Trouble in a Tank Top
ninja turtle soup.
The swing of a hammock was a soft, soothing lull that took me away from the hectic day. I played with my hair, still not used to the red-tinted locks now. I missed my dark hair, it was the only hair color I had my whole life, but I felt like the red was a nice change. We were slowly fitting into the new lifestyle, still on the run, still completely and utterly in love.
Tony's strong, tattooed arm was wrapped around my shoulders, and he was using the top of my head as a rest for his own head, slowly dozing off as the hammock rocked him to sleep. His fingers were softly stroking my arm while his eyes were closed and a content smile played on his lips. We were in his mother's backyard, trying to take advantage of a slow Sunday afternoon.
Vic and Jaime had gone with Tony's mother and sister to get groceries, while Mike was out meeting with someone who could get to Casey from the inside of the city jail while his case work was being processed. It had been three weeks since the guys had dragged me into hiding, and it seemed like I had began to grow comfortable in the Perry household. Tony was always out with the guys, trying to figure out a way to get Casey out of jail. Once that happened, Casey had a hidden back up server that he could get into that would give us all new identities and we would just have to stay out of California for a few years.
God, a few years...
I still hadn't called Oliver and Lauren, scared that if I did I would give away where I was. I knew there was a missing person's report out for me, I had seen it on the news three days after we took shelter in Mrs. Perry's house. It was the picture Oliver had taken for my "employee of the month" plaque that I've had for the last eight months straight. It's only Lauren, another girl that rarely fills in when one of us can't work our shift, and me that work there besides Oliver himself.
"Ande?" Tony mumbles, obviously half asleep. I hum loud enough to let him know I heard him and I'm awake. I just continue to stare up at the sky, trying to catch the shapes of clouds through the leaves that block the sun from my eyes. Tony doesn't say anything, obviously thinking about what he's going to say. I hear a round of sirens go off in the distance, but the volume of the sounds fades more and more with each echo that passes through the back yard.
"Ande," Tony repeats, and I slowly move my head to look up at him. His eyes are wide and a bright brown. I see the scars under his lips clearer, observing exactly where they were one placed. When we started started dating, his ears had been stretched, but they were now sewn up and in the process of healing back to their original state. He had also gotten two new tattoos, one on his calf and the other was still healing some, along his entire bottom jaw, just barely flowing around the large owl he had on his throat.
"Yeah, Tone?" I speak this time. He slowly begins to sit up, and to make it easier for both of us so we won't fall out of the hammock, I do the same. He positions my body so it's perpendicular with his, my legs across his lap. He keeps his hand on my thigh, holding me steady as the hammock sways before equaling out again. He just stares at me, stares at me with the big, bright eyes that tell me he wants to say so much but doesn't know how.
"What's wrong, Tony?" I ask, confused by his sudden silence. His tattooed hands grip my thigh a little tighter just before he leans in and kisses me. I don't object, since I don't think I'll ever get tired of his sweet little random kisses. They make me smile each time, truthfully. He pulls away from the kiss, which surprises me because it is usually me pulling away for a quick breath. I look up at him.
"Ande, I..." He stumbles over his words and runs a hand through his hair. Over the past three weeks he hasn't done much to keep it well kept, usually just running his fingers through it in the morning and covering with a hat, and it seems to be letting his stubble grow out. It makes him look... older, more mature. I loved how he looked before everything happened, but now, the new look he had always had me staring at him and I just couldn't look away. Especially when those brown eyes were looking back.
I don't say anything to him, letting the words fall out with his own effort, not wanting to interrupt his train of thought.
"I..." he tries to start again but gets frustrated with himself. Even though he's physically matured, growing more muscle over the past few months too, he's still the little shy Tony that was nicknamed 'Turtle' for a reason. I take his hand in mine, and give him a wide encouraging smile. It seems to do the job. "I love you, Ande."
"I love you too, Tone," I tell him, bringing his hand to my lips and kissing the knuckles. His finger tips and palm are calloused, but I love the way they fit with mine.
"Let me finish," he says softly, not meaning to be harsh. I nod and keep my lips pressed together. He smiles, laughing softly to himself and shakes his head. "God, Ande, I love you so much. So fucking much, it hurts when I'm away from you with the guys, because I'm so scared that when come back I'll find you and Ma and Tina gone."
He takes a deep shaky breath. A smooth breeze ruffles our hair. The clouds continue to reform and reshape in the sky miles and miles above our heads.
Tony kisses me again, and I gladly kiss him back. The confession gives me butterflies, those damn butterflies that make my hands shake and my cheeks feels warm and make me wiggle my legs because I have to fidget to get all my energy and-
"Will you marry me?"
Ande wakes up to a reoccurring knocking that comes from down stairs. She groans and rolls over, snuggling herself under the sheet and into Tony's side. It's five in the morning, if not earlier, and Ande had tossed and turned until half past one. Couldn't she get some rest? Not to mention her latest dream had made her restless, bouncing knee and all, even though she couldn't remember a single bit of it.
She hears shuffling going down the hall. Ande frowns, furrowing her eyebrows as she listens to the footsteps. They should like Mrs. Perry as she has to walk down the stair slowly because of her bad knee. Tina always takes them two at a time and Tony is currently her pillow. The knocking keeps going until there's a click from a locking being undone and a door creaks open. There's harsh, loud noises and now Ande knows she's not getting back to sleep.
The brunette slips out of the bed, making sure to keep the sheet firmly around Tony since he gets cold easily in his sleep. Ande smooths out the large night shirt she slept in and fumbles around for her shorts she had been wearing the day before. She stops moving when she hears Tony shift in his sleep, and he lets out a low weak cough before dropping dead into the world of slumber again. She sighs, knowing someone is going to catch a cold since it's that time a year and she's going to be stuck making soup and playing nurse since Mrs. Perry had been extra busy at work and taking care of Tina.
Ande walked out of Tony's old bedroom and made her way down the stairs, but she only get a few steps before Jaime and Mike come running toward her. She stares at them, confused.
"Ande!" Jaime says loudly, surprised.
"What's all the noise for? Do you know what time it is?" She starts to scold them, but when Ande started to spit out more words, an unfamiliar face walks in. She stares at him, trying to place his name, but she is clueless.
Until it hits her.
"You guys got Casey out."
Ande hears Tony's door creak open and he comes stumbling out, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
"Babe, what's going on?" He asks, stopping at the top of the steps. Ande is just four down, with a total of thirteen making up the staircase.
"Tone, my man!" Casey says, grinning ear to ear as he looks at his old friend, but his eyes don't sparkle as much as they should. That week in jail really affected him. Tony is quickly awake, and while he's only in his boxers, Tony practically jumps down the entire flight of stairs and pulls his friend into a very manly-hug. The two have a short, friendly reunion before it comes to Ande's attention now that they have to start moving.
"So, does this mean we're going to leave California now?" Ande asks, crossing her arms across her chest to hide the fact that she braless in front of five men and her boyfriend's mother.
Vic and Jaime share a look, giving Mike the same one. As Tony and Casey pull away, Ande knows my answer instantly. The brunette sighs and turns, going back up the stairs.
"I'll start packing," She mumbles, but knows they hear her since the house is dead silent. Ande and Tony didn't have much to pack, since a majority of what they brought had just been washed and folded in one of the drawers they emptied of junk Tony had left in it. It was just enough pairs of clothes to get through a week, and after that it was laundry time with them standing in their underwear.
Ande doesn't even bother using two different bags when all their clothes will fit in her the backpack that she originally brought.
"Ande?" She looks up momentarily, gives Tony a blank look and goes back to folding her pants. There's a soft sigh that comes from him just before Ande feels his hands wrap around her waist. His tattooed hands pull the clothes from her own and when he sets them down on the bed beside the bag, she turns in his arms and embraces him. Tony returns it, stroking her dark, thick hair while rubbing soft circles on her side with his thumb.
She fits against him so perfectly...
"What's wrong, baby? Talk to me, I don't like it when you won't tell me what's bothering you."
Ande hiccups softly, trying to hold back the tears she has because she's scared.
"California is my home," she tells him. "California is all I know. I've never been out of state, hell, I've never been out of South Cali. The farthest north I've been is Santa Barbara for a wedding when I was twelve. I'm fucking twenty-four, Tony, and I don't know the first thing about leaving my home because it's all I've ever known."
Ande feels Tony's chest shake, and she pulls away to look at him. He's... he's laughing at her! She's appalled by his reaction, and she furiously wipes away the few tears in the corners of her eyes. She almost yells at him, daring him to find her emotional state funny. Tony waves his hands, telling her to give him a moment to explain. He wraps his arms around her again, and kisses her forehead, a few chuckles still making her shoulders shake.
"I'm not laughing at you, Ande. I'm laughing at how unnecessarily scared you are. The guys and I have enough funds to get us through twenty years in some suburb with no worries of finances. Hell, we could probably go live in downtown New York City if you wanted for twenty years and be okay. Don't be scared, baby, there's nothing to be scared about."
"Jackass," she seethes at him through her teeth, hits his chest with the heel of her hand, and then rests in his arms.
"Come on, ma is making breakfast. We'll sit down and eat some before talking about what we're going to do now, okay?"
Ande nods, and wipes away the tears under her eyes again. Tony takes her hand and pulls her down the stairs with him. The smell of pancakes and bacon masked the fear that still played around in Ande's brain.
Tony's strong, tattooed arm was wrapped around my shoulders, and he was using the top of my head as a rest for his own head, slowly dozing off as the hammock rocked him to sleep. His fingers were softly stroking my arm while his eyes were closed and a content smile played on his lips. We were in his mother's backyard, trying to take advantage of a slow Sunday afternoon.
Vic and Jaime had gone with Tony's mother and sister to get groceries, while Mike was out meeting with someone who could get to Casey from the inside of the city jail while his case work was being processed. It had been three weeks since the guys had dragged me into hiding, and it seemed like I had began to grow comfortable in the Perry household. Tony was always out with the guys, trying to figure out a way to get Casey out of jail. Once that happened, Casey had a hidden back up server that he could get into that would give us all new identities and we would just have to stay out of California for a few years.
God, a few years...
I still hadn't called Oliver and Lauren, scared that if I did I would give away where I was. I knew there was a missing person's report out for me, I had seen it on the news three days after we took shelter in Mrs. Perry's house. It was the picture Oliver had taken for my "employee of the month" plaque that I've had for the last eight months straight. It's only Lauren, another girl that rarely fills in when one of us can't work our shift, and me that work there besides Oliver himself.
"Ande?" Tony mumbles, obviously half asleep. I hum loud enough to let him know I heard him and I'm awake. I just continue to stare up at the sky, trying to catch the shapes of clouds through the leaves that block the sun from my eyes. Tony doesn't say anything, obviously thinking about what he's going to say. I hear a round of sirens go off in the distance, but the volume of the sounds fades more and more with each echo that passes through the back yard.
"Ande," Tony repeats, and I slowly move my head to look up at him. His eyes are wide and a bright brown. I see the scars under his lips clearer, observing exactly where they were one placed. When we started started dating, his ears had been stretched, but they were now sewn up and in the process of healing back to their original state. He had also gotten two new tattoos, one on his calf and the other was still healing some, along his entire bottom jaw, just barely flowing around the large owl he had on his throat.
"Yeah, Tone?" I speak this time. He slowly begins to sit up, and to make it easier for both of us so we won't fall out of the hammock, I do the same. He positions my body so it's perpendicular with his, my legs across his lap. He keeps his hand on my thigh, holding me steady as the hammock sways before equaling out again. He just stares at me, stares at me with the big, bright eyes that tell me he wants to say so much but doesn't know how.
"What's wrong, Tony?" I ask, confused by his sudden silence. His tattooed hands grip my thigh a little tighter just before he leans in and kisses me. I don't object, since I don't think I'll ever get tired of his sweet little random kisses. They make me smile each time, truthfully. He pulls away from the kiss, which surprises me because it is usually me pulling away for a quick breath. I look up at him.
"Ande, I..." He stumbles over his words and runs a hand through his hair. Over the past three weeks he hasn't done much to keep it well kept, usually just running his fingers through it in the morning and covering with a hat, and it seems to be letting his stubble grow out. It makes him look... older, more mature. I loved how he looked before everything happened, but now, the new look he had always had me staring at him and I just couldn't look away. Especially when those brown eyes were looking back.
I don't say anything to him, letting the words fall out with his own effort, not wanting to interrupt his train of thought.
"I..." he tries to start again but gets frustrated with himself. Even though he's physically matured, growing more muscle over the past few months too, he's still the little shy Tony that was nicknamed 'Turtle' for a reason. I take his hand in mine, and give him a wide encouraging smile. It seems to do the job. "I love you, Ande."
"I love you too, Tone," I tell him, bringing his hand to my lips and kissing the knuckles. His finger tips and palm are calloused, but I love the way they fit with mine.
"Let me finish," he says softly, not meaning to be harsh. I nod and keep my lips pressed together. He smiles, laughing softly to himself and shakes his head. "God, Ande, I love you so much. So fucking much, it hurts when I'm away from you with the guys, because I'm so scared that when come back I'll find you and Ma and Tina gone."
He takes a deep shaky breath. A smooth breeze ruffles our hair. The clouds continue to reform and reshape in the sky miles and miles above our heads.
Tony kisses me again, and I gladly kiss him back. The confession gives me butterflies, those damn butterflies that make my hands shake and my cheeks feels warm and make me wiggle my legs because I have to fidget to get all my energy and-
"Will you marry me?"
Ande wakes up to a reoccurring knocking that comes from down stairs. She groans and rolls over, snuggling herself under the sheet and into Tony's side. It's five in the morning, if not earlier, and Ande had tossed and turned until half past one. Couldn't she get some rest? Not to mention her latest dream had made her restless, bouncing knee and all, even though she couldn't remember a single bit of it.
She hears shuffling going down the hall. Ande frowns, furrowing her eyebrows as she listens to the footsteps. They should like Mrs. Perry as she has to walk down the stair slowly because of her bad knee. Tina always takes them two at a time and Tony is currently her pillow. The knocking keeps going until there's a click from a locking being undone and a door creaks open. There's harsh, loud noises and now Ande knows she's not getting back to sleep.
The brunette slips out of the bed, making sure to keep the sheet firmly around Tony since he gets cold easily in his sleep. Ande smooths out the large night shirt she slept in and fumbles around for her shorts she had been wearing the day before. She stops moving when she hears Tony shift in his sleep, and he lets out a low weak cough before dropping dead into the world of slumber again. She sighs, knowing someone is going to catch a cold since it's that time a year and she's going to be stuck making soup and playing nurse since Mrs. Perry had been extra busy at work and taking care of Tina.
Ande walked out of Tony's old bedroom and made her way down the stairs, but she only get a few steps before Jaime and Mike come running toward her. She stares at them, confused.
"Ande!" Jaime says loudly, surprised.
"What's all the noise for? Do you know what time it is?" She starts to scold them, but when Ande started to spit out more words, an unfamiliar face walks in. She stares at him, trying to place his name, but she is clueless.
Until it hits her.
"You guys got Casey out."
Ande hears Tony's door creak open and he comes stumbling out, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
"Babe, what's going on?" He asks, stopping at the top of the steps. Ande is just four down, with a total of thirteen making up the staircase.
"Tone, my man!" Casey says, grinning ear to ear as he looks at his old friend, but his eyes don't sparkle as much as they should. That week in jail really affected him. Tony is quickly awake, and while he's only in his boxers, Tony practically jumps down the entire flight of stairs and pulls his friend into a very manly-hug. The two have a short, friendly reunion before it comes to Ande's attention now that they have to start moving.
"So, does this mean we're going to leave California now?" Ande asks, crossing her arms across her chest to hide the fact that she braless in front of five men and her boyfriend's mother.
Vic and Jaime share a look, giving Mike the same one. As Tony and Casey pull away, Ande knows my answer instantly. The brunette sighs and turns, going back up the stairs.
"I'll start packing," She mumbles, but knows they hear her since the house is dead silent. Ande and Tony didn't have much to pack, since a majority of what they brought had just been washed and folded in one of the drawers they emptied of junk Tony had left in it. It was just enough pairs of clothes to get through a week, and after that it was laundry time with them standing in their underwear.
Ande doesn't even bother using two different bags when all their clothes will fit in her the backpack that she originally brought.
"Ande?" She looks up momentarily, gives Tony a blank look and goes back to folding her pants. There's a soft sigh that comes from him just before Ande feels his hands wrap around her waist. His tattooed hands pull the clothes from her own and when he sets them down on the bed beside the bag, she turns in his arms and embraces him. Tony returns it, stroking her dark, thick hair while rubbing soft circles on her side with his thumb.
She fits against him so perfectly...
"What's wrong, baby? Talk to me, I don't like it when you won't tell me what's bothering you."
Ande hiccups softly, trying to hold back the tears she has because she's scared.
"California is my home," she tells him. "California is all I know. I've never been out of state, hell, I've never been out of South Cali. The farthest north I've been is Santa Barbara for a wedding when I was twelve. I'm fucking twenty-four, Tony, and I don't know the first thing about leaving my home because it's all I've ever known."
Ande feels Tony's chest shake, and she pulls away to look at him. He's... he's laughing at her! She's appalled by his reaction, and she furiously wipes away the few tears in the corners of her eyes. She almost yells at him, daring him to find her emotional state funny. Tony waves his hands, telling her to give him a moment to explain. He wraps his arms around her again, and kisses her forehead, a few chuckles still making her shoulders shake.
"I'm not laughing at you, Ande. I'm laughing at how unnecessarily scared you are. The guys and I have enough funds to get us through twenty years in some suburb with no worries of finances. Hell, we could probably go live in downtown New York City if you wanted for twenty years and be okay. Don't be scared, baby, there's nothing to be scared about."
"Jackass," she seethes at him through her teeth, hits his chest with the heel of her hand, and then rests in his arms.
"Come on, ma is making breakfast. We'll sit down and eat some before talking about what we're going to do now, okay?"
Ande nods, and wipes away the tears under her eyes again. Tony takes her hand and pulls her down the stairs with him. The smell of pancakes and bacon masked the fear that still played around in Ande's brain.
I love this
3/2/14