It was a pleasant evening, Firey sat on the couch reading a book he had wanted to start before he left, Leafy was scrolling on her phone on the opposite side and Grove was on the floor playing with his toys.
They had eaten dinner together, afterwards Grove "helped" Leafy to wash up but it was more so him splashing the soapy water around, but Leafy didn't mind, she found it cute.
There was no talking other than Grove giving his action figures voices and mimicking fighting scenes with them.
Firey watched intently as he was genuinely curious about what the young, green haired boy was doing.
He had never really been around young children, he was an only child and he didn't really meet anyone who had much younger siblings, as a result he wasn't good with kids.
Seeing one actually in front of him felt strange, since meeting Grove he didn't really know what to do, he couldn't treat him like an adult but he didn't want to baby him so he had kind of just kept his distance.
Grove looked up and held out a small, red mech toy to Firey and asked him if he wanted to play.
"Hey, isn't that usually my job to be the red guy?" Leafy laughed.
"Yeah, but I think Firey can do his voice better, you sometimes sound silly when you do it, mama," Grove said as a matter of factly.
"Hm, I see," Leafy replied, unimpressed.
Grove picked up a different toy, a strange Ninja-robot and he handed it to Leafy.
"You're good at this one though," he smiled.
"Nice save,"Firey snickered.
Leafy rolled her eyes and sat on the ground with Grove, looking at Firey expectantly.
"You want me to join?" he questioned uncertainly.
Grove nodded happily, moving the mech closer to Firey.
"I dunno, I don't think I'd even know how to play," Firey laughed awkwardly.
Grove sat back sadly and sighed, he had a small frown on his face as he put the mech down.
Leafy scooted closer to Firey and pulled him down the the collar of his shirt.
"Firey, do not make my kid upset or I swear to God,"
Leafy glared at him and Firey gulped nervously as he took the mech from Grove and fell off the sofa after Leafy let go.
After they had started playing, Leafy and Firey sat beside each other, putting on silly voices and doing what Grove told them to do, currently they were pretending the toys were in a cafe but five minutes prior they had been battling for ownership of a big castle, Firey was confused but played along.
Strangely enough, Firey was actually enjoying the game. Grove had a laugh that was similar to Leafy's and he had a charm about him that made playing with a toy mech endearing.
He liked hearing Leafy laugh, he thought it was sweet how she paid attention to Grove and actually took the game seriously and the voices she gave the toys were pretty funny to him.
Grove and Leafy had a sweet relationship, it was clear that Leafy adored him and he clearly thought she was the best mom in the world. To Firey, they were a perfect mother-son duo.
It was weird at first to Firey, seeing Leafy as a mom but as he got used to it he realised that it was perfect for her, she was kind, patient and a very loving person, the ideal type for a mom.
Deep down, a part of him felt... lonely? Left out? He couldn't put a word on it but he felt a bit sad that he didn't feel like a "dad"
He had never really given the idea much thought but he and Leafy and spoken about it once or twice, he hadn't told her but he liked the idea of it on the rare times it crossed his mind.
Recently, he had become closer with Grove, last week he had read a bedtime story with him because Leafy had fallen asleep as soon as she got home from work.
In moments when he was with Grove he would lie to himself and pretend he was a dad for a few minutes just to get rid of that empty feeling.
He couldn't explain it but he cared about Grove and playing with him and getting along with him just felt right, especially with Leafy playing too.
He may not be Grove's dad but he wanted to look after Grove and be there for him.
Firey wouldn't tell Leafy his thoughts and what he pretended but that was okay, as long as no one knew, he could keep pretending even if it made him sad.
...
The game had moved on to them battling each other, Leafy's role was to gather the other toys as re-enforcements for Grove as he fought against Firey.
Grove had Firey backed against a wall, acting out the most epic battle he could imagine, with Firey giving the mech a deep voice to sound evil.
Grove stood up as he attempted to deliver a final blow to Firey's mech, he sprang forward to make his own, blue-mech jump on Firey's head.
Firey was taken by surprise and instinctively, as Grove moved to him, he stuck his arms out and caught him.
Grove laughed gleefully as Firey slipped downwards onto his back, with Grove raised above him in his hands.
"Now I can fly!" Grove giggled, continuing his attack on Firey.
"And you're gonna go super high!" Firey laughed as he stood up, holding Grove above his head as the young child kicked his legs and cackled.
Firey was caught up in the moment, Grove's grin and laughter warmed his heart, he just felt so happy.
He lowered his arms and held Grove close and to his joy, Grove hugged him back, his face nuzzled into Firey's shoulder.
Leafy watched the scene unfold with a strange feeling.
Firey had imprinted on Grove, that was obvious and it... scared her.
But the sight of Firey being a soft, caring...
Leafy gasped softly as it clicked with her.
He looked like a dad.
She grinned like an idiot at the two, watching Firey be something she never thought he'd get the chance to be.
For now, she pushed away the fear and the other emotions she didn't want to face and allowed herself to feel happiness.
Firey put a still giggling Grove down and glanced over at Leafy who was smiling at him.
"Don't feel left out," he grinned as he walked over to her and lifted her up off the ground.
He spun her around she kicked her legs and clung to him.
He slowed to a halt, still holding her up and gazed into her eyes before kissing her deeply.
"Ewwww," Grove exclaimed as he turned around which caused Leafy to smile affectionately at him as she pulled away from the kiss.
She rested against Firey after he put her down and they stayed there for a minute before Leafy looked at her watch and realised it was past Grove's bedtime.
She told Grove to go to the bathroom and brush his teeth, after that she went upstairs to tuck him in and make sure he fell asleep.
She came downstairs a while later in her pajamas and sat herself down beside Firey.
"You impressed me today," she said to him and she lay against his side.
"How so?" he asked.
"You were getting along with Grove and you just handled things better than I thought you would," she smiled softly.
"Yeah, I don't know it just kind of felt... natural I guess," he shrugged.
"What do you mean?" Leafy wondered.
"Like, I just did what felt right if that makes sense, I feel attached to Grove now, as stupid as that sounds," he sighed.
"I think he's attached to you too," Leafy responded.
Now the bad emotions were hitting Leafy, she was nervous, scared and worried.
She hadn't thought it would happen but Firey and Grove actually liked each other and were clearly forming a bond.
She still wasn't ready, she was still in the dark about where Firey had been or what he'd done and he was getting closer to finding...
She couldn't let it happen, not yet.
She bit her thumb as she thought about her choices.
There was no way it wasn't him and because of that, she knew he had a right to know...
Or she could try keep it to herself for as long as she could, he hadn't questioned her about it since he came back but with the way things were going, he would bring it up soon.
Would it be so bad though? Grove would have something he would need in the future and someone to talk to about things Leafy didn't know much about and he clearly liked him.
She looked up at Firey who wrapped his arm around her and smiled and she felt a pang of guilt stab at her.
She excused herself to go to the bathroom, unable to look at his kind face.
How could she be doing this to him and still act loving, as though she wasn't keeping a massive secret from him?
As she locked the door she sighed, taking out her phone and checking her contacts.
Her finger hovered over Pin's name but she decided against it after the last time she got advice from her.
She clicked on someone who she was certain would have good advice for her and would maybe help her see some sense to make the right decision.
She typed out her text and placed her phone down as she rested her head against her knees.
A few minutes later, she received a response from her silver haired friend.
Golfball, I need to talk to you, can we meet tomorrow?
Sure, come to my house though
Leafy wiped her eyes as she turned her phone off and left the bathroom.
She walked past Firey to the stairs, Firey didn't call after her but he said goodnight and left it at that.
Leafy didn't respond, she knew if she opened her mouth at all, she wouldn't be able to control what came out.
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Leafy's got a secret ooooohhhhh.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
XOXO
LeafCake