♥ The Morning After [Shawn/Ari RP; Vendetta Aftermath Cont.]

[Arianny DeLise]

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♥ October 7th, 2016 -- Shawn & Ari's Mansion

It was a little past eight in the morning when Arianny DeLise finally returned home. Things with Mondae Chaos had went about as well as expected. At least there were almost no secrets left between the Mean Girls but the truth about Frederik’s death had been a complete, and total shock. Mondae’s fierce amount of trust in Jace O'Brien had caused the princess to think about her own relationship.

She wasn’t happy with Shawn DeLise by any means and the awful things he had said and done to her the night before, but there was a bigger picture to look at. Friday was his day to sleep in and after letting herself in the house, she headed right for the kitchen. On her way home she had stopped and grabbed bagels, cream cheese, green tea, cinnamon oatmeal, and fresh fruit.

After rummaging around in the cabinets, she found a breakfast tray, fixed everything all nice and neat, and headed up the stairs to the bedroom they were supposed to share. Since coming back to San Francisco, Arianny had been starting her nights in one of the luxury spare bedrooms, alone. Every single night she had either ended up waking up in the master bedroom, snuggled next to Shawn, or he had ended up in bed with her.

For whatever the reason, the two of them seemed to find a lot of comfort in the arms of the other.

“Shawn?”

Arianny tiptoed across the room and sat the tray on the nightstand beside the side of the bed he preferred - the one facing the door. She kicked off her Jimmy Choos, shed her coat, and crawled over him. She gently shook him and pressed a light kiss on his stubble ridden cheek. “Babe?”

Shawn opened his eyes and took a few minutes to adjust to the bit of daylight that had escaped into the room. He blinked a few times, and turned to look at the clock on his nightstand. It was blocked by the tray Arianny had placed there and the strong scent of cinnamon invaded his nostrils. He finally turned his eyes towards the voice of his wife and say her staring back at him. Shawn rubbed his eyes. "Here to kill me?"

He sat up in the bed, and did a quick look around the room. He was making sure Mondae Chaos wasn’t hiding in the shadows with a knife ready to pounce. When he realized it was just them two, he felt more comfortable.

“You never came home last night.”

Shawn’s statement was true and Arianny pulled her blond hair loose from the sleek ponytail it had been trapped in since late last night. She ran her fingers through the silky strands and shrugged her shoulders. “I didn’t feel like I needed to be here alone with you. Both of us needed space, but I’m home now. I stopped and picked up some breakfast.” She gestured towards the nightstand.

“Oh yeah?” Shawn turned towards the tray and took his time examining everything on it. "What doesn't have poison in it?" An actual laugh slipped out and he reached for an orange slice, popping it in his mouth. "So about yesterday." Shawn paused and grabbed another piece of fruit. He wasn't able to look Arianny in the eyes at the moment. “I’m sorry. I was angry, and mad at myself, and I ended up taking it out on you.”

“It’s whatever,” Arianny replied and reached across him. She took one of the iced green teas from the tray and a single piece of fruit. It wasn't like Arianny was ever going to touch the bagels or the oatmeal. “We both had shitty nights, but I fully plan on making sure Lord Blake is never able to brag about what he did to us. I’m not going to be known as a loser, and he is going to regret putting his hands on you. I promise you that.”

Arianny bit into the strawberry she had taken, tossed the rest of it back onto the tray, and folded her legs underneath her. “I want us to get along and work together, Shawn. I really mean that. I shouldn’t have put my hands on you in the manner that I did. I apologize for that.”

It was a bittersweet apology and Arianny had to look away from Shawn. “Like, sometimes I don’t know how to take you. You hate me. You’re nice to me. You’re physical with me. Who exactly are you?”

Shawn reached over and grabbed the other iced green tea that Arianny had brought into the room. He took a sip of the cold drink and placed it back down on the tray. “I don’t know who I am.”

That part was true. Ever since the death of his father and the disappearance of his sister, Shawn felt like he had changed. Although he would never admit it, that day he felt like he had lost something. It had weighed heavily on his shoulders because it didn't have to end that way. It never had to be that extreme. But their actions , Joe and Georgia DeLise's, had brought that outcome down on them. Despite that, Shawn still felt a bit of sadness and regret over it. Arianny, she reminded him of all he wanted to forget, and looking at her gave him mixed feelings and emotions. That was why Arianny was the only person who got all sides of Shawn - the good, the bad, and the ugly. He knew he had to work on his self control in order for all of it to work out, but he figured it would just take a little more time.

“I think it’s just stress getting the better of me.”

Arianny didn’t believe him but she didn’t correct him either. Dealing with Shawn was one of the most difficult things she had ever done, and provoking his temper wasn’t something she was interested in at the moment. Day by day, the princess was becoming more intrigued by the man who basically held her life, and the life of her best friend, in his hands. A sensible, stable person would fear Shawn and his power, but Arianny wasn’t stable. Something had gone wrong in her genetics. A child of Katt Carter and Andrew Blake would never be normal, but Arianny was an entirely different entity altogether. She was an angel-faced, manipulative, bitch of a person who enjoyed seeing others suffer. And she was young. As she grew up, she would only become more fucked up and that was a scary thought.

“You weren’t stressed in Bora Bora,” she quietly replied and sat her drink back on the tray. She had only taken three sips. “I actually enjoyed you.”

He managed to finally look at her. “There was no need to stress.”

Arianny didn’t reply. The silence between them was deafening and she quickly felt the conversation was losing its steam. Shawn had propped himself back against the pillows and Arianny was still just sitting next to him on the bed, turned towards him. She looked down at her hands, played with her engagement ring, and sighed. “Well our situation is what it is, I guess. Like, I want us to be able to coexist and get along, and despite what you think of me, it’s not like I have a wealth of knowledge when it comes being in a relationship. Bora Bora is the first time I’ve ever been alone with a guy like that.”

“We will.” Shawn grabbed his drink again and polished it off. "Things have happened and they're things we need to move past and forget. It all just takes fucking time and patience, I guess. Through the extremely rough times and the good times, we will manage and we will get this right."

“Like we did in Bora Bora.”

Arianny chewed on her bottom lip as the memories from their honeymoon came rushing back to her. Shawn had been attentive when Arianny had gone into the hospital and she had been emotional after being released. Shawn had insisted on having a quiet night at their villa, but Arianny had dragged him out for a walk along their private little stretch of beach. There had been talking, and hand holding, and Arianny had gone for a kiss. Things had gotten heated between the two of them and not in the way the people of RSW were accustomed to seeing. There had been a shocking amount of chemistry between Shawn and Arianny, and she had pulled him down into the sand and surf. They had had sex right there on the beach, for the first time in their relationship, and it hadn’t happened since. Arianny didn't regret giving Shawn the only thing he wanted from her. It had been necessary in her opinion.

But it seemed like they were at a crossroads and sex had complicated things.

Arianny dropped her eyes from Shawn’s and picked at one of the delicate, gold threads on the bed covers. “Up until May, I was a virgin, believe it or not. I wasn't a paragon of virtue by any means but I had never had sex. Like honestly, I kind of just lost my virginity by accident. Chance and I had just been playing around and one thing led to another.”

“Spare me the fuckin’ details,” Shawn muttered, but he reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“The point is, I've never had someone in my life who could be called a boyfriend. I've never been on fancy dates, or just had normal experiences with men. You already know the only relationships I have are with Money and Dally. So I don't know how to be someone’s girlfriend, let alone someone’s wife. I'm sorry about what happened with Jimmie last night. I don't want anything to happen to my sister and you have the ability to completely destroy our lives. I guess what I'm trying to hint at is that maybe we can try to have a real relationship. Like maybe I can try and be that good, loyal wife that you want. We can just make the most of our situation. I mean, I don't completely hate you and sometimes you make me laugh. We both like to Netflix and chill. And the person you were in Bora Bora…”

She had sorta liked that person.

Arianny shifted uncomfortably. She hated talking about her feelings more than anything, but she needed Shawn to buy into what she was selling. It wasn't as if she was lying to him. For the first time since meeting Shawn back in Chattanooga, Arianny was being open with him. He had scared her back then and had definitely proven her gut instinct about him had been right. He was Satan.

And now she was married to him.

When Shawn had hightailed it to Vegas for almost a month, Arianny had truly felt bored without him. Despite the fact he had tortured her the entire time he had been gone, Arianny had welcomed the attention because at least it meant he couldn't stop thinking about her. She wasn't sure if she liked him or had romantic feelings for him, but Shawn was hers.

And even if he didn't care about her, she knew he would at least take care of her financially.

They had signed papers and Arianny had a nice little bank account with a substantial amount of money that would take care of her for the rest of her life. No one, not even Shawn, could touch that account. Arianny herself couldn't put her hands on it until she turned 21.

To mask her uncertainty over sharing facts about herself and feelings, Arianny faked a yawn and crawled under the covers.

Shawn watched her and extended his arm out to allow her to come in close. The minute she accepted his invitation, Shawn pulled her in close so that her face was resting on his chest. “That’s all I want from you, you know? Just be a good wife and fucking loyal from here on out. Bora Bora was fucking different, because it was just you and I. No Jack Owyns, no Mondae Chaos, no nobody, but just you and I. The bane of my entire existence didn’t exist there. It gave me a moment to just relax you know.” He slowly began moving his fingers back and forth over her shoulder blade. “Fuckin’ Lovey, this fuckin’ Revolution and Violent Intent. They are pains in mine, in both of our asses. We need to deal with them, and we need to take control back together. And then maybe, maybe then, you will get the Shawn DeLise you found in Bora Bora.”

Arianny nodded her head in agreement and turned her face up to his. Shawn knew what she was asking for and didn’t make her ask him for it this time. He bent his head down and brushed his lips against hers. Arianny enjoyed kissing him, and she moved her body so they could have a better angle. After a moment, she pulled back and settled back against his chest. “Like I told you, I have a plan for Lord. You just have to give me permission to access RSW’s database so I can get what I need,” she paused and at least had the decency to look guilty. “And since we’re trying to start fresh, I kinda, sorta already used your phone to take a peak.”

“You looked at my fucking phone.“ A rage began to build but he managed to push those emotions aside. “I’ll help with whatever you need to dethrone the fuckin’ puke.”

Ari had also looked through his computer, work computer, and the cellphone he didn’t think she knew about. Arianny needed to know who she was married too and what she was involved in. It wasn’t just about her anymore and she wanted her relationship to work. It was only fair since he had stripped her of every single bit of privacy she had. She didn’t say any of this out loud though. All she did was turn her innocent eyes up to his face and lifted her head.

“Lovey, Violent Intent, and whatever the hell it is Hanalameo and Bear think they’re trying to do won’t last or work out. But you have to keep a leash on Jimmie. He is a problem and I don’t think you thought out his hiring very well. I’m not criticizing you, but he is the reason I lost last night. If Hanalei and Bear had been banned from ringside like everyone else, I would have handled Lord, and you never would have had to come out there. Lord never would have kicked you in the face.”

Arianny touched the mark Lord’s boot had left on Shawn’s face. Her thumb gently stroked the damage that had been done. “This is your company and you can make the lives of these people a living hell if you want. I am more than happy to torture whoever you want me too. But you have to watch my back and you can’t take off the minute things get tough. We are in this together and I need you to have my back.”

“I think I proved I got your fuckin’ back, if the mark on the side of my face is any indication.” Shawn rolled Arianny onto her back and position himself over top of her. “We are in this together, and I’ll always watch your back from here on out.”

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