Friends with Benefits - Chapter 5

[whatshouldntbe]

Title: Friends with Benefits
Author:
whatshouldntbe
Fandom: Reboot XI/AU
Universe/Series: Part of the 'What Shouldn't Be' series
Rating: R (NC-17 over all)
Word count: 18000+ for this part, 76000+ so far
Disclaimer: I own Star Trek as much as I own the Sun, which means not at all.
Warnings: always!girl Kirk, angst, action, infidelity, language, rom-com humor, sexual situations, violence, possible amateur world-building
Summary: Jim doesn't end up at Starfleet.


Chapter 5

"Ease those legs open for me darlin'-bit wider, come on-there you go-"

Jim groans, fingers grabbing the pillow under her head for purchase as the world swims around her. Bones has put a new definition to the term 'early riser' and he's doing this a bit underhandedly because she knows that he knows she doesn't function well in the morning. When he said they were going to talk, Jim didn't exactly have this in mind. Not that she was complaining-entirely-at all.

It's too early to be considered dawn and Jim is still incredibly tired but way too turned on to fall back asleep, not with Bones already inside of her, steady hands tilting her hips up as he bears down. His silhouette is only somewhat visible in the darkness of the room, the early morning light peeking through in thin sheets between the spaces of her closed blinds and heavy curtains.

Jim doesn't know what time it is. She doesn't really care to know because all she can pay attention to is the naked press of their skin and how the wild strands of Bones's hair feels soft as it brushes her chin as he dips his head to kiss her collarbone and she wishes she could see him, every inch of him, but something about not being able to only enhances the intimacy.

Jim shudders when his lips brush the twitching lashes of her left eye and he blows gently over it. She bites down on her bottom lip as his hand slides down to the crook of her right knee before he lifts it and presses it against his chest. She gasps breathlessly when this new position allows him to change the angle of his thrusts.

"That's it-let me hear you, Jim-come on-say my name."

"Fuck off," Jim laughs (moans). He's got some nerve trying to boss her around, never mind the fact that it makes her twitch and fills her with hungry curiosity. She wonders how far she can push him, because she's not the type to submit, she doesn't much like it, never liked it. She always had a tendency to bring her rebellious nature in the bedroom. She's curious to know how he'll respond to this. "Tell you what," she pants and lifts her hips to meet his next thrust. A sheen of sweet breaks out across her body. "I'll be nice if you say mine."

Bones leans up and grips the headboard to anchor a particularly sharp thrust he gives, chuckling deeply at Jim's answering cry. "You're a brat," he says before he dips down and sweeps her up into a biting kiss with teeth and tongue and definite possessiveness.

Jim inhales sharply, eyes squeezing shut as her body thrums with his focused attention. She turns her head away and dodges his lips because she feels herself giving in to it. "I'm not a," she pauses to swallow down a groan, "not a brat. You-" She cries out when he shifts his hips just so. But then the bastard slows down completely, like he has all the time in the world. "Fucking fucker-go faster-"

"Faster?" Bones rumbles against her left ear. "Why should I?" he challenges. "You won't say my name."

"Ugh, you're impossi-fuck-" Of course he waits until she tries to talk back to him before he speeds up and of course he slows down when she's nice and breathless and on the verge of coming. She whimpers and circles her hips into him. "I hate you," she swears.

"Liar, liar," Bones whispers, dipping his tongue in her ear in the most filthy manner she didn't even know he was capable of, and as his tongue retreats, he blows gently after it.

Jim shivers again as her hips jump and her nails starting scratching down his back when he picks up the pace again. God, it's all so-he feels so-it's just so-yes, yes, yes-no. She gives a frustrated groan when he slows down and she feels him press his smirk against her temple. He punctuates this small victory with another concentrated thrust, still taking his time, still drawing all the sounds he can get out of her quivering mouth.

Jim's shaking, thighs trembling where she's squeezing his waist between them and her nails bite crescents into his back. This isn't working. She doesn't like this. She needs to set the pace because she's so close and he wont let her come, the fucker. She whines a little when he slows down even a fraction more. "Let me get on top," she groans (pleads) and she shifts her hips up as if to tip him over.

Bones bears down on her and swivels his hips just to hear her cry out again. "No."

"Yes," Jim hisses and tries to tip him over again but he wont let up. "C'mon, Bones."

"Already let you."

"When?" Jim growls but she's too distracted by the way he's kissing down her neck and to her chest.

"Yesterday. Twice, if I recall," Bones says and drags his tongue up her sternum.

"Well let's make it three," Jim whines and jerks her hips in surprise when his mouth closes over her right nipple. She tangles her hands in his hair as he sucks, first gently and then brutally. "C'mon, Bones."

"No," Bones says when he pulls back and blows on her wet nipple until it hardens, circling it with his thumb as he rolls his hips into hers.

Jim chokes down a sob and feels so utterly helpless and at his mercy. So naturally, the way she chooses to retaliate is by squeezing herself down on him. She can tell it's working because his pace loses rhythm.

Bones makes a small sound when she clenches around him again. "Stop that."

"Or what?" Jim hisses and clenches again, just to punish him for it. "You said you let me top. But guess what. You didn't let me do anything. You just rolled over for me and you took it."

Bones mouth crashes into hers with another biting kiss and he gives a punishing thrust that renders her incoherent long enough for him to say, "Jim, Jim, Jim. You're gonna learn that when I'm inside of you," he pauses long enough to emphasis with another gut-wrenching thrust and Jim chokes down an answering sob, "you don't get to call the shots. You're spoiled but I'm gonna teach you how to behave."

Jim refuses to say that his words turn her on, and that she wants it, anyway that he can give it to her. "Fuck you," she says but the threat is lost when she follows it with a whimper.

"Sorry, darlin'," Bones says and he does not sound sorry at all. "But I'm fucking you-good and proper-gonna show how it's supposed to be done." He circles his hips again and picks up the pace and Jim can almost catch the gleam of his teeth as he smirks and does it again. "And you're gonna let me. You're gonna let me stay inside of you for as long as I please. Long enough that you can't take it. Long enough that you won't remember anyone else you've ever had. All day-just-like-this-" He punctuates each word with a thrust.

Jim gasps as her face warms from both pleasure and embarrassment. His words are filthy and ridiculous and- "S-stop calling m-me darling. I'm not-oh fuck, oh fuck, yes-"

Bones chuckles darkly again as he presses his lips to the corner of her mouth. "You're not for everyone, Jim-just for me and I'll call you what I like. You just focus on comin'."

Jim is absolutely infuriated by his utter presumptuousness because her body is her own and he can go fuck off but of course the moment she plans to say this to him is the moment that he picks up his pace. She chokes back a scream that he leans down to swallow as his thrusts become wild and quickened and perfect-so fucking perfect-yes, yes, oh God, yes, yes-and Jim is coming so hard that she nearly whites out, throat hot and sore from the twisted shout of his name she gives.

Bones breathes out with a sigh when he comes, like all he can do is breathe because there isn't much room to do anything else. He also gets really affectionate, pressing his lips to anything he can reach, her shoulder, her collarbone, her cheeks, her forehead, her ears, just anywhere.

Jim feels her face burn hotly and she ducks under his gentle kisses, fussing in weak protests that he just goes right on and ignores. When they separate, she rolls onto her stomach and hugs her pillow close to her chest as her eyelids begin to droop. She feels like she's just ran the best marathon she's ever experienced, and that thought alone makes her lips curl.

Bones settles down on his back beside her and he pushes his wet hair out of his face. He doesn't seem too concerned that he's spread naked across her bed, the morning light hitting the finer contours of his body appealingly.

Jim feels the slow pull of hunger begin to twist in her lower gut again and she bites her bottom lip to keep it at bay. "Anyone ever tell you that you're a little shit in bed?" she asks, although what she really wants is for him to climb on top of her again and make her beg some more, but of course she wont because she never says what she really wants. "If they don't, then I'm telling you now. You're a little shit."

"Know what I like, darlin'," Bones simply murmurs. "Nothin' wrong with that."

"Yeah, except for when you try and use your dick to get me to behave."

Bones lips curl amusedly as he shifts his gaze over to her. He doesn't respond just then, instead choosing to trace his eyes down the naked line of her back.

Jim is by no means shy, but something about his stare makes her cheeks grow pink.

Bones notices and he slides closer with a deep chuckle as Jim hides her face in the pillow. "You're gorgeous when you blush like that."

Jim lifts her head long enough to glare at him before she ducks down again. She twitches a little when she feels him plaster himself against her back and her fingers tighten in her pillow when she feels how hot and hard he is again. He's warm and heavy above her like this, and it makes liquid heat pool between her legs again but she says nothing.

Bones bites her right shoulder gently as he slides a hand under her, pressing against her pelvis and pushing her hips up as he uses his other hand to guide himself inside of her again.

"God," Jim croaks into the pillow. "We're never having that talk are we?"

Bones just chuckles darkly.

Jim groans and bites down on her pillow hard as he opens her up again with the most delicious slide and she thanks Heaven above that someone up there was generous when they made Bones. God, she's so aroused that it's almost bordering painful and she can't really breathe because she pressing her face so deeply into her pillow. She gasps desperately as he begins to rock his hips in the most sinful sway.

"So gorgeous like this," Bones murmurs against her shoulder. "You act tough, darlin', but all you really want is someone to make you behave."

Jim whimpers and shakes her head in denial, even as she lifts her hips to give him a better angle.

"You're so good for me," Bones continues as he teethes at her shoulder blade and he sounds so goddamn pleased about it. "Only me. No one else can lay you down, can they, Jim? You won't let them and they won't even try. You're a spoiled brat in bed and you just take what you want because no one can give it to you the way you need. You don't give them a chance to disappoint you."

Jim presses her lips together tightly as she sobs and her hips jerk-she's so close-God, she's so close and she'll come if he keeps talking to her like that.

"But I know you, darlin'. Can't hide from me. I know all you really want to do is be good and obedient. Ain't that right?" Bones rumbles and his breath hitches when she clenches tightly around him in response. His hips start to speed up. "Jesus, you do, don't you? You want someone who'll hold you down and take what they want and not think about you."

Jim whines as she slowly tears into her pillowcase and rips holes into the pillow sandwiched between her chest and the bed.

Bones lifts her hips higher and changes the angle of his thrusts in a way that never fails to make Jim writhe and gasp and cry out. "Those idiots didn't understand like I do," he insists. "You ain't made for everyone, Jim, as much as you wanna fool us to believe. Just for that one that can get you-that can understand-that can read what you need right from you without you havin' to say a word."

Jim shakes her head in denial again, even though she can feel her body tightening up with a desperate quiver.

"I swear," Bones breathes and he sounds as utterly wrecked as she feels, his thrusts are getting sporadic and desperate. "I swear that all you really need, all you really want is someone to say 'no' to you."

Jim comes with a hiccupped sob, face wet with sweat and tears. She groans into her pillow as Bones shudders above her with a muffled shout. She feels hot and worn and so unmistakably gratified. It's like she's floating on a sea of endorphins, lazy and inappropriately euphoric. She's had plenty of bed partners but none of them-none of them-could ever in anyway match up to Bones. She makes a small sound when he gently withdraws and moves to lie beside her.

"Ruined," Jim mutters.

"What was that?"

Jim lifts her head to fix him with a sleepy-eyed glare. "I said you ruined me, you Georgian bastard," she complains with aggravation she certainly doesn't feel.

Bones snorts. "Excuse me if I don't feel the least bit sorry for it," he murmurs.

If Jim weren't drowning in bone deep satisfaction, she'd probably punch him. She makes a mental note to do it later. "What time do you have to leave to go to court?" she asks because if she doesn't, she'll just convince herself to convince him to never leave.

Bones sighs and leans to the other side of the bed where the nightstand holds his watch. He twists back and stares up at the face of it for a long moment before he says, "Thirty minutes. Enough time."

Jim wants to ask what he means exactly but he's already shifting her around so she's lying on her back and he moves down to settle between her raised knees. For the next fifteen minutes (because the man has an appetite she's never seen) Bones squeezes another three orgasms out of her body from his wicked tongue alone and she has to beg him to stop because she really can't take anymore and he relents, easing off of her with a self-satisfied look she wants to strangle him for but her body feels like putty so she says nothing.

Bones rubs at his face tiredly with one hand. "Don't wanna leave you," he says.

Jim smiles dazedly at the ceiling and pushes it away before he can see.

Bones turns his gaze to her. "I could keep you in this bed for hours and never want for nothin'," he supposes and chuckles when she blushes and glares at him for it. "And about that talk-"

"I don't do relationships," Jim quickly interjects and ignores how it feels like a lie on her tongue. "I don't," she insists, more to herself than to him.

Bones quirks a brow. "Okay."

"No, I really mean it. I-" Jim pauses long enough to realize what he's said. "What? You're-what?"

"I said okay," Bones merely says before he kisses her quick and climbs out of the bed.

Jim is left to just blink at the space he previously occupied. "Okay?" she echoes and refuses to label what she feels as disappointment. "You're okay that I don't want a relationship?" She twists her body so she can watch him locate his clothes.

"I believe that's what the 'okay' implies," Bones grumbles with an amused frown. He looks at her briefly before he picks his pants up. "I meant it just how I said. Okay."

Jim narrows her eyes. "I feel like this is a trick," she mutters and feels a twinge of annoyance when he laughs.

"Jesus, Kid. You always this paranoid or is it just me?" Bones questions with obvious amusement.

Jim refuses to blush because she knows what Bones likes to do when she blushes and fuck she's blushing now.

Bones pouty lips curl into a knowing smirk.

"Ugh, just get out of here," Jim moans and ducks under her covers to hide from his gaze. "Go divorce your horrible wife and come back so I can suck you off." She smiles when she hears him stumble and crash into something that sounds like her dresser.

"Goddamnit-don't just say somethin' like that when I'm tryin' to leave," Bones complains.

Jim just chuckles and buries herself deeper under her covers. "Run along. Don't wanna be late," she says.

Bones mutters something but the click of her door opening and closing follows it.

Jim sighs and rolls onto her stomach to sleep.

When she wakes up, it's pushing into noon and she feels sticky but no less content. She climbs out of bed to shower and dresses herself in a pair of candy pink overall shorts and a white crochet crop top. She slips on her beige boots before she gets to work with stripping her bed of the sheets. She puts on a fresh set before she takes the soiled bundle down to the basement where the washing machines are.

After she has them loaded up, she wanders back upstairs and into the kitchen to make herself three peanut butter and apple jelly sandwiches she does not feel the least bit guilty or greedy for. She chases it all down with a tall glass of milk and tries not to wonder why Bones hasn't come back yet or what that could mean.

Ping. Ping. Ping.

Jim frowns and goes to the fridge where a communicator screen is wedged on the right door. She swipes her fingers across and is happily surprised to see that it's Luis. "Tell me something good," she says.

Luis smiles and says, "Your bike's all fixed and ready to go."

"That is beautiful news, thank you," Jim praises and feels giddy. "I'll come with my final payment."

"See you then," Luis says before his side of the connection fades out.

Jim claps her hands together and goes flying out the front door, down the steps and up the private road to the main road. She's not ashamed to say that she skipped her way to town and to Luis's shop. It's worth it just to see how sleek and new her baby looks. She pays Luis and thanks him profusely for an obvious job well done as he hands her the keys.

Jim straddles her bike and grins when her bike purrs gorgeously under her. She drives out of the shop and back into town where she pulls up to Florence's complex. She treks into the building before she jogs up four flights of steps to make it to Florence's front door and she can hear voices and laughter floating from behind it.

Florence answers on the third knock with a guarded scowl but it fades as she cries, "Blue! My luminescent jewel. We were just talking about you."

"We?" Jim says with a confused frown as Florence ushers her inside. Her question is answered when she sees Zonta lounging upside down on Florence's magazine littered bed while Zuhi sits on the floor beside her. "Are you guys having a party and purposefully excluding me?"

Zonta smiles and waves before she continues to flip through the magazine she's holding above her face.

"We'd never exclude you, even if it was some weird kind of orgy. Especially if it was a weird kind of orgy," Zuhi replies and sends her a quick wink before she turns her attention back to the PADD on her lap.

Jim settles into the beanbag chair that has somehow migrated to rest by the coffee table beside the windows. Across from Zonta and Zuhi, she takes a moment to observe them and wonder what this gathering is all about.

Florence clarifies when she says, "So you know how I used to have that thing I did, right Blue? Cause I had things to pay off and whatnot. But only now I don't cause I settled that and my money can be aimed to more profitable ventures, like getting a bigger place."

"I suggested she get a roommate if she was gonna move into a bigger apartment. Sensible thing to do," Zonta adds.

"That's when I said that since you and her were practically bosom buddies, ya'll might wanna think about movin' in together," Zuhi says.

Florence hoists herself up on the edge of the kitchen sink and looks at Jim expectantly. "So how 'bout it, Blue?" she says. "What says you and I get in somewhere together and cohabitate?"

Jim smiles as she grabs the metal slinky off the ground and plays with it. She says, "What? Like pay rent and all that nonsense? Why should I when I'm perfectly holed up where I get free room and board and meals-" Not to mention incredible sex. "-do you even know how to cook?"

Florence bristles but the playful gleam in her eyes ruin it. "That's what you want, Blue? All the razzle and dazzle of home life? You sound like you might be looking for some kind of wife or something. I'll tell you now that I ain't it. As you can see," she pauses to make a wide indicating sweep to her studio apartment. "I'm a pig, but I figure you can deal better with that than anyone else could. But yeah, I can cook."

Jim snorts. "I love you, Florence. I'll deal with your shitty cleaning skills as long as you keep me well fed."

Florence beams. Then she says, "Zuhi's gonna come live with us. She wants to get a house."

"Four bedrooms," Zuhi chimes in a confirming way. "Three for us and then the one for when we want to have company over."

"Makes sense, but nothing too expensive because I'm saving up to ship out," Jim requests. "Can you cook?"

Zuhi smirks and glances up at Jim. "No. But I can eat."

Jim flushes at the implications and both Florence and Zuhi laugh at her for it. "I change my mind," she grumbles. "Living with you two is a terrible idea."

"Awe, don't be like that, Blue. We'll be good," Florence promises. "Right, Bobcat?"

"Perfect angels," Zuhi agrees in a distracted fashion. "Sublime behavior."

"Bobcat?" Jim questions as she glances between them. "Zuhi, did you let her nickname you? Didn't I warn you about that?"

Zuhi just shrugs as she swipes her fingers across the screen of the PADD in her lap.

Jim can tell she doesn't mind so she leaves it alone. She continues to play with the slinky in her hand. "When would we be moving in together?"

"Hopefully, if things go well, sometime next week," Florence responds. "Bobcat's been eyeing this place up on the edge of town."

"Well let me know what happens," Jim says. "Can I get some water?"

Florence nods and brings her a bottle of water with a small carton of ice cream before sitting down on the floor between Jim's knees. She munches away at her ice cream happily and asks, "Hey, Bobcat. You got any good gossip for me?"

Zuhi shrugs again as she tucks her dark hair behind her ears before responding, "Leonard is finalizin' his divorce with the Ice Queen." She clucks her tongue and continues, "She's probably bleedin' him dry for all he's got."

Zonta rolls up her magazine and clomps her twin sister over the head with it. "Shut up. You don't know nothin'."

Zuhi shrugs again. "Maybe I'm right. Maybe I'm wrong. But one fact remains is that they're callin' it quits." She looks over at her sister with a mischievous gleam. "What's the matter, Zonnie? I thought you'd be thrilled. Now's your chance to finally-stop fuckin' hittin' me! I ain't a fly!"

"Just shut up," Zonta hisses with an embarrassed flush. "I swear, that you and grandpa is the worst human beings to confide in ever about anythin' at all!"

"Oh please," Zuhi scoffs and inches away when Zonta waves her rolled up magazine threateningly. "Everyone and their dog can see the souleatin' crush you got on Leonard. I'm just sayin' that now you don't have an excuse not to ask him out."

"I totally agree," Florence chimes as she licks happily at her spoon. "You find him and you climb that sexy bastard like a tree." She knocks her elbow into Jim's leg. "Back me up here, Blue."

Jim is delicately squeezing her empty water bottle with the lightest amount of pressure. "Yeah," she manages and purposefully avoids thinking about this morning. "Go for it," she croaks and clears her throat quickly when Florence side eyes her.

Zonta doesn't notice her stilted tone and she smiles unsurely. "Ya'll really think I should? I mean, I'm not sayin' I will or anythin' but just-well do you think I should?" she asks.

"Stop actin' like the fourteen year old with braces back in high school," Zuhi reprimands as she swipes her fingers over the PADD in her lap. "Give it a week or two, but ask him out. It never hurts to ask."

Jim bites down on her bottom lip and squirms.

"Yeah," Florence says, looking directly at Jim now. "Girl like you, he'd be crazy to turn down."

Jim purses her lips and Florence grins like she's caught her and Jim sags into the beanbag chair because she knows that Florence has.

"You and I are going to talk later, Blue," Florence says quietly before she turns away. "So I hear Dixie's throwing a baby shower in August," she says listlessly.

Jim sighs quietly, grateful for the subject change.

"She's cuttin' it pretty close," Zuhi remarks. "Isn't she due the beginnin' of September? I mean, I'm no baby expert or nothing', but don't they usually come when you don't expect 'em to?"

"Yeah, but the shower is supposed to be like in the earliest part of August, so I think she's good," Florence says dismissively. "I think we should all bring her diapers. You can never have too many diapers."

From there, the conversation just sails into different rounds of light topics. In the midst of it, when the evening becomes the late evening, Zonta and Zuhi stand to leave because their grandpa is sending them furious notifications, warning them not to be late for dinner. Between Jim, Florence and Zuhi, they make a plan to go out together to view the house one final time on Monday before they make any final decisions.

Jim watches Florence walk Zonta and Zuhi out, almost wishing they would stay a bit longer so she can avoid the impending subject that she knows Florence will bring up when they're alone.

As is, Florence returns five minutes later and lands Jim with an expectant look. "Spill. And don't get cute either, Blue. I want all the finer details," she warns.

Jim sighs and she tells her everything, starting from when she first met Bones, all the way up to this morning.

At the end of it all, Florence has both her red eyebrows raised. "Damn, Blue. Don't take this the wrong way, but, you're fucked," she says.

Jim laughs because that's the only response she can give to a statement like that.

"No, no. Hear me out," Florence insists and she guides Jim over to her bed so they can have a heart to heart like real friends or whatever. "I'm thinking you and him, you was meant to find each other, you know? Like fate."

Jim nods politely and says, "That's a nice thought, Florence. But I don't think that's the way things work. I mean coincidences-"

"See. This is why you're fucked," Florence interjects with an impatient huff. "You're blind to the whole circumstance. Your and his meeting must've been written in the stars. I'm fucking sure of it. But you have to be careful about how you let this all play out."

"Sure."

Florence rolls her eyes. "This is some delicate shit, Blue. This guy has had a taste of the married family life, and even though it didn't pan out, he's probably still not put off by it. And by the way things sound, he's gunning for you. For all we know, you're gonna be the next future Mrs. McCoy."

"We're not together," Jim protests. "He can do what he wants and I can do what I want. We just happen to have great sex in the midst of it all."

Florence just shakes her head like she pities Jim.

"What?"

"Nothing." Florence cocks her head and her expression turns wistful almost. "Sometimes I forget how young you are."

Jim's mouth shrivels unhappily.

Florence clucks her tongue with a sigh before she stands and treks over to her fridge. She pulls free a small carton of chocolate ice cream, grabs a spoon, walks back over to offer it to Jim and just like that, all is forgiven. Florence sits down and watches Jim eat her way to the bottom of that carton like she's looking for something.

Jim is a bit irritated and she doesn't know why. She thinks maybe Florence might be right. Maybe she is too young. Maybe she's too daft to see what's really going on. Maybe, maybe, maybe. So many maybes. But in all these uncertainties, she doesn't feel any less willing nor any less selfish for wanting to hold onto Bones and this little thing they're starting to have. Consequences be damned.

"You should head home, Blue. Wouldn't want the McCoys to worry," Florence murmurs with a lopsided grin.

Jim licks her lips and nods, handing back the (now empty) carton so Florence can trash it as they walk to the door. Before she leaves, she says, "Someone like Zonta would be better for him, you know?"

Florence assesses her with a careful frown. "If that's what you want to think."

"No, I mean," Jim pauses and tries to find the words she needs. "I'm not the type to make love. I know how to fuck. I like to fuck. I could never promise to be good to him or for him. I mean, I can be good in bed, but I'll be bad for him."

"I hear what your saying, Blue," Florence says patiently. "Go home. Don't overthink it. Let the chips fall where they may."

"Florence, I'm not staying here forever. You know that right?" Jim says, desperate to make her understand.

Florence looks at her for a long moment before she says, "Yeah, I know. You and I, we a lot alike. We're runners."

Jim tries not to let her frustration show. "I'm not running."

"Yeah?" Florence challenges. "What brought you out this way in the first place?"

Jim curls her hands into fists and purses her lips.

"Like I said. I know you, Blue. You and me, we kindred," Florence says with a sad smile. "Just like you and Len are. So don't think for one second that he'll let you run off without following you. Kindred people are attracted to one another and somehow we always find our way to each other."

Jim says nothing.

Florence smiles. "Go home, Blue. I'll see you Monday, kay?"

Jim still doesn't say anything.

Florence waves before she shuts her door.

Jim stares at the chipped wood before she makes her way down and out the complex. She straddles her bike, revs the engine and rides off. She makes it back to the house in little to no time and she tries to think nothing at all when she sees Eleanora's black pickup truck parked between Bones's mustang and a silver Mercedes. She parks behind the three cars before she makes her way up the porch steps and to the front door, which is left open. She hears voices in the kitchen and smells an enticing aroma of food.

Eleanora is serving a casserole (honeyed baked beans and chopped whiskey-soaked dogs under a layer of buttered cornbread) with Jocelyn, Joanna, and Bones sitting at the table.

Jim feels slightly awkward and confused but she still greets everyone as she approaches them. She doesn't protest when Eleanora gestures for her to sit down beside Joanna, which places her across from Jocelyn and Bones.

"Where have you been hidin' away all day?" Eleanora asks as she sets a plate before Jim.

Jocelyn and Bones look curious about this answer as well, most likely for two different reasons.

"I went to see, Florence. But I picked my bike up from the shop before that," Jim answers as she separates the chopped hotdogs from the beans and cornbread.

"You drive a vroomcycle?" Jocelyn asks as she eats delicately with slow and posh movements.

"Vroomcycle?" Jim echoes.

Eleanora chuckles, as does Bones. She says, "She means a motorcycle but she likes to label vehicles by their sound."

Jim wordlessly nods before she turns to address Joanna. "It's a bike I built myself."

"That's hardly surprising," Jocelyn intones.

Jim looks at her carefully. "I don't think I understand what you mean."

"You just seem the type," Jocelyn merely replies with an unkind grin. She turns her gaze away, dismissing Jim quickly like she always does. "Eleanora, this is as fantastic as I remember. I just wish I would have nicked the recipe from you while I still had the chance."

Eleanora quirks an eyebrow. "You spendin' time in the kitchen now, Joyce?" she counters.

Jocelyn flushes and Jim would swear she was hallucinating it if it weren't happening right before her eyes. She says, "Well, now that I won't have the pleasure of Leonard's company, I'm going to have to find some way to appease Joanna's healthy appetite."

Eleanora hums thoughtfully as she glances over at her granddaughter, who is engrossed in her meal and ignoring everything else around her. "Well, if that's the case, I'm sure you need only ask Len. Boy knows all my secrets anyway."

Bones glares at his mother. "I ain't so sure about that. I've had to stay in the kitchen with you and watch what you do more than I can count because when I asked you to explain how you did things, you always left one or two things out like you were afraid I was gonna sell your secrets."

Eleanora smiles unrepentantly. "A good cook never reveals all the tricks," she claims. "But I'm sure he wont be so withholdin' with you, Joyce. In any case, give Joanna a few years and he'll teach her everythin' he knows and you'll be all the more grateful for it."

Bones snorts.

Jocelyn picks up a napkin and dabs at the corner of her lips. "Well in any case, I know she'll be well satisfied when she's with her father," she states as she watches Joanna eat. There's a split second where she looks unusually tired and even sad before she blinks it away and fixes her mask. "I-I better get going, I have some things that I have to be doing," she decides, standing.

Eleanora frowns. "You don't have to rush off so soon, Joyce. Really."

"You barely ate," Bones adds, looking as concerned as his mother.

Jim pretends it doesn't bother her. She's just a bit confused because sometimes they act like they can't be bothered to be in her presence, and now they're fawning over her. Jim can't say she knows a lot about family or marriage or divorce, but this is giving her mixed signals. She isn't sure what the status is between them now.

"No, no," Jocelyn waves them off with a weak smile. "I'm tired and if I don't leave now, I'll end up spending the night but I just really want Joanna to get used to being away from me. We've talked about this, Leonard. The sooner we start now, the better it'll be in the future."

Bones doesn't look all convinced by what she's saying but he nods just to keep things civil. "Let me at least walk you to your car," he offers, standing and tucking his chair in. "Maybe I should drive you."

Jocelyn laughs cattily and rests a manicured hand on his shoulder. "You've got no obligation to me anymore, Len. Relax. I'm starting to get war flashbacks from when I was pregnant with Joanna," she jokes and Bones laughs.

"I wasn't that bad," Bones protests as he rests a hand over the one she has on his shoulder.

"Debatable. Very debatable."

Jim fidgets in her seat and drops her fork, appetite suddenly lost.

Eleanora glances at her quietly.

Jocelyn rounds the table to crouch down beside Joanna. "Sweetheart, mommy's going to leave you here with daddy for a little while, okay? You two can make up for some lost time," she explains and she neatens the wily curls of Joanna's hair.

Joanna turns her body to her mother and stares at her with curious green eyes as she kicks her legs back and forth where she's sitting on a stack of phonebooks. She has bean sauce all over her mouth and hands and clothes, not to mention the cornbread crumbs in her hair. She says, "Momma, you comin' back right?"

Jocelyn melts at that. "Of course. I'll always come back, and you can ask your grandma or your dad to call me so we can talk if you miss me," she promises.

Joanna considers that before she nods.

"Good. You be good for your father," Jocelyn says and Joanna nods vigorously. Jocelyn strokes her shoulder one more time before she stands and plants a kiss on her forehead, pulling away reluctantly. She lingers beside her for one moment longer before she turns away to leave. "Thank you for having me, Eleanora. Ms. Kirk. You all have a good night."

Bones follow her out the front door and they disappear from sight.

Eleanora rises from the table and says, "Debutante ball is in less than two weeks. I figure we oughta prepare ourselves. Get you fitted to some dresses and sort through some routines."

Jim nods wordlessly as she pushes her plate away.

"After church tomorrow, we'll start with family history," Eleanora continues as she begins to pack the food away. "The preliminaries mainly focus on how much pride you have in your community and family."

Jim nods again.

Eleanora sighs. "My God, girl," she says as she turns to her. "What is the matter?"

"Nothing," Jim lies and she immediately feels bad for it. "I just-it's kind of weird. The way that Jocelyn and Bones were acting. It's-weird."

"You'd rather they jump and shout and call each other names? Cause I can tell you they got that all out of their systems a long time ago. I think it's better this way for Joanna," Eleanora calmly explains. "Make no mistake, however. This isn't a prelude to some grand reunion you only see in some sappy romance movie or read from a heavily clichéd novel. There's no love left between those two, believe me. I know when my son has it bad for someone."

Jim glances at Joanna but the little toddler is licking away at her fingers happily as her feet continues to kick out into the air under the table. She feels bad for being annoyed by the civility between Jocelyn and Bones. No matter what, they'll always be tied together through Joanna. She groans and leans forward to bury her face in her hands, her irritation turning on herself for her childish behavior. It's worrying her (her strong reactions to Bones) and it's making her desperate for some perspective.

Joanna presses a messy hand to Jim's wrist and says, "You okay, Ms. Kirk?"

Jim lifts her head and turns to face Joanna's curious green eyes. "Call me Jim," she urges. "I'm fine."

Joanna nods like she wouldn't doubt it for a second. "Can I have your food, Ms. Jim?"

Jim laughs and slides her plate over.

Joanna beams (semi-toothless) before she digs into Jim's half eaten plate.

Eleanora puts the last of the food away in the fridge before she turns to them and tuts at Joanna. "How do you possibly make such a mess of yourself, Jo-Bear?"

Joanna shrugs, spoon sticking out of her small mouth.

Bones finally returns and he looks upset.

"Joyce all right?" Eleanora asks as she picks Joanna up and settles her against her hip.

Bones makes a vague gesture.

Eleanora snorts and shakes her head. "I'm takin' this little munchkin up to be cleaned. Her clothes are in your room, I'm assumin'."

Bones nods. "On the other side of the bed," he clarifies.

Eleanora says, "Right well. I packed ya'll leftovers for lunch and dinner tomorrow. I expect ya'll make good use of them since I'm gettin' back into the habit of not cookin' on Sundays." She looks pointedly at Jim. "Do I have to drag you out of bed for church in the mornin'?"

Jim winces and shakes her head.

Eleanora smiles. "Didn't think so. Night all," and with that she disappears up the steps with little Joanna in tow.

Jim rubs at her right eye as Bones removes the stack of phonebooks from the seat beside hers so he can settle in it. "So-things went well?" she asks.

"As well as we could manage," Bones reasons as he rubs a tired hand down his face.

Jim notices that he's not wearing his ring anymore and she's unsure about how she feels concerning that. She says, "Does Joanna understand what's happened?"

"In the way that she can," Bones supposes. "She was upset for a little while, wouldn't say much but eventually we convinced her that it didn't have to be all bad."

Jim hums thoughtfully, and she jerks a little in surprise when Bones grips her chair and slides it closer to his. She makes a face at him and tries to smother a smile when he kisses her cheek. She pushes his face away and says, "Keep your germs to yourself."

Bones quirks an eyebrow and he covers her upper thigh with his hand with a firm squeeze. "You didn't mind my germs this mornin', as I recall."

Jim cheeks pink. "You recall too much," she grumbles petulantly.

Bones chuckles. "Only cause you supply me with enough to think about," he counters cleverly.

Jim face burns with a healthy flush. "What happened to your gentlemanly nature?" she complains.

"It's still there," Bones says, lips curled in amusement. "I just set it aside when it suits me."

Jim rolls her eyes and slaps his wandering hands away. "Back off, stud. Your mother and daughter are in the house. I can't even think about doing anything with you without assuming they'll walk in on us."

Bones snorts and grabs her wrists. "I'm not about to lay you out on this table, Jim-interestin' thought as that may be," he guarantees rather candidly.

Jim refuses to think about it, even as a slow flare of heat starts to work its way between her legs. She fidgets in her chair and tries to yank her wrists out of his hold. "Let me go, then," she requests.

"In a minute," Bones murmurs. "C'mere."

"I am here."

"You know what I mean."

Jim sighs long-sufferingly as dramatically as she can while she slides into his lap, legs on either side of his hips as the chair creaks under their combined weight.

Bones lets go of her wrists long enough to cup his hand on the back of her neck and at the base of her spine, pulling her forward into a demanding kiss that doesn't fail to make Jim writhe above him.

Jim groans and wraps her arms around his neck, pressing closer as she sucks on his tongue. She feels like she's drowning, losing sense of time and herself. It's so easy to forget everything when she's kissing Bones like this and he's holding her close like he plans to keep her there for as long as possible.

Bones pulls away with a low curse before he drops his forehead to her collarbone. "I'm startin' to think that I might actually lay you out on this table," he mumbles.

Jim grins and threads her fingers through his perfectly combed hair as she stares over in the direction of the living room. "Don't worry. I don't plan on letting you anyway," she says, and she gently eases herself off of his lap.

Bones waits until she tries to pass him before he swats her ass.

Jim yelps, staring at him in flustered outrage before she punches him in the arm (twice).

Bones responds by pinching her inner thigh and ducks his head back when she tries to slap him, grabbing her failing hands as he stands so he can tower over her by a couple of inches.

"I'm going to choke you," Jim warns and turns her head away sharply when he tries to kiss her. She shoves him away. "You're annoying," she says flatly.

Bones just snorts, kissing her quick before she can do anything about it before he wanders over to the sink to start cleaning the kitchen.

Jim sticks her tongue out at his back before she treks up the stairs and tucks away into her room. She grabs a book she hasn't read from the bookshelf before she flops facedown onto the bed. She kicks off her boots and dives right in.

Part 2