LoveandLogic
Refugee
Summary: Bono and Raven had the ideal marriage. But after the Joshua Tree tour, things start to go downhill. With Edge's own marriage hanging on a string and the tension within everyone involved, the band flees to Berlin to find artistic inspiration. Edge and Raven team together to escape the loneliness in their lives. How far will they go to feel complete again?
A/N: Again, thank you to the most awesome, wonderful, totally incredible beta WithoutSpeaking. You are da bomb diggidy! Giggidy.
Enjoy and as always, please leave feedback. We live off of it.
Latest Chapters:
A Tender Trap--Chapter One--
A Tender Trap--Chapter Two--
A Tender Trap--Chapter Three--
A Tender Trap--Chapter Four
A Tender Trap--Chapter Five--
A Tender Trap--Chapter Six--
A Tender Trap--Chapter Seven--
http://www.u2interference.com/forums/f231/a-tender-trap-chapter-eight-209278.html
* * * *
In time, his sobs turned into heavy hiccups. Edge’s stomach churned and before Raven could protest, he bolted to the bathroom. She was at his side immediately, holding his hair as he threw up into the toilet whatever his body couldn’t hold down a second longer.
Spent, Edge collapsed onto the floor, breathing heavily and squeezing his lids tightly. Raven put a washcloth under some cool water and kneeled before Edge, resting the cloth on his forehead.
Looking up into her face, Edge smirked. “Thanks.”
She chuckled. “Feel better?”
“A bit, yes. Jesus, Ray, I’m sorry I said those things to you. You know I didn-”
“Don’t. It’s fine.”
“Thank you.. Damn I feel like shite…”
“Mmm, yes, you smell like it, too. You should take a shower and brush your teeth. It might sober you up a bit. Would you like me to get you something to eat? Some coffee maybe?”
“No. That’s all right. But you’re right, I need a shower. I don’t…I don’t know where I put my things.”
“I’ll go look for them. You just sit here and relax, ok?”
Edge hummed and Raven set about looking for essentials. He had thrown his suitcase in the far corner of the room. She felt her stomach drop. Aislinn must’ve not let Edge collect his belongings. Either that or he didn’t have the courage to go back to the house so soon. Raven couldn’t blame him. She knew better than most that it wasn’t easy going home to something – or someone – when current situations were not fielded with flowers and bright rainbows.
She could only imagine the darkness of the Evans’ home. With Raven and Bono, at least they didn’t have children to worry about. Edge, however, did. She couldn’t possibly understand the hardship Edge and Aislinn were going through when it came to their little girls. Surely they were picking up on the troubles between their parents. Raven had never known her father but she had often heard her mother crying in the strangest hours of the morning. Her heart ached for their children.
Setting aside her thoughts, Raven rummaged through the bag and found a pair of his pajama bottoms and a clean pair of shorts. Folding them nicely, she went back to the bathroom. Edge was at the sink scrubbing at his tongue with a toothbrush when she returned.
Raven giggled and laid his clothes out on the counter. He thanked her through his brush and they laughed. She turned the water of the shower on for him as Edge was rinsing his mouth.
He dried his mouth with a white towel. Raven couldn’t help but to grimace at the over grown patches of hair on his face and neck. Edge was a very well-kept man and, in his right mind, never would’ve given himself permission to let himself go.
“You need a shave,” Raven told him. “I’ll be right back.”
Edge didn’t get the chance to reply as Raven dashed out of the room. She came back moments later with a razor in one hand and a can of shaving cream in the other.
The room was suffocating and the pounding in her breastbone occupied her ears, all other sounds leaving the room completely. Unable to take the silence any longer, Raven nodded towards Edge’s chest.
“You’re going to have to take off your shirt.”
Edge shrugged and, nervously, began on his shirt, his fingers fumbling with the buttons. He cursed under his breath, feeling useless under the influence of the whiskey and how it slowed his mobility.
“Here,” Raven intervened and stopped his hands. “Here, let me help you …”
She could feel his eyes on her as she undid the buttons slowly, taking her time for whatever reason. Her throat tightened, her lungs begging for the air in which they were lacking.
Edge’s lips parted, his mind hazy and skin coming alive with every button that was being undone by the woman before him.
When she pushed the piece of clothing off his shoulders and down his arms, Raven couldn’t help but to take in the beauty of Edge. He was slim, his collarbone detailed and shoulders squared and dignified. His hair was dark and curly, surfacing over his breastbone, trailing elegantly down his belly and disappearing into his jeans.
She yearned to reach out and run her fingertips over his ivory, toned belly, to test the warmth and texture of his skin.
Timidly, Raven raised an arm and positioned her palm over his navel. Edge seized a deep intake of oxygen, incapable of looking anywhere but at the brooding illustration on her face.
“You’re soft,” she muttered, worshipping the way the impression of soft fuzz felt on her skin.
Neither Edge nor Raven moved. It was as if their bodies had frozen in time and they would forever be stuck on pause. She’d seen him shirtless before; countless times, in fact. However, she never actually took the time to genuinely study him. Until now...
An uncontrollable quivering rode through her like a hurricane as she slid her hand upwards. Beneath her bones, she felt the storm of Edge’s heartbeat.
God what am I doing? Raven asked herself. This isn’t right…I shouldn’t be doing this. And I sure as hell shouldn’t be enjoying it…his skin…the color of it…so fair and remarkably velvety…
“Raven…you don’t…you don’t have to do this to make me feel better,” murmured Edge matter-of-factly.
“Yes. I know. But I…I want to. Forgive me, love, but I want to…I won’t cross any boundaries. It’s just…” her words trailed while she followed her hand as it outlined the hollow of his throat.
Edge caved, closing his eyes, wanting to block out everything but the feel of feather light fingertips striding over his neck, his shoulders...
“You’re not forcing me to do anything I don’t want to do,” she informed him again, her hand now on his back. “I just…want to feel what she gave up…”
Raven slithered her fingers over to his hipbone and squeezed. Edge’s eyes fluttered and the intimate moment came to a ghastly halt. Quickly, he gathered both her hands in his. Her eyes came across his face.
“Don’t,” Edge declared. “Don’t pity me.”
“Edge I-”
“No,” his words stung like mid-day summer sun. “You’re better than this. We’re better than this.”
He didn’t let go of her hands, even as she tried to turn her back on him – he wouldn’t allow it. How could she ever face him again after making such a fool of herself? Of course it wasn’t right. Of course it was sinful. She should’ve been the one to end this. After all, her mind was the most stable of the two in the room.
“You don’t have to be embarrassed, love,” Edge released one hand from hers to, in replacement, cup her chin, guiding her. “Look at me. Please. This is all my fault. I…I…last night, when I showed up at your house…I shouldn’t have kissed you.”
Raven struggled for air. It was if Edge had knocked the wind out of her. He remembered and yet didn’t mention it until now? Why now?
Raven desperately wanted to scream at his confession. She was so thick! To think that Edge actually wanted her in that moment…in this moment.
She truly was naïve.
“Edge-”
“Don’t make excuses for me. It was disrespectful and…and…just…wrong. I lead you on and I’m so terribly sorry.”
If she knew how to talk before this, she couldn’t remember when. Her heart was now in her stomach, her temperature way above normal. She had just ruined their friendship when all she wanted to do was comfort him.
She heard Edge sigh and he unwrapped her fingers from around the razor. She questioned him with her eyes.
“I’ll take care of this, love,” he lifted the razor.
Raven shook her head and remembered how to speak again. “No. Let me do this for you. Please. I just…want to make you feel whole again. And I don’t care how I do it, just as long as I can help. In any way. Even if it’s just as simple as something like a shave.”
Edge’s lips stretched into a small smile and handed the razor back to her.
“Just uh…sit on the toilet seat here,” she instructed, changing the subject to avoid her inner turmoil. Edge did as was told, watching as she rolled up her sleeves.
She squeezed some of the lotion onto her hands and lathered the foam before applying it to his face and down his neck. His skin was warm beneath the length of his whiskers and Raven’s palms tickled as she pressed over them.
His eyes followed her as she went to the sink and washed her hands. Kneeling before him, she uncapped the plastic protection cover from the new razor, her attention busy on the small freckles on his shoulders.
She cleared her throat, her voice a whisper. “Lift your chin, love.”
Edge gazed at the ceiling. Raven warned him that she would begin as not to startle him. Easily and carefully, she grazed the razor from the base of his neck upwards. A smile formed on her mouth when she reached the peak of vanilla skin.
“Do you uh…do this often, Raven?” Edge asked.
Raven chuckled and rinsed the blades. “Sometimes. Bono likes it when I shave his face. Relaxes him. Now be still.”
Edge felt her hands on the side of his neck as Raven groomed him, admiring the fact that with her, there were no limits as to what she would do for another human. Bono, Edge determined, was the luckiest man on earth.
“Ok, you can put your head down.”
She rested her fingertips on the back of his head and guided it forward, their similar glimpses colliding anxiously.
Raven flushed at the depth of his gaze.
“Is there anything you want me to keep?”
He shrugged. “Get rid of all of it. I need a change.”
A tender smile formed on her mouth. “Are you sure?”
Edge nodded firmly and Raven went back to work. They fell into a comfortable peace, the room quiet aside from the running water of the sink and the occasional wisp of hair being removed by the razor. Raven’s left hand stayed curved around the side of his neck, her fingers massaging the muscles in location.
After finishing up with the razor, Raven then grabbed the towel off the sink and washed way the residue of white cream. Her teeth tugged at her lower lip. She couldn’t take her eyes away from his. And the way he looked at her was…adoring.
Raven grinned, clearly admiring her work. Settling both hands on either side of the guitarist’s face, her nerves tingling at the supple, fresh skin, she sang happily. “There you are, handsome.”
Edge laughed and placed his hands overtop hers as she stood up, helping him to his feet. He pulled her in to his body, bringing her close, his arms wrapped loosely about her waist.
She held him back, the weight of his chin on her crown light and restful. He clutched her desperately then released, providing a weak smile.
“Erm…you better wash up before the water goes cold,” Raven said. “I’ll be in the other room.”
“Ok.”
Raven didn’t look back when she shut the door behind her. As soon as she did, she leaned on the wood to catch her breath. Damn it, why didn’t Edge at least leave one shot of whiskey for her?
A/N: Again, thank you to the most awesome, wonderful, totally incredible beta WithoutSpeaking. You are da bomb diggidy! Giggidy.
Enjoy and as always, please leave feedback. We live off of it.
Latest Chapters:
A Tender Trap--Chapter One--
A Tender Trap--Chapter Two--
A Tender Trap--Chapter Three--
A Tender Trap--Chapter Four
A Tender Trap--Chapter Five--
A Tender Trap--Chapter Six--
A Tender Trap--Chapter Seven--
http://www.u2interference.com/forums/f231/a-tender-trap-chapter-eight-209278.html
* * * *
In time, his sobs turned into heavy hiccups. Edge’s stomach churned and before Raven could protest, he bolted to the bathroom. She was at his side immediately, holding his hair as he threw up into the toilet whatever his body couldn’t hold down a second longer.
Spent, Edge collapsed onto the floor, breathing heavily and squeezing his lids tightly. Raven put a washcloth under some cool water and kneeled before Edge, resting the cloth on his forehead.
Looking up into her face, Edge smirked. “Thanks.”
She chuckled. “Feel better?”
“A bit, yes. Jesus, Ray, I’m sorry I said those things to you. You know I didn-”
“Don’t. It’s fine.”
“Thank you.. Damn I feel like shite…”
“Mmm, yes, you smell like it, too. You should take a shower and brush your teeth. It might sober you up a bit. Would you like me to get you something to eat? Some coffee maybe?”
“No. That’s all right. But you’re right, I need a shower. I don’t…I don’t know where I put my things.”
“I’ll go look for them. You just sit here and relax, ok?”
Edge hummed and Raven set about looking for essentials. He had thrown his suitcase in the far corner of the room. She felt her stomach drop. Aislinn must’ve not let Edge collect his belongings. Either that or he didn’t have the courage to go back to the house so soon. Raven couldn’t blame him. She knew better than most that it wasn’t easy going home to something – or someone – when current situations were not fielded with flowers and bright rainbows.
She could only imagine the darkness of the Evans’ home. With Raven and Bono, at least they didn’t have children to worry about. Edge, however, did. She couldn’t possibly understand the hardship Edge and Aislinn were going through when it came to their little girls. Surely they were picking up on the troubles between their parents. Raven had never known her father but she had often heard her mother crying in the strangest hours of the morning. Her heart ached for their children.
Setting aside her thoughts, Raven rummaged through the bag and found a pair of his pajama bottoms and a clean pair of shorts. Folding them nicely, she went back to the bathroom. Edge was at the sink scrubbing at his tongue with a toothbrush when she returned.
Raven giggled and laid his clothes out on the counter. He thanked her through his brush and they laughed. She turned the water of the shower on for him as Edge was rinsing his mouth.
He dried his mouth with a white towel. Raven couldn’t help but to grimace at the over grown patches of hair on his face and neck. Edge was a very well-kept man and, in his right mind, never would’ve given himself permission to let himself go.
“You need a shave,” Raven told him. “I’ll be right back.”
Edge didn’t get the chance to reply as Raven dashed out of the room. She came back moments later with a razor in one hand and a can of shaving cream in the other.
The room was suffocating and the pounding in her breastbone occupied her ears, all other sounds leaving the room completely. Unable to take the silence any longer, Raven nodded towards Edge’s chest.
“You’re going to have to take off your shirt.”
Edge shrugged and, nervously, began on his shirt, his fingers fumbling with the buttons. He cursed under his breath, feeling useless under the influence of the whiskey and how it slowed his mobility.
“Here,” Raven intervened and stopped his hands. “Here, let me help you …”
She could feel his eyes on her as she undid the buttons slowly, taking her time for whatever reason. Her throat tightened, her lungs begging for the air in which they were lacking.
Edge’s lips parted, his mind hazy and skin coming alive with every button that was being undone by the woman before him.
When she pushed the piece of clothing off his shoulders and down his arms, Raven couldn’t help but to take in the beauty of Edge. He was slim, his collarbone detailed and shoulders squared and dignified. His hair was dark and curly, surfacing over his breastbone, trailing elegantly down his belly and disappearing into his jeans.
She yearned to reach out and run her fingertips over his ivory, toned belly, to test the warmth and texture of his skin.
Timidly, Raven raised an arm and positioned her palm over his navel. Edge seized a deep intake of oxygen, incapable of looking anywhere but at the brooding illustration on her face.
“You’re soft,” she muttered, worshipping the way the impression of soft fuzz felt on her skin.
Neither Edge nor Raven moved. It was as if their bodies had frozen in time and they would forever be stuck on pause. She’d seen him shirtless before; countless times, in fact. However, she never actually took the time to genuinely study him. Until now...
An uncontrollable quivering rode through her like a hurricane as she slid her hand upwards. Beneath her bones, she felt the storm of Edge’s heartbeat.
God what am I doing? Raven asked herself. This isn’t right…I shouldn’t be doing this. And I sure as hell shouldn’t be enjoying it…his skin…the color of it…so fair and remarkably velvety…
“Raven…you don’t…you don’t have to do this to make me feel better,” murmured Edge matter-of-factly.
“Yes. I know. But I…I want to. Forgive me, love, but I want to…I won’t cross any boundaries. It’s just…” her words trailed while she followed her hand as it outlined the hollow of his throat.
Edge caved, closing his eyes, wanting to block out everything but the feel of feather light fingertips striding over his neck, his shoulders...
“You’re not forcing me to do anything I don’t want to do,” she informed him again, her hand now on his back. “I just…want to feel what she gave up…”
Raven slithered her fingers over to his hipbone and squeezed. Edge’s eyes fluttered and the intimate moment came to a ghastly halt. Quickly, he gathered both her hands in his. Her eyes came across his face.
“Don’t,” Edge declared. “Don’t pity me.”
“Edge I-”
“No,” his words stung like mid-day summer sun. “You’re better than this. We’re better than this.”
He didn’t let go of her hands, even as she tried to turn her back on him – he wouldn’t allow it. How could she ever face him again after making such a fool of herself? Of course it wasn’t right. Of course it was sinful. She should’ve been the one to end this. After all, her mind was the most stable of the two in the room.
“You don’t have to be embarrassed, love,” Edge released one hand from hers to, in replacement, cup her chin, guiding her. “Look at me. Please. This is all my fault. I…I…last night, when I showed up at your house…I shouldn’t have kissed you.”
Raven struggled for air. It was if Edge had knocked the wind out of her. He remembered and yet didn’t mention it until now? Why now?
Raven desperately wanted to scream at his confession. She was so thick! To think that Edge actually wanted her in that moment…in this moment.
She truly was naïve.
“Edge-”
“Don’t make excuses for me. It was disrespectful and…and…just…wrong. I lead you on and I’m so terribly sorry.”
If she knew how to talk before this, she couldn’t remember when. Her heart was now in her stomach, her temperature way above normal. She had just ruined their friendship when all she wanted to do was comfort him.
She heard Edge sigh and he unwrapped her fingers from around the razor. She questioned him with her eyes.
“I’ll take care of this, love,” he lifted the razor.
Raven shook her head and remembered how to speak again. “No. Let me do this for you. Please. I just…want to make you feel whole again. And I don’t care how I do it, just as long as I can help. In any way. Even if it’s just as simple as something like a shave.”
Edge’s lips stretched into a small smile and handed the razor back to her.
“Just uh…sit on the toilet seat here,” she instructed, changing the subject to avoid her inner turmoil. Edge did as was told, watching as she rolled up her sleeves.
She squeezed some of the lotion onto her hands and lathered the foam before applying it to his face and down his neck. His skin was warm beneath the length of his whiskers and Raven’s palms tickled as she pressed over them.
His eyes followed her as she went to the sink and washed her hands. Kneeling before him, she uncapped the plastic protection cover from the new razor, her attention busy on the small freckles on his shoulders.
She cleared her throat, her voice a whisper. “Lift your chin, love.”
Edge gazed at the ceiling. Raven warned him that she would begin as not to startle him. Easily and carefully, she grazed the razor from the base of his neck upwards. A smile formed on her mouth when she reached the peak of vanilla skin.
“Do you uh…do this often, Raven?” Edge asked.
Raven chuckled and rinsed the blades. “Sometimes. Bono likes it when I shave his face. Relaxes him. Now be still.”
Edge felt her hands on the side of his neck as Raven groomed him, admiring the fact that with her, there were no limits as to what she would do for another human. Bono, Edge determined, was the luckiest man on earth.
“Ok, you can put your head down.”
She rested her fingertips on the back of his head and guided it forward, their similar glimpses colliding anxiously.
Raven flushed at the depth of his gaze.
“Is there anything you want me to keep?”
He shrugged. “Get rid of all of it. I need a change.”
A tender smile formed on her mouth. “Are you sure?”
Edge nodded firmly and Raven went back to work. They fell into a comfortable peace, the room quiet aside from the running water of the sink and the occasional wisp of hair being removed by the razor. Raven’s left hand stayed curved around the side of his neck, her fingers massaging the muscles in location.
After finishing up with the razor, Raven then grabbed the towel off the sink and washed way the residue of white cream. Her teeth tugged at her lower lip. She couldn’t take her eyes away from his. And the way he looked at her was…adoring.
Raven grinned, clearly admiring her work. Settling both hands on either side of the guitarist’s face, her nerves tingling at the supple, fresh skin, she sang happily. “There you are, handsome.”
Edge laughed and placed his hands overtop hers as she stood up, helping him to his feet. He pulled her in to his body, bringing her close, his arms wrapped loosely about her waist.
She held him back, the weight of his chin on her crown light and restful. He clutched her desperately then released, providing a weak smile.
“Erm…you better wash up before the water goes cold,” Raven said. “I’ll be in the other room.”
“Ok.”
Raven didn’t look back when she shut the door behind her. As soon as she did, she leaned on the wood to catch her breath. Damn it, why didn’t Edge at least leave one shot of whiskey for her?
Hmm...I did something there without even knowing it. Then again, Raven does calm him down a lot. She's awesome like that. 
