House of the Rising Son

Chapter 3

A/N: Had to cut their first night home in half, for your eyes as well as mine and my sanity! xoxo Hope you all enjoy. Thanks for the support! (Review if you feel up to it, please!)

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After thinking he had sent Amelia off to work, Juice raced home to shower and nap, he wanted to enjoy being home before jumping right into finding Stahl. At first glance nothing seemed different, more lived in that he expected but there were no pictures on the wall or the fridge, although that as stocked nicely. He pulled out the carton of orange juice and strolled around the house drinking right from the spout. As soon as he reached the top of the stairs Juice could smell Amelia, a hint of her usual coconut shampoo and an array of other girly scents he couldn't single out but he loved it.

"Jesus, Meels, you're a clean freak like me." It would a lesson soon learned that his OCD type tendencies were more anxiety related than he ever imagined. All Juice needed was some peace in his life, to not feel alone in the most personal of ways. The club, they were his family and he loved them dearly but he was looking for a little more depth and he finally felt he found it.

He walked into the bedroom to see it too was spotless. Juice didn't know what he expected, clothes strewn about or makeup everywhere but Amelia was obviously ready for his return home. He knew she was probably anxious about the transition, he was too, and that was a good thing because to him it meant she cared how it all went. Him asking to her to stay there, run his life really, was huge and had he had time to think it over Juice wasn't sure he'd ask her. How could he drop that level of stress on her, push her when he knew how slowly she wanted to take things? His lack of time proved to be a good thing though, Amelia was happy and calm, if she wasn't he knew she couldn't fake it and by her reaction earlier Juice could see it didn't do the damage he feared it would.

Laughing his way through his shower, body scrubs and lotions filled his bathroom now. Juice scoured himself clean, sure to get the grime he swore he could feel on him washed away, and headed right to bed. Just as she had done, Juice enjoyed smelling Amelia's perfume and shampoo as he drifted off to sleep.

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Juice stood, his back aching, and stretched with a loud grunt but before shutting the lid on his computer he grinned at the goofy picture of herself Amelia had changed for his background. Her eyes were crossed, her tongue stuck out and rolled up, totally awkward and weird but it was hilarious. The hours at his laptop at home then the club were stinging his eyes and his head began to ache when he finally decided to give up the chase. At first, he thought it would be nice not to have to bury his head under the hood of a car all day for show but now he missed it. As he stepped into the sun, his eyes barely able to stay open in the brightness, he stepped up the pace over to TM. Purposely, she didn't tell Juice or Tig about her new job and Amelia was disappointed that they hadn't even noticed all day.

"What are you doing here?" Juice asked with his face twisted as he looked at her, Tig entered right after for a coffee after taking a ride with Clay. "I thought I said goodbye to you like, hours ago. Don't you have work?"

"I do," she looked up from the order form on the desk. "And you're interrupting me."

"Here?" He asked, astonished that she would ever leave the real world for a job on the lot. "You're working here?"

"What are you crazy?" Tig asked quickly. The way she drew her head back and her chin jutted out Juice could tell she was angry and he was relieved Tig spoke before he could since he was thinking the same thing. It was such a common phrase that they hoped she knew Tig didn't actually mean anything by it. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean that, I just have no idea what you were thinking."