Someone Gave Me The Key To Life

“Oh…. Is an averversary like a birthday?” she asked. Calliope giggled. Diona was usually pretty good at picking up words when she heard them, but when she messed up, it was the cutest thing ever.

“It’s kinda like a birthday, I guess,” she answered.  "But it’s like the birthday of me and RJ being date-y thingies. Of… of us being a family, kind of, I guess,“ she reasoned, her fingers fidgeting in her lap.

RJ nodded matter-of-factly. “Exactly. It’s the birthday of our family.” He smirked, playfully scrunching up his nose to Diona. “So happy family birthday, Miss Diona... Grimleigh...” He thought for a moment. “...Evershaw... Yeah.” He smiled, kissing the top of Diona’s head. “Evershaw it is.”

He sighed contently, letting Diona sit on his leg. “And as long as you and your mother don’t get sick of me, this’ll be the first of many family birthdays.”

Calliope didn’t have time to explain that cookies didn’t take very long to make before Diona came stumbling out of her room. She rubbed her eyes some more before resting her thumb in her mouth. “I don’t know. Is it Mommy’s birthday?”

“No, Little Bear. My birthday is in January, remember?”

“Oh. …Is it Daddy’s?” she asked, looking up at him.

RJ smiled, rubbing his nose against Diona’s. “Nope. My birthday’s the first of August, remember?” He embraced the small girl gently. “Your mom and I have been together for a year now. We’re gonna celebrate something called an ‘anniversary’. Isn’t that cool?”

In one year, so much had changed. RJ and Calliope had fallen in love, moved in together, and moved to Washington, D.C. (with Diona, of course). They had been together for so long now that RJ wondered if Diona even remembered a time before he and Cal had dated...

“Uh-huh. It’s been the bestiest years of my life.” It was the best one period. She loved RJ so much, and not having to be scared of him at the same time like before. She pouted. “I want cookies now, though. Why does Little Bear always have to take naps when I wanna do fun thingies?” She did remember that, and thinking about it now, she started to blush. “I just didn’t want anything bad to happen.You’re the first person I’ve dated her whole life.“

RJ grinned. “Years of your life? I hope that’s a good thing.” He sat up, leaning gently on Calliope. “We could always start them while she’s asleep... I’m sure the smell’ll wake her up before we get too far.” He murmured, softly kissing his girlfriend’s pout. A few seconds into their kiss, RJ heard the pitter-patter of tiny feet, only to turn and see Diona standing there in her pajamas, holding a stuffed animal and sleepily rubbing her eyes.

The blond couldn’t help but laugh a little, holding his arms out wide. “Hey there, Goober. Someone has good timing.” The little girl hobbled over and climbed up the couch, nearly jumping into RJ’s arms. “Your mom and I were just discussing how we’re gonna celebrate something very special. Can you guess what we’re celebrating?”

“Catbug, it’s almost been a whole year since we met,” Calliope gushed, bouncing up and down on the couch a little. She remembered how grateful she was to him for fixing her nails and how quickly it grew from there. “I just realized we’ve been together almost as long as we’ve known each other too. I should makes up anniversary cookies and stuffs.”

(rj-everleigh)

RJ smiled, lying down on the couch so that his recently re-dyed hair was in his girlfriend’s lap. “So that means we’ve almost been together a whole year? Time really does go by fast.” He sat up and kissed Cal softly, promptly lying back down. “Anniversary cookies sound delicious, Lils. But maybe we should wait until Koala wakes up from her nap. I’m sure she’d wanna celebrate with us too. You know how much she loves spending time with her ‘dad’ lately.” RJ couldn’t help but smile wider, “Remember how much you freaked when she started calling me that?”

Calliope’s eyes followed Diona as she scampered off to her new room, returning to the floor before her once the little girl disappeared past the threshold. She bite her lip again, feeling her throat start to tighten. She fought hard to not sound like she was on the verge of tears as she spoke but failed, immediately, her voice breaking. “…We’re just really far away from Frankie and Ransom,“ she murmured.

"Lils...” RJ sighed, stepping towards Calliope and pulling her into his embrace, rubbing small circles on her back as she spoke. “Hey, hey...” He started, gently hugging her a bit tighter. “It’s hard to be away from Cloverbrook, I know. I miss my dads and Zor... but this a great experience for all 3 of us.” He pulled back slightly, trying to meet his girlfriend’s eyes. “How about we start planning a trip for Ransom and Frankie to come see us?” He asked, giving a reassuring smile.

Calliope bit her lip as her eyes fell to the floor quickly. “We can do that, if you want…,“ she conceded. She peaked back up at him and, seeing the pout on his face, her eyebrows knitted again and she took his hand. “Please don’t be sad, Catbug. I’m happy we moved in together and stuff, promise. I love the house lots. Really. We can got out for pizza and ice cream and stuff and celebrate, OK?“

RJ couldn’t help but frown a little. He whispered in Diona’s ear and set her down, letting the small girl hobble away to go look at her new play room. Once Diona was gone, RJ took one step closer, watching his girlfriend’s eyes. “Lils... what’s wrong?” he started softly, “It’s been almost 2 years. I know you don’t ramble and redirect except when something’s not right... please don’t lie to me...”

“No, I don’t mind making something,“ she argued, staring up at him with her eyebrows slightly knitted. “I love cooking for you and Little Bear and stuff. Really, it’s OK.“ She didn’t want him to think she regretted moving with him. Of course, she didn’t, but she was scared. She hadn’t been this far away from her sister for years, or Ransom, or any of her other friends. “‘Sides, it’ll be cheaper and stuff, and we can just stay home and watch movies and have hugs and cuddles.“

RJ nodded, re-adjusting to letting Diona balance on his shoulder. “I know you do, Butterfly. But it’s our first full day here. Why don’t we just celebrate a little?” He asked, while Calliope’s daughter played mindlessly in his hair. “Watching movies and having hugs and cuddles sounds great. We can do it all night. But we can still go out to eat first. And you know I don’t really like talking about it, but we don’t have to worry too much about whether something’s cheap or not...” He added, shifting awkwardly. RJ could sense that his girlfriend was nervous about something, but he just couldn’t put his finger on what, so he did his best to guess again. “...If you’re nervous about the house, I made sure it got child proofed for Koala...”

“Mommy’s in the kitchen making thingies,” Diona answered. “She said it was a surprise.” Calliope had felt anxious even since she and RJ had decided to move in together. Not just move in together, but buy a place together, share rent, and bills, and the lease. It was a really big step. So, the best solution she could think of was to start with smores and probably end up with an impromptu Thanksgiving dinner, if the nerves kept up.  She brought the plate out for them before asking, somewhat feverishly, “Do you think we should have brownies or cupcakes? And should we have spaghetti or lasagna, cause I could to either one. Or maybe both. or maybe I could make a pizza. Yeah, pizza’s good. …But what do I put on it?“

RJ laughed, “If it was a surprise, you weren’t supposed to tell me, you little goof!” He said playfully, tickling Diona’s stomach. Di squirmed, giggling brightly and, once RJ felt she had had enough, he stopped and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead. Around that time was when Calliope had walked in with the plate of smores. “Hey, thanks, Lils--...” He started, only to be cut off by his girlfriend’s nervous rambling. “Hey, hey, hey... How ‘bout we just find a pizza place?” He asked, shifting his weight so that he could hug his girlfriend while Diona clung to his side. “We just moved in, Lils. Neither of us are gonna be slaving over a hot stove today, okay? I know things are new, but relocating out here is one of the smartest thing Curl Up has ever done. We’re already booked for the next month.” He added, doing his best to guess what she was nervous about.

Cal: "No, you were just trying to be a good friend, and I was being all stupid and worrying about nothing like I always do and messing everything up and... a-and... I, I love you, too, b-but I don't, I don't know if you should love me cause I just.... I'm not a very good person."

Cal: "I, I-I'm sorry, I thought.... I didn't know. I, I just got worried that you.... I'm sorry...."

Cal: "... Do... do you really mean that? Th-that you love me?"

RJ: "Stop. Don't apologize. I should have just told you."

Cal: "I'm not shutting you out. I didn't say you couldn't come over or nothing. You're the one who doesn't want us over your house anymore, and instead of saying why you're pretending it's cause it's messy over there like either of us would care."

RJ: "Ugh! Cal, Robin's homeless right now and he's living with me for a while. He's embarrassed about it and doesn't want anyone to know. He said if you came over, he'd leave through the back door. I'm afraid if he does, it'll be like last time when he left and didn't come back for like 2 weeks until I physically went and found him. He was alone and starving and, if he had any money to his name, I know he would have been high off his ass again too. I don't want him to have to go through that a 3rd time. I know I wasn't honest, but it's only because I promised him not tell anyone."

Cal: ...OK, I guess.

Cal: I'll see you soon. Unless you don't want to come over anymore.

Cal: You don't have to cook for us if you do come over.

RJ: Calilope! You're shutting me out for no reason. Why are you having so much trouble just trusting me?

RJ: I... ugh. I'm calling you.

Cal: I know we're adults. You don't have to say that like I'm being all childish and stuff. You're acting like you have something to hide and what else am I supposed to think? I already knew I was gonna mess things up, anyway.

Cal: Are you sure? Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry if I did.