After Lover for Pay: ONESHOTS

Frustration Pt3

"London!" Marbell called out, his voice frantic as if he was in a panic. And it only took what felt like a second for the tattooed man to get to the second floor. Most times when Marbell yelled out for his husband, there was one of three things going on. 1) there was a bug in the house, 2) he had a bad dream, or 3) Marbell needed toilet paper. Since it was known the older man wasn't taking a nap, London had expected to be killing a bug or something not too dramatic.

However, when the tattooed man entered the bedroom and merely saw Marbell standing there beside the bed holding the clothes he'd been wearing earlier, all that entered London was confusion. "What?" he said, "Are you finished packing?"

"Where were you today?" Marbell asked flat out, his voice quite serious and cautious. He didn't want to sound like he was accusing London of anything, but he was sure the tone leaving him made it a little obvious that he was nervous and demanding. "I know you go to the gym with the kids, but what did you do afterwards?"

A bit confused since he wasn't used to being asked such a question these days, London switched his gaze from the clothes in Marbell's arms to his husband's brown eyes. They were...afraid. "Since you'll be gone while I'm getting it, I guess I'll tell you before you go." He then flexed his left arm and pointed to an open space in need of some ink. "I'm getting a tattoo for the girls right here. I went to a parlor today with everyone and the tattooist helped me come up with a design for it. I'm going to meet with her at noon to get started. I was just going to show you when you got back, but...now you know. Why did you call for me like I'm in trouble?"

Marbell stared toward London for a moment, his heart beating so hard in his chest and he took a seat at the foot of the bed. As though an ocean of regret flooded up through him, he cupped his face the instant his eyes began to water and tears shed down his face. Droplets of his tears rained down on the lenses of his glasses, making his vision blurry as he sobbed into his hands. "Ohmygod," Marbell cried, "I'm such a fucking idiot."

Utterly confused since he hadn't a clue what was going on, London took a seat beside the older man and touched a hand to his knee. "What's wrong?" he wanted to know. Inside, he was still pissed off that Marbell would be leaving for Manchester, but that didn't mean he'd gone completely heartless. "Talk to me, Marbell. I'm listening."

"I thought you were cheating on me..." The older man's voice trembled. "Your clothes smelled like heavy perfume and there was a long piece of hair on your shirt. I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry. I know you would never cheat on me, but with the way our marriage has been these past months, and how upset I know you've been with me, I couldn't help but think the worst when I smelled a woman's perfume on you."

"Okay..." London and took his clothes from Marbell's hands and tossed them over his shoulder. "Where's your cell phone? Just give it to me, now."

Not wanting to question what London was going to do with it, Marbell rose from the bed and grabbed it from the top of the dresser where it'd been charging. When he handed it over without a word, London searched for the contact that read 'Dad', which meant he was calling his father-in-law: Rolland Matthews.

A little worried as the phone rang, Marbell just let London do as he wished and listened when the call was finally answered by his father.

"Hello?" Rolland's voice came through. "Are you on your flight yet, Marbell?"

"This is London," the tattooed man said then, "Marbell is not going to Manchester today. Matter-of-fact, my husband is going to be staying home for a good long while. I am sick of this goddamn company dragging him all over the fucking place like he's some puppet for Knighting Bell. He spends his days at school for eight to nine hours a day, and then he comes home and locks himself away with your conference calls and shit until he's exhausted and doesn't even have time for his own kids. I'm sorry, Rolland, I don't mean to sound like a demanding piece of shit, right now, but you can bet your ass Marbell isn't leaving this house."