Abrade - [Charles Leclerc] A Sequel To Corrode

Uno

The sunlight gently shone through the white curtain of their bedroom, the beams softly warming up the house. It was quiet and peaceful. The house had been empty except for them and their daughter Teresa. The boys had escaped the Leclerc residence as soon as their parents had come back from their week in Maui, desperate to not have to babysit their 'little' sister anymore. Charles' eyelids fluttered as the light in the room caused him to wake up. Joanne was still curled up against his chest, the same position in which they had fallen asleep last night. His quiet movements next to her were the reason she woke up too, but she didn't mind. They had a long night of sleep anyway. Charles looked down at her, one of his hands moving through her dark hair before he leaned down and pressed his lips to the spot between her eyes. Joanne yawned and stretched her arms above her head, curling them around him next. "Hmm," Joanne hummed sleepily, gazing into his eyes as her hands ran through the messy, raven hair on the back of his neck. "Your sons slowly taking over the crew has its benefits," she muttered, having a quick glance at the alarm clock that showed it was past ten already.

"I know," Charles chuckled, his hands roaming down her spine and lifting her shirt to feel her bare skin. His lips captured hers sweetly, and Joanne led her eyes fell closed, the moment taking her back to the previous week, to when they had a dream vacation on a private resort in Maui, and it had been just the two of them, they didn't have to think about the kids or business. She sighed against his mouth as the nights flashed through her mind, tangled limbs in tangled sheets, soft breaths and moans audible, intimate time spent together that never failed to strengthen their bond. "We can go out for lunch," Charles suggested, pressing his mouth to her cheek before wandering down to her neck. "I'll ask if Teresa wants to come, she has probably been neglected by her brothers the past week," Joanne laughed, causing Charles to let out a breathy laugh as well. He leaned up on one elbow to look down at his wife. Jules and Liam were both adults now, well, in age, maybe not always mentally. They were a tight family, but now the boys were after girls, clubs, and businesses themselves, and they didn't have time for their little sister. Jules was especially interested in running the crew with his father, and since he had become eighteen, Charles started to include him more and more.

Now, six years later, Charles fully trusted Jules to be the head of the crew when he wasn't there to take care of business. Liam was partially interested. He liked helping, but he wasn't much into leading. The brothers helped each other, their bond as strong as it was when they were friends in school when Joanne was still their teacher. "I'm going to take a shower, if you can, make a reservation at Lobby Lounge?" Joanne said as she sat up. "Yeah, sure," Charles smiled at her, pressing a last peck to her lips before she slipped away from under the sheets and made her way to the bathroom. Charles leaned back in the pillows for a couple of minutes, listening to the sounds of the running water of the shower and his wife's soft humming and singing. He got out of bed eventually as well, joining in the bathroom to freshen up briefly and brush his teeth before he went to his closet to get dressed. Charles took his phone from the charger as he went downstairs, dialing the number of one of Joanne's favorite lunch spots. He had told her many times they could just walk in and they'd have a table for them, but Joanne always thought it was rude to assume that they would have a table just because their last name was Leclerc.

"Hi, It's Charles Leclerc, do you have a table available for us in an hour or two?" Charles asked. "Can I come?" Jules walked through the hallway and looked up at Charles. "Four people, please," Charles replied, meanwhile looking at Jules in a 'what are you doing home' look. "I want to come too!" Liam yelled from the kitchen. "Make it five," Charles sighed, causing the woman on the other end of the line to giggle, but she wrote it down and their table at the restaurant was assured. "I thought you fled the house when your mother and I came back yesterday?" He asked. "That's because we went to a party," Jules explained, walking with Charles to the kitchen, where Celia was busy making coffee, as she had sensed that the couple was awake now too. "A party, hmm," Charles hummed, having a glass of water first. "Yeah, it was organized by Lando," Liam added, brushing breadcrumbs from his neat dress-up shirt. Charles chuckled softly, looking at his two sons sitting at the table. He could clearly remember when Joanne and Liam just moved in, and they were having dinner at this exact same table. Or well, the new dining table, but in the same place in the house, and they could barely wait to finish their dinner and head to the PlayStation again.