~December 20th, 2030~
"I'm so excited!" I exclaimed.
For previous years, we hadn't done anything extreme for Christmas, but this year it was going to be different. Maybe it was because Theo was older now, five years old; or maybe it was just because I'd been feeling so much better. I'd found motivation in myself to decorate the house that I'd never felt before.
Our fake Christmas tree stood between the fireplace we never used and the TV. Twinkling lights hung on it, they glowed a vibrant hue when the lights were turned off. Classical ornaments swayed on each branch. It looked cozy, and it was nice to cuddle with Cleo on the sofa at night and stare at it, the TV playing in the background as we both slowly fell asleep.
Cleo smiled and leaned down to kiss my lips, her hands on my waist as we stood at the bottom of the staircase. I could feel the ecstasy ignite electricity through our bodies as her delicate skin hit mine again.
"I couldn't tell," she hummed.
I happily squealed and ran up the stairs. I had to find a good book to read until it was time to wake the children up. It felt like I never had time to read anymore and get especially focused.
I flipped through my shelf of books that sat next to our closet. It was as tall as the ceiling. The only one that looked appealing, of course, had to be all the way up there.
I groaned.
Suddenly, Cleo came up behind me and held my waist, putting her chin on my shoulder and kissing my neck.
"God, don't do this to me now," I groaned and grabbed her hands, squeezing them as the warmth from her lips on my neck pulsed through my veins.
Her smile pressed against my neck, "Do you need a little help with that?"
There was a cunningness in her voice that made me want to smack the ego out of her.
"Y-yes," I mumbled. "And I am not that short."
"I respectfully disagree," she replied, letting me go. "Which one?"
I ignored the first part. "The very top, the blue one."
"Well that's helpful," she grunted, trying to push her body up as far as it could go, her arm extended.
"Ha, who's the short ass now?"
"You are one hundred and sixty-three centimeters," she groaned, "it's not my fault these ceilings are tall as hell."
"Says little Miss One Seventy-eight," I raised my eyebrows, sitting on the end of our messy bed and grabbing my mug of coffee.
"I want you to be quiet now." She gave a little hop and her fingers hit the bottom of the book. It fell forward, and before it could land on her face, which I would've laughed at, she caught it and tossed it to me with an eye roll.
I just set my cold cup of coffee to the side as I fell back into the covers with a happy sigh.
As I flipped open to the first page, I turned to look at Cleo, who was crawling in beside me.
"How does it feel being tall?" I asked. "I mean, not that I'm short, or anything."
She squinted, "You don't want me to answer. It might diminish that little ego you have."
"Oh, I have an ego?"
She smiled, playfully raising her eyebrows.
I scoffed, "Yeah, you're probably right."
I noticed as I read in silence, that she was being especially clingy. But I didn't care, I thought it was cute. Her head was shoved into my side and I put an arm around her neck, our legs were tangled beneath the fluffy blankets.
I'd put up Christmas-colored fairy lights above our closet and changed out some of our blankets for cozy winter designs. Rain was gently hitting the window, the skies outside were foggy and grey.
It became silent, with nothing but the soft pitter-patter of the rain. I thought Cleo was asleep it was so quiet.
I'd gotten to around page twelve, when I heard little fast footsteps coming closer, speeding down the hallway until they reached outside of our door.
"Mommy!"
As if I'd heard the devil himself, I whipped my head to the side to see Theo climbing onto the bed, frantically crawling for me.
"Wh-what are you doing up so early, sweetheart?"
It was 8 a.m., but for him it was early. Honestly, for me, too, but I'd gotten used to it over the years.
Regardless, we usually woke them up at 9:30 or 10 o'clock on the weekends.
His face went blank, and he didn't answer.
Cleo turned to me and gave me the don't-worry-I'll-hold-them-off look.
"Epiphany!"
Cleo had taught him what the word meant, and he had been using it a lot, so I didn't think anything of it.
"That's great, kiddo. But maybe we should discuss this later," Cleo responded as she sat up, ready to put him back to bed.
I began to only half listen, continuing on the line I'd left on.
"Mama," he mumbled.
"Yes?"
"I'm not tired, Mama," he said. "I'm hungry."
"Okay, let's get you something to eat, then."
I don't know what happened next, I became easily absorbed in the text.
"Marine," Cleo gently pulled the book down, her eyebrows raised.
I blushed, "Wh-what?"
"He says he needs to tell you something."
I sighed lightly, "And what is that, sweetheart?" I turned to him.
He erupted in a smile, "Bun-Bun says hi," he whispered timidly.He held the shaggy blue bunny plush up to my face and gently shook it.
"That's...amazing. Tell them I said hello, too, then, okay?"
Fake it 'till you make it.
Cleo lifted him out of the bed and began to head for the door.
"I want Mommy to do it." I heard him whisper.
I seriously would never understand why they only needed me when I was busy or when I was in the bathroom.
Cleo sighed and set him down, "Okay, kiddo."
I forced down another sigh and grabbed a bookmark.
As I prepared his breakfast, Cleo sat next to him and listened to me ramble about politics. I didn't usually tend to go off on rants -especially political ones- in front of the kids, and I wasn't even much of a politics type of person, but shitty things were happening and Theo was distracted, zoning out at the table like he always did.
Cleo and I both knew it took actual effort to pull him out of his imagination, though, so it would be fine.
However, if Melanie had been downstairs, she would've been ranting to us about all kinds of things, so there would be no time.
Unless Cleo and I were in bed, about to go to sleep, we didn't get much one-on-one time to talk about anything, since she was busy homeschooling Theo.
I sighed and slid his full cup to him from across the counter, "There you go, sweetheart."
He looked up at me wide-eyed. "Mommy?"
"Yes? What's up?"
He said nothing for a moment.
"I don't think I'm a boy."
I gave a small glance to Cleo.
It wasn't necessarily surprising to me, I knew that he felt comfortable around us and that we'd been talking to both of the children about sexuality and gender since they were toddlers.
Cleo had a content smile on, "You don't have to be a boy if you don't feel like one, Theodore."
He had never been much of a talker, so if he said anything, usually it had been something that had been on his mind a lot, something very significant.
"I don't know."
"That's okay, sweetheart," I said. "You don't have to know."
"Even when I'm a big kid?" he asked.
I nodded. "You don't ever have to know, that's okay."
"Okay, Mommy."
Cleo reached out to rub his arm, "...Do you want to know a secret?"
"What?"
"Santa is looking for last-minute gift ideas," she told him.
"Mama," he said seriously, "you gived him my list."
"I know!" she exclaimed. "He already made everything on your list!"
What she said was very true. One day, Cleo was bored and had gone out on a shopping spree while I was at therapy.
"Okay, Mama."
He grabbed his cup and teetered away to the sofa.
I grabbed her arm and lowered my voice. "Maybe we could get him a pride flag. You know how we're forcing him to conform to our ideology and everything."
"Oh, absolutely," she replied with the same sarcasm.
I mean, we were just plotting the plans everyone expected us to.
"You have such amazing ideas." She grabbed the bag full of the remnants of blood I'd used to fill Theo's cup and downed the rest of it.
"Classy." I mused.
"Only the best in front of you, my love."
~December 22nd, 2030~
Melanie sped into the kitchen holding Bun-Bun above her head as Theo ran after her. He was obviously much slower than her, having an unfair advantage.
She was seven, he was five, it wasn't his fault he hadn't started running before two years old.
I let it continue for a moment, nothing bad was necessarily going on.
Until he burst into tears and fell onto the hardwood as she ran away giggling, jumping onto the sofa.
"Melanie," I said sternly.
The way her laughing immediately ceased as she looked at me made me almost feel too powerful.
"Put Bun-Bun down, now. You know that's his."
"Sorry, Mommy." She whispered, slowly getting up from the couch.
"Don't apologize to me, lovely. Apologize to Theo."
She sighed and sat down across from him.
I made sure she said it through and then went to the door to wait for Cleo.
She was with her father, and he was taking her to see the new office he'd bought for their work. They'd be hiring new people to run emails and manage packing.
After she'd mentioned nothing about violence, I had reluctantly agreed to let her go a few weeks ago.
Theo wobbled up to me, holding Bun-Bun tight. "Where is Mama?"
"Coming home soon, I think, sweetheart."
Melanie let out a cry from behind us. She sounded in pain.
I quickly whipped around and rushed over to her.
"What's wrong, lovely?"
"M-my head hurts," she whimpered as she pressed a hand to her forehead.
"Come here, Mel."
I sat on the floor next to her and she fell into my lap. My hands anxiously ran through her dirty blonde hair as she wrapped her arms tightly around my neck.
"Mama will be home soon," I reassured her. Then I wondered what was wrong with me, because I always made it sound like the entire household relied solely on Cleo to function.
"It's okay," I whispered.
"Mommy it hurts."
I'd never heard her cry like this, sounding so desperate for it to stop, panicked, like birds soaring to trees during a storm.
All at once, her cries stopped, tears still running down her cheeks, she began to zone out. She didn't stop to blink, her lips parted. Her light skin color became mixed with a grey hue.
My heart stopped.
"Melanie?"
She did nothing.
It took a long minute before she snapped out of it and sniffled.
"Wh-what happened, Mommy?"
I just stared at her in shock. It had looked like she'd gotten possessed or something.
"Marine?" I heard the front door softly shut.
But I could barely move a muscle. What had happened to her?
"Cl-Cleo..."
Coming up behind me, she gently squeezed my shoulders and sat next to us, setting her bag on the floor.
"What's wrong, you two?"
"My head hurts," Melanie told her.
"W-we'll figure it out, lovely." I tried to reassure her.
I quickly stood up, grabbing Cleo's arm and pulling her to her feet. She looked at me, confused.
"What's going on, babydoll?"
"C-Cleo, it looked like she got possessed, or something, sh-she just zoned out."
"Because her head hurt?" Her eyebrows became stroked with concern.
"Yes, sh-she..."
She put her hands on my shoulders, staring down at me with passionate love. "Shh, deep breaths, my love."
I grabbed an inhale of air, "She was crying. S-sobbing, like nothing I've heard before. She wasn't herself, Cleo."
"Okay, okay. We can get this figured out. Let's get you both calmed down."
"Mama?" Melanie grabbed her arm.
"Yes?"
"I-I saw something when I closed my eyes."
"You didn't close your eyes, Mel," I said. They had been open the whole time she was zoning out.
"No, they were closed," she argued.
Cleo quickly interfered, "What did you see, baby?"
"I-I don't know...like, I wasn't at home. It was scary."
Cleo's face scrunched in confusion. If she didn't know, it was a lost cause.
"Tell us if it happens again, okay? Until then, let's just try to calm down."
I yanked her arm away from her, not wanting to discuss this with Melanie any longer. "You're just passing this off?"
"No, babydoll. But it could be...a fluke. It'll be on my mind until, or... if it happens again," she replied.
"Let's just look forward to the upcoming days, okay?"
I nodded, letting her hold me steady. Christmas was going to be perfect.
The next day, coats of white fluff covered the treetops, bare branches occasionally sticking out through the blanket.
Melanie came running into our room sharply at 9 o'clock.
"It's snowing!"
It hadn't been her first time seeing it, we got snow every winter, but it was never as thick as it was this time.
"Can we go play outside? Please?"
Cleo sat up and struggled to rub her eyes awake.
"What time is it?" She muttered.
I just laughed, "Sure, lovely. After we eat breakfast, we can go outside."
Melanie let out a squeal and ran off, presumably to go wake Theo up and tell him the news.
After breakfast was over, I was helping Theo get into his snow gear. He ended up looking like a puffy marshmallow in his jacket and his face barely visible.
"Can't see, Mommy," he grunted.
"I apologize, sweetheart," I forced down a giggle.
I gently touched up his hood, giving him a little more room to breathe.
"Satan's mother, Marine. Does his coat need to be that thick?" Cleo snorted.
She grabbed some light taupe-colored concealer and began to dab it onto Theo's face with a beauty blender.
Cleo had slowly been teaching him how to make his skin look human, but whenever he did it, it came in flashing phases and didn't last long.
"Yes! No child of mine is going to be cold."
"He- okay..."
Melanie grabbed my hand and began to yank me outside. Cleo had to hold her back so I could put my raincoat on over my sweater and my boots. I was also wearing tights and a long skirt. Beauty had always been a pain.
We ventured to a park near a church, and by the time we got there, Melanie's cheeks and nose were pink, having been rubbed raw by snowflakes.
"I'm cold," she whined.
Cleo sighed and took one of her jackets off and wrapped it around her, zipping it in the front. I knew she was more immune to the cold, so I assumed it didn't make much of a dent.
Melanie ran ahead, now clearly satisfied.
Theo was waddling silently behind us with the squeak of his snow coat, his hand stretched up to hold Cleo's.
There was a large hill at the park, fresh-looking snow draped down it.
"Don't get hurt, Mel," Cleo called.
Of course, her first instinct after she'd said that was to jump face-first down the hill. She quickly began to tumble down, squealing happily. As her body hit the bottom, she giggled and called for Theo to join her.
But before he could say anything back, which he probably would've answered with a nod, a small boy came up to him.
They looked around the same age, maybe the boy was a little older.
"Can I play with you?" He asked.
Theo stared at him for a moment, questioning, then nodded. He pointed at Melanie, who was watching them both, her face still blank as she waited for a response.
"Yes, that's my sister."
I gave Cleo a pat on the shoulder, "Well, I'm sure you'll monitor everything, won't you?"
"Are you seriously going-?"
Before she could finish her sentence, I scampered away to the covered area, pulling my book out of my bag. The cold snow constantly falling on my face had been irritating.
I saw Cleo shake her head, "What about your pictures?" She shouted at me.
"Oh, I'll get them, don't worry!"
Even though I couldn't hear her, she'd probably scoffed and said something like, "I wasn't."
I just needed a little while to warm up, and I'd go back out. Plus, I had stopped on a cliffhanger.
Once I was satisfied enough to go back out in the misting snow, I went up to Cleo, who had her gloved hands in her pockets as she watched all three of the children play at the bottom of the hill.
It currently looked like a snowball fight. The other boy had paired up with Theo, and they were both trying to take down Melanie, who had built a fort. She'd probably insisted that they team up, possibly overconfident in her ability to win an epic snowball battle. Nevertheless, they were all laughing.
Suddenly, a man seemed to appear out of nowhere. He came up to us from the side, his blond hair bright against the gray clouds, although partly covered with a
navy blue knitted beanie.
He wore a cheerful smile, "That's my son, down there. Th-those are your kids?" He nearly spoke too quickly to understand, practically tripping over his words.
Cleo put on a smile, as well. "Yes."
Another guy came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder, his smile was softer, much more calm and welcoming. He whispered something in the man's ear.
"Oh, Jesus. I'm sorry!" The blond man cried, "I guess I do come off a little strong."
He gently rocked back and forth on his feet, wearing a bashful look.
"Oh, you're fine," Cleo told him, exhaling a small snort, "I'm just glad they found someone to hang out with."
She looked down at the children, then back at both of them.
The man with the welcoming smile was tall, he had brown hair, but streaks of light-colored highlights throughout.
"I'm Ellios, this is my husband, Artimis." The brunet explained, nodding down to the energetic man below him.
Ellios reached out to shake Cleo's hand, and she took it, giving a polite smile.
I was just happy I didn't have to say anything, because no one knew how that would end. The common consensus was bad.
"It's lovely to meet you both," Cleo said.
They let go, and I hoped Ellios didn't have any ideas to try and shake my hand.
"Cleodare," she said. It was strange to hear her full name, for some reason.
"And my girlfriend, Marine."
I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. In multiple ways.
Number one, Cleo introducing me as her girlfriend still felt good, even after all these years. And number two, now I had to say something.
Instead, I just gave an awkward smile and nod.
Possibly, Ellios had gotten the hint, and his dark eyes only lingered on me for a moment, before darting back to Cleo.
Deep down, though, past the part of me that didn't know how to interact with other people like a normal human, was hopeful. I was hopeful that maybe we could stay friends with these people.
Do suburban family things like have game nights and watch our kids grow up together. After all, they were the only parents we'd ever really had a conversation with. By "we" I guess I meant Cleo.
Maybe that was all a long shot, but they were the only other queer parents we'd ever talked to, as well.
"What are your children's names?" Ellios asked. Ellios seemed like the type to read English essays for fun.
Before Cleo could get a word in, Artimis grabbed my hand and pulled me under the covered area. His energy was seriously throwing me off. It was approximately 12 p.m., no one needed to be so alive that early, especially not me.
"What's your name again? Ugh, I'm so sorry. I'm so forgetful! Ellios always tells me I need to slow down but I can never seem to do it!"
Artimis' movements were very sporadic as he spoke, his blond hair bouncing as he made them, hands flying every which way.
"Marine," I replied, trying to keep the awkward shake out of my voice.
"Cool! Wait- so what are your children's names?"
"Melanie and Theodore." I gave the best smile I could.
"Oh," he laughed, "totally awesome! Where do they go to school?"
I hesitated, "We...homeschool Theo. Melanie goes to Aldridge Elementary."
"Bonkers! Levi goes there too, what class is she in?"
"Ms. Kelly in first," I smiled.
"Levi is in Mrs. Zuhang's!"
"Maybe they've seen each other before?" I acknowledged.
"Yeah," he smiled, "Maybe."
"Um..." I fumbled to reach for my phone in my back pocket, "Do you want my number?"
"Oh, totally! We should stay in touch."
Maybe Melanie and Levi could be friends, although we'd have to let them see for themselves. Forcing kids to be friends with each other never ended well.
Artimis and I swapped phones and put our numbers in like we were on a Tinder date or something.
It seemed there was a certain safety that came whenever queer people met another person from the community because we went through the same struggles, we didn't have to hide ourselves or be shameful.
Afterwards, we stayed sitting there for a bit, he was good at talking and I was good at listening.
Before long, however, I got up, Artimis quickly trailing behind me; and I went over to Cleo. We watched as the children finished their snowball fight and I was able to get thousands of pictures.
Melanie did end up winning, which was no shock to me.
They finished shortly after and Melanie came practically dragging Theo up the steep hill. She'd established mother status with him since he was in the womb, he was used to it.
"Mama, I won!" She yelled, running over to Cleo and leaving her brother to plop into the snow.
Cleo laughed, "I saw that. Good job, to both of you."
She paused, "Would you go pick up your brother from the snow?"
I'd begun to go to help him, but Melanie quickly ran past me and over to Theo. He was having trouble getting up in his big puffy coat.
She pulled him up, and meanwhile, Levi was trudging up the hill.
He ran over to his dads, and Melanie quickly scampered after him.
"You beat me!" He said.
"Yeah!" she laughed, "Maybe you can next time!"
"Okay! The same time next week?"
I had to hold back a laugh. They sounded like adults, and they weren't even in the second grade yet.
Cleo didn't hold her snort back, "I'm not sure about that."
Artimis quickly interjected, "Marine has my number! Maybe we can work something out soon."
Cleo nodded, adding a smile, "We'll probably be available after Christmas is over."
"Us as well, the holidays are very busy," Ellios agreed, his voice soft.
I wanted to cry, we all sounded like parents who actually knew what we were doing.
"Wonderful. We'll see you soon then," Cleo responded, "say your goodbyes, you two."
Theo stayed near me, but gave a small wave.
"BYE!" Melanie screeched.
It made Levi jump back, but with a smile. "Bye-bye!"
Melanie continued to wave even after we were halfway down the street.
"What did you and Ellios talk about?"
"Ah," she sounded excited. "The American Civil War!"
"Of course you did," I muttered. "I bet you know a lot about it, too."
She scoffed, "Well, of course, I lived through it. Ellios is quite knowledgeable too, however."
She sounded much too excited to be talking about wars, but that was just part of who Cleo was.
(A/N, DUDE IM LITERALLY SO TIRED😭)