little king trashmouth

Nadia’s eyes stayed locked on the door down the hall, waiting for her father to walk out of it again. Zoe reached for her phone on the table, speaking into google translate to try and explain that Deacon was coming back. She played the converted message back to Nadia, who gave her a funny look over the robotic sounding gibberish that came through the speaker. But she seemed to grasp what she was saying, that he was taking a bath, and her cries died down. Arizona bounced her up and down, before doing what she’d done with the sad kids she used to baby sit for when she was a teen. She held Nadia tightly and spun them around quickly, making them both dizzy. Nadia started giggling, patting her arm to go again. And she did, over and over until her giggles turned to happy squeals, her face finally expressing a little joy. 

Love, was what he felt when he walked back in the room and saw his alleged daughter laughing, warming up to Arizona. The woman’s smile almost made one creep its way to his lips, but Deacon’s mind was elsewhere. He needed to get Nadia’s hair to a clinic to verify their DNA, he needed to head downtown and buy the little girl some things, since her mother was kind enough to literally drop her on Deacon’s life and leave, he needed to inspect on the weapons delivery that was supposed to be coming in a few hours and also, he needed to go by the store and buy some bottles of wine, because her family would definitely need more, considering there was a baby in their lives now. Or maybe Deacon was the one who needed more alcohol.

He wished that his tone had been less detached than it was. He wished that he could sound warmer, but, Deacon had never been a warm person to be around. Actually, Arizona was his sun. She was the one to literally bring light into his life, she was the warm one, but as he approached his--was she even his girlfriend? They had never set anything in stone... They were together, yes, but no labels had been placed on them. “No, don’t be silly.” Shaking his head, his arm moved around her small shoulders and he leaned closer, planting a kiss on the blonde’s head, letting his lips linger there for a second longer. “They’re already on their way and we’ve ordered the food already.” Because there was no way that he would let Arizona cook, or that he would cook. Not today, at least. His blue eyes averted from the older woman to the youngest, smiling brightly in the blonde’s arms, her own golden curls glinting under the dim light of the sun that invaded the living room through the big glass doors. “Be nice to Zoe, okay?” He said in Russian while his fingers brushed against the little girl’s pink cheeks. Deacon noticed the way her face contorted and how her smile soon became a pout. “I’ll come back soon, I promise.” With that, he kissed the toddler’s forehead and returned his gaze to Arizona. “Don’t forget to send me the list. Call me if she needs anything, okay? I won’t be gone for too long.” Especially because he knew that Arizona would chop off his private parts if he disobeyed doctor’s orders.

Before Nadia started crying again, he stepped out, sliding into his Range Rover’s driver’s seat and pulling out of the driveway. First, he hit the hospital, then on his way to check in on the weapons, Deacon received the list of things to buy for Nadia and proceeded to do just that. What should I give her for Christmas? He texted Arizona, because he had absolutely no clue of what a child would want. Deke moved slower than he usually would, because his sides burned if he did more effort than he should, hence why his trip to a children’s store took longer than expected. At least, he bought everything. The priorities were a car seat and a crib. Some clothes, too. Something nice for her to wear at dinner tonight. Something that wouldn’t show Arizona’s family just how dysfunctional Deacon’s life was. He bought some toys to distract her, things to eat and drink on--everything that was on the list. His last stop was by the liquor store, where he bought three bottles of wine and another bottle of Bourbon for himself.

And those were just the imaginary possibilities, not the certainties that held before them now. Like her family arriving in the next few days. They hadn’t mentioned a daughter at Thanksgiving, though they could just lie about that. She could already feel her mother critical eyes and hearing her cutting words whispered in her ear when she would pull her aside. 

Arizona simply nodded in response, still shaken by the situation. And what if Nadia’s mother came back? She’d help, because he’d asked, but knew she’d try to keep at arms’ length. Quietly steeling herself for the inevitable. Because she couldn’t say no, but she could prepare. Her eyes drifted to the little girl who was leaning against the back of the couch, gesturing to the tree she’d been decorating just a little while ago. They communicated in Russian and even though she couldn’t understand a lick of it, she couldn’t help but smile when the little one’ hands patted Deacon’s face. His eyes found hers and the corners of her mouth ticked upward. “She’s small, she’ll pick it up quickly,” she assured him. “It’ll be harder for me,” she said, and would she even be around to use it much? “But I’ll try,” she finished. She watched as he taught Nadia her name, the little girl’s giggles filling the space. She bounced on her small legs, falling back onto her lap. Zoe’s hand went to her side, reacting in case she slid to the floor. “That’s right,” she replied, smiling and running her fingers through the girl’s short mop of hair. 

Actually, what he needed was some time alone with his thoughts. He had yet another life in his hands, yet another person to protect--what if he couldn’t keep Nadia away from Tommy’s hands, what then? He might not be the poster boy for promoting peace among families, but he didn’t want a child to be caught in the middle of a war. It was bad enough to have to protect Arizona. He let the water run down his back, painting his pale skin red because of its hot temperature. She was right though--Arizona. Nadia looked exactly like him, but he needed proof. If he was going to do something about it, even if it was keeping her, then he needed proof. Just telling people that the small child in the living room was his daughter wasn’t going to cut it. Letting out a sigh, he stepped out of the shower and dried himself off, before putting some clothes on and going back to the living room.

Arizona swallowed thickly, nodding slowly at his beginning train of thought, feeling her insides churning. Her lower lip trembled as he continued. And when the little one’s foot grazed his injury her first instinct was to lean forward, hand extended to check the wound. But she stopped short, freezing for a moment before dropping her hands back into her lap. She was too preoccupied for the short moment to notice the little girl shifting toward her until she felt a small hand on her thigh. Arizona looked down at her wide, curious eyes probably wondering who in the world she was and when her mom was coming back. Zoe offered her a smile, her hand covering the girl’s for a moment with a gentle touch to let her know it was okay, that she was kind. 

She looked back up at Deacon, then twice more her eyes shifted from the little girl’s face to his. She gave him a tired smile. “She looks just like you,” she said, as if that was enough to convince him. He should still take the test, she wouldn’t argue that - ever. But the proof was right on the little one’s features. The bridge of her nose, her blue eyes, and the curve of her lip. She should do as he said he should have told her. She should grab her things and go, say goodbye to him for good. Because there was so much of him hidden, and who knew what would appear out of nowhere next. 

Her family would be arriving soon. Not that evening, but in a couple of days, and if her mother had been difficult enough without a child, he could only imagine the things that she would say the second she spotted Nadia. Deacon wanted to push Arizona away once more. He wanted to keep her away from his life, from his problems, but truth was, if anyone was going to be able to help him with this--with a child, that someone was her, so he was glad that she had decided to stay.

“Thank you.” He nodded once, still feeling like punching himself in the face, because trusting didn’t come easy to him, much less, asking for help. Deacon watched as Nadia stood on the couch, her tiny hands resting on the back of the couch as her curious eyes scanned the place. She pointed at the Christmas tree that Arizona had been decorating and said out loud дерево! Which meant tree in Russian. Deke nodded and replied in her mother language with “Yes, that’s a tree. Do you like trees?” The blonde girl nodded, giggling before reaching up to his face and pressing her tiny hands to his cheeks, calling him papá. With a sigh, he pulled her hands away from his face, but kept them in between his, while his eyes averted to find Zoe’s gaze. “I don’t think she speaks any English, so we’ll have to work on that. We’ll work on your Russian too.” In his opinion, Arizona would sound extremely sexy speaking in Russian. “Nadia, this is Zoe. Can you say ‘Zoe’?” He asked and the little girl tried to repeat the sound that he was saying. He pointed to his chest, but before he could say anything, Nadia pointed at him saying ‘papá’ loudly, before she giggled and stumbled backwards, falling on Arizona’s lap. “Zoe!” She said, tapping on Arizona’s arm.

“I am tiny but powerful,” she replied, without looking back at him as she stood on her toes to hang another decoration. She turned to him, giving him a mischievous grin, “And I can bring you to your knees.” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and burst out laughing a few seconds later. It should have scared her, how easy it was to just let go and just be with him, after all the shutting out they’d both done. And that they were both still doing in their avoidance to talk about it. But it didn’t, all she knew was that she wanted to stay here with him. Even if she didn’t necessarily have the strength or confidence to voice that desire out loud. She smiled and a little shiver went down her spine when he kissed her skin, then slapped his hand away again playfully when he smacked her ass. Arizona shook her head in amusement, because he was right. Her brother and her father had taken a liking to him, the three of them calling her and texting her in the following weeks after the stabbing to ask how he was doing. 

She started to tell him something else as he opened the door, revealing a beautiful, dark-haired woman on the other side holding a child in her arms. Arizona’s eyebrows knit in curiosity and it only grew as Deacon slipped from English to Russian to converse with the woman. She continued putting stuff up, not really trying to overhear their conversation she couldn’t understand anyways. Until she heard ‘papa’ and no matter what language, that word always sounded almost the same. Arizona’s head whipped in the direction of the doorway just as Deacon stepped out and closed it behind himself. She sort of froze in her spot for a moment before getting up and retreating away from the door. 

Arizona tried not getting ahead of herself over one word that may or may not have been what she’d heard. Though there was a child in the woman’s arms. Still, it could easily be about someone else, an ally of his or partner. She distracted herself but putting out food and water for her dogs and gathering up some of the garbage from the decorations and throwing it out. She could hear a mumble argument heating up on the other side of the door and she kept a vigilant ear on it just in case she had to step out and pull Deacon away. That kind of stress was exactly what his doctor had told him not to put himself in. 

The door opened and she looked up, thinking it was Deke when she locked eyes with the little girl who’d mostly been hidden behind Deacon’s frame when he’d opened the door. The little girl’s eyes widened and she detected a hint of fear in them, so Zoe smiled warmly at her. Whoever she was, she couldn’t have been older than three or four and Arizona always had a soft spot for children. The little girl relaxed a smidgen before turning around and stepping back out, her arm binding around Deacon’s leg and her little voice calling out “papa” in a thick but recognizable Russian accent. She almost dropped what she was holding, putting it back down carefully as shock made its way through her system.

She fell back on the couch as the argument outside got harsher, resting her elbows on her knees and covering her face with her hands as she tried to process through everything. Sh heard the little girl begin to cry as the woman left, Deacon calling after her to no avail. She heard him come back in, closing the door behind him and stepping in her direction. Arizona looked up to see the little girl cradled in his arms.

“You’re going to hurt yourself,” was the first thing she could manage to say.

Deacon took a deep breath. He didn’t believe in fate or karma or anything of sorts. He believed in paying for your own sins in this life, and not in another life. He had almost no recollection of the night that he had spent with Talia, but he was fairly certain that he had been drugged. If this child shared the same DNA as he, then that would be the certainly that he needed. Except he wouldn’t be able to take any DNA samples to the lab, so he would have to go to a hospital and fill in a requirement, requesting a paternity test. Nadia was still clinging to him, her little arms wrapped around Deacon’s neck as he made his way to the couch. He wished that he had something to tell her--anything, but all the things that he had in his mind only made him hate himself even more. You should have paid more attention, you should have been more careful, you should have never had that drink with her.

“I want to tell you that you should go if you want to--” He began, sitting down, slowly as he held onto the child with one arm, and supported their weight with the other, in order to make this less painful for him. “--But I can’t.” Once he had sat down, he was going to shift Nadia’s weight, changing her position, so that her small foot wasn’t too close to his recovery wounds, but it was too late, because when the baby moved her foot and accidentally hit him there, Deacon saw stars. His first instinct was to set her down on the couch, so that he could check on his wounds, which prompted the little girl to tap on Zoe’s thigh, looking up at the blonde. “I need to figure out what is going on, I need to know if she’s what Talia says she is, I--need your help.”