Y/N POV
Tonight is music night and I'm pretty excited. Scarlett and Rose are coming which means I get to chill with the little bean. Scarlett has been weird for a couple days and I can't figure out why. Nothing has happened specifically but she isn't very talkative yet clingy at the same time. She wants to walk to the gym together everyday and we went to the park after school with Rose after school each day. She even invited me to dinner tomorrow which I'm kind of nervous about.
I smile at the pair as they walk in while the band for the night sets up. They both beam when they see me and Scarlett lets go of her daughter's hand so she can run over to me. I crouch down in my spot, abandoning my task of organizing snack platters to catch the little body barreling towards me.
"Y/N! I missed you!" She squeals as I stand up with her in my arms.
"I missed you too little bean. Although I did see you at the park earlier." I remind her and she giggles as she leans back. I melt when she leans forward to kiss the tip of my nose.
"Mommy says you kiss the people you love." She explains in a whisper while I melt in my spot.
"You're so sweet. Hi Scar." I direct to the woman waiting patiently behind her daughter's back. Rose reaches back and pulls Scar closer.
"Group hug!" She decides and Scar smiles cutely before accepting. She curls herself under my free arm and I squeeze for a few seconds before letting go. Her arms stays around my back for a few more seconds before she steps away. Well damn she didn't have to slide her hand onto my rib before dropping her arm.
"I gotta go make sure everything is ready but why don't you and mommy find a table you like?" I suggest to Rose who's playing with my hair contently.
"Okay! Can we color?" She asks as I set her down.
"Of course, I'll grab the crayons." I confirm and smile as I watch her run off to find the perfect table. Scarlett smiles sweetly before following Rose. I turn to continue my tasks and about 10 minutes later I'm sitting down with two flutes of champagne, a hot chocolate and of course a chocolate chip muffin.
Rose excitedly rambles about her day at school since we were too busy playing tag earlier. I listen in interest while I start on my stems and look up to share a soft look with Scarlett when she leans closer to draw flower petals. "Mommy said you're coming over for dinner tomorrow." Rose diverts from her story about some kid eating a worm quickly and I laugh a little before answering.
"Yeah, uh. I don't know if I can make it Little bean." I start hesitantly. I really don't want to deal with Colin.
"But Mommy was going to cook spaghetti and meatballs! It's your favorite!" She whines and I frown at how quickly she got upset. This child is breaking my heart.
"Oh, well. I don't know. I'm sure Colin will like it!" I try to encourage and she scrunches her face in disgust.
"Colin moved out. We don't like him anymore." She informs me and I look up in surprise.
"Rose, honey, he didn't move out. He's just not staying with us for a while." Scar reminds her and avoids my eyes. Well this is news. Maybe this is why she's been weird these past couple days.
"But you were yelling then told him to get out." She shares easily before humming to herself and drawing a few trees.
"I'm sorry baby, I didn't realize you heard that. Mommy and Colin are just having some time apart." She explains honestly and I smile proudly to myself. Being honest in these situations is the best thing for kids. They will just be confused if you don't explain the situation fully.
"Well I think he should stay gone. I like spending my time with Y/N instead." Rose states proudly and beams up at me with her little nose scrunched slightly. Jesus Christ, she's too cute!
"I like spending time with you too Rose. I'll for sure come to dinner tomorrow." I confirm and she giggles out her excitement. She perks up and turns in her seat when the band starts to play so I look over to Scarlett while she's distracted.
I mouth "Are you okay?" To her and her eyes flicker from my mouth up to my eyes. She nods simply with a tight lipped smile that I return. Our eyes lock into one of our familiar staring contests that are getting more and more frequent and I watch as her shoulders slowly relax. It's amazing how a simple stare can calm the senses. Okay wait no. Y/N you are supposed to be ignoring the feelings. But...maybe Colin is out of the picture and this is the time to shoot my shot as Sam would say.
A tap on my shoulder breaks us out of our little world and I look up to see Jack with an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry boss but um. We have an issue." He starts. I excuse myself and follow him to the back. "The fridge isn't working." He explains and I groan. Fuck. The milk and shit is going to get spoiled.
"Uh okay, let's um. Let's move what we can to the other smaller fridges and I'll order a new one." I decide and we get to work. The fridges behind the counter are stocked full by the time we are done and it isn't the most efficient way to store our stuff but it's going to have to work for now.
I make my way back to the table and smile at Rose and Scarlett chatting quietly to each other while they color. I love their relationship so much. It's so sweet and loving. The rest of the night is pretty uneventful. We color and I make sure Rose can take home the table cloth before they have to leave for bedtime.
The next night I find myself at their doorstep with a bouquet of purple roses and daisies. I figured since we color purple flowers they were fitting. I buzz in and wait for Scarlett to open the door. I smile when the door swings open and I see both blondes ready to greet me. "Hello, Rose and Scarlett." I greet and lean forward to kiss Scar's cheek in greeting. I bend down to also give Rose a nose kiss and she giggles as I stand back straight.
"Hi Y/N! Pretty flowers." Rose comments.
"Well, I'm glad you like them" I comment as they step aside to let me inside. I kick off my shoes and carefully pick out a light purple daisy. "For you." I direct to Rose and carefully tuck it behind her ear. "And for you." I direct to Scarlett and hand over the bouquet. I watch as she beams and holds the bouquet closely to smell the petals.
"Purple is my favorite!" Rose reminds us and we both look down to smile at the child. I look back to Scarlett when she grabs my hand and my stare stays glued to the back of her head as she guides me up the stairs and into the kitchen.
"Thank you Y/N. These are lovely." Scarlett finally speaks and I nod in acceptance as she finds a vase to put them in. I playfully twirl Rose around as she giggles before lifting her up and over my shoulder.
"Y/N! I'm in a pretty dress!" She complains and I slowly put her back down.
"My apologies to Princess Rose." I say formally and smooth out her adorable little dress.
"Dinner is ready when you two are." Scar informs us so I let Rose pull me over to sit in a seat next to her. Scar sits to my other side once she sets down our plates and I thank her for everything. We chat about random things Rose wants to talk about and Scar and I share looks here and there at how cute the little muffin is.
"This is amazing, thank you for the yummy dinner." I say again once I finish my plate. That shit was so good. I look over to Rose's face covered in sauce and grin as I grab a napkin to wipe it off. She smiles sweetly and lets me clean her face before looking at her mom with a pout.
"Don't give me that pout baby, you know it's bedtime." Scar lightly reminds her child and Rose sighs.
"Can I at least have a bedtime story?" She compromises.
"I'd love to read you one if that's okay Rose?" I offer and she nods excitedly before hopping up and sprinting up the stairs.
"Thank you, you really didn't have to offer." Scar explains and I shrug as I smile over to her.
"I wanted to." I say simply before getting up and following the child. She's already in her pajamas by the time I find her bedroom. She's pretty sleepy so her bedtime story is short lived. I give her a forehead kiss before making my way back downstairs. I find Scarlett on the couch with two wine glasses in her hands. "Is one for me or are you double fisting?" I ask and she rolls her eyes playfully before passing over my glass.
"Thank you for coming over. Rose and I were really excited since it's been just us for a couple days." She explains.
"What happened?" I ask before sipping my wine. I lay my free arm across the back of the couch behind her head and smile to myself when she unconsciously shifts to lean closer.
"He pissed me off and I kind of realized he was being really manipulative. He questioned my parenting too" She explains quietly and my body instantly heats up in anger.
"He had no right...you did the right thing. He doesn't deserve you, Scar." I spit out and she looks up in surprise at how seriously I said it. Her eyes search my face for a few beats before she sighs.
"I know...that's why I kicked him out. I just...he's my husband. He's supposed to make me feel safe and loved and he hasn't done that for so long. I haven't felt that until..." She stops and I tilt my head in confusion when she doesn't continue. She bites at her bottom lip and looks down to her lap before looking back over to me. "Anyway...thank you, for being so sweet and for the flowers. You've been so sweet all night...all week." She changes the subject and I blush lightly.
"You deserve to be treated with respect...to have flowers...Rose deserves to be happy." I state quietly as she leans closer. I don't even think she realizes she's doing it. Her gaze settles on something across the room so I admire her side profile shamelessly.
"She does. I don't know what I'm going to do about Colin. It's just so complicated. We're...separated so I can figure it out." She explains in a low raspy tone. It might be the wine talking but I really want to kiss her which is against everything I told myself I was going to do. No simping Y/N. Her eyes flick up to meet mine when I don't reply and I'm lost in pools in green. Wow.
I slowly shift my arm to trace random shapes on the skin of her exposed shoulder as we continue to watch each other in interest. She shifts her wine glass to the hand further from me and sets her now free hand onto my knee as we naturally gravitate closer. I blindly reach over to set my wine glass down on the side table before carefully tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. I smirk lightly when I hear a quick intake of breath. "Y/N...what are you doing?" She whispers as her eyes flicker from my lips back to my eyes.
"I don't know...but I really want to find out...I'm here." I whisper back as our noses brush together. I pause my slow advance forward and let her decide if she wants to lean closer. I watch with hooded eyelids as her eyes search my own and face for any clue for what to do. Your move, Scar.
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A/N....It's been 84 years I apologize. I hope this lifts some spirits! Let me know what you think!
Bloom: the process of pouring a small amount of water to the coffee grounds to prepare the process of extraction saturating and degassing the grounds. This achieves optimal aroma and flavor.