Kiss me once, then kiss me twice, then kiss me once again

“Nick…” Mary leaned forward and planted her lips against his before he could respond to her.

Nick’s eyes widened, and not sure what to do for a moment, he just kissed her back. After a few seconds of their tongues twisting around each other, Mary pulled away from him and looked up into his eyes. Her eyes were moist with desire.

“I didn’t ask to kiss you,” she said in a voice just above a whisper. “But… was that okay?”

Nick gulped. His face burned. “Y-yeah,” he managed to get out. “That… that was fine. I didn’t mind that at all…”

In fact, he would be perfectly pleased with more. Much more.

Mary, feeling the same way, smiled a sweet, dimpled smile. “Good,” she murmured. “I’m glad.”

The last thing she wanted was to hurt him. She was worried that, after what her duplicate had done, her husband would be hesitant to have any intimate contact with her. She’d heard the stories plenty of times, how survivors of sexual assault could find themselves so traumatized by what they’d gone through that their bodies would instinctively pull away from a loving partner, even when their hearts desperately wanted to connect.

But Nick was holding onto her even tighter.

If he wanted to seek comfort in her arms, well… she was his wife. It wasn’t just her duty to be there for him, it was her heart’s deepest desire.

“I love you,” she whispered, kissing him again. She wanted to keep kissing him and kissing him until he forgot all about that woman and her venomous lips. (Even if they were the same lips as her own.) “I love you. I love you…”

He was hesitant at first. Almost reluctant. And that made Mary feel nervous. But as she felt his arms tighten around her, she relaxed into his embrace and realized that he wasn’t afraid. Even though she had the same face, he could tell just by holding her that she wasn’t Echo. She was Mary.

“It’s alright,” she whispered, pulling her lips away from his again and looking him in the eyes. “I want to be with you. But… I know what you’ve gone through today. And with Dakota…”

Mary had been right by her husband’s side as he poured his heart and soul into that letter. She had stood by him through the worst of it, and now, she knew, he must have felt so reluctant. So uncertain. After the emotional train wreck his heart had experienced, she couldn’t blame him for not feeling up to being with her tonight.

But his eyes told her just how much he wanted this too.

“Mary… I… I love you, too,” Nick said back to her, and he tightened his embrace.

Mary let out a swooning sigh as she sunk into his arms, rested her chin against his shoulder, and-

“RrRGGGHLLLLLLEEEEEE…”

“Eeee?!” Mary squeaked in surprise. Her face turned red and her eyes widened, and she jerked away from her husband slightly while not leaving his arms.

“Huh?” Nick didn’t know what had happened for a moment. It almost sounded like… “Mary… was… was that your stomach?”

Mary’s blush deepened and she almost burst into tears.

“It, uh… it-it’s nothing!” She stammered, flailing her hands about. “I just, well, you know… it’s getting really late, so I shouldn’t, um…!”

Nick realized what he’d missed. What he’d missed for hours.

Earlier that evening, he’d poured his heart into cooking a meal for his wife. But that woman hadn’t been Mary. Only Echo had gotten to sample his cooking. And before that, at lunch with Rose as well…

…

Mary hadn’t had anything to eat all day. She’d been enduring as best she could, but she couldn’t hold on anymore. He could see it all over her face.

“…Are you hungry?” Nick asked her seriously.

What was she supposed to say? Of course she was hungry! She’d been locked up in a dungeon all afternoon, and then gone through a whirlwind of drama that had culminated in her evil clone abducting her husband and then having him write a letter to his childhood friend and first love!

Mary was fucking starving! But even more than her hunger, she’d wanted to be there to comfort Nick after his rough day. She… wasn’t she allowed to do that?

Why did her stupid stomach have to get in the way!?

Nick pressed his lips together tightly and looked his wife in the eyes.

Then he smiled.

“I’m sorry I didn’t notice,” he apologized. “I should have-”

“No!” Mary was NOT about to let him blame himself for this, no fucking way! “It’s MY fault!” She exclaimed. “I-I didn’t want to spoil the mood so I forced myself not to eat, that doesn’t have anything to do with you! Plus, um, there wasn’t a good opportunity, and-and it’s not like I’m really hungry anyway, this is just, uh… …A pregnancy craving! Yeah! That’s it!” She exclaimed, coming up with the perfect excuse. (In her mind, anyway…)

Nick stared at her. “…Huh?”

“You know, um, a pregnancy craving, when you’re pregnant, and you’re so hungry that you just gotta, well, you know, eat whatever?! Even stuff that makes no sense, like, um, peanut-butter and pickle sandwiches? But you know how it goes, you can’t spoil your kids! So, uh, I-I don’t need to eat anything, really!”

She rubbed her bare stomach and forced a shaky smile onto her face. “See? Tummy’s all full!”

“…That’s your baby in there,” Holly bluntly interjected herself into the conversation, now that it looked like sexy times were off the table, much to her chagrin.

“Holly!” Mary screeched at her best friend in frustration.

“Mary, I’m a little lost,” Nick said seriously. He knew pregnancy cravings were a thing, but he wasn’t exactly an expert on pregnancies or what the diet of an expecting mother should actually look like. But he was pretty sure that you weren’t supposed to avoid eating food when you were having a craving, right?

He didn’t need to be a doctor to know that much.

Mary found herself paralyzed between what she wanted, and what she knew the responsible thing to do here was. Also, she was really, really hungry.

Luckily, Holly was happy to speak up for her friend.

“Mary is saying that she’s hungrier for your pickle than for a peanut-butter and pickle sandwich,” Holly said. “Oh, and she’d rather have your nut butte-”

“HOLLY!” Mary drowned out her friend with a screech. She could just rip that tangled ponytail right out of the brat’s skull!

Nick finally started to understand. “Mary,” he said sincerely, gently holding her shoulders, “I don’t know how much you saw up here tonight, with… with her… while you were in that place.”

Mary kept her lips tightly shut. Everything. She had seen everything. And it crushed her. But she was stronger than that.

“…But tonight,” Nick continued, “I actually cooked dinner. I wanted it to be special for you, see? I wanted you to be pampered and spoiled like you deserved. I wanted to show you how much I loved you and how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, and I thought I could do that by just giving you a day off and handling all that stuff myself.”

His smile faded. “But… that wasn’t you. All my hard work… it was a waste. I’m sorry.”

Mary shook her head swiftly, feeling like she was about to cry. “No, Nick, that… that’s not… please don’t feel bad, I don’t…!”

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t give you the meal I wanted to, but… I can at least treat you to something else, can’t I?” He asked. The last thing he wanted right now was for Mary to have to go make her own late-night snack on top of everything else.

“But you’ve been through so much, too!” Mary protested, shaking her head. “I-! It isn’t fair to have you do that, too, on top of all this…”

She didn’t want him to go to all that trouble for her sake, not after how Echo had tricked him.

“Fine, I’LL do it,” Holly piped up, surprising both of them. Nick and Mary looked at her, stunned.

“What?” Holly placed her hands on her hips. “Is that so shocking? Huh?” She asked with a huff. “I’m allowed to care about you both, too, aren’t I? And you’ve both been through so much tonight. Mary, you were locked in a dungeon! And Nick, you were tricked by her evil clone! You BOTH need to take a breather and process all this. Okay? So let me go make something for you, Mary, and you two just… I don’t know, talk or cuddle or whatever it is you wanna do.”

Before either of them could raise any objections, she was already headed for the kitchen.

She poked her head out a second later.

“Okay, but if you guys are gonna do sex stuff, save it until I’m there, please? Thanks, much appreciated you guys.”

Mary and Nick looked at each other. Neither of them quite knew what to say in response to that. It was almost laughable, almost.

But they were both too tired to laugh. So they just smiled. Nick led Mary over to the couch and sat her down so she could take a breather, knowing how hungry she must be and how tired she must be feeling. And Mary was quick to make sure that was ALL he did.

No, she didn’t need a foot rub, or a back massage, or any of that other stuff. Nick had been through a lot himself, and just like Holly said, he needed to process everything that Echo had done.

So as much as they wanted to take care of each other right now, they both accepted that the best way to do so was to sit and take care of their own needs, first.

Holly came out of the kitchen a few minutes later with a steaming tray loaded with quesadillas. An odd choice, Mary thought.

“Holly, I know you like baking, but quesadillas are a little unusual for you, aren’t they?” Mary asked as Holly set the tray down in front of her. There was a veritable mountain of them.

“Nick had a lot of cheese left over from tonight,” Holly answered. “And these are pretty fast to make. I knew you were in a bit of a hurry, so…”

She waved at the stack of food. “Eat up while they’re hot. I can guarantee the flavor, at least,” she said with a cheeky wink. “You know how good I am!”

Mary was very much aware of that, yes. She grabbed one off the tray and was satisfied by how the cheese pulled away from the others. Holly had really done well to satisfy her craving for something nice and greasy.

“…Oh, and there aren’t any pickles or peanut-butter, don’t worry,” Holly added with a giggle. “I did have to get a little creative with the fillings, though. Shredded chicken, shredded steak, even some shredded peppers, just whatever I could scrounge up!”

Mary sank her teeth into it, and relished the savory flavor rolling over her tongue.

It actually brought tears to her eyes.

“Thank you, Holly,” she said, already feeling her hunger disappearing even though she knew that wasn’t possible. “This is… exactly what I was hungry for. Thank you so much.”

Holly blushed and scratched her cheek. “Yeah, well… come on, Mary, you know me. I can’t leave my best girl to starve!”

Mary laughed when she heard that. “Are you sure you don’t want any?” She asked, holding the tray up to her friend.

Holly shook her head. “Nope. I filled up at the Banquet Hall earlier, with Ella. You know, before the whole ‘Echo’ mess happened.”

“Oh,” Mary responded, nodding slightly. She didn’t really know what else she could say to that, if she was being honest.

She glanced at Nick.

“Hey, don’t look at me, I already had enough cheese today,” he said, holding up his hands. But then he thought otherwise.

Holly made this for us, to share, judging by how many she made. Knowing her, it’s probably… an apology. To the both of us. She probably feels like she should have realized that “Mary” was actually Echo in disguise, since Mary is her best friend.

Nick glanced up at Holly, who looked innocently back at him. He had a feeling that he was right, but even if he was, Holly wouldn’t ever say anything, he knew that much.

She would just do something nice for the both of them, like this.

It was one of the things he loved about her.

“…I guess I could have one,” he said, taking a quesadilla for himself. He took a bite, and smiled. “Wow, that… that really is good. You did a great job, Holly!”

“Thank you!” Holly giggled. “Actually, um, Ella showed me how to. You guys are right, I’m not an expert when it comes to these, but she gave me some pointers the other day…”

Nick froze mid-chew at the mention of Holly’s fellow maid.

“…Ella?” He asked through stuffed cheeks.

“Oh, but I didn’t make them spicy!” Holly quickly assured him, remembering what happened the last time Nick had some of Ella’s cooking. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t do that!”

At least, not tonight.

Nick was relieved to hear that. He could enjoy the rest of his meal in peace, knowing that there weren’t any surprises cooked up for him.

Mary was happy to indulge as well. She smiled up at Holly, relishing in the feeling of love she got from her best friend and her cooking. It didn’t completely offset everything that had happened tonight, but it was a start, at least.

And she was just happy to be with her husband right now, sharing a meal together, the way they were supposed to have done.

It really made the quesadillas taste that much better, knowing that she was sharing them with someone she loved.

Holly felt Mary keep looking at her. And she kind of understood what Mary was getting at.

Doesn’t she know that I cooked all of these for her sake? She thought, feeling unworthy of such affection. I mean, there’s a limit to how sweet a person can be!

Evidently, not for Mary.

“…Okay, fine, I’ll have one,” Holly relented, succumbing to the pressure of Mary’s stare. “You really are impossible to negotiate with, Mary, you realize that?”

Mary batted her eyelashes innocently. “What do you mean?” She asked, pretending to have no idea what her friend was talking about.

Holly gave her a sulky look.

“Whatever,” she huffed, popping one of her quesadillas into her mouth. She was glad that they’d come out so good. “In the future, when someone does something nice for you, it IS okay to just accept their good will.”

“I am,” Mary replied, her eyes twinkling. “And there’s nothing better than to share that good will with the people I love, is there?”

Neither Holly nor Nick had anything they could say in response to that. Mary’s logic was infallible.

The two of them glanced at each other and exchanged wry grins.

“That’s our Mary,” their expressions seemed to say. This time they knew with absolute certainty that the redhead in front of them was the girl they adored.

Nick and Holly ate just enough of the quesadillas so as not to offend Mary. But the rest of them they left for her to enjoy as she pleased.

And Mary was quite pleased. She all but devoured each and every last one of them down to the last bite, and by the time she was done, she found herself quite stuffed.

“You really were hungry,” Holly said as she brought the tray back to the kitchen. “So what now? It’s getting REALLY late.”

She prompted that question because she expected Mary to fight back on it. She wanted her friend to make the argument that, no, it wasn’t late at all, and there were still plenty of things that she and Nick could do together.

Things Holly very much wanted a front row seat to.

But Mary seemed hesitant. Now that her stomach was full, and having shared the meal so tenderly with her husband and best friend, she felt completely satisfied. She looked over at Nick with longing eyes, and wondered what he was feeling.

Nick looked back at her, and the two of them seemed to share a mutual sense of understanding, at least for a moment.

Mary pressed her lips together into a tight smile, and nodded.

“Well… okay,” she said, giving in as she felt Nick’s hand trail up her arm. She let him shift her towards him on the couch, and he all but pulled her on top of him as he held her close, leaning up to kiss her on the cheek.

Mary felt her face burning. But it was a good kind of burning, that pleasurable sensation that she just couldn’t get enough of.

It was a feeling that reminded her just how much she loved him.

“And here you were, putting up such a fuss earlier,” she giggled, gazing deeply into his eyes.

“I know,” Nick said, craning his head and giving her a kiss. “But I changed my mind. You just looked so cute devouring all that food.”

“Oh, stop it!” Mary playfully swatted him on the arm. “I did not!”

But as embarrassing as his statement was, it tickled her chest to hear. She didn’t want to argue with such kind words.

Or with the kind smile on his face.

“You can’t ignore reality,” Nick said firmly, shaking his head. “Mary, at some point you have to come to terms with how adorable you are.”

Holly couldn’t agree more. But she knew better than to butt in. They had a good mood going, so she decided to hang back and let Nick say whatever he needed to say to get those shorts off of her best friend.

Mary sighed and shook her head.

“What am I going to do with you?” She asked, kissing him back.

Nick gave her a cheeky smile in response. “I can think of a couple of things,” he teased her, earning him another swat.

They shared a look with one another. Both of them wanted to keep going, but they were stuck, neither one quite sure how to initiate. After all, in the present situation, they both understood how the other felt. And both of them wanted to make sure that the other’s needs were prioritized.

Which kind of put them both in an awkward place.