Melt into your native shelter...

[axeslade]

Last chapter of I Should Tell You! Not completely happy with it, but I know it'll make spacequeen squeak.

For a moment, Mandy wasn't sure what had woken her up. She didn't hear her alarm going off, nor did she hear Kim's hyper chatter. She glanced up at the clock, and, seeing it was only five, almost went back to sleep until she heard a sound.

Snoring.

She turned her head and felt her heart flutter and turn upside down when she saw Curt lying a few inches away. Then she closed her eyes, barely holding back the tears.

"Thank you," she whispered softly to whatever had put its hand into bringing him back into her life. Then, she moved over, wrapping her arms across Curt's chest and pressing her mouth against his neck.

"Mmm?" Curt mumbled, lazily opening his eyes and looking over his shoulder. His eyes seemed the same dim grey of the winter morning light until his gaze landed on Mandy. Then they suddenly changed to a light, glittering blue and he smiled.

"Mornin'" he murmured, kissing her hair. She mumbled something in reply, lazily dragging her tongue along his shoulder. He laughed, gently squeezing her hand.

"If I have even the slightest grasp on that child's personality, I'm guessing she tends to break in here every morning?"

"Mmm hmm. A little before six," Mandy mumbled, tightening her hold on Curt. He grinned at this, but gently removed her hand.

"Well, I should probably start getting dressed then, just in case."

When he got up and started searching for his pants, Mandy gave him a little pout, but then she sighed and started digging through her dresser.

"...What are we going to tell her?" Curt asked softly as he zipped his jeans, though he kept his back to her.

Mandy shrugged, pulling a turtleneck over her head.

"I dunno. The truth?"

The room was deathly quiet for a moment, then Curt cleared his throat.

"Mand...I dunno if that's such a good idea. I mean, since I'm not going to be around-"

"Who said you weren't going to be around?" Mandy said, half-snapping, as she yanked a brush through her hair.

At this, Curt turned around, bright green eyes wide with shock.

"What?"

Mandy rolled her eyes.
"Men. Are you really that dense? I want you to move in...I want you to stay."

Curt swallowed, clumsily shoving his arms through his shirt so he could have an excuse for staying quiet. Once that was done, though, he was forced to break the silence.

"Really?"

Mandy snorted, then walked over to him, putting her hands on the back of his neck, pressing their foreheads together.

"Really. I need you, and Kim needs her dad, so I'm afraid you're stuck with us whether you like it or not," she murmured, gently biting the tip of his nose.

He grinned, running his fingers through her hair.

"Well, I guess I can suffer through this for another decade or so," he laughed, pulling back and laughing more when Mandy picked up her hair brush and raised it menacingly at him. Grinning mischievously, Mandy threw the brush at his leg. Or at least she tried to, it ended up in the hall. They both stared after it for a second, then started laughing again until they cried, delighting in being able to be so damned...so damned domestic.

Mandy was sitting at the foot of the bed, Curt's head in her lap, when there was a very light knock at the door. Both of them looked up to see Kimberly standing there in an oversized blue t-shirt and shorts, yawning and rubbing her eyes. Mandy grinned.

"Hey kiddo, sleep well?"

"Yeah," Kim yawned, stretching her arms above her head. When she opened her eyes again, they flew open wide as her gaze landed on Curt. Her shock faded quickly, though, and she grinned, bounding over to the bed and sitting on the floor by her mother's feet.

"Hi Curt! Don't you haveta work?"

Curt stretched his arm down, ruffling Kim's hair.

"Hi yourself. Yeah, but not for a few hours."

"Oh. When're you leaving?" she asked, a hint of apprehension in her voice. Curt glanced at Mandy, who smiled at him. Smiling back, he slipped his hands under Kim's arm to pick her up and drag her onto his lap.

"Well...your mom's asked me to come live with you guys, and I said yes. That is, if you want me to stay."

Kim's eyes widened again, and she turned her head to look at Mandy, silently asking if it was true. When her mother nodded, Kim gasped and threw her arms around Curt's neck.

"'Course I do! Oh this is so awesome! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" she squealed, kissing Curt's cheek. Curt laughed softly, blinking back a few tears.

"You're very welcome, Kim," he whispered hoarsely. Mandy smiled, then, swallowing back the knot in her throat, took Kim from Curt's arms.

"You'd better get ready for school, sweetheart."

Kim pouted for a second, but then she nodded and leapt off the bed towards the door. Before she left, though, Curt thought of something else.

"Oh, and Kim?"

Kim turned her head, sparkling blue eyes shining with curiosity. Curt smiled softly.

"Awhile ago...you asked me what you were supposed to call me?"

Kim nodded, raising a golden eyebrow in confusion. Curt laughed a little, then pressed his lips together, trying to find the words again. Finally, he licked his lips.

"I, ah...guess that if you wanted to, you could...you could call me Dad."

Kim's face went to white to red and a couple shades in between several times before settling on a faint pink, then she smiled.

"Okay. I'm, umm...I'm gonna go get dressed, okay?"

Curt nodded silently, and Kim turned to walk out the door. Before she did, though, she turned her head back over her shoulder, emerald eyes sparkling joyfully.

"Love you Daddy."

His chest got so tight with emotion, that Curt was only able to force out a very hoarse 'love you too, Kim' before she walked out the door. After she was gone, Curt laid back, his head beside Mandy's leg, staring at the ceiling in dumb shock.

"I...am the luckiest man in the world," he said, quietly, a few moments later. Mandy laughed, leaning over to kiss him.

"We're both lucky. We have each other, and we have Kim. A lot of people would kill for less."

"Yeah," he laughed softly, before grabbing Mandy's hand and pulling her towards him. She rolled her eyes.

"Curt, I have to-"

"What time do you have to leave?" he asked, sliding a hand up her shirt. Mandy sighed.

"In an hour."

"...We've got time," he whispered, before pulling her down and, pinning her beneath him, began to tickle her. Mandy shrieked, then started giggling. And, for once, she didn't give a damn if Kim was late for school or if she was late for work or if the damned apartment burned to the ground. For the first time in almost ten years, she was happy.

And, for right now, that was enough.

~fin

Comments

[spacequeen.livejournal.com]

*Picks myself up off the ground....*

OMG, that was so sweet. It made me happy to read, and for that I thank you.

I especially enjoyed the awkward tenderness of Kim and Curt's budding relationship. She's no dumb girl, and she knew she owned him from the beginning.

Loved it. *hugs* :)

[axeslade.livejournal.com]

*giggles*You know, this chapter was the one I felt the absolute CRAPPIEST about when I posted it. The end just...it was a really messy write. I sat down to write it, and it just kind of...fell apart on me. But then I realized: it wasn't a neat ending, completely. These people are messy. So I let it be a little messy. I'm just glad the muses were right and it was the kind of messy that made sense (if this messy response made any sense, heh)

I especially enjoyed the awkward tenderness of Kim and Curt's budding relationship. She's no dumb girl, and she knew she owned him from the beginning

Ha, yeah. I knew going into this chapter that the whole 'you can call me Dad' thing would happen, and it seemed all perfect Hallmark in my head, but then when I wrote it it was the messiest part. I fought with it for a long time, trying to make it not sugar sweet again, but then I went 'wait...Curt...Kim...yeah, they're messy as hell'. So I let it be kind of awkward, but still cute. Because that's them.

You have no idea how hard it is for me to walk away from this story! I keep begging the girls to show me something of an older Kim, but they just shake their heads and smile. *sigh*Evil bitches.