the wolf amongst us

“They are two grown adults, both mature…enough, and more importantly, they’ve been friends forever. I’m sure whatever the details of it were, they’ll work it out….and in the off-chance they don’t, I don’t think Ayden would seek out custody of you in the friend-divorce,” she added in an attempt to lighten the mood. “I believe thinking before you speak is probably your best choice regardless of who you’re talking to or about.”

Thinking about the girls, she couldn’t help but wonder aloud, “I hope they’re not giving Tomi too hard of a time right now. Maybe I should’ve asked her to babysit at the ranch instead. With everything that’s happened, I wouldn’t want the girls to be causing chaos at the cabin.” Izzy found herself exceedingly tempted to give Tomi a quick call to make sure everything was all right. She did raise an eyebrow at his reasoning. “Hail tends to fall and stay where it lands. Bezerkers can dodge and give chase…I’m glad it’s up to the alpha to plan.”

"Then we better hope they stay friends. It’s not the same if we don’t have one of the scoobs with us.” Knowing his brother and Ayden, they should be fine. They had always been reasonable with most decisions. Surely this is just a little hill they needed to get over. Braxton chuckled with a bit of embarrassment. “You’re right. As always. I should.. take my tight and now just blurt out the first thing that comes to mind.”

“She’s got backup if she needs it - I had no idea Ianthe was going to be here. Did you see her glare? I told you she still doesn’t like me ever since Luke and Teg fell out that tree.” The beta wolf never gripped his steering wheel that tightly out of fear when he was in the car and saw Mrs. Calvetti came into view. To think Colston had to deal with them in person. Man, oh man. “...I heard the whole clan is here, so if anything, Lyra has the title of being chaotic.” He snorted, “Okay, so the Berzerkers kept us on our toes, but we still pulled through! However, I will say - I don’t want a repeat of either events.”

“At the end of the day, Colston and Ayden are grown adults. They’ve always been able to work things out between them one way or another, there’s no reason for us to suspect this won’t be the same. We just, have to be mindful of what we say in the meantime,” Izzy noted. It’s not like Brax was the only one who had to be careful, she and Blake had made it a habit to tease Ayden about Col over the years, and it was always good to remember where the limit was.

“Thank you. I know they’ve grown to be very fond of you as well,” she said in reference to the young twins. “I obviously have no concrete way of proving it, but I’m almost certain they’ve learned the sound of your truck. They always try to get to a window when you happen to come over.” Izzy made a slight face and said, “I would have taken the hail over the monsters that apparently made their way here before that.”

“I hope they do work it out eventually. It’d suck if they fall out because of this.” Years of friendship surely couldn’t just be ruined by.. whatever went down, could it? “I’ll... just avoid the topic the best I can. And think before I speak.” He was willing to speak ridiculously slow so that his thoughts could catch up to his brain. 

“I’m very fond of them too.” He laughed at the exaggeration but it was still nice to hear that the kids like him that much. Braxton loved them all the same and it really was stupid of him to not accept it until now. He was basically being the kids’ father and had been cruel to always deny it until now. “Oh man, they’re going to be so confused if I change cars eventually.” Braxton swayed left to right as he contemplated on which one was worse. “I don’t know.. Berzerkers.. we could stop with a good plan. God-sized hail is something else. How do you stop that? We didn’t even have barriers up in time.”

Izzy simply shrugged and said, “All I will say, is that out of the rare times I’ve had to speak to a manager due to a legitimate complaint, I never received any form of compensation or incentive. Even when I was in the right.” She really hoped she didn’t have to be overt, because the topic was a bit too heavy for a first date. At the question of Ayden, not wanting to step on her own friend’s toes, all she said was, “They have decided to allow each other some space for a bit.” At this question, she added, “Ask your brother.”

Izzy smiled and said, “You’re my best friend. You took me and my girl’s in, even when you didn’t have to, and offered us a second chance after I moved back to town. What kind of person would I be to deny the same to you?” She laughed lightly but followed suit with the toast. “Hmm, I think it’s less new beginnings and more to commencing a new chapter. After all, the story so far has had more highlights than not.”

“Okay.. Good point.” Braxton needed to change up his way of dealing with difficult customers. The Karens could find another gym to go to and it’ll save everyone the headaches. His eyes widened when he heard about Col and Ayden. “Oh.. what?” He didn’t know what happened but he didn’t think it would have required space apart. Something serious must have gone done. “Okay.. so no Ayden.. That’s a bummer.” Colston was the more reasonable brother so he could never understand why the two of them still haven’t dated especially when he was less dense than Braxton. 

“You’ll always have a home at my place, you and your girls.” He said with no hesitation. “Fair, a new chapter of our lives - “ He groaned, “I think being in Fallcrest in general gives everyone a lot of highlights in their lives and not all of them are good. Like, with headaches and all, I’m still glad that it wasn’t as bad as the time we had like killer hail. That was insanity.”

“You really think they don’t already know what your response will be? Even if you only do it once, what you see as appeasing them, they see as rewarding their terrible behavior with the rest of your staff. Which, is why they tend to have a sense of entitlement to begin with. Maybe you should talk customer management with Thyra and Leo one day,” she suggested. At his own suggestion, she grimaced a bit and said, “Ooh, no. We’re going to want to refrain from bringing up Ayden for a bit. Before you ask, no I will not elaborate as it’s not business to share, but I figured knowing you it would do well if you had a warning.”

She smiled and said, “Well it’s far easier to help someone out of quicksand when you yourself aren’t in the quicksand with them.” It would always be easier to keep her friends out of trouble if she had a leg to stand on herself. Nodding as he spoke, Izzy gave him a reassuring look. “I know you are. That’s why I agreed to be here.”

“Yeah but I can just.. get them to leave, no?” He groaned, “Okay. I’ll call up Leo and Thyra and see if they can help me.. maybe give me a few lessons on management.” He was already pretty proud of what he accomplished, but there was so much he still didn’t know and times like this, it did get a little frustrating. “Oh.. No Ayden then... Did something happen?” Last he heard, they were still on good terms. Braxton now felt bad that he didn’t go make sure his big bro was doing alright after everything. “Why won’t they date?”

Braxton smiled, “And I haven’t thanked you enough for giving me a chance.” The waiter came back with that bottle and poured two glasses for them before leaving again. Taking one, he raised it as a toast “Okay.. Here’s to us. And.. to.. somewhat new beginnings?” 

“Not gonna lie, but some of your clients tend to act like all their problems are life and death,” Izzy remarked. “There’s a reason I ask to go after hours whenever possible. Honestly? Bless Luke for taking the early 5 AM shift because I’m sure that’s when most of the problematic ones go in. Best of luck to you and your staff.” At the thought of Col and a vacation, Izzy snorted. “That man hasn’t taken a vacation since he started his internship at Wentworth. I highly doubt he’ll be up for one now.” Izzy met his smile with one of her own before she answered, “Don’t want you sneezing all over my babies.”

Izzy held up her fork in his direction and said, “You said ‘the older the better’, not ‘the older the wiser’. Which, for the record, history has shown that the wisest of men aren’t always necessarily the best of them. A good heart will always be a better means to show how your time has been spent than a wise mind ever will. And you have one of the kindest I know.” At his remark, she just shrugged and took a bite. “Doubt there’s anything you could do to outdo yourself in that department now, Rendall.”

Braxton thought back to all the difficult clients he had. “They acted like it, but they were alright to appease.. most of the time. Honestly, you just throw a few free classes in, and they’re right as day.” He explained how he had to deal with some of them - after all, that’s their goal half the time. “Not that I do it all the time, there’s a limit to all that.” The gym owner wouldn’t be fazed even if they threatened to leave since they will always have new customers. “Maybe if we get Ayden to go with him....” His brows wiggled at the idea. “Please, I have more manners than that. I sneeze into my elbow. It won’t be all over them.” 

While he was simply running his mouth, Braxton didn’t expect the conversation to turn into Izzy complimenting him. “I don’t know, Iz. You've always been wiser and better so there’s got to be some merit in that. Kept me out of trouble for most of our lives. A lot of times if we’re thinking about it.” At the topic of embarrassing Izzy, Braxton had the decency to look sheepish about it. “..Right.. I’m still sorry about that.. All of that.” He sighed, “I’m working on the whole.. think before I speak thing..” 

“I never thought I’d ever meet someone who scared me more than my own mother, and then I went over to work on a project with JJ once…Let’s just say I’m very glad that I was neither you with Ianthe or Col with Keagan this weekend,” she noted. Keagan had never direct her anger at Izzy -thank god- but she had witnessed what the woman could do for someone so small… “Excellent! I’ll take the opportunity to ask him what allergy medication I should get for you.” She would keep this going as long as he did.

“Are we talking about the wine or the waiter?” she teased, before chuckling. “No, not a total noob. You’re certainly dressed the part of someone who regularly comes here, and you did manage to order our food without completely butchering some of the names. I think all in all, just don’t choke trying to eat too fast, and you might just succeed in blending in.”

“I... hmmm.. I am so glad I’m not Col. He’s been at the hospital keeping an eye on Luke in case anything happens. You best believe Ianthe and Keagan were on his ass for anything. Like, I respect my brother for what he does, but I do not want his job. Angry clients at the gym I can handle because their problems might not be life or death.” He paused, “Maybe we should send him off to some place nice for vacation too.” The beta only flashed a smile over at his date. “Aww, you worried about me?” 

“Definitely the wine, because not everyone becomes wiser when they get older - I think I’m prime example of that.” He admitted, “The fact that people dress up to eat like this every day blows my mind.” The wolf was feeling more confident now that Izzy confirmed that he was more or less blending into the crowd tonight and not making a fool out of himself. “As long as I ain’t embarrassing you, Iz. That is an achievement right there.” 

“I think we all found a little hard to be mad at Luke for one reason or another,” Izzy remarked, “So at the time, it just seemed like Keagan was holding back because she was the pack’s tiny human -though the ‘tiny’ went out the door quick. Luke’s survival instinct is a bit more on point than yours, so I’m sure she would’ve just refused to pull the prank.” At his affirmation that Col was looped in, she simply said, “Oh, then I might have to have him take a look at the girls. Wouldn’t want them to possibly have this newly discovered medical issue. Spring coming up in a few months and all.

Izzy laughed lightly and said, “Contrary to what Lyra would have you believe, the purpose of a fine wine isn’t to get you inebriated, it’s to provide a suitable taste to accompany your meal. I’m sure the sommelier would be able to tell what would go best with our order.”

“Yeah, but most of us just don’t want to mess with Keg and Ianthe. Luke’s cool! I love her, but I learned my lesson of not.. getting the Calvetti’s angry, okay? They’re scary people when they are.” He shook his head. Not everyone in the restaurant needs to know hear that he got his assed kicked more than once by mentioned people. Braxton let out a laugh when Izzy said to let Colston take a look at the girls. “So far, they seem to be doing well. So I guess they’re safe but Col would obviously have the professional advice.” 

Waving the waiter over, he politely asked if they could recommend a bottle and whatever they said, Braxton said ‘sure, that one.’ And the waiter left to retrieve it. “....They do say the older, the better right?” He totally forgot what year they said. “Do I look like a total noob? Because I sure feel like it.” The fact that he was trying to not inhale his food was a lot of effort.

“Geez, Lyra will never miss an opportunity to bring up the infamous Christmas Miracle in October,” Izzy said with a chuckle. “Honestly though, for all of the first-hand eyewitness accounts we had over the years of what Keagan was capable of, it really should’ve clued us all in a bit that Luke seemed to be the exception. Granted, that kid learned way faster than any of us not to upset Keagan.” Izzy just laughed at his mention of allergies, and said, “Sure, okay. A wolf with allergies other than silver. I’ll be sure to loop Col in. What a fantastic medical discovery.”

“Nope, and don’t have to. Years of being a good friend to the Calvetti’s will grant you quite the wiggle room with those two.” Izzy smiled easily at his remark, and said, “Yes, a very good idea. If all continues to go well, we’ll see what the night brings after.”

“Right?! Luke survived so many times and not once had Keagan even retaliated - I don’t even think she got mad?? How do you not get mad after being kicked in the face?? I really should’ve just made Luke pull all the pranks.” He laughed, thinking back on all the shenanigans they used to get into as kids. Braxton didn’t try to upset Keagan.. she just happened to be present every time he did something stupid. “I’m sure my brother knows..” He continued with his fib, “He’s my personal doctor after all.” 

“Do you want a drink? It’s nothing on Bridgeport but I feel like it’s weird not to have a bottle to accompany the meal.” If they were going to have any alcohol that would make a wolf drunk, Braxton wouldn’t have suggested it since he still had to drive. A car accident would really hurt them, but he did not want to appear irresponsible in any way tonight. “Might be weird since it won’t give us the a kick, but it’s something.”

“If only she stuck to that safe place,” Izzy said, a slight wince coming over her features as she recalled some of the videos mentioned before. “I think trees rather quickly became the least of anyone’s worries,” she added. At his attempt at sounding aloof about the situation with Luke, she offered him a soft smile and said, “It’s okay to be concerned. Everyone was, some still are. Besides, the box of tissues didn’t appear on the coffee table by magic that night…” Izzy knew the sobbing burrito hadn’t just been upset over Tomi not choosing to go home with him that night.

“Better safe than sorry is definitely a mentality I did not think you had in you, Rendall,” she teased, taking a bite of her own food. She closed her eyes, and let the familiar flavors was over her. “I’m sorry,” she began, “Ray’s is a great place, but nothing compares to getting to taste the flavors of my childhood. The last time I had this was when I went home to mom’s.”

“That.. I have no say in.” Braxton chuckled, “It’s not like anyone can really stop Luke from doing what she wants - not even Keagan and her death glare. The amount of times Luke had survived Keagan though. Man, ohhh man.” His eyes widened as he looked up from his plate, “Excuse me. I .. had allergies.” Even if everyone knew he was a pathetic little burrito that night, he was not going to admit that he had been crying but the night really got to him when he learned that there was another chance of losing someone who meant a lot to him. 

“Do you want to face up Ianthe and Keagan when they’re mad? Because I sure don’t.” He was positive that if he wasn’t the beta, and if she didn’t need to be away half the time, Keagan would have taken his place. Hell, he would probably straight up offer it to her if she said anything about it. “Okay, so this place was a very good idea after all.” He grinned, thankful that Izzy was enjoying the food. 

“Considering we know who definitely is high on that list now, I don’t think you have much to worry about,” Izzy noted, knowing that after Richard, by comparison, anything Brax may come to do -accidentally or otherwise- was likely to barely register on their ‘bad side radar’. “I’m almost certain Keagan is convinced that the gym was the ‘gateway drug’ of sorts to everything else that Luke’s eventually managed to do.” Izzy nodded at his words and said, “Good. Because based on some of the videos Sean’s shown me, they’re going to have their work cut out for them just keeping her still as is. No need for you to ‘get smashed’ into any other trees.”

Izzy flat out snorted at the comment. “That remains to be seen when there’s actual meat on your plate,” she snarked. As she watched the scene unfold before her, all Izzy could do was raise a brow and say, “I can see why Col is the doctor. You do realize we’d have immediately been hit with the scent first right? Like any other major allergen.”

“Well, it’s better to have a safe place to do it in then.” Braxton was not apologetic at all for have given Luke Benson an outlet to do whatever she wanted in a safe environment. At least there were mats wherever appropriate and so his staff members were not going to fall on hard cement of any kind. “I’m just glad that she’s on the path of healing.” Though he gave it his best to never look like it, but he was just as worried as everyone else when he heard what happened to her. Luke was like.. his ‘bro’. 

“Riiiight. Well.. I mean, it’s best to make sure.” He picked up his fork and knife and tried his best to not embarrass Izzy while eating. “Oh shit, this is good. Yo, you got to try this, Iz. Like she really knows what she’s doing.” The portion was another matter, but good food was good food. 

Izzy could only chuckle. “Ianthe and Keagan are only scary if you do something to get on their bad side,” she pointed out. “Maybe try not doing things that may be perceived as ‘bad’ by either woman and you won’t have to be so concerned around them…granted, I can’t say that having hired Luke to teach half the things she does at your gym when she was seventeen is something you can skirt around.” She furrowed her brow briefly as she thought, “Hey, maybe you can start by not letting Luke talk you into coming back to work _before_ your brother clears her.”

She rolled her eyes at his ‘reason’. “We both know that was just the icing on the cake for you, but we can still claim it’s the official story to the kids,” she teased. At his question she simply said, “I suppose so, though preferably with the proper silverware. This table may be a bit more secluded from the rest, but I don’t think you’d want Sage to witness you eating her food with your hands…”

“I don’t think I’m high up on their bad sides, but I don’t think I’m on their good sides either. The disapproval on Ianthe’s face every time I see her - or maybe she just looks like that, who knows.” He made a face, “And what’s wrong with letting her do what she wants in my gym? She’s good at it, and she taught the kids.” He nodded, “ohhhh. Yes. Luke’s not going to come back to the gym because Keg and Ianthe will really have my hide if they find out she’s already back at work when she’s not supposed to. i mean, i’m dumb.. but I’m not that dumb.” 

Braxton will neither deny nor confirm that, but nonetheless, he was glad he got to name the kid regardless of reasons. “I’m not that much of a cave man.” He laughed, “I can handle the dinnerware.. Wait, is this actually silver?” Now he was cautiously looking at the utensils set up, but as his dumbass self, he quickly poked at it. “I think we’re safe.”

“A bit, but not enough. Luke still got the wind knocked out of her, which was not a good look for Ianthe come across after Lyra -who landed on her feet of course- managed to speed off and scream at her that you’d killed her humans.” The pack had had a field day with that one. It may have been true that Brax wasn’t directly the one initiate the chain of events, but even back then they all knew who the assholes in the pack were. His hubris in thinking he could befriend everyone got the best of him that day for sure.

Izzy easily matched his smile and nodded, “I definitely do. I think you proved it the second James was nowhere to be found and you stepped up without hesitation to name that little newborn girl yourself. I’d like to think we’ve reached a point where it doesn’t take extreme circumstances for that side of you to come out a bit more.”

“That was quite the day.. and never again. Each time I saw those kids in a tree, I was so outta there.” Not help them out of it, just completely disappearing because there was no way Braxton could have kept them from climbing so might as well remove himself altogether - especially when Lyra was around. “She’s one scary lady, still is. Keagan definitely took after her.” 

His thumb subconsciously brushed against Izzy’s as he listened. “Well, I couldn’t miss out on getting to name the kid after a power ranger.. but now that I have plans on asking if she wants to swap names, that doesn’t really work anymore - small sacrifices I guess.” He joked before they were interrupted by the waiter who brought them their first course. “Damn, this is fancy.” He was not accustomed to this at all. “Do we just.. dig in?” 

“So you being slamming into the tree, caused them to fall out of said tree, is what you’re saying,” she pointed out. “I can see why Ianthe would consider taking your hide. Two of those kids were just humans after all.” At least, at the time. She still wasn’t clued in on what was going on with Luke, but was no secret that she was simple human no more.

It was till hard having information that Braxton was clearly in dire need of having to understand things, but even after all these years, Izzy still didn’t feel it was her place to share it. “I think you should take Tomi up on her offer of reading the journal,” she replied, “I think may clear a lot of things up, even if -as Tomi said- it may not be the easiest of reads.”

The wolf raised at brow at the question. “Well, since you’ve so boldly decided to ask, I believe honesty would be best. I think that you’re a genuinely nice and caring man, who life hasn’t been kind to on various occasions that have gone on to be pivotal in determining how you’ve decided to live your own life. But, most importantly, I think you’re a man with great potential and a wonderful capacity to be willing to change.”

“I got slammed into the tree, it’s not my fault I slammed into the tree. I just happened to be launched in that direction.” He grumbled, “And Luke *and* Teague fell on *me*. I pretty much cushioned the blow a bit.” Braxton grumbled, still remember how much Ianthe reamed him out for it. No one else, just him - because the fucker who shoved him dipped so fast. 

His mood lightened up barely at the mention of the journal. “I will definitely give a read at some point.” Braxton was almost scared to know what’s written in there. If both Izzy and Tomi said it’d be quite the read, Braxton could only imagine what the content was. Not to mention, he’ll have to read why Kimi never told him about her pregnancy - or maybe a legit reason as to why she chose to be with James of all people. 

Braxton did not expect a literal answer to his question but was willing to listen nonetheless. However, he didn’t know what to say when Izzy called him out for the same thing that Col did - that events in his life did become a key as to why he lived the way he did. Fortunately, his date seemed to think there was still hope for him to change and that was enough for him. The smile and look he gave the other after that, “You really think that?”  

“You already have like, half the town to hang out with. The point I’m trying to make, is that not everything is about you. Sometimes people get to choose their own social circles and if it doesn’t include you, that doesn’t mean they have to have an opinion of you,” she said. “Things to keep in mind as you transition into parenthood.” She couldn’t help the slight snort of laughter at his reasoning for not visiting his friend. “Hm, so was this before or after you caused Lyra, Luke, and Teagan to fall out of a tree?” she grinned.

As much as she’d have liked to give him credit for everything he said, she was too shocked and upset by his choice of words. Taking their joined hands, she flipped them to where she was subtly hyperextending his wrist and furiously whispered, “Braxton Walker Rendall that term is offensive and unnecessary. If anyone hears you using it in general, let alone to describe Skylar, do you know how many people will be on your ass faster than a bullet train?” The woman knew she didn’t have to specify Ianthe would be on that list as she eased on his wrist.

“If I had known she had told you just before…I would’ve been able to maybe pick up on the fact something was wrong with you…well, memorywise,” she said with a half-hearted grin. Izzy’s grin grew a bit more genuine as he seemed to fluster to back track. That seemed to Braxton’s trademark: his mouth tended to move faster than his brain. As he complained once more, she looked up from setting her napkin on her lap and said, “Okay, so who are you on a date with tonight, Rendall? Because you seem very much preoccupied with Sage’s opinion of you over mine…”

“Fair point. Fair point.” Braxton needed to start putting other people before himself - maybe take a lesson from Luke or two. While he would also do anything for Tomi, he must admit that he hadn’t been doing as great of a job as Luke did with Skylar. His friend basically dedicated her life in taking care of that kid where he took up the role of a ‘fun uncle’. “....I didn’t cause them to fall out of a tree! I got slammed into the tree that they happened to be in and then they fell out.” 

His eyes widened as his mouth opened in half shock and half pain when Izzy started hyperextending his wrist. “Ah-Ahhhh I’m.. shi- I’m sorry! I- okay, okay! Iz-” He was leaning towards the hand to hopefully ease his wrist a bit. “I won’t use that word ever again.” Another note was to also not give Skylar any nickname because that seemed like an open invitation to be put on all the lists. 

“I just feel like a dumbass for not even figuring it out on my own. Maybe this was why Kimi waited before telling me..” Braxton looked back and leaned his elbows on the table, grin matching hers. “You are. I am on a date with you and only you. You have my full attention. Yes ma’am.” He chuckled, “And what is your opinion of me?” 

Izzy let him finish, once again, before she simply looked straight in the eye and said, “Just because you’re a good person, that doesn’t mean you’re entitled to have everyone like you or want to be your friend. That’s not how it works…also, not everyone can deal your specific brand of ‘nice’.” Which was generally just obnoxious, especially to those who didn’t know the man well enough to know he always meant well. “That and he’s also a medical professional with a busy schedule, so there’s that,” she pointed out with regards to JJ.

“I think the fact that you’ve managed to refrain from going over to the Benson Cabin and trying to drag her back to your house is a massive start on the path of doing better. Not that I think you’d have done that before, but it certainly let’s her know that you’ve heard her and respect her decisions,” Izzy noted. At the mention of prom planning she added, “Yeah, we had our own prom to do with as we liked, best leave this one up to them.”

A slightly guilty look crossed her features. “Every time I saw you with her, especially when she was still a baby, it was so incredibly hard not to just tell you what I knew…but I’d made a vow to my best friend and it didn’t feel right to break it just because she was no longer with us,” she said solemnly. Her expression was quickly turned into one of perplexity at the question, and she simply said, “Uh, this is our first date, sir. To be her uncle, he’d have to be your brother-in-law first. Regardless, they’re twins. Can’t change that.”

“It’d be nice if they did though. That just means more people to hang with.” He sighed. This also came from the guy who, at one point during his younger years, thought he could actually be friends with those who hated him and his family for the most obscene reasons. “True, I guess. Maybe I should’ve stopped by and say hi - but I heard Ianthe was here too. Not going to like, she scares me more than Keagan does and that’s saying a lot. I got reamed out by her one year.. never again.” 

Braxton almost looked offended by the idea that he would even drag Tomi anywhere against her will. “She was pretty heartbroken when Sky left but now that midget seems to be what’s keeping her happy especially after what happened with the DJ - I don’t see why I’d take that away from her. And that mansion of theirs definitely has more than enough rooms to accommodate.” It was also because he knew Luke and Keg wouldn’t mind either that he hadn’t tried convincing Tomi to move back, no matter how lonely it felt in the house without the kid around. 

“It’s cool. I get it, I ain’t mad.” A bit hurt at first but the gym owner got over it pretty quickly. His eyes widened at the realization of what he said, “Oh shit, I don’t mean - sorry. I just.. Yep, first date. Mhm. Twins for life.” He was so thankful that the food came. “Oh damn.. This looks real good.” Spotting the chef from his seat, Braxton gave a thumbs-up ....which got a subtle smile before Sage walked away from her station. “I really don’t think she likes me.”

“I never said that,” Izzy was quick to state. Leave it to Braxton to take her explanation for how Sage’s metaphorical battery works, and make it all about him. Well at least now she knew for sure that he had not been replaced by a pod person. “I said she divides her tolerance between Hunter, her sister and important person to her, and Luke, Hunter’s best friend in town and clearly an important person to her sister. How did that translate to ‘This is what Sage thinks of Brax’?” Though her words were serious, her tone was the usual banter between the two.

Izzy could only chuckle and smile softly as she said, “Well, it’s always been an open secret of sorts that the Lyra basically adopted Luke into the Calvetti clan. Between that, and Keagan being her best friend, the family had plenty of reason to want to be here for both of them. Granted, word on the street is that JJ is already on his way back home because Fallcrest is best in small doses for those no longer used to it.

The wolf let him finish his pitch, before she gave his hand a gentle squeeze to make sure she had his attention. “I know you probably think you have to play some sort of ‘catch-up’ game with being a dad, but first of all, Tomi’s seen you as her dad since forever. You were there for all her major milestones, there’s no need to make up for anything and I’m sure she’d say the same. And second, and possibly more important, the high school already has a prom-planning committee…made up of students…who the prom is for. So just let them do their thing.” The last question made Izzy genuinely smile at how endearing his concern was. “Considering she knows you named her to begin with, and absolutely can’t stand James, I’m sure she’ll be happy to be more than just an honorary Rendall.”

“Well.. I’m also.. Hunter’s and Luke’s friend...” He spluttered, knowing that it wasn’t a solid argument. “Does she not want to deal with anyone else because she has to deal with those two on an almost daily basis?” The amount of ridiculousness that came out of his mouth all these years never seemed to faze him even when someone pointed out how stupid they were half the time, which was very often because no one ever let him get away with hit. 

“Oh, JJ’s gone already? Even when everyone else is still here? Damn, he really doesn’t like Fallcrest.” He snorted. Everyone who left had always been very vocal about not liking Fallcrest. They may like the people living there, but definitely not the town itself. The Nexus being so close by surely didn’t help either since most of the craziness came from that alone. 

Braxton smiled almost solemnly when she spoke up not having to play ‘catch-up’. “I might have been there for everything but I don’t know, it just feels.. different now that I know that I’m her dad. It’s really a catch-up, but more like a .. I need to be better somehow. I did all those as an ‘uncle’ almost, so being a dad, I.. should like one-up myself.” He sighed, “Fine. fineeee. I’ll let the kids handle their own prom, I’m probably the last person they’ll reach out for help anyways.” 

“Man.. I can’t believe I couldn’t figure it out all this time.. She’s literally a splitting image of me and Kimi - wait, so does this make Sean her uncle?” 

Izzy made a face and said, “I don’t know. Your idea of striking up a conversation really doesn’t seem to be conducive to communicating with Sage. She spends most of her tolerance on Hunter and Luke, I highly doubt she’d have any to spare for the likes of you mister.” She took a sip of her wine as he spoke, and smiled at his reasoning. “Well, the massive change in venue style is certain to make it memorable.”

She let out a light laugh. “Of course,” she began, “I swear that man and his staff are better than facebook sometimes. My mother was texting me to call her before the Halloween party was even over.”

Izzy shook her head. “Why would we try to make this place accommodate the kids, when thanks to Embry and Leo, they would already have run of the ballroom at the Radcliffe?” she pointed out, before being slightly taken aback by him taking her hand. Brax may not always know the definition of ‘personal space’, but gestures like this were new. Not bad, just new. At his words she just shook her head again and said, “It’s better late than never. Especially where the kids are concerned. I’m sure Tomi will definitely appreciate her dad gaining some fresh insight into how he interacts with her.”

“...So... you think Sage just doesn’t like me?” She had enough tolerance to deal with her sister and her friend but none for him? That just meant that she didn’t like him at all. Somehow, that didn’t sit well with him. Braxton believed he was a well liked guy throughout town - James, Ricky and co were obviously the exceptions. “See! Worth it.” And if it went well, maybe it could be an annually thing. If it went well. Braxton was truly taking this a day at a time not to overwhelm himself and do something stupid. 

He laughed and nodded at the description, “Exactly! To think they managed to bring the whole fam over within the few months? Like shiet. Didn’t half of them vowed to never step foot in Fallcrest anymore? Like you had no idea how surprised I was to see JJ step back in town - love the guy but never thought I’d see the guy again unless I flew out to visit him instead.” 

This is why Izzy was the smarter one out of the two of them. “I.. did not think of that.” Leo really was winning parent of the year with all things she pulled off for Embry and friends. “...Prom at the Radcliffe - after party at Ray’s. That sounds like a party - do you think they’ll need chaperones? Leo has a security team, like.. I don’t think they’ll need help.” Braxton smiled warmly at the mention of Tomi, “Yeah, I hope so. And she’s been calling me dad. That’s so surreal.” Everyone had been calling by his name that having that be him was just new. Not bad, but new. “Avery’s loving the fact that she gets to call Tomi her niche and will not let her forget it. Oh speaking of which... do you think Tomi going to find it.. I don’t know.. weird.. if I ask her if she wants to .. you know, change her family name..? Should I wait a bit before I even ask?”