Chapter Text
1 / Elise
It's their anniversary. Their fifth to be precise, halfway to a full decade of being together. Things have been rough for a while, sure, like when she has to beg and plead for Chris to come to the gym with her or to dance a bit or to do really anything beyond a brisk walk. Or when he dodges the idea of kids even though again they've been married for five whole years, halfway to a decade, and if they're ever going to have kids she'd rather have them while she still has energy and time and money. Or when he loses another job because Dan needs him. Or when he cancels a date because Dan needs him. Or when they can't have sex because Dan is in the other room and he says he feels guilty. In their own goddamn marital bed. In their own house.
So yeah, there are rough moments. More as of late. But when she wakes up on their fifth anniversary to twittering birds and cascading rays of light on the bed, she thinks maybe this is just a big bump in the road. One they might finally be past now, after a full week of marital bliss and almost no Dan-interruptions.
She's taking him to a lovely local restaurant, the kind with old wood flooring and creaky chairs and ridiculously good food. One Dan doesn't know the location of, just in case.
She stretches out her arms with a sigh and then rolls over to face Chris in his feetie pyjamas. She remembers exactly why he wears them, though he hasn't mentioned it again in six years. Shamefully she's kind of glad he does. It would be... weird, to see him that way. It would ruin something, she's pretty sure. Better this way. She's learned exactly how to hug him over the years, all the bits she shouldn't touch.
She blinks at him, sleepily but with a smile. "Hey, Chris."
Chris blinks back, copying her, then leans in to kiss her nose. "Hii..." His breath is warm and stale but she doesn't mind. She has always liked those very early morning things, the sand in his eyes and the strange self consumed smell people have when they don't ingest or do anything for eight hours straight. It's like a purer form of Chris. Distilled.
"Happy anniversary," she mutters softly as she leans in to kiss his cheek. "Did you sleep well?" She wraps her arms around him and pulls him close, deliberately avoiding his lower body. After all she's well aware of his problem and has no interest in a physical reminder of it. He can't help bedwetting, she knows that, but it doesn't mean she has to like it. It ruins her pure, distilled idea of Chris, she supposes. She doesn't know why. It just does.
But she puts all of that aside as excitement for today rises in her chest- a whole day just the two of them. A real chance for this rough patch to end. Of course there's worry at the edges of it as well, a nagging thought that if it doesn't end, things will have to change. If they don't have kids soon, if it turns out he really doesn't want them, then she only has a few years to meet someone new until she's past the window she set for herself. But she's willing to be optimistic, to fight for their future. A future he clearly still wants.
As if sensing her inner conflict, Chris leans in to kiss her. It tastes almost sweet. She smiles into the kiss, nuzzling her face into his neck. "You're gonna love today," she announces proudly, tightening the hug with a squeeze before pulling away. "I'm taking you to that restaurant, the one we only went to once probably... ugh, it's been forever, like two years ago? You loved it. Even if the waiter was a bit... creepy. Anyway I'm taking you there and then we can go for a little walk and then..." She giggles. "I thought we could fool around." She doesn't mention it's been a while. She doesn't mention it's the only restaurant they've been to that Dan doesn't know about. But she thinks both things, very intensely. "Like we're dating again, all young and crazy."
She wonders if she should text Dan, bribe him into not trying to find Chris today of all days, but figures it's been a week and chances are she gets at least one more day of bliss. Plus, alerting him to Chris' existence seems counterintuitive. ...Is it cruel to wish your husband is forgotten entirely by his best friend? She swallows. Yeah. It definitely is. And she doesn't actually want that, just... Temporarily. For a month or two or three.
"Now c'mon," she pats him blindly, accidentally hitting a very soft spot she's sure is the nighttime thing. Heat floods her cheeks and her hand feels tingly, in an unpleasant way. She tries to act like nothing happened. "Get up, I'll make us breakfast."
Chris avoids her gaze at the touch. His eyes flit around anxiously. "Yeah, okay." He smiles and gets up, pushing the covers down and heading for the bathroom.
Elise sometimes makes them pancakes, but the boring protein kind that makes Chris always just wish they were actual pancakes. For the occasion she figures she can make regular ones though, with syrup. She hums as she works, feeling her mood rise with every pancake she sets down on a plate to cool off. Today will be great. They'll have a long talk, with the bliss of a whole Dan-free week behind them - maybe it'll have cleared Chris' head a bit, too. They'll talk it all out. Maybe renew their vows this winter... That'd be lovely. She still has her dress but Chris' suit might be too small now. Though... if she really *can* get him onto that new diet it might not be. Unless he puts on muscle. Not that she'd complain...
She hears footsteps approach and smiles without turning her head. "Hey," Chris mumbles and wraps his arms around her from behind.
She giggles and squirms. "Stop!" she whines but it's lighthearted. "I have to focus else the last one will burn!" Still she squirms *into* him, not away, pressing her body up close against him. "I can't wait for tonight."
"Dinner?" He asks hopefully and earns a laugh. "Uhm, but, me too. It's been..." A very long time. Weeks. Always either Dan related or one of them was sick or not in the mood. He's not in the mood very often these days.
"Yes, that too," she says in the tone of a patient mother. "But afterwards..." She sets the spatula down alongside the last pancakes and trails her newly freed up hand over his chest. "We get to fool around. A bunch. Just us two."
The pancakes are lovely. They watch a movie, Chris' pick because anything Elise would've suggested would've very much ruined the mood. It's a love story and Chris cries during the confession, something he doesn't do very often. Elise watches him convulse with one hand over his mouth, like he's puking and not just crying, and something nags at her mind.
It's one of those movies, the kind where there's a fakeout rejection before the inevitable romantic conclusion, and Elise had kind of figured Chris would guess that but it seems not. Because he breaks down so much worse when the rejection scene happens - He curls in on himself, his feet up on the couch, and closes his eyes. Clutches his stomach. Makes a gurgling wailing noise against his knuckles.
"I'm sorry," Elise mumbles helplessly as gears turn in her head. "It's okay, look, look, they just misunderstood each other. C'mon, honey, it's okay. It's just a movie," she adds with some desperation when his tears won't end. "It's not real. Babe..."
Their lunch is awkward. But by the time dinner rolls around Chris seems to have forgotten the movie and is in a much better mood - an enormous relief for Elise. He can be such a softie sometimes, she really should've just picked a comedy.
"You loved it," she reminds him as she winds down never ending roads. "The one from April."
"With the maple syrup pudding?"
She nods. "With the maple syrup pudding. Look, there it is!"
"Are you excited?" she asks softly, pulling into a perfectly placed empty parking spot and smoothing down her red evening gown. "I love you."
"Of course I'm excited." His smile is ear-to-ear and seems genuine. "I love you. Thank you for... all of today."
"Don't thank me yet," she teases and reaches a hand out to squeeze his thigh. "Save that for dessert."
"Maple syrup pudding..." He sighs dreamily.
Her smile wavers. "That too."
When Elise enters the restaurant the outside world fades away and is replaced by the soft clinking of glasses and the gentle murmurings of so many couples. They're led to their seats and she teasingly pulls his chair out for him before sitting down on her own. It's beautiful. Gold accents complement the dark wood she feels against her black kitten heels. As creaky as it is, the wood chosen for the restaurant is still beautiful and gives it a comfortable, homey feeling. She grins at Chris over the table, reaching out to take his hand and grabbing the menu with her free one. Tonight will be lovely, she decides, because it has to be.
Elise watches him for a few long moments. "This is nice," she finally says. "It's nice being-"
A loud ding and a vrrr interrupt her, coming from Chris' pocket.
Dan: Why aren't you home?
Dan: I need your wallet.
Chris pulls out his phone, glancing at the screen. "It's Dan." He shuts it back off and sticks it in his pocket. He looks almost unbothered. "He can wait."
"It's like he knows exactly when to interrupt," she sighs and studies the wine list more closely. She'll need it. "And here I thought... well, it doesn't matter." She forces a smile back on her face and waves over a nearby waitress - partly so she doesn't have to think about Dan any further. Or worse, talk about him. Not much to say that Chris hasn't surely already inferred... She wanted one singular anniversary without him. His lack of physical presence here doesn't feel like enough. Maybe it'll remain the one text...
"I'll have the steak and the Cabernet Sauvignon, please."
The waitress nods and scribbles the order down, then turns her gaze to Chris expectantly.
Dan: I know you're seeing these.
Dan: I hate you and I hope you die.
Dan: I've been busy all week trying to get enough but no one will fucking hire me because they're all stupid
Dan: My landlord's gonna kill me
Dan: i will break into your house if i have to
Dan: please
"The carbonara please, with breadsticks and... just a water, please."
Elise is pretty sure he wanted to order soda but felt self conscious.
Another buzz. He winces but his hand doesn't move.
The woman nods and smiles and is off like lightning. Elise's shoulders relax as they're alone again - as alone as you can be in a crowded restaurant, anyway. She's kind of glad Chris is gonna brave this one sober, he gets so sleepy when he's drunk and she needs him tonight. She needs this. "So..." she purrs as she stretches out one foot, her kitten heel slipping down with ease, leaving her foot in just a sheer stocking. "Been a while since we've been to a nice place like this." She lifts her foot higher, searchingly, until she makes contact with his pant leg. She trails it up until she meets his crotch. Her toes dig into it while her face, resting on one hand, remains calm. "Does it feel nice? Being here," she adds slyly. Her foot massages his crotch.
Dan: If you ever cared about me at all you would look at your phone.
Dan: Fucking jerkface
The phone rings. "It- Yeah, it does. It's been... Ah, it's been a..." His hand twitches for his phone, declines the call and turns it to silent mode.
Dan: If I get kicked out it's gonna be your problem because I'm gonna stay at your place.
Dan: Fine. You chose this. It's YOUR FAULT
Dan: AND IM GOING TO BE WAY MORE EXPENSIVE THAN JUST RENT
Dan: AND YOU DESERVE IT AND I HOPE YOU FUCKING DIE
"Indeed it has," she purrs again, her eyelids low and seductive. Her foot gently massages him through his pants, flexing rhythmically.
The waitress returns rather quickly but Elise never removes her foot. She downs her wine glass before the woman has the chance to leave, watching her refill it almost immediately. The food looks fine. She's not particularly invested in it, clearly.
Finally they're alone again and Elise lowers her foot, waiting a moment and watching Chris over her wine glass. Then very abruptly she jams her other foot into his dick, heel and all - not enough to cause serious pain, just enough to feel threatening and intense. She replaces it with her stocking-foot right away, massaging the soreness.
"So. Five years..." She stretches out a hand and takes his, squeezing it. "I know it's been kind of wonky the past... well the past few months. But I'm glad we're here. I- I think it'll only get better now." She says it exactly because she doesn't believe it. Manifestation, or something like it. Her foot continues its gentle rhythmic kneading.
Dan: I hate you
Dan: I bet you're with Elise. Don't think I don't know when your anniversary is. You keep choosing her even when I really need you.
Dan: You should just stop being friends with me if you don't care.
Dan: Except now you're stuck with me.
Dan: I need to pack my stuff. You better not be at home doing God knows what with her.
Chris is all eyes bulging and winding, twisting away. She watches him struggle to breathe as he shovels food in his mouth, no doubt trying to cover up his own noises.
He swallows everything down and lets out a tiny whine. "It's definitely been... Not great. Glad you stayed. Even with all the... I'm sorry about... all the stuff with Dan."
She smiles but it's a sad smile. "It's alright." She begins to eat as well, not ceasing her movements against his crotch. "We're here now and that's what matters." You chose me, she thinks, right?
She doesn't pace herself for once, finishing her food and wine in record time. Almost as quickly as Chris tends to eat. She wants more and can't exactly get it here, in public. Her foot digs harder against him. "C'mon," she says with half lidded eyes and a breathy voice, "let's take this somewhere more private..."
He doesn't seem to even bother comprehending her words. "Yes," he squeaks out, his food hone at a record pace.
She waves down their waitress and pays, wiggling her foot impatiently against his crotch while she calculates a generous tip. Finally the transaction is over and she slips her shoe back on, getting up so fast she almost knocks her chair over. "Car," she announces, not elaborating further. Her crotch feels like it's actively being electrocuted and the thought of driving home like this is torture.
She doesn't wait for Chris, immediately grabbing her cardigan and rushing to the door. It's kind of chilly outside, the soft evening breeze a relieving sensation against her tense body. She sighs slightly but doesn't relax. She needs this. Now.
Elise waits impatiently for him to get close to the car, then climbs into the backseat and outstretches her arm. She grabs at his shirt and then his arms to pull him inside, away from the chilly breeze and potential witnesses. The door clicks shut. "Good thing it's dark out," she sighs happily as she pulls her dress up over her hips. Not bothering with the zipper she just bunches it up, revealing her black lace panties barely covering her sopping wet cunt. "I'm not waiting until home," she explains with an evil glint in her eyes. "I want you now."
Her hands make quick work of Chris' button and zipper, freeing his cock. Her manicured little hands wrap around him, admiring his length like she has countless times before. He really is huge.
Not once does she think about Dan now, here. It doesn't occur to her that Chris might. Not here, not now, not like this with her red bottom lip jutting out as she runs him up and down with her soft hands - Sex is safety from Dan and his world, the one truly private act they've still got left even after all these years. He's never once walked in on them, it's like he has a sixth sense for when to announce himself via a knock and when to just barge in like he owns the place. The one thing she has and Dan does not is romance, intimacy, sex. Kissing and touching and fucking.
She looks up at him giddily, her hands making quick work of him, rubbing him all over - then she decides she's had enough and dips her head down, mouth stretching over him. All she can think about is that she has him again and maybe this means everything's okay and he feels so perfect against the back of her throat and maybe this is love, somehow, maybe love is just really ugly most of the time.