![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
apachefirecat posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
100fandomhellTitle His Heart, His World
Author: Apache Firecat
Rating: PG/K+
Fandom: Step By Step
Wordcount: 1262
He loves this. He's come to find a certain pleasure in creating things from nothing, not only because of the fact that it's one of many things he can do to make the world a little better and bring smiles to the people for whom he cares about who actually, genuinely care about him unlike his parents and especially his father, but also because he's able to create them with her. It gives him a reason to hold her close, in his lap even, no matter who's watching, and they can create together, just like, he hopes, one day they will create a child together. He knows he or she will be a beautiful baby, because the woman whose love now blesses him daily is a beautiful, remarkable, and amazingly intelligent woman. Every day, he wonders how she can love him, and every day, he expects that love to come to a screeching, screaming halt.
He knows he doesn't deserve Dana. There's no way he can. He's too stupid, and although he may be a little cute -- he's dimples and rich, black hair go a long way in helping his appearance --, he'll never be the level of handsome she deserves. There are times he can't believe he used to tease her, but of course, way back in Kindergarten when boys first begin to get over the fact that girls may have contagious "cooties", they first start showing them more interest by teasing them more. His teasing had gone beyond that -- he'd joined in with the rest of the idiots in their school.
He'll never forget that, or quite forgive himself, and he knows all that much luckier because Dana has been able to look pass his stupidity to the hurting guy within his tough shell. She was the first one to actually see the boy who wanted to learn, who wanted to create things, who wanted to be more than he was born to be and more than his parents have been or would ever expect, or want, him to be. Dana has no idea how lucky she is to have her family, even the buffoons among them like JT, who's even worse than he was before she allowed him to kiss her for the first time, but Rich knows very well. There's a reason he spends way more time at the Lamberts than he does at his own family's house; he feels more welcome by her family than he ever has by his.
They really are wonderful people, and Rich knows their child will be lucky too. It doesn't matter what his folks think. Heck, his dad can barely be bothered to pull himself out of his bottles for any reason; a grandchild isn't going to change any of that. Equally, it doesn't matter what their school thinks; any of the buffoons who tease him for "having the hots for Barky" don't know how stupid they're being or how incredibly lucky Rich is or they would be if they would open their eyes and see the fascinating beauty before them.
So what if his girl doesn't parade around like the cheerleaders do? That only means that he can be reassured that no one else will see the treasures that are his. Heck, he still hasn't seen them all! But right now, holding her like this, he can feel them. He can also feel her chest rising and falling with her soft, concentrated breathing and her heart beating almost, it seems, in rhythm to his. The clay spins in their hands, but he barely notices the shape they're making. It's a heart, he realizes, glancing down, but more than that, it's the shape his girl, his woman as she would correct him, has chosen.
A heart, to represent them. A heart that he will keep forever until they are old and gray and eventually gone from this world. A heart that, even if she wisens up to the mistake she's making with him one horrible day, he will still never cease to keep and hold dear to his own, physical heart. A heart that represents all the words that he would like to speak to her but lacks the wisdom and style to do so. A heart that will be the first decoration he'll put in that home he wants to one day buy her.
He has so little to offer her, but there is so much he wants to give her. The woman in his arms deserves the whole world, or at least all the good things in it. Even all the good things, though, all the beautiful things throughout the world cannot begin to compare to how wonderful she is. And yet, Rich laments, he has so little to offer her. One day, she's going to realize the mistake she's making with him, and that she can do so very much better.
Tears are beginning to well in his dark eyes when Dana's soft whisper breaks through his reverie, "Rich? I love you."
"I love you more," he whispers quickly and fervently, realizing that the hesitation in her voice means she's told him so already and he failed to hear her. He failed her again, but one day, he's going to find a way to never fail her again. He's going to find a way to give her everything she deserves. He needs to get closer to her father. Frank has a booming business. Rich has never been a hammer-and-nails kind of guy, but it's time he learned. It's time he learned whatever skills he can use to give this wonderful woman everything he should.
"I love you too," he whispers again as Dana spins the pottery in their hands. The heart really is shaping up nicely. It's going to be beautiful, but nothing could be as beautiful as their love or the blessing that she is to him. Knowing how much she enjoys his touch, one of her favorite spots, and the fact that their PDAs make her feel beautiful and wanted, especially when they're done in front of the world as she once confessed to him late at night when he'd been carefully nursing her all day from a cold, Rich leans in and nuzzles her ear. Dana jerks against him in surprise as he unexpectedly runs his tongue over the inside of her ear, and then she sighs, melting thoroughly in his loving embrace, as he nibbles her lobe.
He can hear snickering beyond the classroom door, but those stupid jocks and nerds don't bother him. Their opinions don't matter in the slightest. The woman whose opinion means the world to him is right here in his arms. Nobody and nothing else matters.
But he is surprised to hear the voice of his other best friend, the guy who, at one time, had been hit with jealousy because he'd thought he'd lost his friend to his sister, who he claimed to barely be able to stand. "You guys are idiots!" JT barks at their classmates. Shaking his head, he walks away. He's got to find a way to get Sam enrolled in pottery classes!
Rich gives a mental chuckle, then returns all his attention to the woman who has become everything to him. "I love you," he whispers again in her ear where only she can hear and holds her closer and nibbles more deeply, but still gently, into her ear. Dana's right -- there is something to be said for still attending a class without a teacher, who happens to be out sick today, after all.
The End
Author: Apache Firecat
Rating: PG/K+
Fandom: Step By Step
Wordcount: 1262
He loves this. He's come to find a certain pleasure in creating things from nothing, not only because of the fact that it's one of many things he can do to make the world a little better and bring smiles to the people for whom he cares about who actually, genuinely care about him unlike his parents and especially his father, but also because he's able to create them with her. It gives him a reason to hold her close, in his lap even, no matter who's watching, and they can create together, just like, he hopes, one day they will create a child together. He knows he or she will be a beautiful baby, because the woman whose love now blesses him daily is a beautiful, remarkable, and amazingly intelligent woman. Every day, he wonders how she can love him, and every day, he expects that love to come to a screeching, screaming halt.
He knows he doesn't deserve Dana. There's no way he can. He's too stupid, and although he may be a little cute -- he's dimples and rich, black hair go a long way in helping his appearance --, he'll never be the level of handsome she deserves. There are times he can't believe he used to tease her, but of course, way back in Kindergarten when boys first begin to get over the fact that girls may have contagious "cooties", they first start showing them more interest by teasing them more. His teasing had gone beyond that -- he'd joined in with the rest of the idiots in their school.
He'll never forget that, or quite forgive himself, and he knows all that much luckier because Dana has been able to look pass his stupidity to the hurting guy within his tough shell. She was the first one to actually see the boy who wanted to learn, who wanted to create things, who wanted to be more than he was born to be and more than his parents have been or would ever expect, or want, him to be. Dana has no idea how lucky she is to have her family, even the buffoons among them like JT, who's even worse than he was before she allowed him to kiss her for the first time, but Rich knows very well. There's a reason he spends way more time at the Lamberts than he does at his own family's house; he feels more welcome by her family than he ever has by his.
They really are wonderful people, and Rich knows their child will be lucky too. It doesn't matter what his folks think. Heck, his dad can barely be bothered to pull himself out of his bottles for any reason; a grandchild isn't going to change any of that. Equally, it doesn't matter what their school thinks; any of the buffoons who tease him for "having the hots for Barky" don't know how stupid they're being or how incredibly lucky Rich is or they would be if they would open their eyes and see the fascinating beauty before them.
So what if his girl doesn't parade around like the cheerleaders do? That only means that he can be reassured that no one else will see the treasures that are his. Heck, he still hasn't seen them all! But right now, holding her like this, he can feel them. He can also feel her chest rising and falling with her soft, concentrated breathing and her heart beating almost, it seems, in rhythm to his. The clay spins in their hands, but he barely notices the shape they're making. It's a heart, he realizes, glancing down, but more than that, it's the shape his girl, his woman as she would correct him, has chosen.
A heart, to represent them. A heart that he will keep forever until they are old and gray and eventually gone from this world. A heart that, even if she wisens up to the mistake she's making with him one horrible day, he will still never cease to keep and hold dear to his own, physical heart. A heart that represents all the words that he would like to speak to her but lacks the wisdom and style to do so. A heart that will be the first decoration he'll put in that home he wants to one day buy her.
He has so little to offer her, but there is so much he wants to give her. The woman in his arms deserves the whole world, or at least all the good things in it. Even all the good things, though, all the beautiful things throughout the world cannot begin to compare to how wonderful she is. And yet, Rich laments, he has so little to offer her. One day, she's going to realize the mistake she's making with him, and that she can do so very much better.
Tears are beginning to well in his dark eyes when Dana's soft whisper breaks through his reverie, "Rich? I love you."
"I love you more," he whispers quickly and fervently, realizing that the hesitation in her voice means she's told him so already and he failed to hear her. He failed her again, but one day, he's going to find a way to never fail her again. He's going to find a way to give her everything she deserves. He needs to get closer to her father. Frank has a booming business. Rich has never been a hammer-and-nails kind of guy, but it's time he learned. It's time he learned whatever skills he can use to give this wonderful woman everything he should.
"I love you too," he whispers again as Dana spins the pottery in their hands. The heart really is shaping up nicely. It's going to be beautiful, but nothing could be as beautiful as their love or the blessing that she is to him. Knowing how much she enjoys his touch, one of her favorite spots, and the fact that their PDAs make her feel beautiful and wanted, especially when they're done in front of the world as she once confessed to him late at night when he'd been carefully nursing her all day from a cold, Rich leans in and nuzzles her ear. Dana jerks against him in surprise as he unexpectedly runs his tongue over the inside of her ear, and then she sighs, melting thoroughly in his loving embrace, as he nibbles her lobe.
He can hear snickering beyond the classroom door, but those stupid jocks and nerds don't bother him. Their opinions don't matter in the slightest. The woman whose opinion means the world to him is right here in his arms. Nobody and nothing else matters.
But he is surprised to hear the voice of his other best friend, the guy who, at one time, had been hit with jealousy because he'd thought he'd lost his friend to his sister, who he claimed to barely be able to stand. "You guys are idiots!" JT barks at their classmates. Shaking his head, he walks away. He's got to find a way to get Sam enrolled in pottery classes!
Rich gives a mental chuckle, then returns all his attention to the woman who has become everything to him. "I love you," he whispers again in her ear where only she can hear and holds her closer and nibbles more deeply, but still gently, into her ear. Dana's right -- there is something to be said for still attending a class without a teacher, who happens to be out sick today, after all.
The End