"y o u' r e i n c o n t r o l l o v e
d o n' t l e t t h e s t a t i c
d r o w n u s"
trevante rhodes as | himself
_ny1ma as | ciara
for | @dancerloving
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"Daddy!" The four year old little girl ran into the room towards her dad. Trevante sat on the couch with his phone on his right thigh before seeing the little girl who was his exact twin charging at him full speed. Nyla carries every bit of her father; from his facing expressions, face, and even picked up his eyes and smile. Her older brother Trevor looked like his father also, while their second oldest, Gisselle was the only child that was the spitting image of his wife, Ciara.
The day that Nyla was born and when they realized that she looked exactly like Trevante's baby pictures; she already knew that he'd be a suck for her; especially since she was the new baby of the house.
"What's wrong baby girl?" He huffed and put her in his lap, keeping his hand on her back to steady the bouncy four year old. She looked up at him with doe like eyes and pouted. "Why that face?" He looked down at her hands and noticed that one was holding a Cheeto Puff; and the cheese was stuck around each of her tiny fingers because she was holding it soo tight. He was hoping to God that she wouldn't get the mess on his shirt; because he didn't feel like changing it.
"Gigi won't share her Cheetos with me no more!" She took a deep breath and frowned. Out of all of their kids; Nyla was the only one to have a lisp; but it was a cute one. "She only gave me one! See!" She pushed the Cheeto close to Trevante's face so that he had no choice but to look at the moist mess in her hand.
Chuckling, he picked it from her hand, cleaning it with a napkin that he already had. "Why won't she share with you, baby?" Standing up, he walked with her on his hip towards the kitchen to grab her a small bag for herself.
"I don't know!" Nyla's eyes went wide and she shrugged as her butt hit the counter. Opening the bag before taking one of the puffs for himself; Trevante handed them to her and the smile came back on her face.
"Better?"
"Mhmm." She beamed and kissed her dads chin; the small bit that she could reach.
"Don't tell your mom I gave you any before dinner okay? You gotta pinky promise me, princess." Trevante extended his large pinky towards her small one.
"Pwomise!" She giggled as he helped her down; moving towards the fridge to start taking out the food that was there for him to get ready. He knew that Ciara would be home soon to help him, but she was running a few minutes late.
Over the years, Ciara worked hard to get her interior designing business going; one that she could claim for her own. As soon as it officially started to take off, she was designing homes for the most wealthy people. Trevante knew that it was her dream job; and he supported his wife with everything she did, cause she did the same with him. They eventually realized that the time away from their kids due to both of their jobs wasn't gonna be healthy; so Trevante bit the bullet to be a stay at home dad from now on to see his wife live out her dreams. He didn't mind his job at the business that he worked for, but he knew she loved hers too much to stop.
However, there was a part of him that was bitter. Not at the fact that she was living her dreams, but at the fact that their kids had to suffer for it. Ciara was always busy and rarely had time to make it to their events or the simple things that they'd have planned. Since he grew up in a family that was close; he wanted his kids to experience the same, and it hurt him that they couldn't fully get that experience that he had growing up.
Raising the three kids wasn't always the easiest— especially since Trevor was getting older and his smart mouth would kick in more; but Trevante knew how to handle it.
It was Friday, but it was also the day that both of their parents come over for dinner. He took the steaks from the fridge to get them ready before doing the same with the vegetables, and a jar of spaghetti sauce for Nyla's food. She couldn't eat steaks like everyone else; and she would definitely try to just so she could feel older. It never lasted long.
Looking at the clock, Trevante saw that it was already 5:30. Ciara should've been home at least thirty minutes ago, and their parents would be here by at least seven to eat. One of the cons about her job was that she could be home late on a lot of occasions. She always managed to make it to every one of the kids games, concerts, or conferences; but everything else, she would be late for. Their parents would be here by six; so he was hoping she'd push through for this one.
"Need help?" Gigi asked, smiling at her dad. Trevante returned the same look, pulling her towards his side and kissing the top of her braided hair.
"You can always help. Take these and rinse them for me, then salt the water on the stove for Nyla's pasta. It's already on." He instructed her. Gigi carried her mother's exact traits. Each time he would find himself upset with Ciara, it was like Gigi had a sensor in her mind, and she'd pop up to change his mood. "How's things going at school?"
Gigi shrugged her shoulders, "It's okay I guess. I'm passing and art club is pretty fun."
"That's good."
"How are things with you and mom?" Trevante stopped seasoning the food and looked at her, frowning a little. She was always the observant one. A little too observant sometimes. "She should've been home by now."
"She'll be here, Gigi. She gets busy."
"Too busy."
A sigh came from his lips. He knew if she noticed, then Trevor probably did too, and he didn't want their kids to view their mom in any negative light. "Hey," He cooed her, lifting up her chin to look at him. "She's coming."
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6:40 PM
"Nana! Gigi wouldn't give me her Cheetos earlier!" Nyla told Trevante's mother, Tiffany, stuffing her face with the pasta that was there; picking around the broccoli that was on the opposite plate— she didn't play about her foods touching. Gigi looked up from her food and glared at her baby sister. "She gave me one, and daddy took it. Wanna see?"
"You can show me later, Nyla." Tiffany chuckled while trevante took their plates, and Ciara's dad cut everyone a piece of cake that he bought over. "Trevor; why've you been so quiet and on that phone all day?"
Trevor smiled and shook his head, "It's nothing—"
"He has a girlfriend! Mommy said he can't have those." Nyla spoke again. "But daddy said it's okay cause he had girlfriends too!"
"Ny," Trevante looked at his daughter and chuckled, running his fingers against his lip, telling her to zip it.
"Ooooh. Okay." She nodded quickly. "Sorry daddy." She whispered and put her finger to her lips.
Before Trevante could get another word out, the front door opened and Ciara came in, dropping all of her things at the door. "I am so sorry." She huffed and shrugged out of her jacket, kissing the cheeks of everyone in the room before getting to Trevante. "Baby I'm sorry things we were running late—"
"It's fine, Ci." He nodded his head and rubbed her hip, but she could hear the irritation that he was trying to hide in his voice. "Your foods in the kitchen, babe."
Ciara nodded and took her seat by Trevante, deciding that she'd rather eat dinner later and catch up with that was going on. Her hand fell on his knee while he picked at his cake. "How's everything been with the business, CiCi?" Her dad, Anthony, asked her and smiled.
"It's been good daddy— great actually." She chuckled and pulled Nyla to her lap, pecking her cheek. "I found out some good news— give me a second." She stopped talking for a second, hearing that her phone was going off in her purse.
"Don't you think it can wait, Ciara?" Trevante raises his eyebrow at her; asking her quietly. "You still gotta eat, love."
"It'll be quick, I swear." Ciara shook her head, keeping Nyla on her hip while walking away. A sigh came from Trevante's mouth as he ran his hands against his face.
Ciara's mom looked at him and frowned. Reaching across the table, she took one of his hands, patting it. "What's wrong, Trevante?" She asked while everyone had their own conversations when Ciara walked away. "Stress?"
"You could say that." He chuckled. "But I'm fine; just tired."
A smug look came across her face as she smacked her lips. "You sure? Don't lie to me, now."
"I promise—"
"Okay, I'm back." Ciara huffed and smiled. Gigi looked at her mom before making eye contact with her dad. "Anyway; hows everyone? Trevor? Gigi?"
Trevor just shrugs. "Good. I'm passing classes— I have a game coming up soon remember?"
"Of course! I-It's on...."
"Friday." Trevante inserted.
"Friday! Yes. Gigi, what about you babygirl? Everything been okay?"
Giselle simply looked at her mom, saying nothing. "Giselle." Trevante glared at her. "Mom is talking to you, princess."
Gigi huffed, "It's been great." She kept the conversation short.
Looking from Giselle to his daughter, Ciara's dad cleared his throat. "What's the good news, babygirl?"
"Well," Ciara smiled and held Trevante's hand. "My business is expanding to New York!" She beamed. Everyone at the table as they all erupted with either squeals or clapping. "Everything goes into full effect in a month, and I go to visit the building that they plan on putting in Manhattan and meeting the team that they're giving me. I'll probably be there for two weeks"
Trevante's face scrunched up while he kept listening to her talk. Their parents threw questions at her back to back, and constant congratulations before he dropped his fork on his plate. "So you think that leaving the kids for two weeks is gonna be a good idea? You know they have plans that we gotta handle, Ciara." He cocked his head at her.
"Tre, it's only two weeks—" Ciara laughed softly
"You not going, Ciara." The table grew quiet as everyone looked at the pair. "Trevor and Gigi, take Nyla and go to the living room." Trevante instructed and watched as Trevor got up quickly, taking Nyla from Ciara's arms.
Ciara frowned and clenched her jaw. "Tre, this is business and I can't just stop what I'm doing—"
"So all that is more important that taking care of the three main priorities that we have now?" He turned to look at her. "We have three kids, Ciara. Just like they see me, they wanna see their mom just as much."
"First of all, don't say it like I'm not involved—" She spat before her mother cut her off.
"Sweetheart maybe this isn't something that you both should talk about with us here—"
"No; it's fine." She bit her lip before looking back at Trevante. "Now, why do you say it like I'm not involved in my kids lives?"
"Because all you focus on is that damn job!" He finally snapped, making her eyes grow wide. He never raised his voice at her; so truthfully, she didn't know if she should be upset or turned on— but she decided to be upset for now. "Since you got that damn job, Ci— that's all you been focused on! I put everything I had going on, on hold to see you be happy; and the only thing I asked you to do is be present for the kids at least, and I'd support you with whatever you needed— and you've already been in and out of everything; and expect to leave to New York?" He raised his brow and chuckled angrily. "Wild." He shook his head and stood up from the table, throwing his napkin in his chair.
"I—I do what I do for us—"
"You do what you do, for you." He corrected her "Cause when everyone in this house has to suffer in some way, you know it's a problem. While I'm here raising our kids, you out living a life you always wanted." He looked at their parents who were sitting there, no words coming from their mouths. Trevante cleared his throat and shook his head. "Enjoy y'all night. M'sorry." He huffed, walking towards the steps.
"Trevante!" Ciara yelled and grabbed his arm, only for him to turn and look at her. His eyes silently saying: leave me alone. She dropped her grip from him and sighed, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall.
"Nyla." Trevante sat on the steps, waiting for the little girl to appear after calling her.
"Daddy!" She yelled and ran into the room with bracelets around her wrists and a candy necklace around her neck. She ran up to him, and he caught her in his arms, kissing her forehead.
"Say night-night to Nana and G-Ba. You gotta get ready for bed, baby." He put her down and smiled, watching her run to both sets of her grandparents as they took their time picking her up and pecking her cheek.
Ciara watched from the wall and looked back at Trevante as he smiled at their little girl. She ran back to his arms, stretching her hands up so that he'd carry her. He picked her up easily and attacked her temple with light kisses, walking up the steps to her room.
Anthony looked at his daughter while Trevantes father and mother talked to her mother, saying quick goodbyes. "Do you think I'm wrong, daddy?"
"Well," He sighed. "You're a grown woman now— I can't tell you how to run your marriage, CiCi. But... that mans been nothing but good to you during all this. Maybe you should see what he has to say before asking me what I have to say. Besides, it's you who has to sleep next to him at the end of the day." He pursed his lips. "And those babies don't need to see their parents arguing like this. If he feels that way, it's a lot more that needs to be discussed."
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Trevante looked down at Nyla who was snoring in her pink and purple princess bed. For her to be so young, she could snore like she was working a 9-5. He looked down at her and smiled, getting up to leave her room and cut off the light before he was met with Ciara leaning against the door frame. He gave her a quick glance before shutting off the light and walking past her.
"T, come on now... we gotta talk."
He walked into their large bedroom and went to his side as she closed their door, pulling his shirt from over his head and sitting in his sweatpants. His back was facing her, and the only thing Ciara could pay attention to was her name in cursive letters going across the base of his neck; in the same location where his name was on her body.
"It's nothing to talk about. Everything that needed to be said, was already said." He shrugged.
"Trevante, there's more that needs to be said." She shook her head, becoming irritated. "If you really had a problem with me having this job, you should've said something when you agreed to be a stay home dad! I didn't force you into this!"
"That's not the fucking point Ciara!" His voice boomed again, turning to look at her. "I do what I do for this hose and our kids because I'm a dad. As soon as Trevor came out, that was what I was. I don't mind taking care of all three of them. My problem is while I'm here, I'm asking you to only do a few things: remember the kids events, and be present when you need to be. You know Gigi picks up on the fact that you either get home late, or barely make it to events? Shit, or you hardly show up? Trevor has games, Nyla just wants to be able to play; but you spend so much fucking time at work that when they see you, they can't hold a conversation, Ciara!"
Ciara's breathing became erratic as she looked at the floor. She didn't want to make eye contact with him because she knew that even though she was pissed at him, he wasn't lying about everything that came out of his mouth. Ciara never wanted to be like those boujee moms who rarely ever saw their kids and would have nannies running around, but that's what she was becoming. "So you think I'm a bad mom?" Her voice cracked as a few tears started to form in her eyes. "You think that I don't spend enough time with you and the kids-"
"Ciara, don't think about me. I can spend time with you when you come home and get in the damn bed." He sighed and went over to sit next to her. "Think about those other three lives that we still gotta take care of. They gotta have their mom present just as much as their dad is. Think about it: if it's hard for you to even fit time into your schedule to see the kids at their events or make it to these family dinners, how do you think things are gonna work out if you plan on branching out to New York and taking a two week trip there?" He cocked his head to look at her.
Seeing a few more tears that were coming down, Trevante pulled her to his lap and brushed his thumb under her eye. "You're a grown woman; I can't tell you how to run your business, but I can tell you what I think should be done for the sake of the kids, and that trip to New York is only gonna make things even more difficult, baby love." He pecked her temple. "Don't cry."
Ciara sniffed and turned into his chest, curling into him. Both of them knew if it was one thing that would always make her cry even more, it was someone telling her to not cry when she already was. Ciara was a big ball of emotions; she always was.
Trevante's hand run up and down her back soothingly. "I don't want them to grow up with some shitty memories of me being their for all of the minor things in their life, T. I don't want that. I mean, just from the way Gigi looked at me when we were at the dinner table when I asked her how her day went should've been a damn red flag for me." She huffed, feeling the cool metal of his wedding ring that was on his finger go against her spine. "I'm not gonna go to New York... I'll see if something else can be drawn up with the expanding thing." She shook her head and looked at him.
He simply nodded and kissed her. A reassuring one, before he rested his forehead against her own. "Did you eat at least?"
"yeah... thank God you know how to cook." She chuckled playfully. Trevante nudged her shoulder before laying back on the bed. Ciara fell against his chest softly while her hands rubbed up and down his sides. "I got a lot of time to make up for, don't I?"
"Don't think of it like that." Trevante shook his head. "Just think of it as you having more time to spend now. They'll appreciate it. Especially Gigi. You know how she is about you. You know I love you." He tilted his chin to look at her.
"I love you too. Even when you're right and I want you to be wrong." She pouted and could feel and hear the chuckle erupt from Trevante's chest. "And you raising your voice at me in front of others really made me feel some type of way. I didn't know if I should give you another baby or bust your skull in."
"Shit, knowing your little ass? It would've been both."
The atmosphere between the two of them changed. The room was calm again as Ciara's head was on Trevante's chest. His eyes were on their TV while hers were closed, taking in his warmth and the smell of his cologne. "Baby."
"Hmm." Ciara hummed, frowning a little that he was disrupting the slight silence that she was enjoying. She lifted her head to look at him and raised her eyebrow.
"I was thinking... the kids will be out for spring break soon; they can take off a extra two days and we can go on a trip. Just us and the kids. No business calls, no interruptions... just us. So I'm gonna need you to clear your schedule."
Ciara was beaming at this point. They haven't technically been on a trip since Trevor was born... that was how Giselle got here in the first place. Smiling, she straddled him and he held her still by her hips. "Where to?"
"Hawaii?" He shrugged. "Somehow Nyla found out what Hawaii is and thinks that she could see the monster from Lilo and Stitch there-"
"His name is Stitch, and he's not a monster... he's an alien." Ciara corrected. "Wait till I tell Nyla that her favorite wasn't paying attention to her favorite movie."
"You know how many times I watched Lilo beat that red headed girls face in? I close my eyes and I see that shit on my eyelids, baby girl made me watch it that many times." He chuckled. "But what do you think? A good Idea? We can get our parents to take turns house sitting."
"I think it's a great idea." Ciara wrapped her arms around his neck, pecking his full lips repeatedly. "I'll start booking plane tickets." Getting up from the bed to grab her laptop, Ciara felt a stinging slap to her ass and hissed. Turning, she saw Trevante biting his bottom lip and winking at her. "Keep playing and watch you end up being a stay at home dad of four."
"You keep playing and watch me put twins in you and make you be a working mom of five. I don't have no problem watching my crew." He scoffed and showed his bright and toothy smile.
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CHAPTER UNEDITED
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Let me tell yall why this took so long to update:
My dumb ass wrote it and thought that I lost it...
only to find out that I had this whole chapter saved in a completely different book. I was confused and pissed. 😂
Check out the 'updates' chapter for who's imagine request is next. ❤️
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