In Flames Extras

Eddie Diaz watches telenovelas

WARNING: allusions to seggsy times, discussion of safe sex practices, horndog Diazes, spoilers for last nights episode

"Do you think," Mariana said suddenly. She paused in her speech to adjust the take out container that rested precariously on her raised knees and then continued once more. "Do you think we've become that boring married couple with kids?"

Eddie let out an undignified snort and raised his head from the pillow he was resting against. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean exactly what I said. It's a Friday night, our kids are currently at your grandmother's, and we are eating Indian food and watching telenovelas."

Now, he would admit, they didn't have a conventional relationship. He was all of her firsts and she was only some of his. They didn't have first dates and fumbling first kisses, but heated moments in the middle of a call. Their marriage started with two kids already and within a year and a half, they had a baby. Date nights just between the two of them and since Hope's arrival, they haven't had a night out in months.

He stared at his wife for a very long moment and then turned to look at the screen where Renata Notni and Sebastian Rulli were making out against a door. He honestly couldn't think of the last time he wined and dined his wife and made out with her against a door. In fact, they had been operating on quickies in the laundry room when the boys were at school and Hope was down for a nap.

"That's....not quite true," he said diplomatically.

"Babe. Bobby and Athena get more action than we do," she pointed out. They had heard all about her adopted parents sex life in the truck today. She was right yet again. He knew for a fact that his wife was eternally, continually correct.

He locked eyes with her warm brown gaze and pursed his lips, a deep sigh building in his chest. Mariana scooped up some of her chicken saagwala and popped it in her mouth, refusing to pull her gaze away from him until he broke it and turned to watch the show once more. On the screen, Sebastian Rulli yanked his shirt off and walked towards the bed.

Eddie leaned over and turned off the TV.

"Okay," he announced. "We need to fix this."

Mariana smirked and laid her take out container on the coffee table. "I'm not wearing underwear right now."

"Fucking hell," he groaned. Eddie sat up and slid one arm under her knees and the other around her back. Lifting her up, he stood and headed for their bedroom. Once Mariana realized where they were heading, she threw her head back with a laugh.

"You sure know how to wine and dine a girl, Diaz," she teased.

"One more comment and I'm gagging that smart mouth."

"Is that a promise?"

He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked down at his wife in incredulity. She simply blinked up at him with wide, innocent eyes and he had to take a moment to remember that she was, in fact, the one with less experience in their relationship.

"You're going to be the death of me," he muttered as he climbed up the stairs. Mariana snickered but it quickly turned into a shriek when he gently tossed her onto their bed.

"C'mon, that the best you got?" she taunted. He knew exactly what she was doing and that's why he crossed the room to enter the closet.

"Getting your maid outfit ready?" Mariana called.

"Your smart mouth will get you in trouble some day."

"Already has!"

He emerged from the closet with one of his ties in his hands. It was all they had at the moment but it would do for now. Mariana propped herself up on the pillows and leaned against the headboard as she watched him slowly approach the bed.

"Got plans for me, Mr. Diaz?"

"Maybe I do," he countered. "It involv-"

His foot promptly got tangled up in the flannel pajama pants he had shucked off and thrown on the floor next to his side of the bed that morning. He stumbled back, his other foot getting stuck in the other pant leg. Eddie decided to take the softer landing than their hardwood floor and promptly landed on the bed face down next to his cackling wife.

Mariana's lungs burned as she tried to gasp in air while tears pooled at the corners of her eyes. Eddie's face had undergone the stages of grief as he accepted his fate. Every part of her body hurt from laughter as he mumbled out something muffled by their sheets beside her.

"Wh-what was that?" she giggled out. He simply raised a single finger at her which set her off into another round of laughter. He reached out and ran his fingers along her side. Being ever so ticklish, Mariana jerked away from him and nearly tumbled out of the bed if it wasn't for the muscular arm that wrapped around her waist and pulled her back into a firm chest.

"I gotcha," he assured her. He pushed himself onto his elbows, one on either side of her body so he caged her in, and looked down at her flushed face. Mariana bit her lip and raised her hand to trace her fingers down the bridge of his nose and then featherlight over his lips. He turned his head to kiss her palm and then looked up at her, his gaze burning into her. Mariana's breathing hitched, causing a hint of a smile to tug at his lips.

"Do you trust me?" he asked gently. He held up the tie for her to see and she slowly ran the silky fabric between her fingers and nodded.

"Gotta hear you say it."

"I trust you with my life," she breathed. "Always."

"At any point you feel uncomfortable, you tell me," he said, his voice stern and serious. Her comfort and safety always came first.

"I know. Safe word is swerve."

The name of the club they met. It had only been used a few times, but the severity of the word was understood between the two of them. Any time that word was said, they would immediately stop and talk it over. He had instituted it after a fairly uncomfortable talk with his therapist that felt like chewing glass for the normally reserved Eddie. Eddie found himself nervous sometimes about pushing her boundaries, even if Mariana was the one that instigated it. Therapy and communication helped immensely but it was times like this that made him worry.

"C'mon, Eddie," she whined beneath him and that was all it took. He yanked her shirt, technically his shirt the caveman part of his brain reminded him, up and over her head and tossed it onto the ground. He quickly caught her wrists in his larger hand and lifted them up towards the headboard where he swiftly tied them to the wooden post with an easy slip knot that she could yank her hands out of if she needed to.

Mariana woke up the next morning with sore muscles that she didn't even want to complain about. She shifted her hand down to find the sheets next to her empty but warm, indicating that he had just left the bed.

"How are you feeling?" Eddie asked from the doorway. Two steaming mugs of coffee were in his hands. She sat up, pulling the sheet up against her chest, and gratefully accepted the mug he offered her. He took a seat beside her in his usual spot and let her lean against him.

"Good. Really good. A little sore but nothing I'm not used to," she admitted. He dropped a kiss to her shoulder and she let out a contented hum in response.

"Careful, it's hot," he said in reference to the coffee. Mariana grinned and set it on her night stand before she drew him into a deep kiss.

"We should give it time to cool, huh?"

"You seriously want to go for round four?"

"Round four for you. I think we're up to round six for me."

Eddie pulled back so he could search her face. He bent down and stole a quick kiss from her and then another and then a third. "I love you, you absolute menace."

"Prove it," she whispered.

No way in hell were they the boring couple.