Son of A Preacher Man - Snapshot: The Knot (1/3)
Title: SOAPM: The Knot
Author: millionstar
Pairing: Belldom
Rating: PG
Beta: dolce_piccante
Summary: Dominic has a question for Jacob and Annie Bellamy
Disclaimer: I don't own the boys, no profit is being made, and this is fiction.
Author's Note: If you choose to read, thank you, so much.
Dominic swallowed nervously, chewing on the inside of his cheek. Without even realizing he was doing it, he had begun to tap out an irregular rhythm on his outer thigh. He had no idea what song he was trying to play, if anything, he was simply so full of anxiety that his body seemed to be channeling it any way it could.
Randomly, his brain drifted back to the blueberry jam he’d licked off Matthew’s thighs the night before. This only increased his anxiety; he shook his head and shifted in his seat, ashamed of himself for thinking about such a thing in the presence of Matthew’s parents.
(Even if it had been really, really hot.)
He couldn’t help himself - his thoughts always, always drifted to the one he loved whenever he was upset or nervous or happy or sad or hungry or gassy or anything. Matthew was his guiding light, his constant reassurance in human form.
For her part, Annie Bellamy was enjoying herself. It simply didn’t seem to matter how much time passed with Dominic as a part of their lives - he remained quiet and nervous around Matthew’s mother. Annie wasn’t bothered by this, rather, it didn’t hurt her feelings, but it did amuse her to no end. Dominic had been sitting at their kitchen table for fifteen minutes so far, making small talk about the weather. Now and then he would look at Annie and Jacob, take a deep breath, open his mouth to speak, then suddenly close it.
"What are you sayin', son. Spit it out. What were y'gonna ask us? Is there somethin' y'need?"
"Um, I just wanted t'see if y'all..." Dominic coughed, "I mean, that is t'say that I, um-"
"Dominic," Jacob said gently, an amused smile on his face as he sat down to his breakfast, "y'ain't got t'be so dang nervous, y'know. This is yer home too. We ain't gonna bite. Well," he glanced at Annie, "I ain't gonna bite"
"Ain't nobody gonna be bitin' no one," Annie shot back, pushing her chair back from the table, "at least I don't reckon." She winked at Dominic. He laughed, a nervous, high-pitched laugh.
"Annie, don't be cruel, the boy's nervous as it is," Jacob laughed, buttering a large stack of pancakes.
"I ain't bein' cruel, I just don't know why this youngin' is still so dang jumpy around me! It's been three years, Dominic. Y'don't have t'be so scared of me, y'know." She pulled out the chair next to Dominic's and sat down next to him, scooting close. "Have I done something to upset you? Please, tell me if that's the case so I can make it right, lamb."
Dominic's eyes widened; he shook his head. "Upset me? No, lord no! You could never do that! I just... you're Matthew's mama. That's all."
"Well, yes, lamb, but I'm just Annie, too, y'know."
Dominic looked at her. "No… no. Mamas are... they're important. They're precious. Y’ain’t ever gonna be 'just Annie', you're the person who brought the man I love into the world. You're," he glanced at Jacob, "and I ain't bein' disrespectful, Jacob, don't misunderstand me-"
"Boy, only way you could disrespect me right now would be if y'tried to steal my bacon," Jacob replied, tucking into his pancakes, "ain't no worries there."
"I guess I just... it ain't rightly that I'm scared of ya," Dominic said quietly, "it's more that I respect ya so much that I don't know what t'do with myself. I see how y'are with Matthew and I wonder how my mama would be with him, with me, with us, if she were here still, y'know? Sometimes I think about that and it hurts so much I can't see straight." He looked at her, blinking away a couple of stray tears. "I'm sorry, I don't mean t'offend."
Annie covered her mouth with one hand.
"So if I seem t'be scared of you, it ain’t that, it's just that you're one of the most precious people walkin' God's earth. I'm just awestruck in yer presence," he finished. He shook his head and stared down at his lap. "Lord, I hope that makes sense. I can’t rightly tell."
Annie reached for Dominic's hands. "It does. But, look at me, lamb," she lifted Dominic's chin so they could make eye contact, "listen t'me. You are loved, y'hear me? Jake and I love y’like you were our own, because you cherish our own the way y'do. You can be any way y’wanna be around me - but never doubt that we love you, okay?"
Impulsively, Dominic hugged her. Annie smoothed his back and stroked his hair. “There, now. Is that better?”
Dominic nodded.
“Now," she stood up, "are y'gonna let me fix you a plate or what? Can't let this good bacon go t'waste on a Saturday mornin'. What's got you up and over here alone so early on a weekend, lamb?"
“Ain’t nothin’ wrong is there? Everything okay down at the store?” Jacob asked.
"Yeah, everything’s fine! Matty’s takin’ today off, Mary Lou and John are coverin’.. I just. Well. Actually, speakin' of my mama," Dominic continued carefully, "She’s been on my mind a lot lately.”
“That’s only natural, son,” Jacob replied, smiling.
“Like, I wonder what she’d think of how big Kevin’s gettin’. What she’d think of Daisy, and her big ole hound dog ears.”
Jacob laughed, sipping on his coffee.
“And, well, I suppose I wonder mostly how she'd feel about me bein' here to ask y'all for permission to ask Matthew t'marry me."
Jacob Bellamy choked on his coffee.
Annie Bellamy dropped her plate of pancakes.
Dominic sat quietly, giving the couple the chance to fully let what he had just said soak in. He stared at his foot, which now had a large, butter-coated pancake on top of it, and winced because these were his brand new black suede boots.
He really liked those boots.
He wondered if it were possible to get butter out of suede.
Dominic shook his head and knelt to the floor, picking up the mess that Annie had just made. When he stood back up, the Bellamys were staring at him, their faces unreadable in the wake of Dominic’s announcement. He sat back down slowly.
“I… look, one of y’all better say somethin’ soon or I’m gonna throw up from nerves,” Dominic pleaded.
Jacob and Annie turned to each other and screamed, their hands in the air like they’d just won the lottery. They began hugging each other excitedly and turned to Dominic.
“Son, what on earth took y’so long?” Jacob asked, laughing.
“I knew it, I just knew it,” Annie exclaimed. “As soon as the state legalized it last year, I’ve just been sittin’ and waitin’ for one of you two t’take the plunge and finally, finally it’s gonna happen! My baby boy’s gonna get married! Lordy, I love weddings!”
“Wait, wait,” Dominic said, smiling, “I mean, t’be fair, Matty has t’say yes first.”
Jacob laughed so hard that he actually slammed his fist down on the table a couple of times. “Good lord, boy. Y’ought t’know by now that my boy thinks you hung the got-damn moon. Of course he’s gonna say yes. OH!” Jacob snapped his fingers and pointed at Annie. “You, woman, owe me twenty bucks.”
“Dang. That, I do,” Annie nodded. She smiled sheepishly at Dominic. “We had a friendly wager on it, y’see.”
Dominic couldn’t help but giggle at that. “So… I have yer permission, then?”
The room fell quiet for a couple of beats. Jacob’s expression slowly shifted into a very serious one. “Sit down, son,” he requested.
Dominic did, as Jacob began to speak.
“Do y’love my boy, Dominic?”
“More than anything. More than everything. Nothin’s gonna change that. Ever.”
“It’s a big step, puttin’ on that ring. It ain’t nothin’ t’take lightly.”
Dominic nodded. “I know. Funny thing is, we’ve talked about it a lot. We kind of decided that we didn’t need no dang piece of paper proclaimin’ us t’be married. We reckoned that all we needed was each other. But when the state made it legal for us t’do so last year, it got me thinkin’. I want t’be able t’call Matthew my husband. I want the world to know that I belong t’him. I… I don’t know if he’s gonna feel the same way I do, but I want t’try.” He looked into Jacob’s eyes. “I’ll make him happy, Jacob. I live to see your boy smile. I promise you that.”
Jacob nodded. “Just one more question, son.”
“Yeah?”
“Why the hell are y’still holdin’ that pancake?”
Dominic’s eyes crinkled in confusion until he looked down at the remnants of pancake in his hand.
He hadn’t even noticed that he’d been holding it.
Author: millionstar
Pairing: Belldom
Rating: PG
Beta: dolce_piccante
Summary: Dominic has a question for Jacob and Annie Bellamy
Disclaimer: I don't own the boys, no profit is being made, and this is fiction.
Author's Note: If you choose to read, thank you, so much.
Dominic swallowed nervously, chewing on the inside of his cheek. Without even realizing he was doing it, he had begun to tap out an irregular rhythm on his outer thigh. He had no idea what song he was trying to play, if anything, he was simply so full of anxiety that his body seemed to be channeling it any way it could.
Randomly, his brain drifted back to the blueberry jam he’d licked off Matthew’s thighs the night before. This only increased his anxiety; he shook his head and shifted in his seat, ashamed of himself for thinking about such a thing in the presence of Matthew’s parents.
(Even if it had been really, really hot.)
He couldn’t help himself - his thoughts always, always drifted to the one he loved whenever he was upset or nervous or happy or sad or hungry or gassy or anything. Matthew was his guiding light, his constant reassurance in human form.
For her part, Annie Bellamy was enjoying herself. It simply didn’t seem to matter how much time passed with Dominic as a part of their lives - he remained quiet and nervous around Matthew’s mother. Annie wasn’t bothered by this, rather, it didn’t hurt her feelings, but it did amuse her to no end. Dominic had been sitting at their kitchen table for fifteen minutes so far, making small talk about the weather. Now and then he would look at Annie and Jacob, take a deep breath, open his mouth to speak, then suddenly close it.
"What are you sayin', son. Spit it out. What were y'gonna ask us? Is there somethin' y'need?"
"Um, I just wanted t'see if y'all..." Dominic coughed, "I mean, that is t'say that I, um-"
"Dominic," Jacob said gently, an amused smile on his face as he sat down to his breakfast, "y'ain't got t'be so dang nervous, y'know. This is yer home too. We ain't gonna bite. Well," he glanced at Annie, "I ain't gonna bite"
"Ain't nobody gonna be bitin' no one," Annie shot back, pushing her chair back from the table, "at least I don't reckon." She winked at Dominic. He laughed, a nervous, high-pitched laugh.
"Annie, don't be cruel, the boy's nervous as it is," Jacob laughed, buttering a large stack of pancakes.
"I ain't bein' cruel, I just don't know why this youngin' is still so dang jumpy around me! It's been three years, Dominic. Y'don't have t'be so scared of me, y'know." She pulled out the chair next to Dominic's and sat down next to him, scooting close. "Have I done something to upset you? Please, tell me if that's the case so I can make it right, lamb."
Dominic's eyes widened; he shook his head. "Upset me? No, lord no! You could never do that! I just... you're Matthew's mama. That's all."
"Well, yes, lamb, but I'm just Annie, too, y'know."
Dominic looked at her. "No… no. Mamas are... they're important. They're precious. Y’ain’t ever gonna be 'just Annie', you're the person who brought the man I love into the world. You're," he glanced at Jacob, "and I ain't bein' disrespectful, Jacob, don't misunderstand me-"
"Boy, only way you could disrespect me right now would be if y'tried to steal my bacon," Jacob replied, tucking into his pancakes, "ain't no worries there."
"I guess I just... it ain't rightly that I'm scared of ya," Dominic said quietly, "it's more that I respect ya so much that I don't know what t'do with myself. I see how y'are with Matthew and I wonder how my mama would be with him, with me, with us, if she were here still, y'know? Sometimes I think about that and it hurts so much I can't see straight." He looked at her, blinking away a couple of stray tears. "I'm sorry, I don't mean t'offend."
Annie covered her mouth with one hand.
"So if I seem t'be scared of you, it ain’t that, it's just that you're one of the most precious people walkin' God's earth. I'm just awestruck in yer presence," he finished. He shook his head and stared down at his lap. "Lord, I hope that makes sense. I can’t rightly tell."
Annie reached for Dominic's hands. "It does. But, look at me, lamb," she lifted Dominic's chin so they could make eye contact, "listen t'me. You are loved, y'hear me? Jake and I love y’like you were our own, because you cherish our own the way y'do. You can be any way y’wanna be around me - but never doubt that we love you, okay?"
Impulsively, Dominic hugged her. Annie smoothed his back and stroked his hair. “There, now. Is that better?”
Dominic nodded.
“Now," she stood up, "are y'gonna let me fix you a plate or what? Can't let this good bacon go t'waste on a Saturday mornin'. What's got you up and over here alone so early on a weekend, lamb?"
“Ain’t nothin’ wrong is there? Everything okay down at the store?” Jacob asked.
"Yeah, everything’s fine! Matty’s takin’ today off, Mary Lou and John are coverin’.. I just. Well. Actually, speakin' of my mama," Dominic continued carefully, "She’s been on my mind a lot lately.”
“That’s only natural, son,” Jacob replied, smiling.
“Like, I wonder what she’d think of how big Kevin’s gettin’. What she’d think of Daisy, and her big ole hound dog ears.”
Jacob laughed, sipping on his coffee.
“And, well, I suppose I wonder mostly how she'd feel about me bein' here to ask y'all for permission to ask Matthew t'marry me."
Jacob Bellamy choked on his coffee.
Annie Bellamy dropped her plate of pancakes.
Dominic sat quietly, giving the couple the chance to fully let what he had just said soak in. He stared at his foot, which now had a large, butter-coated pancake on top of it, and winced because these were his brand new black suede boots.
He really liked those boots.
He wondered if it were possible to get butter out of suede.
Dominic shook his head and knelt to the floor, picking up the mess that Annie had just made. When he stood back up, the Bellamys were staring at him, their faces unreadable in the wake of Dominic’s announcement. He sat back down slowly.
“I… look, one of y’all better say somethin’ soon or I’m gonna throw up from nerves,” Dominic pleaded.
Jacob and Annie turned to each other and screamed, their hands in the air like they’d just won the lottery. They began hugging each other excitedly and turned to Dominic.
“Son, what on earth took y’so long?” Jacob asked, laughing.
“I knew it, I just knew it,” Annie exclaimed. “As soon as the state legalized it last year, I’ve just been sittin’ and waitin’ for one of you two t’take the plunge and finally, finally it’s gonna happen! My baby boy’s gonna get married! Lordy, I love weddings!”
“Wait, wait,” Dominic said, smiling, “I mean, t’be fair, Matty has t’say yes first.”
Jacob laughed so hard that he actually slammed his fist down on the table a couple of times. “Good lord, boy. Y’ought t’know by now that my boy thinks you hung the got-damn moon. Of course he’s gonna say yes. OH!” Jacob snapped his fingers and pointed at Annie. “You, woman, owe me twenty bucks.”
“Dang. That, I do,” Annie nodded. She smiled sheepishly at Dominic. “We had a friendly wager on it, y’see.”
Dominic couldn’t help but giggle at that. “So… I have yer permission, then?”
The room fell quiet for a couple of beats. Jacob’s expression slowly shifted into a very serious one. “Sit down, son,” he requested.
Dominic did, as Jacob began to speak.
“Do y’love my boy, Dominic?”
“More than anything. More than everything. Nothin’s gonna change that. Ever.”
“It’s a big step, puttin’ on that ring. It ain’t nothin’ t’take lightly.”
Dominic nodded. “I know. Funny thing is, we’ve talked about it a lot. We kind of decided that we didn’t need no dang piece of paper proclaimin’ us t’be married. We reckoned that all we needed was each other. But when the state made it legal for us t’do so last year, it got me thinkin’. I want t’be able t’call Matthew my husband. I want the world to know that I belong t’him. I… I don’t know if he’s gonna feel the same way I do, but I want t’try.” He looked into Jacob’s eyes. “I’ll make him happy, Jacob. I live to see your boy smile. I promise you that.”
Jacob nodded. “Just one more question, son.”
“Yeah?”
“Why the hell are y’still holdin’ that pancake?”
Dominic’s eyes crinkled in confusion until he looked down at the remnants of pancake in his hand.
He hadn’t even noticed that he’d been holding it.