Chapter Text
Layne opened his eyes and blinked them into focus. He could hear the birds chirping outside and the faint noise of traffic. He slowly stretched and yawned, turning over to see his beautiful wife sleeping beside him.
He smiled to himself as he reached over, smoothing some of her hair out of her face as she slept soundly. He couldn't resist leaning over and pressing a kiss to her lips. She stirred lightly in her sleep, turning her face towards Layne, still sound asleep.
Layne sighed and smiled as he looked at her. He still couldn't believe how the past year had been.
He had went to rehab, for one final attempt to kick his nasty drug habit. He was only doing it because his sister had been very upset about the way he was living, and he still had an ounce of guilt within him. But a few months after he had went to this upscale rehab...he had met Jussi. They clicked like peas in a pod. It was a rocky road along the way, Jussi had alot of doubts about being with Layne because she hated herself...but things worked out.
Jussi was doing way better than she was in rehab. They fell in love in rehab, and became each other's rock. Layne finished rehab and got clean. He couldn't believe it.
He was clean, and he was here, sharing an apartment with this wonderful woman who loved him and whom he loved. He never thought he would get his shit together.
But he did for her.
Things had happened so fast. One minute he was fucking her in rehab, the next minute he was being cleared. She wasn't even done with her program but they didn't care. Their love for each other was stronger than the drugs. He knew she would be okay. She still had therapy once a month. He had pulled her out of rehab once he got out, and they had came home to live with Layne's sister until they got it together.
Layne had gutted out his condo and sold it and the two moved into this apartment. Layne was so glad when they were finally able to live alone together.
They had been out of rehab for 2 months and their lives were damn near perfect. Every morning when Layne woke up he always thought about how lucky he was to have such a wonderful wife.
She was so nice to him. She came from nothing. She was a junkie stripper and she had nothing. From day 1 she had been nothing but nice to Layne. She had no intention of using him. Their love was pure. She was in debt while in rehab and when she finally told Layne, he offered to pay it off. She was hesitant about it but he did it anyway, because he loved her. She wasn't out to see what she could get out of Layne, like other people in his life over the years.
Jussi was one of the most honest relationships he had ever been in. They got along so well and they could tell each other anything. Layne sighed and smiled. He loved her so much.
Layne sat up in bed, smiling with the intention of getting something cooking on the stove for them. As soon as he sat up, he furrowed his brows, feeling funny.
He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked over at Jussi, who was still sleeping soundly. Layne got up and stretched, shoving a hand down into his underwear and scratching himself as he walked out of their bedroom and into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
He stood there and pissed, a scowl still on his face. He felt nauseous. He flushed the toilet and looked at himself in the mirror. He rubbed his stomach, which was feeling funny. He opened and closed his mouth a few times. It felt dry. Layne thought about what he had eaten last night. He did have a few pistachios and perhaps that is what brought this on.
Layne splashed some water on his face, sighing as he looked in the medicine cupboard in the bathroom and found some pepto bismal. He fixed himself a dose and downed it, wiping his mouth and coming out of the bathroom.
He smiled when he looked over in Jussi's direction. She continued to sleep soundly. He made his way to the kitchen to begin cooking their breakfast.
* * *
Jussi walked into the kitchen, the smell of breakfast in the air. She smiled when she saw Layne standing over the stove, fixing hash browns. She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him from behind. Layne looked over his shoulder at her.
"Hey babe? You up? Breakfast's almost done." Layne smiled.
"Okay." Jussi smiled.
Layne turned around and kissed her before Jussi walked back over to the table, sitting down and waiting for Layne to finish. She smiled at Layne as she watched him fix their plates and bring them to the table. Layne kissed her again before he started to eat, the smile never leaving his face.
"So what time is Oscar coming over here?" Jussi asked as she ate.
"Liz is dropping the little rascal off around noon." Layne smiled.
"Oh. Okay." Jussi smiled.
"He's such a little trouble maker. Liz said he hit some kid in the park the other day. She got into it with some woman...Greg had to literally drag her out of the park." Layne chuckled.
"Oh my god..." Jussi giggled.
"Yeah so. I suppose he'll cause trouble over here for a few hours. We get to give him back." Layne smiled.
"Yeah." Jussi said softly.
The two conversed idly and ate, and when they were done, Jussi cleaned up the kitchen and Layne retreated to the extra bedroom to make some art.
Jussi set out to clean the apartment. Noon came fast and before they knew it, there was a knock at the door.
Layne heard the knock from upstairs and he came out of the spare bedroom, going downstairs just as Jussi was answering the door.
"Hey!" He heard the two women say to each other at the same time.
Jussi stepped aside so Liz could come in. Liz was holding Oscar, who was looking around Layne's apartment curiously in Liz's arms.
"Hey Layne!" She smiled, setting Oscar down.
Oscar ran right over to the couch, taking their remote and flipping through the channels on the TV.
"Hey sis!" Layne smiled, hugging her.
Liz handed Layne Oscar's bag.
"There's snacks in there he likes, and some of his favorite toys, and his blanket's in there when he needs to take a nap. I'll be back this evening to get him." Liz explained.
Layne nodded. Jussi meanwhile had taken a seat on the couch beside little Oscar, smiling at him shyly. She had never really been around little kids before. She didn't really know how to interact with him.
"Layne?" Liz asked.
"Huh?" Layne asked.
Liz sighed. "Listen, how long do you plan on waiting to tell mom that you're out of rehab...she's starting to call me on a weekly basis and she's asking about you a lot. I don't know how much longer I can keep lying to her. She's starting to get really annoying Layne. Don't you think you should just go ahead and call her? It's been nearly 2 months since you got out of rehab." Liz sighed.
"Liz...I'm just not ready yet. It's not the right time...It's gonna be soon. I appreciate you handling it for me. I promise, real soon. Just not now." Layne said softly.
"Soon. I'm going to hold you to that Layne. Well I'm gonna get going now. Bye Oscar! Have fun with Uncle Layne and Aunt Justine!" She replied, waving at her son.
Oscar stood up on the couch and turned around, facing Liz.
"Bye mommy!" He screamed.
Layne walked Liz to the door and waved as he watched her get in her car and leave. He closed the door and turned around, looking at Oscar and Jussi sitting on the couch.
"Oscar is that what you wanna do all day is watch TV?" Layne asked playfully.
"Yeah!" Oscar exclaimed, looking over at Layne.
"You don't wanna go upstairs with me and draw?" Layne asked.
"No!" Oscar nearly screamed.
Layne frowned slightly and then smirked, shaking his head. He walked over to Jussi and kissed her temple.
"I'm gonna be upstairs babe. Call me if you need anything."
Jussi nodded and Layne disappeared up the stairs. Jussi looked over at Oscar, who was kicking his legs back and forth against the couch as he watched cartoons on the television.
Jussi smiled when Oscar giggled at the cartoon, pointing at the screen.
"So is this all you do all day is watch cartoons?" Jussi asked him, smiling lightly.
"No!" Oscar smiled, looking over at Jussi. "I like to play play-station! I like to eat!"
"Oh...that's interesting I guess." Jussi smiled awkwardly, not really knowing what to say to the boy.
"Aunt Justine?" Oscar asked.
"Yeah?" She asked.
"My mommy says that Layne met you in retab. She says you and Layne use to do drugs." Oscar said bluntly.
Jussi raised her brows.
"Um...well..." She mumbled.
"Mommy says that grandma says that you're a filthy little whore who is out to get Uncle Layne's money." Oscar said innocently.
"What?" Jussi asked, brows furrowed, feeling a lump in her throat.
"Mommy said that grandma also said that Uncle Layne loves to see women who have nothing to offer him." Oscar revealed, an innocent gleam in his eyes.
Jussi stared at little Oscar for a moment before she looked towards the stairs.
"Layne!"
* * *
Later that evening
"Oscar! No! Put that back! That's not a toy!" Layne screamed at his bad ass nephew as Oscar grabbed a clay vase he had made years ago off of the TV stand.
Layne chased Oscar around the living room as Oscar giggled, running with it.
"Oscar I'm serious! Put it down! I'm going to tell your mom! She's going to whoop you!" Layne exclaimed.
Oscar didn't listen as he continued to run around with Layne's clay creation. Eventually Oscar ran into the coffee table, dropping the clay creation and it shattered on the floor.
Oscar started to cry as he stood there and Layne came over.
"OSCAR! Look what you did! That was priceless to me!" Layne frowned, grabbing Oscar's wrist and yanking him back.
Layne got on his knees as Oscar stood there crying loudly. Layne picked up the peices of his clay creation and set them on the table, in hopes he could maybe glue it back together.
"Why are you such a bad kid!? Why can't you just sit there and watch TV or play games like a normal kid! Why do you have to put your hands on things that are not yours!?" Layne frowned at his nephew.
"I want my mommy!" Oscar began to cry.
Layne was about to open his mouth again but suddenly there was a knock at the door.
"Speak of the devil!" He said angrily to his nephew.
He got up and opened the door, frowning as Liz stood there, smiling. Her smile faded as she walked into the apartment.
"What's going on?" She asked, brows furrowed as Oscar was still crying and he rushed over to his mom, hugging her legs.
"Liz he was doing so well at first...and then he started being bad. He's been into everything...he just broke one of my art pieces...Liz this kid is a handful! He's always on the go!" Layne exclaimed.
"Oscar! Did you break Uncle Layne's art!?" Liz scolded her son.
"I didn't mean to mommy!" Oscar cried.
"Apologize to Layne! Now!" Liz frowned.
"I'm sorry." Oscar mumbled, holding on to his mom.
"That kid has a mouth on him too Liz!" Layne sighed.
"...I know...sorry about that...he picks up on everything Layne. We usually pop him when he gets like that. Anything else happen? Where's Justine?" Liz asked.
"Nah...he didn't start being bad until like 2 hours ago. He was really good before that. Jussi's laying down. She ain't feeling so well." Layne replied.
"Oh...well I hope it wasn't Oscar's fault!" Liz smiled.
"Nah. Her stomach's bothering her. Not sure what that's about. We're probably going to the doctor tomorrow." Layne replied.
"Oh...well I hope everything is okay." Liz smiled.
Layne handed her Oscar's bag.
"Thanks for watching him today. You guys are a lifesaver." She smiled.
"No problem. Anytime..." Layne smiled.
"We're gonna get going." Liz replied.
Layne kneeled down and looked at Oscar.
"See ya later rascal. I still love ya even though you broke my clay art." Layne smiled.
Oscar pouted and gave his uncle a hug before attaching back to his mother. Layne stood up and gave Liz a hug and walked them to the door, watching them as they got in their car and drove off.
He sighed, closing the door behind him and looking around. His nephew was a handful!
He made his way upstairs to check on Jussi. He was on his way to their bedroom and he saw the bathroom light on under the crack of the door. He walked into their bedroom and began to get more comfortable, slipping into some pajama pants. He laid on the bed waiting for Jussi.
Finally after what seemed like an eternity, he heard a toilet flush and he heard the door open. She sulked in the room, looking pale and tired.
"Babe? Everything alright?" Layne asked as she climbed into the bed.
She was wearing one of his t shirts.
"No...I feel really bad Layne...I'm throwing up. I've thrown up like 2 times already." Jussi sighed, holding her forehead.
"Babe I'm sorry. We'll find out what's going on when you go to the doctor tomorrow. You probably have some kind of bug or something. They'll give you something to knock it right out." Layne smiled as he wrapped his arms around her.
"What if this is effects of my drug use...and its just starting to affect me?" Jussi sighed, worried.
"Babe...no that's not it. It's just a bug. Maybe we need to start shopping at another grocery store or something. It's just a bug that's going to pass, and you're going to be okay." Layne spoke positively.
"I hope so. I hate feeling like this. I feel so...blah..." Jussi sighed, nuzzling her face into Layne's neck.
They laid in bed together and Layne lightly rubbed her stomach until she fell asleep. He kissed her forehead.
He was secretly worried that this had something to do with her past drug use too. He prayed it didn't, but he had a bad feeling. He couldn't help but feel bad. Every time something perfect happened to him, there was always shit accompanied with it.
He could never be perfectly happy.
Layne spooned Jussi as she slept, holding her and hoping she would be better in the morning.