Through the Fire (a Les Twins fanfic)

Chapter 8: A Tiny Crack

Laurent was the first person home. Tyler Perry had taken Larry to look at some new sound equipment and Gabby was still at work.  All he wanted to do was shower, change clothes, and relax.  But first he went through his daily routine of checking his social networks online.

He scrolled through his Instagram photos and deleted a ton of ridiculous comments from fans arguing about whether or not some chick from the club last night was his girlfriend.  He was glad Gabby ignored all that nonsense like he'd asked her to do.

By the time Gabby got home he was knocked out on the couch with the TV watching him.  He woke up after he heard her pass by, but she made a beeline straight for the bedroom.

A little later she returned freshly showered in a soft blue Love Pink tank and boy short set.  Her hair was in a ponytail, damp and wavy from the shower steam.  She sat down on the couch and pulled Laurent's head onto her lap.  Gently, she massaged his scalp, working her fingers from the base of his neck up to behind his ears, higher to his temples, and down again.  He stopped flipping channels and half-closed his eyes wallowing in the pleasure like an overgrown cat.

She rubbed his shoulders next.  They were rock hard and tense as usual.  She leaned over to kiss him.

"How was your day?"

"It was good."  He turned over on his stomach and trailed his lips across the insides of her thighs while toying with the seam of her shorts.  "Much better now though."

The muscles across the top of his back flexed as he settled into a more comfortable position between her legs.

"How was yours?"  When he spoke his breath tickled the tender flesh exposed as he inched her shorts higher with his fingers.

He planted a kiss there and Gabby's body naturally responded.  Her thighs wrapped around his face on either side cutting off most of his air supply.  Laurent grunted contentedly loving every minute of it.  He didn't need air for what he was about to do.

But his question had inadvertently made the photo of him in the club with those girls flash in her memory setting off an irrational ripple of belated envy up her spine.

She pushed his head away.  "Stop. Larry might see us."

"He's not here."  Laurent held her legs firm and slipped one over his shoulder, ignoring her protests like he always did.  She was never able to hold out for very long.

"But he'll probably be here soon."

The sound of keys in the front door lock proved her right.   Laurent cursed.  He and Larry needed to get a signal.  Gabby rolled out from under him and went into the kitchen for a drink to cool down.

"Hey, Larry".

"Bonjour, belle."  He crushed her up in a hug and kissed her on the forehead.

Gabby squeezed him back.  She really enjoyed having Larry around now that they weren't mortal enemies anymore.   Although he and Laurent were twins Larry was definitely the baby and she never knew how sweet he could be.  Sometimes he was quiet and mysterious, other times his adorable ways made her want to smother and take care of him forever.

She opened a cabinet and reached for glass, silently admiring how super neat the shelves were ever since Larry had re-organized everything by color and size.

"Wait!"  Larry stopped her.  He looked horrified.

"Why?  What's wrong?"

"Not that one."

Gabby moved her hand from the tall red glasses to the blue ones.  Larry cringed.  She touched the row of smaller, clear glasses on the bottom shelf.

He smiled.  "Oui. That's yours.  The short people cups."

Apparently he had assigned everyone a glass color according to their heights.  She was clear, Shauna was blue, and he and Laurent were red.  Gabby stood there dumbfounded as Larry bounced happily off to his room.  There were few things he loved more than cleanliness and order.

Laurent came in laughing, opened the fridge, and filled her glass with juice.  "I try to tell you about living with Larry.  You don't listen."

Gabby sipped her juice in silence. Laurent frowned.  She was never that quiet.

"What's the matter?"

She studied the floor and weighed her options.  She could share the juvenile feelings she was having with Laurent.  Best case scenario he'd tell her all about that night and make her laugh about it.  Then that would be the end of it.  Worst case scenario he'd think she was questioning him and get mad.  She decided not to bring it up.  She didn't want him to think she was being petty and distrustful.

"Nothing."

She would sleep on it and tomorrow it would be a lost memory.

****

Later that night in bed Laurent wondered why Gabby wasn't acting like herself.  Maybe she had a rough day and didn't want to talk about it.  That wasn't like her though.  Normally, he'd have been memorizing his lines from the movie script and she would've been chattering away distracting him with commentary on everything everyone said and did at her office between snuggles and kisses.

He would never admit it to her, but that was one of his favorite parts of the day. Well, unless they made love.  Then that was definitely his favorite part.  However, from the looks of things it didn't seem like that was going down either.  Merde.

Laurent reluctantly resigned himself to the fact that he wasn't getting any and settled for spooning instead.  He draped his arm over Gabby's waist and waited for her to automatically scoot her ass backwards and fit her warm body into the curve of his, but she didn't move.  He waited for a minute more, then kissed her shoulder and retreated to his side of the bed.

The mattress dipped and resettled as Laurent rolled away.  Gabby breathed slowly and evenly pretending to be asleep when she was really lying there staring into the darkness trying desperately not to feel what she was feeling.  Insecurity.

From that night on something shifted between them.  It was the kind of imperceptible shift that starts as a microscopic fissure then grows to a tiny crack.

She and Laurent had been living in a fantastical snow globe bubble of a world filled with their love for one another and hardly anything else.  And now something had ruptured the glass just a little bit.

Just enough to let the demon of doubt creep in.