Romance without Tears (closed)

[Maka]

The conversation had not begun well and it showed no signs of improving, although Alison did seem to be enjoying herself.

Actually, Nick took that back. Alison was taking pleasure in taunting him with the power she presently held over Naomi, but at the same time, there was an obvious undercurrent of genuine pain and anger to her barbs.

"Does she go down on you?" she demanded out of nowhere. "Does sweet little Nai like sucking big tough Nick's cock? Is that the level she's sunk to?"

Nick stared at her, no longer even angry.

"You think I stole her from you, don't you?" he asked, incredulous.

"Didn't you? Things were going great before that fucking party. Did you go hoping to bag yourself a lesbian? Do you brag about it to your douchebag friends?"

"Alison, it was you who left with someone else... "

"After Naomi dumped me! For you! For a fucking guy!"

Nick shook his head, took a calming breath once again.

"Look, nothing happened but that's not what's important. You once cared for Naomi, and I think you still do now. You're going to ruin her life if you go through with this. I'm asking you not to."

"I'm going to bring her to her senses, and do something for her she should have had the balls to do years ago. Hate to break it to you like this, babe, but you're just part of the lie she's been telling to her family for years. She's got so good at telling it that she's even got you believing it. Maybe even she believes it. But this will wake her up."

Nick stared directly at her, and for a moment, the sneer wilted on Alison's face and she fell silent. It wasn't a physical threat -Nick was not the kind of man to hurt a woman, ever. But there was something primal and frightening about the rage visible for just a moment in his eyes, before they returned to their usual deep, calm blue and he spoke.

"No," he said. "One last time, Alison. This isn't about gender politics. Naomi is gay -always has been and always will be. She can't betray that identity because it's not a fashion statement or a political protest, it's who she is. If you try to tell her who she can love, you're no better than the people you hate the most. As for her family, what she tells them and when is between her and them. You have no right to interfere."

Alison had turned pale. She opened her mouth to speak, but then had to close it again. Nick watched her indifferently.

"Delete those pictures," he said.

At that, Alison found her voice again, although it was a little reedy at first.

"You'd love that, wouldn't you? First you lecture me about being a lesbian, then you think you can bully me into surrendering. Nai's knight in shining armour. You make me want to puke."

"Alison," Nick sounded almost sorry for her, which just made her angrier, "You're never going to get Naomi back."

"I... that... you... ! Fuck you!"

She hissed it loudly enough that a few nearby patrons turned around. Alison's eyes were wide with fury.

 

[slut_in_white]

Naomi was horrified, but Joseph and Mike - his boyfriend - seemed to take it in stride.

Beth was currently leaning towards Joseph, trying to give him a view down her shirt, under the guise of whispering something to him. Joseph's lips kept quirking up at the corners, despite his attempts to make it at least look like he was taking Beth's words seriously, but couldn't quite manage it. And one she was finished her whispering, he reached up and ruffled her hair.

Beth made a small noise of distaste and pulled back, trying to straighten it back out again, as if afraid that he'd judge her for having messy hair that he'd messed up.

Naomi took the opportunity of Beth's distraction to mouth the word, "Sorry!" to both Joseph and Mike. As it happened, they weren't terribly bothered by it. It was a rite of passage for younger siblings to develop crushes on their older sibling's friends. Wasn't the first time either of them had seen it, and it wasn't as though Mike was feeling threatened by incredibly-girly-Beth. Naomi might have had an exception that was otherwise the opposite of everything she found attractive, but she wasn't exactly the rule among the LGBT community.

"So, have you found a dress yet?" Susannah asked, practically gushing over the idea of helping Naomi plan her wedding.

"Not yet, no."

Susannah nearly squeaked with excitement. "Can we go dress shopping?! Please please please!"

Naomi looked to her friends, a guilty expression flashing across her face. "I mean, I dunno, we kind of already have plans to hang out this afternoon..."

Mike immediately scoffed. "Come on, Naomi. We hadn't made any plans for what we do together. Why not dress shopping?"

Susannah, Joseph, Mike, the lesbian couple named Leslie and Kate, and even Beth were all looking at Naomi expectantly. Apparently, they all wanted to take her dress shopping. This was going to be horrifying. With a martyred expression, she sighed. "Alright, fine."

Cheers went up around the table.

 

[Maka]

It was pointless, Nick realised. Alison had no intention of deleting the pictures. She'd prolonged the conversation solely for her own aggrieved satisfaction, hoping to goad Nick into either begging or threatening her, and either way scoring a moral victory.

She was destined for disappointment. Nick, realising the situation, rose to his feet and laid down the money for both his and Alison's coffee.

"Okay. I think I've heard enough. Goodbye, Alison."

Alison, who had clearly been mustering bile for another tirade, looked oddly cheated. She struggled to find a response while Nick made for the exit.

"I've made back-ups, you know."

Nick paused by the door, raised an eyebrow.

"If you were planning on B&E, or hacking. I've got back-ups in places you won't find them."

"Good for you."

"Call the wedding off. You can carry on this pathetic little charade of a relationship as long as it entertains you both, but no wedding bells for Nai."

Nick smiled tightly at her.

"Sorry. It's going to happen. And it's going to be the best day of Naomi's life."

 

[slut_in_white]

I'm dying. I'm drowning in tulle and chiffon. Please save me.

The text was sent from a dressing room in a bridal shop after Naomi had already been there for an hour. She'd gone through dress after dress, big, poofy princess monstrosities, in an attempt to satiate her sisters' desires to see her in something "beautiful and romantic" - and, of course, Naomi's friends had come to find her torture humorous and refused to do anything to stop it.

When she'd last come out of the changing room to coos of "Oh you look so beautiful!" and "How lovely!" she discovered, to her horror, at least a dozen more dresses had been selected by her siblings and friends, and they were even bigger than before. She was beginning to suspect that at least some of them were doing this on purpose. Literally trying to drown her in lace. One of them, she swore was as wide as she was tall.

"How am I even supposed to walk in that?!" she demanded.

Joseph snickered and then smoothed his face into something serious. "Oh come on, Nai. Just try it! I bet it'll make you look like Cinderella!"

Naomi fixed him with a glare that made him glad looks couldn't actually kill, and stole back into the dressing room with the least offensive of the new options to send Nick that text begging him to come save her.

She had just hit send when there was a commotion outside the changing room - someone, Susannah it sounded like, yelped, and then there was a rush of voices all talking over each other. Then, someone knocked on the door. "Naomi! You have to see this one!"

Naomi rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "What now? Does it look like it came straight from Marie Antoinette's closet?" she demanded through the door, feeling uncharitable towards everyone sitting near the mirrors right now.

"No!" came Leslie's eager reply. "I swear, Naomi, this one's actually really pretty. And really you! Please please please come out and at least look at it!"

Naomi sighed heavily. "Fiiiine." She pushed open the changing room door, glowering at everyone on the other side, who all returned her look with bright smiles. Beth came out from behind the group, holding up a white dress that... actually was beautiful. A simple silhouette, with several asymmetrically cut layers and a single lace flower in the center of the bodice. Simple, elegant, and actually quite flattering. Naomi must have looked shocked by how appropriate the choice was, because several of her friends began laughing.

"Okay, I'll try it."

 

[Maka]

Nick was leaving the Daily Panic when he got the text.

The Daily Panic was a left-leaning news website to which he'd sometimes contributed. In fact, they'd sponsored the party at which he'd met Naomi; far more reason to be devoutly thankful to them than the work they sometimes threw his way. But that was what had given him the idea. Alison must have had some association with them too, given her presence at the party. And something... something just seemed to suggest itself to Nick about that connection. It was only a hunch, but Nick had broken some of his best stories by following his hunches.


A dreadlocked black girl behind the desk at the Daily Panic grimaced at his mention of Alison.

"Her? Oh yeah. We used to feature her blog."

"But not any more?"

"No. She was... difficult to work with."

Nick felt a stab of disappointment. That Alison could be difficult was hardly news to him, and of no use. But the girl went on.

"Plus, there were all those rumours."

Nick knew when to push and when to stay quiet. He stayed quiet, simply raising an encouraging eyebrow.

"Just gossip, really. Nothing substantial. But it seemed like her blog was getting awfully... selective about its targets, y'know? One day, she'd be ranting about a corporation's anti-LGBT policies, the next day... nothing, and all the previous blog posts taken down without a word. And she could be vicious like a rattlesnake too. Egging her followers on to attack people in the movement she disagreed or just didn't like -good people, too, activists who'd done more for gay rights than she ever had... "

Nick nodded. It all sounded damningly familiar.

"I guess we just didn't want to be associated with her any more. Why do you ask? Don't tell me you're gonna write a story on Alison. Trust me, she'll just lap up the attention."

Nick smiled. "Maybe."

"Are you really marrying her ex? Wow. Maybe you guys should write a blog. Or a soap opera."

"If we do, the Daily Panic gets first refusal."


The text just made him grin, imagining Naomi's sisters hurling yard after yard of white satin on to their protesting tomboy of a sibling. He felt he had reason to be cheerful. The Daily Panic gossip wasn't exactly a silver bullet on its own, but it might just be the materials for one. He had some good ideas on where to look next... and now also a panicked bride to rescue.

But he turned up too late. Naomi, and a small group including Beth and Susannah, were leaving the bridal shop just as he arrived.

"Too late!" Joseph called cheerfully. "You are come too late. We've made your helpless fiancée... wear dresses. Mwahaha."

"You fiends!" said Nick, waving a fist as he joined them.

Joseph grinned. Beth was smirking like a cat with a stolen fishhead.

"Joe was amazing. So rare to find a man with a real sense for fashion."

She laid a possessive hand on Joseph's shoulder, looking triumphantly between Nick and Naomi. Nick looked wryly at Mike, who shrugged good-humouredly. Well, at least Beth was moving on from hamfisted attempts at seducing Nick. Her new crush might be gay, but he was also safe, indulgent, and not above a little mischevious and harmless return flirtation. Perhaps that was all that Beth had really been looking for.

Susannah, meanwhile, was far too excited to hold her news in.

"We found a dress for Naomi!" she squeaked. "And it's beautiful!"

Nick looked at Naomi.

"This true, fiancée?"

 

[slut_in_white]

Naomi couldn't help the grin that appeared on her face when she saw Nick. Even if she didn't need saving anymore, it was still a relief just to be with him again.

She shot him a coy look and smile in response to his question, shrugging. "Maybe. Isn't the tradition that the groom isn't supposed to know anything about the dress before the day of the wedding?" she teased. Of course, she knew it wasn't that strict - there was nothing to stop the groom from knowing or even seeing the dress before the wedding. He just wasn't supposed to see her wearing it before the ceremony.

But that wasn't going to stop her from teasing. She walked up to him and linked arms with him, shaking her head. "I'm afraid I can't confirm or deny any news about any potential wedding dresses. Sorry!"

Meanwhile, Naomi's friends were watching the exchange with a grin on every single one of their faces. They'd never seen them like this - neither Nick nor Naomi had ever been so obviously affectionate and in love before. They couldn't imagine how anyone could hate this relationship, not when it made both of them so obviously happy.

 

[Maka]

Back at the flat that evening, Naomi's four friends made their farewells after a leisurely afternoon spent chatting and drinking a few beers (lemonade for Susannah) in the living room. Joseph made a point of giving Beth a little kiss on the cheek as he bid her goodbye, before linking arms with Mike and sauntering away (a smitten Beth missed this important detail).

Instead, Beth lay back on the sofa, sighing extravagantly, her eyes shining.

"Joseph," she said. "I've never met a more sophisticated man! He's going to be at the wedding? Of course he'll be at the wedding? Do you think he'll dance with me, Nai! Of course he will! He'll dance with me all night."

Susannah frowned.

"He's lovely, Beth, but didn't you think... um... didn't you think he was... a bit... ?"

Beth looked at her blankly, though with slightly suspicion in her eyes. Was Susannah going to try and attack her new idol? If so, it could only be because she was obviously jealous. Susannah clearly saw this, and thought better of pursuing the topic.

"Never mind. He really is incredibly sweet and lovely."

But the exchange hadn't gone unnoticed by Nick. For all her romantic notions and wide-eyed excitement, Susannah was clearly in some ways rather sharper and more observant than Beth. It made him wonder whether she'd been putting anything else together, about Naomi herself. Which recalled him to his project of somehow neutralising Alison.


That evening, after Beth and Susannah had been hustled off to bed in the spare room (to dreamily chatter about Joseph and the upcoming wedding respectively), Nick stripped off his clothes as Naomi lounged on the bed. She looked sexier than ever in nothing but her underwear, displaying her taut, lithe little body to perfection. He gave her a brief update on Alison. Not wanting to ruin the mood of the evening, he quickly changed the subject.

"Looks like we've got to be quiet again," he said, moving forward and indicating the wall between them and the spare room. Naomi's moans and screams had just gotten louder and louder as they got used to their own space.

"How to do that?" he wondered innocently, his fingers caressing Naomi's thighs, then slowly sliding her panties off. "Maybe we should both put something in our mouths... ?"

With no more warning than that, he had hoisted the blonde tomboy up into the air and turned her upside down, pressing her face-first against his taut, hard chest so that her blonde head was level with his groin. He spread her legs and bent his head forward, slowly and leisurely beginning to kiss her pale thighs, taking his time, sucking and licking at the soft smooth skin.

 

[slut_in_white]

Naomi supposed she should have expected this. As it was, she'd simply resigned herself to the torture of being unable to enjoy her fiance for the duration of her sisters' visit, but it seemed that Nick had other things in mind.

She yelped when he hoisted her abruptly up off the ground, and again when he flipped her over. "Nick!" she hissed, giggling even as she hung upside down in front of him, "you can't expect me to stay quite when you keep scaring me like that!"

Of course, her gentle chiding ended the moment his lips met the insides of her thighs, and she gasped, her own attention turning to the growing, massive cock that was level with her face. She, it seemed, was far less patient than he, for while he began by teasing the skin around her quickly warming pussy, she gave him no such warm-up. Instead, her mouth sealed instantly around his cock head, sucking and moaning at the musky, masculine flavour of him. She lapped eagerly at the sensitive skin of his head while her hands began to release themselves - slowly - from where she'd clung to his hips to steady herself after he'd startled her by flipping her over like that.

Soon, her small hands were wrapped firmly around the base of his cock, massaging the length while her mouth focused solely on the head, her tongue dancing around all of his favourite spots while her moans turned increasingly needy while she waited for him to finally satisfy the growing ache in her pussy that he was expertly stoking and avoiding.

 

[Maka]

Naomi gave a little squeak of mingled surprise, excitement, and terror as she was swept quite literally off her feet. Nick just grinned wickedly at her whispered reproof, undercut by her own giggles. He always took shameless advantage of his size and strength to effortlessly pick up and move his doll-like fiancée around according to his own whims and desires, sensing that Naomi too was thrilled and aroused by the feeling of being completely under his control.

Now she was demonstrating exactly that. Her ripe rosebud mouth popped open and she was sucking eagerly, slavishly, on the head of Nick's cock, like a girl who wanted something sweet, her tongue flicking and lapping around it, muffled moans and whimpers of need spilling from her mouth. As she came to trust in Nick's support, she detached her hands from their grip on his hips and they slowly began to caress the base of his shaft.

Nick drew his head back for just a moment, to a muffled protest from Naomi, to study the sight before him. Her legs resting on his shoulders, he had an unrivalled view of the delicate swell of Naomi's trim little ass and the glistening, winking little pink pussy, so wet with her need and smelling so enticingly fresh and luscious and feminine. Resolved to tease her no longer, he dipped his head down and plunged his tongue into the tight, slick space, rolling, tasting and flicking at the same rhythm that she was setting on his cock.

 

[slut_in_white]

It was probably a good thing, in the end, that Naomi's mouth was so stuffed full of cock when Nick finally pressed his tongue into her. She groaned, loudly, only to remember afterwards that she needed to stay quiet. Her saving grace was that the whole noise was muffled around his head pressing deep into her mouth.

She wanted to move, to grind and roll her hips against him, but it was difficult to move in any such way while she was positioned as she was, and more, despite her trust in Nick's arms around her, it still made her uncomfortable to move around that much. So instead, she simple spread her legs open a little wider, whimpering around his cock, and silently tried to encourage him to go faster.

Her mouth, meanwhile, began to work his length in earnest. Her arousal was skyrocketing, and with it, her desire to taste him and to feel his cum in her mouth. She started bobbing her head up and down along his length, taking as much of it into her mouth as physically possible. Petite as she was, she could press his head back into her throat and still have enough left outside her lips that she could fit her entire hand around the base and only barely have her fingers brush against her lips.

 

[Maka]

Muffled, wanton moaning, mewling and slurping sounds were coming from the place where Naomi's close-cropped blonde head was bobbing up and down on his cock. There was a palpable need to her efforts as she sucked on the cock thrust into her throat, a girl shamelessly thirsty for cum.

Nick shifted his grip from Naomi's legs to her hips and entered into the final phase of his onslaught on her dripping juicy cunt. He continued to thrust his tongue, stiff and hard, deep into her, alternating that with licks of the sensitive pearl of her clit, but now he also lifted her entire helpless petite body up and down with his movements, pushing his tongue deep into her pussy and then, with a downward movement, transferring it to her clitoris, so that every shift of position brough his golden-haired bride to be shocks of a new kind of pleasure. The same movements lifted Naomi's warm, wet mouth up and down his massive cock, until he was essentially fucking her tight little throat.

He could feel his climax coming, could feel his balls tightening in anticipation, and redoubled his efforts on Naomi's pussy so they would come simultaneously.

 

[slut_in_white]

Naomi squeaked again at the feeling of Nick physically lifting and lowering her, the motions allowing his tongue a range of motion across her pussy that sent her head spinning while his cock started moving into and out of her mouth with the motion at a pace he was setting. The feeling of it - that sensation of his need made physically manifest - set of a cascade of arousal through her body that all at once brought her up to and pitched her off the edge of her orgasm.

She cried out, though the sound was not so different from the muffled moaning and slurping sounds she was making anyway, especially since it occurred at the moment his cock was pressed as far into her throat as it would go. She bucked in his arms, losing momentary control of her body while she exploded with unbearably sweet pleasure. And, in that same moment, she felt Nick's cock thicken and then pump its own sweet release into her mouth and down her throat.

She swallowed greedily, ever eager for more while her body writhed and jumped in his arms as if shocked every time his tongue passed over her clit, sending aftershocks of delicious heat through her body.

She went limp, then, and Nick flipped her over in his arms so she was rightside up again. The motion made her giggle and she slipped her arms around his neck to pull him in for a kiss that tasted of their mixed release. "I love you."

 

[Maka]

Naomi's eager mouth sucked down blast after blast of Nick's sticky hot cum. From the way she sighed and shuddered with delight, it seemed to bring her just as much pleasure as her own explosive orgasm. When Nick turned the giggling tomboy right side up to kiss her, he found that she had swallowed virtually his entire load. Only a little cream still glazed her lips - the appetite she had for his cum was insatiable.

"I love you," she whispered. Nick smiled.

"I love you so much," he whispered back.


In the morning, Nick was startled awake by the bleep of a text from his phone.

"Come down to the Daily Panic. Got something re: Alison that could be something."

Nick grimaced. He'd promised to help Naomi and her sisters with the search for a venue today... but this was too important. He kissed Naomi awake and showed her the text.

"I'm sorry. I know I promised but... we have to stop her, and this could be it."

 

[slut_in_white]

The beeping of Nick's phone didn't quite pull Naomi out of sleep. She struggled to hold onto her dream, moaning softly and burying her head into her pillow.

A moment later, however, Nick's lips were on her face, her neck and her lips, and she found, suddenly, the prospect of wakefulness that much more desirable. She blinked awake, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes with a smile. She nearly chuckled at how apologetic he was about being unable to go to the venue with her.

"Oh, don't worry about it," she answered, sitting up and trying to ruffle her bed-headed hair back into place. "It's alright. I can go with Beth and Susannah. I'm sure we'll be able to figure things out on our own." She lifted a hands to Nick's face, her voice going softer. "I appreciate this, Nick. It's not your responsibility to deal with my history and my fears, but here you are, doing it anyway. Thank you."

 

[Maka]

"I'd do anything at all for you," Nick said softly, looking seriously into Naomi's eyes. "For us."


"That was quick."

Anja, the girl at the Daily Panic, looked amused. Nick had driven just under the speed-limit for the entire trip downtown. He smiled through the vague pleasantries, trying to resist the urge to simply demand what she had on Alison there and then. But Anja took pity on him and didn't make him wait too long.

"Ever since you said yesterday, I've been keeping a kind of an eye out for anything. There's this guy who writes blog posts for us some times... this anti-corporate hacker who calls himself Roadrunner. It might be nothing... but lately he's been claiming to have hacked Robinson & Coburn. Lawyers in the entertainment business, they handle very high-profile people like Megan McCarthy, if you can imagine the kind of legal bills she runs up... anyway, Roadrunner's been hinting that he could reveal some things about the way they do business, and some of the people they have on their payroll. We think Robinson & Coburn have been used to pay Alison off in the past, and we think Roadrunner has proof."

"Can you put me in touch with him?" Nick asked eagerly.

Anja sighed. "That's kind of the problem with Roadrunner... "

 

[slut_in_white]

The place that they'd come to view was wonderful. On the edge of town, it was set on a beautiful golf course with a stunning view of the lake. The building itself was old and built out of aged wood and stone, covered in vines and perfectly manicured flowers.

The problem was the staff. Actually no, that wasn't true. The problem was one particular member of the staff. The manager, giving the three girls their tour, was inappropriate in a dozen different ways. It was funny, because, at first, he'd seemed so nice. His smiles were genuine, he was very welcoming, and he made them feel at ease. Naomi had simply assumed that he was just very good at making people feel like close friends of his. As it turned out, however, his idea of "appropriate behaviour" was simply very skewed towards being far, far too familiar with people he didn't know. As the tour progressed, he started making off-hand comments that were making all three of his potential clients uncomfortable.

"I'd be interested to see what kind of man managed to snag such a gorgeous girl!" When the compliments first started, it sounded like the usual buttering-up of the bride. Not unusual at all. But he kept them up, and they got progressively more and more lewd as time went on, until, at one point, he made a joke about Naomi's size that carried the incredibly uncomfortable implication that he was of sufficient size to "break" a girl like her.

Naomi looked about ready to punch him. But the final straw came when he, as if it were some grand charitable thing, talked about hosting a gay wedding at the course recently, and how terribly awkward it had been to have to watch the two men kissing over the course of the evening, as if it were a given that everyone would find it unpleasant.

For her part, Naomi was completely done with the idea of booking this place. Gorgeous or not, there wasn't a chance in hell she wanted to spend a minute more with this ass, to say nothing of him being present on her wedding day. And she was about to tell him as much, too, when another, shockingly shrill voice exploded from behind her.

"EXCUSE ME!"

It was like the sound of a bottle cap popping off - there was an awareness in the room the following moment of silence was simply the deep breath before the true storm arrived. Naomi spun on her heel on time to see a red-face Susannah standing there, with her small hands clenched at her sides. Her mouth dropped open - Susannah never raised her voice. Ever. Some small part of her recognized that a better person would have stepped in to stop the coming altercation, thanking the worm for his time and then leaving quickly.

Naomi, however, was not quite a good enough person for that. Instead, she suppressed a grin and simply stepped out of the way, eager to see what would happen now that Susannah had finally managed to burst.

 

[Maka]

The problem with Roadrunner was that he was anonymous and invisible. He was scrupulous about only ever contacting reporters through temporary email address, each one different every time. He got in contact with them. There was no way to trace him, so said Anja.

But Nick refused to give up. With Anja's permission, he began searching through all of the emails that Roadrunner sent, searching for some clue, some hint as to the mysterious hacker's identity.

Roadrunner was very careful when it came to routing his emails through a myriad of different servers, but he'd neglected one tiny thing. It was the title of a file attachment on one of the downloads he sent. Someone searching less carefully, less obsessively, than Nick would not have noticed but Nick did. It was the name of a copy shop in town, one that Nick himself had used from time to time.

Everything about Roadrunner's personal style and emails bespoke an obsessive-compulsive personality. He either always used the same venue for his copying needs, or else performed a rigorous circuit through all of the city's copy-shops. Nick had to hope it was the former. A few moments later, he was in the car and speeding towards the copy-shop in question.

 

[slut_in_white]

"How dare you talk that way about people in love! What kind of two-faced jerk would go to all that effort to create a beautiful celebration like that and then talk about them so disrespectfully behind their back?! You are an awful person and we are not going to be booking the wedding here!"

It was at that moment that the shocked manager finally seemed to turn his brain back on and responded to Susannah's outburst. He sneered, standing over the much-shorter young woman and looking down his nose at her. "Hmph. I wasn't aware the bride's baby sister was the one who got to make that decision."

Naomi was going to answer, but instead, that comment was met by laughter... this time, from Beth. "Trust me, it's a good thing she's the one who exploded first, 'cause Nai probably would have punched you."

Naomi was, for her part, happy to simply stand there grinning from ear to ear like a cat who'd gotten into the cream. It was such a pleasure to see her younger sisters reacting so negatively to the man's bigoted ranting. Maybe telling her family about her preferences wouldn't go so badly after all.

Meanwhile, Susannah was building up steam again, and she prodded the manager in the chest, her face still red with anger. "Ha! I know my sister better than you, you small-minded ass!" Even Susannah herself seemed shocked by her use of a curse-word - for as much as "ass" was a curse, anyway. It was certainly stronger language than any she'd ever used before, at least. "You should be ashamed of yourself, and your boss is going to hear about this terrible experience!"

That seemed to get his attention, and suddenly, he was showering them with apologies, practically begging them not to tell anyone about his inappropriate behaviour. Naomi simply laughed, linked arms with Susannah and Beth, one on each side, and led them out.

In the parking lot, Susannah seemed to regain control of herself and, much to Naomi's surprise, she burst into tears. Both Beth and Naomi stopped short, exchanging a quick look of shock before Susannah threw her arms around Naomi and hugged her tightly. "Ohhh Nai I'm so sorry! I ruined everything!"

"What?" Naomi was bewildered. What on earth could she imagine she'd ruined? Naomi was in a fantastic mood, thanks in no small part to Susannah's own outburst!

"That place was beautiful and perfect and now we'll never get a booking there and it's my fault for freaking out..." she sobbed, clinging to her sister like a buoy in a storm.

Naomi chuckled, hugging her back. "Su. You're kidding, right? I wouldn't want to get married at a place like that. You were absolutely right. And I'm so proud of you for speaking your mind like that."

Susannah looked up, eyes rimmed red. "...Really?"

"Of course," Naomi answered, smiling.

 

[Maka]

Sitting in his car, Nick waited and watched the copy shop from across the street. He observed each of the shop's clientele as they walked in, focusing on the younger ones, but dismissing those dressed with ostentatious counter-culture signifiers such as piercings and anarchist tattoos. That wasn't Roadrunner's style at all. He liked to be anonymous.

Despite the urgency he felt, he took his time. Nick had always been hard to hurry and hard to fluster, and Alison certainly wasn't going to do it. All the same, he felt a sharp need -his desire for Naomi. All he wanted was to have her in his arms again, to feel the relief flood through her petite body as he told her that everything was taken care of, to see her sunlight smile illuminate the room once again. He needed her, as he'd never needed anyone before.

He made his decision and entered the shop. The clerk, a mousy Asian girl with glasses, looked up at him.

"Can I help you?" she asked politely.

"I hope so. There's a hacker called Roadrunner who I need to talk to, who uses this shop."

The clerk blinked. "You think this... Roadrunner guy is here at the moment?" she said, gesturing around the near-empty room.

"Yes. In fact, I think I'm talking to her right now," Nick said quietly. The momentary blink was all he needed for confirmation.

 

[slut_in_white]

Despite Naomi's insistence that she was not only not angry but actually pleased with what Susannah had done, the younger sister absolutely insisted on making it up to the bride-to-be by taking her out for lunch.

They ended up at a pizza parlor down by the harbor, watching the ships come in.

"The water's so pretty..." Susannah sighed, staring out the window.

Her starry-eyed staring drew a grin from each Naomi and Beth, who shared a look that said both of them were trying not to laugh. There was a pause, and Beth seemed to straighten a little, like she'd just surprised herself with an idea.

"Is this near the place where you and Nick got engaged?" she asked, an almost suspicious amount of excitement in her voice.

Naomi blinked, because, for a moment, she'd forgotten that she ever told her family that story about the picnic on the beach, and instead was thinking of the Christmas morning by the frozen waterfall. It was funny, though, because Naomi had been to the beach near here with Nick, and it really was the same beach she'd been thinking of when she told that story... "Oh, um, yeah. Wanna go see?"

Her sisters both nearly ran out of door in excitement at that, and Naomi had to follow them, laughing at the way they were behaving - like excited children on the way to a fair, rather than mostly-adult women trying to help plan a wedding.

The beach in question itself was a stunning expanse of rock and sand, with chilled waves crashing over them and several pleasure boats bobbing about in the distance. It was in a park, so rather than the usual condos near the beachfront, the sand gave way to grassy woods, with a gazebo peeking out at them from between the trees as they walked.

Susannah was smitten immediately, and demanded that Naomi show her the very exact spot where it happened. And Naomi herself, smiling faintly, picked a spot that really was special, even if it was for a different reason. Because she and Nick really had come here one night with take-out and beer, to talk until the sun rose over the water. She'd fallen asleep at some point, and barely remembered anything about that morning - except for one moment, crystal clear and perfect, as if it had happened yesterday.

She remembered floating in Nick's unique scent, wrapped in his coat while he lifted her off the ground to carry her back to the car. She remembered waking, for only a moment, to see him smiling down at her, the first rays of the morning catching in his hair and in his eyes. And she remembered smiling back, an expression dopey with sleep, and cuddling back against him to doze off again because there was nowhere else she'd feel safer or more comfortable than in his arms, even back then.

She really had been in love with him a long time. Even if she didn't know it.

 

[Maka]

Nick had anticipated the next quarter of an hour of denials and claims to be completely confused by his suggestion. Neither aggressive nor meek, he simply let the clerk go through the litany, her affect awkward. She was clearly unused to dealing with people in the real world, divorced of the slick online Roadrunner persona. Nick felt a twinge of guilt about the discomfort he was evidently causing her, but he was a man on a mission.

Finally, after her fifteenth denial, the clerk, who gave her name as Susie, fell silent and Nick suggested that they get coffee and talk about it. Susie, trapped, nodded quickly, looking down at the floor.


Susie was clearly a familiar sight in the neighbouring coffee shop. Nick had no doubt that she frequently took advantage of the free wi-fi there. But Nick himself, accompanying her, got a few stares and smiles from the baristas. It was clear that this was the first time that shy, socially awkward Susie had entered the shop accompanied by a man, let alone a man as tall, muscular and good-looking as Nick. Susie unexpectedly brightened a little under the attention, and even preened herself a little.

Once they'd taken a table with their coffee, Nick launched into his story. Strictly speaking, he only needed to tell her about Alison, but his instincts told him that Susie was a romantic at heart, and would respond better to the full story. And so he told her everything, from his and Naomi's first meeting to his research at the Daily Panic. Susie's face fell a little at the introduction of Naomi, and her discovery that this mystery man was already taken, but soon enough she was as caught up as Beth had been in the story of their romance. She gave a dreamy little sigh at the end of the story, staring into the distance.

"So... " Nick said.

"You're right," Susie said. "I mean... I'm... y'know... "

She inscribed the letter R with a movement of her finger on the table.

"And I do have what you need for Alison. She's small fry... I wasn't really planning on using it, not when there's bigger stuff going on but I can... I can give it to you."

Nick drew a deep breath of relief.

"I want something, though... "

His eyes narrowed.

"I want an invitation to your wedding."


The phone call with Alison was short and to the point. Nick did not gloat, but made it perfectly clear that she would be ruined for life in activist circles if she fulfilled her threats, proved that he had the evidence he needed to do it, and hung up. He still felt more sorry for her than anything else. And then he got to make the call he'd been looking forward to all day. He rang Naomi's number and felt his heart leap just at the sound of her sweet voice on the other end of the line.

"It's all okay, Nai. I found a way to change Alison's mind. Oh, and we'll have another guest at the wedding -long story. I love you."

 

[slut_in_white]

Naomi was back at the apartment with her sisters when the call came in. The younger girls were watching TV while Naomi was checking out the rules for booking part of a public park for a wedding when the phone rang.

It was Nick. She grinned the moment the news came over the line. "That's good. And here I was, trying to come up with ways to do the big reveal... Oh, another guest? You'll have to explain when we get home. We're back at the apartment. Thinking about dinner. I was gonna order in, but maybe you could just swing by to pick it up? That Thai place on 7th. Love you, too. See you soon."

There was a strange combination of relief and regret. Because while she really had felt corner and unhappy with the idea of being forced to tell her family about her orientation, there was always something tempting about the idea of not having to hide anymore. Of being able to show her family who she really was. Even if her marriage was going to make that explanation just a tiny bit more confusing.

When Nick came in with the food a little while later, Naomi headed into the kitchen with him under the pretense of getting out dishes and things. But once they were out of sight, she pulled him aside for a kiss. "I, um, I've been thinking." She looked a little embarrassed. "I feel fickle for saying it, after all the trouble you went to to deal with Alison, but... I'm starting to feel like maybe I want to tell my family the truth."

 

[Maka]

Nick pressed Naomi close to him, relishing the feel of her slender, taut body once again in his arms. Beyond the events of the day, he just felt an indescribable sense of peace and contentment around her, as though the presence of his golden-haired tomboy was a blissful drug, an infinite source of happiness and excitement. And other things as well -Nick was very conscious of the massive erection tenting his pants, and made a mental note not to return to the living room until it subsided. Which it wasn't going to do while Naomi continued to stand so close.

Naomi too was aware of it, judging by her mischievous glance downwards. Nick recalled with a smile her first encounter with the titan, when she'd happily flung herself on to his lap and discovered with a squeak of surprise the unfamiliar, massive rod waiting for her there. Since then, they'd gotten very well acquainted indeed. Naomi had wrapped her rosebud lips around it and felt it penetrating the deepest depths of her body.

But her mind was elsewhere. Nick listened thoughtfully. The moment Naomi had said it, he'd realised that this was what she'd really needed all along. Naomi was a fundamentally honest person. She'd clearly never felt good about lying about who she was to her family - and Nick had always had an instinctive feeling that they would be more accepting than she realised.

"I think that's a good idea," he said, kissing the top of her head. "They're coming up next week, aren't they? I'll make sure that you get an hour with just you and them to talk about things."

 

[slut_in_white]

The following week was very strange for Naomi. She'd go back and forth quite readily between looking forward to telling her family the truth and bouts of utter terror at that same prospect. To tell the truth, it was exhausting, and she began to look forward to is as much because she wanted them to know the truth as because she simply wanted the emotional rollercoaster to be over.

Beth and Susannah remained with them for the rest of the week. With the dress picked out and the location finally booked, they settled down and actually became immensely helpful in setting up the rest of the wedding preparations. Beth, as it turned out, had an impressive talent for organizing such things, and she seemed to enjoy it as well. Naomi was left wondering if she'd accidentally stumbled across a potential career for herself.

And then, the day finally came.

Naomi's parents arrived in the middle of the afternoon, and Naomi had nearly paced a hole in the living room floor while she waited. Beth had been too busy picking out the perfect invitation design to notice much, but Susannah did, and in an impressive show of empathy, she simply offered support without asking what was bothering her sister so. Perhaps it was because she'd managed to guess all on her own.

When they arrived, Nick greeted them pleasantly, and then made his excuses and left, promising to be back in an hour. Naomi kept her cellphone close at hand. She suspected that Nick was right, that her family would be more accepting than she'd imagined. But that fear was still there and gnawing at her, so she took comfort in the idea that she could text him in an emergency and he'd come help her escape, if she needed it.

"You guys should come sit. We should... talk."

Naomi's mother took one look at the expression on Naomi's face and frowned. "Sweetie, did something happen with Nick?"

The question shocked her enough that she laughed, though it was tittering and nervous, even so. "No, no, nothing like that. Just, please listen."

Teresa and Peter sat down together on the couch, with Susannah and Beth flanking them. Susannah, sweet as she was, gave Naomi's hand a quick squeeze on the way by - a silent promise that no matter what else happened, she was going to be okay with what was about to be said.

There was a long silence where Naomi considered a dozen ways to say what she needed to. But she'd never been one for sugarcoating the facts, so in the end, she sighed heavily and said it simply: "I'm a lesbian."

Susannah looked mostly unsurprised. The others, however, simply blinked at her in confusion. After a moment, Beth began to giggled, and then Teresa scowled. "Naomi! That's not funny! I thought there was something seriously wrong with you!"

Beth's laughter only grew. "If you're going to play such a prank on us, you should probably avoid doing it when you're about to get married to a man!"

It was Peter, however, who lifted a silent hand to quiet his wife and daughter. "Naomi. What do you mean, exactly?"

Well, at least they weren't shouting. "I'm a lesbian. I have always been and will always be attracted to women. Nick is..."

"...not a woman," Beth quipped, snickering.

Teresa gave her a sharp look, and she quieted, finally.

Taking a deep breath, Naomi continued. "Nick's kind of... an unusual exception. I've never been attracted to any man before, and I honestly don't think I ever will. It's just him. Otherwise, I'm only attracted to women."

There was another long silence, then, and Naomi was left squirming anxiously while she waited for someone to say something.

"So," Peter began, his voice carefully neutral, "when you told us that story about how you and Nick met..."

"That was true!" Naomi assured him.

"But the boyfriend who left without you?" he prodded, looking oddly uncertain.

Naomi blushed. "Oh. Yes. That was actually a girlfriend."

Another silence. Then Teresa cleared her throat. "Is this why you haven't been bringing your boyfriends home to meet us? Because they were really girlfriends?" Naomi barely got a nod out before she continued, "What would have happened if you'd never met Nick?"

"I probably would have found some woman to love and marry, eventually," Naomi answered honestly. She couldn't really imagine being this perfectly happy, but then, she suspected most people weren't as happy as she and Nick. Not everyone found their soulmate.

Naomi winced at the look on her mother's face, thinking that now, finally, there would be anger. But instead of disgust at her habits or anything else, it turned out that Teresa's concern was something else entirely: "But what about children? Two women can't have children!"

Susannah looked horrified. "Mom!"

Teresa looked over at her youngest, confused. "What?"

"You can just say that lesbians can't make good mothers! That's not even true!"

Teresa blushed brightly, horror passing across her features. "What?! No! Oh no, I just meant that, I mean, it's not physically... Of course I would have been happy if you'd adopted or something, I just would be sad for you if you didn't have the option of having your own flesh and blood children!"

Naomi began to laugh. If that was her greatest concern, then everything was going to be fine.

Peter cleared his throat, then, and the room fell silent. Naomi swallowed hard - his was the judgement she most feared.

"Why have you hidden this from us for so long?"

Naomi's gaze dropped to her feet, and she felt like a child being chastised all over again. "I was afraid of disappointing you."

He stood and crossed the room, until he was standing, towering over his seated daughter. "I could not be disappointed in you for being who you are, Naomi." His hands extended, holding them out, waiting for her to take them.

Naomi looked up, eyes shining with tears, and took the offered hands. In one quick, strong motion, her father pulled her to her feet and into a tight hug. "Promise me you won't hide something like this from us again."

"I promise."

 

[Maka]

Nick knew without needing to be told that Naomi's confession had been received with warmth. It was obvious in the relaxed, happy mood in the room, the smile on Peter's face -and most of all, the joyful tears shining in Naomi's eyes. Nick didn't need to say anything, instantly being accepted into the conversation, and receving just a few knowing smiles from elder members of the family. They knew everything now (well, perhaps not the most intimate details, he hoped) and he felt as accepted as he ever had been.

It was a weight off his mind too, as he only now realised. He liked the Highfords but more than that, he knew that Naomi would never feel comfortable starting their life together while still holding a secret like that. He felt like he had come home.


One other thing happened before the wedding. The phone rang, very early one morning, while Naomi was still drowsing in bed. Nick picked up, not recognising the number, and instantly regretted it when he heard the familiar, hoarse voice on the other end of the phone.

"Nick?"

He paused for a long time, considered hanging up.

"Dad."

"I heard you were getting married."

"Yes."

There was a raw chuckle on the other end of the line.

"Nah, I don't expect to be invited. I don't deserve it. But I just... wanted you to know I'm happy for you. It's so good that you found someone."

"Dad... where are you living?"

"L.A. I'm sober these days."

Nick didn't recall the end of the conversation. He just remembered getting back into bed, and holding the sleepy Naomi in his arms, until guilt and unhappy memories were swept away by her scent, her warmth, and her nearness.