Blood

The next morning, Kory was having a difficult time actually getting up. She just wanted to lay in bed for a few more hours, even if 2 o'clock in the afternoon had come and passed. Her phone vibrated on the bed side table, informing her that she'd recieved a text. She ignored it, groaning and cuddling closer to Brian, who chuckled softly and continued twirling her hair. But then it went off again. And again. And again. And again.

"Sounds important. Maybe you should answer it," Brian suggested, sighing in a way that let her know that he didn't want to leave this spot either.

She laughed. "It's Marrissa," she mumbled, reaching over him and turning her phone off. "If it's that important, she'll walk her pretty little ass down the hall and come to the room."

Kory traced the familiar ink on his skin. She had memorized the pattern of each individule tattoo and she had memorized the planes of his chest but imagining things like this were never the same as actually being here. His arm was laid across her waist lazilly, and he contently twirled the ends of her long, dark hair aroud his index finger.

"I'm not gonna be able to do it next time, you know that, right?" He questioned, letting her hair fall to her side and instead trailing his fingers lightly up and down her arm.

"Next time? What are you on about now?" She asked, yawning and looking up at him.

He couldn't help but smile at her. It was kind of ironic, because just four weeks ago he wouldn't have ever thought that this was where they'd be. His eyes wandered down to her lips, and he chuckled when she immediately leaned up and kissed him. "The next tour," he answered. "It'll be longer. Six months, on estimate. I won't be able to go that long without you," he muttered.

Kory moved so she could prop herself up on her elbow, and looked down at him dissaprovingly. "Are we really gonna discuss this right now?"

Brian scoffed. "Are we ever going to?"

"Of course we are. Just not now. We have almost three months before we have to worry about that. Why're you pushing it already?"

"Pushing it?"

"Yeah, pushing it. Of course I wanna go with you. I miss you too, but I have a job and an apartment and things to take care of. I have to figure a lot of things out before I could even consider something like that," she said, shaking her head and burying her face in the pillow.

Brian sighed, moving her hair so he could kiss random places on her back gently. He smiled when she finally sighed in contentment, happy to have temporarily relevied her of her stress. He felt guilty for envoking it, but he had to suggest it. And he would in the future.

She turned around so she could see him and grinned stupidly. His face mirrored hers and it was then that she knew exactly how happy he made her. She leaned up to kiss him, but he pulled away.

"Rude!" She exclaimed, hitting his shoulder when he laughed. "Kiss me," she whined, dragging out the e in frustration.

"Nope, you can't make me," he teased.

"Are you trying to be dominated? Because that is defineitely the way to get there," she said, not being able to stop smiling when he laughed quite loudly.

Before he could respond, there was a knock on the door as Kory had predicted just a few minutes previous. Brian regained his composure, and pulled his jeans on before going over to the door. As expected, Marrissa was standing outside.

"I was just about to dominate him, you totally ruined it! Can you say worst best friend ever?" Kory yelled, not moving but a few inches so she could see Marrissa.

Brian laughed at the look on Marrissa's face, and shook his head. "She's lying, don't believe a thing she says," he said, a lighthearted smile on his face.

Marrissa shook her head at the two of them. "Mind if I borrow my Maid of Honor for a second? It's urgent," she questioned.

"I don't have any clothes on, and I don't wanna get up. Can we do the discussing in here?" Kory asked, upset that the world beyond this room still existed.

Brian closed the door behind Marrissa, and decided to give the two some space. "I'm gonna shower real quick and then get us some breakfast to give you guys some time," he said, grabbing what little he had brought up from the bus and taking it into the bathroom.

"Is it safe to sit on the bed or should I pull up a chair?" Marrissa asked in a joking manner.

Kory giggled. "You're safe, don't worry," she answered. "So, what was so urgent that you had to interupt my first go at being a dominatrix?"

"Matt, he's driving me crazy. He wants to add another person to the wedding party, but I've already got all of the dresses altered and bought. I don't wanna go through the stress of having to do all of that again. Plus, it's way too late to ask anyone. The wedding's in less than a month. We still have to pick everything up for center pieces and we still have to find a church, Kor. How the hell are we supposed to do all of this in 23 days?"

"Just breathe, Rissa. We'll figure it out, but you need to calm down first. I can take care of the alterations and I'll be sure to get everything we need for center pieces as soon as we get back home. You guys need to pick a church, tell me where, and I'll arrange that. Just relax and make the next two days easy. Think about the layout you want for the reception, think about what you wanna serve for catering and shit, but whatever you decide to discuss, just keep it simple. There's a lot of small bumps that still need to be figured out yet so just focus on those for the time being. We'll figure everything else out later, alright?" Kory knew that taking on all of these things would be a little hectic between work, but she knew that she needed to do it. She had expected it when she took on the role as maid of honor. So long as Marrissa and Matt were happy, everything else would work out how it was supposed to.

Marrissa seemed to visibly relax, which put Kory in a more comfortable spot. She sighed, and nodded. "Okay, we can add another. But who's gonna be my extra bridesmaid?"

"Mel can do it, she'd be more than happy to step up to the plate," Kory suggested, knowing that Melody would enjoy being in the wedding more than anyone else. She made a mental note to give her younger sister a call later that day.

Just then, Brian walked out of the bathroom. His hair was spiked up in all directions, and it made Kory giggle. She loved when he did that, it made her smile. "What'd you want for breakfast? Or, lunch, whatever," he asked, grabbing his wallet, cigarettes, and cell phone and shoving them into his back pocket.

"Go and ask the guys where they wanna go. I just need a shower and I'll be ready," Kory said, running her hand through her hair.

"Zacky still hadn't showered when I left so you should be good on time," Marrissa stated, which comforted Kory in the aspect that she didn't want to hold anyone up.

Brian nodded. "Alright, shower real quick and then we'll go eat. I'm not sure what we're doing later, but we took a few days off and don't have to be at a venue for a while yet. Come down to Matt's room when you're finished, that's probably where we'll be," he said, leaning over so he could place his hands gently on either side of her face. "Don't take too long," he mumbled, placing a short and sweet kiss on her lips.

"I won't, and don't pick something stupid like Chick-fil-a. I wanna eat at an actual restaurant," she said, nuzzling his cheek before he walked towards the door.

"No fast food, got it," he said, closing the door gently behind him.



Once Kory had gotten dressed and everyone had decided on a place to eat, they had began pondering on what to do for the next few hours. No one really wanted to just lounge around the hotel for the simple fact that they all got bored too easy. After about half an hour of suggestions, it was finally settled that they would find the nearest bar to the hotel and hang out there for the remainder of the night. When it was suggested, Kory shifted towards Marrissa, and away from Brian.

He gave her a pondering look, and laced his fingers with hers underneath the table. "You okay?" He asked, even though he knew that there was soemthing that she was keeping from him without needing to ask her.

She nodded. "Yeah, just haven't had any alcohol since New York," she answered quietly, biting her lip and turning her attention back to Zacky and Johnny, who had involved her in an argument about whether Tony Iommi or Geezer Butler were the better musician.

He understood then, and made a mental note to make sure that she was comfortable all night. It bothered him that she hadn't spoken to him before about it, but he didn't voice the fact that he was. Brian knew that it was just an argument that wasn't worth starting.

It seemed that they had arrived at the unfamiliar bar much too soon for Kory's liking. Brian continuously asked her if she was okay, and Marrissa just made sure to be close to her the first few drinks.

She was a little more laid back after her second beer, but she was sober enough to know better than to move on to any hard liquor. She tried to have the best time she could, and it turned out to be pretty successful. She and Jimmy lost at pool (several times), and she ended up back at the hotel without any recolection of how she got there. All she knew was that everything made her happy and nothing could have been wrong with the world.

"I know that I've fucked up, like a lot, too many times to count, but I really love you, ya know? Like, it's just scary how much I love you. I wanna have a white picket fence family without the kids. We can just have Pinkly and she can be our little baby," she said, laughing as she clumsily pulled her jeans off.

"You don't want any kids? Not ever?" Brian asked, more sober than she was. He was happy that she had a good time. It was the first time that he had walked into a bar and came out almost completely sober. But he didn't need to be drunk to have the best time in the world with his best friends. As long as everyone was happy, he was happy.

Kory shrugged, pulling the two skull pins out of her hair and placing them on the bedside table. She attempted to take her hoodie off, but got a little tangled and laughed at herself for doing so. "I'm stuck," she muttered through the fabric of her hoodie.

Brian shook his head, and walked over to help her get the hoodie off. He threw it on the pile of other clothes they both had to go through eventually, and helped her get into bed. Once she had nestled herself under the blankets, he took his shirt and jeans off before climbing into bed next to her. "Seriously, though. You don't want any kids? Not even one?"

She closed her eyes, and cuddled up next to him, entwining her legs with his. He jumped a little at the unexpected cold of her feet, but relaxed and let her get comfortable as she pleased.

"I dunno," she mumbled, "I mean, maybe one day." She thought about the all of the possibilities. She hadn't ever thought about things like that. Even as a child, she never really thought about having any kids. She didn't think about the future at all, really. "Can you even imagine that? I mean, if it was a boy we could give him little mohawks and take him to concerts and make sure that he had the best music taste in the world. You could teach him guitar and it'd be one of the cutest things in the universe," she rambled, a smile forming on her face. She liked the idea, maybe a little too much. "And, if it was a girl, we can dye her hair crazy colors with that spray stuff and we could have her wear little leather jackets and we'd have to defend her during parent teacher confrences because we'd raise her to not take shit from anyone, no matter their age. And she could wear cute little pink combat boots and black leggings and she'd be the cutest little thing," she continued, just the thought making her heart swell to twice it's size.

Brian imagined the future, and he couldn't imagine it without Kory. Whether they decided to have a kid or not, it had to be with her. There didn't look like any other way. "Does that mean you're considering that option?"

Kory's cheeks turned a bright red, and she covered her face with the blankets to hide it. Brian only laughed and pulled the blankets away from her face so he could see her.

He decided it was now or never. "And, what about ever getting married?" He wondered what she felt about things like that. It wasn't like anything had to happen soon, or at all for that matter, but he had to ask.

"Marriage hasn't exactly turned out all that great, I've noticed. I'd rather have two kids. I don't really know about getting married," she confessed, shrugging and giving him an apologetic smile.

Brian nodded. "I can understand that. I just needed to know," he said, placing a soft kiss on the corner of her lips. He'd ask her again before Matt and Marrissa's wedding. He hadn't given it much thought, but it was a very real possibility. He fell in love with the idea of knowing Korissa Harmony Haner. Being around Matt and Marrissa was just too much temptation.

It was quiet for a moment longer than usual, and Kory looked up at Brian to make sure that he hadn't fallen asleep on her. "What're you thinking about?" She questioned, letting her fingers gently caress his collar bones.

He shook his head. "Just, I don't know. It's stupid, nevermind."

Kory propped herself up on her elbow so see him was easier. "No, it's not. What's wrong?"

"It's just, I like the thought of marrying you and having a little kid running around. I like the idea of bringing you both on tour and the idea of having a small and dysfunctional family that was happier than any other family in the world. I don't ever want to pressure you in to anything, but I really like the image I have in my head," he answered, a small sigh escaping him.

She didn't respond, she simply nestled herself under his arm, her back against his chest, and laced his hand with her own. "I'll think about it," she muttered, her voice hardley audible. Shortly after, she closed her eyes and let the thoughts escape her. For the first time in her entire existance, Kory dreamt of having a family.