daydreamer.

Well, he’d thought he could get away with it. Danny sighed, the smile fading from his lips as he did as he was asked. Sometimes – rarely – it was easy to fool himself into thinking that he could still be completely open with Saraya. She’d been the girl he’d told everything to – almost everything – for so long that it was hard to remember that they weren’t that way anymore. “Let me guess: we’re not friends, we just have a kid together, and anything beyond that isn’t possible anymore. We’re keeping it civil for the kid and the conversation we had on the trip was a fluke, a mistake, whatever you wanna call it. Am I close?”

“It has nothing to do with you,” Saraya replied in an attempt to calm him. As she gathered her thoughts, she tapped her fingers against the bottle in her hand. It remained unopened and she could feel the tips of her fingers begin to tingle with numbness. “I’m just so tired of being alone,” she began slowly. “I know we were together for a while and I should be happy to have the time to be on my own, but I don’t like it. And that probably says something about me, but I miss having someone to cuddle with when I watch tv or read. I miss having someone to come home to.” She was grateful that he’d honored her request to look away. There was a part of her that wasn’t sure she’d be able to say the words if she was looking in his eyes. “I guess all I’m saying is that I’m being open to the idea of meeting someone. Not now obviously, but I just need you to be supportive of it. I need you to be my supportive best friend and not my jealous ex-husband.”

jace nodded at the woman’s request, going to stand in front of him in the hopes he’d return to his mom. when he did, he sighed out of relief. “thank god, i wasn’t ready to go jogging to get him. do you need a hand?” he asked, noticing the multitude of objects in her arms.

Saraya released a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding as Emilio turned a heel and run to stand at her side. He was generally a curious child, but usually remained close to her, something that she was extremely grateful. “I can’t say thank you enough,” she said, offering a bright smile. “He ran off before I even noticed.” She shifted the bag on her arm and offered another to the man as she continued. “You never know what can happen when you’ve got a toddler so it doesn’t hurt to be prepared.” 

Daniel was always desperately trying to keep up with his son and keep him entertained. When Emilio looked back, Danny wanted him to remember a fun childhood with his father, full of laughter and games. He didn’t want Emilio remembering a childhood full of No’s and Maybe later’s, so he did his best to use any energy he had to do whatever Emilio wanted. That meant he’d been playing with Emilio and all of his toddler friends all day, and by now, his back ached from bending and crouching all day to be on their level. He’d spied Saraya on the couch as things wound down and carried a beer into the room for her, holding it out as he slumped onto the couch next to her. “Did I imagine my thirties would look like me with my best friend on the couch after an exhausting day of celebrating our really beautiful, really cool three-year-old?” he sighed, glancing over at her, as a smile tugged at his lips. “I mean, I had hoped.”

“Your best friend, huh,” she asked as she accepted the offered drink. She’d meant the words teasingly but somehow they’d fallen short. Saraya had always been sure of Danny’s place in her life. He’d been the boy with a crush, her friend, the one she’d fallen in love with, her husband, her son’s father, and now her ex with whom she was co-parenting. Maybe it was the emotions of the day making her feel the way she did — of celebrating her son’s third birthday, or the fact that she’d spent her birthday alone after having had him with her for over a decade. “Can you look that way,” she asked, motioning towards the wall. “I have things to say and I can’t say them when you’re looking at me so nicely and calling me your best friend.”

“Hey, Saya!” Keiran said, smiling and hugging his older sister. He’d been so swamped with long shifts at the diner that he hadn’t been able to visit his sister and nephew as often as he wanted. Today was his day off, and Saraya had texted him asking if he could babysit. It was work on his day off, sure, but hanging out with his nephew was a lot more fun and rewarding than waiting tables. “Oh, me too, definitely. It’s been a long week.” He spotted Emilio playing in the other room and waved at him. “Hey, little dude! How’s it going?”

He set his things down in the living room. He had his comics and his tablet to keep him company when Emilio went to bed. “You been doing alright? This little guy keeping you busy enough?”

Saraya hated how work sometimes got in the way of spending time with her family. She didn’t work a traditional 9-5. Mostly, she worked according to her own schedule. That was the benefit of freelancing. It allowed her to schedule her work life around her and Emilio’s needs, which was both a blessing and a curse. 

Saraya had never imagined that she’d spend her 33rd birthday the way she had -- surrounded by toddlers and dressed as a pirate for a three year old’s Jake and the Neverland Pirates themed birthday. More specifically, she’d never imagined that she’d be celebrating her three year old’s birthday. It was amazing how life how changed since Emilio had arrived, and there wasn’t a day when she wasn’t grateful for him, but now, as she hid in the living room listening as the last of the stragglers left, she missed the quiet that came from not having a toddler. “Ever think that this is how our thirties would look,” she asked as she massaged the soles of her feet. “Because I definitely never did.” 

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To the most important boy in my life, my universe, the love of my life, the boy who made me a mother, my son: I thank the heavens for you daily. I never dreamed of being a mother, but you came and turned my world upside down. You were the best birthday present I could have ever received. Everything about you is perfect. Nearly four years ago, I found out that I was pregnant. To say that I was surprised, would be an understatement. Everything about being someone’s mother terrified me, but you were and continue to be, an angel. You’re three years old already and I can’t believe it... where did the time go? I make mistakes, but you were never one of them. You’re a ray of sunshine and remind me everyday to enjoy life. I hope you know how much daddy and I love you.

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DANIEL: I can if you want me to. Want me to come there?

DANIEL: How's the little man this morning?

SARAYA: Please? And if you could watch Millie for a bit? I sort of want to go back to bed. You know, for perfectly normal, non-celebratory reasons.

SARAYA: I wish, for my sake, you'd stop calling him little man. He's been such a terror recently.

“Didn’t we learn in grade school to keep our hands to ourselves?” He teased, lightly pushing Saraya’s hand away from his chest. His fingers lightly wrapped around hers for just a second, only long enough for electricity to run through his chest. “I’ll admit she’s the most interesting character. The greatest, though? I’ve got one up. You have to hear me out about this.” His smile grew as he contemplated the debate they might have. That was it, wasn’t it? He couldn’t have been smiling simply because she was near. “Alfred is the greatest character in the Batman verse. Unequivocally. Without him, Bruce would have more than likely become another run of the mill villain. He is the sole reason we have Batman versus something like the Joker two-point-oh. He is the Batman universe. It’s all about the little guys, Raya.”

Saraya shrugged nonchalantly. It was a lesson she was currently reiterating with Emilio, but the point couldn’t have been made without the chest poking. It was critical for emphasizing the importance of the topic. Simple as that. “I don’t have to do anything,” she answered, just to be a bit stubborn. Pamela Isley was the single most important character in the Batman universe and no one could convince her differently. “Fine. I’ll give you that. Everyone loves a man who’s faithful and has a great accent, and he’s obviously critical to Batman’s origins and arc.” She’d never argue against that. Without Alfred, Bruce would’ve just been another man with a dark past and too much money. As if the comic world needed another Tony Stark... “But in terms of characters, outside of their influence on Batman, Pamela is the greatest.” 

DANNY: Good morning

DANNY: You and the kiddo down for an early morning, absolutely-not-celebratory, totally regular breakfast?

SARAYA: I was just about to fix us some waffles for breakfast, so you're right on time.