Reminiscing is a Dangerous Exercise *Billy-pov, Robin, mention of Don; Don/Robin, PG-13/K*
Title: Reminiscing is a Dangerous Exercise
Series: Ulysses *10/12*
Universe: Odyssey
Author: loozy
Characters: Billy- pov, Robin, mention of Don; Don/Robin
Rating: PG-13/K *mentions of a gay kiss*
Summary: “So, how’s your sex life with Don?”
Word Count: 2972
Spoilers: after 5x23, Angels & Devils
Notes: Thanks goes, as always, to valeriev84 for the beta and the encouragement and support...
Prompt: # 70 Sightseeing
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this fic. Numb3rs and everybody associated with it belong to Cheryl Heuton & Nick Fallucci and CBS. IronMan belongs to Marvel Comics and Stan Lee.
Feedback: Yes, please. I love every kind of review, even the bad ones, as long as they are helpful and constructive.
There have been a lot of kisses in Billy’s life.
Kisses from his Mom and Dad.
Kisses from his sisters.
Kisses from friends, girlfriends, buddies.
Some have disappeared into Neverland, forgotten, too many, too little too late, you know the story. There are just some kisses that will never make it into your annals, and then there are some that you will always remember, that always will leave that certain tingle down your spine when you remember them. Kisses that will leave you all warm inside.
Not too many kisses have made it onto Billy’s resume yet.
But the kiss he shared with Don all those years ago is one of them.
Definitely. That kiss is not something that can be just ignored.
It was the first time that he kissed a guy, and that Don kissed a guy, too, so it was new territory for both of them. It did not feel that way, though. It sounds like a bad cliché from a horrible romance novel, that it just felt right, for that moment, and he still smirks when the thought comes up.
But the fact remains that the kiss was right, that it was the perfect kiss, and that it definitely helped them get through the torrent of emotions coursing through them.
When he was young, he loved to sneak into Katherine’s room and look at the books she has hidden underneath her mattress. Excellent masturbation material they were for someone who had not yet discovered how to hide his Playboys from his mother. His father, once he had realized that his son was getting to that age, had encouraged it despite his mother’s objections, but until that point in time had arrived, Billy had depended on friends’ stacks or Katherine.
Kind of ironic to think of Katherine, the nun, having cheesy books that elevated sexual encounters to something that made you gag with all the kitsch involved.
Or maybe Billy has just never really had love.
Speaking of love, there is actually someone that he can ask, someone who probably will not mind that much (he hopes, he could always be wrong, but maybe...) when he delves into the intricacies of a sex life with Don Eppes.
Not that he does not know that already, in a way, having shared more than one hotel room with the man, but he has never really known Don when he was in love, and he is just plain curious. No ulterior motive, just the pure curiosity that makes him an excellent investigator and a pain in the hole (well, actually it is ‘ass’ but Billy is feeling courteous and tries to abstain from swear words for the day), as his sisters and substitute brother like to call him.
Robin has not joined this group yet, but hey, the day is still young.
“So, how’s your sex life with Don?”
He has never been one for subtlety.
“It’s great. Fantastic. Best I’ve ever had. Best I ever will have.”
Trust Robin to not bat even one eyelash and just go straight through with the answer, without any telling him where to stuff it(Don), blushing and sputtering (Katherine, even though she would be a really bad source for that question) or indignant (Theresa, who would also tell him where to stuff it, sputter and blush). He wonders for a second how Wonder Boy would react to such a question and then decides he might just ask him that when he comes back from his trip tomorrow, just to needle him (it is a lot of fun, after all).
“You’re not planning on ever having another one?”
“Nope.”
He loves Robin. He really does. She does not talk a circle around you, but just says what she thinks when the situation is appropriate, but Billy has it on good authority that even she gets tongue- tied, mostly around Don. In return, she reduces his usually so confident and arrogant former partner to a puddle of incoherency when she wield her wily ways.
“That’s good.”
He likes that Robin seems to have finally settled on Don, and vice versa. They are good for each other, the second time around. Granted, the first round was just spectacular sex and his mind has already thought about that particular mental image many times, and he knows that Robin has done so, too.
“So, kissed any guys since The Kiss?”
The fact that she vocally puts this ‘event’ in capitals shows that this beautiful woman sitting opposite him knows him too well and that it was a mistake to give her his email when they separated back in Miami.
“Yes.”
She does not look surprised at that and why should she? He obviously liked The Kiss, so why should he stop?
“And?”
“I kissed a guy, and I liked it...”
She snickers at the misuse of the overly popular song and then keeps looking at him sipping from her cup.
“And?”
“Gotta hand it to the guy, but Don’s a fantastic kisser.”
“Oh yeah.”
They have always been on a wavelength when it came to Don.
“So what now? You know I’ve already approached him with the idea of a threesome and he wasn’t amused...”
He chortles at this.
“Nah, no threesome. Not yet. Might still be a bit too early for him. We’d have to work on that though, and with me outta town so often...”
Robin hangs her head.
“Shame.”
“Why, Brooks, never heard you play this tune before...”
This is a surprise. While he knows Robin to be open- minded about a lot of things, he never thought she would actually go for a threesome, even if it is in theory.
“Only with you.”
Aha.
“So not just someone random?”
“Nope. Definitely not. I wouldn’t feel comfortable.”
And neither would Don. Or himself, really. Yes, Don used to be a serial dater, never really sticking with someone, but that was back then, and this is now. He has changed a lot since FR, has stopped with the flirting and innuendos and sultry voice that he had a tendency to overuse when going out. Now he is solid, ready to settle down, and yes, Billy is really happy for him.
Would he mind if Don was to settle down with him if Robin was not in the picture?
No, but only if Don was into it, too, and not just doing it out of a fancy. Then again, the Don of today would not do such a thing.
But would he try to separate Don and Robin for his own advantage?
Never.
“So, how do all the kisses figure out into your grand scheme of things?”
He shrugs.
“No biggie. It’s not like I am going to confession and be told that I’ll burn in Hell for all eternity for my sins. So I like both men and women. Big deal.”
“Does Katherine know?”
“No, but only because I haven’t seen her in months.”
The stern look that Robin sends him now tells him that she is going to be a great mother, mixing seriousness with affection to get the best behaviour out of her future children.
“It’s not like it hasn’t been years, you know?”
“It hasn’t exactly come up. I mean, she’s a nun, how do you tell her about this?”
“She’s your sister?”
“These days she feels more like a nun.”
He pretends to take a long sip of his coffee even though the cup is empty to hide the pained expression that he knows is flitting over his face.
“Seems like she is hiding behind her habit from your parents’ illness.”
“She visits them regularly, more frequent than me and Theresa anyways, but she’s just so closed off. So yeah, hiding.”
“And what are you doing? Not going to visit her in person. It’d help, I bet.”
“Theresa came over, but she was just weird to her. She’s changing, getting colder and less friendly. Just all about holiness and the spirit and that God will save us all. Katherine used to be a cool nun, adored by children and parents alike. She would play soccer with her charges and always know about the latest trends in fashion and what was in or not. Now she is a shadow of herself.”
“She must have been an unusual nun.”
“Oh yeah. I mean, I kinda got her reasoning, you know, bad experience and stuff, but still... She never lost touch with the outside world in the way that some nuns in primary school did... Now... Everything’s changed. She was close to Mom and Dad, you know? Always lived close to them...”
“I wouldn’t know what to do if my parents had Alzheimer’s.”
“You close?”
He guesses they are not, since the years since they have been friends, she only rarely mentions her family and has only been to visit them twice, if he recalls correctly.
“Not particularly. But still, they are my parents...”
“I know what you mean.”
No matter what, your parents are your parents, and unless your relationship with them is messed up beyond repair, you will always be dumbstruck by such a diagnosis. Especially if it is both of them.
Awkward silence.
They do not have those often, in fact very rarely, which might also be due to the fact that so far this is the second time that they are actually talking face to face rather than via email.
“Change of topic?”
“Yes.”
“So, Don and you... What exactly went wrong the first time?”
“I got afraid and I ran. I needed to get out of LA, grabbed the first case out I could get my hands on, to Miami, and just fled.”
The waitress come to collect their empty cups and they both take the opportunity to order one more round of drinks, cafe latte for Robin and an iced latte macchiato for himself.
“And it did not do me any good. I never thought that a guy would have this hold over me. But Don did. I just got afraid because there he was, a notorious guy. From some of the stories told in the office, you’d think he bedded a different woman every night, and it was all people in law enforcement. I just... I was overwhelmed, I’d say. And that scared me. Because we had been dating for months and it would soon turn serious.”
The coffees arrive and they sip from them for a moment.
“I wasn’t sure if I was really the right one to tame Don Eppes. If he wanted me to tame him. You know him, Billy, he always held back just a bit. I needed more than that to be sure of him. I didn’t get that, so I got afraid and ran.”
“And regretted it.”
“Oh, fuck yes.”
She moans and nearly loses her balance when she dips back a bit too much.
“He sucked me in, rolled me in, and I didn’t know how to unentangle myself.”
“Nice analogy there.”
She sticks her tongue out at him.
“You want more? I was the helpless bee caught in his spider’s net and he was steadily advancing towards me, and I couldn’t move for fear of being hurt.”
“And instead you hurt both of you.”
“Yeah, I managed to get loose of the net and in the process wounded myself... You saw me in Miami.”
She had been in a state. On the outside she was all composed and strong, but on the inside? Not good. Not good at all. Billy and a lot of cocktails at the hotel bar had done their share and helped her, but the contact with Don had helped her seal the open sores.
“I’m glad you got your act back together. I was afraid I’d have to come to LA and knock sense into you two idiots.”
“Just took me a while to get over it, or to get my act together. I didn’t want to face him, dunno why. And then when I saw him, I didn’t know what to do. I just knew that all of a sudden, I was feeling better than I had all those months after we broke up.”
Robin shakes her head at herself, and Billy can just about make out the tiny smirk gracing her lips.
“I hated that he still had this hold over me...”
“He still does, and you over him.”
“Yeah, but it was different. I just felt like... I can’t explain it.”
“Robin Brooks at a loss for words? Surely I’m mistaken.”
“Oh shut it.”
“Now, Robin, you know I can’t do that. It goes against my ethics code.”
“I didn’t know you had one.”
“Well, that’s the disguise of it. Make it seem as if there are no morals and ethics.”
He gives her his cheekiest smile and she reaches over the table to swipe at his head.
“You’re an idiot.”
“Yeah, but that’s not exactly news.”
Her left eyebrow rises in a rather comical way and her hand reaches up to swat him once again.
“No, not really.”
“So, anywho... You’re all fine and dandy now?”
“Yeah. We’ve our ups and downs, but every couple has those, right? So we’re working through them. He said the three words, I said them, so that’s it.”
“Commitment?”
“Yes.”
“And what d’you think of him going to Temple?”
Robin does not falter, but instead just calmly takes another sip, not to stall, but just because she can. Billy has always admired that about her, her natural grace.
“I was weirded out at first, but it’s helping him, he’s calmer. Something neither Bradford nor me could’ve accomplished, so if he sleeps better at night, who am I to disagree?”
“Would you convert?”
Now she really takes a moment to herself, trailing her fingers along the rim of her half- empty glass.
“I honestly don’t know.”
“What if he asked you to marry him?”
“Can’t say, Billy. I’ve thought about it, God, I’ve thought it to death, but I still haven’t come to a conclusion.”
“Do you want to marry him?”
“Yes.”
No hesitation. Good.
“Do you want to marry him badly enough to convert?”
“I really want to say yes, but I don’t know. I am not into religion. There is a reason I am an atheist.”
“So even for you there are boundaries?”
“Yes.”
“And you think he will respect that?”
She pierces him with a glance.
“What do you think?”
“You know it is impolite to answer a question with a question.”
Her stare does not waver.
“I think given the circumstances, he would be content with a wedding at City Hall. His father is the one I am worried about. He will go completely overboard with preparations. Simply because he’ll be so excited that Don is actually getting married that the quiet wedding I want, and Don, too, would never happen, unless we hurt Alan.”
They both grin at each other and now would be a good time to talk about what happened last night, but maybe that is best left in the past for now. They have not really seen each other since Miami, at their initial meeting, and even though their contact has been constant, they have not had enough actual face- to- face time.
Besides, knowing Don, the issue will probably arise again, because he just cannot let stuff like this rest. Neither can he, actually.
There is a reason, after all, why they both were nicknamed ‘Terrier’ back in the FR- days.
“You going to talk to Don about The Kiss?”
Like her, he puts emphasis on the words so that the capitals are audible.
“As if I could pass up that opportunity.”
They both snicker.
“I mean, he is all suave and cool, but when you catch him off- guard... I love it.”
He agrees with her on that, and he also reckons that Robin is one of the few people that can make him lose his cool.
“You got anymore shopping to do?”
“Don and I went to the open air- cinema last week to see Iron Man, and he loved it. I’m getting him the DVD. Did you see the film?”
“Nope. Don’t have time for such things like you kiddies.”
That remark earns him a swat at the head. He nods at the waitress for the bill and after paying they stroll to the nearest movie- place where Robin goes a bit overboard when she stops by the comic section.
One thing he has never known her to be was a comic geek.
Upon teasing her, she freely admits that she is in the process of converting Don, with the help of David who brought him graphic novels when the other man had been stuck first at hospital and then at home. That his attention span had been too short for an actual novel had actually helped in steering him on the right path.
“How close are you?”
She shrugs and pays for the five movies she is actually buying.
“Dunno yet. He is not exactly resisting, but I figured if I’m bending to his wishes and start with golfing, then he might as well suffer, too. Even the odds, you know?”
“Good woman.”
“Now you sound like a caveman.”
She gives him a critical scrutinising look.
“And since you didn’t shave this morning, you’re not that far off. At least you showered, Billy.”
“What? You wouldn’t be seen with me otherwise? I’ll have you know that your partner complained a lot less!”
“He’s also a man and apparently you men don’t care about showers and such when you’re in the company of other men. Pigs, all of you.”
She crunches up her nose comically and then pretends to stride away in a huff which makes him laugh harder only than he already is and follows her determined stride.
Series: Ulysses *10/12*
Universe: Odyssey
Author: loozy
Characters: Billy- pov, Robin, mention of Don; Don/Robin
Rating: PG-13/K *mentions of a gay kiss*
Summary: “So, how’s your sex life with Don?”
Word Count: 2972
Spoilers: after 5x23, Angels & Devils
Notes: Thanks goes, as always, to valeriev84 for the beta and the encouragement and support...
Prompt: # 70 Sightseeing
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this fic. Numb3rs and everybody associated with it belong to Cheryl Heuton & Nick Fallucci and CBS. IronMan belongs to Marvel Comics and Stan Lee.
Feedback: Yes, please. I love every kind of review, even the bad ones, as long as they are helpful and constructive.
There have been a lot of kisses in Billy’s life.
Kisses from his Mom and Dad.
Kisses from his sisters.
Kisses from friends, girlfriends, buddies.
Some have disappeared into Neverland, forgotten, too many, too little too late, you know the story. There are just some kisses that will never make it into your annals, and then there are some that you will always remember, that always will leave that certain tingle down your spine when you remember them. Kisses that will leave you all warm inside.
Not too many kisses have made it onto Billy’s resume yet.
But the kiss he shared with Don all those years ago is one of them.
Definitely. That kiss is not something that can be just ignored.
It was the first time that he kissed a guy, and that Don kissed a guy, too, so it was new territory for both of them. It did not feel that way, though. It sounds like a bad cliché from a horrible romance novel, that it just felt right, for that moment, and he still smirks when the thought comes up.
But the fact remains that the kiss was right, that it was the perfect kiss, and that it definitely helped them get through the torrent of emotions coursing through them.
When he was young, he loved to sneak into Katherine’s room and look at the books she has hidden underneath her mattress. Excellent masturbation material they were for someone who had not yet discovered how to hide his Playboys from his mother. His father, once he had realized that his son was getting to that age, had encouraged it despite his mother’s objections, but until that point in time had arrived, Billy had depended on friends’ stacks or Katherine.
Kind of ironic to think of Katherine, the nun, having cheesy books that elevated sexual encounters to something that made you gag with all the kitsch involved.
Or maybe Billy has just never really had love.
Speaking of love, there is actually someone that he can ask, someone who probably will not mind that much (he hopes, he could always be wrong, but maybe...) when he delves into the intricacies of a sex life with Don Eppes.
Not that he does not know that already, in a way, having shared more than one hotel room with the man, but he has never really known Don when he was in love, and he is just plain curious. No ulterior motive, just the pure curiosity that makes him an excellent investigator and a pain in the hole (well, actually it is ‘ass’ but Billy is feeling courteous and tries to abstain from swear words for the day), as his sisters and substitute brother like to call him.
Robin has not joined this group yet, but hey, the day is still young.
“So, how’s your sex life with Don?”
He has never been one for subtlety.
“It’s great. Fantastic. Best I’ve ever had. Best I ever will have.”
Trust Robin to not bat even one eyelash and just go straight through with the answer, without any telling him where to stuff it(Don), blushing and sputtering (Katherine, even though she would be a really bad source for that question) or indignant (Theresa, who would also tell him where to stuff it, sputter and blush). He wonders for a second how Wonder Boy would react to such a question and then decides he might just ask him that when he comes back from his trip tomorrow, just to needle him (it is a lot of fun, after all).
“You’re not planning on ever having another one?”
“Nope.”
He loves Robin. He really does. She does not talk a circle around you, but just says what she thinks when the situation is appropriate, but Billy has it on good authority that even she gets tongue- tied, mostly around Don. In return, she reduces his usually so confident and arrogant former partner to a puddle of incoherency when she wield her wily ways.
“That’s good.”
He likes that Robin seems to have finally settled on Don, and vice versa. They are good for each other, the second time around. Granted, the first round was just spectacular sex and his mind has already thought about that particular mental image many times, and he knows that Robin has done so, too.
“So, kissed any guys since The Kiss?”
The fact that she vocally puts this ‘event’ in capitals shows that this beautiful woman sitting opposite him knows him too well and that it was a mistake to give her his email when they separated back in Miami.
“Yes.”
She does not look surprised at that and why should she? He obviously liked The Kiss, so why should he stop?
“And?”
“I kissed a guy, and I liked it...”
She snickers at the misuse of the overly popular song and then keeps looking at him sipping from her cup.
“And?”
“Gotta hand it to the guy, but Don’s a fantastic kisser.”
“Oh yeah.”
They have always been on a wavelength when it came to Don.
“So what now? You know I’ve already approached him with the idea of a threesome and he wasn’t amused...”
He chortles at this.
“Nah, no threesome. Not yet. Might still be a bit too early for him. We’d have to work on that though, and with me outta town so often...”
Robin hangs her head.
“Shame.”
“Why, Brooks, never heard you play this tune before...”
This is a surprise. While he knows Robin to be open- minded about a lot of things, he never thought she would actually go for a threesome, even if it is in theory.
“Only with you.”
Aha.
“So not just someone random?”
“Nope. Definitely not. I wouldn’t feel comfortable.”
And neither would Don. Or himself, really. Yes, Don used to be a serial dater, never really sticking with someone, but that was back then, and this is now. He has changed a lot since FR, has stopped with the flirting and innuendos and sultry voice that he had a tendency to overuse when going out. Now he is solid, ready to settle down, and yes, Billy is really happy for him.
Would he mind if Don was to settle down with him if Robin was not in the picture?
No, but only if Don was into it, too, and not just doing it out of a fancy. Then again, the Don of today would not do such a thing.
But would he try to separate Don and Robin for his own advantage?
Never.
“So, how do all the kisses figure out into your grand scheme of things?”
He shrugs.
“No biggie. It’s not like I am going to confession and be told that I’ll burn in Hell for all eternity for my sins. So I like both men and women. Big deal.”
“Does Katherine know?”
“No, but only because I haven’t seen her in months.”
The stern look that Robin sends him now tells him that she is going to be a great mother, mixing seriousness with affection to get the best behaviour out of her future children.
“It’s not like it hasn’t been years, you know?”
“It hasn’t exactly come up. I mean, she’s a nun, how do you tell her about this?”
“She’s your sister?”
“These days she feels more like a nun.”
He pretends to take a long sip of his coffee even though the cup is empty to hide the pained expression that he knows is flitting over his face.
“Seems like she is hiding behind her habit from your parents’ illness.”
“She visits them regularly, more frequent than me and Theresa anyways, but she’s just so closed off. So yeah, hiding.”
“And what are you doing? Not going to visit her in person. It’d help, I bet.”
“Theresa came over, but she was just weird to her. She’s changing, getting colder and less friendly. Just all about holiness and the spirit and that God will save us all. Katherine used to be a cool nun, adored by children and parents alike. She would play soccer with her charges and always know about the latest trends in fashion and what was in or not. Now she is a shadow of herself.”
“She must have been an unusual nun.”
“Oh yeah. I mean, I kinda got her reasoning, you know, bad experience and stuff, but still... She never lost touch with the outside world in the way that some nuns in primary school did... Now... Everything’s changed. She was close to Mom and Dad, you know? Always lived close to them...”
“I wouldn’t know what to do if my parents had Alzheimer’s.”
“You close?”
He guesses they are not, since the years since they have been friends, she only rarely mentions her family and has only been to visit them twice, if he recalls correctly.
“Not particularly. But still, they are my parents...”
“I know what you mean.”
No matter what, your parents are your parents, and unless your relationship with them is messed up beyond repair, you will always be dumbstruck by such a diagnosis. Especially if it is both of them.
Awkward silence.
They do not have those often, in fact very rarely, which might also be due to the fact that so far this is the second time that they are actually talking face to face rather than via email.
“Change of topic?”
“Yes.”
“So, Don and you... What exactly went wrong the first time?”
“I got afraid and I ran. I needed to get out of LA, grabbed the first case out I could get my hands on, to Miami, and just fled.”
The waitress come to collect their empty cups and they both take the opportunity to order one more round of drinks, cafe latte for Robin and an iced latte macchiato for himself.
“And it did not do me any good. I never thought that a guy would have this hold over me. But Don did. I just got afraid because there he was, a notorious guy. From some of the stories told in the office, you’d think he bedded a different woman every night, and it was all people in law enforcement. I just... I was overwhelmed, I’d say. And that scared me. Because we had been dating for months and it would soon turn serious.”
The coffees arrive and they sip from them for a moment.
“I wasn’t sure if I was really the right one to tame Don Eppes. If he wanted me to tame him. You know him, Billy, he always held back just a bit. I needed more than that to be sure of him. I didn’t get that, so I got afraid and ran.”
“And regretted it.”
“Oh, fuck yes.”
She moans and nearly loses her balance when she dips back a bit too much.
“He sucked me in, rolled me in, and I didn’t know how to unentangle myself.”
“Nice analogy there.”
She sticks her tongue out at him.
“You want more? I was the helpless bee caught in his spider’s net and he was steadily advancing towards me, and I couldn’t move for fear of being hurt.”
“And instead you hurt both of you.”
“Yeah, I managed to get loose of the net and in the process wounded myself... You saw me in Miami.”
She had been in a state. On the outside she was all composed and strong, but on the inside? Not good. Not good at all. Billy and a lot of cocktails at the hotel bar had done their share and helped her, but the contact with Don had helped her seal the open sores.
“I’m glad you got your act back together. I was afraid I’d have to come to LA and knock sense into you two idiots.”
“Just took me a while to get over it, or to get my act together. I didn’t want to face him, dunno why. And then when I saw him, I didn’t know what to do. I just knew that all of a sudden, I was feeling better than I had all those months after we broke up.”
Robin shakes her head at herself, and Billy can just about make out the tiny smirk gracing her lips.
“I hated that he still had this hold over me...”
“He still does, and you over him.”
“Yeah, but it was different. I just felt like... I can’t explain it.”
“Robin Brooks at a loss for words? Surely I’m mistaken.”
“Oh shut it.”
“Now, Robin, you know I can’t do that. It goes against my ethics code.”
“I didn’t know you had one.”
“Well, that’s the disguise of it. Make it seem as if there are no morals and ethics.”
He gives her his cheekiest smile and she reaches over the table to swipe at his head.
“You’re an idiot.”
“Yeah, but that’s not exactly news.”
Her left eyebrow rises in a rather comical way and her hand reaches up to swat him once again.
“No, not really.”
“So, anywho... You’re all fine and dandy now?”
“Yeah. We’ve our ups and downs, but every couple has those, right? So we’re working through them. He said the three words, I said them, so that’s it.”
“Commitment?”
“Yes.”
“And what d’you think of him going to Temple?”
Robin does not falter, but instead just calmly takes another sip, not to stall, but just because she can. Billy has always admired that about her, her natural grace.
“I was weirded out at first, but it’s helping him, he’s calmer. Something neither Bradford nor me could’ve accomplished, so if he sleeps better at night, who am I to disagree?”
“Would you convert?”
Now she really takes a moment to herself, trailing her fingers along the rim of her half- empty glass.
“I honestly don’t know.”
“What if he asked you to marry him?”
“Can’t say, Billy. I’ve thought about it, God, I’ve thought it to death, but I still haven’t come to a conclusion.”
“Do you want to marry him?”
“Yes.”
No hesitation. Good.
“Do you want to marry him badly enough to convert?”
“I really want to say yes, but I don’t know. I am not into religion. There is a reason I am an atheist.”
“So even for you there are boundaries?”
“Yes.”
“And you think he will respect that?”
She pierces him with a glance.
“What do you think?”
“You know it is impolite to answer a question with a question.”
Her stare does not waver.
“I think given the circumstances, he would be content with a wedding at City Hall. His father is the one I am worried about. He will go completely overboard with preparations. Simply because he’ll be so excited that Don is actually getting married that the quiet wedding I want, and Don, too, would never happen, unless we hurt Alan.”
They both grin at each other and now would be a good time to talk about what happened last night, but maybe that is best left in the past for now. They have not really seen each other since Miami, at their initial meeting, and even though their contact has been constant, they have not had enough actual face- to- face time.
Besides, knowing Don, the issue will probably arise again, because he just cannot let stuff like this rest. Neither can he, actually.
There is a reason, after all, why they both were nicknamed ‘Terrier’ back in the FR- days.
“You going to talk to Don about The Kiss?”
Like her, he puts emphasis on the words so that the capitals are audible.
“As if I could pass up that opportunity.”
They both snicker.
“I mean, he is all suave and cool, but when you catch him off- guard... I love it.”
He agrees with her on that, and he also reckons that Robin is one of the few people that can make him lose his cool.
“You got anymore shopping to do?”
“Don and I went to the open air- cinema last week to see Iron Man, and he loved it. I’m getting him the DVD. Did you see the film?”
“Nope. Don’t have time for such things like you kiddies.”
That remark earns him a swat at the head. He nods at the waitress for the bill and after paying they stroll to the nearest movie- place where Robin goes a bit overboard when she stops by the comic section.
One thing he has never known her to be was a comic geek.
Upon teasing her, she freely admits that she is in the process of converting Don, with the help of David who brought him graphic novels when the other man had been stuck first at hospital and then at home. That his attention span had been too short for an actual novel had actually helped in steering him on the right path.
“How close are you?”
She shrugs and pays for the five movies she is actually buying.
“Dunno yet. He is not exactly resisting, but I figured if I’m bending to his wishes and start with golfing, then he might as well suffer, too. Even the odds, you know?”
“Good woman.”
“Now you sound like a caveman.”
She gives him a critical scrutinising look.
“And since you didn’t shave this morning, you’re not that far off. At least you showered, Billy.”
“What? You wouldn’t be seen with me otherwise? I’ll have you know that your partner complained a lot less!”
“He’s also a man and apparently you men don’t care about showers and such when you’re in the company of other men. Pigs, all of you.”
She crunches up her nose comically and then pretends to stride away in a huff which makes him laugh harder only than he already is and follows her determined stride.