Fic: Always On Her Side
Title: Always On Her Side
Author: Mary (stillxmyxheart)
Beta: Lindsay (rowofstars)
Rating: G
Genre: Friendship, Fluff, Angst
Word Count: 1,818
Characters/Pairings: April, Nathan, Sam
A/N: For the prompt "Nathan/April/Sam; mix ups"; don't start getting too very used to getting new fic every week, my muse just randomly gets inspired, so yeah XD
"Thanks for letting me stay here," April murmured as Nathan opened the door for her to step inside first. "Hopefully it's just the weekend."
Nathan smiled as he closed the door. "It's nothing. Better than you having to pay for a hotel."
April laughed and nodded, shifting her overnight bag in her hand. Nathan frowned at a piece of mail in his hand, and then dropped it onto the table beside the door, starting for the stairs and gesturing for April to follow.
He led her down the hall and then pushed open the last door on their left.
"All yours," he said with a bit of a grin. "Bathroom is next door, and I'm right across the hall."
April nodded, unable to keep from smiling at the soft pink sheets on the bed, knowing he had used them for her.
He stepped from the room, pulling the door shut, and she heard the quiet click of his bedroom door a moment later.
She changed quickly, trading her work clothes for jeans and a t-shirt, and pulled her hair back into a ponytail before slipping from the room to head back downstairs.
Nathan still seemed to be in his room, and April smiled a little as she stared around the living room.
She'd been in his house before, had started coming over for dinner once every couple of weeks not long after she started working at the White House a few months ago, but had never stayed the night before.
She always felt like Nathan's house was too big for him, and wondered how he could stand it. She knew his wife was deceased, and his son lived in New York, and though she had only known Nathan a few months, she could see sometimes how lonely he was. He had practically jumped at the chance to give her a place to stay when she mentioned needing one, and truth be told, she got pretty lonely sometimes too.
Her gaze passed over the pictures on the bookshelves, knowing the pretty redhead was his late wife Emily. He still wore his wedding band, and she knew he missed her terribly; there was always a certain kind of melancholy that came over him when he talked about her, and April sometimes wondered what all there was in his past.
There were also a few pictures of a dark-haired young man, tall and lean. She knew he was Nathan's son, and thought his name was Simon, but Nathan didn't talk about him as much. It just served to increase her curiosity.
She heard footsteps in the upstairs hallway, and backed away from the bookcase as Nathan came downstairs, dressed now in jeans and a t-shirt, and having traded his contacts for wireframes.
He smiled when he saw her, the corners of his bright blue eyes crinkling.
"So," he began as he approached her. "What do you want for dinner?"
They cooked it together, forgoing any kind of formality and choosing to eat on the couch, the TV on and showing a string of old sitcoms and dramas.
Not that either of them paid much attention to it. They talked about work, meetings and bills and new potential laws, before eventually shifting towards more personal topics. There was still so much for them to share, and while they both continued to hold things back, there were always new stories to tell, of college days and former jobs.
Nathan had a seemingly endless supply of stories from the previous administration, for which he had been involved from almost the very start, and April loved hearing about how things were then.
Sometimes he'd tell her about what he remembered before the Fall, though he'd only been 6, almost 7, in December of 2012. He didn't talk as much about the years that immediately followed, though, and she knew it hadn't been an easy time for anybody.
It was all so fascinating, and she loved listening to him talk; she loved spending time with him in general. It felt good to have made a friend so quickly, and to have someone on her side when she needed it. She'd had so few real friends in her life, and didn't really have any now, but she felt like Nathan was rapidly approaching that status. It made her feel good, more than she would've initially thought.
After April showered and changed for bed, Nathan presented a package of chocolate chip cookies and a container of vanilla ice cream to her, and they ate dessert in the kitchen before finally heading up to bed.
Nathan grinned as he opened the door the next morning to see Sam standing on his front porch.
"Can I help you?"
Sam snorted, rolling his eyes. "I believe you invited me over for breakfast."
"Oh yeah," Nathan murmured vaguely, turning away from the door.
Sam smirked as he stepped inside and pushed the door closed behind him, following Nathan into the kitchen.
He moved to grab a mug from the cabinet, and then to get some coffee, and frowned as he glanced into the sink, noticing the two plates set in there.
"Did you have somebody over last night?"
Nathan looked up at him, and then nodded. "Yeah, but -"
Sam met his gaze, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "You never bring women here, are you seeing somebody? Who is she? Why didn't you tell me about her?"
Nathan looked amused at Sam's rapid fire questioning, and shook his head. "No -"
Nathan was cut off by a cheery, "Morning!" as April stepped into the kitchen, still dressed in her pajamas, a long t-shirt that hung to the middle of her thighs, concealing the fact that she was also wearing shorts.
Her eyes widened a little when she saw Sam, the smile disappearing from her face like someone had just flipped a switch, and a heavy silence settled over the kitchen.
Sam glanced at Nathan and then back at April, his mouth open as though he wanted to speak, but couldn't quite seem to come up with something to say.
April's hands nervously gripped the bottom hem of her t-shirt, rolling it between her fingers.
"I - um - Nathan -" She gestured vaguely with one hand, and then lowered her gaze, chewing on her bottom lip.
A moment later she turned on her heel and hurried from the room.
Same turned his gaze to Nathan, his eyebrows raised again, but his expression was more expectant now.
"It's not - this isn't what it looks like," Nathan said quickly, shaking his head. "She just spent the night with me -"
Sam's eyes widened, and Nathan shook his head again.
"No, not like that, she came home with me last night -"
Sam turned away, holding up his hand. "I don't think I like what's going on here."
"Sam -"
"Is that why you like her so damn much?" Sam asked as he turned around again, staring hard at Nathan.
Nathan's cheeks flushed slightly red as he frowned. "Excuse me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Please, Nathan," Sam scoffed, "you act like I don't know you."
Nathan's jaw tensed. "I really don't like what you're implying."
Sam shook his head as he stepped wordlessly around the island, heading for the front door.
"Because it sounds to me," Nathan pressed, his voice rising slightly as he followed Sam from the kitchen, "that you're trying to say that the only reason April got her job is because she had sex with me, and not only is that an insult to her -" His hand shot out as Sam opened the front door, slamming it shut again and glaring up at the older man. "- it's an insult to me."
Something flashed over Sam's face, but he remained silent, and Nathan narrowed his eyes.
"Do you really think that I would do something like that? That I don't take my job seriously?" He shook his head. "For the record, I have never done that, and I will never do that. And also, since you seem to have forgotten, Harrison is the one who told me to hire her. Are you going to suggest he slept with her too?"
Sam's expression softened slightly, and he opened his mouth to speak, but Nathan shook his head again.
"Don't bother apologizing to me, because it won't mean shit unless you apologize to her too, and I know you won't."
He removed his hand from the door and turned away, and Sam took a step after him.
"Nathan, I -"
"No," Nathan snapped, turning once more. "Unless you're going to say the same thing to her, just don't."
He was halfway to the second floor when he heard the door open and shut, and shook his head once more, his jaw clenching as he continued up the stairs.
He came to a stop outside April's room, and rapped his knuckles quietly on the door. "April?"
There was a brief silence, and then a quiet, "Come in."
Nathan pushed open the door and saw April standing beside the dresser, arms crossed over her chest as she watched him step inside. She was dressed now, in her jeans and t-shirt from the night before, and her teeth worried her bottom lip as she looked at him.
"I'm sorry," she said in a small voice.
He gave her a look, tilting his head slightly as he pushed the door shut. "Please don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong."
April pressed her lips together, lowering her gaze for a moment before looking up at him again, her arms tightening over her chest.
"I heard you guys fighting," she said quietly.
Nathan shook his head as he moved closer to her. "Don't worry about it, okay? Whatever Sam's issues with you are, they're his problem, and his alone. Harrison specifically wanted you for your job because you're bright, and clever, and he couldn't have made a better decision. I don't know why Sam still refuses to see that, but just ignore whatever he says, because he doesn't know what he's talking about."
Her lips twitched slightly, her eyes a little over bright, and Nathan stepped forward to pull her into his arms.
She hugged him back, pressing against his chest for a moment, and he smiled down at her when he pulled away.
"C'mon," he said, guiding her from the room with an arm around her shoulders. "You and I will just have a nice breakfast all on our own."
His mind drifted irresistibly to Simon, and his smile widened as he remembered his son as a little boy, and how much he loved chocolate chip pancakes.
"How do you like chocolate chip pancakes?"
April laughed softly. "I haven't had those in so long."
"Well, then you're well overdue."
She giggled, and he grinned as he gave her a squeeze before they started down the stairs.
Author: Mary (stillxmyxheart)
Beta: Lindsay (rowofstars)
Rating: G
Genre: Friendship, Fluff, Angst
Word Count: 1,818
Characters/Pairings: April, Nathan, Sam
A/N: For the prompt "Nathan/April/Sam; mix ups"; don't start getting too very used to getting new fic every week, my muse just randomly gets inspired, so yeah XD
"Thanks for letting me stay here," April murmured as Nathan opened the door for her to step inside first. "Hopefully it's just the weekend."
Nathan smiled as he closed the door. "It's nothing. Better than you having to pay for a hotel."
April laughed and nodded, shifting her overnight bag in her hand. Nathan frowned at a piece of mail in his hand, and then dropped it onto the table beside the door, starting for the stairs and gesturing for April to follow.
He led her down the hall and then pushed open the last door on their left.
"All yours," he said with a bit of a grin. "Bathroom is next door, and I'm right across the hall."
April nodded, unable to keep from smiling at the soft pink sheets on the bed, knowing he had used them for her.
He stepped from the room, pulling the door shut, and she heard the quiet click of his bedroom door a moment later.
She changed quickly, trading her work clothes for jeans and a t-shirt, and pulled her hair back into a ponytail before slipping from the room to head back downstairs.
Nathan still seemed to be in his room, and April smiled a little as she stared around the living room.
She'd been in his house before, had started coming over for dinner once every couple of weeks not long after she started working at the White House a few months ago, but had never stayed the night before.
She always felt like Nathan's house was too big for him, and wondered how he could stand it. She knew his wife was deceased, and his son lived in New York, and though she had only known Nathan a few months, she could see sometimes how lonely he was. He had practically jumped at the chance to give her a place to stay when she mentioned needing one, and truth be told, she got pretty lonely sometimes too.
Her gaze passed over the pictures on the bookshelves, knowing the pretty redhead was his late wife Emily. He still wore his wedding band, and she knew he missed her terribly; there was always a certain kind of melancholy that came over him when he talked about her, and April sometimes wondered what all there was in his past.
There were also a few pictures of a dark-haired young man, tall and lean. She knew he was Nathan's son, and thought his name was Simon, but Nathan didn't talk about him as much. It just served to increase her curiosity.
She heard footsteps in the upstairs hallway, and backed away from the bookcase as Nathan came downstairs, dressed now in jeans and a t-shirt, and having traded his contacts for wireframes.
He smiled when he saw her, the corners of his bright blue eyes crinkling.
"So," he began as he approached her. "What do you want for dinner?"
They cooked it together, forgoing any kind of formality and choosing to eat on the couch, the TV on and showing a string of old sitcoms and dramas.
Not that either of them paid much attention to it. They talked about work, meetings and bills and new potential laws, before eventually shifting towards more personal topics. There was still so much for them to share, and while they both continued to hold things back, there were always new stories to tell, of college days and former jobs.
Nathan had a seemingly endless supply of stories from the previous administration, for which he had been involved from almost the very start, and April loved hearing about how things were then.
Sometimes he'd tell her about what he remembered before the Fall, though he'd only been 6, almost 7, in December of 2012. He didn't talk as much about the years that immediately followed, though, and she knew it hadn't been an easy time for anybody.
It was all so fascinating, and she loved listening to him talk; she loved spending time with him in general. It felt good to have made a friend so quickly, and to have someone on her side when she needed it. She'd had so few real friends in her life, and didn't really have any now, but she felt like Nathan was rapidly approaching that status. It made her feel good, more than she would've initially thought.
After April showered and changed for bed, Nathan presented a package of chocolate chip cookies and a container of vanilla ice cream to her, and they ate dessert in the kitchen before finally heading up to bed.
Nathan grinned as he opened the door the next morning to see Sam standing on his front porch.
"Can I help you?"
Sam snorted, rolling his eyes. "I believe you invited me over for breakfast."
"Oh yeah," Nathan murmured vaguely, turning away from the door.
Sam smirked as he stepped inside and pushed the door closed behind him, following Nathan into the kitchen.
He moved to grab a mug from the cabinet, and then to get some coffee, and frowned as he glanced into the sink, noticing the two plates set in there.
"Did you have somebody over last night?"
Nathan looked up at him, and then nodded. "Yeah, but -"
Sam met his gaze, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "You never bring women here, are you seeing somebody? Who is she? Why didn't you tell me about her?"
Nathan looked amused at Sam's rapid fire questioning, and shook his head. "No -"
Nathan was cut off by a cheery, "Morning!" as April stepped into the kitchen, still dressed in her pajamas, a long t-shirt that hung to the middle of her thighs, concealing the fact that she was also wearing shorts.
Her eyes widened a little when she saw Sam, the smile disappearing from her face like someone had just flipped a switch, and a heavy silence settled over the kitchen.
Sam glanced at Nathan and then back at April, his mouth open as though he wanted to speak, but couldn't quite seem to come up with something to say.
April's hands nervously gripped the bottom hem of her t-shirt, rolling it between her fingers.
"I - um - Nathan -" She gestured vaguely with one hand, and then lowered her gaze, chewing on her bottom lip.
A moment later she turned on her heel and hurried from the room.
Same turned his gaze to Nathan, his eyebrows raised again, but his expression was more expectant now.
"It's not - this isn't what it looks like," Nathan said quickly, shaking his head. "She just spent the night with me -"
Sam's eyes widened, and Nathan shook his head again.
"No, not like that, she came home with me last night -"
Sam turned away, holding up his hand. "I don't think I like what's going on here."
"Sam -"
"Is that why you like her so damn much?" Sam asked as he turned around again, staring hard at Nathan.
Nathan's cheeks flushed slightly red as he frowned. "Excuse me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Please, Nathan," Sam scoffed, "you act like I don't know you."
Nathan's jaw tensed. "I really don't like what you're implying."
Sam shook his head as he stepped wordlessly around the island, heading for the front door.
"Because it sounds to me," Nathan pressed, his voice rising slightly as he followed Sam from the kitchen, "that you're trying to say that the only reason April got her job is because she had sex with me, and not only is that an insult to her -" His hand shot out as Sam opened the front door, slamming it shut again and glaring up at the older man. "- it's an insult to me."
Something flashed over Sam's face, but he remained silent, and Nathan narrowed his eyes.
"Do you really think that I would do something like that? That I don't take my job seriously?" He shook his head. "For the record, I have never done that, and I will never do that. And also, since you seem to have forgotten, Harrison is the one who told me to hire her. Are you going to suggest he slept with her too?"
Sam's expression softened slightly, and he opened his mouth to speak, but Nathan shook his head again.
"Don't bother apologizing to me, because it won't mean shit unless you apologize to her too, and I know you won't."
He removed his hand from the door and turned away, and Sam took a step after him.
"Nathan, I -"
"No," Nathan snapped, turning once more. "Unless you're going to say the same thing to her, just don't."
He was halfway to the second floor when he heard the door open and shut, and shook his head once more, his jaw clenching as he continued up the stairs.
He came to a stop outside April's room, and rapped his knuckles quietly on the door. "April?"
There was a brief silence, and then a quiet, "Come in."
Nathan pushed open the door and saw April standing beside the dresser, arms crossed over her chest as she watched him step inside. She was dressed now, in her jeans and t-shirt from the night before, and her teeth worried her bottom lip as she looked at him.
"I'm sorry," she said in a small voice.
He gave her a look, tilting his head slightly as he pushed the door shut. "Please don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong."
April pressed her lips together, lowering her gaze for a moment before looking up at him again, her arms tightening over her chest.
"I heard you guys fighting," she said quietly.
Nathan shook his head as he moved closer to her. "Don't worry about it, okay? Whatever Sam's issues with you are, they're his problem, and his alone. Harrison specifically wanted you for your job because you're bright, and clever, and he couldn't have made a better decision. I don't know why Sam still refuses to see that, but just ignore whatever he says, because he doesn't know what he's talking about."
Her lips twitched slightly, her eyes a little over bright, and Nathan stepped forward to pull her into his arms.
She hugged him back, pressing against his chest for a moment, and he smiled down at her when he pulled away.
"C'mon," he said, guiding her from the room with an arm around her shoulders. "You and I will just have a nice breakfast all on our own."
His mind drifted irresistibly to Simon, and his smile widened as he remembered his son as a little boy, and how much he loved chocolate chip pancakes.
"How do you like chocolate chip pancakes?"
April laughed softly. "I haven't had those in so long."
"Well, then you're well overdue."
She giggled, and he grinned as he gave her a squeeze before they started down the stairs.