Trouble-Maker

Ronnie returned with Arch and a large bag of chinese food barely forty-five minutes later. I was laying on the couch watching TV when Arch came running through the front door, Ronnie right behind him.

"Hey," I greeted as I sat up, "I'm starving."

Arch jumped onto the couch and nodded his head eagerly. "Me too! I want more chicken!"

"What?" I asked automatically, looking between he and Ronnie. "You're a vegetarian, Arch."

Arch shrugged his little shoulders. "Ronnie let me try some!"

I sent Ronnie a looked as I asked, "You did what?"

Ronnie rolled his eyes and set the bag of food down on the coffee table. "The kid is too small, he's going to have problems if he doesn't eat real food."

"Ronnie," I shouted, "Plenty of people are vegetarians!"

"Adults," he said, brushing off my words, "Plus, he's too little for his age. Meat is good for you."

"His diet isn't yours to decide, Ronnie," I yelled at him as I stood up. "You can't go changing things about him when he'll be going home to his mother tomorrow!"

Ronnie sighed as if I was annoying him and shrugged. "I'm just giving him other options for when he's older, Atticus. His mother doesn't even have to know." Ronnie brushed past me and sat next to Arch, who was looking at the two of us with wide, worried eyes.

"You want some chicken and rice, Arch?" Ronnie asked, ignoring the glare I sent him as he grabbed a white carton full of chicken and scooped some out onto a paper plate.

But Arch wasn't looking at him, he was staring at me. I met his gaze for a couple seconds and then sighed as the young boy seemed to be tearing up.

"I'm sorry," I said to him as I sat down on his free side, "I'm sorry, Arch."

"You're mad."

I shook my head automatically. "I'm not mad at you."

"You're mad at Ronnie?"

I shook my head again. "I'm not mad at anyone," I told him, "I promise."

Arch just looked up at me.

I bit my lip and reached out for his plate. I set it on the coffee table in front of him and offered a smile. "Here you go," I told him, "Let me get you a fork."

Arch was harboring a small smile then as he shook his head and reached into the brown paper bag. "I can use sticks!" he told me, sitting on his knees in front of the table.

"Chop sticks?" I repeated, grinning as he nodded quickly and held them up in the air.

He stabbed his food with it in reply. I looked to Ronnie, who caught my gaze, and I nodded towards the stairs. He sighed and stood up. We slid out of the room without Arch even noticing. Ronnie followed me up the stairs and into my room before I said anything.

"Don't do anything like that again," I told him, turning to face him with my arms crossed over my chest.

"I'm sorry, Att, he wanted to try it," Ronnie said with a shrug of his wide shoulders.

"You should've said no. His parents are strict vegetarians."

Ronnie rolled his eyes. "What's the big deal, you're still letting him eat it."

"Just so he doesn't think I'm mad at him, Ronnie," I stated, giving him a flat look, "He's been through a lot lately and I don't want to set him off."

"It's not my fault the kid's mom is too much of a-"

"Don't even go there," I said, giving him a pointed look as he was about to drop a curse word. "Arch's father just died and his mother is having a hard time dealing with it."

Ronnie rolled his liquid chocolate eyes. "She still shouldn't back out on her kid."

I shook my head at him. "What if I died?" I asked softly, thinking about how life would be if one of us wasn't there. "Would you be able to look at my child and not be reminded of me, constantly?" I continued, picturing my life without him there.

Ronnie ran his fingers through his long hair and sighed. "Don't say things like that, Atticus."

I shrugged and looked up to him. "I'm serious."

Ronnie's gaze hardened. "So am I, Atticus. This isn't a joke."

"I'm not trying to make you laugh."

Ronnie shook his head slightly. "Just stop. You're not going to die. Ever. And neither am I. I'm sorry about the kid's dad but just because that happened to his family doesn't mean it's going to happen to us. You're not leaving me and I'm never leaving you."

I licked my cracked lips and shook my head to the side so that my bangs flew out of my face. "I'm not going any where, Ronnie," I told him, my feet feeling like cinderblocks that were holding me to the floor, "But just try and be more compassionate."

"I'll try," he said, although the way he half-way rolled his eyes told me that he still didn't think that leaving your son at daycare, permanently, was an acceptable way of dealing with grief.

I nodded once. "Good." I reached up and touched his jaw line softly. "Lets go eat."

Ronnie and I ate dinner with Arch, watched TV for a little while, before Ronnie scooped him up and carried him up to his temporary bedroom. We talked with him for a little while since he wasn't a child that was into bedtime stories and soon enough the tiny child was curled up in the large bed, sleeping soundly his soft breathing becoming the rhythm of the room. Ronnie and I left together. We went down stairs and sat curled up on the couch together, Ronnie's arms around my waist.

Ronnie nestled his chin in the crook of my neck, his warm breath hitting my skin and causing goosebumps to arise on my arms. Ronnie kissed my neck, causing me to smile and look up to him.

Ronnie looked down at me before pressing his lips to mine. I ran my tongue over his bottom lip as the kiss became more heated. Ronnie shifted so that I was laying under him with him holding himself above me.

His mouth assaulted mine as I tangled my fingers into his dark locks of thick hair. Before the kiss could escalade from there I said, "There's a kid up stairs."

Ronnie groaned lightly and dropped his head to my shoulder. "I fucking forgot already."

I laid my head back against the couch. "I know," I murmured, looking up at the high ceiling.

Ronnie scooted in beside me so that his back was against the back of the couch and I was against his chest. We watched a movie and shared chaste kisses, no matter how much Ronnie wanted it to continue.

"I'm gonna go check on Arch," I told Ronnie as the movie came to a close.

Ronnie nodded and got up to take the movie out of the DVD player as the credits rolled.

I headed up the stairs. "Arch?" I whispered as I pushed the door open. The little boy was whimpering in his sleep and rolling around. His blankets were tangled around him and halfway off of the bed. I climbed onto the bed next to him and pulled the little boy into my arms.

"Arch, wake up," I murmured, patting his back. It took a couple of minutes for him to open his orbs and when he did he was looking up at me with salt-water escaping from the corner of his eyes.

"I'm sorry," was the first thing he said when he realized that why I was waking him up, "I didn't mean to."

I shook my head and pulled him tight against me. "It's okay, Arch," I whispered, "You were just having a nightmare."

"I did mean to," he said again, his eyes glistening. "I just got scared."

I nodded my head and ran my fingers through his matted hair. "Do you want to go back to sleep?" I asked softly, "I can wait until you fall asleep."

Arch nodded his head softly and slid back to lay his head on the huge pillow. "I'll be okay."

I looked down to the little boy as he tried to be brave and close his eyes. Instead of covering him up again I reached out to him and ran my fingers over his soft cheek "You can't sleep in here," I told him with a smile, "What do you say you come sleep with Ronnie and I?"

Arch shook his head. "I'm okay."

I shrugged and tugged on his little jeans. "It's your decision. But I was going to try and find you some jamies and we could watch TV in my room."

Arch looked up to me with bright eyes. "I don't have any jamies."

I unbuttoned his scratchy little jeans. "I have some," I told him, picturing a pair of gray sweatpants that were too big for Nico. "Do you want me to go get them?"

Arch sat up. "Then I can sleep?"

"With me," I told him, offering a nod, "I'll be right back."

It didn't take my very long to find the pants, since I knew exactly where they were. I took them back into Arch and helped him change into them. They were almost the perfect size.

Arch wrapped his arms around my neck as I hauled him out of bed and down the small hallway to my bedroom. Ronnie was standing by his side of the bed, slipping out of his jacket as we entered.

"Ron," I said, licking my lips as I waited for him to turn around.

When he did he looked over me as I held Arch up in my arms. "You okay, Arch?" he questioned.

Arch nodded his head, sleepily.

"He had a nightmare," I told Ronnie, "So he's going to sleep with me."

Ronnie nodded as he realized what I was saying. "I'll be in the guest room," he said, offering a lazy smile as he grabbed his jacket and headed towards us. "I'll see you in the morning, baby," he said as he slid past, pressing his lips to mine as he went.

"Night, babe," I replied with a sympathetic smile.

"Come tuck me in?" Ronnie asked with a pout on his luscious lips.

I chuckled under my breath and nodded my head. "Of course, baby."

Ronnie kissed my mouth once more before leaving the room to Arch and I. I set Arch on the bed and watched as he clambered over to the far side and slid under the blankets.

"I'll be right back," I told him as I moved over to the TV and turned it on, "I'm going to go put my P.Js on, okay?"

Arch nodded his head and laid down, his eyes on the TV as I changed it to a cartoon channel. When I saw a cartoon play on the screen I moved to my closet and grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank-top

"Be right back," I called over my shoulder as I headed to the guest room where Ronnie had taken refuge. "Hey," I said as I pushed the door open and slid in, "I'm sorry about this."

Ronnie was laying in bed and looked up when I entered. He sat up and shrugged. "It's no big deal, Att."

I smiled and climbed in next to him. "You sure?" I asked, "I could wait for the kid to fall asleep then come in here."

Ronnie grinned and pressed his lips against mine. "If you want. But you better get back in there before he gets scared again."

"I am," I told him as I stood up. "I'm just getting dressed." I slid out of my jeans and pulled my shorts onto my lips before slipping my shirt over my head and replacing it with a loose fitting purple tanktop.

Ronnie chuckled at me as I left my clothes on the floor. He reached out and looped his arms around my waist before pulling me to him. "You're beautiful," he said, looking up to me.

"You're gorgeous," I replied, watching as he chuckled under his breath. I leaned down and kissed his lips before slipping out of his grasp. "I'll see you in a little bit," I told him as I made my way out of the room, "Let me go lay with Arch for awhile though."

Ronnie nodded his head. "Good luck."

"He's a kid not a fire-breathing dragon."

"Could've fooled me. Nightmares fucking suck."

I nodded my head. "Especially when they're about real life events."

I turned and walked back into my own room, feeling odd not having Ronnie's warm figure beside me. As I climbed into bed next to Arch, I let the little child lay his head on my chest as I combed my fingers through his sweat-matted hair. Having a child next to me was second-best to having Ronnie's arms wrapped around my waist and his nose pressed into my neck. It was his steady breathing that lulled me to sleep each night and the sound of his sleepy voice that calmed me.

Arch fell asleep on me, my arms wrapped around his small frame. I decided that I would stay there with Arch, knowing he hadn't had comfort in awhile and he needed it more than Ronnie or I did.

I fell asleep with Arch pulled close to me but I was woken a little while later as Ronnie climbed into bed next to me, his tattooed arms finding their usual spot around my waist. Arch was sweating as he slept and Ronnie's body heat kept us both insanely warm. The night was comfortable and perfect as I drifted off once again to the sound of Ronnie's heart pumping blood through his veins.