Oliver Sereno

Truth be told, Roman still did not get it.  However, he was not going to be rude to his future son-in-law about his eating habits when they were clearly more healthy than his own.  “I guess if that is what you prefer,” he responded with a shrug.  It would be hard to cook for Oliver, if he was ever presented the opportunity.  After all, he was a werewolf and a mostly meat diet was what was best for him…although he tended to be a heavy meat and potato guy before his transformation too.

“Yeah, each to their own right?” Ollie smiled, looking up at Roman for just a moment before back down at his daughter. The question made Ollie want to giggle a little but of course he didn’t, not wanting to make Roman feel silly for not fully understanding. Why would he after all? Vegetarianism just wasn’t something he was familiar with. “Yeah, so vegetarians eat animal products but just no meat. So eggs, cheese, milk, honey - that kind of thing. Vegans are strictly plant-based, so no animal products. I’m probably closer to vegan than vegetarian, but I’m not too strict so I prefer to just say vegetarian,” he explained with a small shrug.

Her face crumpled at his words and before he could even think, his body had reacted for him, his very being so responsive to Layne that he just had to rush to her, hands cupping her jaw as he pressed a soft, reassuring kiss to her lips. His hands then moved to her hips, gazing down at her with so much love and forgiveness as he shook his head at her words. “No no no. Shhh Layne, that’s not true. Not at all, it’s-“ he sighed, taking a pause as a hand pulled through his curls. “You were angry that I’d put Addie in danger. And I know you know I didn’t mean to, but even still, I… I should’ve been more careful,” he murmured, leaning down to press another soft kiss to her cheek.

His lips meeting hers was so unexpected in this moment. It burned, in the sense that she did not deserve this form of affection from Oliver. Always one with such a refined temperament, she only thought she'd feel better if he fired back at her. Except he never did. Nor did she think he ever would. Standing here acknowledging his actions and being remorseful for them, she truly was in awe of the man she'd given her heart too. Time and time again he kept proving his loyalty and faithfulness to her, to each other, and to their growing family. The fact that she questioned it even for a moment was awful. Yet, she could move forward now. Knowing his intention and her owns. All she ever wants to do is protect them in the end.

The few words that Jeremy had managed to muster meant more to Oliver than the wolf could probably ever know, and it made him so happy to see the smile that spread across Jeremy's face as Oliver thanked him. Jeremy was quiet, often sporting a furrowed brow and a look of concern, and Oliver knew that when he did offer up a smile it was completely sincere. "I am so unbelievably lucky. Don't know what I did to deserve two perfect girls... Someone's looking out for me," he smiled softly, nodding along as he spoke. 

Jeremy continued to smile and nod along appropriately as Oliver spoke, engaging in this way as he was a man of few words though he paused a little when Oliver got to the part where he hoped that Jeremy would attend the wedding. Of course it was a lovely occasion and normally a person would be excited to receive an invitation, Jeremy was happy for them, immensely, but it was also a lot of people, particularly a lot of people he didn't really know and he didn't want to ask after the guest list to see if any of his friends were going. Maybe he would find some time to ask Ryden if he was going but even if he was he would likely be spending the majority of his time there with his partner and Jeremy didn't really mind being a third wheel but he also didn't want to put them in an uncomfortable position of needing to have him around when they wanted privacy.

Layne felt like she could collapse in that moment. Despite everything, he continued to defy her own logic and reason? It was odd and she didn't know how to navigate things. They truly never had an argument of this magnitude in the entirety of their friendship to relationship. Layne wasn't sure how things moved from here, for a part of her was terrified that he wouldn't hold the same amount of respect towards her for her reaction. Yet, when he echoed those three words, a tear rolled down her face as she leaned against the door frame. "Why?" she mustered.

Her face crumpled at his words and before he could even think, his body had reacted for him, his very being so responsive to Layne that he just had to rush to her, hands cupping her jaw as he pressed a soft, reassuring kiss to her lips. His hands then moved to her hips, gazing down at her with so much love and forgiveness as he shook his head at her words. “No no no. Shhh Layne, that’s not true. Not at all, it’s-“ he sighed, taking a pause as a hand pulled through his curls. “You were angry that I’d put Addie in danger. And I know you know I didn’t mean to, but even still, I… I should’ve been more careful,” he murmured, leaning down to press another soft kiss to her cheek.

Layne felt utterly broken and defeated. Now that it had been a few hours since she pulled out of the driveway of her shared home with Oliver, she was replaying everything in her brain. Utterly mortified by her behavior and reaction to wards Ollie, she didn't even know if she could go back and face him after the fact. Something snapped within her at the thought of losing everything. Perhaps it was childhood memories or the need to always protect everyone around her. The adrenaline at an all time high it didn't even register that she was using such hateful words towards Oliver. Layne knew in her heart that he would never let harm come to a single hair on their daughter's head and that it was simply a mistake. Addie was fine. Ollie was fine and that was all that mattered.

The four hours that Layne and Adeline were out of the cottage were absolute torture. Ollie hadn’t been away from Addie for more than a few hours since she had been born, and all he could do was worry about her, worry about Layne, his mind racing as he played their confrontation over and over, trying to dissect what had happened. Once he’d made it inside and had managed to get his tears under control, his breathing more steady, he could think about it properly, try and understand it from Layne’s point of view. She was a new parent, and Ollie knew better than anyone just how much she loved their little girl, how she would do anything to protect her. Perhaps Ollie would’ve reacted similarly if Layne had been the one to start the fire.

The werewolf wondered if he overstepped his boundaries with Oliver, Roman often gave unsolicited advice to people.  Mostly, because he did not want to see the people he cared about go down a dark path.  He wanted to spare them all the heartache if he could.  However, when Oliver thanked him it caused his eyes to widen from the shock.  Not often did he receive a thank you for anything.  “You’re welcome,” he said softly, hoping he did well.  

It almost made Oliver laugh to see how surprised Roman was at his vegetarianism. Layne had previously mentioned that her father was quite a big meat-eater, not that it worried Oliver in the slightest. He always respected whatever anyone else chose to do. As long as they weren’t hurting themselves or others, who was he to judge? “I know, I know. Layne did say you were a big steak guy,” he chuckled softly. “I don’t know, I think it’s just because I have that extra connection to nature. I find it hard even eating plants sometimes, which I know is ridiculous.. but when you can communicate with them, hear their thoughts… I don’t know. You start to realise that all living things are just little beings, in their own strange ways. Besides, I’m not really a huge fan of the tase of meet,” he shrugged.

Upon seeing the welling glisten of emotions in the fae male beside him, Jeremy half wondered if he perhaps had said the wrong thing and unknowingly caused offense, about to fumble out an awkward apology but Oliver instead thanked him and gave him a pat on the back and this produced a smile of relief to grace the usual hardened expression of the werewolf man. He was happy for him, really truly happy for him and he responded in kind by resting his own hand on the other man's shoulder to give him an warm squeeze. "Y-you're l-lu-lucky. H-ha-ap-p-py f--for y-y-y-ou." He didn't know Layne all too much, only just ran into her briefly at the auto shop and that interaction hadn't entirely gone well mostly because he was his usual awkward self so he tried not to linger on it too much.

The few words that Jeremy had managed to muster meant more to Oliver than the wolf could probably ever know, and it made him so happy to see the smile that spread across Jeremy's face as Oliver thanked him. Jeremy was quiet, often sporting a furrowed brow and a look of concern, and Oliver knew that when he did offer up a smile it was completely sincere. "I am so unbelievably lucky. Don't know what I did to deserve two perfect girls... Someone's looking out for me," he smiled softly, nodding along as he spoke. 

Layne didn't care what he had to say. Quickly, she placed Addie in her rocker, tossing the pacifier in her mouth to soother her while she got their things. Collecting the diaper bag from the nursery, she tossed some extra clothes in there before quickly running into her shared room with Oliver to pack an overnight bag for herself. Tuning him out to the best of her abilities, she just did not care to be in the same space with him. Grace? Unreasonable? The hypocrisy of it all. "You're so fucking worried about me, you can't even take care of your damn self! Look what happened!"

Confusion flooded Ollie, mixing with his anger and hurt, an unpleasant cocktail of emotions which he didn't know what to do with. The hallmark of his relationship with Layne had always been that the pair were good at listening to each other, good at being patient and understanding, standing by the other while they figured things out. Ollie couldn't remember a time when he'd ever seen Layne this angry - particularly not at him - and it scared him. He felt like he was arguing wih a stranger, was seeing a side to Layne that he never thought he would, and all he wanted to do was close the gap between them and pull her close. Kiss her, hug her, make everything better once more. But that was not what Layne wanted, that much was evident from the erratic way she was grabbing her belongings and heading for the door.

Even if it was just them attributing more awareness to a newborn than one actually had, it still warmed Minho’s heart to hear that she wanted to meet him and wouldn’t mind being held by him, even if he looked like no one she might’ve been used to. He nodded seriously when Oliver warned him of how flimsy and fragile she still was, making sure that the cradle of his arms that accepted her was safe and comfortable. He had never been so careful with anything else as he was careful with holding Addie. Smiling brightly and completely innocently, the first such smile on Minho’s face ever since the mist rolled into town, the older fae’s heart was full to the brim knowing that he was doing good at holding the little girl. Grateful for the support of the pillow Oliver had tucked under his arms, he relaxed a little, so the baby wouldn’t feel the tension of him being unused to holding children. It was actually something he found he’d be very quick to get used to, and it made him a little sad somewhere in the back of his mind.

The new father relaxed as soon as his daughter did, resting back against the soft cushioning of the sofa once satisfied that she was settled and fast asleep once more. There was something overwhelmingly lovely about getting to introduce her to his friends and Layne’s, and Minho in particular. The fellow fae had been so enthusiastic and supportive about the entire pregnancy from the beginning and throughout, and so to now be sitting here with his dear friend and new baby felt pretty special. Ollie tried to take note of every detail of the moment, knowing he would want to replay it and relive it in his mind again and again for many years to come.

“Understandable, but it is a part of who you are and might be cathartic to go yourself and feel connected to that part of your family.”  The werewolf shrugged, he was not sure what Oliver would find in the other realm.  Or what he could potentially learn about his fae side.  Still, the older man thought it would be beneficial.  “There is that possibility, but I think you would regret it more if you didn’t go and learn about that part of you.”

Oliver nodded slowly as Roman spoke, a little surprised at the older man’s insights. He was giving Oliver good advice, reassurance even, something which Ollie never received from his own father. It was a stranger feeling - he had always been so suspicious of Roman, anxious that the older man would mess up again and disappoint his daughter once more. But what Ollie had failed to remember was that with Roman’s age and experience came wisdom. What’s more, he loved his kids. And Oliver was no apart of his family. Maybe there was room for the pair to become closer. A pseudo father and son of sorts. The thought made Oliver smile softly and he looked over at Roman, letting out a hum of agreement. 

How careless was he? Layne could understand that they were both exhausted and tired in different ways, but not once did she put their daughter's life in jeopardy. Everyone was so concerned with her not burning out and juggling far too much yet here was Oliver, left with a simple task of making dinner and watching their child. Yet, he screwed up undoubtedly. The hypocrisy of it all. Clinging to Addie she placed a bout of kisses upon her daughter's head, rocking her back and forth whispering how much she loved her. Completely ignoring Oliver's apology, she was irritated at this point. Her pregnancy hadn't been an easy one, let alone the idea of being a mother had once been such a foreign concept. Now that it was potentially threatened, her entire demeanor had shifted towards him.

Never before had Layne spoken to him like this, and the result was a completely shocked Ollie, eyes wide and brow creased with anger as his nostrils flared, looking down at the baby in his arms and then back up at her furious face. “I obviously didn’t do it on purpose Layne! You know how much I adore our girl - I would do anything for her. I would never, ever do something that would harm her on purpose. It was a simple mistake - I’m exhausted, you know neither of us have been sleeping- I just drifted off. You need to show me a little bit of grace here Layne, you’re being unreasonable,” he huffed, angry tears welling up in his eyes as he followed her inside, stepping close behind her.

“Make sense,” the older man responded.  Roman shook his head, his daughter hadn’t talked much about Oliver to him.  A lot had to do with the strain on their relationship, something he was trying to fix but felt at a loss on how to do so.  “Sorry to hear about your mother,” he sincerely said, remembering the death of his own mother and how tragic it had been.  “Have you thought about visiting?  Seeing where your mother is from?”  Roman didn’t know much about faes, most of his friends tended to be werewolves or humans, but he did like the fae.  “I think that is great, her being connected.”

Roman’s tone was completely sincere as he offered his condolences, and Oliver looked up at him with a small, sad smile. He knew that the man had experienced great grief - Layne had explained how her grandmother had died, and how Carina had died also. It must have been extremely painful for Roman, and in that way he could relate to the older wolf. “I have, yes,” he nodded slowly. “It’s just quite a nerve-wracking thought… this world I’ve dreamt about for so long, thought about and imagined… what if it isn’t what I hoped for? What if I- if I discover something I didn’t want to know?”

Layne hadn't even heard Ollie when she walked into the kitchen. Tunnel-vision had kicked in and putting out whatever harm could come to their daughter took precedent. It had happened so quickly and she hadn't even realized what happened with herself, only noticing from her peripheral that her fiancé took her daughter out back. Turning the fans on over the stove, she quickly tossed the burnt towel into the sink a well before getting another dish towel to fan the smoke away from the alarm. For any normal human, their eyes and throat may have become quickly irritated by the smoke lingering in the air. However, in the case that she essentially a walking inferno, it had no effect on Layne. Opening up some further windows in the cottage to help with the ventilation, she quickly met Oliver and Addie outside.

Oliver supposed that this was one of the only benefits of Layne’s newfound powers - at first he was filled with anxiety at the fact that she had yet to emerge from the smoky kitchen, but then he remembered that she was immune to fire, in fact she could create it herself. Hopefully it would be easy enough to get whatever had happened under control. The new father stood anxiously, cradling his baby to his chest as he waited for his fiancé to returned.

Layne hadn't realized how overdue she was when it came to pampering and focusing on herself. Back in Chicago she usually went to the spa to get at the minimum a facial once a month. However, since she step foot back in Opulence, she'd had been relentlessly taking care of everyone, trying to mend broken pieces, and help her hometown from imploding on itself. The stressors of the job had gotten to her first, which is why she had decided to take a leap of faith in a new career change altogether. However, the family woes would forever be embedded in her life and now she was a mother to a newborn and trying to balance that of being a fiancé and soon-to-be wife. It was the perfect thing she needed in this moment and driving back home from the spa she felt so rejuvenated and energized.

The sound of his name called so urgently by Layne had his eyes open quickly, frowning a little as he tried to gather his bearings. He looked down at Addie who was still happily snoozing away, and then up in the direction of Layne’s voice, eyes widening as his senses were suddenly overwhelmed by the smoke that was issuing from the kitchen. “Fuck! Layne! Don’t go in there baby come back here,” he called, his voice urgent as he leant down to scoop the baby up. She let out a discontented little mewling sound, her tiny features scrunching up as she squirmed in his arms, clearly deeply unimpressed at being woken so suddenly from her nap. 

Jeremy was grateful for Oliver's assistance, the absolute last thing he would want to do was cut the stems too far down or somehow ruin the flower. He had always been big, broad shoulders and an intimidating set of features accented by the musculature of his physique that made him out to be more than he felt he was; outwardly he was akin to a tank but inwardly he felt small and this caused him to sometimes move awkwardly, uncomfortable to the skin that did not match. Becoming a werewolf had helped his clumsiness, or rather it was the enhancement to his senses and reaction time that would make it easier for him to correct any mistakes but the mist now removed that enhancement and he was back to his usual self. It was an adjustment.

The wolf caught on quickly to the technique Oliver had shown him, his large fingers moving with an unforeseen agility as he began to slowly build up a pile of colourful blooms. The sound of the birds chirping and the lazy hum of a bumblebee created a soothing soundscape, and steady snip of the clippers only adding to the ambience, punctuating Ollie’s words somewhat as he spoke. Oliver’s eyes found Jeremy’s own as the man began to speak, a smile on the fae’s face as he waited patiently for Jeremy to get his words out. It meant a lot that he wanted to try and speak, to share such a lovely compliment with the new father, and the emotions that were just below the surface at all times for Oliver (due to a combination of a lack of sleep and the craziness of being a new parent) made themselves very apparent, his eyes welling with tears that he was quick to blink away. 

Little did Roman realize that by his facial expression, he hurt his future son-in-law.  Things were just different from back in his day, it at times felt the world was upside down with all the social progression that has taken place over the last few decades.  Although Roman was learning and doing better, he still had a ways to go when it came to these things and hopefully everyone had the patience to handle it.

“Yeah… it’s made me want to learn a bit more about my mother and her fae lineage,” Ollie explained quietly, glancing up at Roman and then back down at the little girl. “I don’t know if Layne’s talked to you much about my family…? My mother died when I was very young, and she was the fae of my two parents. My father never really talked about her much, and we grew apart as I got older… I’ve never even visited the fae realm,” he shared, offering Roman a small smile. “But I want to. Want to make sure this little one feels connected to her lineage. It’s a good reason for me to find out some more too,” he hummed.