the brave and the bruised

Patsy was a large dog and more important, an energetic one. Which meant that despite the fact her muscles were aching from a day of rehearsals, Willow couldn’t not take him for a walk. Still in her clothes from earlier, she was bundled up in her trench coat as she walked down the streets of New York. Patsy had no indication of how tired his owner was and simply trotted along, barking at every bird that flew close. He never pulled on his leash however, he knew not to by this point.

Which was why when he did pull, she was unprepared and his leash fell from her hand as he sprinted away. “Patsy!” She ran after him. Until she saw someone who made her stop in her tracks. It felt like seeing a ghost. A ghost that she very much wish no longer haunted her. “Patsy, come back here” @bennyhayes​

The moment he had seen his son, Benny felt the most intense feeling. It started deep in his chest, expanding and consuming him. He had never experienced love the way he felt that day. Just turning one month old, Theodore was a fine baby boy. To Benny, his son had his mother's expressive eyes and sweet smile. Even now, strapped to his chest, Theo's wide eyes blinked in amazement at the world around him. "Now, that's a tree," Benny explained to Theo who stared above at the rustling branches. "Can you say tree, Theo? No? That's alright."

Then a sight Benny thought he would never see again bounced towards him. "Patsy boy!" He exclaimed and like a joyful boy reunited with his favorite dog, he got to Patsy's level and began to pat and rub his back. "What are you doing here, Pats?" And the only other person, who loved Patsy as much as Benny did, sprint closely behind. "Will," He sighed, his mouth curling up into a lopsided grin. For just a moment, Benny had completely forgotten all that has passed between them. All he saw was his best friend standing before him. At the sight of a large creature, Theo began to cry, pulling Benny back into reality. "Shh, it's only Patsy." He pressed a kiss against his son's head as he held his hand. "I see he is still a feral dog, our Patsy boy. Haven't tamed your hellion ways, eh boy?"

Cecelia never thought things would get so out of hand at the ball. She didn’t drink often, but one drink after another and things escalated into Pax kissing her and Benny punching him. Ever since the ball, Cecelia had felt distressed and extremely guilty from the incident, because the last thing she wanted to do was hurt Benny. She loved him and every day he made her the happiest woman in the world. With their son still being a newborn, Cecelia’s schedule wasn’t that strenuous. She only had a few things to attend to here and there, and today all she had was a meeting. Hearing the door open, she looked up to see Benny walking into the room. What he said to her brought a smile to her face. “That’s so sweet of you, love. We’re just about done here anyway,” Cecelia said, taking the cup from him and collecting her handbag. Honestly, she needed a break. Between adjusting to things with a new baby and what had happened the other night, her focus just wasn’t there. “Would you mind if we stopped for food? I’m starving,” Cecelia said, slipping her free hand into his. “And don’t worry, your jeans didn’t go unnoticed.” 

Her hand felt so right in his that he felt a jolt of pang of relief to have her fingers intertwine with his. Because he could, Benny raised her hand to his lips and gave the palm of her hand a kiss. “Of course, dearest. If I knew you at all, I say you haven’t had a bite since this morning. Does my busy bee fancy sushi?” At her observation, the tips of his ears turned bright red and a pleased grin began to tug at his lips. “Is that so? Pray, what about them made you notice them?” His brow raised playfully, knowing full well what had caught her eye.  “Or could it be what is inside of them that made you look?” 

The cold air hit Callie’s face as she fixed her bag on her shoulder and exited the coffee shop. Her joints were yelling at her for sitting in a wooden chair for the last five hours, but the girl honestly didn’t mind. She would of stayed there longer if she hadn’t forgotten her computer charger at her apartment. Alas her computer was dying and the girl knew she needed to get home. Taking a sip of her coffee, Callie started heading down the sidewalk. The crisp air was a godsend to her as she knew that it meant the Christmas season was almost on them. Growing up in Virginia, Calliope loved when the first snow fell and loved the feeling it brought. Heading down the street, she moved to glance at a car that was honking when she felt herself collide with someone. Coffee went everywhere as the girl stared in shock. 

“I am so sorry, oh  my god.” Callie said quickly as she grabbed some napkins out of her bag.

It had only taken a small tug of his jeans and her soft voice to melt Benny into agreeing to take Miss Penelope Winsdor for a walk to the library. Before setting off, they took turns kissing sleeping Theo and hugging Cece and Jack tightly. Their goodbyes lasting longer than it had taken to put on their sweaters. Hand in hand, Benny and Penny waved to the window where Jack stood. Their adventure to the library would have only taken them ten minutes if Penny hadn’t insisted on stopping at in front of every store they passed. It delighted him to see how self-aware Penelope was in herself despite being only two years old. How settled she already seemed to be in her ways. With a smile and love warming his eyes, he watched as she paused to look at the window displays as if she was considering buying a purple ottoman for their living room. Thinking Cece needed to see this, he began to take out his phone. Suddenly the impact of someone colliding into him, following by the heat of what he could only hope was coffee suturated his face and chest. 

“It’s alright,” He said through his teeth, wiping his eyes with his hands. Though his scowl was set in place, his annoyance began to eased when he saw how sorry the young woman was. “Look, I take it you didn’t plan on knocking me down and drenching me with what I hope is coffee. Accidents happen.” 

@cwindsr​