𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐑 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄

"what? i mean it, y'know." to receive an attitude like that after a line like his isn't entirely unexpected. although ethan isn't always so suave, he's sentimental, and he can't help himself but be sentimental-- even in moments like these, in the near abandoned parking lot adjacent to pasqualli's. he looks over at lex, and sees her smile despite the roll of her eyes, which brings a smile to his lips, as well. because that makes it all worth it. all of the late night shifts just to barely make ends meet, the stress that accompanies it... she, and hannah, are more than worth it.

a charge runs through her body and for a moment , it's almost like lex hadn't been on her feet all day , like she wasn't a second away from pass the fuck out a couple minutes ago. their apartment is very small afterall , the walls paper thin , and even if they weren't always successful , she really didn't wanna scar hannah for life. she'd have enough other bullshit to work through later. so now , as ethan leans towards her , she mirrors him. as soon his eyes drop to his lips , she knows she's got him right where she wants him.

Jane had been born a little over a month ago and though there were bags under his eyes from lack of proper sleep, Ted was over the moon. He loved being a dad already despite being tired and worn to the bone already. He wouldn't give it up for the world. Some nights he'd be up throughout the entirety of it just holding a sleeping Jane because he didn't wanna lay her down. Emma would playfully scold him about it reminding him that he needed rest too, but he just... he loved that little girl. He didn't want to waste a minute of being able to hold her and that's what made going back to work all that more dreadful. He knew Emma would be okay taking care of Jane, especially with his mother coming over to assist. But he was partially jealous of it. He wanted to be home, he wanted to be taking care of her. Fuck CCRP.

He tried not to hold that resentment when he came into work that day-- walking in with a cup of coffee already in hand and bags present under dark hues. He looked tired, but he glowing nonetheless. It was hard not to be. He hated being in the office, but he knew as soon as the day was over he'd be back home with his girls. He just had to get through his day and be as patient with it as he could be being so tired. He nodded his head here or there with a small grin when he was welcomed back, some even congratulating him. Mr. Davidson had stopped him on his entry to ask how the new life was treating him and Ted had commented he couldn't be happier. Because it was true, he wasn't sure he could top how he felt and he'd married a dream girl.

When he reached his office space he pushed open the door and stepped in, setting down his coffee and slumping his shoulders slightly with a sigh. God, this sucked. He shifted to pull his phone from his pocket, lifting it so the screen would light up and show the lock screen of Emma and Jane. He was a bit pathetic about it, wasn't he?

good morning, ted...

Ted turned, head looking over his shoulder first then spinning fully until he could face Bill head on. He spotted the gift bag in his hand and felt his brows pinch together slightly before lifting his gaze back to his face. He listened with a skeptical look at first before relaxing the expression when the bag was offered. He took it and before it could even be properly glimpsed at, Bill was stating what it was. In a flash Ted's expression softened considerably, lips twitching at the corners with a smile. He shifted the tissue paper slightly to look in at the shoes, chest tightening with a squeeze of warmth. "Bill," he started, frame turning to set the bag down before he was looking back at his coworker and newfound friend, "I don't know what to say." Thank you, is a good start! "Thanks, buddy," he rested his hands onto his hips, resisting the urge to be too forward and pull him in for a grateful hug. "I'm sure they will, she's still pretty small," he chuckled lightly, "This was really nice of you to do. Really. I appreciate it. Emma'll love them too. We've been too sleep deprived to consider much beyond onesies."

" oh , you know , " bill waves away the thanks , though he would have been quite peeved if @timebastard hadn't said it. " it was nothing , really. just a little something from one dad to another. " there's a lump in his throat for some dang reason he can quite put his finger on. since the second he found out that he was going to be a dad , bill loved alice more than he'd loved anything in his whole life. to this day , being her father was the part of himself he was proudest of. even though there's so much else that's gotta tied up in it. guilt and frustration and fear. oh boy , is there fear. fear that she'll get hurt or that he's messed up or that somewhere along the road she won't need him anymore. all of that , however , can't compare to how proud he is of her.

best  friends.

you  said  you'd  always  be  there.  i'm  holding  you  to  that.

i'm  not  leaving  you  alone  with  your  thoughts!

nobody  gets  to  call  you  that  but  me.

do  i  need  to  fight  someone  for  you?

we're  not  just  friends.  you're  my  family.

i'm  already  on  my  way.

if  i  die,  promise  you'll  erase  my  search  history.

we  should  not  be  allowed  unsupervised  in  public.

combined,  we're  one  whole  functioning  adult!

i've  helped  you  lie  to  your  parents,  friends,  &  your  boss...  what's  one  more?

ex-friends.

i  wanted  to  call  you.  every  time  something  happened.

how  did  you  just  stop  caring?

you  can't  pretend  we  weren't  close.

i  miss  you.  i'm  not  sorry.

i  don't  think  i  can  forgive  you.

i  miss  hating  the  same  people  together.

do  your  new  friends  know  the  version  of  you  i  knew?

you  ghosted  me.  but  sure!  let's  pretend  it  was  mutual!

i  still  know  your  favorite  song.

i  didn't  just  lose  my  friend,  i  lost  an  entire  chapter  of  my  life.

rivals.

this  isn't  personal.  you're  just  in  my  way.

why  are  you  so  obsessed  with  beating  me?

you  think  you're  better  than  me?  prove  it.

you  talk  a  lot  for  someone  who's  always  second  place.

did  you  rehearse  that  comeback  in  the  mirror?

do  you  ever  stop  talking?

one  day,  i'm  going  to  beat  you.

i  don't  like  you.  that  doesn't  mean  i  don't  respect  you.

i  didn't  come  to  play  fair,  i  came  to  win.

you  think  i'm  threatened  by  you?  no,  you  just  motivate  me  to  be  better.

roommates.

i  swear  i  didn't  eat  your  leftovers!  well,  not  ALL  of  them.

i  heard  everything.  these  walls  are  thin.

can  you  PLEASE  clean  up  after  yourself?

wanna  watch  a  movie?  i'm  making  popcorn!

you  know  we're  not  friends,  right?  we  just  live  together.

i  think  i  know  your  schedule  better  than  mine  at  this  point.

you  talk  in  your  sleep.

you  can't  just  adopt  a  pet  without  talking  to  me  first!

i'm  going  to  start  charging  your  dates  rent.

if  we  can  survive  living  together,  we  can  survive  anything.

if  your  [  family member  ]  drops  by  unannounced  one  more  time...

academic  partners.

you  forgot  the  project  deadline.  again.

this  was  supposed  to  be  a  group  effort!

i  think  we  would've  crashed  and  burned  without  you.

you  brought  snacks  to  study  group?  okay,  i  think  i  like  you.

we're  not  friends.  stop  telling  me  about  your  personal  life.

you're  actually  kind  of  smart,  you  know?

i'll  be  the  brains,  you  do  the  presentation.

we  agreed  no  emotional  breakdowns  during  mid-terms!

i  cannot  believe  i'm  depending  on  you  to  pass  this  class.

i  need  a  break  so  i  can  scream  into  my  textbook...

do  you  try  to  make  friends  with  EVERY  person  in  group  projects?

siblings.

you're  not  my  [ mom / dad / parent ]!  don't  tell  me  how  to  live.

i'm  allowed  to  make  fun  of  you.  nobody  else  is.

i  know  you  better  than  anyone  else  ever  will.

stop  trying  to  fix  me!

something  bad  happened.  can  i  come  home?

you're  still  the  favorite, even now.

still  trying  to  live  in  my  shadow,  huh?

i'm  not  jealous  of  you!

we  survived  that  house,  that's gotta count  for  something.