Dewey Belong Together

by Smartypants Romance

  “I’m not here to force you to do anything, or to gang up on you, I swear. I missed you, and yes, I’m worried for you. But I also wanted to see you and maybe settle things between us. I think that uncertainty has been getting to you, Jonathan. I know it’s been getting to me. And plus, Norman mentioned y’all have been a bit behind in the shop. Thought I might get my hands in there and help. I did build my last few systems from scratch,” I reminded him.

  “I suppose he also told you that we’re only behind because of me,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

  I cringed inwardly at my misstep.

  “He said no such thing,” I replied, shaking my head for emphasis. “I asked about the business and offered to help because I want to, not because you are personally failing at something.”

  “Please don’t try to break into any psychobabble, Max. I know it all, I’ve heard it all. I’ve been living with this thing for years and years. You think I can’t see when people are getting all concerned and worried and acting like I’m a ticking time bomb or some shit? I am not my father. You do not have to tiptoe around me just because everyone seems to think I’m having a hard time.” He unfolded his arms and stuck his hands in his pockets, then looked down to the floor.

  “You’re right. We are concerned and worried, but I know you aren’t like your father, Jonathan. I know you aren’t going to snap and hurt me. And that is something I have experience with.”

  I didn’t know why I was being confrontational. I was exhausted, and I wanted to sit down and hold him, not do this right now. Norman’s words from earlier echoed in my mind; it’s not about me or my feelings at the moment. Right.

  “I’m sorry that you might feel threatened by us trying to help you. I’m sorry if I was wrong to come here.”

  “Why did you?” he asked, looking up and meeting my eyes. “I mean, yes, I missed you. But I didn’t want you to see me like this. I think I ought to have had some say in this whole plan you two cooked up.”

  “I came because even before Norman called, I realized there was nowhere else in the world I’d rather be than at your side. I was trying to scrounge up the courage to tell you that somehow.”

  His expression softened, and he appeared to relax, his eyes lighting up at my declaration. “It’s good to see you, Max. You look good.” His mouth quirked up into a smile on one side, and I took it as a win. He walked over to me, folded me up in his arms, and for that minute, everything felt as it ought to be.

  Chapter 25

  Maxine

  “Holy hell, where was our protection for the healers in that fight? Without them, you’re toast. Remember that.”

  ― Maximus_Damage

  “So we’ve got the pack of dragonkin cornered, and I go into stealth mode, creep around from the side, and am about to attack, when Lucille crashes, and BAM! I’m out. I reboot, relog, and I come back to find the thing snacking on the priest in my party, and everyone else is toast. Meanwhile, I’ve been in stealth the whole time, looking like I’m just watching everything go down. So I get a bunch of pissy messages saying that I should have stepped in to stop the carnage and that our whole guild sucks.” Deathdrop—er, Norman—shared an old Magecraft gameplay of his as we ate our wraps and salad around his dinner table.

  Norman had given us about a half hour to be alone with each other, which I appreciated. We didn’t talk about much after our conversation in the kitchen, instead we sat on the couch, with me curled into his side and him touching my hair softly. When Norman came back, the easiest topic of conversation was, of course, the one passion we all shared—Magecraft.

  So we told tall tales of epic quests and treasure hunts gone awry, and ate in between bouts of laughter or trash-talking each other’s skills. It reminded me of what I missed about the game, and why I played in the first place, for that camaraderie and sense of shared fun. It was also a good diversionary tactic from answering any more tough questions about why I came here behind Jonathan’s back.

  “So did you ever get Lucille fixed?” I asked Norman, in between bites of the chicken salad.

  “Damn straight I did,” he answered, grabbing another wrap. “That little guild vacation I was forced to take? We were slammed with work, but I had spare time at night, so I rebuilt her from the ground up. I sunk a chunk of my savings into the best parts I could get for her, and she’s amazing. I’ll let you game on her while you’re here, if you like,” he offered.

  “Um, I wouldn’t be keen to take him up on that, Max,” Jonathan interjected. “You don’t know where the hands that touch that keyboard have been.”

  I cringed. “Thanks, Norman, but I think I’ll stick to my laptop,” I said, laughing.

  We chatted and ate, and when we were doing the dishes, Jonathan asked, almost too casually, “So what’s the plan here? I’m assuming y’all have one.”

  “We didn’t exactly coordinate a plan of attack, man,” Norman replied, putting the last plate away.

  “Didn’t you? You went behind my back to get her contact information, you kept it a secret that you were bringing her down here. You had to have something in mind.” His tone was accusatory as spoke. He then leaned back against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “It’s as I told you before, Jonathan,” I interjected, “I’m worried. But I also missed you, and I had it pointed out to me that you missed me too. I owe it to you to be here for you when you are having a hard time, and I owe it to us to settle what this is between us, or at least find out what it could be. That’s why I’m here.”

  “You owe it to me,” he said flatly.

  “Yes, I owe it to you, as someone who has been my friend for ten years. And as someone who I care so much about that it keeps me up at night, wondering how you are doing, how your day was, and how empty that pillow beside me feels without your head on it,” I answered, daring him to challenge me.

  He didn’t.

  “And you’re staying here with Norman?” He shot looks between the two of us. It was Norman who jumped in before I got a chance to open my mouth.

  “It doesn’t mean anything. You gotta know I’d never go after your girl. I thought that it’s already crowded at your place with three people, and she’d have to couch crash or share your room. Here, she’s got a whole room to herself. You can come over any time after work, and hell, I don’t care if you want to stay all night. I’m at the other end of the trailer.” He winked at me, and I couldn’t help the snort-laugh that came out.

  Jonathan readjusted his position, but kept his arms crossed. “That’s all well and good. I really mean that. But I have to say, as someone who has watched a lot of episodes of Intervention, this has the word intervention stamped all over it in neon red. Are my mom and Olivia going to come through that door next? Elaine on Skype, perhaps?”

  I took a few steps closer to him. “Jonathan, no. Absolutely, no. This isn’t an intervention. We haven’t even told your mom or sisters that I’m here. What they know is up to you. And no one is going to sit you down and read a letter, and no one is going to issue you ultimatums.” I sighed, and ran a hand through my hair, struggling to find the right words. “What you are seeing is that people who love you are gathering around you to be supportive. To be your backup, because we think you need some right now.”

  He seemed to consider this, then broke into a shit-eating grin. “You love me, huh?” he asked, the smile going from ear to ear. He would happen to latch onto that slip of the tongue.

  “Yeah, well, don’t let it go to your head,” I muttered while he gloated over me.

  “You heard her say it, didn’t you, Norman?”

  “Sure did,” he answered, being of no help at all. Okay, time to extract myself from this very uncomfortable moment.

  “Tomorrow’s Monday, so you’ll be back in the shop all day, yeah?” I asked. At their nods, I said, “I’d like to come with, if that’s okay. I can work on my own system since I know y’all are backed up with orders, if you have the space.”

&nb
sp; It was like a black cloud descended over Jonathan’s head, and I couldn’t figure out what I’d said wrong, but obviously it was something. He dropped his arms, stuck his hands in his pockets, and with his head down, paced around the counter. I looked to Norman, who was staring at me like I was an idiot. I shrugged, and he widened his eyes and then cocked his head in Jonathan’s direction. Dammit, why couldn’t I be telepathic?

  I closed the distance between me and Jonathan, putting my hand on his arm. He stopped pacing and looked up at me, his eyes twin orbs of dismay.

  “It’s my fault,” he said straight up. “It’s my fault we’re backed up at work again. We caught up on everything after my trip to Green Valley, and then we should have been able to fly through our orders with both of us on the job, but what he’s too damn loyal to say is that I’ve been dropping the ball. He’s been doing the bulk of the work for like, shit, I don’t even know. How long, Norman? Be honest. Honesty seems to be the theme of this dinner party.”

  Norman bit his lip and then nodded. “Three weeks, man. You’ve been spotty for three weeks. It’s been getting progressively worse, your concentration, but you’ve got to be able to feel that. I’ve been double-checking your work, and it’s adding to the amount of time everything takes. If you don’t mind your mother and Olivia asking questions, we could use her in the shop.”

  “I do know my way around a computer’s guts,” I chimed in. “And I don’t mind helping at all. I think it would be fun.”

  Jonathan looked from me to Norman, to me again. “You do realize that you’ll face an interrogation committee the likes of which you’ve never seen when my mom and Olivia get a look at you,” he said. “But I guess we need you since I’ve been so useless lately.” He looked down at the floor and crossed his arms again, but this time almost like he was giving himself a hug.

  “Stop that,” I said quietly but with conviction. “You are not useless in any way. This is your business, and you love it, and you need an extra helping hand right now. I’m honored that I can be that for you. So lean on me, okay? It doesn’t make you weak.”

  At the word weak, his head snapped up and he stared at me, a quick flash of anger crossing his face, then replaced with a softer expression as he took in my smile. “Okay,” he said.

  “Alright, then,” I replied. “So, um, what now?”

  Norman coughed behind me, and I turned to see he’d raised his hand. “I have a suggestion!” he said happily, and he suddenly reminded me of an excited little kid. “Now that the three of us are united for a common good, we find ourselves in the interesting position of having possibly the three biggest badasses in League of Magecraft all on the same side and not bickering for once. So I say, let’s join up, form an arena team, and make player versus player our bitch. We can take down any other team of three players out there if we communicate and watch our egos. I’d be willing to bet on it.”

  “Um, Norman, that’s great and all, but you’re forgetting one thing: I suck at duels,” Jonathan said.

  I started to nod, but then stopped. This could work! “Wait a minute! You only sucked in duels because you always fight one-on-one. This time, Deathdrop and Maximus will have your back. We need to train a little in the practice arena, so we don’t embarrass ourselves the first few times we are in the real one. But I like this idea. It’ll be fun.”

  Jonathan grinned. “Yeah?” he asked.

  “Definitely, man,” Norman enthused. “Come on, playing with your best friend and probably girlfriend? What better team could you ask for?”

  “Holy hell, we suck,” I said into my microphone, though the words were loud enough to reverberate around the trailer. I was currently in the guest room on my laptop, Jonathan was in the living room on Norman’s laptop, and Norman and Lucille were in his bedroom. “This is all about teamwork, guys. We have awesome gear and we each know our class inside and out. I think we’re not trusting each other enough. And we have to appoint someone as team lead. It’s not going to work if there is no one to coordinate.”

  “I’m guessing you want that job,” Jonathan said dryly.

  “I would like to throw my hat in the ring,” said Norman. “I always get overlooked. Both of you have served as guild senior officers. All the glory, and it’s scrubs like me who are doing the heavy lifting.”

  “Hey, I take offense to that,” I said, prepared to do battle over my good name. “I do plenty of heavy lifting when I’m in the game.”

  “Uh-huh,” Norman said. “I still want to take point on this one. I think we could hone ourselves into a solid unit and dominate with some strategies I’ve thought up. I get that you are a great PVE and raid strategist, Max, but PVP is different. Give me a chance, boss,” he joked, and I caved. He really was too impish and charming to resist sometimes.

  “Fine by me,” said Jonathan.

  “Okay,” I agreed. “You take point, Norman. We’ll do what you tell us to and we’ll see how far this can take us.”

  After a sometimes-trying-but-overall-very-fun evening, we worked out some kinks and tried our skills against other actual players. A paladin almost killed Wrath in our first match—paladins are such an overpowered class—but I jumped in and the two of us took him down. We fought back-to-back and side by side while Deathdrop stealthed around and launched surprise attacks from the shadows. After winning three matches in a row, we decided to give it a rest for the night as we had to be up early for work in the morning. Which brought us to an interesting question.

  “Hey, you want me to run you back to your place? Or are you crashing here?” Norman asked Jonathan, coming out of his room in just his band T-shirt and boxers.

  I emerged from the bedroom, swallowed a breath, and hoped my pride would not be on the line when I said, “You can stay with me. This is a queen bed. Not quite as good as a king to get away from my kicks, but I think we’d manage.”

  Jonathan suddenly looked like a cornered animal again. Shit, that wasn’t how this was supposed to go. He was supposed to relax playing Magecraft with us, doing something familiar but also challenging and engaging, getting him out of that head of his for a while. But right now, I could almost see the anxiety seeping out of him in waves.

  “Hey, no pressure,” I said, going over to the couch and sitting next to him. “You know that I care deeply for you and no answer you give me about something like this will change that, right? If you’d rather go home, then go, and I’ll see you bright and early at your place. Or after work, if you decide not to have that talk with your mom and sister.” I squeezed his arm, and I felt some tension leave him.

  “I think I will go,” he said, turning to me. “But this doesn’t mean I don’t lo—”

  “I know,” I said, stopping him with a deep kiss. I knew he loved me. But right at that moment, if I heard him say it, I didn’t know if I would be able to stop myself from saying it back. And in that brief moment, the thought scared me to death. I’d never said those three little words to anyone in a romantic context. I’d never felt them, before Jonathan. Could I really, truly trust my own mind and heart? I was so tired of not trusting myself that I wanted to say the hell with it and shout it from the rooftop that yes, I loved this man. And I would … soon.

  Chapter 26

  Jonathan

  “Did you ever think for a minute that I’m not the enemy? Where are you going, Maximus? Max?”

  ― Wrath

  “What the hell was that?” I exclaimed when Norman climbed into the truck to take me home.

  “Whoa, down boy!” he said, his hands up in a classic “Who, me?” gesture.

  “Don’t pull that innocent crap, you know what you did in there! That was a straight-up ambush, and I want to know precisely what you said to her to make her flake off work and come all the way down here. Now.” I was starting to vibrate, I could feel anxious energy burning through me, scorching me from the inside out. I clasped my hands in front of me while Norman started up the truck and we made our way over to my trailer.

  “I g
et it. I went behind your back. I violated the bro code or some horseshit. But you don’t see you the same way I do. You may not see yourself slipping. And you may not be aware of how important you are to so many of us. So I called in reinforcements. And come on, there’s no one better to watch your six than Maximus.”

  I sat with that for the remainder of the drive home, uncertain of why I felt so panicky when she said I could stay the night. I knew I was restless and pacing most nights, and having strange, distorted visions of tarantulas crawling on the walls or dreams of fire. No way did I want Max to see me like that. Luckily, most of the torment in my mind eased during the day when things were busy. Though apparently I’d been slacking for weeks, probably lost in my head and causing all kinds of mistakes for Norman to have to clean up. No wonder he thought I was going out of my mind. No wonder he needed backup.

  “Look, man, I’m sorry if you feel ambushed or attacked. But I—”

  “It’s fine,” I said, cutting him off. “It was cool to see her again. I had almost forgotten the way that smile makes me feel.”

  “She really is beautiful. You didn’t lie there.”

  “Yeah, she is.” I grinned as I hopped out of Norman’s truck, wondering what I was going to say to Mom and Olivia.

  “She’s here? Miss Tennessee herself!” Mom said in a singsong voice, flitting about the living room as I poured milk over my cereal.

  “Yes, so please, please be on your best behavior today,” came Olivia’s sharp tone as she entered the kitchen. “I got your back, little brother,” she said, patting me on the shoulder as I quickly shoveled down my breakfast.