If Not For You(Sequel to IML)

{3} - Apologies & Broken Mugs

Bethany woke to sunlight coming in the curtains she hadn't closed the night before and Sebastian's arm across her stomach. It was a very pleasant way to wake up. A few seconds after she woke up he did too. His eyes opened and he squinted at her, before yawning. He extricated his arm from the blankets and rubbed his eyes.
"Mm." He grunted, pushing his hair back out of his face and yawning again.
"Hmm." She yawned and rubbed her eyes before sitting up. Her hair, which had been in a ponytail when she'd fallen asleep, had struggled free and made her look like Einstein. She slid out of bed and stretched her arms above her head, exposing more of her midriff. If she noticed Sebastian watching she didn't show any indication that she did. After adjusting her shorts she got clean clothes out of her dresser and went to shower. Sebastian was just pulling his shirt on when she came back after her shower. She followed him downstairs, deciding to find breakfast for the two of them. He went to the bathroom. After getting a pot of coffee going she decided to make pancakes. Just as she poured the first batter into the pan Juliet walked in.
"Good morning!" Bethany said. Femme twisted between her feet.
"Mm." Juliet was still in pajamas and her hair was a mess.
"Coffee's ready." Juliet poured herself a cup of coffee and Bethany flipped the pancakes.
"You're up early." Andy said as he came in, shirtless with wet hair. He gave Juliet a kiss before pouring coffee for himself.
"Yeah. Work. Uh," she leaned back and looked out into the living room. "Listen, I, uh, I did something." Pink dusted her cheeks.
"What did you do?" Andy asked, eyebrow raised. He bent and scooped Daredevil off the floor. Before she could speak Sebastian's voice filtered in from the living room.
"Bumblebee?"
"Uh. Th-that. I did that." She smiled sheepishly as Sebastian walked in.
"Morning, Bumblebee." He walked over and she gave him a kiss. He was working off the assumption that she'd already told Andy about them and that he knew he was there
"Morning. There's coffee if you want. And pancakes." He nodded as she handed him an empty plate. Andy was looking at her with his eyebrow still raised.
"We'll be right back." He nodded toward the door and Bethany followed him out of the kitchen and down the hall.
"I'm sorry. I didn't plan for him to spend the night. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you we're dating." He shrugged and put the dog down.
"I already knew." She furrowed her brows in confusion.
"You did?"
"I saw you kiss on New Year's Eve."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"And you're okay with this?" She asked. He shrugged again.
"No, but it's your life and you're not a kid. I have to let you make these decisions for yourself. Besides, he's not a bad guy." She smiled.
"Oh good. I'm glad you like him."
"But maybe in the future let us know if he's staying over?" She blushed and nodded.
"Sure. Uh, we should probably go back in there." There was crash and the sound of glass shattering in the kitchen.
"Shit!" Sebastian said and Juliet laughed. Bethany and Andy walked into the kitchen. A green mug was in pieces on the floor and Sebastian was picking up the pieces.
"Why is it always my mug?" Bethany asked, crouching beside Sebastian and helping him pick up all the pieces.
"Sorry, Bumblebee. I'll replace it." His cheeks were tinted pink.
"It's okay." She leaned over and kissed his cheek, before standing and throwing away the broken shards of glass.
   Breakfast was not nearly as awkward as Bethany had anticipated. Juliet didn't say anything, just sipped her coffee and then went to get a shower. Andy ate his pancakes and messed around with his phone, occasionally asking a question or making a comment.
"We need to leave soon." Bethany said around her last bite of pancake.
"Okay." Sebastian drank the last few drops of his coffee and went to get his shoes from her room.
"I have to go to work. And after work Sebster and I are running pretour errands and getting supper." Andy nodded.
"I have no plans. I'll probably hang out with Joe to discuss TAS at some point, but. . ." He shrugged.
"That sounds super exciting. Alright, I'll see you later?" He nodded. Sebastian came back She down stairs and stuck his head into the kitchen. "Great. Bye, Panda." She kissed Andy's cheek and left the kitchen.
"Hey! Clean your hair out of the tubshroom when you're done in the shower!" Andy yelled after her.
"I'll think about considering possibly doing that."
"I'm serious."
"So am I." She giggled and looked at Sebastian, who just smiled and shook his head.
"Lead the way." He said, gesturing at the door.

———

The firm, called Logan, Wyatt and Mills, was slow and boring, but knowing she'd be seeing Sebastian when it was over made it tolerable. Four thirty couldn't come fast enough. She filed things, emailed things, answered calls and made appointments. By quarter after four everyone started packing up. She followed suit, packing up her her things and closing her computer.
"Night, Bethany." Mark Logan said, walking past.
"Night."
"Night, everyone." Janine said. A chorus of good nights were voiced and she left. As soon as her things were packed up Bethany texted Sebastian to let him know she was off work. He got right back to her, telling her he was waiting in the parking lot. She smiled and walked out of the office, saying goodbye as she went.
"Hey, Sebster." She said as she got in the car.
"Hey, Bumblebee." She leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek before getting buckled. "How was work?" He asked as he backed out of the spot and and force put of the parking lot.
"It was work. Slow, boring. Had a nice conversation with Alice about shoes though. I have a new appreciation for flip flops."
"Sounds exciting."
"You know it. Hey, I know it's kinda early for supper, but I'm hungry."
"Where do you want to go?"
"If we're going to the mall we could just eat at the food court." She suggested.
"Works for me."

———

After dinner they walked around, visiting various stores so Sebastian could pick up things he needed for tour. Eventually ending up at Target.
"Oh my gosh! Look what I just found!" Sebastian looked over at Bethany when she spoke.
"What is that?"
"It's Herbert Jr." She held up the little stuffed duck. "I'm totally buying this for you! You can take it on tour with you!" He smiled and shook his head.
"You are so weird." For half a second an emotion Sebastian couldn't identify flashed across her face. It was gone as quickly as it appeared.
"Yeah." She put the duck back on the shelf.
"What are you doing? What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Nothing's wrong."
"No secrets, Bumblebee."
"It's stupid."
"I doubt that. C'mon." She sighed.
"It's just that Luke used to call me weird and I thought he meant affectionately, but when we broke up one the reasons he gave for why we broke up was that I was weird. I know it's stupid. Sorry." She turned her gaze back to the shelf.
"Bumblebee, it's not stupid." He grabbed her hand. "And I didn't mean it like that." He assured her. "I love that you want to buy that for me to take on tour and I love that you called it Herbert Jr. It is kind of weird, but that's not a bad thing." He pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead.
"Thank you." She smiled up at him.
"For what?"
"Just being you."
"Can I have a kiss?" She pushed herself up onto her tiptoes and gave him a chaste kiss. She grabbed the little duck again and they shared a smile.
"Oh! I need bobby-pins before we go!" She looked up at the signs above the aisles looking for hair products.
"Lead the way." Sebastian said. She grabbed his hand and led the way through the store. She was going to miss him while he was gone, but sharing little moments like this, moments she could think back on, helped.