Because Counseling's Expensive...: An Ikeaverse Installment
Title: Because Counseling's Expensive
Rating: T
Word Count: ~1100
Disclaimer: don't own them.
Summary: Set sometime before " Chain of Command." Bill and Laura have their first fight since moving into their cabin a week prior.
A/N: This is part of an open 'verse that begins with " Normaling."
After the initial euphoria wore off, it wasn’t long before the couple had their first fight in their cabin. Like most fights, it was over something silly. In their case, it was over laundry.
Before moving into the cabin together, Laura and Bill had maintained their separate residences, although they were together almost constantly. Laura took care of her condo, and Bill took care of his apartment. And they always did their own laundry. So, they had no way of knowing what would happen in their cabin.
Laura had many wonderful strengths, but housekeeping wasn’t one of them. Not that her condo had ever been messy, but she didn’t mind clutter. And, if she left her clothes in the dryer too long, that wasn’t a big deal to her. She could always fluff them later, if she needed to. And folding; forget about it. She had accepted the fact that some things weren’t meant to be folded, at least not by her. And if wrinkles were really bad, she could iron. So there was no reason for her to worry about laundry-she had much more important things to worry about, like Starbuck’s penchant for getting in trouble, or the state of the school and her department. Laundry simply didn’t make it on her radar.
While the two were very similar in many ways, Bill’s and Laura’s laundry and housekeeping practices were not well matched. Bill was a neat freak. He liked everything to stay in its proper place. With laundry, Bill was very diligent. When the washer was finished, he immediately flipped the load to the dryer. He used the timer on the dryer, and when it went off, he was there, instantly, to fold the load. His folding was perfect, and nothing was ever wrinkled. This helped him look spiffy, as Laura liked to say.
Their laundry practices weren’t at all compatible, as they found out during their first week in the cabin. It was only logical that they combine their laundry, each taking turns with the responsibilities. This didn’t work out so well. When it was Laura’s turn, she’d forget about the washer load, and it would get mildew from sitting in there too long. When Bill freaked out, she never understood why. She always just re-washed the load, and didn’t worry about it. She also didn’t fold to Bill’s liking, and he couldn’t handle it.
So they fought. And it was bad. Laura even returned Bill’s engagement ring at one point, threatening to move out or throw him out-she couldn’t decide which. This terrified Bill. His only logical response was to grab her and hold her tight. Because Laura had taught him there were many reasons to have sex, showing him the merits of each, Bill was able to appreciate the possibility of angry sex. Once Laura was in his arms, there was nothing stopping him from taking her mouth in a searing kiss. Like always, she gave as good as she got.
There was a trail of clothing articles from the dining room (where they had been standing when the fight broke out) to their bedroom. Neither of them were concerned about wrinkles just then. And there was no discussion about who would do their laundry later. There was no discussion about anything.
Though they had worked out their tension, and remembered what they’d lose if they parted, the couple still needed to talk about their problem. But first Bill needed to convince her to stay. He held his lover tenderly, like she was the most important person in his world.
“Don’t go.”
“Who said I was leaving?”
“You did.”
“I also said I could throw you out.”
“I wouldn’t leave.”
“I’d lock you out and change the locks.”
“I’d sleep on the porch. You’d have to come out some time.”
“Then what?”
“I’d throw myself at your feet and beg you to forgive me.”
“Why?”
“Because I love you, and I can’t live without you.” Laura couldn’t stop the smile from forming. Bill’s love had become the one constant in her life, and it was important to her that it would never change.
“Even if you don’t like the way I fold your shirts?”
“Especially then.” Bill gazed at his fiancee adoringly. He loved her unconditionally, her laundry practices notwithstanding.
“Well, I’m not leaving, and I can’t very well have you freezing to death on our porch, now can I?”
“I’d prefer that wasn’t the case, yes.”
“Now what?”
“I’ll retrieve the ring you threw at my head-“
“I’m sorry.”
“I shouldn’t have pushed you so far--”
“We pushed each other.”
“I’m trying to apologize, Laura. Quit interrupting.”
“That’s your apology?”
“No, I have something better in mind.”
“Ooh, do tell.”
“Let me show you instead.”
Bill kissed her forehead, climbed out of bed, and padded out of the bedroom. Laura had no idea what he had in mind, but she looked forward to finding out. Bill had never disappointed her when it came to romance in their relationship. She knew this time would be no exception.
She was right. Bill quickly returned to their bedroom with the tossed engagement ring. Their engagement had an interesting history, and it was about to be even more so. Laura became one of the few women in history-maybe of all time-to have been proposed to three times by the same man, accepting each time. Bill botched his proposal in Ikea, which led to a fight on the way home. They made up thoroughly, and Bill proposed again in their cabin. But, according to him, that engagement was null and void after Laura threw it at his head a week later. So there he was completely nude, holding the ring she cherished so deeply.
“Laura, I can’t live without you. You’re my best friend, lover, and partner. Marry me?”
Laura got one of her giggle fits, so her response was between giggles, but she agreed to marry him and ordered him to get in their bed. Bill had never turned down an order from a superior officer, especially not one as adorable as his fiancee. And there was nothing in the known universe more adorable than a naked Laura Roslin having a giggle fit. But when he started kissing her, the giggles went away. That had its merit too, though, as they were able to engage in post-engagement sex. Again. But they still had to talk about their original problem.
“What do we do?”
“About what?”
“About the laundry situation.”
“Oh. We’ll get another washer and dryer.”
“Why?”
“Your way works for you. My way works for me.”
“We can’t adapt.”
“And why should we? We are who we are.”
“And therapy’s expensive.”
“Yeah, so we’d really be saving money here, in the long run.”
“Unless we fight about other things.”
“I’m confident in our abilities to make up, Laura.”
“And it can be a lot of fun.”
“That too.”
Next Installment
Rating: T
Word Count: ~1100
Disclaimer: don't own them.
Summary: Set sometime before " Chain of Command." Bill and Laura have their first fight since moving into their cabin a week prior.
A/N: This is part of an open 'verse that begins with " Normaling."
After the initial euphoria wore off, it wasn’t long before the couple had their first fight in their cabin. Like most fights, it was over something silly. In their case, it was over laundry.
Before moving into the cabin together, Laura and Bill had maintained their separate residences, although they were together almost constantly. Laura took care of her condo, and Bill took care of his apartment. And they always did their own laundry. So, they had no way of knowing what would happen in their cabin.
Laura had many wonderful strengths, but housekeeping wasn’t one of them. Not that her condo had ever been messy, but she didn’t mind clutter. And, if she left her clothes in the dryer too long, that wasn’t a big deal to her. She could always fluff them later, if she needed to. And folding; forget about it. She had accepted the fact that some things weren’t meant to be folded, at least not by her. And if wrinkles were really bad, she could iron. So there was no reason for her to worry about laundry-she had much more important things to worry about, like Starbuck’s penchant for getting in trouble, or the state of the school and her department. Laundry simply didn’t make it on her radar.
While the two were very similar in many ways, Bill’s and Laura’s laundry and housekeeping practices were not well matched. Bill was a neat freak. He liked everything to stay in its proper place. With laundry, Bill was very diligent. When the washer was finished, he immediately flipped the load to the dryer. He used the timer on the dryer, and when it went off, he was there, instantly, to fold the load. His folding was perfect, and nothing was ever wrinkled. This helped him look spiffy, as Laura liked to say.
Their laundry practices weren’t at all compatible, as they found out during their first week in the cabin. It was only logical that they combine their laundry, each taking turns with the responsibilities. This didn’t work out so well. When it was Laura’s turn, she’d forget about the washer load, and it would get mildew from sitting in there too long. When Bill freaked out, she never understood why. She always just re-washed the load, and didn’t worry about it. She also didn’t fold to Bill’s liking, and he couldn’t handle it.
So they fought. And it was bad. Laura even returned Bill’s engagement ring at one point, threatening to move out or throw him out-she couldn’t decide which. This terrified Bill. His only logical response was to grab her and hold her tight. Because Laura had taught him there were many reasons to have sex, showing him the merits of each, Bill was able to appreciate the possibility of angry sex. Once Laura was in his arms, there was nothing stopping him from taking her mouth in a searing kiss. Like always, she gave as good as she got.
There was a trail of clothing articles from the dining room (where they had been standing when the fight broke out) to their bedroom. Neither of them were concerned about wrinkles just then. And there was no discussion about who would do their laundry later. There was no discussion about anything.
Though they had worked out their tension, and remembered what they’d lose if they parted, the couple still needed to talk about their problem. But first Bill needed to convince her to stay. He held his lover tenderly, like she was the most important person in his world.
“Don’t go.”
“Who said I was leaving?”
“You did.”
“I also said I could throw you out.”
“I wouldn’t leave.”
“I’d lock you out and change the locks.”
“I’d sleep on the porch. You’d have to come out some time.”
“Then what?”
“I’d throw myself at your feet and beg you to forgive me.”
“Why?”
“Because I love you, and I can’t live without you.” Laura couldn’t stop the smile from forming. Bill’s love had become the one constant in her life, and it was important to her that it would never change.
“Even if you don’t like the way I fold your shirts?”
“Especially then.” Bill gazed at his fiancee adoringly. He loved her unconditionally, her laundry practices notwithstanding.
“Well, I’m not leaving, and I can’t very well have you freezing to death on our porch, now can I?”
“I’d prefer that wasn’t the case, yes.”
“Now what?”
“I’ll retrieve the ring you threw at my head-“
“I’m sorry.”
“I shouldn’t have pushed you so far--”
“We pushed each other.”
“I’m trying to apologize, Laura. Quit interrupting.”
“That’s your apology?”
“No, I have something better in mind.”
“Ooh, do tell.”
“Let me show you instead.”
Bill kissed her forehead, climbed out of bed, and padded out of the bedroom. Laura had no idea what he had in mind, but she looked forward to finding out. Bill had never disappointed her when it came to romance in their relationship. She knew this time would be no exception.
She was right. Bill quickly returned to their bedroom with the tossed engagement ring. Their engagement had an interesting history, and it was about to be even more so. Laura became one of the few women in history-maybe of all time-to have been proposed to three times by the same man, accepting each time. Bill botched his proposal in Ikea, which led to a fight on the way home. They made up thoroughly, and Bill proposed again in their cabin. But, according to him, that engagement was null and void after Laura threw it at his head a week later. So there he was completely nude, holding the ring she cherished so deeply.
“Laura, I can’t live without you. You’re my best friend, lover, and partner. Marry me?”
Laura got one of her giggle fits, so her response was between giggles, but she agreed to marry him and ordered him to get in their bed. Bill had never turned down an order from a superior officer, especially not one as adorable as his fiancee. And there was nothing in the known universe more adorable than a naked Laura Roslin having a giggle fit. But when he started kissing her, the giggles went away. That had its merit too, though, as they were able to engage in post-engagement sex. Again. But they still had to talk about their original problem.
“What do we do?”
“About what?”
“About the laundry situation.”
“Oh. We’ll get another washer and dryer.”
“Why?”
“Your way works for you. My way works for me.”
“We can’t adapt.”
“And why should we? We are who we are.”
“And therapy’s expensive.”
“Yeah, so we’d really be saving money here, in the long run.”
“Unless we fight about other things.”
“I’m confident in our abilities to make up, Laura.”
“And it can be a lot of fun.”
“That too.”
Next Installment