Buckshot

Kimberly rolled her eyes at the sound of knocking at her front door. It was late in the evening and she wanted to sleep, but there had been a knock on her door and she was forced to answer. She had almost made it when a key was inserted into the doorknob and the door creaked open.

“It’s me!” Patrick said, kicking in a large Blackhawk duffel bag and carrying two more in with him.

Kimberly looked from the bags to Patrick and back to the bags again, hoping that he would explain soon. He closed the door softly and put the bags down on the hardwood floor.

“Have a seat.” He said, pointing to the navy blue sectional in the living room.

“Well hello, Kimberly. Good to see you. Can we talk? Please have a seat.” Kimberly mocked, using all
of the words that a typical conversation held.

“Hey, Buck. Pop a squat. We need to talk.” Kane sat down beside her on the couch.

“That’s only marginally better.” She noted as she sat down and adjusted her teal silk robe to cover her gown. She had been in bed, expecting a lazy day, as she still wasn’t feeling up to snuff. After a shower earlier, Kimberly had put on a nightie and crawled into bed. When Patrick had all but beaten down the door, she rushed to throw something over her and answer.

“Comfy?” Patrick asked raising an eyebrow as she scooted next to him, absorbing some of his heat.

“Nearly. What do you need to talk about?”

Patrick thought for a moment. He hadn’t really thought about how to approach the subject of his breakup with Kimberly. What the hell, he was never one to beat around the bush anyway.

“Nicki and I aren’t a thing anymore.” Patrick said. “I broke it off with her earlier today.”

“But I thought you loved her?”

“I loved the sex.” He was honest, as always, when he spoke to her.

Kimberly’s face reddened a little. Sometimes he was too honest. At least this time he wasn’t going into detail.

“She wasn’t good for me, Buck.” Patrick voiced the thoughts that Kimberly had been thinking since he and Nicki decided to get serious. “And it really hit home when she said what she said to you.”

“You found out?” Kimberly looked at him square in the eyes, scared that he would think differently of her.

“Harper videoed it, actually.”

“Why was she videotaping herself in the bathroom?” Kimberly asked and Patrick laughed.

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is what she said, and how sorry I am to have put you in that position.” Patrick took her foot and began rubbing it while she spoke, needing the contact. Needing her to know he was there.

“Patrick, it’s not your fault that Nicki is a nasty person.” Kimberly said, finally voicing her opinion of the woman. It felt damn good, and a little weight seemed to lift from her chest.

“How long had she been like that to you though?” Patrick asked.

“Pat, I’m not going to give details, but let’s just say there is a reason that we didn’t talk. That reason is also closely related to why Erica and Jessi don’t like her either.” Kimberly said, suddenly finding a chip in her nail very interesting, she looked up after a few terse moments of silence. “It doesn’t matter now, though. She’s not in the picture anymore and you don’t have to worry about her.”

“Actually, she is kind of. I’m suing her ass.” Patrick smirked.

“What? Why?”

“I got to my apartment tonight to find it flooded. She snuck in while I was gone and left the bathtub running. She ruined the apartment, and if the building didn’t have concrete between the floors, the apartment under it would have been waterlogged too.”

“How do you know it was her?” Kimberly asked

“I checked the videotape from the hall camera.” Patrick said. “I also made a copy that I would like to keep here if that’s okay.”

“Sure, you can even put it in my gun safe if you’d like.” That’s right, she had a gun safe, and a few guns locked in there too. She was born into a family that depended on the land for a lot of their groceries, and had always felt safer with a shotgun around. Just because she moved to the city, didn't mean that security blanket changed.

Patrick grinned and then sobered quickly. “I need a favor.”

“You can stay here.” Kimberly said. “I’ll even give you the guest room. Where are your sisters going to stay?”

Patrick relaxed a little, and dug his fingers into the arch of her foot. She moaned a little and closed her eyes. He smirked.

“Erica and Jess are going back home. It sucks that they had to leave earlier, but we all thought it best. So about that favor?” He stopped rubbing her foot and one amber eye popped open.

“Another one?” Kimberly asked, wondering what he could possibly want this time.

Patrick nodded and tugged her leg down so she was laying on the couch, one leg sprawled out and the other still on the floor. Her robe protected her modesty, thank goodness and in a moment, Patrick had his arms under her waist and his head on her stomach.
He wouldn’t voice it, but there was something about the way she smelled that made him calm. It could have been the soap she used. Maybe it was the coffee she always brewed or the detergent she washed her clothes in. Maybe it was a combination of everything, but she smelled like his version of a happy place. He also loved hugging her. She wasn’t stick thin like Nicki. Kimberly had some “padding” as she liked to call it. She was squishy in enough places to make her fun to hug. He sighed and buried his face into her robe as she ran her hand through the blonde mop on top of his head. His hands found the silk of her nightgown under her robe and Patrick reveled in the feel of it against his skin.

“I just need you to breathe with me, Buck.” Patrick said and closed his eyes.

He felt more than heard Kimberly chuckle as she squirmed a little at the brief contact his thumb made with a particularly sensitive spot on her side.

“I’ll breathe if you keep your hands still.” Buck stated and clutched a handful of his hair in her hand gently.

“You can keep playing with my hair too. “ Patrick mumbled. The vibrations of his voice shook through her small body.

“Any more requests? “ Kimberly smirked. He’d never really been a cuddler, at least with her, but with how icky she’d been feeling lately, and the fact that he had been through some emotional stuff (even if he wouldn’t admit it) completely negated any “no-touching” boundaries they might have. She didn’t mind at all. His body heat was welcome. It seemed as if she had been cold for a long time, and his heat made her melt a little, like that snowman kid from the Campbell’s soup commercial.

Patrick grabbed the ankle of the leg on the floor and lifted her tiny foot over the small of his back, essentially cradling him between her bare legs. “Nah, I’m good.”