#as soon as i saw jw4 i was like yup i need to add her to hmh

[johnsbleu]

Hold My Hand: John Wick x Reader Chapter 164

warnings: none hmh masterlist

If there was a word to describe today it would be boring. Dull, mundane, uneventful, monotonous. Boring! The sky is full of fluffy gray clouds that keep hiding the sun, and what little sun does poke through doesn’t last long since the clouds swallow it back up almost instantly.

It’s just a boring day around the Wick household. John is downstairs working on some books for a client, Ronan was playing with some toys but now she’s zonked out on the floor next to Bleu while you’re lounging on the couch scrolling through all the stupid TikToks Tess has sent you this past week. Every now and then there’s a really boring day, which is fine since it’s nice to just relax, but today is beyond boring.

You get up from the couch and head downstairs to see if John is almost done working. It’s been about two hours since you’ve seen him, so it’s time to go bother him.

“Hey,” you lean against his back and press a kiss to his shoulder, “You almost done?”

“Not quite,” he says, setting his things down so he can turn to you, “Are you getting bored?”

You gape at him, “What do you mean ‘getting’? Wick, I’m beyond bored. Ronan is asleep, Tess is busy with Jimmy’s family. I have nothing to do!”

John chuckles as he pulls you between his legs, “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know. I thought we could go to the museum or the aquarium.” you shrug as John nods, “Ro will be up in a little bit, so it would give us time to clean up and head out. It’s going to rain later too, so anything outside is obviously not going to work.”

“Right, right,” he nods, looking over at his workbench, “Well, I’m just about done with this book, so once I’m done, I’ll head up and take a shower. Does that sound good?”

You pout as you nod your head, “Yeah.”

“You miss me?”

“I do,” you whisper quietly, “You’ve been working on this book for so long.”

John nods, “Yeah, it’s a tough one. They wanted very specific things for it, but I think it’s turning out.”

You look down at the book and carefully turn it over to look at the gorgeous binding on it. The cover is adorned with gold vinyl cutouts of the characters along with the title. The client is going to be very pleased with it, and they should be since it’s taken John a long time to work on it and get it just right. John doesn’t give out anything he isn’t proud of.

“Looks gorgeous,” you smile at him, leaning in to kiss him, “I’ll be upstairs.”

“I’ll be up soon, I promise,” he says, spanking your ass as you walk away. “I love you, sweetheart.”

You smile at him over your shoulder, “I love you, pookie.”

“Maybe you should just stick to Wick.”

“Ha!” you laugh as you make your way upstairs, “Not likely.”

__

The idea of going to the museum was good until you remembered there was a huge exhibit there today and it was packed. John drove past and looked over at you, and you both silently agreed to head to the aquarium instead. It wasn’t too far from the museum anyway, and if you’re being honest, you’d rather go there.

John dropped you and Ronan off at the door and went to park the car, and you’re just waiting for him when some raindrops start to fall down. You step back and get under the awning, then you look out and try to find John. Ronan squeals loudly when she sees him jogging through the parking lot, and he makes it under the awning just as the rain pounds down.

You gather up your sweatshirt from the bottom of Ronan’s stroller and dab at John’s face, “You’re all wet.”

“I’m okay,” he laughs, gently taking your hands, “I’m okay, baby.”

“You’ll be cold in there,” you continue drying him off as he watches you with a small smile on his face, “What?”

John leans down and kisses you, “You’re such a mom.”

“Why? Because I don’t want you to be cold? I’m just taking care of you.”

“You’re such a nurturer. I love it. You’ve become even more nurturing since having her, and I like to see that side of you.” John smiles down at you, cupping your cheek, “My gorgeous wife.”

You playfully roll your eyes at him, “Stop.”

“Nope,” he hugs you tight and nuzzles into the crook of his neck, “I promised I’d love on you forever. I’m not stopping now.”

Leaning back, you smile at John until Ronan squeals loudly for you. You look down at her and smile, then you lean down and kiss her cheek as she laughs. She always wants to be in on the love whenever you and John are hugging.

“Oh, maybe we should grab some lunch,” John says when you walk through the doors. He gestures to the cafe and smiles, “Ro always loves the aquarium in there.”

Inside the cafe, you find a booth next to an aquarium and scoot into it before reaching for Ronan. You hold her up and smile as she looks at the fish swimming around, and John is quick to get his phone out and capture a picture of the two of you.

“I guess getting the yearly membership will be worth it.”

“I think so,” you smile as you look at Ronan’s big brown eyes wide in wonder, “Even if we didn’t have Ro, I think I’d come here a lot.”

John nods as he looks at the tank to his right, “When I was a kid, I wanted a bedroom that was underwater, like an underwater aquarium. I wanted sharks, sting rays, sea turtles. I wanted to be able to lay in bed and just watch them swim over me.”

“Jonathan Wick, I didn’t take you for such a little sea-life nerd.”

“Well,” he laughs, rubbing his hand against the back of his neck, “I gotta keep you on your toes.”

You grin at him, “And you certainly do.”

__

John places his hands on the back of your arms that are around his waist, “I have to finish this stuff today.”

You pout, “Okay.”

Since you all went to the aquarium yesterday, John absolutely has to finish his books today. You’re still a little bored today since Tess won’t be home for a few more hours and to make things even worse, it’s pouring down rain.

“You can join me?”

“I can’t,” you gesture over to Ronan, “We have plans.”

John chuckles, “Without me?”

“Yeah, girl’s day.” you smile proudly, “We’re doing our hair.”

“You mean you’re doing Ronan’s hair.”

You grin, “Yup! Her hair has gotten so much longer, so I wanna try some little pig tails on her.”

John looks down at Ronan and laughs, “Baby, you’re getting your hair all pretty?”

Ronan looks up at him and cheeses so hard that her cheeks must hurt. She holds up a toy and shows it to him, and he laughs and looks back at you.

“She’s thrilled.” you laugh, then you wrap your arms around his waist again, “But we’re not thrilled that you’re busy and can’t sit up here and tell us how pretty we are.”

John laughs, “I will come up here every 15 minutes to tell my girls how pretty they are.”

“Good!” you lean up to kiss John a few times, then you watch as he walks over to give Ronan a kiss. You smile when he gets up and walks past you, touching your hip as he moves to the basement door. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he smiles, then he looks over at Ronan when she screams happily, “And I love you.”

Ronan walks over to you with a toy and reaches up, and you put her in your lap where she snuggles close to you and closes her eyes.

__

You inhale deeply and open your eyes, squinting them when the light from the lamp shines in your eyes. You feel the weight of something on your chest, and you look down to see Ronan’s little cheeks red and pressed against your chest, her hair stuck to her forehead with sweat. The two of you fell asleep and she runs so warm that she made you sweat too.

You sit up and cradle her in your arms before gently laying her back down on the couch. Since she’s a little warm, you grab the fan from the guest bedroom and plug it in to cool her off. She probably won’t be asleep for much longer but you want her to be cool. Smoothing down her brown hair, you smile and let out a small laugh when she scrunches her face up and stretches.

“I love you,” you whisper to her as you gently rub her back to coax her to sleep. You make sure that she’s okay, then you get up and head downstairs to see John.

“Ah, I was wondering when you were coming to see me. I assume…” he looks up and laughs, “Oh, yeah, you definitely fell asleep. Get over here.”

You lean against John’s chest and close your eyes, “I’m sleepy.”

“I see that.”

“We fell asleep,” you laugh, and he kisses your cheek, “She’s still asleep up there on the couch. Her protector is watching over her.”

John laughs, “Never leaves her side.”

You start to fall asleep leaning against John’s warm chest as his heart drums away, and he reaches down to lift you up into his lap. He holds you for a few short minutes until you finally sit up and look at him.

“Oh, you’re so sleepy,” he whispers, laughing softly, “Why are you so tired?”

You straighten up and cock up your brow, “Last night wasn’t exactly a lazy night after the aquarium.”

John starts to smirk, “I won’t apologize for that.”

“Never said I wanted you to,” you get off his lap and cup his face, “You did some fine work last night.”

“Thank you,” he smiles, his cheeks turning a little red, “You did some fantastic work.”

You grin proudly, “Oh, I know. You told me.”

“And you told me!” he laughs, pulling you back to him, “It just so happens that I’m free tonight too.”

“Oh my god!” you gasp playfully, “Me too!”

John kisses you as you both laugh, “What do you say? Our room? 9 PM?”

“It’s a date!” you wrap your arms around his neck and kiss him deeply, “I better get back upstairs. She’s going to be hungry soon.”

“I’ll be up for some lunch soon too. Just gotta finish one last thing.” he says, looking over at the books on his workbench.

You cup his face and bring his gaze back to you before kissing him, “Don’t take too long.”

“I won’t,” he whispers, then he smiles as you head upstairs.

__

Lunch is just about done and you’re getting Ronan situated in her high-chair when you hear the doorbell ring. For a short second, you think it might be Tess, but when has she ever rung the doorbell? Literally never. She usually just lets herself in--John told her that she was more than welcome to do so since she didn’t believe you when you told her.

“Okay, here,” you give Ronan a toy and smile at her, “I know you’re hungry, but I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll be up in a minute!” John yells from the basement, and you laugh to yourself.

You make sure you look presentable and your hair isn’t all messed up, then you open the door just as the doorbell is pressed again.

“Sorry,” you smile at the woman standing on the front step, “Hi.”

She looks taken aback for a moment before she smiles, “Is Mr. Wick here?”

“Yes,” you nod, still taking her in.

The woman’s dark hair is slicked back in a perfect ponytail but the ends have gotten wet from the rain. Despite having an umbrella, she has a black rain coat on with some thigh high leather boots. Her eyes haven’t moved from off of you since you opened the door.

“You said Mr. Wick is here?” she says, and you finally notice the accent and the tattoos on her hand wrapped around the umbrella handle.

She’s someone from his past. You knew that the moment you set your eyes on her. But if she’s here looking for John, she better have a damn good reason and she’s not getting in without going through you first.

“He is,” you say, closing the door a little more, “May I ask who you are?”

The woman smiles, “Just an old friend.”

“No, I want your name.”

“Sure, that seems fair,” she smiles, reaching out to shake your hand, “My name is Akira.”

You stare her down as you shake her hand. You won’t be intimidated by her, not that she’s even probably trying to intimidate you, but still.

“I’ll go get him,” you say as you start to close the door.

“What was your name?” she says, and you close your eyes before turning back to her, “I assume you’re his wife. Y/N?”

You hold her gaze, “You seem to already know my name.”

“It’s lovely to meet you,” she smiles, and you want to scream because she’s being so damn nice and on top of it, you fucking love her accent. “I’ll just wait here.”

You close the door and exhale loudly, reaching for the basement door when John opens it. You take a step back and look up at him as he smiles at you, but it quickly fades.

He cups your face and furrows his brow, “What happened?”

“Someone is here for you,” you say quietly, and he immediately looks up at the door, “Her name is Akira.”

John furrows his brow, “Akira?”

“She said she’s an old--”

“Friend, yeah.” he nods his head and leans down to kiss your cheek, “Stay here.”

John squeezes your shoulders and walks off to the door, taking one last look at you before he steps onto the porch. You inch closer to the door in hopes of hearing them talk, but you can’t over the rain and the thick glass. You reach for the handle when the door opens, so you step back and look at John.

“Go pack a bag.” he says urgently, taking your hand and pulling you into the kitchen, “Pack a bag for you and Ro. Call Tess, tell her to pack one for her and Finn. I’ll call Jimmy and tell him what’s going on.”

“John--”

He cuts you off as he gets Ronan from her high-chair, “Go to the lake house. Pack enough stuff for at least a week. I’ll meet you out there.”

“John!”

“You might want to call your parents too, I’m not sure yet. Maybe don’t since they don’t know everything. Fuck! Why didn’t I tell them everything?” he says as he walks into the living room with you trailing behind him, “Just go there and don’t talk to anyone. Just drive straight there. If Tess isn’t home yet, just tell her to meet you there.”

“Jonathan!” you yell from the bottom of the stairs, and he finally looks at you as you start to cry, “What is going on?”

He rushes back down and takes your hand, “I need you to listen to me: you need to get out of here.”

“Why? Because she’s here? Because she showed up? It’s not like it’s the first time she’s been to New York since we’ve been together.”

“But it’s the first time she’s showed up here. I know who follows her. And if she’s here, they’re not far behind. I wasn’t the only one people wanted dead.” he says, gripping your hand tight and pulling you upstairs with him. “You have to get out of here.”

John puts Ronan on the floor of your bedroom and begins moving around to pack a bag for you. He doesn’t even have to ask what you want to pack, and even in this moment of panic, he’s packing all of your favorite clothes. He sets the bag on the bed and leaves the room for a few moments before he comes back with clothes for Ronan.

“Text Tess, baby.” he says softly, and you nod your head and pull your phone out. You shoot a quick text to her and look up to see John zipping up your bag. “This is enough for you and Ro for a week, okay? I just need to grab Bleu’s things.”

“What about you?”

John wipes away the tear on your cheek, “I’ll call you tonight. I’ll let you know what’s going on.”

“Will you be okay?”

“I will,” he says, nodding his head, “I promise. I just want you two to get out of here.”

Your chin wobbles a little as you look at him, “Are they going to hurt you?”

“I…” he inhales deeply and shakes his head once, “No. But it doesn’t mean they won’t try. And I don’t want you here if that happens. So please, take this bag, get Ronan in the car, and leave.”

“Okay,” you cry quietly while John picks up Ronan, then you walk out to the garage where your car is parked.

Ronan is now crying because she’s so hungry but you’ll have to just give her a bottle or something to tide her over until you get to the lake house. John buckles her in the back and gets Bleu in, then he closes the door and turns to you, frowning when he sees the tears on your face.

“I know you’re scared.”

“I’m worried about you,” you look up at him and start to cry, “I don’t want to lose you.”

John shakes his head, “You’re not losing me. I’m going to call you tonight, okay? Keep your phone right by you.”

You sniffle as you nod, “Okay.”

John helps you into the car and smiles softly when you look at him, “Thank you for listening to me. I know this is scary. I never wanted this for you.”

“We’re still going to be together, right?”

“Yes,” John says, pain drenching his voice, “Yes, of course. I just need you to be safe.”

“You be safe,” you whisper as you lean over to hug him, “I love you.”

“I love you more.” he cups your face and tilts your head down to kiss your forehead, “Let me know when you get to the lake house and let me know when Tess gets there.”

You look down at your phone and show John the text: packing now. at home, pick me up.

“She’s at home.” you say, and he nods. “I’ll just get her now.”

John smooths your hair back and looks deep into your eyes, “Don’t stop for anything or anyone. If you have any problems, you can call me or Aurelio. Jimmy will most likely be out there shortly too. I’m going to call him. But you call me first. Always me first.”

“I will,” you kiss him hard on the lips, leaving them there for longer than necessary, then you lean back to look at him. “I’ll see you soon?”

“Yeah,” he says, but you know he’s lying. “I love you. I love you both.”

You smile softly when he reaches back to rub the top of Ronan’s head, then you hug him and kiss him again before he shuts your door and steps back. The garage door opens behind you, and you slowly back out of the driveway, watching as he walks over and stands next to Akira. She says something to him and smiles, but he doesn’t look away from your car. You give him a small wave and he nods his head a little before he turns and walks inside with Akira behind him.

__

To your surprise, the car ride was not quiet--Tess talked almost the whole way. There’s no doubt that John texted her and said to keep your mind off of things. You’ve been at the lake house for about two hours now, but you’re just laying on the couch. Tess told you to go lay down while she got the kids something to eat, and Jimmy showed up about an hour after you two arrived.

“Hey…” Jimmy sits on the coffee table and rubs your shoulder, “How are you holding up?”

You sit up and shrug, “Alright, I guess. Just confused.”

“John’s past is confusing…” he chuckles, then he takes the plate Tess is handing him, “We made you something to eat.”

“Thanks.” you take it, placing it in your lap, “Have you heard from him?”

Jimmy shakes his head, “Not since he first called me.”

“What did he say when he called you?”

“That someone was there and he wanted to make sure you and Ro-Ro were safe. He wanted me to come out here and make sure nothing happened.” he says, and you frown, “I know you want to ask, but he didn’t tell me when he’d be here.”

You nod your head and take a bite of the food Tess has made you--some rice and orange chicken. You look over at Ronan as she plays with Finn on the floor, and you sigh loudly.

“I’m nervous that he’s gonna--”

“He’s not going back, Y/N.” Jimmy shakes his head when you look at him, “He’s not, he just wants his family to be safe. He doesn’t want Ro near that stuff.”

You shrug, “I could have stayed. Tess could have taken Ronan up here.”

“Y/N, he wants you safe as well,” Jimmy says, reaching for your hand when you start to cry, “He’ll be okay. He can take care of himself. From the sounds of it, they’re just there to talk.”

“Then I could have stayed! I could be with him right now.”

Jimmy sighs, “Look, John is one of the good ones, Akira is as well. But sometimes bad ones follow the good ones. He doesn’t want you near there when something happens. Akira’s not out of that world, she’s still very much in it, which means at any moment, things could go wrong. John doesn’t want you there if that happens.”

“I don’t want him there if that happens!”

“But John can handle it. He knows what to do.” Tess says, and you look at her, “Look, this might sound mean but without you there, John can fully focus on what’s happening. If you and Ro are there, you’re the first thing he’s going to protect, even if that means he gets hurt. Without you two there, John doesn’t have anything else to protect except himself. He only has himself to worry about which means his mind wouldn’t be elsewhere.”

You nod as you look down at your plate, “Yeah.”

“He said as soon as he finds something out, he’ll call. I believe him. John always keeps his word.” Jimmy pats your leg and smiles softly, “Get some food in you. I’ll let you know if I hear anything at all. Okay?”

You smile softly when Jimmy pats your cheek, “Okay.”

“I’ll be here if you need anything. You can always come to me.”

“Thanks, Jimmy.” you smile at him again and watch as him and Tess walk onto the patio. You sigh deeply and reach for your phone, placing it in your lap and praying John calls soon.

__

Three days have passed and you’ve only gotten one text from John saying he’s fine and he’d call soon. That was the night you left. You haven’t heard from him since. Not only are you worried, you’re also pretty pissed at him for this. He said he’d call. Yeah, he could have gotten held up, but if he didn’t, then why hasn’t he bothered to call?

Ronan is starting to get very fussy since John is MIA. She knows he’s not around and she misses him. She’s not sleeping very well and she’s just crying at the drop of a hat. She misses her dad.

“Me too, kid.” you say to Ronan when she juts her bottom lip out and cries, “I miss him too.”

You lean forward and wipe the tears off her face before handing her a toy to distract her. She’s not in the mood, so she just cries harder and flops back on the floor.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what’s goin’ on in here?” Jimmy says as he walks in, and he looks down at Ronan, “Oh, Ro-Ro, you mad at your momma?”

“She misses her dad.”

Jimmy glances at you before he reaches down and picks up Ronan, “Well, why don’t we go catch some frogs?”

You give Jimmy an appreciative smile and sit back on the couch, staring down at your phone as he takes her outside. Her cries slowly stop until you hear her giggling. Uncle Jimmy always makes her laugh. You turn a little so you can look out the window as he carries her down to the shore with Finn and Tess following behind, and you tear up.

That should be you and John right now. You two should be taking a nice evening walk down there before sitting on the patio and eating burgers. You two should be watching the sunset, then laying on the sundeck looking at the stars.

You exhale loudly and look down at your phone. Still no messages. You perk up when you hear the sound of John’s car coming down the dirt path, and you quickly get up and rush to the door. John steps out and smiles at you, letting out a big breath when he sees you’re okay.

Without thinking, you step down and run over the uneven rocky ground to get to John, and he lifts you up and hugs you tight in his arms. He starts to walk to the porch with you in his arms, and you inhale the smell of his cologne.

“Your feet are gonna hurt. You don’t have any shoes on.” he says into the crook of your neck, “Jimmy and I planned on fixing that soon.”

You stand firmly on the porch and lean back to look at him. Since you’re on the step and he’s not, you’re eye level with him. Your eyes immediately search his face for any bruising or cuts, but he looks exactly like he did when you left him three days ago, maybe only just a little tired.

“I’m okay,” he whispers, and you cup his face, “I’m okay, baby. Everything is fine.”

You lean back to look at him, then you drop your hands to your side, “You never called me.”

“I know,” he inhales deeply and nods, “I meant to, and I should have, but…they were everywhere. I didn’t want to risk it. I didn’t want to put you in danger.”

“But this whole time you were fine, but I sat here thinking the worst. I cried myself to sleep every single night,” you say, raising your voice, “I didn’t know if my husband was gone. I didn’t know if my daughter’s dad was gone. I didn’t know! I thought I lost you!”

John looks down and nods his head, “I fucked up, I know.”

“I’m so fucking mad at you,” you whisper quietly, and he looks up at you with sorrowful eyes.

“I wanted to call. I wanted to run after your car the moment you left, but I couldn’t. These people don’t care if--” he stops talking when you push past him and start to walk away, “No, no, don’t walk away. We’re talking! Don’t do this.”

You continue walking away from him and see both Jimmy and Tess turn to see John chasing behind you. He gently grabs your arm and stops you. If you tugged your arm from his grip, you know he’d let you go, but you don’t want to, so you turn to him and meet his gaze.

“I fucked up,” he says firmly, “But you need to listen to me.”

You pull your arm from his grip and cross them over your chest, “Fine.”

“So damn stubborn,” he says under his breath, then he looks at you, “These people do not care about women and children. They’ll kill anyone. They wouldn’t care that there’s a baby in the house when they decide to light the place up. You think I want that for you? You think for a second that I was going to risk it? I’d rather you be mad at me for not calling than you be upset because our daughter was hurt or that you were hurt. I can live with you being upset at me for not calling, but I can’t live without you. Do you understand now?”

You look out at the sun shining on the lake, then you look at him, “Yes, it’s not that I don’t understand, John. It’s that you said you’d call and you didn’t.”

“You’re still not getting it…” he says, letting out a small laugh of disbelief, “I can’t fucking lose you! I can’t live without you! I would be lost. I would be worse than I’ve ever been. I’d never come back from it. I did before, but this, if I lost this…” he gestures to the two of you, “I’d be more than a broken. I’d be beyond repair because I wouldn’t have you to help put me back together. So, yes, I lied and didn’t call you but it was for your own good. It was to keep you safe.”

Inhaling deeply, you look up at him and hold his gaze before you shrug, “Okay, so maybe I’m not fully wrapping my head around how serious this is.”

“You absolutely aren’t,” he says with a small chuckle as he steps closer to you, “It is very serious.”

“Plus the whole ‘put me back together’ thing was pretty cute.” you admit, and he smiles softly. You exhale sharply and look up at him, “So, is this always going to be our life? You sending me and Ro away?”

John shakes his head a little and shrugs, “I can’t stop people from showing up. They think I’m going to come back, which I’m not. I’m done. Completely done. But this isn’t the life I wanted for you. I want you to have the best life, so I guess the main question is are you going to leave?”

You look over your shoulder and furrow your brow before looking at John, “Who are you talking to? Because I know you’re not talking to me.”

“Peach,” he says with a sigh, reaching for your hands, “I’m serious. If you want out, then--”

“Shut up! Stop saying that!” you push him a little, “Don’t talk like that! I don’t ‘want out’. I want you! I want the life that we’ve created for three years now. I don’t want to run off because someone thinks that you have information on something. John, I have waited my entire life for this, for you. You just told me that you can’t live without me.”

John swallows hard, “I can’t! But I also can’t make you stay if you don’t want to.”

“Have I ever given you the implication that I want to leave?” you ask, and he shakes his head. “John, I wanted to stay with you! I wanted to stay home and be by your side through whatever that woman was there for! There hasn’t been a single moment in our relationship where I wanted to leave. You need to wrap your head around that. I know that you don’t want me to be hurt, but I have you and I trust you. I know you wouldn’t let anything happen to me.”

The two of you look at one another for a few silent moments as Ronan’s giggles carry in the wind, and you take a step closer to John.

“We promised to go through life together, no matter what it brought us.” you turn his hand over and rub your thumb over his wedding ring, “I have no plans on running off unless you’re coming with me.”

John smiles as he leans closer, “Wherever you go, I’m following.”

You wrap your arms around John’s neck and hug him tight, taking a look at Ronan before you close your eyes. You lean back to kiss him, then you take his hands.

“There is no me without you.”

John smiles, “That was cute.”

You start to laugh, “You said some cute shit just now, I won’t lie.”

“We okay?”

“Yeah,” you nod, holding his gaze, “We’re okay. Are you?”

He nods as he looks down at himself, “Yeah, I’m fine. Nothing more than a chat.”

“For three days?” you ask, incredulously.

“Two days. I just took the rest of today to make sure everyone was gone before I got on the road.” he says, then he starts to laugh, “Plus I had to drop off those books to that client. When I couldn’t sleep the last few nights, I finally finished them.”

Looking up at him, you start to laugh, “So you’re all mine now?”

“Always.”

John takes your hand and intertwines his fingers with yours, then the two of you walk back to the house. When Ronan spots him, she squeals loudly and kicks her legs to be let down from Jimmy’s arms. He sets her down and laughs when she runs over to John, who is already kneeling down with his arms open. She wraps her arms around him as best as she can, grinning so wide that it brings tears to your eyes.

“Did you miss me?” he asks, and she juts her bottom lip out and starts to cry, big tears streaking her red face.

“Such big emotions,” you laugh, rubbing her back, “She doesn’t know how to process those quite yet.”

Ronan rests her head on John’s shoulder as she cries, and he rubs her back to calm her down while he bounces on his knees. After a few minutes, she goes completely quiet--passed out on his shoulder. He smiles proudly at you.

“I’m going to go put her down.” he says, and you follow behind him.

As John gets Ronan in her bed, you lay down and wait for him to come back out of her room. You lean up a little when her bedroom door squeaks shut, and he crawls into bed with you as you struggle to keep your eyes open.

“Tired?” he asks quietly, and you nod. He smooths your hair back and begins to scratch your scalp as you finally close your eyes. “Go to sleep.”

“Barely slept these past few days.”

John’s lips brush against your forehead, “I know, baby. Just go to sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“Will you hold me?” you ask, and John moves to get more comfortable as you lay against his chest, “Don’t leave.”

“I won’t. I’ll be right here.”

__

Rubbing your eyes, you roll to your back and stretch out, sighing contently. You look up at the ceiling and blink a few times, then you look to your left and see John holding Ronan as they look out the window together. You sit up and yawn into your hand, and John looks over his shoulder and smiles at you.

“Look who decided to wake up, Ro,” he says, and you laugh sleepily as you get up and walk over to them, “My sleepy peach.”

“I was tired.”

John laughs, “I was too. I fell asleep for a little bit too.”

Ronan kicks her legs wildly, so John sets her down and watches as she runs into her room. He looks at you and cups your face, bringing your lips to his for several sweet kisses.

“Are we going to head back home now?”

Inhaling deeply, John shrugs, “I mean, we’re here. We might as well hang out for a few days.”

“Jimmy has to work and I think Tess is busy with her studio, so they can’t stay.”

“So? We’ll have the place to ourselves for a few days.”

You let out a small laugh, “If you wanted to get me alone, all you had to do was ask.”

“I’ll remember that for next time,” he says softly as he leans down to kiss you, savoring the warmth and feeling of your lips on his, “It’ll just be us three. It’ll be nice. We won’t stay long. Maybe just a day or two.”

Holding John’s gaze, you squint a little, “Is she still in New York?”

“Most likely.”

“And you don’t want us to go home until she’s gone.”

“Correct.”

You smile as you reach up to cup his face, “You’re very sweet, Wick.”

“She wanted to meet you,” he says, and you jerk your head back a little, “Well, properly meet you.”

“And you said no?”

He shakes his head, “I said it’s not really up to me whether you two meet or not. If it were, well, if I knew she wasn’t followed, then I would have been okay with you being at the house.”

“So, it’s…a little bit up to you?” you say, and John starts to laugh.

“Yeah, I guess.” he shrugs one shoulder, “But if you want to properly meet her, then I’m okay with that.”

You nod your head, “Like a dinner or something?”

“She’s staying at the hotel, so…”

The gasp that leaves your mouth shocks John, so he starts to laugh.

“Look,” you walk over to Ronan’s room to check on her, still talking as you go, “I don’t want you to go back into that world--we’ve talked about it. Done and over with, but…god, I love that hotel. I love the vibe, the atmosphere, the dress code.”

“There’s no dress code,” John laughs from the doorway, and you turn around and give him a dirty look, “Okay, well, there kind of is.”

You start to smile as you look at him, “This is…kind of embarrassing, but I like that when I walk in, everyone knows who I am and who I’m with. Isn’t that so stupid?”

“Not at all,” he smiles from across the room, “I like that everyone know you’re there with me. I like them knowing we’re together and that you’re mine. I like knowing that they know they can’t have you.”

You smile as you lift up Ronan, “Would we go to the hotel?”

“She wants to meet Ronan.”

“And you want her to?”

John looks from you to Ronan, then he nods as he looks at you again, “Yeah, I’m proud of you and her.”

“And we’d take her to the hotel?”

Letting out a big sigh, John shrugs, “I don’t know. If we go there and Winston hears…”

“He’ll be mad that we brought her.”

“He’ll want to see her,” John laughs, “She’s like his 78th grandkid.”

You start to laugh, “Papa Winston.”

The two of you look at each other for a few minutes before John walks over to you, wrapping his arms around you and Ronan.

“We’d be safe?” you ask, and John nods. “She would be safe?”

“Rules, sweetheart,” he whispers, and you tilt your head, cocking up your brow, “No one else has broken them since…”

You start to laugh, “You little rule breaker.”

“Rules aren’t fun.”

“I’ve made rules before…”

John leans closer and kisses you, “Yeah, well, you’re my wife. I have to listen you.”

“True!” you point your finger at him as you walk past, then you turn around and look at him, “Are you sure?”

“I am positive. We can enter through the back, take the backstairs up to the restaurant. I can even call Charon and let him know that we’d be coming, and he’d make sure everything was safe.” he says, and you inhale as you head, “If you’re not okay with that, she can come to our place, or we can leave Ronan with Tess.”

You shrug, “We’ve just never brought her to the hotel before. Is it safe for her to be there?”

“I would burn the world down for her and you. I would go to hell and back without second thought,” he says as he holds your gaze, walking closer to you, “The rules are even tighter than before--”

“Because of you.”

“Yes,” he chuckles, then he puts his hands on your shoulders, “But I promise nothing will happen to you or her there. Would I bring you two there otherwise?”

You sigh loudly “Well, no, but…you know.”

“You’re a mom,” he smiles and leans down to kiss your cheek, “And I’m a dad, and I am so goddamn protective of you two.”

You start to laugh, “I know! You sent me away because some people showed up!”

John smiles proudly, “Yeah!”

“Okay,” you bounce Ronan on your hip and look at her, “We’ll go meet her. How do you know her?”

“Her father was a friend,” he says, and you nod, “A really good friend. A brother.”

You frown, “And he’s not…here anymore?”

John looks down and shakes his head. He looks at you with sad brown eyes, and you walk over to him, wrapping your left arm around him. Ronan reaches up to be held by him, so you pass her over to him.

“I’m sorry,” you whisper, and he nods. “He was important to you, so I understand why you want me to meet her. Did you know her before?”

“No. I knew he had a daughter later on after we went our separate ways, but I didn’t meet her until a few years ago,” he sits on the bed with Ronan in his lap, “She’s not the biggest fan of mine.”

You sit down next to him and read between the lines. Her dad is dead, she doesn’t like John, and he only met her a few years ago. Clearly this was during John’s excommunication.

“Was the last time you saw him when he…” you gesture a little, and John nods. “I’m so sorry, John. You’ve lost so many people.”

“But I gained a lot of really great ones,” he says softly, and you smile at him. He shakes his head, “Anyway, things are better now. Akira is doing her own thing, but while she’s here, she does want to meet you. She said you were…”

You squint your eyes, “I was what?”

“Very suspicious of her, and very protective of me.” he smiles, and you shrug bashfully. “She also said that her father would have wanted to meet Ronan and you.”

“Is that true?”

A smile tugs at John’s lip, “Yeah, he would have really wanted to meet you. He wanted me to have my peace. He wanted me to find a way out. He wanted me to find a purpose.”

“Ya know, it sounds like before me, you had a lot of people rooting for you.”

“No one has ever rooted for me as loudly as you do.”

You narrow your eyes, “Was that a dig at me?”

“No,” he laughs, kissing your head, “It was a compliment. My number one fan.”

“That’s me!”

Ronan’s chewing on her hands as she sits in John’s lap but she straightens her body out and whines. She’s kind of sick of this conversation now.

“Okay, okay,” John laughs, hoisting her up when he stands up from the bed, “We’ll get you some food.”

You get up and head to the stairs but John calls out to you, so you turn around.

“He would have really liked you.”

You smile softly, “Well, let’s hope his daughter will too.”

__

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