Nirvana

James sat uncomfortably on the couch in Shea’s living room, he pushed his palms into his jean clad thighs and glanced around again. He hadn’t been in Shea’s house before, and he wasn’t sure what he had been expecting but it definitely wasn’t this. It was a lot more modest for someone who made the kind of money he did. It wasn’t small, but it wasn’t overly big either. The house was very homely, there were tons of pictures and knickknacks around, the dining room table from what he could see looked like it was never used for anything other than baby things.

James’ eyes found the familiar picture of Harley, Emma and Shea that was in Harley’s apartment as well and smiled. He looked up when he heard footsteps and found Shea walking into the living room with two beer bottles in hand, one of which was extended to James before he took a seat on the chair beside the couch.

James glanced around the living room once more and couldn’t help but wish his own placed looked as lived in and comfortable as this. Shea watched James for a few seconds, before he let out a chuckle. When James turned to him with a raised eyebrow Shea shrugged and explained, “You look a little uncomfortable.”

His cheeks flushed and he admitted softly, “A little.”

“I can see that, though I don’t really understand why. What did you never have dinner at your teammates houses in Pittsburgh?” Shea asked, partly out of curiosity and party because it really was fun to make James uncomfortable, he had learned that quickly.

“Well I wasn’t dating any of their best friends.” James stated, making Shea grin.

“Oh so you’re dating more than one here?” He asked, letting out a laugh when James rolled his eyes and took a rather large drink of his beer. Shea simply told him, “Really man, don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t have pushed either of you so hard if I didn’t think it would be a good idea.”

“You pushed her?” This caught James’ attention big time.

Shea shrugged, drank some of his beer, and then after he figured James had waited for an explanation long enough he told him, “Harley needed a few gentle shoves in your direction, but much like you it was her decision in the end. You both care about each other, it was a no brainer I just needed to get both of you to see that.”

Since his little scene at the charity dinner his new teammates had all given them their well wishes on the new relationship he and Harley were about to embark on. He was glad they all supported it, that they weren’t still hung up on the Harley and Rich show so to speak. Rich however hadn’t contacted him, and James honestly hadn’t bothered either, things would either go back to normal or they wouldn’t. He never thought he’d be the guy that chose a girl over a friend, yet here he was. There was a moment just after he and Harley had left and gone home that night that he had wondered if he did the right thing, Harley still hadn’t told him exactly what happened between her and Rich, that night and before that. But it was an easy enough decision whenever he looked at her, he knew that it didn’t matter anymore, she could tell him tomorrow or she could never tell him and he wouldn’t care anymore.

A round of laughter from the kitchen caught both their attention for a mere second before James turned to Shea and asked, “What do you think they’re talking about?”

“Us.” Shea said with a smirk.

As if on cue both Emma and Harley walked into the living room, still laughing about something. James tried not to stare too much upon seeing Harley holding Hannah up on her hip, but he couldn’t help it. The sight made him want to smile. Way too soon for those thoughts.

Harley took a seat beside him on the couch, adjusting Hannah in her lap as Emma sat on Shea’s lap and leaned down to kiss him. Harley gagged loudly and told them, “You’re grossing your child out.”

Emma turned to Harley and smiled sweetly, “And one day when she asks where babies come from I’ll send her to aunt Harley.”

Harley narrowed her eyes as Shea laughed loudly before she asked, “Do you want her to come home traumatized?”

“That’s the point. Kids these days, you need to make them terrified of sex.” Emma said, making the other three laugh, so she shook her head and asked, “Seriously. Do you even know what age most kids are having sex at now?”

“Enlighten me.” Harley told her, stealing the beer bottle right out of James’ hands.

He rolled his eyes at her but said nothing, he didn’t even reach for the bottle as Harley took a large sip, choking on the mouthful of it when Emma told her, “15.”

“That’s a joke right?” Harley asked, wiping the split beer from her chin, making both Shea and James laugh.

“Now you see why I say scare tactics are a real thing yes? I don’t think I know anyone who had sex that young.” Emma said with pride, making Harley let out a laugh. Emma simply told her, “And before you get on the subject, 21 isn’t even that old. We can’t all have grown up as teenage delinquents you know.”

“Hey! I was not a delinquent. I was only 17, not even that young.” Harley told her, making Shea chuckle, before she focused her attention on he and James and stated, “They were probably 15. All you Canadians are weird you know.”

James let out a laugh and told her, “You don’t seem to mind.”

Harley rolled her eyes as Emma winked at her and simply told him, “Watch it or I’ll start wearing my Weber jersey again.”

“Wounded.” James stated.

Shea grinned, “I’m not.”

Harley grumbled for a few seconds before she decided, “Well then maybe I’ll have to get a Pekka jersey. He’ll appreciate it.”

“I’m gonna kill him.” James muttered.

Harley grinned and patted his leg gently as she told him, “He’s foreign. He doesn’t know any better.”

“He uses that excuse a little too much.” Shea told her, making her laugh. There was always a reason for something with Pekka, and it usually had to do with where he was from. Harley had witnessed him respond to questions on more than one occasion in Finnish just to confuse people.

“He might just be a genius though.” Emma stated, making everyone look at her with their eyebrows raised. She shrugged and explained, “No one questions foreign people.”

- - -

Harley was laying in bed, covers pulled up to her chin when James left the bathroom that night. She watched as he stripped himself of his shirt and then his pants, and when he turned to get into bed beside her he caught her staring he couldn’t help but smile gently. Harley was never shy about admiring his body, and James had never minded in the least. In fact he thought it was only fair she stared at him as much as he stared at her.

She pulled herself closer to him as soon as he got in the bed, shivering slightly and scolded him, “You just had to yank the covers back didn’t you? I was just getting warm.”

“Maybe you should turn your heat up.” Was his only response and Harley glared at him.

“But then it gets too hot. I do not like heat, I am a person that needs to be cold all the time.” Harley stated, smiling as he slid his arm under her pillow, pulled her tight into his side and wrapped her side of the blanket around her better.

“Ah, so no warm vacations are in our future?” James asked her, and Harley forced herself to not dwell on the fact that he brought up their future, she put it off to him trying to make fun of her and that maybe he hadn’t even realized he said it.

Pushing the thoughts from her head she told him in response, “24/7 air conditioning.”

James let out a laugh and slid his hand down her back, low enough to tap her butt with the palm of his hand. Harley jumped slightly and reached over with her hand, pinching him in the side, making him groan in response. James looked down at her, taking in her brown hair, and tanned skin, her puffy lips and the small scar at the bottom of her chin, then down her neck and to her shoulder where he could just see parts of her tattoo peeking out from the strap of her tank top. He pushed his fingers under the strap and pushed it over enough to get a better view of it before asking, “When did you get this?”

She glanced over her shoulder at the tattoo and told him, “About 8 years ago.”

“So why roses?” James asked curiously, running his fingers over the tattoo again.

He watched as her skin broke out in goose bumps and Harley looked up at him with soft eyes and told him, “They were my mom’s favorite flower and my dad one year for their anniversary planted a rose bush in the backyard. He used to complain about it all the time but every year there was always a new one back there.”

James smiled gently and ran his hand through her hair, he couldn’t help himself from asking, “And butterflies?”

This time Harley didn’t answer right away, instead she pulled away froim him and looked at the tattoos adorning his own arm. James was about to tell her she didn’t have to answer when she rolled onto her stomach and pulled her hair out of the way, “If you look close enough there’s dates on them.”

He leaned forward and pushed the strap completely off her shoulder and sure enough, fitted into the outline of one of the wings on each butterfly was a set of dates. They both matched. November 26th 2003.

Harley didn’t talk about her parents, James knew it was a subject she didn’t like so he kept his nose out of it. The only thing he knew was that they died in a car accident. He didn’t want to push her, but he was still curious, so he tried his best to word his comment as more of a statement than an outright push, “You never talk about your childhood.”

When she rolled over Harley shrugged and asked, "What do you want to know?"

"What did you do as a kid for fun, what you were like in high school? I know Harley the 30 year old, but I'd like to know who you were before I met you." James told her.

"You just had to mention the age subject didn't you?" Harley asked, groaning. James laughed at that and Harley told him, "Well my life growing up won't be hardly as interesting as yours."

"I'll survive." He joked, making her give his chest a gentle shove.

She thought for a minute before telling him, "I don't have any siblings, so mostly my parents forced me into every program imaginable to try and help me make friends. Swimming, day camps, gymnastics you name it. When I got to high school I joined cheerleading, made a whole whack of new friends then… my high school experience was very cliche."

"You were a cheerleader?" James asked, trying to hold back his laughter.

Harley rolled her eyes at him, "Don't be so surprised. I really wasn't that bad in high school. The worst thing I ever did was get drunk and trespass on private property."

"Yeah but…cheerleading?" James asked, this time giving in to his laughter.

Harley rolled her eyes again and got out of bed, she shuffled around in the closet before pulling out a shoe box and making her way over to the bed again. James sat up, and peered over her shoulder as she pulled the top off and sifted through pictures. Finally she found the one she was looking for. James looked down at it and smiled, she wasn't kidding. There she was, over ten years younger, standing in a blue and orange cheerleading uniform, pom poms and all. Same light brown hair, up in a pony tail, smiling.

She moved that picture to the back of the pile and James now found himself looking at a picture of her, he assumed it was her high school graduation, with a tall bald man beside her and a shorter, dark haired woman on the other side. Harley told him, "My parents."

He guessed it already, they had the same proud smiles on their faces as his own parents did during his high school graduation. James couldn't help but lighten the mood with a joke, "So what was this 1995?"

Harley let out a gasp, slapped his stomach and said, "No asshole it was 2003."

"I was like 8." James joked again, and before she could hit him again he told her, "I'm kidding. I was 15."

"You should feel lucky that I even agreed to date you. You're so not my type." Harley told him, putting the stack of pictures back into the box.

"Oh yeah?"

She nodded and told him, “For starters you’re tall, you’re younger, you never shave, and your eyes annoy me.”

James let out a loud laugh and asked, “My eyes annoy you?”

“I can never figure out what the hell color they are.” She stated, making him laugh again.

James couldn’t help but joke, “You know most women say that’s the best part of me.”

Harley smirked, “I disagree. The best part of you is a part that’s hidden.”

“I can think of a few of those.” He told her, content when she nodded and connected their lips quickly. After they fell into silence James let his arm slide under the covers, his hand running from her hip down the length of her thigh before he grabbed the back of her knee and pulled it over him. Harley smiled and kissed him again and when they pulled apart James told her, "I'm taking you on a date tomorrow."

"Why?" He couldn't help but let out a chuckle at her response. He definitely wasn't used to that.

"Because we have yet to be on a real, sit down, talk to each other date and if we're gonna do this whole dating thing we need to do things outside of the bedroom." James told her, nodding his head in affirmation.

Harley pouted and asked, "Do we have to?"