and off of her. A soft laugh parts his lips as her own eager hands tug at his shirt - a shirt she’d complained of earlier because of numerous reasons - mainly that it was pressed, checkered and pastel, and he was clearly only wearing it and the khaki colored chinos for his mother’s benefit. Thomas was almost certain if he left Andie alone long enough she’d have the clothing reserved for visiting his mother burned. 

A small smile formed on the woman’s lips as Thomas agreed with her statement, knowing that he was probably just being agreeable to make her feel better, even though her words held truth to them. Jeanette wasn’t trying to be a bad person, she was just being overbearing and stepping into boundaries that didn’t belong to her - or so, this is what Andie had decided. With a hum against his lips, the blonde rolled her shoulders slightly to get rid of the physical and metaphorical tension she had been holding.

“Maybe that’s a good idea, love. You’re right, it’s been a while.” She spoke, pressing her belly against his in a way she had become accustomed too. It was a way for her to share an intimate moment with her husband and their child while they couldn’t physically hold it. And despite Andie’s general lack of sex drive over the last few months, there were definitely benefits to doing such an act - especially if it would relax her in such a tense state.

“Mm.” Thomas nods quietly, meeting Andie’s caramel hues as his hands began to wander, perhaps in a way he hadn’t in months, eyes squinting ever so slightly gauge her reaction as his hands dished beneath the elastic band of her maternity pants, though eventually his head would dip to kiss against the tender skin of her neck. “I’ll take care of you, Andie.” He promised in a hushed breath, his palming rubbing against the sensitive apex of her thighs. “I still think you’re so sexy.” Thom murmurs, kisses trailing up her jawline until he’d found her lips again, a hand cupping the side of her face as he held her in an all consuming kiss. 

Letting out a hefty sigh as the man intertwined his fingers with hers, Andie leaned against him slightly, allowing the kiss to her forehead to ease her nerves. She didn’t like feeling so neurotic and being so hypersensitive to everything was really beginning to get to her, but she just couldn’t seem to let go of the perspective. Was she being dramatic? Absolutely, but at that moment, Jeanette was making her feel like she wanted to pull her own hair out. Not that she would, but the feelings in her chest were amplified in correspondence with the fact that she was getting bigger every day.

“It was a good idea if she wasn’t such a bitch.” The woman stated, furrowing her eyebrows as she held the closeness between them. One hand fell to her protruding belly, her palm resting on the curve that was now very obvious beneath the fabric of the shirt she had stolen from her husband. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell at you. She just drives me up the wall.” Her words were soft despite the fact that her shoulders were tense again and her jaw was set.

“S’okay, baby.” Thomas whispers, his forehead pressing to hers as his eyes flutter shut, letting his even breathing pass on to her in the way they’d practiced, a hand of his shifting to rest on her bump. After a few moments his hands would find their way to her shoulder blades, cradling her as he leaned in for a tender kiss. “She’s kind of a bitch.” He admits quiet, smiling as an eye peaks open to eye his wife. “Maybe you just need to release some tension?” Thom offers, head tilting to the side. “It’s been a while.” He’d been good about making sure his wife knew what he thought of her body, but it hadn’t changed much when it came to the woman’s self-perception and current lack of sex drive. 

He didn’t mind - certainly he could handle himself, but naturally in the time lapsed she’d grown more and more uptight. “Tonight, we could...” Another kiss is placed lovingly against her lips. “Either way. I’ll tell her off. Okay, babe?”

Andie leaned into the kiss, allowing the familiar feeling of their mouths meeting to encircle her and warm her from the inside out. It had always been her safe place being beside the man, the man who she could now call her husband, the father of her child, her forever - all of these things combined easily to make him the most incredible man she had ever met.

“You’re biased, but thank you.” She murmured against his lips, allowing her leg to bend and rest on his hip as their bodies twisted together comfortably. Her cheeks became warm and flushed underneath his touch, the feelings running through her body causing her blood to rise to the high points of her cheeks. When they finally finished the kiss, Andie could feel her lips tingling, being sensitive under his own. “I told you I would be forever. I did say I do, after all.” A few tears began welling up in Andie’s eyes at the memories of their wedding day, a day that had truly been the most memorable of her entire life.

“You know I adore you.” Thomas replies evenly, pulling his wife closer to him as he nuzzles his nose to hers. Andie was everything - wife, partner, best friend, she was everything the man needed and more, simply put. “Happiest moment of my life... hearing those words from your lips.” He’d confess earnestly, brow knitting in concern as the woman teared up. “Don’t cry.” Thom coaxed, pulling her into an affectionate kiss. 

“If you cry, I’ll cry, and we’ll just be emotional messes, because I promised to be your partner in everything.” He’d then press his face into the crook of her neck, a tired soft parting from his mouth. “Let’s just take the day in bed. I just want some time with my wife. Just like this. You and me.” He’d grin, no doubt felt against her skin as he snuggled up, gray eyes eventually shutting.

And he’d relish in the way morning seeped slowly and seamlessly into afternoon, and how the pair were too selfishly wrapped up in one another to care what occurred outside of the four walls of their bedroom.

“First of all, you’ve set a very, very high standard for all men for me. So I think the only person who could top that would be a woman. And that’s not for me, so here we are.” The woman mused, smiling as she eyed the man. It was obviously said in a joking manner, as no one could even come close to replacing the man she had beside her, but it was funny to entertain nonetheless. Within a moment, Andie curled into her partner, letting her fingers trace over the soft skin on his chest as she did so.

“You’re kind of stuck with me now. I am having your kid.” She continued, looking down at her pooching stomach and allowing one hand to trace over the middle of it in a silent gesture. It would be unfair for her to say she was over the moon about the state her body was in currently, only because Andie had always had body issues and the prospect of getting bigger gave her chest an uncomfortable ache. But she knew, that at the end of the day, it wouldn’t matter because she would be a mother and that was something she had always wanted.

“Glad to know I’m indispensable to someone.” Thomas grins, finger curling under her jaw to draw her head back, lips meeting hers slowly. “I’m never going to let you go, Andie.” He’d whisper against her mouth, a hand drifting to hook around her hip and pull her closer. If the man had anything left to give, he was certain they would roll around in bed for the rest of the day.  But he rather enjoyed this, able to hold his wife in a silent home, just the two of them in this quiet moment alone. 

“I, for one, think you get sexier by the day.” The man smiles again, pulling her into a more draw out kiss as his tongue met hers in a light dance. He’d hold her there in that moment as he prolonged the kiss, his hand gliding to caress her cheek as they did. And, upon releasing her his gray eyes were soft and tender with longing, his heart pounding against his chest in a way he was certain she could feel. “Thank you for being mine.”

The feeling of Thomas’ lips and fingers on Andie’s body would always cause her heart to skip no matter how many times the feeling had become familiar. She smiled as he moved her about, suddenly finding herself leaning into his body as her bare skin pressed against his - the heat they shared overwhelming her in the best of ways.

“You flatter me.” She spoke, nuzzling her nose against his ear gently before pressing a soft kiss to his jawline. This was true, the man had always found a way to make Andie feel like the most amazing woman in the world, even in her worst moments. If it was one of his goals, he was doing more than a good enough job.

Thomas knew at present that Andie wasn’t comfortable in her own body - that his wife was self-conscious about her growing midsection and how she still had inches and inches to go still. He wasn’t a stupid man - he knew that his partner would need reassurance now more than ever before. But nothing about Andie’s changing body could damage Thom’s opinion of it, or her - he was more in love with her than he thought was humanly possible. 

As they curled together in bed Thomas would nuzzle against her neck, gentle smile spreading on his face. “I never thought I’d ever have the good luck of starting a family... Never thought I’d make it this far.” He admits quietly, hold tightening briefly. “But you’re... You’re everything, Andie. I don’t know where I would be if we hadn’t found each other. But I’ll always, always be here for you. No matter what - even if you find an even younger man with a better ass.”