Summary: Zig and MC (Charlotte) go to Kaitlyn’s show and, afterwards, enjoy Charlotte’s empty apartment.
The club was already packed with people by the time Zig and Charlotte arrived, pulsing with angry punk energy. The air smelled of sweat and beer and the electricity was nearly tangible. More than a few people gave Charlotte a confused side eye as she and Zig wound their way through the crowd towards the bar.
“You seem to be pretty popular,” Zig said, leaning in close to Charlotte’s ear to be heard over the opening band. She shook her head.
“Not me, Kaitlyn,” she explained. “They’re fans who are trying to figure out why their badass leader looks so boring and conventional.”
Charlotte watched Zig as he leaned back to give her the full up and down with his gaze. She wore simple skinny jeans and a black t-shirt, her hair long and loose.
“Trust me, you are anything but boring,” he said as he leaned in towards her ear again, hooking a finger through her belt loop and tugging her closer to him.
“I notice you didn’t refute the conventional claim,” she said with a grin. Zig smirked.
“Well, it’s not like you have safety pins through your cheeks or anything,” he said.
“You know,” Charlotte said, “for a while, I thought about piercing my tongue.”
“Really?” Zig asked, intrigued.
“Yeah, but Kaitlyn talked me out of it. She pointed out that if it clicked against my teeth, it’d drive me nuts.”
“Probably,” Zig agreed. “If you want my completely unsolicited opinion, I think that would’ve looked really sexy on you. But,” he added, leaning closer to her, “I’m a pretty big fan of your tongue as it is.”
Charlotte grinned as she took hold of his white t-shirt and pulled him closer, closing the gap between them as she kissed him. She felt Zig’s hands slide around her waist, his fingers skimming just beneath the hem of her shirt. Charlotte melted into the kiss, the club around them fading away … until she felt someone flick the back of her head.
“Ow!” Charlotte exclaimed, turning around to see the heavily tattooed bartender staring at her with one eyebrow raised. “Sorry, Frankie.”
“Don’t test me, Charlotte, I will turn the soda gun on you,” she said with a grin. “What are you drinking?”
“Vodka soda,” Charlotte said, glancing over her shoulder at Zig.
“Same,” he said.
Frankie nodded and headed off to make their drinks.
“Friend of yours?” Zig asked.
“Yup,” Charlotte said with a grin. “Frankie’s the best bartender in town and she’s been at this club for years. She really helped out the band a lot in the early days, so Kaitlyn and I are forever indebted to her. Plus, she grossly undercharges me at the bar.”
“Kaitlyn mentioned you’d be here tonight,” Frankie said when she came back with the drinks. “What happened to Maine?”
“I’ll fill you in later,” Charlotte promised. “It’s a long story and you’ve got a packed bar. But a part of Maine did show up on my doorstep today,” she said gesturing to Zig.
“Hey, I’m Zig,” he said, holding out his hand.
“Frankie, nice to meet you,” she said with a smile as she shook his hand. “Well, you kids enjoy the show and I’ll catch up with you later.”
Charlotte and Zig turned to leave when Charlotte felt a tap on her arm. She glanced back at Frankie.
“Oh my god!” she mouthed, pointing at Zig’s receding form through the crowd.
“I know, right?” Charlotte mouthed back before giving her a sly grin and turning to follow her favorite forest ranger.
******
Charlotte hadn’t thought it possible, but by the time the Trash Pandas took the stage, even more people had crammed into the club. The crowd broke into thunderous cheers as Kaitlyn, Annisa, and the rest of the band walked out under the spotlights.
“What the fuck is up, everyone?” Kaitlyn asked with a huge grin on her face when she reached the microphone. She was met with cheers and applause and she opened her arms wide, accepting the accolades.
“I didn’t realize what a big deal your sister’s band is,” Zig said, shouting to be heard.
“One of Boston’s finest,” Charlotte replied as the band launched into one of their most popular songs. The crowd cheered when they recognized the opening riff and Charlotte began to lose herself in the music with Zig beside her. They danced together and she felt his hands on her hips and could feel his body heat when she pressed against him. She let herself be swept up in the beat, the crowd, and for the first time in a long time, she felt entirely in her body and in the present moment.
The band played for a while, holding the crowd rapt with each song, until Kaitlyn paused, leaning back from the microphone to tell something to the band.
“Alright, everyone, we’re going to take a brief intermission, but before we do, we’re gonna debut a new song for you,” Kaitlyn announced. “This one goes out to my beautiful sister, Charlotte, who is going to be completely mortified that I’m singling her out of the crowd,” she continued, pointing at Charlotte. Charlotte’s face was already flushed from dancing, but she felt an added heat as several people in the crowd turned to look at her. “I love you, twin.”
Zig, standing behind her, slid his arms around her waist and planted a gentle kiss on her neck as the band kicked off a high octane beat and Kaitlyn began to sing.
“So you said what you wanted to say
Your words are honey and lies
I can’t stay here another day
While another part of me dies
I’m not your free time
Not your consolation prize
Our deathknell has already chimed
I’m laughing now, a gilded butterfly
I don’t need you to get by
Charlotte leaned back against Zig’s chest as she watched her sister on stage as the song continued. Kaitlyn was a massive pain in the ass but Charlotte knew she was the luckiest person in the world to have Kaitlyn as her sister.
After the night had run into the small hours of the early morning, Charlotte and Zig headed back to her apartment.
“God, I feel like I need the longest shower after being in that club,” she said as she flipped on the lights.
“Me, too,” Zig said. “That show was awesome, but it was hot in there.”
“Are you hinting at something, Mr. Ortega?” Charlotte asked coyly as she dropped her keys on the kitchen table.
“I actually wasn’t,” he said with a smirk. “But … in the interest of conserving water, I suppose I could be persuaded.”
“Hey, I don’t want to twist your arm,” Charlotte said, putting her hands up in mock surrender. “We can each shower alone.”
Zig crossed the room and caught her around the waist, pulling her close to him. He kissed her softly, letting his lips trail across her cheek to her ear. “I’ve missed you, Charlotte,” he murmured.
“I missed you, too,” she admitted. She slid her hands under his shirt, her palms resting against his bare sides.
“Plus, I’m very worried about what’ll happen to the fish if we shower separately,” Zig said.
Charlotte laughed. “We’ve taken tons of showers separately.”
“Think of the damage we’ve already done,” he said as kissed her neck just below her ear, making her shiver. He sucked at the skin lightly and the memory of that last day with Chris in his office flashed through her mind. She pushed the thought away as quickly as it had come.
“Well, let’s go then,” she said with a smile, breaking away from his embrace. Charlotte turned and headed down the narrow hallway towards the bathroom and was pleased to see Zig following her when she glanced back over her shoulder. She flipped on the harsh overhead light in the bathroom and immediately reached for the lighter Kaitlyn kept in her drawer. When they’d moved in, Kaitlyn had insisted on loading up the limited bathroom counter space with candles for “ambiance” and, for the first time, Charlotte was thankful she’d let her twin win that argument. Charlotte lit all the candles and then turned off the overhead light. The bathroom was bathed in soft, warm light as she walked over to the shower and turned on the water. Zig closed the door behind him and reached for her.
“We just need to give the water a minute to warm up,” she said, tugging her shirt up and over her head. Zig did the same.
“Whatever will we do while we wait?” he asked with a smirk.
“I’m not sure, but I’m pretty sure you should take off your pants,” Charlotte said with a smirk of her own, raising an eyebrow. Zig held her gaze as he stripped off his shirt and jeans, never breaking eye contact until he was down to his boxer briefs.
“You planning on showering in those?” she asked as the first puffs of steam began to rise over the top of the shower.
“I thought maybe you could give me a hand.”
Charlotte stepped closer to him and put her palms flat on his chest as she kissed him. She slid one hand up around the back of his neck as the other slid lower, tracing the hard outline of his cock through the cotton fabric. She palmed him, squeezing gently, and he moaned softly against her mouth.
“Is that what you had in mind?” she asked as he ran his hands up her back to unclasp her bra. He got it on the first try and Charlotte shrugged out of it, letting it fall to the floor between them.
“I mean, I just thought you were going to take them off,” he murmured, sliding his hands up over her shoulders and down her front to brush his fingers over her hardening nipples.
“I can do that, too.” Charlotte kissed her way down his chest before kneeling in front of him. She trailed her lips over his stomach, brushing against his hard won muscles as she hooked her fingers in the waistband of his boxers. Charlotte just barely pulled them down, kissing the newly exposed skin. She flicked her eyes up towards Zig, his pupils wide and dark in the candlelight as he watched her, his breath heavy. She took her time, inching his boxers down until his cock sprang free and she let the boxers fall. Charlotte took him in her hands, caressing his length as she traced him with her tongue. She slowly licked the drop of precum from the tip before she took him in her mouth, eliciting a moan from Zig as he pushed her hair back from her face, gently holding it back for a better view. Charlotte sucked him slowly, pumping him at the same pace with one hand while she caressed his balls with the other. She swirled her tongue around him, picking up speed as his hips began to buck, just a little. Finally–and not without significant effort–Zig pulled away from her, her mouth releasing him with a slight pop.
“I need to feel you,” he growled. Charlotte smirked as she leaned forward and licked the tip of his cock.
“You can’t feel me?” she teased.
Zig pulled her to her feet and his lips crashed into hers as he undid her pants, the room now full of steam.
“Not the way I want to,” he said gruffly as he yanked down her jeans and underwear. She stepped out of them and opened the shower door. They stepped under the hot water and Zig pinned her against the tiles. He kissed her deeply as he slid a hand down her stomach and between her legs. He easily slipped one finger into her, then two, already wet with desire. Charlotte moaned against his kiss as he began to pump his fingers in and out of her at a steady pace. She gasped when he added his thumb against her clit, the water coursing down their bodies. She could feel his hard cock brushing against her and she wanted him inside of her, but she felt powerless to move against his fingers, pushing her closer and closer to the edge.
“Zig,” Charlotte breathed. “I–”
Before she could finish her sentence, Zig kissed her and sped up his movements, causing her to come on his fingers, her cries echoing off the shower tiles as the pleasure pulsed through her body. Her knees would have buckled were it not for Zig holding her up as he continued to touch her, riding out the last ripples of her orgasm.
Charlotte wrapped a leg around his waist and reached for him, teasing the tip of him against her entrance. “Is this the way you want to feel me?” Zig bit his lip as she eased the tip inside and he could only nod. “Say it.”
Zig looked her in the eyes, his voice low and fu and full of lust. “I want you. Now.”
He pushed inside her and she gasped, clinging to his wet shoulders. His thrusts were hard and steady, pushing her against the tile wall. Charlotte slipped a hand between them, rubbing her clit and Zig dropped his forehead to her shoulder, watching her as the water dripped down his face.
“Fuck, I love watching you touch yourself,” he groaned, his speed increasing. Charlotte moaned as he pounded into her. She felt the pleasure coiling in her again, winding tighter and tighter.
“I’m close,” she panted, her voice barely audible over the running water. He lifted his gaze and kissed her neck, licking the water from her skin.
“Come for me,” he murmured in her ear. The coil snapped and she came undone, her body undulating against the wall through an orgasm so intense she was locked in silence as he slammed into her, pushing her intensity further and further until she felt him come with a groan, his fingers digging into the soft flesh of her thigh. They finally stopped moving, both breathing hard as Zig rested his forehead against hers.
“Told you I missed you,” he said with a grin. Charlotte laughed weakly, still trying to catch her breath.
“I’m not sure I can stand on my own,” she admitted. Zig gently set her leg down and wrapped her in his arms, the water pattering against them.
“I’ve got you,” he said quietly.
Charlotte couldn’t say why, but she suddenly felt like crying. Not now, she ordered herself. Please, not now.
They stayed that way for a couple minutes until Charlotte started to feel steadier, tears retreated. Then Zig reached for a bottle of conditioner and poured a little into his hands before he started to gently massage it through her hair. She turned around as he worked the lather through her hair. Then he reached for the body wash and began to lather her body with sweet smelling bubbles of peaches and cream. He turned her around to face him, carefully caressing each bit of skin. He knelt to wash her legs and pressed a gentle kiss to her hip before finishing his task. Once he was done, Charlotte did the same to him until they were both clean. He leaned down and kissed her as they stood under the water together, the warm water washing away the last of the punk club.
Once the last buble was gone, Charlotte turned off the shower and handed Zig a towel before grabbing one for herself. They dried off and Charlotte blew out the candles, their thin, rising smoke mingling with the steam, before they left the bathroom. Back in her bedroom, Charlotte dug through her drawers for some clean underwear, taking care to choose a cute lace pair instead of the older, cotton pairs shoved into the back of the drawer that she saved for laundry day. She put them on and opened another drawer where she kept her pajama pants.
“Yes!” Zig said triumphantly as he reached around her for the purple pajama pants. He grabbed them before she could protest and slipped them on over his boxer briefs.
“Seriously?” Charlotte asked with a laugh.
“Yeah, these are my favorites,” he said. “Plus,” he added, striking a pose, “I look great in them.
“I won’t argue with that,” she said as she pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of leggings.
They finished getting ready for bed and climbed under the covers as Charlotte switched off the lamp on her bedside table. They lay on their sides, facing each other.
“I’m glad you’re here,” she said.
“I wasn’t sure at first judging by how you reacted when I showed up at your door today,” he said. Charlotte reached over in the darkness and found his hand, squeezing his fingers in hers.
“I was just surprised. I didn’t expect to hear from you again after I left Maine.”
Zig lay on his back and pulled her close. She rested her head on his chest, listening to the steady metronome of his heart.
“You could come back,” he said. “If you wanted.”
“Maybe,” she said. “But my life is in Boston. I don’t really want to leave Kaitlyn and there isn’t much of a punk scene in Hull.”
They were quiet for a long time and for a while, Charlotte thought he might’ve fallen asleep.
“I don’t want to put any pressure on you because I know you’re still figuring some things out,” Zig said. “But if you decide that this is something you want, I could look into a transfer to somewhere closer.”
Charlotte lay in silence, stunned, before she sat up. “I couldn’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not asking, I’m offering,” Zig said.
“Zig … we haven’t known each other for that long, what makes you sure this would work out?”
“I’m not sure it would work out,” he said simply. “But if being together is something you want, I’d want to try.” He sat up. “Charlotte, you’ve been through enough with someone not choosing you. I just want you to know that I’m choosing you, if you’ll have me. And I don’t want an answer right now, I know you’re still going through a lot. All I’m asking is that you think about it.”
Zig lay back down and Charlotte lay down beside him, nestled in the crook of his arm. She closed her eyes and began to succumb to her exhaustion, with offers and unanswered text messages dancing in her head.
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