legacy

➖

ANDRES shakes his head towards Marisol and gives her a look indicating that he wasn’t in possession of the keys and he was attempting to break in but he hadn’t wanted to officer to know as much. “No, I don’t have them. I’m pretty sure that I handed them to you before we went in shopping.” His hands moved over his person and then he sighed, looking back at her. We should go back in.”

When the officer left, he shook his head and let out a small sigh because it had been too close for comfort. “Oh, with that ego, probably.” He muttered beneath his breath as he looked at the items and then stepped forward. “How’s she going? Must be new for you.”

-

“Close call,” she lets herself laugh, her eyes following the cop as he rounds the corner and moves out of sight. Marisol pulls her keys out of her purse loops the ring around her index finger. “How lucky are you that I’m around to save your ass.” She presses the remote start button, still enjoying that feature even if she is just a few feet from the vehicle. She’s still not quite used to driving something made in this decade. 

“She’s good. Settling in and everything. We’ve been trying to make it seamless, for her. The transition. But it’s never going to be 100% smooth sailing.” She leads Andres to the car, lifting the hatch over her head. “It’s different for sure. I’ve never spent this much time around kids before.” It wasn’t just Leighton. It was the army of other Thane kids that she’d only seen over dinners and parties. They seemed to have absorbed the newest addition to their family into their little circle without question. “Thanks for carrying those,” she says, leaning against the side of her car. “Now where are you taking that thing?” Marisol nods toward the car he’d obviously been trying to break into.

@marisolsteel​

“I would be pissed at you ignoring my desperate plea for a friend but I’m assuming there’s a good reason for that,” she mentions with a smile, handing over the coffee that she’d brung Marisol. Summer knew that Marisol was going through some interesting life changes and obviously, couldn’t hold it against her. She could only imagine what it was like for a significant other to show up with a kid one day. Marisol was a good person for helping where she could. “I thought about putting wine in the coffee cup for you but I couldn’t decide if alcohol or caffeine were what you needed these days. They should really make a caffeinated wine. — Don’t take that. I’m patenting it. Put it down in my growing list of brilliant ideas.”

-

“Have I ever told you that you’re my hero?” Marisol eagerly accepts the coffee and pulls Summer into the house. She’s been living off of house brewed coffee ever since she started working at home more and missed all the fancy touches of a coffee shop. “We’ve probably got some bourbon around here if it’s going to be that kind of party.” Marisol makes quick work of shoving some paperwork out of the way on the dining room table that she’s claimed as her makeshift office for the time being. “I hope you’re keeping a running list of all of these ideas. I better get a cut of caffeine wine for being your muse.”

.

“Already on that,” Jer said, an eyebrow raised. “Got a handful of prospects coming by in the next few days to come help with installing the shit I ordered. Though you and I will have to do the important ones because I don’t trust half of them to tie their own shoes.” Grinning a bit and rubbing his jaw, Jer raised an eyebrow at her while it seemed like Marisol mulled over what to say next. “Yeah I mentioned you to the social worker. She’ll want to meet you,” Leaning back in his seat, the mechanic huffed a bit. “Though I can’t know exactly when she’s coming - told me that ruins the point of surprise check ins.” Rolling his eyes slightly, a rough hand reached out and pushed some hair out of Marisol’s face. “I know I can. And you know you can com to me about anything, right?” Stroking her cheek just slightly, Jer shakes his head. “I wasn’t keeping it from you because I didn’t trust you. I just didn’t want to make preparations and have this not be true.” Leaning in to press a kiss to her forehead, Jer gave Marisol a smile. “We’ll deal with the big stuff together, yeah?”

-

“Give me a power tool and tell me what needs to be installed and I’m on it. This place will look like a daycare when it’s done.” She smiles as he brushes her hair aside and presses a kiss into her forehead. Marisol has a long history of putting her trust in men who only ended up disappointing her. It’s a comfort to know that Jer has never been in that category, even if she does find it difficult to let go of the creeping feeling of doubt that crawls up the back of her neck when she least expects it. If she can’t trust herself in this situation, at least she knows she can trust Jer. And she does. “I can work from home for a little while. Until things are settled. I’ll be around in case anyone decides to drop in.”

➖

ANDRES smiles at her and hisses under his breath in the hope that he’d help her. Luckily it’s Marisol and she knows just how wrong things can go if he fucks this up. Luckily, she doesn’t think twice and she goes with it. “Yeah, but I thought you had them. Can you check your bag?” He asks as he grabs her bags and then peers over his shoulder at the officer. “I think we’re all good here.” Hopefully the smile is enough to tell the police officer to move on because Marisol and already said it was her car. 

“Maybe we should check inside. I think you put them down in the first store.” He was about to turn his back when he heard the police man tell them to have a good day. Maybe he didn’t want to stick around while they went around the mall to find the missing set of keys. “What a fucking prick.” Andres muttered under his breath and groaned. “Thanks for that.” Moving to the car, he placed her items on the hook. “You got bricks in there? Jesus. Want me to take them to your car?”

-

This is, perhaps, easier than it should be. She slips so naturally into the cover story Andres needs, nothing in her caring that she’s lying to a cop. Marisol makes a show of fishing through her purse. “I thought I handed them to you at check out,” she mutters, loud enough for the officer to hear her. “Shit. They’re not in here. You really don’t have them?” Her shoulders slump, defeated. 

Marisol had been committed, ready to carry this on for as long as necessary. But the officer gives them an easy out before she has to pretend to retrace her steps looking for imaginary keys when all she wants to do is go home. “You too, officer. Thanks,” she makes her voice pleasant but exacerbated, still playing the role until she’s sure he’s gone. “You think he’s the type to circle back?” she asks, trying to get Andres’ read on the cop. “Okay, it’s so not that heavy don’t be a baby. It’s just some stuff for Leighton.”

.

He wasn’t really expecting her to get up and leave, or to scoff and say she didn’t want a baby in the house. But Jer couldn’t help the sagging of his shoulders in relief when Marisol spoke. Bringing their joined hands up to kiss her knuckles Jer gave her a faint smile. “I love you too,” He hummed, pocketing his phone as he considered the schedule he figured out with Leighton’s grandmother. “This weekend. We’re easing her into staying here as we get everything set up. I’m stealing one of my brother’s old cribs and repainting the guest room.” His smile broadening just slightly, Jer leaned back in his seat, rubbing his jaw. “Gunna have to lay low for a bit. Few months of random check in’s with a case worker to make sure I’m actually a fit enough parent.”

-

“That doesn’t give us a lot of time to toddler proof this place,” she says, letting herself slouch back in her seat. Mentally, she’s already making a list of things they’ll need and things they’ll need to figure out. “And hopefully having an upstanding live-in girlfriend with a squeaky clean record will help with the case worker. I wanna be here for that stuff.” 

Beyond all the dread and anxiety buzzing in her chest is another feeling that she hadn’t expected. Maybe it’s just a whole new bundle of nerves she’d only just discovered. But somehow it also feels a little bit like excitement. Still, there’s a nagging thought that wants to make itself known. “And um,” Marisol bites the inside of her lip, “you know you can tell me stuff, right? I know this was because you wanted to make sure but... I want you to know that you can trust me. Like, with the big stuff like this. I’m here for you.”

♣️

She hums when Marisol says that it doesn’t suck. While she had said it would be okay if it did, Rowan would be lying if she said that was entirely honest. It had been a bit of a trick question and while she wouldn’t have told Jer whatever Marisol said today, there was no denying that Rowan would remember it all and make her own judgements and assumptions accordingly. A part of her is, admittedly, still waiting to see just how serious Jer and Marisol are about each other — Jer seems to have a string of women who are always committed and serious until something happens and suddenly they aren’t, leaving her brother in law a little more broken than he ever lets on. An unexpected two year old certainly wouldn’t be an unreasonable thing to cut ties over, but Rowan is pleasantly surprised to see that Marisol isn’t running for the hills. At least, not yet.

“I don’t think you’re overthinking it,” she admits with a shake of her head. The circumstances had been much different when she and Andy had taken in the twins — the plan had always been to adopt them, their biological parents not in the picture and the fact that they were babies — but the first few months had felt a little like walking a tightrope, trying to figure out how to appropriately play a parental role for them. “Dunno if I have any answers for you, though. I guess it all kinda depends on what both of you want, right? Like… Do you wanna be dads friend or do you want to be her step-mom? Different roles, different responsibilities.” Luckily Leighton is still young enough that even if Marisol and Jer are in way over their heads, the chances of her noticing are pretty slim. “Has Jer said anything about it?”

Marisol lets Rowan’s questions hang in the air for a moment, allowing her a chance to consider her answers. She’s been so careful lately, about how she talks about the situation. “I told Jer I wanna be all in,” she says, echoing the conversation they’d had the night he told her about Leighton. “I love Jer. I want to be with him. Like... in a long term way, you know? And things were moving at a comfortable pace, but this feels like we got catapulted like, five years down the line. Even if I got pregnant tomorrow we’d have almost a year to get ready for it. You know? It’s a big adjustment. For both of us.” 

And that’s not even factoring in the lingering worry that something catastrophic is going to happen. “We didn’t set out ground rules or anything like that. I think he was just relieved that I didn’t run straight through the wall Kool-Aid Man style.” She lets herself laugh, as the breeze tugs at her hair, whipping it annoyingly across her face. Marisol rakes her fingers through it, pulling it back and wrapping it in a loose bun on top of her head. Her hands fall into the space between her crossed legs and she lets out an exhale of nervous energy. “She’s a great kid. I wanna be good at this.”

"I don't know. When I left for college I didn't think I'd ever come back but... things happened and I ended up back here. And now? Jer's here. And, you know, Leighton... The rest of his family. So, whatever plans I had to leave again aren't really plans anymore, I guess."

"Probably Cat. She's tough and between the two of us I'm pretty sure we'd be able to keep ourselves alive and get back to civilization."

"I believe in love? And that people have the capacity to really fucking love with their whole bodies. I think people interpret what it means to be someone's soulmate in too many different ways for that word to really have any meaning. Like? Soulmate as in one person who is just made for you? I don't buy that. It's kinda depressing to think that there's only one shot at that Big Love feeling, you know?"

"Marry River for sure. They're cute and seem like a lot of fun to hang with. I wanna say fuck Seth, but I don't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that's my answer. Ugh. Hopefully he never sees this. And Kill Cal, I guess."

"Having kids has never really been a priority for me. Like? It's a thing that people do when the time is right and the time has never felt just right yet in my life. I'm not running to the gyno tomorrow to get my IUD yanked out or anything, especially not while we're still getting used to having Leighton. And I don't think loving Leighton is ever going to be a problem. Have you met her?"

"It was... shocking. At first. Like, it all happened so suddenly. And it was a little scary. Actually, it's still a little scary. And I think for a minute the news felt like something that was going to like... I dunno. Disrupt my life and my plans and my goals. Like, the timing was bad or something. But, the longer she's here, the more I realize that I'm actually in a really good place in my life, which I forget sometimes. And, you know, big picture, it's actually not like a meteor crashed into my life. Sorry, I still don't really know how to talk about that feeling without sounding like an asshole so I just end up rambling. Short answer, I'm adjusting and it's going better than I expected."

"So, I've kinda always really admired the Thanes? Like, they're all just really close and they're like a real family. And my whole life it's just been me and Otto--who barely counts as a dad. I'd be lying if I pretended like getting to be part of a family isn't... like? Appealing. That being said, the fact that they're all so close makes them feel like they've created this impenetrable fortress. I don't know how... um, open they are. To me. Especially with the whole Otto and Reina of it all."

STARTER FOR ANYONE

LOCATION: ON THE STREETS

“Officer, I’m not trying to break into the fucking car…” Andres had pinched the bridge of his nose. The thing was, the car belonged to someone who he’d disposed of and now he was meant to get rid of the car as well. Just as the police officer was about to enter the license plate to get the information, Andres pointed towards a nearby passerby. 

“Ah! Here’s the owner now. I was waiting for them to come out of the store.” He marched up to the person with a pained smile on his face. “I’ll give you a hundred dollars if you play along.” A decent deal, he felt. If not, he’d probably have to explain this whole scenario to his shit lawyer who would cost him an arm and a damn leg. 

-

Marisol doesn’t have enough arms to carry all the bags she’d filled at the farmer’s market. Determined to find a vegetable that Leighton will eat this week, she’d bought just a little of everything. For a moment, she stands on the sidewalk, scanning the parking spots for her car before she remembers that she’s not looking for her old black Honda with chipped paint on the hood and the faintest smell of cigarette smoke clinging to the fabric seats left over from college. Her eyes pass right over the new SUV twice before she remembers that it’s hers. 

The pause, apparently, is just long enough for someone to approach her. Andres, one of her father’s associates. Before she can say hello, she notices the serious look on his face and is quickly commanded to play along. “Perfect timing,” she says, plastering on a broad smile on her face as she shifts an armful of bags to him before she can object. “You have my keys? I was worried I’d be out here holding this stuff forever.”

-

Bowie offers a grateful ‘thank you’ as they place their breakfast down onto the table and ease into their seat. “That would be me,” They smile at the way Marisol recalls their name, though they wouldn’t have been hurt, offended, or mad in the slightest if that hadn’t been the case and they had to remind her. Besides, it seemed the woman had quite a bit on her mind at disco night. “You look all professional and pretty, Miss Marisol,” They compliment her as they cross their legs underneath the shared table. That’s the cool thing about events like the one at Skateland - meeting new people while they’re all dressed up in costumes or fancy clothes they typically wouldn’t wear and then getting to see them again in everyday life. Something about it has always been so endlessly interesting to Bowie. “See, baby, I love comin’ here in the morning for that very reason. I’m nosy,” They admit with a laugh. “I love me some good ol’ people watching before work.”

-

“Thank you,” she laughs, tugging at her shirt as if Bowie’s compliment had just reminded her that she was wearing one at all. “My favorite thing about my job is getting all dressed up for a two hour meeting that could have been an email but instead I’m forced to sit next to a cluster of twenty-five year old boys in polos and jeans who think they’re one bitcoin purchase away from being Elon Musk or whatever.” Marisol rolls her eyes, offering Bowie a shrug as an apology for her minor rant. “It seems like in a place like this you’d just end up watching the same people every day. Or does that make it more interesting? Like you’re really learning about them.”