Hell's Reign (Patrick Stump/Fall Out Boy Fanfiction)

Chapter 11 - Make No Sudden Moves

            Patrick had set Victoria on the edge of the sink, while he sat on the closed lid of the toilet with her left foot in his lap. He'd pulled a first-aid kit out of the cabinet above the sink and set it beside Tori before he began. She watched him with cautious curiosity, wincing every now and then as he tugged carefully at the shards of glass in her foot. He pulled each piece out with a pair of tweezers and set the glass carefully on the floor beside him, on top of a towel that he would later use to dispose of them. While he worked and Tori watched, the sounds of a hammer and nails being driven into wood echoed through the house. Andy had come upstairs only a moment ago to tell Patrick what was going on; Joe and Pete were taking boards off of the shed in the backyard, slowly dismantling it in order to board up the remains of the back door. They must have begun boarding it up, because Tori gave a small jump at every thump that came from the kitchen. Still, she winced and screwed her eyes shut as Patrick pulled on another tiny shard of glass.

"You okay?" Patrick asked, pausing his ministrations to look up at Tori. She squinted one eye open at him, frowning by way of answer. Patrick frowned and dabbed a towel at the bottom of her bloody foot. "I'm sorry, Tori."

"It's not your fault, Trick," Tori winced.

Patrick looked up at her, a slight blush and a smirk on his face. "Trick?" He asked, trying to distract her as he pulled on the piece of glass again. "Usually people go with 'Pat'."

Tori shrugged, making a face as Patrick dropped the glass into the pile. "Seemed too commonplace for you," she mumbled., "And you don't really look like a Pat to me."

"But I look like a Trick?" Patrick chuckled, holding her foot up as he wiped it clean again. He was looking for more glass, to be sure he'd gotten all of it.

"Kind of," Tori giggled, "I don't know."

"Fair enough," Patrick breathed, reaching for the first-aid kit beside her. He pulled out the roll of gauze that he had already used to wrap her right foot when he had finished with it, and began to carefully roll it around her left foot, right up to her toes. He covered it with an ace bandage after, carefully pinning it so it wouldn't come loose during the night, then set her foot down and stood up. Before she could move, Patrick stepped closer to her and leaned over her, setting his hands on either side of her on the sink so that their faces were mere inches apart. "I like that nickname," he mumbled, courageously bumping his nose lightly against hers. As terrified as he was to do it for a second time that night, he desperately wanted to kiss her again. He didn't want it to be like the kiss they had shared earlier, on a pile of broken glass, over two dead zombies. No, this one had to be different; It had to be real.

"Good," Tori whispered back, leaning closer to him as her hands reached cautiously toward his chest. Patrick's eyes locked on hers, and he wanted nothing more than to taste her lips again. Yet, he waited. He wanted permission this time, and he waited patiently for her to make the next move. Lucky for him, he didn't have to wait long. Tori slid her hands up his chest to his neck and pulled him in, until her lips pressed gently against his. Patrick stiffened for a moment, desperately trying to focus on her, and nothing but her. Their lips moved slowly, tentatively, as if this were untouched territory. After a moment, Patrick couldn't contain himself and let his tongue slip out between his teeth to graze against her bottom lip. Her breath hitched slightly, and in the next movement, she let her tongue meet briefly with his. Patrick relaxed then. She tasted like the tea she had made for them during dinner, and the cigarette she had smoked after. The feeling she caused in the pit of his stomach, the fluttering, giddy feeling, was like nothing he'd ever felt before. But then she pulled away too soon, leaving Patrick hanging there with his eyes still closed and his lips feeling swollen. Tori giggled lightly and pushed at his chest. "You still need to take care of your own feet, Trick. You're bleeding."