𝘈𝘙𝘐 ᥫ᭡.

james kelly still remembered the night where you walked out of his life and never came back.

like any man who had just lost the love of his life, he was devastatingly heartbroken and riddled with anguish each time he’d see you in his dreams. every night before he slept, he found himself begging to god and to the heavens above for you to be brought back to him, hoping that the lord will answer his prayers each morning he woke.

yet, not once have you appeared to him—much to his disappointment.

so he chose to project all of his misery into investing in his own auto mechanics shop, wanting to still fulfill those dreams you encouraged him to pursue—even though you were long gone. he decided to give the dreams he had shared with you a new purpose, a new meaning; but you had already scored yourself deep into his heart, and there was nothing he can do about it.

you, on the other hand, were miles away from your hometown and living your life across the country on the west coast—working your demanding job, while also caring for a daughter.

after leaving james on his front porch that late september night, you had discovered your unexpected pregnancy on the bathroom tiles of your new apartment. once you saw the two pink lines on the test, your thoughts were consumed by the thought that this was the very thing he wanted in his life: fatherhood. you couldn’t help but cry into your pillow ‘til daylight, as being alone in an unfamiliar city—far from your family and the man you had bid goodbye to weeks before—finally sets in.

you had to leave though, it was too good of an offer to pass up. the once in a lifetime job opportunity paid enough to get you out of the outskirts of new orleans and start off on a new slate where you knew you could thrive in.

but obviously, you never planned on getting pregnant—let alone thought of becoming a mother when you were still with james. however, seeing those two lines had flipped your whole world despite your initial shock and terror; and for one last remnant of him, you chose to keep the pregnancy and shower the child with more than enough love for him and for you—vowing to raise them with nothing but unwavering strength.

now three years later, josephine still made your heart swell at every little thing she does—your heart bursting at the seams from the overflowing amount of adoration you had for your daughter.

everyone in your family deeply cherished the girl, not just because she’s the first grandchild, but because of her bubbly laugh and her selfless behavior—and as much as you wanted to claim her as your “mini-me”, josie was the spitting image of her father.

a figure, a person she’s never met.

james, too, was still clueless about the existence of his own daughter—and vice versa. your little girl didn’t know anything about him or what the term “daddy” even meant in that sense, and she’s getting to that age where her curiosity leads her down treacherous roads.

you knew you had to tell her sooner than later; therefore, you didn’t hesitate when accepting the transfer back to new orleans for work—and thankfully, your daughter didn’t throw much of a fit about moving across the country since she was “moving closer to grandma”.

when you finally returned to nola, your mother offered to watch over her whenever you were busy with work; however, knowing your shy daughter, you decided to take advantage of the local daycare in an attempt to bolster josie’s social skills.

so that’s how you ended up here, having an awkward encounter with james’ older brother when picking your daughter up.

“no way, well look who it is,” a bewildered smirk curled up his lips at the sight of you. head instinctively turning towards the sound of the husky voice, you swear your heart stopped beating for just a millisecond, “frankie? frankie, how’ve you been?”

“good, good—y’know, left military life to focus on my little one. how’s it been for you? what’re you doin’ here at the daycare?”

before you could respond, josie ran up to you with the biggest grin ever. “mommy, mommy!”

“hi, sweetie,” you crouch down to engulf her tiny figure into a bear hug, “how was your day? did you have fun?” the girl nodded her head excitedly, “i made this for you!” she handed you a piece of paper that had two messy stick figures drawn with colorful crayons; it was perfect. “awh this is so beautiful, thank you! i’m gonna hang this on the fridge forever and ever! i’ll hold onto this and keep it safe, go say bye-bye to your friends now.”

when she skips off, you slowly turned to face frankie whose expression looked as if a hundred questions flooded his mind, but he could only croak out, “your daughter?”

“yeah, my daughter,” you proudly affirmed. as your eyes drift over to the girl hugging her teachers goodbye, your poker face softened at the sight of her beaming grin. you could never deny her—she was what made you whole.

“that’s amazing,” he patted your upper arm, “i’m happy for you! i guess we can both groan and boast about parenthood and whatnot now.”

“thanks, frankie. i’m happy ‘bout yours, too! it feels like just yesterday when you two got married—tell the missus i said hello.” with a chuckle, he nodded and made a quick joke about his wedding from five years ago before asking, “where’s your husband?”

awkwardly facing away from him at his—totally and very logical—assumption, you sucked in a breath, “don’t got one. josephine’s all i have.”

“oh.”

“yeah, oh.” you knew the older man wasn’t judging you. that wasn’t frankie at all. he was just slightly taken aback since you expressed—in the past—that marriage meant more to you than having kids first, especially as a person who couldn’t see herself with children in the future.

but not everything goes as expected. you just have to follow where the wind blows, that being the path of learning motherhood. it was something you never would’ve thought of experiencing at such a young age—let alone, ever. however, you wouldn’t have had it any other way. regardless of the long stares you receive from passersby on the street with their judgemental looks, you fully embraced your role as a mother.

as frankie surveyed her from the distance, head tilting in concentration, he broke the uneasy silence with a joke, “y’know, you’re not fooling me,” he cleared his throat to recapture your attention, “she’s got jimmy written all over her.”

with your breath caught in your throat, you couldn’t conjure up a witty comeback to his words.

“plus, her name’s a dead giveaway: james joseph kelly, josephine,” he continued as you stiffly stood there, your daughter’s drawing clutched tightly against your chest. it somehow felt like a never ending nightmare. “pretty good, eh?”

“frankie,” you offer him a look, one that washed him cold with the truth. “well shit, y’serious? he’s the father?” anxiously biting your bottom lip with a nod, you pinched the bridge of your nose, “can you keep this to yourself though?”

“hide it from jimmy, you mean?”

“no, well yes, but no! look, frankie, it’s complicated.” after one last expression of conflict on his face, he sighed, “my hands are tied, but all right—he’s gotta learn the truth at some point though. he deserves to know his daughter.”

“i know.”

“we can’t keep this from james forever.”

you thought the universe was playing some cruel joke on you.

when you drove home from working in the city all day, you were already more than exhausted when your car started to make strange noises that originated from the ignition. as you were about to bang your head onto the steering wheel in frustration, an auto repair shop’s sign shined brightly from the distance and you made your way towards it like a moth to a flame.

once you stepped foot into the shop, a wave of faint motor oil immediately hits your nose. scrunching your face in response to the smell, you cleared your throat before searching for a mechanic that would solve your car issues.

however, everything seemed dead with only a singular person working behind the counter. “welcome to kelly’s auto shop, i’ll be right with you in a sec,” a husky voice announced, sensing your presence despite having his head turned back to you. “what can i,” the man quickly scribbled into a notebook before facing forward to tiredly greet his customer, “do for you.”

james’ breath hitched at the sight of you standing right before him, his eyes softening at your familiar figure despite the resurgence of pain he felt in his heart. you looked even more beautiful than he last remembered, ethereal even as you carried yourself with such grace as you entered his shop.

“hey, s’been a long time since i last saw that face,” the corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled, never having felt his heart be this full since you’d left all those years ago.

“james, hi! this yours, the auto shop?” he nodded his head, the corner of his lips tugging into a soft smirk. “you’ve accomplished those dreams, i see. i’m happy for you.”

“thanks.” wiping his greasy hands with an old rag, he followed as you led him to your vehicle parked out in front, “so what seems to be the problem?”

his voice slightly faltered when he saw the kids car seat in the back, but james knew that he had to keep his composure and stay professional—not only for your sake, but for his too.

“there’s this clicking noise whenever i start my car and it was getting super annoying,” you chuckled, oblivious to his inner turmoil, “i really tried pushing through, but after hours of working, it’s definitely something you don’t want to hear when rushing home.”

even when he was numb under his facade, he couldn’t help but betray a smile at the sound of your laughter, “you were never really good at cars,” the man teased as you tried to hide the grin that threatened to curl up your lips. “yeah, still am.”

“came to the right place then.”

popping the hood of your car, he began to work on fixing the ignition coil as you both caught up on the three long years spent apart. that was until your phone started ringing from your purse. james gave you a nod of acknowledgment and understanding before refocusing on completing his task. as you took a step away to answer your mother’s call, you sneakily seized a moment to admire how he looked perched over your vehicle.

after accepting the call from your mother, josephine’s voice echoed from the other line—instantly easing your heart and relaxing the tension you felt from your car troubles. “hi, baby,” you cooed, listening to her as she rambled on about her day shared with her grandmother. james felt himself subconsciously perk up at the affectionate name that slipped effortlessly past your lips; you used to call him baby.

all of a sudden, he was on edge now.

“yeah i’ll be home soon, maybe in an hour or so,” her toddler-like pronunciation had you chuckling as she tried to ask about where you were; unbeknownst to her that you were with her father.

but he misinterpreted your reply: her husband’s fucking clingy, he thinks to himself.

listening as josephine talked about how much she wished to see you right now from missing you this whole morning and afternoon, you frowned at her apparent sadness, “i missed you all day too. once i see you, i’ll give you the biggest hug ever.”

it’s only been a day, he’ll live, the man rolled his eyes, pretending that he was unaffected by your words.

“okay, i’ve gots to go. i love you more, sweetheart,” ending the call, you walked back over to where james was. he mockingly echoed what you said in his head, feigning disgust at how lovey-dovey you were when he was actually hurt.

you seemed so happy without him in your life, and he couldn’t do anything about it.

when you finally left the shop with a relieved smile, james rushed closing up before driving over to frankie’s place—cracking open a beer as he sulkily stared off into the abyss.

after much persuasion from your mother, you decided to spend your sunday afternoon attending the local mass service you spent all of your adolescence going to. she’d thought it would be a clever—and convenient—way to reconnect with the town after years of estrangement.

so here you were, in your teenage church dress that fit too tight on your post-partum body, carrying your daughter on your hip as you spoke to old friends from high school and folks from your past. as expected, people were surprised when you introduced josephine as they were clueless about your pregnancy and life after leaving new orleans; some have asked if you were married or even worse, who the father is, but you always found a way to redirect the conversation after a subtle shake of your head.

“mommy, when are we gonna go?” your daughter yawned, tiredly leaning against your leg as you held onto her tiny hand. “i’m so sorry, sweetie, in a couple more minutes,” she sighed, frowning, “unless you wanna go with grandma to her house instead? mommy has to stay and do grown up talk with her old classmates; but once i’m done, i’m all yours. i promise.” her little pout had your stomach churning from guilt, you were never one to let your daughter down—this being one of the very few times you do.

the shape of her down curled lips and the furrow of her brows made your breath hitch in your throat.

it was a familiar sight.

“the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”, as they say.

once josephine reluctantly agreed, you felt relief course through your veins—at least she wasn’t stubborn with you, something she thankfully didn’t inherit from her father. walking over to your mother’s car, where she leant against with a smile, fate decided to have other plans.

colliding with another on your path to the parking lot, the impact had the stranger’s car keys slipping out of his cupped palm. you immediately whipped around, picking up their key fob off the dewy grass.

“i’m so sorry!” your eyes flickered up to meet the person’s gaze when apologizing, but the words choked in your throat when you recognized the man’s familiar features like a distant memory. “james, hi.”

he stood across from you in an old suit, hair lazily tidied up for church. “hey there, you all right?” out of pure instinct, you clutched onto josephine tightly when you absently nodded in answer—not trusting yourself to use your own voice, knowing that it would fail at this very moment.

james’ attention was then caught by the little girl who clung onto your free hand, a bewildered expression on his face when he took one good look at her—heart dropping to his stomach at the resemblances between them.

that was his little girl.

you studied james’ face as it twisted and turned, searching for words to say at the earth shattering revelation.

mercifully, your mother took josie’s hand amidst the sea of discovery and astonishment, ushering her to the car while telling her you’d tag right along after your talk with a “friend”.

even once they had driven off, the man continued to stare into your eyes with bewilderment, his expression unwavering and sending shivers down your spine. a quiet curse slipped past his lips before veering off to his own vehicle.

you knew he wanted you to follow him, so you do.

after he fumbled to unlock his jeep, james dropped into the driver’s seat with a trembling breath as you opened the door to the passenger’s side. waiting until you had your seatbelt on, he drove to a more secluded area to pull over and talk—far enough from the gathering in town. his head was slightly sagged, anticipation clawing at you while waiting for any sign of life from him.

“is she my daughter?” the words were heavy on his tongue, enough to make or break him.

“yes.”

“did you know when you left me?” when you shook your head no, he let out a sigh of relief as he ran his hand over his teary face. “you should’ve called, been waiting for one since you left me that night.”

“shit, jimmy. you think i wanted to leave? i needed to, i didn’t have a choice. the west offered me a way out of this fuckin’ town and i couldn’t pass it up because i had nothing else going on for me here. i didn’t have a reason to stay.”

“was i not enough for you?”

your heart shattered at his words, feeling it clench tight in your chest. “you know i don’t mean it like that. you were the best thing that happened to me in this shithole. i loved you more than i couldn’t even fathom—and as selfish as it sounds, i left because i loved you.”

he sobbed into his clenched fist, breath shaking when he finally turned to look you in the eye since the confession. “three years i waited for you, waited for a woman who i thought was just a figment of my imagination. when you left, it ached so fuckin’ bad in here,” he weakly pointed to his heart, “i never loved anyone like i loved you. do you know how distraught i was when i saw that little car seat in the back when fixing you up a few days ago? the thought of you possibly moving on and being someone’s missus hurt worse than any sucker punch or cut i’ve gotten—only to find out that you’ve been keepin’ my daughter from me, my own flesh and blood.”

“james,” you intertwined your fingers with his before resting your forehead against where your two hands met, “i know apologies can’t bring the past three years back, but i’m so incredibly sorry for everything. you deserved better. i truly did want to tell you about josephine, but i couldn’t reopen an old wound of yours. that’d be selfish of me.”

“so what? she’s still my daughter. i would’ve welcomed you back with open arms if you had said the word—hell, i’d still do it because i love you even after all this time. i never stopped, not for a second.”

when you finally registered the weight of his confession, your body didn’t waste a second in enveloping him into a kiss full of swirling emotions. he was taken aback from the press of your mouth against his and stilled at the touch, genuinely convinced that this was only another dream and that he already lost you. however, as your hands came up to caress his face, james lets out an agonizing groan before deepening your kiss.

the two of you longed to refamiliarize yourselves with the sensation of each others lips.

no words could ever describe the feeling; it was more than passionate, more than devastating, more than what words could say—the fervor of the kiss engraving itself deep into your mind.

once you both pulled apart, foreheads resting against one another, his breathing hitched at your honest words: “i love you; i truly, deeply love you—and i know josephine will too.”

“josephine? she’s my namesake?” pressing a hand to his chest, the area closest to his heart, you fought back the tears that prickled your eyes, “so she still had a piece of her father.”

“and i want you to have a piece of me too,” james brushed a stray strand of your hair away as he cupped your face in his rough, tattooed hands, “marry me. you don’t gotta give me an answer now or soon because i’ll do it with a real ring, but i’m just putting it out there. i’d love for you both to have the ‘kelly’ name.”

“james, i’d say yes either way.”

he wrapped his arms around you in a tight embrace, holding the back of your head in his palm as if you were the most precious thing in this world—and you were to him, along with the daughter you two share. “are we gonna be okay?”

“i know we will be. we always are.”

At his core, Aizen was a man of science and logic. He knew how genetics worked, he understood it at the cellular and molecular level.

Yet it amazed him every time he looked at his daughter, how she was a spitting image of you. The way her eyes lit up when he picked her up from daycare to the way she smiled or even cried – it was, much to Aizen's dismay, uncanny.

Yet even with your looks, your slight mannerisms (she was her own person after all – that much Aizen and you instilled into her), she was a clever little girl. It amused him and unnerved you.

Children are like sponges – he wonders what else she'll learn from him.

Today though, was just a simple grocery store run. You had asked Aizen to pick up a few things for dinner and your daughter politely asked if she could come along. Manners were important to him, and it is again, of no surprise, she learned them as well.

"Oh Aizen-san, your daughter is so well-behaved!"

"I never met such a polite child!"

He would smile and nod, thanking them for the compliments, but he always wondered about her - was she like him? Perceiving the world around them a bit differently from the rest? He noticed she would be a bit more protective of you, almost like he was.

Strangers would joke and tease how she was a “mini” version of you, but close friends and family knew she was more like her dear father.

Nonetheless, a grocery run with his daughter would provide some interesting insights. She was still small enough to sit in the cart, but he asked her (politely of course) if she wanted to sit. She nodded her head, and she became queen of the cart.

“Do you remember what mommy asked for?” Aizen quizzed her. The way she bit her lip and thought about it was so eerily like you.

“Green onions!”

“Excellent, what else?”

“Hmm… toys?”

Aizen chuckled, "no, I don't think that's what mommy asked for."

She pouted, but without missing a beat, "but mommy loves playing with me."

Interesting, Aizen thought, how she was using a fact about you to cover her own interests. An amused look crossed his face. "If I remember what mommy said, she asked for mirin."

His daughter opened her mouth to say something, but nodded along, clapping her hands. As he pushed the cart down the aisles, he would stop to look at different items. Without fail, he would see, in the corner of his eye, his daughter picking up an item with great interest, and trying carefully to place it into the cart without him knowing.

And now they were in the bakery, looking at the selection of cakes, pastries and other baked goods on display.

"Daddy, up please!" She pleaded, stretching her arms overhead. And who was Aizen to say no? He carefully picked her up out of the cart and steadied her. Her eyes lit up at the assortment of goods that laid in front of her.

Aizen walked slightly away, near the fresh breads and feigned interest in the variety of loaves. He watched his daughter pick up a pre-sliced cake piece and again, place it carefully in the cart.

Once she was successful, she quickly turned around and spotted him immediately. Rushing towards him, she clung to Aizen's leg. Without even a thought, he picked her up, "did you see anything interesting?" He asked her.

She shook her head, placing it on his shoulder. He could see she was getting tired.

"Then lets go home then, mommy must be waiting for us."

Aizen placed her back in the cart, but also began removing some of the items she had placed before. He could see her slowly blink, struggling to stay awake. He gently patted her head as she began to doze.

But he kept one item in the cart - the slice of cake. It happened to be your favourite. He wondered if it was because of you, or if she had also begun to enjoy the taste as well. Curiosity filled his mind as to what was going through his daughter's mind when she was picking up each item.

But Aizen knew better than to wake a sleeping toddler. Although his daughter was well-mannered, she was still a child, and he knew better than to start a tantrum.

But she groggily woke up as soon as they reached home.

"Welcome home!" You beamed, as you picked your daughter from Aizen. "And did you get everything I asked for?" You asked her.

She nodded her head vigorously, "we did! I also got you a bunch of stuff, mommy!"

"You did? Why don't you show me?"

Aizen couldn't help but smile at the sight of his daughter leading you to the kitchen as he carried the groceries. The three of you began to unpack, but your daughter was beginning to huff.

"Daddy," she whined, "where's all the stuff?"

"I'm not sure I know what you're talking about." Aizen lied, wondering what she would do.

She blinked at him - as if your eyes were staring directly at him. He felt a smidge of guilt but held on to his curiosity.

"I got mommy pretty things." She said, her voice cracking, eyes watering instantly.

You looked at the two of them confused, "oh, you don't have to get me anything!" You cooed at her, picking her up. You nuzzled her cheek to comfort her, as she clung on to you tight.

"Did you mean this?" Aizen asked his daughter, holding the cake slice.

She shot up in your arms, "yes! Mommy's favourite!" She giggled.

"You got this for me?" You asked her, "you're too sweet." You smiled, kissing her on her forehead. “Let’s have it together after dinner.”

Aizen had a slight smirk on his face as he continued to observe his daughter. She seemed pleased with your suggestion.

Dinner came with a show, as you watched with amusement as your daughter tried to shove her food on to Aizen’s plate.

“That’s not very nice dear, food is for eating, not playing with.” You chided her. She pouted as she looked at her mess.

“She’s trying to get me full.” Aizen chuckled. “More cake for the two of you.” He smiled, catching on to what she was doing.

Your daughter’s mouth hung open; eyes wide as she got caught, “nuh uh! Daddy you don’t like cake.”

“I do like cake.” Aizen replied calmly, a smile on his face as he wondered where his daughter would go with this. “I especially like the cake mommy makes.”

“Me too! Mommy makes the best cakes.”

You couldn’t help but smile, “you two flatter me so much, how about we make a cake on the weekend?”

Your daughter nodded her head enthusiastically, clapping.

Once dinner was put away and your daughter cleaned up, you brought out the small slice of cake. You cut a piece for your daughter, feeding it to her, but she only took two bites. Aizen himself, didn’t want much of it. You were also full, leaving the remainder for tomorrow. Although your daughter was full, she was excited, “mommy, when is the weekend?”

“A few more days.” You gently patted her head.

“Can it come sooner? I wanna bake a cake with you and daddy now.” She whined.

It was then Aizen realized, the slice of cake wasn’t what she wanted, but to have the three of you make a cake together. He looked at his daughter, who stared back to him, a small smile on her face.

How amusing, Aizen thought, thinking of what other traps and ideas she would have in store for the two of you.