thehungryone (thehungryone) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2022-05-29 13:49:00 |
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Entry tags: | #july 2018, dan, dan x tatum, tatum |
Who: Dani and Tatum
When: Early evening, Tuesday, July 3rd - morning, Weds, July 4th
Where:: Their house on Sycamore
Status: Complete
Tatum was kind of stoked to be back in Point Pleasant. It was a very odd sensation to be feeling, considering how desperate she had been to leave it a few years back. But they said that absence made the heart grow fonder, or whatever, so she supposed it wasn’t too crazy that she would grinning at nearly every familiar sight she passed. Moxie’s! The Porch! Chamberlain High! There were some new places too - a karaoke bar!? - and Tatum was looking forward to getting out and getting reacquainted with her hometown once she was unpacked and settled again.
As far as she knew, Dani was still living in their house on Sycamore. He wouldn’t have been able to sell it without her, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t rented it out or something. She doubted he would’ve done that either, since it was a comfortable enough place to live. It didn’t even occur to her that maybe he had someone else living with him. That seemed as unfathomable as selling the place. Regardless of the circumstances, Tatum was quite confident that Dani was still living in the same light blue cottage they had bought after getting married.
As Tatum pulled into the driveway, she was somewhat relieved to find the house looked exactly the same as it had when she left it. There was some more landscaping out front, but that was really the extent of any changes. At least externally. Turning off her car, Tatum took a breath, reached back to grab her duffel bag, and climbed out.
While she still had her house key dangling from her keychain, Tatum somehow resisted just letting herself inside. Knowing Dani the way she did, she highly doubted he had changed the locks. But, still, she supposed she ought to do the polite thing and knock. So when she stepped up onto the covered porch, she did just that, knocking three times before shifting the duffel bag strap on her shoulder. If Dani wasn’t home, then she would let herself in.
Dan had worked an overnight shift the night before, arriving home around seven in the morning to go straight to bed. His body clock was a total mess, but that just came with the territory. He had to get some rest in to be ready for another long shift starting early on the fourth -- it was always a busy day for EMTs, so he’d been told, and nobody expected this year to be any different. He’d volunteered to work the medical tent during the parade and then be on ambulance duty for later in the evening, when most of the fireworks accidents were likely to happen. He wasn’t looking forward to it.
He’d been relaxing in front of the TV, dozing off and on while he let the background noise wash over him, a half-eaten pizza in its box on the coffee table along with a few empty beer bottles. Dan tried to make his days off as lazy as possible these days. The knock at the door startled him awake and he sat up, unsure if he’d really heard it or dreamed it for a moment. He got up and shuffled to the door, tucking some dark hair behind his ear. He could see the top of someone’s head through the high windows in the front door, so it definitely hadn’t been his imagination.
Without thinking twice about who it might be, Dan unlocked the deadbolt and pulled the door open. The instant he registered the face on the other side, he froze, his hand tightening on the knob and a strange feeling washing over him. He couldn’t speak at first, he could only stare at his estranged wife with his lips slightly parted and a blank expression.
It took Tatum a moment to react as well, because Dani looked so different than what she remembered. All of the photos she had of him on her phone, he had shorter hair and was clean shaven. Now his hair was longer and he had scruff on his face and even his body looked a bit more... not muscular, really, just... lean, instead of lanky? Anyway, he looked good. Tatum's own hair was nearly past her breasts now, and she had a septum piercing, but those were really the only changes. Well, okay, not the only changes, but the only physical change that Dani would be able to see.
Once the initial shock had zipped through her, Tatum smiled and held up her arms in a silly look who's back! sort of pose. "Look at you, with facial hair," Tatum exclaimed before pushing past him to step inside the house. She was eager to get her shoes off and go to the bathroom and take a look around. "I like it though. Oh my god, is that Dino's?" she asked, once she saw the pizza box. Tatum dumped her duffle bag on the floor and hurried over to grab one of the remaining pieces to eat.
Dan was shocked enough that he allowed Tatum to nudge him back and come inside, though he got a strong sense of violation just a few seconds after. He pushed the door shut and followed her, his brows drawing together. “Tatum,” Dan said, his tone still bewildered. “What the fuck, why are you here?” She was acting like she’d just gotten back from a week’s vacation or something, and he hadn’t seen or heard from her in nearly three years. Dan had begun to think she was dead, but now it was clear that wasn’t the case, which meant she’d just straight up abandoned him and their life together. He’d slogged through so much grief over it, and now he was just confused.
Tatum took a bite out of the pizza and groaned. It wasn't fresh fresh but it was still Dino's and she had missed the taste of it. There was something off about it now, but that was all food. That didn't mean she didn't still enjoy the flavor though. Chewing, she looked at Dan and then moved to sit down on the couch, toeing her shoes off. As nonchalant as she was trying to be about things, Tatum knew she couldn't just dive right into the truth. She had no idea how to do that right now and frankly, Tatum was too tired for that kind of talk tonight. "I live here, silly. I know it's kind of crazy and everything, but... it just felt like the right time to come home. Do you have anymore of these?" she asked, gesturing to the beer bottles.
He stared at her for another few heartbeats, halfway expecting some punchline, but he wouldn’t even know what that should sound like. Tatum had always had a big strong personality, she could be a steamroller sometimes. That didn’t seem to have changed, and Dan could already feel himself slipping into that flattened state he’d worked so hard to recover from. His heart had started to pound, and before he could really think it through he snatched up the pizza box and flipped it closed, his jaw clenching. “No,” he said sharply, shaking his head. “No, you used to live here, and then you abandoned it, so this isn’t your home anymore. So ... you gotta go. Find somewhere else to stay.”
Tatum blinked and watched him with a mix of curiosity and surprise. Even though she wasn't surprised. Of course he was going to be angry. It was probably dumb of her to think she could come in, bouncy and bubbly and he would just go with it. But she wasn't going to slink away either. "Well, I mean... my name's still on the deed," she reminded him, picking off a piece of pepperoni from the pizza to pop into her mouth. "So technically, it's still my house too. And I don't have anywhere else to go. I'd sleep in my car, but I spilled my Frapp in it a few days ago and I tried to clean it but there's like, a funky smell in there now." She wrinkled her nose at the memory before straightening a bit on the sofa. "I'll just sleep on the couch. I won't take the bed or anything." Her only other option was her parents’ house but they both knew that was definitely off the table.
Dan wanted to yell at her suddenly, heat flashing across his chest. The fucking arrogance -- and she didn’t look sorry at all. She’d completely blown up their lives and broken his heart, and Dan still had no idea why. He could almost feel the old wounds opening up again, and for one hot moment he wanted to physically force her out. “I’ll ... I’ll give you cash for a motel room,” he said tightly. “You can’t just -- you don’t just get to do this, Tatum. You can’t just bail on me for years and then waltz back in here like nothing happened. I don’t want you here. So get your shit and get out, okay?” All of his insides were in knots, and his voice wasn’t completely steady, but Dan kept his back straight and his chin up. He’d been bad at standing up to her before, but a lot of things had changed in him since she’d disappeared, and he really didn’t want her to stay.
He was right and Tatum knew he was right. It was just difficult to admit it because Tatum had never been very good at talking about shit, especially serious shit. Dan had always been patient with her, but obviously that patience had run out over the past few years. And yes, she could understand it, even if she didn't like it. She was silent for a moment before she set the piece of pizza down and stood. Wiping her hands together absently, Tatum looked at Dan, most of her breezy nonchalance gone. "I know things happened, I know you don't want me here. But I can't stay at that motel and I have nowhere else to go. If you let me stay for just a couple of days, that'll give me time to find a place." Tatum didn't have a job or the money to actually do that, but she figured if she had enough time, she could win Dan over enough to let her stay longer.
“Oh, just things happened?” Dan echoed, his brows raised. He gave a bitter sort of laugh and shook his head, turning away from her to walk into the kitchen. “You’re unbelievable.” He tossed the pizza box onto the table and moved to yank open one of the upper cabinets. Dan pushed some stuff out of the way and pulled down a cookie tin from the back of the shelf. He’d started squirreling away cash once he’d learned he couldn’t take Tatum off of their joint bank account without her signature, afraid that one day she would just clean it out from afar. There was a good wad of bills in there, and he thumbed a few hundred dollars free and stuffed the rest of it back in the tin. He wasn’t above paying her to leave if that was what it took.
"Yes, things happened," Tatum said defensively, following him into the kitchen. As soon as she saw the cash, she crossed her arms against her chest stubbornly. Maybe she needed money, but she wasn't going to just grab it and run. That wasn't why she had come back. "Look, Dani, I know I fucked up. Royally fucked up. And you deserve an explanation and answers. I'm just asking you to give me a chance." She had never been very good at begging, but Tatum was willing to do it now, if that's what it took. She was extremely adept at digging her heels in, which is what she would also do if he continued to fight her presence. Tatum needed to stay and she couldn't take no for an answer.
Dan’s shoulders tensed further at the nickname. It was kind of incredible how he used to love hearing Tatum call him Dani, but now it just made him want to scream. He’d allowed very few people in his life to use that name, and hearing it from her now just felt like a betrayal all over again. He rubbed one hand over his eyes and back through his hair as he turned to face her. “Is that what you’re asking?” he asked her coldly. “All I heard was you think you’re entitled to live here again, no questions asked, who gives a shit about me, right?” He threw the folded money onto the kitchen table and crossed his own arms, leaning against the counter. “I was pretty sure you were dead by now. I wasted thousands on PIs, trying to find you. You obviously don’t care what you did to me. So take it and go away, Tatum.”
She knew he would have tried to track her down, but even the most skilled PI would have failed. Despite how she was acting on the outside, she hurt for him internally, especially knowing that she was the cause of his pain over the years. Tatum couldn't rewind time now, but she could try to fix it and she would, even if he didn't want her to. Even if he pushed her away. Telling him that she cared and would prove it would only piss him off more, she was sure, but that was one of the many reasons why she had come back home. "I don't want your money," Tatum said simply, ignoring the cash on the table. "If you have questions, I'll answer them. If you want something, I'll give it to you. I'll pay you back for whatever money you wasted... whatever it takes, Dani. But I'm sorry, I can't go."
Shaking his head again, Dan looked up at the ceiling and drew in a deep breath, his jaw clenching. For months after Tatum had disappeared, leaving only a short cryptic note behind, he’d been in a constant panic, chasing down every angle he could think of to find her. He’d borrowed money from his parents for private investigators, none of whom had turned anything up. Dan had grieved for a long time after that, thinking Tatum had either died or at least ought to be dead to him. He’d tried to divorce her, but the laws in Maine hadn’t allowed that without her signatures or a crazy number of years passing first, so he’d just done his best to move on. He’d thought he was well on his way too, new career, new girlfriend ... but it all felt like it was crashing back down again. He was silent for a long stretch, his jaw working as he tried to hold back his emotions and gather his words at the same time. “Right now, I just ... the only thing I wanna know is why,” he said, his voice unsteady as he looked at her again. “Was it another man? Woman? Did you ... get into drugs when I wasn’t looking? I thought -- I even thought maybe somebody kidnapped you and made you write that note. I didn’t know what the fuck to think.”
Tatum lowered her arms from the defensive stance and leaned back against the nearest wall. She wasn't really prepared for this conversation and she didn't really think it would change Dan's mind about her. If anything, it would probably make him hate her more, if he even believed her. Tatum did consider lying, and that wasn't quite off the table. Some things he didn't need to know yet, right? "No drugs. It wasn't another man, or another woman either," she said, clasping her hands behind her back to press them against the wall. "Not sexually, anyway. It was... a group of people that I met online. I was just..." Tatum huffed softly, already frustrated with talking about it. She hadn't exactly been raised in a house where expressing emotions was okay. Tatum had always been known for her sarcasm, for turning a serious situation into a joke because she was uncomfortable. The only person who had ever allowed her to be herself was Dan but even now she was struggling. "They were giving me the kind of family I'd never had before," she said finally. "And I just got taken in by it all."
So it had been more of a cult. That possibility had crossed Dan’s mind too, of course, but he’d had no way of knowing. He hadn’t even ever been able to get into Tatum’s laptop to snoop through her browser history, so he’d just given up that avenue. He watched her try to explain, his stomach sinking further toward the floor. The message that their little family of two had not been enough was loud and clear, but Dan had come to terms with that a long time ago. He wanted to think he had, anyway, nevermind that it hurt all over again. He chewed on his bottom lip and let all that sink in. Something must have gone sour with her new family, and that was why she was back. “Did they hurt you?” he asked, closing his eyes. “Are you okay?” The questions were a little flat and reluctant because he didn’t want to care at all, but he still did.
Tatum wasn't really sure if Dan cared if she was all right, or if he felt obligated to ask. If their positions had been reversed, Tatum wouldn't have asked. She wouldn't have even let it get this far. She would have found something heavy to beat him with as soon as she opened that door. But Dani had always been a much better person than Tatum. Her better half. "They didn't hurt me," Tatum said, glancing away from his face to the window just over the sink. Some things had hurt, but always only for a moment or two. Sometimes she had liked it, sometimes not so much. "They took care of me, for the most part." Sighing, she closed her eyes, wishing she wasn't so tired, or had to pee so bad, or had to beg to stay in the place she considered home. She wished she could hug Dani and feel his arms around her and smell his shirt and press her ear to his chest to listen to his heart beating. She wished she could taste him too, but that was a craving she couldn't have right now. "It was impulsive and really selfish and I'm sorry that I hurt you the way that I did."
He’d fantasized a million times about what he would say to her if she ever showed up again, grand speeches often running through his head in quiet moments, like Dan could make her sorry and see the error of her ways with the power of his words alone. But now that she was here in front of him ... he didn’t want to say anything to her anymore. It was all pointless. Tatum’s apology rang hollow to his ears, and he held up a hand to stop her. Dan had no idea if she meant it or not, he didn’t know her anymore, did he? Maybe it didn’t matter, because he wasn’t ready to hear it. “Just stop. You don’t have any idea what you did to me,” he said, feeling exhausted and defeated all of the sudden. Hell, maybe she did have an idea, she just didn’t care. He wanted to think that if Tatum had an inkling of how much pain he’d been in, how scared he’d been, she would’ve at least reached out to tell him she was okay ... but maybe he was wrong about that too. Dan turned and picked up the tin of money, then started to walk out of the kitchen. “Take the couch. Beer’s in the fridge,” he muttered. He just wanted to be alone now.
Tatum knew it had been selfish and impulsive, but back then that's what she had wanted. Regardless of that, she was sorry that she hurt Dan and she was sorry that she had left the way she did. Maybe someday he would hear the apology and realize that she meant it. Tatum might be impatient, but she knew this would take time. Sighing, Tatum watched him leave the kitchen, desperate to follow but aware enough to know it wouldn't be welcome. She had so many questions to ask him but now wasn't the time. Instead she took a beer from the fridge and opened it to take a quick sip. Not as good as it had been Before the change took effect, but it was still alcohol so she carried it with her to sit down in the living room. If Dan didn't want to talk yet, they didn't have to talk. She would sit there and wait. Maybe once he slept he would be more open to conversation. She could jump back into it, push herself into his life until he couldn't ignore her anymore. It had worked in the past, those very brief moments when they had broken up before getting married. It would work this time too.
After grabbing his phone from the coffee table, Dan had to force himself not to rush down the hallway to the master bedroom, and once he was inside he closed and locked the door behind him. He didn’t really think Tatum was a threat to him or anything, but god only knew what kind of shit she was into now, how her new family had influenced her. Which was why he tucked the money tin away in the back of the closet under some stuff, where it would take a minute and plenty of noise to find. Tatum could clean out the rest of the house, as long as he had his nest egg. Dan fell into bed and curled up, pulling a pillow in against his chest and face. He let the emotions come and muffled the tearful sounds that came with them into his pillow. He’d wanted her back so badly for so long, and now it just felt like the wrong-est thing possible ... but at the same time he felt a profound relief that she was alive and well, and there was all that love he’d had to push down so far ... It was a storm. Eventually it passed, and Dan dozed off still clutching the pillow.
Tatum had no desire to steal from Dan. Maybe she had a lot to atone for, but she couldn't imagine taking his money, or his belongings, and running off. Since he had retreated to the bedroom, Tatum drank her beer, finished off the piece of pizza she had left on the coffee table and then wandered out onto the porch to sit for a while. There was something about Point Pleasant that felt different. It even smelled different now, the salty ocean air, the subtle hint of flowers growing in the neighbor's yards. It was so different from where she'd been and Tatum took a while to just sit and enjoy it, breathing in deep to let it trigger old memories. After a while she went back inside, locked the door and curled up on the couch to try and get some sleep.
She awoke shortly after the sun rose and after using the bathroom and brushing her teeth, Tatum wandered into the kitchen. Dan had done a pretty good job at keeping the fridge stocked, so Tatum grabbed the eggs and milk, setting them on the kitchen counter before finding the bread and cinnamon. She would make french toast. Eggs. She had always liked to cook and had gotten pretty good at it from those first few months of kitchen disasters when they first moved in. Tatum had wanted to be that kind of wife... the one who always had a meal on the table for her husband when he got home from work. She had wanted to be a lot of things, actually, but her dreams had never really come to fruition.
She found the pans and griddle and got to work, taking a moment to start the coffee too. Things might taste differently to her now, but she still loved her caffeine.
By the time Tatum heard movement in the house, the bread soaked in egg and cinnamon was cooking on the griddle and the eggs were in the pan, fluffing up quite nicely. She was on her second cup of coffee, but had one ready for Dan, assuming he still drank it.
As Dan was slowly waking up, at first he was sure that the smell wafting under the bedroom door was part of his dream. He hadn’t quite forgotten that Tatum was in the house, but it took him a few moments to put two and two together. Was she cooking breakfast? Fucking hell. Feeling headachy and already dreading the long day ahead, he pulled himself out of bed, stripped out of the clothes he’d slept in, and went to the master bathroom to get decently cleaned up.
When he emerged in a fresh uniform set, his hair pulled back and teeth brushed, he reluctantly walked to the kitchen. Tatum was indeed in there cooking, like it was just some normal-ass morning. Dan saw the full mug sitting in front of the coffee maker as he approached, and he gave Tatum a sideways glance. “This for me?” he murmured. He still wasn’t sure how to feel about any of this, everything felt so jumbled. Tatum had once again upended his life, and Dan felt like he was going to struggle to concentrate today.
Tatum was pushing the spatula through the eggs when Dan walked into the kitchen and she shot him a quick smile before going back to the eggs. "Yeah, that's yours. Did you know that they have coffee creamers now that taste like Snickers bars? Even cereal! I saw one that's supposed to taste like Rice Krispies but what do Rice Krispies even taste like if you don't pour half a cup of sugar on them? It's crazy." Then her brain seemed to catch up that he was wearing a uniform and Tatum did a quick double take. At first she thought it was a police uniform, which was even crazier than cereal creamer. Tatum turned to him directly, holding the spatula as she looked over his clothes. Not a cop, thankfully. "EMT?" she asked, both brows rising in surprise. "You're an EMT?" It had been something he had talked about way back when but Tatum had figured it was just one of those I should do this kind of dreams. She had a bazillion of those.
Dan let her ramble on while he took a testing sip of the coffee. He even had mixed emotions that it was nice and hot and seemed to be the perfect mix of creamer and sugar that he preferred. Tatum had remembered how he liked his coffee, what the fuck did that mean? She still loved him? She was trying to suck up so he wouldn’t kick her out? Maybe nothing, just that she had a good memory. He looked over at her shocked questions and glanced down at himself in the navy blue uniform. He’d been so proud to put it on the first time, and he still was, if he was honest. Dan had always wanted a career that helped people in some capacity, and he’d tossed the idea around of becoming an EMT for years ... it had taken Tatum disappearing to really push him to do it, but he’d passed his certifications with flying colors, and he’d found it to be really rewarding work, even if it was hard as fuck sometimes. “Sure am,” he answered, leaning one hip against the counter and eyeing everything she was cooking. “For about a year now.”
Tatum remembered mostly everything about Dan. She had known him for years, even before they became a couple in high school. Being away for a few years hadn't diminished his memory in her mind at all. She knew how he liked his steak cooked, the way he enjoyed having his hair played with and petted, his favorite sexual position... and the way he drank his coffee. All kinds of things only intimate partners would really understand. Obviously some things changed over time because people grew and evolved, but to her, he was still Dani in every sense that she knew him. "That's amazing," she said, her smile widening. "Holy shit. And thank god those uniforms are blue, huh? You always looked good in blue." She would have told him she was proud of him, but she wasn't sure if he would be happy about that or tell her off, since he might not really care if she was proud of him or not. It was a strange line to have to balance. "I have french toast!” She gestured to the plate piled high on the counter. "The eggs are done too. I was going to make toast, but it was like... who eats toast with French toast. That's a lot of starch, right? How many pieces do you want?"
As hard as he’d tried to forget, Dan remembered most everything about Tatum too, including that beautiful smile of hers. He felt the muscles in his cheeks twitch a tiny bit, wanting to respond with a smile of his own, but they didn’t get very far. He shouldn’t be accepting this breakfast, he knew that. He should probably even dump the coffee out and leave to get something in his stomach elsewhere ... but it all smelled so damn good, and he had a long day ahead of him. He would need the protein. And if he rejected it, she’d just wasted a lot of his groceries, right? “Dark blue hides bloodstains pretty well,” he said offhandedly as he moved to sit down at the kitchen table. “I’ll take three. And a lot of those eggs.” He should also probably get it himself, he’d learned to take complete care of himself while she was gone, but if Tatum was going to put a plate down in front of him this morning, Dan wasn’t going to argue. He sipped on his coffee and tried not to fidget.
Tatum stayed focused on making Dan a plate, rather than reacting to his remark about blood. Shit, did that mean he came home with blood on his clothes? Her heart started pounding harder in her chest but Tatum kept busy, placing three pieces of French toast on the plate before scooping plenty of scrambled eggs onto the space beside them. She already had syrup and butter on the table so she set the food in front of Dan and returned to the counter to make her own plate. She moved quickly, afraid he might shovel all the food into his mouth before she had a chance to sit down with him. “So what are your hours?” she asked, once she had thrown together a plate of food and grabbed her coffee to sit across from him. “Do you work all day? I saw signs for the Fourth of July parade and stuff today. I thought it’d be cool to check it out.”
Dan had picked up his fork and gotten the first bite in his mouth by the time Tatum was at the table -- he probably should be rushing to get the hell out of there as quickly as possible, but his parents had engrained good manners in him young, and when someone cooked for you, you didn’t scarf it down before they even had a chance to sit. She kept chipper-talking to him like the past three years hadn’t happened and he didn’t quite know how to handle that, so Dan just tried to stay focused on his food. “Yeah, I work all day,” he said blandly in between bites. “I’m helping with the medical tent at the parade, then on ambulance duty most of the night. My hours change all the time.” He glanced up at her, but only briefly. “I had the locks changed, so ... leave yourself a door unlocked if you leave and intend to come back.” He’d debated whether or not to tell her that, but it was probably petty and mean to hope she locked herself out, and she would probably break a window or some shit to get back in.
Hearing that he was working all day and night was disappointing but Tatum supposed she could get used to the ever-changing hours. Once she found a job, she would have something to keep herself occupied too. She would just try to work around Dan’s schedule, make sure she was ever-present. Hearing that he changed the locks was a mild surprise but Tatum accepted it, along with the slight dig about her leaving. Things that hurt could always be smothered by something else, she’d found. So Tatum took a bite of her eggs, remaining as cheery as ever, like she was in on the joke, even if it wasn’t very funny. “I don’t know that new locks would’ve kept me out. You know how resourceful I can be.” Tatum reached for her coffee to take a sip. “But I’ll leave the back door unlocked, since it sounds like I’ll be back before you will. I’ll come see you at the medical tent. I can bring you lunch or something. They’re going to have fireworks too, aren’t they?” She raised her fists in excitement. “God, that’ll be fun. I haven’t seen proper fireworks in ages.”
He did know how resourceful she was, and he wondered vaguely if she knew how crazy that would sound to most people. If he hadn’t answered the door the night before, would she have just straight up broken in? Probably. He had no idea what he would’ve done, but it definitely would’ve been a worse way to reunite. He frowned immediately when she said she would come to see him, shaking his head as he lowered the bite of food he’d been about to take. “Tatum, no,” Dan said. Just how much had she lost her damn mind while she was gone? “Don’t bring me anything, don’t ‘come see me.’” He made finger quotes with one hand, his ire rising again that she seemed to want everything to be the same as when she left. “Have whatever fun you want, but just ... don’t do that.” He didn’t want her around, especially when he was trying to work, nor did he want to answer any of the questions other people would surely have. Dan was still trying to process that Tatum was back in the first place, he didn’t want to have to explain it to anyone else yet.
Tatum had never cared much if people thought she was crazy. Life was much easier that way. Even if she'd had to break in, it was still technically her house so it wasn't like she would have been breaking the law. And Tatum had always been pretty determined. That was one of the reasons why she was still in their house, even after Dan had tried to tell her to leave. Even so, Tatum's brows furrowed as she frowned across the table at Dan. She set her fork down and sat back against the chair, her hands falling to clasp in her lap. "I can't fix things if you don't give me a chance to fix things," Tatum said. "I'm here and I think that's something we're both going to have to get used to. I get it if you need time to process, but I'm not going anywhere."
His jaw clenching, Dan adopted a similar posture, but he kept his hands on the table, twirling his fork with his restless fingers. “I don’t know if I want you to fix things,” he told her, meeting her eyes. “I don’t even know if fixing things is possible. You were gone for almost three years, and you’ve been back, what, ten hours now? I’m not going to pretend that none of that happened. We are not back together just because you’re here.” He could feel the heat building in his neck and cheeks, and Dan cut off a piece of french toast with aggravated saws of his fork. “The least you can do, especially if you wanna even start to fix things, is respect my boundaries right now,” he said before he popped a bite into his mouth. Dan could hear his therapist in his head as he spoke, but that was a good thing, right? He was going to have so much to talk to her about.
It was instinctual to want to argue but Tatum recognized that doing so would only push him farther away and he was already at a pretty good distance from her. “I’m not asking you to pretend like nothing happened,” she said, standing up to take her plate to the sink. “And I know coming back doesn’t mean we’re… back together.” She nearly told him she hadn’t been with anyone else since she left but Tatum wasn’t sure that was even relevant right now. Plus, she didn’t really want to know what he had been up to and with whom. At least not right now. One thing at a time. Licking her lips, Tatum set the dishes in the sink and turned back to face Dan, leaning against the counter. “It can be fixed and I can fix it. And I know you want me to, even if you don’t realize it yet. I’ll respect your boundaries, okay? But I mean…” Tatum scrunched her nose thoughtfully. “If I’m at the Fourth of July celebration and have a heat stroke, or cut myself really bad or sprain my ankle… it’s your duty as an EMT to treat me, right?” She grinned at him then, just to show she was joking. Mostly joking. Sort of joking.
Dan didn’t look very amused. Tatum had always been incredibly good at getting her way, though lengths that most people wouldn’t go to, and who the hell knew what she was really capable of now. If she ended up faking an injury or illness to get into the medical tent, he was definitely going to pass her off to somebody else to treat. The way she told him what he wanted deep down was irritating as fuck, but he didn’t say anything about it, turning back to his breakfast -- which she’d obviously made solely for him, since she’d barely touched her own plate. He’d said his piece, he didn’t want to start the day off with a fight. Maybe part of him did want her to fix things, wanted her to grovel and apologize and make him actually believe that she still loved him. Dan had been so sure they’d been so in love before she’d left, he’d driven himself half-mad questioning his own judgment and perception of reality, that was part of why it had been so devastating. How could he be sure of anything now when it came to his wife? “We’ll see,” was all he said for the moment, in between bites. There was so much else to say, but if Dan got started, he felt like he’d never stop.
Well, it looked like Dan had lost some of his sense of humor while she had been gone, but she supposed she understood why. He had every right to be hurt and angry. Tatum just wanted to make him smile. It felt like if she could do that, maybe she still had a chance to make this right. But like Dan said, she had only been back, what, ten hours? She couldn't expect things to mend overnight. What she could do is just leave him alone for the day and try to stay awake until he got home, whenever that was. "I'm going to go shower," she said after a moment. "I'll clean up the kitchen when I'm done and then... you know, have whatever fun I want." Tatum supposed she could go see her parents but that created a pit of dread in her stomach. She had friends. She would go see them. "I won't come see you. Boundaries," she added with a small smile.
Like pretty much everything else that was happening, the thought of Tatum climbing into the shower gave Dan mixed feelings. They’d gotten together so young, he hadn’t had a lot of sexual experience before Tatum, and she’d been the only one for so long ... it had taken him a while after she’d left to hook up with anyone else. And even though he sort of had a girlfriend now, so far he hadn’t found the same sort of chemistry he’d had with Tatum. Had her body changed much in the past few years? Dan hated that he wanted to find out. “I appreciate it,” he muttered, glancing up at her. He tried not to look at her figure, but Dan couldn’t help a quick scan. He couldn’t be horny for her, not yet. “... and thank you for breakfast,” he added reluctantly. There were those good manners again. Dan almost tacked on don’t fuck me over while I’m gone but decided against it.
In an ideal world, Dan would join her in the shower and she could at least show him how much she'd missed him. But suggesting that wasn't likely to get her the kind reaction she wanted, so she somehow resisted. She had to behave. Respect Dan's boundaries... while also making sure he saw and understood she was home for good, assuming nobody from her temporary family came looking for her. But fuck, she hadn't had sex in three years and seeing him now, looking all scruffy and gorgeous... it reminded her of how much she missed it. Missed him. "You're welcome," Tatum said with a smile, when he thanked her for the breakfast. "Be safe today," she added. A part of her wanted to just stand there and watch him eat, just because she liked being around him so much. But she needed a shower and he wanted space, so... she headed for the living room where her duffel bag was to get a start on her day and whatever that may entail.