A Moment in the Cabin

Contract

A firm thumping against the door jolts me from my sleep and I groan. After our first round last night I brought out a few bottles of vodka and champagne that I bought in hopes that Rose would say yes. Given that we were in the mood to celebrate we drank most of it, and now my head is pounding. I put my hand to my head and blink, looking down at Rose, laying on her stomach with the blanket pulled up to her hips and hair fans over her back. I pull myself out of bed and pull on jeans and a shirt, shuffling to the door and mentally cursing myself for drinking so much last night.

I open the door to find an irate Abe standing there and he pushes past me into the room. What is with people allowing themselves in uninvited? Abe paces in our small kitchen for a moment before he opens his mouth, but I cut him off. "Roza is still asleep, so keep your voice down," I say quietly. Abe looks towards the closed door before looking back at me.

"We have a problem. Your friend Natasha contacted me."

I groan and sit down in a chair at the table, scrubbing my hand over my face. God, why can't Tasha leave things alone for five minutes? What could she have possibly wanted from Abe? Voicing my thoughts to Abe as I move to flick on the abused coffee machine as Abe falters.

"She came looking for a contract," Abe says quietly, looking towards the bedroom door again. My heart stops for a moment as the severity of what he just said seep into my mind. I know what kind of "contracts" Abe offers, and they are not the good kind. Contract kills are rare in Abe's books, but they still happen.

I push down the rising bile and turn to look at him, my gaze hard and unwavering. Abe sits down at the table in my place, looking every bit of an angry father as the next man. I pull two cups out of the cupboard and fill them with coffee before moving to sit across from him. Abe takes the cup with a nod and wraps his hands around the porcelain, his eyes staring down into the dark liquid before him.

"When?" I whisper, barely getting it out of my mouth. Abe looks up to me and chews on his lip. "Late last night. She obviously doesn't know my relationship with Rose, and I told her no right away, but she will be planning something else."

I cross my ankles under the table and play with the mug in my hands, no longer having the craving for the drink that I consume like water. I know that things have been rough between Tasha and me, but this is going too far, and now that she has threatened Rose... I don't even know what to think anymore.

"What can I do? Tasha is a royal, it's not like I could bring it up to the Guardians and they would do something about it," I express quietly, feeling slightly powerless in the situation. Abe clears his throat and looks back towards the door the separated us from his only child and then back to me.

"I will take care of it, but you have to understand, it won't be pretty."

I scoff quietly and look him in the eyes. "Abe, I'm marrying your daughter; all I care about right now is that she is safe."

Abe nods and finishes his cup of coffee as we sit in silence, both of our minds preoccupied. Though my thoughts are pulled when I hear a muffled thump and a quiet "Fuck!" through the door of the bedroom. Abe chuckles and stands up, clapping his hand against my shoulder. "I should probably get going. Don't say anything to Rose about this yet," Abe says quietly and leaves, closing the door gently right as Rose opens the bedroom door. Rose squints at me as she leans in the doorway hugging the sheets from our bed to her body, her curls a mess on the top of her head.

"Why are you up so early? You only slept for four hours," she grumbles through a yawn. I rake my eyes over her as I abandon my coffee on the table, striding towards her and cupping her face mid-yawn. I lean down and kiss her cheeks before her lips, moving so that she is between me and the doorframe.