Chapter Text
Bethany was sound asleep when her phone began to vibrate on the nightstand. Squinting at the screen, she determined that it was Vera calling and that it was, in fact, only three in the morning. She found neither of these things particularly amusing.
"Vera... What the actual fuck?"
"You have been deprived of my beauty and wisdom for several days now, so I decided it was time to put you out of your misery!"
"Do you have any idea what time it is here?" Bethany demanded groggily. She felt Ville shift beside her, though he seemed to still be asleep.
"Nope," Vera said cheerily. "And I don't care. I miss you and I want updates. Get your happy ass out of bed and entertain me."
"Ugh... fine," Bethany sighed, slowly getting out from underneath the covers and looking down at Ville. He was still out cold, one arm thrown up over his head, snoring quietly. Bethany smiled and shook her head before tiptoeing out of the room and going downstairs. She went into the living room and cocooned herself in a throw blanket before sitting down on the couch.
"Alright, I am a polite distance away from the other person in this house who is so fortunate to still be unconscious."
"Damn, I was hoping I'd woken him up, too," Vera lamented. "He's funny when he's crabby."
"One day he's going to strangle you, and I may not even try to stop him," Bethany grumbled, stifling a yawn.
"I think I can take him," Vera laughed. "He's tall, I'll go for the knees. Sooo... How are things going?"
"Good," Bethany replied. "Really good, actually. We visited his parents yesterday. They're the sweetest people I've ever met."
"Yeah?" Vera said, sounding intrigued. "Do you think you made a good first impression?"
"If Ville is to be believed, I made an excellent impression," Bethany said. "He said his mom asked him if he'd marry me."
"Woah," Vera said. "Look at you go, charmer."
"Part of me thinks she just wants to see him settle down, finally," Bethany said with a shrug. "I at least don't come off as a complete trainwreck, so that's probably good enough at this point."
"Shut the fuck up," Vera said sternly. "You're a goddamn catch. Ville knows that, and obviously his parents see it too. Shove the self deprecation up your ass."
"I'm a dumpster fire hidden beneath a thin veneer of poise at best," Bethany said glumly. "You know how fucked up everything is for me right now."
"So you're having a career crisis," Vera said. "Big deal. You'll figure it out."
"I don't know if I will," Bethany sighed. "The thought of going back to my job and school makes me want to puke. I really don't know if I can do it anymore."
"Didn't you go to Finland to forget about those problems?" Vera asked.
"Yes, but..." Bethany trailed off, staring up at the ceiling.
"But what?"
"I've kind of been forced to think about it the whole time I've been here," Bethany said. "On one hand, I don't want to give up on everything and look like I'm trying to use Ville for his money. On the other hand... Ville is sort of pushing me to let it all go and let him take care of me."
"Would that make you happier?" Vera pressed.
"I don't know," Bethany said tiredly. "I don't think I'd feel right about it. I don't want to depend on him fully like that, for a lot of reasons."
"That's fair," Vera said. "But it wouldn't have to be like that permanently. Nothing is stopping you from finding another career. In fact, it would be easier to do with his help."
"I don't want his help," Bethany said sharply. She winced at her own harshness. "I mean, I just don't want to take advantage of him. He gives me too much as it is."
"Because he loves you," Vera pointed out.
"That's not a good enough reason," Bethany said, rubbing her forehead.
"Why the hell not?" Vera demanded.
"I don't want him to support me for nothing in return," Bethany said. "That feels wrong to me."
"You don't give him nothing in return," Vera argued. "You love him, you give him affection and companionship. That's what he wants, that's all he wants. You make him happy."
"So I should just let him be the equivalent of a fucking sugar daddy?" Bethany asked hotly.
"If he wants to take care of you, there's nothing wrong with that," Vera said calmly. "Ask yourself this: does this actually make you uncomfortable, or are you just worried about what other people might think?"
"Both?" Bethany said, feeling frustrated. "Obviously I don't want to look like a leech. And if I let him support me, I'm going to feel like I'm acting like-"
"Your mother," Vera finished for her. "Got it. Okay. Listen to me very carefully, sweet thing. There is a fundamental difference between you and your mom, and that is that your mom is a manipulator, while you are not. She purposefully seeks out ways to get what she wants from people. You didn't seek this out, this just happened to you. You happened to meet a good man with the means and the desire to provide for you. Accepting that does not make you anything like your mother."
"That might be true," Bethany said slowly. "It will still look awful, though."
"Who gives a fuck how it looks?" Vera asked. "Nobody knows what goes on in your lives but you two. Anyone who judges your relationship or how you do things isn't worth caring about. So what if you decide to play housewife for the rest of your days? So what if you decide to go to school for something different and Ville pays for it? So what if he helps you find work? Whose business is any of that? What does it matter what anybody has to say about it at the end of the day? If the two of you are happy, what does it matter?"
"I... guess it doesn't," Bethany admitted, chewing her bottom lip.
"You're damn right," Vera said fiercely. "Bethany, you are my best friend in the entire world. I have watched you work your ass off for everything you have, I have watched you struggle, I have watched you suffer, and the entire time I thought, 'please God, let this girl catch a break. Let her be happy'. Here is your break. Here is your chance at happiness. Please don't let it pass you by because you think you don't deserve it, because you do. Don't let other people's bullshit stop you from accepting something good. Let that man love you like he wants to."
Bethany sniffled. She hadn't realized she'd started crying. She didn't know how to respond to Vera's passionate reassurance, but she knew she was right. It felt like a weight was lifting from her chest, and she took a deep breath for the first time in what felt like ages.
"Did I get through that hard head of yours?" Vera asked, sounding pleased with herself.
"Yes," Bethany said softly, wiping at her cheeks. "Thank you, Vee."
"It's what I'm here for," Vera said dismissively. "I knew I had the urge to call you for a reason. I can always tell when you need to hear something."
"Whatever would I do without your psychic powers?" Bethany asked sarcastically.
"Something incredibly stupid, I'd wager," Vera teased. "You're welcome for probably saving your relationship. I'll send the bill for my services to your sugar daddy."
"Do not start," Bethany groaned. "You'll make me second guess this entire thing."
"You know I'm only joking," Vera giggled. "Anyway, I will let you go back to bed. Give lover boy extra snuggles for me."
"Sure," Bethany snorted. "I love you, you bitch."
"I love you more, fuckhead."
Bethany hung up and fell back against the couch, a small smile playing on her lips. She did feel better. She hoped it would last, that her doubts and fears wouldn't come rushing back to her in the morning.
She got to her feet and tossed the blanket back onto the couch before hurrying up the stairs, anxious to crawl back into bed. To her surprise, when she walked into the bedroom she found Ville awake.
"Hey," he said, his voice scratchy from sleep. "Where'd you go?"
"Vera called me," Bethany said, getting back under the covers and laying her head on his chest. "With no regard for time zones because of who she is as a person."
"Mmm," Ville hummed, wrapping his arm around her and kissing the top of her head. "Makes sense."
"She told me to give you extra snuggles for her," Bethany said, stretching her arm over his chest.
"How sweet," Ville chuckled, his fingers trailing lightly up and down Bethany's arm. "What else did you talk about?"
"She wanted to know how everything's going," Bethany yawned. "I told her we had a nice time at your parents'."
"Mm, that's good," Ville said sleepily. Bethany could tell he was fading fast.
"Hey," she said, pushing herself up on one arm and looking down at him. He slowly opened his eyes.
"Yes?"
"I love you," Bethany said, leaning down to kiss him softly. He kissed her back, the hand on her arm moving up to rest on the back of her neck.
"I love you, too," he said, nuzzling against her shoulder. "Can we go back to sleep now?"
"Yeah," Bethany laughed softly. "We can go back to sleep."
***
Bethany woke up around noon, finding herself alone in bed. She pulled on a sweater and headed downstairs, pleased to find coffee already made in the kitchen. After pouring herself a cup, she padded around the first floor looking for Ville. She checked the living room, the small laundry room, and even the dining room that Ville said he'd only actually used a grand total of three times, but he was nowhere to be found.
As she made her way back into the hallway, Bethany thought she heard a sound coming from below. It was then that she noticed the basement door beneath the stairs was slightly ajar. She debated with herself for a moment about going downstairs, as she knew that's where Ville had his studio. She wasn't sure how welcome visitors were in that space.
"I can hear you lurking up there," Ville yelled, causing Bethany to jump and nearly spill coffee down her front. "You can come down, I have the booby traps disarmed for the moment."
"Funny," Bethany called, pulling the door the rest of the way open and starting down the thickly carpeted stairs. She found Ville at his desk, turning the office chair he was sitting in idly from side to side as he looked at a stack of papers in his hands. Hearing her approach, he tossed the papers onto the desk and slowly spun his chair all the way around, steepling his fingers under his chin.
"I've been expecting you," he said dramatically, dropping his voice an octave or two.
"You're dumb," Bethany giggled. She leaned down and gave him a kiss. "Whatcha doin' down here?"
"Expecting you," Ville replied, trying and failing to hide a smile. "And also finally answering emails I've been avoiding. Getting financial shit from the tour printed and organized so the tax man doesn't tear me a new one in a few months. Boring grown-up stuff, you know."
"You do your own taxes?" Bethany asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Fuck no!" Ville laughed. "You wanna see what it looks like when a high school drop out tries to do their own taxes? It's not pretty. No, I send everything to my accountant, but I keep about five extra copies of everything for myself because I'm a paranoid fucker."
"That's a relief," Bethany said, turning to look around the studio. It looked very professional, if a little cluttered. Most of the walls were covered in black soundproofing foam, though there were a couple that were covered in pictures and posters instead. The giant framed print of Black Sabbath caught her eye first, possibly because there was a small table with an arrangement of candles set up just underneath it. "Is that an actual altar dedicated to Black Sabbath, Ville?"
"Is that actually judgement I hear in your voice, Bethany?" Ville asked, nudging the back of her thigh with his toe.
"Maybe a little," Bethany said, swatting his foot away.
"You know, Vera told me she has some pictures that were taken in your bedroom when you were teenagers," Ville said casually, grabbing his coffee off of his desk and taking a sip. "I'm sure there's nothing in the background of those photos I could possibly judge you for..."
"I was fifteen!" Bethany said, putting a hand on her hip as she turned to glare at him. "You are a grown-ass man!"
"And Ozzy is my god," Ville shrugged. "At least I have never kissed that poster."
"I never-!" Bethany spluttered, feeling her face heat as Ville snickered at her. "Oh, for Christ's sake, you and Vera aren't allowed to have unsupervised conversations anymore!"
"We are rather dangerous when left in each other's company," Ville admitted. "And you make it too easy to fuck with you."
"You're insufferable," Bethany sighed, though she was smiling as she said it.
"I suppose that makes you a masochist," Ville said, grabbing her hand and pulling her into his lap. Bethany went without complaint, putting the arm that wasn't supporting her coffee around Ville's neck. She smiled when he rested his head on her chest, nuzzling her nose into his hair. "Wanna go on an adventure today?"
"I don't know," Bethany said slowly. "That heavily depends on what your idea of an adventure is."
"I was thinking about giving you that tour of Helsinki I promised you."
"Are you sure?" Bethany asked. "I mean... You tend to get spotted pretty easily around here."
"Yes, and?" Ville said, looking up at her. "You think I planned on keeping you prisoner in this house for an entire two weeks?"
"Well, I don't know," Bethany said awkwardly. "After the clusterfuck at the airport back home..."
"Which has already made the rounds in several variations in the celebrity rags here," Ville said, rolling his eyes. "You are officially my worst kept secret. It's not news anymore, if that's what you're worried about. If we do run into any paparazzi, all you have to do is ignore the fuck out of them. They're all well acquainted with my complete and utter intolerance for them, so they'll keep their distance. And if they don't, I'll handle it and they'll wish they'd never been born. Easy."
"You're a little scary sometimes," Bethany said, giving him an apprehensive look. Ville clicked his tongue and shook his head dismissively.
"You have nothing to be afraid of," he assured her. "Nosy fucks with cameras and no sense of common decency, on the other hand, have plenty to be afraid of. Hopefully you won't have to see Bastard Ville anytime soon, but if you do, just know that you'd have to do something pretty fucking horrendous to ever have that directed at you."
"Good to know," Bethany laughed softly. Ville kissed her neck gently, the hand that settled on her hip slowly sliding up underneath her sweater. Bethany hummed contentedly as his warm fingers danced lazily over her ribs, her eyes falling closed.
"You know," Ville said, his voice low and quiet in Bethany's ear, "I've never properly christened this studio." Bethany snorted and let her forehead rest against Ville's temple.
"What do you consider a proper christening?" she asked, though she was sure she knew the answer.
"Something that has absolutely nothing to do with Christ, that's for sure," Ville said, taking Bethany's mostly empty mug from her hand and setting it on the desk with his own. "That couch over there in the corner is extremely roomy and comfortable. I'm just saying."
"It's covered in boxes," Bethany said, glancing at the couch in question. There were haphazard stacks of battered cardboard boxes currently making their home there.
"Tour merch overstock," Ville said, his free hand slowly sliding up Bethany's thigh. "I don't know how I always end up with it. My feelings won't be hurt if we just throw it all on the floor."
"More pressing matters on your mind?" Bethany teased, shifting her hips just slightly in Ville's lap. He groaned and dug his nails into her leg, the sound trailing off into a breathless chuckle.
"More pressing would be good," he said, his voice coming out slightly strained. "Unless you'd like to look for another excuse."
"It's a little weird to fuck under the watchful eyes of Ozzy Osbourne?" Bethany suggested.
"No, it's exactly what he would want," Ville said, standing up and pulling Bethany close to him. "Wanna try again?"
"I would, but my heart's not really in it," Bethany laughed, standing on her tip toes to kiss him. Ville kissed her back hungrily, his fingers digging into her hips as he pushed her back in the direction of the couch. He very reluctantly pulled away to shove the small mountain of boxes onto the floor before sitting down and pulling Bethany down to straddle him.
Ville's lips were on hers again in an instant, his left hand finding its way to the back of her neck while his right returned to her thigh, his fingers inching slowly underneath the fabric of her sleep shorts. He had teased her for bringing pajamas like that to Finland in the dead of winter, but Bethany found that the house was plenty warm enough and she knew he'd come to appreciate her choices eventually. And appreciate them he did, as his hand traveled higher only to find more bare skin at the crease of her thigh.
"Dirty girl," he murmured against her lips, to which Bethany responded with only a quiet giggle. Her laughter was cut short as Ville's questing fingers moved between her legs, sliding easily into the wetness they found there. Bethany gasped softly at his touch, her hands clutching tightly at his shirt.
"Too many clothes," she said, tugging ineffectually at the material. Ville nodded and gently pushed her off of him. They both hurriedly shed their pajamas and Bethany pushed Ville back onto the couch, resuming her previous position. His fingers returned immediately to their teasing and Bethany whimpered, only to be immediately silenced by another kiss. Ville's tongue entered her mouth at the same moment he slid two fingers inside of her, and Bethany scratched her nails down his arms with a moan. He somehow managed to synchronize everything he was doing, the way his hand grasped at the hair at the back of her head, his tongue moving against hers, the steady rhythm of his fingers inside of her, and Bethany could hardly think straight. Everything felt good, everything was overwhelming, and before she even realized what was happening, he had her falling apart.
"F-fuck, babe," Bethany gasped, her head falling to Ville's shoulder as her body continued to shake. She felt like it took forever to come down, like the orgasm came and went in waves. Ville chuckled softly in her ear as he finally withdrew his fingers from her.
"You only ever call me pet names when we're having sex, I've noticed," he said, putting his hands on Bethany's hips and pulling her closer.
"Probably because I stop caring about sounding corny when I can't have a coherent thought anyway," Bethany laughed breathlessly. She moaned when Ville lifted his hips up against hers sharply.
"Do you think I sound corny when I call you pet names?" he asked, reaching up to grab her chin and make her look at him. Bethany rolled her eyes at the stern look on his face.
"Nothing sounds corny when you say it," she assured him, kissing his lips gently before peppering more kisses over his jaw. She slipped one hand between them and wrapped her fingers around his cock, delighting in the deep groan that rumbled in his chest. His head fell back against the couch, giving her more access to his throat. She licked a long, slow line up his Adam's apple and over his chin, catching his bottom lip between her teeth as she shifted her hips and began to sink slowly onto his cock. Ville sucked in a sharp breath and dug his nails into Bethany's hips, exhaling shakily when she enveloped him completely.
"Never going to get tired of this," he whispered.
"Yeah?" Bethany said, rolling her hips forward. She moved as slowly as she could manage, biting her lip when Ville's eyes fell shut. He pushed at her hips, trying to get her to speed up, but she grabbed his wrists and pinned them against the back of the couch. He opened his eyes again and grinned at her.
"Oh, is this what we're doing?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow. Bethany rocked against him again and the smug expression quickly fell off his face.
"It would be if you'd shut up," Bethany told him, pushing his hands harder against the cushions as she began to set a rhythm.
"Yes, ma'am," Ville groaned, the corner of his lips twitching as he attempted to conceal a smirk.
"Shut. Up," Bethany said, though she was smiling too. She kissed him hard, moaning quietly as she felt him moving within her with every motion of her body. She released her grip on his wrists and linked her fingers with his instead, still keeping him from touching her.
Ville seemed perfectly content to let her have her way with him, though every now and then he would lift his hips up to meet hers as she rode him. Bethany couldn't find a reason to complain, not when he was sighing in her ear, whispering encouragement and filthy compliments. It wasn't long before his words stopped making a lot of sense, switching incomprehensibly between English and Finnish as his hands squeezed Bethany's so tightly it nearly hurt. Finally, with one last thrust upwards into Bethany's heat, he came, muffling his moans against her shoulder. Bethany let his hands go, running her fingers through his hair and kissing the top of his head. Ville wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as he caught his breath.
"I fucking love you," he said, lifting his head. Bethany smiled at the look on his face, a mix of disbelief and giddiness.
"I fucking love you too," she said, kissing him sweetly.
"Still have enough energy for that adventure?" Ville asked, leaning back and putting his arms behind his head.
"Sure," Bethany laughed, moving to stand on slightly shaky legs. "Shower first, though."
"Right behind you."